29 Nov The Heart In Worship

2016 has been an interesting year for me in ministry. Serving in both Friday Night Live (Young Adults) and on the 3:16 Praise Band has been a learning journey and a reminder of God’s love for me; how He has blessed me with the ability to serve in more than one way. With this, God taught me a life lesson I’ll never forget and I am here to share and hope you will be blessed by this.

During my time with the Praise Band, I learnt what it meant to worship God even in life-wrecking situations. The fundamental essence of worship, regardless of any negative circumstances or emotional turmoil, is to surrender your life, issues and heart before God. A great example would be the lives of Abraham and Job, who worshipped in the midst of the most life-shattering circumstances.

Worship comes from the heart and in that lies a beautiful connection with God and the Holy Spirit which overflows into our playing that is transformed into music. Serving as a musician for the past 15 years has been an immense honour. What sets us apart from musicians in the secular world is that we do it as a service unto God.

All these years, I have been well-trained technically. In 3:16 Praise, I am not only the resident electric guitarist but also a utility player, moving between the drums, bass and acoustic guitar. I also train the younger musicians and assist the worship leaders in technical aspects and help out in directing the band and sound aspect. The praise band is a young team and I felt that I have a lot to contribute to the team.

This, however, has been a struggle. Unknowingly, I lost touch with the true meaning of serving, the ability to listen to the heartbeat of God and what it means to truly worship. With that, came the downfall. Pride got in the way and it hit me real hard. But God never fails. As much as I took a hiatus from Him, He never failed to remind me of His love and the true meaning behind serving Him.

Pride is arguably the most deadly and the root of all sins. It was probably Satan’s original sin when he said, “I will make myself like the Most High” in Isaiah. Likewise, it ate into me. I wanted to be recognised for what I have done for the team. It was for my personal glory. I then began to realise that ministry has been exhausting me. I just wanted to give up. I was depending a lot on my own strength and what I had been trained for. Until one day, God spoke to me in his Word. He reminded me of John’s motto in John 3:30, ‘He must become more important while I become less important.’ As simple as it seems, it brought me back to learning what humility in God’s eyes is. It stems from understanding who God is and who we are. I understood what God’s sovereignty is but I have inflated views on myself. I forgot what it was like to first be a worshipper. God reminded me that day to align my heart with His and that He should take the highest honour. With this, He is to be exalted.

Marc Wan