WORSHIP QUOTABLES (PART 1)

Have You Ever Wonder What Does God Think Of Our Worship?

"The revelation of God is the fuel for the fire of our worship." - Matt Redman

"Worship has a purpose. We don't worship for worship's sake. We don't sing, clap, pray and rejoice for our enjoyment or fulfillment but for the Lord. The Holy Father, the Holy Son and the Holy Spirit are objects of our worship." - LaMar Boschman

"Worship is our reason for being." - Tom Kraeuter

"Worship is the believer's utmost priority and highest occupation." - LaMar Boschman

"Worship is a verb." - Robert Webber

"Worship is an attitude expressed." - Judson Cornwall

"Worship is always a now activity." - Judson Cornwall

"Worship is an exercise of the Holy Spirit directed primarily to God." - Ralph Martin

"Where feelings for God are dead worship is dead." - John Piper

"Regardless of how magnificent the musical moment are, unless your heart is fully engaged in the worship being expressed ... it is still only music." - Darlene Zschech

"Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." - Jesus

Here are a collection of worship songs for listening:

Have a blessed and victorious week \0/\0/\0/ -TPWC :)

THE SPIRIT OF JOY (PART 4)

Then I will go to the altar of God,

To God my exceeding joy;

And on the harp I will praise You,

O God, my God

Psalm 43:4

David had learned two things concerning JOY. First there is only one source of JOY: it Is God Himself. Second, there is one place where we can draw from that source: it is the altar. The altar is the place of sacrifice, the place of commitment and consecration, the place where our lives are laid down. Through the sacrifice we make at the altar, the JOY that comes from God alone is released within us.
There is a great difference between JOY and happiness. JOY is in the realm of the spirit. Happiness is in the realm of the soul. Happiness is related to our emotions, our feelings, our circumstances. When things are going well, we have happiness. When things are not going well, we have unhappiness. It is good to have happiness, but we cannot have it all the time.
JOY, on the other hand, is not dependent on feelings or circumstances. It does not depend .on our physical condition. It is within the spirit. There is only one source of JOY, and that is God - God Himself. God is eternal, unchangeable. That is why it is possible to have JOY even when we cannot feel happiness or pleasure. JOY comes directly from God Himself. Just like God, JOY is eternal, unchangeable, unaffected by situations or circumstances.
But JOY is released only at the altar. We have to make up our minds, as David did, that we will go to God, to the altar - the place of sacrifice - the place of commitment and consecration - the place where we yield ourselves without reservation to God. Then we can have JOY all the time, unchangeably.
(An extract from:Through David's Psalms by Derek Prince)

PRACTISING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

"Enoch walked with God" (Genesis 5:24)
The true test of a person's spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the daily grind of everyday life when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. In the 1600's, there was a monk named Brother Lawrence who was a dishwasher in his monastery.

He made a profound discovery that is true for every believer in the workplace today."For me the time of activity does not differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are calling together calling for as many different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as when upon my knees at the blessed Sacrament."

You see, he found no urgency for retreats, because in the common task he met the same God to love and worship as he did in the stillness of the desert. It is this kind of life that Jesus desires for each of His children. Enoch was also a man that practiced the presence of God. The Bible does not give detailed account of his life. All we know about him is that "He walked with God." In fact, it says in Gensis 5:22 that Enoch walked with God 300 years! Wow! That is faithfulness!
What does it mean to practice the presence of God daily? It means we are constantly talking to our Heavenly Father about the issues in our day. It means praying about things as they come up. It means singing a song in your car while you are sitting in traffic. That is practicing the presence of God.
Today, when God gives you times alone or there are needs that arise, stop and consult your Heavenly Father about the situation. Then you will be practicing the presence of God.
An extract from TGIF (Today God Is First Vol 2 - May 28) by Os Hillman
Blessings - TPWC

THE WORTH OF YOUR WORSHIP

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

"if you will bow down and worship me."

Matthew 4:9

For only one life in history was it ever approriate to worship and to be worshiped simultaneously. Have you ever considered that? Jesus as the in carnate God is 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. 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 honors God instead of him, waved his withered hand toward all the kingdoms 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 its true course. If the Son had worshiped the rebel, the tide would have turned. God would have given up His place as rightful LORD. In effect, Jesus would have lied about who was worthy of true worship. All the kingdoms of the world weren't worth that.
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 its 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, an dsuddenly we're lying about the 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 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 fromWorship The King - by Chris Tiegreen)

HE WHO WITH HIS WHOLE HEART DRAWS NEAR TO GOD MUST OF NECESSITY BE PROVED BY TEMPTATION AND TRIAL - Albert The Great

AUTHENTIC WORSHIP - PART 2

“The Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT)

AUTHENTIC WORSHIP
FROM THE HEART

When Jesus said, “Love God with all your heart and soul” (Luke 10:27) he meant that worship must be genuine and heartfelt. It is not just a matter of saying the right words; you must mean what you say. Heartless praise is not praise at all! It is an insult to God.

When we worship, God looks past our words to our hearts. The Bible says, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”
Since worship involves delighting in God, it engages your emotions. God gave you emotions so you could worship him with deep feeling, but those emotions must be genuine, not faked.
God hates hypocrisy. He doesn’t want showmanship or pretense or phoniness in worship. He wants your honest, real love. We can worship God imperfectly, but we cannot worship him insincerely.
Of course, sincerity alone is not enough; you can be sincerely wrong. That’s why both spirit and truth are required. Worship must be both accurate and authentic. God-pleasing worship is deeply emotional and deeply doctrinal. We use both our hearts and our heads.
Today many equate being emotionally moved by music as being moved by the Spirit, but these are not the same. Real worship happens when your spirit responds to God, not to some musical tone. In fact, some sentimental, introspective songs hinder worship because they take the spotlight off God and focus on our feelings. Your biggest distraction in worship is yourself – your interests and your worries over what others think about you.
Christians often differ on the most appropriate or authentic way to express praise to God, but these arguments are usually just personality and background differences. Many forms of praise are mentioned in the Bible, among them confessing, singing, shouting, standing in honor, kneeling, dancing, making a joyful noise, testifying, playing musical instruments, and raising hands.
The best style of worship is the one that most authentically represents your love for God, based on the background and personality God gave you.
(an extract by Rick Warren)