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John 6:28-29 “What can we do perform the works of God?” they
asked. Jesus replied, “This is the work of God – that you believe in the One He
has sent.”
What do we do to perform the works of God?
It is not that we put on a brilliant production.What do we do to perform the works of God?
Not that we write great songs or scripts. Not that we play
our instruments or sing our hearts out to perfection.
Not that we invite enough people to the show.
Not that we look right, or speak right, or pray right.
Our work is to
BELIEVE in the ONE He has sent.
Christ in us, the Hope of Glory.
He will be glorified in our imperfections. And every single
moment is a chance to worship Him. We are not preparing to worship Him this weekend. We are worshiping Him NOW.
As we forgive each other and encourage each other in love,
we show Him. As we rehearse diligently
without complaining or arguing, we shine for Him. As we pause in amazement at
the works of His hands and remember with gratitude how He has arranged our
lives to bring us to this place at this moment for this production, we honor
Him. As we give thanks for the breath to
sing and the ears to hear and the hands to play and the minds to work, and most
of all as we meditate on the Infinite Mercy that allows each of us to stand in
His presence, we realize that all we are here for is to offer back to Him what
He Himself provided. We are here to do
His work and His work is for us to believe in the One He has sent. Jesus is the only reason we can offer anything unto God. It is not that our musical excellence lifts
Him up. He doesn’t NEED to be lifted up – He’s already there! His perfection is
what lifts us up and makes us able to joyfully point to Him. “Look up and see!
Behold His Glory!!”
“For this is the will of My Father: that everyone who sees
the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life and I will raise him up on
the last day.”
Yes. We should bring Him our best. But not with the
pressuring self-consciousness that comes with believing it is our “best” that
will bring people to know Christ. Jesus
said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I
will raise him up on the last day. It is
written in the Prophets; And they will all be taught by God.“
It doesn’t matter what I say or how cleverly I phrased it. It doesn’t matter how lovely the arrangements are. It doesn’t matter how good the acting and singing are or how cool the sets and lights and graphics. If anyone comes to Christ during this program, it is because he or she was drawn and taught by God. And truly, this is a profoundly liberating thought. The results do not depend on us. We are free by grace to simply offer back our gifts to Him for His use. We bring our best, not because everything depends on us, but because nothing depends on us. In Him we live and move and have our being. In Him we have forgiveness of sins, even musical ones. ;) We bow down and worship and joyfully give of our treasures out of adoration and gratitude to the one on who ALL depends.
Psalm 95:1-3 Come, let us shout
joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let us
enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.
For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.
We bring our best as the wise men brought their treasure.
Not because He needs our gifts, but
because He alone is worthy of them. Because we love Him and we want to give to
Him out of joy and thankfulness. God hung the stars. God breathed the Scriptures. God made man and God made music. Truly, we aren’t responsible for the start of this program – and we aren’t responsible for the results. Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving in our hearts and give Him praise.
