Possess and Pass On

We've been talking about this a lot lately as a Worship team, the idea of 'possessing' and then 'passing on' the Presence of God. And the implications it has with our duties as the leaders of our Sunday Worship moments.

1 Chronicles 28:8 says;
"...be careful to follow the commands of the Lord Your God, that you may Possess this good land and Pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever..."

The context is simple, Israel are the recent inheritors to the fine land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is now issuing them an instruction to follow His commands so that they can continue to pass on the land not only promised, but now inhabited to the generations to come.
God is in the habit of calling one generation to work their butts off, to possess and conquer a land so that the following generations can enjoy and continue to inhabit it.
He's not in the business of giving an inheritance to one Generation and then kicking the next out.

The Israelites also had a firm connection between being in the land and being in the Presence of God. This is later confirmed when they are no longer living in the land but in Exile after disobeying and turning away from God. They knew that they were now outside proper relationship with God and His presence.

So what does this all have to do with a worship team?
My thoughts are this...

As a team it is our duty to prepare, to work for, to build, to put in the effort, to pray up, read up, and seek the heart of God for what He would do in our services. We do this so that when we step up to the platform we are in a position of having already 'possessed' an element of His presence, which we can confidently lead our congregation into, to then 'pass it on' to them.

It's as if, knowing the route to a location on a map, we stand at the head of the bush track ushering the Church along the way offering guidance and support, 'here you go... this way..' 
It is our knowledge of already having 'possessed' the location that gives us confidence as we lead. Likewise our confidence will increase as we lead the direction of our worship moments if we are already prepared.

I remember moments, those fatal moments, when I lead our team and Church through a set list that I was unfamiliar with and had not yet sought God for His direction. I'd love to say it only happened once, but you know that's not true.

Yes God is faithful, and at the end of the day He will speak to His people no matter what mess your in, but how much more exciting when you've sought and fought for a revelation that God wanted to show His Church during a time of worship and through your preparation that message was passed onto the Church.

I've learned my lesson, from now on I'll be seeking to 'possess and pass on' when it comes to leading worship.

Lk

In the Image of...

I haven't blogged for quite some time other than posting set lists for our Sunday services, so it's been sitting on my list of things to do for awhile and finally I find myself by the computer with something to say.

Speaking on the topic of idol worship Psalms says this:

Ps 135:16-18

'They have mouths, but cannot speak,

eyes, but cannot see.

They have ears, but cannot hear,

nor is there breath in their mouths.

Those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them."

Scripture points to the stupidity of worshiping a man-made idol over the Sovereign God.
I mean seriously, after viewing all the wonders of God at the Red Sea, manna being provided daily, fire by night and clouds by day, not to mentions other countless miracles God performed for the Israelites you can forgive the author for sounding slightly short in this verse, because surely they knew the supreme power of Yahweh over some created and fashioned statue.

You become like the thing you worship.

This has never been any less or more true for this current age. We become like the things we worship. Granted there are not a thousand other 'statue gods' vying for our attention, but there are countless other distractions which have subtly taken the place of formal gods and are just as dangerous and lifeless. 

If you worship Vanity you'll become Hollow

If you worship Platform you'll become a Statue

If you worship Technology you'll become Obsolete

If you worship Status you'll become Irrelevant

If you worship Materialism you'll Decay

If you worship Titles you'll become Stuck

If you worship Pleasure you'll become Dissatisfied

If you worship Approval you'll be Rejected

If you worship Recognition you'll become Anonymous

If you worship Power you'll become Flat

If you worship Ministry you'll be Overextended

If you worship Opportunities you'll Burn-out

If you worship Knowledge you'll become Unapproachable

If you worship GOD you'll become Alive.

 

God is to be worshiped, and worshiped only.

Every other man made thing will decay, expire and lead to death. God, the source of Life, offers the key to Life as we conform our image to His.  

You are being made into an image, who's?

 

Lk

BOLD Prayers

"PRAY BOLD PRAYERS for your church!  The early church prayed for boldness…we pray for safety.  The early church prayed for people to come to Christ…we pray for sister so & so’s hangnail!  The early church prayed for the church to expand and the Gospel to advance…we pray that we can keep our churches small and safe.  Let’s BEG God for things to happen in our churches that are UNEXPLAINABLE and UNDENIABLE so that HE can receive ALL the glory!"

I took this quote from Ps Perry Nobles blog today. How amazing, true and convicting this is for us today. 

If we want to see God do big things then we must begin to expect that he can do it and so ASK Him to do it!

Your prayers will reveal to others the 'size' of the God you serve. Simply asking for more small debts to be paid, small illnesses to be healed or small relationships to be mended isn't enough. It shows that you only expect God to be able to handle the remedial small tasks. But let me challenge you to begin to ask God for BIG things. Ask him for complete healing, uncountable salvation's, and larger platforms to shout his fame.

I dare you. 

Remember its not about us, our platform or profile. The purpose of praying the BIG prayer is to allow God to move into our situation and do that thing which only He can do, so that only He will receive the Glory.

PRAY BOLDLY. 

Lk

PTII's

PTII's= People that I Influence.

Allow me to encourage you in this;
You are a force of Influence.

By this I mean, no matter who you are or what you do, there are people around you that look to you and are influenced by you. You may have heard it called before your 'Sphere of influence.'

Ask yourself; Who do I Influence?
Maybe even make a list if your up to it.

In light of this fact, accepting that you have PTII's, you must behave in such a way that you influence people positively. Right?
I've seen many people/leaders, unaware of their sphere of influence, do something dodgy and the effects of their bad decisions ripple out into all areas of life, and effect people that they never knew they had direct influence on.
The same said, there are many great people out their having a positive effect on those they influence simply by maintaining strong convictions, keeping the faith and loving like God.

BE INTENTIONAL.
Now that you are aware that you Influence people, be intentional about building into them.
This may look something like a Connect group, casual coffee catch-up or even just a conversation whilst working alongside of them. What ever the method make time to invest into them.
Let them learn from your mistakes and be inspired by your passions. Let them see your unshakable Faith and trust in the living God through all circumstances- the high's AND the low's.

I've heard it said many times before;
Leadership IS Influence.

So if we have influence then we are able to lead.
Let's help lead people into Greatness.

Lk