WORSHIP IS MORE THAN A SONG

---

Opening

Hello, and welcome to LivWell Ministry.

I’m Liz Wells.

And today I want to talk about worship.

Because I love worship.

I love music.

I love singing.

I always have.

I loved the music we sang in assemblies at school.

I loved singing.

I’ve loved worship music in church.

And I enjoy lots of other kinds of music too.

There is something about music that can be incredibly uplifting.

Refreshing.

Motivating.

Healing, even.

Sometimes music reaches into a place inside us that ordinary words simply cannot reach.

It can change the atmosphere around us.

It can lift our thoughts.

It can calm us.

It can give us strength when we feel depleted.

And actually...

we see something very similar in Scripture.

SAUL AND DAVID

In 1 Samuel 16, Saul was deeply troubled.

And his servants suggested finding someone who could play music for him.

That person was David.

And whenever Saul was afflicted...

David would take his lyre, which is like a small harp..

and play.

And the Bible tells us that Saul would experience relief.

He would feel better.

He would be refreshed.

And the troubling spirit would leave him.

That is significant.

Because Saul wasn’t simply enjoying a nice piece of music.

He was deeply troubled.

And yet when David played...

something shifted.

There was relief.

There was refreshment.

There was respite.

The music genuinely affected him.

And I understand that.

Because I find worship refreshing.

I find it uplifting.

I find it motivating.

There have been times in my own life when worship music has helped me turn my attention back towards God.

It has reminded me who He is.

It has helped me lift my eyes above whatever was happening around me.

And there is something incredibly beautiful about people coming together and singing to God.

But here is the part I think we desperately need to understand.

Saul was refreshed...

but Saul was not transformed.

He experienced relief.

But relief was not repentance.

He experienced refreshment.

But refreshment was not surrender.

He experienced something real in David’s music.

But experiencing something real did not mean that Saul’s heart had become obedient to God.

And that distinction...

I believe...

is incredibly important for the Church today.

SINGING IS NOT SALVATION

Because somewhere along the way...

I fear that we have begun to confuse the experience of worship...

with the life of worship.

And they are not the same thing.

We can sing about surrender...

without surrendering.

We can sing about holiness...

without pursuing holiness.

We can sing about obedience...

and then walk away and continue doing whatever we want.

We can feel overwhelmed by the atmosphere...

cry...

lift our hands...

feel peace...

feel comfort...

feel refreshed...

and still leave exactly as we came.

And we need to understand this:

Singing does not save us.

Music does not wash away sin.

An emotional experience does not reconcile us to God.

A worship event cannot cleanse us.

A beautiful atmosphere cannot save us.

Only the blood of Jesus Christ saves us.

Only His sacrifice.

Only His death.

Only His resurrection.

Only His grace.

And when salvation becomes real in us...

our response is surrender.

WHAT TRUE WORSHIP LOOKS LIKE

Romans 12 tells us:

"Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship."

A living sacrifice.

That is a very different picture from simply singing.

Because biblical worship is not merely something we do with our mouths.

It is something we do with our lives.

Worship is obedience.

Worship is sacrifice.

Worship is repentance.

Worship is surrender.

Worship is saying:

“Jesus, all of me belongs to You.”

Not just Sunday morning.

Not just during the worship set.

Not just while the music is playing.

Monday morning.

Tuesday afternoon.

In the car.

At work.

At home.

When nobody is watching.

When there is nothing emotionally uplifting happening.

When following Jesus costs us something.

When our flesh wants to go another way.

When God asks us to forgive.

When He asks us to wait.

When He asks us to move.

When He asks us to let something go.

When He asks us to speak.

When He asks us to remain silent.

When obedience hurts.

That is worship.

SOMETHING HAS CHANGED IN ME

And as my understanding of salvation has deepened...

so has my understanding of how serious all of this is.

I have stood very close to the edge of eternity.

And when you have stood there...

some things stop feeling theoretical.

Eternity becomes real.

Salvation becomes real.

The significance of our choices becomes real.

The significance of obedience becomes real.

And I think something has changed in me because of that.

Because I know there is no quick fix.

There is no cheap version of discipleship.

There is no easy path that bypasses surrender.

And I’ve had to wrestle deeply with something I’ve seen within Christianity.

I LOVE THE CHURCH — BUT I HAVE BEEN HURT THERE TOO

I want to say this carefully.

Because I love the Church.

Some of the greatest experiences of my life have happened within Christian community.

I have met some genuinely extraordinary Christian people.

People who loved deeply.

People who served quietly.

People who gave sacrificially.

People whose faith strengthened mine.

People whose kindness I will never forget.

But I have also experienced some of the deepest hurt of my life within church environments.

And recently...

I’ve had to battle with what I was seeing.

I’ve had to ask myself:

Is this just my hurt speaking?

Is this just my disappointment?

Am I simply looking at this through the lens of my own experiences?

Or...

is there something deeper here?

And I have come to believe there is something much deeper.

A DANGEROUS CULTURE

I believe within parts of Christianity...

we have created a dangerous culture.

A culture that can give people the impression that being around the things of God...

is the same thing as belonging fully to God.

That singing is surrender.

That feeling peace is repentance.

That being moved emotionally is transformation.

That attending church means discipleship.

That knowing Christian language means knowing Christ.

That a worship experience somehow cleanses us.

But Saul experienced relief.

Saul experienced refreshment.

And yet his heart could still rebel.

And that should sober us.

Because the danger is not simply that people enjoy church.

The danger is that people can become convinced that because they have experienced God emotionally...

they have surrendered to Him spiritually.

And those are two very different things.

HOW ARE WE MEASURING SUCCESS?

I think we need to ask some uncomfortable questions.

What have we started measuring as success?

How many people came?

How many seats were filled?

How many people were in the stadium?

How many people watched online?

How powerful was the music?

How impressive was the production?

How many people posted about it afterwards?

And again...

there is nothing wrong with large gatherings.

There is nothing wrong with excellence.

There is nothing wrong with good music.

There is nothing wrong with beautiful spaces.

But if thousands of people gather to sing about surrender...

and nobody actually surrenders...

then what exactly have we achieved?

Surely the real question is:

What happened when the music stopped?

Did people repent?

Did people forgive?

Did marriages change?

Did families change?

Did priorities change?

Did people become more generous?

More courageous?

More obedient?

More compassionate?

More holy?

Did people begin to look more like Jesus?

Because surely that is the fruit we should be looking for.

I DON’T SEE A RADICALLY DIFFERENT CHURCH

And this is one of the things I have struggled with.

Because when I read the book of Acts...

I see people who were radically different.

These weren’t simply people who attended meetings.

Their entire lives were changed.

They shared what they had.

They prayed with extraordinary faith.

They preached even when threatened.

They cared for one another.

They endured persecution.

They obeyed God at enormous personal cost.

And signs and wonders followed them.

The power of God was evident.

People could see:

something is different here.

And when I look at much of the modern Western Church...

I struggle sometimes to see that same radical difference.

Again...

not everywhere.

There are wonderful churches.

There are extraordinary believers.

There are places where God is moving powerfully.

But broadly...

I think we have to ask whether we have created a Christianity that asks very little of us.

A Christianity that comforts us...

but doesn’t confront us.

A Christianity that entertains us...

but doesn’t transform us.

A Christianity that tells us God loves us...

which He absolutely does...

but sometimes forgets to tell us that Jesus also said:

Follow Me.

PICK UP YOUR CROSS

Jesus spoke about taking up our cross.

Not once.

Daily.

He didn’t preach an easy Gospel.

He didn’t say:

Come to Me and nothing difficult will ever happen again.

He said:

Follow Me.

And following Him cost the first disciples almost everything.

Their reputation.

Their comfort.

Their security.

Their possessions.

For some...

their lives.

Christianity was never supposed to be a comfortable addition to our existing life.

It was supposed to become our life.

THIS IS WHERE WORSHIP REALLY HAPPENS

Real worship often happens when nobody hears it.

It happens in the quiet.

It happens when you wake up and you don’t feel spiritual.

When you’re exhausted.

When you’re hurt.

When you’re discouraged.

When everything feels like it is against you.

And you still say:

“Good morning, Holy Spirit.”

“Help me today.”

“I will follow You today.”

“No matter what comes against me.”

“No matter what it costs.”

“My life belongs to You.”

That is worship.

When everything in you wants to retaliate...

but God says forgive...

and you forgive.

That is worship.

When God asks you to walk away from something you desperately want...

and you obey.

That is worship.

When God tells you to stand...

and standing will cost you...

but you stand anyway.

That is worship.

When you continue praying when you haven’t seen the answer yet.

That is worship.

When nobody applauds you.

Nobody notices.

Nobody congratulates you.

But Heaven sees your obedience.

That is worship.

WE HAVE SEEN GOD MOVE

And I say this from a place of having seen God intervene.

My family and I have been incredibly blessed.

We have seen God’s hand move in our lives again and again.

We have seen prayers answered.

We have seen provision come.

We have seen protection.

We have seen doors open that shouldn’t have opened.

We have seen impossible situations change.

I have personally experienced the miraculous intervention of God in ways that mean I simply cannot reduce Christianity to a philosophy.

I know God is real.

I know prayer is real.

I know the power of God is real.

I know He intervenes.

And because I know that...

I cannot settle for a powerless representation of Christ.

WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE?

Because Scripture tells us about a living God.

A God who acts.

A God who heals.

A God who restores.

A God who speaks.

A God who intervenes.

A God who answers prayer.

And yes...

not every prayer is answered in the way we expect.

Not every healing happens immediately.

Not every situation changes how we want it to.

But there should surely be evidence that we know the living God.

There should be answered prayer.

There should be transformed lives.

There should be courage that cannot be explained naturally.

There should be love that makes no sense to the world.

There should be people set free from things that once controlled them.

There should be signs pointing beyond us...

towards Him.

THE SCATTERED ONES

And this is where I believe something incredibly significant is happening.

I believe God has seen.

He has seen what has happened within His Church.

He has seen the people who were wounded.

The people who were misunderstood.

The people who were pushed aside.

The people who walked away from buildings...

not because they stopped loving Jesus...

but because they stopped recognising Him in what they were experiencing.

The people who were labelled rebellious...

when really they were grieving.

The people who could no longer participate in something that felt increasingly far away from the Jesus they knew.

The people who became scattered.

And I believe God has seen every one of them.

GOD IS GATHERING A REMNANT

I believe God is raising a remnant.

People who have been trained in hidden places.

People who have walked through affliction.

People who have known suffering.

People who have known loss.

People who have been stripped of things they once relied upon.

People who have learned to pray without an audience.

People who have learned to worship without music.

People who have learned to stand when nobody stood with them.

People who have learned that Jesus really is enough when everything else disappears.

And those people...

may not look impressive to the world.

They may not have large platforms.

They may not have thousands following them.

They may not even fully understand yet what God has been preparing them for.

But they know how to stand.

Because they learned to stand in the dark.

TRAINED THROUGH AFFLICTION

And I believe many of them have been trained through the afflictions of this life.

Not because God delights in suffering.

He doesn’t.

But because there are things we learn in suffering that cannot be learned from a stage.

There are depths of faith that are formed when every natural support disappears.

There is a kind of knowing that comes when you have no option left except:

God, if You don’t hold me, I will fall.

And then He holds you.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Until eventually...

your faith is no longer theory.

It has become part of you.

PEOPLE WHO WILL STAND NO MATTER THE COST

And I believe God is raising people who will stand...

whatever the cost.

People who are not interested in building their own kingdom.

People who are not chasing applause.

People who are not trying to become Christian celebrities.

People who simply want to tell the truth.

People who are prepared to say:

There is a God.

He created you.

He loves you.

Sin separates us from Him.

Jesus Christ came to reconcile us to God.

He died.

He rose again.

And eternal life is found in Him.

Not because that message is fashionable.

Not because it guarantees popularity.

But because it is true.

THERE IS NO WATERED-DOWN CHRIST

We cannot continue indefinitely with a watered-down representation of Christ.

A Jesus who never confronts sin.

A Jesus who never calls us to repentance.

A Jesus who exists simply to improve our lifestyle.

A Jesus who is presented as an accessory to our existing plans.

That is not the Jesus of Scripture.

The Jesus of Scripture loves radically.

Forgives radically.

Heals radically.

But He also says:

Come and follow Me.

Leave everything else behind if necessary.

Pick up your cross.

Die to self.

Follow Me.

MANY HAVE WALKED AWAY BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT SEE CHRIST

And I think there are many people who have walked away from church for exactly this reason.

They didn’t necessarily walk away from Jesus.

They walked away because they could no longer see Jesus reflected in what they were experiencing.

They saw politics.

Ego.

Control.

Performance.

Competition.

Celebrity.

Money.

Power.

But they struggled to see Christ.

And I believe God sees those people.

I believe He is calling them.

Not necessarily back into the exact same structures that wounded them.

But back to Himself.

Back to truth.

Back to prayer.

Back to Scripture.

Back to surrender.

Back to obedience.

Back to the simplicity and power of the Gospel.

THE TRUE CHURCH WILL RISE

And I believe Christ’s true Church will rise.

Not because human beings organise it perfectly.

But because Christ builds His Church.

A Church built upon repentance.

Sacrifice.

Holiness.

Prayer.

Obedience.

Servanthood.

Truth.

Love.

Not performance.

Not popularity.

Not celebrity.

Not entertainment.

A Church where the question is no longer:

How many people attended?

But:

How many lives were changed?

A Church where people don’t just sing:

“Here I am, Lord.”

They live it.

I BELIEVE THERE WILL BE A MOVE OF GOD

And I believe there will be a move of God.

A move that cannot be manufactured.

A move that cannot be produced by clever marketing.

A move that cannot be created through lighting.

Music.

Branding.

Or human charisma.

A move of God so unmistakable...

that people will know:

God is here.

A move where there is repentance.

A move where people are restored.

A move where prayer is answered.

A move where broken lives are rebuilt.

A move where miracles point people towards Jesus.

A move where no personality can take the credit.

Because the glory belongs to God.

And I believe when that happens...

there will be no denying the reality of God.

The reality of Heaven.

The reality of eternity.

The reality of the Creator.

The One who is omnipotent.

The One who has always been.

The One before whom every human life ultimately stands.

THE QUESTION: SAUL OR DAVID?

And so I come back again to Saul and David.

Because perhaps they represent two very different responses to the presence of God.

Saul wanted relief.

David wanted God.

Saul could experience refreshment...

and continue resisting.

David could worship alone in a field...

then stand against Goliath when everybody else was afraid.

David had learned something in the hidden place.

He knew God.

And when the giant appeared...

David didn’t suddenly discover faith.

He brought into public what had already been formed in private.

And that is the question for us.

Are we Saul?

Are we approaching God mainly because we want relief?

Because we want to feel better?

Because we want our afflictions soothed for a moment?

Or are we David?

Prepared to take what little we have in our hands...

and use it for God.

Prepared to stand against injustice.

Prepared to confront evil.

Prepared to obey when everyone else is afraid.

Prepared to trust God when the odds look impossible.

DAVID WAS NOT PERFECT

And this matters too.

David wasn’t perfect.

He failed.

Seriously.

He sinned.

But when confronted...

he repented.

He understood that ultimately his sin was against God.

His heart could be broken before God.

And that matters.

Because this remnant God is raising...

will not be a group of perfect people.

There are no perfect people.

It will be people who know how to repent.

People who know how to return.

People who refuse to defend what God is asking them to surrender.

People who say:

“Search me, God.”

“Correct me.”

“Change me.”

“Anything that is not of You... remove it.”

THIS IS NOT ABOUT EARNING SALVATION

And I need to make something very clear.

Our obedience does not purchase salvation.

Our sacrifice does not earn Heaven.

We cannot make ourselves righteous.

Jesus saves us.

His blood saves us.

His grace saves us.

His sacrifice reconciles us to God.

But a surrendered life becomes the evidence that our relationship with Him is real.

We do not obey so that He will save us.

We obey because we belong to Him.

We don’t sacrifice our lives to purchase salvation.

We offer our lives because Christ already gave everything for us.

WHAT WILL YOUR WORSHIP LOOK LIKE TOMORROW?

So if you’re listening today...

perhaps God is asking something deeper of you.

Maybe you’ve been caught in a narrative that says worship is primarily about singing.

Maybe you’ve begun to associate the presence of God only with music.

Only with a building.

Only with a particular atmosphere.

And perhaps God is saying:

Come deeper.

Not because music is wrong.

Because He wants your whole life.

Maybe He is calling you to your knees again.

Maybe He is asking you to surrender something you’ve been holding onto.

Maybe there is an area where you know you have been resisting Him.

Maybe there is something He told you to do months ago.

Maybe there is someone you need to forgive.

Maybe there is something you need to leave.

Maybe there is somewhere you need to go.

Maybe you have been asking for another feeling...

and God is asking for obedience.

MORE THAN FEELINGS

Because this is more than feelings.

More than goosebumps.

More than tears.

More than a worship song that moves us.

More than a moment.

This is eternity.

This is salvation.

This is surrender.

This is discipleship.

This is waking up every morning and saying:

“Good morning, Holy Spirit.”

“Help me today.”

“I will follow You today.”

“No matter what.”

OUR HOPE OF GLORY

And what do we receive?

Not simply a better emotional experience.

We receive Christ.

Forgiveness.

Reconciliation with God.

Eternal life.

Purpose.

Identity.

The presence of the Holy Spirit.

And the hope of glory.

We begin to understand who we are.

And what awaits us.

And the treasures that cannot be stolen.

Cannot decay.

Cannot be taken away by this world.

Our inheritance is eternal.

Closing

So yes...

sing.

Please sing.

I will.

Turn the worship music up.

Lift your hands.

Allow music to refresh you.

Allow it to strengthen you.

Allow it to turn your attention towards God.

Thank Him for the gift of music.

But when the song finishes...

keep worshipping.

When the musicians stop...

keep worshipping.

When you leave church...

keep worshipping.

When nobody sees you...

keep worshipping.

When life hurts...

keep worshipping.

When obedience costs you...

keep worshipping.

When everything within you wants to walk away...

but Jesus says:

Follow Me...

keep worshipping.

Because worship was never supposed to end when the music stopped.

Your life is the worship.

And perhaps...

God is raising a generation who will finally understand that.

A scattered remnant.

A surrendered people.

A people forged through affliction.

A people who have learned to worship without an audience.

A people who know their God.

A people who will stand.

And a people through whom the world will once again see...

that Jesus Christ is alive.

Reflection

Ask yourself:

Has the experience of worship become a substitute for surrender in my life?

Am I looking to God mainly for relief, or am I giving Him my whole life?

When the music stops, does my worship continue?

What has God been asking me to surrender?

And could I be one of the people He is preparing to stand in what comes next?

Prayer

Father,

thank You for the gift of worship.

Thank You for music.

Thank You for every moment when a song has comforted us...

strengthened us...

refreshed us...

and turned our hearts towards You.

But Lord...

take us deeper.

Do not allow us to settle for the feeling of Your presence...

without the surrender of our lives.

Search us.

Correct us.

Convict us.

Heal us.

Call us back to You.

Forgive us wherever we have replaced obedience with experience.

Forgive us wherever we have sung words we were unwilling to live.

Bring Your Church back to Jesus.

Back to the cross.

Back to repentance.

Back to holiness.

Back to prayer.

Back to obedience.

Back to love.

And Father...

for those who have been scattered...

those who have been wounded...

those who have been hidden...

those who have been trained through affliction...

call them.

Strengthen them.

Restore them.

Gather Your people.

Raise up men and women who will stand for truth with humility and courage.

Not to build their own names...

but to make the name of Jesus known.

Let Your Church rise again...

not in human power...

but in the power of Your Spirit.

And let our lives become worship before You.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Declaration

Jesus Christ is my salvation.

His blood is enough.

My worship is more than a song.

My whole life belongs to Him.

I will worship when nobody is watching.

I will obey when obedience costs me.

I will repent when God corrects me.

I will stand when He calls me to stand.

I believe God is gathering His people.

I believe He is raising a remnant.

I choose surrender.

I choose obedience.

I choose Jesus.