Saturday Open Heavens Devotional - Practical Worship: Dancing

                          

Memorise: Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. Psalm 149:3...

Read: Psalm 103:1-5.

1 BLESS the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Message

We can worship God in various ways and manners. It is possible to worship God in song, dance and even in silence. However, throughout the Bible, practical worship is the preferred mode of worship whenever God does something great for His people. On the day God miraculously delivered Israel from Pharaoh and the Egyptian army, the people practically worshipped God with songs and dancing (Exodus 15:1&20). After each victory or manifestation of the signs and wonders of God in the wilderness, the Israelites always responded with shouts of joy accompanied with singing and dancing. Moses, Hannah, David, the women of Israel and even the prophets at different times in history composed various songs to glorify the Name of the Lord. It is clear from all of these cases that practical worship, also known as the sacrifice of praise, always begins with the fruit of the lips. Hebrew 13:15 says: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.” A good example of practical worship is found in Exodus 15. After the deliverance of Israel at the Red Sea, the Bible says that Moses and Miriam composed songs (the fruit of their lips) which led to the use of timbrels and dancing. In another example, Chenaniah and choir master and the singers of Israel were singing high praises to the Lord with the national orchestra. This resulted in King David and all of Israel shouting and leaping to the praise of the Most High God (1st Chronicles 15:27-29).

Those who have been with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) over the years know that one of the secrets of our success is practical worship. I am so addicted to practical worship that from my early days in the ministry, I was nicknamed the dancing pastor. The RCCG is known to be a singing and dancing Church. Many have also identified us as a shouting Church. It is therefore because of our disposition to practical worship that God has been so wonderful to us. The Lord is good. More than ever before, He is worthy of our praise this year. For His love and mercy, for His countless miracles, for His signs and wonders, we need to appreciate Him. Go ahead and give Him practical worship in songs and dance throughout today. As you worship Him today, may He multiply His blessing in your life Jesus’ Name.

Key Point: You must become an addicted worshipper to receive the best from God.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : EZEKIEL 7-9 and REVELATION 2:18-3:6