I'm at a youth conference, the music is loud, their up their, with their loud electric guitars, the panio, the drums, here we are, singing real loud like " Come and fill this place with your glory-- we come with our hands lifted up, come fill me!" " Hallelujah " and here we are, repeating it like a mantra, this phrase over and over,
so loud you have to hold your ears to save your hearings, at this point you don't care what people think of you, at this point, you've sung the song so much that to its beyond meaning to you, just a bunch of words you can hardly hear yourself. Everyone holding up their hands in worship and I'm just wishing its over soon so I don't have to stand this long.
I wish they'd hurry up and finish the song and stop repeating this meaningless words. singing about us and not about God- thats what came across to me. cause hymns arn't just hip these days to sing. Fill this place! fill this place with your glory God! we keep on singing. okay maybe I'm exaggerating but thats what it feels like.
I look around myself and I'm feeling no spiritual while singing this and the lights are dimmed, everyone swaying, with their hands up. And than the singing stops but the instruments lull, still playing. the speaker walks up, looks like he's keeping up with the styles, skinny jeans, leather shoes and his hair slicked back, t- shirt tails not tucked in. a mic wire hooked up on him, he checks if its on.
He prays that God would fill this place, refering to the day of pentacost, where they were meeting up in the upper room praying and worshiping God.
and I'm thinking; What would happen if God filled this place right now? I don't think it would be peachy; some feeling we'd be still standing, we'd be knocking our knees together and scared to death, What are we really asking? we'd be filled with awe and wonder, on our faces. It says in the Bible the Isrealites thought it was death when they saw God'd glory, and how are we demanding it? ( thats what it sounded like)
I mean, yes, I believe what happened on the day of pentecost, they were filled with the holy spirit, talking in many langauges, but does that need to happen again?
2 peter 1:3 says
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Was their music when they were gathering there at the day of pentecost? and that makes me think, is this lighting and music making me feel spiritual rather than the genuineness of it. would be be feeling this way if it were bright and we were just singing normal? and than i realize; go to a secular concert and this looks like the same thing, a sea of worshipers with their hands up and their feeling estatic, hearts beating. striking similarities
. And than this young lady gets up, after the band steps down, she tells her testimony, its amazing; she came from nothing to something, a new creation in Christ, its amazing and than she says she had this warm fuzzy feeling when she asked God to make her real to her. and than after that, we're all supposed to ask God for that warm and fuzzy feeling too. and to me thats going a little too far. I mean, God has his ways with people, he may do a certian thing, like a vision or a dream to confirm he's real and something as gentle as a wisper to another person. And now we're all supposed to be seeking this warm and fuzzy feeling she had. But just because she had this warm and fuzzy feeling doesn't mean we all have to have it.
And than we sing again, our mantra again it seems, loud music, the lights dimmed, all of us praying and the speaker pacing back and forth up front, feeling he had a sense we should pray for healing and brokenness, " hold up your hand if you have a need,"
and at this time, the lights so dimmed its dark and the soft mesmerizing music is playing. And my thoughts go back again " are we just feeligng spiritual because this music and lighting?" how many people are going to walk out of this church and think " Oh no, I didn't get that warm feeling, I must not be spiritual," I'm not feeling it, and what am i supposed to be feeling anyway? Honestly; I think its getting a little long; We're not praying any more, we're looking at our phones.
Finally, the music stops, the lighting goes back on; the speaker gets up and he says his bit, than he says our youth are just so great and we are going to turn this town upside down for Jesus, we're going to have passion and when we walk down those school halls and everyones going to ask whats different about you? and I wonder how many churches he's said that to. and I'm kinda sad, cause Monday mornings gonna come and the passions gonna fade, we're gonna want more of this feeling and not feel so spiritual any more. Why can't they just teach us to live a quiet Christian life with our walk with God, that it isn't always passion. cause passion burns out, theirs dull days too.
I mean, I don't doubt the prays we prayed that night didn't do effect, that lives were changed and impacted but over the general effect; how many people are thinking they need feelings and loud music?
Why can't we teach our youth that we do have dull days and even when your feeling low on passion; you can have a quiet walk with God in our personal lives; read your Bible, pray. That we don't need burning passion with our hearts beating every moment of the day. Can't we come back to those rich hymns to sing in church other than those hype songs that sing that kinda lost the rich in doctorine words.
When we say " Church isn't supposed to be boring! David danced so hard and his clothes almost fell off, theirs a problem when its boring," and I go " David wasn't even in a church when he danced," " I think we lost our reverence, we start demanding God show his glory to us it kinda seems, make us feel good inside, when in reality; we should be giving glory to God in reverence, cause if God showed his glory; we'd be overwelmed and be scared. just read in the Bible about it, they were trembling with fear anytime an angel showed up and we treat it like something simple it seems.
Okay, so I sounded a little negative ( a little- ha! you think) about that weekend I just told you about, but I did learn something from it and had fun. I just got a little annoyed with it.
and I don't blame you if you don't want read my blog ever after cause this was so negative its just what I think and I'm not forcing you to think that. we all have our opinions and that's mine. actully I'd like to hear your opinion about this.
God bless
