Lift Worship Leader Collective (Main Session Two)

(These are my notes from the Main Session Two from Lift Worship Leader Collective 2013 at Passion City Church)

• Matthew 20:20-28 (ESV) "Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them,“You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus was always working His way to get to the bottom... 
• As worship pastors our goal should never be to be great but to be a servant. Work our way to the bottom not to the top.
• We are Priest (Levites) because we get the opportunity to bridge the gap for people to meet Jesus.
• Being a servant is the top spot in the Kingdom of God. You will never receive any higher calling than SERVANT.
• The weight of worship is the Gospel of Jesus.
• Ephesians 2:1-4 (ESV) "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us," The Gospel is not about how our sin makes us bad... It is about how to get dead people to rise to lift. It is about the resurrection of the dead.
• There is no propulsion great enough to bring us from death to life because dead people cannot build rockets.
• It's the same as how an elevator works... In order for the elevator to be lifted up the counter weight (something heavier than the elevator and the people in it) has to be released to lift the elevator to the appropriate floor.
• The counter weight of Jesus was what happened to get us to heaven. The weight of the death and resurrection of Jesus carried enough weight with God to lift us up to right standing with God again. 
• The glory of God is a Hebrew word (Kabod) that literally means weight. It was a significant weight that lifted us from death to life. The counter weight was the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
• When the gospel comes down the worship goes up. When the glory of God comes down the worship goes up.
• Psalm 40 tells us about the gospel of Jesus. It talks about the weight of Jesus that lifted us up from the pit. The weight of Jesus lifted us dead people out of the pit of death.
• God leads us out of bondage and into a life of worship. God leads us out of slavery and into a life of worship.
• Romans 12:1 tells us to offer our bodies / life as a living sacrifices... This is a completely normal response to the gospel. This is expected and a correct response.
• If the gospel is not presented in the church there will not be worship in the church.
• 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV) "But you are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." This is how I should respond and view my calling for the rest of my life! 
• Joel 2:17, THE PORCH AND THE ALTAR is the land between where priest should weep for the people. Nothing matters but that. We focus so much on songs, sets, messages, the way the church looks but it is not the main thing. We are priests of God and to God for the people.
• Jesus picked me when I was dead and placed me as a royal priesthood THAT I MAY proclaim His excellencies.
• When we plan and lead we have to learn to go to Jesus first. Not a blog, a website or friends. GO TO JESUS FIRST!
• Pastoring people isn't something that is a have to or a get to... It is a THAT WE MAY.
• Church and worship isn't an option but it is a privilege.
• You will never hear or read in the Bible God say that we should worship him or that we ought to worship Him. But we can and do hear Him say, THAT WE MAY.
• We can take the top job in the kingdom of God and be a servant of the King.

To watch a similar sermon that Louie gave to us at Lift click here.  This is the message that he gave on a Sunday a few weeks ago called "The Weight of Worship".  I would definitely recommend that everyone watch it!