Worship 25 Space, the Final or Only Frontier?

[HKHaugan]

“Houston, we have lift-off.” Those words are accompanied by the roar of the satellites' departure from the launch pad. The command center is full of scientists and technicians actively monitoring all the measuring instruments recording the event. It's a gigantic undertaking involving thousands of hours of research and invention but also the belief, trust and faith in the human ability to put into being what the mind has conceived. Shift this into the spiritual dimension and consider God's mind and His launching the universe and us into being. Just that consideration is the beginning of moments of worship, the mind giving way to the mind of God.

Not only is He the beginning of Creation but He is also its end, the Alpha and Omega (Rev.1:8, 21:6, 22:13). The Alpha part is Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The Omega part is 2 Peter 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” It's the 'in-between' that is so fascinating. It's where we are right now in every next moment. We have been blessed with a privilege, the privilege of being a living personal testimony to the Lord's presence, His plan and how personal He can be with each one who trusts Him.

What happens in between is God setting humanity in motion reproducing images and likenesses of Himself that will multiply and manage His Creation (Gen.1:26). The outer structure, His image, containing the inward nature, His likeness. The outer structure being the interpersonally conscious mind, heart and spirit of 'I AM (Gen.3:14).” The inward nature being holiness (Rom.1:4), grace (Rom.1:5), love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal.5:22).

These few quotes are meant to introduce the theme of God's identity and presence and our being His images. They are by no means exhaustive. What they do is get across the idea that the Bible gives us the foundation for giving our mind, heart and spirit the juice to be alive, active and anticipating every next moment's potential. It's to be seated in the one secure and confident capsule to launch ourselves into spiritual space, Holy Scripture. We too are in capsules called bodies but the 'Headcapsule' is the inseparable Word of God, the living Jesus and His Word written. We are flying with God, with one another and our trajectory is the Kingdom of Heaven. Our focus is where we are going, looking ahead.

The past is a lesson, the future is a learning. “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins (2Peter 1:5-9).”

In Genesis 1:1-2, after God created heaven and earth, there are 8 'God said's' starting with vs.3 which specify what He wanted heaven and earth to look like. He had a design in mind. The design would be spiritual, personal and relational. Let's think of His design using some modern imagery.

God's Word takes our mind, heart and spirit into spiritual space that precedes physical creation and will succeed beyond it. As opposed to being astronauts we become 'pneumanauts,' spiritual travelers as opposed to astronauts, astral travelers, Traveling spiritually we rely on the one source we can trust to open spiritual reality in its fullness, the Lord Jesus and His guidance system, the Holy Spirit. Our bodies may be held to the ground by gravity but our spiritual being soars. Having received Him as Lord in our heart He brings the person of the Holy Spirit to order our mind and energize our spirit to navigate the eternity of space that lies before us. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Col.3:1-4).”

Worship is traveling in spiritual space. When we put our mind, heart and spirit to work, that is worship, personal worship. When we focus them on God we are worshiping Him. Focusing them and working them on anything less is idolatry, idol worship. That raises some serious question about how we spend our time in thought, emotion and the unseen issues of life. Here is where we begin the exercise and practice of worship, spiritual space travel. It is also where I stop with being specific about what others should do (judgmentalism) and begin taking into account where I am in my relationship with God (repentance). This is why each of us is in a different capsule in spiritual space. No one past, present or future will be the same as us.

If any one of us takes a lead in how our mind, heart and spirit work the best it doesn't mean that everyone else is to follow that lead. This is where spiritual space travel is different from astral travel. Here is where the Scripture comes in to sort out how we travel as 'pneumanauts,' spiritual persons and as spiritual families traveling in spiritual space. In spiritual space it is the Lord personally directing your flight and my flight in the Holy Spirit's power. How personal is it? Jesus reminds us in the words He gave Mary right after His Resurrection, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God (Jn.20:17).”

Each capsule (our physical body with a mind, heart and spirit) can't make the trip alone. We need help. We may look similar and have similar equipment like others but we are eternally unique and designed to be directly personal in and with God. Each of us is special to God as has been repeated over and again in this series and will be repeated again. Yet we are called to journey together and share our travel events, anecdotes, stories, problems, concerns and what we have learned on the way which is our testimony, our travel log, the record we leave behind for those who will follow us. Why? Because we are to be a copy of the core family of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were designed to be relational like the Trinity. We are a spiritual family. That's why we meet in small groups. It is in pneumatic (spiritually oriented) groups, small prayer groups, that we share and how we share is in the flight manual, Holy Scripture. There we learn not to copy each other but to learn the manual together, pray together and support one another, to avoid the spiritual asteroids of sin and the space junk of evil thrown in our path by the devil. It is in the love of God, His care and compassion, His maintenance program for us, that a successful journey is guaranteed.

The mind is able to reason, sort and order personal experience. The heart is able to trust, to feel, to gather, to embrace worth and value. The spirit is able to be motivated, to react and to energize the mind and heart in what they have given it. But in the case of all three they were trapped in the layers of sin where fear and pride prevented their intended use. But the Holy Spirit taps the well of the heart and the pressure of sin forces everything to the surface and the mind, heart and spirit are capped by God's grace, love and forgiveness and the measuring device to balance its flow is God's Word. Now, brought in balance, they complement each other, working together to be functional and productive.

Worship is the mind, heart and spirit tapped to center the flow through Jesus in the power of the Spirit. Worship is personal study of the Word for the mind, character reference for the heart to feel the security of the spirit being motivated to flow into the world outside. The 'world outside ' is every next moment where you are. The 'moment' belongs to the Spirit and 'where you are' is the field of action. When consciousness of the Lord's presence is in the mind, the heart given confidence and the spirit stirred, worship happens. Worship is the testimony and witness expressed. Worship then becomes the expectation for every next moment. Expectation that the Lord will inspire and the Spirit will deliver. All of this is the Father's will in action. Worship is realized, experienced and fulfilled in action.

There is a way to be truly personal in worship; a methodology, a progressive measuring rod to develop being a disciple. Paul describes it this way, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Rom.5:1-5).”
Spiritual space travel, its propulsion, the words of the Lord Jesus “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (Jn.14:6).” Then of course, you 'suit up.' The space suit? Allow your mind to imagine modern counterparts from this passage starting with the 'seat belt' of truth, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people (Eph.6:14-18).”