Chapter One
One Thing
It was a hot and humid Sunday morning. Sweat
was pouring down my face and the service
hadn't even begun. The congregation was gathering,
but as I looked toward the front of the church,
I was perplexed to see no drums, no amps, no keyboards.
There weren't even any microphones or
speakers set up. I wondered how on earth we were
going to worship. And then it began: A loud voice
pierced the silence and instantly all the people were
on their feet singing their hearts out. The harmonies
and melodies that filled the air created the
most beautiful sound. The joy and heartfelt adoration
on the faces of the congregation were infectious.
I wanted what they had.
People were wholeheartedly consumed with
their Savior. They had a joy and contentment
that made me envious. Yet when I looked at their
surroundings, I was confused. The church of the
Prince of Peace is based in the township of
Inanda, Durban, South Africa. The people of this
township live in extreme poverty. AIDS is rife, and
pain and suffering are part of everyday life. Surely
their songs should be those of lament and pain, not
joy and celebration. It took a while to sink in, but as
the service progressed, the reason for their joy struck
me. They had encountered the Lord Jesus. They
knew where they had come from and they were well
aware of their present, but ultimately they understood
where they were going. They understood completely
that Jesus was enough. Whatever life threw at
them, it couldn't rob them of the glorious riches of
knowing God and being known by Him. They would
always have reason to praise. That Sunday morning
I learned an invaluable lesson about worship.
Worship is not about songs or music. Worship is all
about Jesus.
Fixed Gaze
In the West we are so driven and ambitious. Everything
is about getting results and making things
happen. The primary focus is on gifting-if you're
clever, then you'll achieve; if you're beautiful, then
you'll be favored. As humans we have become self-obsessed.
Every day we live to impress others and
earn respect. The gospel, however, turns this way of
life on its head. Until we surrender our rights and die
to ourselves, we can achieve nothing. As Jesus said,
"Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it" (Matt. 10:39). The
beauty of the gospel is that we cannot earn our salvation.
We can work forever and a day and still never
earn a moment of God's grace. The first thing God
calls us to do is to watch Him-to gaze into His eyes
and behold His greatness.
My family had a tradition that I hated. Regularly
we would invite guests for Sunday lunch. After the
meal my two brothers and I would clear away and
wash the dishes, while my parents and the guests sat
down for coffee. Every Sunday, without fail, one of
my brothers would seem to desperately need to use
the bathroom after the meal. Apparently, he couldn't
wait, so while we washed and dried the dishes, that
brother would sit on the toilet. This always wound
me up, but the thing that made me cross was when
he would wander through with a really smug look on
his face just as we were about to finish. Perhaps it's
because of these Sunday afternoons that I can relate
to Mary and Martha's encounter with Jesus!
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named
Martha opened her home to him. She had a
sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet
listening to what he said. But Martha was
distracted by all the preparations that had to
be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to
do the work by myself?. Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you
are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen
what is better, and it will not be taken
away from her" (Luke 10:38-42).
It's not every day that the Savior of the world
pops in for tea. Mary and Martha must have been very
excited. Straightaway Martha swang into action and
exerted herself in all the preparations at hand. While
she was rushing around doing all the work, her sister,
Mary, just sat at Jesus' feet, hanging on His every
word. Surely Mary was in the wrong here. Wasn't she
being selfish and lazy? Eventually Martha lost her
cool and turned to Jesus for help. Her question was
brilliantly crafted and deserving of all the sympathy
and respect in the world: "Lord, don't you care that
my sister has left me to do the work by myself?"
The answer Martha received must have taken her
by surprise. Jesus tenderly pointed out that she
missed the point. The keyword in this passage is "distracted":
"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations
that had to be made." Martha thought she
was doing the right and honorable thing. There was
work to be done and she was going to do it. By working
hard, she would demonstrate to Jesus how much
she loved Him.
However, Jesus did not desire this from her. He
desired Martha's intimacy-her company. In this
short story, it was Mary who chose the right thing-the
one thing that was needed most. She sat at Jesus'
feet and enjoyed spending time with Him, learning
from Him and discovering more about Him. Jesus
was delighted by this response. Mary chose to watch
and fix her gaze on Jesus before she chose to work.
As worship leaders, we must take note of this lesson.
We are very good at doing things-organizing
events, planning services and attending prayer meetings.
These tasks and events are important and worthy,
but they must never come at the expense of
knowing God. Recently I had a few days to spend time
with the Lord. I was so excited about this chance to
escape and spend some quality time alone, but as I sat
down on the first morning, I was surprised at how
hard I found it to settle down. My mind buzzed with
all the things I had to do, and I put off reading and
praying by finding other tasks I felt were more important.
After a while I realized that, like Martha, I was
distracted by things of lesser importance. Eventually I
managed to still myself and was refreshed as I sat at
Jesus' feet.
Before we play our songs and commit to serving
Jesus, we need to adore and cherish Him. Sometimes
amid the pressure to succeed we lose this focus. A passage
of Scripture that expresses beautifully the heart
of a radical worshiper is found in Psalm 27:4:
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I
seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty
of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
If you are involved in leading worship or playing
in a worship team, the most important thing you can
do to be effective in your ministry is to seek after
God, to chase after a glimpse of His glory. Desire this
first, before you learn to grow in your musicality and
leadership skills.
Highest Calling
Worship is our highest calling. There is nothing of
more importance that we can do in this life. On this
theme, John Piper says:
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church.
Worship is. Missions exists because worship
doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When the
age is over, and countless millions of the
redeemed fall on their faces before the throne
of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary
necessity. But worship abides forever.
When that day comes and we behold the Lord in
all His glory, we will worship and praise Him forever.
That is what we have been created for. We have been
designed by God for this sole purpose. It is our duty
and joy to worship God. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus
responded to the question, "Teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in the Law?" (22:36), by saying,
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first
and greatest commandment" (vv. 37-38). This is why
Jesus rejoiced so in Mary's response to Him. She
didn't give her offerings of prepared food or gifts;
instead, she gave all she had-herself. This is the worship
that Jesus requires. Singing songs to God isn't
enough; that in itself is not worship. Worship
involves offering to God all that we are and all that
we'll be-offering our heart, soul and mind.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul says, "Therefore, I
urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer
your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing
to God-this is your spiritual act of worship" (12:1).
We must remind ourselves that worship is our all-consuming
response to God. It affects the way we live.
When we live life in the knowledge that all that we do
is worship, we change.
For three years I studied history at Sheffield
University in Great Britain. I have to be honest and
say that I found my studies pretty boring. I was not
the most enthusiastic member of my class. However,
I remember being really challenged by a verse in
1 Corinthians that says, "So whether you eat or drink
or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God"
(10:31). It dawned on me that when writing an essay,
I should be doing it for God's glory. Even something
as dull and boring as writing a history essay can be an
act of worship. In fact, all that we do-including our
words, deeds and choices-should be to the glory of
God. For this reason worship also involves serving
and loving others.
When Jesus talked about the greatest commandment,
He then moved on to talk about the second commandment,
which is like the first, "Love your neighbor
as yourself" (Matt. 22:39). We first worship the Lord,
and then from that place we look to love those around
us. We cannot worship if we don't also serve.
Overflow
Worship pours from the overflow of our hearts. If you
squeeze an orange, out of it will come orange juice. If
you squeeze your heart, what will flow out? Will it be
a love for yourself? Will it be your love for a pop band,
a football team, a girlfriend or a boyfriend? Will it be
your passion for Jesus? We all worship. Humans have
been created to worship. The big question is, Who or
what will we worship? John Wimber once said, "Our
heart's desire should be to worship God; we have been
designed by God for this purpose. If we don't worship
God, we'll worship something or someone else." If
Jesus isn't the number one priority in our lives, we will
never fully worship Him. We certainly won't be
moved to share the love of Jesus with others.
Awhile back I was on a plane heading to Los
Angeles. As I sat there trying to keep myself amused,
I noticed that a few rows in front of me was Chris
Martin, the lead singer of the band Coldplay. I have to
admit that I was starstruck. I watched everything he
did: how he ate his croissant, how he talked to the
cabin crew and how he listened to his audio player. As
soon as I stepped off the plane, I told all my friends
about this amazing encounter. I'm embarrassed to
say that I got quite carried away. My eyes had seen
someone famous and I wanted the world to know.
When our eyes truly see Jesus and our hearts comprehend
His life-changing love, we will not be able to
contain ourselves from telling others about Him. His
love will burst forth from within us. I've sat in so
many meetings where we've been exhorted to get out
there and tell the world about Jesus, to go and serve,
to demonstrate the love of God. If we spend our day
caring for others, meeting people's needs and serving
communities purely because of guilt, we will be far
less effective than if we go out and serve because we
are so in love with Jesus-then we will see the world
changed.
Jesus has to be at the center of our worship. I've
heard that when Mother Teresa was asked how she
went about each day, she said, "Each morning I meditate
on Jesus. I then go and look for him in disguise."
This is how we should worship. We first look
to Jesus, and then we look to love Him among the
poor and the broken. As Bishop Graham Cray said,
"Worship without mission is self-indulgent. Mission
without worship is self-defeating."
If our worship and adoration of Jesus don't lead
us to the poor or into the streets, then it's purely
self-indulgent. On the other hand, if we try and
reach the world in our own strength, we will see little
fruit. Our love for others and our desire to serve
have to come from our overwhelming love for Jesus.
True worship means that in everything we do, we do
it for Jesus.
You call us first to love Your name, To worship You.
To please Your heart our one desire, O Lord.
Chorus If there's one thing we are called to do, It's to love You, to adore You.
We will bring our all and worship You, Bow before You, as we love You.
Your honour, Lord, Your name's renown
We long to see.
So let the glory of Your name
Be praised.
(Continues.)
