The Upward Journey. Worship.
Each generation has had to deal with the killer disease of being self-focused. It occurs in every culture across the world. The focus of our attention becomes increasingly self-centred rather than Christ centred. When we worry about how others view us and feel so
self-conscious and embarrassed to raise our hands or allow our hearts to be touched to tears, I believe that we are ultimately the losers! At some point in our Christian journey, we must de-throne self and for some it’s easier than others.
When I became a Christian, I felt so self-conscious, I was afraid to raise my hands in worship or even sing out. There was this inner battle raging on the inside - the voice in my head telling me I would look stupid, and my heart longing to be free to express itself. All the time my attention was on me! Then while attending a week-long daytime conference in my hometown, on the final day I found the courage to let go and worship. I closed my eyes and raised my hands and sang aloud. My heart was flooded with such joy and excitement. My heart was free! The reality was that with my eyes closed I couldn’t see anyone and the truth being I wasn’t that important in the scheme of things! That day changed my private and corporate worship for ever! A few years back a person prophesied over me about being an extravagant worshipper; I have thought on this from time to time and it’s my heart’s desire to be an extravagant worshipper!
The Bible is clear that worship is not about us. It’s about God. His Word instructs us to worship because He deserves our praise. How we worship in private ultimately affects how we worship corporately. So again, let’s keep it simple. I see that our worship has the same three areas that the temple had; gates, courts and the Holy of Holies. In the temple the people had to enter through the gates into the courts where the people bought their offerings to the priests to be sacrificed. Then once a year the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies where only he could enter to make atonement for the nation’s sin. He would wear a robe with bells on the hem and a rope would be tied to his ankle. The bells would sound as he walked, and should they stop sounding then it would indicate that he had died and the rope would be used to pull him out! Even in the courts the priests who were on duty had to follow certain rituals and requirements before they could minister. For the New Testament believer there are no restrictions; when Jesus cried ‘It is finished!’, at that very moment the veil in the temple was torn in two.
Then Jesus shouted out again, and He released His spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Matthew 27:50-51.
What significance does this have for you and me today? It was symbolic of the shedding of Jesus’s own blood; it was the absolute atonement for sins. It signified that now the way was open for everyone to enter the Holy of Holies, for all time, both Jew and Gentile. Firstly, Jesus died. Secondly, the huge 45 – 60 foot high, four-inch-thick curtain was torn in half. Thirdly, the tear was from top to bottom clearly showing the destruction was not man-made, but was caused by God. It was at that very moment when God departed from a temple made with hands (Acts 17:24). Jerusalem was left “desolate”. It was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, just as Jesus prophesied in Luke 13:35. As long as the temple stood, it signified the continuation of the Old Covenant. Hebrews 9:8-9 refers to the passing of the old covenant and Hebrews 8:13 to the establishing of the new.
From that time forward Jesus Himself was the only way to the Father (John 14:6). We can now enter the Holy of Holies through Him. Hebrews 10:19-20 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and living way through the curtain into the most holy place.” As Jesus flesh was being ripped open for us, the veil was torn in two. The temple veil was a constant reminder that sin keeps us from the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered annually showed that sin could not truly be atoned for or erased by mere animal sacrifices. Jesus through His death has removed the barriers between God and man, and now we can boldly come to Him with confidence (Hebrews 4:14-16).
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving go into his courts with praise; Give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4
So, we start the upward journey as we enter His gates with thanksgiving. All of us have much to thank God for; our salvation, our lives and our loved ones, our health, jobs, food, homes, grace, kindness, forgiveness, the list is endless. Thanksgiving is the first step of our worship; our ultimate destination should be to enter that “Holy of Holies” of intimate friendship. But first we need to go through the gate of thanksgiving! Thanksgiving focuses our attention from self to Him. If you find yourself in a place where you struggle to be thankful it can be a dangerous place as your heart is becoming hardened and you are giving the enemy a foothold into your life to keep you out of the presence of God through anger, disappointment, death etc.
In previous blogs I have highlighted several things that will not only keep your heart soft but will also help you get out of those kinds of traps.
It is like the incense of the temple, which filled the whole house with smoke. Animal sacrifices are ended, but sacrifices of gratitude will never be out of date. So long as we are receivers of mercy, we must be givers of thanks. Mercy allows us to enter his gates; therefore, let us praise that mercy. What could be a better subject for our thoughts when in God's own house than the Lord of the house himself!
It’s with thanksgiving that we enter His gates and then we move on with praise that takes us into his courts. Our final destination is the Holy of Holies. There are several types of praise in the Bible, let’s look at them:
"Hallah” is the most common word for praise. Simply put it means to boast, brag, or rave about God even to the point of appearing foolish. I love football and those who attend games shout and scream for their team. Sadly, for some of us, if we shout and scream and brag on God we often labelled as fanatics, as if something is wrong with us.
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live...” (Psalm 63:3-4).
"Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord” (Psalm 134:2).
(Psalm 43:1-5; 134:2; 2 Chronicles 20: 1- 21; Nehemiah 8:6; 1 Timothy 2:8)
Think of a small child, hands raised, running towards daddy crying out, “Pick me up, daddy, pick me up!” Raising the hands is one of the most explosive and meaningful expressions of praise. The raising of hands is an international sign of surrender. A worshipping person raises hands in adoration and surrender to God.
Singing is vital to the worship of God. There are over 300 mandates to sing in the Bible. This word suggests that God himself is a song of praise. We might say it like this, ‘God is our song.’ David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies including the hand of Saul.
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge… I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies” (Psalm 18:1-3).
“Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:19)
When David was trapped by the Philistines in Gath He gave thanks and offered praise even before God delivered him.
“Be merciful to me, my God, for my enemies are in hot pursuit... When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise - All day long they twist my words; They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, hoping to take my life. Record my misery… Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me” (Psalm 56:1-12).
The pagan king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was struck insane by God because of his pride. When God restored his sanity seven years later, Nebuchadnezzar shouted words of praise:
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right, and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37)
“HALLELUJAH” is the foremost word for praise in the Bible. Hallelujah transcends all the languages of the world. It is not translated; it is transliterated. Hallelujah is the spontaneous outcry when excited about God. It appears 24 times in the Old Testament all between Psalm 104 and 150. It is reserved for times of extreme praise.
“Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”
(Psalm 150)
The word hallelujah is used only four times in the New Testament, all of them in Revelation 19:1-7
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.”
“Hallelujah! Revenge on the Harlot: God is just after all.”
“Hallelujah! God is still on his throne even though the world is destroyed.”
“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.”
There will be many times when we will be required to give a sacrifice of praise.
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Hebrews 13:15
Praise rarely cost us something. We praise people for a job well done. It is often our response to something that directly benefits us, and we feel generous because we give it. We often find it easy to praise God from the same perspective. When He has blessed us, helped us, or protected us, we feel generous toward Him. We sing, worship, and talk about how good He is because we can see it. That kind of praise, although worthwhile, doesn’t cost us anything. It’s not a sacrifice.
Then there are other times when God didn’t come through the way we thought He should. A bad doctor’s report. Our spouse wants a divorce. A child goes off the rails. The mortgage rate goes up. God seems a million miles away, and praise is the last thing the feel in our hearts. We can't see His goodness, and circumstances are screaming at us, so we believe that He has forgotten us. A personal sacrifice is required to praise God in those times. It takes a great act of our will to lay it all on the altar before God when we don't understand. When we bring a "sacrifice of praise" we are choosing to believe that, even though life is not going as we think it should, God is still good and will get us through it. (Nahum 1:7). When we choose to praise God in spite of the storms, He is honoured, and our faith grows deeper (Malachi 3:13-17; Job 13:15).
How many times have daily struggles, or the demands of life crowded out our praise and worship to God. We check the ‘been to worship’ box at church and somehow think we are good for the week! And yet, our hearts are distant and cold, as we sing words, listen to music, and then we go home and wonder why we are unchanged. Hebrews 13:15 commands us that this sacrifice is to be ‘continually’ offered. Our praise shouldn’t be based on our opinion of His job performance. Praise shouldn’t be treated as a reward we give God for His blessings. Isaiah 29:13 says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Real heart praise continues regardless of circumstances. It must continually flow from a worshiping heart in good and bad times.
Paul and Silas. though innocent, were stripped and severely beaten, then thrown into jail and put into stocks in the inner dungeon. Despite their predicament at their darkest hour, they sang praises to God. As a result there was a massive earthquake and all the prison doors flung open and their chains fell off. (Acts 16:23-25).
What can we learn from this? Praise is a chain breaker, a game changer that turns our mourning into joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10). That strength gives you and I the ability to not only get through but to overcome the situations that we face.
Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you about those biblical ways to worship. How can you incorporate them into your personal and corporate worship?
Praising God (Isaiah 57:19), should be a continual sacrifice (Hebrews 13:15). God promises that when we praise and worship Him, He inhabits those praises (Psalm 22:3), and it gives us strength to defeat our enemy. (Psalm 8:2).
Maybe this is the time to write those songs that have been on your heart. The poetry that has laid dormant. To speak out those words of thanksgiving.
Why not set aside time right now to put into practice the revelation that you have just received?
Holy Spirit I want a breakthrough in my praise to God today. I am sorry for being so centred on myself. I am making a choice to give you my fear of what others may think if I raise my hands and let my heart truly worship. Today, right now, I raise my hands and voice to you Lord and let go of my fear and embarrassment. Holy Spirit fill me now with the praise and adoration that my heart longs to give. Set me free to worship God in Spirit and in truth.
Maybe you have never experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit to speak in what the bible calls tongues. The gift of speaking in tongues is a spiritual gift. It means speaking with words or in a language you don’t know in order to build up both ourselves and others.
Perhaps you already know how to pray in the Spirit, but for some time now, you’ve not practiced this wonderful gift. Let me encourage you to start doing it again You will experience His grace, His provision touching every negative situation!
Jesus said, “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will…speak with new tongues.” (Mark 16:17).
Do you believe in Jesus? If you have made Jesus your Lord and Saviour, then you can be confident you will receive this gift when you ask for it in His name. Jesus also said: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:11–13. The Father, who is always ready to give good gifts to you, is more than ready to fill you with His Spirit and give you this heavenly language right now.
If you’ve never prayed or spoken in tongues before but would like to, pray this simple prayer.
Are you ready? Lift up your hands to Him and pray this out loud.
Father, I come boldly to your throne of grace to ask for and to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the ability to speak in tongues. Jesus has paid the price for me to receive every blessing from You. Please fill me now and baptise me with the Holy Spirit. So, I receive right now Your Holy Spirit filling and overflowing me. I fully expect to start speaking in my new heavenly language in Jesus’s name. I open my mouth and speak by faith right now. Thank You for all the benefits that praying in the Spirit will release in my life. In Jesus name, Amen!
Receive and release your heavenly language. So now, go ahead and speak in tongues. Romans 8:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us by making intercession for us. In the Greek the word ‘help’ means ‘take hold together against’. This means that the Holy Spirit together with us takes hold of our problems. He needs our participation. How do we participate? We must open our mouths and let Him take over our voice.
Some of you might feel like nothing happened. That’s exactly how I felt when I asked for tongues. I got myself all worked up and frustrated! I prayed in the bath, sitting on my couch, I asked endless times, and nothing seemed to be happening. Then one day when praying with someone over an unrelated issue, tongues began to flow out of me! Go figure!
Don’t be discouraged. You might have a few syllables that come to you, which you might think sound like nonsense. Begin by speaking those syllables that come to you, even if it’s repetitious. The Holy Spirit is not going to force you to speak. You need to cooperate with Him by opening your mouth and speaking in faith. Or, when you are in church, ask someone you know who already speaks in tongues to pray with you. Practice as you worship the Lord on your own. If at first what you hear is monosyllabic, childlike sounds that differ from the tongues of other believers, don’t be disheartened. Just keep at it. Spend time praying in tongues each day and as you do, what may have started off as a trickle will become a river. You’ll become more fluent in your new language, and the more you make praying in tongues as part of your daily life, the more you will discover the peace, power, and presence of God’s love that praying in the Spirit brings!
As you progress from “His gates to His courts” you will quickly enter that intimate place of fellowship “the Holy of Holies” where you can experience and feel His overwhelming love. The place where miracles can occur, even right in your room. If every believer were to praise and worship in this way, then churches would experience more and create an atmosphere for miracles!
In the early days of my church, as we worshipped as a congregation a mist would descend at the front of the church covering the worship team. At first, we thought that it was heat from the radiators or it was the intensity of the sun coming through the windows. So, we closed the blinds and turned off the heat. The mist kept coming for several days or even weeks. If you looked on from the back of the hall those being covered by this mist would seem to fade into it. God was inhabiting our praise and worship (Psalm 22:3); He was enjoying us as much as we were enjoying Him! So much happened in those days. The good news is that He is no respecter of persons, and He is the same yesterday, today and forever. What He did once He is willing to do again and again!
The responsibility to prepare for worship doesn’t just fall on the worship team and the leaders. Everyone should come to church prepared, whether you are singing, teaching, preaching, speaking, prophesying, serving or receiving. Church is not a time to be entertained and expecting to be served, but it’s a time when God’s children gather to give Him honour and praise and to be filled afresh to face the week ahead, giving away what we have received.
How do you prepare for worship on Sunday? One way to prepare is by getting your heart ready. Use the night before or get up early before the service to spend time with the Lord in worship, reading the Bible and praying. Focus your thoughts on all that Jesus has done for you. Pray for the service and ask the Lord to help you not only receive from Him but to also give to others.
A friend’s testimony - worshipping God when disappointed.
My childhood was traumatic. I was bounced around from home to home. Very little love or compassion was shown to me. Life progressed - a job, marriage and children. Then one day in 1979 a man introduced me to Jesus. That day changed my life! My journey to wholeness began. Counselling, prayer and a love of God’s word. I went from a life of fear to a life of faith.
Then in 2005 I was diagnosed with cancer of the palate. I was fortunate to have one of the best surgeons in this field. The operation was a success, but I had to learn to live with a plate in my mouth that would help me to eat, drink and speak clearly. Four years went by, and my consultant offered me the opportunity of having a reconstruction on my palate to cover the hole in the roof of my mouth. This was an answer to prayer, a miracle. I was so excited to have this done. While undergoing surgery they discovered more cancerous tumours which were successfully removed. So many days into my recovery my consultant stunned me with the news that the operation had failed!
I cried and cried, I was so disappointed, I cried for several days. It just felt like I had failed and that it was all my fault! My church family would visit me and try to encourage me. They would speak God’s word over me and eventually I began to write them all out, even the joy ones! Despite the setback and the tears, I believed that since becoming a Christian, that I was to live by God’s word. So, I began the process of healing both physically and spiritually. As time progressed praise, worship and thanksgiving began to arise in my heart. I chose to be an overcomer and chose to trust God to bring me through this overwhelming disappointment. And of course He did! However, I had to take the first step to say yes to Him and to open my heart again to receive from Him. Thank you, Lord! Anna
"It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men." C S Lewis.
Comentarios