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BACKGROUND
PRAISE
Worship
Worshipper
WORSHIP
Prayer
PRAYER
Fast
FASTING
Tithe
TITHES
Gift
GIFT
The
full background to this teaching is available online at this link
Click Here
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Online links to scriptures (New International Version [NIV] unless otherwise stated) are shown in blue
| WORSHIP THROUGH THE AGES |
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 So let’s have a look at how worship has evolved throughout the ages and where we are heading to in the future. Never believe any person or church that says that they have it all. For God’s ‘all’ has not yet come in any area of the church. Thank God for that! For there just has to be something better than we currently have, don’t you agree? Yes, God’s best is yet to come. God’s best is perfection!
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| a. In The Past (Old Testament): |
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 All man’s encounters with God the Father to date have been strictly limited, because of human impurity. For an impure man cannot exist in the presence of pure God. It is man who gets zapped, not God! For God told Moses,
Exodus 33:20
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 God then, protected Moses from the full glory of His presence with His hand. In the Tabernacle itself, God’s presence was in the ark, which in turn was in the Holy of Holies, inaccessible to all but the High Priest, and then only on the annual Day of Atonement.
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| b. At Present (New Testament): |
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 What applied in the past is still of practical relevance today, because we cannot yet physically enter into the full presence of God himself, even after salvation. The curtain to the Holy of Holies in the temple was torn at the time Jesus died, spiritually giving us access to God’s presence through belief in Jesus, but we have not yet been able to access it in the natural as sin remains in our life. In mine anyway! So we all for now, have split personalities! Our old human nature living side by side with our new spiritual nature. Only once we become 100% pure will we be fully physically able to enter His presence.
With the arrival of
John 14:26
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 at Pentecost, a new revelation of, and enthusiasm for, worship was given. This was lost after a short time by the early church. It was always retained by ‘a remnant’ over the centuries, but only in the last 100 years has the influence of the Holy Spirit returned in a more general way.
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 The Spirit works primarily in the area of faith, involving the heart, the seat of our emotions. So we have seen in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement a great development of thanksgiving, praise and worship, both structured and free. We desire to stretch out our hands towards God, to get closer to Him, which we do in the Spirit.
‘Happy clappy’ does not necessarily mean that God is a ‘happy chappy’ with us! For our worship must come from the spirit of God living within us, not solely, (get the pun!) from our human or ‘soulish’ emotions. For praise and worship is not just having a happy time – sometimes we don’t even feel like it – but rather the giving of all we have and are to God.
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| c. In The Future (Book of Revelation & Other Prophetic Scripture): |
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 Now for the radical! You see, most people are looking for a more intense experience of the same to get even closer to God. That is what I thought too, until God revealed to me otherwise. Two verses, John 4:23 & 24 reveal the truth!
John 4:23-24
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 What is that horrible “T” word? TRUTH! Not just in spirit, which is where we are at currently, but in truth also. ‘Happy chappy clappies’ who worship with all their emotions on a Sunday, yet live sinful lives for the rest of the week are not the worshippers God desires! Now I am sure that you have never fallen into that category! But I know I have, from time to time. It’s so easy to do! To have the form but not the substance.
Know what I am talking about? To break through to the next level of praise and worship does not mean singing louder, but rather, getting our lives right with God. I sense that the Lord is starting to bring us closer to that place, as a people arise who are sold out to Him.
The process is explained in Hebrews 10:19-22.
Hebrews 10:19-22
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 From these verses, we can see Jesus has done for us a completed work ‘positionally’, but this has to be worked through ‘experientially,’ personally and collectively as the church. To my simple mind – we must live it, not just believe it! For it is so easy to simply rest on the laurels of Jesus having done it all for us. So what are the implications for our praise and worship?
1. Now – in our Imperfect State: Experience shows, that as we draw nearer to the Father in our still less than perfect state, we fall down before Him in reverence and awe of His purity and power. Our worship quietens, sometimes being reduced to a whisper or even a groan, as we come nearer the presence of the glory of our God. It is as if we are just beginning to enter through that torn curtain, into the Holy of Holies itself, getting a foretaste of the majesty of our Father. But is that all we can expect? No.
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 2. Later – When we are Made Pure: Those who have been fully cleansed and purified will be able to stand, to live in the very presence of God, to honour and glorify Him and to rule and reign with Him. For God has done everything to finally bring us back into relationship with Him. And relationship is a two-way thing.
Revelation 3:4
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 Yes, we will be able to walk with God, to relate to the Father as a child to a parent, to Jesus as a wife to a husband, and to the Holy Spirit as a mentor and closest friend. I appreciate that the full implications of this restored state are not easy to grasp. I know that it is common for Christians to believe that when they get to heaven they will spend all their eternal time singing praises to God, an eternal praise and worship session. Right? Wrong! In the sense we understand worship now, anyway. For we are to become as one with Jesus, given
Revelation 3:21
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The full implications of this are impossible for us to currently grasp. For as God is one yet three in a way we don’t yet fully comprehend, so we will become as one with Jesus in unity of purpose, in a way that we don’t yet fully understand either. It remains a mystery to us.
1 Corinthians 2:16
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 As we submit in a greater way to the Father’s will, in which Jesus set the perfect example, so our understanding will increase.
To attain fulfilment in praise and worship we must become pure. Now, of course we need God’s help to do this. We cannot attain purity or perfection by our own efforts. But this does not mean that we give up and leave it all to God! Remember Paul’s quotation earlier. It is our responsibility as mature Christians to “press on toward the goal” of perfection in Christ. As we submit to God, so He brings us closer to Him, enabling us to enter new realms of praise and worship. It is up to us! Radical - yes, different - yes, true - yes, exciting - yes! Then let’s do it, shall we!
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| <i>NEXT WEEK</i> PRAYER AND FASTING |
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 Prayer and fasting are key elements in building a deep relationship with our heavenly Father.
All relationships are personal and different, but there are certain general principles that are applicable to all.
These thoughts are not legal requirements, or a '1, 2, 3 of success', but are simply designed for your consideration in the ongoing development of your spiritual life.
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| A NOTE FROM DAVID |
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 I trust that these last 2 weeks have given new understanding, and tools to deepen your worship experience with our incredible God. For He is worthy of all honour, worship and praise!
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Amen! (As they say in Africa!)
WATER FROM THE ROCK
In the wilderness, water always comes from rock. The miracle was that it came when and where the Israelites needed it. Even today there are small oases in the desert where fresh, life-giving water bubbles up from solid rock. The Israelites learned to know God as living water.
Source: http://www.followtherabbi.com
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So until next week.......
MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD!
His servant and yours
Learn more about us at...
www.wwj.org.nz/about.php
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A DAVID'S DOODLING
638. True worship is a way of life.
David Tait
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Check
out the WWJ website for….
More David's Doodlings: www.wwj.org.nz/dd.php
Pets Rule!: http://www.wwj.org.nz/pets.php
The World's Greatest Groans: http://www.wwj.org.nz/groans.php
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