thinking about worship together

September 23, 2002

i had the privelege of attending the worship together conference at queensway cathedral this weekend. wow. i cannot describe in words what took place there. the Spirit of God moved in that place so powerfully. it was just incredible. i'll get into what happened a little bit later.

basically the only reason why i went to the conference was because i wanted to see louie giglio LIVE in person. he's honestly like my hero. i really look up to that guy. the way he lives his life, the way he preaches, the passion that he has for God. like everything that he does is just so amazing! :) so i go there just wanting to hear louie preach. i didn't have any expectations of what would happen. i just went. and as i said, i was really excited to hear louie on friday morning. and i actually went up to speak with him and SHOOK his hand! :) i was so nervous and everything. lol. it's kind of silly if you ask me, after all, he's just a normal person like you or me. but to me, this is LOUIE. this is the guy i've been watching on internet broadcasts (7:22) for three years. and just seeing him in person was so strange but so awesome at the same time. i was really blessed by the things that he talked about.

there were a few things that really hit me over this weekend.

the first being God just being so huge. i think it was a great reminder for me to hear. i mean, as you know, i've been really thinking about that over the summer because of my summer school course. like how BIG God really is! He created the ENTIRE universe. and the universe isn't this little thing, it's huge! it doesn't make sense. 1.2 billion galaxies. we live in ONE of those galaxies. but i think the coolest thing, the absolute coolest thing is that God knows us so intimately. and He uses people like us to be a part of His Kingdom purposes. He allows US to be a part of HIS Kingdom purposes! how awesome is that? this HUGE, BIG, AMAZING God lets us know & serve Him and experience Him. that's awesome.

the second thing, is to really just keep placing my hope in Christ. and honestly, that's easier said than done. with all the things that have been happening in my life recently, i admit i've struggled with that. to look beyond the snapshot of what i'm facing, and to realize that it's part of a bigger mosaic, a mosaic as large of the universe that God is putting together. i just have to keep looking up! :)

mike pilavachi had a great message on worship and evangelism. and i think i never really looked at worship and evangelism in that way. his basic point was that our worship should extend out into the streets. because when we worship God, we'll experience Him right? and from that, we'll want to proclaim God's goodness to everyone aroud us. and when people see us worshipping God, they'll know something is going on. mike was sharing with us these stories that happened at a few conferences that he was at. that people would be convicted and accept Christ during the musical worship portion of the conference, long before the message even began! isn't that awesome? :) i think that's such a cool thing.

i went to a workshop of mike's that was talking about passing the baton of faith to the next generation. and like, i know i'm not really 'there' yet, in terms of mentoring people, caring for people, especially now that i'm changing churches and stuff, but for me, is that i really just need to be mindful of the things i say and the things i do to the people around me. because as much as i'd hate to admit, for some reason, God has put me in a position where people do look up at me. and i won't ever understand that, but i guess i haven't been doing the bestest job of raising them up. i mean, jer and i have messed up so many people. if we put all that energy into GOOD purposes, then things would be great :)

the last message, louie talked about giving ourselves to Christ, and letting Him send us to wherever He wants for His names' sake. that hit me like a ton of bricks. a point louie made was just about how we've been going to church and have been getting fat. we've been soaking up all the knowledge and keeping it to ourselves. we're concerned with all this internal church stuff, and we don't give a hoot about what's going on out there. "let what we do in here, fill the streets out there". that's basically what he was talking about. and like God really convicted me. i've been sitting in church all my life, and i've never really had a strong burden to go witness to people. and i've been trying in my small, little way to share the light of Christ with others. just by "living the life that leads to why". and i guess i've been expecting God to do things? i really don't think i'm the type to go up to strangers and just talk about Jesus with them. that's not who i am. i'd rather just live my life in such a way that people would take notice and ask why. and perhaps i have been doing that. perhaps i haven't. but all i know, is that i need to do more. maybe it's as simple as praying for my friends from school. and that would do so much. because i haven't committed myself to praying for them daily and maybe it's time i should. all i know, is i need to do be more proactive. more willing to let God use me no matter how hard it is for me. no matter how uncomfortable i might feel or anything like that. but to be open to what He has in store for me to do. and i really think that this hit me at the right time. i've been really struggling this year to focus myself on the greater purpose of God placing me in this program. because i just want to get out and get into seminary, somewhere that i really want to be. but it's like God's just telling me. "hold on leo, i placed you in design for a reason. and i want you to fullfill that purpose. so don't look that far ahead, look to the everyday. look to the now. and serve me." so i need to stop complaining and whining about how school sucks, etc. to my friends. because how does that make me different from them? i need to allow God's light to shine through me into the lives of those around me at school. i know it's going to be hard. i know i'll probably mess up here and there but i have a renewed sense of purpose of being at school. and i think God was really getting at my being in the psychology class. cuz i really hate being there. but i'm in a class w/ all these frosh, so maybe i could help them in some way?

i heard a snippet of a message by creflo dollar yesterday. and he was talking about how spiritual food. and how as we get older we need to eat 'meat'. you know what? i think i've been still trying to drink milk when what i really need is meat. i've been doing the same amount of devotions and all that stuff and i haven't really dug deep and tried more to get to know God. and i think it's time i did. i don't know where the time will come from, and i don't know how it'll happen. but i have a feeling that i need to spend more and more time with Jesus. He's my source of life. He's my direction. He's my hope. He's my everything. and so i want to know Him more!

that'll be it for now. i have to get working on all my homework! :)

Posted by Leo Chan at September 23, 2002 9:17 AM