No! I've Lost Appetite

Photo credit: Irish Examiner

"...And the winner is ...uhmmm the winner is... erhmm yes yes the winner is Ramsey Rogers!!!" the anchor announced. 

Instantly there was a loud cheer in the auditorium. "RR!! RR!! RR!!" they all chanted. They continuously cheered until the anchor found it difficult to hear his voice. Finally after a short while that seemed like a never ending while, the crowd decided to heed to the anchor's plea. 

RR!! or better still Ramsey Rogers is the first child of Charlotte and Nnamdi Alexandria Rogers. 'He  has always been this way.. Just like i am'... that's his father's description of him whenever he's been asked about his son's excellent academic performance.

Well.. up until his demise he never said otherwise. His death was like the end of the world for the family. The cold sullen hands of death had earlier taken two of their kids in what seemed to be a normal childs play. Only when they heard a scream from the kitchen and there they were in the pool of their own blood... So what really happened?

Fast forward to the grand finale of the national essay competition. Charlotte couldn't hold back her tears. Her son has consoled her yet again!... She felt she's gradually becoming free from the years of pain and grieve. 

"Oh my boy! you've made mummy proud again!" she whispered to him and gave him a quick hug and bathed him with kisses. The seventeen year old Ramsey struggled to pull out of her hands ...well not because he was unhappy about it... but " Mum! mum! it's enough.. i'm in front of my mates... mum! mummy!" he insisted!! .Charlotte smiled... knowing how shy he could be. But on the flip-side, Ramsey felt relieved.

She began noticing it when he was still tender. He hardly could relate with other children his age. He was so reserved even to the point of eating. He's usual response when it's time to eat was..." No, I've lost appetite". He hardly ate. Well to a large extent that resulted to his lanky appearance. "You've lost what! my friend pick up your spoon and do justice to that meal right now... I mean where on earth did you initially keep your appetite...and why are you're always loosing it?, can't you keep it where you can easily find it?" Nnamdi would always respond this way when he is in the happy mood, and the whole family would get  soaked up in laughter.

Maybe if he was agile enough he could have saved his siblings. The deed was done right in front of him. He was only seven, the twin were just three.. The perpetrator was seven and was the next door neighbor. The quads were all playing together in the kitchen when Eugene picked up the newly bought knife and playfully pierced it into the stomach of the twin. He just did it laughing because he  had just done exactly what his favourite movie star did in the last episode of his favourite series and saw the same red liquid come out of  them as he saw on the screen. Ramsey was there, quiet and startled. Suddenly he heard himself scream until he collapsed!

"Mummy!! Mummy!! so you still have the video with you? Look at my lean cheeks... well i was just seventeen" the twenty five year old Ramsey said while taking a sit with his mum, who had been watching the video of his national essay competition. "just seventeen," she muttered. "look at the way you were struggling with me when i came to wash you with kisses and hugs" she jested.. " Oh my!!" Ramsey bursted into  a thunderous laugh... such that comes once in a blue moon. 

Charlotte tried fighting back her tears at the sight of this rare moment, but unfortunately she lost the  fight. Tears freely flowed from her eyes as she began sobbing. Ramsey quickly reached out for her hand.."it's well mum! Next week, i'll start my first job at the Bureau in Abuja. I'll make sure i offset outstanding  debts. " Ramsey said as he susccesfully fought back his tears. Just together the duo sat at the balcony of the apartment. 

ahhh!! Ahh!!....  JESUS!!! JESUS!!!

It has happened again!!! 

what happened?

Ramsey is dead! Yeah just right there at the balcony.... just there. Euguene again!!   yes. The same Eugune. He shot ramsey twice at the head. 

Euguene couldn't run far before he was caught... "madam !! madam!! give us a go ahead before the police comes!!" requested the mob... They didn't know she couldnt hear them ...she wasn't deaf ... but she was taken far back to memory lane... Right before her eyes her husband died in the hands of Eugene!... he was only twelve then! They said it was an accidental discharge! for her twins , they said she was careless to leave the kids in the kitchen. Now what would they say?

well, now they are saying vengeance. 

"Madam!! madam!" they called out.... Charlotte looked at her son's lifeless body. No more tears again... She just couldn't cry again! she had lost it.... with a shallow grin , she looked at them and muttered Ramsey's iconic response  " No...I've Lost Appetite...I've lost appetite for vengeance...I've lost appetite for anger... I've lost appetite for sin. Let him go, the police will take it from here..."

She lost appetite for revenge and anger hmmnn...

Have i lost appetite for sin? Even though born again and transformed yet, have we truly lost appetite for sin? 

What do we still give in to in secret? 

  "And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with it's passions and appetites and desires." Galatians 5: 24 (AMP)

Brethren it's clear, until we get to the point where we've completely lost appetite for sin...we truly do not belong to Christ Jesus!

Shalom!

The True Light. By Apostle Arome Osayi

Photo credit: knowing-jesus.com

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…That was THE TRUE LIGHT which gives light to every man coming into the world.

(John 1:1, 4-5, 9 NKJV, emphasis added)

The United Nations is seen as a force for good as it has its operational tentacles in almost every facet of human endeavour today. It has visible structures and systems built in order to combat the multifarious challenges plaguing mankind. From wars to hunger to disease and natural disasters, the United Nations deploys enormous resources to take on these challenges. 

The United Nations was officially set up in the aftermath of the Second World War in order to among many things, maintain peace in the world. Many interest groups joined forces in order to forge the United Nations. 

There were, however, silent but salient forces that helped breathe life to the United Nations. One of such forces is called the Lucifer Publishing Company which was founded in the early 1920s to spread the teachings of Alice Bailey: a magnificent occultist, theosophist and above-ground apologist of Satan. The name of the company was changed to Lucis Trust which to this day remains on the United Nations Economic and Social Council where they provide high profile consultancy services to the United Nations. The United Nations charter was framed from the teachings of Alice Bailey. Lucis Trust has a hand in the design of United Nations social and economic programmes that are executed in the nations of the world. 

WHY LUCIFER AND LUCIS?

Why did Alice Bailey use the appellations Lucifer and Lucis to name her organisation? Simple, Lucifer means light bearer. Lucis means of light. 

Of course Lucifer was once the consummate embodiment of celestial refulgence –he was an anointed Cherub, and son of the morning whose frame bore and exuded God’s light. After going rogue and getting cast out of heaven, Lucifer became the devil forever losing the capacity to bear God’s light. So the best he can do now is masquerade and/or transform himself into an angel of light. The Bible says,

For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14, NKJV)

Since Satan has lost the capacity to bear God’s light, which by the way is the true light, he has built and perfected his capacity to present counterfeit and/or false lights.

COUNTERFEIT AND/OR FALSE LIGHTS

Any light that does not have Jesus Christ (who is the word of God, bearer of God’s life and the only true light) as its source is counterfeit and/or false.

ALL LIGHTS SHINE BUT NOT ALL LIGHTS ARE TRUE

There are so many systems out there in the world that seem to shine some kinds of lights. They shine lights through humanitarian programmes (like those of the United Nations and several NGOs whose core agenda is to obliterate God from society); beautifully crafted philosophies that espouse dependence on oneself instead of God (as contained in many self help and motivational books and tapes today), arts, entertainment and culture etc. 

All lights shine but not all lights are true. Truth is one: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only true light that bears the substance of God’s reality and life and can dispense the same to whoever believes in Him. Actually any light that does not hail from Jesus Christ will yield nothing but wholesale, full-scale darkness!

THREE AREAS GOD’S LIGHT MUST SHINE ON DAILY

i. The feet (Psalms 119:105) for direction. You walk in the direction of your feet. In the journey of faith direction is key.

ii. The path (Psalms 119:105) for spiritual progress. The path of spiritual progress continually leads you to places in God. 

iii. The heart (2 Corinthians 4:6) for the continual knowledge of the glory of God. The heart must be flooded by God’s light in order to be filled with the living, functional knowledge of God that can produce fruits in the believer.

The light of God is always produced when the word of God gains entrance in the depths of man (Psalms 119:130). This can only happen when the believer enlarges their appetite for God’s word. To consume more and more and more and more and some more…

The question begging for answer therefore is: WHAT LIGHT DO YOU CONSUME DAILY?

WORSHIP: THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE II by Apostle Arome Osayi

HOLISTIC WORSHIP

We have established in the PART I of this series that worship in the New Testament must be done in spirit and truth and therefore can only be done by those who are saved (that is those who have their spirits quickened by the injection of eternal life by the Holy Spirit on account of their belief in Jesus Christ.) Yes, acceptable worship must originate in the regenerated human spirit by the quickening of the Holy Spirit in truth but must equally be given expression by the soul and body. Man is tripartite – spirit, soul and body.

The Bible says,

‘And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Thess 5:23, KJV)

Therefore man must worship God with his three constituent parts bowing to the Suzerain Monarch of heaven in unison. This means the spirit, soul and body must work harmoniously together in bowing ‘themselves’ together for man to achieve a holistic worship experience. 

THE TEMPLE OF GOD

‘Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.’ 

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NKJV)

Now the layout of the temple of God in the Old Testament had three broad chambers namely: the Outer Court, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. These three chambers perfectly represent the three broad compartments of man as follows:

Outer Court…………Body

Holy Place………… Soul

Holy of Holies………………. Spirit

Though the three broad chambers were collectively called the temple of God, God actually dwelt in the Holy of Holies. Same way as man is collectively called the temple of God but He actually dwells in man’s innermost part – the spirit. 

The verses of Scripture above (1 Corinthians 16:19-20) affirms that anyone who is born of God belongs to God because they have been bought with a special price. This means God owns them wholly; spirit, soul and body – He is their Lord! The Scripture also admonishes believers to ‘glorify’, that is,‘bring pleasure to God’ which is another way of saying ‘worship God’ in their ‘body’ and ‘spirit’. What is obviously missing in this passage is the soul, why? This is because the soul connects the spirit to the body as a conduit. This is also because man touches God with his spirit but touches the world with his body. So the body and spirit are in some sense contact points to the world and God. 

SPIRIT, SOUL, BODY AND HEART

The salvation of the spirit is instant; the salvation of the soul is gradual and the salvation of the body is a culmination.

The spirit contacts and receives from God and is regenerated; the soul receives from the spirit and processes it and is transformed; the body receives from the soul and is quickened. The spirit houses God; the soul houses man’s personality and the body executes whatever orders it receives from the soul. This is why acceptable worship must originate from the spirit because this is where God dwells. Worship that originates from the spirit is easily shaped by truth and has God as its object and Christ at its epicenter. Worship that originates from the soul has self as its object and is easily shaped by Satan and has worldly riches at its epicenter.

The heart as used in Scripture is actually where the spirit and soul intersect and bears the balance of the human personality. If the balance of the heart tilts down towards submitting to the Suzerain Monarch of heaven, this is called humility. If the balance of the heart tilts up toward glorifying self, this is called pride. Only the humble can receive grace to offer acceptable worship (1 Peter 5:5). 

EXPRESSIONS OF WORSHIP

All acceptable worship must originate in the spirit and powered by truth. The high point of worship is when God is pleased. This is why it must be done in spirit and truth because God is Spirit and dwells in the spirit; while truth fully captures God’s will and how to execute the same. Worshipping God therefore cannot be separated from doing His will. 

Paul said,

‘For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers’ (Romans 1:9, KJV)

The word ‘serve’ as used in this verse of Scripture means to worship through craft or works of righteousness. The source of all acceptable worship is one: the spirit; the substance of all acceptable worship is one: truth; and the goal of all acceptable worship is one: PLEASING GOD. 

Paul in the verse above said he worshipped God by the instrumentality of the gospel. This means his own expression of worship was being an apostle in the gospel of Jesus Christ. To another it might be pleasing God in art, science, engineering, humanitarian service, financial support to kingdom causes etc. Wherever the will of God is done and He is pleased, there is worship! So worship is not just an activity, it is a life style. It is a deliberate, militant commitment to pleasing God at all cost. If you refuse to take or give bribe, lie or cheat etc and God is pleased; you have worshipped Him! 

The four major expressions of worship are as follows:

I. Words (Speaking God’s mind in speech, writing, melodies etc)

II. Silence (Not saying anything in the face accusations at God’s behest)

III. Action (Carrying out God’s instructions)

IV. Inactions (Refusing to do things that are congruous to God’s will)

MISAIMINGS: MUSIC, EMOTION AND WORSHIP SERVICES

There is a bodywide misconstruction of worship being synonymous to music and/or singing. You can worship God without singing; you sing without worshipping God and you can sing and worship God. Music that hails from the spirit and is powered by truth and pleases God makes acceptable worship.

Music is a powerful art form that engages body and soul easily by provoking deep emotions. God Himself loves music but music must give Him pleasure to qualify as worship. So it’s not just about ingenious blends of instrumentation and lyrics, it’s about sourcing inspiration from the spirit and giving expression to truth.

Music that hails from emotion cannot make acceptable worship. Acceptable worship can involve emotion because music provokes emotion but it must hail from the spirit and must be powered by truth. Music does not need the Holy Spirit to provoke deep emotional response. It does not need truth to get people clapping. In 1985, at the famous Live Aid Concert in Wembley Stadium, London, one of the greatest performances by a rock band happened. The name of the rock band was Queen whose lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, gave a supercharged performance that got the over seventy thousand people in the stadium clapping as if led by a prophet of God. Matt Redman, captured this and penned a song entitled Heart of Worship in which he clearly affirms worship is not about music but Jehovah – the Great Monarch of heaven. This is not to rubbish music because I must admit; it sure is a powerful tool for worship.

In Christendom today, on the average, Bible study and miracle services hold in the middle of the week while ‘worship services’ hold on Sundays as if God should not be worshipped in all services. Christians are conditioned to understand worship as something that happens only when belivers come together in the name of the Lord. No! Fellowshipping together can only be called worship if God is pleased. Corporate worship is hinged on the individual believers pleasing God. The goal of any corporate meeting is to empower believers to the point where they worship God personally. Worship is not something done only on Sundays or few days of the week. Worship should be done 24/7/365 until Christ comes or the believer falls asleep.

THE WORSHIP OF SATAN

Can a believer worship Satan? Yes! 

Let it sink. 

Catch your breath. 

Then let’s see how.

The Bible says,

‘Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, "ALL THESE THINGS I WILL GIVE YOU IF YOU WILL FALL DOWN AND WORSHIP ME." Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" (Matthew 4:8-10, NKJV, emphasis added)

I particularly like Matthew’s account of the temptation of Jesus because it ends with Satan bluntly asking Jesus to bow down and worship. From this account, it seems the devil all the while was simply working Jesus’ defenses to the point where he could achieve his ultimate aim: worship! Worship was the crescendo that the devil planned. 

Satan took Jesus to an exceedingly high mountain and gave him the vision of the world’s glory, wealth and pleasures. He promised to give them all to Jesus on the condition that Jesus would ‘simply’ bow down and worship him. Why did Satan first SHOW Jesus before ASKING Him? This is because in seeing, the heart bows. 

Remember I mentioned in Part I that the greatest catalyst of worship is the vision of God’s glory and I mentioned that any man who had a vision of God’s glory bowed – Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1), Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9), and John the beloved (Revelation 1) all bowed. Bowing to God is a matter of choice which we have to make consistently in love in our hearts in the face of contradictions. And just as we choose to worship God we can also choose to worship Satan.

Satan gave Jesus a vision of the world’s glory as a substitute for the vision of God’s glory. Jesus refused to be distracted by it. He rather chose to feast His eyes on the vision of God’s glory. The vision of God’s glory leads to the worship of God while the vision of the world’s glory leads to the worship of gold (Satan).

The greatest commandment in the law is to love God with all that one has and the second greatest commandment is to love one’s neighbour as oneself (Matthew 22:37-39). Both commandments have one thing in common: LOVE. Love is a function of the heart. When we love, we give all. When we love God, we give Him all that we are and have. We set our affections on things above which are the visions of His glory and not on the things beneath which are visions of the world’s glory (Colossians 3:1-2).

By showing Jesus the visions of the world’s glory, Satan wanted to capture Jesus’ heart and win His love. Jesus chose to love God and not gold. So worshipping Satan is simple: relishing in the vision of the world’s glory and loving gold. Anyone who does not seek He that is above (Christ and His kingdom) and seeks things that are not above (His righteousness) but goes on to seek the world’s kingdoms and their glory and loves gold instead of God is A WORSHIPPER OF SATAN! 

So you see worshipping Satan is not just something people say but things people do. A believer who claims to worship God but loves gold and seeks worldly glory which is material wealth is an effective worshipper of Satan.

It is sad some churches today teach believers to love gold and fix their eyes on the visions of the world’s glory. People are literally taught to love money and despise God.

MONEY, MAMMON, GOD AND THE ROOT OF ALL EVILS

I recently wrote an article on this elsewhere, I have taken the liberty to use some excerpts here: 

Money is feral –like fire, it can both cook and burn; like electric power it can both electrocute and electrify. This means it can both be disastrous and useful depending on how it is handled. 

By design, money is meant to be a tool like, say, a sledge hammer, water heater, and tooth brush and glass cup. But because of the enormous power money possesses, it can, like wild tides, overflow its banks and latch on to the heart of man like a leech or virulent parasite if allowed to rule. Thus, provoking inordinate love and affection for it and building a throne (control centre) for itself within the heart of man. Once the heart of man which has been designed to love only God and his fellow man begins to love money, a malignant aberration called the root of all evils is established.

The root of all evils will definitely yield the trees of all evils with time. When this happens, a person loses their soul.

This is why the Bible declares in unmistakable terms, 

‘For THE LOVE OF MONEY IS A ROOT OF ALL EVILS; it is through this craving that some have been led astray and have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with many acute [mental] pangs.’ (1 Timothy 6:10, AMP, emphasis added) 

The spirit force that catalyses the love for money in the heart of man is called Mammon! Money is not Mammon and money is not evil. 

So,

MONEY IS NOT EQUAL TO THE ROOT OF ALL EVILS

MONEY IS NOT EQUAL TO MAMMON

But,

MONEY+MAMMON+ LOVE FROM THE HEART OF MAN = THE ROOT OF ALL EVILS

As earlier stated, money is like fire which is a tool of destruction in the hands of an arsonist and a tool of construction in the hands of a blacksmith.

It is definitely an faithful servant but wicked master.

Jesus said,

'No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in). (Matthew 6:24, AMP)

It is simple; a man who loves money cannot love God. A man who loves God cannot love money. A man who loves God will definitely trust in and serve God. A man that loves money will definitely trust in and serve Mammon. A man who trusts in and serves God will sell anything and/or give up all his possessions to worship God by spending generously on the cause of His kingdom (an example is the early Christians who sold their possessions to execute God’s will on earth [Acts 4: 34-25]). A man who loves money will give up God, bow down to Satan in worship in order to gain money and/or material possessions (an example is Judas Iscariot who sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver [Matthew 26:15]).

One way to know that God is our Master and money (gold) does not have a hold on us is that we worship God by giving up money for establishing His kingdom thereby giving Him great pleasure!

FURTHER READING:

-THE SPIRITUAL MAN BY WATCHMAN NEE

-KINGDOM RECALIBRATION BY AROME OSAYI

WORSHIP: THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE PART I by Apostle Arome Osayi

WORSHIP: WHAT IS IT REALLY?

The very first time the word worship appears in the entire Bible is in Genesis 22: 5 and the circumstance surrounding its premier appearance is when Abraham was en route ‘slaughtering’ Isaac in obedience to God’s demand. The Bible says thus,

‘And Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and WORSHIP, and we will come back to you."’ (Genesis 22:5, NKJV, emphasis added)

By ‘going yonder’ to ‘worship’, only Abraham and God knew Isaac’s fate based on God’s prior demand. Now, the word WORSHIP is a very interesting word because it means different things to different people. So, we will do well to dig a little deeper on the meaning of this word so as to have a biblical understanding of it. 

The word WORSHIP in the Hebrew is Shacha and it means to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God), bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, and do reverence.

One thing is clear from the definition above; worship means to bow oneself to God. To successfully do this, a person needs to be humble at heart; this is only possible when one first acknowledges that God is greater than them. This is important because there can be no worship without first bowing oneself to God. Each time any of God’s creations does this, they give Him great pleasure. 

I want to emphatically state that when Abraham went yonder with his son Isaac to WORSHIP God, there were no musical instruments present and no moods needed to be activated. Abraham’s worship was not a momentary activity; it was the fruit of decades of obedience to God – a lifestyle. It was not an emotive undertaking (had Abraham deferred to his emotions, he would not have obeyed God), it was a covenant commitment to God. Also, God was more interested in Abraham’s obedience than in his sacrificing Isaac. In obeying God, Abraham gave God great pleasure.

Now prior to his obedience, Abraham had already submitted to God in His heart. We see this clearly written in Hebrews 11 thus:

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death”. (Vs 11:17-19, NIV)

This means Abraham had submitted to God’s will in his heart by accepting Isaac’s death. So that when God eventually told him not to kill Isaac, it was like having his son come back from the dead.

What Abraham was going to physically do with his son had already been done in his heart. So that it was not obedience out of obligation, it was obedience springing forth from a heart bowed to the will of the Great Monarch of heaven. This is because it is possible to obey someone without submitting to them in your heart. Obedience is an action; submission is an attitude. Tyrants get obedience by force and not by wilful submission from the heart. God is no tyrant; He is a kind Lord and gentle King who allows His subjects to draw near to Him and bow to Him in their hearts by choice. 

Jesus said,

"These people draw near to me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me” (Matthew 15:8-9, NKJV)

Bowing oneself to God has nothing to do with physical postures or flower declarations; it is a posture of submission humbly taken in the heart in response to the acknowledgement of God being mightier than us. This happens when we see the visions of God’s glory which help give us perspective on the truth that He is not altogether like us (Psalm 50:21).Every man who has ever seen the visions of God’s glory bowed himself to God. Isaiah bowed (Isaiah 6); Ezekiel bowed (Ezekiel 1) and Saul of Tarsus bowed (Acts 9), John bowed (Revelation 1) etc.

Worship is therefore obedience to God that stems from unreserved submission to Him.

WHY WORSHIP?

The Lord is the Most High God, the most excellent, the most exalted, self-existing, self-sustaining, ageless, omni-everything, eternal God. He lived in eternity past very fulfilled all by Himself; long before He lifted a finger to create a thing. And when it pleased Him to create, He created heaven and the earth, the universe and everything in them for one purpose only which we shall consider in a moment.

The Bible records a melodious and mellifluous chant in the chamber of thrones that are before the throne of God thus:

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: FOR THOU HAST CREATED ALL THINGS, AND FOR THY PLEASURE they are and were created”. (Revelation 4:11, KJV, emphasis added)

This verse of Scripture clearly states why God created heaven, the earth, the universe and everything in them: For His pleasure. 

All of God’s creation in heaven and earth are designed to bow themselves and look up to God in a symbiotic order that first gives God pleasure and then helps them maximise their potentials. Just like the plants bow themselves and look up to the sun for maximum productivity, so have all of God’s creatures been designed to prostrate and look up to God in worship to give Him pleasure. In giving God pleasure, God’s creatures increase their measure.

THE GREAT MONARCH OF HEAVEN: HOW WORSHIP IS DONE IN HEAVEN

“…and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

"Holy, holy, holy, 

Lord God Almighty,

Who was and is and is to come!" 

WHENEVER THE LIVING CREATURES GIVE GLORY AND HONOR AND THANKS TO HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE, WHO LIVES FOREVER AND EVER, THE TWENTY-FOUR ELDERS FALL DOWN BEFORE HIM WHO SITS ON THE THRONE AND WORSHIP HIM WHO LIVES FOREVER AND EVER, AND CAST THEIR CROWNS BEFORE THE THRONE…”

(Revelation 4:2-10, NKJV)

The passage above gives a glimpse into God’s eternal majesty. The sights and sounds are breathtaking as they are awe-inspiring. John, the narrator, could only at best lean on the insufficiency of language to make a laconic report of the things he actually saw in the passage above. We see the glorious array of God’s throne and the continuum of worship given to Him by frightening beings that surround His throne. 

We see how that God is not just the creator of everything but also the great Suzerain Monarch of heaven. We see how the twenty-four elders who are vassal monarchs sitting upon twenty-four thrones in heaven bow themselves down to God continually by casting down their crowns (acknowledging that God is greater than them) and worshipping Him endlessly. We must note that this is no regimented or forced routine; it is something they do out of their volition. Note, however, the twenty-four elders cast their crowns easily because they see the visions of God’s majesty and glory. We must also note that they do not cast their crowns only once, they do it continuously. Each time they do this they bring great pleasure to His Eternal Majesty, Jehovah the God-King of all creation.

HOW WORSHIP MUST BE DONE ON EARTH

Jesus said,

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the TRUE WORSHIPPERS WILL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH; for THE FATHER IS SEEKING SUCH to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:23-24, NKJV)

Note the phrases ‘true worshippers’ and ‘the father is seeking such’. 

If there are true worshippers then there are false worshippers. Seeking is not only done by man for God; God actually also seeks men who will worship Him truly. How? In SPIRIT and TRUTH. Why? This is because God is Spirit. 

Let’s briefly consider what this all means:

First, the concept of worship is the same in the Old and New Testaments but its execution is different in both Testaments. Worship in the Old Testament was purely external because the substance of it would not be available until in the New Testament. The model for the Old Testament worship was therefore outside-in. Worship in the New Testament is purely spiritual because the substance has been made available through Jesus Christ’s finished works. The New Testament model of worship is therefore inside-out!

Second, worshipping God in the New Testament is purely a spirit transaction – from the regenerated spirit of man, through the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) to God the Spirit (God the father) and truth – Jesus, the substance and reality of God. Jesus is truth and without Him nobody can get through to God (John 14: 6). 

So this means that true worship must originate from the regenerated human spirit that is in constant communion with the Holy Spirit and a heart that is humble and is being made subject to God by the truth. God first accepts a person before he accepts their worship. 

The only way anyone can be acceptable to God is that they first must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ – by so doing they get saved (Acts 16:31). 

Salvation is the only ground upon which acceptable submission to God can be achieved. Why is this compulsory? This is because it is only by salvation that regeneration (quickening of the human spirit by the injection of God’s eternal life therein by the Holy Spirit [Titus 3:5]) can happen. In other words, anyone on earth who is not saved and has not accepted the lordship of Christ cannot offer acceptable worship to the great Suzerain Monarch in heaven.

This is because a dead (devoid of God’s life) spirit cannot generate anything pleasing to the great Monarch of heaven. It is a transaction that must happen between man’s spirit, completely devoid of the flesh (the fallen nature with its attendant corruption, proclivities and lusts) and exclusively channelled to the Godhead. Anyone who worships in such a pure manner becomes a person of interest on God’s radar.

Is worship therefore an exclusive preserve of believers? YES!

JESUS: THE EMBODIMENT OF GOD’S PLEASURE

‘Then a voice came from heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well PLEASED."’ (Mark 1:11, NKJV, emphasis added)

Jesus’ sinless, flawless obedience to God and His unreserved execution of God’s will to the point of death made Him the embodiment God’s pleasure. His life constantly gave worship to God. His words and deeds; actions and inactions all brought great pleasure to God. There was not a single time when He gave in to the flesh. 

The Bible firmly testifies;

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name”

(Philippians 2:5-9, NIV)

Jesus, being equal with God, gave up His rights in the Godhead and bowed Himself to the Father. He went so low as to be subjected to His creation, to be killed, just for mankind to be put in a position in which they can worship God in spirit and truth. He is therefore our perfect example and template for embodying God’s pleasure.

END OF PART I