The Phil Files

I remember the very first time I heard the song, There’s a Stirring, shortly before it’s official release on radio and CD. I was literally moved to tears. The following lines struck me powerfully:

I will rise up,
I will rise up,
then bow down,
and lay my crown,
at His wounded feet!

When there is no apparent reason to “have to” offer praise, we voluntarily, out a deep sense of adoration and appreciation, fall at the feet of the Lord in worship simply because of who He is and our own recognition of our deep need of His gracious presence and power.

Recently, as I read through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John in the Bible), I was struck by a powerful and repeated image that I seemed to have missed or forgotten. People in need fell to their knees or fell at the feet of Jesus. Some of these instances used a technical term for worship which means “to bow low before” or “to kiss the feet of” someone in worship. Some, however, just speak of the physical posture people took in desperation or adoration before Jesus on their knees bowed low before their Lord.

Even more recently, I read through Mark 5. I again read of people falling at the feet of Jesus in reverence, fear, respect, and awe. But as I read this chapter in both English and Greek (see the www.searchgodsword.org Bible resource) I also kept noticing the repeated word referring to the way people spoke to Jesus. The NASB translates this word “implore” (Mark 5:7, 10, 12, 17, 23). Again, we are show the absolute dependence of those before Jesus; they knew they needed his grace, power, and might. In that moment, they fell at the feet of Jesus!

In His earthly ministry, the Lord was the one in control and all-powerful. He spoke and everyone and everything obeyed Him. Demons fell at His feet, powerless even in great numbers to do anything but obey. Death and illness were no match for His power. Even the fearful heart was emboldened to come forward and bow before Him and receive His deliverance, mercy, and grace.

As several passages in the New Testament indicate, every knee will ultimately one day bow before Jesus and recognize Him as Lord (Philippians 2:5-11; Romans 14:11). Our challenge — my challenge — is to do so gladly, appreciatively, and humbly now. Some have mocked me even saying this:

“Christians are weak and need a crutch.”

“I’m sad for you feeling like you have to cower before an imaginary diety.”

But I’m sure many folks mocked the people who fell at Jesus’ feet during His earthly ministry. It is in taking that loving risk of adoration that we are suddenly set free to receive the Lord’s grace and experience His presence in ways we never have before. This is where we get our first glimpse of the Kingdom of God in our midst in Jesus.

So bow — not just kneel, but fall on your face — before Jesus in your bedroom, motel room, church building, retreat center, TV room — and implore Jesus out of the depths of your deepest need wait on the Lord and experience His grace.

He’s been waiting for you to do so for a long time. For sure, I believe with all my heart, He is longing to lift you up. And when you finally do fall at His feet, I bet you wonder why it has taken you so long … why you have denied yourself such grace.

Hear the Lord say, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And know that your Savior has sent you away with the beautiful words of comfort, “Your faith has made you well; go in peace …”

It’s hard when you have to face your own words. Sunday was frustrating on many fronts for me. When I arrived at home from preaching two services and a pre-marital counseling visit, Donna sensed something was not quite right with me. After visiting with me awhile, she said, “You feel defeated, don’t you?”

I admitted that is where I was at the moment — well, where I was most of the afternoon.

Preaching post-mortems are always pretty rough for me; I am nearly always too hard on myself and how the morning went. I am just frustrated that we seem to have the same technical problems over and over and in the process, my heart-felt response in worship has become dampened. Part of it is that I have been a bit depressed, off and on, since returning from Africa. So much of what we focus on — what I focus on — when discussing church seems so shallow and selfish. Yet it still matters to me as a matter of excellence and offering my best and our best to the Lord. When I lose my passion in worship, I’m a whole lot like a sailboat without a keel and rudder: I’m left to blow in whatever ill wind catches me.

Thinking through my message convicted me that I am guilty of not hearing my own message about staying on the journey — my Heartlight article today covers some of the same emphasis. I want to see movement and passion. I want to see message move us to mission. I don’t want to feel like I’m dosing out spoonfuls of water to sponges and then watching the water evaporate over the course of a week only to see the same dry sponges return the next week without any observable movement or change, they’re just back for their weekly dose of water.

Is it the process of preaching?

Is it the way we do church?

Is it me?

I know late Sunday nights are not the best time to look at such things. I may feel totally different by tomorrow morning — or at least a little different.Thankfully for me, friends from our care group came over and I was profoundly blessed by their friendship and conversation. Donna was precious as she showered tender attention on me after our friends left. During the process, through friends and family, I was gently nudged to hear the words the Spirit game me to share … words I needed to hear.

Remember your destination: becoming like Jesus — be like Him until you go home to be with Him.

Remember the journey can be long: stay committed.Remember what maturity is: realizing you haven’t arrived until you’re at home with Jesus.

So I’m just before sleeping myself into the beginning of another week with many of the same challenges of the previous week … and the one before that and the one before that … But I’m trying to trust the words I shared with others are words I must hear and apply to my own heart.

But it’s hard staying on the journey when the landscape doesn’t change very quickly and the problems seem to be the same from week to week. And it’s hard to stay on the journey when you’ve come to the conviction that we’ve got to change some significant, meaningful, organizational things about how we do church and refuse to be misled by cosmetic and faddish things.

Let’s help each other hang in and stay on the journey!

If you got some suggestions for me and others who are reading the blog, then please suggest to me resources that have blessed you on your journey. What words of encouragement you would offer to someone who, like me, gets a little bogged down and distracted on the journey? How do you find strength to stay on the journey?