Louie Giglio - The Seeing that Leads to Singing
Today, I’m kind of shifting into teaching mode again, if that’s okay. I received some good feedback over the last few weeks; people said, «I like teaching Louie. That’s really a good version of Louie when we dig down into stuff.» Then someone mentioned, «I kind of miss preaching Louie,» and I thought, «Oh great! I’ll just try to use both hands today at some point.»
We’re exploring this definition that’s helping us, and I’m hoping by the end of this collection, you’ll be able to say, «Worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is and what He has done, expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live.» We’re trying to unpack that. One of the key ideas we talked about last week was that worship is a response. It doesn’t begin with you or me; it begins with God revealing to us who He is and then demonstrating over time His faithfulness. So, we are worshiping Him or responding to Him for two reasons: number one, for who He is. He is worthy of worship simply because of who He is. If He doesn’t do one thing for anybody, He’s still worthy of all our praise because He’s God, the only God, the one true God. He is the Creator, sustainer, and originator of everything that exists, and He deserves our worship.
Earlier in the gathering, we read about the sun, the moon, the stars, and every creature on earth—big and small—all bringing their praise to Him because He is Creator God and worthy of it all. We’re also worshiping Him for what He has done. Has God done anything for anyone in this gathering? Has God done anything for you? You might say, «Well, not lately. My situation isn’t going the way I want it to. My prayers aren’t being answered as I hoped, and I’m unsure where God is.» But in the micro, God shows up just to remind us, «I’m here,» so that our worship continues on and on, even when circumstances don’t necessarily make sense. God is still who He is. When our worship is in response to Him, it can be unimpeded by anything in life. This is a powerful reality, and it all starts with God.
He is the one who shows us who He is. He is the one revealing everything that exists. When we see this, we begin to respond to what God is revealing to us. If you don’t see anything today, if you haven’t seen God, if you haven’t seen grace, if you haven’t seen Jesus, then just ask God, «I want to see Jesus.» One day, as Jesus was entering a village, a blind man was on the side of the road and kept shouting, «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!» The disciples tried to get him to quiet down because he was causing a scene, but Jesus heard him because he was relentless in his asking, and He gave him sight in that moment. I think one of the prayers that God loves most is the honest prayer of, «I just don’t get it. Can you help me understand? I don’t see it; can you help me see it?» I know that a genuine response from God won’t happen until I can see Him.
Matt Redman said, «First, you see, and then you sing.» Worship doesn’t start with singing; it starts with seeing. This is how we respond. It’s interesting. Some people think, «If you see who He is and what He’s done, you’ll naturally live a vibrant life of worship.» How could you not worship God if you see who He is and what He’s done? Well, it’s possible. On average, about nine out of ten people see God and recognize who He is and what He’s done but still don’t respond with a wholehearted life of worship. A prime example is the story Jesus told us in Luke 17. Most people here today know it, and I think it’s one of the most powerful illustrations of what we’re discussing regarding humanity.
In verse 11, it says, «Now on His way to Jerusalem…» This «His» refers to Jesus. «He traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.» As He was entering a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance, calling out in loud voices, «Jesus, Master, have pity on us.» Let’s stop at paragraph one. There are three important things here regarding who He is and what He’s done. First, He was on His way to Jerusalem, not just for a visit but to die on a cross. This is when He was giving His life for the world’s sins. Second, He was traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee, which is significant given the tension between the Jews and the Samaritans in that area. Jesus understood that both Jews and Samaritans needed a Savior. Third, the ten men with leprosy approached Him.
Leprosy, as you know, is a devastating disease that leads to losing sensation in your extremities; often, individuals don’t realize when injuries occur, ultimately leading to the loss of flesh and body parts. You become ostracized from family, friends, community, and any ability to participate in the worship of God. These men were in misery, wearing bells around their necks to alert people to their condition, shouting, «We’re lepers over here, don’t come this way!» However, they had heard about this man who could do miraculous things, so they shouted, «Jesus, Master, have pity on us!»
When He saw them, He said, «Go show yourselves to the priests.» That seems like one of those curveballs from Jesus. It’s like, «Hello? They need to be healed; they don’t need a priest!» Priests typically don’t deal with lepers; it wouldn’t be a good solution for them. Why would He say, «Go show yourselves to the priests»? Because He knew they were about to be healed. When someone was healed of leprosy in Jesus' day, they needed to be assessed by a priest who would officially declare them healed. In that moment, they would be brought back into a state of ceremonial cleanliness and able to worship God again. Jesus knew they were going to need that, so He said, «Go show yourselves to the priest.» He spoke by faith, knowing what was about to happen, and they went by faith, which is incredible. As they went, they were cleansed.
Interestingly, the word Luke uses here indicates that as they went, they became spiritually clean. In other words, they started on the road toward right standing with God. When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back praising God in a loud voice. Here comes the worship! You don’t come back whispering when you see that you’ve been healed; he threw himself at Jesus' feet. The Greek literally states he fell down on his face at Jesus' feet and thanked Him, and he was a Samaritan. This man had two strikes against him: he had leprosy, and he was a Samaritan. Yet here he is at the feet of Jesus. He was once far off, but now he is at the feet of the Savior of the world.
What did Jesus do? He asked, «Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?» Then He said to him, «Rise and go; your faith has made you well.» This is an intriguing snapshot of our working definition of worship. I love that the phrase «praising God» comes from the word «doxa,» which means glory in the New Testament. Specifically, he was glorifying God. I looked at some word helps for this Greek word, and you find that «doxazo» means to ascribe weight. The Old Testament word for glory is «kabad,» which means heavy. I think it’s a cool way of expressing God’s glory—when I give glory to God, I’m saying, «You are heavy!»
If you remember the 70s, people would say, «Wow, dude, that’s heavy!» This is how we come to God. We don’t just skip in casually. We can speak intimately to Him as sons and daughters who can call Him «Abba, Father,» but when we address God, we come in awe, saying, «Whoa, that’s heavy!» In fact, that’s the heaviest and the weightiest of all: glory to God. This word transitions into the New Testament in «doxa,» meaning weight through recognizing real substance or value. Look how it’s used here—glorifying means valuing. This idea fired me up! It means valuing Him for who He is. It’s our response to God, both personal and corporate.
For example, giving or ascribing glory to God personally acknowledges God in His true character or essence. When this man fell at Jesus' feet, he acknowledged Jesus' true essence and value as the weightiest and heaviest of all. He affirmed what they had shouted, «Jesus, Master,» and now, in a bowing posture with his face down on the ground, he acknowledged that something happened but, more importantly, that Jesus is the one who did it. This, to me, is the beauty of true worship. Many are thrilled with what God has done for them, enamored when God acts for them, and that’s great—I’m grateful for His hand. But I’m more enthralled with His face. It’s easy for me to seek His hand, but I was made to seek His face.
It’s wonderful to say, «Thank You, God, for all the amazing blessings,» but then I realize, «Oh my word, You’re the one who performs miracles! Thank You for the miracle! You’re a miracle worker. Thank You for the grace. You’re the giver of grace! Thank You that I’m healed!» Whoa, You have the power to heal! You didn’t even say we were healed; you just told them to go get their sign-off from the priest, and it’s done! Hallelujah! And that’s what He’s saying to you now: «Walk on; it’s done.» Just walk on in confidence; it’s done.
This one guy—that’s right, one out of ten—both saw Jesus, heard Him speak, and was healed of their disease, yet did not respond with wholehearted worship. They might have talked to someone at home, saying, «Oh, this Jesus guy did it.» «Where’d you get your ears back?» «That Jesus guy is crazy; it’s real stuff!» They may have shared this at the water cooler or posted it on Instagram, but only one returned, fell at His feet, and said, «You are the one!» When He did that, one final thing: Jesus said to him, «Rise and go; your faith has made you well.»
What kind of faith did he have? Interestingly, it was faith in Jesus as God, faith that He is the promised one they had heard about. «You’re the one we’ve been waiting for; you are God. Your faith has made you well.» This is fascinating. The word «well» here is «sozo,» which means saved. He got cleansed, healed, and saved by Jesus. This is what inspires our worship. I got saved! I was cleansed and made right with God! I was out but now I’m in! I didn’t have a shot to get in, but now I am in! Hello! I got healed! In other words, I had all kinds of things wrong with me, and God is fixing and healing those things. He is making me whole in Him!
Moreover, I got saved! At our church, we have three theological anchors. They’re not our entire theological belief system; you’ve heard us say these many times: the glory of God, radical grace, and extravagant worship. The reason I’m digging into this text is that I want you to know these ideas are not just preferential to Passion City Church. You might think, «Oh, I used to go to that church, then I went to that church, and now I’m at Passion City Church. They have these three things they talk about all the time.» It appears it’s really important to Louie as well.
I’m uncovering these texts so you will understand this is not preferential to me or Passion City Church. This is the story of God: the glory of God, the radical grace of God, and the extravagant worship of God. We have a healed leper at Jesus' feet. I’m not the one saying that’s important to God. Jesus is the one telling us today how life with God works. I don’t want you to think, «Oh, that’s a Passion thing,» and I want you to fully understand this is a you thing. This is how God wired you; this is what God created you for, and it’s what He saved you for. I’m telling you, when you see that, everything changes.
You know the phrase we have here: «You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises"—there’s our word—"of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.» Some translations say «His marvelous light.» «Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.» Can I get an amen? Can I get a hand? Can I get a shout of praise? Can anyone say hallelujah? Can anyone say praise God that I hadn’t received mercy, but now I have received mercy? This is what our worship is all about, and that’s why we say that we may!
That’s what this guy was thinking when he fell at Jesus' feet. He didn’t say, «You know what? I got my hands back, my ears back, and my nose back—I ought to go thank that guy.» There was no «I ought to,» «I should,» or «I have to.» He said, «I may! I may now go with ten toes, ten fingers, and two ears! I may now go with a nose and whole lips! I may go back and glorify Him.» I don’t have to, but I may! That’s what grace and mercy do to us when we truly see them.
Our Gospel isn’t that if you try really hard, you can make it to a holy God. We don’t say, «Just keep on trying!» We reject that here because Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to do what you and I can never do. Sin is problematic because it doesn’t just make you a bad person; it makes you a dead person—a spiritually dead person. Sin doesn’t make you bad. It is bad, but the Bible says sin makes you spiritually dead. «For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.» We missed the mark when we did it our own way, resulting in being spiritually dead and cut off from weighty glory. I can’t change that, but Jesus can, and He did.
He took on my sin; it got Him dead. He came out of the grave, showing He has power over death, and He offers that resurrection life to anyone who puts their faith in Him. I’m telling you, this house today is a collection of formerly dead people who are now spiritually alive! Can I get an amen? Can I get a little hallelujah? Can someone say praise the Lord? Can someone testify, «I hadn’t gotten over that yet»? Yeah, I prayed that prayer when I was nine, and it was a while back, but I love Him.
Coming through the door today, you might be thinking, «In light of what He has done, I want to give Him everything.» When you see the cross and how far God has brought you, it will impact how you worship. A few things impact why and how I come to church. If I see the cross, I applaud you for being here today. This isn’t about you; it’s for whoever didn’t make it today, this month, or this year. They’re on their way to Christmas, looking forward to it, anticipating our Christmas Eve at Passion City—one of my favorite times of the year.
I see people at the airport saying, «Hey, I go to your church once a year for the Christmas Eve gathering.» This isn’t for anyone in the room right now, but when I see the cross, it impacts why I come to church and how I come to church. I don’t wait until 9:30 PM on Saturday night to see if everything’s falling into place. I decide on Tuesday, «I’m going to church.» I thought about it on Wednesday and on Thursday. I talked to a friend about it on Friday. We coordinated on Saturday, and I woke up on Sunday, having already made up my mind that I’m going to the gathering with all the people who were dead but are now alive.
I’m coming to the house of God, and it changes how I come. When I arrive, I don’t come to church to worship; I come worshiping to church. Worship doesn’t start at 9:30; it began when I woke up this morning. You might say, «Lou, you don’t live at our house! We have kids fighting. Someone tried to poke an eye out. The dog pooped on the floor. We had car trouble—it was crazy!» We arrived by the grace of God, and I’ve never been happier than to drop them off today. In fact, I’ve been praying for that tent leader throughout this entire gathering: «Dear God, give them something I don’t have.»
It’s different when you haven’t fallen out of love with the God who died on a cross for you. I can’t wait to gather with the church. The psalmist said, «I want to arrive at the great assembly to add my voice to the testimony of God’s faithfulness.» People often say, «Lou, you don’t have to go to a church building to worship God on Sunday. You can worship God anywhere.» I respond, «Of course, you can! Duh! You can worship God anywhere!» It’s like, «Of course, you can be close to God anywhere! Of course, you don’t have to come into this building to worship God.»
But everyone understands this concept. A Georgia fan might drive to Nashville for a game, but I’ve seen how they flood into Athens on game day. Sure, the game is on TV, but fans think, «I got good tickets and friends at the best tailgate. No, man, this is the game!» It’s obvious you can watch it at home, but it’s not the same as being there. That’s why we organized this outing for the last ten days.
Got it? I play my records on a Sunday and cannot wait to get to church, and it truly changes how you sing when you get here. Your heart, your attitude, and yes, you might be coming in low. I’ve come to church feeling low, but I still couldn’t wait to get to church. I may not have a lot to give today, but God, I’m here to be in the great assembly. Even if I’m quiet, my very presence is a loud shout in the dark: «Thank You for Your grace!»
This impacts the way we give as well. Seeing the cross impacts why and how I give. These guys are going to help me show you this example. I did this about ten or eleven years ago; a friend reminded me of it last week. In 2012, I illustrated something about someone making $100,000 a year. For some of you, that’s a goal, while for others, it’s old news. Imagine if you made $100,000 a year for thirty years—what you would earn! This is it—$1 million. You can hold it in one hand. Individuals aspire to work their entire lives to make $1 million. I can just say, «Here! A million dollars!»
Now, let’s say you decide to become a tither, giving ten percent. This would put you in a small percentage of people who go to church; that Old Testament principle is beautiful and amazing as a great starting place for our giving. If you made $100,000, you would give $10,000 to God’s kingdom for six years. You’ve given $60,000. God keeps you employed; He blesses you. So, at the end of six years, that’s $300,000.
Now, granted, we need to eat, pay rent, have transportation, and cover school, insurance, family vacations, etc. But here’s the thing: giving isn’t proportional to my income. It should be proportional to my understanding of God’s grace. Realizing that I had no mercy but now have mercy, I was not a people, but now I am one of the people. I was dead, and I needed someone to carry me forward, but Jesus intersected my story when I put my faith in Him. He brought me back to life, and that’s why I want to say at the end, the cross moved me, impacting why I give and how.
I don’t want to reach the end of my story and say, «I put this where no moth or rust could touch it. I stored this where God could multiply it.» I want to say, «Hello, I put something in the vault, and when I got there, it was still there, but I left $2.7 million on earth.» To the average person—those who were cleansed, healed, and saved—you might ask, «How could anyone see who He is and what He has done and not give a wholehearted response?»
I don’t want to be someone who just sings «Amazing Grace» because I know that when you follow the trail of my time, affections, money, thoughts, passion, energy, and pursuits, you find a throne. As much as I want to say I worship God and worship the Jesus who works miracles, whatever is on that throne is what I truly worship. I don’t want to reach the end and say, «Jesus, it’s so great to finally be here. Your grace is profound!»