Worship is the most important activity that takes place in our churches, because it is central to God's plan for us.We were not created to be pastors, evangelists or for any other church activity, although these things are important and necessary, we were created that we might be close to Him, to walk with Him, and be intimate with Him. We are Jesus' bride, we are His desire, and we are His children.
We will never fulfil all that God had for us without intimacy with Him. Being close to Him must be the focal point of both our personal lives, and of our churches, because if He is not the centre, then we have missed the point. It is too easy to become focused upon the things of God, especially those of us in lay or full time ministry, whilst losing our focus upon the true goal, Jesus Himself.
It is for this reason that I have travelled to churches across the globe, teaching people and churches how to draw closer to God. Jesus is calling His bride to turn her heart to Him again, to meet Him, and to walk with Him in everything that He has for us.
My passion is that we each grow closer to Him, and that our churches become places full of His glory, power and wonder. If you have any questions about worship, or about the content of this booklet, feel free to email ben@worshipacademy.co.uk
Thank you,
Pastor Benjamin Sealey
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Part 1 – Understanding Worship
What is Worship?
Worship, and God's purpose in it, is a theme that runs throughout the entire Bible. To truly understand worship, we must begin at the very beginning of the Bible.
When God created man, He did so for one reason, because He loved him and wanted to be with him. God desired fellowship with His creation. Because there was no sin in the world, no rebellion, man walked in perfect harmony with God. Man was completely submitted to God, he had no disobedience, and so because of this both man and God walked together in perfect union.
This was how God intended it be, and how it should always have been, man living in complete submission to, and living in the fullness of God.
It was out of this place though, that man was seduced into rebelling against God, in Genesis chapter 3. Because of man's sin and rebellion towards God, that unity between them was lost, and man was expelled from the Garden of Eden. The whole of the Bible is the story of God restoring that intimacy between Himself and man. Man could no longer walk with God as he had in the Garden of Eden, because of sin and rebellion. It is because of this, that He sent Jesus to pay the price for our rebellion, that we might know Him once more as God intended.
It is important to understand this background, to fully understand worship, because we must always understand that God's first and foremost desire is that we walk closely with Him again, in complete submission to Him
The English word "worship" literally means worth-ship. It ascribing worth to something. At its' core, the word worship is about surrender. In England, in crown courts, we address the judge as "your worship." In doing so, we are acknowledging that the judge has more worth than us, is a higher authority than us. In worshipping someone, we are lifting them above us, and at the same time, we are surrendering to them.
So our worship to God is our active decision to put aside our own desires and motives, and instead acknowledging God's worth, His authority, His rule and His power. It is both surrendering ourselves, and lifting Him up.
The process of surrendering, as we will see later, is the means by which we draw closer to God. In the Garden of Eden, we lost our relationship with God through our rebellion. Now, through Jesus, when we actively decide to surrender ourselves and seek His worth over our own, we will draw closer to Him.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Worship, therefore, is not actually the goal - it the process by which we achieve the goal. The goal is to encounter God and be close to Him. The process by which we achieve that goal is worship.
To worship or not to worship is always our decision. God wants us to surrender to Him out of love, not because we are forced to. There will be a time when all eyes will see Him, and every knee will bow before Him, but that time is not now. Now is a time for those who would seek Him, for those who would sacrifice their lives for the sake of drawing near to Him.
We must understand that when God talks about worship, He is not talking about music, (although there is a place for music, as we will discover,) or about singing the latest chorus or hymn, he is talking about those who would give their all for Him in complete surrender.
Paul understood this when he wrote, Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God---this is your true and proper worship.
He realised that true worship was giving his life as a sacrifice before God, surrendered to His will. This is the true worship that God is looking for in these times, those who would forsake their lives for Him.
If we are to lead God's people into worship, and see powerful, life changing worship in our own lives, and in our churches, we must be completely clear about what worship is, we must know that we are leading the people into that place of surrender.
All Christians must have worship at the centre of our lives and of our churches. God moves wherever we allow Him to, so as we go deeper in our surrendering and our dependency upon Him, He will be able to move in new and more powerful ways.
Most of what God has done in my own life has been in those times of worship, in those places of true encounter. I've experienced the Glory of God like I could not even describe, I've had healing, deliverance, all in those times when it has just been me on my own, seeking Him and humbling myself before Him. God has all this for us, and much more, if we would learn to bow down before Him, and set our hearts on Him.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Proskuneo
In the original Hebrew and Greek, the words are not quite so straight forward as the English word, “worship.”
One the main Greek words for worship is "Proskuneo."
The word "Proskuneo" literally means to move towards (pros) and to kiss (kuneo.) In the West we tend to think of kissing as being a romantic gesture, but it isn't the case here. The implication is not of romance, but of surrender to authority. In medieval times, when a man was made a lord by the king, that man would bow before the king, and kiss the back of his hand in reverence and surrender. This gesture, which is a common sign of surrender throughout mankind, and even in the animal kingdom, perfectly illustrates proskuneo worship.
One of my favourite biblical examples of true, proskuneo worship is from John 12: 1-8:
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. ” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
In this passage, we have two main characters: Mary and Judas. There is some debate over who exactly Mary of Bethany was, but whoever she was, she was someone of little importance. She had no worldly stature, and was a woman in a society that did not hold women in high regard. In essence, she was nothing, a woman who no one would notice or respect.
Contrast this with Judas. Judas was the most respectable of the apostles. He was in charge of the apostles' money, and probably had some kind of finance background. Judas was a man to be respected.
Mary's response to being close to Jesus is that of a true worshipper. She takes everything she has, (the perfume cost around one year’s wages,) and she poured it out at Jesus' feet. She took all she owned, and laid it before Him, for no other reason than for Jesus' pleasure.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Judas' reaction to Mary's outpouring was one of offence. Religion is always offended by genuine worship. Judas' heart was not for Jesus, but to see his own glory. He talks about giving money to the poor, not out of love for the poor, but to make himself look good.
These two people reacted differently to Jesus. One poured everything they had before Jesus, and the other was concerned only with increasing his own importance, and with his own image before men.
The difference between Mary and Judas is very simple; it is the difference of the heart. The heart is the place that all true worship comes from. The heart represents what we desire, what we love. And what we seek. If we are to become true worshippers, first and foremost, we have to ask God to deal with our hearts.
The greatest gift God can give us is the gift of being broken. Our natural state of sin means that our hearts are all about us, making ourselves look good, increasing our own ministry, about trying to become someone. Judas actions were no different from what goes on in most of us, (I very much include myself here.) Our natural instinct is to look good before men, especially those of us "on the platform" within our churches. Indeed, that is why many of us who are musicians became musicians, to look good in front of man. Our sinful state tries to take glory for ourselves, and tries to increase what we have, our importance, our sphere of influence, our ministry, our finances. Our hearts are no better than Judas', until God deals with them. That is why being broken by God is a wonderful gift. Being broken is when got breaks our own desires and our own will, so that we may turn our hearts to Him.
This is a part of my story of being broken. I became a Christian when i was 17, after having a genuine encounter with God, and being a good musician in a small church, I quickly became part of the worship team. I am someone who likes to do things, I am a naturally driven person, I like to have purpose and ambition. Because this is my natural inclination, in the following weeks I quickly got involved in most things in the church, and subsequent churches I joined. I ran youth groups, music groups, outreaches, worship teams etc. in fact I did all those things that is encouraged in church. I was a "doer" I preached, I ministered. I went to all the meetings. I was busy with church, and church became my life. I got married, and was living in North Wales.
After around 10 years of this, God spoke to me. In fact, in all my years of church activity, I had never really heard His voice. But now He confronted me, via another person with these words, "you do not know me." Now, here was I, someone who had given many hundreds of hours to the church, to doing what I assumed was His work, being told by God that I did not know Him. i did not believe what God was saying, and my pride struggled to accept what God was saying. How dare someone say that I did not know God? Could they not see who I was? I rallied against the word of God for some days, maybe even weeks. The person who brought me the message must be wrong; the problem lies with them, not me. And yet even in my state of self-righteousness, and anger, I knew it was God who sent me the message. At that point I had a choice. Either
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk continue as I was, or repent. There was a small part of me that knew I had to repent, and accept that I had no real relationship with God. I got on my bed, and decided that I was going to seek God until I found Him.
I started confessing my sin, confessing that I had no desire for God. As I started seeking, praying and confessing, I started to get a true taste of His glory. The more I repented and prayed, the closer I got. After about 3 hours of this the Heavens began to open, and I began to see God in His glory. The repentance became liberating, exhilarating, leading me closer to Him. He began to show me truth of my Christian life so far, that it was built entirely on my own strength, on my own righteousness, my own pride and ambition. At best, my "ministry" up to that point had been useless, at worst dangerous and damaging. I knew, sitting in His presence that this is what I really wanted, that this is what the reality of a Christian walk should be. I phoned my pastor and resigned from all church activities. The thought of leading worship again made me feel physically sick, knowing how I had been doing it without God. I resolved that I would never do anything within church again, until He commanded me otherwise. My place from then on was going to be spent like Mary of Bethany, at the feet of Jesus, enjoying Him alone.
The following weeks were an absolute joy. I spent as much time as I could just seeking God. Reading the Bible, which I had always found quite hard, suddenly came to life, every verse I read, though I had read them many times before, were full of revelation. I could not get enough of His word, or of seeking Him. I had been saved 10 years before, and had been filled with the Holy Spirit, and had the occasional encounter with God, usually when someone else prayed with me, and was sometimes around the genuine things of God, but from the point of being saved I never really developed my own relationship with God. What I had thought of as walking with God was actually just church activity, of which I did plenty. I gave lip service to God, I said the right things, acted (outwardly,) the right way, and yet I did not KNOW Him. I knew all about Him, yet had no actual relationship with Him. In my doing, I had missed the whole point, and the point is Him.
The key to true worship is brokenness and repentance. We have to repent of anything that comes between us and His will, which is so much more than the "bad things" which we know we ought not to do. It is everything that resists the Spirit of God, everything we try to build ourselves, our families, our churches, our businesses, we have to give them back to Him and allow His Spirit to operate in them. We must take up the highest place of all, the place of a servant, having no will, no desire but Jesus Himself. That is the worship that God has for our lives and our churches. That is the proskuneo worship that God desires in His church.
On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaimed, Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."Jesus did not say, "blessed are the poor," as is often misquoted, but "blessed are the poor in spirit." Our spirit is our will, our desire. The poor in spirit are the broken or the humble, those who have no will apart from what Jesus desires. Jesus said that it is a blessing to be broken, because then, we will inherit
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk the kingdom of heaven - we will inherit all that Jesus has. We are the children of God, and any child inherits what their father has. When we lose our desire for what the world has, we inherit what are heavenly father has, His kingdom and His reign. “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it,” Luke 17:33
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk The Levites - Biblical worship leaders.
In the journey of Israel, God is demonstrating His relationship with us, His church. Israel acts, and reacts to God in the same way that the church does today. God takes Israel through physical situations, to show us how the spiritual works.
In Exodus, the Israelites were rescued from a life of slavery, and by performing miracles, God freed them, and led them into the wilderness. It was in Exodus, whilst Moses was on Mount Sinai, that we read the following:
Exodus 32:1-10 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.
This passage exposes the heart of God's people. As soon as Moses left them, they revealed their true desires, and began to create and worship idols. Remember, God is demonstrating physically through the Israelites how we act spiritually. Most of us today would not worship a physical idol, but we do act in the same. Worship an idol just means to submit to anything that is not God, which is different in each of others - we may submit to the flesh, to money, to music stars, to incorrect relationships - it different in each of us. What is the same though is that we all, to a greater or lesser extent, have areas of our lives that are not submitted to God, they are submitted to that which is not God.
God's anger burned against the Israelites when he saw their behaviour, as did Moses'. Exodus 32:26: So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.
Moses made a proclamation, "who is on the side of the Lord?" It was a question for God's people, for His church - who is on God's side? God makes it clear that in spite of the fact that all of Israel is His, it is not all necessarily on His side. Just because they were called and chosen by God, it does not mean that they themselves desired what God desired.
When this challenge went out, only one of the twelve tribes of Israel stepped forward, the Levites. From that moment on, the Levites were given a special role by God,
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Exodus 32:29Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.” From that moment on, the Levites were set apart for God's work. The Levites, throughout the Old Testament were then given from the responsibility of ministering in the presence of God.
In Exodus 19 5-6, God says that the whole of Israel were to be set aside to be priests, to be His holy nation. That was the calling that was upon His people. However, the Israelites exposed their hearts when they built the golden calf, and so the priestly calling was taken from them, and given to the Levites, whose hearts' God could trust. Aaron and his line were called to be priests (Aaron was a Levite,) and those Levites who were not priests were given other forms of service before God. (See numbers 3:12-13, Deuteronomy 10:8 and numbers 8:19.)
The Levites were set aside for God's purposes. They did not inherit land like the rest of the Israelites - God himself was to be their inheritance. They were not to be concerned with the cares of this world, but with the things of God. They are a biblical example to worship leaders today. It is amazing how little we concern ourselves with those called to bring in the presence of God into our services today. The main qualification most of us look for is musical ability for our worship leaders, with maybe also some concern for lifestyle. These were not what God looked for in His carriers of presence - he looks at only one area - the heart.
Religious service had one purpose in the Old Testament, to meet with God. It was the reason they met together, the reason they performed religious duty, it was the whole function of the priests, to honour God and to enter into His presence. To be a priest was such an important role - it was not given to the most learned tribe, to the strongest tribe, to the most respectable tribe. No, it was given to the tribe whose heart was set aside for God. These were a people God could trust to handle His glory.
Deuteronomy 10:8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today.
God established tabernacles and a temple so that He could meet with His people. That has always been God's desire, since the beginning, to meet with His people, to be with them. It was too important a role to give to anyone; it could only be given to those with pure hearts.
When we read the Bible, we can see that the purpose in everything that God does is to draw His people nearer to Him. It's also the same in our lives. A common question that gets asked by times Christians and non-Christians is why does God allow us to go through hard times? The reason is simple; God wants us to draw near to Him, to be sustained by Him. He wants us to live in His presence, though seeking Him. When things are easy, it is against our nature to turn to God. We become content in what we have, and we lose focus of the Living God. By putting challenges before us, we are forced to rely upon Him, rather than out own strength.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk So God only trusts those with the purest heart with the most precious of His gifts - His presence.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk The Tabernacle of Moses – How to enter Gods’ Presence
After God rescues the Israelites from captivity, He sets into place a way for the Israelites to meet Him. God demonstrates His heart, as soon as His people are free, He wants to be with them.
In Exodus 25:22, God Instructs the Israelites to construct a tabernacle where “I will meet with you.” The word “Tabernacle” comes from the Hebrew word, “mishkan,” meaning “place of dwelling” or the resting place for the presence of God. The tabernacle was a tent, in the centre of which was housed the very presence of God.
Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly
sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lamp stand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly
into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings external regulations applying until the time of the new order. Hebrews 9: 1-11
Verse 8 – 9 tells us that the Tabernacle was a symbol, or representation of how to enter into the Holiest of Holies. It was built to show us today how to enter into the presence of God.
The way in which God taught the Israelites to enter into His presence is a through a journey of sacrifice. In the Old Testament, God taught a system of ceremonial sacrifice that led to His presence, which has been fulfilled by Jesus becoming our sacrifice. However, Although Jesus has become our literal sacrifice, paying the price for our sins, it does not mean that we do not sacrifice at all. To follow Jesus still requires a sacrifice, not a physical one, but a sacrifice of our lives, our desire, our hearts and our will. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23. To be close to Him, we must deny ourselves. The journey into Gods’ presence is still a journey of sacrifice, but not a dead religious sacrifice, but the sacrifice of a surrendered life, “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51 16-1
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk The Tabernacle of Moses
The above diagram shows the layout of the Tabernacle of Moses.
There are 3 areas of the tabernacle, the Outer Court Area, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The Israelites entered into the tabernacle from the east. God gave them a system to enter into the Holy of Holies (where only the high priest could go.)
Entering His courts – praise vs. worship
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalm 100:4
As the Israelites entered His courts, they were instructed to do so with praise. Is praise the same thing as worship? No. We have seen how the Greek word for worship is proskunueo, (the Hebrew equivalent is shachah,) which we have seen means to submit to God, to bow down, to surrender. Yet God is giving a specific command to enter with praise – not worship. So what is praise? There are many different words for praise in the Bible, but most have a similar meaning. In this verse, the words being used here are towadah and tehillah.
The word towdah means to give thanks. It is thanking God for what he has done, and for what He will do. The power of praise is a powerful thing. It is the proclamation of what God has done, what He has achieved. It is agreement with the truth. Today, we can thank God for all Jesus has done for us. When we are oppressed or discouraged, we speak out the truth of what God has done. If we are ill, we proclaim His healing. In
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Ephesians 6, Paul talks about the word of God being our sword. This is a practical application of this. As we proclaim God’s truth – as opposed to what we may feel, or see in the physical, strongholds shake, and chains are broken. This is how God told the Israelites to enter in, with the attitude of truth and thanksgiving. Tehillah means to sing, to laud. Again it is a proclaiming word. All the words for praise are noisy, boastful, and celebratory. They are based on truth. True praise is spiritual warfare. A church that knows who it is, and does not look to itself and its’ own problems are a mighty army. When Jehoshaphat went into battle in 2Chronicles 20, he understood this truth. He sent the musicians first, with towdah, thanksgiving praise, which won them the battle.
So our first step in entering the presence of God is thanksgiving and praise – proclaiming the truth of who Jesus is and what He has done. Praise and worship are separate, but both important. The goal is entering His presence. The first part of that journey is praise. Some of the Hebrew words for praise are physical, they involve raising hands or creating loud noise. As we obey God by praising, we are submitting our body to Him. As we use our body to proclaim truth, it submits to what God says, over whatever we may feel.
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15. Praise, therefore, is our first sacrifice in entering His presence. It is acting on truth however we feel, it is surrendering our body to what He says, not to how what we want.
Worship, and worship leading, is a journey, it is a journey into the Presence of God. If we are leading worship, we have to keep this in mind. True praise is a powerful thing, but it in only the start. A lot of churches love to praise, which is great, but we must remember to keep moving forward if we are to enter into a deeper place with God. Praise only gets us past His gates. It is also important to keep in mind the journey if you are using songs. Identify which songs that you use are worship, and which are praise, and use the praise songs first, flowing into the worship songs. It is important not to keep changing between praise and worship. The Levites led the people into the presence of God, and we must do the same.
Going deeper
Praise was our first sacrifice, if we are to go deeper, we must continue to sacrifice ourselves.
The first item the Israelites encountered on their journey through the tabernacle was the alter of sacrifice. The Israelites has to bring an unblemished animal to the priest for sacrifice, on behalf on the sin of the person. God was showing the people how sin needs to be paid for in blood. Today, as we worship, our next step to drawing closer to God is acknowledging and confessing our sin before God, and accepting the blood of
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Jesus as the price for our sin. This is why one of Jesus’ many titles is a lamb. He is our sacrifice.
Next was the laver, or wash basin, which was a bronze bowl of water. This is where the priests washed their hands and feet, before drawing closer to God in the Holy place. Again, the washing is symbolic of Jesus washing away our sins.
We started entering God’s presence by praise – acknowledging the truth of Jesus, and proclaiming it. We draw into the Holy Place by repentance, acknowledging our weaknesses, and accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins.
The priests could then enter the Holy Place. The first item in the Holy place was the lamp stand, or menorah. A menorah has 7 candles, a central candle with 6 smaller candles by its’ side. The priests were instructed to never let the candles go out. A menorah is another prophetic of the characteristics of Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world, (John 8:12, John 12:46,) and we too are to represent that light, (Mathew 5:14) Light represents truth. We are called to worship God is Spirit and truth, (John 4:20-24.) The truth of Jesus is an important part of worship.
There was also a table of bread in the Holy Place, where fresh bread was placed. The bread signifies the human will. To make bread, the wheat is ground into flour, as our will must be. Next, it is put through fire, as our wills must be tested and purified by fire. Our will must be submitted to God. This is the process of being broken, as I have discussed previously.
Lastly, in the Holy Place was an alter of incense, where the priests burned incense. Incense is prophetic of prayer from the saints, rising up to God (see Psalm 141:2, Revelations 8 3-4.) Prayer and worship are closely related, and as the prayers of God’s children go up to God, it is like incense filling God’s nostrils. True prayer comes out of worship, it is our being broken before God, and as we are broken and weak in ourselves, we then have to rely on God to move. You cannot have true prayer without worship, without surrender. The prayer that moves God is prayer that comes out of that place of brokenness. When Jesus taught us to pray (Mathew 6:13-19) it starts off we surrendering before God, focusing our hearts and our minds upon Jesus, and acknowledging His lordship, all of which is simply worship, before then petitioning God for our needs out of that place of brokenness and surrender. God calls His house a” house of prayer for all nations,”(Isaiah 56:3) This is how HE sees His house, a place where, out of our brokenness, our prayers continually go up before God. There are ministries around the globe where there is continual prayer, continual incense into God’s presence. This is what God has ordained His house to be.
So truth, brokenness and prayer led the priest into the Presence of God, into the Most Holy Place. The most Holy Place or Holy of Holies literally housed the presence of God, in the Ark of the Covenant. A veil, or curtain separated the Most Holy Place. God kept His presence separate, and only the high priest could enter this place and survive.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)
So the Presence of God was closed to man. When Jesus dies, this veil of separation was torn in two (Mathew 27:51.) Jesus blood sacrifice meant that the price of our sinfulness had been paid in full. We were now free to enter into the Most Holy Place, through Jesus, our High Priest. Through this process of brokenness and surrender, we can end up in the very throne room of God. Too many of choose to live our lives on the outskirts of Gods’ presence, never entering into His fullness. But a true worshiper will sacrifice their life for the sake of drawing near to God. I have had a few times in my life where I literally could not stand – the weight of God’s glory has been too heavy. This has always happened after periods of prolonged seeking and surrendering. It is the most awesome thing, the power of which is completely indescribable, but I’m sure that even then I have been just getting a tiny glimpse of who Jesus is.
The veil has been torn, though Jesus our High Priest. God has made a way for us to be close to Him, as it was in the Garden of Eden, but in this age we still have free will. We can choose sin and self at any time, or we can choose selflessness and God’s purpose. The more we choose God in our lives, our minds, our hearts, the closer we draw near. We are always as close to God as we want to be.
If we are to see our land return to its’ God, we must learn to become worshipers, and our first step in doing that is to understand what God requires in worship, on His terms.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Leading Worship in Today’s church
We need to apply the spiritual lessons of Moses’ tabernacle to our church worship today. We also need to understand why we use music in our worship, and how to use that music to draw people into God’s presence.
So what role does music have in worship? Music is not worship. The two things are distinct from each other. Just because a person is singing a song with the words Jesus is, it does not necessarily mean that they are worshiping Jesus. Indeed, there are many different types of Christian songs, all of which are valid, such as songs for evangelism, songs that teach, songs that inspire, and this is correct and proper. However, in this booklet, we are looking specifically at songs designed to lead us into God’s presence.
Worship can only come from our hearts. Non musical people can worship just as well as musical people. We often make a mistake in our churches by getting the best (or only) musicians to lead worship in our churches, whereas we should be getting people who are first and foremost worshipers. Too many people assume that they cannot worship, because they are not great singers or musicians, and also assume that a person can worship because they are a great musician. Musical ability, and a worshiping heart are completely unrelated to each other. We need to change our thinking on the correlation between music and worship, or it will hinder our own worship, and our churches worship.
What music does do, though, is express our worship. Music is not the worship itself, but the expression from our heart. Music is a powerful tool, and it is only a tool, but it has the ability to convey and carry the worship from one person’s heart into a much larger space. When one person is worshiping, music has the ability to carry other people along with the worship, if used skilfully and knowledgably, to help to lead a congregation of people into true worship, and then into the presence of God. That is why it is vital for a worshiper leader (i.e. someone who leads others into worship, as opposed to a worshiper, which we are all called to be, but we don’t have the responsibility to lead others,) to understand music, because it is their tool, it is the weapon that they use to take the people along to the place that he or she must go to in their own time in a corporate setting.
So music is a tool, a tool by which a worshiper can lead other people into worship. It is a tool to express one’s own worshiping heart and place of worship. That is the power of music
For those of us called to lead God’s people in worship, it is right that we become excellent musicians, because music is our tool to lead the people. We must know how to use this tool skilfully. However, the tool is useless unless we can learn to walk in brokenness and surrender to the Spirit of God.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk Worship in Spirit
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks”. John 4:23
This verse is one of the most used, and the most important verses regarding worship in the Bible. But what does it actually mean in practical terms?
Jesus specifies that true worship is in spirit and truth, which also implies that worship that is not in spirit, is not true worship. So worship, if it is in the Spirit, must not only be for God, but come from God, from His Spirit. Worship cannot be on our terms, it cannot be what we find acceptable to give to God, it has to be done in His truth, or how He ordains, and by His Spirit. For too long, we as Christians have been telling God what we find acceptable, what sort of church service we are willing to attend, what style of music we would like, how long the service should be, what sort of sermon we would like to hear etc... The truth is that church is not on our terms. It is not our church, it is His. Jesus says that He will build His church (math 16:18) it is built by Him, by His Spirit.
So worship is built by Him, His truth, His Spirit. That is the worship Jesus is looking for. To worship in Spirit, we again have to start from a point of brokenness. While we are not broken to the purposes of God, He cannot take over While we try to minister on our own strength, He is not ministering though us. Whenever we act out of our own ability, our own opinions, our own desires, our own ideas, then the Holy Spirit is not building His church, we are trying to build His church for Him, only it will not really be His church, it will be our ministry, and ultimately will not set people free, but chain them into religion.
So true worship, the worship that the Father is looking for, is worship that the Holy Spirit takes over – because it is in that place that people will begin to encounter God. When we look at the analogy of the Tabernacle of Moses, the journey into the presence of God began in the flesh, with singing and dancing, thanksgiving and celebration. To get in the Spirit, we must start off in the flesh. Our worship services should begin with straightforward praise songs, which is what most of our services do anyway. A praise song is loud, bold, triumphant, and focuses on who Jesus is, what He has done, His truth, His victory.
However, as we continue on our journey of sacrifice and surrender, and it is only when we begin to surrender ourselves that the Spirit can begin to take over, and He begins to lead His worship. Remember, without sacrifice, surrender and brokenness, there will be no true Spirit-led worship. Worship that remains in the flesh stays in the outer courts, which is fine, but it isn’t the true worship that the Father is looking for.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk So true worship usually begins in the flesh, through the use of songs, but ends up being taken over by the Spirit.
Let us look at this in more depth, and try to understand the process in practical terms.
If I were to lead worship today, I would usually start with a few choruses picked out. For this example, I will only have 3 choruses’ in my worship session, but you may choose more, using a similar pattern.
I will start with a praise song, such songs would be something like, “Hosanna,” “Days of Elijah,” “Let Everything That Has Breath...” etc. The actual choice of song is obviously up to you, which songs you know and which songs your church uses. It is irrelevant whether it is the latest chorus, or the oldest hymn, but we must understand the difference between praise and a worship song. A praise song is always loud, bold, proclaims God, and exalts Jesus. It is our sacrifice of praise, deciding to proclaim the truth of God, despite how we may feel. Praise songs are just that, songs. They are sung in the flesh, with the purpose of beginning to focus us upon Jesus, our goal. In your service, you may want to use two or even three praise songs. However, it is important that you do not just sing praise songs, because without the Spirit taking over, you will not encounter God as you might otherwise.
The second of a three chorus set will be something that begins to introduce surrender, adoration, the welcoming of Jesus into the service. It is a song where we want to begin to move into the Holy Place. This sort of chorus will usually be slower, more reverential, but importantly either focused upon Jesus, or focused upon dealing with ourselves.
The sort of song I would use here would be something like, “Shout To The Lord, “He is Exalted,” or “Majesty.” Again, I am picking songs that most people would recognise, but you would use whatever song is appropriate to your church. During the second song, or middle of your worship time, you should be looking at bringing people into that place of submission, into place surrender to the Holy Spirit. You are trying to lead the congregation into focusing entirely upon Jesus, not on themselves or the service, the words, or their surroundings, but upon Him. We should start allowing space in the music for people to worship out of their spirits. We may want to stop singing the song that is written, but keep the music going, and allow people to worship with their own words, or to pray, or to call on God. It is important to keep the music going during this time, as it creates continuity, and a flow, but start allowing the Holy Spirit to do what He wants o do.
This leads us into the Holy Place. A place where there is nothing but pure, worship. True worship songs are not sung about Jesus or about the things of God, but to Jesus directly. Worship songs are often very simple, and I find that it doesn’t need too many words, as remembering, or focusing upon a lot of words distracts our attention from Him. I am cautious of songs that use too many words, as people end up focusing on getting the words right, or reading a screen whereas if the song is very simple, it is easier to switch off, and focus straight at God. It is for the same reason that I personally
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk am very cautious of “visual aids” in corporate worship, I personally find that they just serve to take our eyes off Jesus, which is the very opposite of what true worship should be.
Our songs should be very simple, usually slow or relaxed musically, sometimes powerful, but always just focused upon Jesus. There are many true worship songs, such as, “How great is our God,” “Holy, Holy, Holy,” Salvation Belongs to Our God, etc. When we worship in a place of true submission, the Holy Spirit will begin to take over our worship. He might start to release prophetic songs, (this is how most of the Psalms were written,) or new songs that you have never heard before. Again, it is important to keep the music going, but do not force the songs upon the people, but rather let songs, be they new, prophetic or songs you already know, rise up from the people and the worship leaders. Let the Spirit take over, let Him lead you. Do not rush, and do not try to stick to any agenda, allow Him to do what He wants. As you move deeper into God’s presence, you give more space to Him to move, by allowing the music to keep moving, and allowing Him to take over. A worship set may start in the flesh, but should always end up in the Spirit. This is where God moves through His people. He can do what He wants, and it will be different with each individual, he may heal people, he may give them revelation, he may call them to repentance, he may move a church into prayer or intercession. We as worship leaders or ministers must get out of the way of what He wants to do. Nothing is more important to God than Him ministering to His people.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk God’s Plan for His church Today
The Tabernacle of David
"In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be” Amos 9:11. This verse, which is also quoted in Acts 15:16, is vital in understanding God’s purpose for worship in these times.
So what was David’s tabernacle, as opposed to Moses’. David established a tabernacle on Mount Zion, which also housed the Ark of the Covenant. It was where David housed the Ark, for 40 years, until the temple was built, in 964 BC. (See 2 Samuel 6, 1 Chronicles 13-16.) This Tabernacle was different in nature to Moses’.
David’s tabernacle still housed the Ark, and the Levites still ministered in it. We can see in Chronicles and Samuel, that this tabernacle was a place of great rejoicing, of music, of singing, of dancing. What is different to Moses’ tabernacle, though, was that apart from the Ark, it did not house any of the other furniture that Moses had. Moses’ tabernacle was essential, in that it was prophetic of what was to come, of Jesus’ sacrifice and of the work of the Holy Spirit. David’s tabernacle has sometimes been described as a New Testament church in the Old Testament. The only sacrifice was the sacrifice of praise, and the sacrifice of the heart. It was a true centre of worship, with God’s presence being in the very midst of His people. Most of the Psalms were written, prophetically in times of worship in the tabernacle. It was a place of true praise and worship, prophecy, encounter, and the fullness of the presence of God. David understood that Moses’ tabernacle was prophetic, it showed physically how things are to be done spiritually, and his tabernacle was to be the fulfilment of all that Moses prophesied.
In Amos 9:11, and again in Acts 15, God promises that he will restore David’s tabernacle, rebuild it how it used to be. Jesus, and the sending of the Holy Spirit is part of the fulfilment of this prophecy, because without His sacrifice, and the Spirit, it would be impossible to see David’s tabernacle restored as it was. That is what God is looking to do in our churches, restore David’s tabernacle, to see them become places full of Holy Spirit led worship. They should be places full of joy, rejoicing, dancing and celebration. The presence of God should be the centre of all that goes on there.
I also believe that this prophecy speaks to His church in the present day, that it is David’s tabernacle he is restoring. Where our churches have allowed religion and resistance to the purposes of God, He is restoring David’s fallen tent, that place of unadulterated presence and glory. When we look at any revival that has happened in history, they have been times of outpouring, where His Spirit, His will, and His glory dominate, which transforms the lives of the people. That is how God sees His church, as it was in David’s time.
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk This is what is what God is calling His church back to in this time. Indeed we can see it starting to take place in churches throughout the world, places which are given over to 24 hour praise and worship. This is a part of what God is doing in this age, returning His bride to Him, and rebuilding David’s fallen tent.
The Church and the Harvest
While I was worshiping in church, God gave me a vision. The vision was of a barn. The barn was destroyed and derelict. It clearly was a barn, and yet it was of very little practical use, because of its’ condition. After I had seen this, God then started talking to me about the harvest at the end of the age. I have heard Christians talk about a great harvest that is coming for as long as I have been a Christian, and I have been told about it from different people and different churches, and indeed, the Bible also talks about a harvest that is the inheritance of the church. However, in this vision, God showed me that while the harvest may be ready, he is not giving His people the harvest yet. Why? Because of the state of the barn. I know a few farmers. I know how much trouble they go to, not only to reap their harvest, but also to store it and treat it carefully. Modern barns are not just storage places, but they also have drying equipment to dry the grain, and to make sure it is kept in the best condition. The cost of running these fans is very expensive, on top of all the other costs involved in harvesting grain. However, a farmer knows it is worthwhile to treat his grain in the best possible way, because his grain is what he has worked all year for. It is what he has sown, and it is what he has spent a lot of time and money on. The harvest that God has for us is far more precious than grain. It is the very lives and souls of the people. It is the churches inheritance to see this harvest, and yet God has not yet given it to us, because we are not in a place to receive it. The barn I saw in the vision is the church, and what God showed me is that the church is not fulfilling its’ potential, or operating as it has been ordained to. Until the church becomes that which God has called it to be, there will be no harvest on a great scale. Why? Because if there were, the church would not look after the harvest in the way God intends. The church has become a pale imitation of what it is called to be. It rarely seeks God’s purposes or His plans. It is full of people with their own agendas, with their own wills. The church is full of politics between the people, rather than the rule of God. It walks in so little of the victory or life that God has for it, and instead it is full of works and religion, rather than the freedom of His Holy Spirit. This is not a church that is ready for the harvest. The heart of the church is not only for God, but also for itself, its' own ways, its' own will, its' own comforts, its’ own hierarchy and its’ own agenda. God spoke to me so clearly, and said, “now is not the time for the harvest, now is the time to restore the barn, in preparation for the harvest.”
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk What exactly is God’s church called to be? The Greek word for church is “ekklesia” which literally translates as the “called out.” The church are those that are called to be separate from the world, and set aside for Him and His purposes. The church are those whose hearts are set upon Him and what He desires, not on this world or its’ ways. In Luke 14:25, when a potential follower asks how he can follow Jesus, Jesus tells him he must hate his own family, and even his own life. He then says that you have to sacrifice yourself in order to follow Him. This is who we are called to be if we want to be His followers, those who will lay down everything of ourselves in order to go where He goes. We cannot be true followers of Jesus while our hearts and eyes are set on that which is not Him. Before Jesus began His ministry, John the Baptist was sent with this message to the Israelites, “repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” His message was not to the world, but to those chosen by God to follow Him. He went before Jesus with the message to God’s people telling them to turn their hearts back to God, to get its’ house in order, before Jesus began His ministry. I believe that before Jesus comes back again, God will, and is sending John the Baptists with the same message. When Jesus returns, it will be for a bride. Why is His church called a bride? Because a bride is a virgin. It has no lover, no other desire but her husband. A bride has set herself aside, and kept herself pure for her husband. Jesus is not returning for a prostitute church, a church that will go with anybody for its’ own comfort or to satisfy its’ own needs, but for a virgin. That is our calling, and that is what God is now calling His people to be, virgins in our heart, set aside for our husband, Jesus, and for no other. That is what His church is to become. That is a church that will be so consumed with a passion for Him, that it will reap a mighty harvest the likes of which this Earth has not seen before. When His church Seeks His glory and not its’ own glory, then it will reap a harvest, and only then will Jesus himself return.
2 Chronicles 7:14. Is a verse we all know well, where God talks about exactly this: If my people, who are called by my name (i.e., the church, those “called out”), will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,(i.e. stop looking at ourselves and truly start seeking and following Him,) then (only then) will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. This verse is both a promise and a warning. God promises that He will heal the land when his called people, His church, return to Him. It is also a warning that until we do so, our land will not be healed. In those countries, and in those times where the people have truly set their hearts upon God, mighty revivals have broken out. If we want the harvest, let us become what God has called us to, those who abandon their lives in pursuit of Him.
As God showed me in that vision, it is time for the church to turn its’ heart back to its’ God. If we are truly living in end times, then we must be a people who are ready and
© 2012 Benjamin Sealey. www.worshipacademy.co.uk waiting. We must be a people seeking our God, and desiring Him alone. God has talked to me many times, saying that that is what He is beginning to speak to His church – that same message of John the Baptist, repent, turn back to God, and turn the heart of the people back to God alone.
The restoration of true worship and the role of worship leaders is vital in this movement that is coming. Worship leaders are the ones who are going to lead the bride into consecration and holiness. As worship leaders, we must begin to take our responsibility seriously, to realise that we are not just musicians, that we are WORSHIPERS – people who are surrendered to God’s purpose. A new wave of worship leader, true Levites, are going to be released upon the Earth, sent not to expand their own ministry, but to prepare God’s bride for Him. It will be a new move of God that
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