Dealing with adversity? Stressed out? Weary of pain? Tired of Platitudes? Wonder if there’s a God? Whatever your plight! Ready to give the Spirit a shot? Not only the Spirit; but Jesus with the Spirit. But why italicize Jesus with the Spirit? Jesus was led by the Spirit. That’s why! He’s the rock upon which my story of relief is built. Why not consider my proven story and experience relief?

The framework for my story is set forth by Francis Chan. He gets right to the point. His frankness is astounding. Consider his best selling title: “FORGOTTEN GOD: Reversing our tragic neglect of the Holy Spirit.” He boldly states that “for some reason we don‟t need the Holy Spirit. We don‟t expect the Holy Spirit to act.” I found this idea to be true in my life. My talk about the Spirit was rhetoric.

I believed in my head slightly. I didn’t give it girth in my gut. Until intense pain shackled body and spirit in Sheol. I will explain Sheol as we get into the book. Simply, it refers to pain gone wild. Overwhelming like a living death. Some just call it a living hell. Sheol isn’t encountered only in the 16th Psalm. It’s a part of your life and mine during pain. Check out my story against your own. Okay!

Are you ready to embrace Jesus with the Spirit? It’s already seeded in your soul through your difficult pain. “My heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me. So I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove!! I would fly away and be at rest” (Psalm 55:4-6). Praise God. The Spirit gives us wings like a dove to find rest from our pain.

The Book of Hebrews states that chastening isn’t pleasure, “but is painful.” Then it says with perfect assurance: “Nevertheless, afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness [restoring peace and praise to body, soul and God] to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).

My story throws helpful light upon the liaisons of Jesus with the Spirit within the narratives of the Gospels. It’s the prevailing custom of evangelicals to use apostolic letters to interpret the Gospel narratives. My approach in this piece is just the opposite. I use narratives to interpret the letters—starting with Jesus with the Spirit in Matthew and proceeding to Jesus with the Spirit in Romans, as an example. I employ Jesus to discern apostles; not apostles to discern Jesus.

I consider each narrative as an episode. Episodes are single parts of a series. For instance, the narrative about Jesus’ conception by the Spirit precedes the one that deals with Jesus’ intent to be baptized by John. So what do I include in an episode? I provide the complete biblical text for each narrative followed by an interpretation of the event. I employ the bed-rock and age-old grammatical- historical-contextual approach to understand Scriptural. It means what it says.

There are zillions of books that deal with Jesus and the Spirit. This essay does not deal with such scholarly studies. That’s covered by books listed in the bibliography. My unique approach is based upon real events in encounter of Jesus with the Spirit. First, there’s Part One. It covers my traumatic contact with the Spirit during an extremely painful stretch in Sheol. David wrote of it in Psalm 16. I fully explain it for readers. In a sentence: My massive encounter with visceral death and darkness changed my mindset forever. It will yours also.

Part Two: It covers my study into the Gospel narratives—especially Matthew’s– dealing with Jesus with the Spirit This exciting pursuit was the norm for my study style. Wading into God’s Word became my passion since seminary. You might check some of my biblical studies posted on this site. As part of this section, I reference the excellent work of Gerald F. Hawthorne, The Presence and the Power. It provided support for my insights into Jesus with the Spirit. Authors who are teachers benefit from the input of students. Those without that interaction rely on the works of others—rendering validity in the search for truth. That’s the supportive role that Hawthorne played, as you will see.

To read the whole article click here

This is the first in a series of brief pieces on biblical praise and worship.

How did John Hubley become interested in biblical praise and worship? Well, it took place exactly like this. I became deeply involved about a decade ago. I had unbearable head pain following invasive inner ear surgery. I could not sleep. I prayed and prayed but prayer seemed not to help. Someone suggested I try praising God. It worked a miracle. Prayer was asking God for grace I did not have. Praise was invoking grace God had already given in Christ. Deut 10:21 became a harbor of peace for me: “He (the Lord) is your praise, He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things.” Along with: “By Him (Christ) let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God” (Heb. 13:15).

Worship came into my life along a different path. I taught a group of pastors about the power of praise. They asked why I didn’t teach about worship. That request kicked me into an in-depth study of worship. I started in the Old Testament. I discovered worship was a verb. It defined a relationship to God; not a worship service about God. That made me curious. The Hebrew verb was shachah that the lexicon said meant bowing in obeisance to God. English translators rendered it at  times worship, bow down, or make obeisance. I wondered how worship got into the act. Then an amazing thing happened. I learned that a Bible Museum had been opened nearby. It had copies of William Tyndale’s first ever (1536) translations of the Hebrew into English. To make a long story short, he explained that he rendered shachah as worship because worship meant bow down in obeisance to God in the Middle English of his time.

In conclusion: Praise and worship are two distinct ways of relating to the Lord. Praise lifts up the grace of the Lord in saving and supporting us as His own. In worship we bow down in obeisance before the Lord as our King. We use psalms and songs in our praise to the Lord. We yield the issues of our lives to the Lord (Your will be done) as the primary expression of worship. No matter what style of worship service we may choose, we must remember that true worship is not synonymous with our worship service. Rather such worship becomes a life changing catalyst through habitually praising and humbly submitting all the issues of our daily lives as willful responses to God’s awesome grace. Amen.

Cover of the Action Guide

Truth You Should Know About Worship

by John Hubley, Th.D.
an Action Guide Sponsored by the Mindheart Foundation and the Worship Leaders Network

from the guide:

Worship today comes in many fascinating forms and styles. The reason is that we restless creatures like truth in many forms and styles. Diversity adds color and class to our creative instincts. However, what happens when we take the living God into our search for truth? I mean when we embrace the triune God of Scripture in our quest? What difference does that make in our search for insight into the worship of God?

The purpose of this course is to winnow truth from popular fancy so that as God’s ministers we pursue biblical worship devoted to the triune God. First, we consider truth about worship ingrained in the Bible; then show the impact of the triune God upon worship; however, not worship alone, but worship with justice. We purposely seek to present a theology for pastors and worship leaders interested in biblical theodicy*,  not theater.

This study seeks to inform worship leaders that the God they venerate is triune in being and action; is known, loved and served as Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and involved in our governance and redemption. Biblical worship, creating an obeisant relationship to God that swells into participation with Christ in his saving works, is unveiled in Scripture, and solely in Scripture.

DECISIVE PRAISE AND WORSHIP: Actualizing our Devotion to the Lord is a resource workbook designed to accompany MindHeart seminars on praise and worship. The book is comprehensive enough to stand alone for the reader, but is most useful in the context of an accompanying seminar by the MindHeart team.

DECISIVE PRAISE AND WORSHIP: Actualizing our Devotion to the Lord goes beyond preoccupation with forms and styles of worship, and gets decisively to the essence of biblical worship as actualizing our “facedown” submission to the Lord.

“MISSIONAL WORSHIP… Jesus With The Spirit”

March 12, 2011

The teaching ministry of John Hubley, Th.D. and the Mindheart Foundation for Biblical Studies

Saturday, March 12

8:30AM – 2:30PM
Phoenix Seminary, 4222 East Thomas Road
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(www.phoenixseminary.edu)

Purpose of the Seminar

A missional church is a congregation that firmly believes that God is a mission-focused God. That belief influences everything the missional church practices in its neighborhood and the world. To accomplish this exciting and scriptural end the seminar will study and relate key passages in Matthew’s Gospel relating to Jesus’ missional worship with the Spirit.

The purpose of the “Missional Worship: Jesus with the Spirit” seminar is to challenge pastors and worship leaders to seize upon missional worship as Jesus grasped and practiced it. It’s not that the Father has a mission for the church but that He has the church for His mission to the world. To reach out to the lost, the poor and oppressed; as Jesus did in the power of the Spirit–participating now with Jesus in the Spirit as presented in Matthew 28: 16-20.

8:30 AM         Registration (Coffee, Continental Breakfast provided)

Session I:     9:00am

Session II:   10:15am

Lunch – Provided: 11:30am

Session III:   12:10

Session IV: 1:15pm

The seminar utilizes three instructional and interactive  sessions presenting biblical themes and texts followed by a concluding interactive session facilitated by the Worship Leaders Network Team in concert with the instructor, Dr. John Hubley.

Click here for a more detailed schedule

Cost:   $25 per person  (Limited scholarship available by request)
Registration Link – Click Here

For more information: Gary Bloomquist:   602-568-2075

John Hubley

My subject is: Winnowing the will to worship. To start with: What in the world does winnowing have to do with worship? As a matter of fact, what is winnowing anyway? First of all, it’s an ancient term. It meant separating the chaff from the grain. Today, it simply means separating what’s worthy from what’s worthless. What’s worthless often gets in the way when we seek to worship our God.

The theme didn’t just pop into my head. It came right from the third chapter of Matthew. There are three events that Matthew tethered concerning the worship of God: I really mean the will to worship God. First, John the Baptist came preaching willful worship in the wilderness. Second, Jesus came with a will to worship under John’s ministry. Third, Satan tempted Jesus to break his bond of willful worship to the Father. Each event dealt with the will to worship. Worship doesn’t happen just around us but profoundly within us—it’s the product of our will—it’s our will to worship the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.

Let’s start with John. He baptized people unto repentance. Such baptism with repentance involved penitents submitting themselves in obedience to God. Actually, bowing in facedown obeisance to God was the Hebrew medium of worship. So you see, John zealously promoted true biblical worship in the wilderness. Here are his engaging words: “I baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Baptism is more than worship. Baptism is a will to worship. It turn us away from self-will to live for the will of the Father. That’s true repentance. However, John went beyond repentance. He promised that when the Christ came, He would baptize with the Spirit and with fire. He would ignite a fervent fire, kindle an intense will, in their hearts, to winnow worthless ways during their worship. The prophets Amos and Micah had years before warned people about equating worship with attending to attend the temple sacrifices; dancing to just dance lively to their favorite songs and lyrics during festivals.

Matthew continued: Jesus came from Galilee to be baptized by John. He was moved by the promise of the Holy Spirit and fire associated with baptism. He sought to bow in facedown obeisance to his Father at the start of his mission. But something went awry. John refused to baptize him. Instead, he pleaded, “I need to be baptized by You.” Jesus’ will to worship spiked like fermenting wine. He cried out: “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Wow! Jesus was tenacious. “Get with it, John!  It’s what’s required right now!  I must do what my will compels me to do: Worship the Father as His beloved and obeisant Son.” Quickly, John relented. When Jesus came up out of the water “the heavens were opened to Him, And He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.’” Jesus was enthralled.

To recapitulate: John preached the baptism of repentance, the proclamation of the will to worship; to bury ones self-will in baptism; and to bow in facedown obeisance to the Father’s will. We perceived how Jesus pursued his passion for the Father, denying his self-will through baptism, and bowing in face down obeisance to the Father. Now we’ll examine what our role becomes in light of how Jesus dealt with Satan—ourselves responding in the same manner.

Matthew continued: Immediately, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus had declared his utter obeisance to the Father, and received His pleasure and delight. Jesus knew when he faced the devil he must uphold his obeisance, and maintain his integrity. Then, Satan taunted him about turning stones into bread, and falling from great heights without injury. Even though these were challenges to Jesus, they were not obstacles to sustaining his godly stature and his well-being. They were simply Satan’s slick preludes to undermine Jesus’ integrity, and destroy his mission as the Son of God.

Satan’s real clincher came with this enticing carrot: “All the kingdoms of the world are absolutely yours, Jesus, “If You will fall down and worship me”  “You who declared your awesome obeisance to the Father in baptism: Renounce your baptismal commitment to the Father; retract your calling as Messiah; abandon your mission to bear the sin of many and make intercession for transgressors.

Satan put everything of redemptive value up for grabs in his wicked effort to ravage the Father and degrade his Son. But comes a surprise!  Satan was amazed at Jesus’ response. Although Satan might have been prepared for the jolting surprise had he paid closer attention to Jesus’ awesome baptism.

Jesus exclaimed with the passion of his entire being: “Out of my sight, Satan, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve”. What was Jesus doing? Did he simply demand the obvious: That Satan back off and bow down in obeisance to God? There’s much more to this than that. Let’s back up for a moment. Jesus’ viewed his worship of the Father as the ultimate will and moral fiber of his mission. He publicly presented himself as the ultimate and willful Worshiper. This is what he meant when he said:  “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent me” (John 6:38).

Was Jesus making an example of his baptism, or was he going much deeper, was he implying that we believers also participate in his obeisance to the Father through our own moment of baptism? Responding to his example is easy in its impact. Participating willfully in his submission to the Father is encompassing in its impact. He boldly challenged Satan to participate with the Son in his ultimate obeisance to the Father—to forsake his selfish desire to dominate the world, and boldly embrace the Son’s obeisance to the Father in both mission and justice.

Our will to worship becomes our participation in his will to worship. Participation involves much more than imitating his obeisance to the Father, although that’s certainly possible. But it’s willfully sharing with Him, it’s participating with Him, in our regenerate minds and imaginations, in his absolute obeisance to the Father, as if his submission becomes our own–for by faith through grace it surely does.

By participating in Jesus’ will to worship the Father, we actually winnow the self will from our worship. The wind of the Spirit effectively sweeps away our self will with its choking stress on outward forms and styles, and graciously frees us to make facedown obeisance to the Father through the Son in our lifestyle forever.

Whenever we read worship in the Bible, it portrays doing obeisance to God as the Lord. However, worship is expressed in many ways in the Bible through what we call liturgies. Liturgies portray various activities in which believers live out their obeisance to God.  For instance in the Old Testament, presenting tithes to God is a liturgy as is rendering sacrifices. In the New Testament being baptized, and sharing in the Lord’s Table are liturgies. They enable believers to live out their willful obeisance to Christ as the Lord.

Since the crucifixion, resurrection and glorification of Christ, worship (as obeisance) has now taken on an awesome intensive relationship to God. The apostles Paul and Peter portray worship as the believers’ participation with Christ in his death, resurrection and glorification. Portrayed as a mystery by these apostles, the true worshiper partakes in Christ’s obeisance to the Father by sharing in his death (dying to sin), his resurrection (living with justice), and his glorification (embracing his eternal glory).

Our biblical theology of worship so far has mentioned the Father and the Son, but not the Spirit. Throughout the Bible the Spirit is portrayed as the person of the triune God that enables worshipers to overcome sin and pride in order to do obeisance to God as Lord. In the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles portray the Spirit as carrying out Christ’s mission after his entrance into Heaven. Therefore, the Spirit now nurtures worshipers in doing obeisance to Christ through holy baptism and the Lord’s Table.

The Spirit served in Old and New Testaments in showing obeisance to God through instrumental music and sung lyrics. Serving the Spirit as worship leaders, Moses led the Israelites after escaping the Egyptians with the “Song of Moses” (Ex. 15:1-18); David openly danced in restoring the Ark to worship with singers and trumpets and stringed instruments (1 Chron.16:1-36), and the apostles sang psalms and hymns and spiritual song submitting themselves publicly to God and to one another (Eph. 5:17-21).

Now, since acknowledging the Spirit’s role in nurturing worshipers to do obeisance to God through bible-based music and liturgies, it follows logically and naturally that almost any vehicles of worship that exist to do obeisance to God is blessed by the Holy Spirit. No matter how a vehicle may please worshipers or doesn’t, if that vehicle expresses due obeisance to God in dealing the issues of their daily lives, it’s a vehicle of genuine worship. Without expressing due obeisance to the triune God, nothing is true worship.