Gate of Worship
Keri Baldelli
His Vineyard Christian Fellowship
There is
so much more to the Lord than we have know or have
tasted. We must be absolutely desperate
for His presence, and willing to lay everything aside to run through the gate
of worship and worship the King. This is
a place of desperation and hunger. A hunger for His presence and for righteousness.
God wants to put such a hunger in us that we will desire to press through that
gate and encounter Jesus on the other side.
Read Isaiah 6:1-7. Like Isaiah, a
godly fear should strike us as we recognize our sins and everything about us
that is not right.
We must
desire to be on a quest to see Him and to know Him. We know what the Word reveals about His
nature. We can experience His
presence. We can know His anointing and
gifts. But have we ever seen Him? I believe that while we are on this earth we
can see Him. And I believe that once a
Christian sees Him they will never be the same again.
How do I
know that most of the body of Christ hasn’t seen Him? Because I don’t see the
eternal effects of seeing Him in most believers. I still see us wrestling with silly things,
and still having issues and problems. I
think that once we see Him this life on earth isn’t going to mean
nearly as much to us as it does now.
I know
that in my walk I don’t affect every person I encounter. I know that I pass people every day and they
never know that I am any different that they are. But I am looking to have His likeness
produced in me in a powerful way, so that even my shadow would affect
people. And all for
His glory. Born-again believers
who are filled with Him and have His likeness are supposed to be affecting
people every place they go. We’re not
just supposed to be affecting people on Sunday after a good service, like going
to a restaurant and being polite to the waitress — then on Monday go back to
our old selves again. His glory should
be resting on us continuously such that people we encounter would say, “what is it about you and why is there peace all around
you? What is it in your eyes that I
see? Tell me.” And we will be able to say — Jesus!
What I
find so interesting in Isaiah’s encounter with the Lord is that it was the
seraphim who came to cleanse him with a coal from a fire. If you want to see Him you’re
going to have to accept the fire of God in your life. The fire comes to burn the dross, to burn out
the unrighteousness. The fire comes to
do a deep and wonderful work.
1
Corinthians 13:11-12 says that children see things in part. When we grow up, we begin to see things
clearly and more completely. God doesn’t
want you being bothered by all the cares of the world. So as we grow up we will no longer see things
in part. We are to
see the things of the Lord clearly and completely. He wants to speak to a mature Body that is
having a life-long relationship with Him.
But this maturity won’t come overnight.
It comes from a life-long relationship with Him, and will come quicker
the hungrier we are to seek Him, and to become more familiar with His nature
and His ways.
If you are going to truly worship God, you
cannot sit in your seats on Sunday mornings.
We should all rush to the alter to worship
Him. He is worthy of our praise. Do you know that
it isn’t the worship team’s job to come in on Sunday mornings and to bring the
presence of God to you? We’re supposed
to bring the presence of God in those doors with us and join the
worship team in their worship of God. We
need to bring Him in with us.
Don’t come into the sanctuary and just sit down and wait for the worship
team to start. You should be at the alter before they even arrive crying out for God. Just because the church bulletin or the
church sign says the service starts at
If you will live this lifestyle and become
a worshipper (not just as a thing you do on Sunday mornings or during
the mid-week service), you will find Jesus waiting for you with open arms
waiting to deposit into you. And then
when visitors enter the door of the sanctuary on Sundays they will be bowled
over by the presence of God.
God wants to affect and take over your
life. When you are passionately hungry
for Him you will have times even in your home when He will interrupt your
schedule with His presence. And you will
worship God in that place and at that time.
He wants you to be able to lay down any thing you are doing and worship
Him. If you want to see
Him that is a requirement. Some
of us make ourselves so busy that we never stop to worship. He longs for us to invite Him to sit at our
table, to ride in our car, and to be at our job with us.
You
know, worship isn’t always saying something, or doing something. Worship can be absolute silence. Absolute silence is said to be the highest
form of worship because it means that I’ve got nothing I could possibly say
that could possibly compare to what He desires for me. At this place I just want to embrace Him with
my heart.
We are
to get everything we need from Him and bring it to the world — and affect the
world. It is in the throne room of God
that we will find out what God wants and what He is doing, and bring it back
down to here where we live and dwell.
The only way people who don’t know of the goodness of God are going to
taste Him is through you and I. Worship brings us into the throne
room. And through the blood of Jesus Christ
we have access to that throne room.
Thank you Lord!
You
know, not many Christians are willing to pay this price. It is true that the price for our redemption
has been paid, but there is still a price that you and I will have to pay to be
more like Him. Are you ready and
willing? This walk will not be
easy. But I believe that there is a new
hunger for Him being birthed in you, and I believe that your worship is going to become an absolute
life-style. Praise Jesus for evermore!
Gary
and Kerri Baldelli pastor His Vineyard Christian
Fellowship in
This
Ephesians Ministries International®
article is a publication of Ephesians Ministries International®.
Ephesians
Ministries International,
Http://ephesiansministries.org