The Unending Worshipper

The last Chapter is not my favorite, but was by far the most inspirational. It focuses on the beauty of death and the benefits it brings to our worship. No longer will we be bound by endless distractions in this life. Instead we will worship endlessly in a world where the things of earth

are entirely extinguished. Even Paul said "to live is Christ and to die is gain".

However heaven, as Matt puts it is not an eternal escape route but rather our reward. The kingdom is meant to be shared and experienced here and now as well.

There were some very memorable quotes in this chapter

1. A hymn written by Charles Wesley for his deceased friend

Ah, lovely appearance of death!

What sight upon earth is so fair?

How blest is our brother, bereft

Of all that could burden his mind!

How easy the soul that has left

This wearisome body behind!

Of evil incapable, now, thou

Whose relics with envy I see

No longer in misery now,

No longer a sinner like me

2.C.S. Lewis

"Meanwhile of course, we are merely tuning our instruments. The tuning up of the orchestra can in itself be delightful, but only to those who can, in some measure, however little, anticipate the symphony."

3.Charles Wesley's final hymn written by dictation on his deathbed.

In age and feebleness extreme

Who shall a helpless worm redeem?

Jesus, my only hope thou art,

Strength of my failing flesh and heart.

O, could I catch one smile from Thee,

and drop into eternity?

This final quote shows the passion of a man devoted to Christ and reveals us all as unending worshippers.

The Unsatisfied Worshipper Ch 9

Matt Redman Sums up our struggle as worshippers in this world. He goes on to say that we as worshippers have three indisputable struggles

1.We struggle with the longing to know the splendor of Christ with a mere glimpse of his incomparable glory.

2. We are Unfinished and we long for healing and often healing is a journey and not an immediate happening.

3.We are strangers in this land and the closer we align ourselves with The Kingdom, the more we see just how broken and shattered this world is. The reality of our worship has to ascend from music to action. Worship and injustice are inseparable.

This so far was my favorite chapter and the icing on the cake had to be the C.S. Lewis qoute...

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."

Undivided Worship (unquenchable worship review Ch. 8)

James 1:27 says

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

It is funny how The Bible speaks in pairs (The greatest commandment) and this is just another example. We are to take action in the community but also we are to defend ourselves from becoming corrupted. How often do we avoid helping people because we do not wish to become tainted ourselves? How often have we tried to reach out to the lost only to find that we start inheriting there morals? The first part of chapter eight made me ask myself these two questions and I had to realize that you cannot have a strong offense without an impressive defense.

Later in the chapter I think that Matt makes an excellent point concerning our loss for our first love. We are so easily throne off course by the things that are in themselves not evil, but if not monitored things like bands, sound systems, new techniques, songwriting, style, ability, performance, and leading can all become weapons of mass distractions. I know that these things have definitely thrown me off my scent.

At the end of the chapter Matt Redman shares the origin of his song The Heart of Worship. He explains that the worship was all a performance and that to counter this emerging attitude they removed their sound system and band for weeks. After a few weeks people really turned their hearts back in the right direction.

Lord I ask the same thing for our lives. I pray Matt's prayer for us Lord purify our hearts and simplify our lives that we might entirely seek your presence.

A Precious Gift

I just wanted to retell this amazing illustration from Matt Redmans book The Unquenchable worshipper. Matt Redman envisioned the story below at a youth leaders retreat.

There is a young man on a Journey and he has been entrusted with the most beautiful jewel, yet this treasure is not for him. He is on a mission to bring it before his king. So precious is this jewel that he hides it away as he travels along the road. Every now and then he will stop at a town or village and that is where the temptation begins. It would be so easy to show his treasure off a bit and let people marvel at this wonder that he has been entrusted with. It would certainly bring him a lot of fame and favor. He could take it to the king later and have some fun with it now. Another temptation is to settle down in that town, basking in his newfound popularity, and abandon the mission altogether. He could even sell the treasure and he would never have to work again. Every time he is around people the enticements seem to grow stronger, and yet he resists these temptations and finally reaches the kings palace. With the treasure still intact upon entering the throne room he sees the kings face. But more than that, he sees the kings pleasure.

As lead worshippers we have been given a precious gift but it is not meant for our enjoyment only God's glory.