Worship

“When I Lock Eyes With You” by Maverick City Music and UPPERROOM

Scripture

“O Lord , in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” -Psalm 5:3 (ESV)

Scripture’s Teaching on True Worship

Are you ready for December? I feel a drum beat of anticipation and worship rising. Let’s begin this Christmas season of wonder and expectation by sitting before the Lord with our hands wide open, our gaze fixed and our hearts positioned. We can see the finish line of 2021 just ahead of us. Will you ask the Lord with me, “What else do you have for me in these next 30 days?” I have been longing for Jesus these past couple of weeks in a whole new way that hasn’t felt the same as before. He’s rustling the nest of my heart. I believe, with everything I am, that what is coming to the people of God is a new fear of the Lord and a new depth of worship.

According to Strong’s Concordance, the word “expectantly” means to look out or about, spy, keep watch, observe, watch, or watch closely. It denotes leaning forward, to peer into the distance. As believers, we wait with faithful expectation for God to work according to His perfect will and timing.

The word that has been in my Spirit for the last few years is the word “wonder,” along with this passage from Isaiah:

“And the Lord said: ‘Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.'” -Isaiah 29:13-14 (ESV)

I believe that God is releasing a new wave across the Earth, especially as it pertains to His Bride. This wave is a holy fear of the Lord. It’s not about Him being angry with us, but rather about consecration and holiness and purity for the people of God. When I was sitting with Him, these are the words I penned in my journal:

A fear of the Lord is being established in the hearts of My people. It is what I am doing, not as a result of the forces of darkness. My people need this because they are floundering. They have been taught to trust and believe a very small God. How do you trust a God who has been minimized to humanity? I will change their perceptions. They need to know who I really am and that they can trust Me. I am good, and My love endures forever! But, I also mean what I say. Christianity isn’t some kind of game or social group; it is a life of intimacy with Me, the God of the universe. The church has made Me so small. I am He, and there is no other. I will not be mocked. I will not be silent or silenced in the Earth. My roar will be heard, and My people will respond in worship. Do not fear the terror of day. Fear the Lord and His power! Receive the gift of the fear of the Lord as it covers the Earth like a blanket. Fear the Lord, all you people! The fear of the Lord will cover the Earth like a canopy. It is coming. Prepare your heart to receive it. Open your hands, and I will deposit it deep inside of you like a gift from Me. It will transform My people and set them free from their prison of small thinking.

God, touch our lives with a reverence and an awe and a fear of the Lord in this hour!

Mary’s Example of Humble Reverence

“And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”” – Luke 1:46-55 (ESV)

As a simple servant girl was called by her Father, encountered by the Holy Spirit, and called to carry Jesus within her womb, her offering to Him was humility and her yes. He came and overshadowed her. Can you even imagine the fear of the Lord that she walked in, gifted by Him, as Heaven touched Earth? She didn’t have to muster it in her flesh because she knew exactly who she had believed and that nothing was impossible with God!

A Personal Journey of God’s Faithfulness

We come to this season of expectation when this whole year has been shaken. God will confound the wisdom of the Earth and those who confess Him with only empty words. He will forever be a God of wonder! He will forever be the God who moves ahead of us to make level ground and open prison doors. He does not want us stuck in small thinking or held in captivity. He died so we could encounter Him in every moment and in every detail of our lives. Just like the worship song we sang, “Come in like a fire; come in like a flood. I don’t care what it looks like; I’m so in love.” No more being held imprisoned in small thinking, in Jesus’ name!

God has not forgotten us in this mountainous climb through 2020 and 2021. Have you caught His tender gaze? His grace is sufficiently carrying us, but He has more for us. He has a summit ahead for you that will mark you forever. But it begins and ends with Him. Do you remember where you were when He first called you to Himself? He was intimate and wooing. And He still is. But He also wants to take us deeper and deeper into holiness and purity, where our lives are so consumed with only Him. Mary didn’t mind the ridicule from Nazareth because she had an encounter that made her ready for the sacrifice. The fear of the Lord that God is wanting to deposit in His people will be a gift to us. The places in our heart that need a reset or an uprooting will be overwhelmed with who He is. It’s good and right. What needs to stay will grow and flourish and thrive. What needs to go will go by His grace. “Holy Fire, burn, … ‘til all that’s left is you.”

The Biblical Portrait of God’s Pursuing Love

Let this encounter from Song of Solomon give you an explicit picture of His pursuing love for you. He will come with passion, and He comes with invitation to you today.

“I slept, but my heart was awake. A sound! My beloved is knocking. “Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is wet with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.”” -Song of Solomon 5:2 (ESV)

A Prayer for Growing in Biblical Reverence

Sisters, it’s time to hold nothing back as we summit 2021. Let Him carry you and speak tenderly to you today. Withhold nothing as He searches your heart. This gift of a fear of the Lord is holy and is coming to those with longing to receive it. It’s our new beginning. It’s our wisdom for 2022. It’s our place of refuge and belonging.

Father, I pray for Your daughters today. Make us ready to receive a greater depth of knowledge and calling to fear the Lord as daughters and saints. I pray for humility and surrender to open wide our hands and our mouths that You would fill us with a glorious declaration of who You are! Anoint these ones with eyes to see Your tender gaze and wondrous love for them this Christmas season. Undo them this December, Jesus. Completely undo them so that this becomes a month of worship and awe and wonder, in the glorious name of Jesus!

A Few Key Notes

• Today, December 1, Christina McCracken will kick off this month with a revival message from 12-1 p.m. CST. You won’t want to miss it!
  Hannukah: An Hour of Rededication: Your Life An Altar to God
  Join our Zoom Meeting by clicking here!
  Meeting ID: 847 2893 6332
• Join us for a time of prayer from 2:30-3 p.m. on Wednesdays beginning today through December 15. We will hear from a sister working in one of the hardest to reach places and learn about her ministry. Email Allison Despres at [email protected] for a Zoom link.
• We only have $8,000 left to raise in our $50,000 match to expand the Arise movement into 70 cities in 2022. You can give to the Arise match now through December 31.
• On January 8, we will be going to Houston to reach out to those from the Middle East. Email Allison Despres at [email protected] for more details or to RSVP.
• Waco Harvest Weekend is this Saturday! Contact Kristin Hill at [email protected] for more information.