BENEFITS OF PRACTICING HIS PRESENCE

The Benefits of Practicing His Presence

1.  Personal Transformation

    2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord.  And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more."

    You see, worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped.  It is not God who is changed when we glorify Him.  As we proclaim His excellent greatness, we are changed.  As we draw close to God in worship, it allows Him to work deep in our lives to change us into the likeness of His Son.

    Worship is where the fire of God's altar can be applied to points of failure in our lives.  Isaiah 6:6&7 says, "Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.  With it he touched my mouth, and said: 'See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven'".

    Even as the woman, who in Luke 7:36, broke open the alabaster jar of expensive perfume to anoint Jesus' feet, we too must "break open our alabaster jars" in acts of extravagant worship in the presence of the Most High God.

    I'd like to draw your attention to the fact that, as she was worshiping Him, Jesus turned to her and said, "Your sins are forgiven".  It doesn't say anywhere that she had even asked Him to forgive her.  There is a place of intimacy where we're so close to the heart of God that, often, we don't even have to ask for anything.  But nevertheless, unspoken requests are granted, and we are transformed.

2.  Renewed Purpose

    Isaiah emerged from that heavenly Throne room as a man of vision, direction, strength and mission.  He was made able to stand his ground in life, only after being swept off his feet by God.

    Worshiping God helps us readjust our focus when we begin to lose sight of His will for our lives.

    Hundreds of thousands of lives have a renewed sense of calling and purpose since we met together in Washington, DC at "The Call".  Why?  Because we  set aside our agendas, and we worshiped the Lord.  We cried out to Him, and He heard and answered our cries.

3.  Indwelling Power

    Professor Robert E. Webber says that for years, the church has emphasized evangelism, teaching, fellowship, missions and service to society to the neglect of the very source of its power  WORSHIP.  The work done by a worshiper has eternal impact.

    We have so many vital things that we're doing, but we must be careful not to come unplugged from the source of the Power to function.

    The one thing that made Israel different than all other nations was that God's presence dwelled with them.  And the one thing that is going to set you apart, and cause you to have the greatest power and impact for His kingdom, will be because His presence dwells in your life through worship.

 

    I want to be a person that spends time and effort creating a dwelling place for the glory of God, not perfecting my programs and my performances.

4.  Anointing

    Worship releases God's anointing to break the yokes of bondage, oppression, infirmity, doubt and fear.

    As we declare His attributes during praise and worship, i.e. our Healer, our Provider, our Peace etc., He brings those attributes to bear on our present circumstance.

    Paul and Silas, after being thrown into a dungeon prison despite their suffering began to praise and worship God, and in response to that, God shook the prison with an earthquake, and the chains fell off of every prisoner in there.

5.  Revival

    Jesus said in John 12:32, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself".  When we lift up His Name in worship, there will be a gathering or drawing of people.  This "drawing" comes from the presence of the living God who dwells in, and is enthroned upon the praise and worship of His people, this according to Psalm 22:3.

    As the glory of the Lord begins to manifest itself in ever increasing measure in our lives, and in our gatherings, we are going to need divine strategies to minister to the people that are going to come flooding into those gatherings in the coming days.

    If we will abandon ourselves to Him in our worship, He will give us divine power and those divine strategies to be prepared for this coming revival.

6.  Victory

    The Puritans believed that every problem that surfaced in their society had, at its roots, a breakdown in worship.

    Judgment would come upon Israel whenever that nation broke its covenant vows, worshiped false gods, and allowed injustice and violence to destroy the shalom, or well-being, that should prevail within the family of God.

    Judges 2:12-15 says, "They abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They chased after other gods, worshiping the gods of the people around them. And they angered  the LORD. 13 They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. 14 This made the LORD burn with anger against Israel, so he handed them over to marauders who stole their possessions. He sold them to their enemies all around, and they were no longer able to resist them. 15 Every time Israel went out to battle, the LORD fought against them, bringing them defeat, just as he promised. And the people were very distressed.

    However, when Israel's worship was performed genuinely and properly, the Lord granted them victory over their enemies.  When their worship was corrupted by deceit, greed and false motives, defeat followed.

    2 Chronicles 20 (The story of King Jehoshephat)  I believe that this is proof that as you sing and listen to the right kind of music, there will be battles that you will never have to fight.  You will walk in victory over your enemies.  However, if you sing and listen to the wrong kinds of music, you're setting yourself up to have to fight some pretty ugly battles in your mind and heart.