Following Jesus Today

Conclusion to 31 Days of Worship

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Conclusion to 31 Days of Worship

David W Palmer


As we have looked at God’s word on the subject of praise, worship, and thanksgiving, we have been blessed to have God reveal to us that Biblical Praise includes:


  • To shine, to boast, to be clamorously foolish
  • Lifting hands
  • Singing
  • Playing instruments
  • Shouting


    • We have seen that God inhabits the praises of his people. This is very good news, as it means that we can enjoy God’s manifested presence when we praise. However, we have also seen that many times in practice, praise is a sacrifice.


    The Old Testament shows that worship at that time was physical: the body language of submission, devotion, and homage. In the New Testament, however, Jesus revealed that the worship God seeks is worship in spirit and truth. We learned:


    • We must worship and serve God with our spirits
    • My spirit is a man
    • I have to learn to walk in the spirit and operate in that realm


      • Old Testament worship had the physical body language of submission. New Testament worship has the spiritual counterpart—humility and submission in the spirit.


      Jesus also declared that God seeks worshippers in truth. For us, this means:


      • Honesty—it takes total honesty to relate to him who is the Truth
      • No deception
      • No denial, but 
      • Speaking the truth in your heart
      • Speaking the truth in love
      • Knowing what God’s word says
      • Praising, worshipping, and serving according to biblical instruction and precedent
      • Boldly confessing God’s own word to him at his throne


        • In the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit revealed through James that God wants to restore the tabernacle of David. This is very exciting for our generation and our contemporary times. It means that God wants us to:


        • Be a kingdom that is centered on praise, worship, faith, and grace
        • Have David’s heart of worship
        • Live a life of worship with the tent flaps of our heart open
        • Exude 24hr praise through our lifestyle, our music, online, radio, and TV, etc.


          • We have seen in the Bible that our destiny is to be the glorious church. That is, a church full of, and overflowing with, God’s tangible glorious presence; God’s glory is the manifestation of all that he is. His vision is that his glory will fill his church and the whole earth.


          God is glorified in the worshipping church—the church that worships in spirit and in truth—serving him with their spirits as well as in the natural realm.


          To enable us to fulfill God’s dream, he has graciously poured out his Holy Spirit on us. His power clothing and empowering for worship and service is called the anointing:


          • His manifestation in your life is related to your call
          • We have to cultivate intimacy with the Holy Spirit so we can cooperate with him
          • We have to become expert at operating in the spirit realm
          • The spirit realm is where the power is


            • As we conclude this topic, we must bear continually in the forefront of our minds that we are embroiled in a war for worshippers. As this is so crucially important, let’s recap the main points:


            • Lucifer fell from his place of worship [leading] in heaven
            • His fall was a power struggle over worship
            • He conceived pride and wanted to receive the worship that was due to God
            • Adam fell from being the perfect worshipper
            • His fall was a step of independence from his leader
            • Adam and Eve took things into their own hands
            • In doing so, they succumbed to being subjects of Satan’s worldly kingdom
            • Satan tempted Jesus in the area of worship
            • Jesus fought him off with God’s Word
            • The devil still seeks worship today
            • He will target worship leaders and those involved in leading worship
            • He tries initially to get us to receive the worship ourselves
            • He tries to get us to mistrust God’s Word
            • We have to fight him off with the Word, with the blood of Jesus, and by not loving our lives to the death


              • God loved David’s heart of worship; he is currently looking for those with a similar heart of true worship today:


              • Those who will have worship at the heart of all that they do
              • Those who seek to submit to God and obey him by his grace
                • ...more
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                Following Jesus TodayBy DAVID W. PALMER