We don't Clap to Praise God

 

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice (Psalm 141:2).

It’s important to understand the spirituality of ministry and the place of music and expressions of worship in the house of God. Clapping, for instance, which many are very used to in church, is neither praise nor worship. While clapping is not wrong, it must be put in its proper place.

Clapping is applause; it’s a sign of approval or excitement. Spiritually, however, it doesn’t equate to praising or worshipping God. You’ve probably heard people say, “Let’s clap for Jesus.” But clapping is not how the Bible teaches us to worship or praise the Lord.

True worship is expressed with words, songs of the Spirit, and the lifting of our hands in reverence to God. For example, we saw from our opening scripture that the lifting of hands is an act of worship recognized in heaven. The New Testament praise and worship is in spirit and truth, as Jesus said the Father desires (John 4:23-24).

When a miracle happens and people clap, they’re not praising God; they’re expressing approval or excitement. The danger is that in doing so, they sometimes neglect to give God the actual worship He deserves as a result of such a miracle. This is why we must be instructed by the Word. Worship must always be rooted in knowledge, not habit.

So, while clapping has its place as a human response to events, true praise and worship must come from your spirit, expressed through your words, songs, the lifting of your hands, and other expressions in worship that the Bible talks about. This is what glorifies the Lord. We may clap in celebration of victories, but that’s not praise: “O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Psalm 47:1).

PRAYER

Dear Father, thank you for the understanding of true worship and the revelation that we are the true circumcision that worship you in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh. Even now, I worship you from the bottom of my heart, for you’re the only true God, righteous, holy, just, gracious, pure and kind. Thank you for your glory in my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

FURTHER STUDY ‭‭John 4:23-24 KJV But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. [24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

‭‭Psalm 63:3-5 NIV Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. [4] I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. [5] I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

‭‭Psalm 9:1-2 KJV I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. [2] I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING

1-Year Bible Reading Plan Mark 10:32-52 & Numbers 14-15

2-Year Bible Reading Plan Acts 24:1-9 & Psalm 56

EXCERPT FROM=> Rhapsody Of Realities Daily Devotional

What it means to be a Servant of the Lord

"O Lord, I am your willing servant...I don't ask you for anything much so Lord let me have this request:

Please don't send me to Africa

I don't think I've got what it takes

I'm just a man; I'm not Tarzan 😬

I don't like lions, gorillas and snakes... 😭😭🙈

...please don't send me out into the bush where the natives are restless at night...

I'll tithe 11% 🤔😩

I'll volunteer for the nursery

I'll usher

I'll deacon

I'll go door to door

Just please let me keep warming this seat."

Is this really the willing servant s/he claims to be?

Find out what it means to be a servant of the Lord in this enlightening message by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, preached at the Mountain of the Lord Camp 2018.

Get it here for FREE: https://bit.ly/2OZ5xW3

Understand how much He loves you

She was wearing a red apron. Under the blazing hot sunshine she rinsed her cupped right hand in a blue bowl. In full glare of commuters on board buses and pedestrians traversing the pavement, she was preparing to eat her breakfast, or so.

She had no umbrella to shield her from the sunshine, only her red hat, which served as a makeshift shield from the sunshine. She looked almost forty- probably a mother of three or less. Sitting on the sidewalk to sell plastic wares seemed to be the source of her livelihood. No doubt, she might even have been a single mother. Nonetheless, she would still raise her kids and put them through school.

As I mused over the woman's plight, I was hit with a very sobering thought. Where could the children be now? Are they aware of how much their mum suffers daily in order to put them through school and provide for their basic needs? Are they making the most of the opportunities given them to broaden their scope of thinking through education?

The thought went further to mirror the sacrifice of Jesus with the toil of that dear woman. Of course, her toil is nowhere near the sacrifice of Jesus.

But I'm sure that if you asked her, "Why are you going through all this?", her instinctive answer would be, "It's for the love of my children."

You see, God loved you so much that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ as a ransom for your life. Jesus Christ suffered at the hands of Roman soldiers who brutally scourged Him and ripped His flesh apart in shreds. He went to the cross, and bled and gave up the ghost, in your place.

Then, on the third day after His burial He was raised from the dead.

Now, you have received His life- if you have received Him into your life as your Lord.

His life is what propels you to live above the normal plane of life of mere men. Further, it is His love- His suffering- that compels you to live for His glory!

His love delivers you from evil and shows you that it's not worth living for self anymore, but Him alone.

You see, the Word says that the goodness of God leads men to repentance (Romans 2:4).

There isn't any reason to waste your life anymore if you understand how much the Lord loves you.

Believe in His love for you and be empowered by that love to live for His glory, pleasing Him in every way and showing forth the praise of Him!

Let your New Man Out!

by Gloria Copeland

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

– Romans 12:1



When you made Jesus Christ Lord of your life, you became what the Bible calls a “new creature.” Inside, you’re not the same person you were before. You have the nature of God born into you. But it’s not enough for you just to have that new nature on the inside. You have to let it take over the outside as well.

Don’t expect that to happen automatically. You have to make a decision to bring your body into obedience to the new man within you. You must determine to do what Romans 6:12 says and “let not sin...reign in your mortal body….”

I know that sounds tough, but remember, you’re not in this alone. You have a Helper inside you to enable you to carry out that decision. His Name is the Holy Spirit. He’s there to strengthen you. He gives you the power to put sin out of your life and under your feet.

Make that decisive dedication of your body today—and let that new man that’s on the inside of you begin to come out!

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This post is culled from the From Faith to Faith Devotional by Kenneth Copeland Ministries.

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God wants your body; present it to Him!

In 2003, an unassuming Ghanaian man went to Florida to do a presentation. His presentation was clear, fluid and won the hearts of his audience. As he presented to his audience, there were some other Ghanaian gentlemen seated at the back who saw the most ethereal thing on the face of the earth radiate from the presenter. So after his presentation, they walked up to him and said, "We saw your face radiating the glory of God when you were presenting and you were not even preaching!" They had no doubt that he had been with Jesus. 

When we obediently present our bodies to the Lord Jesus Christ, we become bearers of His glory to the world.

That unassuming Ghanaian man was Apostle Victor Badger, the Apostle in charge of campus ministries of Gospel Light International Church. He shared a stirring message entitled "God wants your body; present it to Him" on Sunday, 17th September, 2017 during the Communion & Anointing Service of the Kingdom Cathedral of Gospel Light International Church. 

Quoting from Romans 12:1, which says, *"I beseech ye therefore,  brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."*, the man of God enunciated that God wants our bodies. He wants us to willingly present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice.

Present your body to Him. Give it to Him. Philippians 4:8 will help you to do so diligently. God wants you to give yourself completely to things that are pure, just, lovely, true, honest, and of good report.

Apostle Badger expounded that in the Old Testament, when the Jews brought the sacrifice to the altar, there was a *change in position* and a *change in usage*. The glorious revelation came forth that when we present our bodies unto the Lord, there is a change in our position (from being common to being holy) and there is a change in usage (from use for the ordinary to use for the glory of God).

God chose you for a cause. You have been brought in by the High Priest to the House of God. 

He urged the congregation, saying, "Allow the Master to use you. God has now changed your position and your usage. You are no longer used for ordinary and common things. Your body is no more for yourself but for His glory and for His use."

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Was this message a blessing to you? Please send your comments/questions/testimonies to 0545055193/0209334091. You can also join us this Sunday for a sweet time of fellowship at 7:30 am at the Kingdom Cathedral of Gospel Light International Church (inside the Benchmark Building).

You are blessed and loved with the everlasting love of the Father!

Get edified at www.gospellightint.org/nu

Going to Church: How important is it to you?

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Some Christians think they should only go to church when it’s convenient. They believe God is everywhere, so you don’t necessarily have to go to church to serve or worship Him. It’s not right. Our opening scripture expresses the importance of going to church. It chides those who don’t and admonishes us not to be like them.

There should be a compulsion in your heart to be in church when you should. Cultivate that personal discipline. God says it’s important so it must be to you too. In the Old Testament, He said to the children of Israel, _*“Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year”*_ (Exodus 34:23-24).

Notice what He told them; He promised them those lands, through their fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But the lands were occupied by enemy nations who were naturally stronger than Israel. However, God was going to cast out the nations from before them, give them their possessions, enlarge their borders and protect them. The blessing of verse twenty-four was fully dependent on their obedience in verse twenty-three; their being in the designated place of worship when they should. It’s all about priorities.

This year, as you make it a priority to be present in your church, fellowship and cell-group meetings, God’s mighty hand of protection will rest upon all that you do! His Word that’ll come to you will lift you, and keep you perpetually above every evil, destruction, hardship and terror. You’ll ride upon the high places of the earth, walking in abundance, and in the wisdom of the Spirit. Hallelujah!  

                    PRAYER

Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for the opportunity to be instructed by your Word. Not only do I provoke those in my world to good works, I do not forsake the assembling of the church; the blessings of fellowship with you and with fellow believers is seen and manifested in my life, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Further Study:

Psalm 133:1-3 Behold, how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 [It is] like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, [even] Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, [and as the dew] that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, [even] life for evermore.

Psalm 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.

EXTRACT FROM: Rhapsody of Realities Daily Devotional

Where did the Fear come from? (Part 4)

by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome D.Sc. DD.

God's yardstick for measuring your thoughts.

God didn't just instruct us to mount guard at the door of our hearts and disallow anything from passing through that shouldn't; He also shows us exactly how to place that guard over our minds- by choosing the thoughts we allow passage. 

In other words, He didn't just tell us to renew our minds without showing us how. He told us the files to delete from our minds and the new ones to download and replace them with.

"Finally,  brethren, whatsoever things are TRUE,  whatsoever things are HONEST,  whatsoever things are JUST,  whatever things are PURE,  whatsoever things are LOVELY,  what so ever things are of GOOD REPORT; if there be any VIRTUE, and if there be any PRAISE,  think on these things" (Philippians 4:8).

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This piece is an excerpt from The Power Of Your Mind by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome D.Sc. DD.
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A Special Teaching on Fellowship (Part 3): Levels of Fellowship

1. Fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.

1 John 1:3

We have fellowship with the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit by;

a. Praying, especially praying in the Spirit.

The Apostles ministered to the Lord in prayer and fasting, worshipping the Lord; and the Lord ministered to them (Acts 13:2).

b. Meditation on the Word of God.

The Word of God teaches us. The Scriptures become God's Voice to us.

Notice the following:

The spoken Word became the living Word. The living Word left us the written Word.

Now, the written Word becomes living when the Holy Spirit breathes upon it in us.

Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors. (Psalm 119:24)

God's testimony is His witness. It is His declaration, His proclamation and His record!

You see, God wants us to be like Him through His Word.

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. (Proverbs 23:26)

When you study the Word, you receive wisdom; that's where the strength, victory and faithfulness of God is.

2. Fellowship with one another through the Church.

We are members of the Church which is the Body of Christ and Jesus is the Head of this Body.

Now, every congregation is a microcosm of the Church of Jesus Christ.

And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (Hebrews 10:24)

Don't skip the meetings.

Consider how you can inspire your brethren to love and good works so that they don't stray.

There are some in the Church that the Father is not pleased with (Hebrews 10:25).

When we meet to fellowship, we exhort one another; we do not condemn one another (1 Corinthians 14:12, 26).

Fellowship is God's design to help you to grow.

God wants His gifts deposited in us to come forth through the uniqueness of our personality.

Find God's plan and follow it; don't create your own.

3. Fellowship with those the Lord has specially brought into your life (spouse, children, friends, partners and co-labourers in the Lord).

Learn to recognize them.

Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said , Thine are we , David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band. (1 Chronicles 12:18)

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. (Psalm 68:11)

This is the final part of the video message entitled A Special Teaching on Fellowship by Rev. Dr. Chris Oyakhilome D.Sc. D.D.

We trust you have been blessed by this series. Kindly give us feedback on how you intend to put this message to work by commenting below.

#Quotidian...grow daily!

A Great While before Day

It is as though sleep and dawn are big conspirators against our progress. At dawn, sleep sweetens itself and dawn stealthily whispers "it's not day yet." Despite the several appeals of our alarm clocks, it suffers the brunt of our indifference or snoozing skills. It is almost as though our bodies are injected with doses of relentless drowsiness. Great men have a similar experience but a different response: they have mastered sleep and have disciplined themselves to be awake.
Abraham was an early riser, so was Moses, Joshua, David and many of God's giants. Our Lord Jesus himself was the trailblazer
"And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." Mark 1:35
Notice how Mark captures Jesus' habit: A great while before day! If the master did it, how much more the servants. If you wake up after 6am often, it is most likely a recipe for failure. Don't be found sleeping when you should praying or reading. Research indicates that the most productive people are early risers.
Listen to Philip Doddridge: "The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning, for forty years, supposing a man to go to bed at the same hour at night, is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”
This year, one of your top resolutions should be to wake up early. It is the hinge of the day. Waking up between 3 - 5 am is certainly a great start.
Will you wake up early tomorrow ?

Further studies: Ex 34:4, 1 Sam 1:19, Ps 63:1, Lk 22:45-46
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Do you worship idols?

by Lisa Bevere

Do you worship idols? This may seem like a strange question, but hear me out.

Most of us have not erected pillars or figures of stone in our houses or yards, but that does not mean we are not carrying idols in our hearts. An idol is anything that you give your strength to or draw your strength from other than God. It is where you go to get your life. It could be what you run to as a refuge. This could range from something as mundane as food or as far reaching as your involvement with social networks. God is our strength, life, and refuge. No person, relationship, organization, or thing is to have power over you, except God.

For some of us, our feelings are an idol. If we feel beautiful, we believe we are beautiful. If we feel good, we believe we are good. If we live by our feelings alone, they will lie to us and it will not be long before we are led astray.

When you elevate what is human, you become limited to what humans can create. Idols are forms without function. They hold the appearance of life without any of the power of quickening it in others.

Are there any areas in your life where you’ve unwittingly set up idols? 
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Lisa Bevere, together with her husband, John Bevere, head Messenger International, a global ministry dedicated to teach, reach and rescue. They have authored several books unveiling the holiness of God and redirecting the Church back to its main purpose: worship.

Learn more about John and Lisa here: www.messenger international.org

Get a free extract of Lisa's new book, Without Rival, here: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/5130b9b7-0d77-4792-9215-c14dde193271
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#Quotidian...grow daily!

Freedom from Sin (Part 7)

by R. Kent Hughes

The logic of our passage is compelling in its three key words: “know... consider... present.” Do we know something of our amazing solidarity with Christ—that we actually participated in his death and resurrection? We do not completely understand it, but do we at least understand that the Scriptures claim this union for us? Then, have we consciously set to our account that we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus? Finally, have we yielded our entire lives to him?

If so, then we know the answer to those who argue that grace encourages sin. As Romans 6:14 tells us: “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Grace has delivered us from the old system.

When as a young teenager Stuart Briscoe was drafted into the Royal Marines during the Korean War, he came under the control of a particularly imposing regimental sergeant major who strode around the barracks leaving a train of tough men quaking in their boots. Briscoe did not realize how dominant this man had become in his life until the day he was released from the Marines. Clutching his papers in one hand, he was luxuriating in his newfound freedom to the extent of putting the other hand in his pocket, slouching a little, and whistling—sins so heinous that if they had been observed by the sergeant major, they would have landed him in big trouble! Then Briscoe saw him striding toward him. On an impulse he sprang into the posture of a Marine until he realized that he had died to him. He was not dead, and neither was the sergeant major. But as far as the sergeant major’s domination of his life was concerned, it was all a matter of history. So Briscoe did some reckoning, decided not to yield to the man’s tyranny, and demonstrated that fact by refusing to swing his arms high and march as if on parade and keep his back at ramrod stiffness. Instead he presented his feet, hands, and back to his newfound freedom as aformer Marine—and the sergeant major could not do a thing about it!

Let us continue considering ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Freedom from Sin (Part 6)

by R. Kent Hughes

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Romans 6:11). The word translated “consider yourselves” or “reckon” (KJV) is one of the most important words in Romans. Paul uses it nineteen times in the letter, and if one does not know what it means he or she will not understand Romans. It is a commercial term that means “to impute to one’s account.” The idea is, we are to reflect on our position in Christ. Then we are to set two things to our account: 1) We are “dead to sin.” And 2) we are “alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Have you ever taken the time to consider the fact that you participated in the events of the cross, that you died and that you were resurrected with Christ? If not, why not do it right now. This is prevention theology. So much of our time is spent in corrective theology—what to do when we sin, as for example in 1 John 1:9 (“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”). This is good and necessary. But reflecting upon our identification with Christ is even better because it curbs our sinning. This reckoning to our account is something we are to constantly do, as the present tense of the verb indicates: “Keep on counting yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

So far Paul has told us what we must know about our union with Christ. Then he explained about the necessity of reckoning. Now he tells us we must act. Theory must produce action.

Romans 6:12commands: “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” Exactly what does this mean? Paul is very precise and clear, and his answer falls into two corresponding halves. The first isnegative: “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness” (Romans 6:13). That is, do not keep on making the parts of your body (your tongue, hands, feet) available as tools of unrighteousness. Be on constant guard against doing this. And while you are doing this, take positiveactions: “present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:13). The tense here demands a decisive once-and-for-all act. All of us must come to a time when we present everything to God for righteousness. This does not rule out subsequent commitments as well, but this initial time of surrender must come to all of us.

God, here I am—alive from the dead! I have died with Christ and have been resurrected with Christ. Praise your name. Now here is my body (my arms, my voice, my eyes). Take them all, that they might be instruments of righteousness and not of sin.

Have you done this? Perhaps you have done the no—refusing to yield your body to the service of sin. That is good, but it is not enough. There must be the yes—“Take and use my entire life, Lord.”