Worship and Praise: A Response to Love
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Worship and Praise - Ted J. Hanson
House?
Preface
I have been a believer in Christ for over forty-five years. I have written this book regarding worship and praise to give a Biblical foundation for the role of worship and praise in our lives as human beings and as sons and daughters of God. As a spiritual father in the faith, I feel compelled to present these truths for the sake of local church ministries, worship ministries, and the body of Christ. My personal experience as a worship leader, a senior pastor, and an apostolic leader to many in the body of Christ has inspired me to write this book. My source of research for this book is the Bible and my own experience in many years of relationship with God and many roles in the diversity of worship ministry. Before I pastored I was a worship leader and director for 15 years, serving in local church ministry facilitating worship and leading others into the presence of God. I have had many wonderful and life transforming experiences in worship and praise, as well as seeing many destructive things happen in the church because of immaturity and a lack of understanding of the ministry of worship and praise. I have seen many people bound to Old Covenant concepts that do not stand true to the New Covenant life that is freely given by a heavenly Father who loves His children. These concepts have inspired leaders and congregation members to create experiences in worship and praise that are not true to the character and nature of life in Christ. My hope is to bring life and freedom to all who read these truths.
I have experienced the ministry of worship as one who has served the leadership in my local church as well as with many worship teams as a leader. As a senior pastor for 20 years, I developed multiple teams of worship ministers equipping and training them to be led by Holy Spirit in the ministry of worship. I know the strength of being sensitive to the leading of Holy Spirit and I know the pitfalls that come when working with people who are spiritually sensitive and uniquely gifted to be touched in their souls by spiritual things.
My purpose in writing this book is to share important keys to true worship and praise. My aim is to help anyone who reads this book to become aware of the need for true worship and to embrace a lifestyle of worshiping God. I hope to bring freedom to the church in knowing God more intimately and experiencing the effects of worshiping Him and bringing forth His praise in the earth. I hope to help anyone involved in worship ministry to pursue and establish a solid foundation in their role of leadership in the journey of worship ministry.
I believe this book will prove to be important for anyone who reads it, inspiring their hunger for God’s presence and lifestyle of intimacy with Him. I believe it will prove to be an essential resource to those who are involved in worship ministry of any kind. It will also serve as a key foundation for those who are given the responsibility of leading a local church community. I believe this book offers essential secrets to living intimately and passionately with God in all of life.
What is worship? What is praise? Does praise inspire worship? Or does worship inspire praise? Does God need us to worship Him? In chapter 1, I address the subject of being people of worship and praise. I reveal some attributes of worship and of praise. I present the purpose of worship, and the purpose of praise. I also reveal the source of these in our lives and in the church. How do we recognize true worship and praise? What is the difference between the two and how do they affect our lives and the world around us?
In chapter 2, I present the importance of our hearts regarding worship. A deeper examination of the source of worship and praise is given with the role of music in worship ministry. What does God look for? What is it that blesses Him? Is music important? If so, what role does music play? What is the connection of the Holy Spirit, our spirts, our souls, and our physical actions in worship and praise? How are these things connected to prophetic purpose and ministry? I present three key things that true worship of God creates in our lives.
In chapter 3, I address the connection of worship and prayer. Does a relationship with God create worship or does worship create a relationship with God? What happens in our lives when we worship God? What is the sound of worship? What is the testimony of true worship?
In chapter 4, I write concerning the focus of worship using the testimony of King Jehoshaphat and his conflict with his enemies. What happens when we have a right focus in worship? How does it affect our circumstances and the things we face in life? What is the prophetic symbolism of stringed instruments, harps, and trumpets and what do they represent in the testimony of worship and praise? I give two key attributes that are essential in worship and praise and how these two attributes affect the establishing of foundations in our lives. I make a connection between worship, praise, prophetic ministry and purpose. What three things happen by the experience of true worship of God? What is the difference between Old Covenant worship and praise and a New Covenant understanding of these things? How do grace and worship work together in the New Covenant?
Chapter 5 addresses our connection to God and our ability to worship Him. I make a connection in this chapter to the prophetic significance of tithe and worship. It is not likely what you think, but it is what the Bible teaches in regard to a prophetic significance of tithe in the life of Abram and in the life of Jacob. How are these things connected to the supernatural power of God and His supernatural purpose in our lives?
Chapters 6 and 7 present the importance of our hearts in the ministry of worship. How do we keep our hearts so we can truly worship God? What are practical things we can set our minds upon to ready ourselves for a lifestyle of worship and praise? I present several things to keep the focus of our hearts upon. How does our relationship with God and one another affect our ability to worship God? I present four key ingredients essential to the hearts of those who worship God. These things are revealed in both the Old and New Testament Scriptures, but they are made real in our everyday realities.
In Chapter 8, I present keys to dealing with the assignments of the enemy in our lives. How do we deal with the strongholds of the enemy? Do we have weapons? If so, what are those weapons? How do we implement them? This chapter is essential to any believer for growing strong in knowing and experiencing God in their lives.
Chapter 9 gives essential keys to keeping fresh relationship with God in our lives. We have been given a New Covenant, and a New Covenant is a forever new and fresh relationship with God. Keeping our relationship with God fresh is essential for true worship and praise. How do we do this? In this chapter I give 7 essential keys to a fresh relationship with God.
Chapter 10 reveals a simple truth of New Covenant relationship. Aspects of the church are addressed that are manifested in our daily lives and in our corporte times together in worship and praise. Our position in heaven empowers our impact upon the earth.
Chapter 11 presents some aspects of what worship must do and not do. King David demonstrated some secrets to our understanding of worship in his delivery of the ark of the covenant to the hill of Zion. I present these secrets in this chapter and without these we cannot experience the fullness of what God has in mind for our testimony of worship. What do these things look like for individuals? And what do they look like for the community?
Chapter 12 reveals the role of worship and how it relates to the sevenfold grace of God and ministry of Holy Spirit. I use Psalm 29 as a foundation for testimonies of Holy Spirit working in and through the worship of God.
Chapter 13 looks at some practical aspects of worship and praise. What was the downfall of Satan and how does it pertain to worship? The role of music and worship is addressed. How do local church leadership and worship ministry work together? What are the roles of responsibility of these together? How does the sound of worship and direction of leadership work together? What is the importance of this and what is the role of a worship leader and team in connecting to local church leadership?
The final chapter of this book addresses the matter of true worship. What inspires true worship? Where does God live and how does that affect our worship and praise? What roles do music, art, words, and other expressions play in the ministry of worship and praise? What are the building requirements of a spiritual house? What kind of people must we be?
In this book I will explain why I have presented worship before praise. The typical understanding of worship and praise is that praise leads to worship. I am challenging that thinking in this book and presenting things that I have discovered that are contrary to that long-held belief. Is it possible that these things have changed in the New Covenant? Does praise lead us to worship or does worship inspire praise?
In conclusion, reading this book can challenge and empower you to embrace a lifestyle of worship and praise. Embracing these, you will become effective in the purpose of praise and its testimony in your life. You will grow in your understanding of who God is and how to relate to Him in all that you are and do. I believe that the things revealed in this book are foundational for every believer in their daily relationship and walk with God in life. I consider the book essential for those who believe they are called to a ministry of worship and given the responsibility of leading others in worship and praise. I believe this book provides foundational understanding of worship and praise for church leaders, church members, and all the family of God. I pray the Spirit of God opens the eyes of your understanding as you read the truths written within. I also pray that you experience an activation of fresh worship and praise of God in your life in a more full and perfect way. I pray that the truths revealed become an inheritance in your life for the generations beyond you.
Chapter 1
A People of Worship and Praise
I have known God for more than forty-five years. I have been a worship leader and a worship director. For fifteen years, I felt that my calling in life was to be a worship leader. I have written many songs and led many sessions of worship in the church. I have developed many worship teams. I am a psalmist by gifting and I can lead spontaneous music for many hours at a time. I have led many schools of worship and prophetically activated praise and worship throughout the world. In my years of involvement in worship ministry my thinking has changed in many ways. I used to believe that I was born to worship God. I no longer believe that. I believe that I was born to be loved by God! Therefore, I worship Him!
We were not simply born for spiritual ministry. Spirit beings, called angels, were created for ministry. We are not mere created beings of the spirit. We are children of God! We were not created to serve God through some form of worship or performance of service. As human beings, we were not born to be right, or to pursue some lifestyle of priding ourselves in being right. We were born to live our lives in an intimate relationship with God. Our understanding and experience with God is one of knowing Him as our Father. We are not His servants, we are His sons and daughters. Worshipping Him is the fruit of knowing Him. It is a response to who He is and it is both intimate and passionate.
Worship is the fruit of experiencing God’s presence in our lives. When we see who He is in our lives, we cannot help but worship Him. We love Him, because He first loved us. True worship and praise are birthed from an intimate relationship with God. God gives us life, breath, and all things. The more we experience who God is, the more we respond to who He is. This is worship. The more we experience who God is, the more we declare who He is. This is praise. When we know we are loved by Him we cannot help but worship and praise who He is!
Acts 17:24-25 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
We must first keep in mind that worship is not just music. It is a lifestyle. Praise is the testimony of that lifestyle made known to the world. God’s plan of life, for all people in all nations, is a multi-generational plan. God views things through the eyes of eternity and His plan is much bigger than any individual lifetime. Can you imagine a multi-generational people of worship and praise? What is that people like? They are a people who know how to feast and celebrate in God! Worship is a FEAST and a Celebration of God’s presence and life. Praise is a declaration of the goodness and the mercy of God to the world.
Jeremiah 33:10-13 Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place—of which you say, ‘It is desolate, without man and without beast
—in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever
— and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first, says the Lord.
Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of