We have a special treat today. We've been going through our series on worship.
Worship with everything. The idea that really everything that is available to
us mentally, emotionally, physically, are ways and things and tools of which we
can use to worship God. We started by talking about the Shema, this prayer that
the Israelites would pray twice a day. Hero is real, the Lord our God is
one. One God. Worship the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul,
with all of your strength. Jesus taught this and said that was the greatest
commandment. That the second one is like it, that you should love your neighbor as
you love yourself. And so for us, worship is giving everything that we have back to
God and then worship affects the way that we love our neighbors. And then Scott
taught us about praying the scriptures and then last week we used the
scriptures to write a new song. And something that a lot of you have in
common is that you have played an instrument in some point of your life.
Tony is someone that I know that has played the instrument of the bass like
few people I've ever met and I really appreciated that he said yes that he
would come and talk to us about using your instrument as a way of worshipping
God. Please welcome Brent Anthony Johnson.
Well this is going to be brief.
Hi. How's it going? I am so blessed to be here with you guys. Sincerely. You don't
know what it means to me to talk to you. Try not to cry. Worshiping with your
instrument. It's something that I don't think people understand the depth of
doing and being and there's a great difference in doing and being. I think
the church has a lot of doers and I think times of doing it's very important
to be that person. In times of ministry or at the point of ministry it is very
very very important to be. And I think that there's a misunderstanding between
these two things. There's nothing wrong with doing nothing at all. Being however
comes from the inside. I was uh I started playing music at 11 and just had a
natural way of doing this. It was as if I was made for it. That was great. So I
found myself in bands and I found myself functioning with musicians and learning
about the musicians in my community. I grew up in East Moline and a lot of great
players and at a time when it was before the internet, it was
before it was when you went to see bands. I mean don't get me wrong I'm not
faulting the internet. I would much rather sit at home you know in sweats. Get the
best camera angles. Look at the best sound you know on my little device and
you know I'm eating pizza you know. This is a great show. This is fantastic.
You know whereas you know looking at the broad view you have to look at
everyone. Someone starts to play a solo and it's like oh it's that guy over there.
The camera doesn't tell me anymore you know in the live setting the camera
doesn't tell anyone where to look you know. That's good and bad I suppose. So I
came to Christ at 17 about five six years into this journey when I was playing
and came to came to that came to playing on worship teams through the world's
weirdest scenario. I won't even get into that right now. Suffice to say that I was
invited by a pastor of a church to show up. He kept calling me because I saw
something that was I saw pure evil. I saw something. I saw someone who was
possessed and she was the mother of someone I knew and the pastor came to me
and said you saw that. So I kept calling me to church and so and found out
what do you do? I'm a musician. I play in bands around town and stuff like that. So I was the
weirdo sneaking out you know my parents. That's my mom by the way. Say hi mom.
So she really encouraged it and it was it was really good for me so I started
playing at this church and from the moment I was that I came to Christ I
was playing music and it never stopped and later on in my life well a little
later on in my life I realized that it was kind of meant to be that that's what
I do and God recognized it and well obviously it was built that way. So really
it took a few minutes for me to start understanding the word it's applied to
my life okay. I was reading the Bible because it was cool and I was learning
things about God without ever really applying it to myself. I mean it was I
was learning about God you know and then God started talking to me. No wait hold
on that's wait you have words for me? Weird. And through that really wonderful
little still voice that thing that keeps talking and at one point
I was practicing and I heard God say this is what I made you for. Sorry. That was a
calling. So I stopped immediately thinking about how to do it when God was
telling me be it. It went down on the inside and stayed there. Eventually I
found myself applying the word to my life and I stumbled across Psalm 333
for anyone who ever touched an instrument or ever sang or ever spoke
publicly it says sing to him a new song play skillfully and shout for joy. The
word of the Lord is right and true. He is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves
the righteousness loves righteousness and justice and the earth is full of his
unfailing love. How that works for worshiping through your instrument is
I've said everything I could ever say about worship right there. I don't have
to do this because you guys it's so weird that from this place the body that
I've been called to serve sees me operate my gift and so I never really
have to talk about it and that seems to be the place where the Lord uses me and
my job. This play skillfully thing is very important and I think that
oftentimes in the church people want to do that and it shows up in various you
know varying degrees of how that functions because we have lives we have
jobs we have things to do and so sometimes we get really busy and we find
ourselves at times showing up to do this thing to serve right. Unfortunately
sometimes that if you're not being it and you're not forcing yourself to live
it because a call is something that you don't have a choice about. You can't just
say well I was too busy doing this but I'm gonna do this over here. It's not
gonna show it's not gonna be gold but it'll be gold filled. You know we as a
body as believers we can't afford that we can't afford that. Not only do we give
God our absolute best and and prepare it but we can't do that to each other. We
can't do that because this place and when we get together is the thing that
helps us go on. It can be fake or half done. We can't afford that because this
is the lifeblood of who we are as a community. It's how we stand up it's how
we talk to one another it's how we present the idea of Christ in this world
right. So to be can be looked upon as arrogance you know I am the greatest you
know. He was though right and I think that we sometimes the church can kind of
place situations in a very weird light. Some years ago when Apple first started
doing it I know I kind of identified them as first to do it where they would
roll out new products right and the guy would come up in on a stage in front of
people and talk about that product now great that's gonna be you know you guys
realize that he got that from church right. Right so it's like it's like it's
like a service the whole thing goes down there's music and then the guy gets up
let me tell you how great we are. The church that he stole that from took it
back from them those people and changed it from being how great God is to how
great we are and it's heartbreaking because the church invented the
university we canonized music we're the first people to write it down we're the
first people to teach it and now look at it because it's been changed you know my
my heart cries to take that back and the only way I can do it is to be
proficient. As a cold worshiping musician on my instrument it is my it's part of
my daily routine to make sure that I can do that. My joy is to do it for you guys
because I get the best emails you guys worship.
Now I get to see it because I'm not there showing you how I worship that's
not the job I'm not teaching you how I worship I'm taking you there and it's
just not about that it's not about showing you how I worship I sometimes
can't even look at you guys because it's beautiful but the job is to be so able
to play that I'm not trying to play at the time that I'm leading I'm not
trying to play I can play does that sound arrogant no I can walk right right
do little things um but that's how that should be for for someone who's called
to do this task it's like putting on pants it's has anybody ever said you
know I love the way you stand there you can stand up looks like you've been
standing up for a very long time it's you know what I'm saying it's like it but
we try to sort of make things holy that are weird it's like that's normal you're
supposed to do this you're supposed to do this well there is nothing in the
word of God that says show up and figure it out throughout the Bible there's
400 more than more than 400 calls to worship more I mean you know I'm saying
there's numerous musicians named even in building the temple God said
specifically go get that guy go get that guy go get that guy go get that why I
built them to do this I made them I created them to do that can you imagine
sitting there having a cup of tea and the priest show up at your house God said
you do this well I do God says he's gonna build a tabernacle and you're the
guy what yeah because he created you to do this everyone functioning in this
body everyone functioning everyone walking and breathing Christ has a
calling we are born with fingerprints and we don't even use them unless we're
naughty a God who did that
so we have to stop showing up for position we have to stop wanting to
appear to be something we not and just simply be because we are all something
and it's a matter of addressing that and serving this body I you know we live in
this post-Christian age right we do maybe it's because we're not showing up
make you know maybe the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was give me your
soul for 30 years I'll give you a pension and they couldn't have your life
back what why are you in ministry you'll be poor I'm in I'm in ministry and I'm a
musician I'm broke I ain't I'm saying I mean that's not that's not the career
path that one chooses for oneself trust me but worshiping on the instrument it's
such a when Greg and I talked about this I couldn't really talk about playing I
mean people want to talk about that thing when they see me do that thing
that's great that's wonderful it's really sweet and I love the fact that
you love how I speak into the music of this place I do thank you but the music
I speak into in the world out there that is my witness because I can't walk in
proclaiming Jesus and not be able to do the job I got hired for none of us can
afford that right thank you we can't afford it so oftentimes I'm my greatest
witness and how I get to talk to people about Jesus is because I showed up and
did something well you know people say weird things to each other right you
seem rather spiritual I just asked for pizza um I'll bless it don't know we
back in a second it you know but that is how I am able to talk to people about
the Lord and that's the only way that's all I got and I love it having one thing
one thing by which you can speak in the world because life is big it's like a
mountain it's imagine Everest right you're gonna climb Everest there's so
many ways to get up there and if you find the right Sherpa to take you up the
way you want to go it's usually successful trip if you want to go up a
different way and you find the wrong Sherpa this Sherpa says you gotta go
find you gotta go talk to Ted I don't do that I've been up there 500 times just
not that way you gotta find the guy that takes you up the right way that you want
to go right otherwise as a mountain it's just too big this is the way I get up
the mountain that's it so many way know how to do it it's the only way I want to
do it hmm and there are bodies going up there that did it the wrong way or
something and I so so all that said
worshipping on your instrument it's a really interesting and weird task um it
comes down to you how in the world we're ever going to be able to say anything
about how wonderful God is we you know well with with with singing and worship
being mentioned so often obviously God means it obviously means it and you know
people sort of fall into this idea let's make a joyful noise I can't really sing
fine you know however if you want to sing you can learn to sing you can learn
to sing anybody can learn to sing actually if you sing enough at home
you'll sing better in public if you want to be if you want to sing not to be a
singer but if you want to sing sing all the time sing all the just do it just
go out this walk through it I I sing I sing all the time and I don't even know
I'm doing it I didn't turn the radio on in my car I'm driving down the street
singing I know so I'm gonna stop light and I'm sure people like wow he's into
that song you know the window comes down and there's no music maybe he's on his
phone maybe he's singing with someone online maybe they're you know maybe
they're doing a podcast I don't know Wow thank you for letting me do this
there's all kinds of things here the other thing I want to identify is that
worship is warfare it's warfare and if you aren't prepared for that you're
gonna get run over we are gonna get run over we as a musician I've always kind
of you know when I teach I I make this comment that if you're going to go fight
a battle wouldn't it be wonderful to be a specialist like special forces right
I'm into military history and all that stuff if not for an amazing wonderful
case of a stigmatism I would actually have had a military career when I was
young you couldn't get corrective surgery to do that sort of thing and
they weren't taking people with us you know and they were saying oh you'll
probably end up typing or something great why go um but I really part of me
wanted to be like Green Beret or Navy SEAL or Rangers you know and I wouldn't
want to go into warfare any other way than with specialists I I give the
example of how as a team very small team usually six people or so everybody
knows someone else's job in the team in case something happens but applying that
to music when when in this in this church the way we work together Greg and
I there's a there's this wonderful dialogue that goes on and I'm paying
more attention to that really as I as we lead because they'll say something or
play something and I'll play something back you play something back that's a
wonderful conversation that happens a lot you think about jazz musicians it's
a conversation it's usually not about the song the song is merely a platform
to be around people you love and care for and who care for you and how there's
this beautiful relationship that it's beyond words you know I'm saying it's
we don't have to talk to each other about the song it's not about learning
the song as you try to lead someone to the throne of grace that's an
impossibility you know what I mean imagine a pastor preaching and is
learning the Bible as he or she does so that would be weird imagine learning how
to drive and driving someplace never having touched the wheel never having
been behind the wheel of a car before you're gonna go to California I don't
drive you are now but by the time you get there you might be better at it yeah
if you get there um you know you're gonna drive through every major city
between here and the West Coast good luck that so that's that's that's not
something to do nobody you know that's absurd ha ha ha ha ha ha ha and yet in
certain churches right now there's someone on a platform trying to lead
people trying to learn this thing this this thing no we have to take the time
to get our craft together that happens at home that happens at home none of the
stuff happens in public it shouldn't I spend hours and hours and hours and
hours and hours every week to maybe play well there's three songs here on Sunday
I might do a commercial session I might do this I might play on someone's
record I would say that if I'm not playing live from not touring if I'm
not doing that sort of thing there's not a week that goes by that I played like
ten songs unless I'm trying to learn something but to learn the songs that I
need to present is worship everything's worship everything goes back to being
and not doing I can't do music I can't I can't there are days I don't want to do
music really honestly there I'm sure there's days that Robin doesn't want to
dance great doesn't want to preach I'm sure of it you know you we all have jobs
do you want to go every day and do it is anybody really good at their job is
anybody really really good at their job I mean no I'm asking a serious question
who's really good at their job yeah right right but isn't that a weird isn't
that weird okay so if you're really good at your job and you love your job how
many of you are called to your job yeah right right I guarantee you that if you
feel that way it is far more effective not only for the job itself but for
everyone around you I love it when I'm hanging out with somebody who's working
and they're really good at their job you just want to be next to them you just
want to like wow this is cool um this person is really called to do this and
you learn so much just the conversation about it and so as we talk about music
it I don't know that I can play music anymore without worshiping I think
that's been the case for 40 years maybe and I it doesn't matter what I'm playing
I will cry in a minute to Eleanor Rigby the song the Beatles I think I met the
Beatles just comment um and I say all the time when I'm when I'm talking with
the Christian singer songwriters if that person can make a two minute and 34
second song that is that profound that is a worship song I don't know what to
say here say Jesus okay that's great this worship song good in the context of
that song two minutes 34 seconds we're introduced to two characters one of them
pies and there's all this aftermath in this how life can be life and this sort
of thing that's amazing I think that I think that God meant us to hear that so
it's not just Christian songs it's not just worshiping as a worshiping musician
as a worshiping through my instrument for this it's simply being every and
honestly trying to develop a skill set and trying to you know have chops that
sort of thing it's I think the thing that I bring to music it's that I'm
worshiping all the time I just worship to you know playing a track for a bank
commercial for Geneseo last week and I found myself worshiping not the bank um
but just because I don't know that there's a magic place where as a
musician where I'm playing something that I didn't know I could play that
really doesn't happen it's really sometimes in that context it's just very
profound I think that's the Holy Spirit I think that's what that is I think that
notes are just notes and God brings them to life through the player through these
hands through this voice through you know and that and that's really all
there is as a Christian as a believer as a musician we well doing this doesn't
automatically make it holy because we can't put that on and take that off at
will we can't do something and expect God to go yeah that that right there
it's how we come into the scenario and it's who we are in this moment in time
ordained to present this idea so um hmm God's calling doesn't exonerate those
called from the hard understanding of being become as skilled as possible
anymore than playing in a church makes itself holy I am so glad I was able to
do this I hope I made sense um
I'm asking all of you to be and stop doing please please please be be because
you are that's why you are just just be ask God ask him he'll tell you he'll
tell you he'll tell you a lot tell you when you want to do something else
because he's always spirit is waiting to use us to talk to this place they need
to hear and how we get up the mountain how we get there is unique completely
individual God's very creative he gives I mean look at each other Wow there's a
lot going on here that you can't just sit down and write what we see every day
we take for granted every day Wow because this is how he's gonna do this
he's gonna use us hmm I am relieved that I'm done talking now I'm really got
through that I'm also relieved that um that I was able to be blessed with this
thing to do this little bit this little tiny bit so that's what it means to
worship through your instrument the instrument is a vehicle worship is of
course the idea it's how so if you take a moment and think about how you worship
and what that means and what that could mean for outside of these walls thanks