Perfect Worship?

Pastor Jack takes on the hot-button topic of worship songs, should we sing them even if they’ve been written by people who are off base? How does our own conscience play a part in what songs we sing unto God? What’s really at the heart of your worship?

Hey, you guys. We’re gonna be talking about worship. What’s acceptable? What’s not? What who who wrote the song?
Who didn’t? Where does it come from? Hey. What and the world is going on.
Let’s find out in the area of worship.
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Now open your hearts to what god’s word has to say to you. Here is Jack Kibbs.
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to the podcast. This is a podcast. I cannot win. I can’t win. That’s okay.
I don’t really care about that.
I just, um, delighted about, uh, the fact that I’m going to heaven based on the blood of Jesus Christ shed for me and you at the cross of Christ in Jerusalem 2000 years ago on Mount Mariah at the top of Golga all designed by god back in the book of Genesis and fulfilled in the 4 gospels.
I love the fact that our faith is founded upon fact. You’ve heard of that before?
Our faith as a believer in the lord Jesus Christ and in the word of god as a follower of Christ, I’m not gonna use the word Christian because everybody’s a Christian.
If a Mormon knocks on my door, they announce they’re Christians.
If a Joval witness knocks on my door, they announce that they’re Christians, I think if the, um, if the new cultist, uh, I don’t care who it is.
They oh, everybody’s Christian. You know, I’m I’m kinda getting away from using that term.
I’m using the term now a Christ follower.
And so if you’re a Christ follower, um, you are, um, forgiven because Jesus died on the cross for your sins.
He rose again from the dead to guarantee your justification. Okay.
And then he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of you to make you the temple of the living god.
Scripture announces and there’s a day coming in this work called sanctification when the spirit of god will will have finished his work.
And you and I will either go to Christ at the moment of our death or the rapture will take place and we’ll meet each other in the air because the job will have been completed.
Having said that, let’s get down to the podcast. I cannot win.
This is gonna generate I don’t know if it’s gonna generate any more viewers than normal, but it will probably generate way more comments than normal because everybody is coming from their own position on this one, but I have to con I have to announce something Listen, you’re hello.
I have to announce something. What I’m about to share with you, I don’t have any bullets in my barrel.
Uh, preloaded. I’ve got nothing preloaded.
I have, um, look, within me, with what I’m about to say, there is no dial.
I don’t have an agenda with what I’m going to say to you.
I when you hear it, you’re gonna, like, freak or you’re gonna think about it or maybe you might even say, yeah, I’m kinda like you.
Uh, it’s the issue of worship. Uh, I assume doesn’t have to be limited to.
But I’m assuming, uh, public worship, worship a church, for example. So here’s the question that people ask.
And I’ll explain why I’m innocent before I am, uh, declared guilty.
I am in my mid sixties, and so I am a product of the Jesus, uh, people the Jesus Movement era.
So, um, Keith Green, right, love song, the way.
Denny Carell, love that guy. Uh, Daryl Mansfield, sweet comfort band, mustard seed faith.
Okay. 90% of you don’t even know what I’m talking about.
Uh, so want you to though keep that in mind because the the playing field becomes level in a moment.
You don’t know who I’m talking about.
But I don’t know who you’re talking about when, for example, When we do a song, either, uh, at the church I pastor or at some gathering, or maybe I go to some stadium event, Christian event, and, uh, there’s a song being played.
Um, I always listen to the words to a song Remember when we were not Christians, we we sang the stupidest songs.
It wouldn’t even know what they meant. Thank god. Or maybe we did.
But now you hear a song that you used to sing when you were in the world, and it’s like, what a stupid song that was, but you know how we were.
We didn’t even know. We had zero discernment Right?
So now as a believer, I’m always listening to every word.
And so for me, Um, I’m a big if you know me, I’m a big freak about Bible doctrine.
Okay? Does it honor god? Let’s hear this song. What are the words? Oh, that’s awesome.
Who’s singing that song?
You you might be more curious than I am than who the singer is.
I personally don’t care.
If I hear a worship song or Christian praise, I’m not a real big fan of I’m look, I’m confessing.
I’m not a big fan of of a Christian praise music. I guess that’s what it’s called. Right?
Contemporary Christian music. Um, I just you know what?
I just don’t buy Christian albums except I mean, love Danny Gokey because he’s a friend of mine.
Love love that kid. Love them. But outside of that, you know what?
I just don’t go out and buy Christian artists. I just don’t I just don’t have appetite for it. Sorry.
I don’t listen to much music, classical type stuff. I love that stuff.
Um, but when it comes down to worship music, people will say, how can you listen to that?
You just I saw your lips moving. Pastor Jackie, you just saw your lips moving to that song.
How could you dare sing that song? What? What are you talking about? It’s an awesome song.
Look at the words on the screen.
Don’t you know that that song by some people, some some group? No. I didn’t know that.
This really happens in my life all the time.
Because, a, I never stopped to look at who wrote that awesome song.
You’re gonna come back and say, you should look. I don’t wanna look. Not going to look.
I judge the words of the song against the Bible and is it glorifying Christ?
And I gotta tell you if If some really great super conservative Christian singer sings a stupid song that talks about, I tell you what, I’m gonna get in trouble, but let’s just go for it.
Right? Who cares? There was a song years ago, decades ago called I am a friend of god.
Am a friend of god. I’m a friend of god. I’m a friend of god.
It’s like, um, will you shut up about that song? It was so stupid.
If you looked at the words, it’s like, uh, um, his friend. He’s my friend.
I mean, it’s it’s just shy of having a big, you know, purple dinosaurs walk around singing it.
It was like, what the heck? It it didn’t make any sense to me.
And so I don’t know who wrote it. Maybe he wrote it. I’m sorry. It was just dumb.
It’s a dumb song. Um, but when somebody comes along and says, uh, the song that says, do you hear do you do you, um, do you see or do you hear the spirit, uh, moving or something we do?
Who sings that song, something something we we respond with him. What’s his name? Chris Tomlin. Chris Tomlin.
So Chris Tomlin sings that song says whatever the words, uh, is the spirit here among us. He is.
He is. I don’t know Chris Domen.
I think I met him two or three times, uh, at an event. I don’t know him.
Is he still walking with god?
I don’t know, but the words of the song, biblically, are tight. Alright? So I’m gonna sing it.
Well, what about, um, what about this Hillsong song?
Well, I don’t know about the what I don’t know who did songs. What songs? Oh, it’s this song.
So let’s play real life stuff here right now. Oh, what? Wait.
So you’re saying Hillsong wrote this song? That was your son? Yeah? Those are great words. Yeah.
But he also wrote it. Or I’m making this up people, so bear with me.
Cut a big slice of grace here. What other pastors stupid enough to take this topic on?
Um, but who are the who are the guys? Who are the worship big deals?
Bethel, Elevation, Hillsong. Is that it? Okay.
So those guys, don’t you know they I don’t know. Well, pastor, you should know. Wait.
Are the words honoring and glorifying to god?
Am I entering into the presence of god because it’s doctorally accurate?
See, because I don’t spend the time to find out who wrote the song, I look at the content of the English language used in the song.
I judge it against my bible. And I conclude that’s an awesome song. I’m gonna sing it.
Oh, but if you knew the lady who say I don’t know her. I don’t wanna know her.
My conscience is clear and clean before god, and I make that song a prayer to him and worship.
Okay? And I have total liberty and freedom in Christ to worship him because I don’t know what you know about that song.
Okay? Now if you know something about a song that bothers you, then you can’t sing it.
You can’t sing it. You. But don’t go tell your friend that they can’t sing it.
The Bible says that’s not a good thing to do. You’re imposing your conscience.
If it’s bad doctrine, let’s all not sing it. Are you with me, everybody?
If it’s bad doctrine, let’s all not sing it. But if you know the woman who sings song.
Slip with Rocky. Listen. That you you just turn that off.
You get away from that song. But watch what happens. Watch how this goes south real quick.
Don’t turn to your friend who’s completely innocent. About that incredibly well written song.
And so and don’t say to them. Did you know that 3 years ago, she slept with Rocky?
Guess what you just did. You just perpetuated a sin. You gossip. You slandered.
And then you just abuse the conscience of your friend.
That’s at least 4¢ that you just committed to make yourself feel better.
Zip your lip, don’t don’t sing the song.
And if your friend is blessed by, that song and they don’t know anything about it, then you keep that silence.
This is a personal conviction, personally, your conscience has got to be free when you worship.
Okay? That’s why you might say, well, look at you endorsing, uh, ignorance is bliss. Hey.
You know what? There’s a lot of truth to that.
If I’m gonna go in for brain surgery.
The last thing I’m gonna do is go on YouTube to find out what they’re gonna do to me.
I don’t want to know. Because if I know, I’m not gonna show up in the morning for brain surgery.
Okay? When it comes to worship, If there’s a song, what if there’s a song that’s played by our worship group?
And you really love it, but you hate me. And then you find out that’s such a great song.
Man, I really entered into god’s presence on that song. Who wrote that song?
And it says, Jack in the box wrote this You’d say, I hate that guy.
Now what are you gonna do with the song? You see, you can’t sing the song anymore.
Because now your conscience is shaken up. It’s not it’s not you’re not clean anymore.
So Again, this happens to me all the time.
We will be worshiping, and we’re having a great time.
And then after service, it’s funny because we worship before we teach the word.
I personally think we should always teach the word, but and then worship.
But we have a tradition in this Western world of ours. Be that as it may.
So people will come up to me.
The first thing they say is that song we sang, the third one, did you know that that’s a Hillsong Elevate uh, Bethel song.
I didn’t know that. You should. You gotta go tell them. Tell them not to sing in a third service.
Okay. Well, that ain’t gonna happen.
What god has just told you is that you can’t handle that song.
You know something about it. And you need to honor your conscience before the lord.
If you if it doesn’t sit well with you, don’t sing it.
But you can’t, and, uh, remember everybody, the the the big assumption is it’s doctrinally accurate.
Which causes me to come down to, I think, might be our last push on this.
I heard somebody tell me once that song we just sang, they talked about Lord I’m try I’m going from memory now.
Lord, you know, bring your fire down upon us. Bring your send your fire. Okay.
The moment you say to me, send your fire down upon the offering, oh god, I immediately think of the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus.
I think of the priest offering up a lamb, or an ox as a burnt offering.
When and the fire of god comes and consumes the offering.
That’s what I’m thinking about. And I’m wondering why is this person so upset?
Because they later tell me, oh, I’m from one of those groups.
And when they say fire, they mean this. Wow. That’s weird. I agree with you. Really weird.
Or when they say, um, send your spirit down. They mean this. Really? I didn’t know that.
Thank you for telling me. So don’t sing that song. It’ll evaluate your conscience.
I got who I got let’s say I got news for you. That’s not I I never knew that.
I didn’t know that’s that’s what they did to the English language. You see?
They took a word about sending your spirit down upon us. And they say, yeah. You know what?
When that happens, you’ve got gold dust all over your head and money starts coming out of your ears.
And, you know, you got, like, beams of light shooting forth from your fingers. That’s insane.
I didn’t know that. But it sure is a good awesome worship song.
I’m gonna continue to sing it because I don’t believe in any of that stupid stuff.
I’m gonna I’m gonna keep a sanctified to god. Why?
For a lot of reasons, but one of them is I am not gonna let anyone rob me of my native tongue, my my English language, to assign meaning to words that are different than what they were given.
I’m not gonna let somebody, some cook nut redefine a worship song in its English language meaning to give it new words of meaning?
Nope. I’m gonna take the English language back if that’s what they’re doing.
And I’m gonna sing how great thou art with all of my heart.
I’m gonna sing the old rugged cross with all that I’ve got.
And when I I don’t I don’t I gotta tell you, I am so the songs that we sing here at church, I can’t even tell you the names of those songs, and I don’t even know who wrote them.
I don’t care. As long as they’re doctorally accurate.
You may be having a hard time with what I’m saying right now, and I told you that this was gonna be a a podcast, I can’t win, but I didn’t set out to win it.
I just addressed a topic that everybody’s talking about.
But I gotta tell you, friend, I’m as innocent as the day is long on this one.
If it is a Christ centered, biblically accurate, song.
I don’t care if the pope wrote it.
I get I’m making it my own.
See, that’s the heart of worship. Watch this.
Uh, Jesus loves me.
You know, this I know for the Bible tells me so, uh, little ones do him belong.
Is that worship? That’s ridiculous.
When you go to a worship service and you’re like you’re like, uh, nah, and you think, oh, when are what’s up there?
Looks like there’s antennas in the ceiling. Why does that person wear their hair like that?
And the whole time your mouth is moving to the song, you never worshiped.
But if you are worshiping, you are focused on what you’re saying because it’s supposed to come from your heart and you make a you’re offering to god even though there’s 3000 people sitting there, each individual is to make that song their worship to god.
That is that is required of you and me to do the next time we worship in private or in public.
Did you know that? So we could point fingers at a lot of people.
That guy’s shorts, I mean, his t shirts too long at the neck. His pants are too tight.
His shoes are too expensive. Look, let god judge those guys in the end, man.
I I I don’t I don’t know anything about that, the kind of stuff.
They could probably say to me, this Hawaiian shirt looks stupid.
I didn’t think about that before putting it on because I don’t care. I like it.
This is my shirt. When I worship and the song says, I enter into your courts with praise.
And into your presence with Thanksgiving. I make it my own.
Did you know that Bozzo wrote that song? Don’t care about Bozzo. Don’t plan on meeting Bozzo.
Don’t wanna hear any more about Bozzo. I am worshiping the lord.
Friends and family of the Christian church, in some areas, we’re gonna have to suffer with one another until we get to heaven.
Because if you try to find a perfect church with the perfect pastor and the perfect worship team, and the perfect songs you will never go to church.
You’ll be all by yourself, singing against god, because you have violated Hebrews 1025 and you have decided to forsake the assembling together.
We need to grow some skin, tough skin, and we need to stop being gossips and to stop whining And if your conscience is being violated, don’t participate.
If your conscience is being violated, find a new church.
If your conscience is being violated, it might be that you have to bite your lip and exercise some grace and get through that one song because it’s the only song in the repertoire at your church, all the other songs you love, but that one song drives you nuts.
When that song comes on, just go somewhere else.
It’s really easy for you to go somewhere else because it’s hard for the same we pray and we worship, it’s easy for us to check out and go to La la land.
Just until heaven comes, you’re gonna have to work through that.
This is super practical stuff.
It’s I feel as though I sat down with someone right now privately, because is exactly what I’ve said to people privately.
You’re gonna have to be the judge of your own conscience and your own heart, but number 1, the Bible must be the judge of that song.
It’s gotta be doctrinally accurate based upon scripture in its meaning. Okay? Think about that.
So listen, until next time, god bless you guys and, uh, subscribe if you care to.
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Okay? So god bless you guys until next time.
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