Praise And Worship From Heaven
Transform Your Worship Services With The Whole Praise Culture Of Heaven
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Notice the order. It first starts with heaven and then ends with earth. We see the same order in Jesus prayer when he prayed: Father, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The goal of the Father is to have the realities of heaven ( like praise and worship ) realized on earth as they are in heaven . These realities go beyond just singing worship songs. Heaven's worship is so much more than this.
So how do we know what the praise and worship in heaven is like so we can imitate it and participate with the Holy Spirit in creating Heaven's praise culture on earth as it is in heaven? Whole person praise and worship for the whole church can be the norm in your midst. Again, songs of praise and worship are important but there is so much more. Click here.
Should we look at the Tabernacle of David to get an idea of what the worship culture of Heaven is like because David was given a pattern by God and instructed? But that was part of the Old Covenant days and we are in the New Covenant days and the realities of heaven are much greater for us and are being revealed to us by those who have visited heaven. We now know what praise and worship in heaven is like so it can be realized in the church.
Dean Braxton's testimony about dying and going to heaven has been put through severe due diligence and is known to be a real account of a visit to heaven. During his time in heaven he witnessed worship around the throne of God. Singing was an important ministry for some beings, but full body praise dancing as a ministry in other beings in heaven as they were giving praise to God was very important also. It is these elements of bodily worship that need to be added to both congregational involvement and praise and worship team ministry.
Kat Kerr is another person who has witnessed Heaven's worship first hand. She has been caught up to heaven many times and has witnessed what she calls "wild worship". She tells us what worship in the throne room looks and sounds like. People are not passively and somberly singing a hymn or two. Oh no, there are so many active bodily movements taking place by those who are worshiping and praising the Father around the throne. Worship is definitely not a spectator sport in heaven. It is done with the whole being.
On earth, we have the Holy Spirit inside us who inspires us to reflect the realities of heaven in a greater measure than they were reflected in the days of the Old Covenant. The book of Hebrews says that the old ways were only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. Is the church suppose to be the restoration of David's Tabernacle? Click here to find out that praise and worship on earth within the assembly of believers, who are the church of the Living God, should reflect praise and worship in heaven.
Most people equate worship leading with song leading because this is a traditional way of looking at worship leading. But the definition of worship in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures has to do with doing God's will, presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, and the body bowing or prostrating itself before God. Anything in that definition about song leading? No. Anything in that definition that implies what we do with our bodies is important? Yes.
So often the chosen worship leader can not get down on their knees before the Lord because they are playing an instrument. That is where others in the team can do that and those worshipers can be examples for the rest of the congregation. Song leaders are many, but holistic (whole person) praise and worship leaders are rare and are very valuable for the congregations they are ministering in. They do not have to be up on stage to be effective.
Now, it is entirely possible that when you try and introduce whole person worship and praise (worshiping and praising using the whole man, body, soul, and spirit) to a congregation, there will be opposition just as there has been opposition in so many churches when the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is introduced. But there is a solution for praise and worship leaders to introduce creative praise and worship movement into the church: Gradually ease it in.
To ease this into the church it is best to first plant those worship leaders within the congregation preferably in the first and second rows so that you can ease the introduction gradually and test the waters first before bringing them up on stage. But even then you may meet an entirely different attitude on the part of the congregation when the transfer from congregation to the stage is accomplished. Is it really important to bring them up on stage?
If you are in a church with a corrupt pastor who desires the best show and entertainment from the worship team rather than focusing on the kind of worship and praise that is born from heaven, then you will not have much success in following the praise and worship team guidelines for creating the worship and praise culture of heaven in your church. You will instead create what is in the traditional or economic mind of the pastor.
The hireling pastor who is paid from the people in the congregation will not be so open to bringing in worship and praise expression that may rock the boat and disturb the status quo of those members who want everything to stay the same and traditional. So a hireling pastor who cares about money and other worldly values, can be a huge stumbling block to the praise and worship of the Kingdom of God being manifest in the congregation.