In the ninth chapter of Acts, we read the familiar
account of Paul of Tarsus and his conversion to Christ on the road to
Damascus. Temporarily blinded, Paul is healed
and baptized immediately upon recovering his sight. He goes on to preach the Good News of Jesus
Christ effectively and boldly, and faces down multiple attempts by Jewish
leaders to silence him. In the midst of
all this real-life drama, Paul is spirited away. But Luke tells us “the Church had peace throughout
Judea, Galilee and Samaria, and grew in strength and numbers. The believers (listen to this)…learned how to
walk in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit”…
What
IF the Asbury community could learn how to walk in fear of the Lord” (awesome
reverence/real humility) and in the comfort (faith-led/blessed assurance) of
the Holy Spirit? Would we even be
worried about the time frame or particular style of our worship services?
I confess I was somewhat discouraged at
our most recent listening session. There
I asked, “what would we (Asbury) be willing to do to the Main Sanctuary to make
it an effective setting for all forms and styles of worship?” And the answer came back fast and furious…. “nothing!”…that doesn’t sound like walking in
fear of the Lord or in the comfort of the Holy Spirit”…it sounds like
self-centered elitism…
“Hosanna, Hosanna…Come
have Your way among us…We welcome you here Lord Jesus”…..
JBH
I am not sure elitism is a word I would use. I think any and all strong feelings one way or the other are coming from deep rooted insecurities that we are not even aware of. We have worshipped God one way for many, many years. The fear of having that (or God) taken away from us is scary. I think we all need to realize that when we seek Him, He is there. We need to get over our preconceived notion of who God is and where He is and is not and realize He is where ever we seek Him. We don't trust that our God is big enough to meet us BECAUSE WE ARE NOT SECURE in HIM! We all need to get over ourselves and realize that maybe it is not God we are experiencing on Sunday, but just a warm feeling of comfort.
ReplyDelete2 Corthians 9:6-8 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
I have always looked at this as giving of time and money and talents, but I think this can refer to giving of ourselves in Worship. If we are only willing to worship as long as XY & Z are in place we are not giving ourselves completely in worship to HIm.