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June 2003 Table of Contents
In Spirit And Truth
Worship Is Remembering
By Steve Phifer
Worship Arts Pastor
Word of Life International Church
Springfield, VA
stphifer@aol.com
www.WorshipArtsResources.org
 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Deuteronomy 4:9
It is so easy to forget. The momentary needs pressing around us push aside the remembrances of former things and we let them slip. Worship in Spirit and in Truth is an act of remembrance-of careful, deliberate recollection of what God has done and who God is.
Are we so contemporary that we stand to lose the obedient recollection of former things? If so, our public worship is both impoverished and unbiblical. Are we so pragmatic that we have lost our patience with things that take time? Remembering-reflection-takes time.
Before you think that this is another head-in-the-sand call for traditional worship, please realize that this writer is straining every nerve to discover True Worship for the 21st century. I want to engage the post-modern world in the ancient enterprise of giving unto the Lord the glory due unto His name.
In reading through the Bible this year, I was struck by the Lord's emphasis on remembering as He unfolded His Law to Moses and the Israelites. The Sabbath was about remembering to rest and worship. The Passover was about remembering slavery and deliverance from Egypt. "Do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip." You would think that those who fed on manna every morning would not forget God, but they did. They wandered around in the wilderness for forty years grumbling and complaining and forgetting God. Those who walked out of Egypt through the sea forgot so often and thoroughly that they did not get to walk into the Promised Land through a river.
I don't want to lead a congregation in desert-dry circles! Forgetful worship does exactly that. I want to lead worship that continues the journey of the People of God from bondage to freedom, from slavery to sonship, from wilderness wanderings to purposeful, powerful living.
Expressions of Thanksgiving
We are in no way superior in our humanity to those forgetful Israelites. That's why the Gates to the Presence of God are called Thanksgiving. (Psalm 100) When we give thanks we remember what God has done. We are humbled to recall that God is our source, our strength and our reward. The deliberate act of giving thanks to God stirs the heart and retunes the mind. (Romans 12:1,2)
Proclamation of Praise
When we, as Peter says, "proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9), we are remembering who God is. The vocal rehearsal of God's character builds our faith:
- "God is good! "His mercy endures to all generations!"
- "God is love!"
- "God is my refuge and strength a very present help in time of trouble!"
- "Jesus is my savior!-King of kings and Lord of lords!"
As we proclaim "the manifold wisdom of God" (Ephesians 3) we remember just who God is! That remembrance increases our faith and our courage to believe in God's plan for our lives. Our confidence is in the character of God, the very attributes that form the lyrics of our songs and confessions. When we forget who God is, we lose hope and courage. When we remember through the proclamation of our praise, we boldly engage Monday because we have been with God on Sunday!
Words of Worship
As we express our love to the Lord through songs and prayers of devotion, this is the essence of remembrance. How it must please His great heart to hear us, His Beloved, say, "My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. For Thee all the follies of sin I resign." Devotion takes time. Adoration is not presentational, not aimed at man. It is true that the un-churched may not understand what we are doing when we are, in Dennis Jernigan's lyric, "loving our King", but they need to witness our worship! How dare we shut it away to a backroom, or shunt it away to a Wednesday night only! We must not forget that we were lost. We were "pre-Christian." Jesus found us, saved us, and grafted us into the Vine of His very existence. Let us remember and never, never forget.
How can we forget? But we do. Just like those forgetful Israelites with the smell of manna still on their breath complaining in the wilderness, we forget, secure though we are in our salvation by the Blood of Jesus. We forget. All of us do. Until we start to give thanks, to praise Him, to worship Him and then we remember and we are healed.
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Psalm 105:1-4 NIV
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