Day 4: Inside Out

Every Thursday for the past month I've been meeting with our Facedown Team. I am so pumped every week to meet with these guys and gals to dream and discuss what God is leading us to do. It's going to be absolutely amazing! You won't want to miss this edition!!!!

This week we've been talking through the progression of worship, that it all starts with God revealing Himself and His glory to us, and then we respond in our hearts through emotion. So today, we're going to look at how that worship goes from the inside out.

Have you ever wondered why people raise their hands in worship? What about seeing those few dedicate souls who like to jump up and down, screaming at the top of their lungs? And there are those who like to fall to their knees...what's up with that? These, and others, are the outward expression of what is happening on the inside. I'd like to take each of these and try to explain what each means...

• Raising hands. This is the most common expression of worship. To be honest, raising my hands means a few different things to me. First, it's a sign of respect. Sometimes it will hit me what an amazing God we serve and creates in me a since of awe and wonder that I raise my hands and say, "God, You are great and powerful and I am completely amazed by You." Other times I just want to reach out and touch Him. The song we've done recently called "The Hand That Holds The World" by Starfield even says "I want to stand before the King, join in the song that heaven sings, I want to hold the hand that holds the world." It's a longing to be with our King. And lastly, when I raise my hands in worship, I'm submitting to Him and His reign over me.
• Making noise. What's with all this noise stuff? You hear us sing about it and talk about it, but do you know why? There are numerous places in the bible, especially in the psalms, that tell us to make a joyful noise. You see, shouting and yelling is the overflow of a joyful heart. You're excited. You're pumped up! And it's all in celebration and adoration for Jesus Christ, our risen King!
• Dancing. Now, before you write this off completely, it is biblical! If you don't believe me, go to Bible Gateway and do a word search on "dancing". You'll see about 10 different references. Just like making noise, it's joyful, it's celebrative. I know there are many out there that are like me. Born with two left feet and you wouldn't even dream of being caught dancing. But you can jump up and down, right? I dare you to let loose sometime without a care in the world as you worship Almighty God with reckless abandon.
• Kneeling. This is a drastic change from the expressions above. It's pensive. It's meditative. It's stopping for a moment to really think about what God has done for you and how much you love Him.
• Falling facedown. This is a worship expression that is far more rare than dancing, in my opinion. In the book Facedown, Matt Redman describes it as this:
  

Facedown worship is the overflow of a heart humbled and amazed by the glory of God. Facedown worship always begins as a posture of the heart. It's people so desperate for the increase of Christ that they find themselves decreasing to the ground in an act of reverent submission. When a soul is so captivated by the Almighty, to bend low in true and total surrender seems the only appropriate response.

The thing about each of these expressions is that you cannot care what the people around you are doing or what they think of you. You get to the point where you are so intensely focused on God that nothing else matters. If you've never let go in any of these ways, maybe it's time to show an undying passion for Christ, even at the risk of looking and feeling foolish. Doesn't He deserve at least that?