John 4

Jamie Anderson

I enjoy taking time to think intentionally; those moments set aside to just focus on something specific - it allows my brain to recharge, my spirit to expand and more than anything it often sparks new creativity. I also enjoy reading as it allows me to learn about other people, technology or cultures and often leads me back to intentional thinking, but most of all I love to worship.

As a songwriter and worship leader, the expression of God through music, for me is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling parts of my day. I spend huge amounts of time thinking about words, melodies, harmonies, rhythms and phrases that can creatively and simplistically express the different facets or reflections of God, life, faith, hope and love but after all that's done, I often just end up worshipping the Creator for all that He is, all that He does and all that He's given me.

I am desperate to worship God in every area of my life and I want Him to know that no matter what I do or where I am, my desire and my will is to worship Him.

This past year my wife and I along with our band released our first worship album. It was a live project entitled "You Are My everything" and really sums it all up for us. God IS everything. However learning in truth what that really means and how it will change your life takes time. Off the back of the album, we are often asked how'd you do it, how did you capture the moment? Well, the answer is always easy but explaining what we mean is another issue altogether. While it is about the music and the journey, it's really about creating an atmosphere for the Holy Sprit to have His way. We've discovered that complete surrender and total obedience is the doorway into doing this. "Atmospheres" are something God's Spirit has really dealt with us all about. We've discovered along the way that "how" we worship Him, can determine how He reveals Himself to us. For example if we worship Him as Jehovah Rapha, a healing atmosphere starts emerging, and He manifests Himself by bringing healing to the people.

I often say that while leading corporate worship I'm so hungry for His impression on my spirit that I will hang on the gates of Heaven until they open up and let me in. I am expecting and determined to pull something of Heaven back down to earth. Now that may not be theologically correct but the point I am making is; my desire is to stay in the presence until it has collided with me, changed me and most importantly, changed others. Trees don't eat their own fruit and likewise, when leading corporate worship my role is not to hold on to what I have but to release it.

As a band we endeavor to worship from a place of revelation not just from a biblical understanding of what worship is or should be. We know the covenant we have with God and because of that we don't strive to get into His presence or even have to strive to stay in His presence. We have the RIGHT to be in it and it lives in us; we just need to cultivate it, let it grow in us and then when we're all together, release it back unto the King.

We may bow, kneel, sit, jump, dance, shout, sing, pray, talk and even meditate as different expressions of the act of worship but behind all of these, our spirits are worshipping from the place of knowing God as our Father and our Friend. It's about us offering all of what we are to Him, knowing He's desperate to have all of us.

Worship is always personal before it's ever public, it always starts with an individual before it's ever corporate. How we live with Him each day will shape how we worship Him in a group.

Worship is so much more than singing a song with our hands lifted high or crying our eyes out with our faces on the floor. Worship is the highest expression of our total surrender and complete obedience to our Father. It's the highest of all vocations; the very reason for our existence so let's not confine it to the context of church or some "Christian" meeting.

Before we go further have a read of John 4 now.

Did you catch it? The Samaritan women at first didn't know Jesus or understand what He was saying. When she finally began to understand what He meant, she began to know Him and in that moment of being in a place of revelation, received eternal life. Now I want to highlight verses 21-24 for the purposes of worshipping anytime, anywhere.

To paraphrase it says "a time will come when some will know Who they are worshipping and must do so in spirit and in truth. These are the ones He is looking for."

I don't know about you but I want to be one of those!

Let your worship be everyday and let it express love and devotion to the One who made you into what you are. Soon the world will see the outrageousness of God's capacity and the depth of His love. In everything you do; surrender and be obedient to Him and let your life be filled with the kind of love a thousand mountains could not contain.

The Father desperately wants to have you close to His heart and He wants to have a deeper, more "real" relationship with you. Worship with every breath, every fibre in your being and let each day be filled with acts of worship (even the "9 to 5"). Remember, He created you to worship Him and He's always ready and waiting...