- araratchurch
- May 1, 2024
- 5 min read
“But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.“
Exodus 34:13-16 NKJV
On one of his journeys, Paul ended up in Athens. The people there were intrigued with his new message. You see, they were intellectuals, philosophers, who spent all of their time looking for some new thing to entertain.
Wanting to hear more from Paul, they took him to the Areopagus so that he could address them concerning this new doctrine. Paul then delivered a message to them, starting where they were, then taking them to where they needed to be.
“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.””
Acts 17:22-31 NKJV
Paul, having noticed an altar dedicated “To the Unknown God,” introduces them to the Lord, the Creator of heaven and earth. He tells them that the time for their worshiping many gods, was over; they were going to face the true God Who is Judge over all. And should therefore, worship only Him.
You see, the gentiles, the nations, worshiped many different gods. They were not part of the Commonwealth of Israel. But Jesus Christ, before returning to the Father, had commissioned the disciples to now go into all the world.
“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.“
Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
It was NEVER the Lord’s intention that worshipping Him should just be added to the parade of gods being worshiped in all the nations. No, those who turned to Him must turn away from all other gods; He must be worshiped, and Him only.
Tragically, in the name of “inclusion,” some now hold the heretical doctrine that all worship is worship to the true God, that He is just perceived and expressed differently in different nations and peoples. But there is no truth to that.
Of course, speaking different languages, there will be differences in the way people reference the Lord. But, when the nature of the one being worshiped is not the nature of Jehovah, they are worshiping an idol, not the only Almighty God.
John gives a very succinct instruction concerning the worship of idols.
“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.“
I John 5:20-21 NKJV
God is the only true God. Therefore, we must keep ourselves from idols. We must worship only the Lord.
In our opening scripture we see the Lord warning His people that they must not worship another god. He warned them that eating of sacrifices made to other gods, could lead them into idolatry and therefore separation from God.
Child of God, some people wonder why they don’t feel the presence of the Lord when they are worshiping. The fact is, that is often the result of—in one way or another—having divided hearts and divided worship.
Make no mistake, anything that comes between the Lord and us, that takes priority over His word, has become an idol.
Remember, the one who has an altar, a place in their lives, for other gods, will never experience true worship.
Here is another portion of the prophetic lesson the Lord gave me in 2009 on the topic, “True Worship”:
“I desire to fully form you into what you were meant to be; but this can only happen when you are lost in the ecstasy of My Embrace. Allow My Presence to transform you into a new creation. Beyond the full extent of your imagination is where you will be able to operate and experience if you can fully surrender to My Embrace. I AM a consuming Fire. Allow the Inferno of my Presence to pluck you out and purify you. Few have experienced that which I am making available in this hour. The time has come for you to shed the shell keeping you bound to all you have ever been.”
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Apr 30, 2024
- 4 min read
“Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 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 22:2-5 NKJV
Yesterday we discussed the fact that worship is a dimension outside of our familiarity. Worship is the dimension where the limits of the space-time continuum are transcended. Worship is the place where we touch the Face of God.
In yesterday‘s discussion we looked to a couple of scriptures we will revisit today, focusing on an important aspect found in each.
When Jesus was telling the disciples that He would pray to the Father and they would receive the Helper, we see that there was an important precondition:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.“
John 14:15 NKJV
Without adherence to the Lord’s commandments, we cannot be led by the Helper, the Holy Spirit. And without the help of the Holy Spirit, we cannot be a true worshipper of God.
As well, as Jesus was revealing to the disciples that He would now call them friends, this new relationship with the Lord was also contingent on obedience.
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
John 15:10, 14 NKJV
In more than one of John’s letters, he makes clear the connection the Lord made between being obedient to Him and belonging to Him.
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.“
I John 2:3-5 NKJV
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.“
I John 5:2-3 NKJV
We can see through overwhelming evidence, that without obedience to the Lord, there is no relationship with Him. Therefore, we couldn’t possibly expect to have access to the worship dimension.
Yesterday I gave you a portion of the prophetic lesson the Lord gave me in October 2009 on the topic of “True Worship.” We will go a little further in that lesson today.
“All that you have ever known will evaporate in My Presence as you leave who you are and become who I AM. You fear being lost; and yet it is that fear that keeps you lost in the confusion of your own experience. All that comes against you from the enemy seeks to erase the divine image. His desire is to make you forget the moments of brief exhilaration you experience when you approach My Presence without the hindrances of your own agenda, your preconceived notions, your fear. Acknowledging Who I AM brings glory to My Name, transforming you from one who dwells in time, to one who has touched Eternity.”
Sadly, many people fall short of a true relationship with the Lord, fall short of true worship, because of their fear of loss, or of “who they are” being lost, if they surrender to the Lord.
Now, these same people probably do not consciously admit that they are withholding from the Lord because of their fear of loss, or of being lost. However, that dynamic is often behind reluctance concerning obedient surrender to the Lord.
In our opening scripture we see the Lord requiring Abraham to surrender Isaac, the son of promise, on the altar. Notice, Abraham tells those who had made the journey with him, that he and Isaac would BOTH return after they went to WORSHIP the Lord.
As the writer of Hebrews points out, Abraham knew that if God promised something, it would come to pass, even if it required Isaac being brought back from the dead.
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.“
Hebrews 11:17-19 NKJV
Child of God, we cannot hope to have a real relationship with the Lord, we cannot hope to experience true worship where our spirit touches God’s Spirit, unless we are walking in obedience to Him, surrendering what we must to be able to follow Him to where He Is.
Yes, we must surrender how we thought things should be or look. We must surrender what would separate us from a perfect union with Him. And make no mistake, obedience is surrendering. Without obedient surrender, there is no true worship.
We will talk more about this tomorrow
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Apr 29, 2024
- 4 min read
“The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers 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 4:19-24 NKJV
The time of Jesus’ betrayal was at hand. He was now speaking to the disciples on a different level, imparting to them what they needed to know to be encouraged and to remain steadfast.
After talking to them about the importance of them being united to Him as branches are to the vine, He then makes a very important declaration to them.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.“
John 15:13-15 NKJV
Jesus was going to lay down His life for those whom He would now call “friends.” And, as the friends of Jesus, they would know what He was doing: Rather than just being commanded, not privy to the heart of the one commanding, they would now know His heart.
Indeed, in the same discourse, the Lord begins to talk to them about the Helper He would send from the Father.
“”But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.“
John 15:26-27 NKJV
Just before Jesus’ declaration that he would now call them “friends,” He had told them that He was going to pray to the Father for this Helper to be sent.
“”If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.“
John 14:15-18 NKJV
Then, after the Lord declares that He will now call them friends, He again references the Spirit of Truth Who would lead them into ALL truth. That is, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, would lead them into complete (intimate) knowledge concerning Him and what He is doing.
“”I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.“
John 16:12-15 NKJV
In 2009 the Lord gave me a prophetic lesson on “True Worship.” It begins with this:
“Worship is the means through which the created becomes one with the Creator. All distraction fades as the spirit unites with its Source. You can only experience My Presence to the extent to which you disregard all else. I AM and I desire to make Myself known to you. You struggle because you desire to experience Me through the context of that which you already know. This is thwarting you in that I have no similarity to anything you know. I AM The Other; I AM the Creator, and all power is with Me. You cannot possibly understand Me through the working of your intellect. You must allow your spirit to make contact with Me as it is guided by My Spirit that is within you.”
There it is, the Lord WANTS us to know Him; and He has given us His Spirit to make Himself known to us.
In our opening scripture we see that Jesus, in His conversation with the Samaritan woman, reveals to her what worship is really about. Indeed, it is not about where one goes to worship, but rather where worship takes one. That is to say, the spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit of God in us, guides us into true worship; and it is only from the place of worship, that we touch the Face of God.
We will talk more about this tomorrow.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!