“God is going to do something tonight! Rarely, we get 23 church coming together. And this evening, God will command His blessings when brothers and sisters come together,” said Pastor Wong Sum Keong on 19th of April in the Worship Central event in SIB Church at SunwayMas Community Center (SMCC).
He told a story of a Scottish bagpiper who passionately played his instrument for a septic tank mistakened to be a gravesite for a homeless man. Nevertheless, despite the mistake, God was able to use the bagpiper to move the hearts of the diggers around him.
“There are certain things, you never thought God will move that way but God does. Isn’t that amazing?” said Pastor Wong on how God frequently moved worshippers to worship in unexpected ways.
The Lord moved Pastor Wong to 2 Chronicles 5:1-6 in encouraging the unity of worshippers in worshiping the Lord.
1 When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated–the silver and gold and all the furnishings–and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.
2 Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 3 And all the men of Israel came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month. 4 When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, 5 and they brought up the ark and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests, who were Levites, carried them up; 6 and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. (2 Chronicles 5:1-6)
This passage pointed to a time of dedication of the temple to the Lord, built by King Solomon. The building of the temple also marked a significant transition of the Israelites from worshiping in the tabernacle or the tent to worshipping in the temple where God resided. And as with any transition, King Solomon settled the elements of instability and unknown loyalties by congregating the leaders and elders together under his leadership and turned their attention to worship the Almighty God.
“This is also the time for our church leaders to turn our fellow Christians to our God Almighty; a time for worshippers and worship leaders like you and me. And like the Levites of the Old Testament, we are to assist our church in rallying God’s people through worship.
“King Solomon was fully supported by the Levites in establishing temple worship. The Levites were the priests, the musicians, and the singers in the Old Testament. And we are the Levites of this era, our era,” said Pastor Wong who proceeded to share 2 Chronicles 5:11-14.
11 The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians – Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives – stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 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 for ever.’ Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.
In the Scripture above, we can find three things indicated here. Firstly, all the priests regardless of their divisions, consecrated themselves before the ceremony took place. (v 11) They had to go through a process of purification before meeting God, which is a model for worshippers like us to keep ourselves holy and accountable before God, not only in ritual and services but at all times.
“We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, right? And we are also supposed to worship God in Spirit and in Truth,” said Pastor Wong.
Secondly, worship is a time of celebration. The worshippers were dressed in fine linen, as they sang and danced with all their hearts. Also, with the large number of trumpeters, cymbalists, harpists, singers, and musicians, the people must had heard the worship from miles away. (v 12-13)
“I like David when he finally brought the ark of God into the city of Jerusalem… And he just danced and moved around the ark with all his might, putting aside all inhibitions and fears.
“So, what a wonderful day it was! What a marvellous worship they had! Don’t you wish that you were part of it too if you were there with David?” said Pastor Wong.
Thirdly, the whole-hearted exaltation of the Lord brought down His Presence and His Glory. The temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud and the priests could not perform their service because of God’s glory. (v 14)
“The manifesting Presence of God that day was so thick like a dense cloud that the worshippers just could not move. That’s when Heaven invaded earth. It was too overwhelming to even sing to Him.
“They were all awe-struck and dumbfounded by His Presence that they could not worship Him anymore. Just imagine eye wide-opened and mouth wide-opened, and people stopped worshipping. Wow!
“We were almost there just now when we were coming before God. We strive towards the moment as worshippers and as leaders of God’s people, towards that moment when heaven meets earth,” said Pastor Wong.
However, not long after the consecration of the temple of Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel was divided, starting from King Solomon’s own son Rehoboam.
“It took a whole series of men’s plans, ambitions, and proposals that eventually caused men to go against one another, eventually leading to the final integration of both kingdoms.
“Israel went into captivity for a long time. But it was God’s faithfulness to the Davidic covenant – God’s promised to David that He will establish David’s throne foer – which led to the preservation of lineage right down to Jesus Christ our Lord.
“And we live in the legacy of this covenant as sons and daughters, adopted ino God’s family and as co-heirs with Jesus, the King of kings. Here, we see the contrast between men’s proposal and God’s disposal.
“Each time men acted on their own, there is always discord and strife, ending in desolation. But however, when men follow God’s direction, no matter how difficult the journey may be, the destination invariably has joy and comfort with the Presence of God,” said Pastor Wong.
He encouraged each worshipper to worship God single-mindedly and whole-heartedly. When every worship member does that, God would respond. This is because the outcome of every element working in synergy far exceeds the sum total of the contribution of each individual element!
“When the Lord put His People to work together, the outcome is far greater than what we achieve alone, amen? Hallelujah! That’s what we want to see… God’s people united together in worship, bringing down His Presence. Let Heaven be on earth!
“That is the privilege that God has given to us as Levites, as fellow worshippers, working together with the worshippers of this land to ensure that God’s Kingdom is expanded in His Sovereignty. May His glory covers the whole Malaysia as the waters cover the sea,” said Pastor Wong.
Hallelujah! May all worshippers unite to bring Heaven on earth!
NOTE: Worship Central is a school of worship from Alpha International, led by Tim Hughes and Al Gordon. The vision of Worship Central is to encounter God, to equip the worshipper, and to empower the local church.
- Encounter God: Create a space where people grow in their understanding of the theology of worshipping God and are refreshed as worshippers through extended times of ministry.
- Equip the worshipper: The practicalities of leading worship and serving on a team.
- Empower the local church: Development of leadership to release and to empower the church.
For more information please contact www.worshipcentral.org
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