We should not sing about revival as that is an event. Sadly, in the Church we have songs of intent and action while forsaking true songs of gratitude (Praise) and adoration (Worship).
We are to sing about our love for the LORD, make it personal.
How sad it is that people do not encounter God through a heart of worship!
It is hard for some to approach or hear from God with their mobile phones ringing.
It is sad when a church has set up Wifi, so that people can surf the net and send messages during the service.
It is sad to hear of non-Christians used as comedians before the service to warm up the people.
It is sad to hear of non-Christians used to write Christian songs for a church that has a major music ministry.
It is sad to see non-Christians used in bands in the church.
It is sad to hear uneducated, untrained Christian song leaders call praise worship.
It is sad to hear the drums so loud that you can feel it in your heart.
We can see many levels of praise through to worship as we come from the world to the Courts of God where we sing praise; and then from praise we move into worship in the Holy of Holies.
I could praise another person for doing something great, but that does not mean I am worshipping them with adoration and exultation.
Praise is an act of expressing gratitude, thankfulness, admiration, paying tribute to God with enthusiasm in song and music (Psalm 9:11, 22:3, 33:2, 100:4, 150:1-6, 2 Chronicles 20:22, Isaiah 42:12, Hebrews 13:15).
Praise[1] (Gr134 / aineo H1984 / haw-lal’ / Psalm 63:5) to speak in praise of, to praise, extol, to sing praises in honour to God, to allow, recommend, to promise or vow.
Praise (Gr5214 / humneo / Psalms 113 – 118 and 136) “to sing, to laud and sing to the praise of”
Praise (Gr1843 / exomologeo / Luke 26:6) “will I give praise”; “I will confess, pledge publicly”.
Worship is a state of adoration, devotion, exaltation and expression of profound love that leads to an encounter with God in a sensitive way so that believers can hear God (1 Chronicles 16:29, Psalm 29:2, 95:6, 96:9, 99:5).
Worship (Gr4352 / proskuneo / John 4:21-24) “to make obeisance, do reverence to” used as an act of homage, bow down or reverence to God.
Worship (Gr3000 / latreuo / Romans 12:1) “to serve, to render religious service or homage”; to worship (by the Spirit of God) “to worship” (God in Spirit).
Praise/WorshipPsalm 66:4 “Everything on earth will worship[1]you; they will sing your praises[2], shouting your name in glorious songs.”
Now that we have concluded that there is a difference between praise and worship, the challenge will be how we can bring the act of praise to the place of a sensitive state of worship.
[1] H7812 shâchâh shaw-khaw’ bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship.
[2] H2167 zâmar zaw-mar’give praise, sing forth praises, psalms.
The song leader needs to keep in mind that their desire should be to take people to the presence of God. People are born again by the Spirit of God and not by our music, although the music can set the stage for such an encounter. We need to get away from performance-based attitudes and come to worship-based attitudes. It may be required to stop certain instruments from playing or turn the volume down, but this will depend on the sensitivity of the musicians.
In the Old Covenant there are around 660 Civil, Moral and Ceremonial Laws of instruction for the individuals and nation to govern itself by until something better came along.
The Mosaic Law set out the Moral Laws of righteous and holiness to deal with sin. Jesus is the righteousness of God. Therefore, He would not have needed to go through the waters of baptism for the washing away of His sins because, He had none as He was holy.
The Mosaic Law set out the Civil laws to follow in areas of hygiene of how to operate in the camp and with our fellow man. Jesus was not sick and therefore did not need healing in the waters as was an acceptable ritual according to the Hebrews bathing (Mikvah). Jesus did not need purification, for emotional, psychological, and spiritual healing as He is God.
The Mosaic Law sets out the Ceremonial Laws requirements for a priest and the nation to follow. The explanation as follows:
The Mosaic Ceremonial Laws requires for a priest to be naked, fully emersed in water being washed before dressing in ceremonial clothes before entering the Holy place, and the Holy of Holies to minister to God (Exodus 29:1-4, 29:18-21, 30:18-20, 30:30, 40:12-13, 40:30-32, Leviticus 8:6, 16:24, Numbers 8:5-7, 8:15, 8:21, 19:7, 2Chronicles 4:6, Nehemiah 13:29-30).
Rivkah Slanim[1] states: “On Yom Kippur, the holiest of all days, the High Priest was allowed entrance into the Holy of Holies, the innermost chamber of the Temple, into which no other mortal could enter. This was the zenith of a day that involved an ascending order of services, each of which was preceded by immersion in the mikvah.”
The evidence here is the act of water immersion (mikvah) was for the purpose of service towards God on behalf of the people.
The Purification Ritual of the Mikvah as per Civil laws
The Israelites would perform immersion or submersion in water to establish a ritual purification, called Mikvah, for specific circumstances as a gift of purity and holiness in accordance with the laws of purification as per Civil laws.
One purpose of the Mikvah is to bring about a change in a person’s life, for example the commitment of a person to the faith of the Israelites. It is also regarded as a prerequisite to a new convert so he or she could be part of the nation. Also, if they touched anything belonging to the Israelites it would not be regarded as unclean (Numbers 19).
Another example was when a person had touched or had contacted a human corpse (Numbers 19:11-13) they were regarded as ritually defiled. Therefore, would be required to perform the Mikvah. This would allow them to have access to Temple activities and social life again.
Men and women would perform the Mikveh before their wedding. Women would perform the Mikveh forty days after having a child and then again after each menstrual cycle.
All of Leviticus chapter 15 covers in more detail the reasons for performing the Mikveh than I have as per Civil laws.
Leviticus 15:16 And if any man’s semen goes from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water and be unclean until the evening. 17 And every garment and every skin on which the semen shall be, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening. 18 And the woman with whom a man shall lie with emission of semen shall both bathe in water and be unclean until the evening. 19 And if a woman has an issue, and her issue in her flesh is blood, she shall be in her impurity seven days. And whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening. (MKJV)
Albert E. Kirchhoff[2] states: Mikvah does not earn salvation; indeed, there is no way you can bridge the gap between you and HASHEM[3]caused by sin on the basis of works! Whether someone is mikvah’d or not prior to death, has no bearing on their salvation.
Baptizo /Tevilah
In the Greek we have the word Baptizo and in the Hebrew we haveTevilah. Both words mean immersing, performing ablutions ritual washing, a rite of washing as a sign of religious purification and consecration. When a person is tevilah(baptised) it is full body immersion. The Israelites would perform fullsubmersion (Tevilah) in water to establish a ritual[4] purification, called Mikvah[5], for specific circumstances as a gift of purity and holiness in accordance with the laws of purification for service to the Lord. It is also done to denote a transition in one’s life from one stage to another. Therefore, the tevilah-cum-mikvah means baptism in a body of water where you are fully immersed in water.
The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism
The reason Jesus was baptized was to.
1 Fulfil all righteousness to announce His Ministry
2 To be an example that we should follow.
3 To reveal to all that He belonged to God, being the Christ of prophecy.
4 To give a symbolic demonstration of receiving the Holy Spirit
Fulfil all righteousness announcing His Ministryas per The Mosaic Ceremonial Laws
Jesus is our High Priest of God. The Mosaic Law requires for a priest be washed before entering the Holy place, and the Holy of Holies to minister to God. (Exodus 40:12 -13) Moses baptises and anoints Aaron and sons. (Psalm 99:6) However we do not need to be anointed with oil as we receive the infilling of the Holy Sprit and the oil is a symbol of the H.S.
Exodus 40:12 And you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. 13 And you shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and sanctify him, so that he may minister to Me in the priest’s office. (MKJV)
Hebrews7:11 Therefore if perfection were by the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the Law), what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron? (MKJV)
John the Baptise was the last prophet in the Old Testament to fulfil the order of Aaron, where Jesus announces new ministry in the New Testament, in the order of Melchizedek for all believers through water baptism. (Hebrews 7:11, Luke16:16-17)
As stated above, “Jesus is the High priest of God and the Mosaic Law required that a priest be washed”. We are called to be a Royal priesthood in the new ordered, therefore we need to follow this example too.
Priest in the order of Melchizedek
1Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (MKJV)
At the time of Jesus’ baptism he was 30
Numbers 4:3 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years, all that enter into the service, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation. (MKJV)
Numbers 4: 35 They numbered them from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone that entered into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Numbers 4: 43 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone that enters into the service for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation, (MKJV)
It was also required for Jesus to fulfil righteousness so that He could fulfil prophesy.
Matthew 3:15 And answering Jesus said to him, Allow it now, for it is becoming to us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed Him. 16 And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up immediately out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. (MKJV)
If Jesus had refused to get water baptized, then He could not have fulfilled all righteousness, because He had not been obedient to the Mosaic Law (Exodus 40:11-13). Obedience to God’s word brought power to Jesus and brings power to the believer too.
Jesus’ baptism by John was followed by an announcement by God saying, “This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased”
Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up immediately out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. 17 And lo, a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. (MKJV)
When we read Scripture we can find after our salvation that God can be well pleased[6]which in the Greek is called eudokeō G2106 (yoo-dok-eh’-o). Eudokeō is to think well or be favourably inclined towards another, taking pleasure in their willingness to co-operate and to sanction officially granting authorization in a certain venture or stage of life.
It also identified Jesus as the Son of God and the inauguration of His earthly ministry. Remember that Eudokeō is to think well or be favourably inclined towards another, taking pleasure in their willingness to corporate and to sanction officially, granting authorization. Thus we see God is granting authorization to Jesus to start His earthly ministry in accordance with the Law in this case called righteousness.
We are 100 per cent loved and assured that God is eudokeō pleased with us when we are walking by the Spirit, and we are fulfilling His commands.
If Jesus had missed John’s baptism, John would not have seen the Holy Spirit coming down upon Jesus in the form of a dove as shown in Matthew 3:16. If Jesus had missed in a single prophesy, then He would not have been the real Christ. He had to fulfil all prophecy.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. 19 Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen. (MKJV)
Water baptism is not required for salvation, although references are made to it in scripture by Paul, but with further study we will come to see that it is Jesus’ blood that washes us clean. Water does not have that power. The water baptism is a public demonstration of whom we belong to. As stated, Mosaic Law requires the priest to be anointed and washed before entering the Holy place, and the Holy of Holies to minister to God for the people (Exodus 40:12-13, 29:1-4, 30:18-20, 30:30, Numbers 8:6-7, Levitcus16:4 and 2Chronicles 4:6). It fulfils Mosaic Law (Exodus 40:11-13) regarding Priesthood. This is the act of fulfilling righteousness Jesus mentioned at His baptism.
The evidence here is the act of full water immersion (tevilah-cum-mikvah) of Jesus was for the purpose of service to God on behalf of the people, plus serving God to the people and clearly not for salvation.
The premise is water baptism is for the purpose of identifying a person to start ministry (Acts10:37), such as every believer ministry (1Peter 2:9).
[5]Strong’s,Hebrews and Greek Dictionaries, H4724 miqvâh mik-vaw’ Feminine of H4723; a collection, that is, (of water) a reservoir: – ditch.
[6]Strong’s, Hebrews and Greek DictionariesG2106eudokeōyoo-dok-eh’-o From G2095 and G1380; to thinkwell of, that is, approve (an act); specifically to approbate (a person or thing): – think good, (be well) please (-d), be the good (have, take) pleasure, be willing.
End-times messages can be very powerful manipulative tool. Preachers can operate on the emotions of the reader or listener to force a decision based on hysteria and panic in the world. The problem with terror procurement, is once the fear subsides you hide what you bought and feel embarrassed and say, “I will not do that again”.
Preachers need to be careful about the content of their messages while panic buyers are around.
The preacher may use a beat-up media report on what may be a sign of the Lords return, but he or she needs to be careful that they are not using fear of people going to hell to get people saved, as it is only a “Panic Purchase”.
These signs have always been around.
We need to preach and focus on Jesus and not on the signs. If we mention a sign do it only to teach about awareness of what is happening and the need to keep your eyes open. We need to make the messages more about Jesus as the answer.
If people respond out of fear then it will be hard to bring them back to Jesus at a later date.
Jesus tells us, the Father is the only one who knows the time of Jesus return, we cannot
Should the world accept Jesus? Yes!
“BUT,”
It is by sharing about the magnitude of Jesus’ love that has many virtues. It is His love found in the Bible that will compel the sinner to repent.
Traillblazer Ministries Australasia 