MOVEMENT THINKING _ GIVING FACTOR Part 7 of 10

THE GIVING FACTOR

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 7 GIVING
THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL

PART 7 of 10

First Church of Possum Gulch was having trouble financially.
Meeting after meeting was given over to finding a way to increase revenue and decrease expenditures. Finally, the golden suggestion was made. . . a new-fangled offering plate would be used! It would work like this: if someone dropped only a dollar in, a siren would go off; if they dropped only fifty cents in, a bell would ring. If they put nothing in it, it would take their picture! Well, no one really knows the outcome of the imaginary story, but we do know that an essential factor in church growth is a clear teaching and understanding of what God’s principles are concerning finance and stewardship.
Many churches struggle for years in this area, they plateau at one or two hundred, maybe even five hundred, and go on farther. Why? Sometimes, because they aren’t willing to pay the price, go the distance, and be confronted with the clear Biblical teaching on finances. It still comes as a shock to many that almost half of all Jesus’ parables deal with a man and his money. Jesus taught more in this area than he did about heaven, hell, baptism, and judgement all put together. No book in all the Bible fails to mention this in some way. Yet many churches fail to expand much needed facilities, add long overdue staff, or launch ambitious evangelistic campaigns due to lack of funds, caused by poor giving resulting from little or no teaching.
There are two musts, I believe, for any churches desiring growth as it pertains to the area of stewardship and finances. The first must is good, sound Biblical perspective. We might call them laws, not in the legalistic sense, but in the sense that there is a “fixness” about them. Just as there are physical laws at work in our universe such as the law of gravity, and if that law is violated, consequences will occur, so there are moral laws, and specifically laws of stewardship that are inviolable. Without attempting to be exhaustive in a study of stewardship, here is a list of inviolate laws that I’ve made to teach in every new member’s class as well as from the pulpit in my sermons.

1. THE LAW OF OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
This is the first, because if it is acknowledged by all believers, the other laws will all fall into proper place. The essence of this law in scripture is that God owns all, and we ae called to manage what is His. This cuts right across our affluent culture’s concept of material things. The Psalmist said, “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). And who can possibly deny this law when they read the following prayer of David?

Thine O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majestic; for all that is in the heavens is thine; thine is the kingdom, O lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from thee, and thou rulest over all. In my hand are power and might . . . but who am I and what is my people that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee (I Chron. 29:11-14).

Again, just in case were still in doubt, God himself says:

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the air, and all that moves in the field is mine (Psa. 50:10-11).

The fact of God’s ownership and our trusteeship radically changes our concept of material things and/or money. For the believer, the issue of ownership must be settled and acknowledged at the entrance gate of the Christian life. That’s why Jesus said, “So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). Well, what exactly does “renounce” mean? Does that suggest that in order to become a disciple one must give up all his possessions and lapse into total poverty and become a ward of the state? Absolutely not! Nor does it mean some kind of “transfer of ownership” theology. It’s not like we are transferring what WE own at conversion over to before you came on the scene, while you are on the scene, and long after you’ve departed the scene! It means that, when you to be a disciple one must give up all his possessions and lapse into total poverty and become a ward of the state? Absolutely not! Nor does it mean some kind of ”transfer of ownership” theology. It’s not like we are transferring what WE own at conversion over to God so that HE now owns it. No, He has always owned it, long before you came on the scene, while you are on the scene, and long after you’ve departed the scene! It means that, when you walk into the Christian life, at least one of the entry requirements to be a disciple is total acknowledgement of God’s ownership and your management. God owns it ALL, we simply are managers of what He has entrusted to us. Sadly, enough, many believers discover this law many years AFTER the become Christians instead of on the first day.


2.  THE LAW OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Not only does God own all and entrust to us differing amounts of money and material to manage, we are accountable to Him of what we manage. The bible clearly says that it is required of stewards that they be accountable (I Cor. 4:2). Who can forget the parable Jesus told of the land owner who decided to take a journey and entrusted to his servants some funds. To one he gave $5000, to another $2000, and to another $1000. A key verse in that account says this, “Now after a long time, the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them (Matt. 25:19). There was and is a time of accounting. That’s why it is not only important to teach the tithe, but equally important to teach that God is holding us accountable with how we use the nine-tenths we keep!


3.  THE LAW OF SACRIFICE
Sacrifice is a relative word. We Westerners have a very difficult time understanding what sacrifice really is, because as a rule, our lifestyles are relatively high. In third world countries where $68 a year is considered good income, sacrifice means one thing. In a country where many people earn over $50,000 a year, it means another. Jesus graphically underscored this by highlighting the widow who dropped two pennies in the Temple treasury. The only time in His entire ministry when He made a comment about a particular person’s giving, Jesus praised this woman because while others were giving out of their abundance and plenty, she gave out of her abject poverty… she literally gave everything she had! The principle of sacrifice runs throughout the Bible.

If a man’s offering is a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offers an animal from the herd, male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the Lord (Lev. 3:1).

That admonition is repeated many times in the Old Testament. What was behind a “without blemish” offering on the part of God’s people? Was God short on good lambs? Hardly, since He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The point is, we need to give the best, first. By King David’s era, this was a well-accepted teaching and indeed, part of a sincere Hebrew’s life. That is why when he was offered all the ingredients of a sacrifice by Araunah, King David declined the offering saying:

…No, but I will buy it of you for a price, I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing (II Sam. 24:24).

No cost, no meaning, no sacrifice involved, no depth or meaning to giving. God’s indictment to Israel in her latter years concerning their cheating in this matter is very sharp to say the least. When the Jews asked God how they had despised His name in their giving, God was quick to respond:

“By offering polluted food upon mu alter… When you offer blind animals in sacrifice. Is that no evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that no evil? Present that to your governor, will he be pleased with you or show you favor? “says the Lord of hosts (Mal. 1:7-9).

Those are pretty strong words, yet they underscore the fact that it does make a difference in what we give and how we give it. It must be sacrificial.


4.  THE LAW OF TRUE SUCCESS
Again, we Westerners have a mind-set that defines success in a narrow, limited frame of reference, namely possessions: if a person drives an expensive car, lives in a fashionable neighborhood, takes long and expensive vacations, wears the finest clothing, we dub him a “success.” On the other hand,
Someone who rents instead of owns, drives a car over 5 years old, and is an hourly wage earner with no savings in bank most people would not consider successful.
Jesus challenges this very limited concept of success with one simple statement: “For a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15). He then proceeded to tell a parable about a farmer whose crops brought forth plentifully. With inadequate barns, the farmer determined to tear down the small “inadequate” barns and build larger barns where he would store (actually hoard) his crop. Someone has pointed out that the personal pronouns, I, my, you, and your, appear some 12 times in 3 short verses! Then Jesus concludes with very straight to the point words:

Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be (Luke 12:22)?

The accumulation of things is not a symbol of success in God’s eyes. Of course, neither is poverty, but rather a right relationship with God! In a day when great emphasis is placed on get, get, accrue, have, we need to remind ourselves of Jesus’ words again and again. It isn’t wrong to have nice things or a lot of things, it’s when things have you that you’re in trouble.


5. THE LAW OF GODLY FOCUS
This really is similar to the law of success, but an added warning is given. DON’T SEEK WEALTH! The wealthiest man who ever lived wrote:

Do not toil to acquire wealth; be wise enough to desist (Prov. 23:4).

In other words, do not make the objective of your life the accumulation of wealth. Several years ago, a friend of mine said, “My life goal is to be a millionaire by the time I’m 30!” why does God that’s wrong? Paul wrote Timothy some sound advice. It wasn’t just for young Timothy either! He told him that we need to be content with food and clothing without seeking other things. He reminded Timothy that we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of this world. That is true, isn’t it? You never see a hearse with a U-Haul trailer behind it. But in I Timothy 6, Paul really gets to the core.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction (I Tim. 6:9).

Then Paul delivers the punch line:

For the love of money is the root of all evils, it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs (I Tim. 6:10).

Later in that same chapter he warns the rich not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches. So, is it wrong to be rich? No! God chooses to bless some with great amounts of money. Even Jesus had wealthy friends. What is wrong, is to seek wealth, and to make the accumulation of money and financial security your goal and objective in life. Nor is this to say that people with special ability to make money should stifle that ability. It is to say that we are not to seek wealth, nor are we to see it as a panacea to cure all ills. If a local church is going to grow numerically and spiritually, it cannot avoid or evade this part of stewardship teaching. In a culture that has become extremely materialistic, God’s people somehow must be different. No, poverty is not spiritual and wealth is not evil. Yet we cannot avoid the signposts erected in scripture for our safety.


6. THE LAW OF COMMITMENT FOLLOWING GIVING
A common mistake many churches make is their approach to new members. the philosophy has been, “Don’t mention money or giving to these new people until they have become active and are ready for it.” Jesus’ method was just the opposite. His philosophy was that giving generates activity.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:21).

In thirty years’ ministry, I have seen the truth of that statement. When you look behind those members who are unselfish in giving of their time and talents, you’ll find they are part of that 20 group who support 8% of the church’s budget! It is people whose financial resources are firmly planted in the kingdom who follow their financial commitment with their life. We have found that right teaching up front concerning the tithe and beyond is the quickest and most lasting way of people becoming active in the body of Christ. Interest follows dollars.
A non-Christian man walked into my office one day and ask if we were the church involve in the Miracle Day Campaign. I assured him we were. His response was puzzling at first. He said, “I’m not a Christian, and a member of no church, yet I admire the courage and large goal you have set. Would you mind accepting a donation from me? He wrote out a check for $ 1000  and left. The following Sunday I saw  him in church. He returned  a week later with his wife. The third Sunday they were back and both came forward to accept Christ at the close of the service. His comment to me much later was , “I followed my investment right  into the kingdom of God!” That’s exactly what Jesus said would happen.


7. THE LAW OF REGULARITY AND CONSISTENCY
Paul wrote Corinthians an interesting command:


8.THE LAW OF SOWING AND REAPING
This is a simple  law , but one that has been used and abused . it is the Biblical law that what you give is what you get back. It has been called in some circles the law of returns. Without being exhaustive, Solomon espoused this thousands of years ago

Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce, then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine (Prov. 3:9-10).

Notice the sequence . YOU honor the Lord with your substance. The New International Version gets more explicit. “Honor the Lord with your wealth.” It’s your money, your finances Solomon is speaking of here. Now note how the verse continues “… with the first fruits…” “That means your best , it means to take right off the top , not give what is left all the bills are  paid. Now, watch carefully the wording,. “Then your barns will be filled with plenty….”The sequence is clear; you give first the best, lavishly and unselfishly and then God will bring it all back plus  some more! Its said in Proverbs again, but with more clarity;

One man gives freely and grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. A liberal man will be  enriched and one who waters himself will be watered (Prov. 11:24-25).

That scripture cuts right across American, middle class, economic thinking. Any economist will tell you that you will have money when you learn to “hold on” to it. Give it away and you lose it forever. So it really boils down to whose economic system you’re willing to trust, God’s or man’s. the world says, “GET ALL YOU CAN, CAN ALL YOU GET, THEN BURY THE CAN!” God says, “Give it away and watch it come back so you can continue to give.”

We cant leave Solomon without his wife words in Ecclesiastes.
Cast your bread upon the waters and you will find it after many days (Eccl. 11:1)
The world system would re-write that and say if you cast your bread upon the waters, either the ducks will eat it or you’ll have soggy bread. He goes on in that chapter to warn us against letting our circumstances determine our giving. In verse 4 he says, “He  who observes the wind will not sow and he who regards the  clouds will not reap. “ In other words, don’t check the surrounding climate before you give or you’ll never do it, thus you will get nothing back, Jesus went straight to the heart of the matter in the Sermon on the Mount;

Give ant it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down , shaken together, running over , will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back Luke 6:38.

Many people want to “spiritualize” that verse to mean everything but money, but Jesus was talking about one’s possessions here. Notice how what  is given back to you is “pressed down, shaken together and running over. “Gods give back is always bigger than our “give to”. This same promise God made in Malachi 3 when tithers are promised a blessing they won’t be able to hold. Again, we are taught this principle in II Corinthians 9:

The point is this, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who bountifully will also reap bountifully (IICor. 9-6).

Now look further down  that passage at the promise made to those who sow (give) bountifully (liberally).

And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance.

SO THAT YOU MAY ALWAYS HAVE ENOUGH OF EVERYTHING  and may provide in abundance for every good work (II Cor. 9:8).

Here’s the cycle! We give abundantly. God gives it back so that we may give more. SO THAT He will give more back, SO THAT we can give more…. And so the cycle goes. But also notice… it doesn’t start by waiting for God to give back, it starts with our giving, which is the God -given way of trigging God’s response. By the way, later in the passage, another promise is made.

He who sup[plies bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness (II Cor. 9:10a).

He not only will give all back that you give. He will multiply it for you so that you can continually give more. If we are the starters of this increased giving cycle we can also be the stoppers. Cut your  giving or cut drastically back, and His give back is cut as well.
Now you maybe thinking. “Then, does that mean we give in  order to get? Only in the sense that we pour a quart of water into  a pump to prime it so well get endless water. This God’s  great plan of economy. We can actually increase our ability to give by  having the resources increased. How does that happen? By  giving more! Get it? What this means is that you cant out give God.  You shovel in, God shovels out and God has a bigger shovel. Giving to get, in order to spend it on your desires is obviously a carnal motive. But giving to get so we can give more is God’s program. It works.
Growing , dynamic churches don’t shy away from Biblical teaching on this matter. If these subjects are faithfully, consistently and lovingly taught, there will be results. It has to happen.
If property taught and if the leadership of the church leads the way with magnanimous giving, budget drives will be unneeded.

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 6 LEADERSHIP

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 6 LEADERSHIP
THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL







THE LEADERSHIP FACTOR


No church will ever rise above its leadership!
This statement may be time-won, but oh, so true!

In fact, if we could say there is one area that is the “culprit” inhibiting churches to grow, this may be it. Having traveled and spoken in scores and scores of churches of all sizes, virtually every problem shared with me by pastor and layman both is traceable back to a leadership problem. If we are going to let Jesus build His church, we must let Him do it with Biblical and sound leadership.
So much has been said and written about leadership of late, I hesitate to write another word. Certainly, no one would argue that I Timothy 3 as well as Titus 1 speaks of the bishops and the elders (both being the same), as having extremely high qualifications for being in leadership position.
The plurality of elders as a factor is seldom argued either.

Every church has a a power structure.
There is someone or a group of people who call the shots, make the decisions, set the pace, and really determine what is going to happen in that place.


THE GROWTH FACTOR
Sometimes it is called a “board.”
Sometimes it is called a steering committee.
Sometimes it is even the person or persons with the big bucks, whether they are on the “board” or not. But it will be best if we take this area item by item so that no one is confused.


WHO ARE THE LEADERS?
Biblically, the spiritual leaders of any local church should be elders.
We have the Biblical precedent recorded in Acts 14.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed (Acts 14:23)

We find Paul pouring out his heart to the elders of the Church in Ephesus when he was departing, probably never to see them again (Acts 3:23). Paul later writes young Titus to say:

This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:5).

These were to be the spiritual overseers, the pastors (I Pet. 5:1) of the church. They were to feed the flock of God, guard the flock against heresy, shepherd the flock, and according to I Timothy 5:17, they apparently had a spiritual authority inherent in their office that demanded respect.

Thus, in Hebrews it says:

Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls as men who will have to give account . . . (Heb. 13:7).

You won’t find a single elder ruling a church in the New Testament. There was a plurality of elders, yet they did not comprise together a “board” or a “vestry.” They were obviously men who met the qualifications laid down in Titus and I Timothy 3, men who were “above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil, moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (I Tim. 3:2-8)


WHO MAY BE AN ELDER IN THE CHURCH?

Certainly anyone may be an elder who meets the above qualifications. Does this include the preacher? Yes, in fact, if the preacher of a local church does not meet the qualifications of an elder, I question whether or not he is qualified to pastor ought to be counted among the eldership to avoid the “we/they” syndrome that kills many churches. This is the syndrome that sets the pastor against the “board.” It’s “me, the pastor,” and “they, the board.” This dualism reduces the minister to some “hired hand” on the spiritual ranch and thus minimizes his effectiveness as a leader. He must be considered one of the team leaders in leadership. In fact, he really must become the leader of the leaders, not that he has any more authority than the others, but is respected as the God-called pastor/teacher of that local body. Thousands of pastors leave the ministry early because they are not freed up to lead. Freedom to lead is never license to dictate. Though some pastors of local assemblies have abused their office and have exploited the other elders and people, a far greater problem centers around the pastor’s “subliminal” role in leadership. In many churches, the “official” board is made up of individuals whose job (they believe) is to corral the preacher, keeping him in toe and in subjection. This is done by requiring “board reports” from him as to his activity, down to keeping track of every long distance call he makes. He is so tied and bound, he can’t lead. What a tragedy! He is ostensibly called to lead, trained to lead, gifted to lead, anxious to lead; but not allowed to lead for fear he will take over or usurp the leadership of the “official board.”



HOW DO MEN BECOME ELDERS?

I remember years ago being in a church who had an annual election. This church elected everyone from the Sunday School Superintendent to the Board secretary. Three months prior to the election, the political machine began humming. People began politicking for other people. Several would “throw their hat into the ring.” The official ballot had something like 27 names on it to elect about 5 positions. The idea was that the congregation was to vote, marking only one name for each position. It was so American, but so unbiblical. The church was never meant to be a democracy, but a theocracy. You don’t find churches in Acts voting on leadership. It’s not up to a vote. Well, if you don’t vote them in, then how do they become elders? Let me list for you the step by step procedure that combines good sense without violating a Biblical principle.

 First of all, no church should ever set a number, like 10, and say, “That’s how many spots we have to fill, no who can we elect?” the number of elders in any local church is not determined by some artificial criteria like that, but rather it is determined by the number qualified. If a church of 500 members only has 3 qualified men for elders, then they have 3 elders. It’s that simple. Secondly, where I minister, we look for men who are not only practicing the characteristics of the qualifications listed, but men who are, in fact, already ministering with their lives in a shepherding/teaching capacity. That way, you elevate a man to the office and call him what he’s already doing, rather than electing him to a position, then hope he does something! Third, we ask the man up front if he has a desire to be an elder to fulfill the scripture in I Timothy 3:1. If he does, we move to the fourth step, the step of investigation. He is given a form that looks like this:


ELDER DESIRABLY & QUALIFICATION QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Briefly share how you came to know the Lord as your personal Savior.

2. How long have you been a member of this church?

3. Do you desire strongly to be an elder in this church? Why?

4. Have you recently read I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, I Peter 5:1-4?

Yes_______ No_______

5. How long have you been married? _______ Have you ever been married before?
(If yes, list their names & ages.)

6. Do you have children? ______ (if yes, list their names & ages.)

7. How would you describe your marriage?
______Exceptionally stable, _____ Very good, ______ Have areas of significant conflict.
(Explain if you need to.)

8. Please describe in brief detail where you feel your children are in their personal walk with the Lord.

9. Do you have a regular time of Bible reading, study and prayer?
_____ Yes _____ No _____ Daily ______ 4-5 times a week ______Weekly at least.

10. One of the Biblical requirements of an elder is his willingness to teach the Word of God. Regarding teaching: ______I have never taught ______Have taught, but not now teaching _______Am willing to teach.

11. Do you consider yourself above reproach?
(I.e. good, ethical, moral reputation inside & outside the church.)
______ Yes ______ No (Explain if necessary.)

12. Are you free from the use (and/or addiction) to alcohol?

13. Do you consider yourself free from the love of money?

14. Are you a regular and generous contributor of your income to OUR CHURCH?

15. Are you currently teaching or attending a Home Fellowship Group?

16. Eldership in this church requires a time of anywhere from 2 to 6 hours per week on the average. Are you willing to make that kind of a time commitment?

17. What do you feel is your spiritual gift(s)?
______Mercy ______Giving ______Teaching ______ Administration ______Service
______ Other __________

18. An elder is a shepherd (I Pet. 5:1-4).
Are you willing to “shepherd” the flock, by being available to listen, spiritually feed others, to encourage the sheep, etc..?

19. How would you personally rate the control of your temper?
______Very calm person ______ Tend to get upset easily
______ Have great difficulty controlling anger.

20. From time to time, the sick call for the elders of the church to pray over them, anointing with oil according to James 5:14,15. Are you willing to be involved in this when called upon?

21. Visibility of leadership is so essential in the body of Christ. Unless providentially hindered, are you willing to be present for all the main services of the Church?

22. Our eldership practices the principle of unanimity, i.e., all elders must be in 100% total agreement on voting issues for them to pass. Are you willing to serve in a structure like this?

23. Are you in sympathy with XXXXX’s position as an undenominational church, belonging to no human denomination, organization, or ecclesiastical system?

24. Are you willing to be supportive of the other leadership (staff and elders) so long as their walk and witness is according to the scriptures?

25. Do you agree with the basic position of XXXXXX that our one and only task is to disciple the world?

26. If eventually you become an elder, are you willing to step down voluntarily from that position if you need to because of inactivity, heresy. Or immorality?

27. Do you accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God without error?

28. Can you honestly say that your wife is fully supportive of your desire to serve as an elder at XXXXXX Christian Church?

29. What ministry have you been involved in, in the past, at XXXXXXX?

30. What ministry are you now involved in?

Once completed, we make copies for every elder to peruse. If all of our men are in complete

Agreement that the answers look good, we decide by unanimous consensus to arrange an interview. During the interview, we ask many questions; basically, however, questions that lie in two distinct areas, his spiritual life and his ministry life. We are more concerned with his closeness to God and the fact that he is in the Word on a regular basis than we are about his particular “skills.” Many churches make men elders because they have a good income, or because they are good public speakers, or because they are well known in the area, etc. we believe the spiritual standing of the man must pushed to front burner.

 After the interview, in which we have shared with him the rigor sand disciplines of being an elder, if every elder agrees this man is elder material, we stand him before the church with a  Statement like this: “We have found ___________________to be a godly man, a family man, a good steward, a man of the Word, etc. Thus in unanimity, the elders have called him to be an elder here. If any member has any reason why that shouldn’t happen, please write your reason, date it, sign it, and turn it in to any elder-prior to _____________. There being no objection, he will become an elder here on _____________, 19_____. “Once that elder has been accepted, he basically observes for a three-month period, verbally expressing little or nothing, and having no voice in matters to be decided. This is not only for his protection, but for ours as well. It works.


HOW DOES LEADERSHIP OPERATE?

Leaders are servants. They are where they are to serve. They are not policy makers, but policy receivers. The role of the eldership of the church is to find out what the Holy Spirit is doing and get in on it. Their task is to find out the direction the Holy Spirit is leading that particular body, and get in on it, so they can flow in the same direction. From time to time, every eldership needs to stand in front of the congregation and say what was said at the Jerusalem conference:

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us . . . (Acts 15:28).

A godly leadership will always get its cue for the church from the leading of the Holy Spirit. It’s not their job to “create” a program or a plan, then call the Holy Spirit in to bless the mess! It is rather their task to find out what the Spirit’s plan is for the church, then get themselves and the church headed in that direction. Secondly, decisions reached should reflect an unanimity, since the Holy Spirit says the same thing to every man in leadership. God doesn’t have two directions in which the church should move, only one. Until every man comes to that oneness, nothing should pass by a “three-fourths majority.” Again, there is Biblical precedence. Again in Acts 15, when the message came to the church solving the Judaizing problem, these words were used:

. . . it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord. . . (Acts 15:25).


We make a practice to always have every man in favor of something before we proceed with it. You may be saying, “but one man’s ‘no’ vote can stop progress, can’t it?” We believe one “no” vote may be the voice of God stopping a very foolish thing. If the “no” vote is a foolish thing, God will change it. He may take time to do it, but He will change it, by changing the person. Sometimes, this may mean that things will take longer. More prayer, more thinking, more scriptures studied . . . these may all be necessary. If so, so be it. It keeps you from running ahead of God. It also presents to the church a very united front in the leadership in which God is greatly honored. Churches who don’t respect their leadership’s integrity and spiritual stature usually don’t grow or do anything else significant for God (Heb. 13:17).


THE PURGING OF LEADERSHIP
If elders aren’t elected, but appointed, and they have no “term of office” like a three-year term, what do you do with men who cease to function as elders? Every elder, when he becomes an elder, is told plainly, verbally and in writing, that we believe God has called Him to be an elder until one of four things occur.

 He is an elder, until he dies. Obviously, his term of office is terminated with death.

 He is an elder until he moves away. Since you can’t be a member where you don’t bodily live, you cannot be a leader of people separated by miles.

 He is an elder until he resigns. An elder may resign for a number of reasons. He may even feel God called him for only four or five years, and he may want to pursue another ministry in the church.

 He is an elder until he ceases to function as an elder. How important it is to have a mutual accountability in any eldership. If a man is showing signs of slackness in his discipline or duties, we go to him to exhort him. If the slackness continues, he will ultimately be asked to step down from being an elder. We feel that the confrontation disciplines mentioned in Matthew 18 are applicable here as well as in any other level of church discipline.

Right now, the men in our eldership have an average of 8 years as elders. We have 5 men who have become elders within the past 2 years.

By holding 2 leadership retreats per year, we reserve much time to talk about our own spiritual progress throughout the year. This is a great encouragement to the men, as well to the staff of the church, many of whom are also elders.

I believe there are ten marks of Godly leadership that must be present in leaders if church is going to grow and make an impact on it community.


A LEADER MUST BE A MAN OF GOD IN CHARACTER AND LIFE
What a man is must be there long before what a man does! We are an activity oriented culture. The more projects one gets done, the more successful we think he is. Not true! A spiritual leader leads out of his overflow, not from “scraping bottom” for wherewithal! It can never happen through us until it happens to us and in us. We have come to see that it isn’t a man’s cleverness, nor his skills, nor his innate abilities that in the end make him an effective leader, though all these things have their place. It is his spiritual depth that really matters. King Zedekiah summoned Jeremiah out his prison cell to ask, “is there any word from the Lord” (Jer. 37:17)? Jeremiah was a social nobody. His name wasn’t exactly a household word! He had attained no prominence in society, was not considered by the business tycoons of his day as a tiger in the market, and certainly was not perceived by the world as the leading economist, politician, scientist, or author. Yet, when the chips were down, and King Zedekiah wanted to know the truth about the future, he turned to Jeremiah for spiritual answers, not because of Jeremiah’s position, but because he was a man of God!  Spiritual leadership in the body of Christ starts with a spiritual person. It’s no wonder God’s word reminds us:

Thus says the Lord, “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him glories, glory in this: THAT HE UNDERSTADS AND KNOWS ME, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight,” says the Lord (Jer. 9:23-24).

God always finds a way to use a man who seeks His face and in intimate with Him. On the other hand, a man cannot attain the spiritual life by frenzied activity and “spiritual” tasks. Service flows from life. If the output exceeds the intake, the upkeep will be the downfall. It is a spiritual law and it is inviolable.


A LEADER MUST POSSESS A COMPASSION FOR PEOPLE
We cannot affect those we will not love. Jesus’ leadership is measured largely in His amazing ability to be compassionate.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36)

What a commentary on life! Whoever equated strong spiritual leadership with a spirit of regimentation and sternness missed the boat. Christian leadership loves people and uses things; not the other way around. Our license to lead must be signed by the text that says, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:14). Hitler was able, as a leader, to execute six million Jews because of a strong hatred and evil desire to control. He was never able to get allegiance from the masses to himself, but only to the Nazi system. He had no compassion, only contempt. People will be intimidated only so long. Out of pressure, they will for a while be used, abused, and forced into following the line, but ultimately, without love from the leader, they will bail out or rebel. Nehemiah’s leadership lay squarely in his ability to be moved to tears by the condition of his own people, epitomized by the collapse of the wall of Jerusalem. During the whole project of restoration, his followers never lost sight of the undeniable presence of his compassion for God . . . and them. He accomplished the feat, with success!

Evoking work from saints by heaping on them guilt trip after guilt trip only works temporarily. Challenging people to tasks because of your love for God and them produces a consistent following. When the scripture talks about speaking the truth in love, I believe it applies also to those in leadership who are called to lead with affection, compassion, and a deep sense of loyalty to the followers.

A SPIRITUAL LEADER IS MOTIVATED AND A MOTIVATOR
Motivational seminars are everywhere today. There is probably one in session in your town somewhere, even as you read these lines! Many, not all, follow the theme of hooplah, bam, bam, bam, get ‘em, man, get ‘em. There is no doubt, that kind of motivation does move people to do things, but not always for the right motive. There has been too much carnal motivation going on in local churches. It uses slick psychological phrases, creates atmospheres conductives to saying “yes,” and is suave in getting “results.” But is it legitimate Biblically? I think not! Spiritual motivation is always tied directly to the glory of God. It always makes its “pitch” from the standpoint that God will be glorified in this. In addition, it is tied to trusting in the ability of God to do something rather than man. Caleb in the Bible is the best example of this I know. Talk about a spiritual motivator, Caleb founded spiritual motivation! The spies had been sent into Canaan to check out the land and see how tough it was going to be to take it. They came back devastated! Oh, it flows with milk and honey, all right, it’s a good land, and has all the abundance in it we need, but there’s one big problem. Giants lived there. The inhabitants were so big and mighty, we seemed like grasshoppers to ourselves… and so we seemed to them. What projection! That’s what I call negative confession. After the gloomy report was given, everyone got into a stir. Finally, it was Caleb who quieted the people. His words are classic:

Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it (Num. 13:30).

What a man! This is like someone saying today, “but they have warheads, ballistic missiles, and thermos-nuclear power, while all we have is sling shots and brick bats… so let’s go get ‘em!” I like that spirit. Caleb was pointing to the power of God as the means by which the victory would be attained. That’s spiritual motivation. By the way, Caleb never lost that spirit in retirement years! At age 85 he said:

I am still as strong to this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me… so now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day (Josh. 14:11-12a).

Every leader needs the ability to motivate others. That will never happen unless he himself is first motivated. We have a motivational crisis in the church today due to a lack of enough pastors who themselves are motivated. I’ve never known a church to grow whose pastors was not motivated and motivating. Historically, Biblically, in every great move of God there was a leader used who was constantly on the cutting edge motivating the people. There is no substitute for it.


A SPIRITUAL LEADER IS A VISIONARY AND A DREAMER
Because we have dealt with vision in general, let’s see how much of this must be resident in leadership. It’s obvious that a church will rise no higher than the vision of its leaders, individually and corporately. We have always fostered the notion in our leadership team that decisions should never be made on circumstances alone. For examples, if an item comes up to buy a piece of property, we constantly seek to get our leaders to ask, “Is this a great thing for God?” instead of “How much is this going to cost?” visionary dreamers in leadership seek to see things from God’s perspective. If it’s great thing for God, and God’s hand is in it, then it really doesn’t matter at that point how much it costs, or how specifically we are going to get it. The important thing is to see it from God’s perspective. This changes drastically the way most governing bodies operate. If it’s a great thing for God, and God’s hand is in it, it’s never too much. If God’s hand isn’t in it, no matter how inexpensive it is, it shouldn’t be done. Visionary leaders are ever seeking the face of God to discover what his next direction for the church might be. They don’t spend their time “dreaming up and creating” programs, then asking God to bless what THEY have planned. Instead of, “Lord, bless our plans,” their prayer is “Lord, show us how to accomplish Your plans for this place.”

A SPIRITUAL LEADER ADMINISTRATES AND MULTIPLIES HIMSELF
God never sanctioned disorganization, nor is it spiritual to be disorganized. Godly leadership is not afraid to organize as a means of accomplishing the task. Nor is a spiritual leader afraid to delegate and invest his authority in others, then trust them to facilitate what has been given them. At least 80% of what happens in our church does not happen in the hands of those to whom authority has been extended. Our task as leaders is not to just do the work, but to duplicate ourselves over and over in the lives of others who will share also. God never ordained a “one-man-show.” If anything, a spiritual leader’s task is to enable, to equip, and release people to do work of ministry according to their Spirit given gifts. An inordinate fear of this confirms an inability to lead.


A SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST HAVE DECISIVENESS AND ASSUME AUTHORITY
If we would be people-following leaders . . . we must lead with decisiveness. Indecision is the bane of all leadership. Don’t confuse decisiveness with capricious and reckless leadership that doesn’t wait on the Lord. He who hesitates long has lost his right to lead. Joshua said, “. . . as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15). He led with the sense that he knew where he was going. People will never follow Mr. Looking-Both-ways. I have a poster on the back of my office door showing several ducks waddling along. The printed caption above it says, “DO SOMETHING; LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY.” I like that! Not everyone has been called to be a leader, but if you have, you must lead, and lead with decisiveness. We’ve all heard the quip about the irate football coach who kept yelling at the quarterback from the sidelines, “I said, throw the ball to Herschel, throw the ball to Herschel, throw the ball to Herschel!”  the quarterback finally said, as he eyed Herschel being chase by five 350-pounds tackles, “Herschel says he doesn’t want the ball!!!” But in spiritual leadership, failure to catch the ball and run with it results in leadership suicide. Greta leaders act with decisiveness and authority.





 A SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST HAVE A WILLINGNESS TO RISK



It’s proverbial; the turtle never gets anywhere unless he sticks his neck out! Neither does a spiritual leader in God’s church. While the spiritual gift of faith isn’t necessary to be a leader, a leader must exercise and demonstrate faith. Spiritual “risking” is moving ahead with faith and vision when everyone else says, “put on the brakes.” We needed more land to expand parking. Growth couldn’t have come at a worse time, because we were strapped as a church trying to pay for a new building. At the elders meeting, a research council brought a recommendation to buy the adjoining 4 ½ acres to our south, but the catch was the owners wanted $95, 000. We had no money in our contingency fund, no way of adding monthly payments, and from a business standpoint, the recommendation was as good as dead. One elder said, “I don’t know if we can see our way clear to do this at this time.” Monty, who has hence gone to be with the lord, rose to overseers of the church of the Living God! Since when did we start not doing things because we couldn’t see our way clear. Of course we can’t see our way clear, if we could, I would want no part of it, but we walk by FAITH, not by sight; I MOVE WE BUY THE LAND!” Someone else seconded the motion with emotion, and it passed unanimously! Guess what? We bought the land. At once? No, it took us almost two years, but had we not made that move of risk and faith, our church would still be running 500 people! Show me a church whose leadership is willing to step out on faith, and I’II show you a church that is growing! God honors that!





 A SPIRITUAL LEADER MUST HAVE WILLINGNESS TO RISK



Outside the church in the business world, transparency is a no-no. it is dubbed a sign of weakness and instability. To divulge any tinge of doubts, fear, or human inadequacy is a sure sign of weakness, never deceptive, and humble. No Christian leader is greater than the great apostle, it was Paul who said:



I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN I AM STRONG” (II Cor. 12:9b-10).

How powerful! Transparency doesn’t mean a leader goes around and openly parades his weaknesses before his team. It does mean he’s not afraid to say, “I’m sorry, I was wrong.” He is willing to stand before his team of workers and let them see him as he is, warts and all.



A SPIRITUAL LEADER STAYS STEADFAST TO THE END

We have become a “bail-out” culture. If a marriage hits bumpy roads, many couples bail-out. If you can’t cut it at work, you bail out. And so, it’s true in the local church. Leaders are subject to terrific heat, pain, pressure, criticism, and misunderstanding. Often elders or pastors just bail out. Only two years ago, the average stay of a pastor in a church was a little over 18 months! Incredible God uses to the zenith those who stay steadfast to the end. Real shepherds don’t run when they see wolves coming. They stay, and protect the sheep. Real leadership is not a “term” of office, but a life-long commitment of leading and guiding the body.



A SPIRITUAL LEADER WILL ALWAYS COMMUNICATE WELL WITH HIS FOLLOWERS

If lack of communication devastates a marriage, an office, or a business, it also devastates a church. Churches will never grow where the leadership is non-communicative. We have learned the hard and painful way, that the larger a church becomes, the greater attention must be paid to communicating with the staff, fellow elders, and the flock. When you read Nehemiah, you cannot help but be awed at the way he constantly communicated with all who were on the team to rebuild the wall. Communicated must be clear, concise, and repeated. A good motto for spiritual leaders in the body of Christ is, “NEVER ASSUME THAT WHAT YOU HAVE SAID IS CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD BY ALL.” That’s a pretty safe assumption.

 The leadership factor in church growth is far more important than we would like to admit. Everything else may be in place, great location, functioning building, a good choir, and a growing community, but if the leadership is weak, reluctant, fearful to act and lead, that church is doomed to mediocrity at its best.

 I often find myself praying this prayer for Godly men to lead the church:

God give us men . . . ribbed with the steel of your holy spirit . . . men who won’t acquiesce, or compromise, or fade when the enemy rages. God give us men who can’t be bought, bartered, or badgered by the enemy, men who will pay the price, make the sacrifice, stand the ground, and hold the torch high. God give us men obsessed with principles true to your word, men stripped of self-seeking and a yen for security . . . men who will pay any price for freedom and go any lengths for truth. God give us men delivered from mediocrity, men with vision high, pride low, faith wide, love deep, and patience long . . . men who will dare to march to the drumbeat of a distant drummer, men who will not surrender principles of truth in order to accommodate their peers. God give us men more interested in scars than medals. More committed to conviction than convenience, men who will give their life for the eternal, instead of indulging their lives for a moment in time. Give us men who will pray earnestly, work long, preach clearly, and wait patiently. Give us men whose walk is by faith, behavior is by principle. Whose dreams are in heaven, and whose book is the Bible. God give us men who are equal to the task. Those are the men the church needs today.

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 5 PREACHING

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 5 PREACHING
THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL

PART 5 of 10




THE PREACHING FACTOR

He was tall, well dressed, serious looking, yet polite.
I was shaking hands at the door after sermon which I thought had really rung a bell.
I could see him waiting by the wall; I knew he wanted to talk to me.
Finally, when everyone else had left, we talked.

Though not an exact quotation because of the number of years that have passed, this is what he said, “I came to church today to hear from God through His word, I didn’t come to hear some subjects talked about laced with illustration, sprinkled with Bible verses, and concluded with a tear-jerking story.”

We exchange pleasantries, he left, and I never saw him again.
In typical ministerial style, wrote his remarks off as another bell yacher and complainer, a kook, and trouble-maker that I hope wouldn’t return. After all, he had attacked the thing that I did best, preach. (At least I thought I did a good job in that department.) as I sat in my study that Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t get his words off my mind.
Monday, they came back to haunt me again.
Opening my sermon file, I spent the whole day examining every sermon I had preached in my life, about three hundred at that time.
Guess what? 95% of them were subject sermons.
Shortly thereafter, I came into contact with a preacher at a conference that wowed the audience with a simple, yet profound expository sermon. I couldn’t wait to talk to him in private. He asked me what kind of sermons I preached. Somewhat shame-facedly I told him.

I will never forget his remark, “People will never be drawn to a diet of hors d’oeuvres and snacks consistently, they will invariably crave meat… you must preach the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter verse by verse.”

That was probably the biggest turning point in my ministry.
I went home and destroyed my existing sermon schedule, and started preaching through the gospel of John, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. It took me a year and a half to finish that discipline, but by then I was hooked!

Expository preaching is defined differently from school to school.
Laying no claim to being a homiletical expert, and without delving into all the academia concerning homiletic principles, here is a description of what I believe Bible preaching or expository preaching is.
It is taking what is usually more than one verse of scripture and drawing from those verses truths in the present tense with which listeners have no problem identifying. That is a mouthful, but the essence of this type of preaching is simply taking the truth of God’s Word and applying it to life, where people are. It is not expounding a truth or principle, then frantically searching for verses to back it up. In this sense, expository preaching is primarily deductive, i.e., taking the truth of the Word, then deducing from that word its truth for the present.
People are drawn to that kind of preaching because in it they not only learn the Word of God over the months and years, they are equipped with God’s principles derived from that word.

The advantages are obvious.
First, it is advantageous for the preacher in that he never wonders what he’ll be preaching the next week. It will always be the next few verses from where you stopped the week before! “But doesn’t that get boring?” some ask. Never! To the contrary, when people can see the Word they have read for years come to life, they are far from being bored. Another advantage is that difficult and objectional subjects are covered in expository preaching naturally.
For example, one can’t preacher through the book of II Corinthians without coming to chapters 8&9 where Paul goes into long detail about giving. If you preach on those verses as you come to them, it means you haven’t selected them over others for a special stewardship Sunday, but that they too are truth and must be preached just as boldly and strongly as the resurrection in chapter 15 of I Corinthians.

Still another obvious advantage is the Biblical teaching given over an extend period of time.
In 18 years at my pulpit, I have preached through John, Mark, Acts, Revelation, Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, I&II Peter, I&II Thessalonians, Hosea, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, I John, and I & II Samuel. That doesn’t mean you should never preach a subject sermon. There are many occasions when strong prophetic sermons need to be preached concerning issues of our day like abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, etc. we should never shy away from those things, but 90% of the time, a diet of expository preaching will draw and feed people. It will serve as the greatest conservation program a church could ever have.

The advantage of people coming to church with their Bibles tucked under their arms is great indeed. Last of all, but not least of all, expository preaching keeps the preacher’s pump primed. It demands intensive exegetical study weekly, thus keeping him in the well of Biblical truth. In fact, it probably does as much or more for him than it does for his listeners.

Maybe you are saying (if you are a preacher), “but who has the time for this?”
Maybe you’re in charge of the printing, the maintenance, the finances, the worship, the evangelism, the shepherding, the Christian Education, etc. and to devote the extra hours to this would complete your burn out. The only answer to this is to ask what it is God has called you to do as a minister.
I firmly believe we cannot evade or avoid our responsibility to be a preaching/teaching pastor if nothing else gets done!
I believe there comes a time when every pastor must say what the twelve said,
“It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (Acts 6:2b).
We need to do what God has called us to do. That doesn’t mean a preacher shouldn’t get his feet wet in all areas at various stages in his life, but great blocks of time must be cleared to prepare depthful and meaty messages from God’s Word. That means of course that he cannot be everyone’s errand boy and the church printer.

Without applying all the rules of homiletics, here’s a step by step sequential order for planning an expository message.

Select a book whose message speaks to the current needs of the church.
Every preacher needs to have his hand on the pulse of the people.
Do you have many new believers?
A trip through Mark will help acquaint them with Jesus.
Is your congregation short-sighted about vision?
Take them through the book of Acts! Its power and action will awaken the dead.
I guarantee it!!!
Perhaps there has been much tragedy in the congregation, try II Corinthians.
It’s amazing how God can take what we consider to be an obscure section of scripture and use it to bless people in just about any situation.

I am of the firm conviction that Sunday morning messages should feed, bless, equip, challenge the saints. To be sure, there is always an evangelistic atmosphere and spirit, but the primary purpose of preaching on Sunday mornings is to mature the believers. But every pastor knows his sheep.
And their needs change from time to time, and their needs will become the criteria for selecting the book which to preach.

Lay out the sections of scripture you will cover each Sunday for about three or four months in advance. That doesn’t mean those sections can’t change, but for example, If you are preaching through I John, the first few messages would look like this:


DATE

___________ Sermon No. 1 FROM THE BEGINNING I John 1:1-4

___________ Sermon No. 2 THE LIGHT & DARKNESS I John 1:5-7

___________ Sermon No. 3 SIN & THE CHRISTIAN John 1:8-10 etc.


This lets you know well in advance what verses of scripture will be under consideration for that Sunday.

Read the verses under consideration at least 6 times from the version out of which you will preach. Write in your own words exactly what you think those verses are saying.

Read those verses from at least 5 modern speech translations in order to pick up a drift in the way a phrase or verses is translated. Helpful translations for me are ones by Wuest, Goodspeed, New English Bible, Amplified Bible, Phillips translation, Barclay, and Williams.

Jot down key words in the verses. Sometimes these are verbs, sometimes nouns.
What a key word? It is a word whose root meaning you suspect will make a difference if it is looked up in the original. Occasionally there will be several key words up in a good word study book for root meanings. Often, this enhances you preaching by enabling you to get more than just what appears on the surface.

Now you need to write the main points from you study.
Every preacher has his own way of identifying those words, phrases, and flow that make up the main points. One thing must be remembered in expository preaching; your main points flow out the verses, the text. These points need to be clear, simple, short, and reflective of what the verse is saying.
John 3:16 is a good example:


          Main Points Text says

A Wonderful Fact “God so loved the world,”

A Wonderful Act “. . . gave His only Son.”

A Wonderful Pact “That whoever believes in Him

                                                                 should have eternal life.”


I am of the persuasion that main points need to be always in the present tense.
This proves how relevant scripture is. In other words, it’s not that Jesus SAVED (past tense) Daniel from the jaw of the lion, but that God delivers you today from so much more that would devour you!


Now it’s time for the commentaries.
A word of warning here. Our tendency is to always grab the commentary first, when in reality it should be the end of our preparation.
Why? Remember that those men who wrote the commentaries had to get their insights from someplace. Where did they get them? Obviously they came by pouring over the scriptures themselves. Not to deny scholarly insight, nor minimize others’ ideas, God still wants to internalize His word in the preacher who preaches it. There is no substitute for poring over the passages in meditation and prayer.

The final input in preparation comes from listening to messages of other great contemporary preachers who have preached on that passage. I also believe in anointing and unction that comes even while the message is being preached. I always pray this prayer before I preach: “Lord, set aside anything I have planned that is in your way, and replace it with your fresh word for this hour.”

What about notes?
I’ve found it to be very helpful to keep a manuscript out of the pulpit.
I jot my main points, sub-points, illustrations, and support references on 5x8 cards.
Too much dependence on too many notes keeps one’s head looking downward far too much!
Nothing can take the place of eye contact in preaching.

By now you’re asking, “well and fine, but what does all this have to do with church growth?”
Much in every way! There are two extremes in preaching today. At one end of the spectrum is didactics only. This is the preacher who literally teaches from the pulpit. His interests become the impartation of Biblical truths, organized, outlined, laced with appropriate scriptures, etc.
Often, this becomes the end in itself.
People leave this kind of service with eight pages of a notebook full on both sides, but few lives are changed.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is the experiential preacher.
His sermon consists of a series of experiences, stories, examples, poems and quotations, maybe sprinkled with a verse here and there. This kind of feeding only temporarily satisfies the scriptural hunger, then hunger pangs return very quickly because no meat has been dispensed.
History has borne out that church grow by neither extreme, but by steady week by week expository preaching covering so many verses per week, but preaching those verses using all tools of exegesis and delivery.

Christians visiting will return because perhaps where they’ve gone before, not much of the bible is preached.
Unsaved people will return because the word preached creates hunger for more of it. I can safely and honestly say that I do not know of one dynamic and growing church in America where the bible is not preached faithfully.

These “ten commandments” are for every preacher who desires to preach effectively so the church will grow.

THOU SHALT PREACH PREPARED.
          There is no substitute for poor or no preparation.

THOU SHALT PREACH IN THE VERNACULAR! Jesus preached in terms all could follow. 
          We should do no less.

THOU SHALT PREACH NOT RIDE THY HOBBY HORSE IN THE PULPIT.
          The tendency to get sidetracked onto our favorite subject is ever before us all. Avoid it!!

THOU SHALT SO PREACH THAT THE AUDIENCE USES THEIR BIBLE.
          They have brought their Bibles to uses, disappoint them.

THOU SHALT PREACH WITH EXCITEMENT.
          Your audience will not become more excited than you are.

THOU SHALT NEVER BACK AWAY FROM CONTROVERSIAL SCRIPTURE BECAUSE
        IT ISNT POPULAR.
            God wants it all preached.

THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER TASK BEFORE THEE THAN TO PREACH THE WORD
        IN POWER.
            You have not been called to entertain, but preach God’s word.

THOU SHALT PREACH WITH A SMILE.
            Seldom does the Holy Spirit use a lead a soul to Christ.

THOU SHALT PREACH FOR DECISIONS.
            Every sermon should answer the question, “So what?”

THOU SHALT PREACH EVERY SERMON AS THOUGH IT WERE YOUR LAST.
            It’s called preaching with a sense of urgency. There is no place for casual preaching.


Paul said: “. . . it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”
I believe we need strong Biblical preaching for the world today more than ever before.

There are some obvious enemies of preaching today. Every would-be effective preacher should be familiar with them:

TELEVISION.
Far more than 50% of adult Americans watch television in excess of 20 hours per week. They are accustomed to color, cleverness, concise communication, and clarity. When they walk into your church on Sunday morning, the demand for sharp, interesting, and colorful preaching is heightened greatly today.

THE COMPUTER AGE.
Nothing has affected the work place more in our generation than the computer. It dawned on me one day that my audience consisted of hundreds of people whose eyes are on a computer screen during much of their 40-hour work week. They are not accustomed to doing a lot of intense thinking, nor are they accustomed to only LISTENING to communication. They have come to church from a week of SEEING charts, graphs, percentages, cleverly done comparisons and price inventories, all done in living color on a screen! That means my sermon must be extremely relevant, stimulating and motivating. The computer age has put all us preachers on our toes.

THE ENTERTAINMENT BINGE.
The last ten of twelve years have seen a dramatic change in people’s church-going habits. Entertainment has entered the church in the form of traveling “artists” who are “booked” for their “performances.” They draw crowds and standing ovations. No one should ever be opposed to any group who ministers music and drama in churches and arenas, and certainly no one would argue against the fact that there is a message in much of the Christian music today. But if church A is featuring a popular singing group on Sunday evening and Church B in the same town is featuring their able bodied pastor who is preaching, church A will be crowded and church B will probably be lower than usual in attendance. So a new dimension of “competition” is with us and likely to stay for a while.

I believe there is no room for tame, vanilla, generic preaching.
We are up against a supernatural power of evil, and that requires a supernatural message delivered in a supernatural way. If we want people to bleed, we must hemorrhage. That’s why good, expository preaching is much more than just teaching some verses and their meaning for today. Authentic preaching is mouth to ear resuscitation! It is a matter of life and death, it is preaching as a dying man to dying men, the unsearchable riches of Christ. Let it never be done casually. Real Bible preaching is always done with exclamation points and never question marks. People have not come to hear you air you doubts reservations about this and that, but rather to hear a word from the Lord, preached in a major key, not in a minor one. I find myself praying this prayer before “mounting” the pulpit to preach:

O God . . . don’t let the pulpit call me to the sermon . . . let the sermon call me to the pulpit.
Before I break the bread of life, Lord, break me! Wash from heart and lip the iniquity there . . . 
I want to preach, yea hemorrhage under the divine anointing. God . . . strip me of all pride . . . all cleverness . . . all showmanship . . . and salesmanship. Deliver me from reliance on suaveness, education, academics, personality, notes, canned quips and celestial cliches.
Let me speak with the humility of Moses, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Paul, the power of
Peter and the authority of Christ. Lord, make my preaching clear, not clever; passionate, not pitiful; urgent, not usual; meaty, not murky.

May it comfort the disturb the comfortable, warn the sinner, mature the saint, give hope to the discouraged, and ready for Heaven the whole audience.

Let self be abased, Christ be exalted, the cross be central and the plea be with passion. May my eyes never be dry. Just now Lord, take me out of myself, usurp anything I’ve planned to say when it’s in the way of YOUR message. Here I am Lord, I’m your vessel! AMEN.

Whenever else may be present in dynamic growing churches today, the preached word is there in power and prominence. Many are highly critical of growing churches who seem to grow because of the preacher. Accusations of “preacher-worshippers” are attached to members of those churches. And to be sure, there is a danger that while the dynamic, Bible-centered preaching of a man draws people to a place and may be the same thing that keeps them there even for years, that somehow their worship and admiration of the man doesn’t graduate on to the Lord as it should. But, is that a reason for a gifted expositor who happens to be God’s prophet for the hour and place, to “cool” his calling, and throttle back his own God-given style just so people won’t come just because of Him? No, because God has consistently used His anointed people at seasons and places. I think of the Moodys, the Whitefields, the Weasleys, the Sundays, the Grahams, plus many other contemporaries whom God has used and is using.

When preaching is restored to its proper place in the church again, we’ll begin to see tremendous growth. The Word still stands as a reminder to every would-be preacher:

. . . preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching (II Tim. 4:2)

The preaching factor cannot be ignored in the local church if growth is to come.

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 4 WORSHIP

COVER PAGE of OUR WORSHIP 101 BOOKLET at HIS LIFE MINISTRIES 

MOVEMENT THINKING at DIVINITY SCHOOL _ part 4 WORSHIP
THIS MATERIAL BELOW
is a borrowed material
for DISCUSSION PURPOSES at
HIS LIFE DIVINITY SCHOOL

PART 4 of 10


THE WORSHIP FACTOR

If your worship services are totally predictable every time your church is suffering from a lack of unrestrained worship. How high on the list of church growth factors is proper worship? It has to be very close to the top. Since 93% of all first-time visitors make their first contact with a local church by attending a morning worship service, something significant and awesome better happen there. It cant be “business as usual”.

If its true that true worship is the total extension of our total beings to God in praise, adulation and adoration, we better make sure that all the dynamics for  the expressions of that worship are present.

Without a long , theological treatise on Biblical worship, some things must be said to form the backdrop for any church that desires to see people drawn to Christ through worship. Only a few years ago, worship did not appear on my list of church growth factors and principles as a key for growth. But having understood just a little of the true meaning of worship and having experienced personally the joy and fulfillment of unrestrained worship, I would not only add it to my list, but push it up to the top.

Its no secret today that the church, from what we read in the scriptures has a four-fold ministry. It is WORSHIP, WORD, WITNESS and WORK. Though these flow together and overlap, if the real worship isn’t there, both corporately and individually, the rest is quite redundant. Fortunately for the church today , worship the long missing jewel, is being rediscovered as well as recovered. Somehow, some way, at some point in our history, Satan cleverly stole worship away from the church. Devoid of true worship, the church has basically” gone through the motions” it has pumped itself up by programs, plants, projects, promotions and a plethora of activities, but the jewel that brings the life has truly been missing. At all costs, we must storm the gates of hell and re-capture this jewel, restoring it to its rightful position. Then and only then will God’s church begin to move again.

Jesus made it clear at the outset of his ministry that there is a true worship as opposed to the false.
But the is coming and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for such the Father seeks to worship Him. God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).

Notice something in that scripture we tend to forget. Jesus referred to the “true” worship. That implies that there is a phony , false , counterfeit worship that also happens. There are good  examples of in biblical history. Nadab and Abihu offered  strange fire. Making a sacrifice in worship not according to divine  plans ( Lev. 0:1-2). Saul disregarded God’s plan that none but were to function at the altar and as a results of that plusother things lost his kingship (1Sam. 13:8-14a). of course the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus day made void the word of God  by their legalistic tradition, thus their worship was hollow and meaningless (Matt. 15 :1-9) . Much of Israel’s worship had been reduced to only forms. That’s why God said what He said in Isaiah 1:11.

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? Says the Lord” I have enougn of burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; I  do not delight in the blood of bulls or lambs or he goats”.

That’s why Jesus said we are to worship Him in spirit and truth. Spirit without the truth is aimless, experiential subjectivism. Truth without the spirit of man is nothing more than  cold form of legalism. God wants both spirit and truth.

What is real worship? It is attributing to God in thought, word  and deed the glory, honor, the praise and adoration that is due Him

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name; worship the Lord in Holy array (Psa. 29:1a-2).

We try again and again to get across to our audience that they come to church to offer the Lord something , not to get something out of the Lord. We’ve all heared the remark. “I didn’t get anything out of the service today.” I always want to say “Who said you were supposed to?” Now to be sure, we always “get” something when we give something! But our primary purpose for gathering in assembly on Sundays is to ascribed to the Lord the worship and praise due His name. that is our objective. God is the audience, we, the congregation, are the performers. In a day when so much of church life has become “religious show biz”, and the “stars” are  performing on the platform while the people applaud their talent, the true biblical concept is hard  to get through! It’s not that God NEEDS our worship. God NEEDS nothing! He is self-sufficient, but He wants our worship because of what happens when we give it.

True worship is the best understood in the truth that God dwells and manifests Himself in the midst of a praising people rather than a watching people rather than a watching people. That’s why Psalm 22:3 tells us: “Yet thou art holy, ENTHRONED ON THE PRAISES OF ISRAEL.” There is a lot of punch in that verse! The King James version makes it even more graphic when it says that God INHABITS the praises of Israel. What a truth, God inhabits (lives, dwells, is at home, abides) in the midst of a praising people. Is God made to be “at home” in your worship services?

I think one reason so many worship services are cold, routine, predictable and unmoving is that they lack the sense that God is manifestly present, sitting enthroned on the praises of the people. When there is no praise, there is no sense of His presence. When there is no sense of His presence, there is no excitement or joy.

A way common misconception many have about worship is manifested is a recent church bulletin I saw. At the top of the bulletin were these words in bold type; “THIS IS THE SANCTUARY OF GOD. IF YOU MUST WHISPER, WHISPER A PRAYER TO GOD.” There are two things wrong with that exhortation. First, the building is not the sanctuary of God. We are. Secondly, worship and praise in the Bible is not done in whisper, but shout ! A good example of this comes from the Old Testament. When the builders were putting in the foundation of the temple, there was a worship service to commemorate it. Listen to this description.
And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the directions of David, king of Israel; and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, :for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the  shouted with great shout, when they praised the L:ord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priest  and Levites and heads of father’s houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice, when they saw the foundation of this house being laid through many shouted aloud for joy; so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted with great shout and the sound was heard afar (Ezar 3:10-13)

Now if doesn’t  take Ph. D. In mathematics to know that in those four short verses, the word SHOUT or SHOUTED appears 6 times plus one other time where LOUD VIOCE is used! That church bulletin wouldn’t have been too popular in that worship assemble. If you need another example, what about the time when God’s people brought the ark of the covenant home?
When the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout so that the earth resounded (1 Sam. 4:5).

Search the Psalms and you will find nowhere that worship is to be quite and subdued. Someone may object and say, “but doesn’t the Word say the Lord is in his Holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him?” But remember, it says “all the earth”, not all worshippers! No , worship is to be expressive, that’s why the Psalmist can say, “Clap your hands all ye people, SHOUT unto God with the voice of triumph “ (Psa. 47:1).

Real praise also releases God’s power in a new and fresh way. When Jehoshaphat was hemmed in, outnumbered and about to be slaughtered , he did what the world would think foolish… he praised the Lord. One of the most significant verses in the Bible makes a comment on his action.

And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab and Mt. Seir who had come against Judah and they were routed (1Chron. 20:22).
Is that God’s impeccable timing or not? What a message! No matter what surrounds us, no matter how black the circumstances, no matter how outnumbered we are, no matter how impossible the situation appears, praise releases God’s power and makes real His presence.
God is worthy to be  praised for who He is. He is incomparable in His position, His person and His passion. His characteristics are bound up in His names, given in scripture; he is Elohim, the one who speaks, He is El-Shaddai, the God of power. He is Adonai, the God who owns. He is Jehoveh-Jireh, our provider. He is Jehoveh-Rophe, ou healer. He is Jehoveh-Nissi, our standard bearer. He is Jehoveh-M’Kaddesh, our purifier. He is Jehoveh-Shalom, our peace. He is Jehoveh-Tsidkenu, our righteousness. He is Jehoveh-Shamnah, the God who comforts. That’s enough to get us started. He is to be praised not only for whom He is, but what He has done and does.

With that brief sketch of background of what worship is, how, practically, do we worship the Lord so that our worship services are alive, exciting, expectant, exhilarating and challenging? Without going into detail, we do need to be reminded that the biblical model for worship makes room to put our whole being in to it. There is the laughing mouth, the uplifted hands, the dancing feet, the extolling tongue, the bent knee, the clapping hands, the prostate position and the singing mouth. Does your worship service make room for any or all of that to happen?

Practically speaking, here are some solid suggestions to make your service of worship on Sunday not only biblical, but refreshing. We might call these the marks of unrestrained worship.

1. Don’t announce what you are  going to do, just do it. In other words, don’t say, “Now, we are going to sing such and such,” just do it. This brings a flow and momentum to the service that otherwise would not be present.

2. Sing TO the Lord, not just about the Lord, so much of congregational singing is comprised of one extreme or the other. We tend to sing little ditties that sound good, but don’t have much meat, or we sing the stilted hymns that leave cold and devold of life. Praise songs directed to God evoke excitement. The Psalmist said, “O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth” (Psa. 95:1).

3. Use “planned spontaneity” in the service. That may sound like doubletalk, but what it really means is to so structure your worship that there is room for spontaneous praise times, an additional chorus, scripture or whatever. Spontaneity doesn’t have to mean confusion, but is means giving the Holy Spirit the room and freedom to do what He wants to when He wants to.

4. Omit the “printed” order of worship. When everyone can look and see what is going to happen next, it is unfruitful predictability that shouldn’t be there in my opinion. This of course, gives you freedom to  depart from the “hidden” agenda if the Lord moves you so.

5. Put the words to the music on the wall so people’s hands and arms are free to clap or be lifted. When someone is holding a hymnbook with their nose tightly fixed into it, there is somewhat of a loss of freedom in worship. Also, when the words are up on the wall, people’s heads are up when they are singing and not pointed to the floor.

6. Avoid verbal announcements about events in the worship service. Print the announcements or put them on an overhead. They tend  to break the spirit of worship when verbally spoken.  Also, people don’t remember what is said  most of the time concerning dates, place and times.

7. Use as much of an orchestra in worship as possible. If your church is small, use in good taste a set of drums and a bass guitar to enhance the rhythm.

8. As stated earlier, don’t announce everything that’s going to happen, just enter into it. There is no need to say, “now the choir is going to sing,” or now Mrs. Smith will sing a solo, or “now we are going to take communion.” Also, never allow long pauses between events in the service. People have come from a week of seeing thins move right along, then come  to church and watch things drag with long sections in between has an unworshipful effect.

9. Promote a re-service praise time. This occurs 10 to 15 minutes before the stated time for worship where someone just begins leading people in praise and prayer choruses to get people in the worshipful mood before the regular service starts. It is estimated that 40% of your crowd sits in the auditorium between 10 and 15 minutes with nothing to do but watch people who come in. why not bring those people into the spirit of worship by giving them the opportunity to sing and praise the Lord?

10. Insert periodic “clap offerings” in the service to the Lord. This is when the leader simply says, “God is worthy to be applauded for His mighty___________, so let’s give Him a clap offering this morning!” this releases people to express their praise in one more way to the Lord. not everyone can sing well, but all who have two strong hands can clap well.

11. Plan some designated time, maybe not every week, for people to have the opportunity to kneel, not just to pray, but to humble themselves before God, in acknowledgment of His majesty and lordship.

12. Refer often to the offering as a tangible expression of our worship, because that is what it is. Sometimes it’s good to have people give a testimony during the offering.
How long should a worship service be? If they are the old, dead, traditional type of services, fifteen minutes would be plenty long. If they are vibrant, exciting, and uplifting, 1 ½ to 2 hours certainly isn’t too long.

Through our services vary from season to season, and sometimes from Sunday, below is a “flow” we’ve found to be highly effective:

5-10 minutes pre-service praise 
Orchestra & choir with opening chorus (always something majestic and worshipful)
Audience stand & sing two songs of praise, one right after the other Baptisms, if there are candidates 
Choir (for everyone) 
Greeting time (urge everyone to meet someone new)
Chorus
Pastor’s minutes
     Welcome first timers
      Have people fill out cards
      Lead in 3 praise choruses
Prayer time 
Communion & offering (soloist during offering)
Sermon
Invitation to come forward & accept Christ
Closing remarks and closing chorus!

Remember, there are no long pauses in between each act of worship. You’ll notice there’s no place for “promoting programs” or making long boring announcements.

Well-trained ushers can contribute greatly to the smooth running of a flowing worship service. If properly trained, they can tactfully intercept parents of screaming infants, little children causing disturbance, teens that talk and disrupt the service, and people who become ill. Also, through training, ushers can be ready for their role in receiving the offering, giving out first time visitor packets, serving communion, and other things.

Never allow the worship service to become an orchestrated performance, staged by a few and viewed by many. That totally defeats the biblical concept that real worship is not a spectator sport, but is to be entered into by all. If there is an audience at all in worship, it is God, but the people who are present, all of them, are the performers. The concept doesn’t come naturally, it must be faithfully preached and taught, and more than once! Ours is a culture of watching, performances, applause, and on-looking. Most carry that concept right across the threshold into the auditorium where they worship.

As said earlier, exciting, uplifting, and God-centered worship is a greater contribute to evangelism and church growth than most people can ever imagine. How? Again, remember that 93% of all the people who make their first contact with your  church ( from church to church that figure will vary slightly) make it through your worship service. If that first contact is unspiring, disconnected and done in a slip-shod way, the odds are great they won’t be back a second time, if , on the other hand, they see about them God’s people  intensely involved in worship and praise, putting their whole self into it, they will be moved.

In calling on a visitor who had visited our church for the first time on a previous Sunday, this business executive had a little or no interest in things spiritual. Through a corporate move, they were new to our area, and one of the things he promised his Christian wife was that when they got moved and settled he would go to church with her as she sought out a new church home in the area. Paraphrasing his words, this non Christian executive said to me in his home, “Frankly, preacher, I never went to church, and I wasn’t raised  in a Christian home. I agreed to visit with my wife a couple of times to satisfy her, and as before I would be content to let her come alone and do her thing at church while I did mine at the golf course. But when I walked in and saw everyone singing with uplifted hands toward God, and saw the tears rolling down the cheeks of many men my age who also wore 3-piece suits, I crackled! I knew they had something  I was missing and all of a sudden I wanted to know the God to whom  they were giving such intense intense worship .” I was privileged to be used to help lead that man to the Lord. May his tribe increased! I believe churches who suffer from a low visitor problem need to overhaul their concept of worship, as well as their worship services. There is something about praising God that evangelistically draws unsaved people toward God.
In streamlining your services, be sure and leave room for “planned spontaneity.” Those two words may sound self contradictory, but in reality it means that you plan for a “flow” but always leave room for another song, or a different song, or maybe no song at all in that particular place. There is something about the freshness of God’s presence that calls for being quite open to improvisation at the last minute. There are some weeks when the Lord seems to be leading us in the service to a time of contrition, or time of extreme joy, or a time of extended praise. There must be room to accommodate whatever God is doing at the moment, rather than just running roughshod through a printed order just because we don’t want to adapt or improvise or because it’s easier. For instance, one Sunday as we were worshipping, following what we had planned, in the middle of one of the songs, the Lord impressed upon me that many people were in the service hurting that Sunday morning. So we switched to another song, “I Cast All My Cares Upon You.” I asked for all who were being bent by a terrific load of care to come to the front altar while we sang and released the care. Almost 200 people came and knelt at the altar that morning. Believe me, that was NOT planned, but thank God the instrumentalists didn’t mind improvising, the ushers didn’t mind waiting a few minutes longer for the offering and I didn’t mind cutting my message a little shorter to accommodate what God was doing in our midst. That is planned spontaneity.

A BIBLICAL MODEL

Nowhere in scripture will you find a better “model” for worship than Psalm 113. A short Psalm, it somehow captures all the elements about worship and puts the worship of God in a different perspective than the usual.

1. IT TELLS US THE WHO OF PRAISE: It starts out by saying “Praise the LORD” in verse 1. He is the object of our praise. As started earlier, He is the audience, not the people who gather. On the contrary they are the “performers”. While true worship is subjective in that it is always experiential, it is first objective, in that the object lies beyond us. The Lord is the recipient of our adoration, blessing, thanksgiving, songs and hallelujahs. If we can remember that in planning a worship service, it will color everything we say, sing, and do.

2. IT TELLS US WHO THE PRAISE-GIVERS ARE: Again in verse 1, “Praise OSERVANTS of the Lord, praise the name of  the Lord.” We are the praise givers, not the praise receivers. Again, we enter into worship to dispense something, not to receive something. To be sure, we do receive, but the receiving is the normal outcome of the dispensing. It is interesting that David referred to the praise-givers as “servants”. He didn’t call us worshippers, congregation, audience or people, but “servants.” I believe this was deliberate, because it shows the proper relationship between the worshipper and the worshipped.

3. IT TELLS US THE TIME FACTOR OF WORSHIP: Verse 2 says, “Blessed be the name of the Lord, FROM THIS TIME FORTH AND FOREVERMORE.” So worship is not just something you do in church on Sunday mornings at 11:00 and then maybe again on Sunday evenings or mid-week. It is an on going attitude of life that should permeate our thinking and our speech. To be sure, there will be times of concentrated worship, special times of personal worship, other times set aside for entering into corporate worship with intensity. But as far as “when” to worship, its an on-going, unceasing experience we develop as an attitude of gratitude. Driving the car, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, taking a shower or just listening to music can provide excellent settings for worship. Try it!!

4. IT TELLS US THE GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDERIES OF WORSHIP: Verse 3 says, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” Any way you measure that phrase, it means the whole earth, every nation, tribe, every race, every culture ,every level of creation….. the whole earth is to praise the Lord.

5.  IT TELLS US THE PERSPECTIVE OF WORSHIP: “The Lord is high above the nations, and his glory above the heavens!” the exaltation of God makes our worship a comic exercise. He is exalted above the earth, above all that is common and mundane, above the heavens, indeed above the highest heavens! When we enter into an intense time of worship, something big is happening that transcends all human transactions! If you want your perspective stretched, then just worship in Spirit and in truth.

When the missing ruby of worship is restored, Satan will indeed be routed. He shudders to think of the power present in the midst of a worshipping people. Churches that are learning to worship God biblically, unrestrained, uninhibited and not bound and  gagged by generations of tradition are indeed growing. People are attracted to people who worship.

I am told weekly by people who visit our worship services that they finger themselves crying in worship. Most of them cannot put their finger on why they cry. One man recently  said, “I think I know why I end up crying in church every Sunday . I am so awed at the presence of God made real, I can’t stop the tears, “What a testimony! It’s true, when true worship is accorded its rightful place again, many will be awed and moved.

“O sing to the Lord a new song, For He has done marvelous things!”
Psalm 98:1

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