There is nothing like the driving beat of today’s Praise and Worship music with all of the electronic instruments. When the praise singers are truly anointed and the people are anointed as well; God shows up and magnifies the worship until it transcends the human realm. The place of meeting becomes the Holy of Holies and nothing is impossible; anything can happen and it does; sometimes instantly. At one service; a man came in crippled; barely able to walk, with a cane; at the end of the service, he walked out with the cane slung over his shoulder. When the move of God filled the room the people broke out into what some of us have begun to call, “A Holy Ghost Hoedown!” Words can not express this type of experience; you have to be there first hand!
There is a freedom that is connected to that type of worship that also has to be experienced first hand. All of the promises of God’s WORD become a reality and Faith from God rains down from Heaven in the LORD’s Shekhinah glory; the glory that once filled the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle; when the LORD filled the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
At a “Holy Ghost Hoedown,” which some of us also have referred to as a “Holy Ghost Blowout,” God literally takes over the service! This is not planned and it can not be forced to happen by man. Only God, who can inhabit the praises of His people, can cause a spontaneous move in a room of hundreds of people. It has been my privileged to experience such an out pouring of God’s Spirit, in a worship service of more than 500 in attendance; more time than I can count! When 400 of those 500 fall to their knees spontaneously, without human direction; it is an act of God!
Psalms 22:3 KJV But thou art holy, O thou that in habitest the praises of Israel.
With hundreds of people praying through tears, crying; hundreds praying in tongues; others dancing, jumping and running in the Spirit; all happening while musicians continue to sing praises to God; it is a scene out of the Book of Revelation; come to life.
My love for music ministry is only rivaled by my love for teaching ministry, in the WORD of God. Sacred music has always been dear to my heart and a major part of my ministry. As quality modern praise music began to captivate a newer, younger and livelier audience of worshipers; churches have had to move away from old traditional hymns and anthems of praise. Unfortunately, there will come a generation that has no knowledge or experience of the great anthems of faith. That generation may be upon us now; you, the reader may be a part of it!
One of the all time most powerful anthems, written in 1741, continues to inspire audiences in powerful ways spiritually. It is George Fredrick Handel’s Hallelujah chorus; from the oratorio Messiah. The words come directly from the Bible; the book of Revelation; taken from three separate verses and inspired to be placed in an order along with powerful and triumphant music to lead singers and audiences alike into the presence of God. The actual lyrics are below followed by their scriptures.
The Hallelujah Chorus
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
The kingdom of this world
Is become the kingdom of our Lord,
And of His Christ, and of His Christ;
And He shall reign for ever and ever,
For ever and ever, forever and ever,
King of kings, and Lord of lords,
King of kings, and Lord of lords,
And Lord of lords,
And He shall reign,
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings, forever and ever,
And Lord of lords,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings! and Lord of lords!
And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings! and Lord of lords!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!
Revelation 19:6 KJV And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Revelation 11:15-17 KJV And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (16) And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, (17) Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Revelation 19:16 KJV And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
It is vital to our spiritual health and salvation; that we worship in the presence of God daily! This should not just be reserved only for church services. Praise music, traditional anthems, reading from God’s WORD or just even a thought can catapult me into the presence of the LORD and into the Holy of Holies. Praying in tongues and being moved to tears in worship precedes my daily morning’s prayer time and happens spontaneously throughout the day. God’s WORD says to be instant in prayer and to pray without ceasing.
Romans 12:12 KJV Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
1st Thessalonians 5:17 KJV Pray without ceasing.
We all need the power of God in our lives; we certainly should desire it, if we are Christians. God will only walk with us as we walk with Him. We discussed on August 26, 2011; how we can access God’s throne by praying after the pattern of the Tabernacle. If we follow the steps through the Tabernacle, we will reach the Holy of Holies with our prayers and with our worship. It is there that we build our eternal relationship with the LORD. Review the above mentioned lesson at the link below. The grey box below it is an overview of how to pray through the Tabernacle.
Praying through the Tabernacle means to follow the steps of the High Priest as we prepare ourselves to access the Holy of Holies through our petitions to God. It pictures the entire plan of salvation in the Gospel of the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. So let’s review these steps again. After entering through the gates with THANKSGIVINGand into the courts with PRAISE; the HIGH PRIEST thenSACRIFICED ON THE BRAZEN ALTER (SYMBOLIC OF THE BLOOD OF Christ that reconciles us) washed in theLAVER (the water of reflection and the washing of the WORD, a type of BAPTISM); he then took burning incense from the ALTAR OF INCENSE (the sins and prayers of the people along with the atoning blood) and entered THE HOLY OF HOLIES once a year for the people of Israel to be reconciled to God.
No comments:
Post a Comment