i was asked this week an interesting question that i get asked rather frequently.
“what is your goal for the worship team”
upon being asked, i would normally fidget around and talk in circles about how great it would be to have everyone plugged to a click track; and to have better staging and a grand piano and so on and so on.
but as i thought on that question last night in the midst of taking a chance by drafting Brett Favre to my Facebook Fantasy Football Team as my starting QB, my ‘goal’ hit me with a simplicity i have been overlooking for an entire year now.
my goal for the worship team is to worship.
the austerity of that sentence is as loaded as my wide-out to TE ratio this fall on my FFL (fantasy football league…welcome back to the blog)
it’s loaded because worship is the most important element in preparation to hearing God’s Word on Sunday morning…don’t worry, I have scripture to help aid my written/typed claims.
last Sunday a few stellar members of our worship team…
(note, never referred to as a ‘praise team’ a ‘praise team’ is a row of six or seven elderly ladies that share microphones and have giant smiles on their faces as they belt ‘He has made me glad’….nothing wrong with that at all, just clarifying the difference)
…return from vacation and it was very exciting for me to be able to lead in worship alongside them. what happened next has not happened in the short 12 months i have been leading worship at the Journey. the band didn’t sound good. we’ve had technical difficulties and problems arise during the service, but never has this certain group of players ever missed a beat or a note. it was puzzling. we literally had a studio drummer, a concert pianist and several other players who eat, sleep and breathe their instruments on stage, and yet we couldn’t click together.
i was worried to say the least. this is the one crucial element in my job description and i can’t just chalk it up to being young. so we prayed. after we prayed i sought out Maureen who might be the biggest prayer warrior on earth. she is a threat to the enemy and she shared something with me that revolutionized my worship view.
2 Chronicles 20:14-35 (NIV)
14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
15 He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ “
18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very loud voice.
20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his [a] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the LORD,
for his love endures forever.”
22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing [b] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah [c] to this day.
27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lutes and trumpets.
29 The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
this rocked my face off. i was going to try to break it down, but the scriptures put it so nicely. this screamed at me when i read it and i called the worship team together and read it to them and simply said, the battle is not ours, it’s the Lords; all we have to do is worship. and we worshipped.
something happened that morning. a connection was made at the Journey that has never been made before. worshippers arose and met God face to face and the enemy and his plan were thwarted and crushed and the glory was God’s.
so, reflect on this today or tomorrow because we go about our lives as if the battle is ours. and it’s not. i hear preachers pounding their pulpits yelling about the armor of God, when the battle is not ours; and the armor they’re Bible thumping people about is simply ‘armor’ used solely for the purpose of being ‘strong’ in the Lord and offering prayers and petitions. and the ‘strength’ that we are instructed to have in the Lord is the same ‘strength’ that Paul uses to say:
2 Corinthians 12:9-11
9And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for (A)’power’ is perfected in weakness
and also:
Philippians 4:13
13I can do all things through Him who (A)’strengthens’ me.
the battle is not ours friends, it never was. the battle is the Lords. what we are instructed to do is to glorify and praise Him. so take today and worship God and let Him take the battles that you have been fighting and begin glorifying Him for not only is the battle His, but the victory is His as well.
Tags: worship
