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

Maranatha - Come Lord Jesus

The word "Maranatha" is an ancient Hebrew-Aramaic phrase that meant alternatively, “the Lord is coming soon,” or “Oh, Lord, Come Soon.” It was part of the Jewish congregational prayers in the first century. The New Testament includes it in 1Corinthians 16:22 (the Aramaic phrase is transliterated into Greek letters in the text). "As understood here ("O Lord, come!"), it is a prayer and declaration for the early return of Christ. This interpretation is supported by what appears to be a Greek equivalent of this acclamation in Rev 22:20 "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"

It seems like the Rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Jesus is a much less preach these days on the pulpit! But we all know that Jesus told us to expect His return and we are to be watchful and wise. We are seeing many signs being fulfilled in the last days and as God's end-times clock is sticking by the seconds ... one thing we can know for certain is that Jesus expect every of His followers to be ready. ARE YOU?

Interestingly there are Seven Feasts (Leviticus 23) mentioned in the Bible is which has direct fulfillment and foreshadow to the end-times calender:
1) Feast of Passover (Pesach) - Deliverance from slavery in Egypt - Fulfilled at Jesus' death
2) Feast of Unleavened Bread (ChagHamatzah) - When leaving Egypt - Fulfilled at Jesus' burial 3) Feast of First Fruits (Yom Habikkurim) - First harvest wave offering - Fulfilled at Jesus' resurrection
4) Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) - Celebration of first fruit of harvest - Fulfilled at Pentecost
5) Feast of Trumpet (Rosh HaShanah) - Blowing of the shofar - Foreshadow of the Rapture
6) Feast of Atonement (Yom Kippur) - Solemn assembly to express repentance and forgiveness - Foreshadow of Jesus' second coming and judgement
7) Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) - Celebration of final harvest - Foreshadow of the Milennium where Jesus's kingdom is established on earth

The first four Feasts were fulfilled at Christ's first coming, and on the EXACT DAY OF THE FEAST. The last three Feasts picture the second advent, and the Feast of Trumpets (the blowing of trumpet is an important part of this event) is the first of the latter three Feasts, picturing the Rapture.

Just as Christ, the Lamb of God, was sacrificed at Passover, for which the Lord instituted Passover to symbolize and foreshadow, it is very likely that His return will be at the time of the Feast of Trumpets, for which the Lord instituted the Feast of Trumpets to symbolize and foreshadow. (The Apostle Paul, speaking of these Jewish Festivals, declares, "Which are a shadow of things to come" - Colossians 2:17).

In 1 Corinthians 15:52 we are told Christ will come, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound." Notice this is spoken of as the last trump, and this may remind of the last trump of Rosh Hashanah.

In another description of Christ's coming for His Bride, Paul speaks of the trumpet of God (1 Thess. 4:16). This is not a trumpet blown by a man or even by an angel. Like the trumpet which sounded at Mt Sinai, this is one which is the trump of God...doubtless God Himself blows it.

Do you know that TODAY marks Israel's New Year called Rosh Hashanah - Feast of Trumpet?
As a worshiper, my heart is in excitement, anticipation and readiness ... let's worship Him with this song - Days of Elijah .... Behold He Comes ... At the TRUMPET Call ... Who Was And Is And Is To Come


Last but not least, the revelation of Rosh Hashanah also saddens my heart to realize that many believers are taking the rapture without any sense of urgency! May this message quicken every reader to WAKE UP! MARANTHA - JESUS IS COMING SOON! GET READY!
Maranatha!
TPWC

A LIVING SACRIFICE - PART 3 (A SACRIFICE OF LOVE)

WORSHIP

Is Not Part

Of The

Christian Life;

It Is The

Christian Life

(G.Vann)

I Urge You, Brothers, In View Of God's Mercy, To Offer Your Bodies As Living Sacrifices, Holy And Pleasing To God - This Is Your Spiritual Act Of Worship (Romans 12:1)

Being a living sacrifice is more than a holy obligation; it is a HOLY PASSION. It's the lover whosays, "I would do anything for you. I'd sacrifice my life, my dreams, my everything for your welfare." Few of us love God like that with any consistency, but that's our goal. And the only way to get there is to ask Him for that kind of love. It's supernatural. Only He can offer it and maintain it in our hearts.

How do we know if we have it? We'll know by what fills our minds when we lie down at night and when we wake up in the morning. We'll know it by where we direct all of our resources and all your abilities. And we'll know it by the things we pray for.

If a stranger were to pick up the ledger of our checkbook and read it, would he know that we are lovers of God? If he were to examine our calender, would he be able to tell that we have a holy desire for a beloved Saviour? If he were to hear our prayers, would he find that we're wholly dedicated to the will of our Father? We're reluctant to answer, because we know our shortcomings. We know how fickle our hearts and how self-directed our desires are. We know we have more than one agenda - God's plus our own. We know we have a long way to go to be filled with a holy, God-centred love.

That's okay. God's grace is more than enough to cover our lukewarm hearts. But He doesn't want us to remain ambivalent toward Him. He wants to stir us up to a consuming obsession with His goodness, His love, and His plans. He wants us not just try hard to please Him - we've done that and failed so many times - but to delight in Him. Like any lover of another, He wants to be our joy. Like a wife who craves evidence of her husband's affections, or a husband who looks expectantly for affirmation from his wife, our God - though never needy - wants to be adored.

Can we adore Him? We MUST - it's our created purpose, and it's the only love we'll ever have that will leave us completely satisfied. All others fall short, but PASSION for Him always fulfills.

TPWC (An extract from Worship The king - by Chris Tiegreen)

A LIVING SACRIFICE - PART 2

[Abram] built an altar there to the Lord,

who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:7

THE LIFE OF THE ALTAR
An altar is a raised structure on which sacrifices to god are made. Did you know that in order to offer our lives as LIVING SACRIFICES we need to have altars? Every sacrifice must be put on the altar to be burned by fire, so the sweet smelling savour can come forth. “For our God is a consuming fire.” Heb. 12:29
The life of a Christian is the life of the altar. God requires of His children that in His presence they have an altar. Why was Abraham able to offer Isaac His promised son at the altar of sacrifice? We learn that prior to this sacrificial worship (Genesis 22), Abraham was already leaving a life of building altars.

1) THE FIRST ALTAR
In Genesis 12:7 God appeared to Abraham and he built an altar. What made him want to worship? God had taken a seventy-five year old man out of his homeland and led him to a new frontier, making extravagant promises to him for his faith and obedience. There was no written revelation at the time, no covenant history, no people of God. Just a man and his faith and a land of promise.
This altar (not for sin offering) was for offering his life to God. It was the kind of altar spoken of in Romans 12:1. What the altar signifies is not doing for God, but being for God. Unlike the sacrifice of the Old Testament, which in one act was finally burnt, the sacrifice of the New Testament is “A LIVING SACRIFICE”. The meaning of the altar is the offering up of the life to God to be ever consumed, yet ever living: to be ever living, yet ever consumed.
God appeared to Abraham and Abraham offered himself to God. Anyone to whom God has manifested Himself cannot do other than live for Him. This is the life of the ALTAR – Being A Worshiper!

2) THE SECOND ALTAR
Genesis 12:8 – “From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent … there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord”. This is Abraham’s second altar. The pitching of his tent implies that it is not a permanent place. The tent-life also means that what Abraham possessed does not belong to him. At the altar Abraham has offered his all to God. Was he stripped of everything? No! Abraham still possessed cattle and sheep and many other things. Through the altar God deals with our lives; through the tent God deals with our possessions. At any time God may say: “I want this thing.” If we cling to it and say: “This is mine,” then in heart we have forsaken the altar and cannot say to God that our life is being lived for Him. The second altar shows us that Abraham’s life was a life of the altar – not bound by material possessions. That is why when God demand his son Isaac, he was able to response in faith and God restored back Isaac to him.

3) THE THIRD ALTAR
In Genesis 12:10-20 we read that because of the famine (type of economic crisis) Abraham went DOWN to Egypt (a type of the world) and got himself into trouble. Abraham had his failures when he departed from the altar in times of difficulties. In Genesis 13:1-4, he went UP from Egypt and returned to Bethel (the house of God) where he has first built an altar and called on the name of the Lord again. If you are seeking the way of recovery, you will find it at the altar. But what happened to Abraham after his recovery? Genesis 13:18 records Abraham built his third altar at Hebron (means fellowship). After his recovery Abraham entered into the place of continuous fellowship with God. If we are in fellowship with God we will never forsake the altar.

What does it mean to lay our lives on God’s altar? It means that we are not our own; we have no claim on our own lives. We are bought with a precious heavy price. Living sacrifice don’t live for themselves. They live for Another. That’s their service of worship.

Stays bless!
TPWC

A LIVING SACRIFICE

I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

Romans 12:1 (Amplified Bible)

The term sacrifice is not to be taken lightly. In the Old Testament time, the offering of animals had to be the best, without blemish and probably costly to the owner. And when the animals were being slaughtered, we could hear their cries. Similarly, in hard times as we offer our lives as a living sacrifice (in worship), they may be moments of tears, sorrows and pains. But as the Lord consumes our offerings, we will be transformed. Romans 12:1 tells us that this is our reasonable worship.
The story of the woman who broke the abalaster box (John 12:3, Matthew 26:8-9) was met by the disciples' indignant remarks ... "Why this waste?" Waste means giving more than necessary. To Judas and the disciples the waste of money, time and efforts of worship poured upon the Lord could have been channelled for better use. But if the Lord is worthy, then can it be waste? He worthy to be worshiped, worthy to be served, worthy for me to be in ministry, HE IS WORTHY! Once we see this revelation, what other say about this does not matter anymore.

The Lord said, "Do not trouble her". So let us not be troubled. The Lord's approval upon Mary's action lays the principles of pouring out to Him: that in our service and worship, we need to pour all that we have - our self, upon Him. It is not first of all a question of whether "the poor" (Matthew 26:9) have been helped but a question of whether the Lord has been satisfied.

What does it mean to lay our lives on God's altar? When Abraham obeyed God it means the life of his promised son - Isaac (we know that God provided him a sacrificial lamb for his obedience). But when God did it it means the life of His own beloved Son - Jesus! Death on the cross but eternal life for all who accept Him. That's what being a living sacrifice is all about. Unlike the old sacrifices, this sacrifice lives! It lives a dedicated life, an altar life. It now belongs to our High Priest. Living sacrifices don't live for them themselves. They live for Another. That's our reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

Today, let us lavish upon Him without reservation all our worship.

HE IS WORTHY!
TPWC

PRAISE YOU IN THE STORM

Psalm 42:5, 11 & Psalm 43:5 (NIV)
Why are you downcast, O my soul?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise Him,

my Savior and my God.

What is one to do when you are faced with the storms (testings, tribulations, trials) of life? Or when you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4)? The answer of the psalmist sounds as strange as the question: Preach to your soul! Take yourself in the hand, look yourself in the eyes, and preach this message: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? HOPE in God, for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Ps. 42:5,11; 43:5).

What possible HOPE is there? The psalmist, though in lament, is not in despair. He turns his mind from the disease to the cure, from anguish to remembrance, deliberately recalling to mind God’s grace and faithfulness and covenant vow. He forces himself to think of realities other than his own troubles. It is here that we come to the second element in these two psalms:
Psalm 42 : 1- 4 : the psalmist’s spiritual hunger leads to joyful memories of past worship
Psalm 42 : 6 -9 : which leads to remembrance of the Lord and realises that God is still in control, still present in steadfast love and still trustworthy!
Psalm 43 : 1 – 4 : the psalmist turns the questions into prayers, seeking God’s vindication and guidance and thereby replaces his darkness and fear into “the joy of the Lord”.

With this “HOPE” the psalmist can say : “ I SHALL YET PRAISE HIM”!
To be able to Praise God In The Storm, there are 2 key elements that a worshiper must do:

a) HOPE in God - To have HOPE you need the element of FAITH. Hebrews 11:1 says "now FAITH is being sure of what we HOPE for .... and you can confidently do so if your FAITH is rooted in His WORD because FAITH comes by hearing and hearing by His WORD (Romans 10:17). And your focus is in the Lord Who is Your Fortress, Your Hiding Place, Your Refuge .... the Author and Perfector of Your FAITH! (Hebrews 12:2)

b) You make a CHOICE to praise Him - We can read of many instances in the book of Psalm where the psalmists tell his soul to bless the Lord in the midst of their "storms":

* Psalm 7:17 - I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High!
* Psalm 9:1 & 2 - I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High
* Psalm 16:7 - I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
* Psalm 18:49 - Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O lord; I will sing praises to Your name.
* Psalm 30:1 -I will exalt You, O Lord, for You lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
* Psalm 31:7 - I will be glad and rejoice in Your love, for You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
* Psalm 34:1 - I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.
* Psalm 52:9 - I will praise You forever for what you have done; in Your name I will hope, for your name is good, I will praise You in the presence of Your saints.
*Psalm 54:6 - I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord for it is good,
*Psalm 59:16 - But I will sing of Your strength in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.

I can show you more ... but some of my favourites are found in Psalm 103: 1 & 2 and Psalm 104:1. Here we find king David literally telling his soul - "PRAISE THE LORD, O MY SOUL ...!"

‘Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.’ (Psalm 42:5) When we are ‘down’, we need to address and rebuke our soul (mind, emotions and will). We must command ourselves to put our hope (certain assurance that whatever happens, God is in control) and, despite the difficult situation, still praise Him who is our Saviour and our God. Psalm 42 : 5, 11 & 43:5 (NIV)

Today are you in the midst of a storm? Is your soul cast down? Like to share with you this powerful song "Praise You In The Storm - by Casting Crowns". May you take comfort from Psalm 121:1 - " I lift my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Keep praising the Lord!
TPWC

WORSHIP IS COSTLY - PART 2

I Will Not Sacrifice To The Lord My God

Burnt Offerings That Cost Me Nothing

2 Samuel 24:24

David could have simply taken Araunah's threshing floor. After all, the offering was for royal purposes, a sacrifice to end a plague on the kingdom. And Araunah offered his property willingly. There was no reason for David to pay for the site other than overriding fact: This was an act of sacrifice!

David understood the central significance of sacrifice. It has to cost something. Worship that is easy to give is neither deep nor meaningful. It may contain the right words and the right actions, but it doesn't indicate anything about the heart of the worshiper.

We have no trouble understanding this principle in our social lives. When we receive a gift that cost the giver a lot, we are deeply grateful. When we receive a gift that was cheaply obtained, we are more casual about our gratitude. Costly gifts mean something to us because they tell us something about the feelings and generosity of the giver. They give us a glimpse into the depth of the giver's love. They reflect the true meaning of giving. Sacrificial worship reflects the true meaning of giving too. God receives gifts like we do: with an understanding that the sacrifice involved usually correlates directly with the love behind it. An act of worship that costs us nothing isn't much of an act of worship. No love is required to give cheap gifts. The God who sees into our hearts knows that better than anyone.

Does your worship cost you anything? Or, more pointedly, does it cost you anything other than a couple of hours on Sunday morning and a small percentage of your paycheck? Those are important gifts to give, but God is looking deeper. He is looking for worship that flows from the heart every day of the week. He is looking for the love behind the gift.

Learn to say with David, "I won't make cheap sacrifices for God." After all, He didn't make cheap sacrifices for us.

An extract from Worship The King - by Chris Tiegreen

Have A Blessed Week - TPWC

WORSHIP IS COSTLY

Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard,

an expensive perfume;

she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped His feet with her hair.

And the house was filled with the fragrance of perfume.

John 12:3

King David was not a perfect man - in fact he was an adulterer and a murderer, among others. Yet God called him a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), because David was man who loved God, who discovered many of God's divine principles and obeyed them. This is seen in 2 Samuel 11 where Nathan the prophet confronted David with his sin of adultery with Barsheba. David's immediate response was, "I have sinned against the Lord." (2 Samuel 12:13). God never smiled on or condoned David's sin but He forgave David because David repented. This principle for forgiveness was shown by David himself when he found king Saul sleeping at the entrance of the cave who was seeking to kill him. David merely cut off the skirt of Saul's garment because he saw that it was not for him take vengence but to forgive just as God forgives.

David discovered God's principle of pouring out in 2 Samuel 23:13-17. Here, in response to an uttered wish by King David for water from the well of Bethlehem, three of his mighty warriors broke through the army of the Philistine that surrounded them and obtained that water for him. Yet, instead of drinking it, David poured it out before the Lord, saying , "Is this the blood of men that went in jeopardy of their lives?" He had a legal right to drink that water, but he realized that there was a higher principle involved then just merely drinking it and satisfying himself and his desire, and so he poured it out on the ground before the Lord as an offering.
A similar episode is found in John 12:3, where a young woman poured out an alabater box of precious perfume upon Jesus. It was a posture and an act of a glorious worship seen in the Bible (PROKUNEO - To Kiss, To Kneel Down In Reverence And Adoration). WORSHIP IS VERY COSTLY! - The alabaster box of purest perfume represents part of her entire future. Yet when she poured it upon the Lord, the smell filled the whole house.

What is our motive for going to the house of the Lord? Do we complain, "The Lord did not touch me tonight." Do we go to ask for blessing or to pour out our worship to the King of heaven? There is a difference between going there for Him to please our hearts and going there for us to please His heart. We touch a higher dimension in God when we learn to give up the deepest desires of our hearts and pour them out before the Lord. It does not mean we do not care any more about these desires; in fact we will care more about them than we have ever cared in our lives. But when we touch this principle of pouring out in worship, it will not really matter as long as He receives the glory, and God will accept our offering, turning the barren earth in our hearts into new life.

Abraham knew the meaning of pouring out in worship. When God told him to sacrifice Isaac to Him, Abraham did not bargain but obeyed. He knew God so well that in Genesis 22:5 he could say, " ... I and the lad will go yonder and WORSHIP and come again to you." As a result of his obedience, Abraham met the God of resurrection (Hebrew 11:17-19), and God promised him He would bless him and multiply his seed. Only that which is offered in death will spring forth in resurrection life.

Blessings - TPWC

A SONG IN THE NIGHT

Behold, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD,
Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD.
The LORD who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!
Psalm 134:1-3 (NKJV)

It is a strange time for adoration to stand in God's house by night, to worship in the depth of sorrow. It is indeed an arduous thing. Yes, and therein lies the blessing; it is the test of perfect faith.

In the Bible, night often represents times of trials, testings, tribulations, persecutions ... In our modern days we would easily identify some of these "nights" as times of disappointments when friends fail us, unanswered prayers, sicknesses, lost of jobs, depressions or even bereavements ...

The Psalmist in Psalm 77:6 Said "I Call To Remembrance My Song In The Night." A song in the night is always a song of faith. That is why the Bible stresses that God is a God who gives songs in the night. Songs are therapy and are like vitamins that lift the soul and give it courage to make it through the night. In Psalm 42 where there is a struggle with depression the Psalmist says in verse 8, "By day the Lord directs His love; at night His song is with me." In Job 35:1 we read of God as One "Who gives songs in the night."

Did you know that the only record that Jesus ever sing is in Matthew 26:30 and it was at night in a very stressful situation. Jesus is about to earn His title as the Man of sorrows acquainted with grief. He was heading for the worst and the last night of His life before the cross. The agony of Gethsemane, the anguish of His betrayal, arrest, and illegal condemnation was His agenda for the night, and He knew it. Yet He joins His disciples in a song. A heart filled with song is better prepared to face sorrow. The thing we need to see here is that Jesus lived as a real life on our level. Real life is like that, and Jesus is singing with His disciples now, and in a matter of minutes he will be facing the cross!

The other record about people singing in the New Testament is Paul and Silas in Acts 16:25. We read, "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God." They were in the Philippian's jail and fastened in stocks. Not the best position for singing, nor the best atmosphere, but there they were praising God in song!

As Lifestyle Worshipers there are times we will walk through the "desert places" or "valley of the shadow of death". These are times God will give us a song in the night but we must make a choice to sing - to offer Sacrifice of Praise. A song in the night is always a song of faith that night is sure to give way to the light.

Personally the Lord has given me songs in the night like "As A Deer"- Martin Nystrom, "Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord" - Matt Redman ... and many more ... these songs are now more than my favourite songs, nice lyrics or good feels but they are songs that have become personally mine given by the Holy Spirit that have come out of the fiery trials!

Are you in the "fiery furnace" or in the "Lions' den" or in "the valley of the shadow of death"? Let's join the Levites (worshipers) in Psalm 134:1-3 to sing:

Behold, bless the LORD, All you servants of the LORD,
Who by night stand in the house of the LORD!
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the LORD.
The LORD who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!

Have A Blessed & Victorious Week! - TPWC

REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS!

REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS.

AND AGAIN I SAY REJOICE!

Philippians 4:4

A mindless sense of well being that ignores what is going on around you is not what Paul has in mind when he tells the Philippians to Rejoice In The Lord Always. The letter he writes to them is filled with recognition of difficult circumstances that they are all facing. In the opening words of the letter Paul acknowledges his own situation as a prisoner facing execution. A little later he encourages the Philippians to remain strong in the face of opposition that currently threatens them as well. Yet even in the face of execution, persecution, and suffering, Paul repeatedly calls on them to have JOY, to Rejoice In The Lord.

Firstly let us note that Paul has issued this statement as a command from the Lord. Has God ever issued a command that could not be carried out? Never! The very fact of a divine command proves that obedience is possible. Note further, God not only demands that we rejoice; He demands that we rejoice CEASELESSLY.
So how do we follow this command to Rejoice In The Lord Always, even when things are going horribly wrong? There is a basis for it: Paul does not tell us to rejoice in our circumstances. He tells us to Rejoice In The Lord and he tells us this REPEATEDLY. He even acknowledges that he is repeating himself but says that it is good for us to be reminded again and again to rejoice always. But our rejoicing must be “IN THE LORD”. When our circumstances cause us nothing but grief, disappointments, fears and doubts we can still be glad and strong because our JOY is not based on fluctuating circumstances, but has it's SOURCE in the One Who loves us and is the object of our love

Secondly, Rejoicing is a matter of our CHOICE. There is a great difference between JOY & HAPPINESS. Joy is the realm of the spirit whereas happiness is related to our emotions, feelings and circumstances. When things are going well, we have happiness. It is good to have happiness, but we cannot have it all the time.
To illustrate: If I lost my wallet, I would be very happy when the founder returned it to me. After a few days, I would no longer have the feeling of happiness although my wallet is still with me. What I have actually lost is the feeling of happiness at the time of finding it.

Joy on the other hand, is not dependent on feelings or circumstances. There is only one source of Joy and that is God - God Himself! That is why it is possible to "Rejoice In The Lord Always!" and they are able to do so because "the Lord is near" (Philippians 4:5) - [In His Presence is fullness of JOY (Psalm 16:11)]. You will note that while rejoicing they are also encouraged to submit their petitions and prayers which include the spirit of thanksgiving. (Philippians 4:6) And the resultance is having "the peace of God" (Philippians 4:7) in midst of whatever circumstances.

Beloved, if we but exercise our faith and choice to "rejoice in the Lord", in the midst of our adverse circumstances, these negative feelings of grief, fear, doubt and anger will just melt away!
Therefore, we are able to declare apostle James' message to "count it all joy even when we fall into divers trials or testings" (James 1:2) because it is "The Joy of the Lord" which is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) that will carry us through.

HAPPINESS DEPENDS ON WHAT HAPPENS. JOY DOES NOT - Oswald Chambers

Have A Joyous and Victories Week
TPWC

WORSHIPERS - A CULTURE OF SINGING

SING TO HIM,

SING PRAISE TO HIM

1 Chronicles 16:9

We have seen in the previous post that OUR GOD SINGS! But are you aware of how many times the Scriptures also urge us to sing?A spoken voice that praises God is wonderful, but it isn't sufficient. A natural conclusion, from the scriptural emphasis on song, is that music was created to bring our voices closer to an accurate reflection of His beauty.

Have you noticed how powerful music can be? It adds weight to the spoken word in movies, on the radio, and even commercials. Most important, it adds beauty to our worship and prompts our hearts to praise God more passionately. The Bible is efficient in it's instructions, it instructs us often to make music to the Lord. And why wouldn't we? If there is anything in this world worth singing about, it's the Lord of glory. He is of highest value in this or any universe. As another psalm so pointedly urges: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord" (Psalm 150:6). Songs, as every ear has noticed, have breath. They're living testimonies to the Creator.

Does your praise reflect the importance of song? Musical expertise isn't the issue, and neither is a good voice. The attitude of the heart is the target of the Bible's instructions. David appointed musicians to praise God in the tabernacle, and Paul urged the church to "sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God" (Colossians 3:16). we are expected to make melody.

Let your voice produce music for God. Hum. Whistle. Sing - anytime. Regardless of your talent, your heart will soar. And God will be glorified.

An extract from - Worship The King by Chris Tiegreen

Blessings - TPWC

A SINGING GOD

He Will Rejoice Over You With Singing

Zephaniah 3:17

Did you know that God is a singer? Why would that be a surprise? He created us to sing; one would expect that He has some experience at it Himself. Yes, the Lord of all creation sings. That defies our image of the frozen-faced, always-disappointed God of high expectations. Sure, we have failed Him and our love is far too cold for such a lovely Lord. But that's not what the Lord of glory focuses on. When judgement is spent, when He looks at a redeemed soul conforming to the image of Christ, God sings. And not just because He has to. His heart is in it.

That boggles our minds, doesn't it? The God who loves us sing over us. We often think of love as obligatory; He has to love us because of how He made us and redeemed us, but doesn't He doesn't really enjoy it because of how we've failed Him. As we imagine Him, He has a purposeful love but not a passionate one. But that's not the biblical picture of God. Scripture paints Him as highly emotional, deeply grieving over our sin and dancing in celebration over our repentance. In the Bible, God weeps, rejoices, grieves, dances, laughs, gets angry, and celebrates. And He sings!

Imagine the voice! In Revelation, His voice sounds like a trumpet (Revelation 1:10) and waterfall (Revelation 1:15). Can you imagine a voice that exceeds all human instruments and the forces of nature? The volume, the tonality, the quality, the range! And the creativity of the song must be amazing. God-produced music must be astoundingly beautiful. And what's most humbling and amazing is that He sings it over us.

An extract from Worship The King - by Chris Tiegreen In response let us sing back to Him :
- Sing to the Lord, you saints of His; praise His holy name (Ps 30:4)
- Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for for the upright to praise Him (Ps 33:1) - Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy (Ps 33:3)
- Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises (Ps 47:6)
- I will sing of Your strength in the morning, I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. (Ps 59:16)
- I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make Your faithfulness known through all generations. (Ps 89:1)
- I will sing of Your love and justice; to You , O Lord, I will sing praise (Ps 101:1)
- I will sing and make music with all my soul (Ps 108:1)

Blessed singing!
TPWC

WHY WE WORSHIP?

All Nations Shall Come

And Worship Before You

Revelation 15:4

Worship is the number one responsibility
of every believer everywhere.

Worship is the highest priority of our Lord.

1) Created To Worship

We were created to worship God from the very beginning. Did you know that worship is not just our praise but also our obedience? When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God they chose not to worship Him. To worship God means to obey, honor, reverence, respect, praise, and give Him all the glory. The first commandment God gave Moses was to worship Him and Him alone (Exodus 20:3-5).

Jesus told us to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:32). This means our heart, soul and mind are to worship God. Romans 12:1 tell us to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service. This means we worship God with our bodies.

2) Instructed To Worship

Jesus taught His disciples that they should worship even before the present their requests to God: "When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name" (Luke 11:2).
"Hallowed be Your name" is a phrase of worship. We are to magnify God's name and put Him first and high above all earthly things. We need to follow Jesus' example by worshiping the name and character of Yaweh before we make our petitions. Before we ask of Him we should honour Him.

3) Called To Worship

We are also commanded to worship throughout the Epistles: "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9).

A.W. Tozer said God's purpose in sending His Son to die and rise again to sit on His right hand was that "He might restore to us the missing jewel, the jewel of worship: that we might come back and learn to do again that which we were created to do in first place - worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, to spend our time in awesome wonder and adoration of God, feeling and expressing it. We're here to be worshipers first and workers only second." - The Missing Jewel Of The Evangelical Church by A.W.Tozer.

Blessed Week!
TPWC