This Sunday I shared with the people of Anchor what God has been drawing my attention to over the last few days.  As a pastor, the gathering has a tendency to become an event that I work hard to plan and structure.  We have a team of Elders that work hard to help prepare the different aspects of the gathering.  But, with all this work comes the urgency to  “look forward to the next thing in the service” without truly hearing from God.

So, this weekend, I was compelled to focus on what God was teaching me or reminding me through each aspect of the gathering.  Here is what was revealed to me through our gathering this week:

• God is the “I Am” – Our call to worship was a reading from Exodus 3:13-15

“Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Exodus 3:13–15, ESV)

What a great reminder!  Regardless of how distracted we find ourselves, He is the I Am and will be remembered for all generations.

• God came to us – We sang “YOU BLED”.  There is a line in this song that is staggering!

“You left Your perfection
And fought for our redemption”

The incarnation is such a foundational truth to the Gospel, yet, in our effort to move on to the next thing, it seems I have missed the weight of this truth in my worship.

• God is love – To really drive home this reality, we sang “LOVE CAME DOWN”.  Again, the reality that love came down and rescued me is breath-taking.  But then to sing and consider the result of love coming down stopped me in my tracks.  Love came down and rescued me, now I am forever His.

The creator of the universe calls me His.  I am His child.  I am His child forever.  Even in this song, we sing, “remind my soul”.  Why?  Because I forget that I am His…forever.

• God will be glorified – I preached from Judges 4 & 5.  At one point in the story, Deborah tells Barak that God has given the oppressor in to his hand, but that Barak will not receive the glory for the victory.

This is the point in the listening that resonated like a rumble of thunder in my soul.  God sent Christ to overcome.  He gives me and you the opportunity to proclaim the good news of the Gospel to those who need it most.  But, we are not the heroes to those who we proclaim this message.  We have to remember, God obtained the victory and He gives us the opportunity to experience the joy of life-change in our life and the life of others.  But, all of this MUST point to the greatness of our God.

I suspect the Lord has gotten my attention so that I can focus less on the show and more on what the Spirit is teaching me.  I hope to hear from others as to what the Lord is teaching them.  Let us not be so quick to rush to the next song or scripture and truly tune in to what God is speaking to our heart.