Why Worship? (Part V)

Finally! The next installment of "Why Worship?". In this installment, we will look at the corporate worship setting. If you haven't read the preceding installments, you may wish to do so before or after reading this.

Corporate Worship Time

The significance of corporate worship time is similar to the private, individual worship time, but from a different perspective. As personal worship time is vital to the spirit man of the individual, corporate worship is vital to the spirit of the corporate man. In this context, I am referring to the body of Christ in the local church as the corporate man. Foundationally, those who have gathered together within a particular church should be there because that is the church, family, and vision to which God has called them. God draws individuals to a body for the purpose of them doing their part in bringing about the fulfillment of the vision of that church. As the Father has drawn individuals to a particular church body, it is by design that many have similar needs, spiritual vision, or callings in the Kingdom of God. As we submit to the local church authority, God sets us in order with the vision, which requires that we be dealt with or ministered to according to the work He has purposed to accomplish within that church. Further, when one has submitted to the vision of the house and to the authority of the minister whom God has established there, the individual needs can be met as the Spirit of the Lord attends to the needs of the corporate body. This is because the individual has aligned himself with God’s order through obedience to Him.

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body].” (Psalm 133:1-2 Amplified)

This scripture gives us a symbolic representation of the body of Christ. The head and beard of Aaron represents the minister of the gospel whom God has established in authority in the local church. The collar and the skirts of the garments represent the body of Christ within the local church, submitted to the head. See, when we come into alignment with the local church, we place a demand on the anointing within the man of God, which then flows down to us.

So, as we each come and meet together, having our own individual needs, these all become the needs of the body of Christ within the church. Think of the many struggles you face right now or in the past. Now multiply that by the number of people that attend the weekly service at your church and you can gain a picture of the need that exists within your local church body. For those who truly have a spiritual connection with their local church, meaning they have joined together in covenant with the people and the ministry staff through the Holy Spirit, they will often find God speaks to their needs during times when the church gathers together, either through the ministry of the word, the worship, corporate prayer, or even in small group settings. God has given us these times to be ministered unto as we minister to Him and each other. So then, it is no coincidence when you find what is being ministered to the entire church through a sermon or a ministry time at the altar is exactly a situation you have been dealing with in your own life. As we honor and glorify Him together in this way corporately, He responds corporately. And just the same as in our individual worship time, this is the time to allow the Spirit of God to speak to the body and minister to the corporate man.

If we will allow God the opportunity, He will go to work. I have seen this in operation many times and manifested in as many different ways during service where we waited on the response of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God may deal with a prideful spirit and many in the congregation will respond by kneeling or lying prostrate before Him during the worship time. Or, there may be a number if individuals who are going through trying times and need victory in their circumstances. In this case, the Spirit of God may usher in a spirit of victory with shouting, clapping, or dancing. There may be several who need to ask forgiveness of their ways that have been contrary to the will of God and the Holy Spirit brings conviction, resulting in repentance. When the Holy Spirit works, we don’t have to. Preachers won’t have to beg people to come to the altar. Worship leaders won’t have to sing the same chorus fifty times to elicit a response. When we enter into worship, truly glorifying God, He hears us and will respond. And His response may only be aimed at a few, or maybe even one person who has a particular need to be met. But regardless of the number, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in this way is powerful to bringing and keeping unity within the body of Christ so that His ultimate purpose can be effectively accomplished in it and through it.

Another benefit of the corporate worship time is the great power that exists when many are gathered together singing and proclaiming the greatness of our God. Psalm 34:3 says “Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” When we come to meet, we each bring our portion of Christ in us. But then we join together, magnifying Christ in each other. When we magnify Him, anything that is not Him becomes smaller. With our corporate voice of worship, we can create a sound that pushes back the spiritual darkness in the atmosphere. The multitude of voices declaring the greatness and power of Almighty God causes the enemy to cringe and run away, thus creating an atmosphere that is an open heaven. I would liken this open heaven to the ladder in Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28. It invites the Holy Spirit to come and move according to His will and as He pleases. The power of our corporate worship cannot be underestimated. If God inhabits the praises of His people, then His presence is with us when we worship corporately. Look at the results of such an environment from the scriptures:

“And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were [self-] slaughtered” (II Chronicles 20:22 Amplified)

“Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, Lord; let Your enemies be scattered; and let those who hate You flee before You.” (Numbers 10:35 Amplified)

The ark of God represents His presence. When His presence goes before us, our enemies will flee. We don’t have to work and sweat to get the Devil off our backs and out of our church. We just need to invite into our church the presence of the unchanging God by worshiping at His feet and adoring Him. We create a climate where the enemy is not welcome and is not able to operate. Thus, the flesh will not be able to operate as a result. Imagine what can be accomplished for the Kingdom of God if the Holy Spirit is in charge rather than our flesh. Most of the greatest moves of God I have witnessed took place during, or as an extension of the worship time as opposed to during an invitation given after the ministry of the Word. I have seen people healed, delivered, prophetic words of knowledge, salvation, and repentance come during these most holy times. And some of the greatest and most powerful messages I’ve heard have come out of these times as well.

Surely it is the desire of every church to see healing, deliverance, restoration, victory, signs, wonders, and salvation take place within their walls. I have spent years in churches where we sought after these things primarily through prayer. However, I do not want you to think that we no longer need prayer. We need prayer indeed. But I believe our prayer is even more powerful and focused when we first get into God’s presence through our worship time. Corporate worship creates the atmosphere for us to be in unity with the Father. This unity with the Father then focuses our prayer more to praying the will of God. And the prayers which are in accordance with the will of God will be done (I John 5:14-15). All of this creates an environment for our church to be changed into His image so that we can continually be moving forward toward fulfilling the vision and purpose God has given to the church. As we are doing this, the signs and wonders will surely follow.

September 11th

After eight years, the sobriety of this anniversary has not really diminished for me. The images I saw on live television that morning are still very clear and very real in my mind. I do not watch replayed footage of the events even this many years afterward. It's too disturbing. (I now sort of understand why my Granddaddy wouldn't watch even mildly violent scenes on television programs 40 years after his service in WWII.) Many thoughts come to mind about the events and aftermath of this day in 2001 – the heroism, the horror, the reprehensibility – but I haven’t the ability to put those thoughts into words. And even if I did, the expression of them would bring little to no comfort or closure for me. However, what I can do, and what I believe is really better is to remember not the events, but the people who died and their families & friends left behind.
Fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins – these were taken away. The love of someone’s life, the closest friend – they too were stolen. A co-worker, acquaintance, neighbor – lost. For them, there was an end. For those left behind, it was a beginning of loss, pain, and remembrance.
So today, I will remember the ones left behind as they remember the ones they lost. And as I remember, I pray. I pray that as this anniversary comes and goes again, they would be comforted; that though the pain and loss is great, the feeling of it would not be; that there is fond remembrance of those lost; that they are surrounded with love and support from those that are near and they would gather strength from it.

Think Rightly About God!

Therefore thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah]: If you return [and give up this mistaken tone of distrust and despair], then I will give you again a settled place of quiet and safety, and you will be My minister; and if you separate the precious from the vile [cleansing your own heart from unworthy and unwarranted suspicions concerning God's faithfulness], you shall be My mouthpiece. (Jeremiah 15:19 - Amplified Bible)

Every relationship is built on trust, or degraded by the lack of it. The more trust you have in a relationship, the more sound the relationship is. Decrease the trust and the relationship becomes shaky. What kind of trust do you have in your relationship with God? Not sure? I'll ask a different way: How solid is your relationship with God? Your answer will depend on your level of trust in God as being your All in All.

No matter how much trust we have, it will be put to the test. Our challenge is how we function day to day when our trust is tested such that we don't allow our trust in God to wane. It is when we experience suffering - and we will experience suffering - that our trust is most important in our relationship to God. If we have little trust, then when trials come we are likely to assume God is unhappy with our "performance" or is punishing us. If we have a moderate amount of trust, we may not necessarily think God is punishing us but we may become suspicious as to whether or not God really has our best interests at heart. If we have full trust, then we are like Paul - to live is Christ but to die is gain. Or, even better, we are like Jesus in the garden - regardless of what I might want, I want what the Father wants. Full trust allows us to take whatever comes and continue to say, "It is all for His glory! He is God and I am not!"

Lord I pray we all would have full trust in you. If we have not, we repent and put our trust in You. If anyone needs help trusting You, I ask that You would help them - guide them in Your word and speak to them by Your Holy Spirit.

A Simple Reminder for All Who Pass By

Jeremiah 3:12-15 says this: "Go and proclaim these words toward the north [where the ten tribes have been taken as captives] and say, Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord, and I will not cause My countenance to fall and look in anger upon you, for I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not keep My anger forever. Only know, understand, and acknowledge your iniquity and guilt--that you have rebelled and transgressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice, says the Lord. Return, O faithless children [of the whole twelve tribes], says the Lord, for I am Lord and Master and Husband to you, and I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]--one from a city and two from a tribal family--and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you [spiritual] shepherds after My own heart [in the final time], who will feed you with knowledge and understanding and judgment."
The point is simple: Admit that we are guilty of wrong-doing and return (or "turn" or "re-turn") to God. Don't be afraid to do it, because God is a Father and is merciful. He won't look down in anger upon us when we do this.
As I read this yesterday the Lord reminded me of the teaching I was trying to communicate to my 8 year old daughter a few days ago. I was explaining to her the importance of admitting your wrong before someone else can "tell on you" and how that shows integrity, honesty, and builds trust. I wanted her to understand that an accuser won't always tell the whole story, thus her forthrightness in advance of her accuser (usually her brother) makes her story more credible. It takes courage and honesty with oneself to come forward in this manner. In the end she will be shown mercy. God reminded me of how I react to my own children in these situations with mercy, and how much more will He do that for me (Matthew 7:11).
When we admit our wrong, usually we have punished ourselves enough in our minds and have worked through the guilt by the time we arrive to the admission. The Holy Spirit shows us when we are wrong, if we are listening. From a simplistic point of view, this is one reason God shows us mercy and does not unleash His wrath. The withholding of His wrath is because of grace. To be clear however, His justice in operation, not overridden by grace and mercy, means there are still consequences that we may have to endure. A murderer may prostrate himself before God in repentance and he will be received with mercy and compassion, and God, by His grace, may not strike him dead on the spot. However, the man may still endure the consequence of incarceration imposed by the laws of the land. Nevertheless, God is and will be merciful and compassionate toward him while he endures the consequences. Most importantly, the man is in right standing with God, which is where we must be.
The point again: Admit that we are guilty of wrong-doing and return (or "turn" or "re-turn") to God. Don't be afraid to do it, because God is a Father and is merciful. He won't look down in anger upon us when we do this.

From the Secret Place: The Holiness of God

Well, I can't say I can exactly describe what Moses would have felt when God hid him in the cleft of the rock and allowed him to see only His backside, but I imagine it was similar to what I felt the other day when God revealed to me what I would call a significant glimpse of His holiness. It happened as I was reading the chapter about the holiness of God in A.W. Tozer's book "The Knowledge of the Holy". I had asked God a few days earlier to let me become more acquainted with some other attributes of His nature - righteousness being one of them. On this particular day, I used Tozer's book as a sort of reference guide to the attributes of God. Tozer has identified righteousness to be a result of several of God's attributes he describes in the different chapters, rather than a stand-alone attribute. As I read the chapter about the holiness of God, I began to get a new revelation of His holiness by the Spirit of God. Here is a quote from the book that really jumped out at me:
"We cannot grasp the true meaning of the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God's holiness is not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. ...Only the Spirit of the Holy One can impart to the human spirit the knowledge of the holy. ...Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is."
That is when it hit me and I realized who He is and who I am. I thought, "God's holiness does not even allow him to be in the position to choose whether or not He will do something unrighteous or unholy." It was this one concept that I grasped that gave me a glimpse of His incomprehensible holiness. I'm not certain I can adequately express the fear and dread I felt at that moment, but I literally hid my face behind the book as I looked down and cried "OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD!" over and over again. It was as though he passed by me and I saw his backside. The feeling of the simultaneous realization of His holiness and my unholiness is mind-blowing and overwhelming, to say the very least. I literally begged God for my very life as I thought I would die at this realization. My eyes welled up with yet another realization of how my sin must appear to Him and how He cannot fellowship with unrighteousness.
But then He spoke to me gently by His Spirit and reminded me that when I appropriate the righteousness of Christ that it is then that we can be in fellowship. I asked Jesus to cover me in His righteousness and I began to feel peace and security as though I were being welcomed into His arms. I thank Jesus that he became the sacrifice for my sin so that I can be in fellowship with Him. This is the restoration of the joy of my salvation!
After all of this, I turned on my car to leave my "secret place". As I backed out of the space, I just shook my head in amazement of what God had shown me and said to God "wow!". His response (as I heard it in my heart) was simply, "you asked Me to reveal my holiness". I was glad He had answered my request, but at the same time I almost wished He had not. It was a terrible and frightening thing to experience. However, it has caused me to think more about my thoughts and actions and whether or not they are pleasing to God. When you understand how your sin really appears to God, or at least as much as your mind comprehends and He reveals it to you, you scrutinize your thoughts and deeds a bit more. Keeping in mind that our position in God is not based on how many good deeds we do, but rather our obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit, which ultimately will lead us to good deeds. So perhaps I should say, this revelation I have received makes me want to be more attentive and obedient to the leading of the Spirit out of respect, fear, and honor of God and His holiness.
Allow me if you will to urge you to think more rightly about God and His holiness. I would even urge you to ask Him to give you a glimpse (or a fresh glimpse) of His holiness in the way that I did. I am concerned that too many Christians are a bit flippant and frivolous about how they think of God, how they approach Him, even how they pray and petition Him. Sure we can come boldly before the throne of Grace as the Bible says, but that boldness must be accompanied by honor, respect, and pure reverence. I believe if more Christians had more close encounters with God and His terrible presence similar to what I have experienced, the Church would look a whole lot differently and be a whole lot more effective. I will say nothing further to this point as I do not wish to be perceived as being negative toward the Church. I will only say God is holy. God is pure. God is righteous. He is alone is God. There is none like Him.

From the Secret Place: The Light Has Dawned!

"The people who sat enveloped in darkness have seen a great Light, and for those who sat in the land and shadow of death Light has dawned."
As I read this in Matthew's gospel this afternoon, a great sense of awe and delight came over me. The only way I know to describe it is that it was similar to the feeling I get when I see my daughter dance in her recital. That was the feeling I got, but in my mind the picture I saw was Jesus looking at me with a smile on His face as if to say "I've come for you." If you read the entire passage in chapter 4, this verse is referring to the prophecy in Isaiah 9:1-2, and you'll see that this is right after Jesus returns from the desert and goes to dwell in Capernaum. So in my mind I envisioned me and Jesus on the beach walking towards each other -- Him smiling at me and me recognizing Him as Messiah. I believe the Holy Spirit allowed me to experience the joy of seeing Isaiah's prophecy come to pass as someone would have experienced in that day. It was such a warm, delightful feeling that brought tears to my eyes as though I were a child being reunited with my father whom I had not seen in many years.
In reflecting on the Christmas season that has just passed, this is really what occurred 2,009 years ago. Jesus came to the earth so that we could be reunited to the Father through the sacrifice of the Son. And He called us sons -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.
Thank you God so much for allowing me to experience again the joy of my salvation! This is the best Christmas I've ever had -- fifteen days after Christmas! As I mentioned in my previous post about "the secret place", this is just another experience I've had and wanted to share with you. I hope this inspires you to take time in a secret place, away from any distraction, to just be with God, read His word, and allow Him to speak to you and show you new things. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3) What I have experienced these last few days in my secret place with Him I would consider great things I did not know. Thanks God! I love You!

From the Secret Place: "Smacked In The Face & Doubled Over!"

I read the following yesterday from Ezra chapter 1, verses 1-3. Bear in mind that Cyrus was not a believer. Pay attention to his decree.

"1 NOW IN the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [almost seventy years after the first Jewish captives were taken to Babylon], that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might begin to be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and put it also in writing:
2 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.
3 Whoever is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem; He is God."

BAM! That's what hit me: "He is God". I'm not sure how you take that when you read it, and I can't adequately explain the tremendous awe and terror I experienced when I read that. I was initially excited as I agreed He is God! But that excitement was immediately followed by sadness, penitence, and deep sorrow as I realized: Here is an ungodly king who recognizes and fears God, and I, a presumed man of God and a worshiper, am grasping how long it's been since I have felt such fear and awe of God as I had just then. All I could do was to shut my eyes as tightly as possible, bow my head, and appeal to God for His mercy and forgiveness. I felt so small and insignificant at that moment. All I could think of was that I had neglected Him and that He was hurt by it. I believe God opened my spiritual eyes at that moment to realize this. I wanted forgiveness. I wanted mercy. I wanted restoration. I could not move on with my reading of Ezra 1 without knowing I had received these. I began to think of Psalm 51, so I turned to it and read it aloud as my very own prayer. As I read it, I began to feel God's mercy, forgiveness, and restoration being apportioned to me through the Holy Spirit. I thank God for His continued mercy and grace toward me. These two attributes of God are ones I am quite familiar with, but I believe God desires me to become equally aquainted with His other attributes - I am not certain which attributes at this time, but I intend to find out as quickly as possible.
I have been extremely transparent here, hopefully for the benefit of another. These several thoughts come to mind in conclusion of what I have shared. First, all of this I experienced in "the secret place". I do not wish to become a catch-phrase consumer, but it is what it is - a secret place. It is a place and time devoted only to communion and fellowship between God and me. (Read Matthew 6:6) I have accepted the challenge of being a secret place addict, and I will become one. I encourage you to do the same. Second, I must experience the presence, the fear, and the awe of God as often as possible. He is God! I renew my humility with Him and exalt Him above all. I encourage you to do the same. Finally, I keep in mind that his mercy, grace, and loving-kindness endure forever and that my righteousness is in and through Christ and what He did on the cross, not in my deeds. I pray you remember this when condemnation tries to have power over you. (Do not confuse godly sorrow and condemnation.)
I will share at a later time something I found interesting about the secret place and answered prayers. I believe I have found a formula that will get prayers answered 100% of the time. Stay tuned!

Examples of God's Response to our Worship

     I AM SO AMAZED AT WHAT GOD CAN DO! We "old-timer" Christians don't often see the life-changing power of God at work in real time, so it's easy to forget just how incredible and powerful He is. Let me share with you an example. This past weekend I was ministering at a place called The Bridge. The Bridge is a Christ-centered drug and alcohol recovery center for men, located in Alabama. I have ministered there on several occasions over the past year and a half, and each time, the Holy Spirit moves in a powerful and tangible way. Usually there is at least one guy who gives his life to the Lord. On one occasion, there were six guys who gave their lives to the Lord. There is nothing more joyful to me than the re-birth of someone's spirit. This past weekend was no exception.

     Let me pause and explain the type of guys who are in this place. These dudes are raw - recovering drug users, alcohol abusers, and many have spent time in prison. They are serious about getting help and getting their lives on track. I know this because the director kicks out the guys who are trouble-makers or are just playing games. The director is also a solid dude mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and is a former drug addict as well. So these guys mean business.

     Though the program is Christ-centered and overtly so, with regular Bible study and chapel sessions, not all the guys in the house "buy in" to the "Jesus thing". This was just the case with one gentleman this past weekend. This man had just gotten out of prison after having served a collective total of 31 years time. He's spent more time in prison than being free. Since he had been in the program, he had been telling the counselors that he didn't "buy in to the Jesus thing". He indicated he would follow the recovery program, but the religion part was not for him. Well, apparently the Holy Spirit had other plans for him.

     We were having a powerful time of spontaneous worship. (One particular gentleman had been calling out to God and covering every area of his life -- I believe he was being set free from all kinds of junk.) We were at a point where we were just waiting on the Holy Spirit to tell us where to go next. I was in no hurry to get to the next song. A moment later, the director tapped me and indicated that the former convict of 31 years wanted to address the group. (There were about 30-40 guys in the room.) In summary, what he said in a very raw and real way was he was giving it all to Jesus, he was falling in love with God, and nothing was going to stand in his way when it comes to following God. In fact, his actual words were, "I'll be damned if anything is gonna stand in my way!" I was so excited at that moment! Here was a hardened ex-con whom the Holy Spirit had turned his heart of stone into a heart of flesh. Referring to what I wrote at the beginning, this is not something I see often.

     In this experience, something that I found quite interesting was the fact that this man gave his life to the Lord without any invitation. There was no fire and brimstone sermon. There was no altar call. We hadn't sung every verse of Just As I Am 12 times. We were simply worshiping God with one voice, in one accord. We had called His attention with our praise and worship and He responded by calling one to salvation and setting another free from who knows how many years of junk. This is what I have written and firmly believe: when we worship God in spirit and in truth, He will respond and speak to us and minister to our need by His Holy Spirit. This weekend was a prime example of that. It wasn't about how cool my worship songs were. It wasn't about whether or not I hit the right note at the right time. I didn't teach about worship and why we do it. I just stuck to my guns like always -- I asked the Holy Spirit to be in control and to have His way and then I worshipped with all my heart. That doesn't make me special it just means I was obedient and honored God. Is that to say that if I had been disobedient and didn't honor God that He wouldn't have moved the way He did? Not necessarily, in my opinion. I think God moves in spite of our disobedience on many occasions. However, our obedience and surrender mixed with true worship makes certain the Holy Spirit will respond to us.

     That night as we were drawing to a close for the evening, I saw in the spirit a portal to heaven opened up over the place where we were. What I saw could be described as a clear night sky with a huge light beam focused on the place where we were meeting. After we were finished, I stepped outside the building with the director to reflect on all that we had just experienced. As I looked up in the sky, the light from a nearly full moon illuminated the broken cloud cover. But directly over the building there was a huge opening in the clouds and I saw the moon and stars shining brightly. We've said for several years that events in the natural typically have a spiritual counterpart. It seemed to me that what I had seen moments before in the spirit was now being reflected in the natural. I could do nothing more except thank God for his faithfulness to His word and to us.

     I have shared this for two reasons. First and foremost to glorify God for His excellent greatness. And secondly, to inspire and encourage the reader to surrender to the Holy Spirit and worship with all your heart, in spirit and in truth. Do this and see how He will respond.

Why Worship? (Part IV)

It's been way too long since I've posted here. This year has been much busier than I would have preferred. But, I'm posting now. I trust you will find this next piece to be helpful in deepening your worship.

Individual Worship Time

I am concerned that far too many Christians expect the Holy Spirit to speak to them only through their pastor and that they don’t have a relationship with God where they allow Him to speak directly to them.  They either don’t know how, or they have been led to believe that is how the system works.  Many go from church to church, or conference to conference to get a “word from the Lord”, when if they would just stop and spend time alone with the Father—loving Him, thanking Him, adoring Him—they would receive their own revelation of His divine glory and they would indeed receive a word from the Lord.  Thus, I believe it is vital for every believer to have some type of regular time set aside for worshiping God.  This is over and above what we would typically refer to as our “devotional time.”  Simply put, regardless of what we call it, we need this time alone with God for the purpose of Him hearing from us and us hearing from Him.  However, I question how often most believers spend time just worshiping the Father along with their traditional time of reading and prayer.  I believe we can live in His presence every moment of every day—driving in the car, washing dishes, or sitting our desk at work – with a perpetual attitude of worship.  God has allowed us to do that through the death of Christ and by the Holy Spirit.  His presence in our lives is not confined to just our devotional time.  However, we still must dedicate time alone for the specific purpose of entering the holy place and spending time in His presence in worship.  It is vital to our spiritual lives to get away from distraction to have a time of intimacy with the Father.

This opportunity alone with God is when the real work in us begins.  This is the time when the deep spiritual cleansing and purifying that we really need can be accomplished.  Many Christians only worship when they are in a corporate worship setting, one or two days of the week.  This is not enough for our spiritual well-being!  Just as the corporate body of Christ needs to gather regularly to be healthy, each of us needs to gather daily with the Father individually for our personal spiritual health.  We would not eat only on one or two days of the week and expect that we will be in good physical health.  God can, and will deal with us in a corporate worship gathering as we’ll see later.  But those deep areas of our lives, the ones we don’t want to deal with, especially not publicly, require a personal meeting with God.  Without setting aside this personal time for entering the holy of holies, I believe we are not receiving the full benefit of the presence of God as He intended for us to take part.

If worship is not a regular part of your time alone with God, I would encourage you to begin immediately.  Whatever your customary format is, I recommend you begin with worship.  If you are not really an experienced worshiper, use a familiar song or several songs to help you enter into praise and worship.  This may be helpful in creating a habit of private worship time.  If you are more experienced, just begin to express worship straight from your heart without the aid of a particular song.  Start with your own song of praise or thanksgiving and then move to a song of worship and adoration of the Father.  Be spontaneous!  Give Him praise for His excellent greatness.  Thank Him for His blessings on your family, on your job, and for healing and provision.  Then begin to worship and adore Him for who He is—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Creator and Ruler of all things, the Bright and Morning Star. 

As you move into worship such as this, that is the time to begin listening for the voice of the Spirit.  So often we spend so much time asking God for whatever we need.  But the scripture says He knows what we need before we even ask.  Since this is true, I would submit to you that once you have entered into worship and communion with God, He will speak to your need without you having asked first.  You see, you have called His attention with your praise and worship.  He bends low to hear you honoring Him, talking about Him and glorifying His Son.  Now you can “take care of business” in your life.  The Holy Spirit of God will speak to you! 
“But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you” (John 14:26 Amplified). 
Do you need to be comforted?  Do you need counsel?  What about help?  Maybe you need intercession made on your behalf.  Or, you might need an advocate in a situation where you are being accused by the enemy.  What about strength?  We all need Strength!  You may just need a standby when everything is against you.  We are supposed to imitate Christ.  So if the Holy Spirit is reminding us of the teachings and ways of Jesus, we will know how to imitate Him.

     As the Holy Spirit is now speaking to you and leading you in this personal, set aside time, you will also find Him leading you to scripture. He will reveal scriptures to you in ways you did not previously comprehend. Verses you’ve struggled to understand will be made plain and come alive. Follow the chain of events I have laid out here. You see, we started with worship—enthroning God above all other things. In our worship, we allowed the Holy Spirit to speak and minister to us. Then He led us to pray for all kinds of things and to scriptures to reveal His word to us. What changed? Much less work is involved. Whereas before, we might sit and struggle with what to read and what to pray, the Spirit of God just led us from our worship into prayer and reading the word. How many of us have put forth such great effort with our devotions to keep from being bored, unmotivated, or even falling asleep? How difficult is it to just glorify and adore the One we love? He never intended for us to have to work so hard to get to know Him. Our expressions of affection, our honor toward Him, and our exaltation of Him are the beginning of a deeper knowledge and intimacy with Him.

Why Worship? (Part III)

                                Destination

     Our devoted time of worship should be as if we are taking a trip. With any trip you take, there is a destination. The holy place is our ultimate destination in worship. Thinking in terms of the Tabernacle, we enter His gates with thanksgiving and come into His courts with praise. The old chorus you are probably singing in your head now stops at the inner court, as you know. Unfortunately, that is also where most people stop in their worship. They praise and thank God and glorify His name, but they don’t take the time to commune with the Father. The holy of holies is the place where we have communion with God. We sit at His feet surrounded by His glory. We enthrone Him on our worship. He inhabits the praises of His people! This is where Jehovah God, Creator of heaven and earth, the Ancient of Days, invites us to dwell! He is the reason we live and breathe. Why would we not want to enter into His dwelling place? If given a special invitation to have a private dinner with the President of the United States, what kind of person would go through the main gate of the White House property, enter the doors into the foyer, and then not go into the banquet hall when summoned for the meal but instead decide that the foyer area was as far as he wanted to go? Would that person not be thought of as a fool? Would that not be disrespectful toward the President? Then why should we do that in our worship when it comes to entering through the veil into the holy place? Furthermore, could it be that we are dishonoring God by not fully accepting His invitation?

     The veil of separation between the inner court and the holy of holies was torn when Jesus breathed His last breath on the cross. The Father has enabled us to go in and out of the holy place as we desire. Without going into a full explanation of what each chamber represents in the Tabernacle, the holy of holies is where God’s presence resides. It is all about Him. No flesh or unclean thing is able to stand in the presence of God. In the Old Testament, the priests were not even permitted to sweat while in the holy place. Does this mean that we must be perfect before we enter into the holy place? Absolutely not. We will never be perfect until that day in which we see Him face to face before His throne in heaven. However, He sees beyond our faults.
          “Yet now has [Christ, the Messiah] reconciled [you to God] in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you holy and faultless and irreproachable in His [the Father's] presence” (Colossians 1:22, Amplified Bible).

     If we are worshiping in spirit and in truth as we ought, then we should be being honest with ourselves and attentive to the Holy Spirit as He reveals to us our flesh. There is a process of cleansing where each time we enter His presence, He will cut away a little more of our flesh. It is our flesh that hinders the will of God from going forward in our lives most of the time. Whether it is sin, disobedience, offense, or apathy, it all comes down to the flesh—our human nature. God will not allow these to coexist with Him. This cutting away is our spiritual surgery to remove the dead human nature so that our spirit may live and thrive in Him. So when we come into the holy place, we must be cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lamb if we desire to be made into His image more and more.

     Now that we have entered into the presence of God, we have been cleansed by dying to our flesh, and we have communed with the Father, now is the time when the dark glass through which we see gets a bit clearer. You see, at this point we are at a place of total surrender to the Father. Our focus is on Him only. Will we see Him face to face in the holy of holies? No. For God told Moses in Exodus 33:20 “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live.” However, what God makes clearer to us is who He is. He begins to reveal to us more of His attributes. If a distant road sign has been pointed out to you while driving on the highway, you might only see the image of the sign at first without seeing the details or information contained in it. But if you continue driving toward the sign, the words or symbols on the sign become clear to the point that you are able to read and know what it is the sign is telling you. It is similar as we are focused on God in worship. The more we worship in the way I have described, where our destination is the holy place, the closer we come to Him and thus we are able to see more of His attributes. The more of His attributes we see, the greater the revelation we have of His nature. As the revelation of His nature increases in us, so does our knowledge of God and His ways. The more we know of God, the more we have to worship. I believe we spend far too much time laboring in prayer to find God’s will and guidance for our lives. If only we would just sit at His feet and worship Him, we might already know these things because we would know Him and be more familiar with His ways. This is the Father’s ultimate purpose for us—to know Him. He desires to make Himself known to us.

Why Worship? (Part II)

     Having brought to light this true definition of worship in Part I, I wish to address some key points about our own worship in hopes of revealing its importance as well as help give greater clarity and purpose to your own worship habits so that the full benefit is realized and your worship experience is deepened. As you read on, ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart and mind and let him speak to you through what I have written.

                                     Music, Power, Purpose

     A popular form of worship in the Christian community is, of course, worship music. David is probably recognized as the leading worshiper in the Bible. We know that David, in addition to being a king, was a musician, prophet, psalmist, songwriter, and worshiper. He used music as a vehicle for worship, as we can easily see from his writings in the book of Psalms. The tradition of worship set to music has been carried on through the ages, bringing us to where we are today. In the paragraphs that follow I wish for the reader to understand why David was such a passionate worshiper, even to the point of stripping down to his undergarment in public to dance before his God. But we should also take a moment to understand why he so often combined music with his worship. Music is something most every human can relate to. It has the ability to move our emotions from joy to tears or from celebration to anger. David learned this at a very young age. We see in I Samuel, chapter 16, that Saul requested David to come and play his lyre to drive away the evil spirit that was tormenting him. So we know that music also has the ability to affect things in the spiritual realm.

     There are many people in congregations everywhere who would really prefer we “skip all the music and just have the preaching of the Word”, as I’ve heard them say. (Explaining why they feel that way would require a separate chapter altogether, but that is not the purpose of this text.) Perhaps these people simply don’t have an appreciation for music, and that’s okay. As long as a time exists for the purpose of worship, whether or not there is music to accompany it is not quite as important. To be clear however, music and songs are mediums, or tools, of worship. They are not worship in and of themselves. We don’t have to sing songs to be worshiping God. In fact, if we wait until the songs begin on Sunday morning before we worship, then we have missed it completely. However, since the first 20 to 30 minutes of the average church gathering is taken up with worship music, why not receive the full benefit of its purpose? The purpose first and foremost should simply be to worship God. After that, if we understand the power of music, we can impact the heavenlies with a sound of worship that pushes back the spiritual darkness in the atmosphere. The sound of true worship is not a man-made sound. This sound is described in Revelation 19:6 as “the shout of a vast throng, like the boom of many pounding waves, and like the roar of terrific and mighty peals of thunder.” This is what drives away the enemy in the spirit realm. My desire is that we make this kind of sound with our worship as congregations--lifting up one voice of worship unto God rather than just have worship music and sing praise and worship songs.

     As a musician, I play, write, sing, listen to, and enjoy music in many different forms. I certainly enjoy being able to create my own expression of worship through the music I make. I do not wish to change the tradition of opening our gatherings with music. What I would like to change is the tradition of doing it for the sake of tradition. I remember visiting the downtown area of a popular tourist destination where there were many horse-drawn carriages available for hire to take tours of the city. We noticed that each carriage had a Dalmatian sitting in the seat along with the driver. Being curious, we asked one of the drivers the reason all the carriages had this thing in common. He couldn’t accurately answer the question except to say that it was ‘just tradition’. My fear is that this would be the same answer from many church attendees if asked why we sing and have music at the beginning of our gatherings.

     Since most mainstream churches use music in their gatherings, I simply want to lay a proper foundation for how we utilize this time and ensure there is a sound understanding of worship and music and how the two can have a powerful interaction. For a firm foundation, our worship and worship music should serve two primary purposes: 1) That God alone would receive the honor and praise that is due Him; and 2) that the church would fall completely in love with the One we worship, rather than the worship itself. If we’re choosing to sing songs which we call ‘worship songs’, then we should also be choosing to use them according to their purpose, not just because of tradition. If you want to drive a nail, use a hammer; if you want to drive a screw, use a screwdriver. Reversing the use of these tools will achieve nothing but frustration and wasted time. To put it bluntly, so it is with our worship music if we are not using it for the right purpose.

This concludes Part II. Chew on this a while and let it sink in. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you concerning it. In Part III, we'll talk about our destination in worship.

Why Worship? (Part I)

     The title of this piece could be a loaded question. Worshiping God can encompass many things. The general definition of the word “worship” is essentially having and expressing reverent love and devotion to a deity, idol, or sacred object; including participation in ceremonies, prayers, or other religious rites; performing an act of worship. In terms of the definition given, as Christians, worshiping God should be our lifestyle. So to answer the question, we worship because we love Jesus. Answering that was a lot easier than you might have thought, right? Well, not exactly. Let’s break it down a little bit.

     Let us look at the definition in full. The definition is divided into two parts—noun and verb. Let’s take the noun into consideration first. The actual noun portion of the definition according to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language is this:
     1. a. the reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object;
         b. the ceremonies, prayers, or other religious forms by which this love is expressed.
     2. Ardent devotion; adoration.
So we see that the first part of worshiping God is having or posessing love and adoration for Him. And of course, in order to love Him we must first know Him. Our relationship to God is similar to a love relationship between a man and woman. The more I spend time with and know my wife, the more love I have for her. As our knowledge of God grows, our love for Him grows as well. As we are becoming more knowledgeable of the Father, what is actually happening is He is revealing more of Himself to us. The more we see of Him, the more we realize the incomprehensible attributes which are His very nature. This is what God was saying when He spoke to Moses from the burning bush.
     “I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE.” (Exodus 3:14 Amplified)
Jehovah God is the very essence of the words we typically use to describe Him—holy, merciful, gracious, good. While we as men are able to perform acts of holiness, mercy, grace, and goodness, God is holy. He is mercy. He is grace. He is good. As we know God more in this way, how can we do anything but love Him more? However, it is not sufficient to have loved only. Our love must be expressed. This brings us to the verb portion of the word ‘worship’.

     Let’s refer again to The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language to define the verb. There are two parts to the verb also—the transitive and the intransitive. (These are grammatical terms we have all heard in school, but likely did not commit them to memory. It is still quite plain, however.)
Transitive verb
     1. To honor and love as a deity.
     2. To regard with ardent or adoring esteem or devotion.
Intransitive verb
     1. To participate in religious rites of worship.
     2. To perform an act of worship.
True worship requires participation. You have to do it. To use the age-old expression, you can tell someone ‘I love you’ as much as you like, but if you never show love by action, what evidence is there to prove the love exists? Our daily life should be continuous worship unto God (see Romans 12:1), expressed through action. Jesus said, “If you really love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands” (John 14:15). If we show the love of Jesus by feeding the hungry or clothing the naked, then we have shown our love to Him (see Matthew 26:40). We accept Jesus as Lord by believing in our hearts (an inward showing), then confessing with our mouth (an outward display). God knows our hearts, but if we never confess Him with our mouth, how will the world know that we love Him? If we truly love, the expression of it will come naturally.

This concludes Part I of "Why Worship?". I will post Part II in the next couple of weeks. This should get you thinking for the time being. Hopefully this first portion will challenge you to begin to look at your own personal worship time in a different light.

The Apostolic Sound of Worship

     Over the last twenty years worship has become a prominent subject in the church. There are thousands of recordings as well as books and teaching materials on the subject. In the last ten years especially, we have seen worship music popularized by contemporary Christian musicians, each one putting a modern sound to worship music and breaking us out of tradition to help us sing a new song. The books and teaching materials available have helped us understand what worship is, dissecting the terminology and unfolding the numerous types of praise and worship found in the Bible. With all of this, the church seems to have gotten better at worshiping, but in our learning how to do it, have we learned how to live it? I fear that we have fallen in love with the act of worship rather than the object of our worship. I believe we have built a house of worship larger than we have the foundation for.

     We often quote John 4:23, but I am concerned we are missing the truth, or reality Jesus spoke of regarding our worship. The truth of worship also seems to be the part of the scripture people most misunderstand or misrepresent. One definition of the word ‘truth’ says, “That which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.” The Amplified Bible also uses the word ‘reality’ in this verse. A definition for ‘reality’ says, “All of your experiences that determine how things appear to you”. We must ask ourselves and answer the following questions. Have we actually experienced God, the object of our worship, so that we see Him as He really is in His divinity such that we derive our ultimate meaning and value of existence? Do we really live in perpetual worship to God? Do we consider worshiping God to be our life’s blood rather than something done at a certain time on a particular day of the week and that is set to music?

     God told spoke to the Israelites constantly throughout the Old Testament saying, “You shall know, understand, and recognize that I am the Lord.” If we truly know, understand, and recognize Jehovah is God, the result can only be a lifestyle of worship. No one will have to solicit us to worship, especially in the setting of our typical Sunday worship services. It is our true, authentic worship that will begin a chain reaction, or ‘cause and effect’ type of result. True, authentic worship will continuously bring us into true alignment with God. This alignment is really righteousness—the righteousness of Christ, which is conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action. This is what we are called to as sons of God, and our worship of Him is the avenue for reaching the destination. And with our true alignment with the Father comes true evangelism to the world. Our alignment and conformity to God causes us to be an accurate representation of Him to the world as a display and testimony of Who He is. Rather than telling about His love, we are a tangible, living display of it to those who do not know Him. The world is waiting for this display. “All of creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” (Romans 8:19)

     We must be careful about how we qualify our worship. Recognizing God as Who He is constitutes worship. In the contemporary church, music seems to be synonymous with worship. However, just because music presided in the first twenty minutes of a church meeting does not necessarily mean that we recognized God. Radio stations play music 24 hours a day, but is God being recognized as a result? To clarify, we can worship in song and we can worship in dance, just as we can worship in feeding the hungry. The lifestyle of worship comes when we recognize God in everything—what we do, what we say, and even in what we see. I see Who God is when I look at the stars, or the moon, or the trees, or even the strangest of animals in His creation. He is without limits and we can begin to recognize that in His creation.

     It is perfectly acceptable to love to worship God, and we should love it. It would not be authentic if it were drudgery to us. And though we receive a benefit from worshiping God, it is imperative we remember we worship not for our own enjoyment, but for the Father’s enjoyment. God inhabits the praises of His people. We cannot make it our habitation also. God will not share His glory with any thing or any man. So long as we inhabit our own worship, God will not, and cannot by His very nature, dwell in it. We also must examine the sound of our worship. What does it resemble—God or man? The worship in our hearts and the praise on our lips should not be our own sound. But let it be God’s sound—the sound like “the shout of a vast throng, like the boom of many pounding waves, and like the roar of terrific and mighty peals of thunder, exclaiming, Hallelujah! For now the Lord our God the Omnipotent reigns!” (Revelation 19:6). Let our entire lives, even our bodies, be an instrument of worship, making a heavenly sound. This sound is the sound that will shake the atmosphere around us and create an open heaven where angels can ascend and descend in our midst!

Hello and Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will come by often as I have much to share that I believe will be of value to you. I write a lot so this will be a great outlet for me to be able to offer what I have. All that God has given to me I intend to give away, so if you desire to receive, stop by and see what's going on. Hopefully all that I say will either help you to grow or will simply resound in your heart in agreement.
Again, thanks for checking me out.
>marK