When is it time to STEP DOWN?

What an awesome responsibility to step in front of a congregation and lead them before the Throne of Grace, in worship to our God and Savior. The responsibility is to LEAD and FOLLOW at the same time.

While leading the praise band/singers through the flow and dynamics of the songs, there are sometimes, at the same time, several thoughts to process:

• Do we end here or keep singing?
• Is there a need to say something between this song and the next?
• Is the Spirit of God moving right now?
• Are we being sensitive to the flow of what's happening in the service?
• Are the people engaged, are they responding?
• Do we need to be silent for a moment, and give the Spirit time to speak to the hearts of the men, women, boys and girls?

The eyes of the musicians, singers, the computer guy [who's trying to keep up with the slides], and those of the congregation direct their way to you, looking for leadership, some type of signal, on our path to the throne.

To follow is to be sensitive to the Spirit of God and His work. To keep singing, if that's what's needed, to stop and be silent, to talk, if being prompted by the Spirit or to simply just pray. Are we listening, so we can follow, or are we fixated on how well our group "performed"?

To some, this might be merely a job, as this is their livelihood. A way to provide for their family by paying the mortgage, the car payment, buying groceries and clothes to wear. Too many times, when we are dependent on this as a job, we tend to let it become more about us and how well we are doing in this position so we can gain popularity with this "industry". We just might get better paying venues or jobs. There's nothing wrong with serving in excellence as long as we understand the true meaning behind the excellence. We should always do our best for God. The worship experience is not about "us" and our capabilities. It's about teaching and equipping those we lead how to lift their hearts in worship to Him who sits on the throne. Many of those following will mirror the example they see on a regular basis. Have we lost sight of what the true responsibility of leading worship is all about?

I have said, "I am a Pentecostal". But that's not truly accurate, I AM A CHRISTIAN!! I have had, and continue to have Pentecostal experiences. Pentecost is not a possession, we don't possess it,  it's an experience. Likewise, we don't possess worship we are to be "TRUE WORSHIPER'S...in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23). Anywhere we go or anywhere we are our "worship" should look the same. If we worship differently, depending on the venue we are in,...something is wrong. If we lose the true experience of worship where does that leave us?

There are people entering places of worship every Sunday, looking for their weekly concert experience. Keep in mind, it's not the songs, or even the music, but the heart of those leading. If we lead in performance then we will reap performing worshipers. We need to be TRUE WORSHIPERS so that those we are leading may become true worshipers themselves and may go on to lead others to become the same.

Understanding the weight of everything you say, and that you will be held accountable, can be overwhelming at times.  Some leaders may feel speaking anything in a huge audience will surely hit someone is a dangerous path. Whether they are Senior Adults, Baby Boomers, GenX'ers, Millennials or mix of any or all them. No matter their level of education. If they are Christian or not, it makes no difference, the accountability of every word still weighs the same. Spouting off things you've heard in other concerts or you've memorized is not leadership. Understanding the prompting of the Holy Spirit and how to convey that along with how rich and free is His Mercy and Grace is a gift, that not everyone possesses.

So, let me ask you this question, "When is it time to step down, and how will you know?" I never thought the day would come when I would ask myself this question, as well as these: "Is it time for fresh(er) ideas on worship music or arrangements?" "Are you standing in the way of your church's growth or progress?" "Are you too old to understand this newer generation is in need of in worship?" These are the thoughts that seem to consume me. Is it a trick of the enemy, maybe. I've always worked hard to make sure that leading worship was not a job, that it was/is never about me, the band or the singers. But an invitation to come. Come and let us lift up the name of Jesus!

Jesus Loves the Little Children

I'm reminded of the song I learned as a young child:

               Jesus loves the little chil-dren,
               All the children of the world.
               Red and yellow, black and white,
               They are precious in His sight.
               Jesus loves the little children of the world.

As I drove my youngest son to school today, I felt impressed to pray for him before he left the vehicle. I know that many of you probably do this on a regular basis with your children. And even though I pray for kids, most of the time it is without them knowing or being involved in the prayer itself. But immediately, after I had committed in my mind to do so, I was flooded with thoughts of holding up the car line, I would be running late for work and so on. The enemy did not want me to pray for my son and was using all of the tactics possible to keep me from doing it. So before any more thoughts could formulate I pulled over before coming up to the school and turned to Ethan, who by now had a very puzzled look on his face. I announced to him that I wanted to pray for him before he left the car to enter the school building.

I took his hand in mine and begin to pray. I prayed over him things I didn't even think I would mention, but they simply came from a place inside me that knew better about what I should pray than I did myself. When finished we were both crying, but we were both at peace and felt better for doing it.

Now I don't know what might have happened if I didn't pray, but that's not important to me. The important thing is that I obeyed instead of giving in to the excuses not to pray.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Spirit of God works in and through us. The urgings we receive and shake them off so easily. I am glad to know that the Holy Spirit in me knows what and how to pray for things that I don't.

Sometimes I don't feel like praying, but know that I need to. And after I have forced myself to pray, I find that I pray longer, harder and for things that I had not considered to pray for at the onset of prayer.

Let me leave you with this one question, "How much time do you give to earnest prayer"?

Draw The Circle

Gypsy Smith was born on the outskirts of London in 1860. He never received a formal education, yet he lectured at Harvard. Despite his humble origins, two sitting United States presidents invited him to the White House. Gypsy crisscrossed the Atlantic Ocean 45 times, preaching the gospel to millions of people. Everywhere he went, it seemed like revival was right on his heels. But it wasn't his preaching that brought revival. It never is. Preaching may move the hearts of men, but praying moves the heart of God. And that's where revival comes from.

Gypsy revealed his secret to a delegation of revival seekers who sought an audience with him. They wanted to know how they could make a difference with their lives the way he had with his. His answer was simple yet profound — as timely and timeless now as it was a hundred years ago. He gave them this advice: “Go home. Lock yourself in your room. Kneel down in the middle of the floor, and with a piece of chalk draw a circle around yourself. There, on your knees, pray fervently and brokenly that God would start a revival within that chalk circle.”       
                                   
                                  ~Mark Batterson - Senior Pastor - National Community Church

Hill of Terror

This past weekend, while traveling on Interstate 65, I noticed a bazaar scene on a country hillside. I drew the attention of my best friend, Freddie Norris who was riding with me, in the direction of the scene and commented that someone wasn't thinking too clearly as to how that would look to the secular world.

The scene was three crosses on a hillside, obviously representing Calvary, where our Savior was crucified between two thieves. About 40 yards away was a van type vehicle that was painted up with various Halloween depictions of ghosts, ghouls, goblins and other meant to be scary scenes, advertising a popular haunted woods establishment in the area, called The Hill of Terror.

As I shook my head, in contemplation of the obvious goof, that someone would put such an advertisement close enough to the previous scene, that you would see them both in the same view, I began to chuckle. But it didn't end there...

The further down the road I drove, the more I was impressed with another variation of the same scene. My focus had been on why someone had put something so inappropriate next to a representation that was meant to be a reminder of an act of love by Jesus Christ. The more I rolled this variation around in my head, asking pertinent questions to myself, suddenly it was as if a fog lifted from my mind. And like a thunderbolt through my inner being, the message came loud and clear!! For the Devil and his horde, it WAS The Hill of Terror. 

On that glorious day when they lifted up our Lord on the cross, and as he hung in the balance between Heaven and earth and cried out, "It Is Finished!!!!", the Devil's grip on mankind would slip away as Jesus gave His life for you and me.

May we remind the enemy of that Hill of Terror everyday as we greet the morning with a renewed sense of God's love in our heart and carry the message of Hope, the message of Grace. We do not have to be afraid because the enemy has already been defeated and it's our job to keep reminding him of that with every breath. May God's praises be continually on our lips. 

"For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" Luke 6:45b

Witness and Evangelism

A practicing Christian is someone who is so skilled and widely competent in being Christian, and so committed to continuous outpouring, that whatever the situation, he or she speaks fluently and ardently to it. This kind of Christian possesses a comprehensive readiness into which the Lord can pour His leading as to when, where and how. This kind of Christian is always at rest, not anxious (should I witness here and now?) but peacefully prepared.

Here's an analogy for what I am trying to say. Accomplished pianists practice continuously. This does not mean that they practice all the time, but they practice so fully and wisely that they can enjoy not practicing and be at rest about their readiness to perform. A witnessing Christian should be like this. He or she cannot witness twenty-four hours a day any more than a pianist can practice that long. But there should be such thoroughness to practicing the faith that at a moment's notice it can be turned to specific witness. This readiness is not particularly about a set witness time any more than wise piano practice is about an isolated performing event. Rather, it is about being comprehensively Christian and practicing Christianity in such a way that at any moment its completeness can be shaped to fit the circumstance.

Are you ready to witness if the need arises???

How Will You Be Remembered?

Serve Well with Joy

Dave Branon

August 28, 2012 

Nine years ago today a good friend went out for a lunchtime jog and never came back. Kurt De Haan, who was the managing editor of Our Daily Bread, died of a heart attack on that sunny Thursday. Some of us who worked with Kurt still keep mementos of him in our offices.

For instance, on one wall of my cubicle, I display the last memo I received from Kurt. It reminds me of his thoroughness as an editor—striving to represent God’s Word accurately and well. Another co-worker displays the last paper wad Kurt threw in her direction, reminding her of his eagerness to enjoy life.

Each time we talk about Kurt and how much we miss him, we discuss his combination of a quest for excellence mixed with an enjoyable personality. He worked hard and loved life. He strove to teach God’s Word with integrity while living his life with joy.

Remembering Kurt and his example is refreshing and challenging. It reminds us that others are watching us and can tell if we’re serving “the Lord with gladness” (Ps. 100:2), and if our love for Jesus is coming through in our good works (Eph. 2:10). Serve well. Serve with joy. Does that describe our work for the Savior?

Help me, dear Jesus, to live out the joy

and peace You’ve given to me. May those who work

with and know me see that joy. And may I always

stand for truth and righteousness.

For joy that will last, always put Christ first.

HOLINESS



Below is an excerpt from a paper I wrote this summer -

LEVITICUS: GOD IS HOLY, THERFORE…

“Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2 (KJV)

The 19^th chapter of Leviticus provides us with an exposition on the practice of holiness. The holiness of God is revealed in relationship to the redemption of Israel out of Egypt. Consequently, it is not until after the exodus that God calls upon His people to live holy lives. The Mosaic Covenant is established so that Israel would be a holy nation.

 While there are hints at how holiness is to be practiced by the people of God earlier in the Pentateuch, it is in the 19th chapter of the Book of Leviticus that holiness is defined in great detail.God speaks to Moses and instructs Moses what to tell the community of faith. God says, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.”

The second half of this statement is easily grasped, the first half, not so much. We feel at home singing “Holy, holy, holy” when our focus is God. We often begin prayers with the words, “Holy God” or end them with “In your holy name, we pray.” Holy is an adjective that naturally attaches itself to God. What shakes us up is that God begins by saying that we are to be holy.

           In Terence Fretheim’s book, “The Pentateuch”, Terence writes, “…the people are recognized as holy by God, as were the priests by the people and they were to treat themselves as holy just as God was to be. By virtue of this relationship to a holy God and this calling, and by God’s sanctifying action the word “holy” becomes a key reference for all the people of God, not simply the priests” (pp134).

We must approach this chapter with these things in mind, because there are several factors, which might incline us to hastily conclude that this chapter is irrelevant to 20th century Christians.

            In the first place there are some commands given here which are difficult to understand, even as they relate to the Israelite. Secondly, there are some commands that are clearly inapplicable to New Testament saints.

Leviticus 19 is a crucial chapter for Christians (as well as the ancient Israelites) for a variety of reasons. First, Leviticus 19 is important to us because of the prominence of its teaching in the New Testament. Both our Lord and the apostles make a great deal of the two great commandments that are given here: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2b). “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18b).

Second, Leviticus 19 is vitally important because of the desperate need for the practice of holiness. As badly as Christians misunderstand holiness, it is practiced even more pathetically. Holy living is something, which is not characteristic of the last days, and it surely is not characteristic of Christianity in our own days as well.

Third, it is important because of the distorted perceptions of holiness. Holiness is a term that is used more than it is understood. It is one thing for holiness not to be understood; it is even worse that it is misunderstood. There are many misconceptions in Christian circles as to what holiness really is. In the King James Version of the Bible, the terms “holy” and “holiness” do not occur until the Book of Exodus.

Fourth, many Christians, who were very sincere, have gone astray seeking an unholy holiness. Many Christians who have been sidetracked into one of the cults have pursued a false conception of holiness. People generally do not join a cult in order to forsake holiness, but to attain it.

There are some necessities of holiness found in the first primary commandment. Here are some factors relative to this command.First, the necessity of holiness is seen by the fact that the entire nation of Israelites is commanded to be holy. Thus, holiness is not an option, but an imperative.

Second, the command also provides a motivation for holiness. The holiness of God is manifested in the deliverance of His people from Egypt, and by the manifestation of His glory from Mt. Sinai. Thus, the people should have been motivated to live a life of holiness, based on their gratitude for the redemption God had accomplished.

Third, there is also a provision for the holiness, which God required, of His people. The law, which was given as a part of the Mosaic Covenant, was God’s standard of holiness, and obedience to this law was the means to holiness. God did not command His people to be holy without telling them how to be holy.

Finally, God Himself provided the pattern for holiness. God is holy, which is the basis for Israel’s holiness. The holiness of God is thus the pattern for Israel’s holiness. Israel was not only to be holy because God is holy; they were to be holy as (like) God is holy. The actions that God required were those that He had already performed on behalf of His people.

We have seen that holiness is a necessity for the people of God, but it remains for us to discern the nature of this holiness. I’ve often wondered what this holiness, that God required, was to be like.

Holiness involved obedience to the commandments of God. God did not leave His people in the dark as to what holiness consisted of. The bottom line was that holiness consisted of obedience to the laws of God, obedience to His commandments.

Holiness involved sacrifice, in that it is costly. Holiness entails sacrifice. Of course, holiness required sacrifices—those outlined in the early chapters of Leviticus. But more than this, every act of obedience to the commandments of God was a sacrificial act. Obedience to God’s commandments was costly. Abstaining from eating the fruit from one’s trees for five years and observing the Sabbath days was also costly. Holiness was a sacrifice.

Holiness was more than a matter of observing religious rituals—it was intensely practical piety, involving a wide variety of actions as a part of one’s everyday life. True, holiness involved those special ceremonies and special holy days and going to that special place, the tabernacle, where rites were performed by a special priestly class. But chapter 19 describes a very practical, everyday, kind of holiness, of honoring parents, of honesty and kindness and compassion and justice.

Holiness is the imitation of God. In the ultimate sense, living a holy life is the imitation of God, who alone is holy. Thus, when our Lord came to the earth and lived “under the law,” fully keeping the law, He manifested the holiness of God to men.

Holiness was here to be revealed positively, rather than negatively. God’s holiness was manifested by His compassion on the Israelites when they were afflicted in Egypt, and when He delivered them from their bondage. So, too, holiness is to be manifested by the people of God by their kindness, grace, and compassion on others, especially the needy and the afflicted.

Finally, loving one’s neighbor as one’s self practices holiness.

It is not that only one loves one’s neighbor, but it is here emphasized manifests holiness that holiness must include an active love for one’s neighbor. Thus, just as God’s holiness is seen in His love for Israel in the Old Testament, and for the world in its weakness and need in the New, so God’s people must demonstrate God’s holiness as they show love for their neighbors, especially those in need.

Holiness is certainly about doing concrete actions to care for others, and not doing things that would harm them. But it goes beyond that — it is a way of acting that comes from a pure heart, of doing what is right and good because it is right and good, not only out of fear of being caught. Holiness is holistic.

It is important to stress that Israel’s holiness is a reality; it is not something to be aimed at or striven for, or to be associated only with worship. The call to “be holy” is a call to be true to the relationship in which the people already stand.

We see that the holiness described in Leviticus 19, and the holiness that bears fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23) is not mutually exclusive. Indeed, Leviticus 19 cannot make someone alive (Galatians 3:21). But following the commandments in Leviticus 19 can transform a life, as the laws listed there can — even today — be markers for holy living.

Through Moses, God says to us, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” And the place to begin is with love.