i have had this phrase in my mind for two days: "Worship is more than a song". It's the refrain of Jimmy Needham's "Clear the Stage", a song primarily about repentance and the constant battle against idolatry. i am awake at 3 a.m. with the lyric repeating like a skip on an old vinyl album. And i've thought enough about it that i've stumbled on a more subtle, perhaps less purposed truth: worship is more than a song.
i know. it's profound.
Sarcasm aside, i am thinking that this is one of those seriously important truths that has eluded a generation of Christ-followers. Worship is more than a song.
Think about how we define "worship" in our spiritual vocabulary. If i were to poll ten people, i suspect i would get ten versions of: "It's what we do when we go to church". At least to a degree, that seems reasonable. i mean, in just a few hours (yawn), Chas and i will go to worship. i've used that language for years. Which is fine. Scripture uses it this way, too.
As an example, repeatedly in the Exodus story, God (through Moses) appeals to Pharaoh to "Let my people go so that they may worship me". It seems He was making a way for the Israelites to worship Him specifically in a designated place (3:12, 7:16) --- which was not possible in Egypt.
But my wee-hours-of-the-morning mind wonders if God wanted more for His people than a locale for a special service. Could it be that God's demand from Pharaoh was about giving His people space to live as the people of God? Perhaps His desire "that they may worship me" was not just the provision of a service ("worship service"), but of a way of life.
Worship is more than a song.
i know this is not new news. Paul's words from Romans 12 are at least familiar to almost every Christian: we are to "offer our bodies as a living sacrifice...a spiritual act of worship". i have heard many sermons and have taught this truth myself. Worship is a way of life.
But i'm not sure we've gotten it. Our theology may be solid, but our practical theology --- the way we actually live --- is woefully disconnected. i think we still think worship is a song. A service. A sermon.
Honestly, language fails me here. i am not sure i can articulate the weight of what i am thinking, but i am overwhelmed by the reality of what worship really is.
Worship is choosing Christ above all else.
Worship is the sacrifice of my own desire. Always.
Worship is the setting aside of my own agenda. Always.
Worship is thinking of others more than i think of myself.
Worship is making a difficult choice that pleases God...even if it's costly.
Worship is risking the disappointment of people rather than disobeying God.
Worship is not making too much of myself.
Worship is having hard conversations for the benefit of the hearer.
Worship is honoring authority.
Worship is giving my money away.
Worship is not watching trash tv.
Worship is asking for forgiveness.
Worship ought to be like breathing. It is the thinking about God, pursuing the heart of God, leaning into the will of God all the time.
Worship is more than a song.
Now that i think about it, i'm fairly certain that this is exactly what Needham meant. It's not really subtle at all...i'm just slow. His call to "clear the stage" is an impassioned plea for me to beg the Lord to reveal the stuff that gets in the way of all of the above. i will not be a worshipper --- in the fullest sense of the word --- until i ask God to "crush the idols".
Comfort.
Desire.
Respect.
Affection.
Ease.
Stuff.
"Peace."
Clear the stage. Worship is more than a song.
This is what happens when you are awake at 3 a.m. Sigh.
p.s. if i was at all tech savvy, i would attach a link to Jimmy Needham's "Clear the Stage". i'm not. But you should listen. Be prepared to be undone. It's stunning.
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