The trumpeters and singers joined I N U N I S O N in unison, as with one voice, to ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ give praise and thanks to the LORD. -2 Chronicles 5:13 A devotional series for the choir, the worship leader, and anyone desiring to experience or lead in a deeper worship experience. [See the end of this file for more information on the complete series.] The In Unison series is written by David S. Lampel. #18 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I N S P I R I T A N D T R U T H The test of excellence in worship is motive. Performed for the wrong reason, it is something trivial and useless; performed for the correct reason, it is something beautiful, and pleasing to the Lord. How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD. I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. -Psalm 116:12-17 NIV How can we repay the Lord? There is no answer given in Psalm 116 because there is no answer. We cannot repay the Lord--nor should we try. He expects no payment for His grace, and any payment offered would be only an offense to Him, a bitter and acrid essence. The sweeter essence, welcomed happily by the Lord, is the "thank offering": childlike devotion, public declarations of allegiance, and honest, heartfelt service--all lovingly offered because He first loved us. We need never feel guilty about striving for excellence as long as our motives are pure. _____________________ How do we establish the correct motive for excellent service and worship? Just as we take Spiritual inventory before partaking of the ordinance of Communion, we should take personal inventory of our motives before we consider serving our Lord. Every time we come to Him to serve--whether it be leading others as a choir member, worshiping on our own, or serving Him in some other way--we should ask ourselves: * Do I even want to? Is it the desire of my heart to worship the Lord--and to lead others in His worship--with the very best I have to offer? * Is there anything I should confess to my Lord before I begin--anything that will hinder or prevent effective service? * Am I willing to permit the Spirit to work through me? * Is there any part of me that I'm holding back from God--anything that I won't do for Him? * Am I hoping to gain any earthly reward by my service of worship? * Am I seeking to please anyone other than my Lord? _____________________ Excellence is not defined by quantity, but by quality. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) gave a great sum to the work of the Lord--much more than the "widow's mites" (Mark 12:41-44), but God killed them for their deceit and hypocrisy, while Jesus praised the generosity of the widow. Excellence is the goal of the humble, contrite heart--a heart seeking to please and honor a gracious God. It is not contrived, it is not borrowed from someone else, but it is the result of one person worshiping in Spirit and truth. _____________________ "Worship is giving God the best that He has given you. Be careful what you do with the best you have. Whenever you get a blessing from God, give it back to Him as a love-gift. Take time to meditate before God and offer the blessing back to Him in a deliberate act of worship. If you hoard it for yourself, it will turn into Spiritual dry rot, as the manna did when it was hoarded. God will never allow you to keep a Spiritual blessing completely for yourself. It must be given back to Him so that He can make it a blessing to others." (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, Discovery House) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in IN UNISON is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel."). This data file may not be used without the permission of David S. Lampel for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content. With the appropriate copyright notice, this file may be used to enhance or supplement personal or church devotions, newsletters, journals, or spoken messages. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New International Version. NIV quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission. NASB quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In Unison was originally written for Music Ministers and Choir Directors to use in conjunction with their weekly rehearsals. It was syndicated in printed form, camera-ready for inclusion in choir newsletters or to be read to the choir as a devotional. It has also been used by Pastors and lay-leaders in many capacities. In Unison is evangelical, and speaks from the position that the choir does not perform for its own pleasure--nor for the pleasure of the congregation--but is, instead, a "prompter" leading and demonstrating the corporate worship for the pleasure of God. Each choir member--as well as every other leader standing on the platform--is responsible to do everything to point the congregation upward to God. In Unison also encourages individual and corporate excellence, based on the premise that after His sacrifice for us, our Lord deserves nothing less. Most issues of In Unison consist of two parts: * The main article has been written to be the "public" portion--either re-printed for each choir member or read to them during a devotional time. * The Supplemental material (accompanying most issues) has been included for the director or leader to use as background to further his or her own study. There is a total of 19 issues making up the complete In Unison series, representing by the following outline: 1. With One Voice 11. Because He Deserves It 2. Up Words 12. A Longing to Be Near Him 3. Loving One Another 13. Excellence: Beginning 4. Demonstrating Praise 14. Excellence: The Debt 5. The Spirit and the Flesh 15. Excellence: For the Prize 6. Three Little Words 16. Excellence: Why? 7. Obeying Our Parent 17. To Be Like Him 8. A Fragrant Offering 18. In Spirit and Truth 9. Worship the King 19. Honesty 10. His Wish, Our Desire ------------------------------------------------------------------- In Unison is distributed free-of-charge, without obligation, in service to our Lord and to His glory. Reader opinions are always welcome, as are insights into the published material. Send all comments to the address below. We always appreciate hearing when someone has been edified by this work. ------------------------------------------------------------------- To receive the complete series via e-mail, inquire with questions, or comment on the material send your request to: "dlampel@dlampel.com" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David S. Lampel "For from Him and through Him Winterset, IA USA and to Him are all things. dlampel@dlampel.com To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Rom 11:36) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------------------------ file: /pub/resources/text/in.unison: inu-018.txt