Quote from Forum Archives on February 8, 2001, 9:31 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

This week, my friend, Larry Davies writes and asks the question,
"Worship: Annoying Sounds or Vital Communication?" Well, I'm
almost certain that you know my biased answer to that question.
Larry's message really answers the question that he poses in the
title. In my opinion, he also covers, in this week's message,
the critical issues that make the question at the end "The Wrong
Question". To me, worship involves all forms of communication
with our Lord, and giving Him every part of ourselves,
withholding nothing. So when we get into picking on what is or
isn't the right way to worship God, I think we miss the point
entirely.

God knows each of us intimately. The issue is that we know very
little about God. Therefore, the challenge is to earnestly seek
God in every possible way. That includes being silent, and
waiting for Him, that means talking with God, that means reading
and studying about God, that means joyfully celebrating the fact
that we are God's cherished possessions... I hope you get the
idea.

I hope you look forward to reading Larry's messages as much as I
do. Another writer who has many well thought out topics
concerning worship, and worship music, in particular, is Bob
Kauflin, who writes a regular worship music column for
Crosswalk.com. If you check out his work, I think you will find
it is very consistent with what Larry is teaching us today.

Let's pray.

Dear Lord,

I want to be closer to You, to be a delight in Your eyes.
My greatest desire is to humbly obey and to worship You.
As your Word says, we are like a flock of sheep that You gently
shepherd. I like that description, for I recognize myself in it.
I know that I am needy, and I know that I have a tendency to
wander off, just like a lost sheep. But I also completely trust
the Good Shepherd - You, my Lord.

Please help me to surrender every aspect of my life to You today
as I earnestly seek You in everything that I do. Amen.

Brother Brian

From: "Sowing Seeds Ministry" <sowseeds@nesbeonline.com>
Subject: "Worship: Annoying Sounds or Vital Communication?"
Sowing Seeds Ministry Devotion February 8, 2001

Why do we go to church? By far, the most frequent question others
ask me. This is my attempt to answer. I encourage your comments
or stories. I may use them over the next few weeks as I explore a
critical issue of our faith: Worship.

To explore another series of devotions on communication with God
click here to learn about prayer:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/prayer.htm

Sowing Seeds of Faith

Worship: Annoying Sounds or Vital Communication?
Larry Davies (804-239-1348)

Tap-tap...tap-tap-tap...tap-tap-tap-tap...tap-tap-tap... just
annoying sounds?

Captain Eugene Red McDaniel rapped on the walls of his cell in
the Vietnamese Prisoner of War camp commonly known as the Hanoi
Hilton. The taping was a secret code prisoners used to
communicate with each other. The number one rule at the Hilton
was... "No communication with other prisoners at anytime." Anyone
caught in the attempt would be tortured.

Isolation was the prime weapon of the communist captors. As the
hours slowly turned into days and weeks, Captain McDaniel came to
fear the loneliness and the silence far more than any threats of
physical harm. The highlight of each day was being taken to the
washroom where he occasionally managed to whisper briefly with
two other Americans brought in at the same time. They told him
about the camp code, a series of taps (or other signals) to spell
out letters. McDaniel in his book, Scars and Stripes came to
recognize the code as his lifeline and only link with sanity.

If a new prisoner couldn't learn the code and communicate with
fellow prisoners within thirty days of arrival, he would
gradually begin to draw inward and deteriorate. Captain McDaniel
saw nearly fifty of Americas best trained enter isolation never
to be heard from again. As the days dragged on, a prisoner would
slowly lose any will to live. "Little by little," McDaniel wrote,
"he would deteriorate as that strange predator isolation, would
suck the very life out of him."

Tap-tap...tap-tap-tap...tap-tap-tap-tap...tap-tap-tap... just
annoying sounds or vital communication?

How do secret codes and POWs help us understand worship? One
word: communication. Worship represents one of our best
opportunities to communicate with God. Without it, the spiritual
part of our being will begin to draw inward, deteriorate and die.
More than just a hymn, a sermon and a prayer, worship is the camp
code that becomes our lifeline and can at times be our only link
with sanity.

Come let us sing to the Lord! Let us give a joyous shout
to the rock or our salvation! Let us come before Him
with thanksgiving. Let us sing Him psalms of praise. For
the Lord is a great God, the great King above all gods.
He owns the depths of the earth, and even the mightiest
mountains are His. The sea belongs to Him, for he made
it. His hands formed the dry land, too. Come, let us
worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our
maker. For He is our God. We are the people He watches
over, the sheep under His care. Oh, that you would
listen to His Voice today! (Psalm 95:1-7)

I found at least seven vital lessons in Psalm 95 that teach the
value and meaning of worship.

1. Sing and Shout Worship is active. Dont just sit there
join in.

2. Give Thanks and Praise Worship is our way of saying,
Thank you, God!

3. God is Great Worship is recognizing the awesome nature
of God.

4. God Made It All -- Worship is remembering creation and
our unique role.

5. Let us Bow Down Worship is the humility of accepting Gods
authority.

6. For He is our God Worship is hearing the promise that
God tenderly shepherds us.

7. Listen to His Voice Worship is the bold call to follow
Gods voice wherever it leads.

Worship -- Tap-tap...tap-tap-tap...tap-tap-tap-tap... annoying
sounds or vital communication?

Dr. Charles Swindoll, author and preacher writes, "Worship is a
human response to a divine revelation." God speaks and we
respond. Tap-tap through the quietness of a prayer. Tap-tap-tap
through singing a hymn. Tap-tap-tap-tap through the prophetic
words of a sermon. Worship is the camp code for vital
communication with God. Without it there is only spiritual
isolation and death.

Next week will be part 2: Should Worship be Contemporary or
Traditional? Wrong Question!

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=====
--
Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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