MEN, WORSHIP & WAR (PT 2)
OUR REAL ENEMIES IN WORSHIP
In warfare there is always a victory to be won and an enemy that will either surrender or be destroyed. We will either surrender to God and he will give us victory and destroy our enemies or we surrender to ourselves and Satan and we will both be destroyed. In worship we are picking sides and fighting either for or against God.
I love the way the message paraphrase of the bible puts Romans 12:1-2 talks about worship.
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Worship is surrendering our bodies and every part of our ordinary lives- sleeping, eating, working, traveling- to God.
HOW WE FIGHT
My goal has been to illustrate a major reason why we worship. Now I'd like to give some practicals on how to fight this war.
FIGHT WITH YOUR VOICE
We fight with our voice by:
Singing- you can't read the bible and miss that singing is one of the most common responses to who God is and what He has done. Singing allows God's people to publicly declare His victory, power, strength, glory in our lives and over the idols of this world. God did not tell people that if they wanted to or only those who had good voices to sing. It says " Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music". It doesn't say please, it says "do it" because He's been faithful and has saved us.
Shout- This is pretty common in Charismatic churches but in many Evangelical groups it seems we're content to sit quietly and think amen. Like the psalm above it says shout. Why is it okay to shout at baseball, football games or scream you Rock at a concert but not yell amen or hallelujah or simply yell yeah. The demons quake in fear at the sound of God's people singing and shouting in victory. That's why these two tend to go together because sometimes singing still doesn't express the sheer magnitude of God's bigness.
Creeds/Scripture/Responsive Readings- The Hebrews regularly used the written words of the psalms for their prayers and songs. There is evidence of widely used written prayers such as Paul's Doxology in Romans 11 or the creed of who Jesus was in Philippians 2. The early church wrote extensively to help Christians know their Lord Jesus and fight the evil of heresy such as the Nicene creed. Today we can draw on Catechisms and modern sources like the Worship Sourcebook by the Calvin Institute of Worship.
Testimony- It doesn't have to be flashy or dramatic. Just the truth. Formula for a testimony: God is the hero and King + We were his enemies + Our lives were full of darkness and destruction + we surrender + Jesus Saves - Sin, shame and death + given a mission + Life isn't easy but We can handle it by the power and grace of Jesus + He's coming again so there's hope for now and tomorrow + Insert your name here.
FIGHT WITH YOUR HANDS AND FEET
We fight with our hands by:
Raising them- Again, I encourage you just because you grew up in a more physically reserved branch of the Church don't write off a biblical form or worship that engages in spiritual warfare and is a beautiful act of submission, surrender and affection. We've all seen the sign of surrender is coming out with your hands raised. We've seen celebration after a big win at a sporting event. We love it when our kids come running towards us with their hands stretched. We've all seen hands clenched and in the air in support of a cause. All of these are exactly why God tells us to use them for him. Surrender, affection, submission and unity. Paul tells Timothy to have the Church in Ephesus to have their men lift up holy hands in prayer without anger or disputing. This is a powerful call to use our hands as instruments of worship and peace instead of destruction. Just try it. I know you may feel silly but that's your flesh trying not to die.
Open them- Jesus said he came to serve, not to be served. Practice serving with your hands. Can you build things? Help a widow or a single mother. Can you cook things? Find a college student and invite them into your home. Like to shoot animals (for you hunters)? Give away the food you killed. Good at making money? Help someone who God placed in your path. Working hard and don't have a lot of money? Help someone anyway. Invite others into your life and bless them with your resources. Do you play guitar? Use it to lead other in worship. Teach lessons. Play in your community.
Making a fist- Defend those who can't defend themselves. Do not let women, children or the elderly be abused. Anger is holy when it is used to defend the powerless. Just because I said make a fist doesn't mean use it to continue the cycle of pain, abuse, dysfunction and destruction. It just means get angry about what God gets angry about and then do something to solve it the way Christ would.
Working hard and well- Got a dead end job? There's no such thing. There are always people in your workplace that need to see what it looks like to be a Christian. Your boss, your co-workers, the customers that walk in. Every single one of them is a set of eyes that can see how you respond. Colossians 3:23 says do everything as if you're working for God himself. In Philippians he says to do it without grumbling or complaining. Don't post it on facebook. Don't ooze it to other co-workers. Serve hard and well and you'll shine brightly as the stars
Feet take the Hands where they need to be.
We fight with our feet by:
Going to the front line- We can't keep waiting for people to walk through the doors of a building and initiate conversations about eternity. It happens but that is 1% percent of the people you and I know. It is impossible to call ourselves Christian and passively ignore the people being destroyed all around us. The mission field is as close as home and as far as China. Start with yourself, then your wife, children, parents, family and into your community, city, state, region, nation and world. It happens in concentric circles. In Acts 1:7 Jesus says that the disciples will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. It started at home. It moved to their neighbors and then to the ends of the world.
FIGHT ON YOUR KNEES
Prayer- We must remember that God is really doing the fighting for us but has partnered with us in doing so. We are only strong because of his strength. We are only wise through his revelation. We are only as strong as our dependence on God. This is why prayer can never be just a one-sided want or wish list we rattle off. True prayer is rooted in giving adoration, confession of sin, giving thanks, listening to him speak, remembering his sacrifice for us, asking for the salvation of others and to meet their needs as well as our own, and listening to what he would have us do.
Submission- Call it "biblical Tebowing". One of the most common words that is translated as worship means to bow and kiss. This was usually used to describe showing reverence or fear to a king. Singing about falling on your knees and actually doing it can be a powerful way to understand God's greatness and express our humility and willingness to acknowledge our sinfulness.
Adoration, Confession, Assurance, Thanksgiving, Instruction, Communion, Petition and Intercession, Charge
NEVER FIGHT ALONE
As much as we love movies about Rambo or Jason Bourne, there is no such thing as a one man army. Anyone who attempts to fight this fight alone is doomed and damned. God himself is a community of Father, Son and Spirit. He has always worked through groups of people to accomplish his will. Jesus had his disciples. Paul had Timothy. We have the Church. The Church is never going to be perfect this side of eternity but it is still the home base he has set up for us to go to be equipped, trained, encouraged, patched up and sent back out. While going to Church is not the only form of worship, being part of one is essential to fully worshipping. There were those in the church that tried this and Peter encouraged them, "24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
WE ARE NOT ALONE
I absolutely hate to limit this last part so short but I can barely scratch the surface of this next point. We have not been left alone in this war. We have been given the Holy Spirit within us. It is through His power at work that we can overcome our own brokenness and the brokenness of the world. What a comfort, to know that the same power that was at work within Christ Jesus' life, ministry, battle on the cross and resurrection from the grave is at work within us. I CANNOT SAY THAT STRONGLY ENOUGH!!!!!!!
We are not alone and we are not helpless. This war is already won. Satan is defeated and God rules and reigns. He is coming again and we eagerly anticipate His making all things right. He has given us the weapons to bring Him glory here on earth and the win the battles within and without.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”
NUTS AND BOLTS FOR WORSHIP LEADERS
Worship Leaders, help men fight.
key selection (no lower than A, Seldom higher than D-E)
avoid feminine or sexually erotic language (intoxicating)
represent them from the platform (masculine)
remind them of their King, enemy, and cause, and hope
model expression and break stereotypes (not okay to cry, always right, etc)
let them know their kids and spouse are watching (you will become their pattern)
Jesus is in their midst
draw metaphors that men understand (sports, outdoors, media, etc)
Remind them that God is both loving and to be feared