The Power of Presence Part Two
The man had been away from his family for several weeks and he was excited about seeing his wife and children. When he opens the front door to his home, his wife stands and tells the children (who are seated on the couch), “please rise and let us sing, father’s home, father’s home A-a-le-u-jah.” No joy for dad in such a cold and formal place. However, if he comes home and his wife and kids throw themselves down on the floor in unrestrained ecstasy screaming at each other, “daddy’s home, daddy’s home,” and in that celebration ignore daddy, then we have problems don’t we? In both these scenes daddy stands there unmet and un-received, because the wife and kids are only concerned about themselves.
Let me remind you, being the church of Jesus Christ is about meeting with God, enjoying His presence not our preference. With that in mind, let me finish my thoughts today with some presiding truth about the Power of Presence.
We must be careful not to think that music is the only expression of corporate worship. There are many forms of worship and they are, prayer, verbal praise, directed expressions of faith, meditation, offerings, foot washing, and communion just to name a few. We must be careful not to de-value other’s style of worship. All praise must lift up Jesus for the world to see! If your praise is about you, then you need to reflect on what you are doing.
It is important that everyone expand the parameters of their worship styles. If you want to sing hymns it will not hurt you to sing, “I’m trading my sorrows.” By the same token, if you only like to sing songs that have been written in the last 20 minutes, you need to discover how rich and full, “O For a Thousand Tongues To Sing.” Whom do we seek? The Presence of God!
Final, we must remember what an awesome weight falls on the worship leader. The burden of balance, difficult to find and even more difficult to maintain, makes worship leaders a high and holy honor and terrifying responsibility. The most dangerous place in a worship service is the platform. It should be approached with fear and trembling. There have been many who are very talented who have lost their way. We should be praying and lifting those up who stand on the platform week after week and bring us into the very presence of God.
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