In the past few days, I have been doing a private study on Judah and those who are called, according to John 4, to be true worshippers. They are those who will worship in Spirit and in Truth. True Judah will be led to true north on their life’s compass.
To review, we know that when we go to be the “true Judah” – worship is a place where self (who we are) goes to die… and in the prayer of our Gethsemane we find the place where our will (what we desire) goes to die.
There are two enemies that have come to invade, compromise and destroy the true JUDAH. We are warned about these enemies in Isaiah 7. It deals with two assassins of anointing… Pride for Fame and Compromise for Prosperity.
I will comment in the midst of the passage in all caps:
Isa 7:1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin (DELIGHTING IN ONE’S SELF OR SELF SEEKING) the king of Syria, (HIGH AND MIGHTY) and Pekah (EYES WIDE OPEN – PRIDE OF THE EYE, LUST OF THE EYES) the son of Remaliah, (TO BECOME LIKE GOD – DECKED OUT LIKE A GOD) king of Israel, went up toward Jerusalem (A SAFE PLACE WHERE GOD’S WORD AND GOD’S ANOINTING FLOW UNENCUMBERED) to war against it, but could not prevail against it. (THERE ARE SPIRITS THAT WORK WITHIN THE HOUSE OF GOD TO FIGHT AGAINST WORSHIP – STATEMENTS COMING FROM A WORSHIP TEAM SUCH AS… “DID I SOUND GOOD?” OR “DID I LOOK OK?” OR “DID YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I WORSHIPPED?”)
Isa 7:2 And it was told the house of David, saying, Syria (pride) is confederate with Ephraim. (prosperity) And his heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind. (WHEN PRIDE IN THE LORD AND PROSPERITY OF THE SOUL ARE EVIDENT – IT WORKS OPPOSITE TO WHAT WE SEE HERE – BOTH SYRIA AND EPHRAIM CONFEDERATE TO FIGHT AGAINST TRUE WORSHIP. ONE OF THE WAYS TO STIFLE TRUE WORSHIP IS TO SCRIPT IT, MAKE IT REPETATIVE, OR TO DO IT AS TO MAKE A HUMAN BEING LIFTED UP OR TO MAKE A PERSON “STAND OUT”)
Isa 7:3 Then said the LORD unto Isaiah, (PROPHETIC) Go forth now to meet Ahaz, (ROYALTY) thou, and Shearjashub (A REMNANT) thy son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool in the highway of the fuller’s field; (THE PROPHETIC REMNANT MUST MEET THE KING FACE TO FACE)
(WHAT TO DO WHEN IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD ON BEHALF OF TRUE WORSHIP)
Isa 7:4 And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. (BE CAREFUL. COME IN A SENSE OF REVERENCE AND AWE… AND BE QUIET… AND BE CAREFUL TO LISTEN. REMOVE ALL FEAR AND BE OF GOOD COURAGE)
Isa 7:5 Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, (HUMAN PRIDE, MATERIAL PROSPERITY, ACT OF SIN BY WAY OF THE LUST OF THE EYES, COME AGAINST WORSHIP TO “VEX” IT)
Isa 7:6 Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, (THIS LITERALLY MEANS TO “CUT OFF THE HARVEST” THAT TRUE WORSHIP YIELDS) and let us make a breach therein for us, (LET US RIP TRUE WORSHIP TO PIECES) and set a king (LET’S MAKE WORSHIP A PLACE WHERE SELF IS GLORIFIED AND HUMAN BEINGS HAVE THEIR OWN WAY – LET’S SET A HUMAN KING OVER HUMAN WORSHIP) in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: (A CHEERLEADER. A god IN THE MIDST OF MEN. A CELEBRITY. LET’S MAKE OUR WORSHIP LEADERS CHRISTIAN IDOLS… CELEBRITIES… FAMOUS.)
Now…. I have thus far only commented on the first six verses of this great assault on true worship. It is so infamous that it makes me sick to my stomach when I see the direction that worship travels in dead churches… and sometimes in live churches.
Worship is a place where fallow ground must be broken up so that the seeds of the Word can come forth and be planted in good, tilled soil. It is also like the place of threshing in times of harvest, separating the human from the supernatural… the power of man from the power of God… the faux from the genuine… the wheat in your life from the tares.
Isa 7:7 Thus saith the Lord GOD, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass. (THIS IS A GREAT PROMISE FROM THE LORD – AND WHEN JUDAH IS ATTACKED BY PRIDE AND COMPROMISE – IT CAN NOT STAND, NOR WILL IT BE SUCCESSFUL!)
Isa 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. (THOSE THAT ATTACK AND INSULT WORSHIP WILL NOT COME TO FRUITION)
Isa 7:9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son. If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. (IF YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU NEED EITHER OF THESE TO BUILD A WORSHIP TEAM OR A BIGGER CHURCH – YOUR WORSHIP WILL NOT BE ESTABLISHED)
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
Isa 7:16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Isa 7:17 The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria. (WHEN THE CHURCH DEPARTS FROM TRUE WORSHIP – TROUBLED TIMES WILL ARISE. BELOW YOU WILL SEE ANOTHER VERSION OF THIS TEXT FROM ISAIAH)
Isa 7:17 “But the LORD will bring troubled times to you. These troubles will be worse than anything that has happened since the time Israel separated from Judah. This will happen to your people and to your father’s family when God brings the king of Assyria to fight against you. (THE CHURCH MUST NOT SEPARATE FROM TRUE WORSHIP – AND YOU PERSONALLY, AS THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY GHOST MUST NEVER LEAVE YOUR CALL TO WORSHIP)
Isa 7:18 “At that time the LORD will call for the ‘Fly’ that is now near the streams of Egypt, and he will call for the ‘Bee’ that is now in the country of Assyria. Those enemies will come to your country. (THE ENEMIES OF THE FLY AND THE BEE ARE EVIDENT IN THE SCRIPTED AND THE DEAD CHURCHES OF TODAY. FROM THE MEANING OF THE WORD FLY WE FIND A “STINGING NATURE” AND FROM THE WORD BEE WE FIND “REHEARSED. GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS IN AN ORGANIZED WAY”)
Isa 7:19 They will settle in the deep valleys and in the caves, by the thornbushes and watering holes. (THE WORSHIP SHALL NOT BE A PROTECTION AND IT SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO MINISTER AS AN OASIS IN THE DESSERT. IN OTHER WORDS, IT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE OR YOUR LIFESTYLE)
Isa 7:20 The Lord will use Assyria to punish Judah. Assyria will be hired and used like a razor to shave off Judah’s beard and to remove the hair from his head and body. (THE GLORY WILL DEPART FROM YOUR WORSHIP. INSTEAD OF MINISTERING TO THE LORD, YOU WILL ONLY BE SINGING SONGS)
Isa 7:21 “At that time someone might keep only one young cow and two sheep alive.
Isa 7:22 But there will be enough milk for them to eat milk curds. In fact, everyone left in the country will eat milk curds and honey. (THEY WILL SETTLE FOR LESS THAN THE LORD HAS ORDAINED FOR THEM)
Isa 7:23 There are now fields that have 1000 grapevines, and each grapevine is worth 1000 pieces of silver. But those fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. (GRAPEVINES SYMBOLIZE THE RICHNESS AND THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY GHOST. IT REPRESENTS THE JOY THAT WAS PLANTED IN YOU AS A WORSHIPPER. THE HARVEST AND MOVING OF THE HOLY GHOST WILL CEASE TO MOVE AS MAN TAKES OVER)
Isa 7:24 That land will be wild and used only as a hunting ground where people go with bows and arrows. (THERE WILL BE COMPETITION. THERE WILL BE NO SAFETY. CRITICAL SPIRITS WILL ARISE AND DESTROY)
Isa 7:25 People once worked the soil and grew food on these hills, but at that time they will not go there, because the fields will be covered with weeds and thorns. It will be a place where cattle graze and sheep wander.” (THIS TO ME IS A VERY SAD PLACE. TO GO TO A CHURCH WHERE THE THIRST IS NOT QUENCHED AND THE WANDERING OF SHEEP IS CONTINUAL)
The essence of true worship as outlined in John 4 speaks of worshipping the Father in Spirit and in truth. When our worship is attacked and invaded by pride and when the emphasis is on material prosperity – it becomes lifeless. It becomes a show and the worshippers become entertainers.
Jack Hayford said something very powerful. “If worship doesn’t change your life, it’s time to change your worship.”
True worship was never intended to be defined and refined for human ears or for human consumption. It is for HIS glory and was meant to be set apart – for Him only. It is an entering in and dying to self. It is not to develop your talent or to give you a platform to be seen and heard. It is a place to lead people to another realm. It is a place where pride has to die – not where pride is developed and encouraged.
If anything secular is included… or if your music is split between music in the church and music in the world… it is a spirit of compromise and the worship will be tainted. If the worship platform is a place where people are lifted up and “seen” by others… it will be tainted.
You can’t “take pride” in this work. You must not be afraid to be broken down… right in the midst of the fray. Praise will take you through His gates. Worship will take you into His courts. Brokenness will take you into the Holy of Holies.
When worship doesn’t break you… when it leaves you in the gates, or in the courts – you have fallen short of true worship. The true Judah will experience the fallow ground being broken and will be granted an entry to the Holy of Holies.
If your worship can’t take you to the feet of God with your broken alabaster box, then you need to reexamine you worship.
Worship with me today:
Streetfire Ministries 