Join us in Jerusalem, Israel, in the worship of the Prince of Peace – Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah – in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Produced by ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry.
Imagine what worship in Jerusalem will be like when Jesus is here on this earth ruling and reigning the nations from Jerusalem. Look up because your redemption is nigh.
Approaching worship with the idea that our hearts are in good enough shape to do so worthily would seem more than a bit audacious, but that is what much of both mainline Protestant and evangelical worship does. Contrast that attitude with one of the historic prayers of the Book of Common Prayer, commonly called the Prayer of Humble Access.
We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.
So if worship is formative, guess what actually does matter. The form is inextricable from the substance of the liturgy.
The church cannot look like an entertainment show and retain any integrity whatsoever.
When we tailor our forms in accordance with what we think will resonate with people instead of what frames the liturgy with beauty and dignity, we are crowning people, lords of their own hearts.
That’s why the rule of prayer, not the rule of pop culture, should govern our worship.
None of us have hearts that are right with God, save the intermediation of Jesus Christ. We cannot worship, on our own, at our own initiative, with thoroughly pure motives and hearts that are in the right position. That’s why liturgy is a big deal in the first place. By praying right and true things steeped in Holy Scripture, by receiving the Word rightly preached, and by consuming the gifts of bread and wine, we are formed more into Christ’s likeness.
What is required seems to be approaching worship as we do the gospel. We must be ready to admit that we are helpless and that our hearts are in desperate need of redemption and renewal. We bring nothing to Christ. We have nothing of value to offer. Our works are utterly useless. This little bit of Romans 4 should both haunt us and overwhelm us with joy:
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Romans 4:7-8
Worship is one of the main themes of the Bible yet most Christians do not have an understanding of the true nature of worship. The psalmist shows us that we can gain access to God with thanksgiving and praise.
Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!
Give thanks to Him; bless His name! Psalm 100:3-4
We have entered His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise but how do we enter His presence? His Word and the tabernacle illustrate that we only enter God’s presence through worship.
“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God.” Psalm 95:6
When we come into contact with, become aware of, or have a revelation of the holiness of God, there is only one appropriate response worship.
The worship industry has replaced liturgy all over the place with pop music to which Jesus has been added. It has turned corporate worship into something it was never supposed to be, and the marketability of their product has been the driving force. What constituted worship for nearly two millennia is gone, and in its place, we are given concerts of rock music, albeit with at least vaguely “Christian” words. Hillsong fans have been convinced that this experience, especially the way the music makes them feel, is what constitutes worship. Neither the group nor their fans likely even understand the lie they’re perpetuating, but it’s a lie, nonetheless. No amount of sincerity they can muster makes it any less of a lie.
That’s the insidious nature of the worship industry. It is destructive to a healthy liturgical and sacramental theology because it sets itself up as the actual word and sacrament. The feelings of enjoyment, however deep, are substituted for the actual presence of Christ. And that’s a huge, ugly, grievous mistake.
It needs to be rejected because it tears down the church by infiltrating its way into its liturgical life.
If you are not aware of Derek Prince’s book Entering the Presence of God – Moving beyond praise and thanksgiving to true worship then let me recommend it to you. It is excellent.
Often we do not see the real Jesus because we’re too busy looking at ourselves—it’s easy for our own flesh to get in the way. Repent daily, asking the Holy Spirit for His help and His mercy to see Christ as He truly is. We need God’s mercy and grace everyday.
Reflect on the names of the Lord. What awe, reverence and worship they should evoke in the spirit of every true believer:
“And thou shalt call His name JESUS” (Matthew 1:21, kjv). He is the Prince of Peace, Mighty God, Wonderful Counsellor, Holy One, Lamb of God, Prince of Life, Lord God Almighty, Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Root of David, Word of Life, Author and Finisher of Our Faith, Advocate, The Way, Dayspring, Lord of All, I Am, Son of God, Shepherd and Bishop of Souls, Messiah, The Truth, Savior, Chief Cornerstone, King of Kings, Righteous Judge, Light of the World, Head of the Church, Morning Star, Sun of Righteousness, Lord Jesus Christ, Chief Shepherd, Resurrection and Life, Horn of Salvation, Governor, The Alpha and Omega.
The secret of the abundant life, is Christ and Christ alone. We must see the real Jesus. We must have a correct vision of who He is and, therefore, who we are representing and serving during our time on earth. Only then will we begin to rediscover the authority, glory and power of His majesty.
One of the most revealing images of the real Jesus is found in Colossians 1:13–20. Here we find Him to be “the image of the invisible God . . . .
“For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.”
What a mighty God we serve! The whole universe, everything that we can see and cannot see, was created for Him. He is head of the Church and our Lord. We were made for Him and His pleasure.
Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,Let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness, judgement, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,’ says the LORD. Jeremiah 9: 23-24
What is spontaneous worship, and why do it?
The Bible tells us to do it so we must have what it takes to be led by the Spirit and step out during a worship set to lead a spontaneous moment.
“Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” Ephesians 5:18-20
There is a difference between singing a song already written and singing a spiritual song. While there is power in singing and declaring a song already written for our Sunday setlist, God also wants to meet us where we are in a specific moment in time.
He wants to speak straight to our hearts, and this can happen when we open up our worship set and allow Him to move!
A spiritual song, as referred to in Ephesians 5, is a song that comes from your spirit, and your spirit is connected to God’s Spirit.
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24
This is the connection God longs for, to be in communion with us—spirit to spirit.
A spiritual song is something that comes straight from your heart and your history with God—expressing to Him in your own words what He means to you.
These moments come from a heart that is in love, and it captivates God’s heart to hear your voice.
Home groups where you are well known is more conducive to spontaneous worship. Once again church as described in the Book of Acts.
Besides connection, spontaneous songs can be a prophetic doorway into deeper breakthrough for you and others.
In the story of Jericho in the Bible, God commissioned Joshua to command the people of Israel to march around the walls of Jericho 7 times, and on the 7th day after they marched, Joshua told them to “shout, for the Lord has given you the city.” At the sound of their shout, the wall around Jericho fell down flat. This shout from the Israelites was prophetic because they hadn’t yet physically conquered the city, but God promised that He had given it to them. So in faith, they shouted aloud before they saw the victory—prophesying that He would give them the city.
In the same way, spontaneous moments can become prophetic in nature when God is breathing on them.
Breakthrough will always follow a spontaneous and prophetic act.
Sometimes the songs we have planned to sing on Sunday are prophetic in themselves, but sometimes God wants to interrupt our agendas and speak in a different way. In the end, it’s all about His desire to capture your heart and draw you closer to Him.
This abbreviated article by JONATHAN AIGNER JANUARY 31, 2020 again from Patheos Discussions about Worship for Thinking People. You can go to the Patheos website to view the entire article. See also my posts Praise and Worship and More on Praise and Worship.
According to ticketmaster.com, pricing for a general admission seat begins at $29 and goes up all the way to $61.50. Hillsong doesn’t come cheap!
If you want to shell out a mere $206 per ticket, you can achieve true worship bliss with the Awake package, which includes:
It’s not worship. That’s blatant false advertising.
That’s why I shout, “Wake up! It’s a huge deal!”
These sorts of acts, promoted by the so-called “worship industry,” have hijacked the authentic worship gathering, the beautiful liturgy of the Christian church, the source and summit of the Christian life, and using the same strategies as secular entertainment, they’ve turned it into a commodity. That is a grievous thing.
They might as well be calling it the “Awake and Give Us All Your Money” tour.
You’ve probably all heard the analogy that we’re all equal at the foot of the cross. There’s room on that level ground, of course. Admission is free. But it demands much of us, certainly more than a few bucks. When I hear people claim that they’ve gone to events like this, found momentary euphoria, and have worshiped as never before, I don’t just feel sceptical, I feel a sense of dread. The words of Bonhoeffer frequently echo in my mind.
“The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.”
This kind of worship goes part and parcel with cheap grace. They claim to bestow the gifts of God on whoever buys a ticket and shows up. After you’ve paid your admission, it requires absolutely nothing of you. The historic liturgy of the church has a different offer. “Come and participate in the life of the church, but be prepared to give of yourself.”
Worship is not a product. It cannot be bought and sold. That’s the grace of it all. The grace available to God’s people in worship is not something that can be bought, but once it’s bestowed, it is all-consuming.
Each of us is told to sing praises to God. Worship is corporate, it is not having someone with a microphone singing at them.
The worshipping church doesn’t consume music, it makes music. But the modern concept of a lead singer arose from commercial pop music, written for a soloist or a small group. It’s no wonder, then, that most live pop worship sounds quite similar. A “leader” singing with pop inflection and affected tone, while ad libbing and improvising rhythm and melody, doesn’t ask of a congregation, “Sing with me.” It says, “Approach congregational singing like it’s a concert.”
We are living in the days of the celebrity Christian. We have witnessed the advent of the “worship superstar,” especially over the last two decades. Granting a microphone to a musician is offering them a whole lot of power and prestige. Some take the opportunity to showcase their own affected pop styling and build their celebrity in the mould of so many others. Some have exploited the vulnerability of an emotionally-compromised congregation Just look at the record sales for the so-called “worship industry.”
Because our culture is so used to listening to music for entertainment, we make our own celebrities. Make no mistake about it. The church does this, too. We begin to associate worship with a person and a performance, rather than corporate prayer through Word and Sacrament.
Listen to the attached performance and understand why Pastor Andy Savage. said the following: “And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason you never give a worship leader the microphone. This particular Sunday will be forever chronicled on the internet and known as the Sunday Lowpoint, certainly not the Highpoint…
At Jesus resurrection, the Scriptures clearly reveal that God, our Heavenly Father, enthroned Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all government and authority, all power and dominion, and any title or sovereignty that can be named.
“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesian 1:17-21
The amazing thing is we share this position on the throne with Jesus, “even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” Ephesians 2:4-6
Sadly, most have not received this revelation which the Holy Spirit, through the scriptures, makes available to us, so instead of reigning as kings, we find ourselves still toiling as slaves.
Similarly, God declared to Israel in Exodus 19:6, the purpose for which he redeemed them from Egypt; “And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” “A kingdom of priests” speaks of a dominion restored – kingship in place of slavery. God offered Israel a double privilege: to minister as priests and to reign as kings. For the most part , the nation failed to live up to God’s gracious promises. A few of the OT saints were the exception such as Daniel.
To those redeemed by faith in Christ, God renews the calling He gave to Israel. In 1 Peter 2:5 Christians are called “an holy priesthood” and our ministry is “to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” In 1 Peter 2:9 Christians are further called “a royal (or kingly) priesthood. In the book of Revelation the same phrase is applied twice to those redeemed by faith in Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:5-6 and Rev. 5:9-10).
Such is the double ministry that Jesus now exercises at the Father’s right hand. As King, He rules. As Priest, He intercedes: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25
The “spiritual sacrifices” offered up by us are the various forms of prayer – particularly worship and intercession. As priest we share Jesus ministry of prayer and intercession. If we would rule as kings, we must serve as priests. The practice of our priestly ministry is the key to our exercise of our kingly authority. It is through prayer and intercession that we administer the authority that is ours in the name of Jesus.
In Psalm 110: 1-4 David paints a picture of Christ reigning as king and priest together with His believing people. Verse 2 describes the way in which Christ’s kingly authority is exercised: ” The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion; Rule in the midst of Your enemies”.
This is the situation in the world today. The enemies of Christ have not been finally subdued, they are still actively at work opposing His rule and His Kingdom. However Christ has been exalted and given authority over them all. Thus He rules now “in the midst of His enemies.”
In the world the forces of evil are rampant on every hand rejecting the authority of Christ and opposing the work of His kingdom. But “in the midst” Christians (the church) need to assemble in divine order as kings and priests. Out of our assembly the rod of Christ’s authority, exercised in His name “is sent forth” through our prayers.
Want to be challenged on role of prayer in the lives of Christians then listen to Jim Cymbala on My House Shall Be Called A House Of Prayer.
After so many posts on end times prophecies, all of which indicate Christians will have their faith tested during the tribulation prophesied by many of the O.T. prophets, particularly Daniel and in Revelation, I thought I should include this video of Todd Dulaney rendering POWER IN YOUR NAME. I was inspired and reminded of the following verse of Scripture which clearly shows that at the soon coming of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all He created. I should acknowledge Emeka Ofili’s website which is where I saw the YOUR GREAT NAME video.
“God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” 2 Philippians 2:9-11
‘Your Great Name’ Lyrics – Todd Dulaney
We love to, Call Your Name
It’s something, We cannot Explain
That Happens, When We Proclaim
Your Great Name, Your Great Name
King Jesus, No Other Name
King Jesus, None Stronger
We can Call on You
Thing Changes
When we call on Your Name
There’s Power in the Name of Jesus
Power in Your Name
Things Change when we call You Jesus
Things when we call Your Name
I’m Free when I call You Jesus
I’m Free when I call Your Name
I’m Free when I call You Jesus
I’m Free when I call Your Name
Call; When I call Your Name
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call; When I call Your Name
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: Demons Trembles at that Name
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: I feel much stronger when I call You
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call; I’m healed When (x2)
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: I’m set Free (x2)
Resp: When I call Your Name
CAll; I’m alive when I call You
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: Yes God, Yes God
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: I Feel much better when I call
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: I Feel much stronger when I call
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: I Feel like blessing when I call
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: I Feel my Victory when I call
Resp: When I call Your Name
Call: I Feel a shifting when I call
Resp: When I Call Your Name
Call: I Feel a blessing when I call
Resp: When I Call Your Name
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 