Atheism’s “Grasp”

If I am beginning to learn anything about Christ and the Holy Spirit, it is that He does what He wants, when He wants, to whom He wants, through whom He wants, whenever He wants, wherever He wants and however He wants…and nothing…might i say it again…nothing gets in His way.  It is just unbelievable that THAT is the God that is inside of me, that i have surrendered to be submitted to.  The more i really learn His voice, what He desires and how to respond to it…the more LIFE i will truly experience AND an understanding of what it means to be behind a God who truly IS unstoppable.

Last night the guys that i have been leading worship with were asked to lead the minnesota missions team, that came out to seattle to help out, into an intimate time of worship and thanksgiving.  and ya know…it was just one of those days that you wake up and there just seems to be a cloud around your head, hindering your eyes to see anything except how sucky your day is.  

I walked into the night exhausted.  BUT i had a friend who wanted to come and hear the kind of music that i create.  This friend of mine just happened to be an atheist i had met on the bus a couple weeks ago.  He would always tell me that God sort of seemed like a foolish idea to him especially considering he really didnt even need one but he liked that i was very interested in his heart and in the way that he thinks.  

The temptation of a worship leader is to think that only people who understand worship and who have any kind of relationship with Christ can partake in a night like last night.  What i seem to forget is the the very first sentence in this post.  

The night, due to no other reason except that the Holy Spirit came to be glorified, was awesome.  When we finished, all i could think about was what my friend had been thinking, how he was effected, was he ok or was he bored out of his mind?  

 

i went and sat right next to him as everyone proceeded to talk.  i asked him how he was doing…and he just sat there.  after about 30 seconds of silence, here is about what the first sentence out of his mouth sounded like:  i…um…i………ah….i am…just……i am just lucky….lucky to be here….ah…….just……lucky to have met you.  he began to tell me that for 20 years of his life he had never known a real true christian, that everything about the night was glorious…that he had never experienced something holy before, that every word that was coming out of my mouth was glorious, beautiful and holy.  he told me that the entire night his skin was standing up.  as he continued to talk in this state of awe, my heart continued to whisper to God saying, Lord, he is speaking about You and i dont even know if he knows it, may You show him where that is coming from and claim Your glory.  He contiuned to repeat himself over and over again.  he began telling me that before the night started that God just wasnt an option for him but that he couldnt not take what was going on inside of him into account.  He said that he felt like he wasnt open to a God before but that now a large portion of his heart has to reconsider it.  

He was so excited.  he looked at me and said i still dont know if there is a God, but that if there is, He created you for tonight so that I could experience Him.  He just smiled, sighed and fell back into the pew with his hands behind his head and said, “hmm…this feeling isnt so bad”.

 

I encouraged him to talk to the Lord tonight and ask Him if He was real.  he then got excited and seemed to have recieved a revelation like that WAS the next thing to do!  he then asked me…then what?  if He does reveal Himself to me in a way that i would understand, than what do i do?  i then told him to ask Him why He created you.  He was so excited and said that he will do that.  

 

What can bring our God down?  What can separate Him from His people knowing and experiencing the Life He promises?  …nothing, literally.

 

please pray for Sean (is his name).  the Lord is drawing him to Himself and desires to set him free from the world that he might step into true life and understand his need for HIM.

Worship Part Seven-o: Empowerment

in these last few weeks with worship, we have been making a lot of progress in the freedom Christ is bringing to worship Him and making worship a time to adore the splendor and holiness of the Lord and to celebrate everything He brings into our lives.  i have been praying about new and necessary steps that i can begin leading our body into, thus initiating a more pure atmosphere for a night dedicated to the glory of the Lord.

our music seems to be getting better as time goes on.  it is still very raw, but the depth of it, both spiritually and physically are growing.  this week i decided to ask an individual to play the synth for me.  i felt this would play a vital role in allowing the Spirit to almost “linger”, if you will.  as He choses to move through music, the synth almost allows for Him to not be cut off song to song.  (that’s a whole other conversation though).  long story short our new synth player was also our power-point person.  

last night i had a good friend of mine speak some powerful truth into my heart.  he told me that he feels like a mexican jumping bean ready to be a needed part in our church but doesn’t know how to initiate that.  he began to tell me that a lot of the girls we have in our church have great voices and that i should invite them to lead with me.  i told him about the girl i asked to do synth and he said…wait…isnt that the girl who does power-point.  ”yeah”, i said.  he was almost begging me if he could take her place.  he said he just wanted to be a part of the night somehow that was needed and important.  his words to me struck a chord in my heart.  i told him that i received the words he was saying and that they were good.

that same night, i sat down and began to pray about how and what the role of empowerment looked like for me.  all of a sudden, i was brought to the attention of these two little girls who love to play the tambourine and dance while worship but never know when it is appropriate.  i immidiately called their father and asked if i could have them come to our practice so they could help me lead our body into worship.  he said that his girls were listening to his conversation and that they were bouncing off the walls in excitement.  (you could hear it as well:)  

the act was so simple, yet the hearts of these girls were exploding!  it just revealed to my heart the desire we share to play an individually specific role in bringing glory to Christ.  i have much to learn in this area, but the Lord has spoken and i am taking steps in allowing this empowerment process (and need) to take place.  yeah!

Worship Part Six-o: The Weapon of Adoration

so i have been in the process of reading the book captivating, borrowed to me by julie baumgart anywhere from 2-4 years ago:)  julie…i am taking this slow:)  ill get it back to someday, but i still need it for now because there is a lot to it…i feel, as a man, like i am entering into this untouchable, didnt know existed, “you’ve gotta be kidding me”, awe inspired realm called the heart of a woman.

to be 100% honest here…before begining the book, i thought:  seriously…ive heard it talks about the need for woman to be known that they are beautiful…great…”you’re beautiful”…book done.  but as i enter into it…wow…the heart of a woman opens up a vast unknown territory of the heart of God Himself.  it didnt even occur to me that the Lord placed His image differently in both men and women…meaning everything that i see in my heart that represents the Lord is only a portion of the way His heart pumps.  there is a whole other captivating half to it that i have been missing, what seems to be my entire life, that has been placed in women.  

to bring it back to what i desire to post about is this: the Lord’s awesome desire to be adored in His beautiful by His people and what His beauty brings to His people.

i fell upon the story of Jehoshaphat defeating Moab and Ammon in 2 chronicles chapter 20 today.  basically, the land that jehoshaphat leads and lives in was given to his people from the Lord!  BUT they hear that moab and ammon are pissed and on their way over to take their possessions and land.  the men bring a council together to discuss what they are to do.  all of a sudden the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel and the Lord speaks through him saying that they are not to be afraid but to basically pick up the only people they have and send them towards the killers.  the Lord states that the battle is His so leave it to Him and trust Him.

basically, they dont have much of an army (that just the feel i got from the text) in the eyes of the world, BUT the next morning,” jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: 

       “Give thanks to the LORD, 
       for his love endures forever.”

notice what they are doing…they are not bringing out all of their armor…they are not even begging the Lord to deliver them from the enemy…AH!…they are adoring the splendor of His holiness.  mmm…this seriously softens my heart.  literally an army of men adoring the beauty of the Lord.

what does it bring?  the two armies against them turn on each other, slaughter everyone and no one is spared.  all they did was place their hearts on what was good and dwelled in the splendor of the King and pleasure was brought to His heart, thus He dilivered them from their enemies.

DO YOU NOT SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE!?  not only is the beauty of the Lord overwhelming in the way that it is awe-inspiring in the way that it leads His people into righteousness, BUT when His desire to be delighted in is authentically desired by us…the enemy is SILENCED!  he CANNOT be heard, he CANNOT be seen, and he CANNOT work.  

oh beauty…what an incredible gift to the heart of man that begins and ends with the Lord.  my understanding to enjoy His beauty, to be inspired by it and to just dwell in it honeslty feels like i have been missing out!  

thank you Father for Your revelatory nature…and…thank you women:)  i have yet to discover so much more to the heart of our Lord by hopefully some day entering into the heart of a woman designed to join my flesh.  wow…

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

Matthew 15:21-28 (New International Version)

 

 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”

 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

 ”Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

 

>  so check this out…two things that stuck out like a soar thumb to my heart in this passage were the extremity of selflessness and humility that the canaanite woman seems to portray and the passionate pursuit Christ has for any and all of His children.

i guess ill elaborate:)

 

ok lets kinda get a perspective here just to see the bigger picture.  if you read a couple chapters ahead, you find (no surprise) Jesus beginning to step on a lot of toes (especially the pharisees).  basically it is almost like you can feel it in the text…tension is rising, pharisees are becoming more and more pissed, and john the freekin’ baptist was just beheaded.  as far as everything we can see and hear from the pharisees, if Jesus continues to do what He is doing…well…desire to kill Jesus was probably pretty high (just my guess).  obviously the timing is not correct for Jesus to be crucified because His death was of perfect timing and…well…it didnt happen in this chapter:)

so what does He do?

Jesus withdraws from israel…outa sight outa mind…almost like He is looking to cool the heat in israel just so His death can be precise.  AND, as we already know about Jesus, He is an INCREDIBLE multi-tasker.  not only is His mind fully aware of the timing that His death needs to take place but He is on another mission to teach His disciples a lesson and show His (might i add awesome) heart to a very specific, non-accidental woman.

Where we at now?  we are in the region of Tyre and Sidon…aka Gentile Land! (not israel)

so this canaanite woman hears Jesus has come to where she is.  what does she do?  at first it seems like the typical “Jesus encounter”…she cries out to the Lord for mercy.  BUT the picture i want you to see that comes with more understanding as the story goes on is the woman’s extreme selflessness and humility.  first and for-most, what does she say to Jesus?  ”Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”  DO YOU SEE WHAT SHE IS ASKING FOR!?  this woman is begging for the Lord to have mercy on her that He might heal her daughter.  from the beginning, she aint there for herself, but her joy and desire begins in the betterment of her daughter.  her ONE chance to speak to the Messiah (the God she KNOWS she is unworthy to approach) she presents ONE thing to Him…her daughter.  what an awesome picture of authentically placing others above yourself.

What does Jesus do after this woman pours her heart and soul into proclaiming her desire to the Saviour of the world?  He decides to say nothing.  JESUS!  WHAT ARE YOU DOING!  THAT DOESNT SEEM LIKE YOU AT ALL!  …ya know…Jesus continues to blow my mind in how strategic His ways are just to teach and draw others closer to himself, whether it be through…well…anything He wants because He sees the bigger picture.  the thing we can ALWAYS bank on is that everything Jesus does is perfect.  period.  so if it seems crazy or we dont necessarily agree with what Jesus says or does, we better as hell get out of our foolishness and lean on truth.  and what better truth to lean on than TRUTH HIMSELF (John 14:6)…the one and only JESUS CHRIST!  (sorry kinda a bunny trail:)  

so it seems crazy right?  but we know Jesus does everything perfectly and with a purpose…so we must look into it.  

so what happens next?

His disciples came to Him and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”  oh silly disciples…how you imitate our humanity so well:)  anyways back to the woman.  what is she doing?  well she is obviously crying out a lot…so much so that the disciples seem to be getting annoyed (i think it is safe assumption that she was persistent:)

so after the disciples whine to Jesus about this woman, what does He say?  ”I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”  …WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?  what about russia, bolivia, or for goodness sake what about AMERICA JESUS!?  the cool picture we begin to receive from what Jesus is trying to teach us is that Jesus, though the Saviour of the world and possessing a mindset that is world-wide,  was given one job while He was on this earth: to minister FIRST to the lost sheep of israel (as prophesied all through the old testament) (keep in mind, geographically, where we are at).  SO, in knowing this, it helps explain the response Jesus gives after the woman comes to Him a second time, getting on her knees before Him and crying, “Jesus, help me!”.  

Jesus responds in saying, ”It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

my first reaction was once again…Huh?  ya know, it would be nice if you would stay on topic here.  BUT, if you meditate on it for a while, the picture sort of becomes clear.  Jesus’s purpose is to minister only to the lost sheep of israel…or the children of israel.  i think what He is trying to say is that it is not right for Him to take what is rightfully the lost sheep of israel’s and toss it to who it is not meant for.  (now this could be taken in a lot of ways, but keep in mind that Jesus’s long term plan is world-wide but His purpose while on earth is for the lost people of israel).  NOW GET THIS!  not only in doing this does Jesus show the disciples and the woman that He is a man that stays true ONLY to what the Lord calls Him to be doing AND He tests and challenges the woman’s faith in her belief that He is the Messiah,  BUT what comes next shows God’s greater heart for each and every one of His children.  almost like He is trying to tell us that He will always stay true ONLY to the Father’s will, BUT the Father’s will is one in the same when it comes to ALL of His children…almost like His children TRUMP everything if you will (but we also have to keep in mind that Jesus also chooses when it is ok to extend mercy).  (that whole paragraph felt like a mouth-full).

ok to move on…take a look at this…though it is harsh, Jesus basically calls this woman a dog because she is not in the boundaries of israel.  now, it is obvious that the woman knows what Jesus is referring to and that His life is meant for the people of israel because immediately, from the beginning, she refers to Jesus as “Lord” and “Son of David”.  she knows there is a Messiah to come, and i get the feeling she knows His very focused ministry as well, because she does not become offended by what Jesus declares her to be (according to the law) but rather accepts it and states: ”but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  this woman HUMBLY takes the position of the dog and CONTINUES to lean on her faith.  almost like she is saying in a round about way, “yes i know i am a dog and that i am not part of the ministry that You are called to while You are on earth, but i believe without a doubt that You are the Messiah, the One to come, my Saviour, that i will take whatever i can get from my Master.  You can reject my plea over and over again but that cannot take my faith away that You are God”.  no one can be that persistent and take that much crap from that many people for a person other than herself unless she believes with ALL OF HER HEART.  talk about passing the test with flying colors.  

Now, once again, Jesus BEAUTIFULLY brings everything together.  He states: ”Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”  He tests the woman, teaches both the disciples and the woman about the importance of doing ONLY what the Father calls us to do, BUT also shows His abundant mercy He is dying to give away to ALL of His children.  

What an incredible God.

(know that these are just my thoughts…if you are reading this, ask for the truth in it.  i am not a scholar:)

 

Worship Part Five-o: Two Way Pleasure

this last sunday i was asked to go out for a beer and some food after our worship night.  my friends told me that there was going to be this awesome cover band there that they thought i would love.  long story short…i did.  a lot.

MAN!  it was like a worship night in itself.  the band consisted of three individuals:  an electric bass player, an electric guitar player, and a drummer…all of whom could sing and harmonize.  they set up like it was no big deal.  each one of them MAYBE checked their sound levels once….MAYBE.  10 o’clock hit and so did their music without a blip.  full steam ahead.  if you would have walked in a half a second after they started you may have assumed that they had been going for quit some time and that you may have even been wicked late.

the night was a party!  the lead singer and the drummer (same person)never lost a beat, they moved from song to song like they had rehearsed for it to be one gigantic song (despite the fact that they even took requests while they were playing).   the way this guy lead was like if someone had told him that he was a new daddy, that his boss just decided to promote him to CEO and that he just won the lottery just before stepping onto stage.  incredible.  i think my mouth hung open with a slight grin to it the entire time i watched him.  my heart couldn’t help but intricately studying this environment but more specifically, the leader of the environment.  

then…just as the drummer began to hit himself in the head with his sticks while he played for the sheer enjoyment of just doing it, the Lord spoke to my heart.  He told me that my heart needs to mimic that drummer more. He opened my eyes to the fact the people that i look to as people that are incredibly close to the Lord and intensely seeking His presence (people that i desire to be like in their closeness to Him) are people who are just plain different then me.  their hearts intensely and passionately seek Him…differently.  He told me to chill out…get that…God telling me to chill out?  YEAH!  just       enjoy      Me, He said.  He told me that i was becoming too serious…which there is nothing wrong with that, but when it comes to who i was made to be…there is everything wrong with that.  there are times to be serious, but the heart i have been given is one of a light Spirit…one that ENJOYS actin’ a foo in the presence of the Lord not because that is the “king david thing-to-do” but because that is naturally how my heart responds to His presence and His voice.  He told me that my heart seeks Him intensely, but not how it looks on the outside (to the world) but through grownings of His Spirit inside of me and in ways i still have yet to learn.  

He concluded with this:  it is time to create the biggest party on earth.  david, I have chosen the right man to do so.  I ENJOY your heart for me…chill out, let loose, and begin to enjoy Mine.  just watch what happens.  you were made for it.  

 

…hmm…ok… (said dvic)

Worship Part Fouro: The Experience

i have always known that the Lord has not really given me a vocabulary that brings to life what is going on in my heart.  and even if He did, the words that could come from my mouth would have no effect on the hearts of those i speak to in the way i desire to see them moved.  

what brings so much passion and humility  to this heart and at the same time RELIEVES it from the pressure of feeling like IT has to be the thing to change hearts around me is that the Spirit the Lord has left here on earth is the only thing that transforms hearts!  

for this very reason is the reason i LOVE leading worship through music.  everybody knows that music goes deeper than the surface of our ears.  it is an intangible, unexplainable phenomenon that somehow finds its way to the soul of a human being.  like an unseen fragrance to the nose that brings memory, the vibrations of beauty move through the air towards the ears of an individual and begins to vibrate the hardness of a heart to a soft gelatin mold.  WHAT A TOOL THE LORD HAS GIVEN!  

all i can do is exactly what i know how to do in the exact place He calls me to do it.  the rest is His!  all i can do is play the music i know how to with all my heart (for our best is saved for the Lord) and ASK that He might just attach His Spirit to those vibrations and when they hit that individual’s soul, the LORD of hosts may INVADE their heart!

…mmm…how relieving to know that God Himself does the work of the heart…makes it easy to find humility:)

 

this saturday the Lord awakened and fulfilled a desire i have been begging Him to start in me.

 

 

 

From the beginning:  (what you need to know)

:the Lord has been growing our body here in seattle not only through unity and maturity but also in number.  He has given us some key individuals who have had their hearts captured by Himself after being enslaved to YEARS of living on the streets in need of addictions and full of pride and anger towards the world.  He has TRANSFORMED their lives through EXPERIENCING His truth.  the humility, belief and passion the Lord has given these men can now reach areas of the world our body would have never been able to reach.  talk about the beauty of the body and all its needed parts.

 

The Story of Experience:

last sunday after leading worship at our church, nathan (the life transformed from “street-doin’”) came up to me and told me that he had been given a revelation.  he told me that we needed to take that (the music we had just created) and bring it to the streets of seattle.  through growing in a relationship with the Lord and developing a trust with nathan, i have come to know that revelations are a HUGE way the Lord speaks to His people.  i knew in my heart of hearts that the only thing we could do was respond to what the Lord had spoken to the heart of nathan.  

thus, the experience begins…

i threw together all the music i could and brought the vision to a couple other musicians and leaders in our body.  the vision was caught and responded to.  the needed parts of the body to accomplish this vision had been provided.  we had three acoustic guitar player, a drummer, and three leaders who would speak to the people that would come to hear the music.  the goal of the speaking leaders was to offer prayer, bring understanding as to what we were doing and also to speak truth into their lives pertaining to specific areas and the state of heart that needed to be present in order to partake in communion (which is something we also had set up as well).  

we set out as a team late saturday night at about 10pm.  we went to the heart and soul of the city.  the range of diversity was incredible from people headed to the bars, night clubs, homeless people, drug dealers, prostitutes, police officers, backpackers and the list goes on.

we cracked open the guitar cases and from the second we all started WAILING on the guitars, vocal chords and the drum, people started flocking around.  the leaders of our body would begin to converse with individuals and all i saw from my perspective were knees dropping everywhere.  prayer was think in that area.  we had a man that leaned up against a near by post and just stood there in a state of softness taking to heart what the Spirit was speaking to him through the music.  the face of an individual in the process of receiving words from the ONE who reigns in freedom and transforms lives is not only obvious but unforgettable.  a woman all by herself came to one of our leaders and broke down…he spoke truth to her heart and explained the power of communion.  she slowly approached the table picking up the bread and the juice.  her eyes lifted to the music being played in front of her…she then closed them and partook.  

after playing in this one place for an extended period of time we decided to pick up and move to a new location.  we found, yet again, the perfect corner.  we began wailing!  immediately a man dragged his girlfriend over to where we were and began yelling at me.  ”PLAY LOUDER!  SING LOUDER!  LET IT BE FROM YOUR HEART!  THE WORLD NEEDS TO HEAR THIS”.  we had been singing a song that was foreign to him but he attempted to join us at the top of his lungs and through dance with his girlfriend not knowing a single word!  after more knees had been dropping and more partaking had taken place, nathan came up to me and he said, “i think we need to play a song with holy, holy, holy in it”.  i couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head.  BUT then a man walked up to me and asked if i knew how to play a song that went something like, “Lord, open my eyes”.  IMMIDIATELY we started wailing on open the eyes of my heart.  his bottom jaw began drop, his eyes opened and he proclaimed,”…yes…Yes!”  at that moment he stood less than two feet in front of my face and just stared at me in the eyes.  i couldnt help but feel semi awkward, but i felt the Spirit speak to my heart telling me, “look him back in the eyes and do not leave his eyes until he leaves yours”.  i continued to play and sing with all of my heart and shifted my eyes so that they locked with his and held them there with intensity.  …his face softened…tears began pouring as we slipped into the bridge of the song singing, holy, holy, holy…i want to see You.  he turned his head and began doing a dance that almost looked like a dance of speaking in tongues but with his body…so free, and unhindered…like nothing i had ever seen before.  the night continued on…

we moved yet again to a new corner.  this corner was much less populated, but the time was just past 2am and this was the time the bars closed and the people were out.  we were tired.  we just chose a chord progression and just jammed for some time.  people would walk by and just listen.  some groups would act like they were still in the club and be grinding with each other (which im totally cool with…little do they know that they are grinding to the music of Jesus…aww yeah:)  after a few minutes of jamming, we stopped.  a group of three individuals came up to us and told us they wanted to hear something.  the name of one of them (translated from spanish) literally meant Jesus, Son of God.  i told him that this song costs them nothing.  they moved closer almost curious of what was to come after that comment spoken to them with the Spirit in my eyes…you could tell they really wanted to hear.  we played how great is our God.  we sang the words intentionally to the Lord and the second we hit the with HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD at the top of all of our lungs, Jesus, Son of God closed his eyes and said “Oh, LORD!” and raised his hands in a dance that not only moved him but transferred to his friends and they WORSHIPED!! they didnt stop dancing with their hands in the air until the song was done.  when we stopped, he came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, looked me in the eyes while dropping his neck to move his head closer to my face and said, “what you are doing in amazing, never stop doing this”.

finally, they left and we began to put our stuff away because the street was becoming silent.  at that moment two girls came up to us and asked if we were playing music.  it was obvious that the one was looking to hear something.  she asked if there was any way she could hear just something.  i opened my case and picked up my guitar.  i walked up close to her and looked her in the eyes and smiled.  i told her we would play one more.  BUT you have to know that this song is totally on us.  ALSO, the one thing i ask of you is this: to LET…let the Lord speak to you through this song.  she kinda smirked and said, “ok”.  it was just my guitar, a drum and all of us singing at the top of our lungs.  we played beautiful one.  i have NEVER worship like i did for that song in my entire life.  i felt the Lord telling me to keep my eyes closed the entire time.  when the song finished, she walked up to me and engulfed me with the biggest hug that i have ever received…and she held me for what seemed forever.  and during that ENTIRE  elongated embrace…she whispered into my ears, “thank you…thank you…thank you…thank you…thank you…thank you…thank you…thank you…thank you…thank you.”  all i could say back was you are welcome as she stepped back and looked me in the eye.  she looked at our entire group with a state of awe and said one last thank you and walked off with her friend.  

 

…nathan came up to me and said to me, “people out here are dying to experience our God…they need freedom…they need truth…life on this planet has nothing to offer and these people desire for Christ to come to them on the street, where they are at…i know because i lived it, i heard it, and i experienced it.”

 

the power of the Spirit through music allows the people of this world to EXPERIENCE Christ.  through experience people come to KNOW and desire life in the full from our Father.

Worship Part Threeo (Pride vs. Glory)

A Man With Leprosy

A man with leprosy came to him (Jesus) and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”  Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”  Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning:  ”See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”  Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

                                                                                                                     Mark 1:40-45

…as a worship leader, the stage has this gigantic pendulum swing that has the potential to be of utmost glory to Christ, but like everything else in life also has great potential to TAKE glory from the One who is truly deserving.  at least for me, whenever i see, say, a christian on stage (it is obvious that every christian has their own struggles or “thorns in their sides” if you will), immediately i assume that the struggle of this particular christian must be pride considering he/she is continually the center of attention.  not only is that wrong on my behalf considering I am a worship leader, i desire to lead my family in the purest state of worship and i desire to be looked upon with trust and respect while leading (keeping in mind that the original mindset violates Matthew 7:2 (For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.) which would never allow the above desires to take place) BUT if this is the mindset of me while in a crowd, i cant help but assume that there must be at least one other individual within the crowd that looks upon that same person on stage as i do AND while i am am leading WHICH puts a lot of pressure on the worship leader to be mindful of his/her pride.  …hmm…seems to be exactly opposite to where i desire a night of worship to go. 

in the very first verse given at the top, Jesus heals this man and it is obvious that…well…Jesus did it.  directly after the healing Jesus presents His will to the man.  Jesus seems to have two specific things on His mind that He desires to be a response of this happening (and we may not understand why, but we do KNOW that Jesus’ will is by far the best way).  ONE, He explains that He does not want the man to tell anybody about what just took place, and TWO, He seems to have a very specific priest (maybe priests) on His mind that He wants this man to show His glory to.  the man obviously did exactly opposite of what Jesus warned him NOT to do, but that part is not what i want to write on.  at the moment after the healing and after Jesus delivered His will to the man, i placed myself in that man’s shoes.  (STOP…i will get back to this)

as a worship leaders who know the potential mindsets of their followers, the pendulum of the stage, and our desires to be completely SELFLESS in worship, PRIDE is our biggest fear.  Not only is pride the thing that caused the devil and 1/3 of God’s angles to be cast from the presence of God (which is about the least glory you can bring to Him), BUT as a worship leader on stage, we are completely exposed to a given number of people and if pride were to be revealed…well…that would be detrimental to our reputation and to our ministry.   

 

the theme i seem to be discovering among worship leaders is that they FEAR pride, because of all this.

 

now, satan LOVES fear.  if pride is something you are fearful of having in your life, dont you think satan’s goal of taking your eyes off of Christ could best be achieved by accusing you of being the essence OF pride?  not only would you be doused in guilt, but your spiritual eyes would be completely consumed in the thought of your pride (which would fulfill satan’s desire to take your eyes off of Christ).

 

back to where i stopped when i placed myself in the healed man’s shoes.  Christ showed compassion on me and healed me from leprosy.  right now He just commanded me not to tell anyone, but a specific person(s).  He told me specifically to go and show this priest what He had done to me.  i cant help but think that if i were in the same mindset that i was (fearful of pride), naturally i would feel like this would be a great opportunity for my pride to flourish, or maybe that i would be accused by the great accuser of my pride directly after Christ commanded me to go.  ”well, i dont want to be prideful, so if i stay away from talking about what Christ did to ME, then pride cannot exist in me”.  congratulations david, your ears have yet again managed to tune themselves to the one who lies and by doing so have strayed clear of what could have been a powerful situation considering it was exactly where God wanted you to be which means all scenarios were exactly as they needed to be and the timing was perfect, BUT, hey, at least your pride is safe (whatever that means).

 

AHH!  worship leaders, RISE UP!  take a stand against what is wrong!  if the Lord Himself has called you into a place that leads others to Himself through your presence on stage, through music, or any kind of leadership, than THIS, my friend, is EXACTLY where you are going to be most effective for kingdom growth and where you will bring the most glory to the name of Jesus Christ.  the Lord is ruler of your heart and is the only One who has the ability to bring any kind of growth or transformation to it, so if pride takes any sort of reign in your heart, then it needs to go, BUT you have been given no power to do so.  this means that that area of your heart is already being worked on by the Lord, if you have invited His Spirit into your heart and you are remaining in Him, so there is no need to be mindful of your sin.  He has given us a way to over come evil.  Romans 12:21-Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  this verse explains that good is the only thing that can overcome evil, and God is the only thing that is good, so if we take our eyes off of what is evil (pride) and place them onto what is good (God) evil naturally flees.  THIS is EXACTLY what worship through music needs to look like.  not worrying about failure, or how your pride has potential to kick in, but to step out onto that stage mindful of your anointing the Spirit has given you, confident that the stage is where the Lord has specifically called you, and prepared to point to Christ in everything.  (Romans 9:17-For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”)  your job is to lead people into His presence.  period.  is that even possible to take someone to a place you dont know how to get to? imagine a place that you LIVE in…you have been there for YEARS…you know it like the back of your hand…you would know how to get there with your eyes closed.  this doesnt come from luck, or hope, or desire…it comes from REMAINING in this home.  if you make Christ your home and remain in Him…to lead people into His presence would be like turning around.  oh…that might be prideful of me to think that I have the ability to lead millions into His presence you say?  deal with it…if the Lord has called me there, He is in me, and i am obedient…i (Christ in me) is unstoppable…that is just how it is.  satan doesnt want us to have the understanding of how powerful we (Christ in us) are when we remain in Him.  dont let him accuse you…allow Christ to change the world through you.

 

my challange to you is this:  to challange eveything you have ever been “taught” in life about church (or anything for that matter) and lean it up against truth (His word) and see if it remains standing.  if it does, walk in it…if it doesnt, turn from it and seek what the truth really is.

 

we only have a given number of days on this planet to Glorify the name of Jesus Christ…there is no time to be thinking about what others may think about what i do or to bask in my own desires.  what if we could remain mindful Christ’s will and could give a rip towards what pleased this body and mind?  what if we were not driven by our emotional and physical “needs”, but were completely driven by what the Lord says to do in His word with the understanding that all the other “needs” are naturally fulfilled through doing so?  dont just read this.  think about it and ask the Lord to challenge you…if you dare…

 

thats the beauty of a leader driven by Christ…

How Bad Do You Want It?

Mark 1:35- Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.

Here is what the Lord spoke to me the second my eyes hit this verse.

…you continually speak to me begging Me to give you truth, and to fill you with My Spirit so that through you I can change the world…how bad do you want it? How Bad Do You Want It?  HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT!?  I desire to give you these things more than you desire to receive them.  the amount you are willing to RUN after Me, sacrifice your time, your energy, your sleep, your eating, your LIFE, that is how much more I will fill you with My Spirit.  you want it?  then I beg YOU child…TAKE IT WITH EVERYTHING YOU ARE!  this is where the extremist in you is allowed to take over…I want your life…meaning I want you to think of every possible thing that exsist in you, around you or is associated with you in any way and I want you to seek new ways of finding how that area can glorify My Son Jesus Christ’s name more.  it’s time.  you notice evil anywhere…TURN from it, because it is weak.  period.

Worship Part Tuo

the very first time “worship” is mentioned in the bible is in the story of Abraham’s test; when the Lord calls him to sacrifice his son to the Lord.  (Genesis 22)

 

a question has been raised in my head in relation to this chapter pertaining specifically to the meaning of worship.  

 

the Lord calls abraham to sacrifice his son (his only son) to Him as a burnt offering.  abraham begins to prepare everything to do as the Lord said.  he gets up early the next morning and saddles the donkey, calls two servants and his son to come with him and as soon as he has cut enough wood for the offering, he then sets out to the place the Lord calls him to go.

 

now, here is the part that seems to put a glitch in everything i have ever been told worship is:

 

“He (Abraham) said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there.  We will worship and then we will come back to you.’” (Genesis 22:5)

 

here is my dilemma:  we are told that everything we do in a day has the potential to be worshipful to the Lord if we allow it to be.  if that is the case, then one would think that everything abraham did early in the morning to prepare for his sacrifice to the Lord and all the traveling that took place to get to the specific spot that the Lord had called him to, would and should be included in Abraham’s daily worship.  BUT, abraham seems to state that his worship (sacrificing his son) is something that is separate from everything else he had accomplished in the past three days of preparation and travel.  

 

it makes me think that maybe the actual word, “worship”, should be approached as something a little more “set apart”.  maybe everything we do in life has all potential to bring all kinds of pleasure and glorification to the Father and His Son’s name, Jesus Christ, (which is were our act of continual “giving our lives to Him” takes place) but worship…mmm…maybe this is something we specifically set apart in our day to JUST seek His face.  the Lord calls us to continually be mindful of Him, which tells me that we can be completely aware of His will, His desires, where He is working, what He wants us to be doing that can further glorify Him while we are doing ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.  but maybe, just maybe, worship doesn’t take place through the “middle-man” things in our lives, but it is a DIRECT, “I am here to be WITH God”.  

 

just a thought…i am still seeking the truth behind it.

Worship Part Uno

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

 

Why sing praise?  this is a question i still have yet to answer in full, especially to those who do not belong to the Lord.  

lets take this verse backwards…

 

“with gratitude in your hearts to God”:

i get the feeling that this verse is saying that that gratitude is there already- that gratitude is in your heart, now present it to God.  not that it has always been there or that it is just there because, but that it was put there the day He allowed us to understand that life is completely about Him.  and anything that we have ever been given by God must always be given back to Him…meaning that He was the One who gave us this gratitude and now in order to give it back the natural way our hearts respond is through singing praise.  in other words our praise through music should not be a chore or tradition, but a response due to the way the Lord is moving in our lives.

 

“sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs”:

first off, it doesnt mention any instruments.  not that they cant be there, because i truly believe that an instrument is a powerful tool that assists in the singing of praise, but i am just saying…instruments are not a necessity.  interesting.  it is as if our voices alone are the instrument of choice by God.  secondly, these are the things it says to sing:  psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  just so everybody knows…that pretty much classifies everything under the sun.  In other words, the Lord desires our voices genuinely responding in praise to Him for what He has done, is doing and is yet to do in any key, any pitch, and any rythm because what makes a song of praise to the Lord is, and has always been, the authentic state of a heart(s) loving Him through proclamation.   

 

“you”:

hmm.  Paul is not writing to an individual, thus the “you” he is referring to is not a singular, but a plural.  i am not saying that it cannot be “you” as an individual, but in this case Paul is writing a letter to the town and the church of Colosse (which is made up of more than one person fyi:).  i dont understand this in full, but i do know that there has always been power in the masses under unity, no matter who they consider their authority.  now, take a body of literal Spirit-filled people, bring them together, and allow the Spirit (who has already filled these people) to unite them under His authority.  that is the kind of body that has the power to change the world…literally.  not only is it naturally powerful due to its number, but keep in mind it is lead (in perfect unity) by the all powerful world-changer Himself.  in other words-unstoppable. 

 

“as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom”:

notice here, teaching and admonishing one another are directly paralleled to singing praise to God.  to be honest, i am not exactly sure what that means, but, as a worship pastor, i feel it shows me that the teaching and the admonishing of one another is of equal importance to the worshiping of the Lord through song in relation to the word of Christ dwelling in us.  in other words, the word of Christ dwelling in us is of utmost importance because His words are our weapon of choice in every battle we encounter, thus singing praise to Him is (for reasons i still dont fully understand) of utmost importance.  

 

“the word of Christ dwell in you richly”:

to me, this is saying that the word of Christ dwelling in us is an outcome of the two things listed above.  meaning that the word of Christ dwelling in us IS what happens when we partake in teaching and the singing of praise to God.  and it doesnt just happen…it happens RICHLY.  in other words, the most powerful weapons (besides God Himself), Christ’s words, are dwelling (definition of dwelling: living permanently) in us as we worship the Lord through song, thus creating in us a nature of literal un-defeat, thus bringing the most possible glory to the name of Jesus Christ.    …i think i just gained some understanding in the importance of worshiping the Lord through song.  

 

“Let”:

finally, the word let.  in other words, everything we just discussed up above naturally takes place when we partake in the singing of praise to our Creator, but the one thing that can taint this natural process is our ability to deny permission of Christ’s words dwelling in us.  i get this picture of Paul begging us to just LET it happen.  dont worry that it may not happen or think that we must have to do more to make it happen…just…let…it…happen.  Christ’s words through Paul are true, so we should just believe them.  Let God do what He does best…everything.  

 

in conclusion:

worshiping the Lord through music is of UTMOST importance…amen?!