It’s Pixler™ (R-WA) wrote: We get excited at concerts, at parties and while we are watching movies, how come we can’t get that excited about God?
I like your question, and it is one that I have asked for many years. One must wonder, however, what this "getting excited ab out God" looks like.
Just to let you in on my own sin concerning the matter... (yes, I was in sin for thinking in such a legalistic fashion)...
I was raised in a more Pentecostal/Charismatic background. I grew up listening to the likes of dc Talk, Smitty, Newsboys, SonicFlood, etc. During worship at the youth group or main service, I would really "get into the experience, " as it were. Jumping around, hands lifted, sometimes crying even. I was there for an emotional high, and I found it in the worship music and (I thought anyway) worshiping God. (I would suggest now that all of that time I spent years ago "worshiping God" was actually idolatry. I highly doubt I was even saved, as I was a believer in Rick Warrenism/Purpose-Driven-Lies, and had never truly been convicted of my sin and been drawn to the Savior back then. So all of this energy I spent worshiping back in Jr high, I was more-than-likely worshiping a false God - a god I had made in my own liking in my mind. I did not serve the true living god, but another god and i called him ’jesus.’ But he was not really the Christ of the Bible)
But as I was "getting into the music, " (and I personally worshiped the music I think more than the God I was SUPPOSED to be worshiping), I could not help but notice no one was "getting into it" either. No one had their hands raised high like me. No one was jumping up and down during worship like I was. (or headbanging to the faster-paced songs like me... no joke.) And I thought,WHY is it NO ONE else loves God and is excited about God like I am?? People get excited when their team scores the winning touchdown... or when they go to a concert seeing their favorite band... Don’t they love God this much??? Aren’t they as excited about God?
I would propose though that when I did this I was being legalistic about how worship is supposed to be ... done/acted out. At a game or a concert, it can be easy to get caught up in the moment, isn’t it? I know it is for me. But is worship to be us "experiencing God" and being "caught up in the moment"?
John 4:24 says to worship God in spirit and in truth. Our worship is to be true and be conveying truth about who god is and what he has done. It isn’t a time to just feel wild and crazy. And there is no theological truth by singing and repeating over and over,WE HAVE THE BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WORLD! IN THE WHOLE WORLD!
Is the music in this video exciting? you betcha! Is it catchy? So much so, if you can’t get it outa your head, I am sorry... lol. But what theological truth does it convey about God? Does God reveal himself as Abba? (daddy) -- yes. but is this all God is and has done? where is mercy? where is forgiveness? where is the gospel? where is the mention of God’s holiness?
Ephesians 5:15-21: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with fine wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
notice the passage does not say "do not get drunk on wine, but instead be drunk with the Spirit." no no. such a statement would contradict 1 Peter 1:13, where we are told to "be sober-minded, " being always alert and in control of our emotions and our actions. the idea isn’t to get "drunk on the spirit." rather, being "filled with the spirit" is the EXACT OPPOSITE of being drunk, not an alternative form of drunkenness.
to be more direct... yes. We as Christians ARE to be passionate about God. And I would charge that all genuine Christians ARE passionate about God. We are passionate about Him and his Word. We are passionate about spreading the gospel. We are passionately thankful for God electing us (Ephesians 1:4-14; 1 Thes 1:4-5; Romans 8:28-35), and dying for us as our atonement on the cross, as well as his living a PERFECTLY righteous life (something we will NEVER do in this life), that his righteousness was imputed to us on the cross.
I did not mean to ramble on and on about things that had maybe not yet been brought up in this discussion. Again though, I would say it is unwise to judge a Christian’s passion for God based solely on if he acts on Sunday morning the way he behaves at a football game Monday night.
and in answer to your question... perhaps the reason many "christians" today are not passionate about God... do not care about theology or the gospel, or calling their fellow man to repent and trust in the cross of Christ... is because they themselves are not truly converted? Not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" is truly saved (Matthew 25). Just a thought.
I totally get this. I do see how this can be like an idol, how the heart of worship is not really on Christ but perhaps the feeling one gets, the attention, the comraderie, etc. I can relate to a similar experience before I was saved, and even sometimes after I was saved I felt compelled perhaps by what was touted in mainstream Christian circles as a right way of worshipping God/living out the Christian walk. Jesus knows our hearts, and so I believe that when we are in relationship with Him, He lets us know according to who we are how we are to proceed/how we can best please and serve Him.
For some people, praising God can be a deeply private, quiet moment, for others it may be serving or dancing or simply telling Jesus all that He means to us. Sometimes when I am in the presence of other believers who are praising God vigorously, I feel ashamed. I either feel like I'm just going through the motions or that some of it might be to bring glory to people rather than to God (for the attention), but I have found that I shouldn't let that distract me from taking the opportunity to refocus and try to praise Him if I feel convicted to continue. there have been many times where I literally did not feel like worshipping via praise/song, but after going through the motions God inhabited my praise in such a way that I was intensely joyful and felt His amazing presence for the rest of the time -- and it blessed me tremendously. Though this kind of worship is still hard for me in the presence of others. So, I've come to realize that for some people collective, passionate worship is appropriate and their calling. It is an extension of their enthusiasm for all that God has done for them, and like David says in Psalms, there is a place for it -- God does inhabit our praises, and evil does not remain there for long. Perhaps this is why praise was called for right before a battle, so that evil would be thwarted.(?)
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Posted: Mar 1, 2009 1:41 AMWe get excited at concerts, at parties and while we are watching movies, how come we can’t get that excited about God?
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Comments (1)
I totally get this. I do see how this can be like an idol, how the heart of worship is not really on Christ but perhaps the feeling one gets, the attention, the comraderie, etc. I can relate to a similar experience before I was saved, and even sometimes after I was saved I felt compelled perhaps by what was touted in mainstream Christian circles as a right way of worshipping God/living out the Christian walk. Jesus knows our hearts, and so I believe that when we are in relationship with Him, He lets us know according to who we are how we are to proceed/how we can best please and serve Him.
For some people, praising God can be a deeply private, quiet moment, for others it may be serving or dancing or simply telling Jesus all that He means to us. Sometimes when I am in the presence of other believers who are praising God vigorously, I feel ashamed. I either feel like I'm just going through the motions or that some of it might be to bring glory to people rather than to God (for the attention), but I have found that I shouldn't let that distract me from taking the opportunity to refocus and try to praise Him if I feel convicted to continue. there have been many times where I literally did not feel like worshipping via praise/song, but after going through the motions God inhabited my praise in such a way that I was intensely joyful and felt His amazing presence for the rest of the time -- and it blessed me tremendously. Though this kind of worship is still hard for me in the presence of others. So, I've come to realize that for some people collective, passionate worship is appropriate and their calling. It is an extension of their enthusiasm for all that God has done for them, and like David says in Psalms, there is a place for it -- God does inhabit our praises, and evil does not remain there for long. Perhaps this is why praise was called for right before a battle, so that evil would be thwarted.(?)