Act 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
A true apostle of Jesus Christ will witness to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. In His everyday life and by the way he lives and how he treats his neighbor. True apostles are called, chosen and sent by God. They are not carnal or fleshly they are spiritual men. They are not servants of men they are servants of God. They look to God and not to man. They trust God and not man. They worship God and not men. True apostles are leaders that God has positioned in the Church for it's development. They possess a high calling and because they have a high calling they also have authority with God. A true apostle has a heart to serve and even become all things to all men that he might save some. His interest is not how to please himself but to please God and lay down his life for the lambs and sheep. True Apostles are fathers of the faith. They are solid in faith and do not waiver. They will strengthen and encourage the Church wherever they go. Their heart is very tender toward Gods people especially the babes and little children. The true apostles heart cry is DEVELOPMENT! Growth! For the Church to be established in Christ. If you know someone like this remember they are worthy of double honor. A true apostle will not take this honor so we must give it to them even as God has given them to us as a gift to the Body of Christ.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Love In Action
Most have always preached and taught that the word Charity is Love, however Charity is not just love, it's LOVE IN ACTION! Gods love is not idle or dead it's alive and productive. If someone is truly full of Gods love they will not be dead they will be alive and productive in the Kingdom of God.
1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
1Co 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
1Co 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
1Co 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
1Co 13:8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1Co 13:9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1Co 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
1Co 13:11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Co 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
True Unity
"believed were of one heart and of one soul"
Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Act 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
Act 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
Act 4:35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Act 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
Act 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
Act 4:35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Witnesses Of The Resurection
Act 4:26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
Act 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
Act 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Act 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
Act 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
Act 4:35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Act 4:27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
Act 4:29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
Act 4:30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.
Act 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Act 4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
Act 4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
Act 4:35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Renewed Strength
We are living in the time of the prophet Isaiah’s prophecy, when he said, “even the youth shall grow weary.” The youth don’t tire easy. They are the ones that we adults say I wish I had a tenth of the energy my child has. It seems that a little child has supernatural strength. They just keep going and going. We adults envy the energy that our children have. But notice what the prophet said, Isa 40:30 “even the youths shall faint and be weary.” In an age of energy hungry people we tend to run to “energy drinks, bars and pills that are no more than gimmicks and empty promises. The world is desperate and needs a solution to the energy crisis. The energy shortage is not just found in our natural bodies but also in the earth. The big word today is “ENERGY CRISIS”. The cry is for energy! But why don’t people look to the Living God?
According to Isaiah the prophet the only ones that will have energy in these last days are the ones that are waiting and trusting upon the Lord.
Isa 40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Adultry
Mar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Mar 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
Mar 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mar 10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.
Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Mar 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
Mar 10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Mar 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.
Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mar 10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.
Mar 10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Mar 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
Notice how Jesus then put the focus on the children. These are the ones that are really paying the price for divorce.
Mar 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
Mar 10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
Mar 10:16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.
God Hates Divorce
Mat 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Mat 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mat 19:7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
Mat 19:8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
We are being taught by society that divorce is the solution to a marriage that is not working, however we need to understand that God hates divorce and never does he agree with it. God gave divorce as a escape to stop to people from ultimately kill each other. Divorce is Gods judgment mixed with mercy. God only gave divorce due to the hardness of the heart. My friend please understand that divorce is like Moses laying down the rod which is a type of the will of God. Marriage is Gods plan for man and woman and God never condones divorce for any reason other than for the hardness of the heart. Just as the rod in Moses hand became a writhing, destroying, venomous serpent so does divorce become a very destructive force as well. Anyone that has gone through a divorce involving children know that divorce destroys. Hardness of heart sets in and continues to grow more and more to the place where the sensitive heart is no longer in the relationship. The caring for each other is gone! It started with un-forgiveness. If the two could have just forgiven each other then their would have been healing and the marriage would have worked. Their is no such thing as a perfect marriage on this earth. We must learn to get along with our spouse and learn what to do and not to do to keep peace. If you say that you cannot forgive then you are telling on yourself that you have not excepted Jesus Christs forgiveness, When he said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." You see to forgive we must be forgiven. You might say, 'Well you don't know what they did.' But remember friend what Jesus did. Jesus said, "If you don't forgive, My heavenly Father will not forgive you." It all comes down to forgiveness! If you cannot or will not forgive then Jesus can help! Won't you except Jesus Christs forgiveness today and share His forgiveness with your spouse and everyone you know? Jesus said, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. Joh 20:23
Mat 19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Mat 19:7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
Mat 19:8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
We are being taught by society that divorce is the solution to a marriage that is not working, however we need to understand that God hates divorce and never does he agree with it. God gave divorce as a escape to stop to people from ultimately kill each other. Divorce is Gods judgment mixed with mercy. God only gave divorce due to the hardness of the heart. My friend please understand that divorce is like Moses laying down the rod which is a type of the will of God. Marriage is Gods plan for man and woman and God never condones divorce for any reason other than for the hardness of the heart. Just as the rod in Moses hand became a writhing, destroying, venomous serpent so does divorce become a very destructive force as well. Anyone that has gone through a divorce involving children know that divorce destroys. Hardness of heart sets in and continues to grow more and more to the place where the sensitive heart is no longer in the relationship. The caring for each other is gone! It started with un-forgiveness. If the two could have just forgiven each other then their would have been healing and the marriage would have worked. Their is no such thing as a perfect marriage on this earth. We must learn to get along with our spouse and learn what to do and not to do to keep peace. If you say that you cannot forgive then you are telling on yourself that you have not excepted Jesus Christs forgiveness, When he said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." You see to forgive we must be forgiven. You might say, 'Well you don't know what they did.' But remember friend what Jesus did. Jesus said, "If you don't forgive, My heavenly Father will not forgive you." It all comes down to forgiveness! If you cannot or will not forgive then Jesus can help! Won't you except Jesus Christs forgiveness today and share His forgiveness with your spouse and everyone you know? Jesus said, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. Joh 20:23
Monday, May 3, 2010
A Laid Down Life
The Sailor Pictured Below Is,
Navy Petty Officer,
PO2
(Petty Officer, Second Class)
EOD2
(Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Second Class)
"MIKE MONSOOR"
April 5th, 1981 ~ September 29th, 2009
Mike Monsoor,
Was Awarded "The Congressional Medal Of Honor" Last Week,
For Giving His Life In Iraq , As He Jumped On, And Covered With His Body, A Live Hand Grenade,
Saving The Lives Of A Large Group Of Navy Seals That Was Passing By!
~
During Mike Monsoor's Funeral,
At Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery , In San Diego , California ..
The Six Pallbearers Removed The Rosewood Casket From The Hearse,
And Lined Up On Each Side Of Mike Monsoor's Casket,
Were His Family Members, Friends, Fellow Sailors, And Well-wishers.
The Column Of People Continued From The Hearse, All The Way To The Grave Site.
What The Group Didn't Know At The Time Was,
Every Navy Seal
(45 To Be Exact)
That Mike Monsoor Saved That Day Was Scattered Through-Out The Column!
~
As The Pallbearers Carried The Rosewood Casket
Down The Column Of People To The Grave Side.
The Column Would Collapse..
Which Formed A Group Of People That Followed Behind.
~
Every Time The Rosewood Casket Passed A Navy Seal,
He Would Remove His Gold Trident Pin From His Uniform,
And Slap It Down Hard,
Causing The Gold Trident Pin To Embed Itself
Into The Top Of The Wooden Casket!
Then The Navy Seal Would Step Back From The Column, And Salute!
~
Now For Those,
Who Don't Know What A Trident Pin Is,
Here Is The Definition!
~
After One Completes The Basic Navy Seals Program Which Lasts For Three Weeks,
And Is Followed By Seal Qualification Training,
Which Is 15 More Weeks Of Training,
Necessary To Continue Improving Basic Skills And To Learn New Tactics And Techniques,
Required For An Assignment To A Navy Seal Platoon.
After successful completion,
Trainees Are Given Their Naval Enlisted Code,
And Are Awarded The Navy Seal Trident Pin.
With This Gold Pin They Are Now Officially Navy Seals!
It Was Said,
That You Could Hear Each Of The 45 Slaps From Across The Cemetery!
By The Time The Rosewood Casket Reached The Grave Site,
It Looked As Though It Had A Gold Inlay >From The 45 Trident Pins That Lined The Top!
This Was A Fitting End To An Eternal Send-Off For A Warrior Hero!
This Should Be Front-Page News!
Instead Of The Garbage We Listen To And See Every Day.
~
Here's A Good Idea!
Since The Main Stream Media Won't Make This News.
Then We Choose To Make It News By Forwarding It.
~
I Am Proud Of All The Branches Of Our Military..
If You Are Proud Too, Please Pass This E-Mail On.
~
If Not,
Then Delete This E-Mail.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch fires of a hundred circling camps
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His day is marching on.
I have read a fiery Gospel writ in burnished rows of steel;
“As ye deal with My contemners, so with you My grace shall deal”;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
Since God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Since God is marching on.
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet;
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free;
While God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! While God is marching on.
He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave;
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
Our God is marching on.
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Our God is marching on.
False Worship and Mysticism in the Church
“Creating an atmosphere of worship”, “entering in”, “breakthrough”, “experiencing the glory cloud”, “feel His presence”, “feel His love pouring over you”??? For about two years now these terms have been bothering me. I know where the concept comes from – mostly the Old Testament, but now that Christ is in me and daily I am in His presence, fellowship and keeping myself in the love of God, why do I need to seek an “experience” out side of what the Word teaches? For years I have been frustrated with my walk in God because I was seeking a sign from Him. God revealed that to me this morning as I woke up praying. My seeking God, crying, falling out on the floor, screaming and “manifesting” were all signs of my faith being in crisis. This morning as I was praying this scripture came to mind:
” a wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed” Matt. 16:4
I believe in miracles. God is a God of miraculous acts, which He has performed at sundry times according to His plan and purpose. I thank God for this and have no sympathy for religious teaching that denies the miraculous. I believe in signs. God has given us many of them at His appointed times and according to His purpose, and has revealed in His Word the meaning and purpose of them. To believe in these is a simple matter of faith in the Word of God and to doubt them is to question the integrity of God and the validity of the Bible. On the other hand sign hunting comes not from a spirit of a faith which is deeply satisfied with the mighty acts of God already performed, but from a spirit of unbelief which demands a perpetual continuation of those signs, wonders and miracles. This is the attitude of the skeptic which says, “Except I see, I will not believe.” In Matt. 16:4, the Pharisees and Sadducees were not convinced by the signs “on earth” Jesus had done – they were blind to the signs regarding Jesus’ Messianic credentials right before their eyes.
This morning God showed me that all those years of “manifesting” (which may include but is not limited to speaking in tongues unbiblically, shaking, dancing uncontrollably, disruptive outbursts [both words and various noises], and uncontrollable physical gyrations) in an effort to “touch Him” in some way, to “feel His presence” or to “enter in the glory cloud”, was how I was seeking a sign. Signs alone converts no one. In the body of Christ today we place far too much confidence in signs as events bring people to faith in Jesus. As it relates to worship, the sign that I was seeking as I worshiped in the worship service and at home was “God’s presence” or a feeling to come over me to give me some type of assurance that He is in me or with me. Often times I had to conjure up emotions and tears just so that I can feel like I was “pressing in”or going “deeper”, but all the while I was having a mystical experience. What I was doing is what some call today “flase fire” which is the counterfeit of the ministry of the Holy Ghost. It signifies the need within man to experience the presence of God in a sensual, emotional way and thereby exercise both his senses and emotions to “manufacture” sensationalism. I have been doing this for years and I was always on a rollercoaster in my walk with the Lord. Instead of being taught by the church how to KNOW the Lord, I was seduced and the tools of the seduction included uplifting, often energetic, even tribal, rhythmic type music with lots of percussion instruments, dynamic personalities who prance, shout and strut themselves across the platform—in other words, a charged up atmosphere “by any means necessary”. The problem with this sort of worship is that it tends to provoke an emotional, demonstrative response an outburst so to speak that is based on factors other than the truth of the Gospel of Jesus crucified, dead, buried, raised, ascended and coming back. Dynamic preachers of all denominations and persuasions can be extremely skilled at manipulating a crowd by stirring up the emotions of people. When the emotions of a congregation are stirred, the shouts, screams and similar outcries can light a false fire throughout the congregation, the results of which are erroneously attributed to an outpouring of the Holy Ghost. “Holy” laughter, “holy” dancing, shouting, falling out slain, rolling on the floor, running up and down the aisles, throwing money at the feet of prominent evangelists and other forms of emotional frenzy keep the false flame alive. At these euphoric times, not only are the pockets and wallets fleeced, but people “get high” and think to themselves ”now is the time I can give myself to Jesus” and they start marching down aisles in small churches and in big tents, convention halls and stadiums.
Not to be misunderstood, I certainly do not suggest that reverent music and praise has no place, but rather, no emotional tactic needs to be employed to psychologically condition sinners to come forward to the altar and “confess Christ”. If the elect are assembled within the assembly, the Holy Ghost knows how to reach them once they have heard the simplicity of the gospel. The problem is that the messages or sermons that accompany the antics are often not grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
God showed me that my worship was all wrong! For two years now God has been showing me this about myself and cleansing me with His word from this false sense of worship and need for an “experience” with Him. The truth of the matter is that as I continue in fellowship with Him and obey His commandments I am “experiencing” Him daily in the transformation of my soul into His image. God has been teaching me that my faith in Him is in a knowing and not a feeling. Although I have heard this many times spoken by my leaders, I never grasped it. Perhaps it was mainly because they ignorantly continued to have the congregation seek God emotionally in the worship service by using words such as “press in”, go “deeper”, “push”, and praise until it hurts or until something happens. As believers, most of us have gotten the Biblical idea of personal and corporate praise and worship twisted. When we praise God we praise Him for: His mighty acts and according to his excellent greatness (Ps. 150), because He made or created us and to be joyful of our king (Ps 149), because He is our refuge, burden-bearer, deliverer, shield and I can go on an on. When we worship God we worship Him because we know who He is. Jesus made it clear in John chapter 4 that one cannot worship who they don’t know. He also said that they that worship the Father must worship Him in spirit and in truth. What does that mean? Well, because God is a spirit, then we must conclude that our worship must be spiritual. We are a three part being – body, soul and spirit. It is our spirit that communicates with His Spirit. Our mind and will and emotions are also used to worship Him (our soul), and we can use our body too – raising arms, clapping hands, dancing. We can worship Him with our whole being, but it is our spirit that worships, led by His Holy Spirit.
I understand now that my worship experience and the worship service has been and is being manipulated towards mysticism (Gnosticism) and sensuality or a feeling of the soul or flesh (not sexual in nature) by a concept that has been introduced into the churches very subtly over many years and in fact has become a catch phrase in our church language. We have been led to believe that we must “create an atmosphere” that is conducive to God the Father coming down to meet us, to enable us to experience His manifested presence, otherwise He will not abide with us and the anointing will not be there for healing and deliverance. As I study His Word, the more I see that there is something truly wrong with this concept. As a praise dancer (a person who praises God in the dance) I must be very careful now that my eyes have been opened to the truth of God’s word, not to partake or compromise my walk with the lord by co-signing on this type of false worship (even if my church is plagued by it) and by my dancing not to lead others to the same, ultimately entering into that false mystical experience of what was interpreted as “God’s manifest presence”. If I do so or compromise myself to this false type of worship, I will be disobeying what I know to be true according to His Word.
Now…I believe in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit working in and through a believer’s life to bring glory to the Father in Jesus Christ, to walk in His presence daily by faith and not by feelings. The practice of “setting the atmosphere” or creating one to provide just the right ambiance for God to be present amongst His people is a slap in the face to God according to what the Word teaches us. By doing so I believe that we are in unbelief or at least I was. If it is an experience that we desire, are we opening ourselves up to another spirit or seducing spirits that feed our sensuality. We are seeking a sign or proof of Jesus who said he will never leave us or forsake us. Jesus said simply, “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matt. 18:20) He is there, whether we feel anything at all and we do not have to have a spiritually charged atmosphere to know that He is present.
In some of our churches we like to reference the Old Testament for ideas or prescriptions about worship and how to do it. By doing so it is easy to be caught up in the false spirituality, believing that we can go on to “higher levels in God” in praise and worship. The Scriptures does not teach us that we are to seek to go higher in the “presence of God”, but to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). The power of this pattern of worship is almost too hard to resist in this day of famine for the Word. Yes famine! God showed me that I was seeking Him and partaking in false worship because I did not know His Word. That is why, when I came off that “mountain top experience” I went back to sin because I did not know His Word. If I don’t know His Word I can’t keep it. Scripture teaches if one does not keep His word - and if he says that he knows God he is a liar and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4). In many cases what is interpreted as the “presence of God” is nothing more than soulishness or even to the more extreme sense, other spirits in guise of the Holy Spirit. We have been taught that God is in some other spiritual realm, and that we have to coax Him to come down to us. This is totally not true. The veil was torn from the top to the bottom to show us that God has made himself accessible by the blood of the Lamb and we can now come boldly to the throne of grace to receive help in the time of need. God is not in some other realm where we have to “press”, “push” and “enter in” in order to be in His presence. The presence of the Lord is not beyond us in another state of mind. In the worship service we don’t have to dance and give all we have physically to the act of worship, and express with our emotions and bodies with such over-wrought desire hoping to enter into the presence of the Lord. We must not be like the prophets of Baal who tried to call down the presence of their gods, beating, whipping and cutting themselves hoping that this would bring about their desired effects. Scripture teaches us that we must move in faith with the belief that God is who He said He is, He is faithful to His word, that no matter where we try to flee from Him, He is always there. (Psalm 139:7)
As believers we are to trust our God who has made the way through what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross, through His death the veil was torn and we have access to the Father in one Spirit through Him. (Matthew 27:51) (Ephesians 2:18) According to the scriptures in Psalm 95: 1-7, we are bid to come according to His terms, to give glory to our God, to worship Him, to kneel before our Maker, for He is our God and we are the sheep of His pasture. His terms are the only ones acceptable! John 4:24 teaches us that God is a Sprit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Again what does that mean? It means that to worship God it involves us using our rational mind to know the truth of His Word and because God is spirit, we must worship Him not by our senses or emotions, but we must be filled with the Spirit of God to worship Him in spirit, by believing in faith that His presence is always with us and in us- we don’t need to “seek” any further.
God Bless,
PDCM
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