Psalm 30

Today’s reading is a reminder that we do not rely on our riches. That is that our money or achievements/accomplishments are not our source of salvation or bright future, but instead it is Jesus and His word that should be more than enough for us.  Many time our riches can easily become idols in our life and there fore we choose to disregard the fact that our future does not rely on our $ or skills but on God alone.

6-7 When things were going great

I crowed, “I’ve got it made.

I’m God’s favorite.

He made me king of the mountain.”

Then you looked the other way

and I fell to pieces. (The Message)

To rely on something and not Jesus as a means of security/success is again “idolatry” which is sin. In this case David acknowledged that he was sinning by relying on his wealth and ruling position (as a king over Israel) and God “hid” his “face” from him. David finally repents and thanks God for restoring relationship w/him: “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing”. Again, this is another example of what makes PraiseWorship so intimate/genuine and that would be repentance, which is what God is looking for b/c in doing so we are recognizing the perfect sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. That it is only through His blood that we have access to salvation.

Something good to think about today as worship directors/leaders would be to ask ourselves if we are relying too much on what we have and and not on who God is or what the Cross signifies God’s ministry of praise and worship. The talent God has given us is not the essence of our worship but it is Christ and His Spirit.

Psalm 86 reminds us that God’s revelation will cause people to leave their gods and come to worship Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:6), b/c He is the maker of all the nations: “all the nations you have made”, and He is unlike any other god. He also gives God praise for delivering him from an extremely painful situation: “band of ruthless men seeks my life”. And although the miracle has not yet occurred he knows that it will and thanks God b/c he really does not deserve to be rescued. He is a sinner in need of a true devotion to God, which is why he says: “teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name”.

What I like here is that this section of the psalm reminds us that when God rescues us we ought to see this deliverance as a mean to testify that it wasn’t by our strength but “because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me”.

So when it comes to worship ministry and the necessities involved, do you boast on your skills? Band members? Equipment? According to this psalm we are to recognize that what we have is all thanks to God’s “merciful, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”.  

Psalm 139, I think this is one Psalm that a lot of us maybe needed to hear today. It’s a scripture that reminds us that to God there are no surprises on any situation that we may be facing “in your book were written, every one of them the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them”…

One way we can apply this scripture to the worship ministry is in trying our best to believe and know that God is aware what list of songs we will have planed out: “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether”. I say this because I understand how frustrating this assignment can get, especially when you are planting a church and you do not yet have an entire band filling every instrument that we find necessary and building library of songs. But then again God’s Spirit reminds us here that no matter what we are lacking musically, if we seek Him (as the psalmist is doing through this scripture) His Spirit (“presence”) will always be w/us: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?…If I say “surely the darkness shall cover me  and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you”. And having His Spirit every time we minister is what is VITALLY IMPORTANT….W/out God’s Spirit we have no direction and our worship becomes no longer sincere (not Christ centered). Remember God’s Spirit reveals Jesus to the hearts and reminds us that we need Him not He needing us (Jn. 15:26).

As an ending note, meditate on last verses and cry out to God in desperation as David did through this Psalm: “search me, O God and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts, And see if there be any grievous way in me and lead me in the way everlasting….And remember: you cannot run away from God.

In reviewing this Psalm I’ve come to understand even more the effects of sin in our singing to Jesus (worship). The Psalm states: “O Lord open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise”, David comes to understand that sin is effecting his singing (worship) to God and causing him a great level of “bloodguiltiness” to the point that he is having a difficult time singing straight from his heart the greatness of God (Jesus). And so he is asking for forgiveness, which in this setting is equivalent to the verb “open”, because by being forgiven David can now “open his lips” and really worship God. David knows he does not deserve to be forgiven but yet pleads to God because he knows that He is “abundant in mercy”….

This Psalm continues teach us that living a religious Christianity life style will not give us access to God’s own heart in our worship. Instead, what will make our worship real is the assurance that His Spirit is operating in us in that we are recognize our need of Jesus. That in our worship we enter God’s presence “broken”, meaning that we acknowledge that we do not by any means deserve to enter his presence, that it is not the style of music or the fact that we attend church meeting that will make our worship genuine but that it is Christ’s blood, which signifies forgiveness, that will allow our “tongues to sing ALOUD” of His “righteousness in declaring His praise”. And so it is through this redemption, which has made us “whiter than snow” that now causes us to enter “His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise” (Psalm 100:1) because Jesus has become not just a character in our lives but as David states in this Psalm “God of my salvation”.

Continuing from last post on quietness, I have found in the bible that there are times when we are to be still and keep silence in our worship. Habakkuk 2:20: But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” Zechariah 2:13 “ be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”
So during your worship time remember that there will be times when you must be gentle and all you have to do to entertain Gods presence is play/sing gently/quietly. Especially when you are trying to perceive His guidance/response, as was the case with the prophet Elijah who was in desperate need of a response from God.
1 Kings 19:11-13 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
This scripture once again reminds us of that there is strength in quietness; Isaiah 30:15, NIV. “In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength.”…So try worshiping quietly with stillness and see for yourself the impact it will have in your relationship with Christ.

Last night I went to the piano rooms in ECU and played there with the intention to build some music creativeness. However, I noticed that creativity was not happening and that I was pretty much stuck on the same old chord sequences…dissatisfied with what I was playing I just wanted to leave the building feeling disappointed…

Nevertheless, as I was about to leave I was reminded to just use that alone time to worship but again the chord progressions were just too boring for my ears. But then the Spirit got my attention and reminded me to play quietly/softly/gently, pretty much telling me to be still and that my taste is not what was important but what the Father wanted to hear. And so I played gently and it was amazing…the whole time I was being reminded of a statement I had heard a while back saying “entertaining His presence”….so how can I relate this to the Bible? I hope to do so soon.

So today it hit me that we are only two weeks away from our next service and that’s pretty crazy b/c I feel like we just had our first one…But in our practice last week God’s Spirit reminded us of the following principle:

Psalm 149 (the Message)

1-4 Hallelujah! Sing to God a brand-new song,
praise him in the company of all who love him.
Let all Greenville celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion’s children exult in their King.
Let them praise his name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!

What’s the principle? It’s a celebration! February the 24^th 11am Dr. Unks Oasis: it’s a party, a fiesta, an invitation to join a multitude of people gathered to glorify the Creator of the universe. ….And the beauty of this section of the psalm is that it tells the worship band “strike up the band and make great music!” ….

So does the place/setting matter? Will God love you more if you worship Him in a million dollar church building? Is there an appropriate building setting that Jesus requires for you to worship Him? 1^st of all, the fact that you are even choosing to worship Him, means that you are surrendering to His majesty (to who He is, what He represents).

According to scripture there is not a particular place, God says you can be anywhere; you could maybe have committed the biggest crime in your life and be LOADED with guilt but yet scripture says the following:

Psalm 139 (the Message)
7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,
You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

Worshiping Christ in spirit and truth means that “we are real and honest in our worship, knowing that even though we are not perfect, He is. (John 4:23)”.

I must ask the question, does it matter what place you choose to sing songs to/about Jesus?

Is there a difference when you sing to God in a church building oppose to in a bar?

Jesus once met with an adulterous woman who had had 5 husbands (wow) and the men she was currently living with wasn’t even her husband (I guess that makes him a lover, who was already married and maybe even had a family)…but yea she was caught up on the whole topic of worship and the story goes like this:

John 4:19-24

19-20 “Oh, so you’re a prophet! Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?”…Jesus answered “…but the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. 23-24“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.”

So does the place/setting matter? Will God love you more if you worship Him in a million dollar church building? Or in a building where there is a HUGE cross and white dove, and there is nothing but silence? ……To be continued