Be blessed and be a blessing!
The night was still young and the next speaker went up. His name was Ishmael Lim, a Korean missionary in his late 30s and the worship leader for the Intercp Korean ministry. His smile was natural and he looked younger than his age. His voice had the "prayer husk," the kind that you hear in those passionate pastors at old school Korean revival services. It always makes them sound more spiritual, and I'm working on mine....... Anyway, this is his sermon (divided in two parts), to the best of my notes and memory and with a little bit of my insight and my [needlessly redundant] comments.... better yet, this is more properly titled - what I learned from his sermon:
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In every worship service, there are two kinds of people. First, there is the passionate worshiper. These are the ones who are deeply moved and make the "holy face" during worship sometimes shedding a tear or two These are the ones who actually raise their hands when singing "so we raise up holy hands." They are the ones who say, "Here am I, send me!"
Then there is the worshiper who is bored out of their minds. These are the ones who would rather not clap with the rest of the mindless clappers and would not mind sitting down at all during worship. These are the ones who nod like a gansta with a slightly pursed smirk and point both thumbs to themselves when singing, "prone to wander... prone to leave the God I love." They are the ones who say, "Well I guess I'll go. Nothing better to do anyway."
Out of these two, who do you think would make the better missionary? You guessed it. The bored worshiper by far would outlast the passionate worshiper. This is because in the mission field, especially in hostile regions, the passionate worshiper will stick out like a sore 8-1/2 x 11 inch study bible wherever they go. They will make the mistake of lifting up their hands in the public squares and shouting out praise from the rooftops. They will make every effort to seek and save the lost, and their testimony will be, "Look at my passion for Him." Even before the mission begins the devil will be all over them because they would be too holy of a spiritual force to deal with later. Go fight win!
On the other hand, the bored worshiper will blend right in with the pagans and find their true comfort zone in infiltrating the deepest darkest places of the temples, where they used to be during worship services. Connecting with the ones who do not know God will come naturally for them and they will say, "Look to Jesus Christ?" The devil will ignore them because these guys seem to have no passion for Jesus and will not be a threat to their Operation: Kingdom Down. In the end, as the passionate worshipers get deported back to their countries, the bored worshipers will be the ones to back stab the devil. He'll be like, "WTH?"
So next time you see a bored worshiper in service (or maybe it's you) don't lose hope, but rather thank the Lord and praise Him for preparing a secret weapon (you can pray for them too). And next time you find yourself with a log in your eye, know and remember that God does not look at the outside appearance; he looks at the heart.
Man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7b
to be continued...
I think this is an interesting post, though I do not agree with it fully. Yes, perhaps you are right the missionary who is passionate will stick out like a sore thumb, but this is my question.
ReplyDeleteIf a missionary cannot worship God, how can they teach others to do so?
Which leads to my second question when coupled to this worship subject:
ReplyDeleteMan looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7b
Does this mean Missionary A who passionately worships but was deported have less of a heart than Missionary B?
Or Vice Versa.
Thanks for the post, it's really making me ponder and define how I understand this subject.
hahahah i love you PD!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought this up because now i'm pretty sure everyone thought the same thing. To clear it up, this was the speaker's "opening line" and his way of (jokingly) leading into the topic of missions. Also, few students attending the camp were "forced" to come (mom, church, etc.) so maybe he was just being clever by using reverse psychology... sorry for the confusion!
Personally though, I would say my answer is Missionary A, final answer. Their worship will beget more worshipers, and their hearts would be more in tune with God. Of course there is a matter of wanting to do/see something exciting in the mission field that people relate to being passionate. There can also be a disappointment that comes with not seeing any action, physically and supernaturally speaking, in which case the said passion would be better defined as an intolerance for spiritual boredom (perhaps this would pertain more for long term missionaries). In the end, true worshipers will realize that a passion for Jesus Christ requires long-suffering.
"God please give me patience... NOW!"
John, thanks for clearning things up!
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the key point "long-suffering."
Not just a passionate person who is passionate for a certain period of time and dies out, but one who is long-suffering, persevering, and continuing their walk with God in the midst of trials and tribulations.
Thanks for the reply!