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Our worship is right only when we are right with God and with others

06 Mar
Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

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Our worship is right only when we are right with God and with others.

READ: John 12:1-8

Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. —John 12:3

Shortly before Jesus was crucified, a woman named Mary poured a bottle of expensive perfume on His feet. Then, in what may have been an even more daring act, she wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3). Not only did Mary sacrifice what may have been her life’s savings, she also sacrificed her reputation. In first-century Middle Eastern culture, respectable women never let down their hair in public. But true worship is not concerned about what others think of us (2 Sam. 6:21-22). To worship Jesus, Mary was willing to be thought of as immodest, perhaps even immoral.

Some of us may feel pressured to be perfect when we go to church so that people will think well of us. Metaphorically speaking, we work hard to make sure we have every hair in place. But a healthy church is a place where we can let down our hair and not hide our flaws behind a façade of perfection. In church, we should be able to reveal our weaknesses to find strength rather than conceal our faults to appear strong.

Worship doesn’t involve behaving as if nothing is wrong; it’s making sure everything is right—right with God and with one another. When our greatest fear is letting down our hair, perhaps our greatest sin is keeping it up. —Julie Ackerman Link

Whenever we gather to worship
Let’s not hide behind a façade;
Instead, let’s be open and honest
With others and also with God. —Sper

Our worship is right only when we are right with God and with others.

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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Posted by on March 6, 2012 in GOD, Relationship

 

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God is spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth

12 Feb
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John 4:24, “God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.”

JOHN 4:4-26

Man dwells primarily in the physical and emotional realm, but God is a Spirit (1 Sam. 16:7). To have true fellowship with God, we have to relate to God on the spiritual level.

In order to make this possible, God changed our spirit. At salvation, our spirit became totally new (11 Cor. 5:17). It is now righteous and truly holy (Eph. 4:24). It is now exactly the way Jesus is, because our born again spirit is the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 4:17; 1 Cor. 6:17; Rom. 8:9; Gal. 4:6).

In our spirits we are worthy to come before God and worship Him without any fear. Our spirit is the only part of us that is worthy. That’s why we must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

When we come before God dwelling on all our failures and problems, we are not approaching Him through our spirit. Our spirit is not our problem. Our born again spirit is perfect.

There is a place for mentioning our problems and failures but it’s not the part of us that has been saved and is in fellowship with God. We must always base our relationship with the Father on who we are in our spirit through Christ Jesus.

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Posted by on February 12, 2012 in GOD, Spirit

 

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God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth

21 Dec
worship

God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth (John 4:24)

Many years ago, Robert Grant wrote the hymn “O Worship the King,”

O worship the King

all glorious above

O gratefully sing His power and His love;

Our Shield and Defender,

the Ancient of Days,

Pavilion’d in splendour,

And girded with praise.

 

O tell of His might,

O sing of His grace,

Whose robe is the light,

Whose canopy space,

His chariots of wrath

the deep thunder-clouds form,

And dark is His path on the winds of the storm.

Amen!

These two verses introduce us to the glory of God and the opportunity that we have to worship Him. However, a growing concern for many pastors is that many in their congregations attend church on Sunday because it is the right thing to do – not to worship the Lord. In other words, the act of coming together and fellowshipping has become more important than being in God’s presence where we worship Him through praise and prayer.

It is like the couple who had their baby christened at church, and then, after the service, had a party to celebrate the event. Aunts and uncles began arriving along with grandparents, nieces, nephews, and friends. Everyone began talking and eating. Finally someone spoke up and asked, “Where’s the baby?” The parents had taken the child to his bedroom and placed it in the crib to take a nap. Everyone was so busy enjoying one another that they had forgotten why they were there.
Worship is essential to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. In Scripture above, the Lord explains to a woman who had committed many sins that a time was coming – and really, had come – when true believers would worship in spirit and truth. The Messiah was standing right before her, and in His presence she found forgiveness for all that she had done and salvation for her soul.

It was then that she realized the freedom of heart and mind that God was extending to her. And she began to worship the Lord by telling others of His marvellous grace and love.

Worship has to do with real people who have real needs. When we understand the gift the Father has given us, we will want to worship Him without ceasing.

May God Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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Posted by on December 21, 2011 in GOD, Spirit, Worship

 

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True worship begins with a heart that is totally turned towards God

20 Dec
True worshipbegins with a heart that is totally turned towards GodImagine what it would be like to step inside your church sanctuary on   Sunday morning and witness the vision that Isaiah saw. He writes, “I saw the   Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe   filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings . . . One   called out to another and said, ‘Holy,   Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.’ And   the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called   out, while the temple was filling with smoke” (Isaiah 6:1-4).

This had to be a glorious sight! But it also was one that   conflicted Isaiah’s heart because he knew that he was guilty of sin.   Immediately, a godly sense of fear swept over him, and he cried out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am   a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes   have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). When we become aware   of God’s holy presence, we won’t be able to stop ourselves from worshiping   Him and seeking His cleansing for our sins.

However, if we become so entangled with sin and the pleasures of this   world, we will fail to sense the need to worship God. In fact, our spirits   will be dead to any true praise. Instead, we will yawn and check our watches   to see if the preacher is preaching longer than he should.
Isaiah realized there was a problem in his life—it was one that needed to be   addressed immediately, so he could do what God had called him to do. Many   times, we miss God’s best for our lives because we become too busy for   worship. When we take time to worship God for who He is—righteous, loving, and   infinite in power—our hearts will be lifted, and our lives will be changed.   We will cry out, “Holy are You Lord and   worthy to be praised!”

True worship begins with a heart that is totally turned toward God.

May God Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and   defend us from all their enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

 
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Posted by on December 20, 2011 in GOD, Worship

 

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Worship God with your whole heart

18 Dec

Worship God with your whole heart

As consumers, we have little interest in leftovers. We don’t like to spend our money on flawed products. When we pay for an item or a service, we feel that it should be the best that company has to offer. This is true of God, but to an even greater extent.

Adam and Eve taught their sons Cain and Abel how to worship God in an acceptable manner. Yet when it came time to do this, the quality of Cain’s offering was not pleasing, and it was not given with the same passion as Abel’s. God does not have favourites. He did not choose one over the other because He liked one brother better than the next.

Abel simply understood the principle of worship and offered God the very best that he had. Cain, on the other hand, offered what he could gather quickly – an apple from here, a pear from there, and a clump of grapes. It is also interesting to note that Cain’s life is one that was filled with a desire and passion for what God had cursed in the garden at the fall of mankind – the land. Abel offered God the very best of His flocks – the fattest lambs – because he understood that worship came from a heart of love and devotion.

This concept is not just about giving money to the Lord on Sunday. He established guidelines for our giving in order for us to remember that He is the One who enables us to make a living. More importantly, it is about how we live our lives. Are we totally committed to the Saviour? Do we love Him and want to worship Him on a regular basis? Or do we just pray when we have a need of Him and go to His house when it is convenient? Those who worship out of convenience have hearts that contain a character flaw – a bent toward Cain’s nature.

This does not have to be true of your life. Ask God to show you any area where you are not fully devoted to Him. Remember, worship is something we do with our entire life.

May God Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from all their enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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Posted by on December 18, 2011 in Worship

 

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Worship Is Sacrifical

05 Nov
Norte Fijo

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WORSHIP IS
SACRIFICAL

READ: Genesis 22:1-14

“Take with you words,
and turn to the Lord: say unto Him, ‘Take away all our iniquity, and receive us
graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.”  (Hosea 14:2)

Worship is
not just singing worship songs or bowing down before God because of our
expectation of what to get from Him.

Worship is
multifaceted; it is more than singing songs of praise and dancing or giving to
God. Singing or other means of worship are just the acts of worship, but our
heart connection with God is the most important and honouring to God i.e.
having a heart that sings worships not just a mouth that sings worship songs.

Looking at
Abraham, our father of faith, in that time and age there was no church where
praise and worship could be conducted yet he knew that worship in the sight of
God meant life.

The secret
of worship, as required by God is obedience and faith. In our case we may
consider an Isaac to be our quality time, that which cost you something, our
possessions or even our careers or ministries.

Abraham did
not kill his only begotten son eventually, for God provided a ram of worship.
God blessed Abraham for bringing a life offering to Him. He ultimately yielded
his life to God. God cut a covenant with him there and blessed him.

Make me a worshipper, and one after
Your Own heart, O Lord!

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria and Israel and defend us from
all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

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Posted by on November 5, 2011 in BLESSINGS

 

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Just worship God

27 Oct
Jesus is considered by scholars such as Weber ...

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JUST WORSHIP GOD

Then Jonah prayed unto
The Lord his God out of the fish’s belly (Jonah 2:1)

This is beautiful! Right in the midst of trouble Jonah still
prayed unto The Lord; he forgot about his situation and fully turned his
attention to God. When you study the content of his prayer in Jonah 2:2-9,
you’ll discover that he wasn’t praying the “give me” prayer but a prayer of
worship and thanksgiving (Jonah 2:9). The next thing that happened is simply
marvellous; “And The Lord spake unto the
fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land” (Jonah 2:10). What a
mighty deliverance!

Deliverance comes when you worship God in the midst of your
trouble. Blind Bartimaeus didn’t say, “My eyes, my eyes”, rather he cried out, “…….Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on
me” (Mark 10:47); he worshipped Him. The Lord Jesus didn’t say a word to
the woman whose daughter was vexed with an evil spirit until she worshipped
Him. And her daughter was healed at that hour (Matthew 15:22-28). When you
worship God, your heart goes to Him and you don’t see the evil around you
(Hebrews 12:2 AMP). Somebody rightly said, “Those who look at the sun do not
see the shadows.” How true!

There was a young lady who had been sick for several years
and she’d been given up to die. In this state she went for a meeting, diseased
and in pains. Nevertheless she joined in the worship in spite of all her pain
and had a wonderful time because she looked away from her sickness onto God.
Suddenly, she noticed her hands that hadn’t moved for years were lifted up.
Then it dawned on her that she’d been healed of her disease. Overwhelmed with
joy, she gave her testimony in tears. Hallelujah!

Forget about your pains, diseases or financial condition and
worship God. Love Him with all your heart because He’s good and real; more real
than whatever situation you’re going through!

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father,
I worship You in reverence and humility. Great and mighty are Your works in my
life and wondrous are Your ways. I worship Your Omniscience and Omnipresence
with my hands lifted to Your throne. Let my worship ascend to You as sweet
smelling savour, in Jesus Christ Name! Amen!

 

www.rhapsodyofrealities.org

May Our God The Almighty prosper Nigeria
and Israel and defend us from all our enemies in Jesus Christ Name, Amen!

 

 

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Posted by on October 27, 2011 in Worship

 

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