Well, with Sanctuary and now the songwriting showcase both behind me, I must say I surprised myself. Actually not so…I believe it was the Lord surprising me. Both events went surprisingly well for me, and all I can say is that it is not of me. I could have never pulled either of those things off had it not been for the hand of God on me. I have nothing else to say except to repeat what I wrote in my last post.

Soli Deo Gloria!

~matt

This has been a really good weekend spiritually. I think I finally know what it’s like to be truly used by God, to step away from the controls and let Him take over. I led worship for a men’s conference/retreat this evening. It was just me, a piano, a microphone, a water bottle, 45 minutes, 35 men eager for an encounter with God…and God Himself. I’ll tell you, I didn’t feel very prepared, but I’m convinced that is the place where God works. It’s a place where I have to depend on Him because I know I’ll fall utterly short, and I would have had it not been for His presence in that place and His grace on this simple vessel of clay. Despite there being no full band, no amazing sound system, no lyrics on the screen, and all those other things that have been what I’ve known as church for all these years, I can’t say I’ve ever felt so sure I met with God. I went thinking I was helping a group of guys worship, but found myself experiencing God like never before. The men were blessed by the Lord, and I’m humbled that I was used in that. I too was completely blessed.

I’ve finally figured out that preparation of the heart far surpasses musical preparation in importance, despite how many times I’ve heard it over the years. I’ve been longing for an experience like this for quite a while, and now that I know it really happens, I look forward to the next time and pray that it’s sooner than I can imagine…hopefully tomorrow morning.

Soli Deo Gloria!

~matt

I know it’s been a while, and there’s probably a lot more I could write on here, but I just need to say how amazing I anticipate tomorrow morning to be. The East Side worship choir along with Randy Vader and Jay Rouse will be presenting one of Randy and Jay’s newest creations, “Sanctuary.” It’s powerful, and I’m excited to be a part of it. It all happens tomorrow morning in both of the morning services (9am and 10:45am), so if you can, come and be blessed.

_matt

“Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth.” ~Psalm 96:9

“I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus.” ~Heart of Worship by Matt Redman

Today was probably my favorite chapel yet. Gloria Gaither was the speaker, and the topic was worship, primarily a concept dubbed the “worship wars.” Basically her whole point (and mind you, this is a huge generalization because I don’t have enough room to write every way I was impacted) was that people fight over styles and forms of worship when the real issue is the substance. It doesn’t matter if we sing hymns or praise songs, use hymnals or Powerpoint slides, utilize an organ and a choir or a worship band and worship team. If you think about it, it would be very hard to think of a problem in this world that is actually the problem. What I mean is that there is usually an underlying issue that is being avoided but should be addressed instead the superficial issues we bicker about. Satan loves to take our focus off what’s really important. I’m sure he smiles when people argue about such fickle things as worship style or dress in church. BUT…I’m sure God smiles when we humans realize that we are nothing but ashes in His presence, and our only response is praise, in whatever form we are led to use. I’m also sure God smiles when we get past the petty issues of old verses new and traditional verses contemporary and realize it’s a non-issue. Our only requirement is to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,” as the verse says.

I also had another revelation today. While Gloria was speaking about us being ashes in His presence, I thought about the verse that says “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” I began to think about myself, and in my mind I put myself in the Lord’s presence and tried to determine what I would be thinking and feeling. I began to think that I might actually have trouble bowing as low as others. This may not make sense, but it was clear to me. I realized that our life here on earth is practice for Heaven in many ways. If I can’t abase myself to others without care for whether or not I am able to be as successful as them in this life, wouldn’t I be at least a little bit tempted to put my head up and look around to make sure I have one up on everyone else? My only response is that when I do face Jesus someday, I hope to know the ground in front of His feet so well that I’ll have no problem hitting it again with complete abandon. I hope that there is absolutely nothing in me that makes me feel even the slightest bit worthy to stand in His presence. Obviously, I’m not there now, and I don’t think I will reach that place this side of Heaven, but I hope that stepping out of this life and entering eternal life will be the final step on that journey that all of us are called to.

Let’s focus on the real issues and throw ourselves humbly at His feet. I hope you will pursue this with me.

Matt