Filled, Changed, and Empowered Through Worship

http://www.cfcyfcilc.com/out-loud/

Giving honor, praise, and worship to our God. That's what I did together with 9,000 other young adults during the Liveloud Concert of CFC Youth For Christ.  It was awesome!

Here are some things I'd like to share about worship.

1. There is a hunger in us that only God can satisfy.

We are made for worship. When one does not discover God in his life, he tends to worship other things.  Things that are temporary and finite.  Money does not satisfy.  Man can never get enough of fame and recognition. People will fail us.  But God is perfect and infinite, and only in Him can we find our peace and contentment. Only in the worship of the One True God can our hunger be filled.  God is enough. Our hearts are restelss untily they rest in You (St. Augustine).

2. Worship is transformative. Sincere and reverent worship can change us.

Worship is a declaration that we do not lord over our own lives..  In worship, we are saying that only Jesus is Lord.  Being fully convicted about this, changes our whole outlook in life.  Every decision will be made with the thought, "Is this what the Lord wants?" Everytime we raise our hands to worship in full surrender, we are saying, "It's up to You Lord, take over."  Through genuine worship, our relationship with Christ deepens.  We come to trust in His plan, even though painful at times, because we know that Christ never fails. Our lives change because it has become a life of worship in the Lord.

3. Through Worship, the Holy Spirit empowers us to do the impossible.

We must remember that it is God whom we are addressing our worship. God, who parted the Red Sea. God, who created the Universe. God, who loves us immensely.  Worship is not just about getting excited or having that wonderful feeling, it's about giving honor to an ALL POWERFUL God.  If God wills to do the impossible through us, and if we desire it, then He will use us even beyond the capacity of our own abilities.

The ultimate worship experience is the Holy Eucharist.  Together with the invisible hosts of angels and Saints, we are one in worship with them everytime we attend Mass.

As we sing and dance in community prasie and worship-- be filled, be changed, and be empowered to do great things for our God! 

W.O.R.S.H.I.P. the Lord

It's one of my busiest weeks. I find myself endlessly doing things. My checklist seems to always have more boxes to be ticked. But despite all the demands, I end the day with a smile on my face knowing that all that I did was for the Lord. I find joy in the fact that I was able to give all my mind, my heart, and my soul to honor God in what I do. I believe that this is the essence of worship.

I read in the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, "Worship is not a part of your life, it is your life." Sometimes we define worship by only relating it to singing and praising. But truth is, worship is what we do to bring honor to Christ. I made some acrostics to remind myself to worship God in all that I do:

Work for the Lord
Offer your sacrifices
Remind Yourself of God's goodness
Smile always
Honor Christ in word and deed
Integrity of Character
Praise Him at all times

Our work, no matter how routine or very challenging it is, it greatly helps if we have the mindset that we are working for the Lord. Therefore, we are able to do things excellently.

When it comes to a point when it is most difficult, we come to offer our sacrifices to God. Take every oppression and suffering as a living sacrifice pleasing to the Lord.

Often we lose focus. One of the best way's to get back on track is to be reminded of God's goodness. The moment we forget that God wants what is best for us, we start to complain and get lost.

Smile always. Needless to say, smiling gives us joy. If at times we don't feel like smiling, a speaker once said, force a smile for about 10 minutes. Sooner or later, we're affected by the smile that we get to carry it for the rest of the time. A saying goes, "If you're happy, don't forget to notify your face."

Honor Christ in word and deed. Is our speech destructive or upbuilding? Do our actions reflect Christ within us? If we truly are Christians, we have to live out our identity.

Integrity of Character simply means that our actions should coincide with our words. Promises made, promises kept. Your word is your bond.

Praise Him at all times. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name (Hebrews 13:15). Let us be generous with our praise. God gives us life everyday, let us praise and thank Him always.

Let us live a life of worship. May all we do be blessed by God. Let us worship Him in Spirit and truth.

The Heart of Worship is Surrender

The heart of worship is surrender. - Rick Warren, Purpose driven life

I am reminded by the word surrender when the police arrests somebody and the suspect raises his hands up. With his hands high up in the air, he cannot right away grab something to his defense. It also signifies that he has nothing in his hands that will resist arrest. He is resigned to the fact that he has lost and the cops can take him away.

In worship, we raise our hands in surrender. We do not try defend our sinfulness, but we submit ourselves completely to his love and mercy. We let go of everything else we hold dear by emptying our hands of worldly possessions and emotional burdens. We acknowledge that only God can heal, satisfy and fill us through His grace.

With nothing I came out of my mother's body, and with nothing I will go back there; the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; let the Lord's name be praised (Job 1:21).

Nothing But Christ

Last night, it was a privilege for me to lead thousands of people in worship during the CFC anniversary. Most of us were wet because of the rain, but the people persisted in staying because they wanted to listen to the Lord. The challenge was that the drums and other instruments could not be used due to the rain. So I had to lead the worship accompanied with only the guitar, keyboards, and the wonderful voices of the MCG band singers. Regardless of the lack of instruments, the Holy Spirit took over and filled the hearts of the people. I could see them worshipping God intently with much hunger and thrist for His presence in their lives.

What I learned is that what is truly important is Christ, The rest are just details. I heard Mike Serapio exhort the crowd yesterday, "If we have everything but Christ, then we have nothing. But if we have nothing but Christ, then we have everything." During the Papal Nuncio's homily yesterday, he exhorted the crowd to truly be for Christ. St. Paul teaches us with his conviction in Philippians 3:8,"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ."

We went home with our feet drenched, our clothes wet, and our bodies aching. But our hearts were filled with joy, experiencing fullness in Christ. No matter what kind of weather we go through in our lives, what is important is that Christ is holding our hand and assuring us of His love.