THE SPICES OF WORSHIP

 

 

WORSHIP IS GOD'S FOOD!
GOD THRIVES ON IT!

It was revealed to me earlier on in my worship career that worship is the shaping of the worth of God. I have remained faithful to this definition in all my works and do stand by it in this blog as well. I believe that the shaping of the worth of God is done for God and God alone. It is for His exclusive delight as the symbolic ingredients of worship shows in Leviticus 2:1.

The revelation of worship as God’s food is perhaps one of the greatest significance of the worship scheme given to Israel by God for the benefit of the New Testament Church of God in Christ. There is a unique theme of human supply of divine enjoyment scattered throughout Scripture.

THE INGREDIENTS OF WORSHIP
Without the fulfillment found in the New Testament, of all the Old Testament types of sacrificial offerings, one would have thought that Levitical worship was one big dinner party and God is the only One invited to dine. One could conceive of worship as God’s food, indeed His nourishment, and it is! Someone once said; ‘God loves the smell of roasted flesh.’ Well, let truth be told; God enjoys the flavor of the worship of His people when the right recipes are used. That’s why He relished all those hot offerings which were cooked to perfection in Calvary’s pot.

BROKENNESS, THE GREATEST INGREDIENT IN WORSHIP
Worship is the concoction of all that pleases God and meets the divine requirements for the shaping of His worth. “And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon.”(Leviticus 2:1).

If worship is God’s food, then it must be palatable to God. Just as every meal or cuisine is made up of vital ingredients, so worship consists of essential ingredients. What is an ingredient? It is a component part of any combination or mixture.

READ ON ... in other blogs... See especially INGREDIENTS OF WORSHIP... 

NO HEALING, NO MINISTRY

 

  

~ By Bishop Tony Osuobeni 

THERE'S NO MINISTRY WITHOUT HEALING, LEST YOU MINISTER YOUR HURTS & WOUNDS.

***A CALL TO WHOLENESS IN MINISTRY*** 

Hurt people hurt people. Hurt preachers hurt people. Wounded ministers wound people. Broken pastors break people. Angry preachers make people angry, and, the worst place to keep them is behind the pulpit. If you're not pulled from the pits of anger, hurts and bitterness, you will embitter the lives of many with your pulpit power. So let those scars heal before you strive to become a star, a pulpiteer or something! 

LET GO before you can make others GO!

Ministry is real life! It is real and it is life. You cannot divorce one from the other. Ministry is no joke at all! Its not a playground for self-seeking celebrity-prone ministers. 

We minister (give) our lives in order to save lives. God's idea about ministry is to use people who have been through something to get something done for His kingdom. So God allows us to go through difficulties in order that we may make life easy for others. Our Lord brought health and ease to people. He delivered them from their dis-eases. We are called to do likewise. We are not called to complicate people's lives and become problems to them. 

WE ARE CALLED TO BE SOLUTIONS! 

We are not called to imprison people. We are not called to make them sicker than they've been before. We are anointed and appointed to heal the broken-hearted, set the captives free, open blinded eyes, open prison doors, release people's burdens, break off yokes from people's lives. 

We are called to our Lord's ministry, not our own. 

Learning that ministry is akin to life was a quick lesson I discovered early on in my calling. Although my calling from the Lord was clear and it was powerful, I started out ministry on that shaky ground of pursuing my goals and not the Lord's. I wanted my ministry and not the Lord's. And so I missed out on the cruciform nature of the Lord's work. I wanted a ministry that was full of roses without thorns. I wanted an American-styled ministry they presented to us in those days as a thing of glamour and showmanship. I was deceived.

I wanted celebrity Christianity until the Lord began to show me that the true path of a God-ordained ministry is strewn with thorny bushes of pain and suffering. And I mean, palpabale pain and suffering but it you're truly called of God, you will continue regardless. You are being divinely pained on purpose! The goal of bringing salvation to people under God keeps you keeping on despite the tough terrains of the ministry. 

I started out fulltime ministry in the true sense of that expression at the New Covenant Church Ibadan and moved to South Africa where I pastored a mixed-race church. No sooner than I settled down to pastor this church that I started discovering that it is tougher to deal with people than with demons. Trust me, it is easier to cast out demons than to handle people! 

Folks talk about church abuse? but they forget that there is that strange unwarranted likelihood called pastor-abuse! Churches can indeed abuse their pastors. And I don't have time to go into details. For your fyi as we say in my neck of the woods in America, you will be insulted, verbally abused, disrespected, tempter-tested, you name it. You will experience it all. They come with the territory and there is no opting out despite your hurt feelings. Emotions can't get you far in ministry! It is the Lord's call, not yours. He will see you through! 

I was insulted by white brethren, disregarded by black brethren and demonized by coloured brethren as they call them in South Africa. You know, in those days I used to think there was something wrong with me; I focused too much on myself! I wondered why I really couldn't keep ministerial relationships. I thought I was a great guy beloved of everyone. I wanted parishioners to like me. I wanted my ministry validated by anyone and everyone. I was seeing nothing but myself. My eyes were on others and myself and never on the Lord. 

And that's a huge danger in ministry. There is a propensity for the minister to focus on everyone else and himself or herself but the Lord. That's the perfect set up for hurts and failure. 

One of my favours scriptures that I discovered in those days is Psalms 16 and verse 8. It reads; 

"I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." 

Were I to do it over again, I would subscribe to this singular verse. I would set my gaze on the Lord; I would see Him and not myself and certainly I would not see people. 

I would gladly surrender to this cruciform path of ministry and be crucified on my own cross in order to bring salvation to those the Lord had sent me.

There is no crown without a cross. 

Many go into ministry for crossless crowns only to find out to their dismay that they can't bypass divine processes. The cross is the only way God can subdue His minister. It was exactly what He used to subject our Messiah to His will. The cross was not primarily to destroy Satan and his cohorts. But, it was ultimately to subject the Son to the Father's will. That's the beauty of the cross and it is what makes ministry powerful. The mantra of a real God-ordained ministry is this: 

"NOT MY WILL BUT THINE BE 

DONE OH LORD!"

Ministry is cruciform. It is planned planned by God to cruficfy the minister so that he or she can qualify as a suffering Savior. We become like the One who called us! Crushed ministers are God's finest servants. By the way, only crushed olives can cause the oil to flow. Only broken vessels can leak the anointing. Now I understand what Paul meant when he said he bore on his body he marks of our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 6:17). 

 Doing ministry in America took the cross to a different level. The final nails on the coffin of my flesh and selfdom were driven in. It was a Golgotha of church abuse unlike any other. Again it comes with the territory. God allowed people to ride rough shod over me, deride me, insult me, belittle me and sell me at a terribly discounted price. Still wanna be a minister? Absolutely! Bleeding, ministering, blessing yet hurting on the inside! It is called turning our miseries into ministries! That's the way God turns your mourning into dancing. 

To reiterate my point, NEVER TAKE HAPPENSSTANCES IN MINISTRY PERSONALLY. It is the Lord's work, not yours. So, again, it comes with the territory. If not you, then who? You know sometimes we say "Why me?" The real question is "Why not you especially if you're called?" God is trying to take you down to bring you right back up. He is rooting your life in the soil of adversities in order for you to learn to add verses fromScripture  into your life! He is trying to diminish your flesh but maximize your spirit. 

 The worst thing you can do is to remain wounded, broken, beaten, hurt and devastated. That's the wrong approach. GIVE IT ALL TO THE LORD. Let Him wound you to heal you. Let Him kill you to make you alive!!! Learn the lessons and stop counting your losses. Learn how you have changed and where you need to change more. BE QUICK TO FORGIVE that is if you still plan to go all the way with God. Get healed quickly. Grow your spirit. Fast a little more. TURN TO GOD... 

Stop the vicious cycle of being hurt by people and hurting people. BE HEALED QUICKLY. Let the liquid love of God break every piece of flesh in you. GROW IN THE SPIRIT. YOU ARE CALLED!!! 

Big lesson I've learned over the years: DRAW NEAR TO GOD ... NEVER TO PEOPLE! Don't get me wrong! LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE... but DRAW CLOSE ONLY TO GOD!!! 

"But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men," (John 2:24). 

The biggest mistake you'll ever make in ministry is to become a "Man or Woman of the People." If you are closer to people than God, people will hurt you and leave you and then you're really left with nothing. But if you draw closer to God, even if people hurt you, you are so close to God to rise up quickly in forgiveness. My fellow minister in this glorious kingdom Gospel, go beyond healing to wholeness in ministry. 

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. 5:23). 

ONLY THE WHOLE CAN BRING WHOLENESS TO OTHERS. ONLY THE SAVED CAN BRING SALVATION (Obadiah 1:21). ONLY THE HEALED CAN BRING HEALING. Ministry is the impartation of spirits. You impart the spirit you are nursing at any given time. This will be communicated through your ministry whether preaching, teaching, leading worship, ushering, what have you! Never make the mistake of ministering with a broken heart or wounded spirit. It will show! BE HEALED FIRST! 

Joshua 5:8 "And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole."

NOTE:
1) The Lord allows us to go through one form of "circumcision" or the other to bring us wholeness.
2) Ministers, more than others ought to embrace this as their lot. The Lord uses adversities as opportunities to add verses to the lives of His ministers.
3) We cannot add value to the lives of others until we wait upon the Lord for our season of healing. Only then, can we GO FOR HIM! 

The true test of ministry is found in whether you end up being a bitter person or a better person. Only the latter can continue to serve God and serve others effectively.  ***WE MUST BE PERFECT EVEN IN SUFFERING*** 

God has called us to be solutions and not problems. If you are truly called of God you will love people to submission just has God has loved you with an everlasting love! There are absolutely no shortcuts to the Gospel ministry. The road is narrow and few there be who are found on this road! 

"GOD'S MINISTERS ARE SATISFIED SUFFERING SAVIORS"

God Hates Yeast And Honey Part 2

 

Continued from last blog:

The Bible clearly says; 

“For he knew not what to say; for they were sore afraid.” (Mark 9:5-6). 

This is Peter running his mouth here in the middle of a mighty divine visitation. It is possible that through running our mouths we can lose God's might moves amongst His people. Recently, I have watched video snippets of a preacher who has been mightily blessed of God in the last few years in his ministry. But, there is too much HONEY in his mouth. He is all over the place saying things that are very controversial, speaking death to government officials and his enemies. I say his anointing has been contaminated by the sin of honey. The pride that's pouring out of his mouth is unprecedented. You can tell this man is losing God. 

Words said anyway without knowing what to say anyhow, are utterly useless for conveying no sense of reason at all. That’s what most of us do in God’s presence. We are so full of words, yet we barely know what to say. That’s the “honey” that God hates.

Honey is clearly symbolic of words spoken without reason, words spoken in haste, religious words spoken to fill up unusual silences caused by our carnality. They are words that try to usurp God’s authority because they replace what He would have said to us had we not interfered. They are boastful words spoken unknowingly in pride, giving away the impression that we can do something for God in our own strength. “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things…” (James 3:5).

So there goes your “yeast” and “honey,” which are not meant to be included in God’s food-stuff. God wants no artificial flavors added to His dinner. BOGUS AND OUTLANDISH WORSHIP filled with the yeast of hypocrisy and the honey of rash words, must be eradicated from our churches today if we must satisfy God’s greatest desire for palatable worship.

God is sovereign. Let's treat Him like the King He is. Let's be extravagant with our worship. Let's fill the table of our devotion assorted delicacies of worship that will bless His heart. LET US OFFER PALATABLE WORSHIP. Let's give Him the sumptuous meal of holy sacrificial worship. Let us prepare our worship wholeheartedly and offer Him the king-size worship that He deserves.

Even my mama knew better that the way to my father's heart was his stomach. O my God, did my mama cook for my papa and he spoiled her in return. I mean, he went to town and did stuff for that woman of blessed memory. Trust mama, she CAPITALIZED ON IT. But then, she was genuinely in love with papa and her way of showing it was to give him the best of meals there was. Everyday at our house smelled good, it was always Christmas and thanksgiving all rolled together all because of a woman's love for her darling husband.

HOW MUCH MORE GOD!

Now, we do not worship because of what we hope to get from God, but the truth is, WE CANNOT HELP BEING BLESSED IF WE WORSHIP GOD...Worship is God's food. Let's cook it properly on the stove of His Word and grill the meat of our affection for His enjoyment! WE ARE GOD'S CHEFS! We are the preparers of His satisfaction and the providers of His delicacies. But let's make sure we DO NOT SERVE HIM honey or yeast in our worship. Let our worship be pure without any such additives. 

Read more in Book Two of "Shaping the Worth of God: Open Worship." 

THE INGREDIENTS OF WORSHIP

 

SPICES OF WORSHIP

The book of Leviticus introduces us into heaven’s cuisine like no other book in Scripture does. Direct revelation is the substance of this pivotal book. It encapsulates worship like no other book in the Bible does.

The recurrent phrase in Leviticus is; “And the LORD spake unto Moses saying…” Leviticus is the book of direct revelation. It presents worship as the underlying current of the Word of God. Everything we read in the Bible pertaining to worship is as a result of direct communication between God and the recipients of His Words. Worship is reported speech and revealed act.

Clearly, the ingredients of worship from our main text are, “fine flour,” “oil” and “frankincense.” The purpose of preparing any dish is for it to be palatable. Thus, in order to achieve your purpose, you must strictly apply the exact ingredients and hope for the best savory delicacy from your culinary efforts.

I'll try explaining this from an African perspective.

A LESSON FROM AFRICAN CUISINE
African cuisine boasts “a thousand and one” soups with their varied ingredients and spices. To miss one item on the list of ingredients is to miss the entire flavor one intends to create. There is a special dish prepared by our people in West Africa called banga soup, because it is derived from the ripe palm-kernel fruit that is naturally dyed with the matching red and black colors of the magical African sunset.

The shinning crimson palm oil is extracted by crushing and squeezing the palm kernel fruit and pouring it into a special clay pot created exclusively for this purpose. It is then mixed with assorted seafood including several “time-honored” spices, and cooked on raw firewood (you cannot microwave your way through to banga soup), which gives it that unique banga taste.

To prepare this kind of soup some other way would undermine the banga spices that are believed to be created by God for this West African delicacy. Worship is prepared the same way. The right ingredients – “fine flour,” “oil” and “frankincense” – give it its proper taste, which makes it toothsome to God. I'll talk about these ingredients in subsequent blogs.

THE SPICES OF WORSHIP

 

 

WORSHIP IS GOD'S FOOD!
GOD THRIVES ON IT!

It was revealed to me earlier on in my worship career that worship is the shaping of the worth of God. I have remained faithful to this definition in all my works and do stand by it in this blog as well. I believe that the shaping of the worth of God is done for God and God alone. It is for His exclusive delight as the symbolic ingredients of worship shows in Leviticus 2:1.

The revelation of worship as God’s food is perhaps one of the greatest significance of the worship scheme given to Israel by God for the benefit of the New Testament Church of God in Christ. There is a unique theme of human supply of divine enjoyment scattered throughout Scripture.

THE INGREDIENTS OF WORSHIP
Without the fulfillment found in the New Testament, of all the Old Testament types of sacrificial offerings, one would have thought that Levitical worship was one big dinner party and God is the only One invited to dine. One could conceive of worship as God’s food, indeed His nourishment, and it is! Someone once said; ‘God loves the smell of roasted flesh.’ Well, let truth be told; God enjoys the flavor of the worship of His people when the right recipes are used. That’s why He relished all those hot offerings which were cooked to perfection in Calvary’s pot.

BROKENNESS, THE GREATEST INGREDIENT IN WORSHIP
Worship is the concoction of all that pleases God and meets the divine requirements for the shaping of His worth. “And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon.”(Leviticus 2:1).

If worship is God’s food, then it must be palatable to God. Just as every meal or cuisine is made up of vital ingredients, so worship consists of essential ingredients. What is an ingredient? It is a component part of any combination or mixture.

READ ON ... in other blogs... See especially INGREDIENTS OF WORSHIP... 

God Hates Yeast And Honey Part 2

 

Continued from last blog:

The Bible clearly says; 

“For he knew not what to say; for they were sore afraid.” (Mark 9:5-6). 

This is Peter running his mouth here in the middle of a mighty divine visitation. It is possible that through running our mouths we can lose God's might moves amongst His people. Recently, I have watched video snippets of a preacher who has been mightily blessed of God in the last few years in his ministry. But, there is too much HONEY in his mouth. He is all over the place saying things that are very controversial, speaking death to government officials and his enemies. I say his anointing has been contaminated by the sin of honey. The pride that's pouring out of his mouth is unprecedented. You can tell this man is losing God. 

Words said anyway without knowing what to say anyhow, are utterly useless for conveying no sense of reason at all. That’s what most of us do in God’s presence. We are so full of words, yet we barely know what to say. That’s the “honey” that God hates.

Honey is clearly symbolic of words spoken without reason, words spoken in haste, religious words spoken to fill up unusual silences caused by our carnality. They are words that try to usurp God’s authority because they replace what He would have said to us had we not interfered. They are boastful words spoken unknowingly in pride, giving away the impression that we can do something for God in our own strength. “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things…” (James 3:5).

So there goes your “yeast” and “honey,” which are not meant to be included in God’s food-stuff. God wants no artificial flavors added to His dinner. BOGUS AND OUTLANDISH WORSHIP filled with the yeast of hypocrisy and the honey of rash words, must be eradicated from our churches today if we must satisfy God’s greatest desire for palatable worship.

God is sovereign. Let's treat Him like the King He is. Let's be extravagant with our worship. Let's fill the table of our devotion assorted delicacies of worship that will bless His heart. LET US OFFER PALATABLE WORSHIP. Let's give Him the sumptuous meal of holy sacrificial worship. Let us prepare our worship wholeheartedly and offer Him the king-size worship that He deserves.

Even my mama knew better that the way to my father's heart was his stomach. O my God, did my mama cook for my papa and he spoiled her in return. I mean, he went to town and did stuff for that woman of blessed memory. Trust mama, she CAPITALIZED ON IT. But then, she was genuinely in love with papa and her way of showing it was to give him the best of meals there was. Everyday at our house smelled good, it was always Christmas and thanksgiving all rolled together all because of a woman's love for her darling husband.

HOW MUCH MORE GOD!

Now, we do not worship because of what we hope to get from God, but the truth is, WE CANNOT HELP BEING BLESSED IF WE WORSHIP GOD...Worship is God's food. Let's cook it properly on the stove of His Word and grill the meat of our affection for His enjoyment! WE ARE GOD'S CHEFS! We are the preparers of His satisfaction and the providers of His delicacies. But let's make sure we DO NOT SERVE HIM honey or yeast in our worship. Let our worship be pure without any such additives. 

Read more in Book Two of "Shaping the Worth of God: Open Worship." 

God Hates Yeast And Honey Part 1

 

 

“DO NOT USE YEAST IN ANY OF THE GRAIN OFFERINGS you present to the LORD, because NO YEAST OR HONEY may be burned as an offering to the Lord by fire.” (Leviticus 2:11; New Living Translation)

The passing verse makes it absolutely clear that God hates yeast and honey, because of what they symbolize in Scripture. In several Bible passages, ‘yeast’ or ‘leaven’ is used to symbolize evil or uncleanness. Consider the following passages;

“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he wasn‘t speaking about yeast or bread but about the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6,12; NLT).

“Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and crushing each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them to, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees- beware of their hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1; NLT).

“…Don’t you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected? Remove this wicked person from among you so that you can stay pure. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not by eating the old bread of wickedness and evil, but by eating the new bread of purity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5: 6-8; NLT).

No one ever explained yeast or leaven like Jesus did. In the first two verses above, He warned His disciples to not only be aware of the false teachings of the religious leaders of the day, but also to be wary of their false practices. Of course, practice is a reflection of teaching or theory. Jesus summed it all up in one word – hypocrisy – feigning to be what one is not. Against this background therefore, we need to understand the import of yeast.

Yeast is what makes bread rise or swell. It doesn’t take a whole lot of it to accomplish that; it takes just a little to affect a whole bunch of dough. Jesus clearly used the analogy of yeast to present the example of how a small amount of evil can affect a group of people. Ditto for the Corinthian church, where the sin of fornication was rampant, hence the apostle called their attention to the fact that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” 

The New Living Translation makes Paul’s intention so clear, when he advised them to put away “this wicked person” (obviously, the fornicator); otherwise just like yeast makes bread rise, so the sin of fornication would spread in that local assembly. As believers and especially worshippers, we must not play with the yeast of sin. It causss the flesh to rise above the flesh and makes the spirit subject to the influence of carnality. No worship can rise up from a life puffed up by the pride of sin. 

Honey does not enjoy as much coverage in the Bible as yeast. However, it carries the same weight for it being rejected by God for inclusion in the grain offering,  symbolic of our worship. Honey, like yeast needs just a little for whatever purpose it is used for. Apart from the fact that it is too sweet, lots of it upset the stomach. I have a honey-tale to share with you. The year in question I believe was 1981 over 33 years ago. We were invited to perform at the Lagos City Hall. My group's name was Gladd Tidings. It was the launching of Dr. Tunde Joda's Christ Chapel International Church (CICC). Cut a long story short, somebody told us honey was good for the voice and I especially went to town downing bottles of honey into my rather fragile stomach. My entrails were so upset that I caught dysentery right away. I was shuttling between our waiting section and the toilets. It wass awful. I don't even know how I mangaged to minister with my group that unforgettable day. I did but I displayed all kinds of dance moves that were spurred on more by honey than the Holy Ghost. You get the gist. That's why to this day I hate honey! 

Honey is sweet but theorin lies the danger. Sin is "sweet" but it is destructive. Proverbs 25:16 says "If you find honey, eat only what you need; otherwise, you'll get sick from it and vomit." The New Living Trabsaltion says: "Do you like honey? Don't eat too much, or it will make you sick." The similarities with sin are very striking. Sin is "sweet" to the flesh but it is destructive to the spirit. Sin is the cause of many spiritual illnesses--prayerlessness, lack of passion for the word, lack of desire for spiritual hugs generally etc. 

Honey is symbolic of the sweetness of the words of our mouth without any lack of commitment. We say whatever it is we want to say without meaning it, especially during times of worship. We are warned to approach God with very few words, as a result. Our sugarcoated words are nothing but sacrifices of fools.

“Keep thy foot when thou goest go the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon the earth: therefore let thy words be few.”(Ecclesiastes 5:1-2). 

We are commanded to be few of words in God’s presence. We are to listen more than we speak. The reason why we are full of words is made very clear in this passage. We are of a hasty heart, impatient to wait upon God to overwhelm us with His great presence. Peter, like many of us, was guilty of this folly. Up on top of the mountain of transfiguration with the Lord Jesus Christ with Moses and Elijah in attendance, the “iron and steel” disciple “ran” his mouth by promising to build three tabernacles, suggesting that it was good for them to be transfixed by that experience. 

Yeast and honey are far from God's idea of the divine ingredients of worship. We must hate what God hates with every fiber of our being. Worship is about pleasing God. If you are going to worship acceptably you must remove yeast and honey form your worship. 

"... NO YEAST OR HONEY may be burned as an offering to the Lord by fire.” (Leviticus 2:11).

See next blog for conclusion.