Participants:
Series Code: AVGC
Program Code: AVGC210004S
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00:05 Thank you for joining us today.
00:07 We're going to have a great time 00:08 I believe in the Lord. 00:10 I'm here with Brother Tim Parton. 00:11 Tim, it's good to have you here today. 00:13 Awesome to be here. 00:14 And you're the general manager 00:15 of the Praise Him Music Network. 00:17 Yes. Yes. 00:18 And I couldn't have anybody any better handpicked 00:20 by the Lord brought you here, how many years ago? 00:23 Five years ago. Five years ago. 00:25 So if you've not familiar with 3ABN Praise Him Music, 00:29 you can go to our website, there's many ways, 00:31 if you got Roku, there's a number of ways, 00:33 just go to our website, and it'll tell you 00:35 how to watch, 24/7 music, right? 00:37 Yes, that's the truth. 00:38 So today we wanted to talk about, 00:40 we've been asked to talk about creating, 00:42 you know, using music, creating a worship atmosphere. 00:45 So I sometimes think about, of course, our church services. 00:49 And so your background, you come from... 00:51 I come from a more of Pentecostal... 00:53 Pentecostal like Cinda Garter's background. 00:56 I came from Seventh-day Adventist, 00:57 we have people who come from Baptist, 00:59 and, you know, you name it. 01:01 And all of us, it seems like in different cultures, 01:04 the black, the white, the Hispanics, 01:05 we all have different ways of music. 01:08 And sometimes we get to think and what we do is exactly what, 01:12 you know, the right way what God wants. 01:14 Sure. 01:15 But I have a feeling when we get to heaven, 01:16 we're all going to be educated on what God... 01:20 He wants the praises of His people. 01:21 Most definitely. 01:22 Now I'd like to start out by asking our folks at home, 01:26 why would God want the praises of people? 01:29 I mean, think about it. 01:30 Here's a God who's a Creator God. 01:32 And it talks about the angels praise Him, 01:34 he wants the praises of His people. 01:37 I mean, it seems kind of self-centered 01:38 if you first think about it, Tim. 01:40 Right. 01:41 Like, if I went around saying, "Tim, I want you to praise me." 01:44 I mean, you'd be gone, 01:45 "Oh, my, oh, my, what's wrong with him?" 01:47 But it really hit me 01:49 because I was talking to Lord one, 01:52 you know, not long ago. 01:53 And I said, I was asking about, 01:55 He inhabits the praises of His people. 01:57 But He says, you know, we should praise the Lord. 02:01 And suddenly, it's just like, He told me, 02:03 "I don't need the praise, you need it. 02:05 You need to praise Me." 02:06 Why do we need to praise the Lord? 02:07 The answer to me is really pretty simple. 02:09 When I'm praising the Lord, 02:11 when you're praising the Lord whether it's through prayer, 02:14 whether it's through reading, whether it's through music, 02:18 whatever it is, you are now inviting 02:21 the Holy Spirit into your heart. 02:23 You're pushing everything out. 02:24 You can't praise the Lord, 02:26 and be thinking about things 02:27 you shouldn't be thinking about. 02:29 So for our own salvation, for our own growth, 02:32 our own spiritual growth, 02:34 I believe, that's why God wants us 02:37 to praise Him. 02:38 It's for us to Him, He doesn't need it. 02:40 He knows who He is, don't you agree? 02:41 Right. 02:43 And it reminds me of that song that says, 02:44 turn your eyes upon Jesus and the things of earth 02:46 will grow faintly dim... 02:47 That's right. In the light of His glory... 02:50 Right. Right. And grace. 02:51 I want to talk a little bit again today about music. 02:54 So there in churches, there's fast music, you know, 02:59 there's some medium, there's your slow, 03:01 there's your, what we call worship, 03:02 a lot of our universities have classical music. 03:06 But there's something that I've learned several years ago, 03:09 I was reading about 03:11 and began to discuss in creating a worship, 03:14 you know, atmosphere, 03:16 but there's what we call a horizontal praise music, 03:20 and then there's a vertical. 03:21 Right. 03:23 You're familiar with that, right? 03:24 Sure. Yeah. 03:25 Maybe you could give us an examples of some, 03:27 maybe how about doing a horizontal, 03:29 and then tell me when and where that would be used. 03:31 Well, I think the horizontal is 03:34 when we're singing to each other, 03:36 we're singing down here on this level. 03:37 And that's a more of a testimonial type of song. 03:40 Even if it were to, 03:43 even if you did something like... 03:44 I will praise Him I will praise Him 03:48 We're still... 03:49 Even though we're praising Him when we say it, 03:52 we're not saying I will praise You. 03:55 Because that would be, you know, up to... 03:57 I'll get to heaven. 03:58 So that would be definitely horizontal. 04:01 Because we're testifying... 04:03 When we all get to heaven 04:06 What a day of rejoicing that will be Okay. 04:10 Yeah, right. So that is the horizontal. 04:12 Right. 04:13 It's a testimony we're sharing with each other. 04:14 So it's like if you go to church 04:16 and somebody says, 04:17 "Okay, we got our next five minutes 04:19 so we're going to give you a chance to get up 04:20 and give a testimony." 04:21 Right. 04:23 So you're testifying in front of the others, 04:24 guess what God did for me this week. 04:25 Right. 04:27 So there's a lot of music 04:28 and a lot of your faster tempo music 04:30 would be more... 04:32 Horizontal. Horizontal. Sure. 04:33 So and there's nothing wrong with that, right? 04:36 No, no, absolutely. 04:37 In fact, that's edifying the saints, 04:39 that's encouraging each other. 04:40 Okay. All right. Yeah, that's what that's... 04:42 So it's like getting around 04:43 and having a Bible study and talking. 04:45 Right. Yeah. 04:46 Let me tell you what the Lord has done for me. 04:47 Okay, got it. All right. 04:49 Now tell me about vertical music 04:51 and give me some samples. 04:52 So there are... 04:53 Especially, over the past few years 04:55 where the new praise choruses and but even... 04:59 Lord, I lift Your name on high 05:02 Lord, I love to sing Your praises 05:05 You came from heaven to earth to show the way 05:09 So it's just to Him. 05:11 Right up to Him. Yeah. 05:12 You can do that right at home while you're... 05:14 Give me another sample, something else. 05:16 So let me think here. 05:22 Jesus, Jesus, Jesus 05:26 There's just something about your name 05:30 Sing it some more. That's beautiful. 05:32 Master, Savior, Jesus, 05:37 You're like the fragrance 05:39 After the rain 05:44 Jesus, Jesus, 05:48 My Jesus, 05:52 Let all Heaven and earth proclaim 05:58 Sing it. 05:59 Kings and kingdoms will all pass away 06:05 But, Lord, there's something about Your name 06:11 So you can even take... Right. 06:14 You can even take a horizontal song like that, 06:17 and even change, you know, because... 06:19 Several years ago I wrote this little song. 06:22 And it was just sitting around in the evenings... 06:24 All my prayers I don't know, if you hit a D, maybe. 06:28 All my prayers 06:31 I give You all my prayers 06:36 That's all 06:39 I have to offer You 06:44 I now build, I build a sanctuary 06:49 Oh, come on. 06:50 Now deep, where, deep within my heart 06:57 And all my prayers, 07:00 I offer up to You 07:05 And it goes through, I love You, Lord, 07:07 I love You, Lord, Oh, how I love You, Lord. 07:10 And so I was going through some pretty rough times, 07:14 and it was just me and the Lord, 07:16 and I picked up my guitar. 07:17 And there it came, you know, and all these words. 07:20 And it drew me so close, I almost felt like, 07:24 God lifted me out of where I was, 07:27 and took me into His presence. 07:29 And that's what we're talking about, right? 07:31 Totally, totally. 07:32 So it's out of that personal experience. 07:34 And, you know, I really feel like 07:36 you're really good at that. 07:37 I know, we do on 3ABN, we will do some special events, 07:42 like a Thanksgiving event. 07:44 And we get in the mood, 07:47 and we get to talking about the goodness of God. 07:50 And that's what creates an atmosphere. 07:53 And so, you know, it's basically like, 07:55 a relationship with any of your friends, 07:59 you know, when you get to memorializing 08:01 or just, you know, eulogizing, 08:03 you just talking about each other, 08:05 and the kindness of each other, 08:09 and you begin to say, you know, "I love that about you." 08:12 And so we celebrate each other that same way. 08:15 And so even more so when we're talking about God 08:18 because He's done so much for us. 08:20 So I love the idea of celebrating Him. 08:24 And that's what we do. 08:26 And so we can really create... 08:27 Once you get to talking about God, 08:29 then you're beginning to create and invite that experience. 08:33 Now when you get into church, oftentimes, 08:34 we don't have that the time to really develop, 08:38 you know, and really talk about Him 08:40 like we should 08:42 because we're under the restraints of, you know, 08:44 the church service time 08:45 but that's why songs were written 08:47 to cut to the chase, get to the point. 08:49 So anyway. 08:50 There's been a big change in music 08:54 in the Adventist Church. 08:55 For instance, if we go back 08:57 to the early founders and foundation, 08:59 I've been reading some 09:01 and I go back to the widest stage, 09:02 you can find a lot of information 09:04 there about music. 09:06 But we saw a different kind of music 09:08 than maybe you would see 09:10 in a lot of our churches today, Tim. 09:12 We talked about, it is one story about 09:15 James White says no matter where he was, 09:17 he was standing at the back of the church 09:18 and when they were singing, 09:20 louder, more up-tempo songs, again, 09:22 because they're excited. 09:23 Jesus is coming again, Jesus is coming soon. 09:26 We're so excited. 09:28 So they said, "He would come down 09:29 the aisle tapping his Bible, or he would sit up 09:32 and be tapping his foot and like, 09:33 just praising the Lord. 09:35 Ellen White makes a statement 09:37 that music as important to a service as prayer. 09:42 Now for a lot of us, 09:44 that may be kind of a shock, like what? 09:46 Because I have to tell you, when I go to a church, 09:49 and we travel a lot, 09:51 so there's not any particular church, 09:52 I'm not talking about yours, 09:54 but we've traveled most of the world. 09:56 And a lot of the churches you go in and you... 09:58 So I think sometimes we're talking, you know, 10:01 Adventist Christian to Adventist Christian 10:03 since General Conference 10:05 but some of us are so worried that 10:07 we're going to look like the rest of the world 10:09 or we're going to look to "Pentecostal," 10:12 if I use that term, 10:14 that we somehow pull back so far, 10:16 we don't want to be associated with that, 10:18 that our music sometimes is dry. 10:20 It's like, I've been in church services, 10:22 where it seems like and you start may be 10:24 a Sabbath school. 10:25 And it's like, hardly no one is singing. 10:27 And I've actually seen some years ago on 3ABN. 10:31 So I told the people, "Look, 10:32 if you're going to send videotapes 10:34 of your church services, 10:35 when the camera shows the audience, 10:37 people either looking like this or just limping a little bit 10:41 or they're looking at to watch." 10:42 I said, "That's not going to invite." 10:44 No one's going to say, 10:45 "Wow, I want to be a part of this service." 10:47 So music, when we go to churches, 10:50 I've been to churches, I call it may be cold, 10:53 but it's when there's no enthusiasm, 10:54 it's like, okay, whoever plans a service, "Okay, 10:58 we're going to come out with this, 10:59 we're going to have a prayer." 11:01 It might be a great prayer, and may it even be prayer time. 11:04 Now let's do music, you know? 11:05 Okay, we'll do this song. 11:07 And as soon as this over, 11:08 we tell our mission story we do. 11:10 But what she's saying here that 11:12 music as is important to prayer. 11:15 And I can see that bringing in, inviting the Holy Spirit. 11:19 Again, that's part of that praise 11:21 we were talking about earlier. 11:22 You're inviting the Holy Spirit to come down and be with you. 11:27 Now on the other side, I'll flip the coin. 11:31 I've gone to a lot of churches, 11:33 where, in fact, I remember years ago, 11:35 it wasn't Adventist church 11:36 but more in a Pentecostal line. 11:38 And my daughter and I was singing there. 11:40 I had never met the preacher 11:41 but somebody had told them we should come. 11:43 So they had an evangelist there. 11:45 So the evangelist came up to me, 11:47 and he said, "Now listen, I want you to do this song, 11:51 that song, and other." 11:52 Now that I didn't know what songs that he was talking. 11:53 They were really the fast, upbeat songs. 11:56 So he said, "What do you got for tonight?" 11:58 And I said, "Well, 11:59 we got My House is Full by Lanny Wolfe, 12:01 My house is Full, My Field is Empty. 12:04 You know, we have surely the presence of the Lord. 12:06 He said, "No, no, no, no." He said, "I don't need. 12:07 I need some good foot stomping." 12:09 And he said, "Listen, I want you, 12:11 when I get up to preach, 12:12 I want these people in the aisles." 12:14 He said, "I want them excited in the house 12:16 so don't give me that slow stuff." 12:18 So we go from one extremes, it seems like, you know... 12:21 Yeah, which is a little bit of manipulation. 12:23 Yeah, totally. 12:25 And you know what music does that. 12:26 And again, it's like you say, 12:27 sometimes we're afraid to get too close to that, 12:31 you know, so we try to take control of it 12:33 and that's respectable. 12:36 And you can worship slow, you can worship fast. 12:38 But it totally is not about manipulation. 12:41 It's about worshiping God. 12:42 And so your right on. 12:46 So we always say the devil doesn't care 12:47 which side of the boat you falls out 12:49 as long as you fall out. 12:51 So what we're finding in churches, 12:53 how important it is to create an atmosphere of worship, 12:59 at the beginning of your service 13:00 before Sabbath school, 13:02 before the church service comes. 13:04 Yeah, establish that. 13:06 Now I'll talk about music. 13:08 Now I love lots of kinds of music. 13:10 Classical music is always intriguing. 13:12 It's very something you don't just pick up a guitar 13:14 and begin to play. 13:16 I mean, it's... It's very skilled. 13:17 It is very, very skilled and lot of our universities 13:20 but in the late 1800s into the early 1900s up 13:24 to around 1920s or so, 13:27 the Adventist church had more of the when we all 13:29 get to heaven coming in 13:30 'cause we were excited that type of worship. 13:33 But then as we began to build our universities 13:36 and our university, our learning centers, 13:41 that we begin to bring in more classical music, 13:44 which was looked at. 13:46 My dad just call it high eyebrow, 13:48 high eyebrow stuff, 13:50 but they bring in a lot of classical music, 13:52 which sounds great. 13:53 And we kind of get in the habit that's, you know? 13:56 So God can, again, He can... 13:59 I think all kinds of music when we get to heaven, 14:02 there'll be styles of music 14:04 we've never even heard or thought of, 14:06 that God has created. 14:08 And so music is something He's created for our benefit. 14:12 Yeah, yeah. 14:13 So for me, in order to really get, 14:16 and I hate to use the word mood 14:18 'cause people think you're talking about feelings. 14:19 But again, the whole plan of salvation, 14:22 everything is about feelings. 14:24 I mean, you have to have the Holy Spirit. 14:26 So in order to prepare for the Holy Spirit, 14:29 when we come in prayer shouldn't be very important. 14:32 We should take time in prayer. 14:35 And not just, "Okay, thank you, 14:37 this morning, happy Sabbath, you know, to everybody. 14:40 Thank you, Lord." 14:41 And go on and then, "Okay, let's sing, 14:43 end of my heart and then let's go on." 14:45 But I think that we should spend more time 14:47 as a church praising the Lord through music 14:50 because people come in, now it's the Seventh-day, 14:54 it's a Sabbath, and we've been busy all week 14:57 and even up till Sunday and we were busy 14:59 getting everything done, 15:00 in the time you get kids in bed and you get a little study 15:03 and you get up in the morning, 15:05 you head to church, you still have that busyness. 15:07 But when you sit down and you begin 15:10 to just worship God and music, 15:13 whether it's upbeat a little bit 15:14 to loosen you up, 15:16 whether it's more, you know, a softer, little melodic, 15:19 whatever you want to get us 15:22 to kind of slow down our whole system. 15:24 And I think it will change 15:26 the atmosphere of the entire service. 15:29 Right. I totally agree. 15:30 I think, you know, when we, like, 15:36 for our spouse, 15:37 when we set up a special occasion, 15:40 well, we don't have to be told 15:43 how to love our spouse, you know? 15:45 And so we will set the table, 15:47 we will make reservations at the restaurant 15:50 that we know that they like, 15:51 we will put on music, we know that they like, 15:54 you know, we wear the cologne we know that they like. 15:56 And I think to me, 16:00 that's whenever I go to worship God, 16:02 I want to create this, 16:04 because it's a personal relationship. 16:06 That's the connection that I have with my God. 16:10 And so he says, for me to love Him 16:12 with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, 16:14 everything that's within me, 16:16 and you were referring to those situations 16:18 you've been in where they were not, 16:20 they were just kind of mumbling their song. 16:21 Well, I think God says, "Is that all you got?" 16:24 That's not all that's within you, 16:26 you could do more than that at an event at 16:29 your kid's soccer game or whatever. 16:31 And we use that reference a lot. 16:33 But truly to give what we know... 16:37 We know how to love one another, you know, 16:39 especially those people that are really close to us 16:41 even celebrating our child, 16:43 we give them a certain specific kind of praise 16:46 and adoration and love and attention. 16:49 And that's the same kind of... 16:50 When we have spent time in the word 16:52 as you say and in prayer, 16:54 we can create that atmosphere with God. 16:57 And your study is, of course, music has been your life. 17:01 Is there any particular scriptures 17:02 that you've referred to or that you like 17:04 or that talk about music that you're go-to? 17:07 I do love Romans 12:1 that talks about us being... 17:12 To present our bodies a living 17:13 and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, 17:16 which is your spiritual service of worship. 17:18 And then I also love 1 Peter 2:9, 17:21 that where we are called a peculiar people, 17:25 and we are for God's... 17:26 Separated. Right. 17:27 We are God's... We are His own possession. 17:31 And so that we may proclaim 17:34 the excellencies of Him 17:36 who has called you out of darkness 17:38 into His glorious light. 17:39 There again, there's that testimony. 17:42 I love the fact that 17:44 we may proclaim the excellencies of Him. 17:46 Worship is an awesome tool of evangelism. 17:51 You know, when you can sing praises about God 17:56 and those who hear that aren't Christians, 17:59 they'll, you know, there'll be drawn in to 18:03 by you singing because everybody loves music 18:05 around the world whether, you know, 18:07 Christian or non-Christian, it's an international language. 18:11 So I love the fact that 18:13 we can testify through those songs, 18:17 and people can see our love for our Savior. 18:21 What about planning? 18:23 You think that we ought to do some planning, 18:26 rather than when we just get there like the preacher... 18:28 Oh, yeah. 18:29 Wouldn't it be a mess, 18:31 if the preacher just got up, he hadn't planned anything. 18:34 And then he just got up and started talking 18:36 or started to try to preach something that he hadn't... 18:38 So as far as getting together, our churches, 18:42 we should have our little groups, 18:44 if you got a group of singers. 18:46 One, I'd say if one singer is good, maybe 10 is better. 18:49 You know, but to get your praise singers together, 18:51 a lot of people don't like that word. 18:53 But I have to say, if it's praise, 18:55 and it's can't be all bad, right? 18:57 It's up to what you do with a bit of praising, 19:00 people get together, 19:01 maybe you practice during the week. 19:03 And if you have some instruments you get together, 19:05 you practice during the week because, again, 19:07 you're not going to get up in a church service 19:09 and start literally... 19:11 If you're solo music or if you're the pastor, 19:13 you're not just going to get up without practicing. 19:15 So let's give God the very best that we can. 19:18 And then let's use some spiritual common sense. 19:22 And when to put in what style of music 19:26 into our church services. 19:28 For instance, the preacher preached this great sermon. 19:33 The Holy Spirit is working on the people. 19:37 And he makes an altar call. 19:39 Even when I've been in Pentecostal churches 19:41 or others, 19:42 I don't hear the fast boom, boom, boom, gone. 19:45 I hear softly and tenderly, 19:48 Jesus is calling, right? 19:51 Absolutely. Yeah, that's true. 19:52 So why are we doing that 19:54 because that fits the atmosphere. 19:56 Right now the Holy Spirit's been 19:58 working on the hearts and the minds of people. 20:01 And so now song softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling. 20:05 So each and every one of us there, 20:07 we're already preparing right now our hearts. 20:10 He's speaking to me. 20:11 Wow, this song speaking to me. 20:13 Maybe I've been a Christian for 30 years, 50 years, 20:16 or maybe I'm new, 20:18 and still at the end of this service, 20:20 and the pastor makes that call that I can, 20:23 "Wow, you know, Lord, I want to draw closer to You." 20:26 And you turn your eyes on Jesus, 20:28 His wonderful face and the things of Earth 20:31 will grow strangely dim 20:32 in the light of His glory and grace. 20:35 So our music, there's a time 20:36 I think, to be up, to be excited, 20:39 to show praise, there's a time to get out 20:41 our orchestra, you know? 20:44 And sometimes I think we're so critical, Tim, 20:47 in music. 20:49 I know in our church... Anyway, we're critical. 20:52 For instance, if you talk about drums, 20:55 people automatically, 20:57 many people are automatically turned off. 21:00 Yet the same people, if you take a drum 21:02 and you put it around your neck, 21:04 and you hit it like this, it's okay, right? 21:07 Yeah. 21:08 If you look at marching bands, and schools and academies, 21:09 that's all okay. 21:11 But if you turn the drum upside down 21:12 and hit it, oh, that's the devil. 21:15 But once again, it's not the drum, 21:17 it's how you play the drum. 21:20 And for instance, when I was in India, 21:23 several years ago with Maranatha, 21:25 with McNeilus and a big group, 21:27 we were over there and thousands of people 21:29 were baptized. 21:31 Guess what they pray? 21:32 When we went back to the villages, 21:34 they didn't pull out their pipe organs 21:36 or Steinway pianos, 21:38 they didn't pull out their trumpets, 21:39 they didn't even have a... 21:41 Harmonica. Harmonicas. 21:44 They didn't have any of those. 21:45 They had drums, they had some out of steel, 21:48 some were built out of wood, 21:50 and they were beating those drums. 21:52 And they were so excited about accepting Jesus, 21:55 that those were loud. 21:57 I think about scripture, 21:58 praise Him on the loud-sounding cymbals. 22:00 People say, "Oh, well, I don't like that." 22:02 Well, it's not what we like. 22:03 It's what we read, you know, the Bible is here. 22:05 But back in those days, 22:07 I would say the children of Israel out 22:09 in the wilderness. 22:10 They're in the same positions, as I was just talking about. 22:13 I got a feeling the drum and cymbals 22:15 was one of the few things, that they really have. 22:17 Affordable, right? 22:18 Yeah, that they can take with them 22:20 and no big pianos and all that. 22:22 So God accepts that praise. 22:25 So the praise that comes from your heart. 22:26 Absolutely. 22:28 And that's exactly, 22:29 so creating a worship experience 22:32 should be something that's planned, 22:34 just like the rest of your service. 22:36 Then, again, if we take that statement 22:37 that music is as powerful as prayer. 22:43 It's amazing to me because it does to me 22:46 and you've talked about it, 22:47 we do it in church services without even, for instance, 22:51 we didn't just plan all my praise. 22:52 Right, right. No. I started singing. 22:54 But after our camp meetings, and we do our little afterglow, 22:58 somebody talks and then all of a sudden 22:59 you just start playing something... 23:01 It sparks the song in your mind, is that... 23:02 Yeah. 23:04 And all of a sudden, I began to feel closer, 23:06 drawn closer and closer to Jesus. 23:09 Yeah. Now that... 23:10 I love the... 23:12 That's just a beautiful, beautiful picture of, again, 23:15 our relationship with someone that we love so dear. 23:20 And we have these songs, 23:23 like you were talking about having... 23:25 I think it's important to have a list of songs in your mind 23:28 that you've been working on and praise, 23:31 we wouldn't just go to the grocery store 23:33 and grab the $5 clearance bouquet 23:37 because to take home to the missus. 23:41 We definitely want to spend time, 23:44 allotting time for planning, 23:47 for what we're going to do, what we're going to share... 23:49 In prayer. Yeah, absolutely. 23:51 Praying, Lord, what would you have us, 23:52 how would you have us create a worship experience 23:57 for this Sabbath, for this Sunday, 24:00 wherever you go to church, prayer meeting, how would I... 24:03 Prayer meeting, especially sometimes it, 24:05 let's just come in and get it over and we go back, 24:07 but still, we can take time, I believe. 24:11 And another thing I believe, 24:12 also is when your team 24:16 not only includes your music team, 24:19 but the pastor, I think it's important. 24:21 There are a lot of pastors 24:23 who maybe separate 24:24 the music section of the program 24:27 or of the service with from the preaching, 24:29 and it's, I've seen pastors who will flow in that 24:34 and will maybe even carry on... 24:37 You don't have to be the greatest singer. 24:38 I've heard some preachers that will really tear it up, 24:41 literally tear up a song. 24:43 But they'll just continue on maybe even ask 24:46 the song leader to sing that chorus again, 24:48 and then go right into the sermon. 24:51 So I think that's as much as creating that atmosphere, 24:56 where it just flows 24:59 because you wouldn't just stop until a joke, you know, 25:03 before you go into a message 25:04 should continue into that experience... 25:07 And again, you're not trying to manipulate anyone, 25:10 you're just encouraging an atmosphere of praise. 25:14 So that's... 25:15 So plan your worship service, right? 25:20 Plan get together with a pastor, 25:21 with your group, 25:23 whoever, if you got people playing instruments 25:24 or the singers, 25:26 you get together, you pick your songs, 25:28 ask the pastor, 25:29 if he knows what he's preaching on, 25:31 try to coordinate that with him. 25:33 Then when we come 25:34 into the church service in the morning, 25:36 to get people in an atmosphere of prayer 25:39 and praise and worship, 25:41 to do songs that will draw them closer. 25:44 Sometimes, it's a happy song, you know, 25:46 and sometimes it's a little more slowed down. 25:49 You know, when I walked through the door, 25:51 I sensed His presence, you know, 25:52 I realize I'm standing on holy ground. 25:55 But so to me, I think God is there, 26:00 He loves to inhabits the praises of His people. 26:03 He loves it when we praise Him for our spiritual growth, 26:06 as I mentioned earlier, not for His, 26:08 He doesn't need it but for our spiritual growth. 26:12 So when we're praising the Lord, 26:14 it's like my dad used to say, 26:16 "Son, he would had me go mow the yard, 26:19 we'd mow the yard with push mowers back then, 26:21 with no motors on them. 26:22 I'm talking about the wheels. 26:24 But then pull the weeds around the little shed, 26:27 then about a day or two later, 26:29 if I was acting bored or something didn't happen, 26:31 he'd say, "Son, go pull those weeds around the shed." 26:33 And I would say, 26:35 "Well, I just did that a couple days ago." 26:37 He'd say, "Idleness is the devil's workshop, 26:40 so go out and get busy." 26:41 So for us as Christians, when we're praising the Lord, 26:45 we're not busy thinking about things 26:46 we shouldn't be. 26:47 We're not over here. We're not over there. 26:50 So that's why there's praise and worship, and then preparing 26:53 for the divine worship hour to get that all in. 26:57 So it's steps that you go to. 26:59 And I believe that each of us could see a big difference. 27:02 I've had people, 27:04 I know that come to churches that say, 27:05 "Well, I believe what y'all teach, 27:07 but I didn't really feel, you know, 27:10 much of a worship experience there. 27:12 It was like I went to school and get educated." 27:14 Right. Right. 27:15 And I know what they're talking about. 27:16 Now not all our churches that way, praise the Lord. 27:19 But I do know what they're talking about. 27:21 And so we want to plan the church service, 27:24 try to work with the pastor, 27:26 pick out songs that are appropriate 27:27 for the beginning 27:29 and for an altar call and appeal. 27:30 And then don't forget to prayer. 27:32 So prayer, praise through music. 27:36 And then, of course, the word. 27:38 I mean, to me that it's kind of the... 27:41 We don't have a lot of time to go into it. 27:43 But to me, we've got about a minute. 27:44 You got any closing thoughts? 27:46 Well, I would say, why don't you just sing this 27:48 that's what you were singing, We Are Standing on Holy Ground. 27:50 Okay. 27:52 As I walked Through the door 27:56 I sensed His presence 28:00 And I knew This was a place 28:05 Where love abounds 28:09 For this is the temple 28:14 Jehovah God abides here 28:20 We are standing 28:24 In His presence 28:27 On holy ground It's the way 28:30 I sing at home to the Lord. 28:32 I don't try to really get my PA system out 28:35 and really push it and really hit it, 28:37 and like your hairs, just kind of it's almost... 28:39 Spontaneous. 28:41 Talk, sing, it's just to get it out 28:43 and give God that worship. 28:44 We're standing on holy ground 28:46 and I know that there are angels all around. 28:49 Amen. 28:50 Our time is all gone for right now. 28:51 So we'll see you in just a bit. |
Revised 2021-06-10