Praise (Part 1)

I still remember an emotionally-charged service that took place over 45 years ago, an experience that “lifted me into heavenly places!”  Why?  Because I saw the Holy Spirit overhaul a brokenhearted woman before my very eyes!

I was at Eastside Assembly of God in Springfield, Missouri.  The service was progressing nicely and the Holy Spirit was moving powerfully.  A spirit of praise swept across the 200-plus people in attendance that day; and it seemed the crowd meshed into one. It was one of those services where non-participants were very much in the minority, and the majority present was caught up in loud corporate praise.  It was heaven on earth!  Pastor Bob Smith knelt on the stage, pouring out his heart with tears cascading down his face.

Seated behind me, a searching woman experienced a complete emotional breakthrough -- she came brokenhearted.  She poured her soul out like sweet perfume from the alabaster bottle.  I could not help but weep with her, as a spirit of intercession invaded the atmosphere.  The musicians played, not concerned about performance.  It was a time of “soaking in His presence.”  

In those moments, I heard this dear woman move from broken-heartedness to joy-filled weeping.  Surely, she WAS YET ANOTHER woman, who sat at the feet of Jesus, and poured out her purest praise from a heart that was heavy. And she too was transformed!  

I thought about the woman whose story is found in Luke 7:37-38.  “And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner and when she learned that He (Jesus) was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.”

This precious lady also exchanged her ashes for beauty!  She “put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isaiah 63:1). I was blessed as I beheld her transformation. A beautiful butterfly broke loose from its cocoon and took flight!

If I may, allow me to draw some “teachable moments” from that experience:

1. Jesus lives in the praises of His people.  

2. Praise is “becoming to the upright” (Psalm 33:1).  This phrase is used to describe clothing.  In other words, it’s what we “should look like, how we should dress!” Praise adorns! The lady mentioned in the above Scripture perfumed the feet of Jesus with her praise.  She was never more beautiful!

3. Audible praise loosens inhibitions and releases power.  Audible praise builds a conduit from earth to the Throne of God. “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  

4. Praise should flow out of brokenness and genuine love for the Master, not performance-driven ingenuity.  Corporate worship is more than rehearsed song lists.  Regardless of music genres and specific songs, it provides opportunities for God’s people to enter Into His life-giving presence.

But here’s the bottom line:  Genuine worship does not give attention-seekers the green light to distract other worshipers.  Corporate worship means just that:  Everyone entering in!  Spirit-filled worship is known for its “flow aspect.”  It should crescendo with both highs and lows.  “Out of your belly (emotions) shall FLOW rivers of living water” (John 7:38).  Worship that doesn’t affect our emotions becomes rote and lifeless.  By the same token, praise to the Lord cannot be weighed by our emotions, but it certainly often rides on the waves of emotion!  When our Holy God -- the Spirit of holiness -- shows up, emotions are going to be impacted.  The woman in John 7 becomes “Exhibit A.”  We are spirit and soul -- mind, will and EMOTIONS -- housed in flesh!

To be sure, quiet praise has its place.  There are definitely times to be still (quiet) -- (Psalm 46:10).  On the other hand, I often hear, “I’m a quiet person.   Loud praise goes against my personality.”  My friend, praise has nothing to do with personality; it is a command from the Psalms and other places. 

Next week, I’m going to discuss seven Hebrew words that describe worship expressions, taken from the books of Psalms and Isaiah.  Then, I’m going to demonstrate why genuine worship services have to be conducted decently and in order for all in attendance to receive from the Lord.  

Intimacy Versus Control

You cannot be intimate with anyone you have to control. 

The need to control automatically eliminates any chances for long-term, meaningful relationships.  Many control freaks have no clue as to why they leave behind a trail of broken relationships.  The need to control stems from broken places in our soul that inadvertently sees control as self-preservation. They say to themselves, “If I control, I don’t get hurt,” or “If I control, I get what I want.”  Our sinful pride is a fierce contender!

You may say, “I have the right to express my opinions.  I don’t care what anyone thinks.”  That’s okay, as long  you understand that such an attitude will keep you from having sustainable friendships. No one likes to be around those who always demand their way, or who feel it’s their right to express their views, even at the expense of broken relationships or hurt feelings.  Life is a “give and take” proposition that finds some of its greatest rewards in respecting others.  I’ve heard it said for years that “opinions are a dime a dozen.”  I usually add this phrase:  “And most of them aren’t worth that much!” 

The only ONE who can control you and produce intimacy is the Holy Spirit!  As a matter of fact, the more control you give Him, the more you feel loved and cherished! 

What’s the difference?  God did not design any relationship on earth to be based on unreasonable control that attempts to hold other’s captive.  

Have you ever wondered why it’s typically hard to be best friends with your boss?  Because being a boss predicates being the one in control.  Going off the clock doesn’t nullify this “after hours” reality!

Why do friends and even family members fall out over lending money, or working together in business ventures?  Because money IS perceived control.    Many wonderful relationships have gone sour because  of control issues relating to money. The fallen nature seeks control, and projects itself to gain advantage.  I’ve discouraged church businessmen from hiring their church friends for the reasons I’ve discussed.  Money is never a great equalizer; it always strives to divide and conquer!  This is one reason why we tithe our income.  Every time we give, we are reminded that it’s not ours anyway!  Not just ten-percent, but all we possess belongs to God!  

Control is a multi-faceted part of life that brings with it man’s innate drive to be right and to self-preserve.  Both men and women resort to “fight over flight” when their soul is threatened by a controlling party.  

Two children playing in a sandbox with equal access to the same toys will usually get along fine.  Add a third child and control issues escalate quickly -- the unspoken fight for control always spawns competition.  Abraham Lincoln one day was asked why his boys were displaying temper tantrums.  He replied, “I have three apples and both boys want two!”  

A man/husband/dad might control other men/his wife/his children with brute force and a harsh tone.  He may get his desired results, but he will never enjoy any degree of intimacy with those significant to him.  Their relationships will be shallow at best; and even non-existent in the long run.  A lot of controlling people spend their latter years isolated and lonely because they used control tactics to maneuver their loved ones and friends.  We all know someone like that.  Physical and emotional  control leaves the perpetrator friendless and empty.  And authority without mutual respect and responsibility puts any relationship on the ash heap.   

A man may have sex with his wife, but if he lacks intimacy outside the bedroom, he may never experience the true beauty of love making.  If the relationship is characterized by fear and control, that man will settle for an animal level of coupling. Over time, the wife will lose heart.  A Christian counselor told a harsh and controlling husband, “If you will make your wife feel like a queen during the day, she’ll crown you king at night!”

Why do we feel we have to “be in control?”  Because control places us in a false comfort zone.  Tyrants may rule for a season, but there will come a day when “those under” will stage a coup.  Mental and emotional suppression often ends with physical overthrow.  The Menendez brothers, Lyle and Erik, murdered their wealthy parents in 1989 after years of alleged physical, emotional and sexual abuse they suffered, especially on the part of their controlling father. Unreasonable, life-altering control never ends on a happy note. In this tragic case, two brothers are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole.  The end result of “out of control” living is  staggering!

I often encounter parents who live with the reality of kids who practice social distancing in their adult years.  “After all we did for those kids,” remains their constant outcry. If somehow they could understand that control is not discipline; and the lack of affection, mutual love and respect, always leads to strained relationships.  Remember, we cannot be intimate with who or what we have to control.

That’s why we must give the control mechanisms in our lives over to the Holy Spirit.  He alone can satisfy the inner longings of the soul.  He alone satisfies the innate drive of our life to be significant and “to matter.”  And the more control we give Him, the more personal fulfillment and meaning we discover!  He is love personified!

Control issues surrendered to the Holy Spirit become attractive centerpieces for those who yield to the Spirit’s control.  We love to be around people who lead by humble example and a “broken and contrite spirit” (Psalm 51:17).    Such individuals will never run short of loving, caring people around them. Humility attracts; control repels.  

The Holy Spirit takes our need to control and replaces it with a secure identity that downplays the right to express personal opinions, and highlights the beauty of mutually satisfying interpersonal relationships.  Give the Spirit control in your life today.  Watch as He brings unspeakable joy into all of your vital relationships. 

Mother Flower

I pastored five Assembly of God churches before I came back to Jefferson in 2017 to co-pastor Hope Community Church with my wife, Lori.  Both of us have deep roots in the Assemblies of God.  This Pentecostal fellowship was formed in 1914 in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  God was so good to allow us to come to faith in Christ through the auspices of the Assemblies of God; and then later to prepare for ministry.  

Lori and I met at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, headquarters city of the Assemblies of God.  We were privileged during our four years in college to meet some of God’s choicest saints, forerunners in the Pentecostal movement -- most who were elderly.  

One of the highlights of my journalistic training came one day in I978 when I interviewed the Rev. Thomas Zimmerman, General Superintendent from 1959-1985. He certainly was a Gospel great!  During my sophomore year, I had the privilege of being an intern in the Radio and TV Department at headquarters.  I remember editing sermons for Dr. C.M. Ward, renowned “Revivaltime” radio speaker,  He was truly a character!   

On another occasion I was honored to visit the home of Mrs. Alice Reynolds Flower.  Affectionately known as “Mother Flower,” she and her husband, J.Roswell Flower served the Assemblies of God in several capacities with great distinction. The Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center in Springfield, was of course established in their honor. Located in the Assemblies of God World Headquarters, it contains the world’s largest Pentecostal archives.   

 

Daily chapel attendance was mandatory at Evangel University.  We were allowed a certain number of cuts throughout each semester and admittedly, I always used my quota!  During the spring of 1975 one of the guys in the dorm announced that “some older lady” was speaking in chapel.  While still lying in my warm bed, I immediately made plans to use one of my cuts!

“But God…” (Ephesians 2:4).  The Holy Spirit quickly began dealing with my attitude.  Conviction eventually landed me on the second row in that old chapel.  Alice Reynolds Flower spoke that morning.  At 85, she was articulate and wonderfully anointed. This precious saint of God took her text from Romans 11:33-36, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out?  Who has known the mind of the Lord?  Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?  For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be glory forever!  Amen.”

I was captured by the love that emanated from her.  She said, “God is not as interested in our ability as He is our availability and expendability.”  I sat there spellbound as she rendered a heartfelt challenge to expend our lives for God.  This occurred at the end of my freshman year.  

During my sophomore year I joined a team that ministered to residents of a local nursing home on Thursday evenings.  Study time was precious, so some weeks it was tempting to excuse myself.  Such was the case one Thursday until I learned that we had been invited to the home of Alice Reynolds Flower.  I dropped everything to go!  Nothing would deter me from such a grand opportunity.

Five of us spent two glorious hours at the feet of Mother Flower.  Story after story captivated us, as the presence of the Lord filled her living room. Her home was filled with furniture, gifts and artifacts collected from 70 years of ministry. Heaven kissed us as we sang, and Mother Flower closed in prayer.  

Before we left, she called  each one of us to her side for prayer.  She held my hand.  Love personified looked into my eyes and said, “Precious son, let your life be a symphony of praise to Jesus.  Follow Him with your whole heart.  Look not to the left or the right.  Delight yourself in Him and He will grant you the desires of your heart.”  

I thank God for granting me an audience with this great lady of faith.  I wept when I learned this great Pentecostal legend went to heaven in 1991 at 100 years old.  My tears were not tears of sorrow, but of joy for having had the privilege of meeting her.  Alice Reynolds Flower affected the lives of countless numbers of people, spanning ten decades.  My life was personally impacted when feeble hands and a kind heart reached out to me from a wheelchair!

God Moves in Seasons

What God does is always purpose-driven.  He moves in seasons!  And I’m not referring to Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter.  God’s seasons always coincide with what He’s doing on the earth.  It seems that God brings necessary re-emphasis when and where it’s needed.  The Church at large has a tendency to negate or at least minimize “the whole counsel of God.”  Heavenly reminders continue to make history “His story!”

Because heaven continues to have a vested interest in the souls of men, God continually introduces new methods to propagate the Gospel, and to reinforce what Jesus Christ purchased by His death and resurrection.  AND I BELIEVE WITH STRONG  CONVICTION THAT GOD’S INTENDED AND ON-GOING AGENCY TO WIN THE LOST AND SUBSEQUENTLY DISCIPLE NEW BELIEVERS STILL REMAINS THE LOCAL CHURCH.  

Although He uses parachurch and specific ministries to reach millions, His heart still yearns to see local churches complement, not compete with what He does on a much larger scale.  For example, Billy Graham always used local church volunteers to work alongside him during his great crusades.  Then, after each crusade ended, he funneled all new converts into local churches.  

I remember while raising our children, I had to every so often sit them down and reiterate house protocol, as familial guidelines tend to slip over time.  God does that for His children, too.  Why?  Calvary entitles us to share God’s fullness on the earth.  And often He has to send us reminders!  

Let me share a reminder of those things that God has rekindled in just the American Church over the past 200 years.  This is not a comprehensive list, but it does illustrate the fact that God constantly sends reminders to we, who forget our “inheritance in the saints.” 

Obviously, whatever God brings to the earth never operates on a “stop-start basis,” but rather overlaps one another.  While the message remains “Christ and Him crucified,” methods evolve.  

And all that God institutes on the earth is designed to strengthen and build the local church.  A precursory look at the book of Acts and later, Paul’s epistles to the various churches, supports the idea that whatever God does on the earth, He funnels through the local church and desires that churches everywhere glean from the heavenly fall-out. Let’s begin, as much as possible, in a chronological fashion that takes us back to the 1800’s.  Consider these “Reminders:”

1. Holiness Movement

2. Revivalistic Movement 

3. Pentecostal Movement

4. Healing Movement

5. Jesus Movement

6. Crusade Ministry -- Who comes first and foremost to mind when you think of crusade ministry?  Billy Graham, of course.  

7. Evangelistic Crusades (extended revivals)

8. Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International

9. Women’s Aglow

10. Teaching Movement

11. Charismatic Renewal

12. Prosperity Movement

13. Prophetic Movement

14. River Movement

15. Tele-Evangelists

16. Promise Keepers

17. Pensacola Outpouring

18. Mega-Church Movement

19. Home Church  Movement

Perhaps in a future blog I will elaborate on God’s purpose for each new “reminder.”  But for today, remember that heaven works feverishly to bring “sons and daughters into glory.”  I came to Christ in 1970, in the middle of a “salvation wave.”  Later, around 1992, I heard the late Norvel Hayes say, “Over seventy-percent of ministers preaching the Gospel today were saved during the 70’s.”

I am part of that statistic and how I praise the Lord that I responded to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit during those years.  That was my turning-point season!