Thursday, October 3, 2013

WORSHIP-YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER!

Music guitar
Music guitar (Photo credit: @Doug88888)
Congregation Mickve Israel
Congregation Mickve Israel (Photo credit: CasaDeQueso)
Worship Again
Worship Again (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Worship before the throne of God, started before this world was created, and will last forever!
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There are people in the church today, who do not understand why there is so much singing going on in the church. They do not understand why people have to express such heavy emotions, lifting up their hands, bowing down and sometimes even crying, while in church or during church services. This is the main reason why some people who consider themselves to be matured, shy away from the meetings of certain Pentecostal churches.  There are others who despise worship leaders, and choristers and those who sing a lot. There are still some young people who don’t like their friends that are constantly singing praises instead of trendy secular music by world class secular hippo, pop and rock stars.
Statistics and certain studies have shown that up to 70% of all the things we do in the kingdom of God, involve music or comprise of it. That is a fact, and that is the way God intended for it to be.
YESTERDAY
 It is important to understand that God taught the angels of old, how to celebrate and activate his power and His presence, through worship.
Lucifer, who was chief among God’s archangels, was created specially with tabrets and pipes, and we can see this in Ezekiel chapter 28 and verse 13:
“13 Thou has been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, the gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes were prepared in thee, in the day that thou wast created.”
Therefore Lucifer was created with special instruments of music, within himself, there could have been no other purpose for this, except for worship. Then after his fall and defeat, worship still continued in heaven.
On the day our father God decided to re-create the world, including man, and decided to make man in His own image, the angels were excited. They went hysterical with praise and worship. Their excitement, about the fact that God was now going to extend their realm of service, and make another one like him-knew no bounds. We can see this in Job chapter38 and verses4-7:
“4 Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare if thou hast understanding.
5 Who has laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who has stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
The angels as we can see in verse 7 sang for joy on the day the world was created, it has always been part of their ministry.
Again, in the Book of Psalms, the psalmists such as David, and others- a acknowledged this ministry of the angels, which in turn now enhances or amplifies a similar ministry which has been given to man. This ministry has been given to the saints of God in general. We can see this in Psalm 103, verse 20 and 21as follows:
“20 Bless the Lord ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.
21 Bless ye the Lord all ye His hosts; ye ministers of His that do His pleasure”.
King David recognized the beauty of angelic worship, and commands them to do the same as an expression of solidarity, to His other creatures-because of God’s goodness and His greatness.
Also in Psalm 148 and verse 2 again, we read as follows:
“2 Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye him, all His hosts,
3 Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light”
These are a few examples from the old dispensation, beginning from before creation of the world, to the time before Christ came.

TODAY

Right from the day Christ was born, we began to see this ministry repeated with joy, because as they sang (the angels), they gave glory to God in the highest, and they declared-shalom or peace unto men. They declared the highest level of total well-being to men of good will, because Jesus Christ our savior had been born. We can see this in the Book of Luke chapter 2, verses 13-14:
“13 And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men”.

 This was just another glimpse into the ministry of the angels in heaven, that as soon as the savior was born in Bethlehem in a manger, an angel appeared to a group of shepherds who were watching over their flocks by night. Immediately after announcing the birth of the savior to them, another group of heavenly hosts, appeared, and worshipped God-celebrating the birth of the savior in their presence.

TOMORROW

The Book of Revelation is heavily packed with what shall come to be in the nearest future. Most of the time, we focus on the coming rapture, the great tribulation, or the judgments of God on the earth or all creation. However, there is so much concerning the worship that already goes on around the throne of God, and will continue to go on and will be amplified in the ages to come. These days, when we worship God, we do not know that the angels are right there with us doing what we are doing, however, and then we shall know. In Revelation chapter 5 and verse 11, we read as follows:
“11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom and strength, and honour, and glory and blessing”.
This revelation, showed an uncountable number of angels, probably numbering billions, worshipping God, together with the beasts, and the elders.
This great ministry of worship will be one of the key ministries of the angels and the saints, in the ages to come.
Therefore, when we engage in this ministry today, we ought to do it with all our might. The most astonishing thing about the ministry of praise and worship is the release of God’s power that is associated with praise and worship. The release of God’s power has to do with His manifest presence.
One of my greatest experiences in the world is when I worship God, and He comes down with His power, and the glory of God destroys the yokes of darkness. I experience this every day of my life, and can assure you that there is nothing like it, because the Bible tells us that in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forever more.