Change The World
“And going into the house, the magi saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.... Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him.” (Matthew 2:11, 28:16-17)
Our country is one beautiful tapestry; however, two polar opposites pull at the furthest seams. In every election cycle, the tension grows until the tension eventually becomes a tear. Pick any two news organizations and you will hear two very different stories. Families, communities, and even our country feels torn apart. Do you feel it? Our politicians do, and each one promises to mend what has been torn, to beat our swords into ploughs, and to heal the great divide. And yet, I ask myself whether or not fighting fire with fire will do something besides leave everyone feeling burnt.
Let me ask a question. Do you want to change the current situation? Do you want to change the world? Well, what changed the world before? What shook the Roman Empire? What made the nations rage and the caesars tremble? It was not a bigger gun, nor a bigger party; it was worship. While Luke records the reign of Caesar Augustus, he focuses on the birth of the King of Kings. Herod trembled at the prospect of the nations worshipping at the feet of this King. Are we seeing a trend here? The way we change the world is not by worldly power; the way we change the world is by heavenly worship. Those same worshipping disciples turned the world upside down because worship first turned them right side up. The Sanhedrin feared when they saw these men who had been with Jesus. The economic engine of Ephesus came to a halt as men and women “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
My friends, change the world, not by political power, nor by economic power, nor by military power. No, change the world by worship, for our God has all the power. Worship may not seem like much, but Tim Chester points out that “small, intimate communities of light are often unseen by history. But they’re what transform neighbors and cities.” Worship in a thousand little sleepy towns like Raymond brought down the mighty Roman Empire. What can God do through our worship today?
