Not too long ago, I did a two-part series on the Elohim factor. Elohim is the name of God that declares Him as the creator and judge of the universe. In that series, I shared that only God could make something out of nothing! The focus of creation is God; the goal of creation is worship!
All Worship must be directed towards him for who he is (Elohim) – creator God and for what he has done – creation. His creation serves as an inspiration of worship. It is to elicit our wonder and worship at the God of Creation whose hand laid the foundations of the earth; whose right hand spread out the heavens above.
When He calls out the stars, they all appear in order. Without warning, he moves the mountains, overturning them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place, and its foundations tremble. If he commands it, the sun won’t rise and the stars won’t shine. He alone has spread out the heavens and marches on the waves of the sea. He made all the stars–the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky. He does great things too marvellous to understand. He performs countless miracles.
No doubt these deeds are awesome, I don’t know about you but they have left me in awe of the doer!
So Worship is of God and holy. It is sinful and Idolatry when rendered to any created being. Don’t be fooled, we are not all worshippers, there are many idolaters in the church, but we are admonished:
Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.Exodus 34:14
Their land is full of idols; the people worship things they have made with their own hands.Isaiah 2:8
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. Psalm 20
When you trust something, it’s only a matter of time before you begin to appreciate and hold it in high regard – This is how praise and worship begins to build. Can I encourage you to worship the creator for who he is not just for the things He’s created? He’s worthy!
Whether you will fall down and collapse or rise up and stand firm is dependent on the posture you assume; that of a worshipper or idolater. So, which will you?
I’d like to draw your attention to an important subject in this edition. Worship is an indispensable factor in our relationship with God. It is our highest calling and purpose for being.
Worship can be defined as homage rendered to God (our creator). This is where many people get it wrong when they neither acknowledge nor relate to God as the creator! The Psalmist writes for our admonition when he says:
1 The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Psalm 24
A good enough reason for us to:
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to his name.
Worship the LORD in the splendour of his holiness.
Psalm 29:1-2
Homage is something that someone does or says in order to show respect or admiration.
Psalm 95 says: 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.7 For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
It is a wayofshowingrespecttoanartist. You and I know, God is the greatest! If you are in doubt:
Think about the heavens. Think about what His fingers have created. Think about the moon and stars that He has set in place. Psalm 8:3
Homage also is aformalspeechoractionbywhichpeopleshowtheirloyaltytoakingorleader.
For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding. Psalm 47:7
Have you noticed that when people pay homage by speech, they are detailed? They have acquired knowledge, deep insight about the person in question, and hence they give informed praise!
I want to encourage you today to do your research, build a better vocabulary, and sing praises with understanding. If you are struggling to make it past the gates of praise, how then do you intend to make it into the inner courts of worship? Selah!
We will delve deeper next week, until then sing praises with understanding and worship God in a holy array.
My motherland, Nigeria is fifty today. Happy Independence to all my fellow Nigerians out there. It’s a pleasure to bring you this special edition of “I Heard a Word” and I know it will bless your heart.
I’ll be taking my text from Nehemiah Chapter 5 from verse 1 through to 11.
The book of Nehemiah opens up with an interesting scene of a man among the Jews of the exile to Babylon; cup-bearer and wise adviser to the king. He requested to go back to his father’s land so he could rebuild the city walls. He was going to rebuild, reconstruct, remodel, re-establish, renovate – To restore! What a passion, what a vision, what a mission that was!
To successfully accomplish this task, he would need to partner with the people of his land but these people would not be able to fully cooperate as they are being oppressed. They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.” Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.” And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.”
On hearing this, Nehemiah called a public meeting to deal with the problem. At the meeting he said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense. Nehemiah continued: Each of you is exacting usury from his brother and what you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations? Stop, please!
Oh that a Nehemiah will arise among us and address our people like this.
Nehemiah further said: Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, vineyards, olive groves, and houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”
Restore!
Leviticus 25: 8-55 describes the fiftieth, or Jubilee, year. It is the year in which all Israelites who had sold themselves into slavery were set free, and all land that had been sold restored to the original owner. This meant that no Israelite could ever be in permanent slavery; nor could any of them permanently lose their inheritance.
With every man’s possession returned, and their lands redeemed, people could now return to their lands and families; “free at last” they chant as they blow their trumpets in celebration. See, they now have a reason to rejoice!
Before the building of the walls could continue, Nehemiah and his people resolved their problem. Justice was restored as the Jews who were exploiting their fellow Jews promised to give back everything and demand nothing more from them.
I believe this to be significant to their success in completing the wall. Those who had been made poor through the exploits, would have not been able to physically or psychologically contribute much to the project. Just what would you expect from a hungry and homeless man? Selah!
By restoring one to another their fields, vineyards, and homes; the weak and poor could eat, rest, gain strength and join forces with their strong and rich fellows to build. If the walls could not be restored, they would be prone to attacks and subject to dangers; it meant they had no protection and any attempt of the enemy could penetrate and hit them.
Nigeria is:
One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.
And aims:
To build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.
Hope you have had a great week. I don’t know about you, but I have been so looking forward to a relaxing weekend; Praise God, it’s here! Doing anything interesting this weekend? Are there goals you want to accomplish successfully?
Background Music by Yolanda Adams – I’m Gonna Be Ready
Hello Friend,
Today I am going to share with you one of my favourite songs – I’m gonna be ready by Yolanda Adams. Sit tight and read on.
Ready is a state of being structured together and complete; whole, having lived out a potential or realized an intended goal. Preparation is the training, groundwork and process that set you on the path of being ready.
Paul said in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on ….I push on …..I forge ahead….it’s really tough but I press on, very painful but I keep going”.
How did a man who was:
Imprisoned often
Flogged more severely and numerously
In frequent danger of death
Whipped 39 lashes from Jews
Beaten with rods
Once stoned, shipwrecked thrice, spent a night and a day in the open sea, on frequent journeys,
In dangers from rivers, robbers, countrymen, in the city, in the wilderness, on the sea, and among false brethren
Working hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, without enough clothing to keep him warm
say, ’I still press on’. If it were you what would you say? What would you do? Would you quit or press on?
I could hear him say, I have survived the worst of times, why give up now? I need to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus got hold of me. There is purpose in all this, God’s got a plan, for surely there is an end; and my expectation shall not be cut off. Yolanda sings, for whatever comes… With you in control, I can’t go wrong ‘cause I always know….I’m gonna be ready.
I can’t quit till I fulfill his intended purpose for me. There are many cities to be evangelized and many souls yet to be saved… I press on!
Only a man of vision can say that. A man who understands his purpose. Do you know the reason why God has laid hold of you, the same reason you may be going through what you are in preparation for the time you are made manifest; the time you are ready!
Stop crying, stop murmuring, work with God, do your homework, and submit them on time. Because you see, there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: If you do well, won’t you be accepted? That’s what He told Esau – If you do well, will you not be lifted up? God is not some mean assessor who derives satisfaction in marking you down so you would fail. He wants your advancement; He takes pleasure in your prosperity. Talking about tests, how do you pass them, by preparing, isn’t it? Sometimes you don’t feel like it, but for the joy that is set before you, for that certificate that’ll read – Ready, you endure the pain and press on!
Don’t be a drop-out, persevere to the end, and be ready!
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Hello Friend,