The Revelation Band

Recently, through a series of conversations and worship events, it was brought to my attention that we should think of a name for our worship band. I thought it was kind of a silly thing to name a worship band, but then it dawned on me...New Life has the Desperation Band, Hillsong has Hillsong United, Gateway has Christ for the Nations, and so on. So why can't we name our worship band? If they can, so can we and it might just be a way for others to be able to connect and identify with our band. So the search began, although it was more of a thought, "I wonder what we should call our band...eh...I'll get to it tomorrow" type of process.
One day as I was listening to "The Revelation Song" written by Jennie Lee Riddle and performed by Kari Jobe. The song had been recommended to me several times as a possible congregational worship piece and I had heard it a few times on the radio. For some reason that day, I was really absorbing the lyrics and soaking in the context of the scriptures the song was based upon. It inspired me to look up Revelation 4:8-11. This is what it says from the NIV version....
....Day and night they never stop saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come."Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Whoa! Did you hear that? Everything you need to know about worship is right there in those 4 verses. There are 3 very important things we can glean from this passage about scripture.

1. "Day and night they never stop praising" (my paraphrase)

This means, everyday, every hour, every minute, every moment of our lives should be spent praising God. We stress that worship is not a 30 minute meal on Sunday mornings, but an every moment activity. Worship can be done in the simplest to the most difficult tasks and should be included in every aspect of our life. Spend one second of your day thanking God for your job and offering Him your best effort at it and then see how your work day goes. I guarantee it will improve your overall outlook regarding your employment and quite possibly the relationships with the people you work with. A simple praise can change your whole day if not your whole life!
Like the scripture says in Malachi "My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty."

2. "Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him...the twenty-four elders fall down before him and worship him...(again my paraphrase)

Whew! John says that true worship require us to worship in spirit and in truth. "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." John 4:23 What exactly will happen when we do that? We find out here in this verse. Not only will we worship Him but others around us will worship also! How cool is that? For some time I have struggled with the issue of performance vs. excellence vs. worship. Trying to make them all fit together in a way that is pleasing to God. Well, I finally figured out that I had them all backwards. Worship from within should always come first! Then it doesn't matter what we look like or if we make a mistake while playing or singing, if we are participating in true spirit AND truth worship, others can't help but worship with us. Also, on a side note, it's important to understand outward expression is not always a sign of worship.

3. "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

Do we ever spend enough time telling God how totally awesome He is? One of the first commandments says "I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other Gods before me" Does that not, right there, tell us that God is one big ole' ball of sweetness that nothing can compare with? He even knows it! Why don't we? We need to spend a good portion of our worship (our life rather) acknowledging who God is and what He has done in our lives! If we can humble ourselves by proclaiming His power and glory and honor to Him, how could He not bestow upon us some of that sweetness. It's like when you were a kid, your friend had all the cool Hot Wheels. One day, just because you were friends, he gave you a really awesome car just because. That is in some ways the way it is with God. Give Him a lifetime of service and loyalty and He'll give you something in return. "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" Matthew 25:23 (I've always hoped that God would stock my mansion garage with real versions of the Hot Wheels I collected!)

3 things. 1. All the time worship 2. True worship produces supernatural reaction 3. Acknowledge Gods power and glory in our lives.

All of that from 4 verses of scripture I had read hundreds of times. What was the result? Well, I discovered the 3 principles of worship above, and oh yeah, I found a name for the band...

The Revelation Band

Check out some pics from our most recent NOW event at http://www.lincolnfirstnaz.org/ under the ministry tab and click on worship ministries!