Tag: worship

The Greatest Tragedy


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I discovered some time ago that the God I serve is not an external God, but an internal one. He is not a God that is way up there in an unreachable place, but is actually a God that sticks closer than a brother. I will go to church, because I am called to be in fellowship with others, but whatever happens or not in church will not affect my relationship with God because, I have access to Him in my secret place.

I will read books about Him, but if somebody steals my books or if they get burned in a fire I will not be moved because He is in my heart. You can take my Christian Gospel CDs, you can even take my Bible and throw me on an island to die; but still, even as weak as I am, I am sure that the God I serve will never leave me nor forsake me. In that I am so, so glad that my God is not an external God, but an internal one.

And that is precisely the point of this small message today; external things are surely encouraging, but if they are the foundation of our faith, God helps us when things around us are not so great, when we move to a hometown where the local churches do not have that powerful Sundays Service, when the music is far from the “style” we are use to, when the marriage seems at the end of the road, when the kids are acting crazy, when the preacher don’t hoop and holler like the ones we grew up with and worst of, when persecution hit our land.

Do you Know God? Just not any God, do you know the God I serve through His Son Jesus Christ? Know this, He is not an external God; you don’t really need to add anything to HIM. He does not need any assistance to be God. His majestic presence is available to us in our secret places. Knowing HIM is the only thing that will keep you alive through sickness, through tragedy, through divorces, through craziness, through foolishness and through every weapon in hell that is formed against you!

The greatest tragedy, the greatest sin and the greatest atrocity is to refuse to know the One that loves us the most, the One that offers the greater hope, the One that guarantees a prosperous future better than whatever we can ever desire for ourselves, the only One that can save us and the only One that can heal us. He is the Great I am; He is everything and infinitely more.

The Man of God


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The brother came to me to thank me for leading worship. I answered that I was glad that the people received it, because I did not know what to expect. The brother told me, “we are not supposed to know what to expect, the Holy Ghost should lead us.” I responded, “Thank you brother!”

          We should prepare, as pastors and ministers, to preach God’s Word. We need to pray and study hard. Musicians and singers, we need to pray and rehearse the music God has given us to minister to others. However, as we gather together, we must not only submit to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, but we must be humble enough to know that if God is not in it, we are truly wasting our time. For the Bible tells us,

 It shall come to pass in that day

That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder,

And his yoke from your neck,

And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing Isaiah 10:27 (NKJV)

          Without the anointing, we are wasting our time as ministers because there is no life-changing power. Worship in your secret place, pray, ask the Lord, seek His face, press on, study and consume yourself with HIM. After this, learn how to get out of the way and let HIM do whatever HE wants. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 gives us a powerful formula,

 13 indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying:

“For He is good,

For His mercy endures forever,”[a]

that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, 14 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. (NKJV)

 These two verses give us a powerful formula indeed; a formula that is designed to bring the glory of God.

  1. A united Worship Team that spoke through songs and instruments.

  2. They sang songs that focused on communicating the following:

    A. The great works of God (Praise)

    B. Thanksgiving

    C. The character of God as a good and merciful God

  3. Ministers who recognize the service is no longer in their hands, but in the Lord’s. Verse 14 tells us, “so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.” (NKJV)

In our days, the house or the temple of the Holy Spirit is you and I. We have what these Old Testament folks wanted. Hebrews 11:39-40 tells us,

39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. (NKJV)

          But today’s days there is too much focus on, “The Man of God.” The problem with focusing on men is that they can’t deliver; only God can change your life. Man can give you a nice building, professional musicians and a whole lot of hype, but he can’t save you or your family.

          Our routine is sickening; the same man or woman preaches and teaches the Word Sunday after Sunday; the same Worship Leader “leads” the people into worship, the same people pray the same songs (New spontaneous songs are almost nonexistent) and the same order of service. It becomes a true tragedy when folks get used to this system. In the United States we basically have four kinds of churches: traditional white, Traditional black, charismatic black and charismatic white. Each group sounds the same within itself. This must change; this will change before the coming of the Lord!

 

 

Everything Gets Old


Lost-interest

 

Everything gets old after while. The new car will lose the new car smell. That new pair of Jordan’s will get some scratches on it, they will really get old when the new pair of Jordan’s hits the market. That iPhone that you can’t seem to be able to take your hands off will be a thing of the past three months later when the new design is introduced. That girl friend will not be as pretty after marriage. Your husband’s six-pack will turn into a gallon. That job that was so exciting in the beginning, but now you can do with your eyes closed, yes, that one will get old to.

      The list does not stop here; the reality is that everything gets old after while. That is indeed a Biblical principle; Ecclesiastes 1:1 tells us,

“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; 
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” (NKJV)

 

      The man that gave life to these words was not a poor man or a man who did not have access to education or great life experiences. The man who wrote these words was the great Salomon. Salomon had everything, he was king of Israel during the best times of this great nation, and Salomon married whomever he wanted. He was surrounded with beauty, fame, riches and an unmatched wisdom. Nevertheless, this man concluded that, all is vanity.

      This article may come across as depressing and hopeless, but is really describing the condition of a life where Jesus is not the center.

      One of the things I am learning is that the center of our lives can’t ever be empty. Something will always be there occupying that space. When that center is not Jesus then an idol is.

      When an idol is at the center of our lives then we have embrace the process of self-destruction and not the abundant life that can only be successfully provided by Jesus. Removing Christ from the center is the greatest tragedy in the history of humanity. Wherever Christ is not embrace as a King, Savior and Lord death reign.

      In the New Testament we have a graphic example of a human heart without Christ. In John chapter four we see the story of the Samaritan woman,

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13-14 (NKJV)

      The only thing that will never get old is Christ, he said, “…whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.” In John 6:35 Jesus takes this thing further as he declares,

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (NKJV)

 

      Jesus is giving us spiritual principles; in Him we will never be spiritually thirsty or hungry. Beloved, Jesus is the hope of this world. I think that many of us are tired of church’s rituals and man made religion. Our church gatherings are also getting old. We are not doing a good job expressing the awesomeness of Christ in our gathering. But I encourage you to be inspired by the Samaritan Woman. Her encounter with Christ, transformed her, and her community.