BUILDNG ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN (6)
feel very exercised in my spirit to continue to write about the component mentioned in the last blog.
PRAYER (in the believer)
I want to highlight the area of Praise & Worship in the life of the believer. I have mentioned previously that I see Church History since the reformation of God restoring truth to the Church that had slowly been lost over many hundreds of years. From Wesley’s time there came the emphasis on a second important experience for believers, called Entire Sanctification, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit etc. this took a fresh leap forward at the beginning of the 20th century when people began to speak in tongues, it was seen as a subsequent experience to salvation. Many still hold this position (of a second experience) others see that as a believer grows in grace and surrender the Holy Spirit is given more opportunity to work in the life of the believer (and he can receive and use a prayer language). By the 1940’s the Pentecostal churches had started to become stagnant, and a group of believers in Canada saw something special in Ps 22.3 That God comes down and dwells (sets up His throne) upon the praises of His people. So they began to spend more time in praise & worship and guess what ? God came down! So an in depth search and study of the truth began. James in Acts 15 prophesied that God was going to restore The Tabernacle of David, not a literal building but all that David introduced in the area of praise and worship. New churches sprang up everywhere and worship reached a whole new level. Sadly, many of these churches burnt themselves out as they would spend hours in praise & Worship, then there was no time for the ministry of the Word!!!!! As we have said previously so often when new truths are restored there comes extremes and excesses, and so as a result many of the existing churches simply rejected the truths. It came to Australia in the 1960’s (with the excesses) and was rejected. In 1973 I took over a church very close to the CDB in Sydney. I was seeking blessing and revival and heard about the awesome revival of praise & worship in New Zealand. So I travelled there for some weeks and experienced worship like I had never seen before. By the 1980’s with the development of the Ministry of Singers and Musicians and Dancers it took worship to a whole new level.
In 1976 I had the privilege of travelling overseas again to see what the Lord was doing in His church. In Los Angeles I heard a senior Charismatic minister say “Praise & Worship is just a passing phase in the church”. I was horrified, and could not believe that all that I had seen in NZ and had introduced into my church “was just a passing phase”. I am talking about believers and whole congregations “Singing under the anointing of the Holy Spirit” people ministering a new song in English, they had never learned. Musicians playing under such an anointing that brought the Glory of God down on a service, and so much more. By the late 1990’s subtly the emphasis came of “excellence” and this is so important, but Singers & Musicians began to spend more time on their voice and instrument and less time on preparing their hearts before the Lord.
Have you ever heard and experienced Singing in the Spirit ?
Or hoe long since you were in a service where it happened?
Do you sing in the Spirit in your personal devotions?
How long since you heard a Spiritual song?
Have you ever heard a Spiritual song?
Have you ever heard a Musician play a something special and unique under the anointing of the Holy Spirit?
How much teaching have you received regarding praise & Worship?
Why do we raise our hands?
Why do we dance ?
King David said in Psalm47.7 that we must praise the Lord with understanding.
Was/is praise and worship just a passing phase ? I do not believe it is God’s plan, when you have tasted of Holy Spirit worship you can never be satisfied by a performance.
If you don’t want to offend !!! unbelievers have a worship service just for believers to “Touch heaven and let heaven touch us.
I believe this is a major essential component of building our personal lives and the church according to the pattern.
