RENEWING THE INTIMATE FRIENDSHIP

Author: Matt Redman

With worship leading it’s not “what you know”, it’s “who you know”. I’ve been reminded of that recently. After a busy few months I found myself a victim once again of the Martha syndrome – so busy with the preparations and serving that I’d somehow neglected the better thing – sitting at the feet of Jesus, just being devoted to Him, as Mary did. (Luke 10:38-42).

Don’t get me wrong; I still knew how to raise my hands in the air, I could still remember the words, chords and melodies of the songs… but it’s so easy for these meaningful expressions of a heart full of worship to become empty outward habits. It’s not what you know – any knowledge or experience of worship or worship leading that may have been gained means nothing at such a time. It’s who you know. I want every word and every note to be an expression of relationship with God.

Worship in its truest form is about relationship. In the Westminster Shorter catechism the definition of the chief end of man is “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever”. Firstly, to glorify in other words is to respond to this wonderful God with our lives, our deeds, our thoughts, our words and our songs but also to enjoy. He has called us to an intimate relationship with Him. It would be an honour in itself to stand from afar and revere this King of Kings with songs of praise. Yet He has called us to something even deeper… intimacy with Him. This is the King of Revelation chapter 1 who in v.16 is described majestically as holding the seven stars in his right hand, and then in the very next verse is drawing near to John, touching him with the same right hand and offering the comfort, “Do not be afraid.” Described is a King worth being afraid of, and yet whose intention here is clearly not to promote fear, but relationship.

Strangely enough, this “reverence” and this “intimacy” are not contradictory, but instead actually complement each other. In the New Revised Standard translation, Psalm 25:14 tells us “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him.” Indeed, in our relationship with Jesus, the more we revere Him, the more we realise the wonder of the closeness that he has invited us to.

I want to know this King and this friend as deeply as I can. And I find the more I know Him, the more I want to worship. The more He reveals Himself to me, the more my heart cannot help but respond. Sometimes when things grow a little cold, it’s simply because I haven’t been putting myself in a place where I can receive this kind of revelation from God. I need to spend time reading his word afresh, and trying to listen to Him.

In a place of having lost his first love, the late poet and hymn writer William Cowper, asked, “Where is the blessedness I knew when I first saw the Lord? Where is the soul-refreshing view of Jesus and his word?” What a wonderful way of expressing our desire to become consumed again with Jesus, the reason for it all.

Many of us as worship leaders and those involved in worship teams, will now and again find ourselves in a place where we have somehow lost some of our focus. Maybe we’ve been giving too much output without enough input. Maybe we’ve become so busy that we’ve become distracted. I’ve met so many musicians this year in that place, and I’ve been there myself. The main thing is that we need to get back to the heart of it all. Sometimes it’s good to drop a few things for a while to give yourself some space to re-focus.

God is calling you back to the place of friendship. In John 15:15 Jesus tells his disciples “I no longer call you servants, but friends”. Now, of course we are still meant to serve Him, but the indication here is that the relationship God calls us to goes well beyond that a servant. Indeed, as Jesus goes on to say, “A servant does not know his master’s business”. God is calling us, as His friends, deeper than a servant could ever go. Perhaps some of us as worship leaders have become dry, and settled for the role of “servant”. Perhaps our leading has become a little mechanical. It’s time to renew the intimate friendship.

Do what you must, as soon as you can. Because, in the end, with worship leading it’s not about what you know; it’s all about who you know.