Worship Movement and Spiritual Warfare

These are exciting days to be alive in Christ Jesus! Assuming the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to be alert to His commands concerning worship and the role it plays in accomplishing His battle strategy for these important times. In a commonly misquoted passage, Isaiah 10:27, it is the anointing oil that breaks the yoke. God has a specific battle plan for these last days. If we will seek Him with all of our hearts, we will come to know and participate in it.

Some basic principals we must understand are:

God's address is our address. God lives in His body. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We must come as little children, for according to Jesus, the kingdom cannot be inhabited by anyone else. We must come in the beauty of holiness, which is available to us through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Worship is a response to a revelation. The Goal is -Worship. There will be no evangelizing or preaching in heaven, only-worship. God wants worshipers from every tongue, tribe, people and nation around His throne. His method of accomplishing this is Spirit and truth. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit (pneumati), and truth (aletheia), John 4:24. God, by His Spirit, will draw all men to Himself when His Name is lifted up in worship.

What is our motivation for this response of worship? "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created." Rev 4:11 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. God is worthy of our worship even if He never does another thing for us. The cross of Christ is enough. Because of His grace, however, He promises to hear us if we remain in His presence.

A Natural Principal Illustrates a Spiritual Truth. Worship as a spiritual concept can be understood by observing the natural principals that govern the hydrologic cycle. The sun shines on a body of water, causing water to evaporate. This evaporated water rises in the form of steam to form clouds. Moisture condenses in the clouds to form rain. As rain is released on the land, it is absorbed and travels back to the sea, where the process in repeated. In the same way, worship rises to God in response to revelation. As worship rises to heaven, God responds by blessing us, which returns to Him in the form of more worship. Amen!

Some examples of Scriptural references to Davidic or Psalmic worship can be found in the Psalms: "Praise His Name in the Dance "(Psalm 149:3), "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary" (Psalm 134:2), "Clap your hands, all ye people!" (Psalm 47:1), and "Come let us worship and bow down" (Psalm 95:6).

Our Authority in Christ. In order to operate fully in the anointing of a worshiper, we must understand our authority in Christ. In His original plan, God created mankind to rule on the earth as His representatives. Because of disobedience to His commands, mankind lost their privileged position and authority. One of the redemptive purposes of Jesus Christ at His incarnation was to purchase back mankind's positional authority and the dominion over creation we lost at the fall. In God's new plan: the second verse is the same as the first. As Jesus commissioned His church, He basically repeated God's original instructions to tend and cultivate the earth, teaching it to obey everything He has commanded. And, lo, He is with us, even to the end of the age.

Figure 3: Weapons of our Warfare: 2 Cor 10:4-6 (Not an exhaustive list)

A. The Mighty Name of Jesus: (Acts 3:16, 4:12, Philippians 2:10-11)

B. The Word of God: (Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4, Deuteronomy 8:3)

C. The blood of Christ: (Revelation 12:11)

D. Obedience:: (Psalm 119:165, 2 Chronicles 16:9)

E. Praise: (Psalm 47, Psalm 149:6-9)

F. Praying in the Spirit: (Romans 8:26-28)

G. Humility: (1 Peter 5: 5-9)

H. Worship: Shachah! (Psalm 29)

In God's battle strategy, He initiates the encounter. God fights through us and In some cases for us. God's purposes are accomplished through our obedience as we worship Him in complete trust. For some examples, examine Moses' experience with God at the Red Sea, Joshua at Jericho, David before the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon at the Temple Dedication, Jehoshaphat in battle, revival under King Joash, revival under King Hezekiah, revival under King Josiah, rebuilding the post-exilic Temple, and worship around the throne of God in Heaven

Why did David dance? Because he understood the battle plan. Why does God dance? Because we understand the battle plan.