HALLELUJAH - PRAISE YE THE LORD

Let Everything That Has Breath

Praise The Lord.
Psalm 150 : 6

As we conclude the year 2009 and step into 2010, let us offer our thanksgiving, praise and worship by declaring Psalm 150 - PRAISE THE LORD! The word "PRAISE" is used thirteen times in this psalm, and ten of those times, we are commanded to "PRAISE HIM"

The word "HALLELU YAH" - Hallelujah - means "Praise The Lord!" Jehovah (or Yah, for Yahweh) is the covenant name of the Lord. It reminds us that He loves us and has convenanted to save us, keep us, care for us, and eventually glorify us, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, His Son, on the cross. The new covenant was not sealed by the blood of animal sacrifices but by the precious blood of Christ.

Jehovah God is the "power name" of God - El Elohim, and this reminds us that whatever He promises, He is able to perform. Worship is not about the worshiper and his or her needs; it is about God and His glory, honor and power. Certainly we bring our burdens and needs with us into the sanctuary (1 Peter 5:7), but we focus our attention on the Lord.

"You Are Worthy, O Lord,
To receive Glory And Honor And Power;
For You Created All Things,
And By Your Will They Exist And Were Created."
Revelation 4:11

All true praise and worship must begin and remain centered on God and His absolute worthiness to receive all glory, honor and power. There are no techniques for worship, here; no instructions for the praise band - just a number of doorways for you to open to the vast realms of praise await us all.

"Great Is The Lord And Most Worthy Of Praise."

1 Chronicles 16:25.

God is not just worthy of praise, He is MOST WORTHY of praise. In other words, whatever praise we can give Him, He deserves it. We cannot overestimate His worth because He is worth more than anything.

Right now would you join me with your voices, or songs, or instruments, or dances to PRAISE THE LORD by declaring Psalm 150?

Praise God in his sanctuary;
Praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
Praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
Praise him with the harp and lyre,
Ppraise him with tambourine and dancing,
Praise him with the strings and flute,
Praise him with the clash of cymbals,
Praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord.
PRAISE THE LORD.

Blessed New Year!
TPWC

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS - WORSHIP

Christmas is a time of joy and giving. Christians all over the world commemorate this occasion because "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ that whosoever believes shall not perish but have everlasting life" - John 3:16

In our celebration, we proclaim the Good News with carols on the streets and we expressed the God's love to the world with our gifts to the needy and the orphans. In the midst of all these activities, do you know that the spirit of Christmas is WORSHIP? All those who came to meet Jesus WORSHIPED ...

The Wisemen
"Where is the one who has been born king of Jews? we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him." (Matthew 2:2)
"On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh " (Matthew 2:11 - note: worship before gifts)

The Angels
"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appreared with angel praising God saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men ..." (Luke 2:13)

The Shepherds
"The shepherds returned, glorifying God for all the things they had heard and seen ..." (Luke 2:20)

Simeon The Godly Man
"... Simeon, who was a righteous and devout ...took Him in his arms and praised God ..." (Luke 2:25-33)

The Prophetess Anna
" ... she gave thanks to God ..." (Luke 2:36-38)

We must remember Jesus not as a baby but as our One and only LORD and SAVIOR - the greatest gift God has given to men. He gave His life for us. He suffered and died ... His LOVE, His GRACE, His GLORY ... the most precious gift men have ever received - SALVATION!
As we celebrate this year's Christmas, let us reserve the best gift for our Lord - WORSHIP. Right now join me in simple praise and worship from your heart & spirit ... JESUS IS THE REASON for the season.

CHRISTmas is all about CHRIST our Saviour Who came to this world to save us (John 3:16) but the world has crossed & deleted the word CHRIST and replaced it with an "X" and called it Xmas

Blessed Christmas!
TPWC

BOWING DOWN IN WORSHIP - PART 2

Shachah

The Hebrew word for worship, which means

"to bow down, to worship"

Several Bible Characters personally met God

bowing down in worship.

We can learn from their experiences

what is involved in true spiritual worship that pleases God.

1) ABRAHAM
"Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground (Gen 18:2)".

"Bowing down in worship" is first used in the Bible in Genesis 18. As you read this chapter, you see Abraham illustrating two aspects of worship - In the first half of the chapter he's busy as a servant of God; in the second half, he's standing still and conversing as the friend of God. As believers, we are both servants and friends (John 15:15), and both roles are essential for a balance worship experience.
Worship and service go together - "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matt 4:10). Service is worship if we 're serving the Lord and giving Him our BEST (Rom 12:1). Abraham had often worshiped the Lord at the altar and offered up his choicest sacrifices, but now he was personally worshiping Him by serving Him a meal.

The last half of the chapter records a contrasting scene. Abraham isn't running here and there giving orders; he's standing quitetly before the Lord, talking with Him about the situation in the cities plain. And as a friend of God, the Lord shared His plan and asked him: "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?" The Lord approached Abraham to discuss the situation about Sodom and Gomorrah. Noticed friends of the Master know what He is doing (John 15:15). Worshipers know His ways!

2) JOB
"At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship"(Job 1:20).

Job's initial response to the first wave of trials was to humble himself and worship. His livelihood (i.e his oxen and donkeys) had been. His transportation (i.e his camels) had been stolen. And His children (i.e his legacy) had been killed. All of this in one day! And Job's first reaction, after his inital shock and grief, was not anger, not questions, and not apostasy. IT WAS WORSHIP. He violated every psychologist's formula for the stages of grief.
How could Job do such a thing? He knew, deep down in his heart, two essential facts that most of us question from time to time:
(a) God is sovereign
(b) God is good
Job could worship because whatever was happening, it was under the sovereign hand of a really good God. He didn't know why bad things were happening, but he knew who watched over him.And despite circumstances, he knew that the One who watched over him was WORTHY!
When lives fall apart, we're inclined to accuse God of not living up to His end of the bargain. Job remembered that he was not in a bargaining position - never had been. All he had received from God was from His mercy. He knew that it was now gone had nothing to do with God's character. That 's why Job could said in verse 21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb,and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

When our trials weigh heavily upon us - even when crisis strikes - we must remember the unchanging, merciful God.

"COME LET US BOW DOWN IN WORSHIP, LET US KNEEL BEFORE THE LORD OUR MAKER." Psalm 95:6
Blessed Week!
TPWC

BOWING DOWN IN WORSHIP

Come let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before Him with thanksgiving

and extol Him with music and song

For the LORD our God is the great God,

the great King above all gods ...

Come, let bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;

for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture,

the flockunder His care.

Psalm 95:1-7

There is a beautiful progression here that brings us into the immediate presence of God. The Psalmist in Psalm 95:1-2 tells us how we should praise Him - it starts with loud and jubilant praise and thanksgiving: "Let us sing for joy ... let us shout aloud ... " God encourages us to express freely our praises and our thanksgiving. Then Psalm 95:3-5 tells us why we should praise Him - for the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods!

Then, as we go further, the mood changes: "Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker (Ps 95:6-7)." Praise and thanksgiving lead us on to worship. Worship is not so much an utterance as an attitude. It is bowing down, kneeling - even at times prostrating ourselves before God. Every part of our being and every area of our personality is involved. All unite in total, unreserved submission to God.

Praise means looking up, but worship means bowing down. Alas, some people who enjoy lifting their hands and shouting do not enjoy bowing their knees and submitting. True worship is much deeper than communal praise, for worship involves realizing the awesomeness of God and experiencing THE FEAR OF THE LORD and A DEEPER LOVE FOR HIM. Too often, Christian "praise" is nothing but religious entertainment and it never moves into spiritual enrichment in the presence of the Lord. Our singing must give way to silence as we bow before the Lord. He alone is JEHOVAH, the LORD, the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God. He is our MAKER (Ps 95:6b) and our SHEPHERD (Ps 95:7a). He made us, He saved us and He cares for us! Why should we hesitate to fall before Him in worship?

The pathway that the psalmist here describes takes us through praise and thanksgiving into worship and stillness before God. When we come into this attitude of worship, we are able to hear God speaking directly to us. That is why the psalmist continues, "Today, if you hear His voice ..." (Ps 95:7b)

Bow down and worship God! - HE IS WORTHY! \0/\0/\0/
TPWC

THE WORTH OF YOUR WORSHIP

"All this I will give you," he said,

"if you will bow down and worship me."
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan!

For it is written:

'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "
Matthew 4: 9-10

We learnt in the last post, the Lord is MOST WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE. Jesus is MOST WORTHY of our worship, yet at the same time He demostrated true worship for us in the flesh. The worshiped became the worshiper for a brief moment in time when he came to this world as the incarnate God. He's our key to how worship ought to work.

His lesson in human worship begins for us in His temptation. Satan, the enemy of anything and anyone who honours God instead of him, waved his withered hand toward all the kingdom of the world and promised them to Jesus in exchange for the Son's worship. It was a monumental request for Jesus to flip the switch of our universe so that all worship would flow in the opposite direction from it's true course. If the Son had worshiped the rebel, the tide would have turned. God would have given up His place as rightful Lord. But that's a temptation we're faced with daily. Our sinful flesh and our number one adversary try to distract us, to distort our motives and our vision, and to get us to tell a monumental lie. A corrupted world, still firmly gripped by the chief rebel, still waves it's kingdoms in front of us and tells us we can have them - at least intriguing and provocative pieces of them. A little misplaced ambition here, a little greed and lust there, and suddenly we're lying about worthiness of God. We're worshiping the unworthy. We've tried to flip the switch ourselves because we want the current of the universe to run in the direction of our cravings.

It won't work. Jesus is our model. He knew up front that the kingdoms of the world were a pitiful reward for forsaking the true God. That thought has to permeate our thinking so that our response in temptation is always an automatic reflection of verse 10: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only."

(An extract from Worship The King - by Chris Tiegreen)

Have A Victorious Week!

TPWC

MOST WORTHY!

GREAT IS THE LORD

AND MOST WORTHY OF PRAISE
1 Chronicles 16:25

God is not just worthy of praise, He is MOST WORTHY of praise. In other words, whatever praise we can give Him, He deserves it. We cannot overestimate His worth because He is worth more than anything.

Think of how that applies to our lives. We might wonder if it's worth giving up possession or a habit for Him, but if He's worth more than anything, the answer is clear. We might consider giving up our career or our ambitions for Him, and we wonder if it will be a worthwhile gift. But if He's worth more than we can imagine, it is. We may wonder if our praise, worship, and sacrifice will be worth the payoff to us, but we're asking the wrong question. Whether it's worth it to us is not the point; He's worthy of it. That's all that matters.

There is no greater investment than God. Whatever we can give to Him, pour out of our hearts to Him, lay down before Him, and do for Him, it's a profoundly worthwhile offering because it is directed toward a profoundly worthy God. No gift is lost on Him. No sacrifice for Him is ever considered unimportant in His eyes.

Consider what you have to offer Him. Your obedience? It is never about earning His favour; it's about offering your best. Your purity? It isn't because He's a joykiller but because He wants you for Himself - and He deserves you. Your possessions? They are meaningless trinkets in His eyes, and He wishes you could loose your grip on them. Your time? You have an eternity before you; there's no need to spend time on yourself. Your talents? He gave them to you so that you could worship Him in ways no one else can. Your relationships? The God of relationships wants to demostrate His peace and His love in them.

What are you holding on to? Lay it down. Give it to Him. It's right to do so. He's worthy of whatever you have.
(Extract from - Worship The King by Chris Tiegreen)

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" - Revelation 5:12

The Lord Is MOST WORTHY! - TPWC

THE 4th MAN IN THE BIBLE

WHO IS THE 4th MAN?
Let me tell you Who He is in every book of the Bible

THE OLD TESTAMENT :

In Genesis He is the Seed of the Woman.
In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus He is our High Priest.
In Numbers He is the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night.
In Deuteronomy He is the Prophet like unto Moses.
In Joshua He is the Captain of our Salvation.
In Judges He is our Judge and Lawgiver.
In Ruth He is our Kinsman Redeemer.
In I and II Samuel He is our Trusted Prophet.
In Kings and Chronicles He is our Reigning King.
In Ezra He is our Faithful Scribe.
In Nehemiah He is the Rebuilder of the Broken Down Walls of our human life.
In Esther He is our Mordecai.
In Job He is our Dayspring from on high and our Ever-Living Redeemer.
In Psalms He is the Lord our Shepherd.
In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes He is our Wisdom.
In the Song of Solomon He is our Lover and the Bridegroom.
In Isaiah He is the Prince of Peace.
In Jeremiah He is the Righteous Branch.
In Lamentations He is the Weeping Prophet.
In Ezekiel He is the Wonderful Four-Faced Man.
In Daniel He is the Fourth Man in the burning fiery furnace.
In Hosea He is the Faithful Husband, forever married to the backslider.
In Joel He is the Baptizer with the Holy Ghost and Fire.
In Amos He is our Burden-Bearer.
In Obadiah He is the Mighty to Save.
In Jonah He is our Great Foreign Missionary.
In Micah He is the Messenger of Beautiful Feet, of carrying the Gospel.
In Nahum He is the Avenger of God's Elect.
In Habakkuk He is God's Evangelist, crying, "Revive thy work in the midst of the years."
In Zephaniah He is the Savior.
In Haggai He is the Restorer of God's Lost Heritage.
In Zechariah He is the Fountain Opened in the House of David for sin and uncleanness.
And in Malachi He is the Son of Righteousness, rising with healing in His wings.

IN THE NEW TESTAMENT:

In Matthew He is the Messiah.
In Mark He is the Wonder-worker.
In Luke He is the Son of Man.
In John He is the Son of God.
In Acts He is the Holy Spirit.
In Romans He is our Justifier.
In Corinthians He is the Gifts of the Spirit.
In Galatians He is the Redeemer from the curse of the law.
In Ephesians He is the Christ on Unreachable Riches.
In Philippians He is the God Who Supplies All Our Needs.
In Colossians He is the Godhead Bodily.
In ! and II Thessalonians He is our Soon-Coming King.
In I and II Timothy He is our Mediator between God and Man.
In Titus He is our Faithful Pastor.
In Philemon He is a Friend that Sticketh Closer that a Brother.
In Hebrews He is the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant.
In James He is the Great Physician.
In I an II Peter He is the Chief Shepherd who soon shall appear with a crown of unfading glory.
In I, II, and III John He is Everlasting Love.
In Jude He is the Lord Coming with Ten Thousands of his Saints.
And in revelation He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Source - Sermon by Oral Roberts (www.orm.cc)
Blessings
TPWC

THE 4th MAN

In my last post I shared about the Fourth Man - We are familiar with the story in the Book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar threw the three Hebrew slaves into the fiery furnance, but when he looked into the flame, he saw not only three men walking around, but also the form of a Fourth Man in the fire (Daniel 3). And the Fourth looked like the Son of God.

"There is a fiery atmosphere to be found in the Shekinah Glory of God's presence, it is a blazing inferno in which the Fourth Man, Jesus Christ, reveals Himself. In this fire, bondages are burned away (the ropes were burned off the hands of the Hebrew men). In this fire, there are manifestations of the Glory of God. There are healings and miracles; there is power to be delivered from demonic snares; there is a holy anointing that causes unbelievers to fall on their face in conviction to confess their sin". Graphic by Russ Drinkard

Bob Sorge in his book - Following The River, shared that when we speak of worship being an organic entity that finds it's own energy in the dynamism of the river (River of the Lord or the anointing of the Lord); there is also the dynamism of the "unholy river" found in secular music.

One of the most fascinating advents of the rock-n-roll era has been the uncommon legacy of an American band called "The Grateful Dead." The driving force of the band was guitarist Jerry Garcia, who led the band with his innovative chord sequences and colourful harmonics. The group toured regularly from the late 1960's until Garcia's death in 1995.

The band would go through their customary songs during their concerts but then at some point would shift gears. Turning from their prepared repertoire, they would launch out into an improvisational riff, find a groove that was working musically, and then begin to push the envelope. The drummer would throw in unusual syncopations; the guitars would whine and scream creatively; the keyboard would strain for colour and dissonance. Together they would move out to the edge of almost losing one another musically, but yet would follow each other's improvisational iniatives closely enough so that they stayed together. Occasionally, the band would catch a wave of momentum, an emotional energy would ripple through the auditorium, a power would grip both the band members and the audience, and the concert would take off into another dimension - they have found "it."

When this happened - whatever it was - the concert hall became an explosive altar or spiritual encounter. Everybody in the place knew that a line had been crossed, the transition had been made, and now the night became a pulsating celebration of connectedness to a cosmic consciousness. It became unclear whether the band or the audience was leading, as the concert became a participatory dance that included every attendee. It was spirit, and it was palpably real. The spiritual atmosphere that filled the concerts was so powerfully compelling, in fact, that many fans became spiritual followers, actually making the Grateful Dead their religion. They called themselves Dead Heads.

When the band performs, Mickey Hart (one of the band members) coined a term to describe what was happening. He would say, "It's when the 7th man shows up." Bob asked his friends what he meant by that term. Apparently there were six people in the band at the time he coined the phrase. He was recognizing that there was a power present in the concert that went beyond the members of the band. There was a spiritual presence which gave to the band an impact. The Greatful Dead had found the river - "the unholy river." (for more information check it our at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_Dead - The Grateful Dead’s early music was part of the process of establishing what "psychedelic music" was, but theirs was essentially a "street party" form of it. )

Worshippers, the point that Bob Sorge wants to make is that where there is the counterfeit (let's not forget that Satan, the master counertfeit was also once a worship leader in the heavenlies), it is a testimony to the existence of the genuine. The experiences of a secular band only serve to substantiate that there is a reality that is available to us in God - a river of divine glory that can be touched in corporate worship.

When they touched their river, they described it as "when the seventh man shows up." But when we touch our river, let's call it "When the Fourth MAN shows up." (Daniel 3:24-25)
(An extract from : Following The River - A Vision For Corporate Worship by Bob Sorge)

When the worship leader & band by the grace of the Lord is able to let their music flow in the anointing of the River of God or explode in the Fire of His Glory, we can expect the Fourth Man to show up

Next Post .... Who Is The Fourth Man?

Blessings / TPWC

PASSION FOR THE GLORY OF GOD - PART2

What are the keys to unlock the doors and windows of heaven so that we can access into the Glory Realm? These are not passing questions but are realities which worshipers who have experienced His Glorious Presence would understand what I am talking about.

A) The Key to His Glory - Corporately
What do I mean when I speak about an "OPEN HEAVEN"? Tommy Tenny author of the best selling book - The God Chaser explained it as a place of Easy Access to God. He shared that the Word of God tells us that there are five distinct and definite things that open the windows of heavens:

1) Tithing - is an ancient key to the heavenlies that predates the giving of the law of Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20). The principle of giving God the "firstfruits" of our income or increase is clearly described in the Book of Malachi:
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, " says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it (Malachi 3:10 NKJV).

2) Persecution - also opens the heavens, as demostrated in the Book of Acts when Stephen was martyred:
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, "Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" Then they cried out with a loud voice ... and they cast him out of the city and stoned him (Acts 7:55-58a NKJV).

3) Persistence - is an effective tool for "prying open" the gates of Heaven. Elijah prayed seven times and kept sending his servant back to search the skies until, on the seventh time, the servant saw a cloud the size of a man's hand rise from the sea. That tiny cloud from God grew into such a powerful storm that the skies were turned black with rain and wind (1 Kings 18:42-45). Jesus told the disciples that the "door" would be opened to those who persistently ask, seek, and knock on God's door (Matthew 7:7-8).

4) Unity - will open the windows of Heaven; it invites God's presence wherever two or three agree "Concerning anything that they ask." Jesus literally said, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:19-20 NKJV)

5) Worship - is the fifth key to the third heaven. David the psalmist prophesied, "Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." (Psalm 24:7 NKJV)
(An extract from God's Favourite House - "If You Build It, He will Come" - By Tommy Tenney)
B) THE KEYS INTO HIS GLORY REALM - Worship Leaders / Individuals

6) Hunger & Desperation - This is what Tommy Tenney is talking about - Chasing after God! Just like Moses asking the Lord to show him His face. There must be the spirit of desperation to meet the Lord in each service. Worship Leader should choose songs that are simple so that the people can just worship instead on trying to remember the words of the song.

7) Praise & Worship - Praise until the Spirit of Worship comes. Worship ... until the Glory comes. Then ... stand in the Glory. This secret was shared by Ruth Ward Heflin in her book - Glory, Experiencing the Atmosphere of Heaven. Each time the worship leader is able to lead the people to praise in unity, he creates a platform not only for the Lord's visitation but His inhabitation. As you lead the people in worship, the worship leader should not rush or be concern about the song list; the Lord would often give us certain song to unlock the door into the His glory. The manifestation of His Glory is not forced but it is spontaneous (by His pleasure, grace & favour - you just know it. When the Glory of the Lord falls, we just stand in His Glory and let Him lead the service ... the manifestation of the Fourth Man - Jesus Christ.

Note : It is this kind of Glory Realm when you wait for the leading of the Holy Spirit to step in faith to execute the Creative Miracles (Glory Invasion by David Herzog)

8) Expecting the Fourth Man - We are familiar with the story in the Book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar threw the three Hebrew slaves into the fiery furnance, but when he looked into the flame, he saw not only three men walking around, but also the form of a Fourth Man in the fire (Daniel 3). And the Fourth looked like the Son of God. There is a fiery atmosphere to be found in His Shekinah Glory, it is a blazing inferno in which the Fourth Man, Jesus Christ, reveals Himself. In this fire, bondages are burned away (the ropes were burned off the hands of the Hebrew men). In this fire, there are manifestations of the Glory of God. There are healings and miracles; there is power to be delivered from demonic snares; there is a holy anointing that causes unbelievers to fall on their face in conviction to confess their sins.
When a worship band by the grace of the Lord is able to let their music flow in the anoint of the River of God or explode the Fire of His Anointing or we can expect the Fourth Man to show up. (Following The River by Bob Sorge)

Blessings
TPWC

PASSION FOR THE GLORY OF GOD - PART1

Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence

Moses was one such a passionate person who chased after the Glory of God. He prayed, "Please show me Your Glory" (Exodus 33:18). The fact that God answered his prayer is proof that God is willing to hear and answer our cries for His Glory. The backdrop to Moses' prayer is strategically important. A number of significant events preceded this prayer which deserve our attention. Few men in the Bible had encounters with God's Glory like Moses did. It all began the day that Moses saw a bush that was burning in the wilderness but wasn't comsumed.

Let's review his encouters with God's Glory and power:
- At the burning bush encounter, he heard God's audible voice ordering him to take his shoes off because he was standing on holy ground. God proceeded to call him verbally to lead His people from Egypt to the promised land. (Exodus 3)
- He threw his rod down, and it became a serpent; then he picked the serpent up by the tail, and it was a rod again. (Exodus 4:1-5)
- He put his hand into his bosom, pulled it out, and it was leprous; he returned his hand into his bosom, and when he withdrew it again, it was healthy. (Exodus 4:6-7)
- He watched ten fearful plagues invaded Egypt: blood, frogs, lice, flies, pestilence, boils, hails, locusts, darkness and death. (Exodus 7 to 11)
- A protective misty cloud clung breathlessly to the ground between Israel and Egypt's army while a fierce gale blew over the adjacent sea, dividing the waters. (Exodus 14:19-21)
- They walked through the sea, on dry ground, with a wall of water on this side and that. (Exodus 14:22)
- On the opposite shore they watched as the sea returned upon itself, killing Pharoah's entire army. (Exodus 14:26-28)
- The bitter waters of Marah were made potable by casting a piece of wood into the waters. (Exodus15:25)
- Manna from heaven appeared on the ground, and water poured forth from a rock when Moses struck it. (Exodus 16 to 17:7)
- Then, they came to the mountain where God Himself descended in fire and a thick cloud. Huge plumes of smoke billowed into the sky, there was lightning and thunder, the entire mountain shook ... and they heard the voice of God Himself. Then, He said to Moses, "Come on up!" Moses climbed the mountain at God's command and lived for two sets of forty days in the fire of God's Glory upon the mountain. (Exodus 19)

Then Moses asked to be shown God's Glory, and God showed him His back. (Exodus 33:12-23)

The above chronology is the general increase of intensity in Moses' encounters with God's Glory. The progression launches with his seeing a burning bush and culminates in his seeing God's back. There are varying degrees of intensity of Presence, and there are varying degrees of intensity of Glory. For example, when we praise Him together, the Lord sits enthroned among His people. This dimension of His presence is so palpable that we can often sense His presence with us as we worship Him together. And then we enter that sphere where we move from the Presence Realm to the Glory Realm. (The Glory Realm or The Glory Zone were discussed in the last 2 posts)

What Exactly Is The Glory Realm? When we ask to be shown His Glory (personal or corporate), what are we asking for? In Moses' encounters we see two-fold description:
The first aspect of Glory - is found in His words "I will make all My goodness pass before you" (Exodus 33:19); where it is perceived by one or more of the five senses. It is an encounter where you literally see, hear, smell, taste, or actually feel spiritual realities. (We have discussed these tangible manifestations in the last 3 posts on The Shekinah Glory of God)
The second aspect of Glory - is described in the Lord's next phrase of verse 19, "And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you." God was saying, "Moses, I am going to proclaim My name before you in such a way that it goes beyond a physical hearing and becomes a true spiritual hearing. It's not just a sensory experience, but it's also an experience whereby the Holy Spirit supernaturally enables us to comprehend spiritual truth in our inner man so that we might know Him a greater and deeper dimension. Wow!
The two-fold definition of Glory is consistent with the apostle John's experience (as well as many others in the Bible). As per his account in Revelation 1, John literally saw the risen Christ with his natural eyes, but the experience didn't stop there. Jesus then proclaimed His name to John: "I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." (Revelation 1:8, 18). John's heart must have nearly exploded with the revelation insight of Christ's words as He spoke these awesome truths straight into John's spirit. John not only saw and heard, he also understood. This Is Glory - the invasion of God's reality into the human sphere!
(An extract from GLORY - When Heaven Invades Earth by Bob Sorge)

As a worshiper, you will always be grateful for His Presence, but you'll never be satisfied until you touch His Glory. The church was birthed in Glory! Right from the beginning at Acts 2, God breathed Glory into the DNA of what our coporate identity is all about. We were created for Glory (Isaiah 43:7). You've been promised Presence, but Glory is in your genetics.

Next post ... How do we touch the Glory Realm?
Blessings - TPWC

THE SHEKINAH GLORY OF GOD -PART 3 (THE GLORY ZONE)

"For the earth shall be filled

with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,

as the waters cover the sea."

Habakkuk 2:14

WHAT IS THE GLORY REALM?
It is the realm of eternity. It is the revelation of the presence of God. It is the manifestation of His presence. He is Glory. He is everywhere, but Glory is the manifestation of that reality. Earth has the atmosphere of air, whereas the heavenly atmosphere is Glory, His presence. When Glory comes down, it's a bit of heaven's atmosphere coming down to us, a taste of His manifest presence.
We don't see the air, do we? But all of us would be dead if we are not breathing it. We are not conscious of the air unless we see the wind blowing the leaves on the trees. Yet, the earth is covered by it. In the same way, not one inch of Heaven lacks glory. Now God is giving us a taste of that Glory, Heaven manifested on earth.
(An extract from GLORY Experiencing The Atmosphere of Heaven by Ruth Ward Heflin - e-book available upon request with your email address)

THE ARE DEGREES OF GLORY
Bob Sorge in his book - GLORY When Heaven Invades Earth shared that there is God's Presence Realm and God's Glory Realm. As we press in deeper in our worship, the spiritual intensity of God's Presence will increase ... then we enter that sphere where we move from the Presence Realm to the Glory Realm - that's when we cross into the sensory threshold. When God heals a sick person during worship, we are experiencing a tangible manifestation of the Glory Realm

You probably heard about other tangible manifestations of the Glory of God where believers received "gold dust", heavenly fragrance, glory cloud, vision and visitation of angelic hosts ... personally I have experienced some of these manifestations. There is also a higher level which I call the Extreme Glory Realm where signs and wonders explode in the Glory Zone (i.e instant weight lost, implantation of gold teeth, creative miracules and healings ...). you can easily witness some of these manifestations in the internet. HOWEVER, A WORD OF CAUTION - believers then to get caught up with the such manifestations and sensations rather than the purposes of God's manifest Glory.

These Extreme Glory manifestations are not in my experience I am not in the position to judge or comment. I can only say that throughout the Bible that whenever or wherever the Glory of God is manifest - God is glorified, there is an increase reverence in the fear of God, enemies were defeated, lives were transformed and salvation of multitudes.

1) Old Testament examples:
a) Moses - the 10 plagues, crossing of the Red Sea, the providence of manna & quails (Exodus)
b) Joshua - the fall of Jericho's wall (Joshua 5:13 - chapter 6)
c) Gideon - defeating the Midianites with just three hundred men (Judges 7)
d) Samson - defeating the Philistines with a donkey's jawbone (Judges 15)
e) Elijah - defeating the prophets of Baal (1Kings 18:1-40)
f) Elisha - feeding the poor widow (2 Kings 4)
g) Ezekiel - prophesing to the dry bones to come to life (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

2) New Testament examples:
a) Jesus in the Gospel (most of these affirmed Jesus is the Son of God and His Lordship)
- many creatives healing miracles with signs and wonders (the four Gospels)
- turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)
- providence miracle of the feeding of the five thousands (Matthew 14:13-21, John 6:1-13)
- still the storm(Matthew 8:18,23-27, Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25)
- walking on waters (Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-51 & John 6:16-21)
- cursing of the fig tree (Matthew 21:19-22, Mark 11-20-24)
b) The book of Acts
- Peter & John healing the lame man at the temple gate (Acts 3:1-10)
- Peter's shadow and healing (Acts 5:12-16)
- Philip was transported to another town to preach (Acts 8:39-40)
- Peter's miraculous escape from prison by visitation of an angel(Acts 12:1-18)
- Paul & Silas in prison delivered by a sudden violent earthquake (Acts 16:16-34)
- Paul did extraordinary miracles (Acts 19:11)

When God invades earth with His Glory, it is to visit His corporate church with His manifest presence. This is what happened on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), when the sound of a mighty rushing wind filled the room and tongues of fire came to rest on the church. This is God's reality invading the human sphere, appearing to entire groups of people and transforming entire cities. These kind of Glory manifestations are increasing as we approach the return of Christ. However, when God rends the skies and come down, it is not always for a corporate gathering; sometimes God rends the heavens to visit an individual.

My goal is to ignite you with a passion to chase after His Glory not His manifestation. Moses was one such passionate person who chased after the Glory of God. He prayed, "Please show me Your Glory" (Exodus 33:18) ... next post

Blessings
TPWC

THE SHEKINAH GLORY OF GOD - PART 2 (THE GLORY ZONE)

In the continuing message on the Shekinah Glory of God, I thought it might be good to share some ideas both in written and pictorial expressions of people who have encountered His glorious presence

1) Ruth Ward Heflin - GLORY Experiencing The Atmosphere Of Heaven
When I was a young girl, I went directly from school to the church on Wednesday afternoons. The faithful of the church were gathered in prayer from one to four. I attended most of those prayer meetings.
During the first two hours they had been making their petitions and interceding before God. During the last hour they would just bask in His presence. Those were the best times. Every petition they could think of had been made. Now the Holy Ghost took over. Sounds of glory, dropped into my spirit from those years, have kept me as I traveled all over the world in ministry.
I have been in thousands of meetings and heard thousands of sermons, but the greatest influence in my life has been those glory sounds that came forth in the latter hours of those prayer meetings where God's people touched the eternal realm.
As air is the atmosphere of the earth, GLORY is the atmosphere of Heaven. It lifts us up above the earthly, into the very presence of God.

2) Brownsville Revival 1995 -2003

Pictures of people touched & worshipping in the Glory Zone

(pictures used with permission from Sister Cathy Wood - official photographer)

In His Glorious Presence

WHEN GLORY FALLS!

Brownsville 9-7-2001There was really no way for me to take photos last night! The GLORY began to fall and I made a quality decision to worship instead of work! Pastor was going to preach but we never got there. It became a night like when there's no company and we all are in our pajamas just being comfortable with each other. Oh, we had visitors alright, but no guest was brought in to preach. There was freedom to not think about what we needed to do next. It was like the beginning of the revival. Prayer ministry began very early, before 9:00. It was spontaneous and exciting. Lindell (worship pastor) must have been prayed for because he just sat there, unable to play the keyboard for long time. The sounds in the sanctuary came from voices in worship and joy as the Holy Ghost kissed the crowd. No one wanted to leave. There were people sitting on the steps, all over the floor, on the pews, under the pews ..... We are still hungry. We are still desperate for the move of God.

More insight on the Glory Zone in next post

TPWC

THE SHEKINAH GLORY OF GOD (HEAVENLY WORSHIP ON EARTH)

This week I felt led to share about experiencing the Glory of God in worship? If you are passionate about the Presence of God, you will never be satisfied until you see the Glory of God.

What is the Glory of God? It is visible and tangible manifestation of God's Presence. In Biblical Hebrew the word is called Shekinah and is derived from the Hebrew verb שכן. The word means literally to settle, inhabit, or dwell, and is used frequently in the Hebrew Bible. (See Exodus 40:35, "Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting, for the cloud rested [shakhan] upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle." See also Genesis 9:27, 14:13, Psalms 37:3, Jeremiah 33:16).

The Bible has many examples:

In the Old Testament - Moses saw the burning bush. The visible manifestation of God’s presence was seen not only by the Israelites but also by the Egyptians when God showed His power and glory in the ten plagues and when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea.

Examples in the New Testament - Peter, James, John, Stephen, and Paul saw Him in His Glory. Three of those in The Transfiguration of Jesus; Stephen at his martyrdom; and Paul, we don't know when, but he said in his story "there was a man taken up to paradise," and heard unspeakable things.

Bob Sorge in his book "GLORY - When Heaven Invades Earth" (a must read) defines the word GLORY as a noun :

(1) Glory - Honour, reputation, dignity, praise

(2) Glory - Endowment of blessing, power and life

(3) Glory - The heavenly dimension where the magnitude of God's personhood irradiates throughout the heavenlies

(4) Glory - The invasion of God's reality into the human sphere

The highest goal of worship deals with point (4) and Bob Sorge defines "GLORY" as used in the Bible to describe the action of God whereby He takes of His Glory which is eternally existent in heaven, pushes through the veil that separates natural and spiritual realities, and reveals within the parameteters of our time and space the spendor of His magnificient beauty and splendor.

There is coming a time when the Glory of the heavenlies is going to invade our natural plane, and mankind is going to be abruptly awakened to the might and power of God's Presence. It is to this revelation of Glory which the following verses point:
- For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,as the waters cover the sea ( Habakkuk 2:14)

- "And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory," says the Lord of hosts (Haggai 2:7)

- The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 40:5)

In my personal experience, I had encountered glimpse of His Shekinah Glory - once in the worship seminar and another earlier time as a young Christian in a prayer meeting when His Glory fell. Both times there were visions (just a few seconds) of bright light ..... at that time I did not know the meaning of these two experiences but they were such awesome times and encounters when/where you just do not want to leave the place. Time just stood still in His glorious presence!

A few years ago, the church I attended when through a refreshing period of what we called "Revival" and very often we experienced such a glorious presence of God in our worship services. Sometimes the worship service would last more than 3 hours and everybody were immersed in His Presence. Often we experienced both heavenly and physical manifestations. Some people have actually smelled heavenly aroma during worship services. Others have seen vision of angels or heard angels singing. When you have a spiritual experience that is actually perceived at the sensory/physical level, then you are touching the Glory realm.

If you are a worshiper or worship leader, how do you touch or lead people respectively into the Glory realm? ..... next post

Blessings

TPWC

GLIMPSE OF HEAVENLY WORSHIP

"You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things, and by

your will they were created

and have their being."

Revelation 4:11

Every once in awhile, Scripture pulls back the curtain that divides time and eternity, and we get a brief glimpse of heavenly worship. We may crave more than a glimpse, but that's probably all we can handle; the vision is too overwhelming for inhabitants of a fallen world.

Do we have examples in the Bible of heavenly worship?

Isaiah 6:1-3 ....'In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the LORD sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.'
Isaiah's vision of the heavenly throne is one which we are familiar ... the sound of the angelic worship was so powerful that it shook the doorposts and thresholds of heaven's gates. The scene was so awesome and pure that Isaiah was terrified by his own impurity.

Revelation 4:8-11 ....'And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.'

(www.revelationsillustrated.com)

These beasts are heavenly beings, and how do they worship? They do not rest day or night in worshiping God. The twenty four elders not only fall upon the ground in humility and reverence, but they also throw all of their crowns at the foot of the throne.

In both the above scriptures we read the angels singing "HOLY HOLY HOLY ...."
(an extract from - The Fear of the Lord by John Bevere)
We have sung these exact words in out churches in hymns, worship choruses ... yet often our worship ring void of the passion found in these angels. As worship leader you would sometime see people yawning or glancing about as they sing the words. How different is the atmosphere in God's throne room!

These mighty, awesome angels are not bored or restless; they are not merely singing nice songs. They do not say, "God, I have been singing this song before Your throne for millions of years; do You think a replacement could be brought in? I would like to go explore the other parts of heaven." No way! They would not desire to be anywhere else but crying out and singing praises before the throne of God.
These spectacular angels are not merely singing a song. They are responding to what they see. Every moment, through veiled eyes they glimpse another facet and great dimension of God's glory being revealed. Overwhelmed, they shout, "Holy, holy, holy!"

Some points to note about heavenly worship:
(extract from : Exploring the Mysteries of Worship by Lamar Boschman)
1) Perfect Worship - In heaven worship occurs perfectly and continually.
2) Centre of Worship - The first thing Apostle John saw was a throne. In heaven there is no worship artist, worship leader or even a Christian leader of any kind. There is simply a throne and a LAMB!
3) Heavens's Songs - No single worship style is favoured over another in heaven. there is no debate over the worshipers' preference. Only One sits on the throne, and what He wants will be done. There is a perpetual song that is sung often in heaven. It is called the new song (Revelation 14:3)
4) Heaven's Musical Instruments - There is no mention of percussion or wind instruments used in worship in heaven. However, in connection with worship, strings instruments were played. (Revelation 5:8-9; 14:2-3)
5) Heaven's Order of Worship - John also described the position of the worshipers as they worshiped. It was almost like they were in a round stadium, only larger and more glorious. (Revelations 4:4-6)
6) Heaven's Modes of Worship - The expressions of worship in heaven are extreme. There is constant action of obeisance to Him who sits on the throne. (Revelation 4:10)
The worship in heaven is also loud and long (Revelations 5:11-12 & 7:9-11)

Share with you Revelation Song - a powerful Heavenly Worship song by Kari Jobe




Blessing, Glory, Honour & Power to our Lord!
TPWC