Part 4: UNASHAMED, UNDAUNTED and UNSTOPPABLE! Texts: Psalm 65:11 (NLT) - You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance: Haggai 2:18-19 (KJV) - Consider now from this day and upward, [19] from this day will I bless you! Part 4 - The Function and Power of Spiritual Coverings A. When a Spiritual Covering shifts, as we ve just experienced at C.T., the effects are quite noticeable. 1. A church can remain at a certain level for a period of time, but when a shift occurs, God suddenly moves them forward. a. While in the wilderness, Israel could camp at the same location for days, weeks, months, or even years. But when God said it was time to break camp, the cloud covering began to move. If the people wanted to enjoy the benefits of the covering, they had to move with the cloud. b. Here at C.T., the cloud has begun to move! 2. The passage in Haggai 2:18-19 has significant meaning for our church. As I ve said before, there are various ways to move forward. The path can be downhill or on level ground. But this verse says, from this day and upward. That means you can advance and be elevated all at the same time. 3. "From this day and upward" is the calling and mission for our church. I believe the very essence and purpose of the Gospel message is to teach principles that will elevate lives.
4. Most believers associate the Gospel message with saving us from hell; but it involves much more than that. a. It's called Good News for many reasons. When Adam and Eve sinned, all mankind experienced what is known as the fall. Jesus came not only to save us from an eternity in hell, but from the effects of sin. b. God created us to live on earth as it was before the fall. He wants to elevate us to the level He intended us to be. c. That's why I prefer the word upward in the King James Version rather than forward in the newer translations. d. God has given us a much better choice than sin could ever offer. Speaking of better offers... 5. Joke: A Better Offer During a couple s wedding rehearsal, the groom approaches the pastor with an unusual offer. "Look, I'll give you $100 if you'll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I'm supposed to promise to 'love, honor, and obey' and 'be faithful to her forever,' I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave that part out." He gives the minister a $100 bill and walks away satisfied. On the day of the wedding when it s time for the groom's vows, the pastor looks the young man in the eye and says, "Will you promise to prostrate yourself before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life, and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?" The groom gulps, looks around, and says in a tiny voice, "Yes." Then he leans toward the pastor and hisses, "I thought we had a deal." The pastor places the $100 bill in the groom's hand and whispers, "She made me a better offer. That's what God did. He made us a better offer than the devil.
B. When we relocate to our new building, we ll need a new name that reflects not only this shift, but our identity and mission to elevate the lives of those for whom we are responsible. 1. Each time the cloud moved and Israel traveled to a different place, a new name was given to that location. 2. It is interesting that Israel worshiped in five different locations. Six is the number of man, while five is the number of grace. They found grace by worshiping in each of those five locations. a. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness was their first place of worship. Since Tabernacle means tent, it was called the Tent of Meeting, or the place where you can meet with God. b. When Israel settled in the Promised Land, the Tabernacle resided at Shiloh, which means tranquil. Going to the Tabernacle was referred to as going up to Shiloh. c. In David's era, the Tabernacle was moved to Jerusalem. People would then say, We re going to worship at David s Tabernacle. It was later known as Solomon s Temple. d. After they returned from the Babylonian exile, a new Temple was built, which they named Zerubbabel s Temple. e. In the time of Christ, the Jewish people worshiped at Herod s Temple. 3. For many years, the name Christian Tabernacle has served us well at this location. But we actually began as a house church in 1950 which was 67 years ago! Since that time, we ve worshiped in several locations, and with more than one name. 4. I've been praying about the name God wanted for our church since I first came here 29 years ago. a. I'll never forget a mission trip to Russia soon after the fall of communism when our congregation donated money to establish 48 new churches. I asked if they could name them Christian Tabernacle to honor those who had sacrificed to establish these churches. They seemed a little uncomfortable about my request
and when I asked why, they said they would follow my wishes if I insisted, but in the Russian language, Tabernacle means Tent. b. Of course, I realized that was not what we wanted to communicate to the Russian people, so I relented. c. I've also considered a number of church names when we relocate and asked the staff to help me pray about this. 5. Here are some of their suggestions: a. Ascending Kingdom Church b. Throne Room Church c. Aspire Church d. Inspire Church e. Vertical Dimensions Church f. Elevate Church g. Ascension Church h. ***Elevate Life Church i. ***Aspire Life Church j. ***Inspire Life Church. 6. The reason this is so important is that we want our name to communicate who we are and what we represent. 7. Worship is a vital part of our calling and mission on earth. I believe that worship can create an atmosphere that chokes out the enemy, release revival, and set people free. a. In David's Tabernacle, worship ascended to heaven around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. b. In fact, David removed the veil surrounding the Ark of God's presence so that His Shekinah Glory could surround worshipers without ending. The reason worship changed Israel s atmosphere is because it is a Spiritual Covering. C. Each of the eight types of Spiritual Coverings provides a special benefit for those it covers. 1. Blood Covering: provides divine protection.
2. Prayer Covering: accesses God s promises and provisions. 3. Worship Covering: introduces access to the Glory dimension. 4. Covering of Grace: creates an open heaven for us to walk in divine favor. 5. Love Covering: provides restoration and healing. 6. Covering of the Anointing: produces breakthroughs and breakouts! 7. Covering of Glory: transports you into the manifest presence of God and then imparts a measure of His Glory you ve never experienced. 8. Ministry Covering: a combination of the first seven coverings upon a church s members and ministries, according to the measure the congregation has experienced. D. After teaching last week on Prayer Coverings, one other fact to remember is that prayer can change your season. 1. Two Greek words for time are: Chronos and Kairos. a. Chronos is the ordinary time of seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries and millenniums. b. Kairos is a set or appointed time for God s purposes. 2. When you re stuck in Chronos time, it s difficult to shift into your season. But prayer can change time from Chronos to Kairos. a. In Acts 10, Peter was on a housetop waiting for a meal to be prepared, while Cornelius was praying and fasting. As Peter waited to be fed, he began to pray. His prayer, combined with Cornelius prayer produced a shift. b. God caused Peter's season to change from Chronos to Kairos time by directing him in a vision to go to Cornelius home. That visit produced the greatest revival ever known among the Gentiles that continues to this day! 3. Prayers that are connected with a Spiritual Covering will not only cover you, but change your season from Chronos (ordinary time) to a Kairos season. 4. Here at C.T., I believe that fervent prayer has caused our season to shift.
E. Worship Coverings: 1. Isaiah 61:3 (NKJV) - To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 2. In the text, the word garment actually means vestment, or the clothing worn by the priests. a. The Hebrew root word "atah" (aw taw) means cover or covering. b. The word spirit means breath, spirit, or life. The word heaviness means dim, colorless, dull, or faint. c. Without a Worship Covering, life can become dull, colorless, and cause you to faint. d. Psalm 27:13 (KJV) - I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 3. Worship prevents fainting and allows you to see God s goodness as you magnify Him not your problems. a. Psalm 34:3 (NKJV) - Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. 4. For the psalmist to use the word magnify is interesting, since this psalm was written a thousand years before Christ, before magnification had been discovered. a. Not until 100 AD (1,100 years later), did the Romans discover that an object appeared larger when looking at it through glass. b. Magnifying lenses weren t invented until 1250 AD., more than 2,250 years after David wrote this Psalm. But he had already discovered that worship reveals a God who is much bigger than our problems. 5. It s extremely important to understand that a Worship Covering can enable access to the Glory dimension. 6. The effectiveness of worship is greatly enhanced when we worship with other believers.
a. As already stated, the Psalmist indicated that a Worship Covering can magnify the effect of our worship. b. When we enter into worship with other believers, God becomes much larger than when we worship alone. This is when breakthroughs can occur! Look again at this psalm: c. Psalm 34:3-4 (NKJV) - Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. [4] I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears. F. What is worship? 1. People describe worship in various ways: a. For some, it is going to church; some believe that it s prayer. b. For others, it s the melodious voices of a choir. c. Or it could be exuberant praise, such as dancing before the Lord. d. I think it s more important to see worship as a process. 2. There are actually three dimensions of worship. a. Palm 100:1-5 (NKJV) - Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! [2] Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. [3] Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. [4] Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. [5] For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations. b. Psalm 100:4 (The Message) - Enter with the password: "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. 3. The first dimension is Thanksgiving. a. The Tabernacle had three dimensions: the Outer Court, the Inner Court or Holy Place, and the Holiest of Holies or Most Holy Place. b. Notice that thanksgiving only escorts us into the Outer Court. c. (Google Diagram of the Tabernacle see upper right section).
4. The second dimension of Praise takes us a step further into the Inner Court or Holy Place. 5. The third dimension, Worship, takes you into the Holiest of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. a. Where the Ark of the Covenant resided, God's Shekinah presence dwelt between the cherubim s wings. b. In this inner sanctum of God's presence, we can encounter the supernatural. Worship is not complete until you enter this dimension. 6. All articles in the Outer Court were made of brass, the metal that represents man. In the Inner Court, articles were made of both brass and gold the metal that represents God. a. In the Holiest of Holies, everything was made of gold. b. The Outer Court related to man's ability. c. The Inner Court was a combination of man and God; but the Holiest of Holies was all about God. G. Worship is where miracles, transformation, and deliverance occur. 1. When the priest entered the Most Holy Place, heaven opened over the entire nation. 2. Miracles may occur during Thanksgiving or Praise, but not as frequently. 3. After offering Thanksgiving and Praise, you can remain just as you were before.but not when you worship! 4. The unsaved can offer Thanksgiving and Praise; but if they ever enter into Worship, something powerful happens. They won't be unsaved very long! 5. The Syrophoenician woman worshiped Jesus before mentioning her daughter's need. No wonder her child had been healed and delivered before the mother returned home! a. In Matthew 8, a leper worshiped Jesus before mentioning his disease. If you understand the power of worship, it's easy to see why he was healed.
b. Jarius first came to worship the Lord before asking prayer for his daughter who had died. Can you understand why she was raised from the dead? c. While Thanksgiving and Praise do not bring transformation, Worship does! 6. (See Jennifer Phillips' audition in the UK singing Mary Mary - Shackles (Praise You) - https://youtu.be/ydyt8ppenbe.) a. Notice that both the audience and judges began to praise. They were raising their hands, on their feet, shouting, clapping, and feeling joyful. But that is not worship; it's praise. No one was changed or saved; marriages were not healed or lives transformed. b. The unsaved can offer Thanks and even Praise; but they don t know how to Worship. c. Notice the so-called celebrities at major award ceremonies. When a Gospel choir sings, they will praise right along with them and then return to their ungodly lifestyles, hating Christians and God s Word. d. This is why it s so dangerous to participate in a praise team or ministry if you ve never developed a daily devotional. You can be a praise leader and never enter into Worship. 7. In the Old Testament, worship means: "to bow down" by elevating the heart above the head, which represents the intellect. 8. Thanksgiving proceeds from the mind; Praise comes from the physical devotion of the body. But Worship is the response of the heart. 9. While offering Thanksgiving, you're remembering how good God has been to you, which involves the mind. a. To offer Praise, you must do something. That's why all seven Hebrew words for Praise denote a physical expression that involves the body. But Worship is the activity of the heart. b. Luke 10:27 (NKJV) - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.
H. The three movements from Thanksgiving, to Praise, then to Worship can be demonstrated with these songs. 1. Thanksgiving: a. Thank You for the Cross, by Hillsong. b. You Are Good, by Israel Houghton. c. (Many other songs fit here, such as: Never Would Have Made It, by Marvin Sapp). 2. Praise: a. The Anthem, by Planetshakers. b. I Lift My Hands, by Chris Tomlin. c. Other songs, such as, Shackles. 3. Worship: a. Here As In Heaven, by Elevation Worship. b. To Worship You I Live, by Israel Houghton.