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Archives: March 2009
A two way love song
By Mike Pilavachi & Andy Croft
Back in 1982 I was in my early twenties (yep that gives you a clue to my age). This was way before Soul Survivor, but it was the year I attended my first ever Christian conference. It was hosted by a guy called John Wimber (the man we now know as responsible for the Vineyard movement of Churches).
What really blew me away about this event was the time we spent focussing on God. We sang simple love songs to God one after the other, without pause. They may not have been the best tunes in the world, and some of the lyrics were far from Shakespearean, but the thing that both unhinged me and healed me was encountering the manifest presence of God as we sang. It really felt like coming home. God was really, really there and he took my breath away.
At the beginning of one session John Wimber told us that we were going to worship for 30-40 minutes at the beginning of every meeting. If we didn’t like the songs or the style of the music, or needed a shot of caffeine he was very happy for us to go out and get a coffee during that time.
He then said something that really struck me:
“You see we’re not worshiping for you…”
I was sure he was going to say we’re worshiping for God, but instead he said:
“… this worship is for me and for my team. I just can’t teach and we can’t minister until we’ve first been in the presence of God, ministered to him and allowed him to minister to us.”
What he was getting at is that worship is a two-way love song. As we sing to him he “rejoices over us with singing”. Zepheniah 3:17
And of course, this idea is backed up throughout the Bible. In the Scriptures we see an inseparable link between worship and the presence of God.
The link is this: worship is a response to God’s manifest presence; it also ushers in his manifest presence.
This link between worship of God and his presence can be traced throughout Israel’s history as a nation. When Israel lived in the wilderness, before the tabernacle was made and dedicated, Moses used to pitch a tent outside the camp. It was called the ‘tent of meeting’. Whenever Moses went into the tent, the presence of the Lord would descend in the form of a cloud (Exodus 33:10).
Years later when the temple was dedicated, worship and God’s presence were again inseparably linked. In 2 Chronicles 5-7 we can see the pattern emerge: the people worship, God’s presence falls, the people worship some more, God’s presence falls again, the people worship again!
It begins in 2 Chronicles 5:12
“All the Levites who were musicians… stood on the east side of the alter, dressed in fine linen and playing symbols, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priest sounding trumpets. The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang; ‘he is good; his love endures forever.’ Then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.”
2 Chronicles 5: 12-14
So Israel worship and the glory of God falls. But it doesn’t stop there. There is more time of dedicated praise and prayer and God’s glory descends again. It’s from this scene we get the lyrics:
"He is good; His love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 7:1-3
What this amazing description also shows is that worship has a place in ushering in the presence of God. This is shown elsewhere in Israel’s history.
John Wimber was once asked ‘What’s your technique for healing?’
He replied, ‘There’s no technique, it’s the presence of God’.
A few years ago I was in a prayer and worship meeting and found myself sitting next to a very elderly lady. We were singing Psalm 134 and everyone was clapping. As the song came to an end everyone stopped clapping except the old lady. After a few moments she realised she was the only one and stopped as well. She then told us what had happened. She’d been suffering from severe arthritis for the past few years – she hadn’t even been able to hold a coffee cup. She said:
“I haven’t clapped for years, and as I was worshipping Jesus I forgot that I couldn’t clap. Look”, she said, waving her hands, “he healed me while I wasn’t looking!”
When we worship we are distracted from ourselves as we gaze in wonder and love upon him. Worship is a place of healing, as the hymn goes:
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in his wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.”
Jesus told his disciples ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them’. He promised he would be present when we gather in his name, whether it is to pray or to worship. One translation of Psalm 22:3 reads, “The Lord inhabits the praises of his people.”
Worship is a response to the presence of God; it also ushers in the presence of God.
About the writers...
Mike heads up Soul Survivor and the church Soul Survivor Watford and Andy is on the Leadership team of Soul Survivor too. This is an extract from their book 'Storylines'.
Soul Survivor is a Christian charity that puts on events for young people. Our registered charity no. is 1080720. We are also a company limited by guarantee in England & Wales. Our company registered number is 03991111, which is nice. Thanks for caring.
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