Psalm 96 is a fun one to meditate! Verses 1-3 we are told three times to sing to the Lord:
1O SING to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!2Sing to the Lord, bless (affectionately praise) His name; show forth His salvation from day to day.3Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples.
At the Spoken Word Church we like to change some of our worship songs so that we are singing them directly TO the Lord! I believe that is what this psalm is saying to do! Sing "unto the Lord"! We are also told to sing a "new" song. This word means new in the sense of something recent and also new in the sense of something fresh! If we maintain a grateful, thankful heart, we won't have a problem having a "new" song to sing! You can even make your own "new" song by singing in the Spirit! Then we are told to declare His glory to the heathen (unbelievers) and His "wonders", the Hebrew word, "pala`", which means: to be marvellous, to be surpassing, to be extraordinary, to separate by distinguishing actions, to be beyond one's power and difficult to do, to all people. Those are the things that get the attention of the people around you.
Verses 4-6 tell us to praise Him:
4For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be reverently feared and worshiped above all [so-called] gods.5For all the gods of the nations are [lifeless] idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 6Honor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
The word "idols" here is the Hebrew word "`eliyl", which means: good for nothing, weak and worthless. That's RIGHT! There is NO GOD but OUR GOD! And there is only ONE way to Him, and that is through the Blood of Jesus of Nazareth! Continue to give HIM the praise, honor and glory due to His Name and people will begin to see the Truth!
Verses 7-9 tell us to worship Him:
7Ascribe to the Lord, O you families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.8Give to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come [before Him] into His courts.9O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; tremble before and reverently fear Him, all the earth.
Where singing and rejoicing is manifested in homes or at services, the people are heard and seen and direct their attention up and out toward Him. Worship involves looking inward and expressing our awe and reverence at His presence. It also involves listening to the Holy Spirit speak back to YOU! TRUE worship is then being a DOER of what the Holy Spirit tells you to do!
Verses 10-13 talk all about rejoicing!
Rejoicing is simply being filled with joy in His presence and in awe of who He is! It also involves looking for His coming! That's where I am right now! Hallelujah!
One of the major themes of Luke 8 is getting and using faith in the every day situations of our lives. Remember that "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Luke 8 begins with this:
1SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God.
Jesus went about PREACHING and BRINGING THE GOOD NEWS! The GOOD NEWS that Jesus preached was the Word of God! Then we see the parable of the sower who sowed THE WORD! It is very important that we heed HOW we hear and WHAT we hear! Notice how many times some form of the word "hear" is used in this section! So many believers, especially in "Word" churches, come with notebooks and take notes and say "AMEN", but never remember that it is the DOER of the Word that gets the results of the Word! We should be hearing the Word with the intention of putting it into action immediately! Otherwise we will experience the results of verse 18:
18Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and guesses and supposes that he has will be taken away.
Numbers 35 begins with the provision for the Levites. This provision was so that they could give themselves to the work of the ministry and not have to be working for a living! That is the reason for the tithes and offerings for the church today. The tithes brought into the church are for the running of the church. This involves the building, the resources for growing and the livelihood of the Pastor! Remember Luke 10:7, 1 Timothy 5:18 and Galatians 6:6! The #1 focus of the pastor should be to spend time in prayer, praise and worship and study of God's Word so that He has something to give the people when they come to be fed! He also must take the time to be filled with the Spirit so that he can operate in all of the gifts of the Spirit, as the Holy Spirit wills, in ministering to the people. His job is to perfect the congregation for THEIR work of the ministry! (Ephesians chapter 4). Don't forget that we also have the responsibility to pray for our pastors and other leaders! (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Let's do OUR PART and do it WELL! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
