THE ESSENCE OF WORSHIP - HANNAH (WORSHIP REQUIRES COMMITMENT)

Hannah provides an Old Testament example of someone who manifested complete commitment in her worship. As the first book of Samuel opens, Hannah is carrying a great burden. She is unable to have children. This experience is a painful one for any woman, but it was especially difficult for Jewish women who felt obligated to continue the seed of Abraham. And Hannah faced individual circumstances that aggravated the problem. Her husband Elkanah had another wife, Peninnah, who had children (1 Samuel 1:2)
Peninnah was not a nice person to Hannah. The Scripture record that "her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable,  because the Lord has closed her womb ... therefore she wept and did not eat" (1 Samuel 1:6-7).  Yet Elkanah "loved her" (1 Samuel 1:5) and tried to compensate for her barrenness by giving Hannah extra provision.
The story of Hannah illustrates to us how God can bring good out ot our difficult circumstances by using those circumstances to draw us into greater dependence on Him. Our greater commitment to God, in turn, leads us to more TRUE WORSHIP.


1) THE WORSHIPER MAKE A VOW

The way Hannah dealt with her probelm illustrates the fact that she learned humility and commitment. Her "heart grieved" (1 Samuel 1:8) or, as we would say today, her heart was broken. Hannah was not merely a woman who was angry at her circumstances. Literally, the Hebrew word speaks of a heart that trembles out of uncertainty or fear. When Scripture says that Hannah "was in bitterness of soul" (1 Samuel 1:10), it means that she was in pained because of her heavy burdens. What did Hannah do? In the pain of her broken heart she vowed a vow to God.

"Then she made a vow and said,'O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life ...' " (1 Samuel 1:11).

Hannah willingly committed what she did not yet have to God's service. Put yourself in Hannah's situation. What if God did grant her request, as she fully believed He could? She was agreeing up  front to surrender the very thing she requested and wanted so badly! No selfish person would be willing to make such a vow! Only through an unselfish heart can we, like Hannah, truly display God-honoring humility. If our worship and requests are not rooted in humility, they will be rooted in selfishness.
By her unselfish request, Hannah demostrated her humble submission to God. This demostration was reinforced by her subsequent actions. "And she said, 'Let your maidservant find favour in your sight.' So the woman went her way, and ate, and her face was no longer sad" (1 Samuel 1:18). Her vow was not impulsive, frenzied outburst that left Hannah emotionally drained, wondering what she had promised God in the heat of the moment. Hannah was satisfied to make her commitment and trust God. This point is critical. Although her circumstances had not changed, she was satisfied to let God handle the matter as He saw fit. The next day, with a confident spirit, she and Elkanah "rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:9).
Like Hanah, we too can offer God TRUE WORSHIP when we lay everything at His feet and are satisfied to let Him do with it what He wants.


2) THE WORSHIPER KEEPS HER VOW
The Scriptures recorded that Elkanah and Hanah worshiped at the tabernacle before returning home from the annual sacrifice. They came into the presence of God, in the manner He prescribed for them, and they bowed in humble commitment. In this case, God granted Hannah's request and personally intervened in her circumstances. Upon return home, "Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the Lord remembered her" (1 Samuel 1:9). Hannah conceived and bored a son, and called his name Samuel, saying' Because I have asked him from the Lord.' " (1 Samuel 1:20).


As soon as the child was weaned she brought him to the temple in Shiloh and presented him there with these words: "For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord." So they worshiped the Lord there." (1 Samuel 1:27-28).
Let us note two phrases here: "The Lord has granted me ... I lent him to the Lord." The Lord gave her the child and she gave the child back to the Lord. The sum total of her request was for this child and when she had received all she had craved for, she gave ALL back to the Giver!
Hannah's offering can be truly written that she "WORSHIPED THE LORD." It is not the person who wants God's grace, but the person who wants God Himself, who can worship Him wholeheartedly! Hannah shows us what was supremely precious to her ... not the answer to prayer, not the grace given but God's way with her in the giving of His gift. God gave Samuel to her and she gave Samuel back to God; and as Samuel passed out of her hands into God's hands, WORSHIP emerged from her heart to God's heart.

PRAISE REVOLUTION: CHOICE

I Will Bless The Lord At All Times

His Praise Shall Always Be In My Mouth

Psalm 34:1

CHOICE: Everyone of them, in a sense is a test. Why? Because they reveal our desires. As worshipers, our choices have profound spiritual results: often our taste for obedience is exposed and our deepest loves come to the surface in the choices we make.

What would happen if we decided to let every thought and every breath BLESS GOD? Imagine the result if His name were affectionately on our lips as we lay down at night, as we turned over in our sleep, as we awoke in the morning and as we went about our daily business. Would such a perspective radically change our hearts? Probably. Would it change our world? It's likely. Anytime (both good or bad times) in the Bible someone gives himself to worship, God does amazing things through that person. blessings abound. God's work is done. He is honored.

What prevents us from such a pervasive sense of His worth? Are our schedules just too busy? Or is it deeper than that? Perhaps it's a suspicion that He hasn't been as good to us as Scripture declares that He is. Or maybe it's a subtle resentment that He has not paved our path with gold and has allowed us to taste the bitter trials of life.

Whatever reasons we can come up with, we should ask ourselves if a worship-filled heart is worth sacrificing to the gods of busyness, apathy, and dissapointmnet. If we really got a glimpse of God, we would never be too busy, we would never be too apathetic; and we would never be dissapointed with His will for us. We would understand that underlying everything we go through and everything responsibility we're given is the LOVING HAND OF GOD who is leading us closer to Him. The end result is a greater blessing than any earthbound human can possibly imagine.

WHAT WERE KING DAVID'S REASONS FOR MAKING HIS CHOICE TO BLESS THE LORD AT ALL TIMES? May the reading of Psalm 34 enlightens us:
1) He will deliver us from fear (Psalm 34:4)
2) He will save us out of our troubles (Psalm 34:6)
3) He will guard and deliver us (Psalm 34:9)
4) He will listen when we talk to Him (Psaml 34:15)
5) He will redeem us (Psalm 34:22)
But we must do our part. we can appropriate His blessings when we:
6) Seek Him (Psalm 34:4 & 10)
7) Cry out to Him (Psalm 34:6 & 17)
8) Trust Him (Psalm 34;8)
9) Fear Him (Psalm 34:7 & 9)
10) Refrain from lying (Psalm 34:13)
11) Turn from evil to do good and seek peace (Psalm 34:14)
12) Serve Him (Psalm 34:22)

We usually find it easy to PRAISE God in good times, when everything seems to be going our ways, but hard to boast in the Lord when our circumstances are difficult.We can see in king David's life as a passionate WORSHIPER is not always smooth ... in context, Psalm 34 reveals that king David was prepared to PRAISE God even when he was in fear for his life, had gone down to Gath where he had been forced to play the part of a madman (1 Samuel 21:10-15). Therefore, Psalm 34 was king David's testimony of God's goodness inviting others to BLESS, to BOAST, to MAGNIFY, to EXTOL and to EXALT THE LORD .... AT ALL TIMES!

Let us revolutionize our PRAISE. Make that CHOICE to BLESS the LORD AT ALL TIMES!

TPWC

THE DISCIPLINE OF WORSHIP

To The Degree That You Are Willing To Discipline Your Life, God Will Be Able To Accomplish His Desired Plan For You ... To Bring To Pass Those Desires That He Has Placed In Your Heart, And To Bring About Those Things For Which You Are Believing Him. It Doesn't Happen Merely Because God Said It Was Going To Happen. A Lot Depends On You And Me." - The 2nd Flood by John W. Stevenson

When God shows us something about our lives, He looks for us to obey Him, and such obedience takes discipline. If it has been sometimes since you received a revelation or a vision and God doesn't seem to have done anything about it yet; it is not because He is slothful concerning His word, but because there are things we need to understand more before He starts accomplishing His word. Discipline concerns many areas of our lives. And one very important area for all who wish to truly worship Him in spirit and in truth is the Discipline of Worship, which is touching God where He is.

John 4:24 emphasies that we must worship the Father in spirit and in truth. There is no "try". Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, God has been continually wanting to draw us to Himself. Today one of the ways to His holy presence is through praise and worship (Ps 100:4); but the is no place for sin in His presence! Be it deception or disobedience as it is written in 1 John 4:20, we cannot worship God with anger, bitterness or resentment in our hearts

1) WORSHIPERS MUST KEEP THE CHARGE
Ezekiel 44:6-14 reveal that there were three classifications of Levities. Two groups were not allowed to enter into the His sanctuary to worship because they did not KEEP THE CHARGE.

What is the CHARGE? The word "CHARGE" in the Old Testament comes from the Hebrew word "mishmereth." (H4931 - Strongs). It means "to watch; the act of custody; a guard, service, preservation, command, law."
Deuteronomy 11:1 says, “Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His CHARGE, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.

When we talk about the discipline of worship, we must understand that there has to be conscious decision in our mind that our life is wholly yielded to one ministry (like the Levites who were the ones appointed as priests) and that is the ministry unto God.

a) The First Group - The Rebellious Ones (Ezekiel 44:6-9)
The were "the rebellious ones" and God said they would not have a place at all! They have become an abomination to God. They did not KEEP THE CHARGE of His holy things (Ezekiel 44:8-9). They had moved to a place of rebellion, which is a the sin of witchcraft. 1 Samuel 15:23 - " For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,He also has rejected you from being king.” (NKJV)
It is an abomination before God. Galatians 5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are these ... idolatry, witchcraft ... of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." You see, the rebellious refuse to accept God's Word and would rather lean on the arm of flesh (See Ezekiel 44:7).

There are meany today who refuse to hear the Word of the Lord, or the Holy Spirit. They would rather continue on in the traditions of men and rely on the flesh. The end result for them will be the same as it was for the rebellious ones in Ezekiel. It was the same for king Saul: "Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,He also has rejected you from being king.” (1 Samuel 15:23b - NKJV)

b) The Second Group - Followers Of Those Who Went Astray (Ezekiel 44:10-14)
These Levites also went astray but they were not the initiators. However, because they followed after them, even though they knew the truth! For that reason they will only have charge at the gates of the house, ministering to the house and to the people, but they will not go near to the Lord to do the office of a priest. In verse 13, we see that these Levites were not only prohibited from coming near to the Lord:"And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place ..." They were not allowed to enter into His presence because they did not KEEP THE CHARGE.

Many today are not only worshiping from the outer court. There are some who are only ministering to the people, the congregation. This is not God's desire, nor is it His best for us. Jesus gave His life so that you and I could enter into the presence of the living God. We must be willing to discipline our lives as worshipers, and be determined to KEEP THE CHARGE.

c) The Third Group - The Priest Who KEEP THE CHARGE (Ezekiel 44:15-16)
“But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood,” says the Lord GOD “They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge."

This is where we want to be - because we have KEPT THE CHARGE, because we have kept the standard, because we have lived the disciplined life of a worshiper, we can enter into the presence of God unhindered.

Ezekiel 46:9 says, “But when the people of the land come before the LORD on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate." When you enter into worship, you should never leave the same way you came. There should be something that has changed in your life. The Scripture say we changed from glory to glory. You cannot enter into the presence of God and leave the same way you came. You will either leave transformed by the power of God or you will leave convicted by the power of God.


2) IT TAKES DISCIPLINE TO KEEP OUR CHARGE TO MINSITER TO GOD.

WORSHIP IS A LIFESTYLE, not a programme. Worship is not something we do, IT IS A LIFESTYLE WE MAINTAIN! (this requires our discipline). Many people think they can live any way they want, we need to understand that we cannot minister tothe desires and the passions of the flesh Monday through Saturday and then turn around and try to minsiter to God on Sunday.
A.W.Tozer in his book "Whatever Happened To Our Worship" said that "if you cannot worship God in the midst of your responsibilities on Monday, then it is very unlikely you were worshiping on Sunday!"

Today the Father is still seeking for "true worshippers who MUST worship Him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH". (John 4: 24). If you are willing to subject your life to the Discipline of Worship, it will revolutionize your life as a Worshiper.
(an extract from: The 2nd Flood by John W. Stevenson)

Practicing The Presence Of God - Part 2

" ... In Your presence is fullness of joy;
in Your right hand there are pleasures forever."

Psalm 16:11

How Do We Practice The Presence Of God?

Practicing His presence begins in our daily walk. While living out the demands of the day, we are filled with an inward worship and adoration. In the course of each day you need to begin to discipline yourself to make melody to the Lord. Begin to make melody in your heart to the Lord. It doesn’t happen. You have to start it … begin to sing to the Lord in the spirit no mater where, no matter when, no matter what the situation.

Maybe you do not play an instrument or sing. But you must say to yourself, “I am a worshiper.” Seek God as to how He desires you to worship Him. Believe it or not, for some it will be through your job that you worship Him. Your work will be such an excellent testimony and example that your co-workers will speak well or your work long after you are gone (Read Acts 9:36, 37a & 39a). Worship for many others may be through service at home and the care of what God has placed in your hands. Whatever it may be purpose in your heart to do it with all your hearts!

Let us look at Ephesians 6:18. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” You see, if you practice His presence when you are by yourself, it is not so hard to sense the presence of God when you come together with other believers. As part of being a disciplined worshiper and a disciplined life of worship, we begin to practice the presence of God. Have you ever been out somewhere when you suddenly felt like praying in the spirit? Sometime I am just walking along and all of a sudden the presence of God is there. It’s just as real as if someone were walking next to me. Then I find myself praying in the spirit. That is practicing the presence of God. You may be driving along and suddenly notice the presence of God there and begin to worship Him. You begin to practice the presence of God. You may be at home sitting and watching TV, and you feel His presence is there. Turn off the TV. It takes discipline. (I think it goes without saying that TV is one primary tools of the enemy. There are many programs out there now that will really leave you vexed in your spirit).

There are other things that God may be speaking to you right now. You need to make a decision to be disciplined in a certain area or let a certain thing go if you want to move into where the Levities, the sons of Zadok (Ezekiel 44:15-16), were and come in and minster to Him unhindered.

"The priests of the Levi tribe who are descendants of Zadok the priest were faithful to me, even when the rest of the Israelites turned away. And so, these priests will continue to serve as my priests ...They will come into my temple, where they will offer sacrifices at my altar and lead others in worship." (Ezekiel 44:15-16 CEV)

This is where we want to be - because we have lived the disciplined life of a worshiper, because we choose to practice the presence of God, we can enter into His presence unhindered.

But it is a matter of setting aside the time to get into God's presence and to practice His presence. When you learn to practice His presence, you know God is there. You know when He is moving. And, because of that, when more than one of us comes with a holy expectancy, it changes the whole atmosphere of the room.
(an extract from: The 2nd Flood - The Discipline of Worship by John W. Stevenson - http://www.jwstevenson.com )

Blessings

TPWC