- Just like extreme sports, extreme worship is one that goes over the edge (beyond the norms)
- JOB - is such a man that God pushed over the edge. A wealthy man, a diligently righteous man yet got into trouble just because he was righteous. Read his calamities. How did Job respond in the 42 chapters?
- The key lies in Job 1:20 "Job got up , tore his rob, shaved his head , then he fell down on his ground to worship"
- Despite all his suffering, he did that "extreme worship". He decided in Job 1:20
- The end result" Job 42 - Oh the Lord restored him more and above what he lost in the first place!
- Who can we think of as someone great in the bible?
- David - he is the psalmist, from shepherd boy to King
- In 1 Sam 30: The story of how he ran from King Saul because he became a threat, from a fugitive in Philistines with his 500 plus men. From the city of Ziklag where his headquarters was being attacked by the AMalakites later - wives and children kidnapped and city burned. Troubles from Saul was seemingly not enough, but enemies from Amalakites, now his own men wanting to stone him to death for their plight , what did he do?
- The key lies in 1Sam 30:6 : "But david found strength in the Lord" V7 "Bring the ephod"?-->Now is the time to worship!!
- Despite all the loss in his camp, he worshipped and he enquired of the Lord. God answered. They attacked the Amalakites
- The end result ? They got back all their wives and children and even more of the things plundered earlier!
- Out of this 'disaster', we believe this was the start of David being the King. Because all his mighty men would have looked at him very differently from that day on.
- Jesus - the perfect worhipper who does not play any musical instrument!
- Matt 26:36 At the garden of Gethsema ne, Jesus is the perfect man, yielding to the will of his Father.
- He prayed 3 times, caught the disciples sleeping. He knew the answer.
- The key lies in Matt 26:42 All that was human in him , he prayed "If it is possible, may this cup be taken from me, yet not as I will but as you will be".."Let me live, however, I desire your will more than life itself" That decision of His gave us human beings the key to freedom in the spirit.
- The end result ? That perfect worship of bowing down release the power of the Holy Spirit - the power of Salvation!
- Out of this , because of Jesus perfect submission, we are able to enter the Kingdom. The Spirit that now works in us will change the people around us.
- We may not be able to reach this form of perfect worship as yet. But may our life goal be of that to reach out. Like Paul said, not attaining but forever pressing on.
Song Story: Matt Redman's "The Heart of Worship"
Check the liner notes of almost any modern worship recording, and the name Matt Redman is likely to be among the songwriting credits. Artists and assemblies regularly perform “Let My Words Be Few” (Phillips, Craig & Dean), “Better Is One Day” (Rebecca St. James, Petra), and perhaps most of all, “The Heart of Worship” (Michael W. Smith, Sonic Flood, Passion), a beautifully simple, acoustic confessional ballad. Still, as prolific as these works make him, he says the story behind “The Heart of Worship” in particular is a personal reminder that, “I’m just a little songwriter—and a pretty foolish one at that!”
To check out Matt Redman’s latest album, Where Angels Fear to Tread, click here.
The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.
“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”
Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”
Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.
“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.”
When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come / Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart… / I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus
Redman remembers writing the song quickly in his bedroom soon after the church’s journey together, with no grand intentions, by any means, for it to become an international anthem. He viewed the words simply as his personal, subjective response to what he was learning about worship.
But when Matt shared “The Heart of Worship” with Pilavachi, the pastor suggested making a few small adjustments to the lyrics so any member of the church could relate to it as well.
Amazed by how God has since taken the song around the world for His purposes, the songwriter smiles in regard to his own lack of foresight. “It nearly didn’t go any further than my bedroom. But I love that…”
The trademark tune soon became the title track for Matt Redman’s 1999 album, The Heart of Worship. The recording process was consistent with the artist’s sensitive approach to being in the studio.
“We decided to not get all complicated, and just let the song ‘breathe.’ We’re always trying to create more of a church atmosphere in the studio rather than just a technical musical gathering. Something happens when the people of God gather together and play out the praises of God in the presence of God. Hopefully something of that passion and purpose transcends beyond that studio room onto the recordings themselves.”
Following Matt’s original release, which featured a guest vocal appearance by Martin Smith, lead singer of Delirious, “The Heart of Worship” became a new standard of the modern worship music movement, sung by fellow artists, choirs, and church families alike. Among the ever-rising number of reinterpretations, Redman is especially fond of Michael W. Smith’s from his 2001 classic, Worship.
“I honestly like them all,” he admits. “It’s a great encouragement when people take the songs and run with them. Perhaps my favorite is Michael’s— maybe because it’s a live version and therefore really captures and conveys the heart of the song’s theme.”
Even more encouraging, he says, is when other pastors get in touch to let Matt know how God has used the song to take their congregations through a situation similar to the one his church experienced.
As teachable as “The Heart of Worship” has become, Matt Redman continues to learn about true worship and will journey further into that heart in summer 2004 with a new album, Facedown.
“It’s such a biblical posture in worship that speaks of reverence. If you look through the Bible, there’s a whole host of people who faced up to the glory of God and found themselves facedown in worship. So the album weaves through a theme of reverence, wonder, and mystery in worship, things I feel we really need to grasp more of in our worship expressions. I know that I do!”
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