Participants:
Series Code: AVGC
Program Code: AVGC210003S
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00:05 Hello, friends, we want to formally welcome you
00:07 again to another edition 00:10 of the General Conference Global Camp Meeting, 00:13 and we were thankful that you are joining us. 00:15 During this particular session, myself, Ryan Day, 00:19 and my good friend, Tim Parton, 00:21 both of us representing 3ABN Ministry. 00:23 We're going to be talking about roles in corporate worship 00:27 whether you're leading, whether you're following, 00:29 whether you're singing along, participating in general, 00:32 we're going to be talking about 00:33 how you can make your corporate worship 00:35 a better, more organized experience 00:38 when it comes to the musical aspect of things. 00:40 But before we go any further and get into our content, 00:42 we're going to have a prayer. 00:44 So I'm going to ask my friend Tim 00:45 to pray for us. 00:47 Father God, what an honor it is to serve You. 00:48 What an honor it is to worship You. 00:51 And it is the cry of my heart to honor and lift up Your name. 00:55 And so I pray that as we worship 00:57 and as we explain what we've learned 01:02 and how to worship You, 01:04 that will be more pleasing to You, 01:06 that we might be able to express our worship 01:09 in a more tangible way. 01:11 I pray that You will be honored and glorified 01:13 and that we will all draw closer 01:16 and be drawn closer through knowing 01:19 how to love you more. 01:21 This is our prayer in Jesus' name, amen. 01:24 Amen. Amen. 01:25 Thank you, Tim. 01:27 Worship, worship is vitally important. 01:30 The Bible says that we must worship Him 01:32 in spirit and in truth. 01:34 It's essential to our experience with God. 01:38 And it's kind of the epicenter of our relationship 01:40 in our experience with our Lord. 01:43 And so we're going to be talking about 01:45 the corporate role aspect of leading out and worship, 01:49 participating and singing, and bringing praise to God 01:52 through the form of music. 01:53 And Tim and I, as he said in his prayer, 01:56 and as we're going to continue communicate 01:58 throughout this time together, 01:59 you know, we have a little bit of experience 02:00 not that we're professionals in this. 02:02 It's not we have it all figured out, 02:03 certainly but little bit of experience 02:05 and some tips and tricks and things over the years 02:08 that I believe is vitally important in including 02:10 and considering when you are either leading out 02:14 in a worship experience 02:15 or just simply participating in any capacity. 02:19 I'm going to get right into this 02:20 because as I was thinking about Lord... 02:24 You know, when we're approaching 02:26 you in worship, when we're about to come 02:27 together as the Bible says an assemble ourselves together 02:31 to give praise, to give worship 02:33 and homage to our God 02:35 in an organized collective fashion. 02:38 Lord, how we do we... 02:39 Can you just jump into that, you just, you know, 02:41 kind of dive headfirst into that experience, 02:43 maybe some people do, 02:46 but the Lord had up on my heart, years ago, 02:47 and I've done this for, you know, 02:49 for many years now as I prepare whether 02:51 I'm leading out or whether I'm participating. 02:53 I'd like to prepare the soil, 02:56 I guess, prepare the heart to be ready 02:59 for that worship experience. 03:01 You know, seeking the Lord in prayer 03:02 is absolutely vitally important. 03:04 So I encourage that when you are preparing, 03:07 again, to lead out or just simply 03:09 participating in a worship experience, 03:11 prepare the soil, prepare the soil of your heart 03:14 for that worship experience. 03:15 So prayer would be, number one, 03:17 make sure that you are going to Lord in prayer and saying, 03:19 "Lord, I'm coming into Your presence. 03:22 I'm preparing myself to bow before You to give you 03:26 the praise and the worship that You deserve." 03:28 And I believe the Lord in that prayerful experience 03:30 will help prepare your mind 03:31 and your heart for that experience, 03:33 of course, always meditating on His Word, right? 03:35 The Word of the Lord is just full of beautiful gems, 03:39 dealing with worship and how to prepare for worship, 03:41 how to get into that worshipful mentality. 03:44 And today, we're going to be talking about 03:46 the musical aspect, we're going to be talking about 03:48 how music is vitally important, and some of the things 03:50 that we can do to have a more organized 03:54 and a more reverential and more, 03:56 a just an overall better experience in worship. 03:58 But I think, obviously, 04:00 one of the most important things 04:01 is that we understand that worship, 04:02 in general, is just simply, 04:04 it's not an event necessarily, 04:06 it's not something necessarily that we do, 04:08 but it's basically the attitude of the heart, right? 04:11 Whether we're studying the word, 04:12 whether we're in prayer, 04:14 whether we're driving down the road 04:15 and we're worshiping the Lord. 04:16 It's the attitude of the heart. 04:18 And so what we're going to be talking about 04:19 is some of those liturgical methods 04:21 in worshiping the Lord in music and in song. 04:24 It's going to help bring up out an overall organized 04:27 and better experience 04:28 when you are leading or participating in worship. 04:31 Tim, read for us Hebrews 10 there. 04:34 This is kind of a great scripture 04:36 that really sets the tone for preparing yourself 04:38 for a worship experience. 04:40 So Hebrews 10:22, 23. 04:42 "Let us draw near with a true heart 04:44 in full assurance of faith, 04:46 having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience 04:48 and our bodies washed with pure water. 04:50 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope 04:53 without wavering for He is who promised is faithful." 04:57 You know what stands out immediately 04:58 is of the heart, the true heart, 05:01 having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. 05:03 That's right. 05:04 This first step is a step 05:07 that you would take in preparing a message. 05:09 It is a step a teacher 05:12 would take in preparing a Bible class, 05:14 anything, it's about prayer and the Word. 05:16 Those are the connections 05:18 that we want them to God in His Word. 05:22 What do you have to say God about prayer, 05:24 and what does Your Word have to say? 05:25 And I'll tell you one of the things 05:28 I've grieved myself, 05:30 when I have not prepared and instead, 05:34 I've gone into church, grab the hymnal and just, 05:38 you know, almost by lottery picked out numbers, 05:41 you know, oh, today is the 11th, 05:43 and I'll go page 11, you know, 05:45 just random without any forethought and, 05:49 you know, sometimes that will work 05:50 if you've been doing... 05:52 You know, we all have scriptures 05:54 that we can go to that we can, 05:55 you know, expound on, but I do know that one time 05:58 I grabbed the wrong hymnal, 05:59 I was in a room that had a hymnal, 06:02 I had just assumed that was the hymnal 06:03 that was out in the sanctuary. 06:07 And so when I got to the piano, 06:09 I was calling out numbers that were different 06:12 from what the congregation had back when we used the book, 06:16 you know, solely when we didn't have any words 06:18 on the wall or that kind of thing. 06:19 So it pays to prepare 06:21 and this is a beautiful way to compare. 06:22 Absolutely, absolutely. 06:24 And I know you've had many... 06:25 No, absolutely. 06:27 That was a beautiful, beautiful point 06:28 to be made in connection with that scripture 06:29 that we just read in Hebrews 10:22, 23. 06:32 "Let us hold fast our confession and our hope 06:34 without wavering for He who promised is faithful." 06:37 We are serving a faithful God, 06:38 we're worshiping a faithful God, 06:40 and just making the point here that before you just jump 06:43 into that worship atmosphere, 06:44 that worship experience preparing the heart 06:47 for that worship experience is absolutely essential. 06:50 Which now sets us up 06:51 for kind of the preparation of it, you've prayed, 06:54 you've meditated on the Word of the Lord, 06:57 now you're in that mentality that zone, 06:59 that thinking method of, 07:01 "Okay, now, Lord, what would You have me to sing? 07:04 What would You have us to sing today for You to glorify You 07:08 and to bring glory to Your name? 07:10 And this is where the choice of song comes in 07:13 and that's always a preparation 07:15 that needs to be thoughtfully considered. 07:17 And so right here my point number two, 07:19 I'm just simply, 07:20 we're communicating the fact that selecting a balanced 07:23 variety of songs is crucial, 07:25 especially in the times that we're living because, 07:28 you know, you can look out at a congregation today. 07:30 And while there may be a vast majority 07:32 or so just a simple majority 07:33 of a certain age group, 07:35 most congregations have different age groups 07:39 and different generations that are represented 07:41 throughout the congregation. 07:42 And you want to make sure that each and every song 07:45 that you have included in that worship service 07:47 is going to reach the heart of every listener out there. 07:49 That there's something for everyone, 07:51 and oftentimes Tim, 07:53 some people get into this mentality 07:55 that only hymns, right, 07:56 and we're certainly not bashing the hymns, I love hymns. 07:58 Tim and I sing lots of hymns. 08:00 And I love the hymns 08:02 but there're some people out there that, 08:03 well, they enjoy the hymns, you know, an extra, 08:06 maybe it might be contemporary, 08:08 a newer modern spiritual song 08:09 of some kind is helpful to consider in that lineup, 08:13 when you're trying to create a balanced, 08:15 more variety of choice in your song choice. 08:18 So do you have anything you want to add to that 08:20 before we read this text here? 08:21 Well, I'll just say that, you know, 08:23 it's like going to a potluck or whatever, 08:27 you know, you've got a variety of food there 08:30 because if you had one thing, it's going to... 08:33 "Huh! Oh, this again." 08:35 The kind of like the manner, you know, 08:37 but honestly in this situation variety is a wonderful thing. 08:42 And I believe God loves variety. 08:44 He made all the different variety of flowers and trees 08:47 and animals and so. 08:48 So we consider 08:49 that He is a God of variety and opinions. 08:52 Everybody's got one. 08:54 Right. 08:55 But, you know, and it's impossible 08:56 to please everyone. 08:58 But this isn't about pleasing everyone, 08:59 this is about pleasing God. 09:01 So even if our preferences are one certain way, 09:04 if our words are worshiping God, 09:06 we have to say, "Hmm! 09:08 Well, I may consider this, 09:09 and I'll make it through to the end." 09:11 It's not going to last forever. 09:12 I love it. I love that. 09:13 No, I love what you just said. 09:15 Absolutely, just to reiterate the fact that we're not here 09:16 to please necessarily each other 09:17 while everybody has a preference or an opinion. 09:19 We are here to uplift God, this is for Him, right? 09:22 And I love what Colossians 3:16, 09:25 kind of along the same line 09:26 of what we're talking about as far as a variety of songs. 09:30 Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell 09:34 in you richly in all wisdom, 09:37 teaching and admonishing one another in psalms 09:40 and hymns and spiritual songs, 09:44 singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." 09:47 And I just, I like that because, 09:49 again, I go back to what I said earlier, 09:51 I love the hymns, grew up on the hymns, 09:53 sing them all the time. 09:54 I find myself singing them all throughout the week 09:55 when I'm by myself but there are some people 09:58 that have that mentality that, 09:59 "Only the hymns are sacred, only the hymns can be sung or, 10:02 you know, used in church or in worship service." 10:05 But, you know, the Bible makes it very clear 10:07 whether it's a hymn or maybe you're singing 10:09 a psalm or maybe you're singing 10:11 just a spiritual song that may not necessarily 10:13 be categorized as a hymn, 10:15 maybe a contemporary worship song. 10:17 God accepts it all if it's coming from the heart 10:21 in the sense that if it's for Him, 10:22 and it's genuinely for Him 10:24 that we want to make sure that we're creating a variety, 10:27 where everyone can connect with the Lord 10:29 on a spiritual level in our worshipful experience. 10:32 So balance is key, make sure you get that balance 10:36 and you want to add anything else to that section? 10:37 Pretty much balanced. 10:38 Okay. 10:40 So far we're talking about preparing our hearts. 10:41 So make sure you meditate on the Word, 10:43 make sure you get plenty of prayer, 10:44 prepare the soil of the heart for that worship experience. 10:47 And now once you have prepared your heart. 10:48 Now it comes time to make those tough choices, 10:51 not really, but make the choices of selecting 10:53 a variety of balanced numbers of songs 10:57 that can reach everyone at all ages, 10:59 but most importantly, always brings glory to Him, 11:02 reverence, and honor and glory to our Lord. 11:05 Our third point here, 11:07 study to understand the message of what you're singing. 11:11 How many times, Tim, have you, you know, 11:13 maybe you've worked with someone 11:15 or maybe you yourself, 11:16 I had even done this before where I just kind of, again, 11:18 flump thumb through I've pick a song. 11:20 "Oh, yeah, I like this song." 11:21 And then it wasn't... 11:23 But probably years later that I actually read 11:25 the lyrics of that song and comprehended 11:28 what they were actually saying 11:29 because sometimes we get so caught up 11:31 in the musical aspect that we might like that melody, 11:33 we might like that particular rhythmic, you know... 11:37 Riff. 11:38 Whatever it is in the song, 11:40 "Oh, I like this, this is a nice song." 11:41 But we don't really consider what it is we're singing about. 11:43 Understand, comprehend the message of the song 11:47 that you were singing. 11:48 You are leading out in worship. 11:50 This is a form of a communication 11:52 of gospel, right? 11:53 You're communicating, 11:54 basically a mini-sermon through music, right? 11:58 And I love that because the Bible says, 12:00 you know, in 2 Timothy 2:15, 12:02 read that there, it's is a beautiful scripture. 12:04 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, 12:07 a worker who does not need to be ashamed, 12:09 rightly dividing the word of truth." 12:10 Amen. 12:12 So sometimes we have to stop and pause and say, 12:13 "Okay, I'm going to sing the song 12:15 but what am I singing about?" 12:17 So that when you're up there and you comprehend 12:18 what it is you're seeing about, it makes sense. 12:21 It's what you would do if you were preaching a text, 12:23 you would, you know, study the commentaries, 12:25 study the Greek and the Hebrew whatever would be appropriate. 12:29 Amen. Yeah. 12:30 So that's... 12:31 I was thinking like, there's an old song, 12:33 old Adventist hymn, I don't even know 12:34 if it's an Adventist hymn. 12:36 I just know it's an old hymn that Adventists sing 12:38 for many, many years. 12:39 And it's the song never part again. 12:41 I can't imagine singing that song just to be singing it 12:44 because when you read the lyrics of the song. 12:47 It's powerful, just to consider. 12:49 Let's do the verse three there. 12:52 Could we but stand where Moses stood 13:00 And view the landscape o'er 13:07 Not all this world's 13:10 Pretended good 13:15 Could ever charm us more 13:22 And I love that song there just because the music's beautiful, 13:26 it just grips your heart, right? 13:30 And it's easy for somebody to get caught up in that 13:32 but if you stop and think about what you're singing about. 13:35 "Could we stand where Moses stood 13:37 and view the landscape o'er." 13:39 It's talking about that promised land 13:42 that we're going to inherit one day, right? 13:44 And it goes on to talk about in the course, you know, 13:46 we're traveling to Emanuel's land, 13:49 we soon shall hear the trumpet sound, 13:52 talking about the Second Coming of Jesus. 13:54 And soon we shall with Jesus reign 13:58 And never, never part again 14:05 And so songs like this and any song that you sing 14:09 that you include in your worship experience, 14:11 you should know the message of that song. 14:14 Because when you know the message of the song 14:15 and the message of the song has gripped your heart 14:17 when you get up there and perform it, 14:19 when you get up there and sing it 14:20 whether you're on the piano 14:22 or whether you're behind the mic and singing 14:23 or whether you're out in the audience, 14:26 in the crowd, in the congregation 14:27 and you're just singing to the Lord, 14:29 it grips your heart, it means so much more. 14:32 Yeah, two things. 14:33 There are great stories behind songs 14:36 that will help you understand 14:38 where the writer is coming from, 14:39 and that is brilliant to know. 14:41 And it's not something necessarily... 14:43 I know a lot of worship leaders who might get up 14:46 and tell the story, 14:47 that might be a little bit cumbersome in a service, 14:50 sometimes it is appropriate but more importantly 14:53 is if you know as a leader, 14:56 you know where the writer was coming from, 14:58 it's extremely, that's vital, you know, 15:00 it's just like again knowing 15:02 the writer of a book in the Bible, 15:04 you kind of know where they're coming from, 15:05 it means a lot more. 15:07 And also the... 15:08 I love the Adventist, 15:11 what is the thing that goes along with the hymnal, 15:15 there's a book that tells 15:16 in fact some of the stories behind the songs. 15:19 And so that's just hugely vital, 15:22 again, not every service has time to go into stories, 15:27 and I've heard worship leaders get up and expound 15:30 a little too much, and it's like, 15:32 "Okay, we're losing the flow." 15:33 And so that's important not to talk too much 15:36 like I get guilty of sometimes. 15:38 That's like my life, man. 15:40 Well, but so anyway... 15:41 No this is a... 15:42 It's very important to know that. 15:44 No, that's a great point that you just made. 15:45 The story. Back to the song. 15:46 Absolutely. 15:48 And you know what, 15:49 what we're speaking of right now, 15:50 it can be accomplished very good, 15:52 especially with the leadership team, 15:53 the ones that are up. 15:55 Have practice sessions. 15:56 You know, be prepared before you get up there. 15:58 I know that Tim and I have worked together in, 16:00 you know, leading out worship 16:02 before here at Thompsonville Church. 16:03 And so we have those practice sessions 16:05 when we come before him, 16:07 we familiarize ourselves with the song, 16:09 and we'll take time to read the lyrics 16:10 to understand the lyrics, 16:12 so that when we're going out there 16:13 and we're going to lead out and represent the Lord 16:15 in this worship experience. 16:17 You know, it's gripped our hearts beforehand, 16:19 and we hope that that trends transpires, 16:22 connects, translates out there 16:24 to those who are listening 16:26 and participating in the worship. 16:27 Through to the point 16:29 that we've even skipped over versus 16:30 if we didn't feel like that was appropriate, 16:32 you know, for that particular occasion 16:34 or if it's something that we didn't feel like 16:36 we were confident in expressing. 16:38 We will skip over that. 16:40 Absolutely, absolutely. 16:41 I'd rather, I'd rather skip it then. 16:42 You know, did you want to give us... 16:44 You had kind of a something prepared 16:45 or maybe? 16:47 Well, you know, I just have like a... 16:48 It's really more of a just a little worship set, 16:52 sometimes this is kind of a little bit of a diversion, 16:55 but along the same path 16:56 that we're choosing songs, 17:00 again it's an amazing process, 17:04 but I was just, you know, after spending time 17:09 praying and doing just some reading a few psalms. 17:13 My heart was stirred to start with praise Him, 17:15 praise Him right off the hymnal 17:17 and this is important also in this hymnal, 17:21 the Adventist hymnal it's in the key F G. 17:23 So... 17:25 Praise Him, praise Him... 17:29 Ever in joyful song. 17:32 Really be cautious of what key you're singing, 17:35 and you know these days we listen to the radio 17:38 and lot of our songs are artist-driven 17:42 that make it really difficult for a congregation 17:44 to sing along with. 17:46 So even if it is a song that you love 17:49 and you hear on the radio, 17:50 consider well this might be better sing along able 17:53 as we would say in a key 17:55 that for the whole audience can sing with. 17:57 But that one is easy 17:59 because it's already in the key of G, 18:01 which is in the hymnal. 18:03 And then out of that I went into 10,000 reasons 18:09 which is a popular modern hymn. 18:10 I support for hymn to a modern temporary... 18:13 Ever in joyful song 18:17 I'm going to the key F D. 18:22 The sun comes up 18:24 It's a new day dawning 18:27 So two things there, there's a little segue 18:29 going out of ever in joyful song, song. 18:33 And then, instead of just doing like a cold turkey, kind of, 18:36 okay, stop... 18:38 Yeah, everybody has to rearrange. 18:40 You keep the flow going, and keep the music going. 18:42 And this takes... It does take. 18:44 This is a like a whole other seminar 18:46 for the church musicians, 18:48 but it's still, the idea is to keep things 18:50 the flow of it. 18:52 And so... 18:53 Bless the Lord, oh my soul 18:55 Oh my soul 18:57 I worship your Holy name 19:00 And then we go to just raise up a half a step, 19:03 we're building up, it's again, it's a chorus, 19:06 but it's an older chorus. 19:08 Bless the Lord, oh my soul 19:12 And all that is within me 19:15 Bless His Holy Name 19:19 You can continue on with that a little bit 19:20 and then... 19:22 I serve a risen Saviour 19:25 He's in the world today 19:27 He lives, you ask me how I know He lives 19:30 He lives within my heart 19:33 So, you've come back to a hymn? 19:35 Yeah, so it's hymn. 19:36 You know, and you can change it up, 19:38 you know, there's times we've done, 19:39 and it's been like hymn, contemporary, 19:40 hymn, contemporary. 19:42 Right, right. 19:43 We may be encouraged a day to do three hymns 19:45 and then a contemporary 19:46 or, you know, three contemporaries 19:47 and a hymn but most of the time 19:49 you want to create a balanced approach to it. 19:50 And I love what you did there with the hymn 19:51 and then the two contemporaries 19:53 and you came back around with that power hymn. 19:54 And musically if you know the musicality part of it, 19:58 you're again, you're building, 20:00 and you're also singing songs 20:02 that are not only vertical where you're worshiping, 20:06 but you're singing songs that are testimonies 20:07 horizontal to each other, 20:09 you're telling each other, 20:11 He lives, and you're praising Him. 20:12 So there's a lot of things that are... 20:17 You have to consider, you have taken consideration. 20:19 And what's your saying all that you're saying makes 20:21 absolutely perfect sense. 20:23 And as you were doing that I can imagine 20:25 someone at home is watching and going, 20:27 "Oh, man, you know, but, Tim, can do that 20:29 I'm not necessarily can do that." 20:31 You know, it may take some practice 20:32 that's where practice comes in, 20:34 invest yourself into practicing to become more skilled 20:37 and more comfortable with the talent 20:38 and the gift that God has already given you, right? 20:41 And so not everyone has to be in Tim Parton 20:43 but you know what there's someone out there 20:45 they can God has still blessed with the talent and the skill 20:47 to play for Him 20:48 and to represent Him in this musical way. 20:51 That also leads me to my next point, 20:52 lead with confidence, right? 20:55 Sing with confidence whether you're again on, 20:57 you know, up there leading out or you're setting 21:00 I've even seen people setting in the congregation, 21:02 they're so terrified for others around them 21:03 to hear them singing, 21:05 and while you know none of us 21:06 really like someone who sings off tune 21:08 to God's ears it sounds beautiful, right? 21:09 You know, it may not sound very good our human ears, 21:12 but we're not singing it for them, anyway, 21:13 we're singing it for the Lord, right? 21:15 And so lead with confidence, 21:16 pray beforehand to ask the Lord to diminish 21:19 and to get rid of all of those 21:21 to completely eliminate all the nerves and the fears 21:24 because we serve a God who was promised us, 21:25 Isaiah 41:10, I love this. 21:28 God says, "Fear not, for I am with you. 21:30 Be not dismayed, for I am your God. 21:32 I will strengthen you. 21:33 Yes, I will help you, 21:35 I will uphold you with a right hand 21:36 of my righteousness." 21:39 And also with that confidence, 21:41 don't be afraid to use your body language 21:43 to express your worship. 21:45 I'm not talking about, you know, running around 21:46 and skipping and flopping and dancing and all that stuff, 21:49 but you know what, sometimes when I'm worshiping the Lord, 21:52 you know, I'm worshiping the Lord 21:54 and I may end up worshiping Him 21:55 with uplifted hands and that's biblical. 21:58 That's because dozens of texts where God says, 21:59 you know, "The people praised him 22:01 with extended hands or uplifted hands." 22:03 Maybe I'll be singing a song and I use my body language 22:07 I use my facial expressions 22:10 to communicate a sense of worship, you're not... 22:13 Again, don't do it in an artificial 22:17 and fake ways if you're overly expressive, 22:19 we don't want this to turn into variety, 22:21 you know, variety hour 22:23 but you're worshiping the Lord, 22:25 don't be afraid to express yourself 22:27 in a heartfelt loving way, 22:29 when you're worshiping the Lord. 22:30 I know, oftentimes, sometimes we think that, 22:32 you know, concept of be still and know that I am God. 22:34 And so we literally are just like 22:35 in our worship experience. 22:37 You can totally be reverent in your demonstrativeness, 22:40 you know, as a pastor we watch pastors 22:43 and we enjoyed the highs and the lows 22:46 of how they demonstrate whenever they preach. 22:49 It's, you know, they can be strong 22:51 and they can be soft. 22:53 So, yeah, it's just a great, being a great presenter 22:57 in what you do. 22:58 And yeah, you're presenting the song and it's... 23:00 That's why you're the leader. 23:02 And also, whenever you are demonstrative 23:05 and are free to worship your audience, 23:08 your congregation will follow at your lead. 23:10 Amen, amen. 23:11 And with that confidence, I believe, is very important. 23:14 This brings us to our point number five, 23:15 and that is, create a joyful worship experience. 23:20 Oh, Lord, help me. 23:23 You know, this is something I believe 23:25 that even I myself have had to learn, 23:27 you know, as I've grown 23:29 in my Adventist worship experience. 23:31 Again, we want to stick to that worshiping Him 23:33 in Spirit and in Truth. 23:34 We don't want to be like the world. 23:36 We don't want to, you know, exemplify 23:38 or bring the world into our worship experience 23:40 but we want to be genuine in our approach. 23:43 And I believe if you truly have a relationship 23:45 with your Creator. 23:46 It's going to be clear in your presence 23:49 and in what you're projecting, 23:50 you're going to be joyful and happy about it, 23:52 you know, again, not trying to be disrespectful 23:54 or anything like that, 23:55 but I have been to worship services where it's, you know, 23:58 we were singing. 24:00 He lives, you know... 24:03 I serve a risen Saviour, 24:08 He's in the world today 24:12 So there's nothing wrong with that necessarily 24:15 'cause there maybe someone back there goes, 24:17 "Oh, this was beautiful, this is wonderful," 24:18 but certainly create, you know, express it in a way 24:22 and create in a way where it's a joyful experience. 24:24 There's nothing wrong with picking, 24:26 you know, picking your face up, 24:27 being happy and singing about your risen Savior, right? 24:31 You know, I had somebody tell me... 24:32 A minister one time said to me, "Are you happy for Jesus." 24:35 And I said, "Well, of course, I am." 24:36 He said, "Well, then tell your face about it." 24:38 You know, right? Right. Right. 24:40 Yeah, and you know what, 24:41 it doesn't even have to be a fast song to be joyful. 24:43 Exactly. No. 24:44 Slow can be joyful, 24:45 it's the way you sing it with the confidence, 24:48 the love, yeah. 24:50 You know, "Great is thy faithfulness," 24:51 that's not a very fast song 24:52 but it was just pouring your heart. 24:54 Great is thy faithfulness 24:57 Great is thy faithfulness 25:00 You know when I sing that song 25:01 I'm thinking great is His faithfulness, right? 25:03 Right. 25:04 I love the Scripture in Psalm 100:1, 2, 25:06 "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, 25:08 worship the Lord with gladness, 25:10 Come before Him with joyful songs." 25:12 But let me tell you that 25:14 as someone who has led worship, 25:16 someone who has stepped on the platform 25:17 after receiving a terrible phone call, 25:20 after someone has in the congregation 25:22 has said, "You know, I don't like the song 25:24 that you choosed, really, chose. 25:27 So there are a lot of things... 25:30 And this goes for a pastor 25:32 or anyone that who has dealt with the congregation. 25:38 You have to really be careful what you let into your spirit. 25:41 That's right. 25:42 You know, again, everybody has opinions 25:44 but don't let the negative comment 25:47 or something that you've after all the time 25:49 you've spent in the word 25:51 after all the time you've spent preparing 25:52 and praying, 25:53 someone can come along and put a needle 25:56 in your balloon faster than all of that. 25:59 That's right, that's right. 26:00 So don't let that discourage you 26:02 because God is still worthy of our praise, 26:04 no matter what's going on our circumstances, 26:06 they can get us down but our prayers go on. 26:08 A joyful experience that's what we're shooting for. 26:10 That's the goal. 26:11 You know, another one is, 26:13 you know, don't be afraid 26:14 to include multiple instruments. 26:15 The Bible encourages us 26:17 that there's all kinds of different beautiful instruments 26:18 that we can use for His glory. 26:20 Psalm 150:3-5. And read that, Tim. 26:23 "Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, 26:25 praise Him with the lute and harp! 26:26 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance, 26:28 praise Him with stringed instruments 26:29 and flutes. 26:31 Praise the Lord with cymbals, 26:32 praise Him with clashing cymbals." 26:34 You know, could you imagine coming into church 26:36 and, Praise the Lord! 26:38 You know, some people might be, 26:40 "Oh, you know, that's not reverend." 26:42 But nonetheless, you know, there are a list here 26:44 that are biblical, 26:45 you know, the most important thing 26:47 is the principle of this text 26:48 is don't be afraid to break out the guitar, 26:50 you know, and bring that together 26:51 with the piano 26:52 and bring it together with the flute and the violin 26:54 and, you know, to worship the God 26:56 in an organized melodic, harmonic manner 26:59 to just bring an abundance of joy 27:02 and worshipful expression to Him in song. 27:04 Enforce the more musicians you have, 27:05 more instruments you involve you must practice. 27:07 Practice, practice. 27:08 So please practice, for goodness' sake 27:09 and for the Lord's sake. 27:11 I love that. I love that. 27:12 Man, we've just like a minute and a half here. 27:14 I think the last thing I think that we could do 27:15 is just encourage your congregation, 27:18 and this goes for even the people 27:19 out in the congregation, 27:20 encourage the next person the person next to you. 27:23 If they see you singing with joy, 27:25 they see you're enjoying the worship experience. 27:27 It's kind of, you know, it's infectious. 27:29 Contagious, absolutely. 27:31 It's contagious, right? Yes. 27:32 And so we need to learn to encourage others 27:34 to sing with us while we're... 27:35 When we have visitors coming to the church, 27:38 they go through this, 27:39 this is a really important part to for them to really... 27:43 What are you worshiping, why are you worshiping? 27:45 So why are you so sad when you worship 27:48 if that's the way you worship. 27:49 Yeah, so it's important 27:51 to show others how excited you are. 27:53 Right. Right. Absolutely. 27:55 You know what, it may lead to the leader, 27:58 the person leading out to have to prompt people to sing, 28:01 you know, we're writing over the song, 28:02 and I say, "Sing this out for Jesus." 28:04 And it prompts them to let them know 28:06 it's okay to sing out right, 28:07 encourage them to participate. 28:09 I love Psalm 150:6, 28:11 God takes thing and tie everything together, 28:12 read that for us, Tim. 28:14 "Let everything, everything, everything that has breath 28:17 praise the Lord. 28:18 Praise the Lord!" Amen. I love that. 28:19 Praise the Lord. 28:21 There's a song I used to sing, you know. 28:22 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord 28:26 That's what it's about. 28:27 It's about giving homage to Him, 28:28 it's about giving praise to Him and glory to Him, 28:30 and we hope that your worship experience, 28:32 we hope you can take some of the things 28:34 that we've talked about, 28:35 incorporate them in your worship experience. 28:37 The most important thing, remember, 28:38 to God be the glory, great things He has done, 28:42 it's not about us, it's about Him. 28:44 He must increase, we must decrease. 28:47 And we just thank you for joining us. 28:49 We hope you learned something. God bless you. 28:51 Until next time have a good day. |
Revised 2021-06-10