..................................................................................................................................
Army
of Worshipers
of Worshipers
Francis Frangipane
When the
Scriptures refer to the "heavenly host," we usually think of "choirs
of angels."
The word "host"
in the Bible meant "army" (Joshua 5:13-14).
It is an
important truth: the hosts of Heaven are worshiping armies. Indeed, no
one can do warfare who is not first a worshiper of God.
The Central Issue
In Tribulation: Worship
One does
not have to penetrate deeply into the Revelation of John to discover that both
God and the devil are seeking worshipers (see Revelation 7:11; 13:4;
14:7, 11).
Time and time again the line is drawn between those who "worship
the beast and his image" and those who worship God.
In the
last great battle before Jesus returns, the outcome of every man's life shall
be weighed upon a scale of worship: In the midst of warfare and conflict, to
whom will we bow, God or Satan?
Yet,
while this warfare shall culminate in the establishment of the Lord's Kingdom
on earth (see Revelation 11:15), we must realize the
essence of this battle is the central issue in our warfare today.
Will we
faithfully worship God during satanic assault and temptation? True
worship must emerge in the context of our lives now.
For no
man will worship through the great battles of tomorrow who complains in the
mere skirmishes of today.
You will
remember that the Lord's call to the Israelites was a call to worship and serve
Him in the wilderness (see Exodus 7:16).
Indeed, when Moses first spoke of God's loving concern, we read
that the Hebrews "bowed low and worshiped" (Exodus
4:31).
But when
trials and pressures came, they fell quickly into murmuring, complaining and
blatant rebellion. Their worship was superficial, self-serving and conditional
– an outer form without an inner heart of worship.
This same
condition of shallow worship prevails in much of Christianity today. If a
message is given that speaks of the Lord's great care for His people, with
eagerness do we bow low and worship.
But as
soon as the pressures of daily living arise or temptations come, how quickly we
rebel against God and resist His dealings!
The enemy
has easy access to the soul that is not protected by true worship of the
Almighty!
Indeed,
the Lord's purpose with Israel in the wilderness was to perfect true worship,
which is based upon the reality of God, not circumstances.
The Lord
knows that the heart that will worship Him in the wilderness of affliction will
continue to worship in the promised land of plenty.
Without
true worship of God, there can be no victory in warfare. For what we bleed when
we are wounded by satanic assault or difficult circumstances is the true
measure of our worship.
You see,
what comes out of our hearts during times of pressure is in us, but hidden
during times of ease.
If you
are a true worshiper, your spirit will exude worship to God no matter what
battle you are fighting. In warfare, worship creates a wall of fire around the
soul.
Protecting Your
Heart Through Worship
Most of
us understand the basic dynamics of the human soul. We have been taught, and
rightly so, that the soul is the combination of the mind, will and emotions.
Generally
speaking, when the enemy comes against the Church, he targets any of these
three areas. We must see that the protection of these areas is of vital
importance in our war against Satan.
To
further illuminate the nature of this battle, let us add that, in addition to
the mind, the will and the emotions, the soul is made of events and how we
responded to those events.
Who we
are today is the sum of what we have encountered in life and our subsequent
reactions.
Abuses
and afflictions hammer us one way, encouragement and praise inflate us another.
Our
reaction to each event, whether that event was positive or negative, is poured
into the creative marrow of our individuality, where it is blended into the
nature of our character.
What we
call memory is actually our spirit gazing at the substance of our soul. With
few exceptions, those events that we remember the most have also shaped us the
most.
Indeed,
the reason our natural minds cannot forget certain incidents is because those
events have literally become part of our nature.
Our soul
is shaped by how well or poorly we handled our past experiences.
When Scripture commands us to not look back and to "forget...
what lies behind" (Philippians 3:13; see Luke 9:62), it is
saying we must undo the consequences that have come from our un-Christlike
reactions.
With God,
this is not impossible, for though the events of our lives are irreversible,
our reactions to those events can still be changed.
As our
wrong reactions to the past change, we change.
In other
words, although we cannot alter the past, we can put our past upon the "altar"
as an act of worship.
A
worshiping heart allows God to heal and restore the soul.
All of us
receive a portion of both good and evil in this world. But for life to be good,
God, who is the essence of life, must reach into our experiences and redeem us
from our negative reactions.
The
channel through which the Lord extends Himself, even into our past, is our love
and worship of Him.
"And we know that God causes all things to work together
for good to those who love God..." (Romans
8:28).
The key for the fulfillment of this verse is that we become lovers
of God in our spirits. Bad things become good for "those who love
God."
When we
are given to loving Him, all that we have passed through in life is washed and
redeemed in that love. Bad becomes good by the power of God.
Therefore, it is essential to both the salvation of our souls and
our protection in warfare that we be worshipers.
The ship
that safely carries us through the storms of adversity is worship.
Psalm 84 expresses in praise to God the wonderful effect worship
has upon the soul. "How blessed is the man whose strength is
in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of
Baca [weeping] they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with
blessings" (verses 5-6).
If you are "ever praising" God (Psalm
84:4), your worship of God will transform the negative assault of the
enemy into "a spring" of sweet, refreshing waters.
No matter what befalls a worshiper, their "valley of
weeping" always becomes a spring covered "with
blessings."
You
cannot successfully engage in warfare, nor pass safely through the wilderness
of this life, without first becoming a worshiper of God.
Worship: The
Purpose Of Creation
We were
created for God's pleasure. We were not created to live for ourselves but for
Him.
And while
the Lord desires that we enjoy His gifts and His people, He would have us know
we were created first for His pleasure.
In these
closing moments of this age, the Lord will have a people whose purpose for
living is to please God with their lives.
In them,
God finds His own reward for creating man. They are His worshipers. They are on
earth only to please God, and when He is pleased, they also are pleased.
The Lord
takes them further and through more pain and conflicts than other men.
Outwardly, they often seem "smitten of God, and
afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4).
Yet to
God, they are His Beloved.
When they
are crushed, like the petals of a flower, they exude a worship, the fragrance
of which is so beautiful and rare that angels weep in quiet awe at their
surrender. They are the Lord's purpose for creation.
One would
think that God would protect them, guarding them in such a way that they would
not be marred.
Instead,
they are marred more than others.
Indeed,
the Lord seems pleased to crush them, putting them to grief. For in the midst
of their physical and emotional pain, their loyalty to Christ grows pure and
perfect.
And in
the face of persecutions, their love and worship toward God become
all-consuming.
Would
that all Christ's servants were so perfectly surrendered. Yet God finds His
pleasure in us all.
But as
the days of the Kingdom draw near and the warfare at the end of this age
increases, those who have been created solely for the worship of God will come
forth in the power and glory of the Son.
With the
high praises of God in their mouth, they will execute upon His enemies the
judgment written (see Psalm 149).
They will
lead as generals in the Lord's army of worshipers.
Adapted from Francis' book, The
Three Battlegrounds.
Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org
Francis
Frangipane is
the founder of River of Life Ministries in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and has traveled
throughout the world ministering to thousands of pastors and intercessors from
many backgrounds. Francis' heartfelt prayer is to see established in every city
Christlike pastors and intercessors, united before God, revealing the love of
Christ to their communities. Since 1985, he has written fourteen books plus a
number of study booklets. Over the past decades, Francis has served on a number
of other ministry boards. However, in recent years he has gradually resigned
from these various boards. As of June 2009, he has also retired from his
position as senior pastor of River of Life Ministries. In this more simplified
life, Frangipane is devoting himself to prayer and the ministry of God's Word.
No comments:
Post a Comment