Fire On Your Head

“Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’
Therefore, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.’
‘Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.’
‘I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,’ declares the Lord.” -Ez. 37.11-14

This well known visionary experience of Ezekiel gives us a glimpse into the kind of death that is necessary for resurrection life to ensue- namely, death in totality to everything that issues forth from the arrogance and presumption of man. Here we have a picture of “the whole house of Israel,” and they have been reduced to this self-description, “Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.”

There are at least 5 common ways that scholars interpret this passage, and I haven’t the time to touch on them all here. I will say that I am convinced that the vision has a partial application to the Babylonian exile and return, and I am also convinced that the vision overall must pertain to a future death and resurrection that the people of Israel will pass through. That is to say, when the remnant of Israel, which represents the “whole house,” has come entirely to the end of her striving, realizes the dryness of the bones which she previously thought had contained life, and becomes aware that all political, religious, and humanistic hopes have perished, the light of the Gospel will break in so profoundly that they will be raised up, “an exceedingly great army.” (v. 10)

Hear this from OT scholar, Walther Zimmerli:

…. Ezek. 37:1-14 expresses the event of the restoration and the regathering of the politically defeated all-Israel.

Before the resurrection of the dry bones of Israel occurs in a way that shall never be reduced or reversed, she must come to the place where all of the crutches she has leaned on for want of the true knowledge of God have been removed from her forever.

Hear Zimmerli once more:

…. vv. 12 and 13 hit exactly what is meant, that God’s people should be wholly the people of God- that is the aim of this new gift of life. Where the return of God in a new freedom and in a new linking of what was previously separated becomes a reality, there God will have achieved His aim.

…. Only when, as a result of this event, the great awareness dawns and men no longer appear with their own achievements, no matter how magnificently righteous these might be, but when they realize that God reveals himself in the miracle of his free promise of life- only there does God’s action achieve its goal. There all ecclesiastical prerogatives collapse, and there remains only the praise given to the God who in the majestic freedom of his faithfulness (“for the sake of my holy name”), has revealed himself to his community.

(Ezekiel 2: Hermeneia- A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible, Walther Zimmerli; Fortress Press, Philadelphia: 1983, p. 264, 266 [emphasis mine])

As Zimmerli notes so wonderfully, when Israel comes to the end of herself, when she is “politically defeated” and when “all ecclesiastical prerogatives have collapsed, and there remains only the praise given to the God who in the majestic freedom of his faithfulness,” reveals “Himself to His community,” then will He have fulfilled His great work in history.

Turning to the Church now, the question needs to be raised, “To what degree have we allowed the Lord to bring us to a place of political defeat, and have our ecclesiastical prerogatives collapsed?”

Have we a hope in the government of men, or are we leaning on some kind of ministerial program? Have we clung to creature comforts and political opinions as our safeguard, or have we an utter abandonment to “God who in the majestic freedom of His faithfulness,” reveals Himself to us?

Are we chasing after the American dream? Have we got aspirations after ministry and recognition that are devoid of a jealousy for the glory of God?

Before we can move Israel to jealousy, and be an intercessory witness toward her, we ourselves have got to be wrenched loose from the same kinds of influences and paradigms that will require the reduction of Israel to a valley of dry bones in the last days. We need an apostolic faith, and if Ez. 37 represents anything, it represents the dynamic of God’s government, which is to say: resurrection life only issues forth from the death that truth requires. Ezekiel 37 describes Israel’s eschatological regrafting into the apostolic Gospel. It will be a glorious day.

But before then, the question remains, how deeply have we come into the necessary death ourselves? We need our ecclesiastical prerogatives to collapse, and to be totally caught up in praise of the One who has given Himself so lavishly for our deliverance. Let the hollow pursuits perish. Let our desire for recognition and prominence be shed from us forever. Let us be caught up in the primacy of worship and the glory of sonship. The Lamb of God is worthy, for He was slain, raised up, and He ascended to the right hand of the Father. He will return with passion in His heart and vengeance in His eyes, and I want to break free from all that hinders a full rejoicing in that great Day.

What about you?

We have heard it said that in the last days the good will be called bad and the bad will be called good. During creation, each day God saw everything that He had created was good. Satan wants to flip over everything upside down. He wants people to call good things “bad” and bad things “good.” Therefore, those without a relationship with God will in general or naturally, do the opposite of God.

“There is a way which seems right to a man but its end is the way of death.” “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weights the hearts.” Proverbs 16:25; 21:2

Restoration and Rebellion

God is good. The ways of men-which are inspired by the rebellion of Satan- are evil. This is why we need a Savior.  Jesus undid that which Adam allowed to control the whole human race; the influence, control, and manipulation of Satan.

In God, who is good, there is always restoration. In Satan, who is bad, there is always rebellion. So, who says what is evil, bad and rebellious? God! Not man. Remember, each man will go his own way, thus dissolving any moral standards. With God, the plumb-line of truth is drawn. This is not to keep us from being free, but to liberate us from the desire to do as we please. This desire, when unmasked, is demonic inspiration. Living for God keeps us free from falling into the self-liberating traps of the enemy.

The Order of Creation

The enemy wants to flip the order of creation upside-down so it will worship him instead of God. We think we are free when we pursue self, but in reality we are obeying Satan. If we get out eyes off God and on ourselves we have been deceived. This is the reason why Peter was rebuked so harshly by Jesus. Jesus revealed that He must suffer and die, and then be raised up. This did not sit well with Peter so he actually rebuked Jesus for it. Peter took his eyes off Jesus and did what seemed right to him. What Peter did not realize is that he was actually being led by Satan.

“But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interest, but man’s.’ ” Matthew 16:23

Can you believe that Peter rebuked Jesus? How many times have we done the something for the sake of reasoning or “wisdom?”

In Romans 1 Paul mentions the order of creation. The creation is supposed to worship the Creator. The thing which will turn our hearts is creation looking at itself rather than God. This is the very thing Satan did when he fell.

“But you said in your heart ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God…’ ”

“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13a: 14 (emphasis mine).

Now he is trying to reproduce this death in us. He is death and his aim is to reproduce death wherever he goes (Job 1:7). Just as Satan wants to reproduce himself in us; it is only because God was doing it first. Jesus did the opposite. He did not look at Himself, He looked at God (Phil 2:4-11). Jesus is life and He produces life wherever He goes. Death cannot stand in His presence. Now He is reproducing His life in us who believe.

The Reversal

The devil looked to himself instead of God. This is not the order of creation. In worship we are to look to the Highest One, the Father. The first fall is to look to ourselves, next we fall further by worshiping animals, and finally we even start to worship the things that crawl on the ground. This is out of order to say the least. When this happens a reversal takes place in our hearts, the good becomes bad, and the bad becomes good. We were looking up to God-the highest place: And now we are looking at bugs-the lowest place. This is unnatural, for we are created to be supernatural. This happens by seeking God and not our own ways.

“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” Romans 1:21-23

The gaze of men went from looking above themselves to looking at themselves, and then to birds, then animals, then reptiles (ironic that the devil is a serpent). The order is reversed. The fruit of this is chaos and death. It’s unnatural in every way.

Producing Good Fruit

“For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, no, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.” Luke 16:23

Bad trees cannot produce good fruit. There is no reproduction of creation, that which God created and called good (Genesis 1). This reproductive reversal causes men to have relations with other men, and women with other women. Nothing can be reproduced because the order of creation has been flipped in their hearts by believing the devil’s lie.

“Therefore God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also men abandoned that natural function of women and burned in their desire for one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Romans 1:26-27

In creation there is natural reproduction. In Homeosexuality there is no reproduction, also it  does not produce good fruit. It is a result of looking to ourselves and not to God. It just doesn’t happen naturally, nor does it practically work. To be homosexual, man has to try and change in some way the natural flow and parts God created for us to enjoy sex and reproduce. This is like removing the ancient boundries (Prov 22:28); altering the way of creation so man can fulfill his own pleasures (read all of Romans 1 for context).

Drawn to God

The book of Romans is about the obedience of the faith (verses 1:5; 16:26). There is a draw in every man’s heart to do good because we were created in the image of God, Who is good. The trick of the enemy is to try to draw that good from ourselves rather than drawing it from God. This results in an unfulfilled life because life comes from God. We did not create ourselves, so we must not look to ourselves by going our own ways, but we must look to God, our Creator.

God is not a puppet master. He came to cut the strings the enemy has placed in our lives that pull us this way and that. The enemy has tried to conceal this by reversing the idea of good and bad in our hearts. God is good and He has a good life for you. To know Him is so much better than anything we can accomplish in ourselves. He will use us to do things that are so awesome that we are not even able to imagine them. He loves us and longs to set us free, and that is what this message is all about.

Lord may this word slice through the enemy’s lines of lies that he has set in your children’s hearts. Take away from it me and add to it You, so they may know how much You love them. Amen.

There is an expression in worship that is seldom tapped into. This kind of expression causes a collision between heaven and earth. This is an expression of “deep crying unto deep.” This is the deepest part of man expressing his trueness to the deepest part of God. This is God expressing His deepest and truest part to man. This is Spirit to spirit, mind to mind, and heart to heart. Out of this true expression, true fellowship is born.

The truest forms of worship are derived in the deepest levels of intimacy. There is an expression that is born between a husband and wife that cannot be expressed in any other way. The more intimate the setting, the more we let our walls down and open up ourselves to generate the freedom to express the true inner feelings inside of ourselves. This is where true interaction takes place-when we let our guard completely down. Here, we allow God to peer down and see the deepest and most secluded chambers of our hearts. This is our secret place connecting with His, Spirit to spirit and Truth to truth. And from this place true expression is born. You are free to express who you really are and worship Him in Spirit and in truth. This is why the intimacy of a husband and wife is a revelation of Christ and the church (Eph 5:32).

This kind of expression was not available before Jesus poured out His blood to restore true relationship between God and man. The temple in Jerusalem had three areas: the outer courts, the holy place, and the holy of holies. Most of the people were on the outside, some were on the inside, and only one could enter the holy of holies, aka the secret place. Therefore it could be said that the temple had boundaries. God’s desire was for everyone to be able to enter in to His secret holy place, or to put it simply, to just be with Him. This is why when Jesus died, the veil to the secret place was torn. He let the inside out and the outside in. Thus we were granted access to the most intimate part of the Father’s heart where He can express who He is to us.

However, today we often still live like we are in the outer courts, on the outside looking in. The same barriers that were in the temple have formed in our hearts. Most people we know are in the outer courts. We have let a few people inside. And only a couple of close friends, we have let into our secret place and revealed our true self to them. The same goes with God. Most of the time our fellowship with Him is in the outer courts. Every so often we enter in the holy place, but rarely do we surrender our entire being completely to Him in a true expression of worship. The ones who worship Him on this level are the ones that the Father seeks.

John 4:7-24 (Read entire passage for context.)

Jesus went to the well, not to search for sin, but to ignite a worshiper. He came not to search for something on the surface, but for something deep down at the bottom of the well, true worship. The women was also searching for something, and she was filling this void of a relationship with God, with numerous relationships with men. This is the reason Jesus mentioned it, to unstop the well. Her deepest secrets now exposed (Not to condemn her, but to find the treasure beneath and set her free.), she would be able to truly worship.

John 4:23 But an hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

This seeking was carried out in this very encounter. She understood that she was known fully. The deepest part of her was now out in the open. She was free to worship in Spirit and in truth. For this reason, she was able to go forth and proclaim…

John 4:29 Come see man who told me all the things that I have done…

She declared this because He touched her in the deepest part, not because her told her, her life story. The hidden area of her heart was laid bare.

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I have been fully known.

When we realize that we are known fully, we will let down our boundaries and the truth in our hearts will be expressed. Nothing will hold us back from expressing our all to God. The mystery of Christ and the church is a husband and wife. They are so intimate because they know each other fully. They can freely and openly express the deepest of who they are to each other. When we allow God into our deepest place it will create pure worship with a new freedom of expression.

Jesus gave His blood, the deepest part of Himself to tear the veil so we could worship Him from the deepest part of us. This why communion is so special, a celebration of the price that was paid so we could commune with God. This is why David danced like a madman with all his might, expressing all of himself before the presence of the Lord 2 Samuel 6:14. When we refuse to hold back, and press in from the outer courts to the holy of holies, then we will worship Him truth to truth-the truest part of us joining Him in truth, and Spirit to spirit 1 Corinthians 2:10-16.

Everyone is searching for something yet we are only complete and fulfilled in Him. We were created in His image and only when we, through a relationship with Jesus, are restored to His image, will our lives have meaning. Sin is a counterfeit fulfillment. It separates is from Him causing us to worship something different, polluting our secret place and changing us into that image.This is why sin is so bad, it is not about rules, it is about protecting our relationship with the One we were created for. Sin prevents us from doing what we were created to do, worship in Spirit and in truth. This is truth. Many people fail to realize that the very thing they are searching for is the very thing they are running from; a relationship of true expression between the Father and His children. When they see us expressing our love for Him it will touch that secret place in them with the thought of Him and ignite them as worshipers.

This is the first step for an true expression of who Jesus is to be in the earth. Once we understand and enter into this kind of true expression as individuals to God, then we will understand what it will take for us to be in true fellowship with one another in the body of Christ. The church should be a place where we are free to truly express ourselves to one another. May we go deeper into true expression of worship and true expression of fellowship…

Worship

For so long people have searched and scoured the earth for some form of satisfaction that will last. People have gone to incredible lengths to find satisfaction in their life. Risking life, family and health to see if they can find something that will fill that longing in their soul.

He Satisfies the longing Soul.  Psalm 107:9.

Some have turned to drugs, alcohol, pornography, friendships, marriage, success and all sorts of other things. Even trying religion. But many walk out of churches disgusted and disheartened that the people there are as hungry and searching out broken cisterns as anyone else.

He Satisfies the longing Soul.

I believe compellingly, rationally and fully that the answer to the above question is yes. But I want to examine some objections and hindrances that people have in coming to that conclusion

Where is God when I cry out to him?
Why are Christians so bored?
Why is pornography so rampant in the church if God really satisfied?
Wouldn’t christians be willing to undergo any sacrifice, any length and depth of hardship because God was so deeply satisfying that nothing else would be a matter of consequence in their decision-making?

I would contend and fight for the conclusion that God does satisfy, truly and deeply. There is nothing else, no entertainment, no drug, or high that can even come close to the level of fulfillment and satisfaction that there is in God.

He Satisfies the longing Soul.

Then why is he so hard to find? Why do so few find him and experience that deeply satisfying relationship?

I know that in my journey of life for many years even after I had become a Christian knowing this fulfillment and deep peace was only a momentary and fleeting thing. Every once in awhile I might experience it, but for the most part I never came to that place. I struggled with acceptance, loneliness and lust throughout high school, as well sometimes feeling like God wasn’t even there. It probably hasn’t even been until this last year of my life that I really began to encounter God in ways that I never had before and it has made all the difference.

He satisfies the longing Soul.

I don’t need to make friends to fill my desire for acceptance, or do things well to gain the approval of those people that I respect. Or look at images to fulfill my desire for a relationship with a girl. I can finally say in honesty that He is enough. He is truly sufficient for every need. There are times when I don’t feel that way but I know it’s true. Even in our weakness and human frailty he is sufficient.

I find that the extent that a Christian worships and has experienced the presence of God is that extent to which a Christian is satisfied in God above all other earthly things.

He satisfies the longing soul.

The truth of the matter is we have tried again and again to quench our thirst from empty and broken cisterns.

for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Jeremiah 2:13

I am longing again for that passionate fulfilled life, that place where he is the only one that I go to fulfill every need. Lord, please help me in my pursuit of you, for even in this I need you and I can’t do it without you.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.”
-Jesus

My thoughts are a blur as I try to pen the feelings and ideas swirling through my spirit. These are some of my recent thoughts and some of the things that God has been teaching me.

One thing I learned at Street Invaders that God has used to give me more freedom and help me live life more naturally is that mistakes are ok. I gave myself permission to make mistakes. For so long I held too high of a standard so that I couldn’t really take risks and grow because I wasn’t willing to let myself make mistakes. And I’m not talking about moral failure but just not being worried about making a fool of myself or falling flat on my face. So I share what I’m feeling more often give advice that I know could easily be flawed but is what I’m feeling right now. And I say things more often that I think could be really funny but have no idea how they will be taken. But the most significant difference is in the way I approach God. I still come with reverence and a heart of worship but I don’t feel the need to always come the same way or do the thing that worked before. I can be more real and not worry as much about offending him. I can step out and pray radical things, can step out in faith and not worry so much if I’m sure he will catch me. Because even if he doesn’t come through in the way that I expect or hope I know that he is still good and that he will work it all out in the end.

Love Freely
The thing about love is that everyone who is human deserves to be loved because they were created in God’s image. I was talking with Victor Thomas a couple of weeks ago and he probably knows about half of the people at the U of R (a school of about 7,000 students) and he remembers their names. I asked him how he could do it and that is what he said. “You know God created each one of them in his image and so they are intricately important and valuable to him and thus to me as well. I just connect something interesting about them with their name.” When I heard that it totally just blew me away with the heart of God. If he took the time to number and remember every hair on our heads can we not at least make a committed effort to really care about people and learn their names and what they tell us about them? I want to live and love freely, even to those who will never love back.

“Trust God, he called me and I didn’t follow. Trust God.” That’s what a man said to me after I preached in Kindersley. He wouldn’t let go of my hand as we were shaking hands he really wanted to emphasize this above anything he could say. He chose the way of comfortability and he wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I was shook by the importance of his request, and the urgency with which he spoke to me. No matter how big my dreams for my future are, if they are from God I need to just trust him and step out to fulfill those dreams.

Never Compare, Comparison is the heartmother of envy, discontentment and distrust. It’s a weird way of saying it, but I am so inclined to look at my life and progress and compare with others around Paul says in 2 Cor 10:12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves… when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”
When I look at others my focus leaves Jesus and I feel inadequate I see the strengths of others and feel lesser or I see the weaknesses and become proudful.

When I look to Jesus, I see all that I need.

Be natural, be yourself.
God created me exactly as he wanted me to be and in so many ways these last few years I feel like I have been trying to be a different person. Specifically, I feel that God created me to be one who just loves and enjoys life. I’m not someone that dominates situations or the man of God who just comes in knowing what to say and how to lead each situation. Sometimes I’ve felt a pressure to become that, but I just need to live as I really am. That way more and more people will naturally be freed from the weight of perceptions and allow themselves to live who they really are as well.

But in the end the biggest thing that he has been teaching me is just how ridiculously good he is. Even in situations where it doesn’t look like God is good, it seems more like he’s being a jerk. When I still trust him and love him he shows his true character in beautiful ways that I wouldn’t have expected. I can’t let my theology be determined by the experiences in my life but only by his word.

Lately, I’ve also been plowing through the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Old Testament of the Bible) and I’ve been reading it to read for myself instead of to study for anything. I find I go through seasons where I’m reading my Bible or praying and get total revelation downloaded into me, and then I can’t wait to sit on my computer to write it out and 3/4 of the times, to post the thoughts on my blog. Well I’ve been resisting the urge to do that, and to just soak in the Word of God and His presence lately. So, the following won’t be too detailed, but I’ll try to quote the Scriptural references, since I’ve been gleaning this from reading the intricate detail and instructions the Lord gives His people for how they’re to worship Him.

Actually, my thoughts on this are not actually anything new, but just today even I was reading Deuteronomy 12 and could not help but notice how many times the phrase “as the Lord your God will choose” or something like it shows up in regard to places and methods of worship to the Lord. Today, if you read the websites for many churches attempting to be contemporary, they focus in their self-advertising on how the style of worship is or things like casual dress, or various peripherals — indicating “hey, we’re not THAT religious, you can fit in just fine if you come here.” But are we imitating the world and offering hype, or are we pleasing to the Lord and being anointed with HIS presence first and foremost above the masses?

I’m all for being relevant to the culture around us, but I’m scared and nervous when The Body of Christ chooses to learn from the world how to worship. When we go to the idolatries of this world and then set up our own Asherah poles in the Temple of God to offer something up to Him our way instead of His prescribed way.

I’m not dogging musical styles themselves. What I am NOT saying is this style or that sound is sin. If you listen to a recent podcast message Dan and I did on secular music, you’ll hear me mock how in the late 1800s many churches of the day branded D.L. Moody’s ministry as from the devil because his worship leader and traveling partner Ira Sanky (did I spell his name right?) used a grammaphone record player in their evangelism, and they believed that tool was from hell. I am NOT saying guitars or keyboards or something is demonic. I like a little more expression than I do just singing contemplative hymns, but I love all of it–if God is being glorified the way HE wants to be.

I hate listening to people criticize one group for how they sing songs over and over, while others have no music and sit still and use only our voices to worship with words and song. However, I think there’s a danger when anyone says they can’t enter into worship unless ________ takes places, such as a certain style or musical instrument.

One time I invited a friend with me to the Morning Star Fellowship near FIRE in North Carolina, and this person criticized the worship music, which sounded that night like an alternative rock band. I immediately told them “the worship wasn’t for you.” I recall another time, and I have a grin on my face just thinking about it– when living in Peterborough, Canada many of my friends there would try car pooling to Toronto on Monday Nights to go to Tehillah Monday–a very urban young adults worship night made up of many churches and different cultures–it is one of my favorite places to fellowship and worship when I have a chance, bar none. We would always pray for safe travel and things before hitting the road together, and I distinctly remember one night one brother praying that ‘the band would play the songs we like.’ I tried not to laugh, but this was NOT a baby Christian or an otherwise immature believer, but it showed me how messed up our thinking is concerning worship being a form of entertainment for us instead of a sweet smelling fragrance the Lord loves to receive from us.

Many times we make worship about ourselves and only participate in it if it fits a certain pattern or form of OUR liking. That’s rotten apples. How would you like it if someone asked you what you’d like for your birthday, because they intended on honoring you with a gift, and you knew they were serious and would buy you whatever you said you’d want within reason. You tell them “well, there’s this new CD out by a band I really like, and I was going to buy it myself next paycheck, but if you’d like to buy it for me, that’d be great also.” Then they present you some cheap Wal-mart discount bin CD they randomly grabbed, because they didn’t want to walk to the isle it could be found in, but grabbed something and offered it to you. If you were raised to have good manners, you’ll thank this person for buying a gift at all, but you’ll be puzzled as to why they even asked you if they had no intention of honoring your taste and getting you something that would be meaningful to you.

But this is exactly what we do with much of our worship to God.

Cain decided in Genesis 4 to offer up crops instead of a sacrifice that involved blood atonement like his brother Abel offered Him. Subsequently, we all know that Cain killed his brother when the Lord honored his offering instead of his own.

We read in Leviticus 10 how the Lord killed Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron the priest, for offering “unauthorized fire” before the Lord, differently from how He commanded it, but had just accepted from their father in the previous chapter. What happened to them? A fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them. How would we like it it a fire came out from the pulpit of many churches all over the Western world this Sunday morning, in response to the strange fire that gets offered up week after week?

Steve you’re being a little harsh. What kind of worship DO YOU think the Lord accepts.

Gee, I don’t know, but how about rephrasing the question and not asking me or each other what the Lord accepts but asking Him? He states in Deuteronomy 12:2-6a:

You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. You shall NOT worship the LORD your God in that way. But you shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go, and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. (Emphasis mine)

Now I realize that in North America and Europe in the 21st century Church, these specific Old Testament details are not even of any concern for our contemporary settings, but how much of what we do have we gleaned from the societal idol worship of the cultures around us, instead of directly from the throne of God above? How many worship services are reminiscent of night clubs and bars? How many worship services sounds like a rock concert not because the band is talented that way in that direction with their musical talents, but because we’re trying to imitate the world’s stylings? How much of what is done in the name of contemporary Christian worship and spirituality is just based on trends and not the voice of the Spirit of God?

I have no problems with loud amplifiers if the goal is worship and adoration of HIM, and not elevation of man and good bands and showcasing their talent. In fact, I LOVE dancing in Church before God. But I don’t just jump around and move for nothing, I only go nuts in worship for Jesus–you can see examples of this in videos I’ve posted on Facebook. But I’ve been to worship events that raunched of Christian celebrity rock stars, and yes worship songs can be catchy, but so can secular songs. I’ve also been in settings where I’ve seen girls dance like hoochie mamas the same way I imagine they’d gyrate their bodies around at a dance club. Also, have you ever decided to attend something because you liked the band that would be leading the worship? How come we won’t go if Hillsong United is NOT the one leading it (I think they’re great, but I’m just citing an example)? The problem with most of the church is we confuse entertaining with anointed.

When we look through “old” law, we see that God has a pattern, and it may not lie in the details and specifics for us under a new covenant, but we can still seek HIS face, and seek to please HIM in our worship, and do whatever it takes of us to leave a sweet smelling aroma in His nostrils.

Do you see for ways to kiss his lips with your worship, whether it be through music or other ways?

If you’ve never checked out our FIRE On Your Head podcast, I strongly recommend doing so–not just because Dan and I have a lot of fun doing those, but we’ve carefully selected some pertinent messages to fuel the Jesus Revolution in our sphere of influence, and there are a couple of messages loosely related to this subject, “Keeping the Pure Fire” that Jerome Ocampo preached, and “The Fire of God” that Dr. Josh Peters preached, before a massive repentance altar call took place one night at the summer school.  Visit our podcast site at www.fireonyourhead.com