Sun, Feb 11th - 11:00AM
LEVELS OF WORSHIP
As a worship leader and psalmist I have written many articles on praise and worship identifying to some extent the levels that are expressed during a worship service. As a bible study I want to expound further and will be particularly helpful to worship leaders in the liturgical churches.
The Hebrews have seven words or levels of praise and, each one is distinctive and yet complimentary of the other. Some teachers have prescribed a certain order, however for study purposes I am putting them in alphabetical order.
Barak
The word "Barak" means to kneel or bow and bless God, to give reverence to God as an act of adoration. It is done with an attitude of anticipation. Throughout the Old Testament this word is continually used. Thoughts on the word 'bless' bring to mind all God through His Son Jesus Christ has done for us in the past and what He is doing presently. However, have we ever stopped to wonder how we can bless God? David in psalm 103: 1-2 tells us how, when he says: 'bless the Lord, o my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name...." . [Some bible translations use the word praise.] David continues on, by recalling and distinguishing all God has done. “Barak” praise can also be used as a form of prayer, as the word suggests kneeling and blessing god in worship or devotion. The song "father, we love you, we praise you, we adore you" is an expression of “Barak praise”. Scriptures to study are: Judges 5:2; Psalm 16:7, Psalm 34:1, Psalm 66:8, Psalm 100:4, Psalm 103, Psalm 113, and Psalm 96:2.
Halal
"Halal" means to be boastful, excited and enjoying the greatness and goodness of god. It is the root word for hallelujah. While in this mode you are celebrating God in very much the same way you do when your local ‘soccer team’ or favourite contestant wins. It’s amazing how much energy goes into this display. Well, ‘halal’ is the way to Christians should celebrate God’s goodness every day. Scriptures to study are: Psalms 104 -106 are good illustrations of this, 2 Chron 20:19-21-21, Psalm 22:22-26, 111:1-3.
Shabach
This word is best illustrated in Psalm 117:1; 'o praise the lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people.' As it is used here it means to speak highly of, to address in a loud tone, to command triumph, glory and to shout. This category of praise is also pictured in psalm 63:4. Terry law in his book "The Power of Praise and Worship" says this type of praise "makes the devil shut up". Scriptures to study are: Psalms 47:1, 63:3-4, 32:11, 65:13, 117:1, 35:27, 145:4, 147:12, 132:9.
Tehillah
"Tehillah" relates to singing and for all intents and purposes means singing our halals. Tehillah is portrayed in psalm 22:3 states that God dwells in the praises of Israel. [Most refer to it as “his people”.] It refers to a special kind of singing that is unrehearsed, unprepared and which today is referred to as "singing in the spirit". This exhibition of praise brings unity into the congregation and allows God to move in miraculous ways. Scriptures to study are: Psalms 34:1, 40:3, 66:2, 100:4, 22:3, 9:14, 33:1, 65:1, 147:1-2, 149:1-2, Isaiah 61:3 and 2 Chronicles 20:22.
Towdah
"Towdah" translated means 'thanksgiving' and involves the raising of hands in adoration. It suggests an attitude of sacrificial praise. In other words, we give thanks and praise before we receive from the Lord, and/or delivered out of a situation. We rejoice and thank God for his promises. Our praise and thanksgiving become a sacrifice unto the Lord when we are ill or in dire straits. Scriptures to study are: Psalms 50:14, 95:2, Colossians 4:2, 1 Timothy 4:4-5, Isaiah 51:3 and Amos 4:5.
Yadah
It means to worship with extended hands and it signifies a deep surrender to God and a heart that desires to pay tribute to Him. Scriptures for study are: Psalms 100:4, 134:2, 27:1, 28:7, 33:2, 42:5, 44:8, and 141:2.
Zamar
In the Hebrew language there are several musical verbs, but the one that is predominant throughout the book of Psalms is called ‘Zamar’. It demonstrates music in praise to God and advocates that praise and music are similar. In the Old Testament the Hebrews used music as an expression of praise and worship. The popular praise & worship chorus: "let everything that has breath praise the lord" is really Psalm 150 set to music. Scriptures for study are: Psalms are 92:1-3, 81:1-2, and 1 Chronicles 15:16.
While I have shown the meaning of each level or word, it should be noted that in a lot of cases the levels are combined. A mixture of Barak and Zamar praise can be found in Psalms 98, 95 134 and 145. In Psalm 50 you will find also find a mix of Towdah and Yadah
As you study these scriptures I hope that you will daily live as an instrument of worship.
If you desire to start a worship ministry in your church I recommend my ebook: "An Interpretation of Worship & Guidelines" which can be found at my webpage - My Christian Journey"
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Sun, Jan 7th - 11:21PM
KNOWING YOUR PURPOSE
I love the book and devotional by Rick Warren and my church’s prayer group is taking its time studying the book and gaining new insights. However, as one who leads bible study and, facilitates various seminars and workshops I have come to recognize that as good and resourceful as the book and devotional are they are the expressed revelation of the Holy Spirit given to Rick Warren for himself in the first instance and he is now sharing that vision with us.
Recently as I did my spiritual gifts assessment exercise I received a revelation of my own on the same subject of ‘purpose’. I began first by finding the exact meaning of the word as it relates to me in my ministry to others. According to the Pocket Oxford Dictionary the word ‘purpose’ means: “design of effecting something, thing that is designed to effect, fact or faculty of forming or holding such design”, or more simply put it means to do something with deliberate intent. So in the context of Christian ministry as a good steward and ambassador for Jesus Christ our purpose is to deliberately effect change in the hearts, souls and minds of all whom we come into contact with.
Besides reading, meditating and studying the Purpose Driven Life, there are many other ways to discern our purpose and we start by knowing ourselves. My experience has been that until I knew who I was, I stumbled into various ministries following friends thinking I was doing the right thing. More often than not I was ineffective and many times over got my feelings hurt. By the grace of God and the presence of His Holy Spirit I found a book entitled ‘Giftedness’ [now out of print]. This book opened my eyes to the fact that I had natural gifts and spiritual gifts that were imparted to me by the Holy Spirit. It gave a good study of the scriptures found in 1 Corinthians, Ephesians and Romans [as well as a few others] concerning spiritual gifts, ministry and offices for ministry.
I am hoping that this article will inspire everyone to discover who they really are and which ministry or ministries they are called to operate in. There is a wonderful website that speaks well to this and will also help you www.mintools.com/spiritual-gifts-test.htm
In the meantime gather a group of friends and family members and study the following scriptures on some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit:
Healing 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28, 30
Faith Romans 12:3
Word of knowledge & Wisdom 1 Corinthians 12:8
Miracles 1 Corinthians 12:28
Prophecy Romans 12:6
Discerning of spirits 1 Corinthians 12:10
Tongues & Interpretation of tongues 1 Corinthians 12:10
Other gifts and offices are found in other scriptures and they are as follows:
Apostles Ephesians 4:11
Teacher Romans 12:7
Administration Romans 12:8
Evangelist 2 Timothy 4:5, Acts 8:26-40
Pastor-Teacher 1 Peter 5:1-4
Exhortation Proverbs 25:11, Romans 12:8
I trust that I have wet your appetite enough that you will follow the admonishment of 2 Timothy 2:15 “study to show thyself approved…” not only for others but for your call to ministry. Remember, because you are a qualified teacher it does not necessarily follow that you are called to teach Sunday school. Study and learn the difference it makes to have natural and spiritual gifts and when they work best together.
If you are in ministry and feeling less zeal about it, this little exercise may open your eyes to the fact that your gifts have increased and/or changed allowing you to move to the next level and therefore render more service to the Lord.
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Sat, Jan 6th - 2:33PM
CENTERING PRAYER [CONTEMPLATION]
Centering Prayer and/or Contemplation is a simple form of prayer that can be done anywhere at any time. It involves the use of a "prayer word" which can be a single word or a phrase. It may be a word or phrase that comes from scripture or one that you find helpful. The word or phrase is repeated slowly in harmony with one's breathing. For instance if the phrase "Saviour, Jesus," was used, you would say "Saviour" while inhaling and "Jesus" while exhaling.
To begin:
a] Choose a suitable word or phrase.
b] Make yourself comfortable and relax for a few moments.
c] Give God thanks for HIS goodness.
d] Find a comfortable position that will not lead to sleep. [Any position is suitable once the shoulders are straight and the back erect with your head up.]
Once the above has been accomplished repeat the word or phrase you have chosen over and over again to yourself in tune with your breathing until your mind is empty.
Return to the word or phrase when you are distracted or thoughts enter your mind. When this happens, directors of centering prayer/contemplation recommend that you recognise the distraction/thoughts, put a label on it and "place it in the bag" to look at later. Continue using the same word or phrase until your mind is once again empty.
After a period of anywhere from 10 – 20 minutes slowly come out of the prayer reciting the Lord's Prayer or some other prayer of praise.
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Sat, Jan 6th - 1:29PM
ARE YOU A 'LEVITE': FIT FOR SERVICE
During my morning devotions I was impressed by the Holy Spirit to learn about the significance of the tribe of “Levi”. This led me to prepare a short study on the “role of the Levite” and how much of what we do in church today, is rooted and grounded in the ministry of the Levite.
According to biblical history, Levi was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and Leah. Levi is the ancestor of the Tribe of Levi and the name is derived from the words “he shall accompany”. Unlike the other tribes Levi was not given portions of land during the occupation of Canaan, instead Moses by the divine guidance singled out the Tribe of Levi to serve as the nation's priests. Joshua who led the conquest of Canaan gave 48 settlements scattered all through the land of Israel, to the Tribe of Levi. His descendants played a roll in guarding and serving in the tabernacle [see Numbers 3:21-37]. I should mention here that both Moses and his brother, Aaron, were descendants of Levi. Levite is the name given to all descendants of Levi through his sons Gershon, Kohath and, Merari. The tribe was set apart to perform service in the temple [Numbers 18:14, Jeremiah 33:21].
From the aforesaid we can see how the developed into the role of accompanying the Divine Presence and serving in the temple as priest, psalmists and musicians. In addition to those functions mentioned, the Levite was also a teacher and pastor [meaning one in caring ministry]. With this revelation, I asked myself the question, am I a Levite, do I follow the tenets of the Levite? I pose the question to you the reader as well!
Looking at the organisation of the church today many of the ministries we hold dear are those, which God had appointed to the tribe of Levi. Worship ministry is one of the key functions carried out by the Levites. According to Exodus 32: 25-29 God chose the tribe of Levi to look after the affairs of Israel because they stood with Moses against the worship of the golden calf. My first impression concerning the Levite is that he or she is above all dedicated to GOD and his commandments. Further study opened my eyes to the fact that the Levities were involved in government, they were gatekeepers, judges, they looked after the royal treasury, they were craftsmen, musicians and as mentioned earlier they were also teachers and bakers. Although it appears that the role of the Levite ended during the postexilic period of Ezra [Nehemiah 12], I can see a form of the “Levite” in the service I give back to my Heavenly Father. I am a teacher [both spiritual and natural]; I am a psalmist, Lay Reader and a Pastoral Counsellor.
Following is a list of scriptures to study more about the tribe of Levi and the role of the Levite in God’s church:
Genesis 12:7-8
Genesis 34:54
Genesis 14:18
Genesis 49:6-7
Exodus 13:11-15
Exodus 28:1
Exodus 29:1
Exodus 32:25-29
Leviticus 8
Numbers 1:47-54
Numbers 3:5-9 and 11-39
Numbers 18:20-32
Numbers 35:1-8
Deuteronomy 10:6-9
Deuteronomy 12:12-18
Deuteronomy 16:11-14
Deuteronomy 17:9-18
Deuteronomy 18:1
Deuteronomy 33:8-11
Joshua 13:14 & 33;
1st Chronicles 6:31-48
1st Chronicles 23:1-13 and 24-32
1st Chronicles 25:1-6
1st Chronicles 9:22-28
2nd Chronicles 29
As you study, pray for the heart and mind of a “Levite”. Throughout the study you will come to appreciate and understand that the Levites were loyal and risked there lives for service to God. Above all, they desired to serve God always in the Temple in Jerusalem
Shalom.
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Name: Askew R Cecilia
