Tuning Out and Tuning In
By Stephen Newman
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Tuning Out and Tuning In
Stephen Newman
I once asked a good friend of mine, "How do you know when you have entered into the presence of God? What was the process you use to be with the Lord and sense his presence?" I had been struggling with taking a step closer to the Lord in my own worship and wanted to get the opinion of one whom I trusted and knew as a true worshiper. A Common Struggle I believe that what we experience as new Christians is only a taste of what God wants for us as believers—what he desires for us as his children. It doesn't make any sense that God would create us to have fellowship with him and then leave us high and dry. Worship is All About God My friend responded: "When I come to corporate worship, I have already spent the past week in personal worship to the Lord. Worship to me is not a weekly event but a part of my daily activity. There are times when I find it difficult to worship. There are times when it feels like my offering of praise is going nowhere. And that's not a bad thing. You see, worship is not about what I get, it's not about me or a "feel good" experience. Worship is all about God. It requires that I die to self and tune out the things of the world in order to sense God's presence. When I tune out everything and tune in to him, it is an awesome thing. Our God is a jealous God. When we come to him in worship he wants our all. He doesn't want us singing while thinking of the ball game that's playing after church. I believe that the reason many do not experience true worship is because they haven't learned to tune out everything and tune into the only thing that matters." An All Consuming Focus How true it is. For those of us who are married we know that when we asked our wives to marry us, we didn't have another thought on our minds. When I asked my wife to marry me, it was all I could think of and she could tell. She knew that she was the single focus of that moment. She knew that she was all that consumed my heart and mind. How much more does God deserve that type of focus! Tune out the things of the world and try tuning in to God and see if your worship grows. Think about nothing else than the words you sing and how you can give them as an offering to him. Make him first and you will come away with a new sense of his presence in your life. You will actually grow to look forward to that corporate time of worship. Make your worship a part of your daily life and God will draw close to you. Tune out and tune in to the One who saved you, who loves you, and who desires close intimate fellowship with you. Stephen Newman has been a worship pastor for the past 15 years and is currently serving as Worship Pastor in Farmington, NM. He is also the founder and president of ExperiencingWorship.com. A graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University and Christian Leadership Seminary, Steve has committed his life to teaching others how to be the worshiper that God has called us all to be. This article was originally published on ExperincingWorship.com, an on-line resource for worshipers and worship leaders. ExperiencingWorship.com contains songlists, books, articles, worship site links, and a host of other valuable worship resources. A personal/small group study guide on Experiencing Worship is also available free of charge. Article used by permission. Copyright 1997-2000 by EXW Ministries.![[Image]](spirit_2.jpg)
I believe that many people struggle with this very thing. We come to church and sing our songs of praise and worship. We pray and listen to the spoken word hoping to sense the presence of the Holy Spirit. We come to church week after week desiring to experience God in a new and fresh way. When I first accepted Christ in my life, his presence and spirit were very real to me. When I prayed I knew he was there. When I worshiped I knew he was there. But with the passing of time I lacked the knowledge and mentoring to further that relationship. I so wanted to feel the Lord's presence all the time. I wanted to bask in the sun of his spirit and presence.
