Worship March 18, 2007
I saw something today at worship and I'm pondering it, meditating on it, and trying to discover what I am to do with it. I got online today to try and work it out in my mind a little because it's keeping me awake. That's really too bad because it's been weeks since I've had a Sunday afternoon nap, and months since I've had enough sleep. But, if it's from the Lord, I'll take it!
The enemy is at work twenty-four hours a day. I think we should take him head-on. As we worshiped this morning I saw a place dedicated to encountering God, a sanctuary among sanctuaries, a locus for seeking God 24/7/365. It was begun with a worship service on a Sunday morning, but when the service ended, the worship didn't. Someone kept playing, singing, praying, teaching, or seeking the Lord there continually. It is impossible that I individually should 'pray without ceasing,' but the primary identity of the body of Christ is not individual. Rather, it is corporate, and we together could answer that challenge. Some few places do it already, but only a few.
Can you imagine such a place? What sort of a presence would God have there? How would it feel to walk into a room and know the Lord has been sought there in at least 2's or 3's without ceasing for a week, a month, or even years? If Walmart can stay open 24 hours a day, why can't the church? Walmart doesn't even mean anything. There's no life in it. But, we represent the Kingdom of God. What if there was a place the weary soul could go at 3 or 4 in the morning and know they would not be alone, that they would be among other believers seeking the Lord together? What if someone needs an alternative to the bar at 8PM on Saturday night? What if there is no quiet place in a students dorm, and they are convicted to seek the Lord at 2 in the afternoon?
Can you see it? Elders, teachers, pastors, Life Group leaders, laypeople, worship leaders, all who called to teach could get involved. A regular schedule might be set up, but it would remain organic, absorbing events and moves according to the discernment of the leadership under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Imagine that it's 1 AM and you have a need, where do you go? Who do you go to? You go to the church! We're here, waiting, worshiping, ready to intercede at a moment's notice, ready to pray and see healing in a place anointed with the presence that comes from the continual seeking of the Lord.
Can you see it? It never stops. Families setting up for a wedding in that room do so in constant worship. Believers who want to learn discover a gifted teacher who regularly shows up at 6:30 on Thursdays to bring a lesson from the Scriptures. Men and women stop in to worship for 20 minutes before going to work. Perhaps one day a week they fast during their lunch hour, groups of 10 or 50 together. Instead of being late to church on Sunday mornings, families show up early, knowing the place is going to be alive with fellowship and the presence of the Lord. And, if they are late, it is no matter, because the movements are fluid and they can worship before as well as after, or both! An announcement on Sunday morning or on a related web page lets the body know that from 4 to 6 on the following Sunday afternoon the youth will be leading worship and sharing about their latest mission trip to Mexico, or to the inner city.
It's like a slice of heaven come to earth. Wouldn't that draw people? What traps cold it provide an alternative to? What freedom might be found in having a place like that? It sounds exhausting, perhaps, but it's the work of hundreds of people, working together to be the body and to make God available to each other and to the community. Would God bless something like this? I think He would. Can it really happen? I think it can. After all, God is good...all the time, even at 3:42 on a Tuesday afternoon. Can you imagine it?
The enemy is at work twenty-four hours a day. I think we should take him head-on. As we worshiped this morning I saw a place dedicated to encountering God, a sanctuary among sanctuaries, a locus for seeking God 24/7/365. It was begun with a worship service on a Sunday morning, but when the service ended, the worship didn't. Someone kept playing, singing, praying, teaching, or seeking the Lord there continually. It is impossible that I individually should 'pray without ceasing,' but the primary identity of the body of Christ is not individual. Rather, it is corporate, and we together could answer that challenge. Some few places do it already, but only a few.
Can you imagine such a place? What sort of a presence would God have there? How would it feel to walk into a room and know the Lord has been sought there in at least 2's or 3's without ceasing for a week, a month, or even years? If Walmart can stay open 24 hours a day, why can't the church? Walmart doesn't even mean anything. There's no life in it. But, we represent the Kingdom of God. What if there was a place the weary soul could go at 3 or 4 in the morning and know they would not be alone, that they would be among other believers seeking the Lord together? What if someone needs an alternative to the bar at 8PM on Saturday night? What if there is no quiet place in a students dorm, and they are convicted to seek the Lord at 2 in the afternoon?
Can you see it? Elders, teachers, pastors, Life Group leaders, laypeople, worship leaders, all who called to teach could get involved. A regular schedule might be set up, but it would remain organic, absorbing events and moves according to the discernment of the leadership under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Imagine that it's 1 AM and you have a need, where do you go? Who do you go to? You go to the church! We're here, waiting, worshiping, ready to intercede at a moment's notice, ready to pray and see healing in a place anointed with the presence that comes from the continual seeking of the Lord.
Can you see it? It never stops. Families setting up for a wedding in that room do so in constant worship. Believers who want to learn discover a gifted teacher who regularly shows up at 6:30 on Thursdays to bring a lesson from the Scriptures. Men and women stop in to worship for 20 minutes before going to work. Perhaps one day a week they fast during their lunch hour, groups of 10 or 50 together. Instead of being late to church on Sunday mornings, families show up early, knowing the place is going to be alive with fellowship and the presence of the Lord. And, if they are late, it is no matter, because the movements are fluid and they can worship before as well as after, or both! An announcement on Sunday morning or on a related web page lets the body know that from 4 to 6 on the following Sunday afternoon the youth will be leading worship and sharing about their latest mission trip to Mexico, or to the inner city.
It's like a slice of heaven come to earth. Wouldn't that draw people? What traps cold it provide an alternative to? What freedom might be found in having a place like that? It sounds exhausting, perhaps, but it's the work of hundreds of people, working together to be the body and to make God available to each other and to the community. Would God bless something like this? I think He would. Can it really happen? I think it can. After all, God is good...all the time, even at 3:42 on a Tuesday afternoon. Can you imagine it?
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