Look Like Jesus
It’s essential to remember that our worship has to look like Jesus. If you take a quick glance at the heavenly throne room, as described a few times in scripture, it reflects Jesus brilliantly. Look at Revelation chapters 4 and 5 for example - there is radiance, mystery and magnificence - because God is radiant, mysterious and magnificent. We see a reflection of a God who is greater and more holy than we could begin to fathom. There is also mercy in this place - we see a Lamb with the appearance of being slain - the One who laid down His life for us. Everything in the place looks like Jesus - it resembles the incomparable grace and glory of who He is.
Can the same be said for our gathered worship moments? Do we see the real Christ in the way we present ourselves, the way things are expressed from a stage, the music and the lyrics etc etc? Are we taking our cues from the Christ we see in scripture? Are there hints, signposts and reflections of the One we come before? And are we talking to Him the way worshippers do in the bible? Beware of the song where you can’t find anyone in scripture who talks to God the way these lyrics do. The vocabulary used, and the musical style expressed will of course be hugely different - but is the tone the same?
And it doesn’t stop with those moments - the same question can be asked of the whole of our lives. Just one example - in our social media saturated culture there’s more opportunity than ever before to show off, self-celebrate, or become self-absorbed. But of course, that way of life looks nothing like Jesus. He came not to build His brand, but to lay down His life. He came to seek, and to save, and to serve. When we truly offer up our lives in worship, they begin to look more and more like Him. It’s a life where we don't take the most important seat, but wait to be invited. Where we stop counting our Instagram followers, and think about reaching the one. Where the poor, forgotten and downtrodden are always somehow on our radar. And where we pray every day "You must increase, I must decrease. You must become greater and greater, I must become less and less.”
The preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “Nothing beautifies a person like praising God. To plunge our whole nature in adoration adorns the spirit.” True worship, and true worshippers, will always become a healthy reflection of the One they are setting their hearts upon.
Matt Redman
Matt was our first Worship Pastor at the church when we planted from St Andrew’s Chorleywood Church in 1993. He also led worship at our summer festivals for many years when they first begun 27 years ago in the South West of England. Matt is married to Beth, and they have five amazing children called Maisey, Noah, Rocco, Levi, and Jackson. They are now based in Southern California in USA where Matt continues to travel & lead worship all over the world. His songs include ‘Heart of Worship’, ‘Blessed Be Your Name’, ‘10,000 Reasons’, & ‘Never Let Go’.