Worship
Dancing Stones
Strong's Concordance defines ‘worshipped’ as (#4352 proskuneo) ‘to prostrate ones self in homage.’
The Three Wise Men & The King Matthew 2:2, 11
The three wise men announced to Herod they’d seen the star and were now looking for He that was born King of the Jews. Their mission was simple:
*Follow the star
*Find the child
*Worship Him
When they saw the child with his mother, they fell down and worshipped him.
From the beginning it was meant for us to worship. These men recognized this infant as the King above all Kings! They prostrated themselves before the Infant/King and simply worshipped!
The Healer Matthew 8:2 Behold there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou will, thou canst make me clean.
The Leper recognized the Healer, but before he made his request, the Word says he worshipped. I imagine that it was very evident that he was a leper, and Christ could have healed him before the man uttered a word, but he was looking for the worshipper.
The Life Giver Matthew 9:18 Behold there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, my daughter is even now dead: but come and lay hands on her and she shall live.
This man recognized Christ as the Life Giver. But more than that he understood the importance of worship. Before his request was made, the Word says he worshipped.
God is looking for a people who will recognize the King and will worship! Do you think He doesn’t already know our needs? He knows our needs before we even ask or think. He is seeking true worship.
Think for a moment of your friends and family that are not walking with God, and need a touch of Life from the King. Perhaps we need to take the approach of this ruler and worship before requesting.
Healer Matthew 9:20-22 And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: for she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
The word touched, used in the above context, comes from the Greek word haptomai, which mean to attach ones self too. So, in a sense, this woman, by touching the hem of his garment, attached herself to the Healer with the ‘heart cry of worship.’
I picture the scene in my head as being very noisy and chaotic. Christ was probably very crowded and touched by many, but what was the difference between all of the other touches? He heard her ‘heart cry of worship.’ Daughter be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.
Deliverer Matthew 15:22-23 Behold a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts and cried unto him, saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
The word cried, used in the above context, comes from the Greek word kraugazo, which means to clamor. The root of this word is krauge, which means tumult or grief. So this lady was basically beside herself, and when she saw the Deliverer, she cried out to him. She recognized Him, and knew that He alone, was her only help. He was her source of deliverance.
But He answered her not a word. He didn’t respond to her plea for help. He heard her, but He was waiting . . ..
HE IS STILL WAITING
Matthew 15:25 Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord Help me. The lady suddenly came to her senses and remembered the key to the deliverer’s heart was worship.
God is still waiting for the worshippers. He is listening for the ‘heart cry of worship.’ What do you enter your prayer closet for, request or worship? What do you go to church on Sundays for, entertainment or worship?
Now ask yourself this question, what does God hear when He enters your prayer closet or sanctuary? I believe the Christ that was worshipped as an infant is waiting for the ‘true worshipper.’ What are you waiting for, perhaps the proper place?
The Proper Place John 4:19-24 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
The above mentioned, Mount Gerizim was the mountain on which Moses had commanded an alter be built (Deuteronomy 27:46). The Samaritans believed that this particular mountain was very sacred. So the debate had always been, where was the proper place to worship. This lady who was face to face with the King, took the opportunity to settle the argument, and hopefully conclude where the ‘proper’ place to worship would be. 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. God is a spirit: and they that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and truth.
Is it possible that we have searched out the proper place to worship, and constructed fine temples, and organized great music, to find we have left out the ‘heart cry’ of worship? As humans, we are always seeking for the proper place and the proper setting and the proper time, but the proper place is within. Imagine if you will, a congregation that comes together and worships from the heart. Instead, we focus on the proper things.
We build places to worship and then are caught up in agenda’s. We fear offending those around us, and we certainly wouldn’t want to look like a fool. What if God tells me to lie across an alter? What will people think? Perhaps we should take an inventory of our temples, and consider if we still have altars. God is still waiting for the TRUE WORSHIPPER!
Perhaps we believe that we are entertaining God with our precise words, and beautiful music. Do we not know that the music he has surrounding Him would put our pitiful shows to shame?
Have you ever been in a service where you have felt the sweet presence of God? Your eyes are closed, arms uplifted, and tears running from your eyes, only to hear the music end and someone say be seated, ushers will you please come? I have, and sensed immediately the Holy Spirit was grieved. Next service you are in, imagine God basking in the heart cries of His children, and then told to go away cause we have to collect the almighty dollar or hear the special song prepared by the choir. Can you imagine His sorrow?
I speak of the church, but your personal walk is no different. We may enter our prayer closet, but what is the quality? Do we bow down out of duty and habit and fail to worship from within?
Ask yourself, how does God feel when we do this? How many times do we fail to even enter into our prayer closet, thinking we’ll catch God later?
If we want to know the infant that the wise men worshipped, and the Healer, and the Life Giver, and the Deliverer, we must worship from within. God is waiting for the True worshippers that will worship Him in spirit and in truth.
He has no need for showman, or beautiful music. The temple we enter does not have to be fine. The prayer closet doesn’t have to be specially designed. The agenda’s are for us, not Him. In fact, they tend to leave out the important part.
Many years ago we attended church on Sunday morning and Sunday night. At least once or twice a week we came together for Bible study, church or prayer meeting. Then time constraints began to take precedence and we trimmed our services. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not saying you need to be in church seven nights a week. What I think was meant to happen, was, people were suppose to spend more personal time with God so that when we came together we were united and in one accord with a purpose driven congregation with one heart to worship.
What has happened instead is we have a couple Sunday morning services with time constraints, and agendas. The early service has to hurry up for the second service and the second service has to be out before twelve to get the best place in line at the local restaurants. I fully believe if the body spent time on their knees in worship before ever getting to the house of God, we would find a group of people who cared not about time and agendas.
What Will People Think? Luke 19: 37-40
The whole multitude of disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty things they had seen: saying blessed be the King that cometh in the Name of the Lord: peace in Heaven and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out.
This passage of scripture does not say these men were praising with a request to follow, it says they were praising God for all of the mighty things they had seen. We should practice this kind of worship! We should get our eyes off of our needs and understand that He already knows what they are, and cry out from within, with a heart of worship.
You will also notice that certain people wanted these boisterous men hushed. Does this sound familiar? Have you run into situations where it wasn’t acceptable to offer up praise, especially if it is not 'proper'? Have you ever felt like you are being watched because of your form of worship? Have you ever sensed free worship is not welcomed in your church?
Just as Jesus told these people, if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out. I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be anywhere around if stones have to cry out in praise and worship to the King. Do you want to be next to a worshipping stone, simply because we let pride get in the way, or because we don’t have time? Or perhaps it is not the political correct way to worship.
What Are You Waiting For? Revelation 3:3
I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
It is time to consider II Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
God is waiting on the True Worshipper, but folks, time is running out. I don’t know about you, but my back yard is full of stones just waiting to take my place. It is time we cast aside all the hindrances and go back to our first love and recognize the Healer, Deliverer, and Life Giving Redeemer that we serve.
Kick those stones out of the way, and worship like you haven’t got good sense!
© 2005 Jounda LaMance
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“Kick those stones out of the way, and worship like you haven’t got good sense!” I LOVE it!!! As we well know, it is with thanksgiving and praise that we enter His gates and His courts. And it is with worshipping in spirit and in truth that we slip behind that veil that He left torn open for us. There, in the fullness of His presence, (what a wondrous gift!) there is deliverance, healing, answers, LIFE. I go there, Sis, and I never want to return! Yes, I have attended services in which the Spirit of the Lord was, I knew, about to manifest in a wonderful way, only to hear the music stop and the words, “Please take your seat.” Heartbreaking! So we worship in the privacy of our home, falling prostrate across the altars, AND in the fine buildings that men have set up. Let them watch on. I care not. I’m sure my loudest cries of worship are like some kind of offbeat, pitiful, out of tune whisper compared to what goes on in heaven. So I pray only LET MY HEART BE TRUE AND MY WORSHIP BE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD. Stones, stones ... oh, little stones, (and big boulders too!) get out of my way!!!!!
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