Yups, that's a whole lot of differences there! But there's a very sublime similarity - It's worshipping the same God. "It's all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of Jesus Christ."
Joel Houston, a worship leader from Hillsong Sydney, penned this message on the album which brought tears to me. (and I'm going to type down every single word cos it really impacted me). I am not being emotional. It's one of those times when I get so touched and impacted that it wows me so much. It's like, Thank You God, I've found a greater purpose in life and to realize how blessed I truly am.
*****
Here's the short opening message By Houston,"In November 2005, we stood in a stadium in Bogota, Colombia, with thousands upon thousands of people we'd never seen nor met before. We were about to hit the first note of the night when the power went out completely - no lights, no amplication, nothing but a whole lot of people together in the darkness. For a few awkward seconds I didn't know what to do as my heart skipped and I looked frantically for someone to sort it out. But before I had a chance to worry, I found myself caught up in one of the most incredible worship moments of my life: the people began to roar. It was a shout of praise that defied the present circumstance. It was more than hype, it went beyond a cheer, this was something else altogether. The people took over and we got swept up in it, the whole band joining in the shout, at one with the people. Nobody gave a second thought to anything other than the reason we were all there - to simply encounter our God and to bring glory to His Name.
In that moment I realised that when humanity responds to the call of God and chooses to do that which we were created for, our circumstances and our differences are forgotten. In that same moment I realised God is at work amongst His people all over the planet, and who He is and the message of hope that is found in His Name, is more relevant than anything on earth to the journey and experience of all people. I realised we are all a part of the masterpiece that God is painting and though we can't see the entire canvas, it is so much bigger and more beautiful than we could ever understand or imagine and we all have our place and part to play within it.
It was during our time there in Colombia that we felt we have to tell this story. To try and give others a glimpse of what God is doing all over the world and help to show others what we are all a part of... From Rwanda to Cape Town, Buenos Aires to Mexico City, LA to Toronto, London to Budapest and Shanghai to Sydney, this project is not for a second about "Hillsong United" or where we've been, or the music or even the songs: this project is about the people, about the real lives encountering a real GOD. It's about all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of JESUS. It's the sound of a generation across the earth with hearts as one, singing a love song to the ONE who IS LOVE, and who in response to that love, are choosing to live a life of worship that goes beyond just the confession of our lips, to a life to love and action - reaching out to the lost and the broken, helping the poor and the oppressed and pursuing justice and fairness for all people."
*****
After reading the message, listening to the voices of people singing live and the unified joyous clapping, I was just blown away by the amazing thought and reality of this church without walls and boundaries. The global church which is not bounded by differences in language, nationality, race and age. The time is now and we are definitely a generation living in exciting times.
A short sharing. Honestly speaking, to be very frank, I used to be a mini skeptic when it comes to singing worship songs. I used to visit churches before I became a Christian and when I see the joyful clapping and singing, I will just think to myself a bunch of questions like, "Are you guys really that joyful?, "Why can't worship be done at home and why do u need to jump and all that"?
And I share, when I experience this joy for myself, it's nothing on this earth. It's indescribable. No matter what crap that was thrown at you during the week (workloads, deadlines, unreasonable bosses/colleagues etc...), worshipping be it singing at home or in church, just fills you up with unspeakable joy, peace and love. To know and be assured that there's a God who is for you, working for you, supporting you. This knowledge just pushes you along in life. And when filled with this kind of joy, its only natural to want to dance, jump and clap along.
*****
This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. - 1 John 4:10 (New Living Translation)
No comments:
Post a Comment