02/01/08

Good February To You,

Ground Hog Day, Leap Year, Valentine's day, President's Day--It looks as though as most of us will be extremely busy this month!  I certainly hope and pray that you have agreed to attend as many church meetings as you can.  Fellowship is very important in a Christian's life, not to mention the accountability that occurs when we are all together and worshipping in the same manner--in one accord, if you will permit me to use the terminology in Acts. 

This month I want to visit with you concerning personal worship.  Of all the keys we use to walk in to get as close to God, the Father, as we can, I think I love personal worship the most.  I mean when we can crawl on the Savior's lap and stay there as long as we want and we find ourselves immersed in so much love--His love!  But, I don't want to get "hung-up" in JUST personal worship.  Personal worship will do for you what fasting can't. Fasting will do for you what personal worship can't.  So it goes on down the line as well.  Confessing will not do what personal worship can do for our lives.  Meditation will not do for us what praying in tongues does for us.  The revelation gift of praying in tongues will not do for us like personal worship, confessing, meditating, and fasting does for us.  Corporate worship is good--we need corporate worship to worship together as Christ's Bride in one accord, in one place, in one body.  Worship, led by a worship team in the church, can be as anointed as any pastor, teacher, or prayer-line which is moved by the Holy Spirit to change lives.  I don't want to belittle corporate worship because it is a very powerful tool, when exercised will bring healing, restoration, and revival.  However, personal worship is "one-on-one", personal contact with our Savior, Jesus Christ.  There is an anointing that comes from personal worship that allows us to be in the presence of God--anytime we want to--just because we want to!  God wants us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth--with all of our soul, with all of our mind, with all of our heart, and with all of our strength.  It is up to us to make sure that our whole self--spirit, soul, and body are worshipping Him while we are in personal worship. It is so easy for our minds to wander down the street, to a problem or solution to a problem while we are trying to worship.  You see, our spirit man wants nothing more than to worship God, but as we all know, there is a constant battle between spirit and flesh and we have to actually take our thoughts captive when we are worshipping Him.  We owe Him that kind of respect, that kind of worship.  After all, Jesus did die for us and we can be guaranteed of a home in heaven just because of what He did for us two thousand years ago on an old rugged cross if we just believe in Him!  For what more could we worship Him than this!  I could worship Jesus for thousands of years just for the fact of His redeeming blood.  There were many times in my foolish life B.C. (Before Christ) that I could have been snuffed out, but yet, Jesus stopped the process of the devil killing me for such a time as this.  PRAISE HIS NAME!  There, of course, are many more reasons to worship Him, but just the fact that He led me down the "Born Again Trail" is enough for many, many eternities of pure, unadulterated worship!

We must remember this--The Holy Spirit is the One who will turn us over to Jesus.  The Holy Spirit is the One who glorifies Jesus.  That is His whole ministry--to reveal Jesus to us, so that through teaching, developing, and practicing, we, one day will reflect the very image of Jesus.  In other words, people will see Jesus in us and through us.  Jesus will be magnified in us.  We will, according to the Word, do what Jesus did.  In fact, Jesus said, "Greater things than He did will we do"!  Let's look at John 16: 13-15--Jesus is telling us, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth;  for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;  and He will tell you things to come.  He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.  All things that the Father has are Mine.  Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you."

Jesus is giving us an insight to what the Holy Spirit will do for us.  This is what makes our worship--our personal worship so personal.  Along with praying in tongues, confessing the Word, Meditating the Word, and Fasting, personal worship will take us into His presence faster and deeper than we've ever been before with revelation knowledge of Jesus, understanding of His Word, and faith with an anointing like no other.  I am not just blowing smoke here--I have experienced His anointing so strong, so full, so completely that honestly, I didn't ever want to leave His presence.  I felt a Father's unconditional love!  I get so totally immersed in Him, before I know it, one, two, and even three hours have passed so quickly!

Knowing what He said in John 16, we must start listening to the Holy Spirit when we get into His presence through worship.  We must go beyond our needs.  What?  Why did you say that, Pastor?  I'm glad you asked!  If you were honest with yourself, you will admit that the majority of the time--at least a huge percentage of the time we spend with God is on the account of our needs.  "God, my knee hurts!"  "Father, I have a headache!"  "In Jesus' Name, I have a need that must be met!"  We must learn--did you see that--read it again--we MUST LEARN to get into His presence just because we want to!  We must learn that God lives with us in our change--let me explain:  God only acknowledges or embraces our change!  When we are abiding in Him, we are in a constant state of change--all things about us are changing--our emotions, our finances, our physical attributes, our MOTIVES--and God lives there, fellowships there, hugs us there--IN THE CHANGE! 

I have a prophecy concerning this very thing that was received by Dave Roberson and I want to share it with you, now! 

"For what is My desire, says the Lord.  Is it not that I might have fellowship with you?  Are you not bone of My bone and marrow of My marrow, one with Me?  And to fellowship with you is My desire and My delight.  For your fellowship with Me, saith the Lord, should be your desire and your delight.  For rejoicing and rejoicing that your names have been written in Heaven, while looking not at things which are temporal but looking at the things which are eternal.  For know this, that soon all things are to change, all things are to change.  And that which is temporary shall remain, but that which is eternal shall be part of your reward.  Hear what the Spirit of the Lord would say, that I saved you to be with Myself and I saved you for fellowship with Myself.  I will take the fellowship from you when you are fellowshipping with me over needs if that's all the kind of fellowship you want to give to Me.  I will take that, just over your needs.

But know the delight of the Lord, know His delight, is that when you enter into My presence to worship Me and glorify Me that I might fellowship with you.  For he that worships Me, worships Me in spirit and in truth.  For I seek such to worship Me, saith the Lord, and he that enters into My presence for the sole purpose to worship Me, is the soul that I delight in.  And for this person, I will put wealth in their house, I will put riches.

Hear what the Spirit would say, he that has ears to hear, hear.  Hear what the Spirit would say, for if you would enter into those times of worship and fellowship with Me, then in all the areas of your life I would make you free.  I would give you abundance and health, and wealth, and your soul would prosper.  Everyday would be a delight, everyday would be full of happiness, which is the fruit of joy.  Everyday would be fulfilled in Me and so goes it with the man who fellowships with Me, saith the Lord.  So hear what Spirit would say, I delight in fellowshipping with you over your need but even more because you desire to fellowship with Me.

Be not estranged and afar off that your experiences are only the experiences that you have in church.  Hear what the Spirit of the Lord would say, for I give you My teachers, and My instructors, and My exhorters that they may teach you how to walk in My presence every moment.  In church that presence doesn't constitute My walk with you.  What constitutes My walk with you is every moment of the day.  And oh, I am pleased, saith the Lord, I am so, so very pleased when continually the communion of your heart is set towards Me and you heart is full of worship, spontaneous, bursting forth, bearing fruit, every moment both in the good times and the bad times.  For the Lord seeketh such to worship Him and He delights in them.

Those who are strong in character and strong in will and take the extra times when other people are doing what they do, when you come into My presence and sacrifice these times, soon they will not be sacrifices, they will be great times of fellowship and worship.  For I'll give you time, the time that you used to spend fellowshipping with circumstances, I'll give you that time because I'll give you authority.  You'll say to one go and he will go, and to another come and he will come.  And they'll do the things that you once did.  For I seek people to worship Me and I'll favor you greatly, I'll put riches and wealth in your house.  For a man that worships Me, I'll fill him with wisdom.  He will direct and counsel people.  His time is valuable to Me.  For I'll fill his heart with wisdom in My Word and he will declare My truths and people will be set free.  I'll make him My counselor, those things you once did, I'll have people do for you."

There are some witnesses to this from God's Word:

Isaiah 58:14--"Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:  for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."

Luke 10:20--"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."

Matthew 6:33--"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Zephaniah 3:17--"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

Hebrews 13:15--"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."

There is an anointing in His presence.  He dwells with us, especially when we are changing, and we will change, given our motive for being in Him.  Just get in HIM and our motives, as fleshy as they are, will change!

Have a Christ-filled, Spirit-led life,

For help in receiving from God click here--SALVATION AND INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT