http://www.janemorin.com, worship leader, revival music, music evangelists, prophetic worship
 
What is clogging the veins in your heart?

I have heard this scripture preached, sung, spoken, and I’ve read it several times through the years. I would hate to say that I have become desensitized to it, thinking that I know right where my treasure is, but do I? Do you? Or are  you experiencing spiritual arteriosclerosis? Arteriosclerosis is a heart disease that causes hardening of the arteries in your heart and they become clogged and can cause death if not treated. Today I want to talk to you about spiritual arteriosclerosis or a hardening of heart.  What is clogging the spiritual pathways of your heart and  preventing you from putting God first in your life?

Where do you spend the largest amount of your time during the day? If you work outside of the home, let’s ask, “What do you do with the rest of your time?” I can pretty much tell you on any given day how my day begins, what I am doing  during the day and how it will end. Though life can be much more unpredictable than that, I have developed a routine in my earlier years that has sustained me through life’s unpredictable moments. My routine consists of prayer, bible  reading, meditation, and including God in every part of my day. 

Now I am not perfect, though it may seem I am disciplined and focused. The routine above, due to my schedule or other’s needs may vary in that order, but for the most part, these are things that are accomplished in my daily life.  What does your daily routine tell others about you?  Are you racing through life and throwing up a brief prayer or two hoping that God agrees with your plans?  If you keep running at such a pace, you might find yourself on spiritual life support, suffering from severe spiritual arteriosclerosis. When this happens your judgment is clouded by everything else in your
life what you have deemed your purpose in life is often the opposite of what you were created for. 

Just like you, I have other responsibilities, but the ones mentioned above are my priorities.  Let me ask you, “What  takes up the majority of your day?” If you already know, then that is where your treasure is and what your heart is following after?  You may need to make adjustments if you find less time to hear from God. If your life is clogged up with priorities that take you away from hearing His will for your life, you are in the red zone of spiritual arteriosclerosis, and headed for a major heart problem and possible death.  Jesus spoke frequently about the condition of the heart.  We all are different, but I do know this one truth; God must be the one treasure that we pursue if we want our heart to be right with Him.  God bless you!


 
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1 Corinthians 12:28  And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

I’ve been asked this many times by people who do not understand prophetic worship, and by others how they can develop it in their lives.   Prophetic worship is simply to  sing, speak or act under the influence of the Holy Spirit.  When one does such, it allows the character of God to come to light in us, and thus draws others to Him.   The fruit of such moments will reveal whether the Word that came forth is of the flesh or of the Spirit, meaning that is was divinely inspired. This is not something that is meant only for the charismatic churches; (though this gift has more freedom to produce fruit in that environment) it is intended for the entire Body of Christ.  By the way, I do not attend what some of you would call a charismatic church, but I have led worship in many of them.  So, as I am traveling and leading “After His Heart” worship events, I use these opportunities to educate, inspire and help others recognize their own prophetic worship gifts. Let me say this...that prophetic worship is not mysterious in anyway. 

John 4: 23 says, “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship
Him.” 

The spirit is about what the Spirit is saying, and the truth is about what God’s Word says.  It comes down to three basic things one must know:
 
1. Prophetic worship is not soothsaying or fortune telling.   It is having a total dependence on the Word of God (knowing what He says) and being able to apply it when needed in
your life.  It is also having a keen knowledge of what God is saying to others around you.   This  knowledge comes from the Lord.  It must always be backed up by His WORD.  So in short, if you are not in the WORD of God, your prophetic worship will produce no fruit in His kingdom. 

2. Prayer is the key in hearing God’s voice and His Spirit when moving in prophetic worship.  If you have no prayer
life, how do you know His voice verses the enemy?  Prayer
is our vital line of communication between us and our Heavenly Father.  If you do not pray regularly and desire
to hear from the Lord, start now. He will give you the desire of your heart!

3.  If you believe God has called you into prophetic worship, practice prophetic worship. You can do this by surrounding yourself with people who do hear from God. When you sense God is speaking, speak or sing it out boldly, and let them
judge your fruit.  Prophetic worship can be developed if you have the gift of prophecy. Revelation 19:10 says, “For the
testimony of Jesus is in the spirit of prophecy.” Not all believers do, so do not beat your head against a brick wall
because you desire it to be so!  Remember our passage above in 1 Corinthians, “....God has set some in the church….” not all.  

I want to mention one more thing that is important if you desire to grow in your prophetic worship ministry. "Grow
a thick skin." Many a prophet is persecuted and misunderstood by those who have deaf ears and eyes that cannot see what the Spirit is saying.  If you are easily offended, prophetic worship will never arise within you. You will never be able to walk in forgiveness, and you will second guess the Spirit of God by what you see in the flesh. Know that you know what God is saying and walk therefore in integrity, not allowing the devil an inroad to your ministry. 

Prophetic Worship is nothing new, and some may even say it is unbiblical. I would have to agree that I have seen some use this gift inaccurately; as I have seen some abuse other spiritual gifts in the same manner. In every spiritual gift, there is a (fake) or a counterfeit created by the devil.  Be encouraged and do not be deceived brethren; if it is of God, no man will be able to stop what the Spirit is saying or revealing through you!


 
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But  Peter said, “Ananias, why did Satan fill your heart for you to lie to the Holy Spirit and to secretly keep back from the price of the land? Remaining, did it not remain yours? And being sold was it not in your authority? Why is it that this action was put into your heart? You did not lie to men, but to God!” And hearing these words, Ananias fell down and expired. And great fear came on all those hearing these things. Act 5:3-5  

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Today I have been playing catch up since I have been gone for about two weeks. It has been good to get back, see my husband and settle in for a few days before I am gone again.  

As a defender of the gospel and a worship servant it can be demanding at times, but the rewards are immensely gratifying. 

I have seen people recently catch the vision that God has given me regarding After His Heart Worship Events  and that is exciting. God is calling his people to be holy and in doing that our homes must be a haven for His very Presence to feel invited and to dwell. We must treat our bodies as holy, making sure that what we see, what we hear, what we say is what Christ himself would do in any situation. To some that is radical…but to others it is completely normal and essential if we call ourselves His child. 

I heard a sermon Sunday from a pastor saying “If we as Christians refuse to confront sin in others’ lives, who is going to do it? The sinner will not confront his own sin.” I about jumped out of my seat shouting "Hallelujah!"  Here stands before me a man not afraid to preach the gospel boldly and to approach God’s people with the truth of their spiritual condition. Churches today pat the sinner on the back; tell them they are doing a good job as they watch them go to hell. The politically correct church will not address sin and God forbid should they do anything like what is found in Acts 5 when Ananias and Saphirra sinned against the Holy Spirit thinking that their sin would not be found out. Peter confronted them and their sin boldly and their refusal to repent led to immediate death. If the church acted like the original church back then, the fold would be less sinful, and the Holy Spirit could move in signs and wonders and in the greatest of these----salvation.  Now I very well know that some of you are saying, ‘It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict people of their sin,” and I agree. But who do you think the Holy Spirit uses most of the time? Huh?

Others will say, "God is love and we must love others regardless of their spiritual condition." Proverbs 13:24 tells us that those who love their children, discipline them. The greatest form of love is to be truthful with people about their spiritual condition.

Listen, I am much like you. I do not like confrontation, but if it will redeem a dying soul I am all for it, regardless of the cost. I am grateful for those who have confronted me when I was walking the wrong way.  I am grateful for the “Peter’s” in my life that have spoken out blatantly and warned me.  Oh, I may have run from such correction in the past, but as we mature in the Lord, our heart’s desire must be to run to His correction.

Learning how to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth starts in our homes.  It does not start in the pew, or in the car listening to Christian radio, but at home where the real person must confront real sin. Can others tell that you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, or are you blending into the worlds’ backdrop? If you are blending in your spiritual condition may be much like Ananias and Saphirra. It is a choice, and you can choose life or death. I pray you choose life!

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""But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the
  Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His
  worshipers." John 4:23
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The best worship service I  have ever experienced was in volcano country Guatemala.  We literally walked down inside an inactive volcano valley and met with a small group of believers to have service. As everyone walked, because the roads were near impossible to travel via automobile, I noticed the sound of singing.  As I looked up and back down toward the small village at the heart of our journey, folks were walking arm in arm and singing hymns and choruses all the way to Sunday service. It was precious to hear their melodies resonate across the valley and into my heart.  Moved by their genuine gratefulness to be able to attend a worship service, I learned a  lesson that morning. They knew who the church was… yes I say who. Folks we do not go to church, because WE ARE the church! We go to meet together as the church. 

By the time they arrived at the very small square cement building that might have held 45 people comfortably, they were ready for service. Their hearts were joyful, and they greeted each other warmly before sitting on small wooden benches that were about one foot off the floor. 

In that building the thirty of us added to their little flock and the place was packed. They gladly squeezed in and made room for us.  They had a few old 1960’s plastic yard chairs that had seen better days, but insisted the Americanos sit in them,the seat of honor. 

There were no song books, no large video screens, no microphones, no piano, no instruments of any kind, (but a little drum that a teenager tapped on). There were no bulletins or even clock to keep tabs on the time. The pastor stood and greeted us and then the service began. They broke out in singing and they knew every word to every song. It was as if the words were engraved on their hearts. Very few of them had bibles, but that did not matter. They also knew scripture so well they could finish it before the pastor recited it.  I sat back and looked around the room and each face was beaming and leaning in closer so they would not miss one word that was spoken. Even the babies and toddlers were very attentive or sound asleep. They never disturbed the service by their presence. They learned young while in the House of God, you respect Him by listening, and listening they did! 

Afterward they began to sing and rejoice once again, proclaiming the wonders of the Lord.  I also joined right  in and wished that Sunday Service would become a lot simpler, a lot less complicated, and a lot more spirit filled. I wished that churches back home were jam-packed with people who came in rejoicing after having to walk a mile of hilly and rocky terrain on their way to worship. I realized that this was very much like the New Testament church. No frills, not fuss, just a place of true worship. Indeed, it was the best worship service I had ever experienced. It was simple, intimate worship that resonated throughout the small building in the bottom of the volcano valley. 

Perhaps once you live through a volcano you become a lot less needy, or you understand what is really necessary in life. I was humbled by my own ill-behavior thinking I had to have so much to lead God’s people into worship. I realize now, that I have everything that I need. I have a heart willing to abandon the conveniences of this world and enter into pure worship. simply said, "My heart to the Father’s heart." Indeed my friend, if you can breathe, you too can worship!

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Don’t stand back from applying God’s standards and deep convictions to your life. During my recent trip to Israel, I had many encounters with the Lord that confirmed my convictions. Oh, some may look at me as a rule crazy, over spiritual, pest of a sort. Believe me, I have heard it all. If you have not heard such, perhaps you are compromising God’s standards in your life.

Recently God has been affirming my convictions by placing other people in my pathway who possess the same heart, passion, and spirit of no-compromise as me. It has been so refreshing. I have been accused of being judgmental, too good for anyone, unapproachable and some other kind verbiage I won’t mention. I understand when someone is living a two faced life of compromise how they can be uncomfortable around me. Hey, there was a time, I too, was much like that in my distant past and I ran from anyone trying to hold a higher standard over my life or make me accountable. Sin naturally is repulsed by such a thought, and so believe me, I am not superhuman in that I do not deal with sin daily. In fact, that may be the issue here. People do not deal with sin anymore, sin deals with them. Thus, there life of compromise peels away the light of the Holy Spirit leaving dark blotches on their heart, why they continue to go about not recognizing their own change of demeanor or countenance.

Unfortunately, this attitude of rebellion against higher Christian standards runs ramped in the Body of Christ today. The seeker friendly approach limits the true preaching of the Gospel. In addition, allowing blatant sin to go unchecked in the church brings the moving of the Holy Spirit to a halt in the assembly. I do not mean lost people who are in the midst. I mean folks who claim to be saved and are using their position in the church to influence others, whether they know it or not.

I was not raised in a Christian home, so I have seen the good, bad and the ugly of abandonment of morals and standards. I have seen the true depravity of man in action and it is downright frightening when you realize how depraved we as humans really have become. Even more so, when you read our history and realize we have always possessed a spirit of depravity and been in need of redemption. Thank God for Jesus, our Redeemer! For some that is as far as it goes. Now that they have a Redeemer, they go on living their lives in the same pattern as before. I have always said it is getting more difficult to separate the sheep from the goats in the assembly. Why is that? There has been a loss of standards as believers have succumbed to the lies of the world. Apparently living out your Christian walk these days will get you labeled with names such as a religious fanatic, higher than the Almighty, etc.

No one knows just how dark of a past someone else has until they come to Jesus. My life before Christ, and perhaps during my walk have resembled some darkness as I have relented to authority and laid aside my personal convictions to please man instead of God. Don’t get me wrong. I submit to spiritual authority whether I agree or not, because I know God blesses that. When you have a spiritual authority over you who refuses to hold others accountable or allows sin to run its course in the Body of Christ, you’ve got a problem. Some pastors have the attitude that this is the only way to win these kinds of people to Christ. In fact, they will say things like, "Jesus ate with the tax collectors and sinners." This is true, but He never allowed them to be in the forefront of His ministry. Leaders refuse to address the true issue because they do not want to rock the boat as to draw enough attention to lose the preciousness of a full offering plate, or to stir up problems in the deacon family that has been there since the foundation of the building. However, just the opposite would occur. If a pastor stood up against sin as we read in the Bible, our churches would be thriving and healthy. The next generation following us would have clear guidelines to adhere to when it comes to walking a life of faith. The atmosphere of the church would change and healings, salvations, repentance, and confessions would all flow freely as each one admits that they are nothing without the complete filling or dwelling of the Holy Spirit.

As a worship leader, my heart aches, because many times in the assembly these are the very things that are not happening because of pride, haughtiness, lack of respect for God’s Word, and blatant sin in the congregation. This sickness in the church is nationwide, and perhaps worldwide. I have seen it over and over again as I sing songs of deliverance over the chains that hold the souls of men.

As for me, I am not satisfied with the status quo of church today. Proverbs 28:1 says,

“The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”

I will continue to boldly stand up for the standards of God. Sometimes I feel like I am in a Star Trek movie, going where no man has ever gone before. Why is that? Mainly, because of how difficult it is find others who walk with God’s standards in their life. Oh I have messed up, made some unforgettable blunders along the way, but I have never forgotten God’s Word, nor rejected his discipline once I called upon Him as my Lord.

As I mentioned earlier, while I was in Israel God told me that my convictions were His convictions and that He had a much higher calling on my life. That is all that I needed. My friends, God has a much higher calling on your life too. Are you compromising God’s standards to achieve your own will and way, or will you repent and walk in Holiness, as He is holy?

--- Jane


 
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