Worship

This morning we had our first time of worship as a group, and what an experience it was. When we first began to sing, and everyone was more towards the charismatic side in worship, I felt really out of place and almost a little embarrassed. But, just as Darren Wilson says in the finger of God, the more I saw it, the more normal it became. The other interesting part is that this morning God really put the prayer of “God make me like a little child” on my heart. That really is what everyone here is, they are just children of God who are unafraid to love their daddy. They are not scared to dance before him, shout to him, and fall on their knees before him. They realize their only audience is that of Jesus, that it doesn’t matter if others think they are crazy with how they worship God.

As I worshiped with this group of Jesus lovers I felt the same feeling that I did when I attended the Hillsong concert at Willow Creek back in June. The only difference was that there were no lights, there was no great sound system, I was not with 9,000 other people, and the musicians were not professional. So how was it that I could feel that way? It was because God’s Spirit was in the room. It was not only their, it was evident. As I sang to our king I also began to realize why Hillsong is so attractive to so many young Christians. It is not because them, it is because they invite believers to worship Jesus with all their heart; as “The Stand” says, “with arms high and heart abandoned.”

The charismatic movement, or at least that of what I have experienced this far, is not about “weird” ideas about the Holy Spirit, it is about worshiping Jesus with passion, as we were created to do. When I look at the descriptions of the saints worshiping and singing to God in Scripture, I don’t see a group of people standing with their arms at their sides softly singing so that those next to them can’t hear, what I see is a group of people falling down in reverence before God, and shouting to their king at the tops of their voices (Revelation 4, Isaiah 6). Why do we not worship God like that normally? Could it be because we are not really filled with the Spirit as we should be when we are worshiping God? I’m beginning to believe so.

What Hillsong, and other charismatic’s do is invite the passion that has been contained inside believers to come out. They invite them to sing, dance, and shout with passion. I’m convinced that believers are longing to worship God with passion, but that many are too afraid to show it because of what others think.
As I was singing this morning I couldn’t help but think that only a few hours earlier, Judson’s chapel was happening and they were singing songs that were very similar to the ones that we were singing; maybe they were even singing the same songs! But as I thought about it, I became saddened at what a difference it was. Here at the DTS in Wollongong, people are unashamed, and they are madly in love with Jesus. The overflow is simply what is seen in worship. But, I’m sure that the same old was happening at Judson chapel. Maybe a few people raising their hands in worship, but over all most believers sang a half-hearted effort and thought more about what other people were thinking about them then they did about who they were singing to. This cannot and should not be! I wish so badly that all of you who are following Christ could be with me here to worship our king with unashamed passion, just as we were made to do.