How great is our God
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How great is our God
You may know the Chris Tomlin song How Great is Our God. The one with the chorus that goes
“How great is our God, sing with me,
How great is our God, and all will see,
How great is our God”
But how will the dying, lost world see if we do all our singing in Churches, in worship venues? Time spent in corporate worship isn’t going to result in many people
seeing how great God is. It is when we go out of the worship venue that the
non-Christians see us. It is then that we can show them how great God is. We
need to be ‘singing’ with our lives outside the worship venue. We need to let
joy spill out in indiscriminate acts of kindness in our everyday life. We need
to show love to the broken, the hurting, the weeping, the looked down upon, the
rejects, the oppressed, the sick, the outcasts. If our times of cooperate
worship doesn’t result in that pouring out in our lives it is just empty noise.
It is worthless. We have wasted our time. Non-Christians aren’t going to see
how great God is, and God already knows how great He is. He doesn’t need us to
tell him, he needs us to show the world. In Amos 5:23-24 God makes it very
clear that worship that is pleasing to Him isn’t singing the right words, but
doing the right things:
seeing how great God is. It is when we go out of the worship venue that the
non-Christians see us. It is then that we can show them how great God is. We
need to be ‘singing’ with our lives outside the worship venue. We need to let
joy spill out in indiscriminate acts of kindness in our everyday life. We need
to show love to the broken, the hurting, the weeping, the looked down upon, the
rejects, the oppressed, the sick, the outcasts. If our times of cooperate
worship doesn’t result in that pouring out in our lives it is just empty noise.
It is worthless. We have wasted our time. Non-Christians aren’t going to see
how great God is, and God already knows how great He is. He doesn’t need us to
tell him, he needs us to show the world. In Amos 5:23-24 God makes it very
clear that worship that is pleasing to Him isn’t singing the right words, but
doing the right things:
“Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!”
righteousness like a never-failing stream!”
We need to worship with our lives, with actions speaking louder than words, with love for God and all his creation. We need to
let our praise be genuine and be pouring out at all times and in all ways, not
just in standard worship in special venues. God isn’t just in the venue, He is
in the world. It is when we worship like out there, with our life song and not
just lip praises that all will see how great God is.
let our praise be genuine and be pouring out at all times and in all ways, not
just in standard worship in special venues. God isn’t just in the venue, He is
in the world. It is when we worship like out there, with our life song and not
just lip praises that all will see how great God is.
We can’t worship God in the building and then ignore Him as we walk out the door. (In Matthew 25 Jesus says that ‘whatever you
did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' )We
can’t worship the homeless Son of Man on a Sunday and then walk past the
homeless in our day to day lives. (Matthew 8v20: Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." ) We can’t tell God
we love Him, but then refuse to love his people. (1 John 3:16-18 tells us “This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our
brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but
has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us
not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”)
did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' )We
can’t worship the homeless Son of Man on a Sunday and then walk past the
homeless in our day to day lives. (Matthew 8v20: Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests,
but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." ) We can’t tell God
we love Him, but then refuse to love his people. (1 John 3:16-18 tells us “This is how we know what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our
brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but
has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us
not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”)
We know how great God is, and so does God. So rather than half heartedly telling Him how great He is again and again, it is time for us to show the world through our lives.
Aaron Boyd from Bluetree once said “Songs don’t change the world, people do.”
We need to be people who don’t just sing the songs, but live the life. Then all
will see how great is our God!
Aaron Boyd from Bluetree once said “Songs don’t change the world, people do.”
We need to be people who don’t just sing the songs, but live the life. Then all
will see how great is our God!
My Sunday School lesson was on Amos this morning and I had never really read about him before. I googled him this afternoon and found this. I think it is the perfect paraphrase or what God meant for us to get out of it!!! I copied and pasted this from a Max Lucado devotion.
