2001.04.1.06 P S About Worship Created by James3 on 7/5/2019 6:25:13 PM P S About Worship
The following was received in response to some discussion regarding the posting on Spirit Led Praise and worship a few weeks ago. It very beautifully and very eloquently presents much of what i could not articulate at the time:
"An additional thought.....
..............
Our denomination (which claimed not to be a denomination :)) did not use instruments in worship, and emphasized singing "a cappella." From my youngest age, I loved to sing. One of my favorite memories was when we would travel out of town to visit my maternal grandparents, and after services at a tiny southern congregation, my grandpa and I would travel after lunch to a gathering called the "Sunday singings." The song leaders from many different congregations would meet, and anyone who wanted to sing, and they would pack some other tiny meeting-house, and the singing would begin... and go on and on.
I never wanted it to end! We sang till we were hoarse :) It was always hymns. And I felt very alive then, and very safe. My grandpa's voice already cracked with advanced age, and we sat on hard wooden pews, turning to familiar hymns as their numbers were announced. And really, the singing was more cacophony than harmony, but I felt so close to G-d. I still can feel I'm right there, my grandpa's suit smelling of tobacco and peppermint, and the two of us were the happiest two you could find. He would get choked up some and would fight back tears. Now I know how he feels. I want to sing with him again in our eternity before the throne.
................. My voice is weak now, only good for singing along with others. That is how I worship now.....I see it as G-d's gift of letting me blend with other voices and finding beauty in that mixing. I play music on CD all the time, but playing it on an instrument has never been my gift.....it is more a desire :) At the moment, the music I listen most to (I only have very few yet) is the CD entitled "Adonai" (messianic) and one by Don Moen called "I Will Sing." I also like the "Shout to the L-rd" CD from Australia. But right now the Don Moen one is the one I pray to......I am very moved to the throne when worshipping to it.
I love to worship :) That is His gift to us all :) Worship was so important in the life of the Hebrews in both serving G-d and in representing Him to the world. I find great comfort in the fact that worship was continual, accompanying the feasts, and preceding any battle He sent them into.
It is worship that declares the holiness and beauty of G-d and lifts us up to Him above the cares of this world.....it puts things in their true perspectives. Worship is life to the servant of G-d....He Himself puts His Name in our mouths so we have the ability to praise Him at all. In worship the Spirit of G-d freely moves in ways not found elsewhere. I believe we were created for the purpose of worship, which is both praising and lifestyle. I believe the ideal worship is non-stop......it goes from voice and heart to relationship and moves aside things that cannot be moved in any other way.
It is what is expressed when we see the face of G-d in the humanity of the suffering or abandoned of the world, and we can touch the eternal, beyond our flesh, and minister to He Himself when we touch the world with His healing. Worship is holding the dying, cleaning the wounds of the sick, touching the lepers, anointing our children with kind words instead of harsh ones, opening our doors to those seeking family, seeing the beautiful in those the world has cast away, finding a paradise of sharing with a spouse.
All these are worship. This is our singing at His table of feasting. So is marvelling beneath an entire banquet of stars in the sky spread overhead, alone with Him. And so is not cheating the books when paying taxes, or participating in gossip, or not being silent when silence is assenting with evil. And so is crying from helplessness and bowing before Him. His song is in our every utterance. He is beautiful. He is captivated by us, and He is moved to tenderly keep us in extreme love. He sings us songs in the night...being able to see Him, and somehow return love to Him, that is worship. It is the intimacy of tabernacling that is only between two in the tent that is not shared. He is my Beloved, our Beloved.
I cannot live without Him.
"And I said, 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?' Scarcely had I passed when I found Him whom my soul loves; I held on to him and would not let him go...."
The entire Song of Solomon speaks of His intimacy.....He is the Beloved. It is directly duplicated in a marriage relationship as a mutual expression of worship in Him and for Him as well. This One, this beautiful Beloved Who keeps His beloved, is the same One Who took her from the world, healed her, purified her, anointed her, adorned her, and now takes her into a place of no separation.
How can any word from her mouth be any but a whisper, a song, a cry of joy, a shout of delight, or a silence of worship before Him?? He is beautiful beyond expression.....it is not merely His imprint that is left on her as she goes forth, but it is His continued L-rdship / tabernacling / encompassing of her that keeps her.
There is no way to gaze on His beauty and not be moved......to be in His arms eternally is beyond this world. This world has no charm in comparison, not even mortal life on earth. What threat can the enemy be if we are in this place? Though the flesh can be touched, we can neither be snatched from His hand nor broken away from the Husband Who encompasses His beloved fully......we, I, am hidden in Him.
Worship is intimate.......it is proof of relationship. It is a deadly weapon to apathy, despair, and satan's lies. Our intimacy cannot be compromised (must not be). For He longs for us even more than we are capable of ever returning....that is how infinite is His goodness :)
What a beautiful Love sought us out......
Marana-Tha! Hurry my Beloved and be like a gazelle or young stag on the mountains of spices. Come, L-rd Yeshua
Robbyn
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This item raises some other aspects of Spirit led praise and worship which seem worthy of mention.
Recognizing that not all of us are musical or able to visit ministries where anointed praise and worship is a regular occurrence, there is another alternative.
Over the years we have built up a substantial collection of audio CD's which we play constantly. Many years ago i heard a teaching which led me to conclude that it was desirable to have suitable praise and worship playing in the house 24 hours a day. This recognized that the Spirit of Yahweh fills the entire Universe and that He is present in our houses even when we are not there. Thus Yahweh can be blessed by pleasing music and praise and worship even when we are asleep or not at home.
We therefore have two five disc CD shuttles, one in the lounge and one in the main bedroom. The one in the lounge plays 24 hours a day and the one in the bedroom from the time we get up to the time we go to bed. Over time we have reached a point where the CD's in each player hardly ever change, they have CD's in which have words which are profoundly moving to us and reflect where we desire to go. Songs like "I choose to be Holy", "I was on His Mind", etc are constantly playing in the background to sing along with when we are in the room but playing to Him all the time. Even when we are away on holiday!
The CD's that we constantly play include:
Simply Worship 3 - Hosanna Music World of Worship Volume 6 - Alliance Music I Was on His Mind - Kenneth Copeland Healing - Benny Hinn
In Christ Alone - Hosanna Music Refiners Fire - Vintage Vineyard Music
Simply Worship II – Hillsongs Fill This Temple - Benny Hinn Ministries
Believers Praise 3 - Kenneth Copeland Ministries
Psalms Volume 1 - Vineyard Music Personal first choice for the last six years, it includes: Unending Love; It's Your Blood; Soften my Heart; Holy is the Lord on High; You are My King; One Holy Passion; There's No One Like You; My Delight; Holiness Unto the Lord; Psalm 121; Refiners Fire; I Bow Down; Come and Fill Me Up; Holy and Anointed One and Exalt the Lord -- to me this CD contains the very essence of seeking to draw close to Yahweh, to praise Him and to please Him. Play this on tape in the car frequently.
For several years now, when we praise and worship at home we pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show us which CD's to put in the CD Shuttle and then select the discs and tracks from the front panel as we feel impressed as we praise and worship. It is wonderful how the Spirit of Yahweh can speak to us by leading us to select particular tracks of music on a CD. With the same 5 CD's He can give us dramatically different messages, simply by leading us to tracks which all have a similar theme or which together build up a composite picture of what He wants to say to us.
It is hoped that the combination of the extract from Robbyn's note and the above information will assist you to draw closer to Yahweh in Praise and Worship.
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