Day 5 - True Worship Changes Us

[fmckinnon]

Today is the final day of Week 1.
The lesson is entitled "True Worship Changes Us"

Isn't it fitting that we conclude this week in our Daily Surrender, asking God to "show up and show out" in our weekend services?

Share your thoughts on today's lesson, and the First Week overall.

[Klampert]

This was an interesting section today.
Hoonestly Fred's little blurb threw me off because I was expecting something different. Note to self do devotional and then read Fred's blurb.

I think every time we enter into a worship setting we need to come with the expectation that we will be affected by Christ.

However there is a little pet peeve I have with the verbage "I hope God shows up" or "lets pray God shows up"

He was is and an is to come. He was in the church building before you turned the lights on and he is with us daily.

We are affected by him when we worship but we don't always get that warm and fuzzy feeling.

We have to be careful not to walk out of worship and go "man...God almost showed up" or "we almost had it"

What is it...when we praise the name of jesus demons shudder.

Bible says where two or more are gathered He is in our midst.

There are times as worship leaders that we think we aren't effective.

We are effective when we are faithful. God does the rest.

A song that I always come back to is Facedown by Matt redman.
It is simple and it expresses humility and reverence. Coming before the king not because we want to get something out of it,but because He is worthy.
Getting effected by it is just an awesome by product.

these words really speak to the true heart of worship.

Welcomed in to the courts of the King
I've been ushered in to Your presence
Lord, I stand on Your merciful ground
Yet with every step tread with reverence

And I'll fall facedown
As Your glory shines around
Yes, I'll fall facedown
As Your glory shines around

Who is there in the heavens like You?
And upon the earth, who's Your equal?
You are far above, You're the highest of heights
We are bowing down to exalt You

So let Your glory shine around
Let Your glory shine around
King of glory, here be found
King of glory

that last part is an awesome prayer to pray every time we come to lead worship

[fmckinnon]

Joel,
You are so right ... I think when we hear an expression like "God showed up", we're more referring to his "manifest" presence - not so much His "omnipresence", but his "revealed" presence ... at least, that's what I always mean.

[ErikaMichelle]

Joel, you must have gotten in my head this afternoon b/c that is just what I was going to post. . . So you said it better than I ever could have so all I will say is "Ditto!!"

Isaiah 6 hit me today. I was immediately brought to a place of reverence as I read that chapter today. Our unholiness is always exposed when we are in the true light of God's supreme holiness . . . BUT . . . Our Great King does not focus on those things. It is almost as if He says, "All have sinned and come short of my glory. You are forgiven, now get over it and let's create something together FOR my glory".

If we stay focused on our sin, on our unholiness, the Lord cannot move through us. We have been forgiven, the old nature is dead and we are alive in Christ. If that can be our focus in our times of corporate worship, how mightily the Lord will manifest His presence. When in the unity of the faith we move toward one goal - Glorifying the Lord!!!

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

Okay - I'm having problems today. I've typed this three times and it logged me out and it was really good. So I will try to recreate it. I am copying it this time before I post.

Isaiah 6: We are forgiven if we ask for forgiveness. We ask and He forgives! We are the ones who then create the problem. We ask for forgiveness - He forgives us - then we hold on to that sin or problem. We need to realize that when God forgives - He then forgets, if we ask with repentence. Then we need to learn to let go of the sin or problem.

I like the part of asking God to "show up" at our services. I agree that God is always there and we really don't need to ask. But our human side sees it more clearly if we put it into words. When we ask God to "show up" we are preparing our hearts for worship, and hopefully that will spill over everyone else.

Music speaks to me in a distinctive way. I love to sing a song that tells something. One of the songs that means a lot to me is Matt Redmann's "When the Music Fades. When everything else is taken away and you stand before God what will God see in your heart??? Worship is all about Him - not us.

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless your heart

I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worhip
And it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus ;)

[MidlandFlute]

Okay - I'm having problems today. I've typed this three times and it logged me out and it was really good. So I will try to recreate it. I am copying it this time before I post.

Isaiah 6: We are forgiven if we ask for forgiveness. We ask and He forgives! We are the ones who then create the problem. We ask for forgiveness - He forgives us - then we hold on to that sin or problem. We need to realize that when God forgives - He then forgets, if we ask with repentence. Then we need to learn to let go of the sin or problem.

I like the part of asking God to "show up" at our services. I agree that God is always there and we really don't need to ask. But our human side sees it more clearly if we put it into words. When we ask God to "show up" we are preparing our hearts for worship, and hopefully that will spill over everyone else.

Music speaks to me in a distinctive way. I love to sing a song that tells something. One of the songs that means a lot to me is Matt Redmann's "When the Music Fades. When everything else is taken away and you stand before God what will God see in your heart??? Worship is all about Him - not us.

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless your heart

I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worhip
And it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You, Jesus ;)

Thanks! I believe there is NOTHING as clear as When The Music Fades!
Thanks and what a way to end Week 1 of our study Pure Praise!:)

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

Well, it happened to me, too. I wrote 3 paragraphs, then it just disappeared.
So I'll try again. Maybe I wasn't suppposed to write what I wrote.

I am grateful to God for inspiring Dwayne Moore to write "Pure Praise," for leading The Worship Community to organize this group study, and for prompting all of you to contribute your insights, scriptures, prayers, praises, and tears. The book alone would have been profitable to me, but the added blogs and fellowship with new friends is making the study life-changing.

It is hard for me not to envy those of you who serve in churches where authentic worship is practiced. Many of us serve churches where most of the people think worship is either the music or the sermon. The concept of a 24/7 life altering worship is a foriegn concept. I believe God has put me where I am, partly so I can teach the church what genuine worship is, but first, I have to know what it is. (That's why I'm here.)
I know without a doubt that God is present in our services. I know He speaks to people, and that He changes hearts. So, even though there are rarely any bells and whistles, I know That God is there.

It seems that this is the day to post words to songs. I downloaded a song a while back, and I don't know who wrote it, or who sings it. I have never heard it anywhere else, but it has been going through my head all day.
It is called "Jesus In Me." The idea of it is, What will people say about me when I'm gone?

Will they say they saw Jesus in me?
Will they say I reflected His love and His mercy?
When I draw my last breath, and I sing my last word,
Will they say they saw Jesus
Did my life show them Jesus?
Will they say they saw Jesus in me?
I pray they saw Jesus in me.

Can I make a suggestion for the weekend?
Go back over each day's study, then that day's comments from us. I think it will help to reinforce what we have learned this week.
God bless.

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

I know why mine disappeared. I sometimes take too long to think about what I want to type and then it logs me out. So I'm trying to get into the habit of copying before I send. But I forgot again, and typed this so now I'm retyping once again.

Wannabe's song reminded me of a poem by Linda Ellis called "the Dash". We had used the poem for a church directory and with the author's permission I used the poem on a page with the picture of the lady who passed away. The poem talks about the dash between your birth year and your death year. What will people say about how your spent your dash?

Here are some websites:

http://www.lindaslyrics.com/thedashpoem.html

Here is a movie clip of her poem, with the words on the screen with music and pictures.

http://www.thedashmovie.com/linda/

Her poem was made into a song. I was having trouble downloading it but here it is in case you can get it.

http://www.lindaslyrics.com/The_Dash_Song.htm

Check out "The Dash" poem at the websites listed above.

[MandoRon]

I’ve really enjoyed the study so far. I feel like God is revealing a lot to me. Very little of what he's revealing seems to deal with “worship”, but it probably affects my ability to worship Him fully. Fred – thanks so much for putting all of this together.

I found the story of Isaiah interesting. People really can be touched while watching us worship. Before I read today’s study, I had read a friend of mine’s blog. He wrote about physical worship. http://codyknutson.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/physical-worship/ His post has the story (Youtube video) of Brian “Head” Welch (formerly of Korn). He saw people worshipping and waving their hands in the air, and figured they were either crazy or had something that he needed.

Now that’s not to say that we’re supposed to put on a show. The Bible is very clear about that. But our worship can be a witness to others, if our heart and motives are pure.

I also used a song in my daily praise… ”Majesty” by Lee McDerment has been on by mind a lot lately.

The chorus goes…

Holy, Holy. God Almighty. Majesty.
Holy, Holy. God Almighty. Christ the King.

[Wrapped in Jesus Love!]

Here is another song that depicts what worship really is all about!!!

I Can Only Imagine

Go to this website to see a really neat video with pictures, singing and lyrics.

http://www.andiesisle.com/icanonlyimagine4highspeed.html

[Rogenia]

True Worship Does Change People!
I can remember back to when I first started truly worshiping God in the spirit and truth; and a big change developed in my life. He changed me. I don’t know when it took place or the time; I just know that one day I woke up and did not think the same as I use to; did not talk the same as I use to; did not do or encounter things of the world like I use to; and (hallelujah) God was making and perfecting me over again. Many days I would pray and ask him to create a clean heart and if he has to use “old clay” but make me over and he did. Thank you Lord for what you have done in my life. Before entering this class; I thought I was looking for a way to praise him in song and hymn and as I continue to study - I realize that I have been worshiping and praising him all the time. What I am getting from here is His divine order and developing a deeper meaning of praise and worship. Everyday, I have been looking so forward to coming home and reading the posts and studying the lesson for the day. This has been a glorious first week for me.
Transformation takes place daily for the believer and Scripture tells us that we, too, need to undergo a transformation-a change, with God's help, from "the old man" to "the new man." No matter where you are at; there is still room for improvement. I believe that we can never ever be where God wants us to be; so that is why the Scripture tells us to meditate in his word daily seek his face continually. So that we may be "renewed in knowledge" and "created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” Colossians 3:9-10; Ephesians 4:22-24.); because of us falling short to the glory of God.
I have heard many times people saying or asking God to “show up and show out” along with me saying or asking the same thing. But today the Lord told me that my glory is within you. If you abide in me and I abide in you; you will see my glory. Even when it does not look like it, expect God to show up in your situation. We sometimes see ourselves as grasshoppers, when God says we are mighty men and women of valor! Get up and do what God says you can do! Leave room in your life for God to show up and show out. God wants us to look for Him in our situations. When what you have is not enough, it's just enough for God to use it and bless it! He's more than enough! So just know that he does not have to show up - he is always there. Rogenia

[Rogenia]

Joel, you must have gotten in my head this afternoon b/c that is just what I was going to post. . . So you said it better than I ever could have so all I will say is "Ditto!!"

Isaiah 6 hit me today. I was immediately brought to a place of reverence as I read that chapter today. Our unholiness is always exposed when we are in the true light of God's supreme holiness . . . BUT . . . Our Great King does not focus on those things. It is almost as if He says, "All have sinned and come short of my glory. You are forgiven, now get over it and let's create something together FOR my glory".

If we stay focused on our sin, on our unholiness, the Lord cannot move through us. We have been forgiven, the old nature is dead and we are alive in Christ. If that can be our focus in our times of corporate worship, how mightily the Lord will manifest His presence. When in the unity of the faith we move toward one goal - Glorifying the Lord!!!
I love this part of your quote. "If we stay focused on our sin, on our unholiness, the Lord cannot move through us. We have been forgiven, the old nature is dead and we are alive in Christ." I am forever telling people that God forgives us and throw it into a "sea of forgetfulness." So if he remembers no more - why should you? Also, we do not have to focused on our sins; all we have to do is ask for forgiveness. I also believe and say to people that God brings things to our remembrance so that we can ask for - forgiveness. Don't focus on sins - Jesus has taken it to the cross. focus on the heavenly things of God - so that we can produce the fruits of the spirits - which are not of sins (which is dead). Thank you for the quote. Rogenia

[Mike S]

This week of study has helped me to finally write down some thoughts that have been stacked away for some time.

Thinking back to some of the many times when worship went beyond connecting was refreshing. Adding to this thought of leading others toward those thin places encourages and helps in preparation.

I look forward to what is ahead.

[efrisch]

I'm late getting in tonight, and it seems to me that we're all pretty much in consensus today... which is not a bad thing!

The part of today's reading that really struck me was the section about Isaiah. The book talks about how Isaiah "saw the Lord" - what a powerful idea. Isn't that what we all hope for on Sunday... that the folks who are coming into our services would see the Lord!

My prayer for this weekend is that God would use all of us to reveal Himself on Sunday morning and that we would be back here on Monday refreshed and ready for another week!

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

What I think of as I look at this study, is that we are being given a blueprint for building a temple of praise.
First, the foundation has to be laid. Week 1 was about building the right foundation.
In the coming weeks, we will see the floor go down, the walls go up, and the roof go on.
We didn't start by building the roof; that will come later.( see Matthew 7:24-27)

So let's gather our tools, put on our hard hats and start building our temples!

[robert.adams]

In 2Chron 20, it is recorded that when the people heard God's word, they fell down. Jehosophat put his face right to the ground before God. And the worship leaders didn't just sing a song, they praised God very loudly. Our sanctuaries are fitted with all the comforts of home. We have comfortable seats, attractive decor, large screens with attractive graphics, and accomplished musicians playing and singing in front of the people. In this comfortable setting created with human hands, it's easy to loose sight of God, and loose sight of how awesome, how powerful, how fearful, mighty and yes how loving He is, in spite of our many faults. When is the last time we, with out congregations, put our faces to the ground, in holy fear and reverence of God? Are we too distant from God and His great works, that we are not sufficiently impressed? What is keeping our hearts from being drawn to God in a way that his closeness overwhelms us to the point that we are stricken with a humble worship and a boisterous cry of praise? I am praying over these questions, and invite you to join me.

[MidlandFlute]

[QUOTE= The book alone would have been profitable to me, but the added blogs and fellowship with new friends is making the study life-changing.

It is hard for me not to envy those of you who serve in churches where authentic worship is practiced. Many of us serve churches where most of the people think worship is either the music or the sermon. The concept of a 24/7 life altering worship is a foriegn concept. I believe God has put me where I am, partly so I can teach the church what genuine worship is, but first, I have to know what it is. (That's why I'm here.)
I know without a doubt that God is present in our services. I know He speaks to people, and that He changes hearts. So, even though there are rarely any bells and whistles, I know That God is there.

It seems that this is the day to post words to songs. I downloaded a song a while back, and I don't know who wrote it, or who sings it. I have never heard it anywhere else, but it has been going through my head all day.
It is called "Jesus In Me." The idea of it is, What will people say about me when I'm gone?

Will they say they saw Jesus in me?
Will they say I reflected His love and His mercy?
When I draw my last breath, and I sing my last word,
Will they say they saw Jesus
Did my life show them Jesus?
Will they say they saw Jesus in me?
I pray they saw Jesus in me.

Can I make a suggestion for the weekend?
Go back over each day's study, then that day's comments from us. I think it will help to reinforce what we have learned this week.
God bless.[/QUOTE]

Hey, Guys! I received my book Pure Praise late yesterday evening! Got up late this morning and just read through the First Five lessons in the book and realized I had not done my homework like I should. Now I read through all the posts again and realized how this thing about having Pure Hearts and being "sold out" to Jesus is a decision I must make day by day, week by week.
Gotta' get at those "Complete Surrenders" in each daily lesson! God help me to be faithful each day, and thanks again for your suggestion about reviewing each lesson and filling in all the blanks before going on to Week 2! Bye ALL--Gotta get at it! I'll try my best to do a better job at posting starting next week! Don Wortham

[Stillfreetosing]

so many times in my walk i have been amazed when God shows up.

The song that comes to mind that sums this days lesson is hero by bethany dillon..

You broke the silence
A break in the clouds
A ray of hope in the darkness

You dusted off the steeples
Places full of fear
Full of never-ending judgment

What is love without much risk?
You were a man of great sorrow
The world that You created
Kept you at a distance
You weren't recognizable

You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible
You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible
The impossible

You bridged the gap
You tore the veil
Almighty God in the flesh

All the plans and schemes
Against Your love would fail
In light of Your obedience

You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible
You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible
The impossible
The impossible
The impossible

A babe cries in the night
The earth shook in awe
The echo of a man's cries
The curse undone
The curse undone
Our hero has won

You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible
(The impossible)
You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible
(The impossible)
You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible
(The impossible)
You're the hero
We've been waiting for
You have done the impossible

[alangustin]

I really like Klampert's post, where he talks about God being here already. God doesn't need to "show up", we need to show up and make ourselves available to His presence... all the time - not just during the Sunday service.

God revealed Himself to me in a vision one time. It was soon after I returned to church after getting clean and sober. It lasted a split second, but I will never forget it.

Jesus was standing over me as I lay on an alter. A giant sword was in his hands and it was raised, point down directly over my chest. All behind Jesus was the most beautiful, psychedelic glory. That's the only way I can describe it. Multi-colored, flowing lines and shapes (without actually being lines and shapes) were all around him. I knew it was Him. It was just a quick flash. The image vanished before anything else happened.

I have sought God's face about this ever since, and all I hear is that Jesus is slaying my flesh. Some people I share this with look at me funny, others are amazed and tell me how blessed I am to have had a vision like that.

For all that You've done
I will thank You
For all that You're going to do
For all that You've promised
And all that You are
Is all that has carried me through
Jesus I thank You

[hisfirewithin]

I just have to say God "showed up and showed out" in ways I haven't seen in our church in a long time. This week's studies really gave me something fresh to work with my worship team in. It really dealt with me, and we definitely felt the difference in the dynamic of our service.

[Rahel]

For me also the part about Isaiah was one of the most precious this morning. Especially the sentence:
"When God's light of perfect holiness shines on us, it always exposes our unholiness."
Somebody here wrote that we need to let go our sin's when God Almighty forgives us through the blood of Jesus. And this is what I was thinking about too. How often when I recognize my unholiness do I really bow my knees before the blood and grace of Jesus Christ and the holiness of God Father and ask for forgiveness and simply be cleansed by grace, instead of making good promises to do better in the future. This attitude comes out of pride to keep things under control for myself, I want to do it.
Maybe it is only a german problem :) but this is something I watched in my own life and also in many others. Am I/ Are we able to really bow under God's holiness?