Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
Those of us who are saved worship God. But how many of us worship Him the way He requires us to worship Him? According the scripture, God clearly wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
To worship in spirit, we must stay connected to The Holy Spirit through prayer and communion with Him. To worship Him in Truth, we must know the truth. To know the truth, we must read His Word and Pray daily so He may reveal to us the truth we need to worship Him.
Wow! Are you showing up on Sundays to sing, praise and worship God after a week of not reading the bible, listening to or talking to God? If so, you are not the kind of worshipper God is looking for.
Today, make a commitment to stay connected to The Holy Spirit through prayer, and to know His truth by reading God's Word. Otherwise, your worship is worthless and fruitless.
SCRIPTURE: Matt 9:37-38 He said to His disciples, "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord Who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields."
OBSERVATION: Jesus was speaking to believers. To men he had chosen to do His work. Today, it would be you and me - pastors and leaders. What He's telling us is that we need more of US to do His work. We should be praying that God will send more people like us to lead the lost to Him. Yet, I meet with pastors all the time who are reluctant to partner with other local churches. Many of them view other churches as threats to their own success. It's sad, but it's real.
APPLICATION: Today, when I pray for more people to work the fields, I will also pray for the pastors who feel threatened by them.
PRAYER: Father, you are so great and awesome! I am honored that You would call me to help bring more people to know You. May I never take that task lightly. I also ask that You give me the right words to say to the many pastors I encounter and help them begin seeing other pastors as allies. My prayer is that we can all work together as one to do what You have called us to do; work the fields and bring more people to You! I love You, God. I can't imagine my life without You in the driver's seat. Thank you for the many blessings in my life. I am so unworthy and yet so grateful. Amen.
OBSERVATION: It is so clear here that God wants us to have wisdom, knowledge and discernment. 13 times in 12 verses, He mentions wisdom, understanding, knowledge or common sense. But it is also clear that we must listen for it. Ask for it. Seek it. Verses 1 thru 4 tell us that we should seek it. Verses 5-11 tells us what the reward is when we do. If we seek wisdom, we will understand fear; he will be our shield and protector; our hearts will change (v10) and we will make wise choices. WOW!!
APPLICATION: So often, I find myself questioning things and becoming frustrated with things and people that I don't understand. I often look into the issue to find the answer. But this verse tells me I only need to ask God for understanding of what's going on in the spiritual realm and that He will not only provide it, but will change my heart towards these things by giving me a deeper knowledge of the situation. That is so HUGE in the world of ministry. To have intimate knowledge and discernment of what’s happening, in all situations, the spiritual realm.
PRAYER: God, forgive me for trying to find the answers to life's problems on my own. Today, I beg you for more knowledge about the things that are holding me back. Give me more discernment in the areas I'm lacking insight. Help me to better understand the obstacles I face before I start trying to fix them. Lord, I also want to know YOU more and more every day. Reveal Yourself to me each day so that I may understand what is right, just and fair. Thank You for Your many blessings on my life. You are AWESOME!! –Amen.
Lately, a dear friend, Pastor Rodney Fouts of North Church in Edmond, OK, has been teaching on changing your life. I’ve especially enjoyed his take on friendships and choosing your friends carefully. I’ve always kept my friendships to a minimum and believe it’s one of the main reasons God has blessed me with the best friends I could ever ask for. The World would have us believe that you keep your friends close and your enemies closer. But I truly believe that Jesus taught us that you pick your friends with careful intention, while loving everyone else through acts of service. If that premise has ever been challenged, it was 100% confirmed for me when I received the following letter.
As worship leaders, it's important that we understand the power of praise. Which is why I'm telling you that you MUST read this book. At least the first chapter.
I know it may make me seem out of touch by saying my favorite book is a book older than most of you reading this, but this book changed my life! I've recently re-discovered it and once again, it's had a profound affect on my life. POWER IN PRAISE has sold over 3 million copies for a reason. It's a book that can change your life.
Giving God all praise in all things - through the good and the bad - is a discipline we all need to develop and continue developing throughout our entire lives. Please, read this book and you'll discover even more Power in Praise!
In the ministry, being attacked and criticized is nothing
new. Jesus himself experienced it over and over. But in recent years, it
appears we have begun a trend in overlooking the "turn the other cheek" philosophy
our Savior promoted. Recently, I have heard some of the most well-known pastors
and worship leaders attack their enemies. Many of these pastors have even gone
as far as to embarrass the offender via their public platform.Read on:
Lessons I've Learned from People I Dislike - Pt. One
Leading worship since the age of 16 has made me somewhat
qualified to blog on the topic of hateful and hurtful people. I know lead
pastors have their share of haters who love to tear them apart, but the music
side of any ministry also gets its share of complaints. And even though I often
have thoughts of writing a blog that would rip these people apart, I'm pretty
sure God would rather me share a few things I've learned over the years. So
here are some lessons from those who's goal in life is to bring every ministry
under their submission through dissension and ill-willed attacks. Read on....
I had to give a shout out and write a note about how awesome
it was this week to lead worship with a band made up of members with an average
age of 17 years old. Man, was I skeptical going in. But at the first rehearsal,
I realized God was doing something special in the lives of these kids
In 1998, while living in Seattle, I was a part of a
nationwide study that looked into commonly-used marketing phrases and their
effectiveness on the average consumer. We found that many of the words
and phrases used to sell an idea or a product were now simply ineffective.We found the same to be true in a more recent study, done in 2008.
Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. 1John 4:4
…all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. Rom 8:28
For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is
the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 1John 5:4
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for
welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah
29:11
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present
darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
These verses are a staple in my daily walk as a worshiper, as a
minister, as leader and as a husband. Read on about some true stories that illustrate how and when I call upon God’s
word to set me on the right path.
The Department of Revenue stole from us, and lied about it!
As most of you know, in addition to running this ministry, leading worship and consulting churches, I also run a group of 6 radio stations in Columbia, SC.I have been in the radio business since the age of 12, and other than ministry, I've never done anything else.In such a secular industry, I've seen it all. From drugs, sex and Rock-n-Roll, there's not much I haven't experienced when it comes to human behavior. And in 45 years of life, I've never seen what I saw yesterday. Read on....
In my secular job, Broadcasting, I work every day with research. Music research, audience research and demographical research. Understanding the audience consumes most of my days at the office. With everything around us changing so rapidly, it's important that we understand our product, but more importantly, we need to understand the audience. In my role as a Worship Leader and coach, I find myself needing to make decisions based on the same criteria as I do in radio - who is my audience, and what do they need to hear or see in order to move in a positive direction? Read on...
Is it just me, or would the world be a better place if I were the only one living in it? Of course I'm being ridiculous, but I'm so sick of having to endure people who
seem to take offense to every subject concerning the church.I've lost count of the number of times I've heard someone say, "that offends me." Is there any doubt that most of those who get offended are the same ones
who never find a permanent church home. The same ones who fight the system. The same ones who complain about the worship, the pastor, the youth team. You know the type.
Sure, we say we love our pastor. But to what extent? To love someone, you must first get to know them. And today, I'm surprised at how many worship leaders (and other church leaders) really don't know their pastor. In order for the church to grow and do what it was called to do - lead the lost to Christ - we must first do three things concerning our pastor. Read on...
What a week! As a Worship Leader, consultant, husband and active member of the community, I am always amazed at how much the human body and brain can handle without crashing. Of course, it's that same workload and busy schedule that makes me realize just how easy it is to leave very little room for quality time with God. Shame on me. Read on...
Whether you are a worship leader, a member of a worship team, pastor or just a reader of this BLOG, you are called to a life of Holiness. I heard our Youth Pastor, J.D. Richards say recently, "Righteousness is not achieved through the subtraction of sin, but through the addition of Godliness." I love that and I have whittled it down to "righteousness is achieved through addition, not subtraction." I hope J.D. doesn't mind me taking that liberty.
I'd like to say that I came up with the phrase Facedown Worship, but it's from the book Facedown by Matt Redman. And while he may have coined it, the phrase clearly describes the type of worship we all need to experience and practice.
That topic sounds like a mistake, doesn't it? One might tend to believe that if you're worshipping, you are obviously spending time with God. However, we often confuse our service to God with our time for God. And while the lines can be blurred and vague, there's a huge difference between the two.
