The Heart of Worship
The Soundtrack of Our Lives
I don’t know about you, but there are certain songs, when I hear them, something happens inside of me.
There are certain lyrics, when they are sung, I can’t help but be moved… sometimes to tears… because of the memories attached to them, the people I think about when I hear those songs, or the events that took place when that song was played.
There is a soundtrack to the story that is our life.
There are songs that were significant to us when we were growing up. Most every teenager I know has a playlist that is always on in their earbuds, in their car, in their room.
There are songs that carry us through our college years. When I was that age, we were still making mix tapes!
Then we find ourselves choosing the songs that will be the soundtrack for the wedding. For when the bride walks down the aisle and takes the floor for that first dance.
There are songs that touch us at other significant moments in life. From funerals, to the birth of our children, to the songs we sing in church.
And church music, which is really music that is all about Jesus, it has a way of touching our heart, our soul, on the deepest level.
St. Augustine once said, “To sing is to pray twice.”
I think he was on to something. To hear a song is one thing, but something changes when you sing it.
And when you sing a song about God to God, I’m not sure there’s a more spiritually intimate experience than worship.
The Righteous Brothers
In 1965, this song by the Righteous Brothers hit number one on the charts. When they recorded it they had no idea it would be a hit.
This was during the time when the Beatles were taking off. Most people in the music industry thought it was too slow and too long. In fact, the recording was 3:45 which was an eternity on the radio back in those days so in order to make sure it got played by DJs, they put 3:05 on the label as the time beside the track.
It was released in November of 1964 and quickly rose to the top of the charts with its unique sound and its lyrics that everyone understood on one level or another. The song was called, “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’.”
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOnYY9Mw2Fg[/embedyt]Since that time, it’s been covered more than 200 times by famous artist including Elvis Presley, Kenny Rodgers, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick and SO MANY OTHERS!!!
Heartbreak
There’s a reason songs like, “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin'” strike a chord in our hearts.
There’s a reason when we hear songs like that, about someone we loved and who we believed loved us but for some reason lost that lovin’ feelin’ and walked away from us, when we hear that song… it echos in our soul. It reverberates through our entire being.
Music has a way of touching our hearts in way that almost nothing else can. In just a matter of 2 or 3 minutes we can be completely transported back in time.
Music can melt a heart of stone with just a few meaningful notes and poignant lyrics.
And when it comes to matters of the heart, music about love or especially love that has been lost, we know what that feels like. We know heartbreak.
I remember when I was in 6th grade… Her name was Rebecca. We never went on a date anywhere but we were “Going out.” Until one day, she lost that lovin’ feelin’ and she was gone, gone, gone, whoa.
Some say it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. And maybe that’s true. But what happens when you’re the one who loved and then you lost that lovin’ feelin’?
And what happens when the One who we stopped loving was God?
Removing Worship?
In 1999, there was a young worship leader by the name of Matt Redman who was a part of a church in Watford, England.
The lead pastor of the church, a man by the name of Mike Pilavachi, sensed that while it was an exciting time in the church, people were coming and the worship was amazing, there something that was missing. So in a bold move… they decided to do something unprecedented. They took away worship. The sound system. The worship band. Everything.
Matt remembers thinking… “What do I do now? Am I out of a job?”
But something amazing happened in that church. Prayer broke out. Songs rose up from within the church. People started encountering God in different ways.
Over time, they added back the worship band and Matt was leading the church again, but that had such a profound impact on him. With the weight of that experience on his heart and mind, he wrote this simple song…
The Heart of Worship
When the music fades, All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring, Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart
I’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you, It’s all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you, It’s all about you, Jesus
This is one of those songs that you started hearing in every church almost immediately.
Why?
Because it spoke to something we’ve all felt but didn’t know how to put into words.
How do we come back to the heart of worship? We’ve made it about so many other things. We’ve forgotten what it means to really worship. If we’re honest, God is not longer at the center of our lives. We’ve lost sight of our first love.
Worship Revelation on Patmos
This has been a problem for believers, for followers of Jesus, from the very beginning. You see it the very last book of the Bible. In Revelation.
There was a man by the name of John was exiled to an island called the isle of Patmos off the coast of Turkey. He receives this vision from God for the people of God who were going through a difficult time. They were up under tremendous persecution. Part of this vision was a message for seven different churches.
Today, listen and lean in to the message that Jesus wanted to give the church in Ephesus.
“Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands:
“I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!
Another version says it this way… “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” – ESV
First Love Lost
What does a church look like that has lost or abandoned its first love, its love it had for God in the very beginning?
This church in Ephesus was a really good church. There’s a letter in the New Testament called, “Ephesians,” that was written by the apostle Paul specifically to this church. This church that Paul, by the way, started himself. Paul lived in Ephesus for 3 years and loved this church so much that when he left, he was in tears (Acts 20.37).
I know your works and your patient endurance…
Jesus says, I know your good works! I know all the good things you do!
But did you know that you can be a church who does good works, a church who gives money to those in need, a church who excels in doing good for others, for your neighbors, and still be guilty of abandoning your first love.
You don’t tolerate evil people…
Did you know you can do what is right and hate what is wrong and still be guilty of not loving God the way you did in the beginning!
You’ve examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not…
Did you know we can root out false teachers and still miss the heart of worship.
In other words, we can be doctrinally correct. We can be right and still get it wrong! This isn’t to say we should stop trying to get it right. To think correctly about God, His Word, Jesus, and what we believe. We should. And we should speak truth to those in love and help others so we can all worship together in Spirit and truth. But in our efforts to be right we can still lose sight of our first love!
You have patiently suffered for me without quitting…
We can endure patiently. We can suffer faithfully and still lose sight of our first love. We’ve said this before and I believe this is true: How you suffer what you suffer matters.
But did you know you can endure hardship and suffering, persecution and accusation, you can be hurt, harmed, and hold on to faith. You can patiently endure hard things faithfully and still be guilty of abandoning your first love.
This church in the city of ancient Ephesus, they were getting so many things right but the one thing that mattered most they had lost… they had lost their heart for God, their heart for worship, their love for God.
Marriage
Sometimes it may be hard to understand how this works or what this looks like in a church, but many of us have seen this happen in a marriage relationship, haven’t we?
How many couples do you know who have been married 7 years, 20 years, 30 years, and now they no longer sleep together, they no longer share a bedroom. They’re still married. They still live in the same house. They even eat together. They talk to each other. They may even still share a bank account, pay the bills together, and do life together.
But… they have lost their first love.
They’ve lost that love they first had for one another that drew them together. They are still in a married relationship but they are not in an intimate relationship.
Why?
Because they’ve lost the love they had at first for one another.
Church
The same thing has happened in this church in Ephesus. This same thing happens in churches today. Churches that have lost that lovin’ feelin’.
Churches that are still doing good things, speaking against things that are wrong, giving to those in need, serving people in love, suffering while holding on to faith in God. But something is missing.
Listen to what God says to this church in Ephesus…
v5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t REPENT, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.
Here’s the good news… Repentance is the way back to the heart of worship. Repentance is the way back to the heart of God. Repentance is the road to recover our first love.
Think back to the marriage example. In marriage counseling you learn that these 2 words, “I’m sorry,” spoken sincerely in repentance often pave the way for a return to deeper intimacy.
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it,
When it’s all about You, it’s all about You Jesus.
Familiarity vs Intimacy
The truth is, you can be familiar with Jesus and not in an intimate relationship with Jesus.
You can know about Jesus, you can even do the things you know are right, but if you’ve lost your love for Jesus… then the only thing you need to do is repent.
To repent simply means to make a U-turn. Turn around. Turn back to God. And here again is the good news, whenever you turn toward God He runs toward you! (Luke 15).
That Lovin’ Feelin’
Have you lost the love you had for God when you first gave Him your heart?
When was the first time you felt real love in your heart for Jesus? When did that moment happen for you, when what you knew intellectually connected with the emotion of what happened at the cross when Jesus gave his life for you?
What song takes you back to that moment?
I remember years ago we were at church and we were in worship with our kids. And I remember at that season in my life I almost always worshiped with my hands in my pockets or with my arms crossed.
I don’t know if the Holy Spirit was speaking to me or what, but in that moment I remember asking myself two questions… “Is this how I am going to worship in heaven?” The answer to that question for me was, “Probably not!”
Then I looked at my kids and this question came to mind, “Is this the image I want my kids to have of how their father worships Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords?” And the answer to that question was a resounding, “No.”
That day, I made a promise to myself to never worship with my hands in my pockets or my arms crossed ever again. I might not raise my hands during every song, although I probably should. But I will not stand before the King of Glory with a posture that suggests anything other than…
“I’ll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what you have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you, It’s all about you, Jesus”
I’ll never forget, a while back our family was worshiping here, with you all, and one of my daughters had brought a barbie to church. And when we stood to worship, she took her Barbie and raised her hands in worship.
The Heart of Jesus
Church… if we need to repent, let’s repent. If we need to take our hands out of our pockets and uncross our arms, let’s do it. If we need to say to God, I’m sorry Lord for the thing I made it… I’ve made worship about me, my preferences, I’ve been guilty of wanting it my way but it’s really all about you Jesus… then let’s say that. Let’s do whatever it takes to get back to the heart of worship. Because
The heart of worship is always all about the heart of Jesus.
And the heart of Jesus is for you, for us!
He loved you so much he took his hands out of his pockets, he spread his hands wide open, and when he did he declared, I love you this much!
As we worship today and as we move through this summer in worship together, let’s give ourselves permission and freedom to return to the heart of worship. Let’s not make it about us, let’s make it all about Jesus. And let’s bring Him more than just a song!
Bring Back that Lovin’ Feelin’
It’s interesting… that song from the Righteuous Brothers, “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’,” it ends with these lyrics…
“Bring back that lovin’ feelin’.”
My hope and my prayer is that we would bring that loving feeling back into our worship. Our love for God. For who He is, for all He has done for us in and through Jesus.
This week, find time to come back to the heart of worship in your own life individually.
And as we come together again collectively, if we do that… I believe we’ll see the church erupt in worship!
When the heart of worship is all about Jesus, we can’t help but lift every voice, every heart, to Him.
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