Invited

 "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church of Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever." Ephesians 3:20-21...."God's will in the realm of earth's affairs and human circumstances, is that humans respond to the reality of His love and power by issued invitation." Jack Hayford

Like so many others, I watched with fascination, excitement, and spiritual hunger at all that was unfolding at Asbury College just short months ago. His Holy Spirit was moving with great power upon all who gathered upon the campus of that college. Many thousands flocked to the small town of Wilmore, KY, hungry to experience Him.

Like any move of God, it didn't take long for criticisms of this move to arise. Things were not happening as they believed they should. There wasn't any preaching they said. It was just ramped up emotinalism, stoked by a great deal of singing they said. People's sin wasn't being directly addressed, they said. Without that, there could be no repentance, they said. There was a time when I may very well have been among those critics. That time is long past.

When I came to Christ, I knew very little of what true worship was. I knew a bit more, but not much when I entered the ministry 5 years later. I knew how traditional services were set up. You had 2-4 hymns, an offering, a song special, and then a sermon. We called it a worship service, and then everyone went home. It was not until the mid to late 90's, when a close brother in Christ, also a pastor, and a lover of true worship of His God, helped me to enter into a true understanding of worship. The growth in my understanding continues to this day.

The modern church has stumbled into a mind-set that we need to frame our worship upon what attracts people more than what attracts Him. Style of music, atmosphere, and even special effects are used. Intended or not, we fall more into entertainment than worship. God is there, but is He really welcome? Is what we call worship all about Him, or all about us? Perhaps the answer is found in how changed we are when we emerge from these gatherings? Did He really lay hold of us, or did we just have some emotions stirred, some vague proddings from a not so close Holy Spirit?

At what is now called the Asbury Awakening, the move of God began in response to a simple, regular student chapel service. Most in attendance left after its conclusion. A small number remained. One, moved, convicted, and broken by the message he'd heard preached, a message the preacher himself thought had been a failure, began to weep. He confessed the sin in his life, repented of it. Those few around him were similarly moved upon. They, the few of them, began to worship Him, simply singing choruses and hymns. No instruments. No effects. Soon, word spread around the campus that something was going on in the chapel. More came. More had the Spirit move upon them. More melted before Him. More confessed their sin, were broken before Him and made whole by Him. From there came a move of God that continues to spread out across the nation and the nations. Yes, it began with a message from a preacher's heart, but it was spread and sustained by the worship that came in response from the hearts of those who heard the message. To my knowledge, it was the last message preached in all that took place at Asbury. God used it to spark a great wave of worship. Worship that invited Him to manifest Himself in wondrous ways. Ways that few in attendance had ever experienced. That will always be the fruit of true worship. Is it the result, to any degree, in ours?

None of this is to downplay the role of preaching in the church, or the need to guard against blatant emotional outbursts. I believe the need for prophetic preaching is greater than ever, but all we do, including preaching, needs to focus on pointing to Christ, to the Father, to His Holy Spirit, and be a desperate invitation for Him to come. To saturate us, lay hold of us, embrace us in ways that we don't want to let go of. Worship that invites Him to not just observe what we're doing, but to allow Him to do what He seeks to do in our midst.

There is a lot more to say, and I've probably already said too much. I pray that our fellowships will be focal points of Holy Spirit activity. That we will gather in holy anticipation and invitation of and to His appearing. That they would not be gatherings we come late to and seek to leave as quickly as possible. Places where we experience Him to do "exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ask or think."

Blessings,
Pastor O