EXUBERANT PRAISE, EXORBITANT WORSHIP - Part 2
Just as our praise to the Almighty God ought to be exuberant, so also our worship of Him ought be lavish. We cannot limit our worship of His majesty. The more our worship of Him we render, the more He reveals His glory and releases His grace to us. In my considered view, too many of our worship assemblies are dry, indigent in soul and bereft of spirit.
I attended a training programme organized by a worship ministry based in Lagos many years back. The ministry had invited a worship assembly from the U.S.A. to perform for participants as part of the package. That gathering of worshipers here in Ibadan left an indelible experience with me that I still cherish till today. At the grand finale in the evening, the invited worship team from abroad came up. I can't explain it, but as the lead singer sang with such passion and eloquence, the lyrics stuck with us and we all joined him singing. As we sang as one, power came downand one by one nearly all of us experienced the anointing. Some slumped in their chairs, some bowed or knelt down to the ground while some fell flat on the floor slain in the Spirit. The singing and the manifestation continued for quite a while till the music finally faded out. Thereafter the programme closed and one by one we slowly rose up and left quietly for our different destinations still wondering what had hit us! It was awesome. Power came down and we were lifted up to the Throne. '...indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord...that the house of the Lord , was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God' (2 Chr. 5:13-14 NKJV).
King Solomon of Israel was one great worshiper of Jehovah. At the beginning of his reign, Solomon went up with a great assembly to the high place in Gibeon to the altar of the Tabernacle of Moses there located. There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the Lord ’s presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it (2 Chr.1:5-7). God was so pleased with that gesture of worship that He responded by giving a blank cheque to Solomon saying, Ask for anything from me! Modestly, Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge but God was feeling more generous than that. He made him the wisest, wealthiest and most acclaimed king perhaps till today. That's what Solomon's exorbitant worship earned him from God. What can God not give us his children if we aspire to be exorbitant in our worship of His majesty! Later at the dedication of the magnificent temple he built for God in Jerusalem, Solomon beat his own record by offering to God a whooping 22,000 male cows and 120,000 sheep in another sacrifice. That was massive. That number of animals would fill the runway tarmac of a sizeable international airport!
See what the Spirit revealed to us through Apostle John in the Revelation: "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And THEY DO NOT REST DAY OR NIGHT, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” " (Rev. 4:8). The revelation didn't stop there; here's more: 'Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders FALL DOWN BEFORE HIM...AND WORSHIP HIM who lives forever and ever, and CAST THEIR CROWNS before the throne, SAYING : “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Rev. 4:9-11). That is not just elaborate and grandiose worship but the ultimate. Even though we lesser, earthly mortals could never achieve that level of perfection, we could at least emulate the heavenly scenario. These things were given as ensamples for our edification and perfection.
olusegunisaac2018@gmaill.com
I attended a training programme organized by a worship ministry based in Lagos many years back. The ministry had invited a worship assembly from the U.S.A. to perform for participants as part of the package. That gathering of worshipers here in Ibadan left an indelible experience with me that I still cherish till today. At the grand finale in the evening, the invited worship team from abroad came up. I can't explain it, but as the lead singer sang with such passion and eloquence, the lyrics stuck with us and we all joined him singing. As we sang as one, power came downand one by one nearly all of us experienced the anointing. Some slumped in their chairs, some bowed or knelt down to the ground while some fell flat on the floor slain in the Spirit. The singing and the manifestation continued for quite a while till the music finally faded out. Thereafter the programme closed and one by one we slowly rose up and left quietly for our different destinations still wondering what had hit us! It was awesome. Power came down and we were lifted up to the Throne. '...indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord...that the house of the Lord , was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God' (2 Chr. 5:13-14 NKJV).
King Solomon of Israel was one great worshiper of Jehovah. At the beginning of his reign, Solomon went up with a great assembly to the high place in Gibeon to the altar of the Tabernacle of Moses there located. There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the Lord ’s presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it (2 Chr.1:5-7). God was so pleased with that gesture of worship that He responded by giving a blank cheque to Solomon saying, Ask for anything from me! Modestly, Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge but God was feeling more generous than that. He made him the wisest, wealthiest and most acclaimed king perhaps till today. That's what Solomon's exorbitant worship earned him from God. What can God not give us his children if we aspire to be exorbitant in our worship of His majesty! Later at the dedication of the magnificent temple he built for God in Jerusalem, Solomon beat his own record by offering to God a whooping 22,000 male cows and 120,000 sheep in another sacrifice. That was massive. That number of animals would fill the runway tarmac of a sizeable international airport!
See what the Spirit revealed to us through Apostle John in the Revelation: "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And THEY DO NOT REST DAY OR NIGHT, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” " (Rev. 4:8). The revelation didn't stop there; here's more: 'Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders FALL DOWN BEFORE HIM...AND WORSHIP HIM who lives forever and ever, and CAST THEIR CROWNS before the throne, SAYING : “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.” (Rev. 4:9-11). That is not just elaborate and grandiose worship but the ultimate. Even though we lesser, earthly mortals could never achieve that level of perfection, we could at least emulate the heavenly scenario. These things were given as ensamples for our edification and perfection.
olusegunisaac2018@gmaill.com
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