God Will Not Be Confined To Our Religious Boxes

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” — John 3:8 (NIV)

Religiosity is what happens when yesterday’s move of God becomes today’s rigid formula. It takes living encounters and slowly embalms them into systems, methods and assumptions. Over time we stop following the Spirit and begin defending our preferred way of doing things.

And perhaps one of the frightening things about religion is this: it often disguises itself as spiritual maturity.

Religious people usually believe they are protecting holiness, preserving truth or maintaining reverence. Yet all the while, the altar quietly grows colder because genuine dependence on God has been replaced by confidence in methods, traditions and personal certainty.

When God Confronts Our Assumptions

I remember discovering this painfully in my own life.

A wonderful pastor once invited me to lead worship at the launch of a new church. I gladly accepted. During one of our conversations he explained that because the church plant was new, they did not yet have musicians, so he had invited a local band to play alongside me.

That sounded fine…

Until he casually mentioned that the musicians were not Christians.

Immediately my inner religious machinery sprang into action!

Honestly, I became quietly horrified.

“How can non-Christians possibly help lead worship?” I thought. “How can people who don’t know Jesus flow with the Holy Spirit or participate in anointed worship? Surely this is inappropriate. Surely this cannot honour God.”

You see, my opinions were not really flowing from intimacy with God at all. They were flowing from assumptions, tradition, pride and my own neat little categories of sacred and secular.

Convinced I was being spiritually discerning, I asked the pastor to cancel the band.

To his credit, he kindly agreed.

Then completely forgot.

The day of the meeting arrived and into the building walked a wonderfully colourful group of musicians wearing Rasta hats and carrying instruments. One of them smiled warmly at me and announced:

“We are de band.”

At that moment my religious nerves twitched violently.

Then rehearsal began.

Every single worship song I played instantly became reggae.

Not slightly reggae. Completely reggae.

My carefully polished worship set — refined through years of charismatic church culture — suddenly sounded like a joyful beach revival meeting in Jamaica. Internally I was struggling. Externally I tried to remain spiritual.

Then the service started.

And to my complete shock, God showed up powerfully.

As worship rose, something beautiful began happening in the room. People started singing in tongues. The atmosphere softened under the presence of God. Before long the room felt saturated with heaven. Glory rolled in! Some people fell to the floor weeping. Others cried out as deep spiritual ministry began taking place spontaneously around the hall.

In the middle of all this, I suddenly noticed the guitarist behind me had stopped playing.

I turned around.

The guitarist was kneeling on the floor, tears streaming down his face as he surrendered his life to Jesus.

By the end of the meeting his wife and child had also given their lives to Christ.

And somewhere in the middle of that glorious mess, God quietly dismantled something hard and religious inside me.

I realised how shallow my assumptions had been. My ideas about what was “acceptable,” “proper” and “holy” were not necessarily flowing from God at all. Much of it was simply inherited culture wrapped in spiritual language. I had confused my traditions with His voice.

That day I almost felt heaven chuckling gently at my seriousness.

It was as though God whispered:

“Jarrod, I really do not need your permission to move.”

What a humbling revelation!

An extract from The ALTAR by Jarrod Cooper. Order Your Copy Below 👇

Believe & Confess Meditation & Declaration

I will follow the voice of the Holy Spirit above human tradition or religious assumption (John 3:8). My heart will remain soft, teachable and yielded before God in every season (Ezekiel 36:26). I will not limit what God can do through my own preferences, categories or expectations (Isaiah 55:8-9). The presence of God will remain more important to me than protecting familiar methods or routines (Exodus 33:15). I will worship God in spirit and in truth with humility, wonder and childlike faith (John 4:23-24). The Lord will continually renew my mind and free me from rigid thinking that resists His movement (Romans 12:2). I will remain open to the surprising, beautiful and sovereign ways that God chooses to reveal His glory (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

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THE ALTAR

Creating lives & cultures ready to host the glory of God.

Something is stirring.

Across the world, hunger for God’s presence is rising—and many are asking: how do we truly host His glory?

In The Altar, Jarrod Cooper calls us back to the place where heaven meets earth—the altar. A place of encounter, devotion, and transformation.

This book will help you:
• Deepen your personal encounter with God
• Build a lifestyle of worship
• Hear His voice clearly
• Create cultures that carry His presence

This isn’t just a book—it’s a call.
When the altar is restored, the fire falls again.

 Order Your Copy Here