the returning

I’ve heard it said time and time again in church circles that Lucifer was the “worship leader” in Heaven way back when before he became Satan, but I can’t seem to find that passage anywhere. If you know where it is, please let me know.

Here’s what I did find:

You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels (finger cymbals) and pipes (flutes)
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
 (Ezekiel 28:13)

So He was covered with all these precious stones and even the instruments he played (some even think that the instruments were part of him) were created by God at the same time Lucifer was created.

This passage indicates to me that Lucifer was not the worship leader at all. God was the worship leader. It was God’s breath through Lucifer that made the worship happen.

As a worship leader myself, I find it very important to remember that God is still the worship leader. His glory and power and grace are what give us the ability to worship Him. And for you or me or Lucifer to try and assume power over Him would be like a trumpet turning around and telling the musician, “Nice try, but I’ll take it from here.” How absurd. How impossible.

We were made to worship, but we can’t even do that on our own strength. It’s His breath in our lungs. It’s the blood of His Son that makes us righteous.
We’re just the instruments.

The Hebrew name for Lucifer is הֵילֵל (pronounced Helel) which translates as “the morning star” or “the anointed one” or “the gifted one.” 

Some of Lucifer’s gifts are that he was:

“Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty”
“Covered by every precious stone” 
“The workmanship of timbrels and pipes”

There is one big reason why Lucifer was cast out of heaven and became Satan. I believe it was because he didn’t successfully utilize his greatest gift of all. 
Not only that, I believe his greatest gift was the temptation that turned out to be the catalyst for his disobedience and fall.
He said in his heart,  “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God.”

The temptation was there, he acted wrongly, and he was cast out.

But,

Could you imagine what wonderful worship would have sprung from Lucifer had he looked at all his abilities and gifts, been temped by these thoughts, and then lay it all down before the Lord? What a gift. What an opportunity.

My natural reaction to the temptations that I deal with is to think of them as curses. Actually, these are blessings. Moments of temptation aren’t moments of shame, they’re opportunities to cling to the Father even tighter than before.

Dear church,
Let’s learn from Lucifer’s mistake and treat each temptation that finds us as a chance to deepen our worship for the Most High. 

Each temptation is another trinket that we can lay at His feet.
Every strength,
every weakness 
is an opportunity to return all glory to God.

-andy

(all my references to the fall of Lucifer are from Ezekiel 28 & Isaiah 14)