During service in a church recently, several worship songs had been sung, but they were most uninspiring (to me), until the last one...
Icome from a musical family. My father played violin in an Adelaide symphony orchestra and my mother played piano in a group that was popular in her younger days. My sister Joan studied with the then well-known J.C. Williamson conservatory of music in Melbourne. She became lead female singer as a soprano in our local choral society. I had the opportunity to formally study piano as a boy, but goofed off.
I wanted to play games, not the piano and I regret not disciplining myself. Nevertheless, I learned to play banjo and pedal steel guitar and listen carefully to all forms of music, especially “worship music” because this is a wonderful, important and powerful element.
That last tune was the only one that got my attention, as the others were self-centered. It is not that the words were “wrong”, but the focus was on ourselves. When the last item started however, the anointing of God “hit me” and it was so powerful, I had to sit down, being overwhelmed for most of the day with Gods presence. My wife and many others saw it. The reason is simple really. That tune talked about God and to God. It told Him how good and wonderful He is. I deliberately and purposefully chose to honor and respect Him; to revere Him and adopted a “worship posture” in my heart AND mind AND with my body that I have learned to adopt over the years. These three elements are all important and they are not strange, nor are they ritualistic as seen in certain churches.
I was in a church many years ago before I formed my present ministry and the Lord spoke to me during the service, saying “Cover your head. Cover your head” I did not understand it, but took my handkerchief out of my pocket and placed it over my head as asked. I immediately felt something that felt like warm oil running down over me and heard the voice of the Lord thank me. I am not suggesting that you do likewise as that was and is still a personal thing between the Lord and myself. Worship should often be a personal thing.
I have later discovered that Jewish men wear kippahs (the Hebrew word for skullcap) and whilst it is not explicitly required by The Law, men cover their heads as a sign of respect and reverence for God when praying, studying Torah, saying a blessing or entering a synagogue. It is a symbol of their awareness of and submission to a higher entity. Kippah means dome.
I have since purchased one and wear it whenever I sense the presence of the Lord, but not as a regular religious practice.
This is precisely what happened during that service. As we started to sing those words, I felt the Lord’s presence and placed my kippah on my head with the attitude that I deliberately purposed to honor and respect Him! That’s worship! God said:
“Hear, O Yisra’ěl: יהוה our Elohim, יהוה is one!
“And you shall love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might. Deuteronomy 6:4-5
David desired to build the Temple, for a good and noble purpose, but God forbade him. Whilst the reasons may differ, there are times when God does not want our worship and that may surprize you. God does not accept every and all forms of worship. This is seen back in Genesis when Abel and Cain offered their sacrifices to God. We have often said that one was accepted because it was a blood sacrifice, but blood is not the only form of offering acceptable to God. Many of the Hebrew feasts—as commanded by God, involved agricultural produce. The tithe for example was food that was to be eaten in the place of God’s choosing at the appointed time as an act of worship. Much mention is made of things like grain offering, heave offering and wave offering.
Rosh Hashanah is considered one of the holiest days in Judaism. The word “Rosh Hashanah” comes from the Hebrew word, rosh, which means “head” or “head of the year”.
It is celebrated during the first two days of Tishrei, the Jewish New Year and it is a time for reflection on the past year. This is the time when most people examine themselves and ask forgiveness. The intent is that our names will be written into the Book of Life. The ten-day period leading up to this day is called the days of awe that begin with a special purification rite, followed by a celebration. This is where people ask forgiveness for the mistakes they have made throughout the previous year.
It is a time of worship during which a ceremonial meal is eaten and it includes symbols of sweetness. Some of the foods eaten are honey, pomegranate seeds, and apple slices dipped in honey. All of these items are meant to represent wishes for a good year and a bountiful life. What follows next is the Jewish festival of Yom Kippur. This is worship. Interestingly these Jewish feasts are observed in obedience to commands of God to do so, therefore our own forms of worship should factor in such things.
Worship is not always “spiritual”, nor is it solemn. What we so readily adopt and accept to fall into line with various church teachings may not always constitute acceptable worship and can take on different formats, one of which in a Jewish tradition means to spin around as if under violent emotion
Cain openly worshipped God, but his worship was centered around Cain but not on God. Abel’s offering, whist it had a personal cost factor and involved shedding of blood, was directed to God and not to the person offering it. The difference between those few worship songs was that the first few focussed on ourselves, but the last one was all about God.
The first act of worship led to the first murder, so worship as such means little without proper motivation and the attitude of the heart.
The sin of the golden calf was not just that they made an idol but that their worship was self indulgent and concentrated on the senses. They pretended that they were simply using something to represent God—an icon perhaps, but it was nothing other than unbridled idolatry. It comprised zeal, numbers, excitement, noise, extravagance, merriment, entertainment, excess in food and drink and a mere manifestation of the flesh.
When Isaiah saw the Lord in Isaiah chapter six, he mentioned Uzziah. He started well as king, but burned incense in the Temple and incurred the wrath of God. We could wonder why, if he was worshipping God, but only the priests were to burn the incense. This meant that he stepped out of his office and tried to function in the office of a priest and should never have done that. This is a principle that seems to be foreign to many Christians workers, who are trying to pastor a church, but the Lord did not call them to be a pastor, or of a sincere believer wanting to go on the mission field and so attempt to become an evangelist, but should remain at home instead to perform some other function. The church is full of such people and trying to function under what is called a barred anointing. The lesson to learn is that God chooses; God anoints; God appoints and God equips.
When Uzzah died, a false anointing tried to function and when it was no longer in existence, the Lord opened up heaven to reveal something about His presence and real worship.
Holy; Holy; Holy
He explained:
In the year of King ‘Uziyahu’s death I saw Adonai sitting on a high, lofty throne! The hem of his robe filled the temple. S’rafim stood over him, each with six wings—two for covering his face, two for covering his feet and two for flying. They were crying out to each other, “More holy than the holiest holiness is Adonai-Tzva’ot! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
The doorposts shook at the sound of their shouting, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “Woe to me! I [too] am doomed!—because I, a man with unclean lips, living among a people with unclean lips, have seen with my own eyes the King, Adonai-Tzva’ot!” Isaiah 6:1-5
Worship is supposed to be predominantly holy and reverential. Two of their wings covered their faces and two covered their feet, so that they were careful in what they saw, said and heard and careful in their walk before God—but only two were for work
The songs we were singing in that church were good songs, but the musicians were labouring hard to play well. I tried singing with them and the congregation and had to make a deliberate choice to do so, in order that I could sing as “unto the Lord”. When they struck the first chords of that last song, the whole atmosphere immediately changed and I suddenly became aware that the Lord had arrived!
It is as if we had opened the door and He came in! Please do not misunderstand what I am saying. It is not some kind of spooky, superspiritual thing, but a look at the churches in the first few chapters of Revelation reveals that the Lord is not always pleased with the churches—and He is not there! If Revelation 3:20 reveals that He is knocking on the door asking to be allowed inside, it means that he was not in the church.
I found something intriguing in Hebrews 2 that speaks of the Lord. It says in part: ...For both Yeshua, who sets people apart for God, and the ones being set apart have a common origin—this is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers when he says, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” Hebrews 2:11-12
Does this mean that Jesus visits a church when we are worshipping God in a manner befitting Him and in a manner that He finds acceptable? I believe it is possible. My goodness! If my supposition is correct, it means that there are times when He is not with us and times when He comes to join in. Therefore our choice of worship style, attitude and content is of vital importance.
Music is created by God. His music has precise mathematical formats or codes that are often repetitive. For example, the different notes or pitches are represented by the letters A,B,C,D,E,F,G and start again. Indian music is represented by Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha and Ni. Other languages such as Byzantium used the names Pa,Vu,Ga,Di,Ke,Zo,Ni (Π,Βου,Γα,Δι,Κε,Ζω,Νη). Regardless of the language, each of those notes or octaves, has a repetitive form as the frequency increases or decreases.
The devil is a counterfeiter and cannot create because only God is the creator, but the devil twists and warps what is good to turn it into something evil. You may have heard certain kinds of music that simply jar the senses and upset the spirit. Certain beats and rhythms can be a setting for good or for evil. This is why anointed music can usher in the presence of God whereas other forms do not. Prayerful choice of music in church services is therefore of paramount importance. It can be mere entertainment. It can stir us up, or it be dull and lifeless and quench the spirit, or it can help us quieten the inner man and be a conduit to link us with God.
I must add here that we do not need to follow the crowd and adopt modern trends whereby the worship service is more like attending a rock festival or nightclub, where the atmosphere depends on the smoke and mirror affects that appeal to the natural senses. I discovered that the simpler things were the better they were and God’s presence was real. In India, the music was often one single sided drum held vertically and struck with a small stick in a simple beat. In Liberia in West Africa, the music was by means of bead filled gourds that the women held in small nets and shook them rhythmically in a way that made different sounds. I could not do what those ladies did, but in all instances, everyone sang and worshipped and God came down!
One man in the church in Queensland many years ago was a jazz player who played clarinet and saxophone. There were times when the presence of God came down and he played that clarinet in a way that he could not do in the natural. Sometimes it sounded like a trumpet and he told me that it was impossible for him to replicate that at any other time. When the Holy Spirit came into the church on those occasions, we often fell flat on our faces before the Lord and remained there for several hours!
My bible tells me that God does not change. It states that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. If this is true, then I often wonder what has happened to our worship. I am not advocating a return to the past, but share this as an illustration that the day shall come (soon I hope) when we shall have left this earthly life and be in glory!
Speaking of glory, when Moses finished building the Tabernacle, God came to visit. He stated that He wanted to dwell with His people and this is still dear to His heart. The account reads as follows:
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of Adonai filled the tabernacle. Moshe was unable to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud remained on it, and the glory of Adonai filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Isra’el continued with all their travels.
But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not travel onward until the day when it was taken up. For the cloud of Adonai was above the tabernacle during the day, and fire was in [the cloud] at night, so that all the house of Isra’el could see it throughout all their travels. Exodus 40:34-38
Something similar happened when Solomon had completed the Temple. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. 2 chronicles 5:7-14
The priests took the staves away! If for no other reason, it signified that God’s presence was to remain forever with His people. It once moved from place to place and as it did, they had to follow Him until the day came when their wandering journeys were finished because they had entered the Promised Land. We can identify with that, as we too are on a journey to our own “Promised Land”, but there’s more. The Lord’s presence will be fully manifest in His Church, but perhaps not in the way many believers think. Without going into detail, I ask you to think of the time when the ark had been captured and David brought it back home. His heart was right, but the way he went about it was not and a man died, because they had not been treating God’s presence properly. David eventually brought it home and his worship was uninhibited and without restraint. Much sacrifice was made and he cast off his earthly kings robes to dance with sheer joy before the Lord for the sheer pleasure of doing so—and he had no church! Gods presence was installed in an ordinary and simple tent and His glory could be seen by anyone and everyone who wanted to worship.
The Priesthood had been established and was fully functional, but it spoke of the time when our Great High Priest would officiate. Amos 9:11; Isaiah 16:5 and Acts 15:16 state that God will restore the Tabernacle that David erected and we shall see and experience this shortly. Our worship is acceptable—but only if we follow protocol—those certain guidelines as prescribed by God.
In like manner our service for God must follow His ways and this includes all Christian service. It is true that we live in “New Testament” days, but God does not change and His command to be holy is as valid now as it was in the Old Testament. The call of God on a man is the same as it was back then and in the Old Testament, He spoke via Prophets, via the priesthood and via Godly kings, all of whom were chosen and ordained by God. When men stepped in, ungodly people held office. Saul was one and he tried to do things that he should not have tried to do. According to Ephesians four, Jesus, not man, appoints people to office as He wishes. The requirements or qualifications do not change. In Leviticus 21, God told us the qualifications a man needed to be a priest. If he did not meet those requirements, he was banned from service! In Exodus 29, God told Moses how to go about anointing Aaron and his sons for the priesthood and in verse 21, He told Moses to sprinkle blood on their right ear; on their right thumb and on their right toe. You may wonder what this means to us today. This speaks of what they heard, what they did and of their walk!
The blood had to be applied first! Because oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the anointing cannot go onto the flesh—it could only go where the blood had been applied and God’s requirements have never changed.
If we relate this to our worship, for it to be accepted by God, the flesh cannot be present! Yes, even in the church age, the anointing can not go onto the flesh. As that chapter closed (Exodus 29:42-46), we see that this is still applicable. Through all your generations this is to be the regular burnt offering at the entrance to the tent of meeting before Adonai. There is where I will meet with you to speak with you. There I will meet with the people of Isra’el; and the place will be consecrated by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, likewise I will consecrate Aharon and his sons to serve me in the office of cohen. Then I will live with the people of Isra’el and be their God: they will know that I am Adonai their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt in order to live with them. I am Adonai their God.
The Old Testament sacrifices are no longer required and Jesus dealt with the sin issue of course, but God’s desire to live amongst His people as He did then has not really changed. We must all be consecrated and set apart as a new breed of priests and meet with Him. If anything, His requirements are more demanding—but more enjoyable, with a liberty that they never experienced then. Their sins were covered temporarily, but ours are eradicated. They served the Lord with an element of fear, but we can come boldly into God’s presence because we are accepted in the Beloved. There is a difference!
When Solomon had completed the Temple, he assembled the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes and the Levites took up the ark and placed it into situ. The poles that they removed were so long that the ends could be seen in the inner sanctuary only, but not seen from outside. Only those who were authorized by God to go into that holy place could see the poles—the tools once used to carry the ark. The old form of worship had changed. The only items left in the ark were the two stone tablets. The word of God was all that remained in the ark. If we are now the ark of God’s presence, all external “props” or temporary “tools” are no longer required and all that should be inside is God’s word, engraved on our hearts. There is amazing symbolism and truth embodied in such things.
As the ark was being placed into position, sacrifices were made and the scriptural accounts say that no one was able to count how many were made. Blood was shed! The priests ensured that they were properly attired and purified beforehand and that all assembled together. Previously each priest had a “roster system”, but this was such an important occasion, every one of them gathered together as one. As they played music and sang, the presence of God entered like a cloud and His presence was so powerful that they could not stand to minister. The account deserves full mention:
When the cohanim came out of the Holy Place (for all the cohanim who were present had consecrated themselves; they didn’t keep to their divisions; also the L’vi’im who were the singers, all of them—Asaf, Heman, Y’dutun and their sons and relatives—dressed in fine linen, with cymbals, lutes and lyres, stood on the east side of the altar; and with them 120 cohanim sounding trumpets), then, when the trumpeters and singers were playing in concord, to be heard harmoniously praising and thanking Adonai, and they lifted their voices together with the trumpets, cymbals and other musical instruments to praise Adonai: “for he is good, for his grace continues forever”—then, the house, the house of Adonai, was filled with a cloud; so that because of the cloud, the cohanim could not stand up to perform their service; for the glory of Adonai filled the house of God. 2 chronicles 5:11-14
Hopefully you will have seen that their words of worship were directed only to God. They declared His goodness and greatness.
Moses sang songs that are recorded in scripture:
Then Mosheh and the children of Yisra’ěl sang this song to יהוה, and spoke, saying, “I sing to יהוה, for He is highly exalted! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
“Yah is my strength and song, and He has become my deliverance. He is my Ěl, and I praise Him—Elohim of my father, and I exalt Him.“יהוה is a man of battle, יהוה is His Name. Exodus 15:1-3
All of Deuteronomy 31, especially verses 22-30.
“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And hear, O earth, The words of my mouth.
“Let my instruction fall as rain, My speech drop down as dew, As fine rain on the tender plants, And as showers on the grass.
“For I proclaim the Name of יהוה, Ascribe greatness to our Elohim.
“The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are right-ruling, An Ěl of truth and without unrighteousness, Righteous and straight is He. Deuteronomy 32:1-4
Many believers are concerned about end time prophecies, and think of the book of Revelation in the wrong light. As I have often stated, it does contain prophecy—but the book is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Revelation of יהושׁע Messiah, which Elohim gave Him to show His servants what has to take place with speed. And He signified it by sending His messenger to His servant Yoḥanan, who bore witness to the Word of Elohim, and the witness of יהושׁע Messiah—to all he saw.
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and guard what is written in it, for the time is near. Yoḥanan, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Favour to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits that are before His throne, and from יהושׁע Messiah, the trustworthy witness, the first-born from the dead, and the ruler of the sovereigns of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us sovereigns and priests to His Elohim and Father, to Him be esteem and rule forever and ever. Aměn
“I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Taw’, Beginning and End,” says יהוה “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:1-8
It is all about Jesus!
To sum up, let our worship be directed to the Lord. May our worship come from the heart and may our thoughts, words and songs be about Him!
They were singing the song of Moshe, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are the things you have done, Adonai, God of heaven’s armies!
Just and true are your ways, king of the nations! Adonai, who will not fear and glorify your name? because you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed.” Revelation 15:3-4