WORSHIP, A TRUE TEST OF
THE CHURCH IN TRANSITION

BY ISAIAH-PHILLIPS AKINTOLA

SINCERITY IS NOT ENOUGH

 

 

There’s a present strong emphasis with regards to the structure and the functional pattern heaven will employ in the service of the third restored temple. The notion that we can offer our worship anyhow or anywhere without necessarily adhering to the lay down priestly order, as long as we are sincere is a fallacy the enemy has long used to lie and deceived many, and in fact, some have incurred the judgement of the Lord.

THE PRIESTLY ORDER

One of the main reasons why the Lord took his time to give his people the pattern of approach and minister unto him is to prevent the issue of using our own yardstick or standard of worship.

Unfortunately today, there are types of temples and altars built by men to want to reach Jehovah, and he has continued to look down from heaven to destroy this temple by scattering and confusing the communication language of the people. This simple fact explains where there is so much confusion, disagreement and church break up in our time.

A PICTURE OF WHAT IS COMING

However, the more we continue to have a clearer understanding into the operational pattern of this third day temple, the more our hearts must adjust and align in the ministry of reformation to perfectly house all of heaven’s wisdom and resource for the church perfection.

This temple that the father is constructing is within the heart-core of those who have both heard and have responded to sound of this new prophetic order, assigned to shift things in the sphere of communities, cities, and nations. This temple that is not crafted by any earthly wisdom or human strength will ultimately become the place of divine initiatives in this third day.

It will be a hub for kingdom government and authority as prophet Isaiah foretold. The place of elevation; the mountain and citadel of heaven speaking for all creation.

This temple where Christ will finally reign in glory before his final physical appearance will manifest some of the most powerful but yet humble priestly men and women any generation has ever witnessed.

THE THIRD DAY PRIESTHOOD

I am convinced that most of the things we are struggling to make folks understand with regards to church government, and the order of Levitical service will all fall into place as shift into this third day priesthood order.

As long as we remain under the priesthood that is still governed by the schoolmaster and their hierarchal pyramid system of leadership, the people will never accept or arrive at the reality of spiritual wisdom and maturity.

The emphasis of the lord for this new day is, change the wineskin of your existence and you will be able to function in the ascended knowledge and grace that will teach the ways of the kingdom effectively.
The more we study and understand the mind of the Lord in terms of his requirement for communal lifestyle, the more we hear that we most remove every form of carnal and frivolous attitude and template of thinking. The offering of strange fire on this present restored altar will certainly incur the swift judgment of the Lord.

Being able to discern the heart of the father is a present high water mark in terms of pressing into a higher realm of the father’s good pleasure.

DIVINE RESPONSE

I am sure you’ve noticed that the way and manner the lord related to the Philistines in terms of accommodating their errors and mistake when they were zealously ready to return the Ark was completely different from the seemingly judgmental way he acted when the children of Israel were also planning to return the same Ark back to its rightful place under the hospice of King David. (1 Samuel chapter 5 & 6.).

Twenty years of the absence of the (presence) Ark of the Lord and temple worship in Israel have brought error into the order and leadership of the priesthood. Both the new leadership and the priesthood out of zeal without knowledge fell into a serious spiritual error of the ancient priestly order.

When we consider the difference between the accepted mistake of the Philistines in transporting the Ark from the error of the priesthood under the leadership of David is the fact that one group have been taught the pattern and standard of transporting the Ark of the Lord, while the {Philistine} other was completely foreign and ignorant in the ways and the pattern of the lord.

There are countless values, standards and principles heaven is unlocking to a remnant generation of priests who have been waiting for the restoration of the presence and glory of the Lord back to their lives and the church community.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

We, however, cannot afford to make the same mistake this priesthood system under the leadership of David made due to the lack of a sound teaching priest community. We are now entering a season of the end of ICHABOD.

The knowledge of the presence and the glory of the father is gradually returning to our lives in this third day, and we most get rid of all foreign images and gods we have placed in the temple of the Almighty.

Through the insight of past dealing of the Lord with his people, we in this new day now have a divine blueprint into what not to do in carrying the presence of the lord before the nation of God’s people in worship.

While the lord allowed his Ark to go into captivity only to stir the hearts of his people to grieve and jealousy, he was also laying down a powerful pattern for the next generation to learn of his ways and dealings so they don’t make the mistake of the past.
As we further see the pattern in the father’s mind in unraveling the mystery of his good pleasure with regards to knowing his precise standard of accepted worship before him at this epochal moment.

RETURNING THE ARK

The father made room for the Philistines to make mistakes in their desire to return the Ark to its rightful place. They consulted their own priest with regards to how they should return the Ark, and the Lord allowed it, but when his own children made what is seen as a zealous move without following the due priestly order and instruction, the lord was not slow to kill a zealous priest who showed no knowledge of what he should have known.

The order and function of the present priestly requirement in our church community activity cannot be assumed if we desire to stay alive before the lord.

As we continue to study and examine the technology of David in the present building of the house of the lord. We will do ourselves a lot of good not to only study the good deeds of David but to also seriously learn from his mistakes. We desire a balanced understanding of the full intent of the father in the process of the reuniting of his presence back to earth.

SEEKING THE PRECISE ORDER

We have to now shift from an apostolic order who seem to know all of the ways of the Lord, but cannot act accordingly when occasion call for it.

I strongly believe that the return of the Ark of the Lord through the place of intense devotional worship will start preparing the ground of our hearts for the coming of the season of the end.

David was a man of great passion and knowledge of the ways and moves of the Spirit, yet made this mistake of not inquiring and ascertaining the preferred pattern of carrying the presence of the lord from one location to the next.

In this transition, we have to seek the precise way and manner of our movement so we don’t repeat the same mistake of the past. How we view and relate to the things of the Spirit of the Lord, which includes the pattern and content of our worship in this third day has to change.

DEFINING WORSHIP

We do understand that worship is the offering of our lives upon the altar of obedience to honor, magnify and glorify the father. The quality and intensity of our worship have always been measured by the intent and content of our obedience to connect with the heart of the father.

Everything about our life in this movement must be synchronized with the demand of the Spirit for this new day. We cannot afford to have a fractured or divided ideology of the things of the lord. Our priesthood must be whole and holistic in its declaration and representation.

PRESSING INTO THE NEW DAY

The redemptive initiative of the father for man and creation has entered a critical moment that requires we update the values, concepts and principle of our priestly mandate both to the church and the father respectively. Indeed, we are deep into the day of the restoration of all things back to their rightful place and order in Christ.

This restoration, however, must first complete its circle of reforming and transforming the truth back to its rightful place within the altar of our hearts as members of the body of Christ, which then allows us to be able to perfect the act of representing Chris in the Spirit of truth.

THE MINISTRY OF TRUTH IN WORSHIP

Most of the worship taking place within the various communities of the body of Christ, I must say are not done on the right footing of the Spirit of truth and obedience. We cannot access the heart of the father in worship when our priesthood is stained or polluted by the world system.

The ministry of truth begins with the desire to vigorously shift from a priesthood whose wineskin and lifestyle conduct is aberrant to the earthly system of worship. Earthly system of worship is a system that has its values build and established on the ancient religious norms passed down by blind church tradition.

Christ centered priestly order, though, operates in the earth, its life and priesthood order is patterned after the heavenly priestly philosophy and function; its desire is to merge the heavenly order and pattern with its earthly position and reality.

The coming of the Lord in the smoke of our worship is the central theme of the new restored priestly company the lord is established in the earth. This priestly dimension of worship seeks to build in the atmosphere of the community of the saints, a strong governmental culture of existence that is reflected in the spirit of purity, love, faith, mutual respect, dignity and honor for Christ and his entire body.

CHANGING THE EMPHASIS OF WORSHIP

We now need to start changing the emphasis of our worship as we see many who are trying to change the emphasis of their message. The effect and impact of a true kingdom centered message are derived from the altar of a precise priestly worship order.

Our message is not what produces the change and transformation we are seeking, but the Spirit of an ascended worship that infuses life and the authority of the father into the message.

The life of true worship encompasses all that we think, say and do. Yet, the spiritual components that allow us to effectively worship as approved saints must be inconsistent with the precise prophetic utterance and demand of the Father for the season.

Though the primary function of a priest is that of an intercessor; one who goes on behalf of. However, the ministry and function of an intercessor who is also known as a priest, is not limited to the mere function of praying, even though the ministry of prayer throughout the word is seen as one of the most noble and highest function within the rankings and the framework of the entire ascended apostolic gifts.

THE PRIESTHOOD DEFINE THE INTENT OF THE WORSHIP

The priesthood is the overall definition of the grace, function and capacity of the ascended ministry which of course represent heaven on earth, and earth before heaven respectively.

Both the old and the New Testament confirms and affirms this highly prophetic governmental dimension of the functional life and calling of the Saints.

The priest is wired to hear and know the voice of the Lord. Within this ability, he is able to clearly decode the sound of a new season via his interaction with the Father.

A true priestly ministry comprises of the entire order of heaven’s government and its requirement for a generation. Meaning that within the priesthood, one finds and connect with the sights and sound, and the present apostolic culture of the movement of the Spirit in terms of how the church is designed to be lived, function, governed within the religious Babylonian system of the day.

We cannot effectively worship if the priestly system of the house still reflects a rejected Levitical order. In other words, the priest cannot effectively function if the Levitical order designed to assist him has been captured, perverted and dysfunctional. This in effect proves that accuracy and precision must be the footing and the hallmark of this priestly order.

A priesthood whose Levitical order has been polluted exposes the people and the entire order and pattern of the movement of the saints to a wrong spirit, even if the name of the lord is being mentioned and magnified. My focus, however in this article is seeking to deal with the inconsistency of our worship and proclamation, especially among those who are presently proclaiming and embracing the apostolic reformation message.

THE OBJECTIVE OF WORSHIP

The words, lyrics and focus of our worship captures the spiritual level of our journey in the present emphasis on divine transition into perfection. In my two decades plus experience of the present reformation emphasis, I realized that it has become so easy for many to parrot the present reformation language without actually having the life of the message.

It is easy to learn the lingual of the current apostolic reformation without having to have the message, it is however not easy to have the message without the Spirit and life of the message. It is the Spirit that quickens, our (words) rhetoric’s profits nothing.

YOUR WORSHIP EXPOSE YOUR POSITION

The sad reality, however today is the fact that many leaders and their followers alike have rigorously sought to master and perfect the art of ‘speaking’ the language of the current transitional demand of the Spirit without being known or sent by the lord. This act of hypocrisy has continued to pollute and distort the clear expression of the voice of the Lord, especially among young and immature seekers of the way.

However, the father has not left the saints vulnerable to this deadly gimmick playing out. Out of the many ways the Lord has chosen to test, prove, expose and approve our heart in the journey to the place of the perfected life in Christ is through the ministry of pure worship.

The central theme of the requirement of the lord from the days of the first man and his wife in the garden was to have a family of people born to be a priest who will stand before him a perpetual lifestyle of worship.

THE FOOTING OF A TRUE APOSTOLIC TRANSITION

Let me be bold by saying that the present footing and structure of what heaven is building and restoring in the earth through the Spirit of reformation is solidly established on a priesthood that has a standing before the face of the Lord like the cherubim.

The cherubim ministry captures and perfectly express to us what the Father is yearning and seeking for among those who have been harvested out of the outer court church activity of our time.

Unfortunately, when one examines critically many of the things that is being said to be the true article about the current apostolic demand, one cannot but to see the many contradictions and inconsistency. One of this inconsistency is found and expressed in the ministry of worship.

The fact that a person or group of individuals can precisely articulate what heaven is saying for a season does not mean they have an authentic priest standing before the father. Secondly, many I have seen proclaiming this ‘mixed wine message’ they call the apostolic are yet to change the structural atmospheric order of both their life and that of their house of expression. While they seem to be saying all the write things, their values and lifestyle preference betrays their message.

WORSHIP EXPOSES THE SPIRIT OF THE HOUSE

There’s nothing that so easily exposes a person’s true spiritual ideology and template mold in the present transition than the lyrics and the sound we express in our worship devotions. You see, worship, and beyond just given glory, praise, honor and adoration to the Father also exposes the spirit behind our words. Meaning that in the place of worship, all manner of things takes place that cannot be controlled or stage-managed.

What we say and sing in worship is a true reflection of the condition of our heart and the state of our house. In effect, if we claim to be pressed into the current demand of the Lord in our spiritual life, our worship time will certainly prove it if we are truthful or not. Why? Worship reveals the very intent of the hearts of men without their knowledge in most cases.

WORSHIP AND YOUR IDENTITY

True worship reveals who we are, what we are, and ultimately, the agenda behind our so-called devotion. It is a known fact that we can invest in the most sophisticated sound and music instrument in the house with highly talented instrumentalist and singers and still not be worshiping the most high.

As the power of a high level prophetic (music) sound is used to compile and expel the evil spirit from a person or region, so is used that is handled and expressed with a wrong spiritual emphasis and church tradition. The sound and emphasis of our worship can literally open the heavens before us or can deceptively drift us away from the frequency the Lord is seeking to speak from.

In a country like South Africa, where people are naturally gifted and talented to sing, and are seen to be unfortunately drawing their values from the American concept of a hybrid professional music industry, it is so easy for the church community and its worship system to strongly assume or presume that perfected worship is having a wonderful vocalist and instrumentalist in the house.

HOW WE KNOW IF WE ARE TRULY PRECISE

Worship requires the expression of a sanctified emotion. While worship is a spiritual act, yet, the true expression of the life of worship can only be carried out through the faculties of the regenerated soul.

Therefore, if our soul still remains under the control and influence of a non-sanctified culture and traditional strongholds of the day, which could either be a powerful religious system or a custom traditional belief, we are certainly not worshipping according to the divine pattern.

The truth is, if our worship, prayer or intercession for that matter still reflects, the past days of ignorance in the standard of the Lord, we are definitely not where God is in his eternal purpose which are often captured and expressed in the spirit and life of worship.

True worship is not based on the key we sing on as much as that may help; it is not how slow or fast the rhythm of our song is expressed. A song can be as old as the ancients of days himself, but still carries the very life, emphasis and demand of the Spirit of Jehovah for the present day.

SINGING THE SONG OF A NEW DAY

Singing new songs does not only mean songs you just composed few days ago, neither are they limited to singing in an unknown tongue. New songs are the sounds of our new position, articulated through the voice of the father’s ancient prophetic agenda for the nations and creation.

The sound of these songs is impregnated within the heart and soul of those who have been summoned to the mountain of the Lord to share life and communion with the father. These songs remind us of who we are and what we left behind. These songs remind us of our priestly ministry to the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

THE SOUND OF A NEW DAY

The sounds of these songs give us new vision, courage, boldness and the heart of blind obedience to submit and follow the ancient path the patriarchs followed. Through these songs we have clearer In-depth knowledge of our individual and corporate identity.

The sound of these songs gives us direction, and also helps the first born church in keeping with the holy tradition of apostolic fellowship and corporate communion.

Worship, beyond just giving due glory and honor to God in all things is also telling the story of our reformation and transformational development into that perfect day in Christ.

The ideology of what we call praise or worship exposes the true cultural identity of the (church) house we belong which defines the outflow of our entire worship devotion.

What is offered on the table we eat and drink from will ultimately benchmark the depth and life of our spiritual image and identity especially in the journey towards divine discovery and experience. Selah!

The reality of your worship, thanksgiving, praise and even prayer points should define where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you are ultimately aiming to attain in the mountain of divine confluence. The streams of the current speaking and demand of the Spirit are all converging with full force into the river of the human spirit.

This convergence seeks to first destroy what humanist religion has falsely constructed in the name of God, and then seeks to establish the proper spiritual footing and foundation for the house of the Lord within our hearts without distortion. These are some highly important truth, we must consider in this present reconstruction of what is known as the tabernacle of David.
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