“He who has influence upon the heart of God rules the world.” --- Helmut Thielicke (1908-1985), German Protestant theologian.
What does it mean to have influence upon the heart of God? Can we change His heart or sway His opinion? I think not – but when we please God with our lives and motivations, He is willing to put us in a place of significant standing in order to bring change to this world we live in. The favor of the Lord will promote you to a place of world wide influence! My question to you is this, “Have you grabbed the heart of God? Have you gotten His attention with your passion for His Kingdom?”
I want to be a person of Kingdom influence. When my life is over, I pray others will know I had God’s attention, that I changed my surroundings to reflect His purpose. I pray those who knew me will have been touched by God in me. You see, our definition of worship has gotten away from its original design. Worship is not heavenly music or lovely choreography! Worship is all about understanding the Father’s rightful place in our lives and letting Him express Himself through us daily. Worship is passionately pursuing purpose and allowing yourself to be a vessel of honor that brings glory to His name. Music is just one vehicle to express honor, but your life tells the real story.
There are so many examples in the Word of people who had influence on the heart of God and they all had one thing in common. Each one laid down their own plans and desires and embraced His call on their lives. Take Mary the mother of Jesus. She had big dreams of her own - planning a wedding, preparing for marriage and thinking ahead to when she would have children of her own. But when the angel of the Lord came and announced a new plan, she immediately proclaimed her love for purpose with the words, “Be it unto me according to Your will!” Her life became an expression of worship and she immediately became the doorway especially designed for the entrance of our Savior! Wow, what better example of facilitating world-wide change could you ask for?
What about David? He was content wandering the fields with the sheep, living the life of youngest son in a large family. But David was a man after God’s own heart and his purpose extended far beyond those fields! He could have refused the Word of the Lord that came through Samuel, but his response was an immediate, “Yes!” He quickly gained the favor of a king and a nation, making his mark on the world forever as an expression of true worship. God elevated Him to a position that enabled Him to change His surroundings. David had grabbed the attention of God and became ruler over much!
All the money in the world will not make you a person of influence in the Kingdom. Your position in corporate America will not put your name in the history books. Only when you get the attention of the Father with passionate pursuit will your life begin to make a mark on your generation and your surroundings. When we make a decision to lay down our own desires and pursue His heart, we will begin to change the world!
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Ah, Abigail, you have touched on a subject that has had my heart crying out for choirs, praise dancers, even preachers to comprehend. Our heart for the Father is where true worship starts. The greatest of the greatest in the church must first be determined seekers of God's heart on the homefront. Excellent article!!! This means so much to me at this point in time as I am presently choreographing the dance for a song called 'Living Water' and, thus far, I cannot complete the dance before I find myself knelt and still before Him. And the wonderous thing is, it happens at home, alone, in the middle of my living room floor. The dance is going to be beautiful, I'm sure, because He's beautiful... if I can just get through the chorus.
23 Feb 2004
Excellent article! I fear also that we have come to see worship as a way of tipping God's hand in our personal favour. And although worship certainly does benefit us, pure motivation is God-ward. Thanks so much for this important piece of writing!!
