London Prophetic Forum February 2016 Sing To The Lord A New Song Praise and the Prophetic A Day Of Unfolding Revelation

London Prophetic Forum February 2016 Sing To The Lord A New Song Praise and the Prophetic A Day Of Unfolding Revelation

Prayer: Lord show me something about the way I worship you that you are unhappy about and would like me to change? (Take 30 secs to listen to God) Lord teach us how to praise

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skilfully with a shout of joy. 4 For the word of the LORD is right, And all His work is done in truth. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; [a] He lays up the deep in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance. 13 The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; 15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.

16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, 19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. 22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.

What is worship? A Couple of Definitions The feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity Old English weorthscipe 'worthiness, acknowledgement of worth (Consider how you would define worship. In what ways can we worship?)

What is praise? A couple of definitions The expression of respect and gratitude as an act of worship The expression of approval or admiration for someone or something

A few words on Hebrew poetry The Bible starts with a poem. Genesis 1.1 to 2.3. There have been a few of problems in interpreting and understanding Hebrew poetry: (a)there are no existing discussions from antiquity about poetic theory within Hebrew or any other ancient Semitic language. (b)we have no original texts, it is not obvious how the poems are structured. ( (c) The form of language in Hebrew poems is not always certain. (d)therefore study of this ancient poetry is in isolation to the study of non-semitic poetry.

But (e) Hebrew poetry possesses rhythm, not meter As a result one may read Hebrew poetry looking for both rhythmic regularity and variety, not metric predictability. So poetry and rhythm are there at the beginning of the Bible

So what has praise to do with the prophetic? And Why is praise significant?

Some Verses From Scripture Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High. ( Praise for who He is) Psalm 13:6 I will sing the LORD s praise, for he has been good to me. (Praise for His blessings to us) Psalm 95:1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. ( Praise for His Salvation)

Praise concerning victory and judgment Psalm 27:6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Exodus 15:1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea. 1 Chronicles 16:33 Let the trees of the forest sing; let them sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.

2 Chronicles 20:21 (Jahaziel a prophecy 5 th generation from Asaph) After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendour of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever. As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

( A few years ago there was some teaching that this was spiritual warfare by the worship team. However reading the passage it is clear that this is not so. The Lord did the fighting. It was however evidence of trust in the word that God had given them. It was a declaration of trust and God allowed them to see the miracle.)

Celebrating God s Justice Revelation 19:1-7 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants. And again they shouted: Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: Amen, Hallelujah!

Then a voice came from the throne, saying: Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both great and small! Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.

In 1 Chronicles 15:16-17 we read about the Appointment of Asaph to the temple worship. Asaph was a singer and a seer ( cf. 2 Ch. 29:30) So we find thatdavid re-introduced the prophetic into tabernacle/temple worship)

The Impact of Worship - Glory 2 Chronicles 5:13 The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: He is good; his love endures forever. Then the temple of the LORD was filled with the cloud, so that the priests could not continue; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.

Ezekiel 43: 1-5 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east, and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. The vision I saw was like the vision I had seen when he came to destroy the city and like the visions I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell facedown. The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east. Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

Acts 4: 23-31 Disciples praised and prayed & the place where they met together was shaken: and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Encouragement to sing the new song Psalm 33:3 Sing to him a new song; play skilfully, and shout for joy. (Have to be able to play or sing as well as be a worshipper) Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him. (seeing and fearing) Psalm 68:32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth, sing praise to the Lord, Psalm 96:1 Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.

Psalm 98:1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvellous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Psalm 144:9 I will sing a new song to you, my God; on the tenstringed lyre I will make music to you, Psalm 149:1 Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

The singing prophet Isaiah 5:1 I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard Isaiah 42:10 Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who live in them.

And In Heaven? Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Revelation 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.

Worship in words ( Listen First) Although one can play or listen to instrumental music as an act of worship, words do have primacy, Either lyrically, or spoken or even to explain why and what you are doing (silence or instrumental worship) Isaiah 55:10-11 Purposeful words For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Take some time now to listen to the LORD and speak out praise and thanksgiving for what He shows you.

Some Points on Praise Prophetic and Character Praise gets the relationship right, we worship God. We have to prepare ourselves to praise. Praise affirms who God is, His characteristics. Praise affirms the Truth, which is His truth. God inhabits the praise of His people. Praise clears the way for us to hear from God.

Praise with music No words?? A time now of: waiting before, listening to and singing praise to God with what He gives us Or has already given us Let us sing a new song to the LORD.