Sincere Responses

Dear Worshipers,

Let us continue on our journey through our Worship Ministries Vision Statement and allow it to remind us what it is that we are trying to accomplish through this ministry of worship that we share. We will do that by unpacking another section of the vision statement for our Music and Worship Ministries. This is what you are committing to in becoming a member of this team. Here is the statement:

Our Worship Ministries exist to nurture worship as a lifestyle
characterized by sincere responses to God’s self-revelations.

Last week we looked at the first line and discussed a little bit of what it means to live our lives as worship by defining worship and then putting it in the context of a response to God that is whole-life. This week I am going to take a look at the next phrase “characterized by sincere responses”. Next week we will finish with the final phrase which is really the foundation of everything we are talking about, “God’s self-revelations.” But before we go there, so that your memorizing is not put out of order let us look at what it means to respond to God.

To respond means to make a reply, to answer, or to act in return. Each of these is instructive as we consider our response to God, but the crucial part of the definition is that it is the reaction to something. A response is not a first strike. Even an immediate response has a precursor, something that elicited it. God is the Great Elicitor. We are only and ever responding to Him, whether favorably or not.

This brings us to the adjective describing the response, “sincere”. This qualifies our response as being genuine, without hypocrisy or pretense. The intent is that we would carefully consider God’s revealing Himself to us and then make a careful, authentic and appropriate reply. The fact that we desire to see lives that are characterized by these kinds of responses instructs the activity of this ministry. It is more than music. It is life. And life made up of many smaller acts in return to God for showing Himself to us.

While there are any number of passages that teach this principle, allow me to take you to a couple from the writings of Paul. If anyone lived a life of response to a revelation from God it was this man. From that moment on the road to Damascus and stretching forward through the remainder of his life, Paul’s living was characterized by sincere responses to God’s self-revelations.

In Romans 8:31 he testifies, “What shall we say then in response to this? If God is for us, then who can be against us?” This comes at the end of one of the greatest discourses on God’s self revealing. It culminates earlier in the chapter as Paul writes about the life through the Spirit, and the future glory of the believer. After the phrase above, Paul climaxes with the more than conquerors passage. What a response!

That is Paul’s instruction on how the life we live should be characterized. But lest you think he was just a philosopher, remember his words in Galatians 2:2. “I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles.” Here Paul indicates that his trip to Jerusalem was a response to a revelation from the Lord. Paul had a number of similar events in His life and the general practice should be evidenced in our lives as well. When God shows us something of Himself, we should adjust our lives to respond to it.

Next week we will look at Ephesians 1:17 which was one of the key verses that God used to reveal this vision to me. You can look ahead if you like, or you can wait until next week. Either way, make certain that you are living your life as a response to what God has already shown you about Himself. It is an amazing journey.

I want to ask you to continue to memorize our vision statement. Do it in little bite-sized sections so that over the next couple of weeks you will have it. Then as God brings it to mind, pray for the worship life of our church that it will transcend Sunday morning and truly become a through-the-week event.

Assignment for the week: Memorize: “[Our Worship Ministries exist to nurture worship as a lifestyle-last week] characterized by sincere responses…”

In Christ,

Pastor Scott