Music in Worship

How Hungry Am I?

2010-08-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I say that I am hungry for God's presence. It's a widespread saying in spirit-filled church circles. And it's true. I am hungry. My whole adult life I have made decisions to take me on a path learning about the Holy Spirit and seeking God more.

But now I'm starting to see that the Lord Jesus is asking more of me. I sense these times that He wants me, or sometimes "us" - whoever has been praying and worshipping together, to stay longer with Him. I constantly get that feeling that He wants more time.

Some would say - isn't a two and a half hour church service long enough? I would say that on a tired day.

What would happen if we stayed longer? What would happen if there were an entire day devoted to waiting on Him? How about a whole week? Moses was called up the mountain to meet with God and it was seven days of waiting before God revealed himself to Moses.

These are extreme days. I'm beginning to think that it will take extreme amounts of time and devotion to the Lord to get into places of glory and power. Especially in a society of religious routine.

But I'm a person that likes routine and regularity in my life. I could put that down. I'm willing to do things Your way, Lord. You are the Lord. I keep hearing You say - don't stop praying. I know you have more You want to reveal about Your ways.

I will seek You, I am hungry.

Psalm 29

2009-10-26T11:11:00.000-07:00

After the storms rolling through our area last night, I was reminded of this Psalm. As the rain, thunder and lightning began during our worship time at church and continued for several more hours, I couldn't help but meditate on some things the Lord had shown me about this Psalm recently.
Perhaps David also witnessed a great thunderstorm and wrote these verses. But the depth of God and the power of HIS SPOKEN WORD, HIS VOICE is seen in his analogies and metaphors.
Watching a storm is a reminder of powers and forces that are beyond human capabilities. But the Lord is infinitely more powerful than that!

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Let all men and angels ascribe to Jehovah God all glory and strength, more than than the power of a storm and flood!

2 Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness or in holy array.
All glory is due to HIM, worship Him covered in His glory.

3 the God of glory thunders; the Lord is upon many (great) waters. Revelation 4:5 Out of the throne came flashes of lightning and rumbling and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne seven blazing torches burned, which are the seven Spirits of God. Psalm 93 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord is robed, He has girded Himself with strength and power; the world also is established, that it cannot be moved. your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice. The Lord on high is mightier and more glorious than the noise of many waters, yes, than the mighty breakers and waves of the sea.

4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
Psalm 96:6 says - Honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. The next few verses of Psalm 29 (5-11) go on to describe how His power and majesty is at work in the earth.

5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
Isaiah 2: 10-17 refers to the cedars of Lebanon and mountains and lofty hills and high towers as being things that the wrath of God will come against in the day of the Lord. The cedars of Lebanon are not only things which exalt themselves against God, but also have deep roots. Evil things that have held and stayed rooted and not let go, will be broken as the voice of the Lord speaks !

6 He makes them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion (Mount Hermon) like a young, wild ox.
Malachi 4:2 says that the Sun of Righteousness will rise and bring healing in His wings for those that fear His name. They will be set free and skip like calves let out to pasture, leaping for joy! The voice of the Lord brings liberty from the bondages of deeply rooted things !

7 The voice of the Lord splits and flashes forth forked lightning (hews flames of fire - KJV)
Hebrews 1:7 says - Referring to His angels he says, Who makes His angels winds and His ministering servants flames of fire. And this is a quote from Psalm 104:4. Matthew 28:3 says that the angel at Jesus' tomb appeared like lightning. On the day of Pentecost, tongues of fire appeared on the heads of all the disciples. The voice of the Lord sends out angels of fire!

8 The voice of the Lord makes the wilderness tremble; the Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.
The wilderness is a place where things are dry. Kadesh Barnea was the place where the children of Israel spent much of their wandering time in the wilderness. The voice of the Lord shakes these dry places of lack and failure.

9 The voice of the Lord makes the hinds bring forth their young, and His voice strips bare the forests, while in His temple everyone is saying, Glory!
The hinds are a type of the ones that respond to the Lord and to His love. Song of Solomon 2:7 and 3:5. The hinds' feet are also referenced in 2 Sam.22:34, Psalm 18:33, Hab 3:19 as being able to go up to high places (places of worship). So the hind (female deer) is going to bring forth young and be fruitful at the voice of the Lord !

10 The Lord sat as King over the deluge; the Lord still sits as King forever!
11 The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.

LORD, SPEAK TO US !
SEND OUT YOUR VOICE, YOUR WORD !

PSALM 24

2009-07-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

written by David probably for bringing the ark into Jerusalem.

1. A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lords and all it's fullness,
the world and all those who dwell therein
2. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

3.Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord ? or
who may stand in his holy place ?
4. He who has clean hands and he who has a pure heart
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol
nor sworn deceitfully.
5. He shall receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from
the God of his salvation.
6. This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your
face. Selah.

7. Lift up your heads oh you gates and
Be lifted up you everlasting doors! And the
The King of glory shall come in.
8. Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty
The Lord mighty in battle.
This is the king of glory
9. Lift up your heads oh you gates!
Lift up you everlasting doors! And
The King of glory shall come in.
10. Who is this King of Glory?
The lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory

In the first two verses David is claiming the world for the dominion of God and proclaiming it.

Next, in verses 3-6, he writes about going up to Mount Zion. He is going to take a stand by placing the ark of the covenant in a prominent place, as if for all the world to see the sign of God's dominion in the earth. Those who were to carry the ark were to consecrate themselves. After David learned how to transport the ark by God’s plan and not his own, the Levites carried it on their shoulders into the place David prepared for it. He was already acting ahead of his time in explaining how the OT shadows and types were meant for the NT era. The ceremonial cleansing which the Levites went through, translates into this: having clean hands, a pure heart, a pure soul, and a pure mouth.

Then in verses 7-10, he addresses the city gates, “open up, the King of glory is coming in!” It is an order. Let nothing be in the way of God's presence coming into the city and into His rightful place of authority. This was acted out in the carrying of the ark into Jerusalem and up to Mt. Zion. That is the picture of the reality of God coming to earth. God rides upon the four living creatures when He comes to the earth. In heaven He is surrounded by them all the time. They are His worshippers and prophetic voices. They speak, often, for Him, to proclaim to men, what God is going to do, or what God wants men to do.

It is a prophetic declaration for us to agree with now – in our day and in our city.
Let the barriers of the power and authority of the Kingdom of God be opened up, let the KING of GLORY come in!
Let the religious spirits and the jezebel spirits who silence the prophetic voice in our city be annihilated and the KING OF GLORY will come in. These have kept guard at the city gates long enough. OPEN UP!

PSALM 63

2009-06-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

Oh, God, you are my God
Earnestly I seek You
My soul thirsts for You
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

I have seen You
In the sanctuary
To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness
Is better than life
My lips shall praise You.

So I will bless You
As long as I live
I will lift up my hands in Your name.

On Earth As It Is In Heaven

2009-06-03T22:09:00.000-07:00

What do you think this looks like ~
praise on the earth -- as it is in heaven.

A LIVING SACRIFICE

2009-04-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

...And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Revelation 12:11

The Holy Spirit has been speaking and making it clear to me about the last of these three phrases ~
"...and they did not love their lives to the death."
I have heard this verse quoted so often the last many years in the church. It's great, it's a powerful verse. But always the last phrase is left off when quoted.

In times when the we are to be stepping into more power, more authority in the earth, one of the ways we overcome our adversary is by not having a grip on our own lives. That includes our possessions, our positions, our agenda, wanting things done our way, and our very life. The early church lived this way, they knew that Jesus had laid down His life and they were willing to do the same in the face of power-hungry political leaders. We have little precedence for this in our American society. But we have to look at Jesus, who is our Master. He spoke in Matthew chapter 10, the whole chapter, about this mindset. Notice verse 24
"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. "

Paul wrote about this in Phillipians 2:5-8
5 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

It's called being a living sacrifice. (Romans 12:1) It is a way of life, to be ready to die, but being alive and empowered by the ways of the Spirit in us. The whole New Testament is full of these kinds of passages. Humility, serving, giving, martyrdom, loving. It's LOVE. This is true LOVE, to lay down our own life for another. God has shown us this and it is our calling. God is love.

Spirit of Elijah

2009-04-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had Bible study. It is good going through the book of Hebrews, absorbing the whole context of a large passage of scripture and being stirred up to search out other related scriptures in the Bible. During the evening, often people commented on current affairs, their lives, the state of our country.

At the end, we began to pray for each other and America. It was then that I felt very strongly that the Holy Spirit said, " pray for the spirit of Elijah to come." We need, all across our nation, and here at home, we need this voice to sound. This voice will call for repentance, for an end to our idolatry, and our sin. He will be able to expose it, for often, we don't even realize it when we have idols. They are just a part of everyday life to us. Elijah will tear down the altars of Baal and the works of Jezebel, who tries to silence the voice of the prophetic. The spirit of Elijah will call for mountains to come down, for valleys to be lifted up, for the crooked places to be made straight, for the rough places to be made smooth, and then the glory of the Lord will be revealed. This will prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.

Our land needs this call to go from shore to shore. We need to hear it over and over again. Only when God's people repent and turn from their wicked ways, only then will we see Godly men in government, and be able to return to the nation we began as.

And God needs to have a man, men, or a people - a voice that can speak truth with no fear of losing his status or his followers. This is one of our weapons against our enemy, satan. We overcome by (1) the blood of the Lamb, (2) by our testimony, AND (3) BY NOT LOVING OUR LIVES TO THE POINT OF DEATH ! I don't really know of many Christian leaders who would speak the truth, because they would be afraid of losing their followers who would probably cause them to lose their funding. Many are afraid of being politically correct. Many are afraid of being swallowed up by the media elite. WHO IS NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK THE WORD OF THE LORD ? who will lose his life?

The Holy Spirit says: "pray for the Spirit of Elijah to come"

Peace and Rest

2008-12-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

Matt. 11:28-30
"Come unto me all ye labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
According to this word of Jesus, we can live in a state of rest and relief from the world's burdens when we follow Jesus' example of being meek and humble of heart. And this is an easy "yoke". Because being in a yoke implies working, this is an easy way to work.

Phil 4:6-8
"Do not fret or worry about anything, but in everything by prayer with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."
According to this word of Paul, we can be released from worry by praying and being thankful. God will give us a supernatural peace, one that is surpassing what we could figure out.

Col. 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Among other admonitions in this chapter, here is the exhortation to allow the peace of the Anointed One and His anointing to be what directs us because that is our calling. And to be thankful.

I am determined to live in His peace and rest and quit striving so much.

Let's pray

2008-11-21T22:51:00.001-08:00

Ok, I'm just gonna write.

Comments on my nation and maybe the church as well. These are two things that I have such deep convictions about.

On the nation politically --- everything is changing, the political climate, the economical climate, the moral climate. Things have been changing, declining for a while, but now it's all boiling over at once. It is obvious that America's citizens have made a statement by choosing for president a man who has no convictions and has stated little, if any, policy. His popular vote was based on appearance and celebrity status. That is what the media has fed us for decades and now, Americans believe that this is all that matters, there is no reason to have convictions or follow the Constitution or the heart and soul of our founding fathers. On one hand I think it is so great to have a black guy as president and I can definitely feel the freedom in the air concerning this issue. But on the other hand his agenda is so bad for America to say the least.

And by the way, it is not democracy that has made America great, it is the Spirit of God. "For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." When leaders at every level have made decisions based on Biblical principles and for the good of the many, then our nation has been strong in liberty, in the economy, and socially. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people."

On the nation economically --- it is apparent that we spend too much money on our whims and wants. There now has to be a change of habit in our lifestyles. We really don't need the newest, most loaded vehicles or houses. We really don't need the latest clothing items, or the newest electronic gadgets. We really don't need everything we want. We will suffer if we always get our way, like a child who only eats candy and sweets because that's what he wants. Let the nation make these choices for the better and let the business world re-configure to be balanced.

On the nation morally --- my cry is simply, Lord help and forgive us ! I know that it is the idolatry among us of worshiping the media, music, movies, tv that has brought a generation to it's knees morally. With a steady diet of murder scenes, sexual unfaithfulness, and God knows what else, our nation, and young people especially, do not have any moral compass. Whatever is cool is what we do, and whatever the movie stars say is upheld as true. These movie stars, rock stars, athletic stars, are really just like the gods of ancient Greece. They are only made up figures who are larger than life and everyone reveres them, heeds them, honors them. But in reality their persona is a hyped up, propped up, fake image that has to be maintained by greed. They are hollow with no substance and are usually quite the opposite of what people perceive their value to be; not the same as the roles they play. Pretty much like an idol. Lifeless, deceptive.

The home life of most is lacking in parental leadership to shape and discipline the children. Without fathers to oversee the home, there is an open door to the next generation for somebody to lead them and it's going to be the media.

On the church --- I read an editorial by J. Lee Grady about more downfalls in the charismatic circles. He wrote: "The wrecking ball of heaven is swinging. It has come to demolish any work that has not been built on the integrity of His Word."
I think it's poignant that the metaphor referring to buildings was used because so often the case is that many pastors who build churches (buildings) think that it really is more important to have this ultimate building and everything administrated concerning the building. The outward appearance is the indicator of the quality of the church body. Success is the number one goal. But concerns of the building of the people of God into a holy place is less important. Their spiritual health and administration of their needs, their ministries and outflow of power from the church is not really important. Once the buildings are built, then they have to be maintained...at any cost. The cost becomes the sacrifice of the power of the Word being taught, the sacrifice of taking a stand for righteousness and being ever so careful not to offend any members of prominence or prospective members so that we can keep the bills paid. (!?!?!) I'm sorry, I don't see any of this in the Bible. The only thing I see in the New Testament in the building of the church is that the apostles and leaders lived lives on the edge, worked hard and suffered persecution. Their concern was to build people, to pour the word of God into them and establish THEM. They did not build any buildings or promote their ministries or work to get their name out there "so they could win more people". They did all of this to the point of physical persecution and death. That's all I see concerning the building of the church.

Well, I better stop, I've said too much already. Let's repent and let's pray.

Psalm 37:1-8

2008-11-03T20:28:00.000-08:00

Fret not yourself because of evildoers, neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

And He will make your uprightness go forth as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked, devices to pass.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself, it only tends to evildoing.

A Good Word

2008-10-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Colossians 3: 8-10

But now put away and rid yourselves of all these things: anger, rage, bad feeling toward others, curses and slander, and foulmouthed abuse and shameful utterances from your lips !

Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old unregenerate self with its evil practices.

And have clothed yourselves with the new spiritual self, which is renewed and remolded into knowledge after the image of Him Who created it.

His Lovingkindness

2008-08-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

Psalm 103: 4, 11, 13, 17 (Amplified)
4 Who redeems your life from the pit, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercy
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and lovingkindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him.
13 As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him.
17 But the mercy and lovingkindness of the Lord are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, and His righteousness is to children's children.

This great chapter in the Psalms is often quoted for "blessing the Lord" in verses 1-4 and following. But as I read this chapter recently I was completely overwhelmed with the constant reference to the Lord's lovingkindness to us. In these four verses there are these awesome descriptions that David uses to explain it.

The first one is in verse 4 - and he describes the lovingkindness of the Lord as a CROWN. He beautifies and dignifies me with a crown of His lovingkindness and tender mercy. I often experience headaches. But I have come to pray over myself that everything be removed off of my head except for the lovingkindness of the Lord to me. I see myself as wearing an awesome crown. I really want to take hold of that one.

The second description is in verse 11 - the lovingkindness of God is as great and huge as the HEAVENS above the earth. When I look up at the sky, and I often do, I can only try to imagine the vastness of His love and mercy towards me.

Next we look in verse 13 - the love and mercy of my heavenly FATHER can be seen in the great love and mercy of a good earthly father. I know that I see it in myself, the love and compassion of a parent for their children. I give my own children much grace and the benefit of the doubt, probably to a fault. It is my heart to work hard in their behalf and give them every advantage and provision that I possibly can. God is like that towards me.

Lastly, in verse 17 - the lovingkindness of the Lord is FROM EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING. How long is that? How much is that? I believe it's pretty much infinite. It is immeasurable , as are all of God's attributes.

As I read this chapter, I just was undone by seeing how great is His love towards me. (see also Psalm 139)

Worship and Bow Down

2008-08-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Psalm 95 : 6-11 (Amplified)

6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice,

8 Harden not your hearts as at Meribah and as at Massah in the day of temptation in the wilderness,

9 When your fathers tried My patience and tested Me, proved Me, and saw My work [of judgment].

10 Forty years long was I grieved and disgusted with that generation, and I said, It is a people that do err in their hearts, and they do not approve, acknowledge, or regard My ways.
11 Wherefore I swore in My wrath that they would not enter My rest.

It has been revealed to me lately the great need for us to bow down before our Maker when we worship. And equally as important to kneel before the Lord when we worship. Kneeling and bowing down are not commonly seen in churches. Only those who are having a crisis, a meltdown, or are deeply moved in worship are the ones who seem to step out of the boundaries of the usual and bow down or kneel in times of worship. But in the Bible, bowing down is not unusual. This word "worship" from Strong's concordance means - -
--to bow down
--something that is low or in a depressed configuration
--to bow down, prostrate oneself

Here are some other Psalms using the word "worship" which means "to bow down". I Chron. 16:29, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 96:9, Psalm 99:5, Psalm 99:9, and Psalm 132:7.

In Psalm 95, the verses following verse 6 talk about being hard-hearted. Verses 7-11 continue to say that the hard-hearted try and test God's patience and are judged.

Could it be that if I am not willing to bow or kneel that I am considered hard-hearted? I don't want to be that way, I don't want my love to grow cold. I want to follow God in His ways.

Lord, keep us pure hearted.

The Glory of the Lord - ISAIAH 40

2008-06-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

Isa. 40:3-9

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth;

5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

6 The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.

8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."

In natural life, mountains are large formations which halt and prevent progress to the traveler. Valleys can be impassable and keep one from going forward on their journey. There are such rocky land areas and crooked lands that keep one from moving forward, it is just too much of a barrier for vehicle, man or beast to cross. But these places must become leveled. In the spiritual application - Prepare the way for the Lord, let all of these obstacles and impossible situations be done away with. Let the high and proud fall, let the depressed be built up, let the rough and offensive ground be smooth and everything that is crooked and unrighteous be made right.

AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD WILL BE REVEALED.

If I am proud, I won’t be able to see the glory of the Lord; if I am in depression, I won’t be able to see it; if I am offensive and full of stumbling blocks for others, I will miss God’s glory; and if I am crooked and unrighteous, I will miss the glory of the Lord. He will not and cannot come to these.

Let everything be made smooth and ready for the Lord. He will reveal His GLORY. And all mankind will see it.

But it is up to us to make things ready. The prophecy is written that way. You prepare the way of the Lord. And John the Baptist took these words when he cried out in the wilderness. Repent, prepare the way of the Lord!

Cry out. ALL FLESH IS GRASS. Everything that is man-made, everything which looks real good but in actuality is propped up and kept going by strife or fear or intimidation; everything that is deceptive, it looks promising but really isn't - - is grass. Grass lasts only for a season and is of little value. And any little bit of it’s glory is only like a flower which quickly dies. It is time for the permanent and eternal to eclipse the mere, lowly grass of man’s ways. It's time for me and it's time for us to choose eternal things over the temporary.

I want to see His glory.

At The Throne of God

2008-06-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

Revelation 5:11-14 "Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels on every side of the throne and of the living creatures and the elders and they numbered ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands. Saying in a loud voice. Deserving and worthy is the Lamb, Who was sacrificed, to receive all the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and majesty, glory, splendor and blessing ! And I heard every created thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all that is in it crying out together, To Him Who is seated on the throne and to the Lamb be ascribed the blessing and the honor and the majesty and the power, might and dominion, forever and ever!!!"

There is a place where the living creatures never cease to cry "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!" -Rev. 4:8. Imagine that. These are the living creatures who are surrounding the throne of God. They constantly are near Him and never stop their proclamations of worship. Never. Never.

How can this be? In my finite mind, I would think they would tire of this, or it would get old, like a job, day in and day out. After all, they've been doing it forever. They would just go on "auto pilot" and wonder if they would ever get a break. It's human nature. But it's not heavenly nature.

There is a place where everything is ALIVE. This place is at the throne of God Almighty. There is nothing there which hints of weakness, or being a chore, of being without purpose. Everything done by the Almighty One is life-giving, perfect, and awesome. To be there is the ultimate.

I don't believe that the living creatures and the angels do any of this praise by rote or by habit. On the contrary, they are constantly seeing God do things they've never seen before. He has not yet revealed all of who He is. He is constantly interacting with men and and working His works and revealing and speaking. And every time He does this, the angels see some new aspect of His glory, that has never been seen and they have to cry out "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY ! ! ! " And this never ends ! UNBELIEVABLE !

The Creator, the Ominipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent One is so vast and unsearchable that this praise and worship will never end ! His attributes of lovingkindness, mercy, healing, justice, strength, power, glory, majesty, righteousness, splendor, creativity, counsel, wisdom, and knowledge are unending. His Word and His name are equally infinite and powerful. His works to men are also unending. So His praise is unending. We will never exhaust our expression of praise to an infinite God. HALLELUJAH ! ! !

And, here's the bonus. We can go to that place and come before His throne.
We can join in the worship at the throne. We, in fact, should be bringing the praise of heaven down to the earth. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We should be instituting the kingdom of God on the earth as it is in heaven. The worshipers who see God are the ones who have this song in their mouths, the song of the living creatures. Because they are full of eyes and they see God, they are prophetic, they see the revealed things of God. And they do not cease to cry HOLY.

Now may this praise and worship be established on the earth as it is in heaven.

A Teeny Little Look At Music in Scripture

2008-06-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

The first mention of music in the Bible is in Genesis 4:21 - "His brother's name was Jubal. He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute."

I believe we can see the design and purpose of music in the meaning of Jubal's name. And by following the "law of first mention" we can see the really get the picture that God is showing us.
The law of first mention is the principle that requires one to go to that portion of the Scriptures where a doctrine is mentioned for the first time and to study the first reference in order to get the fundamental inherent meaning of that doctrine or subject. When we look at the first appearance, which is usually in the simplest form, we can then examine the doctrine in other portions of the Word that were given later. The fundamental concept in the first occurrence remains dominant as a rule, and colors all later additions to that doctrine. So looking at Jubal and this reference we can find some things out that maybe aren't quite so obvious.

Jubal's name literally means "a water flow".

Don't you wonder what the very first music sounded like?
I do. Jubal was a musician and the father of all who play the harp and flute. The first music, I believe, was pure, like flowing water. It would have been, alive and uplifting. Music that touches people and music that is well liked is music that is not only played with skill, but communicates heart to heart. Nobody wants to listen to musicians who have little skill or cannot get across the message of their music. Where a river is flowing, there is a whole range of variation. At places it will be deep, other places it will be shallow, sometimes the flow is slow, sometimes wild. Describe a flowing river, then describe music. They are much the same.

Jubal's parents were Lamech and Adah, the seventh generation from Adam and Eve, who by the way lived to the age of 777, and in his later years was the father of Noah. Lamech's name means "powerful" and Adah means "ornament". I think all of these describe music. Music is so powerful, so influencial and universal that it is pervasive in all societies. Music is also an ornament in that it is valuable and decorative. It is set apart and unique, coming from each instrumentalist uniquely. There is no end to it's creative possibilities. In fact it flows from the Creator and is purely creative in it's nature.

This is the original intent of music; for it to be a flow, alive and moving as a stream moves, giving life like water does. It is intended be pure and unadulterated, not manipulated, or controlling.

The moving of the Holy Spirit is like a water flow. It is alive, it gives life. It is like prophecy which I Cor. 14:3 says "But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men."
In scripture The Holy Spirit has been symbolized by a river. Jesus revealed this when he said in John 7:38-39, "out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. This He spoke of the Holy Spirit."

Psalm 46:6 "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God."
The chapter of Ezekiel 47 is all about the river that flows from the temple and gives life.
And finally, in Revelation 22:1 -
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb."

This scripture seems to mirror the Gen. 4:21 scripture about Jubal.

Clearly, for the people of God, the Israelites, everything they did was to be for God's glory. The instruments David created and used were for the temple worship. Songs, instruments, music - all these had a purpose, for God's glory. We are also sons and daughters of Abraham. To us in the church, our music is to be that of the scripture.
Galatians 3:29 -
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
and thereby the people of God."

Our music should entirely be for God's glory, not for our fame. Even Christian music has an industry in which the stars thereof promote themselves. The music which flows from the throne of God has no pride, no production, no promotion for the musicians. It is not mixed with any of the ways of the world and has no need to copy any of it's styles or licks. On the contrary, it is pure, it is mighty, it is alive and it is highly creative. It is skillful and full of life and love.

This is what I perceive is the original intent of music, like Jubal's name, a water flow. And this is to what I aspire.
~catchtheflow