Posted on 01/31/2014 12:58:48 PM PST by matthewrobertolson
Those are wise words indeed and yet for all that,totally misdirected.No doubt there’s something in that for all of us.
No problem with passion for Christ. After all, His passion was for us first.
The issue I have is that too often, people substitute “falling in love with God” for a proper interpretation of what it means to be Christian (and I’m not saying you do that by any stretch).
The result is a seeker-centered worship rather than placing our worship emphasis where it belongs, which is on Christ.
You are most kind. Thank you. Just my opinion though. :)
If you mean misdirected at metmom, I would agree. I have read metmom’s posts on many threads and have a great deal of respect for what I see. I apologize for any offense.
I just feel passionately that the modern worship experience is based too often on the seeker rather than the Savior.
.....”we can truly be still and know that He is God. There is no ‘more’ than all”....
Beautiful!
The lines have been drawn between Modern vs. Traditional. Sure there is a blended worship that I find very disjointed.
But proponents of the 2 styles make good points but still fall way short in the defense of their preferred style.
I have, on occasion stumbled across a style that on paper looks traditional, but has a vibrant feel. Not seeker sensitive at all, these services leave me humbled and full of joy.
I HEAR you. I’ve been to too many services where the whole focus is on us, the Holy Spirit, the manifestations, the gifts, whatever, and hardly any on Christ.
The worship music and leading is more designed to be an emotional manipulation instead of praise to God. People have become experience junkies. They are *grounded* in that instead of the Word. That is sand.
So I am not talking about emotionalism or getting our experience fix. What I am thinking along the lines of is getting back to that first love and loving God with the passion that we have that is similar to that which we have when we first fall in love with someone. They are the center of all your attention. Your focus is on them above everything else.
They are the only one you want to be with. You think of them all the time. You can’t wait to see them again, and to hear from them. You are excited about the next time you see them. You WANT to do things for them, just to please them. That’s the kind of passion that I find missing in my life. It’s easy to get stuck in a spiritual rut of just doing what needs to be done to get by resulting in a legalistic, works oriented faith.
I am also still dealing with the unbalanced view of God that I was raised with that did not include personal relationship with God. He was to be feared as you just never knew when you were going to get zapped for the least little slip up. It was a fear relationship and not a love one.
So after 35 years of walking with Christ, it’s time there was a little more passion.
Sometimes it’s hard to be clear in writing. *I* know what I’m thinking when I write this stuff. Nobody else does. No offense taken. I just wasn’t clear enough.
And now I do, and I thank you for taking the time. :)
I wish I could find that. I'm glad you did.
"I just feel passionately that the modern worship experience is based too often on the seeker rather than the Savior"
It sure looks that way a lot of the time.Not that I'm some sort of expert.I think that the more we contemplate the reality of Jesus and who He is and what it all means for us the more our worship experience will be largely taken up with jaw dropping awe.
As metmom posted earlier Jesus calls us friend.I love to sit looking at some quirk in the creation and saying to Him "I see what you did there".I think that is worship,of a sort and it's friendship as well.He is acknowledged in every atom.I think God enjoys that and maybe even smiles.Not forgetting that He is an all consuming fire.
God bless you.
8-)
FWIW, here is my issue.
In many churches there is no room for mourning. Mourning for sickness, the loss of a loved one, over a wayward child or even one’s sin.
Instead these churches insist that you must have a upbeat persona.
That is not worshipping in truth.
That is true.
Especially in the charismatic ones, if you are down or grieving about something, you get preached at and lectured and have Bible verses quoted at you.
It’s a denial of the validity of what we’re going through.
Goodness, even Jesus wept.
Mourning, just like celebrating, is acknowledging God’s will in our lives. And I agree. It is saying that no matter what happens, He is in charge. And He will make all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. It is a confirmation of Romans 8:34-39, and shows what faith to a believer truly is. No matter what, we know He is in charge and He knows why.
Wow. That’s a tremendous point.
There’s nothing wrong with LEAVING church upbeat — after all, I think that’s part of what the worship experience is for — but it should be an infilling from the Holy Spirit that does it.
Some of the best worship experiences in my life have come when I’ve been broken. And not surprisingly, that is when many people make decisions for Christ.
the thing that I remember that hit home with the most impact early on in my spiritual life was when I first heard Christmas carols as a new Christian.
I got saved in August. So that first Christmas when we pulled out the album of Christmas carols that we listened to EVERY YEAR (part of our family tradition) and I heard those long familiar lyrics, I was BLOWN AWAY. I listened to them in awe, like I was hearing them for the first time wondering how I had ever missed what I was hearing now.
*born to give them second birth*, *God and sinners reconciled*.
Just wow. How did I ever miss that?
There is a denial of that in too many charismatic circles.
It’s labeled as a spirit, rebuked, something to be “delivered” from, denial that it’s from God, anything but acknowledging that God is in it and God is good, and He’s working out the character of Christ in our lives.
Oh I agree.
But what many do is force a legalism on folks, that they HAVE to respond a certain way. The Holy Spirit will ffill each believer and guide them on how to “feel” before, during and after.
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