Text: St.
John 4:24: God is a Spirit; and they that worship him, must worship
him in spirit and in truth.
In the last message
on “true worship”, we know that it is God that is worshiped and
we must worship Him in spirit [which is a “divine inhalation” of God’s
breath that mentally and emotionally stimulates one to creative thought or
action or having a spiritual mind]: and in truth [by speaking not in the words which man’s
wisdom teaches but which the Holy Ghost teaches: comparing
spiritual things with spiritual]. Truth is, knowing that God is not out beyond the blue but He resides within
you and me and that we are all one with the Father through Christ Jesus by the
power of the Holy Ghost.
The purpose of “worship” is
to establish (begin; initiate; create) or
give expression (utterance; declaration;
proclamation) to a relationship between God and man.
Today we’re going to
talk about “where true worship” takes place!
We know that this
Samaritan woman was questioning Jesus about where “worship” should
take place, whether in Samaria or Jerusalem, and Jesus’ response to her was
this:
· John 4:21: “Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when you
shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the
Father”. Vs 22: You worship you know not what: we know what we
worship: for salvation is of the Jews. Vs 23: But the hour cometh and now is, when the “true
worshippers” shall worship the Father in spirit and
in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him.
We know that when we
come together as a body, we can go into true worship, but
still true worship has to begin within us individually by
the Spirit!!
That was one of the
reasons for the lay out of the tabernacle, because this
is the place where God meets man!
· Exodus 25:8: And let them make me a sanctuary (miqdah’) [a consecrated place] that I may dwell among them.
This tabernacle was made by hand, but the tabernacle that
God would eventually and permanently move into that was not made by
hand, would be “man” (male/female).
Didn’t God put on flesh
and manifest Himself to the world in Jesus the Christ?
· St. John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God: vs 14: And
the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
Now His tabernacle is us!
· 1st Corinthians 6:19: What! Know you
not that your body is the temple (sanctuary) of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which you have of God, and you are not your own? Vs 20:
For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God’s.
· 2nd Corinthians 6:16: What agreement hath the temple of God
with idols? You are the temple, of the living God: as God
hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them,
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
· Revelation 21:3: And I heard a great voice out of
heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle (skene’) [tent or cloth hut; habitation] of God is with (sun –soon) [denoting union (united as one);
with or together; by association; companionship; accompaniment] men, and he will dwell (reside; live; settle; lodge; stay) with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself
shall be with them, and be their God”.
***BY DESIGN (plan;
intention; representation; diagram; pattern; purpose) God created
us to praise and worship Him!
· Revelation 4:11: Thou art worthy, O LORD, to receive
glory and honor and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created!
The tabernacle is the place where God meets man! (God
met Moses within the tabernacle – “the most holy place” – behind
the veil)!
· Exodus 25:22: There I will meet with thee,
and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, of all
things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
1st Kings
6:20: (Solomon
built the temple):
The oracle room was
the inner-most part of the sanctuary. This
is the place from which God spoke. It was 20 cubits in length; 20 cubits in breadth;
20 cubits in height. A cubit was 18 inches. When you
multiply eighteen time twenty (18 x 20), it equals three hundred sixty (360),
which is equivalent to perfection. A perfect
circle is 360 degrees. In whatever length, breadth, or
height God speaks, it’s spoken in perfection! We
serve a “perfect” God in all He does and says!!
Worship takes place “from
within” one’s “inner most being”! It takes place
in “the spirit”! Within the tabernacle
is where God met Moses with instructions for Israel (the inner most part of
the tabernacle)! It was there that God met Aaron the high priest
once a year to give him instructions for the people of God! This is
where you and I individually have to enter, into the most holy place, to worship
God in spirit and in truth.
So where does
worship truly take place? It takes place in the Presence (face) of God!!
How does one get into
God's face (Presence)? Let’s take a walk
through the tabernacle!
The tabernacle was the
perfect picture of Christ hanging on the cross! You come in bowing
at His feet and end up victorious within His Head [coming to the fullness
of the stature of CHRIST] (Ephesians 4:13)!
But to get into God’s
Presence: Psalm
100:1-3: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye
lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his
presence (face) with singing. Know ye that the LORD
he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are
his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
· Vs 4 “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto Him and bless his name.
When we enter into His
gates we must come in with "thanksgiving" [Todah]:
[This is where the
nail went into Jesus’ feet].
· Philippians 2:10-11: 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.
We come in with TODAH: extended hands (a sign of surrender). Thanksgiving, meaning to
be grateful - to express gratitude (toward). This “thanksgiving” (attitude
of gratitude) will excite, stir, rouse, spur, and
invigorate one's consciousness (awareness), that
in Him (God), all things are possible!
This is where we bow before
God or to God. This bowing means a bending
of the head or body in respect or agreement and also to submit
or yield! This bowing can also take place in
one’s spirit, when and wherever they are willing to surrender their
all to God.
We will become like
Jesus when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane: Luke 22:42:
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my
will, but yours be done”.
Then TOWDAH (thanksgiving) will
carry you into TEHILLAH (praise)! [This is where we must get on the altar of
sacrifice]:
The altar of sacrifice: This altar was out in the
courtyard. One had to bring a male without blemish, and offer it
at the door of the tabernacle before the LORD. And he shall put his hand
upon the head of the animal transferring his sin upon the innocent animal to
make atonement for himself. He shall kill the bullock before the
LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle
the blood round about upon the altar, by the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation. And the animal had to be cut into pieces and burned on the
altar by fire (Leviticus 1:1-8). This is where the fire
of purification is put to us. This
is where God wants to burn out of us everything that is not like Him, that
which pertains to flesh or carnality!
· Romans 12:1: I beseech you brethren by the mercies of
God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
This is where we
must give our all to God:
· Matthew 10:37-38: He that loves father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me, is
not worthy of me. And he that takes not his cross, and follow after
me, is not worthy of me.
- Mark 12:30: Love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength (body).
Remember, God said,
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus
20:3)! Your gods could be your job, house, money, car, other
people, etc. It can be anything that you allow to stand between God
and you. If we do, God has a way of dealing with us, and God will
win!!
Also in the “courtyard” is where the “brazen laver” is: [This is where the spear went into Jesus’
side]:
It was in this laver
with the water in it, where the priests had to wash their
hands that had the blood of the sacrifice on them, and wash
their feet thereat, before entering the holy place (Exodus
30:17-21).
This is where the “water” (the
Word of God) for sanctification and the “blood” for redemption is,
where the washing and cleansing takes place, before we enter
into the “holy place”.
Ephesians 5:25-33 [speaking of husbands and
wives: but it’s a revelation of Christ and His wife the church]:
· Vs 26: That he might sanctify (hagia’zo) [make holy; purify; consecrate;
mentally venerate (greatly respect)] / (hag’ios) [make pure; morally
blameless] and cleanse (kathari’zo) [make clean; purge; purify] it with the washing of water by the
word: vs 27: That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish.
· Hebrews 9:22: Without shedding of blood is no remission.
1st John 5:7: There are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are
one. Vs
8: And there are three
that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water,
and the blood: and these three agree in one.
TEHILLAH (praise) says, “I will bless the Lord at all
times, and his PRAISE shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm
34:1).
Tehillah (praise) says, “Regardless of what my situation looks like, Father
I praise you anyway, because I know that all things are working
together for my good because I love you and I’m one of the called, according to
your purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Praise is the quality (standard) of
mind that eulogizes (compliment;
celebrate; glorify; extol) that which is good. It’s
the avenue through which spirituality expresses (exudes;
represents; symbolizes; shows; reveals; enunciates; expounds).
The purpose of
praise is to awaken in us a
higher realization (revelation; unveiling) of the Omnipresence (ever
presence) and Omnipotence (power) of
the Living God!!
Prayer and praise changes man,
not God! Through an inherent (innate;
inbred) law of mind action, we give increase to
whatever we praise.
The whole creation
responds to praise and is glad. Animals respond to praise and
children or people respond to praise. Through praise our bodies can
be totally healed (Luke 17 11-19) [Jesus cleanses ten
lepers]:
· Vs 14: And when he saw them, he said unto them, "Go show
yourselves unto the priest". And it came to pass, that as they went,
they were cleansed. Vs 15: And one
of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a
loud voice glorified God. Vs 16: And fell down on
his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. Vs 17-19: And
Jesus answering said, “Were there not ten cleansed, but where
are the nine"? There are not found that returned to give glory
(honor; praise; worship) to God, save this stranger. And he said
unto him, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole”!!
God can and will deliver
us from attacks of the enemy and give us total victory through
our thanks giving, praise, and worship.
2nd Chronicles
20:1-30: [Moab
and Ammon came against Jehoshaphat & Judah]:
· Vs 18: And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the
ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before
the LORD, worshipping the LORD. Vs 19: And
the Levites of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the
Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a
loud voice on high. Vs 21: He appointed singers that
should praise the beauty of holiness as they went before the
army, and to say “Praise the LORD, for his mercy endures forever”. Vs
22: And when they began to sing and
to praise, the LORD set an ambush against Moab, Ammon, and Mt.
Seir, and they were smitten!!
· Vs 24: And when Judah came toward the watchtower in
the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude and behold, they were dead
bodies, fallen to the earth and none escaped.
Whatever you’re going
through, keep and use your PRAISE! This is the key
to lock the door to the works of the devil, and open the door to your
victory!! Keep a “hymn” in your heart!
· Ephesians 5:19: “Speak to yourselves in psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs”.
There may be times when
we have to be like David, sometimes you have to encourage yourself,
and that’s by praising God while you’re going through!
Now TEHILLAH
(praise) is the avenue that will take you into the “holy
place” where there is “YADAH” (thankfulness).
We are still talking
about where TRUE WORSHIP takes place!
YADAH (thankfulness) is being grateful and appreciative. With “yadah”, you
are reverencing God; honoring Him; loving Him!!
· 1st Thessalonians 5:18: In everything give thanks: for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
This is where the table
of showbread is: [this is where the nail went into Jesus’ left hand]. This is where we must eat of the Bread,
which is the Word of God, Jesus’ flesh, and drink
His blood, and we must ingest (take in) and digest (study and rightly divide truth with
understanding) it so that we can live!
· John 6:48 (Jesus said) “I am that bread of
life”! Vs 51: I am the living bread which came
down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live
forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world. Vs 53: Except
you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in
you!
Also in the holy place is the golden candlestick (the church): [this is where the nail went into Jesus’ right
hand] so that the oil, the
anointing (in the candle stick) can be placed upon our lives
and flow through us. It is the anointing that
removes burdens and destroys yokes!
· Isaiah 10:27: And it shall come to pass in that day,
that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from
off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.
· Luke 4:18: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath
sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives and
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, vs
19: To preach the
acceptable year of the Lord.
In the holy place also where the altar of incense is, is where we
pray and intercede for others by taking on that Melchisedec priesthood
anointing.
· 1st Thessalonians 5:17: Pray without ceasing.
· James 5:14-15: Is any among you
afflicted? Let him pray. Is any merry? Let him sing
psalms. Is any sick among you? Let him call for the
elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with
oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall
save the sick and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins,
they shall be forgiven him.
· 1st Peter 2:9: You are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth
the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light.
Last but not least,
we’re going beyond the veil into the “most holy” place, the place of BARAK (true worship)!! [This is where the crown of thorns was placed
on Jesus’ head]:
BARAK is in
the most holy place. Once you get through the veil of the flesh, now
you’re ready for “true worship” of the Living GOD, or “blessing” His
Holy name!
“BARAK”: this is where you’re prostrate before
God [adoring Him; saluting Him; congratulating Him; making spiritual
love to Him]!!!
TRUE WORSHIP ushers us into God’s Presence!! Worship is where
God communes with us. This is where God converses,
share or exchange thoughts or feelings with us, behind the veil!
· Exodus 25:22: “There I will meet with thee
and commune (speak; converse) with thee above the mercy seat, in relation to
Israel”.
Remember this is where
God spoke with Moses and with Aaron the high priest of Israel!
It is in God’s
Presence that miracles happen!!
When we WORSHIP (Barak), we win (conquer;
triumph)!
2nd Chronicles
20:1-13: [again, when the Moabites,
Ammonites, and other enemies of Judah were coming down against the people of
God]:
· vs 14: The Spirit of God came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah
, and encouraged the King Jehoshaphat and the people to not
be afraid, because the battle was not theirs:
· vs 18: Jehoshaphat and Judah began to bow with
their face to the ground and worship God!!
· Vs 21: He appointed singers that should praise the
beauty of holiness as they went before the army. And
the LORD set ambushes against Moab, Ammon, and Mt. Seir, and they were
smitten!!
2nd Chronicles
20, when Jehoshaphat
and Judah fasted; prayed; praised and worshiped
God, they came out with the victory!!!
We must starve the flesh
and feed our faith, so that no matter what trap the devil set against us, God
will give us the victory!
WORSHIP shifts (changes) things!! It
rearranges the atmosphere, and causes things to work in our
favor!! Talking about TRUE WORSHIP!!!
TRUE WORSHIP will resurrect any dead situation in your
life, when it has been brought into God’s Presence!!
Numbers 16 [the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and
Abiram who were upset about not being positioned in the priesthood]) – (they
took men (two hundred fifty princes) of the assembly,
famous in the congregation, men of renown and they gathered themselves against
Moses and Aaron].
Numbers 17: [The “budding of Aaron’s rod”] (These
weren’t just any kind of rods, they were special and specific) [the
names of heads of households (respected men) were written on these rods]!! God
told Moses:
- Vs 4-5: And
thou shalt lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the
Testimony, where I will meet with you. And it shall come to
pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom (parach’) [to break forth as a bud; bloom; to
spread; flourish; grow; spring; break forth; spring up]: and
I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of
Israel, whereby they murmur against you.
It was Aaron’s rod that
budded! Aaron’s name means illumined; enlightener, and
it was written on the rod of Levi (denoting the
priesthood). It was Aaron’s rod that brought forth
buds (pe’rach) [flourished; grew;
sprung up] and bloomed blossoms (tsiyts) [glistening (to shine; glitter], and yielded
almonds over night!!
I believe this “rod
that budded and bloomed blossoms” , is typifying, those of the Melchisedec
priesthood, shining, glistening with
the light of God’s glory, coming forth with the twelve manner of fruit and the leaves
for the healing of the nations, spoken of in Revelation 22:2.
The yielding of
the almond is an awakening. It comes from the
root word shaqed’, defined as the almond (tree or nut; as being the earliest in
bloom). It goes to another word shaqad’, meaning to be alert; sleepless; to be on the lookout
(whether for good or ill); watch; wake; remain; hasten. This is the awakening of
God’s people from the sleep of death into the light of
life!
·
Colossians
1:13: Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son.
Look at what Daniel said even in the Old
Testament:
· Daniel 12:2: Many of them that sleep (yashen’) [be slack or languid; sleep (to
die); grow old, stale or inveterate] in the dust [same state of death Adam was in before the
LORD God raised him up] of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
When someone has a
particular habit, activity, or interest, that is long established and unlikely
to change, they have become inveterate, and this is what philosophy, vain
deceit, traditions of men, and rudiments of the world, has
done to many of God’s people that Paul warned us about in Colossians 2:8.
· Ephesians 5:14: Awake (egei’ro) (to collect one’s faculties)
[to waken, rouse (from sleep; sitting or lying; disease; death;
obscurity; inactivity; ruins; nonexistence)]: thou that sleep, and arise (anis’temi) [to stand up; rise (up); raise up
(again); lift up; stand upright], and Christ shall give thee light (knowledge).
·
1st Thessalonians 5:5: You
are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of
darkness. Vs 6: Therefore let us not sleep, as do others: but let us watch and be sober. Vs 7:
For they that sleep, sleep in the night:
and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. Vs 8:
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith
and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
· 1st Peter 4:7: But the end (fulfilling; completion) of all things is at hand: be ye
therefore sober (sophrone’o) [to be of sound mind; sane;
moderate: be in right mind], and watch (keep sober) unto prayer.
· 1st Peter 5:8: Be sober (ne’pho) [to abstain from wine (keep
sober); be discreet]; (to be free from the influence of intoxicants): be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.
May I add that intoxicants are
not all the time alcoholic beverages, because in the middle of that
word is the word “toxic” meaning poisonous; or to be
very harmful. That’s what religion has done to God’s people for
years, feeding them “toxic” (poisonous; harmful) “one
of these days” messages of death with no life in them. When
we can have all God has put in place for us RIGHT NOW, while we’re alive, not
out beyond the blue via a grave.
· Colossians 2:8: Beware, lest any man spoil (damage; impair) you through philosophy and vain (empty) deceit (fraudulence; deception), after the traditions of men, after the rudiments
of the world, and not after Christ.
Back to Numbers 17 (Aaron’s
rod that budded):
In the natural if you
cut a limb from a tree, it will not survive on its own, because it has been
disconnected from its true source!
But Aaron’s rod
budded overnight!! Why? Because it was
in GOD’S PRESENCE or BEFORE HIS FACE!!
True worship brings us into God’s Presence and
there’s miracle working power in God’s Presence!! Miracles
take place in His Presence!!
TRUE
WORSHIP confounds (confuses; bewilders; overcomes; overthrows) the enemy!!
True worship will open doors that no
man can close! True worship closes doors that
no man can open!!
When we come into “true
worship”: OPPRESSION cannot stay in God’s Presence! DEPRESSION cannot
stay in the Presence of God! SICKNESS cannot
stay in God’s Presence!!
TRUE WORSHIP touches the heart of God and causes Him to
do exploits (cause miracles to happen)!!
When we TRULY
WORSHIP God, He will seek us!!! John 4:23: The
hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in
spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to
worship him.
TRUE WORSHIP will bring peace, health, restoration,
deliverance, joy, and total victory in every area of one’s life, inclusive of
one's heart, soul, mind and body, spiritually and naturally!
Know with certainty that
your victory is in your “TRUE WORSHIP”!! So
continually WORSHIP GOD IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH!
Pastor Gracie Perry