Have We Lost Our Fire?

Tears filled my eyes as I stood in church during praise and worship. I couldn't help but see the large section of students filling the seats in the front of the church. They had just returned from a week at youth camp and as I watched them, I admired how they were changed! There was a new hunger...a passion...a fire lit within them! As I watched them worshiping God, I couldn't hold back the tears! They were dancing, singing, arms stretched high, and the passion that they did it with was illuminating.

I can remember as a young kid being in church, worshiping God with that same excitement and passion. As I watched these students begin jumping and declaring their love for God, it sparked a fire in me! I stood there watching them and my heart was stirred. I closed my eyes and tears rolled down my cheeks! Surely, this is what Heaven will be like! People singing, dancing, and praising with all of their heart! I couldn't help but know in my heart that the Lord was taking delight in their praises!

As my heart was stirred to join in and worship as if I were standing before the King of Kings, I longed to give Him the praise that He deserves! I felt His presence so strongly and in anticipation that everyone else felt the same thing...I looked around! When I took my eyes off of Jesus and instead looked onto man, I missed it. It was at that moment that I saw a large group of students on the front 3 rows praising God, completely surrendered to Him...eyes focused on Jesus and worshiping God passionately in song and dance. Then, I witnessed the majority of the church standing there clapping their hands and singing the words, some with their arms stretched high, but I couldn't stop myself from asking God this question.

Have we lost our fire?

At what age did I lose that passion? There was a day that I couldn't contain my praise and all I could do was dance and sing before my Jesus! Today, as I stood there wanting to join in, I chose to stay “composed.” Heaven help me! I was too worried about things jiggling if I jumped or danced! I was too worried about what all of the “mature adults” around me would think if I surrendered and worshiped God like the days in my youth! I, in essence, put the opinions of others and fear of man above God!

We should never outgrow our passion for God! He is the same yesterday, today, and FOREVER! His love for us never ends! He is good all the time! He is faithful ya'll! He deserves ALL of our praise!!! What kind of example are we leaving for the next generation? Do we really want them to outgrow this passion? I pray my kids never lose their passion for Jesus and I pray they always pursue Him with all of their heart! Yet, today, I was saddened that the church, myself included, is unknowingly teaching them that there comes an age where it's no longer appropriate to give God the praise that He truly deserves.

I don't know about you, but when that day comes that I have the opportunity to stand alone before God, I am going to be on my face, weeping with joy!!! The moment I see Him face to face, I won't be able to contain my praise! That moment that I can praise Him for being my Savior, my Healer, my Comforter, my Provider, my Helper, my Counselor, my Deliverer, my Faithful Friend, my Peace, my Redeemer, and my Rock...I can assure you that I won't give a rip about what others think! I will praise Him and worship Him because He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and because of Him, I am free and have eternal life with Him in Heaven! Here's the thing though...I don't have to wait to SEE Him because His presence is already with me! True faith is believing in those things that are not yet seen.  The reality of God being everything I listed above doesn't change whether I take a breath here on earth or whether I take a breath in Heaven, so who am I to withhold all of my praise to Him until I see Him? 

 If you think heaven is going to be a place with “conservative worship”, you are going to be in for a surprise! The Bible describes many times what we should do when we are in the presence of God!

Psalms 100:2 - Come into His presence with singing!

Psalms 100:4 – Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him! Bless His Name!

Psalms 149:3 – Let them praise His name with dancing!

Psalms 150:3 – Praise Him with trumpet sound!

Psalms 150:4 – Praise Him with tambourine and dance!

Psalms 95:6 – Come let us bow down and worship him; let us kneel before the Lord!

Praise and worship should be filled with singing, dancing, thanksgiving, praise, bowing before the Lord, loud music with lots of instruments, and JOY! Friends, we need the JOY again! Forgive us God for losing our joy and our fire! Set a fire in our soul again! Take us back to those days of our youth where we don't care what others will think and we praise You and worship You because of who YOU are! We need that revival spirit in our churches! We need the youth to bring camp back to the church! Lord help us! Revive us! Let Your Spirit Fall on us! Set a fire in us!

We don't have to wait until we are in Heaven to experience His presence! He is always with us! Next time you desire His presence, try praising Him and worshiping like the Bible describes! Begin singing and thanking Him for ALL He has done for you! Praise His name with song and dance! Kneel before Him and worship Him! He is Faithful! He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, so praise Him like He's already met your needs!!! He is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer, so praise Him like He's already healed your body!!! He is Jehovah Nissi, our Banner, so go ahead and praise Him like He has already secured your victory in whatever battle you are facing! He is Worthy!

Thank you students for your fire and passion! It set off some sparks and I believe your passion has the potential to spread and cause a blazing fire within the church! Don't lose your passion! Don't lose your joy! Don't lose your fire! God is using you to stir the church! He is using you to bring revival to the church! He is using you to open our eyes! He is using you to change the world!

Lord, we need a fresh perspective of who You are! Open our eyes Lord! And when He does...let loose and praise His Holy Name!!! He is Worthy!!!