Where There’s Blayze

The importance of worship
Have you ever attended a service where the worship was so powerful that the presence of God was palpable? Sadly growing up I don’t remember ever experiencing anything like that at Church or in any faith based institute. I was not a Christian growing up and I would not define my family as having an active faith in the God of the Bible. Despite all this, I did attend a C of E primary school and from time to time would be taken to Church when visiting my grandparents. In both these settings it was not uncommon to engage in worship. In my C of E primary school our assemblies were entitled ‘collective worship.’ With all of these experiences I did come to my own personal conclusion of what worship was based solei on my involvement in activities that were presented to me as, ‘worship’. The act of worship to me was not an attempt at praise or a means at experiencing more of the Holy Spirit, but more of a self serving activity aimed purely at satisfying the traditional nostalgic joys of the congregation and those leading. The chance to come along and sing some of the old songs that even the eldest of my relatives would recall from their youth and to hear someone stand up and tell you that there was hope in the world. The older I get the more I understand the comfort that comes with singing an old song that conjures up memories of a simpler time. To this day, at Christmas when we sing ‘Away in a manger’ I get goosebumps and am immediately transported to my years in primary school where I had many sleepless nights eagerly awaiting the arrival of the happiest day of the year, Christmas. It may bring me great joy, but I cannot deny that it is a personal joy that has little to nothing to do with God. These conclusions seemed to be completely validated by the use of liturgy in these, so called, acts of worship. Liturgy can be very helpful in allowing people to connect with God by meditating on the truths conveyed within, poetically woven together in an inspirational fashion. But for me, it was an example of how these individuals who were ‘worshipping’ were most certainly estranged from their heavenly father. Almost as if they had no idea how to actually connect with God and so relied entirely on the use of someone else’s words. I wonder if there could have been a way to have given me a different impression with their use of liturgy and I honestly think the greatest issue is the indifference with which they read it. These words within liturgy often spoke of how Jesus died for us and gave us new life, yet the congregation seemed like this was a subject of pure indifference. Witnessing this kind of worship led me to believe that Jesus was certainly not for me, and honestly, it didn’t seem like He was someone the worshippers wanted to know either.

Cliff college

If I contrast those memories with my first experience of Cliff college, it seems like a completely different world. I went for an open day at Cliff and was invited to stay for their evening celebration, a time for staff and students to meet together and worship. The first thing I noticed was that there was someone sat behind me who was deep in prayer. The service would not get underway for another twenty minutes or so and yet this gentleman behind me remained head down hands clasped praying the whole time. Even when the service began he was not distracted from his prayer and continued as we all began to sing the first song. He had no liturgy and it baffled me how someone could spend so long in prayer. Growing up none of the prayers at the worship services I attended lasted longer than two minutes, and that was long enough! Eventually he stood up and joined the rest of us as we sang what was probably the second or third song of the night. The songs in of themselves seemed to represent an entirely different culture than the one I had been exposed to in my previous interactions with the Church. The first thing that struck me was the young people who got up to lead our act of worship. They were only slightly older than myself, some of them even looked younger than I did. The Church I had been attending at this time had an average age of about eighty and rarely saw a young person pass through their doors to disrupt the suited and well dressed men and women of the congregation. To then witness individuals my own age, casually dressed, walk to the front and pick up varying instruments to start our collective act of worship was something I was not used to. The fact that no one was playing an organ was a revolutionary move for me. As they began to play, the songs were nothing like what I had experienced previously. They included language more appropriate for our generation rather than using a style of English that has not been popular since the sixteen hundreds and a beat that was infectious. It was not hard to lose yourself in singing and get the words stuck in your head. Clearly the songs being played were familiar to those in the Chapel, as many of them seemed to not need the words on the screen and instead opted to sway, dance and clap along with the music. Yet another experience I had not been exposed to as I stood there bolt upright with my hands firmly clasped behind my back.

People were losing themselves in this act of worship, so much so that I was genuinely saddened to see the band put down their instruments and return to their seats for the preacher to get up and speak. It was a slightly older gentleman who went up to the front to deliver the sermon and I sat down and took a deep breath to prepare myself for what I expected to be a typical seven-minute sermon that I could neither understand nor lose myself in. Despite my pessimistic attitude the speaker was calm, relaxed and clearly had a good relationship with all present in the Chapel. Often, he would break away from his planned talk to engage in questions to those present and to even respond to heckles. This was a clear sign of a group that knew each other and was comfortable in their surroundings. I was entranced by all of this, so eager to see what he would say or do next. I imagine the talk went on for around twenty minutes and yet the whole thing felt shorter than some of the other seven-minute sermons I had sat through in my life. I can’t say that I felt the presence of God there in a hugely dramatic way as I was too busy trying to take in all that was around me. But what I did see was a whole other side to worship. People who desperately wanted to seek God and meet with Him seeking to come into the Chapel twenty minutes early just to speak with Jesus. Individuals losing themselves in the act of worship, raising their hands, closing their eyes, transforming the service from something purely collective to a personal act as well. I later attended Cliff college and slowly began to learn what it truly meant to worship and meet with God. I found that behind every great worship session and experience was a deep-rooted understanding of what worship can and has been in the past. As modern as our services were, you could see many of our practices present in scripture, more so than I could ever have known at the time.

Hebrew Praise words

In reflecting on my first experience of what I would have defined as ‘modern worship’, I wondered why more Churches did not take up such a practice. Surely it would result in a greater interest from individuals my own age, quite frankly I think it would appeal more to most age groups, not just my own. At the time I simply assumed that this was all down to some great theological difference. I was not in the Church long before I realised that the umbrella term of Christianity incorporated a vast amount of beliefs and interpretations and many of the Christian denominations were divided due to these beliefs. I assumed that traditionally Churches did not throw up their hands in worship, clapping along to guitars and other kinds of instruments as they felt the Bible favoured a more restrained attitude that was perfectly translated through the organ. It did not take me long to see that I was very wrong in my assumption, and actually the Bible (in my interpretation) seems far more supportive of the worship that Cliff offered than that of a more stereotypical Church. Part of how I came to realise this is from the seven Hebrew praise words used in the Bible. These praise words describe acts of worship and what their purpose is to both us and to God.

Yadah

The first praise word is Yadah (yaw-dáw) which is an action word meaning to throw or hold out one’s hands. This is often one of the first things people witness in any congregation that is even slightly charismatic. As I said when I attended that first evening at Cliff I stayed with my hands behind my back, not understanding the relevance or point of holding my hand in the air as if I had some sort of divine question. Yet Biblically there is meaning and even power behind such an action. By looking at Strong’s concordance and Hebrew dictionary we can see that this action is linked to that of both victory and surrender. Quite a paradoxical meaning behind such a simple action, but as any born again Christian can attest to, once you surrender to Jesus, you then share in His victory over Death. You are adopted into that family and share in the inheritance of all that He has to offer. As strange as this may all sound, you can see this kind of action in places other than the Church. Of course, if you were being arrested or had a gun to your head you may throw up your hands to show that you have nothing to hide, you are no threat, you are offering yourself over to them. Equally, if you go to a football stadium and your team scores, many fans will leap out of their seats and throw their hands up in the air as a celebration of the goal and hopeful victory over the other team. The body language is the same in both examples but mean very different things. The Bible shows that our relationship with Jesus is intrinsically linked with both surrender and victory, the raising of our hands is our acknowledgement of this in worship. If we look to the Psalms in the Bible that often refer to worship, we can see in Psalm 63:4 it says, “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.”

Towdah

This second word, Towdah (to-dáw), has the same root as the previous term Yadah but has a broader meaning. With this term it incorporates the meaning of thanksgiving. It is the action of extending the hand in adoration, avowal of acceptance. This is used as in relation to thanking God for things not yet received, as well as for the things at hand. For me this action conjures up images of a child running up to their parent with outstretched arms seeking to hug and embrace them as a sign of gratitude for what they have. If our act of worship is a service of praise then it is only right that our body language reflect our thanksgiving towards God for all that He has done for us. Psalm 100:4 says that, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” We can see through this passage that thanksgiving is essential to our worship to God.

Halal

One of my favourite terms of the seven is Halal (háw-lal) which is the root word of Hallelujah and Tehillah (we will get to that one). Within Strong’s concordance he describes this term as, “to be clear, to shine, to boast, to show, to rave, to celebrate, and thus to be clamorously foolish.” What a wonderful way to describe someone’s worship, clamorously foolish. This word for me presents one of the greatest challenges for worship within Britain. As a country we are well known for keeping a stiff upper lip and being quite reserved in how we act, especially in contrast to other cultures. This in addition to the selfie generation which we live that encourages individuals to only put the best version of themselves out there for people to see so that we may garner followers and approval which only threatens this type of worship. I like to think that I am a confident person who does not easily become embarrassed, and yet while I was there at Cliff engaging in worship, I could not bring myself to so much as lift my hands. The very notion seemed foolish and embarrassing. As soon as our worship becomes more about our self-image than our connection with God that we lose our substance. I know my mother and father are easily embarrassed and awkward when they enter a Church with people dancing about as they think they just look silly. The point is they do, but what’s the harm in that? If we are indeed praising the creator of the universe who has called us by name, calls us friend, calls us son and offers us victory over death, then why should we not be dancing and raving, even if that does make us look foolish.

Shabach

For some the Hebrew praise word, Shabach (Shaw-bákh) will come more easily to some then it will to others. The term means to “address in a loud tone, to commend, to triumph, to glory, to shout.” For someone such as myself, being loud has never truly been an issue, the trick for me has more been to be quiet and shut up from time to time. Despite this, I can think of a number of individuals for whom being loud does not come naturally. Their usual selves are more reserved and quiet, interjecting only when necessary and even then, it is a big step for them simply to vocalise themselves, let alone be loud. As much as this word may seem completely at odds with your personality, it is strongly linked to how we worship God. This might seem slightly unfair for those more introverted characters among us, but there is sense behind the action of shouting within worship. If I am sat in a lecture or discussion where I want to ask a question that I fear may make me look a bit stupid, then I will inevitably speak more softly from fear of others overhearing and mocking me. Alternatively, if I am answering a question that I know very confidently is right then I will naturally speak much louder. I have more assurance in myself and in my knowledge and so I do not mind who overhears. Psalm 35:27 tells us, “may those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, ‘The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant” Our worship should not make us feel embarrassed or as if our willingness to connect with Jesus is in anyway stupid, instead should strive to worship with the upmost confidence in who Jesus is and seek to scream that from the rooftops for all to hear. Our evangelism is an outpouring of that assurance in God that we wish others to see.

Barak

In my experience this incarnation of worship can be lost in more charismatic forms of worship but is then too heavily insisted upon in more traditional churches. Barak (baw-rák), means to kneel, to bless God as an act of adoration and can often be translated as ‘bless’ or ‘bow down’, to worship God to bless Him and expect to receive from Him. I used to work in a Church that was quite a high Anglican Church. It was not the kind of worship I easily connected with, but what they did really well was show the sovereignty of God as a king who is to be worshipped. The whole act of worship filled you with a sense of worshipping God as majesty and as a king. Within those services we would often kneel and bow to help show and emphasise this point, but personally this seemed to come at the expense of also seeing God as a father and as a friend. Yes, Jesus is the king of Kings and Lord of Lords and yes, He deserves to be worshipped as such, but we should never feel so lost in procedure that we cannot come before Him as we are open and honest. I think my first experience of this probably was the gentleman sat behind me at Cliff. He had come early to bow before God with an assurance that he would indeed receive from God. He was not wearing a suit and did not feel compelled to stand and sing when the rest of us did, his bowed head was a sign of his acknowledgement of Gods sovereignty whilst his very attitude and clothing showed how comfortable and familiar it was to be in his Kings presence.

Zamar

When I first came across this aspect of worship within the Bible, my whole understanding of why Churches worship the way they do was thrown out the window. Zamar (zaw-már) means to touch the strings of a musical instrument, to make music. It is this praise word that shows us that our praise and worship is led by and magnified by the use of instruments, not just the organ, but in fact all instruments. The clearest way to understand this is by reading the entirety of Psalms 150, the psalm is a list of instruments coming together and being used in our worship of God. The idea of anyone feeling uneasy about certain instruments being used in worship is simply down to their own personal preference, but the Bible shows us that all instruments may be, and should be, used to glorify and worship Him. In fact, when you look at the history of the Church we can see that once upon a time the organ was the new instrument of the day and many Churches refused to use it within worship as it was a step away from tradition.

Tehillah

This may be the one that we all expect within worship, the one that is not seen as out of place in any Church. Tehillah (the-hil-láw) means to sing our Halal, in other words, to sing our hallelujahs. For the majority of Churches their service will include the singing of Hymns or worship songs. I know for some this is not something they enjoy, they may not see themselves as good singers or are perhaps shy about singing in public but it is more than simply singing a song. As a Church we are coming together to declare with raised voices the truth of our God, the promises of the Bible, and the praise He is due. Our singing is the voices of many becoming unified in a memorable act of praise that will remain with you. One of the great hymn writers of history was called Charles Wesley and he would write hymns so that people who could not read were able to join in with a catchy song entrenched in good theology. Something that would resonate with them and keep on their minds. I find it difficult to memorise passages of scripture, but I remember leaving that open day at Cliff and having the chorus of Rend Collective’s build your kingdom here stuck in my head. The truth within those songs is locked within my memory and when I come to sing them out loud at Church I can close my eyes and meditate on them, prayerfully sing them out, not just as a catchy tune, but as my own personal praise to God.

Bring it all together

As I mentioned at the start, I did not perform all of these praise words and I did not feel a huge sense of Gods Spirit in the chapel on that day at Cliff. But the more I learnt about worship and the more I sought to implement these acts of worship, the more I found myself encountering God. Casting off embarrassment, shouting my praise, raising my hands, playing along with my bass, it is in these moments that I have truly felt God. When you are in a Church or an act of worship where everyone is engaging in these seven forms of worship, that palpable sense of God is there. The enemy seeks for us to be embarrassed, for us to keep our prayers silent, to shy away from shouting out our love of God because he knows it will bring us closer to Him. The symbol of worship is the worshipper (Ex 34:8, Neh 8:6, Ps 47:1, 1 Tim 2:8) and the one who leads us to worship is God (Mat 4:9-10, John 14:6). It is our interaction with the almighty that seeks to blur that line between Earth and Heaven and begins to bring in signs of the true Messianic age. In Luke 4 when Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment of all is, the first part of His response is, “it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”