Sanctuary this Sunday was planned as a follow-up to the previous week’s study of the Holy Spirit in our Equipping services. We know that the Holy Spirit is active, powerful, and constantly working in us as the third person of the Trinity. We also know, from reading John 4:1-24, that we should worship God in Spirit and in Truth.
So how does that work? Well, here’s a few ideas… The apostle Paul calls for us to be “filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit… always giving thanks to God the Father for everything …” (Ephesians 5:18–19) What we learn from this is that the Holy Spirit actually gives us songs to sing. I would love to hear more of these songs in our gatherings, and I don’t just mean on a Sunday! If you haven’t come across the song by Godfrey Birtill where he sings ” Glory in the dentists… glory in the pub”, well, look it up! Watch it here: R U Ready lyrics – Godfrey Birtill
Secondly, the Holy Spirit is the ultimate expression of creativity, and wants us to use our God-given artistic gifts to serve the church and worship the Lord. In Exodus 31:1-11 there’s a beautiful story of Bezalel, who God inspired to use his creative talents to decorate the Tabernacle of the Temple. God said, “I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills — to make artistic designs for works in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.” The Spirit leads us to be excellent in our artistic endeavours, and gives us the tools we need to worship and respond to the Lord. Something to consider here is how you can use your creative gifts in His worship on a daily basis, in our daily lives.
My third, and last, example was to highlight how, as we engage with the Holy Spirit, he may prompt us to seek reconciliation with others, to pursue wholeness in our relationships. So, if you feel the Holy Spirit guiding you to mend relationships or make amends for things you’ve got wrong, please make time to do that – God desires unity amongst His people. I know this isn’t quite as appealing as making up songs or decorating the tabernacle, but it’s part of how the Holy Spirit builds up our character alongside our gifts – our gifts are nothing without the character to wield them.
These are some practical ways we can develop our understanding of how the Holy Spirit works in worship – and in our daily lives. I must also stress that what we looked at on Sunday is only a snapshot of the fullness that is available to us.
Worship
Go Deeper
One last practical suggestion: If you’re not sure how to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to you, start by simply asking the Holy Spirit to help you, and open your heart to hear what He says.
If you would like to study this in more depth, can I point you towards this webpage, which I’d like to credit as the source for much of my reflection on Sunday: 3 ROLES THE HOLY SPIRIT PLAYS IN WORSHIP | by John Bolin | Medium
