The Fellowship of Drunken Glory

Praise Breaks

2011-07-27T15:59:00.001-04:00

William Elston and Jscott Martin have been going around town taking praise breaks. Jscott (the one with the bass guitar) says, "Never be ashamed of the gospel."

Highway Praise

Hood Praise

ATM Praise

Red Light Praise

Saturated in Bliss ~ Emma Joy

2011-07-26T15:26:00.001-04:00

Turn this up, lay back and soak in the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. About 45 minutes.

The Abundant Pleasures of Divine Love

2011-04-26T18:42:00.002-04:00

God, Your faithful love is so valuable
That people take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
(Psalm 36:7 HCSB)

What love God lavishes on His beloved! It is precious and valuable, worth more than anything else in life. It is a refuge for all who come to Him — even for the wicked, if they would turn to Him. His love is not just a temporary shelter from the storm but an abode, a permanent dwelling place, for all who trust in Him. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust” (Psalm 91:1-2). It is like a costly jewel, and David describes the splendor of its facets for those who know Yahweh:

They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house (v. 8). God flings open the doors of His house and invites us to partake of His table and enjoy His hospitality to our heart’s content. “He brought me to the banqueting house [treasure house, house of wine], and His banner over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4).
You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures (v. 8). God always intended for us to enjoy His pleasures. The Hebrew for “pleasures” is eden, as in the Garden of Eden. Heaven on earth! How is it that we settle for so much less when He offers us so much more?
For with You is the fountain of life (v. 9). God is the source of life. Jesus came that we might “have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)” (John 10:10 Amplified Bible). It springs up like a fountain from a very deep place, pure and refreshing.
In Your light we see light (v. 9). God is the creator of light (Genesis 1:3) and the Father of Lights (James 1:17). Indeed, God is light (1 John 1:5). It is in Him that we see and know the glory of heaven on earth. Apart from Him there is only darkness.

The faithful love of God is not only a refuge and dwelling place for those who trust Him, but the source of satisfying abundance, sublime pleasure, overflowing life and the glory of everything that is good.

Sweet, Sweet Glory Rave

2011-04-26T11:03:00.000-04:00

My friend T. R. Post created this. Featuring John Scotland (with glimpses of John Crowder).

Resurrection Sunday Dance

2011-04-24T06:00:00.002-04:00

Budapest, Hungary. This is the time to get up an dance the joy of His victory — for the rest of your life.

Highway Praise!

2011-04-12T16:06:00.003-04:00

Sometimes you just gotta get out and praise.

When the Wind of the Spirit Blows

2011-01-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

When the wind of the Spirit blows, ride the wind. Song by Broken Walls.

Time to Holy Ghost Party

2011-01-25T09:16:00.002-05:00

The Lord is in our bodies. Time to Holy Ghost party. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your £body and in your spirit, which are God’s" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). If you know the Lord's been good to you ~ dance, dance, dance.

Singing with Angels

2010-06-05T14:13:00.000-04:00

Here is an amazing testimony about a Jason Upton concert. One of the musicians explains how the presence of God manifested and there was the sound of singing, a sound for which the musicians and sound engineers could not account except the harmonies of angels. Upton, who was not one to have ecstasies, was "drunk" in the Spirit.

Here is the song, "Fly." Even if you are skeptical about the angels, the performance is very striking, and great for marinating in the presence of the Lord.

An Invitation of Joy to the Nations

2010-04-26T12:41:00.000-04:00

Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
(Psalm 100:1-2)

God is not exclusive to one people or place. Quite the contrary. He invites all peoples and all lands to come and enter into joy with Him.

“Make a joyful shout!” The Hebrew word is rua and means to break out of silence with ear-splitting sounds of joy. It might be a loud “Yahoo!” or the celebratory blast of a horn. In my neighborhood, whenever our football team scores a goal, my neighbor runs out to his car and honks the horn — repeatedly! He is making a joyful noise.

“To the LORD.” It is a joy that is in honor of, and is caused by, the LORD! God is the source of joy — His presence is full of it (Psalm 16:11). Joy is the fruit of His Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

“Serve the LORD with gladness.” “Gladness” is the Hebrew simcha — lightheartedness, joy, mirth, gaiety and pleasure. It comes from serving the LORD. Serving God is never just a matter of rendering service to Him, but of serving with Him. For God is love, and it is the nature of love to give and to serve. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

So the call to serve the LORD is actually an invitation to partner with Him. Yes, God invites all the earth to come and join in partnership — fellowship — with Him. No wonder it is joyful, lighthearted and full of pleasure.

“Come before His presence with singing.” Here is the invitation to come into the presence of the King of all kings. And the surprise is that it is not meant to be full or terror or even of sorrow. We come singing, not mournful tunes or sorrowful dirges, but songs of joy and triumph. The kingdom of God is a party!

The psalm writer continues:

Know that the LORD, He is God;
It is He who made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
(Psalm 100:3)

This invitation is to come and know God by His personal name, Yahweh (rendered in English translations by “LORD” in all caps). This is the name by which He reveals Himself in covenant with His people. Indeed, this is a call to come enter covenant with Him.

This is an invitation for all the peoples to know the God who created them. We certainly did not create ourselves — pulling ourselves together out of the ooze, generating for ourselves the vast library of our genetic code, instilling our own personhood and intelligence into ourselves. No, God is our Creator, making us specifically in His own image and breathing into us the breath of His spirit.

This is also an invitation to come and know God as our Shepherd. “The LORD is my shepherd,” David declared, “I shall not be in want” (Psalm 23). Here is the promise of rest, provision, protection, guidance, goodness and mercy — all the blessing of God to all who come to Him. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who comes to give us the life of God in abundance (John 10:10).

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
(Psalm 100:4)

Yes, come on in. Recognize the blessing God has for you and join the celebration. You cannot do for yourself. Let God do for you whatever you need and give Him thanks. Enter deeper into His presence with joyful songs of praise. Pull your head out and behold the wonderful gift that has been given to you, then lift your hands in worship and bless the One who has reached His hand out to you.

For the LORD is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
(Psalm 100:5)

Yahweh is God and Yahweh is good! This is not a one-off, one-time celebration. What He is inviting the nations to is something that will endure forever. This is not just for the nations but for the generations. When you accept His gracious offer and step into His wonderful life, it will be a blessing, not only to yourself, but also to your children and your children’s children — even to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9).

Make a joyful noise — everybody! Everywhere! The fathers of the Westminster Confession understood this well. It declares that mankind was made for this purpose — to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

God is reaching out to the nations. Become aware of His glory manifesting all around you. Enter into covenant with Him. Partner up with the Servant King of the Ages and reach out with Him to love, give and serve. Intercede for all peoples in all places. Pray the Lord of the Harvest and let Him send you into all the world preaching the Good News, bringing forth signs and wonders of healing and deliverance. Then pass this great inheritance on to your children and your children’s children. For the LORD is good, His love and faithfulness will endure to all your generations. Come glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

Enjoying God

2010-04-08T09:44:00.001-04:00

The Westminster Confession says, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Someone else has said, “The chief end of God is to glorify God and enjoy Himself forever.”

In the book The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, there is a scene where two main characters, Celie and Shug, are walking through a meadow full of purple flowers:

“What do you think God wants?” Celie asks.
“He’s just like everything else — He just wants to be loved,” says Shug.
“Are you saying God is vain?”
“No, I’m saying that He wants to let everyone in on a good thing.”

God is great and God is good, and He wants to let us all in on His goodness. That is what the glory of God is all about. The Hebrew word for “glory” is kabod and literally means “weight.” It was often used of the value of gold and other riches. The glory of God is the weight, or value of His goodness.

The good news of the gospel is that God greatly desires to share His goodness with all who will come to Him. Though Adam disconnected from the will of God in the Garden of Eden, Jesus freely submitted Himself to the redemptive will of God in the Garden of Gethsemane — so we could truly know God in all His goodness.

John Piper, a Baptist preacher who calls himself a “Christian hedonist,” suggests reading the Westminster Confession this way: “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”

If the reason we were created is to glorify God by enjoying Him, then what Andy Stanley says in Visioneering is true: “Spiritual Maturity is measured by how readily we respond to the person of God rather than the promises of God.”

In other words, it is all about God Himself. It is good to believe His promises, and very wonderful to experience His presence, but it is in loving the person of God that we experience the deepest joy.

That is why we were created, to fall in love with God and enjoy the goodness of who He is — forever. It is true satisfaction and abundance.

Four Views of Joy

2010-03-31T18:31:00.003-04:00

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.
(Psalm 5:11-12)

Here are four words used for “joy” in the Old Testament:

Samach — to be cheerful, light-hearted.
Ranan — shouting for joy.
Alats — jumping for joy.
Gul — spinning, whirling, twirling for joy.

We see the first three in the passage above:

But let all those rejoice [samach] who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy [ranan], because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name be joyful [alats] in You.

We find the fourth one in this well-known verse:

This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice [gul] and be glad [samach] in it.
(Psalm 118:24)

The Bible says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:16). The word for “joy” there is simcha, from the same root as samach. God is all about joy. In fact, it is in His presence that joy originates and finds its complete fulfillment and expression.

In the verses above, we discover that joy comes from trusting the LORD, knowing Him as our defender, loving His name, living in the victory day He has made for us, and pressing into His presence.

Yes, we can rejoice mightily in the LORD. But did you know that He also rejoices over you? Its true:

The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice [sus] over you with gladness [simcha],
He will quiet you with His love.
He will rejoice [gul] over you with singing [rinnah].
(Zephaniah 3:17)

Sus, like samach and simcha, means to be bright and cheerful. Rinnah comes from ranan.

Good news! God is not mad or sad at His people — He’s glad! He is lighthearted and cheerful over us. He comforts us with His love and whirls and twirls over us with shouts of joy.

You can get in on this wonderful celebration by receiving King Jesus the Messiah. He is the Mighty One Who Saves (even His name means “salvation”). He came to carry off everything that stands between you and a personal relationship with the Father.

Put your trust in the Lord and be lighthearted and cheerful. Shout for joy as you look to Him as your defender. Love His name and jump for joy. Whirl and twirl with joy because God has created this day to be a day of victory for you. Rejoice and dance with God as He rejoices over you — whirling, twirling, spinning and shouting with delight. The kingdom of God is a party!

That Your Joy May Be Full

2010-03-29T12:11:00.002-04:00

And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:4)

My son Michael and his bride at
wedding rehearsal dinner.
Fullness of joy.

The apostle John gives a second reason for writing his epistle: That your joy may be full.

The first reason was that we might have fellowship with the Father and the Son, and the people of God.

Whenever we get into deep fellowship with God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — joy is inescapable. As David said to the LORD, “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). The presence of God is all about joy. It is where joy dwells and is experienced in all its fullness.

Jesus, also, talked about fullness of joy. He said, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). Here again, we see that joy is all about the Lord. When we ask in Jesus’ name we receive whatever we ask, and our joy is made full.

You see, asking in Jesus’ name means to ask as He would ask. We discover how Jesus would ask in any situation by getting into fellowship with Him and learning His heart. Those prayers will always be answered, for the Father will not deny the Son: “You have given Him His heart’s desire, and have not withheld the request of His lips” (Psalm 21:2).

Fullness of joy always traces back to the presence of the Lord and intimate fellowship with Him.

God’s desire for you is to walk in fullness of joy. This is established by the mouth of three witness: David, Jesus and John. Enter into fellowship with the Father through faith in Jesus Christ, and the new birth by the Holy Spirit. Seek after His presence and get to know Him more and more intimately. Explore His heart in prayer and meditation on His Word. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the things that belong to Jesus (John 16:14). Spend your life with Him. Then your joy will be full.

Holy and Happy

2010-03-26T11:34:00.002-04:00

In Your presence is fullness of joy. (Psalm 16:11)

Here is holiness and happiness together. The presence of the LORD is holy — always has been, always will be. When Moses stood apart to behold the burning bush, the LORD called out his name told him to take off his shoes. He was on holy ground — God was present in purpose and power.

God is holy and His presence is holy. That does not at all preclude joy, but is, in truth, the very foundation of joy. To enter into the holiness of God is to enter into pure happiness.

Many Christians fail to understand the relationship between being holy and being happy. Some are willing to do unholy things because, “God wants me to be happy.” Others seem to believe you cannot truly be holy unless you are actually unhappy. Both ways are huge distortions and lead only to destruction.

God is holy, but He is not a crank. To be holy means to be set apart. God is holy because He is set apart from everything else — there is none greater than Him. He is Lord over all. He is totally unique — holy.

God’s people are holy because they have been set apart for God’s special purposes. Holiness is not what we do, it is what we are. It is about identity and relationship, relationship with God. Performing certain acts does not make us holy. But if we enter into relationship with God through Jesus Christ and begin to understand our identity in Him, we begin to live in ways which are harmonious with God’s holiness.

The first question of the Westminster Catechism, an instructional guide produced for the Reformed Church in the 1600s, asks: “What is the chief end of man?” That is, what is the purpose for which we have been made?

Answer: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” John Piper, Baptist pastor and theologian, thinks we should amend that to read: The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. If we are not enjoying God well, be we are probably not glorifying Him very well either.

The Bible says that God is love, and that He is a consuming fire. Both are expressions of His holiness. As we get closer to God, His love will burn out everything that does not come from Him, everything that keeps us from fulfilling the destiny and purpose for which we were created, everything that keeps us from experiencing true joy.

Now, joy is not a quiet thing, but a very exuberant thing. Many times the Old Testament exhorts us to “shout for joy.” This is often found even behind the word “rejoice.” In the New Testament, one of the words for “rejoice,” agalliao, literally means to “jump for joy.”

Shouting and jumping — that’s God’s idea of joy!

The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17)

When are now in the time of which this passage speaks, the days of Jesus the Messiah. God is with us by His Spirit. He has come as a powerful warrior, mighty to save, and He rejoices over us.

The first “rejoice” used here refers to expressions of mirth, gladness, gaiety and pleasure. God not only rejoices over us, but He rejoices with gladness (simcha). The KJV says He “rejoices over you with joy.” It is joy multiplied by joy. But the extent of His pleasure is even greater than that, as God pours out His love over us. The second rejoice (gul) means to spin with powerful emotion. God whirls and twirls over us with great passion and love. Pure joy!

Holiness and happiness belong together. Be holy, and happiness will follow. If you are holy, but not happy, you’ve gotten the holiness part wrong. Look to Jesus, and give yourself completely to Him. Holiness is not about you and what you have or have not done. As in all things in the Christian life, holiness is about Jesus, and happiness follows.

God invites you to enter into the holiness of His presence, that you may dance with Him in great joy and experience His deep happiness with Him. And that is the most holy thing in all the world.

The Inebriating Rivers of the Holy Spirit

2010-03-24T10:47:00.002-04:00

Doing research for a recent book (Miracles and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the History of the Church), I came across this item, a commentary by Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers (AD 315-367) on Psalm 64, concerning the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 65:9,10 “Inebriate its rivers, multiply its generations. He will rejoice in its misty rain, when it arises.” [Hilary is working from a Latin translation and the old numbering of the psalm.]

Hilary’s comments: “The Holy Spirit is called a river. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we are made drunk. Because out of us, as a source, various streams of grace flow, the prophet prays that the Lord will inebriate us. The prophet wants the same persons to be made drunk, and filled to all fullness with the divine gifts, so that their generations may be multiplied ... We begin to have insight into the mysteries of faith, we are able to prophesy and to speak with wisdom. We become steadfast in hope and receive gifts (plural) of healing. Demons are made subject to our authority.”

[Kilian McDonnell and George T. Montague, Christian Initiation and Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Evidence from the First Eight Centuries. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical 1994, Second, Revised Edition, pp. 183-4. Citing Hilary, Tract on the Psalms, 64:14; CSEL (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum) 22.246.]

However well Hilary may have captured the essence of this psalm passage, he gives us an interesting insight into the mind of the fourth-century Church: There is a fullness, an inebriation of the Spirit that brings forth words of wisdom, words of prophecy, a boldness of faith, gifts of healing and authority over the demonic. Hilary speaks of them as being fully present in his day.

Jesus promised the disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8). On the day that happened, the Spirit-filled disciples were mistaken for drunken wine-bibbers, so much so that when Peter rose up to speak, he began, “These are not drunk, as you suppose ... but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2:15-16).

Paul also knew of this Holy Spirit inebriation: “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Being filled with the Spirit is very different from being filled with wine. The filling of wine leads to wasteful strife. But the filling of the Spirit leads to fellowship and unity — singing to each other with Spirit-led psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord, giving thanks always to Him, and submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:19-21).

These are the Rivers of Living Waters. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). John notes for us that Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit (v. 39).

Step into the flow of the river of God and let the inebriation of the Holy Spirit come upon you. Become drunk in Him, letting Him direct you in all you say and do. Care not for you own will and ways, your own strength and gifts, your own understanding. Yield yourself, and control of yourself, to the Holy Spirit of God. Let His River flow through you.

Loud, Disruptive Praise

2010-03-22T11:02:00.001-04:00

Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
(Psalm 95:1-2)

Can you believe it? This is an invitation to party with God. Come!

The word for “sing” (Hebrew ranan) means to shout aloud and cry out for joy. Not at all vague or tentative — it is an overcoming sound, a sound of rejoicing and triumph.

Come and “shout joyfully.” The Hebrew word is rua and means to mar the silence, to split the ears with sound. It is a loud and clamorous noise. Maybe some people cannot carry a melodious tune, but is there anybody who cannot make a joyful noise? In my neighborhood there is a guy who, every time our hometown football team scores a goal, will either grab his trumpet and give a loud blast, or else run out to his car and lay on the horn. That’s rua, a joy-filled, unrestrained noise of celebration.

What’s all the clamor about? The Rock of our salvation. The Rock speaks of a stable and secure refuge, a place of strength and advantage, a superior position high above the enemy. “Salvation” is deliverance, safety and even prosperity. The Hebrew word is yesha. This is the salvation (yasha) that comes from the Lord (Yahweh), the equivalent of Yeshua (“Yahweh saves”), which is the name of Jesus.

If that doesn’t prime your pump, you just need more revelation about Jesus, who He is and who you are in Him (see Getting a Revelation of Jesus).

Come before His presence. That is, don’t delay a second, but hurry to meet Him. In His presence is the place to be. Come running, and bring your todah with you. Todah is praise and thanksgiving, the lifting of your hands in adoration toward Him. It is the attitude of a grateful heart turned loosed into the body. It is worship that doesn’t hold back.

Shout joyfully to the Lord! God says it twice — the second witness to establish the fact that God wants us to get loud and joyful, even disruptive in our praise. Bellow out to Him with songs of praise — break out your instruments and pluck, pound, blow, fram and frail. Bring all your best riffs. Don’t worry about being prim and proper — this is a jam session, so turn it all loose before Him. Get a Saturday night frame of mind and celebrate Jesus with all your heart.

Much Leaping

2010-03-21T17:16:00.001-04:00

Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter, looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. (2 Samuel 6:16)

David was rejoicing before the Lord for the wonderful thing He had done in restoring the Ark of the Covenant to Israel. Now, joy is not quiet or still but demonstrable. You can tell when someone is rejoicing — it looks like something. In this case, it looked like leaping and whirling.

One of the Greek words for “rejoice” in the New Testament is agalliao. It comes from two words: agan, much, and hallio, to leap, to jump, to spring up or gush like water. Literally, agalliao means to “jump for joy.” It is an expression of joy with much leaping.

In Mary, pregnant with Jesus, this joy revealed itself as a marvelous song, known as the Magnificat: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced [agalliao] in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47). It was her spirit that was leaping for joy, just as John the Baptist leapt in Elizabeth’s womb at the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1:44), but it emerged in exuberant song.

When the Seventy disciples returned from the mission of healing diseases, casting out demons and announcing the kingdom, Jesus “rejoiced [agalliao] in the Spirit” (Luke 10:21). It was supernatural, Holy Spirit joy at work in His human spirit. He was jumping for joy on the inside, but it manifest somehow on the outside and looked like something — that is how Luke was able to tell us about it.

When the Philippian jailer believed the good news from Paul, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31), he was full of this leaping joy. “Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced [agalliao], having believed in God with all his household” (v. 34). His whole life had been changed and he now had a wonderful future, and so did the rest of his house, because they believed also. Imagine him in a wild state of excitement as he offered Paul and Silas, who brought him this wonderful message, the hospitality of his house. Joy was leaping inside of him and it showed up on the outside.

Like that jailer, all who receive Jesus the Messiah have much reason to leap for joy. The apostle Peter details some of it in his letter to scattered believers:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice [agalliao]. (1 Peter 1:3-6)

There is much power, wonder and grace packed into that paragraph, and when we understand it, it should leave us leaping for joy, in spirit if not in body. If it does not, then that is only an indication that we have not yet grasped what Peter is talking about.

There are a number of words, in the Hebrew of the Old Testament and in the Greek of the New, which speak of joy and rejoicing in a variety of ways. There is jumping for joy, shouting for joy, singing for joy, spinning for joy, and even “creaking” and squealing with delight. But there are none which speak of joy in terms of silence or stillness. It is the nature of joy to manifest somehow.

There is great joy to be had in Jesus the Messiah. How will you let yours show?

The Divine Woo-Hooooo!

2010-03-20T09:53:00.002-04:00

For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;
He will beautify the humble with salvation.
(Psalm 149:4)

The Lord takes pleasure in His people. He is fully satisfied with us, takes delight in us, even enjoys us. See how great is His joy:

The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.
(Zephaniah 3:17)

Dancing with the LORD

The Hebrew word for the first “rejoice” in that verse is sus and speaks of ecstatic joy. The word for “gladness,” simcha, speaks of mirth and pleasure. The second “rejoice” is giyl and literally means to spin. The word for “singing” is rinnan, a high-pitched sound of jubilation — imagine God shouting Woo-hooooo! God takes such great pleasure and ecstasy in us that He sings and dances over us with whirling and twirling and jubilant shouts. That’s joy!

Who are His people, and how is it that we are pleasing to Him? They are the “humble.” The Hebrew word is anawim and refers to those who are lowly, poor and weak. They place no trust in themselves but look to God for their deliverance. They do not live proud and arrogant lives; they know they are fully dependent on Him. They are the ones Jesus speaks of in the Sermon of Heaven on Earth (a.k.a., Sermon on the Mount): “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5).

God delights greatly in those who believe His promise and trust in Him. These are the ones He beautifies, dignifies, with salvation — deliverance, healing and prosperity — with Jesus!

If you are trusting in the Lord and believing His promises, He is ecstatic over you, rejoicing with singing and twirling for joy. Listen for His Woo-hooooo! and join in His revelry.

Joyful in Glory

2010-03-19T17:23:00.000-04:00

Let the saints be joyful in glory;
Let them sing aloud on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand.
(Psalm 149-5-6)

What a picture this paints in my mind. It is one of unmitigated, boisterous joy. The English translation is a bit too tame for it, though.

Let the saints be joyful in glory. The Hebrew word for “joyful” is alatz. It speaks of great merriment. Picture someone jumping for joy. Why? He has been covered in glory, the goodness of God poured out on him, and he has an intense awareness of it.

Let them sing aloud on their beds. The Hebrew for “sing aloud” is ranan. It is jubilant joy, lively singing, loud, shouting joy that cannot be silenced. Imagine someone singing and shouting as he lies on his bed. He is inebriated with joy, drunk on the glory of God manifesting in his life.

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth. The Hebrew for “high” is romam. It speaks of something rising up. It comes up from a place deep in the heart and flows forth from the lips. It is not quiet, somber or sober. It is not a dirge and it is not very “dignified” (see 2 Samuel 6:22, where David, in his ecstatic joy, said, “I will be even more undignified than this”). It is ecstasy and exaltation, overflowing joy, carried away with the object of its praise.

And a two-edged sword in their hand. The Message has, “Brandish their swords in the wild sword-dance.” It is part of the warfare of praise, to fulfill the Word of God upon His enemies (see verse 9). In the New Testament, we have the “Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). It is like a double-edged sword. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12).

What is the cause for all this wild rejoicing and crazy sword-dancing? Look back to Psalm 149:4, “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people. He will beautify the humble with salvation.” God takes pleasure in His people and shows them His favor.

He beautifies the humble with salvation. The Hebrew for “beautify” means to adorn, to embellish, to make sparkle and shine. The humble are those who make no assumptions about themselves but are wholly dependent upon God, trusting in Him alone. God adorns them with “salvation.” The Hebrew word speaks of deliverance, health, help and includes victory and prosperity. As a noun, is it yeshuah. As a name, it is Yeshua, Hebrew for “Jesus.” All those who trust in God through Jesus Christ are made beautiful with the multifaceted splendor of divine salvation. It is the source of crazy joy.

The pleasure God has in His people overflows with abundance to them. It is deep, intense, loud, vibrant — and even undignified. It is the drunken glory of all who know Him, who are intoxicated with His love and inebriated with His joy. This honor belongs to all His saints, so come to God by faith in Jesus Christ and drink deeply of Him. Yield yourself to His Spirit and join in the Fellowship of Drunken Glory.