Matthew 4:10, Exodus 20:4-5

Paul Critchley reminds us to keep the main thing the main thing

Paul Critchley

On my journey of worship it's a real privilege to connect with other musicians and worship leaders who have their focus on one thing, bringing their worship to Jesus. At Beacon house of prayer we're making room for those who have such a heart; that whether anyone else is around or watching, or listening, they will choose to bring an offering up to Him. In fact, one of the things I love is the knowledge that each week there are musicians tucked away in rooms where no-one sees them, whilst they pour out their songs and melodies to Him

So exploring this a little, we begin with this scripture, which is pretty clear in its message:

Jesus said in Matthew 4:10, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve".

I ask myself and you as you read this today, is there anything in the way? Are there any distractions to our worship of God? So many things vie for our attention and they're not all bad, but they can take the wrong priority. We spend time with the ones we love and of course we need some leisure time away from our work, but God is looking on to see when we will make time for Him. This is the message He sends us in Exodus 20:4-5:

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God".

Wow, we can often take that word 'jealous' and focus on the negative, a bit like when we want something that someone else has but can't have it! Well, on consideration, this must be How God feels about it. He has created us to worship Him and in fact, in the verse prior to the last portion I gave you He has given the commandment, "You shall serve no other God's but me". However He won't coerce us. We choose to obey the command, or not. He doesn't want to force His attention on us. For me, even though I know it's an instruction, I don't treat it that way; it's a heart response to His goodness, wisdom, love, guidance, instruction and so much more! How could I not praise Him?

I'm reminded again of my very real experience of Him in 1997 when I first knew for sure that He was not only calling me into worship leading, but into a deeper intimacy with Him. To cut a long story short, after a really strong picture of how He saw me writing and leading, I experienced physical pain in my belly. Thinking it was a physical issue I asked Him to take away the discomfort. The response was not what I expected, but sealed the deal on my calling and on my relationship with Him. I felt Him say, "This is just a little of the pain that I feel because my children won't come and be with me; I ache for their presence. It's your job to draw them in". In that moment 'Presence Worship' was born with a strong warning that it wasn't to become a ministry, but a place of ministering to Him where others could be drawn in.

So, when I meet with those musicians and friends of mine who have this heart - worshipping the "One", I sense more of God's pleasure as we pull back the curtain that has been torn and welcome others to come with us into that place where He is waiting so eagerly to meet with us.

The line of the famous Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus is a great reminder that, "The things of earth will grow strangely dim, in light of His glory and grace".