I'll say this again in case you missed it before. The first 7 or so of my posts are going to be posts I did with the Ignite group. I'm sure a lot have you have already read this, but check it again if you like. Also, I forgot to give props in my last post. The definition of worship that I posted comes from a book by Gerrit Gustafson called "The Adventure of Worship". It's got a lot of, let us say interesting, ideas; some of which I agree with and some of which I disagree with. It is a very good book though.
OK. I’m going to be very blunt. I hope you don’t get offended when I tell you this, but I’m not going to apologize. You have to face the music and unfortunately I’m the one that has to break it to you. We’ve all been conned into thinking we are a little better than we really are. Don’t get me wrong, we have power. We have A LOT of power. But we forget where that power comes from sometimes. We get into this attitude that says, “If my circumstances aren’t just right, I’m going to piss and moan about it.” So I’m here to put you in your place with four words.
Dude, you’re a tool.
Yep, I said it. All of you are tools.
It’s ok, though. I’m one too and proud of it. Obviously, I mean a tool like a hammer or saw or something like that. What did you think I meant?
Yes, we are all instruments in God’s gargantuan orchestra that is being played in the biggest arena ever made: the Universe. This is what we have to remember when we don’t feel like worshiping. (Remember, Cain just did it out of obligation too.) We have the greatest gig in all of creation. We are a part of God’s band!
But, I feel a great need to tell you to stop thinking of your instrument (whether it’s a keyboard, guitar, soundboard, sermon, vocal, whatever) as something that makes cool sounds. It’s time to put that thinking behind us. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the first step. The next is to start thinking of your instrument as something that makes prayers. Errrr… What?
Ya, I know it’s weird, but before I lose you let me tell you a secret. God is fluent in the language of music. Not too many people know that. He can understand what we mean when we play even if we don’t understand what we mean when we play. I met a guy once who understood what it meant to pray with your instrument. He would strum a chord, and begin weeping. He came to my church once and played with us. I swear, it was as if the Holy Spirit just flowed from his guitar. That guy was one of God’s instruments in turning a Southern Baptist church into a Pentecostal church. Not literally, but it was awesome. It was the beginning of a worship revival at my church, and I can honestly say that there are probably a total of 0 other Baptist churches to this day that have people run down the aisles to the altar in complete abandon to the Spirit. Did I hear someone say “undignified?” Oh, it was you King David. Yes, you will be more undignified than this, you dancer you. (We will be looking at this story soon. Maybe my favorite worship experience in the Bible.)
I also want you all to get into the frame of mind that when you play your instruments, demons FLEE. I mean, when you play, they are jumping out the windows looking for cover. Our instruments are weapons, double- edged swords as a matter of fact and if you get in our way….well you just can’t get in our way. We have to take back our holy places. Sometimes we allow filth and evil in and do not realize it. Here’s a story about that very thing. It’s recorded in 2 Chronicles 29-30.
Most of you probably know that the history of the Israelites is like a roller coaster ride. They have a great king, then a crappy king, then a crappier king, then an awesome king. Well, one of the crappier kings was a man by the name of Ahaz. He got down in the dumps one day and decided to destroy some of the “articles of the house of God” and he closed God’s temple. He also set up altars to other gods. God wasn’t pleased.
When Ahaz died, his son Hezekiah took over. Hezekiah was an awesome king. “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. Then he brought in the priests and the Levites (That’s us!), and gathered them in the East Square, and said to them: “Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.” (2 Chron. 29:3-5) Sanctification is a cleansing process and means “to set apart for the purposes of God.” So they did this and then had a party! This is totally cool. Check it.
He took the rulers of the city and some offerings to the temple. “And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals (aww junk), with stringed instruments (uh-oh), and with harps (no he didn’t!)… Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer the burnt offering on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord also began, with the trumpets and with the instruments of David king of Israel. So all the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had finished offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped…So they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped. (2 Chron 29:25-30)
Now I don’t know this for sure, but I bet that song they sang during that offering wasn’t “Beulah Land”. (If you have never attended an old school southern baptist church, you may not know what this song is, but it’s probably the most boring song ever.) How cool would it have been to be a part of that worship team. Those folks took back their temple and worshiped!
Wholeheartedly worshiped.
I’m not saying that the churches that we ourselves attend are in need of sanctification. They may or may not be. The temple of God today is our bodies, so we have to be sanctified in spirit, soul, mind, and body, and this isn’t something that just happens once, but it has to happen daily.
Here is a tough pill to swallow: there are things that God CAN’T do. One such thing is that He cannot coexist with evil. It’s time we use our instruments as weapons as well as instruments of prayers and cleanse our bodies as well as our places of worship.
So I’ll say it again….
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You’re a tool.
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