a prophet came to visit this week.
I was reminded again about a lesson I learned about five or six years ago. This wasn't necessarily a teaching from the prophet, it was more of a encouragement from our pastor as he introduced the prophet.
I'll start with my original lesson.
Five or six years ago I was walking down the streets of savanna with a very good friend of mine. and discussed how in the interest of being right many people have boiled salvation down to its lowest common denominator. They also reduced their descriptions of God in who he was/is too simple terms that allowed everyone to agree.and in searching for terms to keep God's simple and uncomplicated we had to use definitions that fit our culture and enforce them on any culture that might use different terms.
We basically put God in a box so that he could be carried around with us shown to anyone who might be interested.
The interesting thing about putting God in a box is that He fills that box. And that is the size of the God you get. You're God fits in a box and is described by words that you define and keep simple. Anyone who has a different box for God is either ignored, or argued with and neither option brings about any sort of unity.
As we concluded our little conversation I determined to my mind to take God out of my box, and allow Him to get as big as He'd like to be/as big as He really is. This meant I could not contain hidden in my mind, and I could not define him with my vocabulary. It meant that I would have to spend my life getting to know Him, and actually admit to being wrong regarding aspects of Him and His character, and if not wrong and then admit to being immature in my views ,because God gets more complicated the bigger he gets.
I was encouraged to do the same thing this week by our pastor regarding a prophet.if I limit what a prophet can do, if I narrow my view to what I'm comfortable with a prophet could be used for ,that is all I will receive from that Ministry. The Bible says "we should receive a prophet as a prophet and we will receive a prophets reward"
I believe we were able to do that this week, and I know we received a wonderful reward. The reward of a prophet is what the prophet brings. And this one brought much encouragement, teaching, and an awareness of God's presence that we could feel.
Hope to see you next week...at Elevate
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Elevate Jan 13
I think for many people in the world, especially the Christian world concept of worship has been so fragmented and narrow and we've lost two of its major functions.
Because of God's Omnipresence we have the opportunity to "always" worship God.
Because God dwells within His children we have the opportunity to individually stand before Him in worship.
Because of God's manifestation of his presence here in this earth we have the opportunity to feel him/experience Him during worship activities.
Within Scripture we can see a pattern that God used for worship.
The tribe of Judah descended from the fourth son of Leah named Judah. The word Judah means worship.The first three sons of Leah represented her desire to be loved by her husband and appreciated for bringing him sons.
The fourth one represented a shift in her attitude. Leah recognized that she was being blessed by God, she in turn worship him not as a victim of her circumstance, but as a victor and child of an Almighty God.
When Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, God chose Judah to be the lead tribe. Judah had long since been given the position of authority within the family of Abraham. The first three brothers had forfeited their positions because of choices they made. God could have given grace and mercy to these brothers and allow them to take a position of authority, but He did not. God chose Judah/worship to lead his people out of bondage.
So the first pattern we see is that worship releases people from bondage.
When Joshua led the people into the land that God promised. The tribe of Judah led the way. Judah's Army was no better, or greater than any of the other tribes at the time.God was showing another pattern to his people and to the world. Worship should lead the way into battle.
I believe the lesson is pretty clear. If you want release from bondage then put yourself in the position of worship before God. That position of submission before his throne. That position that puts you in a place to hear him when he speaks. That position of worship will break the bonds of slavery.
I believe the second lesson is also very clear. If you want to do battle. If you've been called to reclaim land that God has given you, then worship. That position of worship allows you to be in a place to hear the battle plans of God. It puts you in a place that allows God to do battle for you.
Worship breaks bondage, worship does battle.
You can add even more power to the breaking of bondage, or the conquering of the enemy by participating in corporate worship. In corporate worship we see increased strength based on God's principal of multiplication. God says that one can put to flight a thousand, and that two will send 10,000 running. Just imagine what 10, 20, or hundreds could do in a place of worship before God.
The power of agreement, or coming into harmony with one another is a place that gods power begins to shift the very atmosphere in which we live.
The Lord's presence continues to grow as two or three are gathered together.
And in a corporate setting the body of Christ bows before their head/God in a position to respond to the head as it should be.
With all of this available power and opportunity to break bondage is it any wonder that the enemy seeks to fragment and destroy the concept of worship.
Satan is jealous. He is jealous because he wants that worship for himself. He is jealous because he wants the power of worship to be wielded for his plans. He hates God and he knows how worship moves guide to do battle, and break the bondage of his people.
The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. Satan knows that were God is he must flee. When the people of God worship, Satan cannot stay and cause trouble. But, but if he can fragment the people of God then he can cause the worship to be broken and the effectiveness to be diminished.
The enemy uses wandering thoughts and roller coaster emotions to break the focus of those who are trying to worship God.
He uses relationships to distract and break down the dreams of victory that God has placed in His people.
someone who's been offended can be so easily turned from a place of worship` especially if the person they feel offended by is on stage with a microphone.
Double mindedness, lack of direction, fear, all classic weapons used by the enemy.
And probably for me one that seems the most effective is the idea that I don't have enough time to worship. Many people might seem to or three songs in their head in if they feel no breakthrough they give up and become distracted in efforts to find their own way out.
The value and power of worship needs to be recaptured by God's people as we seek to bring God's kingdom into a world that has been over run by the enemy.
Because of God's Omnipresence we have the opportunity to "always" worship God.
Because God dwells within His children we have the opportunity to individually stand before Him in worship.
Because of God's manifestation of his presence here in this earth we have the opportunity to feel him/experience Him during worship activities.
Within Scripture we can see a pattern that God used for worship.
The tribe of Judah descended from the fourth son of Leah named Judah. The word Judah means worship.The first three sons of Leah represented her desire to be loved by her husband and appreciated for bringing him sons.
The fourth one represented a shift in her attitude. Leah recognized that she was being blessed by God, she in turn worship him not as a victim of her circumstance, but as a victor and child of an Almighty God.
When Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, God chose Judah to be the lead tribe. Judah had long since been given the position of authority within the family of Abraham. The first three brothers had forfeited their positions because of choices they made. God could have given grace and mercy to these brothers and allow them to take a position of authority, but He did not. God chose Judah/worship to lead his people out of bondage.
So the first pattern we see is that worship releases people from bondage.
When Joshua led the people into the land that God promised. The tribe of Judah led the way. Judah's Army was no better, or greater than any of the other tribes at the time.God was showing another pattern to his people and to the world. Worship should lead the way into battle.
I believe the lesson is pretty clear. If you want release from bondage then put yourself in the position of worship before God. That position of submission before his throne. That position that puts you in a place to hear him when he speaks. That position of worship will break the bonds of slavery.
I believe the second lesson is also very clear. If you want to do battle. If you've been called to reclaim land that God has given you, then worship. That position of worship allows you to be in a place to hear the battle plans of God. It puts you in a place that allows God to do battle for you.
Worship breaks bondage, worship does battle.
You can add even more power to the breaking of bondage, or the conquering of the enemy by participating in corporate worship. In corporate worship we see increased strength based on God's principal of multiplication. God says that one can put to flight a thousand, and that two will send 10,000 running. Just imagine what 10, 20, or hundreds could do in a place of worship before God.
The power of agreement, or coming into harmony with one another is a place that gods power begins to shift the very atmosphere in which we live.
The Lord's presence continues to grow as two or three are gathered together.
And in a corporate setting the body of Christ bows before their head/God in a position to respond to the head as it should be.
With all of this available power and opportunity to break bondage is it any wonder that the enemy seeks to fragment and destroy the concept of worship.
Satan is jealous. He is jealous because he wants that worship for himself. He is jealous because he wants the power of worship to be wielded for his plans. He hates God and he knows how worship moves guide to do battle, and break the bondage of his people.
The Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. Satan knows that were God is he must flee. When the people of God worship, Satan cannot stay and cause trouble. But, but if he can fragment the people of God then he can cause the worship to be broken and the effectiveness to be diminished.
The enemy uses wandering thoughts and roller coaster emotions to break the focus of those who are trying to worship God.
He uses relationships to distract and break down the dreams of victory that God has placed in His people.
someone who's been offended can be so easily turned from a place of worship` especially if the person they feel offended by is on stage with a microphone.
Double mindedness, lack of direction, fear, all classic weapons used by the enemy.
And probably for me one that seems the most effective is the idea that I don't have enough time to worship. Many people might seem to or three songs in their head in if they feel no breakthrough they give up and become distracted in efforts to find their own way out.
The value and power of worship needs to be recaptured by God's people as we seek to bring God's kingdom into a world that has been over run by the enemy.
Monday, February 8, 2010
presence of God, elevate February 6
The presence of God and what it has to do with those special worship times.
We can break down the presence of God into three basic categories.
First is the Omni presence of God.
This is the concept that God is everywhere all times, and more so that God's creation is always within God's presence.this type of awareness of God allows us to be in a state of worship/submission at all times. We can worship God because we recognize that he is available to us no matter where we are. The Omni presence of the Lord gives us the ability to "pray without ceasing, be thankful for all things, and worship the Lord always"
The indwelling presence of God.
This allows us as individuals to connect with God on a deeper level. God comes to dwell within us when we receive him as our personal savior. This indwelling of God comes in the form of his Holy Spirit and allows us a personal one-on-one connection to God at all times. This individual audience would the King of kings and Lord of lords is only possible because he considers us his children into wells within his children by choice.
The manifest presence of God.
This third form of God's presence is special in that, He is felt by our physical being.
The manifest presence of God is something that is often described by people (whether saved or unsaved) as having some sort of physical connection to God's presence. People who have experienced a manifest presence of God say things like "I felt God, God touched me, I felt heavy, the air was thick, and so on". This manifestation is something that God is willing to do when his people call for it. In many churches this manifestation of God's presence is felt during the musical portion of a worship service. It is what is meant when preachers call for God to come to a place and to make himself known.
People's reaction to God's manifestation is based on how they physically connect with what God is doing. If you've ever been in a worship service that allows people to react openly to what God is doing you will see a wide variety of reactions. This is because people experience Gods presence in different ways based on what's going on in our lives, and at that particular place in which God decided to make himself known.
We can break down the presence of God into three basic categories.
First is the Omni presence of God.
This is the concept that God is everywhere all times, and more so that God's creation is always within God's presence.this type of awareness of God allows us to be in a state of worship/submission at all times. We can worship God because we recognize that he is available to us no matter where we are. The Omni presence of the Lord gives us the ability to "pray without ceasing, be thankful for all things, and worship the Lord always"
The indwelling presence of God.
This allows us as individuals to connect with God on a deeper level. God comes to dwell within us when we receive him as our personal savior. This indwelling of God comes in the form of his Holy Spirit and allows us a personal one-on-one connection to God at all times. This individual audience would the King of kings and Lord of lords is only possible because he considers us his children into wells within his children by choice.
The manifest presence of God.
This third form of God's presence is special in that, He is felt by our physical being.
The manifest presence of God is something that is often described by people (whether saved or unsaved) as having some sort of physical connection to God's presence. People who have experienced a manifest presence of God say things like "I felt God, God touched me, I felt heavy, the air was thick, and so on". This manifestation is something that God is willing to do when his people call for it. In many churches this manifestation of God's presence is felt during the musical portion of a worship service. It is what is meant when preachers call for God to come to a place and to make himself known.
People's reaction to God's manifestation is based on how they physically connect with what God is doing. If you've ever been in a worship service that allows people to react openly to what God is doing you will see a wide variety of reactions. This is because people experience Gods presence in different ways based on what's going on in our lives, and at that particular place in which God decided to make himself known.
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