Thoughts from WorshipGod 09 part 3
August 25, 2009 | Comments Off
In my usual fashion of inconsistency, I have missed an entire week of blogging. But I pick up where I left off–with the second session of the WorshipGod conference, in which John Piper preached once more, this time on The Heart of Worship. Again, his message came straight from the heart of his theology, namely that “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
The focus is on the heart because of what Jesus says in Matthew 15:8, quoting Isaiah 29:13–”This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Lipservice (or any sort of external action) without the animation of a right heart results in vain worship.
In addition, the New Testament de-externalizes worship, placing the focus squarely on the heart–where the Old Testament fills entire books with instructions for every detail of the worship of God, right down to the threads and the colors of the threads, the New Testament is stunningly silent as to the external forms of worship. The focus is not even on a posture or a certain act; it lies entirely in the heart.
So the central question Piper posed in this message was, “What experience of the heart brings glory to God?” Answer: Being satisfied with God. We see this demonstrated in Paul’s life and theology in Philippians 1:19-21 and 3:7-8. Christ is praised in death as Paul prizes Him above life; and Christ is praised in life as Paul prizes Him above life. All things in life and death can be for the praise of Christ if our hearts are so oriented that He is our supreme joy through all of life and death.
Remember that God’s goal in the Gospel is to shine in our hearts to enable them to see the light of the knowledge of His glory in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6). So our goal in responding to the Gospel–and in worshiping God for and through the Gospel–should be to be satisfied in Him who is the end of the Gospel.
This has several implications for our lives.
1)The pursuit of joy is not optional. The pursuit of joy equals the pursuit of Christ, and we pursue Christ to be satisfied–to rejoice–in Him, which magnifies Him. We come to Him not to give Him something but to get something–namely, Himself. Deer panting for water do not come to give but to get.
2)Worship must be radically God-centered. If the pursuit of satisfaction in God is central, then God is central.
3)Worship is protected as an end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Worship is delighting in and seeking after God, not as a means to getting something else but simply for the satisfaction of getting God. As soon as we try to think of delight in God as a means to get something else, we expose our true delight and desire in other things–which constitutes idolatry.
4)This explains why all of life is worship–not just corporate gatherings. All of life should express the heart condition of being satisfied in God. Our bodies will be living sacrifices, and our actions will be spiritual acts of worship, when our hearts are satisfied in Christ.
So the goal of our corporate gatherings is to renew our satisfaction in God. We come to see Him–to see the light of His glory in the face of Christ. Any other pursuit is vain, and it is idolatry.
Light and Easy
August 25, 2009 | Comments Off
Kevin DeYoung (a pastor, and co-author of, among other books, Why We’re Not Emergent and Why We Love the Church) writes today a timely and deeply refreshing article addressing a common problem in the church–namely, the teaching that we need to “do more.” It occurred to me while reading the article that it fits quite nicely with the current series in Sunday School, which is addressing the Law-Gospel dynamic.
Here is one of the best lines of the whole thing:
“The secret of the gospel is that we actually do more when we hear less about all we need to do for God and hear more about all that God has already done for us.”
Read and be edified. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
(via Between Two Worlds)
Thoughts from a fellow WorshipGod 09 attender
August 14, 2009 | Comments Off
Zach Nielsen, a fellow church musician and a blogger I read (and to whom I’ve linked a few times here), writes some significant and helpful thoughts gleaned from his time at the WorshipGod conference. His main point:
If a majority of the songs that we sing are more weighted towards how I feel about God or my response to God, it may tend to produce false affections that have no enduring value. Think about it like this. When I tell my wife I love her, I have a backdrop of 11 years of experience of living life with her that colors my deep affection for her. Pondering all the ways that she has loved me, served me, and blessed me makes my statement, “I love you” have significant depth and meaning. Telling her, “I love you” about fifty times on our first date (while being extremely creepy) would be hallow, shallow, and rather meaningless. The depth of my love for her is informed by the content of our past shared experience and the ways she has loved me so well.
In the same way, in our worship gatherings, our time of singing should start with reflection on who he has revealed himself to be in the scriptures and in Jesus and also what he has done through all of redemptive history. With this backdrop of his greatness, compassion, mercy and love in view, we can fix our minds upon these glorious truths. How could we keep from responding with joy, thanks, and heartfelt gratitude?
This falls right in line with what we’re trying to do here at FCC. We want to focus on the reality of who God is and what He has done for us in Christ–to celebrate these realities, to revel in them, and to respond to them in adoration and service to our God.
The answer to the question
August 13, 2009 | Comments Off
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1, Matt. 27:46). We must hear Jesus’ question, and discern the answer, in the light of the whole of the rest of the psalm, as undoubtedly Jesus did. But it still remains a question that points us to the heart of the mystery of the atonement itself. To me it is a profoundly moving thought that the word that introduces our most tormenting questions - “Why…?” - was uttered by Jesus on the very cross that was God’s answer to the question that the whole creations poses.
- Dr. Christopher Wright, The God I Don’t Understand, p. 21
(via Vitamin Z)
Thoughts from WorshipGod 09 part 2: The God of Worship
August 11, 2009 | Comments Off
John Piper preached the first two sessions of the conference, and it was a great privilege to sit under his ministry. His first sermon rang the notes at the center of his theology–that the glory of God, and our joy in that glory, are what the Gospel is all about. It is in the Gospel where God’s character is revealed most clearly and vindicated most definitively.
Romans 3:21-26 is a central passage to this understanding of God and the Gospel. A key to understanding this passage is understanding the grave problem that results when God passes over sin: If God is just, then how can He possibly overlook sin? If sin really is as serious as the Bible claims it is, then it is scandalous for the One who is to judge sin to pass over it freely!
But in this passage, we see how it is that God’s glory is shown forth and vindicated in passing over sin: how He is proved both just and the Justifier. Jesus is the propitiation–the One who satisfies the wrath and justice of God, the One who receives the judgment incurred by our sin so that God is perfectly righteous in passing over our sin. With His wrath satisfied by Christ, God is free to show mercy and grace to His people.
In this way, the Gospel is the vindication of God’s glory in the sight of the world, and in this way it becomes clear that the magnification of God’s glory is also the manifestation of God’s love for us. It is not egomaniacal for God to seek His own glory; rather, since the magnification of His glory is accomplished in the Gospel, and the Gospel brings us to God, the true Satisfaction of our souls, then seeking His own glory is the most loving thing God can do for us!
This raises the question for us: Why do we rejoice in the Gospel? Do we rejoice because in the Gospel God makes much of us? Do we see the Gospel as primarily about winning benefits for us? Or do we rejoice in the Gospel because it is through the Gospel that we are set free to join in making much of God?
Which brings to mind a question posed in something I read recently–Do the songs we sing together focus primarily on the many benefits we get from the Gospel, or do we sing more of the glory of God as displayed in the Gospel? Of course, we get benefits from the Gospel; but the chief benefit is to join in the story of redemption as the glory of God is magnified through what He has accomplished. We are cheating ourselves–and potentially creating idols–if we focus on ourselves as recipients of God’s benefits rather than focusing on God as worthy of highest glory and honor.
This God is supremely worthy of worship, and it is He who we join together to magnify each time we gather. May our hearts be captivated with the greatness of His glory this Sunday.
I’d encourage you to take the time to listen to Piper’s sermon here.
Thoughts from WorshipGod 09 part 1
August 11, 2009 | Comments Off
If any of you were paying any attention, you may have noticed that I’ve (barely) begun a (fledgling) series on worship here. That series will continue, Lord willing (in the absence of anyone begging me to stop), but I wanted to take the chance to fill you in on some of what I experienced last week at the WorshipGod conference (put together by Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Ministries).
I first want to say thank you to FCC for allowing four of us from the church to attend the conference (two of our sound technicians, plus Kimberly and me). It is a great blessing to be supported by the church in this way.
The chief enjoyment and source of edification for me was the preaching. Although there was much to learn in the way of musicianship and leading the church in musical worship, the preaching was the heart and soul of the conference, and the preaching was excellent. Five men of God brought the Word–John Piper, Jeff Purswell, Thabiti Anyabwile, C. J. Mahaney, and Bob Kauflin.
One of the things God impressed on me through the ministry of these men was an important truth not directly related to the content of their sermons, and that was that men like these are gifts from God to the church. Ephesians 4:11-16 makes this clear–that those who lead and teach us are given directly from the hand of Christ for the building up of the church. It became quite clear to me as I listened to the extraordinary preaching these men brought that what they spoke came not from themselves but from God, and that each one was a vessel specially formed by God to bring His messages to His people.
And not only these men, but also all those truly called by God to shepherd His people are gifts from God. Paul in Ephesians 4:11 doesn’t name only apostles or only prophets, or only celebrity preachers or only traveling evangelists, but all of these and more–”the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastor-teachers” are all from God for the church.
And as I thought of the extraordinary gifts God gave the church in the men who preached at WorshipGod 09, I also thought of the extraordinary gifts God gave Faith Community Church in the elders and pastors who serve here. These men are extraordinary in their commitment to faithfully shepherd the flock of God; they are extraordinary in their commitment to faithfully and rightly use the Word of truth; they are extraordinary in their close care and tireless watchfulness over this body. These are extraordinarily gifted men, and they themselves are extraordinary gifts of God to His people here at FCC. Thanks be to God for giving these men to His church here!
We should show our gratitude to and for these servants of Christ by heeding the words of Hebrews 13:17–”Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
I will be posting more thoughts from the conference, including some of my notes from the sermons preached and the seminars I attended, but I would encourage you to check out the main session sermon audio, which has already been posted here. In particular, both of Piper’s sermons as well as Thabiti Anyabwile’s sermon are well worth your attention.