Facedown (The Worship Series) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Matt Redman

Découvre YouScribe en t'inscrivant gratuitement

Je m'inscris

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

45 pages

English

Vous pourrez modifier la taille du texte de cet ouvrage

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne
En savoir plus

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Most believers understand that worship is not a compartmentalized aspect of the Christian experience, but rather it is the motivation--the driving force--behind all that we do and are. We exist to worship God. For years we have been basking in God's love and worshipping Him with uplifted hands and hearts. Now we need to go deeper and see that God is also an awesome, mysterious being who should engender our silent, even dumbstruck, reverence for His holiness, His "otherness." Until we are undone by the knowledge of who God is in all His glory, we will only touch the edges of true worship. Matt Redman says, "When we face up to the glory of God, we find ourselves face down in worship." This book shows the biblical record of those who found themselves prostrate before God.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Informations

Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	04 juin 2004
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441266880
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0660€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

A BOUT FACE DOWN
Matt Redman has been uniquely raised up by the Lord as a new generational voice to not only stir hearts to worship but also to focus the formations of truly understood and powerfully pure worship to God. Without question we are at a watershed point in the renewal of worship, mandating we discern the difference between the worship that merely inspires us and the worship that dramatically transforms—between the merely postured stance and that which brings us facedown.
D R . J ACK W. H AYFORD
Author, Worship His Majesty and Blessing Your Children Chancellor, The King’s College and Seminary
Facedown is a beautifully crafted and poetic book. But much more than that, it’s a profound insight into the glory of God. While reading this book, often I would have to place it down and humble myself before the Lord. I was left challenged, convicted and inspired. This is a devotional book that I’ll want to read again and again.
T IM H UGHES
Author, Here I Am to Worship
Facedown is a unique and brilliant book. Matt’s teaching and poetry inform the mind and warm the heart.
M IKE P ILAVACHI
Author, Soul Survivor Director, Soul Survivor UK
So often we focus on the joy we feel from the Father’s love and forget to stand in awe of His majestic, almighty presence. In Facedown , Matt invites us to experience another side of worship, reminding each of us to worship in spirit and in truth in awe of our almighty God.
D ARLENE Z SCHECH
Author, Extravagant Worship and Kiss of Heaven Songwriter and Worship Leader

© Matt Redman
Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6688-0
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
THE MESSAGE —Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE . Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. © 2012 Gregory Slayton. All rights reserved.
NASB —Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible , © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NLT —Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation , copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
NRSV —The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible , copyright 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Every Grain of Sand” by Bob Dylan. Copyright © 1981 by Special Rider Music. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission.
D EDICATED TO
My amazing son, Noah Luca. God heard our prayers and in His mercy restored your breath. May you use that breath to live, speak and sing for the glory of God.
C ONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Facedown
Chapter 2 The Otherness of God
Chapter 3 Mysteries So Bright
Chapter 4 The Whole Christ
Chapter 5 Worship with a Price
Chapter 6 The Song of Creation
Chapter 7 The Sound of Sheer Silence
Chapter 8 Awestruck
Afterword
Endnotes
F OREWORD

T here’s no place on Earth like being facedown before the God of the universe, and no one on Earth I know more capable of leading us there than my friend Matt Redman. From the first moment I came in contact with Matt’s music I could sense his heart was one that had been profoundly affected by glimpses of a great and glorious God. Now that I’ve come to know him well, it’s clear such glimpses are the reason he’s been so effective in leading a generation to pursue a kind of worship that’s marked at once by both reverence for and intimacy with God.
Worship always begins with God. Apart from His willingness to share Himself with us we would never see His face, being forever stranded from His intimate embrace. God wants to be seen and known by you and me. That’s why all through the pages of Matt’s book you’ll find the thread of God’s revelation—that God-birthed, God-initiated unveiling of His majesty and terrifying holiness that drops us to our knees, awakening our heart again to the miracle of grace that allows us to live and breathe in His presence.
Without true glimpses of God we will invariably try to shrink Him down to our own size rather than allow even the tiniest taste of His infinite glory to stretch our mind and soul upward as we try to fathom His. That’s why worship without revelation is so lackluster, dull and void of the awesome wonder that belongs to God alone—the kind of nearsighted worship we can comfortably offer standing up or sitting down. But when our eyes are opened to drink in His matchless beauty, we are intrinsically drawn face-down to the ground—that place of worship where we are both secure and somewhat afraid, in love and in awe, bowed low yet somehow lifted high.
If you think about it, to fall facedown is to actually move closer to God. It’s mysterious how that happens, isn’t it? The pure light of God’s radiance could instantly and easily knock us flat on our back, a massive blast of intense holiness that leaves us dead in its wake. But somehow in God’s mercy the opposite actually happens as the brightness of His face draws us closer as we fall at His feet.
Facedown is one of those books you’re not going to want to put down, but at some point I pray you will. And when you do, I trust you’ll find yourself enthralled with the God of these pages—seeing Him more clearly than you ever have before as your face presses hard against the floor.
Louie Giglio Passion Conferences March 2004
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

T hanks to my beautiful wife, Beth—I love journeying with you. Your passion and vision inspire me. And to Maisey Ella and Noah Luca—you are wonderful gifts from God.
I’m so grateful to all the teachers and encouragers God has blessed us to walk with and learn from—Don and Katherine Williams, Mike Pilavachi, Louie and Shelley Giglio, Bishop David and Mary Pytches, Terry and Wendy Virgo, Peter and Susan Brookes, Bishop Graham and Jackie Cray, Will and Caroline Kemp, Chris and Charlotte Cocksworth, Chris and Barbara Jack, and Ian and Jane Prior.
A massive thanks to Andrew Philip and Ellie Redman—for carrying the load with humility and passion. Thanks to Barbara, Lesley, Sarah and Dave for all your support, especially during the frantic times! Lots of appreciation also goes to those laboring hard to resource the Church—Les Moir, Jon Pac, Richard Herkes and all at Soul Survivor; Bill Greig III, Bill Denzel and all at Regal Books; Peter York for a spirit of generosity; and all at EMI (CMG).
Last, thanks to my lead worshipper friends—for friendships that help strengthen and sharpen. To name a few, Tim Hughes, Martin Smith, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, David Crowder, Todd Proctor, Eoghan Heaslip, Graham Kendrick, Andy Piercy, Stuart Townend, Martyn Layzell, Kate Simmonds, Nathan and Lou Fellingham, Paul Oakley, Nathan and Christy Nockles, Terl Bryant, Gary Richardson, Tom Lane, Brenton Brown, David Ruis, Darlene Zschech and all at Hillsong.
C HAPTER 1

F ACE DOWN
W hen we face up to the glory of God, we soon find ourselves facedown in worship. To worship facedown is the ultimate outward sign of inner reverence.
Every posture in worship says something of both the worshipper and the One being gloried in. The raising of hands tells of a soul stretched out high in praise and the worth of the One being exalted. Joyful dancing interprets a grateful heart and points in adoration to the source of that joy. When it comes to expressing our worship, what we do on the outside is a key reflection of what’s taking place on the inside. Out of the overflow of our heart we speak and sing, we dance, and we bow. God reveals, and we respond. God shines, and we reflect. In the very same way, facedown worship is the overflow of a heart humbled and amazed by the glory of God.
Facedown worship always begins as a posture of the heart. It’s people so desperate for the increase of Christ that they find themselves decreasing to the ground in an act of reverent submission. When a soul is so captivated by the Almighty, to bend low in true and total surrender seems the only appropriate response.
On several different occasions, the Bible allows us a glimpse into an open heaven. Each time is a window of revelation through which we discover more of what worship looks like before the heavenly throne. And there’s a whole lot of facedown worship going on. In Revelation, John encounters the risen and exalted Jesus, whose eyes blaze like fire and whose face is shining like the sun in all its brilliance. Overwhelmed to the core, John shrinks to the ground in reverence and fear (see Revelation 1). A few chapters later, the elders too are falling down in holy devotion. And as we journey further into this heavenly flow of praise, we find even more facedown worshippers:
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the fo