One thing that i believe all of us know and have experienced is that worship is more than the song, more than singing, more than the clapping of hands. It is also more than a medley of music to usher in the sermon; no, worship is the very reason why we gather as a congregation to meet with God. Worship IS the main motivation. Worshiping God can take place in the singing, the Word, the offering, the prayer, or all of the above. It is the adoration of God; most intimate, most joyous, what we were created for. I was just reading the book EXPLORING THE MYSTERIES OF WORSHIP (that the worship team has been assigned to read) and it says that technology is a 2 edged sword, it can aid or hinder worship. Today i experienced how the sermon itself hinders worship of God. It also got me thinking about the power of worship in my life.

I have heard theologically unsound sermons before, but to experience the power of worship break through the ceiling and walls the sermon has created, it’s a first for me. I feel that it’s of utmost importance that i get my thoughts down here. I just came back from Hillsong United Youth Concert at Singapore Expo not too long ago. It was supposed to be a Hillsong concert organized by New Creation and the Youth Pastor from New Creation preached in the middle of it and boy. Suffice to say that his sermon was bad enough to hinder the worship of God and cause anger to arise inside of me. The whole sermon was at best misguided and at worst, gravely bad theology that largely discounted Jesus’ death on the cross. He quoted Romans 5:17 and said that “when God says He gives us abundant life, it was more than good grades and family and riches… it includes your Playstations and Wii games as well“. I could only fight the urge to walk out and pray that God in His sovereignty will protect the youths and guide them in their faith; that they will come to understand that the grace that God poured out through the blood of Jesus was far more the worth of all the Playstations and black shiny leather jackets on youth pastors combined. i believe God is grieved at the mishandling of the Word of God and the work on the cross. But i will just focus on how it relates to worship.

By the grace of God, i didn’t leave the hall immediately the word “playstation” left the pastor’s lips. Hillsongs came back onstage and the band continued to lead us in worship. And God was there in the midst of us. I believe that the band tonight didn’t agree with the way the Word was preached, but it was not with human arguments that pointed people back to God, but the mysterious and unexplainable power of worship that brought the focus back to God. Back to the cross, back to the redemptive power of the blood of Jesus. That He will be lifted up in our lives. The words of the worship songs were each one a prayer to the Lord Almighty. nearing the end, the worship leader addressed the crowd and prayed a prayer, that each one of us will come to know that our salvation is not for the enjoyment of the present, but for us to reach out to the broken, poor and lost. The floodgates of heaven broke, once and for all, as we get a glimpse of God’s heart for the nations.

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One thing that i echo from the book, is that worship is mysterious, because it is always the relationship between me and God. It’s something private, intimate and unable to model or to explain systematically. Whatever God pours out in my life through that worship is always precious, full of power and purpose; each of them testifying to the glory of His name. My first encounter with God occurred during worship session at a service in City Harvest. As a pre-believer, that was something immensely mysterious and honestly a little scary to step into a charismatic church with people with raised hands in worship and looking rather emotive. But there was just something in the worship that drew me out. The presence of God. What i remember was that i started crying at these words sung “i want to drink from the river that flows before Your throne”. i  didn’t understand what it meant with my head of course and i probably cannot explain now what it really means in plain words even as i have been journeying with God. But the touch of God was unmistakable, as i look back on the first day i stepped into a church service and God in turn stepped into my life.

I just want to end off by saying that worship is powerful, because it is the direct access to God Himself. Much as other things can distract or mislead us, an attitude of worship will keep us focused on Jesus and the power of the cross. As we lead people in a time of worship, we do not have to be concerned about how we can “salvage” a bad sound system or a bad sermon, but to just focus on worshipping God, because God is sovereign and He alone knows how to work the best for the good for those who love Him.