The Heart Of Worship
I had such a great weekend! My beloved cousins from Malaysia spent the weekend with us. I was delighted that Kev, Mel and Gina were able to come to Singapore and hang out with us. Their visit truly cheered up the Tan household at Sirat Place (well, at least it cheered me greatly!), and brought a Bundle of Blessings to this needful heart.
In the midst of the Blessings, God granted me a very special encounter and spoke to my heart deeply. Because my cousin Melvin is deaf, we attended a deaf service at Faith Community Baptist Church on Saturday evening. It was my first time attending a deaf service.
As a musician who has been active in the worship ministry in church -- whether playing the keyboards or singing -- I have always prided myself on being a "worshipper" simply because I had "good musicality" or "excellent musicianship".
But here at the deaf service, God showed me something about what true worship was really about. He convicted me about the poverty of my own worship (which I had often thought was "so great" or at least "good enough"!). Being at the deaf service showed me a glimpse of what really mattered to God, and I am both humbled and rebuked. I have been changed here, and I think I will not be the same again.
We "normal" people are often so picky and petty about musical perfection and audio quality ("more reverb please!" -- but only so that we can sound better, for our own glory!). The soul-searching question is, is our worship really about God? Or about US?!? Under the guise of serving God, we have really been serving ourselves!!!
As I watched the deaf break into their own "song", it is ironic that while their tuneless ramble sounded nothing like what we would have called music, yet there was such beauty in their expressive sign language of "How Great Thou Art" and "Rise Up and Praise Him". It may not have been music that would top the pop charts, as far as their verbalisations were concerned, but I am very sure it was Music in the Lord's ears. He always delights in the worship of His children, in whatever method the worship and adoration came! The issue was a matter of the Heart, not of the Skill.
I am rebuked by the realisation that how often I have relegated my praises of God to a performance of pitch-perfection... but at the expense of True Worship! In our quest for excellence, I wonder if we may have sacrificed worship at the altar of idolatry... an idolatry of Self!
The "silent worship" may be after all, in the final analysis, the Truer and More Acceptable worship than our pitch-perfect tones, which may actually be nothing more than noise in our Lord's ears...
In the midst of the Blessings, God granted me a very special encounter and spoke to my heart deeply. Because my cousin Melvin is deaf, we attended a deaf service at Faith Community Baptist Church on Saturday evening. It was my first time attending a deaf service.
As a musician who has been active in the worship ministry in church -- whether playing the keyboards or singing -- I have always prided myself on being a "worshipper" simply because I had "good musicality" or "excellent musicianship".
But here at the deaf service, God showed me something about what true worship was really about. He convicted me about the poverty of my own worship (which I had often thought was "so great" or at least "good enough"!). Being at the deaf service showed me a glimpse of what really mattered to God, and I am both humbled and rebuked. I have been changed here, and I think I will not be the same again.
We "normal" people are often so picky and petty about musical perfection and audio quality ("more reverb please!" -- but only so that we can sound better, for our own glory!). The soul-searching question is, is our worship really about God? Or about US?!? Under the guise of serving God, we have really been serving ourselves!!!
As I watched the deaf break into their own "song", it is ironic that while their tuneless ramble sounded nothing like what we would have called music, yet there was such beauty in their expressive sign language of "How Great Thou Art" and "Rise Up and Praise Him". It may not have been music that would top the pop charts, as far as their verbalisations were concerned, but I am very sure it was Music in the Lord's ears. He always delights in the worship of His children, in whatever method the worship and adoration came! The issue was a matter of the Heart, not of the Skill.
I am rebuked by the realisation that how often I have relegated my praises of God to a performance of pitch-perfection... but at the expense of True Worship! In our quest for excellence, I wonder if we may have sacrificed worship at the altar of idolatry... an idolatry of Self!
The "silent worship" may be after all, in the final analysis, the Truer and More Acceptable worship than our pitch-perfect tones, which may actually be nothing more than noise in our Lord's ears...
posted by belle at 10:30 PM
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