I have been leading worship is small
groups and corporate settings for many years. No one loves worship
leading more than I. The rush that comes when the band starts playing
and the audience begins to respond can only be described by those
who have experienced it.
While leading worship in small groups
I have seen the floors of dens and living rooms covered with people
on their faces in the presence of God. On many occasions I believe
we could have sang "Mary had a Little Lamb" and God would have shown
up.
In corporate setting I have seen
people dance, shout and clap their hands while at the same time
others knelt, bowed and wept. On some occasions people have been
physically healed and some have come to salvation during worship
services without the aid of a sermon. I have seen altars crowded
with people repenting of sin, reconciling wrongs and being refreshed
and filled with the Holy Spirit.
As wonderful as these experiences
have been I have come to understand that the experiences themselves
are not the origin of worship; they are the overflow of worship.
It is so easy to worship our praise and praise our worship. Because
music is a universal language we can find ourselves worshiping the
music instead of God. Because we enjoy seeing people being touched
by God we can find ourselves worshiping the experiences that sometimes
accompany God's presence.
The purpose of our worship however
is not to experience the hand of God it is to see the face of God.
Worship is for God! He is the giver and the receiver of worship.
All true worship has God at its center. It's all about Him. While
enjoying breakfast with a long time friend who is a pastor, he asked
if I would be interested in working with the praise band at his
church. He felt there were some hurdles keeping the praise team
from reaching their full potential. I would be doing some teaching
and working with the music.
We didn't get far into the conversion
before I realized the reason he wanted me to come. "When the worship
is good it opens people up to hear the word. I preach better when
the worship is good," he said. When I suggested that worship was
not to help him preach better he was visibly offended. Needless
to say I never received a formal invitation.
We are so wrapped up in what satisfies
us that we miss the real reason for worship. First of all we are
born with a nature with self in the center. We grow up in a society
that tells us to better ourselves. Hollywood and the media are constantly
at work to persuade us to pamper ourselves. We even choose the church
we attend based on what it has to offer us rather than how we can
serve its people.
I Corinthians 6:20 reads, "For you
were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in
your spirit, which are God's." Nothing is our lives has to do with
us. Saint and sinner alike have been bought with the blood of Jesus
and we are not our own. If our lives are not centered around us
how much more our worship. Though we benefit greatly from worship,
the purpose of worship is not to make us feel better. It is to glorify
God. Worship has one agenda; GOD.
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