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The Five Stages of Worship With God (Go Deeper!)

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Isaiah 6:1-9

As you feel God there are steps we can take to go deeper into his midst:

1) Recognizing his power, his holiness and his glory

Isaiah had a vision of the Lord enthroned around the praises of heaven. Immediately he recognizes God’s awesome glory, holiness and power. The Hebrew word for holy in verse 3 means separated and unapproachable. The Hebrew word for glory means God’s authority, greatness, and weighty presence.

6 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

  1. Recognizing our own sinful conditions (anything that hinders us to God)

Once he is in the presence of the glory he realizes he is undone in his presence and recognizes and acknowledges his own shortcomings. Because once you are in his glory all of your faults become visible and apparent.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, theLord of hosts.

  1. Confessing our mistakes to God and asking for our forgiveness.

Confession always opens the way to grace and mercy. Only God can bring the purity he wants in us through Jesus Christ.

6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

  1. Once Isaiah is forgiven God then shares his need for a messenger.

5) And once Isaiah hears the call he responds with surrendering to it.

Only after his cleansing did he receive his calling.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, and to devote the will to the purpose of God.

God Is Going To Turn It Around

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Isaiah 54

54 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;

3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

Sometimes I find it difficult to understand when I do not have that God will speak to me to give, or to shout when I do not feel like praising, to encourage when I feel discouraged myself, to get up when I feel like giving in. At first glance the victory that God appears to try and lead us to appears to be blunt and even insensitive to our problems. It’s almost like you can feel insulted by instruction before you even try. Believe me, I stand here oftentimes wondering what God is going to use me in next with a little anxiety of how bold or crazy it may seem. While He has seen the breakthrough, we are trying to decide if we will make it through. What I have discovered as a result of giving God a chance is that what appears to be the worst thing to do turns around into the thing I could not have done without.

Most Christians would say amen to scriptures that speak of God’s turnaround nature. We want to follow a God who can make the unlivable places livable again, who can bring prosperity to the land and restore it to its former glory (Isaiah 58:12). While we love to speak of God and His incredible power, and we may say amen and even teach the lessons, that does not necessarily mean we really believe it. It’s only when we start to act on what we amen that we begin to discover how certain we are of God’s turnaround ability.

Jesus was criticized in the way He performed miracles, the days on which He would carry them out, and to whom He would extend them. The Bible is full of stories where God’s answers seemed insensitive, where a prophet’s behavior looked more crazy than sane, and where Jesus’ ministry seemed careless and wasteful. One time, a prophet asked an influential ruler to wash in a dirty river, an instruction that was both disrespectful and insensitive to the ruler’s position in the community (2 Kings 5). The prophet Elisha instructed a woman with nothing to go and find more emptiness that she would be required to fill (2 Kings 4).

God told a starving widow who was about to use her last handful of flour and oil to feed her son a last meal to take those ingredients and feed a hungry prophet instead (1 Kings 17).

God asked an elderly couple, who were ready for retirement, to have a baby. He instructed a stuttering shepherd to speak to Pharaoh and to deliver an entire nation. He told a boy on a hillside to leave the sheep and kill a giant. He chose a teenage girl to carry the Savior of the world.

Turnarounds by nature are radical; they bypass nice and sensible, they freak out the orderly, and they do not line up with agendas. But turnarounds reveal our miraculous Savior to our messed-up world.

God doesn’t downsize people; He enlarges them. He removes their comfort zones and throws them into the unknown, where His capacity overshadows their ability and they participate in the turnaround ministry of the God they serve.

Jesus came to turn the world upside down in the three years of His public ministry. He called a group of young men, mostly made up of teenagers, to come help Him turn around an entire world. He asked them to leave the tranquil lake for the sea of hurting humanity. Jesus’ ministry was not safe; it was revolutionary. He came with miracles, not slight improvements—and often it was people’s willingness to believe in His turnaround power that determined whether they went away healed and whole.

Jesus could have seemed insensitive when He said to cripples, “Get up and walk!” or to grieving relatives, “Open the grave!” His methods were questioned, but His miracles always brought answers. Turnarounds are not polite or politically correct; they are not people pleasing or protocol appeasing. Jesus wasn’t trying to fit in; He came to turn things around. Throughout His ministry—in persecution, torture, misunderstanding, and betrayal—Jesus carried on undaunted, seeing a joy set before Him that would only be attained with a complete turnaround commitment. God sent us a turnaround Jesus and then He gave us the turnaround facilitator, the Spirit of God.

We are now the custodians of that same turnaround power. As God’s people, His Spirit rests within us. We are commissioned to work with Him to turn our world around, to speak into the darkness and bring forth His light, and to find those who are bound and bring them His gift of freedom. We have been given authority to turn around injustice with His justice and hopelessness with His hope. Yet often, we allow our doubts to question this power and let our fears contain this freedom.

We cannot allow our circumstances to compromise what Christ paid the highest price to attain. We must awaken our hearts, stir up our faith, and begin to look again at the places God has positioned us in. We need to see with new eyes the possibilities that our turnaround God can create in the places where no one else sees potential. We must seek to be the ones who bring answers where others only see problems. We need to shake off the complacency that can so quickly enter our hearts, causing us to settle for less than His Word promises.

There is so much more for your life to embrace, so many breakthroughs for you to play your part in. We need a greater revelation of Whose we are, and in that understanding, we can grow a greater confidence of what He has called us to do.

God’s Love Toward Us

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God loves us so much that He loved us even before we realized who He was

1 John 4:19

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

  • It is by this kind of love we realize that we must love others to help them realize how much that God loves them. By this love it opens the eyes of a person that does not know God to realize God has sent people into their life so they know God greater.

God loves us so much that even when we are on the fence about trusting in His love that He continues to love us while we decide

Romans 2:4

4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

2 Peter 3:15

15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

  • It is by His loving patience toward us that while we are into things that we should face punishment and exposure for that we receive mercy even when we have not apologized and confessed our sins to God.

God loves us so much that once we are Christians and we stumble that He gives us another chance rather than giving up on us.

Job 33:27-30

27 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;

28 He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.

29 Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man,

30 To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.

  • God knows that as we fail and move forward that we have the chance to learn from our failures to be stronger people. Thank God for another chance for growth!

God loves us enough that even when we suffer that it is never more than we could stand.

1 Corinthians 10:13

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Matthew 11:29

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

  • What would be too much on our own without God we know that through Christ we can do all things. It may not always be how we wanted it or as easy as we wished it could be, but through Christ we can make it!

God loves us enough that while we are on earth that we have everything that we need in order to sustain a happy and Godly life. Materially, physically, literally, mentally and spiritually.

2 Peter 1:3

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Hebrews 13:5

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Psalm 37:25

25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

God loves us enough that irregardless of what we have done prior to this moment that if we come to him and ask forgiveness of our mistakes and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that by accepting Christ as Lord of our life that we can be forgiven from our past and have a eternal future in Heaven.

Romans 10:9-10

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

– Not only forgiveness and freedom of our past is rewarded but we also receive power by the Holy Spirit to have a present authority to write a new chapter of a bright and marvelous future!

It’s Time To Stop Pretending

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John 5:36-40

36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Most of us instinctively draw back from dealing with this stubborn commitment to independence from the world, pretending we are all right as we are. It is much easier to pretend we are thirsting after God than it is to face the challenge of giving up our commitment to independence from sin.

Psalm 42:1

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

What is the answer? We must ask God to search our hearts, expose our self-centered motivations, and help us to see just where it is that we stop short of panting after Him.

You see, the more deeply we sense our thirst, the more passionately we will pursue water. But we will never sense that thirst until we are willing to face the fact that we may be drinking more from our own self-constructed wells than from the wells of God.

We cannot continue this way. The days of pretending are over.

Proverbs 14:12

12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Our own reasoning will lead us to destruction. Without God’s counsel we will perish.

1 Corinthians 10:20-21

20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

We cannot pretend to be one way and be another. There is no middle ground. You are either free from your sins and fighting temptation or you are in bondage and fighting to pretend you are free.

James 3:14

14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

Don’t fight to prove that you are something that you are not. Do not lie against the truth of who you are. It is better to face and fight our demons than it is to try and hide them from the view of others.

Philippians 3:12-14

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

If we forget about something then it is dead to us. Until what leads you into sin is removed from you through the grace and mercy of God then they are not forgotten (or behind you).

Life for us now consists of discarding wrong attitudes and habits accumulated in the past. In modern, psychological terms, we must lose our baggage. For us, the past is dead, buried in the waters of baptism. With that behind us, we must diligently make unwavering progress in putting out the leaven of sin, growing in God’s love, producing the fruit of God’s Spirit, moving toward the Kingdom of God, and putting on Christ’s perfection, His image in us.

Hey, Can You Spot Me? Can Anyone Help Me? Is There Anyone There? Help!

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I grew up my entire life always being enriched with wondrous virtues and instruction. Things like:

“Trust in the Lord and He will never fail you”

“You need to be saved in order to make Heaven your home”

“Ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins”

“Hold on through the storm and God will not leave you”

“When no one else will help encourage yourself”

I believed those words from all of those whom spoke these to me that they meant well and spoke it from a good place in their heart. In fact, I have even clung to the encouragement and listened to the instruction that I was told. However I cannot help but feel like that in the day I live in that something feels different than before. The many voices that I use to hear deliver such phrases are declining and I find myself looking inside my soul for strength now more than ever. It made me think, “Is this the way it’s supposed to be? Is it like riding a bike and once you’re off you no longer need that encouragement and kind push?”

At first I thought, “Yeah that’s got to be it. I’m just not praying and working hard enough or I would obviously see what I’ve been told my whole life”. And then after months and months of more decline (almost to silence) I then stood exhausted from all the effort and began to question myself in my feverish pursuit of keeping the bar that I had been told to hold my whole life up completely on my own. Thanks be to God somehow I came through what would have probably broke others down to loneliness and depression. When my pride wanted me to just write everyone off that had seemingly forsaken me the spirit of the Lord quickened me and began to teach me about something I had never realized before.

My revelation was simply this: we all need a spotter from time to time, but sometimes we are to be the spotter when others cannot carry their own load. It put me in the mind of this imagery:

spotting

Then I recalled this scripture:

Romans 15:1 

1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Powerful, right?! This helps me to realize that I am not to carry everything alone but I am not to always expect others to run to me either. Until we can learn to help each other as Christ instructed (love our neighbors as ourself) than we are trying to selfishly lift our own weights and demand the world to be our spot.

So what do you do when you cannot seem to carry your own weight? What do we do when no one steps up to help us in a time of weakness?

1) First of all, stop screaming for help from other people. Chances are if no one has come to your aid yet that God has not received your full trust and surrender. Have you confessed to God your shortcomings and the pains and hurts of your life that seem to keep you down. This heavy load we willingly carry needs to be the first thing we get rid of. Cleansing your soul is necessary. Repenting sincerely of things will help you to get up and feel lighter before you make the first effort towards anything.

2) Secondly, stop trying to lift a weight that you cannot carry without God’s help. We cannot continue to try to get to the mountain top without seeing that it takes thousands of steps before we hit the pinnacle. Daily prayer and thanksgiving opens the doorway of your heart to be humbled and at peace with things you cannot change. It also helps you to gain clarity on things that are making it harder for you than it should be.

3) Thirdly, make an effort that you feel like you can handle. Get to a church weekly, read some scripture everyday (you do not have to put yourself to sleep to have a meaningful bible study), pray for a few minutes a couple times a day, listen to some praise and worship at some point and allow meditation toward God, and keep a positive attitude even in the face of adversity. God would have you to walk simple steps of faith than to try and run with so many complexities.

4) Fourth, once you begin to establish your personal connection to God begin to challenge yourself. Step out of your comfort zone every now and then. Praise him a little more than normal. Pray a few minutes longer than normal. Help someone like you would help yourself. For as we challenge ourselves we find that this is where we begin to build strength and get stronger. And as you begin to step out by faith in these moments when you would be afraid God will help you and spot you initially with an overwhelming move of his presence and favor all about you.

5) Finally, once you realize that you can handle some things then begin to look for situations and individuals that you know you can lend a hand too. The bible talks of it being far better to give than receive. I have found that I gain just as much strength helping someone else learn to lift and carry the burdens of life than I do always just yelling for help and never trying.

Remember: we can lift a stronger amount of weight together than if we tried to do it separately on our own. Help others that you know that you can and remember that as you help them it will build you up to be stronger. And as we lead by example I hope and pray that this decline in encouragement begins to cease and that we return to the sincere compassion of Christ.

Creating A Miracle Atmosphere

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A miracle is defined as a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.

I am slowly learning the purpose of miracles in my life.

Miracles are not to brag or boast about, they are to humble you by the fact that without God we cannot do anything.

Miracles are not for us to forget but for us to remember that there is a God that loves us.

While miracles surprise us naturally on earth they are commonplace in the supernatural.

Miracles do not happen for history to continue and repeat itself. Miracles come for us to learn and to be thankful for our newfound knowledge that we would have otherwise have lacked without God.

The base components of a miracle are:

  1. a welcoming environment for the godhead (god, spirit, son)

  2. a recognizing of needs beyond our control

  3. unwaivering faith not crumbled by doubt and temptation

  4. compassion for others and a willingness to help

  5. full and entire obedience to the full call of God

1) This miracle of sight to the blind shows that if we will not over complicate our approach to God and bring a humble faith that things can begin to be opened!

We must learn to open our hearts and welcome God in the midst of our lives

Matthew 9:27-31

27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.

28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.

29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.

2) The virtue going out from Christ shows that through our advocate of Christ that our faith is enough to cause miracles to come to pass, only but be faithful!

Luke 8:43-48

43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,

44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.

45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?

46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

3) Though it was a spirit of infirmity, an evil spirit, that she was under the power of, Christ has a power superior to that of Satan, is stronger than he.

Luke 13:10-17

10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

11 And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

12 And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.

13 And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.

14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

17 And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

4) This miracle of faith shows that it is far more easier to exercise compassion and faith towards God than to act as though we are going to ever help people by judgments and forms of reason

Mark 2:1-12

2 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house.

2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,

7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

9 Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?

10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

11 I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.

12 And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.

5) Jesus’s demonstrated lack of fear and hesitancy toward the leper showed that God wants to reach out to others to whom the world would call “untouchable” by our full and entire obedience

Luke 5:12-16

12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

13 And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed

God Is Our Protector

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In order to walk in a greater boldness we must know that we serve a God who is our protector. He watches over us when we cannot even see for ourselves. He keeps us from greater harms. And while living in a world of free choice brings a lot of harms we would never want we are still with someone who helps us with things beyond our understanding.

How are we protected from greater harms?

You are protected from the temptation of evil because God is strong

Matthew 16:18

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

John 19:11

11 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

1 Peter 2:9

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

You are protected from feeling alone amongst evil because you are never left behind

Hebrews 13:5

5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Luke 12:32

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Matthew 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.