Let The Worshippers Arise
What the devil intended for evil, God turned it for good. I have never seen so many and had this much access to worship and Christian content online for as long as I could remember. In the past few months, the church (and the idea of a church) was redefined beyond the age-old four walls, and was in way fulfilling her call to be more than just the physical building. The Church was never supposed to be confined within a building, it is and will always be a body and bride of Christ.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Ephesians 1:22-23 (NKJV)
In that same vein, worship was never supposed to just be one segment of a Sunday service programme that we clap our hands to. Yes, congregational worship and exhortation is essential to us Christians but worship has to be a culture ingrained into our daily lives. The Bible reminds us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our spiritual worship.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
The circuit breaker in Singapore and the lockdown all over the world opened our eyes to the awesome might and sovereignty of God. Despite being confined to our homes, the outreach intensity of the Church was raised a couple of notches. Sermons, prayer sessions, Bible lessons and even worship sets were made so readily accessible, not just to the believers, but to pre-believers alike. All these not only united the body of Christ (the Church), it also became easy evangelistic tools (relatable mediums) for outreach.
It definitely did achieve more than just that. National and International movements, online worship revival nights, music masterclasses, symposiums and conferences quickly became the top trending agendas and search categories on the Internet. All over the world, we saw nations uniting and singing a song of blessing over their countries. Kari Jobe’s The Blessing became such a powerful declaration and an anthem for a time where COVID-19 was ravaging the world.
In Singapore, we had TheBlessingSG uniting over 700 singers from over 170 churches as well as a worship movement, #SGWorshipUnite started by The Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches in Singapore (APCCS) alongside Assembly Asia. This worship movement and collaboration brought prominent worship leaders and pastors (such as Wayne & Libby Huira, Leeland, Pat Barrett and many others) from all over the world to teach, encourage and minister to us over Zoom in the comfort of our own homes. Our very own TE@Home, Fireplace Worship’s By The Fireplace (a worship and creative series with the aim to encourage and reach out with real life stories to bring hope, especially for this season), Singapore’s very own local Christian radio podcast, Amplify Studio’s Amplify Podcast SG as well as Awaken Generations’ Revival Nights and Worship Rooms quickly became regular “live” or on-demand activities streaming on all social media platforms.
There is a stirring in the heavenlies when God’s children come together to worship and exalt Him. God draws near a heart of worship and dwells in the midst of our praises. By the grace of God, the lockdown ushered in a worship revival not yet seen in recent times and when we, His children, cry out to Him and worship Him, we move His heart and His hands.
In light of the recent elections in Singapore, another worship movement SG Worship Together was birthed forth to unite Singapore in prayer and worship, especially as our nation elected and chose new leaders. This worship movement was very much prophetic and I know God delights in us when we pour a horn of oil on the altars we build unto Him.
In fact, this was no different to the time when King Jehoshaphat reigned in Judah in the Old Testament. There was an impending attack against God’s people (by Ammonites, Moabites and the people of Mount Seir) and King Jehoshaphat sought the Lord, gathered the nation (all the men of Judah, with their wives and children) and stood before the Lord.
13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.
2 Chronicles 20:13 (NKJV)
In verse 18, it says that the king, along with the whole nation (think about it, a whole nation, wow) bowed before God and started worshipping Him. King Jehoshaphat did not trust in his horses or chariots but saw that honoring and worshipping God was critical even in the fiercest of battles. He appointed those who should sing to the Lord and recruited both worshippers and singers. He did not just gather those people to be background music, he deployed them to the frontlines. Think about it for a second - not the biggest army or the fiercest chariots, just a group of worshippers praising our God. Well, we all know how that story ended, victory followed.
How would we able to apply that whole King Jehoshaphat episode to our present situation?
Never stop worshipping, never belittle the power of worship. With God on our side, who can be against us?
I don’t know about you but I sense a shift in the atmosphere, the devil may have intended to lock us away from church with the ongoing pandemic, but the church has emerged stronger and more resilient. God’s people, let us not just be satisfied with our “as per usuals”, this is a time of breakthrough! Keep singing, keep dancing, keep interceding, keep glorifying Him.
Let the worshippers arise.
God bless you,
Clovis Tan
Founder, The Encounter