Unlocking the Heavens: Release the Supernatural Power of Your Worship (8 page)

However, as different needs arose among the children of Israel during their history, the Lord revealed Himself more specifically as the one who could faithfully meet those needs. There is only one God Jehovah; but He has a plethora of attributes. He wants His people to know that He is not an inaccessible Supreme Being suspended in a place called Heaven. In all of His sovereignty, He wants to be intimately involved in the lives of His people. The redemptive names of God reveal His redemptive relationship to believers.

HE MEETS EVERY NEED

In the Old Testament, we can find seven redemptive names of the Lord that demonstrate how capable He is in meeting every area of human need:

Jehovah Jireh—The Lord our Provision

Jehovah Rapha—The Lord our Healer

Jehovah Nissi—The Lord our Banner

Jehovah Shalom—The Lord our Peace

Jehovah Rohi—The Lord our Shepherd

Jehovah Tsidkenu—The Lord our Righteousness

Jehovah Shammah—The Lord is Here

With those names in mind, let’s return to Hebrews 2:12 and the concept of Jesus attending our worship services. When He arrives, He is seeking the true worshippers (see John 4:23). When He finds one, He declares to that person’s spirit one of the redemptive names of God. For example, if someone in the service needs financial or material assistance, Jesus makes a point of saying, “I am Jehovah Jireh—your Provider!” Those who need divine healing hear the Spirit of Jesus say, “I am Jehovah Rapha—your Healer!” The single mom in the back of the room whose life has been shattered by divorce and who does not know which way to turn finds Jesus walking up to her and saying, “I am Jehovah Shalom—your Peace.”

Have you ever noticed that there are times right in the middle of worship when you can feel a shift or a change in your spirit? Your circumstances might not have changed, but you feel encouraged in spite of contrary issues. In our congregation we have witnessed numerous miracles—blind eyes opened, deaf ears healed, cancerous tumors dissolved, etc. In every instance, the miracles have come during times of heavy worship. I believe that in those times Jesus walks into the room and starts whispering the redemptive names of God to the spiritual ears of individual people, based on their personal needs. He and His Father care for those who have placed their trust in God.

As Jesus is declaring the names of God to the brethren, He gets caught up in worship and begins to sing with the church to the Father. That’s what the second part of verse twelve tells us: “in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.” In the midst of the worshipping church, Jesus starts singing praises to God the Father along with the congregation. It is one thing for me, a fallible, weak human being, to be worshipping the Father; but it is another thing altogether when Jesus starts singing to the Father alongside me!

THE FATHER REJOICES

In the meantime, what is God the Father doing in Heaven, while Jesus and the angels are active in our church services?

I quoted this passage at the beginning of the chapter: “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17 KJV). This passage is loaded with revelation about heavenly activity. God in our midst is mighty. Our worship is what attracts Him into our midst: “You sit as the Holy One. The praises of Israel are your throne” (Psalm 22:3 NCV). As He inhabits our praise, God rejoices over us with joy and singing. If you look up the word
rejoice
in a dictionary, you find that it means “to be joyful, happy, delighted, elated, ecstatic, overjoyed, jubilant, rapturous; to jump for joy, to be on cloud nine, to be in seventh heaven; to celebrate, or to cheer.”

Get this picture in your mind: God, cheering and jumping in the heavens, filled with joy and happiness concerning a group of people who are worshipping Him (accompanied by His Son and many angels). The word
joy
here can mean “to twirl and dance with great and happy emotion”; as worshippers sing to God, He is dancing in the heavens and singing back!

TOGETHER IN WORSHIP

When we tie all of this together, we get a wonderful picture of what is happening in the spirit realm during worship. Angels come into the service for ministry purposes. Jesus, enthroned upon our praises, begins to walk in the midst of the congregation declaring the names of God to the ones who are truly worshipping, His brothers and sisters. At some point, Jesus joins in with the church, singing praises unto the Father. In Heaven, God the Father rises from His throne, rejoicing and dancing over us, His children, as He sings a love song back to us. What a dynamic picture!

When I was growing up, I was always taught that Jesus and God frown on dancing, but I have since learned that they are not nearly as religious as some believers are. In fact, because Jesus is the express image of the Father, He rejoices just as much as His Father does. We can find clear evidence of this in Scripture.

In Luke 10 Jesus commissioned His disciples for ministry and sent them out in His power. When they returned, they were all rejoicing over the powerful manifestations that they had experienced. Then Jesus “rejoiced in spirit” (Luke 10:21 KJV). I used to think, as do most Christians, that when a sinner gets saved, all of the angels rejoice in Heaven; that is how we learn it in church. This is not quite the whole picture, however. Look what the Word actually says: “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10 KJV). Notice that it does not say the angels rejoice; it says that there is joy
in the presence of
the angels. I believe that God and Jesus are celebrating in the heavens and that their joy is contagious! Also, I think that this gives all the more reason to offer thanks in joyful worship at every opportunity.

Chapter 8

SATAN KNOWS THE POWER OF WORSHIP

You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you
(E
ZEKIEL
28:14-15)
.

S
cripture carries layers and layers of revelation about the Kingdom of God. Just when we think we have understood everything, God’s Spirit shows us something new. Paul calls this the “manifold wisdom of God” (Ephesians 3:10). We will spend eternity discovering the limitless shining facets of His glory.

Woven into the fabric of Ezekiel 28 is one of those unexpected revelations. The chapter is a curious one because its verses, while apparently describing the same individual, a sovereign ruler of the city of Tyre (in modern-day southern Lebanon, just north of Israel), the “prince of Tyre” (addressed in verses 1-10) seems in fact to be quite distinct from the “king of Tyre” (addressed in verses 11-19).

These two rulers received two different declarations from God through the prophet Ezekiel. The first was of judgment, and the second was of lamentation. It is very evident that both of these individuals were guilty of the sin of pride. Both possessed great wisdom and wealth; however, they abused their privileges and, thus, offended the God of Heaven. Many theologians believe that the prince of Tyre mentioned in verses 1-10 was a ruler of the city of Tyre when Nebuchadnezzar invaded in about 573 B.C.; but they view the king of Tyre (in verses 11-19) as Satan, the enemy of God and of the Jewish people. They base their interpretation, in part, on the fact that the prince is called “a man” in verse two, but the king is called the “anointed cherub” in verse fourteen. The use of the word
cherub
shows that this king is an angelic creature. A cherub is a powerful angel (not a chubby baby angel, as is often portrayed on old-fashioned valentines). Another clue to the subject of these verses is found in verse 14, which relates that this angelic creature was once found in the Garden of Eden and in the holy mountain of God.