Monday, October 24, 2011

Worship is a Weapon...Worship is a Gift

"And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage." 
Ezra 9:8

     The book of Ezra is  a book of restoring worship within Jerusalem. Captivity had nearly silenced the sound of God's people. The book is filled with conflict, and this verse comes within a chapter where once again, the people were in trouble. This time, it was not because of outside forces, but because of inward personal decisions. A lack of separating themselves from the inhabitants of the land. They had married people of the land outside of the holy seed. They had given into the attractions of their surroundings, they had lost focus of the job they needed to be doing as they build a house of worship for the Lord. The worshipers eyes had strayed, and now they had commitments to people they never should of been connected to. Worship is holy and pure, and they had defiled themselves when they should of been tuning themselves to live lives that are a sweet sound to the Lord. Their instruments had become out of tune. Their worship was hindered before the Lord, because sin was within the camp. It is from this place, that these words were penned. From the position of sin revealed and consequences to follow. 
     This verse is a foreshadowing of what Christ would accomplish through the cross. How His pure worship would give His people a remnant to escape the wages of their sins. How His blood would cover their defilement if they would come to Him in faith and confess their sins.
     Reaching beyond just deliverance, Jesus would become for His people their access into God's presence. God cannot dwell in the midst of sin; but through what was accomplished upon the wood of the cross, we have been given a peg is a piece of wood typically tapered at one end; it is used to hold things together. Through His hands and His feet, a instrument resembling a peg was hammered, He took the nails upon the cross, that our lives may be re-tunned before the Lord, prepared to worship.
     The verse goes on to describe the outcome of worship. Once we have come to Him and been made clean by the covering of His blood, entered into His holy presence, and begun to worship Him for who He is, God will enlighten our eyes, and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 
Although washed clean by the blood of Jesus and made free in Christ; so long as we remain in these earthen vessels, our flesh is in bondage to the temptations of sin. We are instruments prone to get out of tune, to sin, and to wander. Nevertheless, this verse declares that He will give us a measure of revival through our bondage. Revival simply put means improvement in the midst of something. Our lives were held captive by sin before coming to the cross, but from the cross we were given life in Christ, and the process of sanctification began. He is continually sanctifying us, or reviving us even within the surrounding temptations of binding sin. When we enter into His temple to worship Him, when we get our eyes off of ourselves and onto His holiness, our sight is enlightened, life and freedom is found, and we may present ourselves as a sweet sound to the ears of God. 
     Man was created to worship God, and it is in the midst of worship that we are strengthened by Him to overcome the outward pressures of sin. Victory for the battle begins with worship. 
The worshippers were commonly sent out before anyone else in the midst of battles. We are in the midst of a battle between the sinful flesh and the Spirit, so may worship be that which goes before us. May we present ourselves before the Lord in worship. Coming to a place of looking up, to the One who is above, to the One who is greater, to the One who alone is worthy of all our praise, doings, thoughts, and plans. 
     Application for myself:
Worship is a gift from the Lord for this "little while time" as the verse described such a time. This time in-between salvation and glorification. Worship is a weapon given to us by the Lord to fight the battle of the flesh. Hand in hand, worship is only worship when I come to an end of myself, and lift Him up. Jesus said, if He would be lifted up, men would be drawn to Him. What a statement, is this not the desire of my heart? To see men coming to Christ? If this be the desire, than I ought to start with lifting Him up, i ought to start with worship. In my life, worship is something very near to my heart, it is the place where I can exercise my personal gift from the Lord; yet so often I feel the influences of those outside influences, tempting me to run from such a place, such a position of leading worship. Thoughts that I am not worthy to be apart of it. Not good enough. Unclean. Defiled from within. Not skilled enough. Not having a pure heart. Eyes off-focused, and on goes the list. But this is not my battle to fight. I am to worship, and allow my God to fight for me. He is the One providing the remnant of escape for my sinfulness. He alone can rescue. I need to look to Him when the enemy throws darts of discouragement at me, cause he's right, i am unworthy to be used by God in the area of worship, but through the pegs that Christ gave me, and through His Spirit, He has revived me to be used of Him, I have been given a job to do, and I would be a fool to walk away. Holy Spirit please strengthen me this day, bring me back and keep me there, the grace of worship.

1 comment:

  1. I love and miss u so much shelly!!!! im so privileged to have an older sister like u:) <3

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