P-R-A-I-S-E!"
"Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy..." Isaiah 60:5
Dialing God
As I was just soaking in the Lord's presence with praise music, I heard a touch-tone telephone dialing as I was listening. I was thinking to myself "How can this be? No phone is in here!" I then realized I was hearing this in the spirit of praise, which was coming from spontaneous praise from what I was listening to. These were like ultra-big touch-tone sounds I was hearing. Wow!
"Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name." Psalm 100:4
God is releasing a fresh sound of praise in the earth. The angels of God are being released in greater measure to break open the heavens over regions as we praise the Lord. There is too much worship music today that engages the head more than the spirit. You might as well be studying a book.
It is such that people never get beyond the veil of their natural minds that keeps them from having an encounter with God. But if we can enter into the simplicity of praise and worship, we can break through into a place of intimacy and encounter the Lord like we have never experienced before.
Worship in the Spirit
"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." John 4:23
We must slay our intellect and learn to worship in the Spirit—from the spirit within us and out of the depths of our heart. God has glory to be revealed beyond the veil of your head. The mind is a good thing that God has given us, but it only operates correctly in submission to your spirit-man under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Master of our hearts. He is the Director. We must submit to Him and lay down our natural understandings. Our theology is only as good as the reality of our intimacy, connectedness, and life with Him.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7
This means we continue to come to Him in a living-life of worship and prayer, and then we allow His words to abide in us. If we only study His words without soaking them in our spirit and without knowing the power of an intimate prayer life, then His words are without life in our hearts. His word in us without the Spirit is like being constipated. This is where mean, cruel, critical and abusive religiosity sets in.
Childlike Simplicity
"But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2 Corinthians 11:3
It is important that we engage in childlike worship that is simple and not complex. It is this kind of worship that is foundational to our lives. We never outgrow simple praise. There is a place for songs that have a theological bent. But our devotional worship is experiential and foundational to our lives. We do not have the option of cutting the life-flow of God to us.
When we come to Christ, we come in simplicity of devotion. When we first dedicate our lives to Him we are simple, not theological giants. He never wants us to lose the simplicity of devotion to Him. If we do have lost connection to the Head, we must learn and grow in our understanding through our relationship with Him. But it cannot be without the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Much of what has gone around in religious circles is either revelation that has dried up or is rotted leftovers. It has become information-based learning, which is no different from the world's way of learning. One way the spirit of the world is manifest is when the ways of the world become commonplace in a people who used to walk with the Lord and have compromised or people who have never known Him.
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural mind craves information where the spirit of man craves living revelation from God. The natural mind will bypass God and try to accomplish things by its own power—its soul power. This is just the worship of self. This points us back to the reason simplicity of praise is so important. Simplicity in worship tells the natural mind that it is not in control and must submit like a child. This is where humility is developed.
Jesus said that without childlike faith, we couldn't even see the Kingdom of God. It is faith that pleases God. Faith does not come from the intellect, but emanates from the spirit-man within us—the new creation. This is the new man that is created in God's image. This is how we are called to live— from the inner man. We can also see in the writings of Paul that he was very aware of this.
His Weighty Presence
"Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in Heaven, and One sat on the throne." Revelation 4:2
This is a beautiful illustration of what happens when we truly enter into the spirit of worship. In our hearts and minds, worship takes us before His throne. The reason John was taken in the spirit is because his heart was already there. He was not pondering the theological and intellectual glories, but was soaking in the wonder of Jesus, His love and grace.
Go beyond your natural mind. Drink deeper. Ask the Lord to help you. Be encouraged into a life of simple worship. New songs are good because you have to depend on God in order to get one. It is a great habit. It will help release the Spirit of wisdom and revelation on your life. Be creative. God is creative. Ask the Lord to give you a new song. Worship God for the testimony of Jesus in the Spirit of prophecy. Then the prophetic is released when you worship God in simplicity from your heart. Keep it simple, don't make it complex and you will find a new freedom in your worship life as well as a deeper intimacy.
"...Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!" Psalm 22:26
Be filled with the spirit of praise every day! Let the joy of God be your strength. Get connected to His life. He is your power source! Let your heart live forever! Let's make room for His wonderful weighty presence to rest upon our lives every day through the glory of perfect praise.
Live In His Presence Ministries
Email: admin@liveinhispresence.com
Website: www.liveinhispresence.com
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