(Author not pictured. Photo credit to my teammate Sarah Ann White)
Early last month one of our squad leaders held a meeting for everyone who was interested in being involved in worship for the squad. I brought a guitar on the race to worship God, and I've been on a few worship teams in the past as a drummer so I figured I'd be a part of this 'team" but I didn't fully understand what I was getting into. I am glad I decided to be a part of this because God has taught me numerous things about cultivating a culture of worship both for the squad but also in my personal life.
We have the honor and privilege to worship our King. If you think about it, it really is an honor and really is a privilege. God has given man the ability to give Him praise and to worship Him. We are given the chance to invite Him to come, His presence to surround us and consume us, and His power to carry us. We have the ability to create a culture within ourselves and carry His presence wherever we go. God has really been teaching me a lot about how to carry His presence and cultivate it, not just for myself but for others.
Nearly everyday on the world race we've held sessions together as a squad. We won't always be together as a squad of 47, but we were fortunate enough to start off the month together in one of the hardest countries spiritually and physically on the race, Mozambique. Each night we held sessions, and each night we'd start off the session in worship. Why? Because just as it was for Old Testament Israel so it is today, the worship goes before the army, and the worshippers lead the fight:
"Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to theLord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”
2 Chronicles 20:21
Dude I thought you were on a world race saving lives not taking them? I am saving human lives, but we're causing havoc for darkness everywhere we go. That is our goal as Christians you know. The bibles says "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish it." John 1:15 We are the light, and Jesus inside of us shines in the darkness, and were we are darkness cannot stay cause it's exposed by the light and destroyed by it as well. The battle of good and evil has been won by Gods love, its finished on the cross and in the end we win. Ha ha we never ever lose. Ever. Seriously, we'll never lose! We win every time. It's awesome!
So pretty much every night for the last month I've been involved in worship in one aspect or another. Either through helping to lead worship with my guitar and other members of the squad singing, or just getting involved with worship by carrying a drum beat by whatever means possible such as an empty 5 gallon bucket, or beating on a bench. You don't need fancy equipment to worship, you just need to position your heart in praise. It's really not about what comes from your hands or mouth that matters, its what comes out of your heart.
"out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks"
Luke 6:45
Luke 6:45
Over the last few days during our 2 days of travel and leading into last night God has really been showing me a lot about what it means to carry His presence. We as Christians carry Him wherever we go, and if we cultivate His presence in our lives personally we can cultivate it for others as well. The race is challenging for numerous reasons, and as we've had worship sessions in numerous and random places I've learned to welcome His presence with all that I have. What we are developing is the ability to cultivate Gods presence in such a way that when we worship He shows up in a powerful way, every time.
I mentioned it during our worship session the other day in Maputo, Mozambique. The battles we are all fighting are not just battles for our personal lives. We are fighting and winning battles for people that God will put in our lives in the future such as our friends, family, and even strangers we meet in life and in ministry. If we can cultivate Gods presence and learn to carry it and bring it out in a variety of settings, then it'll come out anywhere and everywhere we go. This means that the kingdom of God will come out wherever we go! Thats awesome! Thats what Jesus did! Remember, He said "heal the sick and tell them, the kingdom of God has come near you!" Luke 10:9 He brought the kingdom wherever He went, and we carry the kingdom wherever we go as well. The best part is that if we carry Gods presence correctly and carry it well, then everyone we come in contact will experience it! Ha ha ha YESSSS!!!!
"For the Kingdom of God is not just a kingdom of talk; but of power"
1 Corinthians 4:20
We should live our lives by the power of God that is inside of us by bringing the kingdom EVERYWHERE WE GO! I didn't really realize until last night that I personally cultivate Gods presence in worship. For our second night of debrief we got together as worshippers and put together a 4 song set. We had 3 guitars and had access to a piano for the first time. 1 hour and 6 songs later(2 unplanned that I felt lead to sing) I realized that I was the only guitar playing and realized the presence of God was thick in the atmostphere. I didn't know where the time went but God was doing something in the room and although my fingers were raw and I didn't know if I knew the chords to any other song, I didn't want to stop.
God has been teaching me numerous things since I've been on the world race. He's exposing weaknesses and building me up in ways I didn't even know until moments like last night when I open my eyes, look around, and see people soaking in His presence. Wherever I go God presence goes with me, and in His presence sickness cannot stand, evil cannot prevail and darkness it's exposed and destroyed This is going to be a year of destruction for the enemy, in my own life, as well as in every country I step foot in. The blind will see, the lame will walk, and the light will extinguish the darkness. The kingdom of God has come near, and when the kingdom comes, everything in the kingdom comes with it!
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(This picture was taken right before one of our worship sessions at the Iris compound in Dondo, Mozambique. This site was the spot of a lot of spiritual warfare for our team before, during, and after sessions. Notice all of the orbs(white specks) in the air, this is one of the many ways angels are seen. We're constantly surrounded by them, especially in an atmosphere of worship. The kingdom of God has come near us….)
