The Heat in Worship| Part 1

*Sorry that a part of this blog is highlighted in white, I'm not sure why it did that or how to fix it but I wanted to post this post. So, just highlight with your mouse and you can see it to read it. Thanks!!

You know I had to this right? I was debating if I should make a blog about this topic. Since I've been following the Basketball games that led to the Heat Basketball team winning their championship tonight! (Whoo Hoo, Go Heat!) I really saw a couple of links between what I was watching on the screen and the Christian life in general especially during worship.
So to start off with my Disclaimer here: I am not an avid Basketball "fan" per se but I do love watching Basketball and Football when they are playing for something big and important like the Superbowl and the Finals. And I guess the reason that is, it's a better game to watch then just a season game when players don't usually give everything but in these last make it or break it game, I usually see lots of passion and I just love it.
Any who... the purpose of this blog is 1/2 venting off frustration and  1/2 paralleling what I saw while watching the B-ball finals this week in correlating it with our worship to God. Now again, I know that worship is totally different from fans loving basketball but not as different as you might think.
Check out this picture... ridiculous I know. lol.

He won the MVP, he's not God. Like calm down. 3 lions?... 

So like I said, this blog is not that far fetch. So let's get started shall we? 
My Observation: 
As a new 'worship leader' at my church and the frustration of getting people to be free in worship... I saw that during the games these fans were W-I-L-D. I mean no holds bar, they looked crazy. Some downright looked foolish. 

They had no problems expressing their feelings towards the team they love. No one had to 'schooled' them before coming into the stadium .They were ready to praise their team. I think the reason they were READY is because they built up their expectancy for a long time. The ones who were engaged in 'worshiping' their team [play along with me here] were the ones who followed the Heat or OKC during their off-season, on-season, the series and now the finals. They felt like they had a relationship with these players. We can hear that in their speech when they say "we won" "we did it". Hunh? The 'fans' didn't practice and play hard, but somehow they felt this connection with their team and it was NATURAL for them to root them on, encourage them, scream and jump for them when they all came together. 

Now God does not need us to 'root' Him on. He is God and He is perfectly perfect all by Himself. But I do believe when it comes to corporate worship, the believers who PREPARED themselves for worship by maintaining their connection with God in their life, really do anticipate the moment when we all get to meet together and praise Him and because of that anticipation/preparation NOONE has to root you on, "Come on lift your hands" "Come on, give God the glory". No, because it just comes out naturally. It's okay to be excited for and with God, you know! You don't have to be all stiff and so mechanical (I use to do and be like that, but not anymore). I love being excited like kid for Jesus. He is awesome! 

Okay, so it's not like I'm saying that a person outward expression signifies their inward love or commitment with God. That is personal! and I really could care less, because I'm worshiping God too, not looking at you. But you cannot deny that a person outward, physical expressions does in fact speak volume to what's happening inside. You do not need a Phd in body language to know when a person feels uncomfortable or angry or sad or annoyed. As humans, God put this thing in us where we can pick up these 'vibes' without words being spoken. pretty cool hunh? So, if during worship a person has a huge frown on his/her face, eyebrows are burrowed down, arms are tightly cross and they have that look like "Is this done yet?" I think its safe to say, that person is not engaging in worship at that moment. Vice Versa, the person who is screaming and jumping may also not be engaged in worship but at least they are trying or doing something for Jesus. 

Observations from the last games where the Heat won the finals in correlation to Worship: 

- Spiritual Warfare 

* It is way better to be on the offense than defense. When the ball is in your court you say what goes when and where and how. You have more control of the game and the points you earn. When its in the other team court and you have to defend yourself you play twice as hard. 

* The devil would like nothing for us to stress and run around with a chicken with its head cut off when the ball is already in OUR COURT. We got the ball, so we call the shots. 1 John 4:4 says: "Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world." and in John 16:33 Jesus says, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." But if a believer does not have a revelation of that (including myself) we will always be on the defense. And being on the defense is stressful. Playing twice as hard. 

- In worship and in all you do for God. You give it ALL you got. 

* This Final game was like no other. I mean when a shot didn't go in, the players didn't shrug and say "Oh, well". It was like every player scrambled for that ball and attempted to rebound that ball at all cost. Some got hit in the face, some was stepped on, it did not matter. They left their blood, sweat and tears on that court. Everything was on the line in this game, so they gave EVERYTHING they got. :)


-When the prize gets closer, the battle gets harder

* OKC didn't just hand the Heat the championship. The Heat had to take it by force. In other words they fought for it. God spoke this to me through one of my devotion the other day. He said if I want this (Him, Blessings, Nations, Cities, whatever He told me is mine...) I CANNOT be passive and weak-minded about it. I have to fight for it!. It's already mine's but now I have to take it. Did you know that when the children of Israel came to the Promised land (the land God for sure promised to them and their descendant) there were people living there already? "The Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivits, and Jebusites." (Deut. 7:1). 7 Whole Nations living in a place God told them was theirs! I can just imagine the Israelites looking at their GPS (which would have been Moses at that time) 
Israelites: Ummm Mr. Moses Sir, are you sure we got the right place here? 
Moses:Yup, God says this is our land. 
Israelites: Umm you do see the people living here already right? Yeah, 7 NATIONS!  We are few, they are many. How on earth... 
Moses: Anh Anh Anh. Stop right there. God said, this is our land, He gave it to us. Now, we got to fight for it. 
*And you know some times fighting can just be RESTING in God and in His FINISH work for you.(Ps. 46:10, Exodus 14:14) Just resting.
Now that makes the devil mad, when you are not fighting in the sense where you are stressing about 'getting the land' but you are fighting by 'believing and resting in God and all his promises for you.' God never breaks a promise. 
So  the moral of this story is YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FOR WHAT IS YOURS... DO NOT sit there and let the devil sheepishly take your children away or all your precious belongings. FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
To be continued in Part 2....  

<3 <3 <3