Acceptable Worship
What does this mean to be a worshiper of the most-high God? Let’s take a look at some simple definitions.
wor·ship Pronunciation Key (wûrshp)
n.
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.
Another definition would be analyzing the two root words of worship: “Worth Ship” or to show worth. Have you ever watched the Antique Road Show? People come with their stuff wondering if it has any value. How do the people react when they find out this thing in their attic is worth $50,000? Antique basically means “Belonging to the past.”
The influence of our past should help us navigate our present and futures. We serve a God who is neither antique, nor contemporary, or even futuristic. God is immutable. He never changes. Because we are locked in time and we are not God, we can change. And as Christians we have changed.
Christianity is and has been in recession for years. There are almost 8 billion, people on the planet. 6 Billion, 700 million in 2008 with the following stats. 2.1 Billion are labeled Christian (33%) yet only 500 million are Protestant. That is 1 quarter of the people labeled Christian or less then 10% of the world population and that number is shrinking. This number has not grown therefor the population is stripping our influence. Islam has 1.5 billion followers. 21% of the world population in 2008. Now Islam has 1.6 billion, 23% of the worlds population.
Could it be that Protestant Christianity has no value anymore? When there is no worth. There is no “Worth-Ship” or worship.
Matt. 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What if you were like the Antique Road Show. Revealing value on things in your belief system that are thought of as antique (belonging to the past) by the world and generations that are now falling from faith. You could be a catalyst for restoring value to the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the Bible, the Cross, Jesus blood, Jesus body, the Church, the authority of Christ through prayer!
How do we behave when something is of great value to us:
1. Our Triune God(Father, Son, & Holy Spirit)
2. Jesus becoming flesh
3. Jesus dying for our sin
4. Salvation (Sozo)
5. Healing
6. Deliverance
7. The cleansing blood of Jesus
8. The protective blood of Jesus
9. The authoritative power of Jesus name
I believe the Protestant church is in need of a reformation.
Reformation: The removal of faults and abuses and the restoration to a former good state. We need to bring worth back. I believe there was a time when the Protestant church fell into legalism. We didn’t understand how to deal with sin so we became judge and jury. We told people to “stop it” and offered no real answer through cleansing.
Legalism is doing the right things for the wrong reasons.
The pendulum has now swung to the other side. Looking at those statistics, the Protestant church might have fallen into seeker friendly hyper grace. Watery Gospel. Not looking at the totality of God. Name one thing that tastes good watered down? Name one recipe that works with only one of its ingredients? What happens if a Doctor only gives you part of the antibiotics?
We are now confronted with this thing called a social gospel.No sin, no repentance, no righteousness, no judgment from God. When Jesus spoke to the 7 churches in Revelation, the resounding theme was to repent. Jesus became flesh to gather the lost. Hey brought sin to our attention and then gave us a solution to get out of sin. He gave His life and shared His power with us.For this we should be grateful. An attitude of gratitude. We are created to worship God. This is the purpose of our existence.
Eph. 1:12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ,might be for the praise of his glory.
Worship Is something that God Desires.
Psa. 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
God made everything for a purpose and created man to worship Him. Man Fell away and is failing to carry out the creative purpose. God then sends His only begotten Son into the world, not to save us from hell primarily,yet to provide freedom of worship and communion with God that was void since the fall of Adam. With the sacrifice of Jesus, we can and should follow through with the purpose for which we have been created. We are to be worshipers of the Most High God! The whole bible is a proof text of this one truth. God wants us to worship Him.
God, who doesn’t need anything, never the less wants worshipers. God in His un-created nature is self-sufficient, yet wants us to worship Him.
Worship is one thing that God chooses not to own. He wants His people to give this to Him in un-obligated love.
There are acceptable ways to love and unacceptable ways to love. Worshiping God and loving God go hand in hand, therefore we cannot have one without the other.
Eph. 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession — to the praise of his glory.
Our spirit in concert with the Holy Spirit being the praise of God’s Glory; this is acceptable worship. Worship is not explained, more importantly it is expressed and experienced. (Charles Spurgeon) It is much more than music. It is our attitude of gratitude to God that also flows into our relationships with people here on earth. WE worship out of adoration not out of obligation Are we loving if we are being told to love someone or choosing to love someone. Music is a primary vehicle for worship yet actions and attitude truly express who we are as Christians. The gratefulness we have toward God is outwardly and inwardly present. Why is it that we can’t express our gratefulness this way as we praise and worship. Worship is an important part of who we are in the dynamic of our spirituality. Our spirit/soul is one of three parts in the image of God! We are Spirit/Soul and Body filled with the Holy Spirit.
Worship is a barometer of spiritual maturity. If we truly knew who God was and is, our worship would look different. Asaph and David even in the Old Testament realized that worship was and is a living and breathing entity all its own.
Psa. 45:11 So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
God desires to be worshiped. Before the fall, Adam and Eve had the purest worshipful relationship with God a human could have.
Gen. 3:8 ¶ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Gen. 3:9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
After the fall, Adam & Eve are hiding themselves from God and the pure worship they had stopped.
Before the fall, it was customary and acceptable worship they shared. God looked forward to this communion in the cool of the day. So here we see that “no worship” is “unacceptable worship.”
Jesus said that we must worship Lord and He alone. We see this phrase “worship the Lord” about 27 times in the Bible (NIV)
2Th. 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed)in that day.
When Jesus returns He will be looking to be glorified and admired. God wants to be worshiped and man in his fallen state wants to worship God.
Eccl. 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Because of this fact, all people everywhere worship some thing or someone.
Acts 17:24 ¶ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
Acts 17:25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
Acts 17:26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
Acts 17:27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
When any person falls on their knees and calls out to God,they are doing the most natural behavior in the world. When someone is face with a life or death circumstance, they call out for God first! We all know that we know that He is there. Our fallen state has taken us from what was perfectly natural. Sin came into the human existence. Sin is not natural. Sin was not God’s design for humanity.
God created man in God’s image without the virus of sin within man. Sin is the unnatural thing while worship is natural. Today our experience is that sin feels natural because more people sin than worship God. God created us for worship, not for sin. God wants us to worship and enjoy Him forever!
There needs to be a great shift in our thinking because of the influence of sin in our lives and how that effects worship. That independent attitude that spawned by sin many times positions us to think we can worship God however we want. That is not true.
There are two sides to every coin. There is acceptable worship and unacceptable worship. There are plenty of worship teachings that will lead you to an experience apart from Jesus Christ. There are even worship experiences in some churches that are not acceptable to God. After the fall,worship went from pure open ended fellowship to a flavor of repentance now understanding our fallen state. It consisted of offerings and sacrifice. Sacrifice, Tithes and offerings are all an extension of our worship to God. Worship will cost you something. Salvation is free. God’s kingdom will cost you your life.
Gen. 4:3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD.
Gen. 4:4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
Gen. 4:5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
It is clear that there is acceptable and unacceptable worship. Here we have the first occurrence of God’s favor causing jealousy and rejection. It is true to say that the freer we get and the more we worship, and the more favor we receive from God; more people will reject us!
Is it possible to have an experience with God yet not have a saving experience with God? Cain had experiences with God. God gave a great portion of mercy that He would not be killed by another yet there was a great penance that Cain had to pay. There is a good chance he is in heaven.
Judas had an experience with God. Some make Judas out to be a villain. Yes, we know what he did, yet we forget that Judas was obedient in fulfilling the will of God, He was chosen by Jesus, seemed to sin less than the other disciples (according to scriptural record). Judas threw the 30 pieces of silver on the ground in the "naos" (Holy Place) part of the temple. Only a priest could enter that part of the temple. Even Jesus could only enter the courtyard because he was not from the tribe of Levi. This fact is very important. Judas repented and declared Jesus innocent and confessed his sin. Jesus referred to Judas as friend (hetairos) that meant partnership and comrade rather than (philos) that means endearment.
Pharaoh on the other hand experienced God and did not have a saving encounter. Why is this so important. I am pointing out that people can have authentic encounters with God that are not saving encounters. Worship being one of those encounters. Many people attend Evangelical Crusades only to say a prayer like the Pledge of Allegiance with no authentic life change. We must admit our fallen state and then to praise God for His nature. Jesus is our sacrifice for our sins past, present, and future once and for all. Demons work laboriously to keep us from receiving this promise. Their only weapon is deception. Also our own hearts condemns us.
1John 3:19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence
1John 3:20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
This will keep people from worshiping and or worshiping in an acceptable way. There are countless religions in this world and all of them are real and provide something to those who follow. There seems to be countless offshoots of Christianity that seem to offer something to those who follow. Christianity is like Baskin Robbins 31 flavors. There are many flavors of Christianity to choose from. So many choices yet there is only one acceptable way to worship God. There are people who will kneel before a statue and have an authentic experiences with that statue. Pagan, Hindu, Buddhist,even Catholic. The fact of the matter is that it is not acceptable according to scripture. Idolatry is an abomination to God and it is one of the things that God HATES.
Matt. 7:21 ¶ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matt. 7:22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Matt. 7:23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
This goes to a stranger place beyond worship. A statement that all of us would agree causes us to examine our relationship with God. What are some unacceptable forms of worship?
1. Cain worship: This is worship lacking atonement for sin.
No sacrifice. The wages of sin is death. Someone has to die to atone for the wrong of sin. We see this in some forms in large church movements where there is a lack of recognition of sin, they fear the cross is offensive, and don’t talk about the blood of Christ. We need to know what kind of God, God is, to be able to worship Him.
If you don’t know God, chances are your worship could be unacceptable. Cain did not know what kind of God, God is because Cain didn’t consider sin unacceptable like God does. Cain thought He could talk to God without an intermediary and that was false! Churches who don’t believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ are doing the same thing as Cain and their worship is unacceptable. Sin alienates you unless there is atonement. This type of worship makes sin less serious than it actually is to God.
God hates sin because it robs God’s people and gives handles to the demonic kingdom for spiritual oppression.
No matter how gentle, tender, charismatic Cain worship might be, it is still unacceptable to God. Worship Is a Lifestyle: a manner of living that reflects the person's values and attitudes.
2. Samaritan worship: Worship based on location missing Spirit and truth.
John 4:1 ¶ The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John,
John 4:2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.
John 4:3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.
John 4:4 ¶ Now he had to go through Samaria.
John 4:5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
The shortest route from Jerusalem to Galilee lay on the high road straight through Samaritan territory.Many Jews would not travel by that road, for they regarded any contact with Samaritans as defiling. By the time of Jesus a strong rivalry and hatred between Jews and Samaritans prevailed. The words “had to” in 4:4 translate an expression of necessity. As the Savior of all humanity, Jesus felt he had to confront the smoldering suspicion and enmity between Jews and Samaritans by ministering to his enemies.
John 4:6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
John 4:7 ¶ When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
John 4:8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
John 4:9 ¶ The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)
John 4:10 ¶ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
There was a trace of sarcasm in the woman’s reply, as if she meant, “We Samaritans are the dirt under your feet until you want something; then we are good enough!” Jesus paid no attention to her flippancy or to her bitterness. Jesus was more interested in winning the woman than in winning an argument. He appealed to her curiosity by the phrase“If you knew,” implying that because of the nature of his person he could bestow on her a gift of God that would be greater than any ordinary water. His allusion was intended to lift her level of thinking from that of material need to spiritual realities.
John 4:11 ¶ “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?
The woman heard his words but missed his meaning. “Living water” meant to her fresh spring water such as the well supplied. She could not understand how he could provide this water with out having any means of drawing it from the well (the well was over seventy-five feet deep).
John 4:12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?”
John 4:13 ¶ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
John 4:14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:15 ¶ The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
John 4:16 ¶ He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
Jesus challenges two cultural “no no’s” based on the Samaritan and Jewish conflict. Jesus speaking to a Samaritan and speaking to a woman without her husband present.
John 4:17 ¶ “I have no husband,” she replied. ¶ Jesus said to her,“You are right when you say you have no husband.
John 4:18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
Jesus points out a shadow side of her character and right away she changes the subject to theology.
She asks this question.
John 4:19 ¶ “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
John 4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
John 4:21 ¶ Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
Here Jesus challenges tradition and the way we have always done things.
John 4:22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.
The Samaritans exposure was limited to only the first five books of the Hebrew bible. The Jews were exposed to all twenty four. This is one of the reasons why Jesus says, “You worship what you do not know.”
John 4:23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
“God is spirit” carries one of the four noun descriptions of God found in the NT (the other three are “God is light” [1Jn 1:5]; “God is love” [1Jn 4:8, 16]; and “God is a consuming fire”[Heb 12:29]). Jesus was endeavoring to convey to the woman that God cannot be confined to one place nor conceived of as a material being. Only “the Word become flesh” (cf. 1:14) could represent him adequately.
Our Spirit communes or experiences a type of intercourse with the Holy Spirit. We also need to be in a posture of truth, not a lie. They were not worshiping in spirit and in truth. In fact they were worshiping one they did not know, partly because of the amount of the Tora they where exposed to.The Samaritans did not know there God. So we may conclude that Samaritan worship is a type of heretical worship. What is a heretic?: a professed believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by his or her church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church. In basic terms this person picks out what they like in the bible and rejects the rest. This word is rarely used today. It was used almost 4 times as much in the 1800 than today. This is why it is important we don’t get stuck in only one part of the Bible or subscribe to only one or a handful of thoughts. Examples would be the following movements: Grace, Prosperity, Prophetic, Signs & wonders, Worship.
We have to be careful that our experiences are not the dictators of our theology. Worship or other. It all has to pass through the litmus test of the bible. Why, there could be experiences, even in worship that are not of God.
Rev. 22:18 ¶ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
Rev. 22:19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy,God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city,which are described in this book.
The art of accepting and rejecting has brought us to so many splinters of Christianity that it is difficult to keep up.
This is one of the reasons why people choose to be non-denominational. Samaritan (picking and choosing what they like) worship places people in the place of judging what God has said as being acceptable.(This is backwards thinking.)
3. “Nature Worship.” (or creation worship)
Deut. 17:2 ¶ If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the LORD gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God in violation of his covenant,
Deut. 17:3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky,
This is nature worship. Worshiping the creation rather than the creator by minimizing God, maximizing the creation or experience. Deviations from the worship of the Lord are called “doing evil in the eyes of the LORD,” a“violation of his covenant,” and “contrary to my command.” Israel was not to worship the sun, moon, and stars of the sky either as physical entities or as representations of pagan deities.
The sun, moon, and stars along with other physical elements show the glory of the Lord but are by no means idolatrous representations of him.
Deut. 17:4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,
Deut. 17:5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.
Any alleged deviation from the worship of the Lord is to be thoroughly investigated. If it proves true on testimony of two or three witnesses—one witness being insufficient—the guilty party must be stoned to death, the witnesses being the first to throw stones. The seriousness of this defection and the purpose of the punishment are seen in the declaration, “You must purge the evil from among you (Israel).” This goes back to the thought that one bad apple spoils the bunch or a little levin spoils the whole batch of dough. God was so serious because paganism was infiltrating Israel. Even today paganism and new age belief is infiltrating the church. The punishment reflects time sensitive cultural interpretation of the law of that land or group at that time. This is why we don’t stone people who break Hebrew law today.
Emerson, not a fundamental Christian (denied the blood and deity of Jesus), but a Transcendentalist and founder of the Unitarian Church said that after walking in a beautiful meadow at night after a rain with a wondrous moon he said he was glad to a point of fear. He was an awesome writer none-the-less. Nature can leave great impressions on anyone yet it is a mistake to take those feelings to a divine seat. We are warned not to do that. Instead thank and praise God almighty for His wondrous creation. Music, or any art form, as beautiful as it is can become the focus of worship. Worship is about the heart not the art. Music can fall under nature worship. The trouble with all of this is that it is unacceptable to God Almighty.
John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
The word must is emphatic. No debate, not based on feelings alone, not optional. MUST! This takes worship out of the hands of man and places it in the hands of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to worship with out the communion of the Holy Spirit inside of each of us. Worship originates with God, moves through His Spirit and is reflected in us as we are obedient to His Spirit in worship. This my friends is acceptable worship. Worship is an ancient need of all humanity. Without direction it becomes unacceptable. The human mind without proper direction will run down the paths of unacceptable worship first before worshiping in spirit and in truth. We already have seen it demonstrated in the scriptures. People without intellect worship idols. People with intellect write poetry, songs, and create the idols. There is nothing wrong with these creations, as long as the creation is not the object of our worship.In nature worship, there is an equalization of the creation with God. God is not equal to His creation. God is greater! We cannot worship God through matter. We must worship God in Spirit and in truth because God is Spirit and the author of all truth.
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
We cannot worship with one and not the other. Worshiping only in Spirit will not be acceptable. Worshiping only in truth will not be acceptable. We worship with the initiation of the Holy Spirit and truth.Worship in the Spirit, without truth, leaves the Spirit helpless. There needs to be theology and honesty behind the Spirit. Truth alone is theology with out fire! The atoning blood of Jesus covers us to still come into God’s presence,even with our demonic oppression, yet God ultimately wants us clean.
The ancient progression of worship in the tabernacle shows the outer court as an area where truth is addressed by reflection and cleansing.We need to know our sin and current state and be ready for cleansing to move in communion with the Spirit of God.
1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1John 1:8 ¶ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1John 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. Notice that forgiveness and purification is available for all yet we have to initiate with confession. This is called facing the truth.
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Once we are positioned in truth with confession, cleansing(deliverance) can begin preparing us for the Holy Place where the Holy Spirit(represented by the branched lamp stand) takes over in communion with our spirits. How do we know what is true. It is the Word of God that is our plum line. If we are not yielded to the Spirit or in truth in our worship, we are not worshiping at all. Heritage, traditions, styles, concepts, history, lights,smoke, music, video, atmosphere, soft, loud, do not equal acceptable worship. None of these reach God or please God alone. Having emotions alone about God does not reach God.
We cannot misjudge the poetry of religion as salvation or thinking we have connected with God. Religion is mans attempt to reach God.
The Holy Spirit in worship is not a luxury. The Holy Spirit is a necessity. Worship does not happen without the Holy Spirit. Trust and obey, faith and obedience, Spirit and truth are not optional, they are imperatives. Without an infusion of the Holy Spirit, there cannot be acceptable worship. There is worship happening all over the world today that God does not accept. There are religious experiences in worship happening all over the world that God does not accept. Any activity apart from truth and the Holy Spirit is not acceptable. This is a very serious condition of the church today. I am beginning to call it Burger King Worship. Everyone wants to have worship their way. We all need an awakening in our worship.
Eph. 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Grief is an interesting combination of anger and love.
When we sin, when we refuse to yield, when we don’t consider,when we don’t move in, we are flat out grieving the Holy Spirit. The anger is not so much against the person yet more against the offense. So maybe we are not flat out rejecting the Holy Spirit, yet we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead out. The more I study, the more I see that the Spirit of Jesus Christ,(the Holy Spirit) must be Lord of our lives for worship to be acceptable. This is an awakening moment for sure! It has been said that worship is explosive in the midst of God’s people. When you have the empowering of the Holy Spirit, Giftedness of the Holy Spirit and the Fruits of the Spirit, then add the worship of God’s people; there will be an explosion. This is what we should be hungering for.
Jesus became flesh to gather the lost. Hey brought sin to our attention and then gave us a solution to get out of sin. He gave His life and shared His power with us. For this we should be grateful. An attitude of gratitude. PRAISE: Some of the Hebrew and Greek words mean “thanksgiving,” “blessing,” or “glory,” and are often so translated. Arete (“virtue”) is translated “praises,” or “excellencies,” in 1Peter 2:9. We are to be the praise of God’s glory.
1Pet. 2:9 ¶ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Psa. 100:1 ¶ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Psa. 100:2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psa. 100:3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Psa. 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psa. 100:5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
The purpose of our existence,the reason we are on this earth is to be the praise of God’s glory and to worship and enjoy the Father, Son & Holy Spirit forever.
Eph. 1:12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ,might be for the praise of his glory.
As we move through the tabernacle we are faced with sacrifices and confession.
Heb. 13:15 ¶ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Heb. 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
A sacrifice is something given that is of great value. It is not simply given. A sacrifice has great meaning and value to the one who gives.Praise and tithes / offerings could be a New Testament approach to the Bronze Alter of the Tabernacle. Cleansing and forgiveness would be next in line at the Bronze Laver. Here we have an opportunity to look at ourselves in the reflection of the water there. For us today, it is a picture of reflecting our life against the Word of God and allowing God to show us areas of improvement,where Satan’s kingdom might have a stronghold and to reinforce the covering of the blood of Jesus Christ in our shortcomings. Just because we have covering doesn’t mean that God doesn’t require cleansing. We need to appropriate Jesus blood and Jesus authority in our lives. All of this is in preparation to experience God in Spirit and in truth. Truth (The Word) is cleansing.Salvation, healing, and Deliverance is also the process of cleansing.
Eph. 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.
Eph. 5:24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Eph. 5:25 ¶ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her
Eph. 5:26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
Eph. 5:27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, with out stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Eph. 5:28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
This passage is used for marriages or marriage counseling.Marriage more accurately is a picture of the Church and God’s design for her. Notice the cleansing elements here is The Word. That word was Trinitarian in shape as a confession in belief. This actually parallels back to John 1 where the reference is Jesus Himself as The Word. We are washing through Jesus. This is where we are at today in our journey through tabernacle style worship as we are cleansed by Jesus who is the Word of God, by His blood and in His authority. This name, Jesus, carries an authority beyond measure on earth and in the heavenly realms. This authority is provided to every believer who uses it for the removal of oppression.
It should be a priority of every believer to receive this cleansing also called deliverance / sanctification. Cleansing will allow us to be effective in the Holy Place and moving the kingdom of God forward allowing for more Lordship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit needs to be the worship leader inside each of us and most be allowed to manifest as we move into the Holy Place. This is where we move into a Holy intercourse with our spirit and soul with the Holy Spirit represented in the Branched Lamp stands. When this begins to happen we should expect the Holy Spirit to offer physical manifestations as we see the Shewbread as an example in the Holy Place. All of this happening as worship is now flowing in Spirit and in truth represented by the alter of incense.
Psa. 141:2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
The incense (Prayers / Praise / Worship) are permeating the throne room of God. We should expect even further outpouring of the Holy Spirit filling us and the physical location. This experience, many times termed as God’s presence is not the same as entering the Holy of Holies or the throne room of God. In our New Testament tabernacle there is no veil which means as we keep moving in this posture of worshiping in spirit and in truth, we will be in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies. What God wants to do here and what God wants to give here is all up to God.
Our responsibility is be open participate and to receive.Receiving could also mean giving up oppression in our lives. This makes sense because in the Old Testament Tabernacle, the ark had the Mercy Seat between the Cherubim where sin was dealt with by God. How did God deal with sin and the oppression that come with sin for His people? He delivered and forgave. The ark was an object of victory over any enemy. This has never changed with God.The Church is a New Testament ark. Carrier of precious cargo to victory. God wants His people delivered, forgiven, and set free as we worship in spirit and in truth.
