Dealing with the Doing | Reflections on John 15 | Part 1

Would you consider the last words of a dying man important? You might say it depends on who and for whom. Absolutely right!! The last words of my father mean a lot to me but not of a stranger.

Connection gives weight and meaning to words. Those words can affect the rest of our lives for example, if it’s the last will and testament bequeathing everything to long-lost relative or son.

The chapter divisions in the Bible are not always helpful as I find in this case. As I was reading John 15 I realized there are RED letter words preceding John 15. Therefore, this is a continuation of a talk Jesus is having with His disciples.

Where did it begin? I trace it back to John 13, which is another pivotal chapter: the great chapter on servanthood and it ends in chapter 17 with what we call Jesus’ great “High priestly prayer”.  Soon after that he goes to the garden of Gethsemane and is then arrested. So the last words of Jesus to his disciples start in chapter 13 and end with chapter 17. These must be very, very important things that he is talking about. These are Jesus' last instructions His disciples before He goes to the cross.

To summarize:

Chapter 13 is a very important chapter because it’s about the Passover meal Jesus shares with his disciples before his crucifixion; commonly referred to as the “Last Supper”. He talks to them about serving each other, Judas’s betrayal, Peter’s denial. This is heavy stuff.

 He goes on in Chapter 14 to comfort them with the future hope of being with him forever. Once again he is telling them is  HE the only way to the Father. He is now being more clear about who He is. He is giving them the promise of the Holy Spirit.

We then come to Chapter 15 where he transitions from talking about the intense union between the Father and himself to the intense union between Jesus and us and then with each other.

Therefore when we are in close union with Jesus, we are in close union with the Father ( because the Father is in Jesus, and Jesus in the Father ( John 14:10). 

 Chapter 16 He explains more about the working of the Holy Spirit and what they can expect to happen after his death, resurrection, and ascension.

Chapter 17 is the great high priestly pray once again praying for his disciples and all of us who were yet to come to faith. He is praying for our protection and the unity (John 17: 20- 23)

CHAPTER 15

Jesus tells us who the actors are in this story. The Father is the Gardner, The Vine is Jesus, We are the branches. He is now getting more specific about how we ought to relate to himself, one another; and how this threesome are supposed to work together.

As I was reading this, I was struck by a few verses that made me stop to think. Here are some of my reflections.

verse 1. “I am the true vine”. This opening statement is a bullseye shot. It means there are many vines that I could be a part of and they are not the true vine. However, the only true vine is Jesus.  A good question for all of us to ask is  "am I in the true vine? Do I belong to Jesus? Have I made Him the center of my life, my Lord, my Saviour?"

Verse 5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing”

No branch can have life without being connected to the main branch. All the branches draw their sap, sustenance from the main branch. It gets its nourishment, strength, fruit-bearing ability, it’s very DNA from the main vine.

 A branch on an orange tree does not look like a branch from a coconut tree. They have a distinct identity and characteristics unique to their species. Therefore it looks like, behaves and produces fruit like the rest of the vine.

 Here the Vine is Jesus. Therefore, if I am well connected to Him; I should behave, look like and produce fruit that is Jesus like!

Therefore staying in connection is crucial. Fruitfulness is linked to my relationship with Jesus.  It is not about how well I administer or create programs; it is not connected to my slick Sunday service. None of those trappings of modern day Christianity have anything to do with my connection to Jesus.

It’s so simple to the point that we actually ignore it or miss it altogether. It’s about me “being” and not “doing”.

In this picture, the only one working is the Father. He is doing all the vine dressing, the cutting and pruning. The branch has one job: stay connected. It sounds too simple we would argue. For a Martha like me, I find this very hard. My hands need to be doing something all the time. Sitting down in silence is not second nature to me.

This verse tells me that I bear fruit from abiding. I bear fruit as my relationship with Jesus grows. The more I draw from the main branch, the more fruit I bear. This means my relationship with Jesus is really important. In a world where fruit/success is measured by performance, this is so hard to understand. I also get my Identity from being connected. Why is this important?

I stop to think: Can my relationship with Jesus become a religious duty? Obedience alone that is dry and faithless won’t produce healthy fruit. 

Jesus says that “Apart from me you can do nothing”. That seems like a strong statement. Some might even say an exaggeration. Well since these are Jesus word I would be wise to pay close attention. What is this nothing! I think he goes on to explain himself further down this passage. We can’t do anything that Jesus is looking for ,i.e which is of eternal consequence or significance if we are not firmly connected to HIM.

Verse 9 ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love”

Here Jesus tells us about the Father’s love for him and His own love for us. Jesus says obedience in an indication of love. What kind of obedience and to what?

The Pharisees were obedient. Was that an indication of love? Jesus spells out what this obedience is about in verse 12 and 13. ( for PART 2 click here)

Jostling with Jesus ?

The Humdrum of life keeps us busy, preoccupied and distracted with the day-to-day goings-on. We scarcely have time to look up at the beautiful sunrise or pause to listen to the waking birds. We miss the breathtaking sunsets perhaps because fluorescent lights unnaturally prolong our day.

We get used to skimming through, touching the surface of most things as there are so many boxes to check off in a day. Life can be reduced to a list of boxes that need a tick mark. Everything is reduced to a task. 

We often fail to recognize the danger that belies us when we rush through everything without stopping to savor the moment, to go deeper in a discussion, to pause in our prayer, to take time to cultivate a friendship etc.

We could be in danger of dulling our souls and desensitizing our spirits to recognizing grace moments in our lives. We almost wish that life could be run on autopilot and hope for a cushy cruising and safe landing.

The sad thing I find is that when I allow myself to live like this, I can miss the occasion, miss the connection, or miss to hear the hearts unspoken words and be dulled to what is happening around me.

I could well brush past a divine moment and not realize it or because I am in such a tearing hurry to tick the boxes, I reduce the relationship to a lifeless religious routine.

I am reminded of one brave lady, who in the middle of all the crowds and chaos decided to push through to actually touch the Master and not brush past Him. The crowds were pressing in either wanting a glimpse of the local hero, wanting a miracle or just wanting a selfie moment with Jesus. Alternatively, maybe they were preoccupied with the scene at a  surface level or just looking for fleeting moments of pleasure.

The crowds were satisfied with a glimpse of the Saviour.The lady, however, was absorbed with a transformational touch that needed for her to persevere deeper, to push past people’s opinions, cultural chains, embarrassment, fear, and doubt. She had to go beyond a jostle with Jesus and tap into what only Jesus could give her. She perceived Him as a Life-giver- a Life transformer.

When I reflect on this, I think to myself how often I have been satisfied with just a glimpse instead of pushing through to actually touch Him, to actually relate and commune with him. I could be in His presence and not take that bold step of faith and push to plug into His power that could change my life!

Maybe sometimes we do not realize how desperate we are in need of that touch. All the people present that day could have tapped into that power if they were intentional about it their contact with Jesus. If only they knew!!

One lady dared to venture beyond and she walked into her miracle! The others settled for jostling while she was transformed.

It makes me think – how do I approach my quiet time: that time I spend with Jesus. Do I brush past his presence or do I stop to be with Him? Have I become so over-familiar that I have forgotten who He is and what he can do for me? There could be moments when His presence is so close, so tangible but I miss it because I am so distracted. I fail to recognize when He walks into the room.

I want to touch the hem of His garment and be changed forever! 

Navaz DCruz

One thing remains Part 2

Part 2

In part One of this blog reflected on  what true worship looks like. If we don’t remind ourselves to keep the main thing the main thing we will quickly be reduced to but an empty shell – a form lacking content.

This is the essence of worship: that God is glorified and exalted and He comes to us with his tangible presence. It’s his presence that distinguished us from every other people group on this earth. When people encounter His presence, they are changed forever because they have encountered the living God. This is what happened to Abraham. Moses, Jacob, Joshua, the disciples, Paul and you and I.

Concluding thoughts for Worship leaders and Worship bands.

Therefore we stand there to firstly worship ourselves and then to facilitate the congregation to worship. We are always pointing to Jesus and the finished work of the cross. 

Therefore our preparation is vital. We are seeking God through the week on what we ought to focus on, we craft our set list based on our meditations and what we feel the Holy Spirit prompting us to do. The songs selected need to strong in doctrine and cross centered. The people should hear the gospel through the worship and not just the preaching. There needs to be a running theme – a clear direction as to where we are going in the worship. It’s not a bunch of my favorite’s songs or what makes me sound good.

I have often heard this said “If you come with a set list you are leaving no room for the Holy Spirit to work”. I find that a lame excuse for laziness and lack of preparation. We belong to a God who speaks to us and who foretold of His son’s sacrifice thousands of years before the event took place. Can He not prompt us and guide us with our set list a few days before Sunday?  Having said this one must always be open to a change in direction and the promptings to the Spirit in that moment. However more often than not, we have found the worship, the prayers, the public reading of scripture, prophecies, the preaching all in complete sync with each other because it is the same Spirit at work. What a wonderful demonstration of the power, presence and unity in the Spirit. This is what it is all about.

  On the one hand you can have one musician and usher in the mighty presence of God and on the other you can have a 5-8 piece band and have great music but no presence.What a tragedy!!! Let us resolve never to go there.

I am not saying big bands cannot usher the presence of God. I am not against being relevant to the youth etc . My plea is to pursue His presence and exalt Jesus   Every Sunday I pray a Mosaic prayer which is for God’s presence to be with us or else how will the people know that his favour is with us, how will the unbeliever know that God is in our midst? Let’s not settle for anything less.

As a worship leader I am first of all to be a worshiper myself. Then when I worship public ally, I am also a servant. I am there to serve my congregation and my band. I am there to help my congregation engage with God. I am sensitive to where the congregation is at, sensitive to my worship team and where they are at. This is a far cry from some of the super star images we sometimes see in the Christian circles.

As I close my reflection I want to add a footnote on a very important but neglected area :

A note on TEAM

It’s not about a superstar and everybody else in the band is their side kick. It’s TEAM. Together we worship, and we lead together. Together is very important. I have been in bands where there have been several egos on display. There has been no cohesion or unity; there has been no considering of the other musicians.

 Keys are chosen without taking so many other parameters into question viz most importantly can the congregation sing in that key? Are all the musicians comfortable with the key etc? Do you turn up your mike or instrument up and drown everybody else out and not care? Can you hear the others on the monitors? Do we make room for other members of the band to contribute musically, vocally, in prayer, prophetic song etc. The worship leader does not have to lead out every song in order to lead.

It is team work – the whole team carries the worship in their playing, singing and in their hearts. They do not zone out but are actively engaged in the worship and participate. When we do this it catches on and  it also helps the congregation engages in a meaningful way.

One of the comments I have often heard from visiting preachers to our church is how the entire band is involved in the worship in that they are praying, prophesying, singing out etc. This will happen only when we are Band Leaders make this a part of our culture and practice, making room for everyone’s gifts to emerge for the glory of God.

When we engage in true worship it takes the performance out of it and it becomes a sweet sound in our God’s ears.

So let’s go and worship our God and if you are a worship band leader/musician/singer etc. , let’s remember to pursue His presence always and keep the main thing the main thing.

Navaz D'Cruz

One thing remains.

Lights, sound, action!! There is a roar as the music starts. The musicians wear this very intense focused look, gazing down at their instruments. The lead singer prances about the stage encouraging the audience to join in and connect with what is happening on the stage.

It’s really good on so many levels – the musicians, sound quality, enthusiasm on the part of the audience etc etc are top quality.  There is great participation, a sense of oneness. Everybody seems happy and are enjoying themselves. But one thing remains!!

What I have just described has now become the ‘normal experience” of what a charismatic church meeting  may look like every Sunday morning. Yup!! I was not describing a rock concert, just in case you thought I was!!

Before I make enemies with my music/worship band fraternity let me explain. I am not passing judgment or criticizing on this form of worship. Also, this is not an exhaustive study on what worship is but a reflection on just a few aspects. A whole blog series would be needed to cover all the aspects of worship.

I have been a musician since the age of 7 and been a part of several worship bands (but mostly with the local church that I have been a part of) since the age of 11 spanning a little over three decades.  I have been a part of a Methodist church in the early years of my life. So I have seen the transition from church organs, to tambourines and guitars to full -fledged bands with grunge pedals, smoke machines , lights and all the other trappings; from clergy –laity divide to the priesthood of all believers upheld and celebrated. So please don’t get me wrong.

It’s not the form of worship that is in question or is a problem. Not at all!! Societies go through change - from one decade to another. Technology is making huge advances and pervades all of our lives. So it is only natural that some of it will spill into ecclesiastical quarters as well. The style of worship therefore will reflect the culture in which it is practiced and it should in order to be culturally relevant (though biblical sound at all times). In fact history shows that church music and art was the fore runner of the Arts influencing the other expressions of art in society.

I have, and continue love the grand old hymns and The Handle’s Messiah as much as I love Matt Redman and his contemporaries. What then is the point of this reflection? What is on my mind? What am I getting at?

As I said earlier, one thing remains. Let’s think about it. Come reflect with me if you may.

I have often paused to ask these questions to myself and the worship team I have the privilege of leading.  If we don’t remind ourselves to keep the main thing the main thing we will quickly be reduced to but an empty shell – a form lacking content.

So what is this “main thing? “ .  

  

So here are some questions I ask myself and those I mentor.

1. Who is worship for? Jesus made it very clear, “Love the Lord your God and worship Him only”. Therefore worship needs to be God ward. Songs need to be song primarily “to” God and not just “about God”. We need to praise His attributes which are so many. We need to declare truth that is found in scripture. We sing about His love, his faithfulness, power, sacrifice, who He is, his return etc.

2.  What is worship? Today there are many songs being written, the object of which is unclear because there is no reference to the person of Jesus or the cross. They could be sung to anyone or any God. We need to be careful. It’s the content of the songs, the lyrics that make song worship to Jesus or not. We need to be careful that we are not engaging in singing “something”, but are engaged in worship to the living God.

3. Presence – This I believe is the main thing. It’s sad to see worship being reduced to a performance of some random selection of Christian “pop hits” “blockbusters’ “chart busters” that have no focus or purpose.

The greatest privilege we as Christians enjoy is to be called a people of His presence. God dwells in our hearts and when two or three are gathered, His presence is with us and goes with us wherever we go. We are the only people on the planet who can boldly and confidently say that God we can speak to God and He hears us but more amazingly He speaks to us too.

In the OT when the Levites worshipped, God’s presence came down and filled the temple and the people fell face down in worship.

This is it!! This is the essence of worship: that God is glorified and exalted and He comes to us with his tangible presence. It’s his presence that distinguished us from every other people group on this earth. When people encounter His presence, they are changed forever because they have encountered the living God. This is what happened to Abraham. Moses, Jacob, Joshua, the disciples, Paul and you and I.

When people come together to worship we want to engage their whole being, not just their emotions where it becomes soulish and self centered rather than God centered. Too often songs are sung about our longings and desires, and the whole worship revolves around our needs rather than our God who is worthy of honour, praise, thanksgiving and worship. We can worship the desire to worship singing endless songs asking for His presence and the Holy Spirit rather this presence.

 I don’t think we are to dwell too much on asking the Holy Spirit to fill us because the Holy Spirit Himself always points to Jesus and wants Him glorified.( Having said that we are to ask Jesus to keep filling us with the Holy spirit. So "waiting on" and being  filled with the Holy Spirit continually is a good thing).As we glorify Jesus we are filled with the Spirit. When Paul and Silas were in jail they were exalting God and praising Him and look what happened – the place shook, there was an earthquake and they were set free. That should tell us something about the power or praise and exalting Jesus name!

Random repetitions of one liners of “come Holy Spirit” etc is not worship. It is only an expression of a desire to worship therefore one must not dwell on it too much but press into actual exaltation of a wonderful Lord.

When worship is in Spirit and in truth where the lyrics are solid, sound, biblical and full of rich doctrine, faith begins to arise in one’s heart and we begin to truly worship. It is no longer an emotional experience but a spiritual journey where we encounter the living God , experience His presence, hear his voice speak to us through the various gifts of the Spirit that begin to operate through the worshiper And yes our hearts are touched and filled with joy and gratitude.

Worship of Jesus also releases the prophetic and people go way with the certainty that God was in the place and that they met with God. Even the unbeliever begins to testify to the presence of God. This is what they take away with them rather than “the music was good, didn't she sing so well” etc.

I have always encouraged our team to continually seek His presence in worship.  And as we have done this week after week people tell us of how they met with God in the worship, how they were comforted, some physically healed in the worship etc etc.

(To be continued...... )

Navaz D 'Cruz

At the foot of the Cross- Navaz DCruz

When all kinds of thoughts assail our minds, coming to the foot of the cross helps sift what is not wholesome and retain what is. The Cross has always helped me get my balance when I am going off. It has helped me make sense of life,and has helped me in the continual lesson in humility . The Cross reminds me that there is someone else who bore it all of me- Jesus. All that is left for me to do is worship and live a life worthy of the calling.

Flow over me

I wrote this song as my own prayer as while back. I became very aware of  the needy state of my heart and how badly I needed the work of the Holy Spirit in my life in a deeper way.
Then this year started with the holy spirit prompting us to a deeper sense of devotion and a call to desire the presence of God in our lives in a fresh and deeper way. That is when this song finally took shape .

My prayer is that as we listen to this the holy Spirit will do a deep work in our hearts.

Navaz.

In everything - Navaz DCruz

DEVOTION

DEVOTION

“Love the Lord your God with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength” ( Luke 10:27) . In this New Year I have been drawn to reflect upon this verse and other similar passages in scripture. This is the greatest commandment of all time and I feel the most challenging to follow. 

After the Fall, we are by nature bent towards loving everything else. Everything is fighting for our attention and devotion over our love and devotion to God – the maker of us all. I have found that Satan will use anything and everything to keep us from being devoted to God. Devotion to anything or anyone else more than God is idolatry.

But what does devotion mean? The word is usually used to mean ardent love, single mindedness, focus, strong attachment, allegiance etc.

The question I ask myself is: Do I love God in this way? Am I single minded about Him. Is He first in my life? Is His will for my life important to me to the point where if I had to choose, the choice would be clear?

Different ones of us will be tested for our devotion in different areas of our lives viz., jobs, studies, self absorption, pleasure, friends etc.

The distractions are subtle. They do not announce themselves with two horns and a tail. They might even be “good” things. It would be wise to remember that even the devil can masquerade himself as an angel of light to deceive us. This gives us more reason to be devoted to the Lord and reading His word – then we will be able to discern the counterfeit from the consecrated. We need to always pray like the psalmist that we may keep His word hidden in our hearts that we might not sin against Him.(Psalm 119:11)

For those of us who have been Christians for a long time this means I do not slacken my pace or let my zeal die down. Its means not giving up on doing good nor taking a back seat. I need to guard my heart from becoming callous and lukewarm toward the things of God. I should check the danger of becoming over familiar with a Holy God who will not tolerate sin but who desires to change me from one degree of glory to another. I need to beware of “having a form of godliness yet denying its power” in my life. I need to be careful that I do not go through the motion of things viz attending church meetings without expecting to meet with God and it becomes a “have to” chore rather than a “want to” desire.

 As I reflect and ponder on these things I ask myself what I can do in order to stay dogged in my devotion.

• ·       I need to recognize those things that take me away from being devoted to God and be ruthless with them just as God asked the Israelites to be ruthless with the idols erected to foreign Gods.

• ·       What can I do to get back to a heart of devotion and worship?

• ·       What can I do to value the body of Christ more (which is expressed in the local church to which I belong). How can I love and serve her just as Christ  ( who laid down His very life for her)

• ·       What can I do to keep God top in my priorities in how I organize my time.

• ·       What can I do to grow spiritually  viz : Books I could read, prayer/house group meeting I could regularly attend,  improve my spiritual disciplines like reading my Bible, prayer, meditation, fasting etc.

How I spend my time is a good indicator of what’s going on in my heart and what I am devoted to. It’s as simple as that. 

Thank God His grace which gives me the time and the ability to change. The Lord is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love ( Num. 14:18). He woos me back to Himself. He began a good work in me will bring it to completion ( Phil 1:6). I don’t need to struggle on my own. Thank God for  the means of grace in Christian fellowship  where I can get fellow brothers and sisters’ to pray for me and where I can make myself appropriately accountable.

As I reflect upon this and repent for straying away, the ever faithful God will forgive me, revive my spirit and restore to me the joy of my salvation.

Here is a song I wrote as a prayer reflecting some of these thoughts.

Navaz D Cruz In everything