| Glorious Habitation | ||
| World Harvest Church > About Us > Worship |
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| Revival that changes lives and transforms community is the strong and continuous manifestation of God's presence. 1. Manifestation of God's presence The omnipresent God manifests His presence discernible to our natural and spiritual senses to minister to needs and to transform lives. a. Tangible effects of the presence of God God's presence manifests with various intensities in different occasions. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them (Acts 2:2-3 NKJV). • Strong manifestation of God's presence is audible, tangible, and visible to us. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV). • God's strong presence releases spiritual liberty to remove demonic oppression, which is heaviness in the heart caused by evil spirits to restrict a person. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Romans 8:6 NKJV). • God's presence deposits 'life' (Zoe, 'life as God has it'). Weariness, lethargy, tiredness, and confusion recede. Strength fills the person (see Isaiah 40:31). And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7 NKJV). • The manifestation of God's presence releases the peace of God into a troubling heart to take away anxiety and to keep it in focus with Christ. For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance (1 Thessalonians 1:5a NKJV). • God's word spoken in strong manifestation of God's presence replaces doubts with assurance, in strong confirmation that God loves you (see Romans 8:16). And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8 NKJV). • The manifestation of God's presence carries strong conviction that speaks to your conscience to repent and to make right with God. b. Beneficial effects of the presence of God God's presence manifests as various spiritual gifts to benefit people. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all (1 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV). • The Holy Spirit manifests to give nine spiritual gifts for us to minister to people's needs. • Word of wisdom : Revelation on how to handle a situation or meet a current need wisely and effectively. • Word of knowledge : Revelation regarding the current needs of people. • Faith : A growing portion of God's own faith for you to operate the effect-gifts. • Gifts of healings : For complete and instantaneous healing to sicknesses. • Working of miracles : God's power to produce results beyond natural abilities. • Prophecy : God's will released to our understanding and spoken into action. • Discerning of spirits : Ability to distinguish the spiritual beings at work behind a situation or problem. • Tongues : Spiritual utterance given for edification, adoration, and revelation. • Interpretation : Translation of tongues into a comprehensible language. 2. Drawing near to God's presence Deep communion with fervent prayers and spiritual worship attracts God. a. Drawing near to God with an open heart Faithful walk with God invites manifestation of His presence. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8a NKJV). • By drawing near to God always, you can experience the manifestation of God's presence in your life all the time, in all situations, and at all places. It requires you to always be quick in resisting Satan and complete in making right with Him always (see James 4:7-9). Fear God and give highest regard to His Word at all times. God revives the spirit of a contrite and humble person that trembles at God's word (see Isaiah 57:15; 66:2). As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever (1 Chronicles 28:9 NKJV). • 'Serving God with a loyal heart and with a willing mind' and 'seeking Him' at all times and in all places. He will manifest His presence and guide you. • Zeal is an expression of your close walk with God. Saul was zealous for God though he was ignorant of the Savior. God treasured his zeal and manifested His presence to call him into ministry (see Acts 22:3, 6). Moses was a zealous believer; he saw and wanted to know why the bush does not burn. God manifested His presence and spoke to him (see Exodus 3:3-4). Daniel sought to understand the revelation given to him earlier with twenty-one days of partial fasting. God saw his fervency and sent an archangel to visit him (see Daniel 10:1-2, 5, 12). b. Drawing near to God in fervent prayers Drawing near to God in fervent prayers invokes the presence of God. As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. … But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him (Luke 9:29, 32 NKJV). • Christ's extended prayer on the mountain must have taken hours, deep into the night, because the three disciples 'were heavy with sleep'. God's presence was visible, audible, and it transformed natural things with a heavenly look. Similarly, His fervent prayer after the baptism drew God's presence to manifest visibly and audibly to people (see Luke 3:21-23). In response to the constant prayers for Peter who was kept in the prison, God commissioned an angel to deliver him supernaturally and miraculously from the prison (see Acts 12:5, 7). c. Drawing near to God in spiritual worship The practice of spiritual worship draws the presence of God. Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever," that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God (2 Chronicles 5:13-14 NKJV). • The glory of God filled the temple at that moment when music and praises were in fervor. An all out worship with spiritual harmony invokes God's visitation. • Generous offering in that worship also had invited strong presence of God. The glory of God filled the whole temple after more than 22,000 bulls and 120,000 sheep were sacrificed (see 1 Kings 8:5, 10-11; 63). • God manifests His authority when 'tehillah' highest praise is offered (see Psalm 22:3). As the Levites who were sent by Jehoshaphat to the war front sang high praise, God defeated all their enemies (see 2 Chronicles 20:22). When David played the melody from God with the harp, the presence of God came and the demon fled from Saul (see 1 Samuel 16:23b). The godly musician whom Elisha asked for played the melody of God with the harp and God gave a prophecy (see 2 Kings 3:15). • Paul and Silas rose above the crisis of being tortured and imprisoned to singing hymns, high praise of the New Testament. God's presence shook the prison, opened prison doors, broke the chains of every prisoner, transformed their lives and released them back to freedom (see Acts 16:25-26; 9:1-20; 2 Corinthians 3:18). 3. Habitation of God's glorious presence Deep affection for God with obedience keeps His holy habitation. "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."… Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:21, 23 NKJV). • 'Home', a permanent dwelling, signifies the habitation of God's presence among His people. Christ promised habitation of God's presence when our love for Him is proven in obedience. • God's ardent desire for us is incomparable (see Hebrews 13:13; Exodus 20:5-6). He loves us all out and expects us to love Him as much (see Mark 12:30). a. All out love moves God's heart Zeal or passion is the strongest state of our love and affection for God. Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up ?" (John 2:17 NKJV). • Zeal had moved Christ to cast out the people who merchandised at the temple. • Knowing God's wrath would destroy the Israelites who had bowed down to the golden calf, Moses went on to a second forty-day full fast by prostrating on the ground (see Deuteronomy 9:9-25). God was so moved by his zeal and relented from His wrath against Israel (see Exodus 32:14). Phinehas, in his zeal for God, thrust a javelin through the couple who were sinning. God stopped the plague because of his zeal (see Numbers 25:1-11). b. All out love sustains revival Unfailing love for God keeps the fire of revival burning. • Revival in Ephesus ended because they did not respond to the warning of restoring their first love for God. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent (Revelations 2:4-5 NKJV). • Revelations 2:1-7 records a warning the Lord gave to the church in Ephesus fifteen years after their initial revival, which started in Paul's two years and three months there and spread to all the surrounding cities. At that time, the church in Ephesus seemed to be doing very well. They had a great testimony (see Revelaion 2:2). They were committed, hard-working, cared for the integrity of ministers, withstood trials tirelessly (see Revelation 2:3) and defended the purity of the doctrine (see Revelaion 2:6). Why then did the revival not continue? • Their 'first love' for God had eventually extinguished after fifteen years and the revival stopped. God regarded they had 'fallen'. • God provided them a remedy to avoid His wrath. 'Repent and do the first works' means they had to forsake some activities irrelevant to the revival and return to their focus on those activities that had ushered in the revival. If they ignore the warning, God would remove their 'lampstand' which signifies ministry like light in the darkness. • Failure in loving God wholeheartedly will cause the end of a fruitful ministry and the death of revival. A person can become so busy in ministry but his heart has departed from loving Him. What happened to the Ephesians came gradually and not suddenly, unknowingly and not intentionally. Heartless service angers the Lord. |
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