In this blog post Steve Vassallo speaks to believers, onlookers, those who are weary and the wider church, about how the overflow of grasping our identity and purpose causes us to worship corporately and in all of life.
PHILOSOPHY OF CORPORATE WORSHIP
At Anchor we believe that making much of Jesus in our gatherings is an overflow of being deeply satisfied in Him. As His redeemed sons and daughters we want to use our gifts to build up and encourage one another to live for His glory in every sphere of life.
Whilst corporate worship is not more than reading the word, preaching, prayer, singing, fellowship, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, it is certainly not less. Which is why we’re passionate that through such elements …’God will be seen, known and enjoyed as glorious.’
Magnifying Jesus is an authentic response when we grasp our identity and purpose (1 Pet. 2:9-10, Eph. 3:21). As our minds and hearts are lead to focus on His word, work and worth, we’re invited to respond in worship. It’s the sole reason why the gospel will forever remain the centerpiece of our time together. We believe that it’s through this vigorous meditation of pressing the gospel deep into our hearts that leads to the kind of maturity and all-of-life worship that glorifies our Father.
FAUX WORSHIP
Understanding the nature of healthy gospel motivation doesn’t make us any less immune to false or half hearted worship, but rather makes one more aware of it. It is definitely possible to be caught in the outward motions of well-intentioned traditions that leave our minds and hearts disengaged from true worship.
“…this people draw near with their mouth
and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me…” Isaiah 29:13
God cares about the heart, which is why deficit in our knowledge or right affections is so offensive (John 4:22). Despite how good the external fruit may appear or feel, God knows the difference, and hates hypocrisy. This is why at Anchor we’re committed nurture a culture that avoids hype and a lack of substance at all costs. When you take the centrality of Jesus and the gospel away – church becomes a lame hobby.
OUR EFFORT AND THE SPIRITS WORK
If you’re anything like me, any given Sunday you may feel tired, weary or unworthy to draw near and seek God. You may feel unreceptive to the beauty and worth of Christ and distracted by your current circumstances. Yet despite all those feelings, God’s worthiness hasn’t changed has it? And so as we gather, we see an opportunity to help each other become more aware of reality. It’s through this kind of beholding of His glory that we are transformed to become more like Jesus (2 Cor. 3:18).
In one sense it’s a grace-driven effort that we engage in practices that help us meditate on the truth of the gospel, and equally as important we want to acknowledge that it’s also a Spirit-empowered work that helps us to grasp truth in our inner being to produce the kind of affections that glorify God.
Like Paul, we can and should pray for our hearts (Eph. 1:17-19, 3:14-21).
PREPARING OUR HEARTS IS TIME WELL SPENT
Before leading others in corporate worship there are three key petitions that I want to inject into our prayer huddle, pre-service:
1. Lord, impress upon us the greatness of your worth!
2. Enlarge the eyes of our hearts with power to grasp Your love through Jesus’ work!
3. Give us new taste buds to discover afresh the sweetness of Your word!
Whilst this isn’t an exhaustive list, these three prayers have become bread and butter for me. The language of prayer influences culture, and the intentionality behind prayer has the capacity to set the tone for our teams in having a humble posture and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
May Jesus appear glorious to the eyes of our hearts throughout local churches everywhere in Sydney! And may He be honored with the affections that He truly deserves.