How God’s Power Builds In Us!

Fresh Manna 2009© by Pastor Tim Burt

Psa 95:6-7 “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.”

One morning I was praying and worshipping the Lord, the Lord spoke to me. It was very clear and what He said was a fresh word to my heart. By that I mean that I had never had the thought He was communicating and He was teaching me. As I was worshipping Him He spoke to my heart and said, “Tim, worship isn’t for my benefit.” When the Lord speaks to me He usually doesn’t say a lot. He’ll make a statement and then as I think and pray about what He has said, His words – the thoughts He wants me to understand just seem to follow. Sometimes scriptures or stories from the Word will instantly come to mind and I know the Lord is teaching me and revealing more of Himself to me.

As I began to think about what the Lord said, I heard more. I heard Him say, “I’m not ego deprived.” That was all I heard. I just began to meditate further and think about what the Lord had spoken. It was if the lights went on.

I am a worshipper of God and always have been since I gave my life to Jesus. I was so thankful for Him saving me that I always wanted to find ways to express my thanks and love to Him. Besides that, the Word of God instructs us to worship the Lord. The Lord deserves our worship and I’ve never questioned it. Yet now I could see worship in a new light. The Lord said, “Tim, worship isn’t for my benefit.” The Lord was showing me that worshipping Him was for my benefit not His. It was so easy to see. It’s so true!

Sometimes life seems like more than a plateful. As a man, a husband, a father, a Pastor, a son, a brother, a friend, and a Christian, it can sometimes seem like there are so many responsibilities – so many things I should do and do well. I want to be good at every one of these things. I want to be diligent and do what’s right and show the proper respect and love and friendship while being responsible to each of these areas of my life. Because I do, it brings me to this simple truth. Outside of God, I can’t do it. Jesus warned us of that. In John 15:5 He said, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

It’s only when I’ve ever thought I could do all this and attempted to do it in my own strength that I’ve fallen flat on my face and failed or felt overwhelmed. God never created us to live outside His grace and strength and help. The grace of God is His supernatural help given to us to do all things He has given us to do well. He knew we’d feel overwhelmed without Him. He wanted us to lean on and count on Him – on His grace. When we’d learn to really focus on the magnitude of our God and upon the covenant we have with Him – when we’d meditate on His love that surpasses human understanding that He has for us and His desire and willingness to help us – then we’d lean on Him, ask, and have faith in His grace to help us. We’d gain strength that would help us look anything in the eye and be able to handle it. When we did, then we’d feel like the writer of Psa 46:1-3. It reads, “God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

You have to admit, if we were anywhere near mountains falling into the sea and or caught in the roaring seas, we’d be shaking in our boots. These are the kinds of things that cause instant panic. But the revelation that is being shared is that when God is worshipped and magnified for who He is and His love toward us, He presence grows within us. A revelation of His love grows within us. He becomes almighty God and our problems and feelings of being overwhelmed shrink in the light of His faithfulness, His promise and His love. Then we are strengthened to take on the day and the challenges before us a step at a time knowing His grace is there to help us!

That is why the Lord said to me, “Tim, worship isn’t for my benefit.” Worshipping the Lord is for us. Psa 95:6-7 says, Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Psa 34:3 says, Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together.

God is not egotistical. He does not tell us to worship Him for Himself. He tells us to worship Him so that when we look at the magnificence of the Heavens or of the creation around us – reflecting that He created it all, then we will also reflect that this great and magnificent God loves us and has adopted us as His children through Jesus Christ. Worshipping God strengthens us. That is why it is for us! Worship elevates the Lord in our hearts to His rightful place. When we worship the awesomeness of God, He is magnified in our spirit and the cares and worries of this world and lies of the devil shrink. When we worship the Lord our faith grows in our heart and the supernatural help of God flows into our lives. When we worship the Lord, He becomes Almighty God and we become His children. Praise His Holy Name!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt