“Praise is the Christian’s heavy artillery; praise is more effective in spiritual warfare than is an atom bomb in military battle (Duewel)”
“While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare me for burial. (Matthew 26:6-13)”
[This story perfectly illustrates the meaning of true worship. Can you see it in your mind's eye. This woman rushes to her room and runs to her chest of drawers. Ruffling through its contents, she finds a carefully wrapped alabaster bottle filled with the most precious of perfumes. As she looks down at it, she remembers it worth, but inside her heart she bursts to share it with the Master. What would He say? What would He think if she poured it upon Him out of the love she felt in her heart? Would He be angry or would He see into the depths of her soul and see how deep her love was for Him? As her thoughts imagine that moment, she can hardly contain herself and rushes to the object of her adoration. This woman gave her most valuable possession to show her heart felt love for the Master. Now that is some kind of worship!
Yet, worship is a important key to answered prayers. In fact, most fail to realise that worship is a powerful form of prayer that brings Gods glory down and puts the enemy to flight. Sadly, most Christians are ignorant to this fact. Yet still, God is looking for true worshippers.
Worshipping God is critical and vital for true worship in the Spirit as it ushers you into the Holy of Holies, that is, into the very presence of the Father. It is a divine encounter with God. For this reason, it is important to understand what worship is, so lets begin by looking at its meaning. The Greek word for worship is "proskyneo" meaning to prostrate oneself, give reverence to. Did you catch that? It is an act of adoration and reverence, a rendering of divine honor, esteem and love towards God and Christ. That's right, it is an outward display that brings us in direct contact with God. Through worship we give value and worth to the object of our worship. While worshipping the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, we are pouring out our love for Who They are rather than what They have done for us because worship centers on Who God is, while praise and thanksgiving involves giving to God and thanking Him for what He has done. The Bible tells us,
"He who brings as offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me" (Ps 50:23)
Thanksgiving is an aspect of prayer whereby we recognize and give thanks to God for all His blessings. Like praise, it is a type of prayer that draws the heart away from self and centers it upon God. This is why when we come before God we need to begin by worshipping, thanking and praising Him before we present our needs. Jesus said that true worshippers would worship in spirit and in truth. In a world of idolatry, man has turned his back on God to worship power, money, sex and the world's pleasures. God is searching for true worshippers. He desires those who will build a living memorial to Him through worship, like Mary, who poured out lavish worship on the Lord Jesus.
Many Christians in the church are holding onto idols in their hearts. Many have placed their families, careers and pursuit of worldly pleasures first place in their lives instead of the Lord and their worship for Him. These things have become their idols. There are others who have put the work of the Lord and ministry, above the Lord. Ministry has become their god. They have exalted the work of the Lord above the Lord Himself. They have become so busy in their work for the Lord that they neglect to spend time in His Presence worshipping Him. This is spiritual idolatry. The Father is looking and yearning for those who will worship Him wholeheartedly, who will not just honor Him with their lips and say they love Him, but will truly worship Him.
To gain a clearer understanding of what true worship really is, lets look at the life and example of Abraham. God wanted to know Abraham's heart and whether or not he loved Him above everything else. He directed Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham obeyed God. When he reached the place of sacrifice, where God had directed him to go, he left his servants saying, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back (Gen 22:5)". Abraham, in obedience to God, was on the way to offer Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice to God. Yet, he said, "we will worship". He believed God, who had given him the promise that through Isaac and his seed he would become a father of many nations. He was willing to offer his son in worship on the altar knowing that God would be able to raise him from the dead. Abraham's worship involved his willingness to give God the thing of greatest value and that was dearest to his heart - his son, Isaac, for whom he had prayed and believed God for. It involved more than just words. He didn't just tell God how much he loved Him. He worshipped God and poured out love through his act of obedience and faith.
True worship involves our verbal expression of adoration and praise as well as our actions. As you give yourself as a living sacrifice to God and come before Him, pouring out your love and worshipping Him for Who He is, He receives your worship and in turn, gives Himself to you. His glory comes down and His Presence is manifested. The Father is not withholding Himself from us. He is just waiting for us to break through all man-made traditions and formalities and come into His Presence and worship.
Ignite the powerful weapons of worship, praise and thanksgiving to defeat the enemy. We are to face our circumstances and things coming upon the earth before the Lord's return, not with fear, but with the "High Praise" of God in our mouths and the two-edged sword of His Word in our hands. This is an hour when God's people must declare His praises among the nations. God has made us to be a "royal priesthood" to proclaim His praises to the end of the earth. Something happens in the spirit realm when God's people begin to truly praise, sing and worship Him. There is a release of new freedom that comes forth.
Begin your time alone with the Father by first worshipping Him for Who He is: The Great I AM; Jehovah Jireh, Abba Father; Jehovah Shalom; Jehovah Nissi; Jehovah Rapha; All powerful; Ancient of Days; King of Kings; Lord of Lords; Savior; Redeemer; Deliverer; Lamb of God; Lion of Judah and soon coming King. One of the first things to do during worship is to recognize the awesome glory, majesty and holiness of God. He alone is holy. As you come into His Presence, honor and praise Him for His holiness. He is perfect in all His ways. Praise Him for His mercy, His loving kindness and His faithfulness. Begin to thank Him for what He has done for you. Throughout your day, wherever you go, praise Him and tell Him how much you love Him. During your worship time, shut away with Him, God wants you to abandon yourself in worshipping Him. Worship and praise God with a passion, forgetting everything, losing sight of what anyone will say and totally losing yourself in Him. The key to experiencing God in His fullness is to humble ourselves before Him, lay aside all pre-conceived ideas and cry out to Him with all our hearts. Cast off your robe of pride and self-sufficiency and begin to sing, shout, and dance before Him.
Pray this prayer:
Father, my heart rejoices to know that You love me with an everlasting love and that You desire my worship and praise. You alone are worthy of all praise, honor, glory and blessing! I am hungry for You! My spirit cry out to know You in a greater capacity. My love you and desire You above everything else. You are the only true and living God. You are high and holy and I lift You up and exalt Your holy name. I praise and worship you because You are full of mercy, grace and truth. I desire to know You in Your fullness. With all my heart I want to worship You in Spirit and in Truth. Teach me to open my alabaster box of true worship and worship You in Spirit and truth. (Cerullo)]
Tags: Abba, Abba Father, Abraham, adoration, alabaster box, All powerful, altar, Ancient of Days, Christ, Faith, Faithfulness, Father, Father of nations, glory, God, GOd's Presence, Grace, High Praise, Holy SPirit, honor, Isaac, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Shalom, King of Kings, Lamb of God, Learning to Pray, Lion of Judah, living sacrifice, Lord of Lords, Love, loving kindness, Master, mercy, obedience, passion, perfume, Praise, prayer, Presence, pride, Redeemer, royal priesthood, Savation, self-sufficiency, Spirit, Spirit realm, The Great I AM, Truth, Worship
August 28, 2011 at 1:37 pm |
Good points