Shalom,

I LOVE Psalm 47! Verse 1 says:

¹O CLAP your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph and songs of joy!

There has been so much erroneous teaching concerning clapping over the years that I just love it when the Word of God takes all the guess work out of it! We (ALL people!) are instructed here to "clap" the Hebrew word, taqa`, which means: to slap the hands together, to clang with an instrument, to strike. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with clapping while we sing in praise and worship services! We should only refrain from clapping when someone is speaking, so that they can be heard! No, clapping is NOT worship, but it IS using our human instruments to praise and rejoice in the presence of the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! Then we are told to "shout", the Hebrew Word ruwa`, which means: to split the ears with sound, to shout, to cry aloud, to shout a war-cry, to shout in triumph and to shout for joy! We've talked a lot about shouting at the Spoken Word Church lately! There is a time to be still and know that He IS God, and then there is a time to let your voice be heard! In fact, we are told to shout in the Word of God MANY more times than we are told to be still (only 2 that I could find)! Don't be timid! In fact, verse 2 says:

²For the Lord Most High excites terror, awe, and dread; He is a great King over all the earth.

The "great" here is the Hebrew word, gadowl, which means: great in any sense, mighty, exceedingly great in magnitude, in intensity and in sound (LOUD)! That's our God and we were recreated in HIS image! Look at 1 Peter 2:9:

⁹But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

That is who we are! let's act like it! AMEN!

In Acts 19 we see Paul continuing to minister to and teach the believers and to preach the Gospel to unbelievers. Notice verses 2-6:

²And he asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed [on Jesus as the Christ]? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

³And he asked, Into what [baptism] then were you baptized? They said, Into John's baptism.

⁴And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, continually telling the people that they should believe in the One Who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus [having a conviction full of joyful trust that He is Christ, the Messiah, and being obedient to Him].

⁵On hearing this they were baptized [again, this time] in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶And as Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they spoke in [foreign, unknown] tongues (languages) and prophesied.

These people thought they were believers, but hadn't really been taught WHAT to believe! Once they heard the Gospel preached by Paul, they received Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour and also received the Holy Spirit baptism! How do we know? Because they were HEARD speaking in other tongues and prophesying. If you have never received Jesus of Nazareth as Lord and personal Saviour, or if have already received Jesus, but not been "endued with power form on high" (Luke 24:49), then please check the beginning posts of this blog to find out more. You can also click on the Spoken Word Church link on the left side of this blog to find teaching and instruction on how to do both!

Notice Acts 17:8-10:

⁸And he went into the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, persuading and arguing and pleading about the kingdom of God.

⁹But when some became more and more stubborn (hardened and unbelieving), discrediting and reviling and speaking evil of the Way [of the Lord] before the congregation, he separated himself from them, taking the disciples with him, and went on holding daily discussions in the lecture room of Tyrannus from about ten o'clock till three.

¹⁰This continued for two years, so that all the inhabitants of [the province of] Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, heard the Word of the Lord [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God].

There may be times when you have to stop talking to certain people about the things of God. If people are not receptive, let them go! Pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send laborers across their path who will be able to reach them in ways that you can't! The enemy will try to tie up your time with some people and keep you from reaching others! In ALL things, though, be led by the Spirit of God!

In Exodus we see the Angel of the Lord (pre-incarnate Jesus) appearing to Moses in the burning bush. We see God sending Moses to Pharaoh for the purpose of delivering His people from bondage. We also see Moses trying to get out of it! He even lies to God:

¹⁰And Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I am not eloquent or a man of words, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and have a heavy and awkward tongue.

We know this isn't true because we see this in Acts 7:22:

²²So Moses was educated in all the wisdom and culture of the Egyptians, and he was mighty (powerful) in his speech and deeds.

But God will not be deterred from delivering His people! He says this to Moses:

¹¹And the Lord said to him, Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or the deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

¹²Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and will teach you what you shall say.

When Moses STILL resists, then God gets angry with him:

¹⁴Then the anger of the Lord blazed against Moses; He said, Is there not Aaron your brother, the Levite? I know he can speak well. Also, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be overjoyed.

¹⁵You must speak to him and put the words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do.

¹⁶He shall speak for you to the people, acting as a mouthpiece for you, and you shall be as God to him.

¹⁷And you shall take this rod in your hand with which you shall work the signs [that prove I sent you].

It is very encouraging to me that God had so much patience with Moses! He still used Moses in mighty ways, even when Moses let Him down at first! Don't ever give up on yourself! God hasn't and never will! Dare to believe what the Word of God reveals about who you are IN HIM and live like it's so, because it is! AMEN!

Shalom in Him!