"I will call upon the Lord!"

Psalm 18, 2 Samuel 22, 2 Chronicles 20 and Petra!

I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised!
So shall I be saved from my enemies!
The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted!

The words burst out of my mouth this morning like a declaration in my prayer time! It had been so long since that song was sung that I barely could call the words to mind. Obviously Holy Spirit knew it was just what I need to utter to heaven this morning!

I googled the song and also found an interesting article on worship. I want to give credit to the woman who wrote it, just don't have the notes before me at the mo. Her blog is Just Worship. I'll get the credits after our meeting today. Gotta run off and talk about Jehosophat and King David to encourage Green Market. The city is shutting them down and relocating them for the season to the company gardens. All details are not smoothly arranged and all are up in arms about the whole thing. We so appreciate your prayers as this is their livelihood, to sell their wares at the market to pay their bills, support their family, even their families back in other African countries. This is a huge work that could truly suffer a dangerous blow to their well being.

I had some notes mulling over in my mind from last night. I was re-reading Living from the Heart Jesus Gave you. I liked this: "Every one of has a unique, God-given heart. So does every church. When a church discovers it's God-given identity its ministry flourishes."

I believe BNFRSA is at this precipice. So also is Green Market Square Fellowship. At this very time it's about the market's desperate need for salvation, to know it's God-given identity, individually and corporately. For this is when we begin to grow. Another quote from The Life Model people, "that's the beauty of a church, when it lives in community, when family encourage each other to live from their hearts!" Wow! Can there be such a place of safety and of grace? Where people's hearts are healed and set free? What's in your heart to do? There is the purpose and power of God's glory! A church is a loving family that cares so much about each other that healing and deliverance abound! It's not an introspective thing, just a revelation of the importance of being whole, so that Isaiah 61 is true! The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me! Let's take a look at someone who discovered his God-given identity. A shepherd boy named David, became a King through worship.

Have you ever thought of worship as a weapon you carry into battle? This is what invites God into our circumstances, intimidates our opponent and motivates our victory in Christ! It puts the enemy on notice, on the run and shifts us into a higher gear to be open for God's intervention on our behalf. The Hebrew word for worship is Hallal. It means to make a show or rave about, to glory or boast upon, to be foolish about your adoration of God!

King David praises God for who he is in Psalm 150. Do we know him like this? For who he is, what he's done in our lives? David had a reputation for becoming undignified when he worshiped God. I don't think he cared about his reputation with people as much as he did His relationship with God! Worship shifts our focus from the battle to the Lord! It reminds us he is bigger than any battle! Worship counters the spirit of despair- Isaiah 61:3; 2 Corinthians 2:14; Lord, help each of us to worship you with the voice of triumph. Can we worship like King David?

I will call upon the Lord,
Who is worthy to be praised.
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
I will call upon the Lord.

The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.
The Lord liveth and blessed be the rock,
And let the God of my salvation be exalted.

I will learn to trust in him,
He will save me from my sin.
So shall I proclaim him the Lord of all.
I will learn to trust the Lord.