“…the church executes that power which it hath received of God most carefully and faithfully, to the end that it may serve God, that it may be holy, and that it may please him. And that I may reckon up some of her duties specially: first of all it worships, calls upon, loves and serves one God…” – E. W. Bullinger
I’ve been doing the Gospel since I was16 years old. For me, I find that super amazing. I can’t think of very many things I can say that about for that long. Everything other than that Faith has changed over the years. I remember it was pretty hard to get so radically changed at 16 years old. Culturally, and especially in our school environment, the Gospel wasn’t very attractive. It was an old man that introduced me to the Gospel. It was a man in his 80’s, L.G. Hartley, a retired pastor that ‘hooked’ me into paying a bit of attention to it. To me, Mr. Hartley was an ambassador for God- mentor might be the best description. He didn’t change my mind about the Gospel; he was able to share it in such a way it changed my heart. I never wavered from the influence of that ‘old man’. The day I changed actually happened at home in our side yard, while washing my 1962 red, two-door hardtop, black interior, Impala Chevy. That afternoon, the tears came. That evening it took little effort for Mr. Hartley to simply trigger the Holy Spirit’s afternoon work. I’ve often referred to Margaret Becker’s song ‘Soul Tattoo’ as a kind of definition of that moment. Something was ‘tattooed’ on my heart that couldn’t easily be removed, worthy of Praise for sure. Even today I don’t find it hard to believe (actually find it harder to not believe) this Gospel. I’d have to put Mr. Hartley in a special category in my life. I ended up becoming a kind of chauffer over the years, driving him to little churches around the area to speak once he lost the ability to drive at night. His own life was not without tears; his teenage son had run away from home and Mr. Hartley never saw him again in his life, had no idea where his son went. He had a daughter murdered in Carbondale years later. He was the person I always tried to visit on our trips home while on military leave. In spite of hardships in his life, he was a tender and stable rock of faith in Jesus Christ, always!
Years ago I did a newsletter about our dog Jesse. I described how I could just tell that Jesse wanted to talk to me. A dog so happy when I came home; tail wagging, barking, jumping, but she just couldn’t get the language out. In spite of that, I understood exactly what Jesse was expressing. Sometimes I think our attempt at communicating with God is like that. We want to express so much of our heart but not everything gets said with words
. Our expressions sometimes come up short. But, just like I interpreted Jesse, I’m confident God surely interprets our hearts. That brings me to the subject of this letter: Mark Schultz Evening of Worship. We trust it will be inspiring and fulfilling, refreshing and encouraging.
The original Greek word most common for much of the translations of the word worship, is proskuneo. It suggest ‘towards’, the motion of approaching God. Some teachers express it as a ‘heart kiss’; an approach with reverence or homage toward someone we love. It’s vertical not horizontal for us. Worship can be singular or sometimes corporate. In my side yard years ago it was singular, on Friday, April 25th, Mark will help with the corporate. (That’s the Friday following Easter, a good time to worship!)
I have a note on my desk, been there for 20 years, that says ‘when we worship is not about where, but who we worship’. Worship is a place located in our hearts not in a building or a location on a map. I believe it’s God’s pleasure to give that moment to us. Simply put, God is Love and He loves for His people to experience more of Him through worship. He’s not a God that seeks His own (Love: Cor. 13), but a God who shares and whispers secrets to us of how we can experience things that seem to be invisible, hidden, yet revealed in those intimate, worship places. More of Who God is (His nature, character, personality, etc) often can be revealed when Worship is expressed.
Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of Israel, more literally ‘His people’. When we began doing concerts for the very first time in the summer of 1990, I remember telling a friend that we might not know if anyone would show up but we were certain One would come: the Father. Our confidence was that believers would bring Him with them, in their hearts, and the Spirit of Christ would bring new blessings each time.
There’s not a lot of truth being shared in our culture or around the world today. However, when believers get together, centering on Christ, it’s a place where a lot of truth is being shared, the Truth. Mark Schultz has discussed with us for a couple years that he would love to do a worship night, let him lead and host such at the Civic Center. I think you and we have shared a lot of nights together with Mark and we trust him to lead us in that event. Knowing Mark, the night can be fun and inspiring at the same time, encouraging our hearts. Let’s just call it a ‘super’ trusting we have about Mark’s heart.
We’re encouraged in scripture that ‘Eye has not seen and ear has not heard’ of all the things prepared for us in the heart of God. (Isa 64:4, 1Cor. 2:9) I believe that’s true today, now and in our future. Heaven can be expressed in many scriptures but I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of all that it will be. Likewise, I think our earthly experience is only partial of all God has prepared for us right now; we just get in the way of so much more because of our daily living. Worship helps us step into a special place; He is there to be experienced in a unique way… You’re invited to come and see, hear and experience, a special moment on Friday, April 25th.
One last thing, we are giving away three copies of a book written by a worship leader whose music we have played a lot of over the years. Matt Redman and his wife have authored Blessed Be Your Name, a book that discusses how that song was created. Register by either emailing or mailing us your name and address. Our email address is wbvn@wbvn.org or mailing address is PO Box 1126, Marion, IL 62959. Send those by the deadline of Good Friday, April 18th. (One registration per family.)
‘When we, believers, sing our songs of worship, not only do we praise God through them, but we preach to ourselves. As we sing the truth of Who it is we’re worshipping, as well as honoring God, it can be so helpful to us. Worship is about magnifying the right things. It can be so easy to let the struggles of this become all consuming, and we must not ignore them. But when we worship, instead of magnifying and focusing on those things, we magnify and focus on the name, the strength, the power, the grace of Jesus. When we do that, it puts everything into perspective….The heart of God loves a persevering worshipper who, though overwhelmed by many troubles, is overwhelmed even more by the beauty of God.’ (-Matt Redman)