Defining Worship (Holland Davis)
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com, Web Site: www.assistnews.net Friday, March 5, 2004 WORSHIP LIFE Encouraging The Worship Life Of Every Believer By Holland Davis Special to ASSIST News Service COSTA MESA, CA (ANS) -- As a worshipper and as a worship leader, the subject of defining worship comes up quite often. I’m often asked – how do you define worship? In this edition of Worship Life, we’ll look at the subject of defining worship from a variety of different angles. BE BRIGHT! We know from scripture that we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1, 2). We also know that we were created to worship God, to live for His pleasure. (Revelation 4:11) Peter tells us that we are rescued from darkness and brought into His glorious light for the purpose of praising God. (1 Peter 2:9). So it is clear that we were created for the purpose of worshipping God, glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. In fact, one of the words used for worship is a Hebrew word that is translated “to be bright.” That means that it’s not appropriate to come into God’s presence all frustrated and depressed with life. We are to be “bright.” But what if I had a bad day and I don’t feel like being bright? Over the years I’ve had the distinct privilege of meeting many Christians who have had a tremendous salvation experience. Their life prior to believing into Christ was so dark and destructive, that their life after Christ is infused with contagious joy and unquenchable passion for God. Even in the midst of everyday frustrations or difficult trials they still have a brightness about them. Where does that come from? Nearly everyone I ask tells me the same thing – they are so amazed at God’s love for them that even when times are tough they can’t help but see how much better their life is today with Christ. They live in the righteousness, peace and joy of God’s kingdom. LOVING GOD IN EACH OTHER’S PRESENCE Jesus told us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. One pastor took this verse and applied it to worship saying that worship is loving God in each other’s presence and loving each other in God’s presence. I really like that definition of worship. Oftentimes in worship, I like to look around. It inspires me to worship God when I see people loving God. I remember a friend of mine invited a homeless man to our home Bible Study. As we began to pray for the man it became clear that he was not saved and possibly was being held captive against his will by demonic powers. After a lengthy time of prayer, God did a special work in his life and he became born again. Then he disappeared. A year later, he turned up in church – nicely dressed, speaking coherently, smiling and engaged to be married. His life was completely transformed by the power of the gospel. That morning as he worshipped, I could not sing – I just wept. Here was a guy that just a year previous was living on the street, no hope, no future and bound for destruction. Now, he was lifting up his hands in adoration to God. His worship inspired me in my love for God! John said it best when he said – we love Him because He first loved us. Even our love for one another is motivated by His love for us. He gives us the capacity to love one another by the working of His Spirit in and through us. WORSHIP IS SUNG PRAYER This is one interpretive key that has completely revolutionized my thinking and my practice as a congregational worship leader. I used to simply look at worship as that time when we would sing a few love songs to God or prepare our hearts for the Bible Study. Now I look at worship as the corporate expression of sung prayer. My role as a worship leader is to facilitate the expression of prayer that is emerging from the hearts of the people as they worship God. It changes the way I approach song selection. It changes how I approach worship leading. It changes my focus in worship. I now look at the time of worship as a grand orchestra with the Holy Spirit conducting and the congregation responding to the overtures of love from the Father. In teaching songwriters how to write worship songs, I often encourage them to begin singing their prayers to God. Through the songs that worship leaders choose, they give us language to express our love to God. This is one primary reason that we teach students in the School of Worship to be extremely careful not to teach songs that are unscriptural or unbiblical in terms of the practice they are encouraging. Songs are a powerful tool for teaching Biblical truth and we want worship leaders to be sure that the songs they introduce are giving language that will encourage a Biblical response in corporate worship. MY FAVORITE WORD FOR WORSHIP Of all the words that the Bible uses for worship, my favorite is the Greek word Proskuneo. It literally means to lean towards to kiss and it implies both passion and intimacy. That is what our worship is to be. It is to be fueled with passion for God. However, it is to be deeply intimate in its expression. Often we seek to have this deep level of intimacy in worship in the context of the gathered community, but I’m not sure that this is the most appropriate place. The most tender moments I enjoy with my wife will never be witnessed or experienced in a corporate setting. They only happen when we’re completely alone. So it is with our worship life. The most tender and intimate moments we enjoy with God will not occur in the corporate setting. They will only occur when we’re completely alone. Some of my most powerful worship songs will never be heard by anyone but God. Jesus would often withdraw Himself to be alone with His Abba Father. This is the place where intimacy is cultivated when we separate ourselves away from the distractions of the world to spend time in uninterrupted conversation with our God. I would encourage you to begin developing a secret life with God; times where you can be completely alone and uninterrupted. I would encourage you to sing your prayers to God and allow those deep things in your heart to come into the light of conversation with the Father. As you do, your worship life with God will be completely transformed as you discover the joy of knowing Jesus. In every heart is the deep yearning to meet with God. That deep persevering question that asks – when will I see God? When will I meet with God? And God in His love responds back to us – How about right here, right now? May God Richly Bless Your Day! Holland Davis Calvary Chapel Music Note: If you would like to run the Worship Life series as part of your magazine or news column, contact Holland Davis by e-mail at: generationpraise@yahoo.com. ** You may republish this story with proper attribution. Send this story to a friend. Check out Holland's Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/worshiplife
ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com, Web Site: www.assistnews.net Friday, March 5, 2004 WORSHIP LIFE Encouraging The Worship Life Of Every Believer By Holland Davis Special to ASSIST News Service COSTA MESA, CA (ANS) -- As a worshipper and as a worship leader, the subject of defining worship comes up quite often. I’m often asked – how do you define worship? In this edition of Worship Life, we’ll look at the subject of defining worship from a variety of different angles. BE BRIGHT! We know from scripture that we are to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1, 2). We also know that we were created to worship God, to live for His pleasure. (Revelation 4:11) Peter tells us that we are rescued from darkness and brought into His glorious light for the purpose of praising God. (1 Peter 2:9). So it is clear that we were created for the purpose of worshipping God, glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. In fact, one of the words used for worship is a Hebrew word that is translated “to be bright.” That means that it’s not appropriate to come into God’s presence all frustrated and depressed with life. We are to be “bright.” But what if I had a bad day and I don’t feel like being bright? Over the years I’ve had the distinct privilege of meeting many Christians who have had a tremendous salvation experience. Their life prior to believing into Christ was so dark and destructive, that their life after Christ is infused with contagious joy and unquenchable passion for God. Even in the midst of everyday frustrations or difficult trials they still have a brightness about them. Where does that come from? Nearly everyone I ask tells me the same thing – they are so amazed at God’s love for them that even when times are tough they can’t help but see how much better their life is today with Christ. They live in the righteousness, peace and joy of God’s kingdom. LOVING GOD IN EACH OTHER’S PRESENCE Jesus told us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. One pastor took this verse and applied it to worship saying that worship is loving God in each other’s presence and loving each other in God’s presence. I really like that definition of worship. Oftentimes in worship, I like to look around. It inspires me to worship God when I see people loving God. I remember a friend of mine invited a homeless man to our home Bible Study. As we began to pray for the man it became clear that he was not saved and possibly was being held captive against his will by demonic powers. After a lengthy time of prayer, God did a special work in his life and he became born again. Then he disappeared. A year later, he turned up in church – nicely dressed, speaking coherently, smiling and engaged to be married. His life was completely transformed by the power of the gospel. That morning as he worshipped, I could not sing – I just wept. Here was a guy that just a year previous was living on the street, no hope, no future and bound for destruction. Now, he was lifting up his hands in adoration to God. His worship inspired me in my love for God! John said it best when he said – we love Him because He first loved us. Even our love for one another is motivated by His love for us. He gives us the capacity to love one another by the working of His Spirit in and through us. WORSHIP IS SUNG PRAYER This is one interpretive key that has completely revolutionized my thinking and my practice as a congregational worship leader. I used to simply look at worship as that time when we would sing a few love songs to God or prepare our hearts for the Bible Study. Now I look at worship as the corporate expression of sung prayer. My role as a worship leader is to facilitate the expression of prayer that is emerging from the hearts of the people as they worship God. It changes the way I approach song selection. It changes how I approach worship leading. It changes my focus in worship. I now look at the time of worship as a grand orchestra with the Holy Spirit conducting and the congregation responding to the overtures of love from the Father. In teaching songwriters how to write worship songs, I often encourage them to begin singing their prayers to God. Through the songs that worship leaders choose, they give us language to express our love to God. This is one primary reason that we teach students in the School of Worship to be extremely careful not to teach songs that are unscriptural or unbiblical in terms of the practice they are encouraging. Songs are a powerful tool for teaching Biblical truth and we want worship leaders to be sure that the songs they introduce are giving language that will encourage a Biblical response in corporate worship. MY FAVORITE WORD FOR WORSHIP Of all the words that the Bible uses for worship, my favorite is the Greek word Proskuneo. It literally means to lean towards to kiss and it implies both passion and intimacy. That is what our worship is to be. It is to be fueled with passion for God. However, it is to be deeply intimate in its expression. Often we seek to have this deep level of intimacy in worship in the context of the gathered community, but I’m not sure that this is the most appropriate place. The most tender moments I enjoy with my wife will never be witnessed or experienced in a corporate setting. They only happen when we’re completely alone. So it is with our worship life. The most tender and intimate moments we enjoy with God will not occur in the corporate setting. They will only occur when we’re completely alone. Some of my most powerful worship songs will never be heard by anyone but God. Jesus would often withdraw Himself to be alone with His Abba Father. This is the place where intimacy is cultivated when we separate ourselves away from the distractions of the world to spend time in uninterrupted conversation with our God. I would encourage you to begin developing a secret life with God; times where you can be completely alone and uninterrupted. I would encourage you to sing your prayers to God and allow those deep things in your heart to come into the light of conversation with the Father. As you do, your worship life with God will be completely transformed as you discover the joy of knowing Jesus. In every heart is the deep yearning to meet with God. That deep persevering question that asks – when will I see God? When will I meet with God? And God in His love responds back to us – How about right here, right now? May God Richly Bless Your Day! Holland Davis Calvary Chapel Music Note: If you would like to run the Worship Life series as part of your magazine or news column, contact Holland Davis by e-mail at: generationpraise@yahoo.com. ** You may republish this story with proper attribution. Send this story to a friend. Check out Holland's Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/worshiplife