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| Praise
and The Prophetic Flow |
| Larry
Dempsey |
". . . worship God: for
the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
I. The Testimony of Jesus
is the Spirit of Prophecy
A. The entire Word of God testifies
of Jesus Christ. "..lo, I come (in the volume
of the Gook it is written of Me).." (Hebrews
10:9)
B. The Holy Spirit testifies of
Jesus Christ
1. "Howbeit, when the Spirit
of Truth is come, He will guide you into all
truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak
. . . He shall glorify Me: for he shall receive
Me, and shall show it unto you." (John
16:13-14)
2. "But when the Comforter
is come, whom I will send unto you from the
Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth
from the Father, he shall testify of Me."
(John 15:26)
C. The Father Himself testifies
of Jesus Christ
"'Father, glorify Thy Name.'
Then came there a voice from heaven saying.
'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it
again."' (John 12:28)
D. Our praise and worship must
testify of Jesus Christ
1. Our songs and music must
testify of Him.
2. Our services must be structured
in such a way as to permit a prophetic flow,
thus testifying of Jesus. The Due Order must
be followed.
3. Our daily lifestyle must
testify of Him, thereby releasing a prophetic
touch upon our homes, our ministries, our lives.
II. The Entire
Bible is a Prophetic Book!
"We have also a more sure word
of prophecy; whereunto ye do well to take heed..."(II
Peter 1:19)
"For the prophecy came not
in old time by the will of man: but holy men of
God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
(II Peter 1:21)
"All scripture is given by
inspiration of God.." (II Timothy 3:16)
"For I testify unto every man
that heareth the words of ; the prophecy of this
Book . . . and if any man shall take away from the
words of the Book of this prophecy..." (Revelation
22:18, 19)
A. Since the Bible is prophetic
in content, when we read such praises in the Psalms
such as:
1. ". . . clap your hands
all ye people, shout unto God..."
2. ". . . lift up your
hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord out
of Zion..."
3. ". . . praise Him with
the timbrel and dance..."
4. ". . . sing your praises
with your understanding..."
B. We are actually reading Holy
Ghost-given instructions on how God Himself desires
His people to praise Him! These are literally
prophetic instructions given to us by God through
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit moving on holy
men who wrote and spoke as they were quickened
by the Spirit of the Lord.
C. When we obey these prophetic
instructions (worshiping in Spirit and Truth),
we bring ourselves into alignment with the Will
of God for worship in the Church. Our praise and
worship then takes on a prophetic dimension and
in this prophetic atmosphere we experience the
awesome majesty and power of His very Presence.
He then makes known His Voice to us through prophetic
utterance, song of the Lord, the anointed preaching
of the Word, and other expressions. God's ministers
then are able to truly speak as the "oracle
of God" by reason of the prophetic anointing
that is upon the service. From the heavenly Mercy
Seat, God communes with His People! Hallelujah!
III. Jesus Comes to Us in
Powerful Prophetic Manifestations As We Worship
A. Jesus comes to sing praise
in the midst of His Church.
"Saying, I will declare Thy
name unto my brethren, in the midst of the Church
will I sing praise unto Thee." (Hebrews 2:12)
"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)
1. The Voice of
the Bridegroom (Jesus) is heard in response to
the Voice of the Bride (the Church in worship).
(See Jeremiah 33:11)
B. Jesus comes to liberate the
captive as we worship!
1. Liberty to those in bondage
of sin.
2. Liberty to those bound by
sickness and disease.
a. God is beginning
to unfold himself in miraculous manifestation
during times of corporate praise and worship.
"...the power of the Lord was present to
heal them." (Luke 5:17)
3. Liberty to those in bondage
of self-will, fear, intimidation, timidity,
shyness and traditionalism.
"Set my spirit free, that
I may worship Thee, set my spirit free, that
I may praise Thy Name, let all bondage go, and
let deliverance flow, set my spirit free to
worship Thee." Charlotte Baker
"Now the Lord is that Spirit;
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
liberty!" (II Corinthians 3:17)
"The Spirit of the Lord
is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach
the Gospel . . . to preach deliverance to the
captives . . . to set at liberty them that are
bruised." (Luke 4:18)
Jesus was a liberation preacher!
Hallelujah!
IV. Biblical Illustrations
of the Prophetic Anointing on Various expressions
of Praise.
A. I Samuel 18:6, 7: "And
it came to pass as they came, when David was
returned from the slaughter of the Philistine
(Goliath - see 17th chapter), that the women
came out of all cities of Israel, singing, and
dancing, to meet King Saul, with tabret, with
joy, and with instruments of music. And the
women answered one another as they played, and
said, 'Saul hath killed his thousands, and David
his ten-thousands."'
NOTE: The prophetic element
of the above passage is demonstrated in the
lyrical content of the song the women were singing:
". . . Saul hath killed his thousands,
and David his ten-thousands." Up to this
time David had killed only 1 lion, 1 bear, and
1 giant . . . not his "ten-thousands."
The women were literally prophesying David's
future might and valor as King of Israel as
they sang, danced and played upon musical instruments!
Hallelujah!
1. The prophetic dimension
is seen here in:
a. Singing (verse 6)
b. Dancing (verse 6)
c. Playing musical instruments
(verse 6)
NOTE: Preparation is a key that
will unlock the prophetic flow! Please note
that in verse 6 of the above passage, the women
"came out of all cities of Israel."
This was evidently a planned and prepared expression.
The result of this preparation was the prophetic
touch that came upon them as they rejoiced with
songs, danced, and instrumentation. Contrary
to some people’s opinions, preparation
does not inhibit or hinder spontaneity--on the
contrary, in most instances it provides structure
and discipline in which the spontaneous can
flow as expressions which edify and lift our
attention to the Lord Jesus Christ as we worship.
B. I Samuel 16:23: The account
of David's first anointing as King, and of his
prophetic musical ministry before King Saul.
1. Verse 11: David was CALLED:
"...send and fetch him..."
2. Verse 12: David was CONFIRMED:
". . . Arise, anoint him: for this is
he."
3. Verse 13: David was ANOINTED:
"Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and
anointed him..."
4. Verse 13: David was PLANTED:
"...and anointed him in the midst of
his brethren..."
a. The results of these
vital principles of preparation are to be
found in the second part of verse 13: "..and
the Spirit of the Lord (the prophetic anointing)
came upon David from that day forward..."
b. With the prophetic anointing
upon him, David was able to go before King
Saul and play his harp and bring release
and refreshing to him as he played. Music
with a prophetic touch brings release and
deliverance!
C. II Kings 3:15: "But now bring me a minstrel.
And it came to pass when the minstrel played,
that the hand (prophetic covering) of the Lord
came upon him. And he said, 'Thus saith the
Lord..."'
NOTE: The prophet (leadership)
recognized the place of the minstrel in the
prophetic realm. As the minstrel played, the
music became the vehicle through which God unleashed
His Prophetic Word to Elisha.
©
2005 ZionSong Ministries. All rights reserved.
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