I am always thankful for quiet times of personal devotion when I sense the presence of God by myself, but there's something unique that happens when we come together to worship God in a corporate setting. I believe there's a great principle behind the admonition, "Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together..." (Hebrews 10:24, 25, NKJV) Our "togetherness" is important to God.
Notice Ephesians 2:4-7: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (NKJV)
We've been made alive together... we've been raised up together...we've been made to sit together in the heavenly places... all for the expressed purpose that in the ages to come God might lavish upon us the riches of His grace and kindness through Christ. What an incredible invitation!
The realization of that truth should enhance our understanding of what it means to come together to worship God. It's to be a joyous occasion, packed with expectancy regarding what God is going to do among us in that gathering. It's His desire to show us the riches of His grace and kindness.
When Jesus made His triumphal
entry into Jerusalem, the people cried out, "Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." (Mark 11:9, NKJV) This
is a powerful expression of worship acknowledging the presence of the Lord
and stating the principle that those who come in His Name will be blessed.
This is
the backdrop for the song, "We Are Blessed."
I had been pondering these ideas regarding togetherness and corporate worship,
and wanted to write a "happy" song that would energetically express
these ideas and could possibly be used as an opener for small group or congregational
worship. My hope was that the simple lyrics and melody would give the church
a way to make a statement affirming our expectation to be in the presence of
the Lord when we come together to worship. That's what He's promised in Matthew
18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I
am there in the midst of them." (NKJV) We are blessed when we come together
in the Name of the Lord!
Unfortunately, all too often we do not have these truths in mind when we come together for worship. We've all experienced it. You're running late getting the family into the car to leave for church. You crank the car only to realize you forgot to put in gas, so you nervously proceed hoping to make it to church without running out of gas. The kids are arguing in the back. And some guy just cut you off as you were trying to make that traffic light. By the time you pull into the parking lot, you're feeling anything but blessed!
Interestingly enough, the word, "Hosanna," has as its original meaning, "Lord, save us." It later became an expression of worship. What a great truth! Our cries to God for help are heard by Him as expressions of worship. He knows that when we come before Him, we're bringing "the stuff of life" that tends to distract us from Him. And He's willing to "save us" from it as we sing to Him in worship.
We all need to be reminded that when we come
together for worship, it's a time to lay aside all of the distractions of
life and focus on the reality of God's
presence and His desire to bless us. Indeed, we are blessed when we come
together in the Name of the Lord!
We Are Blessed
We are blessed
When we come together
We are blessed when we
Come together
In the Name of the Lord
We are blessed
When we come together
We are blessed when we
Come together
In the Name of the Lord
Chorus
Hosanna hosanna
Hosanna to the Lord Most High
Hosanna hosanna
Oh we have come together in the
Name of the Lord
For He has promised us
When we gather in His name
He will be near to us
When we lift our hearts
To Him in praise
Wes Tuttle
© 2001 Integrity's Hosanna! Music/ASCAP
Listen to a sound clip of "We Are Blessed" from Come Expecting Jesus featuring John Chisum
Wes Tuttle is an accomplished worship leader and songwriter and has ministered in many places around the world. He currently serves as Manager of Song Development at Integrity Music and Instructor for the Integrity Worship Institute. He's written numerous worship songs recorded by artists like Don Moen, John Chisum and Bob Fitts. He resides in Mobile, AL with his wife, Bernee, and two sons, Joseph and Benjamin.