Frustrated, exhausted, and unable to catch my breath, I motioned to our praise team to end
the song early. I just couldn’t breathe! It was so hot! I looked out at the congregation, some
still bundled in their sweaters from the cold outside. How could they be chilled to the bone
in this heat?
As any worship leader knows, when you lead a worship service—particularly an Apostolic
Pentecostal worship service—you’re moving, shouting, controlling your breath, hitting
those high notes, and ministering all at the same time. And, moving that much, the
temperature on the platform soars!
I’ve often thought churches need to invest in one thermostat for the congregation and a
separate one for the platform!
Normally, I could fan myself between songs, remove my jacket, or down some ice water,
but today was different. I had worn a beautiful, heavy-knit sweater with a leopard scarf.
That morning, as I admired myself in the mirror, I had looked the picture of “put together,”
but as worship service hit its peak, I was anything but! The scarf was quickly untied and
dropped to the floor, and that’s when I hit a stalemate. Nothing else could be shed to
alleviate the heat!
Returning to our seats, following song service, I inwardly grumbled and cast a quick glance
at the thermostat as I circled the back pews. My mood had changed and it wasn’t good.
Arriving at my seat, however, I felt the Lord nudge me… “Come dressed.”
What? I was dressed!
The nudge came again, “For what?”
I was puzzled. I tried to zero in on the beginning of the sermon, but the prodding continued:
“What did you come dressed for?”
My first response was, “I came dressed for church, of course,” but it soon began to unravel.
What did the sweater and the pretty scarf have to do with church?
They were nice, to be sure, and would have been the perfect, godly outfit for date night or a
trip to the mall… but something about that combination had shut me down when someone
in our congregation may have desperately needed that worship service!
Now, don’t get me wrong, there was nothing ungodly, immodest, or inappropriate about
that sweater. For those of the frozen chosen who are cold no matter the season, a sweater
is the perfect outfit for a church service… but for me, it had hindered me from leading
worship to my full capacity.
I felt challenged… and convicted.
I felt another nudge: “Come dressed for worship.”
I thought I had, and yet, if I’m honest, I know how hot the platform gets when the Spirit of
God starts to move. But if I had not come dressed for worship, what had I come dressed
for?
What was I thinking that morning? What was the purpose behind the clothes?
I began to realize, there’s nothing ungodly about a beautiful, cable-knit sweater… but for
me, it’s a piece I would be better saving for a dinner out rather than worship.
Similarly, there’s nothing ungodly about elegant 5-inch heels that wrap and buckle around
the ankle, but if you can’t dance before the Lord, run the aisles, and leap for joy without
breaking the flow of the Spirit to unbuckle and get those suckers off, what did you come
dressed for?
Apparently, there’s something to be said for shoes we can just kick off! That is, unless
you’re a champion sprinter in high heels and I’ve seen a few!
We always hear in the secular world, Dress for Success! If you want to be a banker, wear
your suit to work. If you want to be a forest ranger, dress to explore and hike.
When I come to church, I am coming as a worshipper. What would happen if we took
coming to church seriously… and dressed for the occasion? David did.
When David got serious about ushering the presence of the Lord, in the form of the ark of
the covenant, back into the city… when David got serious about restoring God back to His
rightful place, His own crown had to come off! His kingly robes were cast to the ground!
In fact, David removed every layer that would restrict him from true worship!
We often come to church in layers, but it’s more than physical accoutrements. We come
with layers of fleshly identities, secular labels that defy change, false dignity, preconceived
ideas, and mindsets that paralyze our faith.
All are layers that restrict our worship!
I believe God has called me—and those of His Church—to strip ourselves of the layers that
hinder the moving of God!
We are to come dressed for worship—physically but also spiritually and mentally!
If you need healing, come dressed for your healing! If you notice, when Jesus healed the
blind man, he cast off the beggar’s cloak! There must be a casting off of the labels that have
defined us.
Too often we are restricted by what doctors or mental health professionals have labeled us,
but when we’re in the presence of the King, all those layers must come off if we want our
healing!
It doesn’t mean we aren’t truly sick, but it means that the Healer is in the house and by
stripping ourselves of those layers, we recognize and embrace that healing!
It is not God’s Will for us to come robed in doubt, in shame, or in despair. It is also not His
Will for us to come draped in pride, our earthly possessions, our secular degrees, and
worldly accomplishments before His throne.
We are so quick to say, “Well, that’s just who I am. That’s just me.” I’ve heard those same
words from both those who are lifted up with pride, and also from those despondent from
the grief of failure, loss, addiction, and hopelessness.
The problem is, worship is not about who you are—good or bad. Worship is about God and
He will uplift and bless as He wills for your life!
For God to move, however, we need a stripping off of all the entrapments of self. In short,
we come to church with too much Us-ness!
The bible says we are to come before His presence with singing, into His gates with
thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise! (Psalm 100:4)
We are called to put on the garment of praise! (Isaiah 61:3)
Why? Because God inhabits our praise! He dwells in it! He expresses His God-ness within
it!
Our unhindered, uninhibited praise opens a doorway for God to be God!
If you need the miraculous in your life, come dressed to worship!
Refuse to restrict the flow of God’s Spirit with too much us-ness!
The question becomes, how bad do we want a move of God? Are we willing to remove the
layers of our own making?
Are we willing to go to service—not to be seen or fussed over by others—but to get God’s
attention?
Are we willing to go to that rally or conference—not to impress, intrigue, or network—but to
meet with the Lover of our Soul?
Our prayer rooms aren’t just a place to find solace before service, but they ought to be
changing rooms! It’s a place to put on the garment of praise and leave the other layers
behind.
Esther did it. Before she ever had an audience with the king, she prepared herself to be
pleasing before him, casting away her old identity and embracing the adornment suitable
to the presence of a king.
When I go to church this Sunday, I’m coming dressed for an audience with my King!
I’m coming dressed for breakthrough!
I’m coming dressed for deliverance, healing, and, yes, worship!
And I want to empower my church by making sure she is adorned for her husband!
This week, I want my church dressed for visitors! Visitor cards and greeters will be readily
waiting for new faces in the foyer.
This week, I want my church dressed for baptism with tank filled up, heated, and ready to
baptize the hungry soul who sees their urgent need!
I’m coming dressed—not to be fashion plate—but to see a move of God!
I’m coming dressed to worship! What are you wearing?
Be the first to comment