Good Monday morning (9-13-10),

Lately the Lord has been revealing to me the incredible importance of, the tremendous victories to be had, in praise and worship. I will probably be sharing more of this during the upcoming weeks, but today I want to quote a Rick Joyner passage regarding the subject. This quote is taken out of his book, The Call, and describes a vision he had. Whether or not you believe in such visions, I am convinced that what he shares is solidly based on Biblical truth. Here is the quote. Enjoy!

“Jesus was telling me about worship…that true worship from the embattled, struggling, believers on earth could give the Father joy like nothing else could.

For the first time, I now badly wanted to leave that place, even with all of its glory, just to get into even the most dreary little worship service on earth. I was overwhelmed by the fact that we could actually touch the Father. One person who worshiped Him from earth during these dark times meant more to the Father than the millions and millions who worshiped Him in heaven. From earth we could touch His heart at this time like we might never be able to do again!

I saw the Father. Millions and millions were attending Him. His glory was so great and the power of His presence so awesome that I felt that the whole earth would not have even measured as a grain of sand before Him….I knew the sun was like an atom before Him. The galaxies were like curtains around Him. His robe was composed of millions and millions of living stars. Everything in His presence was living — His throne, His crown, His scepter. I knew that I could dwell before Him forever and never cease to marvel; there was no higher purpose in the universe than to worship Him…

Then I was in a different place, beholding a worship service in a little church building. As sometimes happens in a prophetic experience, I just seemed to know everything about everyone in the battered little room. All were experiencing severe trials in their lives, but they were not even thinking of them here. They were not praying about their needs. They were all trying to compose songs of thanksgiving to the Lord. They were happy, and their joy was sincere.

I saw heaven, and all of heaven was weeping. I then saw the Father again and knew why heaven was weeping. They were weeping because of the tears in the eyes of the Father. This little group of seemingly beaten down, struggling people had moved God so deeply that He wept. They were not tears of pain, but of joy. When I saw the love that He felt for these few worshipers, I could not contain my own tears.

Genuine adoration expressed by even the most humble believer on earth could cause all of heaven to rejoice, but even more than that, it touches the Father. This is why the angels would rather be given charge over a single believer on the earth than to be given authority over many galaxies of stars.

I saw Jesus standing next to the Father. Beholding the joy of the Father as He watched the little prayer meeting, He turned to me and said, ‘This is why I went to the cross. Giving My Father joy for just one moment would have been worth it all.

Your worship can cause Him joy every day. Your worship when you are in the midst of difficulties touches Him even more than all the worship of heaven. Here, where His glory is seen, the angels cannot help but to worship. When you worship in the midst of your trials (not yet having seen His glory), that is worship in Spirit and in truth. The Father seeks such to be His worshipers. Do not waste your trials. Worship the Father, not for what you will receive, but to bring Him joy. You will never be stronger than when you bring Him joy, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’” (from The Call, by Rick Joyner, 1999)

“A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth,; for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshipers. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23-24, Amplified

Laurie Gross