Phil,
I just finished reading in Kings about Elijah being in the cave and standing 
on the mountain.  I enjoyed your message about how to worship.  I praise the 
Lord for all that he does for the humans on this earth and thank Him for 
your ministry.  You minister to sighted people and yes, you even minister to 
blind people as well.
Virgie and Hoshi
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, May 06, 2006 10:18 PM
Subject: Worship


> another article posted here before but it ministered to me tonight when I
> found it.
>
> Learning To Worship
>
>
> By Phil Scovell
>
>
>
>
>
>     Many find it difficult to worship God because they don't know
> how.  They don't know how because they've never been taught.  Some
> believe, based upon many church services I have attended,
> worshipping the Lord is accomplished by raising your hands,
> praising the name of the Lord loudly, running up and down the
> aisles, shouting amen until the rafters vibrate, waving flags and
> banners, pounding on objects which generate a lot of noise,
> leaping into the air, dancing, hand clapping, laying on the floor,
> foot stomping, yelling hallelujah over and over again until their
> tongue snaps off its roller, and generally creating as much
> racket as humanly possible.  None of which, by the way, am I
> against.  If you study Old Testament worship, you will find many
> such things practiced by the Jews so I am in no way belittling
> such forms of worship.  Moreover, I've done a great deal of what I
> just described.  It is why we do it which causes me to consider
> the motives.
>
>     Is the purpose of worship to generate a lot of enthusiasm so
> the preacher's sermon sounds better or a lot of hyped emotions so
> we can feel God?  Does worship make us a better Christian?  What
> if we don't worship like everybody around us or like the person
> who is instructing us up at the pulpit?  Are we sinning if we
> don't raise our hands?  Is speaking in tongues worship?  If so,
> why do some believe it isn't a gift for today even if the Apostle
> Peter in Acts Chapter 2 said it was?  With all this in mind,  let
> me tell you a true story about how to worship God which likely is
> rarely considered to be worship.
>
>     My 75 year old friend, of whom many of you have heard me
> speak before, picked me up one night for our traditional, waist
> of time, Wednesday night bible study.  I say, waist of time,
> because we, in that church, rarely studied the bible.  Oh, the
> Bible was preached but it got to a point where it was no longer
> taught by the pastor.  This I never understood because the pastor
> was a great preacher and he was as good of Bible teacher as I have
> ever known.  However, our Wednesday and Sunday night meetings had
> decayed into book reading sessions.  He would read to us from some
> famous book that was currently popular among mega churches across
> the country.  Why we couldn't read these books on our own was a
> mystery to me but then, I wasn't the pastor.
>
>     This particular Wednesday evening was starting out just like
> all the other boring Wednesday night bible studies, so called.  We
> had six to eight people who showed up and we met in the basement
> and sat at a long table.  I was dreading the Standard Operating
> Procedure I knew was about to begin.  I also knew that the man who
> brought me, and with whom I normally rode with Wednesday and
> Sunday nights, was discouraged.
>
>     That very week, a friend of the family's son had been run
> down by a hit and run driver and killed.  This man, and his wife,
> my friends, had lost two sons to similar accidents.  One was
> changing the tire on his car along side the highway when he was
> struck and killed.  The other son, and his fiance where likewise
> struck and killed as they simply crossed the street as they were
> on an evening walk together.  So, my friend was feeling the grief
> of the death of his own two boys based upon what had just happened
> to someone they knew.
>
>     Wishing we didn't have to sit and listen to a book being read
> to us, other than the Bible that is, someone made a comment about
> an animal.  I can't remember what it was, I think it was about a
> pet, but within moments, as the Holy Spirit took over the meeting,
> everyone at the table began telling stories, some very miraculous,
> about animals.  Some stories were very serious while others were
> very funny to hear.  Soon, a general discussion about God's
> creation came up and how marvelous God's handiwork was.  These two
> basic themes of discussion continued to expand at such a rapid
> pace, the pastor never had a chance to crack his most popular book
> he had been reading.  Before long, it was 9 o'clock, the time we
> normally stopped, and the pastor closed in prayer.  Big deal!
>
>     Walking out of the building, I easily noticed the emotional
> change in the elderly man with whom I was riding.  Walking down
> the stairs to the sidewalk, he chuckled and said, "Boy, I feel
> good.  That was wonderful."  Keep in mind, we hadn't prayed
> collectively as we often did, we hadn't read the bible, which we
> normally didn't do anyhow, and the pastor didn't even read his
> book which we always did.  Yet, this man was refreshed in the Lord
> but didn't know why.  I waited till we got into the car to tell
> him.
>
>     As I clicked my seat belt in place and my Brother in the Lord
> started the engine, he said, "You know Brother Phil?  I wasn't
> feeling too well when we came tonight but I sure feel good now."
>
>     I said, "I knew you were feeling poorly due to the death of
> your family friend and how you could identify with those feelings
> but do you know why you feel good now?"
>
>     "No," he replied as he did a U turn on the side street the
> church was on and drove up to the corner and waited for the
> traffic before turning left.  "Tell me why?" he asked.
>
>     "Because," I said, "tonight, we worshipped the Lord."
>
>     "We did?" he said; puzzled.
>
>     When I pointed out that all we did tonight was talk about
> God's creation, I said, "we were magnifying the Lord.  Soon the
> Lord became bigger than our personal problems and that always
> makes a person feel better to know that he has such a big God that
> can do anything."
>
>     He said, "Well, what do you know.  That's exactly right.  We
> did worship the Lord tonight, didn't we?"
>
>     I laughed and said, "We sure did, Brother, and you are right;
> it was good."
>
>     If you read the Psalms carefully, and much of the book of
> Proverbs, you will notice the focus the authors placed on God by
> circling the wagons, sort of speak, around God's creation.  King
> David was especially notorious for this.  Read it for yourself if
> you doubt the validity of my statement.  How did King David
> magnify God in his life?  Just read the 23rd Psalm.
>
>     One reason why I enjoy our African Gray parrot so much is
> because he always reminds me of God's creation.  Sure, we have
> dogs.  We even have a cat and rabbits and guinea pigs, a couple of
> turtles, a frog, and a rat;  a pet rat, I mean.  Most, if not all,
> of these pets are domesticated.  Well, as domesticated as a frog
> or turtle can be, I mean.  The parrot is, too, of course, but he
> still possessed with the wild nature God gave him.  Yes, he bites
> hard when I stick my fingers in his cage.  When we let him out to
> play on his cage or his fake tree perch, he loves to nibble and
> bite my fingers.  He loves walking up my arm, if I lay it down
> flat, and crawling up the front of my shirt to stand on my
> shoulder.  He likes pulling my hair, what's left of it, nibbling
> on my ear, trying to jam his beak down my ear canal, biting my
> nose, and picking at anything he thinks looks interesting.  Then I
> bend down closer to his cage or perch and he jumps off my
> shoulder.  He is still a wild bird and that alone always makes me
> think of God and how He is the creator of all things.  So what am
> I doing, you may ask, when I am thinking this way?  Yes, that's
> right.  I am worshipping my Creator.  No, I am not worshipping the
> bird; I'm worshipping the bird's Creator who just so happens to be
> my Creator as well.
>
>     I'm even weirder than just that.  I talk to the parrot, his
> name is Chester, and I tell him about God and that He, God,
> created him and made his nice feathers and his beak so hard that
> he is able to crack nuts opened to feed himself.  Now, I know some
> are thinking that this bird doesn't know any such thing.  I
> believe he does.  I believe he is in touch with the Creator more
> than I am so I talk to Chester about it all.  I said I was weird.
>
>     How do you learn to worship God?  The best way is to pray.
> How do you pray?  You sit in a chair quietly, or kneel in front of
> the couch, the settee if you live in England, and you wait before
> the Lord silently.  You push away all the thoughts of the world
> when they try to come regardless of what they are.  No, I didn't
> say you attempt to empty your mind; that's a form of meditation
> which isn't wise for anyone to practice for any reason.  Why?  It
> leaves you exposed and unguarded.  Just pushing away worldly
> concerns, however, isn't meditation; it is active concentration.
> It is mental adjustment which allows for your mind to focus on
> more important things.  This takes practice.  The worldly problems
> love to crowd our minds with worry and doubt and unbelief and fear
> and guilt and shame and frustration and stress, and a lot of other
> such things.  No, you don't need to picture the cross in your
> mind, or what Jesus may have looked like, or Heaven, or focus on a
> burning candle, or anything.  You simply exercise discipline over
> the thoughts that are trying to commandeer your mind and emotions.
> Then, as the things of the world begin to fade and drift out of
> focus, you do one thing and one thing only.  You listen.  For
> what?  You listen for God.  If you are born again, I guarantee you
> will eventually hear Him.  Oh, maybe not at first because we carry
> around a large amount of doubt and unbelief in our thinking and we
> feel its effect deep within our emotions.  If you continue doing
> what the Bible calls, "Be still and know that I am God," (Psalm
> 46:10), you will soon begin to, not only worship the Lord in your
> mind, but in your spirit where the Holy Spirit dwells.  You will
> also begin to hear God.  Maybe not in words or pictures but you
> will sense His presence in a way you likely have never experienced
> before.  Then what happens?  You will begin to worship Him for who
> He is.  Who is He?  He is God; your Creator.
>
>     When I do this, I wait until the things of the world grow dim
> in my thoughts.  Based upon circumstances, this might take a
> little longer than what feels comfortable.  The more we pray this
> way, on the other hand, the quicker the worldly things begin to
> drift away from the forefront of our minds.
>
>     At this point, I often begin to just randomly think of God's
> creation.  Think about His eternality and how He has always been
> and always will be.  Consider the creation of the universe which
> is without end or containment.  He created the universe as a
> reflection of His nature.  Eventually, as you attempt to get your
> thoughts around these humanly impossible things, you will settle
> on Jesus and who He is and why He wants to be in your life.  Why
> will you defer to Jesus instead of God?  Because, you, nor anyone,
> can comprehend God.  Jesus, who is God, became a man for 33 years
> so He could identify Himself with us as His creation.  Now we can
> identify with Him because He became like us to make that possible.
> Now do you understand why Jesus came to earth?  He came for you
> because He wants to get to know you in a very personally intimate
> way which words cannot describe.
>
>     I still find Christians uncomfortable with this type of
> prayer and worship.  In my life, I have read dozens of books on
> meditation.  What I am describing as prayer is nothing like
> eastern meditation techniques.  I know I am repeating myself but
> that isn't prayer and it isn't worship so don't do it.  If you
> have trouble with this, go back and read the Psalms, especially
> those of King David, and you'll see exactly how David focused on
> God, His nature, and his creation.
>
>     There is one other way of achieving this form of intimacy in
> prayer.  It is called, singing.  It is quite simple and the New
> Testament is in no way silent on this subject of worship through
> singing hymns and songs and spiritual songs.  Singing, by its very
> nature, causes the world to fade and our minds and emotions to
> focus on the Lord.  Instant worship!
>
>     I want to tell you about one of the bravest men in the Bible.
> His name is Elijah.  I say, his name is, because, Elijah never
> physically died.  He was miraculously and spectacularly carried
> into Heaven by God and there was an eye witness to confirm it.
>
>     Long before this miraculous home going, Elijah experienced
> some amazing things through the power of God.  But, since he was
> only human, he also became fearful and scared and frustrated from
> the stressful activities of the ministry.  It gets worse when the
> wife of the King puts out a contract on you to have you killed.
> So, Elijah did the only thing he could think to do.  He ran for
> his life.
>
>     during his flight, he ended up in a cave.  God did something
> quite humorous.  He asked Elijah a question.  "What are you doing
> here, Elijah," God wanted to know.  Well, Elijah hawked up this
> bilge, which is another way of saying he coughed up this
> theological garbage, about how he was the only person left serving
> the Lord (he didn't know about the other 7,000 people the Lord
> already had working for Him at the time) and that, dad gum it, the
> queen was trying to have him killed.  God told him to go out and
> stand on the mountain.
>
>     Something mighty unusual happened as Elijah made his way out
> of the cave.  God passed by, the Bible says, and the wind that was
> generated was so powerful bolders split in half.  Now, I've been
> through Wyoming many times but I have never witnessed a wind so
> powerful and so strong that it could split big rocks in half.
> Yet, the Bible says, God was not in the wind.  Odd, you might say.
>
>     After this big God generated wind storm, there was a massive
> earthquake that rattled Elijah false teeth.  Again, the Bible
> says, God was not in the earthquake.
>
>     Finally, there was a fire.  Now, stop and think about this.
> Elijah is hiding out high up in the mountains where not much is
> growing.  Yet, we are told there was a fire.  Were the rocks on
> fire or what?  It kind of makes you think that way.  Still, the
> Bible says, God was not in the fire.
>
>     Then, the Bible does say, God spoke to Elijah in that same
> small still voice and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
> You can read about this in First Kings chapter 19 if you doubt my
> interpretation.
>
>     So what do you suppose Elijah learned about worshipping God.
> Being on the mountain isn't what's important.  Hearing God's voice
> is.  In fact, it is all that is important.
>
> Has He Ever Crossed Your Mind?
> www.SafePlaceFellowship.com
>