Worship

It's my first worship practice of the year. Coming together with the team is always awesome. More than the music, more than playing together, more than anything else it's about the heart of worship. Worship is not music, and good music doesn't translate into good worship. I'd like to say humbly that I'm still learning this, and the truths that I have learned to be reminded constantly.

There is so much to worship. The greatest worshipers are not the people who stand on stage every week leading the congregation into worship. It's not the most professional musicians, not the most anointed worship leader, not the best vocalist. The greatest worshipers are Christians whose hearts are after God. And everything else we do flows from this heart of worship, and it has to; it's a must, because if we don't do it out of our worship and love for God, it is just religion -- man's self effort to reach God.

A lot of times we give a lot of 'taglines' and try to encourage one another to be united in heart, to pray more, to be in right attitude, to do this, do that, etc etc, but change will only come for the individual who allows the love of God to saturate and fill him.

James 3:13-17 says that the wisdom that births forth from bitter envy and self-seeking ambitions is earthly, sensual and demonic; but wisdom that is from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. These verses have spoken to me many times and continues to speak more and more each time, deeper each time. When we have our own agendas, selfish ambitions and our focus and reasons of doing ministry is not about God and only God, we are using our own strength, wisdom and resources to do spiritual things. But you can only do spiritual things using spiritual wisdom -- which is from above. And notice the qualities of the wisdom from above? It's all qualities that comes from the heart. It doesn't say about qualities that develop from diligence or discipline or human efforts. They are the fruit from being connected with God and staying connected.

Otherwise, how are you going to be willing to yield all the time? Would you yield to someone who is hostile and want his way all the time? Will you be willing to humble yourself? How are you going to be impartial to everyone? Surely you like some people more than others. What does it mean to be pure and to keep ourselves pure? In this age of media, popular culture is the norm, but what is norm doesn't mean it's right. How do you keep yourself pure without being ignorant? And how are we ever without hypocrisy? How many times have we come to contradict ourselves and set double standards on others? How will we ever have this wisdom that is from above if it's not because God gave us the grace to receive them? Grace to the undeserved -- us.

Time is not our friend. I don't know about you, but I always feel that years come by and pass faster and faster every year, and every year we tell ourselves that we ought to do more of this and more of that, we should achieve this and that by when. Well, if you've talking about losing weight and setting a target to reach your desired weight by a certain time, you can make a goal like that. But many times, I realised that it's almost impossible to tell yourself that you'd like to reach a certain stage in your spiritual ministry. If you have reached there by setting a goal and worked towards it, I congratulate you. But as for me, I realised that it's not just a resolution, not just a commitment, not just a song that says "I surrender all to You", not something that you can 'work' towards; it's a covenant between God and you that says that "I know I can't do it Lord, and I really need You, let Your grace help me." It's a covenant that doesn't back out even when things don't seem to go the way we want. It's a covenant that doesn't need your qualification or ability, but one that is purely by His grace. It's a covenant that doesn't have place for a plan B, but of unrelenting faith and trust on the One who will fulfil His promise. (After all, it's His promise, so what are we worrying about?)

Lord, bring us back to the heart of worship where it's all about You, and none about us.