PASSION

Are you passionate?

Are you passionate about leading worship? Are you sincerely fanatic about having the Holy Spirit turn up and move in your worship service? 

I have written and spoken many times about the passion of Worship Leading; it is something I'm passionate about. Those of you who listen to our weekly podcast: "the worshipleaders podcast"  will have heard me talk many times about the importance of preparation, prayer, a great well prepared songlist, etc.   But the one ingredient that leads to great worship is Passion. 

Passion is the Glue

Passion is the glue that holds everything together. In life, love, work and play, we see time and again that those who are passionate about what they do succeed well. My eldest daughter is passionate about anything to do with art, craft, or creativity. The result is she's a great cook, photographer, knitter, sewer, jewellery maker and general craft person. Her blog  will testify to that. 

My son is a brilliant musician. We gave him drum lessons when he was younger, but then later when he wanted to take up the bass guitar, I told him he was on his own. Well, with the help of some friends, some chord charts and a whole lot of YouTube, he became a brilliant Bass guitar player. He did the same with rhythm guitar, and is currently doing a music degree at University.  

What makes these two so good? They are passionate about their interests, and will put serious time into getting it right. When they get it wrong, they don't simply give up and say:"well that's too hard", they keep practicing until they get it right. 

The reward of Passion

Part of my profession is as a furniture designer. There is a lot that goes into getting the final design right. It has to be practical, useful, workable, and safe. When I design a chair, it needs to be comfortable, it has to tick all the boxes that require it to be a saleable item. A single design can take over 12 months to come together to finally reach production. And the cost is often many hundreds of thousands of dollars. But when I get it right, many people benefit from the design. 

I am passionate about good furniture design, and the result is people buy my product.

The light globe you switch on when it gets dark is the result of someone's passion to create light without the use of a naked flame. It was not an instant success, but many failures went into getting it right. The car you drive is the result of decades of passion poured into getting a better, more comfortable, more efficient mode of transport. 

Great Passion equals Great Worship.

Great music is the result of Passion. Great preaching, the result of Passion; great worship-leading, the result of Passion. 

Today you can overcome mediocrity by firing up your passion. 

2 Timothy 2:15

Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Jude 20 Says: Beloved, Build yourself up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

There are many scriptures exhorting us to draw near to Him (James 4:8).

When we allow God to envelop us with His presence daily, when we draw near to Him, when we study His Word, and spend time getting to know not just about Him, but also to know Him, our passion will rise. And when you are passionate about God, and about great Worship, you will have great Worship.

 Luke 10:37b: Go and do likewise!

Have a great Sunday!

Erick

MEDITATE

Meditate

Everywhere we go we are bombarded with "stuff"! Especially "stuff" that others want us to be aware of. Whether we want to be made aware of it or not has no bearing on anything. Sometimes I feel as if I should be walking around with my eyes shut! Some of the "stuff" I am confronted with is trying to pull me in directions I don't want to go. It is telling me to do things I don't want to do, and attempting to influence my thinking in areas that go against my upbringing and what I know to be right. Everywhere  I go, fiction is being sold as truth, stories are told only from one point of view, and often these stories are slanted to suit the teller's desired aim. 

Fictitious ‘Facts’

Remember the movie "The Da Vinci Code"? A totally fictitious movie based on a novel (fiction made up) by author Dan Brown in which a murder mystery ends in a search for the Holy Grail. In this movie / book, Brown refers regularly to Biblical characters, and writes those characters into places and situations of his own imagining, that have no bearing on historical truth whatsoever. 

To this day people will totally discredit the Bible after having seen this movie. They see it more as a historically accurate Documentary Drama than the fictitious story it was written as.  

Why do we do that? Why do we so often take a story of fiction and presume it as truth? Is it that we have a need to believe in the unbelievable? Is it that it is written in such a way that in our minds this is conceivable, therefore it must be true? Or is it simply that because it is written about a historical character it must be true, whether history confirms it or not. 

 As a Christian, that would lead me to ask: then why is it so hard to believe the Bible, which has amazing and fantastic stories which are historically true and accurate accounts of God's chosen people and their journey to the ultimate promise of God?

GIGO

One of my teachers in high school used to talk about the GIGO affect; Garbage In, Garbage Out. 

What we take in, we put out.  The Bible puts it this way: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he" Prov 23:7.  

I also like what Jesus says in Luke 6:43-45:

“ For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."

What goes in, sooner or later has to come out. And this applies not only to the food we eat, but to everything we take into our bodies. What we see, what we listen to, what we read, what we imagine and dwell upon. When we take something in (digest it, whether physical or through sight, sound and thought), sooner or later it will affect and become part of who and what we are. 

Years ago as a teenager, I was listening to some fairly heavy metal rock music. The music and lyrics were anything but honouring to God. As I lay there on my bed, letting the music feed my soul as it were, I began to get a heaviness on me. I had never experienced it before and have never experienced it since. It was like a huge heavy weight had descended on my body and it felt like it literally trying to push me through the mattress. It became difficult for me to even breathe. This was such an oppressive force, it really frightened me. With all the strength I could muster I started to call on the name of Jesus. Not much came  out of my mouth at first, but as I kept calling out His name, each time the words came out easier and I felt lighter and soon the oppression left me all together. I destroyed the tape, and never listened to that music again. 

What am I saying? Be careful of what you allow yourself to take in. The things I watch on TV or the Internet. The magazines and books I read. The music I listen to. The games I play.  The conversations I sometimes am a part of.  All these have an effect and are Part of the makeup of who I am and what I become. The jails are full of people who ended up there because of the influence that some form of media had on them.  

MEDITATE 

In the Hebrew, the word Meditate has several meanings /uses:  to ponder: — imagine, meditate, mourn, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, utter; to moan, growl, utter, muse, mutter, meditate, devise, plot.

When we dwell on something for a time or repeatedly think about it, when we constantly bring it to mind, we are meditating. 

Last week I had something happen to me that was grossly unfair. For days all I could think about was this circumstance and how it was affecting me. The more thought I gave it, the worse it became in my own head! Why? Because it was my meditation. Instead of taking it to God, and focusing on the Holy Solution Provider, I was becoming obsessed with the unfairness of the situation. It made me angry, it made me upset, it completely consumed my thinking.

What we Dwell on

Whether we think so or not, when you look at the meanings of the term, we meditate all the time. We need to re-train our thinking to honour God, and to benefit our own bodies. A negative meditation will have a negative effect on our whole being. (I'm sure as you read this you can think of people who constantly seem to be depressed or in the doldrums). In the same way when we allow ourselves to meditate on the good stuff, (the God-stuff) it completely changes our whole being. The great thing is that when we meditate on the Answer, the answer is not far away! 

Look at these scriptures: 

Joshua 1:8

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

1 Timothy 4:13-16

Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. 16 Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Philippians 4:8

Meditate on These Things

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Have a great week! 

If you are reading this, why not drop me a comment?

Erick

God Love Church Worship

Christianity is not about what we do as much as what we allow Jesus Christ to do in us.
It is not about what I am but what He has made me.
And it is not about who I am but who I am when I am in Him. Jesus said :John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

The greatest act of love the world will ever know is what Jesus did for me. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Doubt and fear, are the great deception used by the devil to separate us from God's love. Many times (over 60 times in my bible) and to many different people In old and new testament it is said: Do not fear or: fear not.

Communion brings me to the place where Jesus gave up all he had and all He was in order to rescue me from the disaster that was awaiting me. He took upon Himself all that I deserved in order that I might enjoy all that He has.
Thank you Jesus for the broken body and the spilled precious blood; for the principal thing called LOVE. Amen.


Erick

Am I Too Old to Lead Worship?

It occurs to me when I walk into most Pentecostal churches and the music is playing and the team is up the front doing their "stuff" that the average age of those presenting the worship is mid- to late twenties. (At least they all look very young to an over- forty -year-old!). I look at this sight and it causes me to ponder: Am I too old to lead worship? 

The First time I was Too Old

The first time I ever felt like I was too old was about ten or twelve years ago. My wife and I had just made a decision that it was time to leave the church which we had been a part of for the past 5 years to help a friend launch a new church at another end of town. 

Our friend was in his early twenties and he gathered around him a number of other young people as well as some  middle aged couples (of which we were a part). 

I initially joined our young friend to help with the worship team, and though he frequently asked me to play guitar for him, he only once asked me to lead the Worship. This "rejection" of my abilities and anointing really messed with my head and brought much self-doubt into my thinking. I felt all of a sudden that the Worship Leading ship had sailed, and I wasn't on it, I was too old. 

The thought of being too old when I was just about to turn forty, really shook my confidence. I became very unsure of myself and what God had planned for me for the rest of my life. I couldn't believe that I could be dropped so quickly and so unceremoniously from being a Worship Leader one week to a has-been the next.  

I’m Not Ready, I’m Not Too Old!

I went to God on this matter and complained bitterly. Surely this wasn't the end? Surely I wasn't to be relegated to the pews for the next 60 years without any musical input? (I plan to live to at least 100). 

God showed me that he wasn't finished with me yet. One of my favourite Worship Leaders in the world is Robin Mark of Revival in Belfast fame. I have a number of his records and was privileged some years ago to attend a meeting in which he led Worship. God showed me that he is one of a number of Worship leaders in the world who have been around a while and fall among the Not-so-young.  This was greatly encouraging to me, especially at that time. 

It was in the midst of my turmoil that I visited a local Anglican church one afternoon and the priest asked me if I would be interested in helping him out with the music once in a while. His only musician had busted up with her husband and left the church and he was desperate. Well, we were an answer to each other's prayers. He had a need for a musician and I needed an outlet. I said I would love to help him out. The next week I turned up and did the music for him and for the first time in a while I felt truly appreciated for what I brought to that church. The priest came to me at the end of the service and said:" That was great Erick! I really would like you to pray about coming to help us out once a month to do the music at our church. "  My response was that I wouldn't have to pray about that, I would love to come and help once a month! "In that case," he said, "I would like you to pray about coming once a fortnight!" We were hooked! I had instantly gone from being retired to being the main event. Not only that, but we were a package deal. My wife is a singer as are our daughters. One of them played keyboards and in time our son joined the team to play drums. Moreover, we had gone from being the oldest people in the Church to the youngest.  God is Good! 

I became the music director at that church and we saw the church double in size over the next 5 years, with many young families joining our  fellowship. It was a great time for us as a family and for me personally as a worship leader. We were more than tolerated, we were celebrated!  

The Next Step in The Journey

Why do I tell this story? For this reason: if you feel like you are too old to lead worship, God may just be preparing you for the next place. Worship leading is not about age, it is about relevance. If you can bring the anointing to the fellowship, using songs that appeal to all generations across the church, including some of the great new songs that are constantly being released then you are not too old to lead worship. 

Let me say here too, in my humble opinion, worship leading is not about conforming to and following the latest trends in what songs are being recently released. It is about following YOUR anointing. I said before we are to remain relevant to our audience/ congregation. But this mustn’t be constrained to the latest releases. A good friend of mine is music director of a large church with 7 music teams and worship-leaders. He tells me the one thing that keeps the worship fresh and alive in his church is the variety that each individual worship-leader brings.  Not one of the worship leaders is a copy of anyone else. Each one brings something unique. That is God. He gives each of us a unique set of fingerprints. He wants us to be different, that's how He created us. Let's use that individuality to His glory in leading worship too. 

When are you too old? When you decide you are...And I figure on leaving that decision until I'm in my late eighties. 

Have a great week. 

Erick

When is it too loud?

When it's too loud

Years ago when I was in a Christian rock and roll band, we used to have a saying :" if it's too loud, you're too old. "
it's a funny saying and for a rock band it's probably right. However, As a worshipleader I'm not sure it fits in the music service.


When we lead worship, we have the amazing opportunity to bring people into the very presence of God. This is our calling, our priestly responsibility and our privilege.
When we lead people in worship, there is a number of essentials that go into the mix to make for a great worship service.

The Essential Mix

Prayer and preparation are on the top of the list.When I lead worship,  I spend a number of hours in prayer and preparation. I give myself to reading God's word and there are a number of devotionals I love to read. During this time I pray about the songs that I am going to do for that meeting.
Another important ingredient is great unity in the band. At practice and on the day of the service, it's important that we have a like mindedness and a singleness of purpose. This includes every member of the team: drummer, bass guitar, lead and rhythm instruments, vocalists and the sound man/woman. Unity is imperative to a great worship team. Scripture says that when we have unity, God commands the blessing.
Song choice and good flow from song to song is also very important, as is knowing when to modulate, when to have light and shade (loud and quiet).


The last thing I want to mention here is the reason for and the theme of this blog.
I visited a Church recently and while I enjoyed the service, in the worship I was "confronted" by a wall of sound. While the music was good and the mix was balanced, it felt more like I was at a concert than at a worship service. As I observed the band and the interaction with the congregation I couldn't help it think that something was missing.

Worship involves everyone

Worship in a church service should be a corporate event. That means that everyone should be involved in the worship, the band and the congregation. I could not hear any of the congregation singing. Come to think of it, I couldn't hear my own wife. Her lips were moving but I couldn't hear her. If you are in worship and you can't hear the congregation, it's too loud.
It's important to have a good sound balance coming from your front of house. If its too soft you have no control of the intensity of your mix and people can't hear you. If its too loud, people can't hear themselves, and that doesn't lend itself to great corporate worship.


Everyone involved in the production of the Worship service is important and a good mix is vital to the success of each service. 


For more help on this subject and many others, check out our website and free weekly worship leaders podcast on www.worshipleaderonline.com 


Have a great week!


Erick

What do you believe in?

I am becoming increasingly aware of the amount of religious material available to us in recent years.
When I say religious, I don't mean Christian; I mean things of every other religion on the world. Buddhist, Islam, New Age, eastern philosophies, the list goes on. All are being seen as "fashionable" , rather than religious as such.  I can't walk into a garden centre or landscape supplier without being bombarded with Buddhist statues and shrines, or down a weekend market without walking past a fortune teller or two, healing crystals, incense... It's all there!

 The Shrinking Church?

One would have to agree that if there is a supply it would follow that there is a demand.
And yet it appears that church attendance is waning especially in the western countries, and people are increasingly dissatisfied with what is "on offer" in the main stream churches today.
 It causes me to wonder: if churches are on the decrease because people are increasingly claiming to be Atheists (Denying the existence of God) or Agnostic (having no formal belief system or religion); and yet there is an increase of all the eastern and new-age religions, what do we really believe?
This also leads me to think that while people may say they are atheist or Agnostic, they still have a need to believe in something or someone higher than themselves.

The Need to Believe

I have heard it said that in each human being is created the need to search for its creator. We all have a "built-in God seeker" as it were. Some people choose to ignore it (atheism) others seek it out in human relationships, philosophies, religions of all types, etc. we all need to belong, be loved and be valued. This is how we are wired.
I am disturbed by the fact that people are leaving the church and the Christian faith in search for the Truth.   Jesus said: "I am the way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but through me. " (John 14:6). Why are we leaving the truth in search for Him?
My thinking is that Christianity is not considered fashionable, in fact many people (especially young people) think it is definitely old-fashioned. They also see it as boring, and the "churches are just full of hypocrites". We are guilty of not showing people the Truth. In fact, we have made church a social organisation that is relevant only for a certain section of our community. An Anglican priest once told me about his church that it is fast becoming a boutique religion, suitable only for a dying group of people.  In other words, he was saying that he feared that the church has lost its relevance.
Now I want to be absolutely clear here that in no way do I believe that every church and church organisation is in decline and no longer relevant. There are some large churches that really are impacting our community and society in a very positive way, and making a real difference in people's lives.
Jesus said "You will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free" (John 8:32).

Do you really know what you believe?

My challenge is that knowing what you believe is about studying it in intimate detail; seeking out the paths to better understanding what you believe.
I know my wife. I spend time with her, have conversations with her, hold her hand and kiss her, I listen to her (not often enough she says) and hear her thoughts, opinions, values, fears, and passions. Spending quality time with her makes me know her. Because I invest time in our relationship, I feel I truly do know her.
My concern is that as Christians, we do not spend enough quality time getting to know our saviour. We make no time for intimacy, and through a lack of this knowledge we actually miss out on God's amazing best for our lives.
If we don't know our Saviour, who also happens to be the creator of the universe, then how can we actually know what we believe?

Carnality has taken hold in the church.

I was talking to a dear friend and mentor about this recently, and she raised this subject with me as a great concern. As Christians, we are not separated anymore, she said, we have so much of the world in the church, it is difficult to differentiate us from the world. The result is that we just don't appeal to people who are looking for truth and belonging.
Romans 8:6 "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His."
Here is a warning that what we have been rescued from, we are not to allow back into our lives.
Being separated from the world does not mean we are exclusive from the world, but that we set the standard that people should aspire to.
This means being above reproach! Christians should have greater levels of integrity than anyone else. Christians should know what our faith demands of us, and how the Holy Spirit helps us to achieve that.
Our faith is about relationship with the Creator of the Universe; the Saviour of humankind. We have the Answer living in us! If we really know what we believe, we know that!


I mentioned integrity. Sadly I think this is a quality that is missing in many Christians today. We just don’t walk the talk. I said before, we should be setting the standard. What was it that attracted early seekers to the church? They were different. The Bible says: “together they had all things in common.” Together. Unity. Blessing. There is great reward in intimate relationship with Jesus, but there is also a cost.

You can't give what you don't have.

 If you don't have it in you, you can't give it out.  What we believe should not only affect who we are, but also influence those we come in contact with us.  If I don't know what I believe, how can I share it with others; either verbally or by example?
This is an important question. However, a more pertinent question is: if you don't know what you believe, where will you spend eternity?
The last thing I want my God to say when I stand before Him is “Depart from Me, I never knew you”
Food for thought?


Have a great week!


Erick

GRACE... AGAIN (part 2)

GRACE, AGAIN. (part 2).

In this blog, I continue the thoughts about the Grace of God, how we understand it, versus what the Bible teaches. (please see below for part 1)

COMING TO GRIPS WITH GRACE

Romans 8:1 :"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
Romans 8:5-8
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Galatians 6:8
Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit."

JESUS, THE TRUE VINE

Read this passage twice:
John 15:1-8
“ I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
“ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

In Me

I want you to notice two things:
1) the phrase "in Me" is in this passage 6 times;
2) 5 times it is preceded by the word Abide.
The true key to our Christian life is in this passage in a nutshell: We are to abide in Christ. To be grafted in the vine means that the vine has to be cut in order for the graft to be inserted. The graft then has to take on all the nutrients that flow through the vine to assure its survival and ability to bear fruit.
If you have ever had a go at grafting, you will have found that sometimes a graft doesn't take. The graft then has to be removed because if it doesn't it will draw unnecessary nutrients from the vine that will not benefit the graft and may cause damage to the vine. Once the graft is removed, it is destroyed.
Note also the warning that Christ gave in verse 2: "Any branch IN ME that does not bear fruit, He (the Father) takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may hear more fruit"
In this verse I see judgement and grace.
In Me means grafted. No fruit means no change. No change means the Father cuts off that branch and throws it away. This is judgement.
Bearing fruit means that God by His Grace prunes us: SO THAT WE MAY BEAR MORE FRUIT. Grace makes up the shortfall. God wants us to be fruitful, and then he prunes us (takes away the stuff that holds us back) so that we may bear more fruit!
I saw a great definition of grace on Facebook the other day: "Grace: God's divine power exerting Influence upon the heart of man. Grace doesn't grant us permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit." Col Stringer.

GRACE: WE DON'T DO THIS ON OUR OWN

Let's look at this next scripture:
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
You know what? Life isn't easy. Doing things God's way can be tough! But God gives us the instruction manual AND His Holy Spirit to help us and guide us. And the great cloud of witnesses are cheering us on!! God knows the pitfalls and downfalls of this life. Jesus walked this earth and experienced all the troubles, problems, challenges and temptations that this world offers and He overcame. We too can overcome. The Bible says in Revelation 12:11; " by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony." hallelujah !!

GRACE, SHEEP, AND LITTLE CHILDREN.

I want to pull one more scripture about grace out and present it to you. It is the parable of the lost sheep.
Jesus talks in Matthew 18 on the subject of who is the greatest in heaven. Basically He says that unless you become like a little child, you can't even get into the kingdom of heaven! (vs3)
He then likens greatness in the Kingdom to the humbleness of a little child. Ok keep that thought in mind as you travel to verse 12 & 13:
Parable of the Lost Sheep
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety- nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety- nine that didn’t wander away!"
This is a great passage on God's grace. Jesus will come looking for you when you become lost! And before you think about grace applying to people in rebellion, I want to point out the Jesus is still talking about little children. Little children are easily trained and corrected and when lost, they want to be found.
When thinking about the sheep I also think of the passage in John 10:27-29
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand."
Don't you just love Grace??


I hope this study has helped you as it has me get a better understanding of the Magnitude and the Magnificence of God's grace. I pray that you don't abuse it, and that you learn what it means to abide in the Vine.
If this has helped you, or if you disagree, please drop me a note.
Sorry it is such a long subject, but I think we are far from finished with the discussions and the discoveries of this thing called Grace.
Have a great week!
Erick

GRACE...AGAIN (part 1)

 Grace again. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about the subject of grace... again. 

It seems to me that as Christians we have very different understanding about God's Grace; how it works, who it is for, the types of grace, etc. 

I've asked a lot of people questions, (people I know and trust, who have a good knowledge of the word of God, and an understanding of God's undying love for His creation), and had some deep conversations with them about this subject. Having said all that, I do not count myself as an authority on the subject, just a student with a desire to know and understand what is the depth our heavenly Father's grace. 

FOUNDATIONS OF GRACE

First of all, I want to make it clear that the Bible teaches that it is not the Father's will that any man should perish. John 3:16 says that "God so loved the World..." This is an all encompassing statement. 

2Peter3:9 says that "the Lord is ...not willing that any should perish..."  Here God extends to us His saving grace. He holds out His arms and says: Come! "Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" and again "To as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the children of God." and: "...that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" 

 See, we need God, but we are so far separated from Him and His goodness, that we could never of ourselves attain or earn salvation. Romans 3:10 says no one is righteous, and vs 23 says " all have sinned and fall short of God's Glory" This is clear indication that it is God's saving Grace that brings us into His family. When we receive Him, we by the saving Grace of Jesus Christ are empowered to become God's children. We are saved, by grace. Amen! 

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ARE SAVED? 

Well, that's it then, you say. If I receive Jesus Christ and believe in Him,  I am saved forever because God loves me and wants me to be His child. 

Well, I agree with almost all of that last statement. God does love me, and He does want me to be His child. However, there are conditions. 

Put off the Old, Put on the New

In John 1:12 we read the following:"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name".

Believing in Jesus and His power to save is pivotal and foundational to our relationship with God.  However, faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, requires of us obedience to Him and separation from the former life. 

Paul instructs us to put off the old man and put on the new man. Ephesians 4:22-24:

"...that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." 

Please understand here that putting off the old and putting on the new is not a 2-minute process, this is something we do organically (as we grow,)and continuously. There will always be things in our lives that require "putting off". This too is the grace of God, that He allows us to change as we grow; He doesn't demand instant perfection.

To the Romans Paul writes: " ...to be carnally minded is enmity against God (8:7) and in the next verse: "Those who are in the flesh can not please God" 

Galatians 5:24:"And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

Galatians 6:8:"For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

Galatians 5:22-25

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self- control. Against such there is no law.  And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."

You can plainly see the instructions given throughout the New Testament on Christian Living, and the changes in our lives that God requires of us in our call to Holiness. Note again though that we are not doing this of and by ourselves; Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit, our helper. And where we fail, grace makes up the shortfall! 

GRACE AND THE INSTRUCTION MANUAL

When I purchase a new car, it comes with lots of options and features. The salesman does his best to give these to me in a 2-minute nutshell, but then he opens the glove compartment and pulls out the vehicle instruction book. This details all of the car's features and benefits and a detailed list of do's and don'ts and maintenance instructions, which, if carefully followed will give me a vehicle which will run to its optimum specifications with the maximum performance and problem free running.  

One thing many people seem to forget is that the Bible is written for and to Christians (especially the New Testament). It is our instruction manual for life. When we follow life to the manufacturer's specifications according to the manual, the reader will get the optimum out of the Life as given to him/ her by the designer and manufacturer (author and finisher : Heb 12:2)  

Now here is where the key difference to all other religions comes in: God knows that we are incapable of following His commands to the letter. We are a sinful being, living in a sinful world, who continue to get it wrong. We are in need of God's grace to make up the shortfall. Thank God for Jesus! Thank God for His Grace! 

I’m going to break this blog in parts as it’s too long to post in one hit.

Please let me know your thoughts so far, and I will continue this next week.

Have a great week!

Keeping the worship passion alive!

By way of introduction. This blog is dedicated to my pastor Brian Clothier who preached on the subject of " Having a fervent spirit for serving God".
The blog is based on my notes taken during the message.

Life is tidal.
It has its highs and lows, its ups and downs. One day you feel great, the next day not so great. You will hear the preacher exhort you from the pulpit: "Don't allow your feelings to determine your level of greatness. "
That's easier said than done. Bad things happen to good people. Life can be tough, and the pain of life is sometimes insurmountable. Excitement wanes, and it causes us to reconsider; do we want to go on and continue doing what we have been doing, or do we just give up altogether?
Here are 5 keys which I believe will help you keep the worship fire well lit and the passion alive:

1) God will give you the energy to keep going.
When we are in ministry, and obedient to God's call, the Holy Spirit energises us. Jesus said: "my food is to do the will of God"(John 4:34). What God has called you to do and what He has gifted you in will energise you. I have known of friends in the ministry and even myself, who, even though tired from the ministry workload, are continually amazed at the strength and vitality they continue to have when doing God's work. My brother once shared with me about a time he was ministering overseas, and the people kept coming to him for prayer. The Holy Spirit was moving in a mighty way and miracles were happening left and right. My brother said that even though he knew he should be really tired as the time was well past midnight, he was amazed at the amount of energy he had. This continued right up until he was back in his hotel room and he collapsed in bed and slept 10 hours! God made sure he had the energy to continue in his anointing as long as was necessary.

2) Don't burn out.
When God finished His creation work, the bible says He rested. Was God tired from making all that stuff? Certainly not! I believe this was set in place for our benefit. No one can continuously work seven days a week. Sure you can do it for a time, but sooner or later you are going to crash and burn. We are not designed to just keep going constantly without a break. What am I saying? Keep a healthy balance between work, ministry and down time. I have been in situations that have required me to work hard and long hours to provide for my family, my Saturdays were then taken up with looking after the maintenance around the house, and looking after kids, etc and then the expectation was for me to be at church early on Sunday morning, ( usually around 7:30am) and be there until 12:30, go home, have lunch and a quick break, ready to start back at church at 4.00pm to get ready for the 6.00pm service thigh would take me through to about 8.00pm. By then I would stagger home, looking for a weekend! This is not sustainable!!! If you are a worship leader and have that sort of demand placed on you, be careful; you run the risk of burning out. Make sure you get down time, and if at all possible, share the load.
Romans 12:11 says: "Don't burn out, keep yourself fuelled and aflame in serving the Master. " God wants us all to serve Him with fervency and zeal.
Successful sports or business people constantly reinvigorate and re-invent themselves. Don't be so driven that you burn out. Maintain the balance of work, rest and play. If you stretch yourself too far you will snap.

3) Passion and Persistence Pays.
Education and/or intelligence by themselves are not enough to make you successful. You may have great musical ability and a beautiful voice. I have met plenty of people with lots of technical knowledge about music and song structure , and yet they have not been able to turn that knowledge into great worship. There is a difference between being really talented and being passionate. Recently I watched a music class give a performance. There were 2 young ladies in particular who both had nice voices. The stand out difference between the two was one girl's passion with which she presented her song. My observation was : she was living her music.
Persistence, consistency, tenacity, passion, desire and enthusiasm are the ingredients that will make an average person superior. Lethargy, complacency and indifference are the ingredients for making a superior person average.
People are looking for strong leadership (including in worship) and generally it is those with a passion that will draw followers, rather than just great and knowledgable thinkers who have no spunk.
If you don't want your fire to go out, watch out for complacency.

4) Watch out for familiarity.
After having done the same thing for so long you become bored with it. We see it in marriage, work, friendships and on the stage. Worship leading is not just about putting together another bunch of songs for this Sunday's service.
How many times have you found a new app for your iPhone, or a new fad going around your circle of friends; you are totally taken in by it and consumed by it until after a while you become bored with it and it dies its natural death.
We often hear about a familiar spirit, one which causes us to lose respect for people or things we should consider sacred or holy. Familiarity is a very dangerous attitude in the ministry. When we become too familiar with worship leading, complacency can cause us to lose our passion. And, let me say, people will notice, and so does God. And I want to warn you, this is not acceptable to God. In fact I believe it is offensive to Him. The anointing will be affected.

5) Let others' passion rub off on you.
God's call on your life is about impacting people for Jesus. It is important to be around fervent people, whose excitement will rub off on us. Be spurred on by the passion of others.
John prophesied Jesus would baptise us with fire
Matthew 3:11 says: "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
Get together with God and ask him to revitalise you. Rekindle the fire in your spirit by prayer, reading God's word, getting around great worship, and letting others rub off on you. Don't forget, a jug can not pour out what is isn't filled with. And once you empty a jug, you have to refill it before you can pour more out. I know that statement sounds really simplistic, but the truth of it runs deep. You can not continue to give of yourself in ministry without filling yourself up.
I love going to other churches where I am not known and drowning myself in their worship. I love listening to great live worship music while I travel, and I love getting around my good friends and pastor who regularly encourage me and whose passion for Jesus keeps me charged up!

Well, there you have it. Five important keys to keeping the passion alive. Be encouraged, worship leader; you have an important role to play in the economy of God and in the worship service. Treat your ministry with the honour and respect that God deserves. If you are offering your worship to God, let it be a sweet smelling fragrance to Him. It will be the most important thing you do this Sunday.
Have a great one!



Erick

Life changers, World changers.

The Man in the mirror

Michael Jackson got it right. In the song : "man in the mirror" he sings 

I'm looking at the man in the mirror

I'm telling him to change his ways

No message   could be any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

You gotta look at your self and make the change"

…Change the world, begin with yourself. 

World Changers

Each one of us has a purpose in life; a holy calling. 

It has been dawning on me in recent weeks that God has put us in this world at this time and in this place for a special purpose. There is a reason why we exist, why here and why now. This is a very important thing to realise, because it validates who I am and who you are. Our place and time on this earth is no mere accident, no matter what anyone says. 

Throughout time there have been people whose actions have had a major influence on the course of history: Some to a large extent and others to a small extent, but history makers none the less. These people I call World changers.

Heroes

In a previous blog, I spoke of the Biblical heroes of the faith who died not ever having seen the fulfilment of the promise of God. Did that make them failures? Certainly not! The fact that they obeyed God in the face of defeat, without seeing the fulfilment of their purpose made them heroes. These people were life changers whose actions changed the World. God had radically influenced their lives to bring them to a complete change of direction. Through their obedience and faith, God was able to change the course of history to set it in the right direction to achieve His ultimate purpose. 

I wonder sometimes what my purpose in life is, and how I could ever make a difference I this world; how I could change the course of history. You know, I may never know. 

Your calling and mine are no different. Who knows just what God has planned for the people that we touch. 

Worship Leader, Life Changer

I love that as a worship leader, I have a privileged opportunity to bring people into the very throne room of God. Only God knows what he will do with that person in that place.  And if that one has an audience with the most high and has a revolutionary revelation, which  changes their life and in turn the course of history, we share in that. I can't stress enough how important you are in the scheme of things.

We have an amazing opportunity to be used of God to be life changers.  

Every piece in a puzzle is needed to complete a picture. I don't know if you have ever completed a puzzle, perhaps one with a piece of blue sky in it. There are many pieces which all look the same. You might say their position in the overall puzzle is not important; they don't display any particular colours or shapes which set them apart and give an obvious clue as to their position in the picture. However, when the puzzle is done and all the pieces are in place, if a piece of that sky is missing, the puzzle would not look right, the missing piece would leave a very obvious hole, and the picture would not be complete as the designer intended it to be. Not only that, but no other piece will fit in its place.  Do you see? 

As a worship leader, your part in the church is vital; you are called to be a life changer. When you lead your congregation in anointed worship, you are bringing them into a life-changing place where miracles happen and where God meets his people face to face. 

As a Christian you are called to be a life changer. Find where you fit. There is a special place for you, and the Designer is looking for you to fill that gap and be that part of the puzzle designed uniquely for you! 

Have an amazing week. 

Erick. 

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