There is a sound that must be heard in this coming year if we are to overcome the principalities at work over nations and the demonic strongholds that are choking the life out of God’s people. This sound will cause every living thing to succumb to the presence of the Lord and make room for the King of Glory to come in. In our corporate worship we must come out of the river of delights and into the holy of holies where kingdoms rise and fall and all of creation responds.

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:11-12 ESV)

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John saw this reality when he was taken up to the throne room to witness what happens when creation acknowledges and worships the holiness and sovereignty of the King. The domino effect of this kind of worship has profound implications. Singing the song of the Lamb and declaring His absolute right to rule and reign compels the angelic host to mirror this worship, calling on all of creation to answer.

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (Revelation 5:13-14)

Humility of heart in full submission to the Holy One opens doors that nothing else can. When we dare to enter the holy place, dead to our own needs and desires, giving our very lives for His sake alone, the heavenly host can’t help but respond. When they hear the sound of pure hearts fully submitted to the Name above all others, they add their voices to the chorus and, as a result, ALL of creation submits. Every created thing yields to the Holy One and NO ONE is left standing!

Heaven is calling the Church to come up higher in our worship to revere His holiness and fully yield to the weight of His glory. It is here where the Fear of the Lord is accessed and released with such force and power that nothing can stand in its wake. No power of the devil or manipulation of man can withstand the presence of a Holy God! Where praise in the outer courts elicits exuberant expression and often brings personal gratification, worship in the holy place gives it all up. There is no pursuit for a response or expectation of a blessing. Our only aim is to present ourselves on the altar of sacrifice, giving worship to the Spotless Lamb of God who willingly gave us what we never deserved.

Worship should never be about us. It should always be about HIM. May we not settle for worship that positions us like baby birds in our nest crying out for Mama bird to come feed us. Though our childlike faith may be sincere and our hunger commendable, our goal must always be to seek His face and not His hand of blessing, provision, or supernatural manifestation. Perhaps our biggest breakthrough yet awaits us as we surrender in worship to the pursuit of a Holy God

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness (in holy attire), tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. (1 Chronicles 16:29-30 ESV)

In this coming season, we cannot depend on our SPIRITUAL ARMOR to save the day. It is not the strength of our warrior’s cry that will win the battle. If we are to overcome the pervading evil in our day as the body of Christ, we must put on HOLY GARMENTS in order to access legitimate power from the throne. THIS is where we will receive the authority needed to overcome every stronghold and demonic principality that is warring against us.

The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments. (Psalm 110:2-3 ESV)

We must learn how to clothe ourselves in holiness and array ourselves in purity before the Lord, not only personally, but corporately. Compromise in the Church and mixing the holy and profane nullify our place in the courts of heaven. The spirit of religion is trying hard to convince us that holiness is either unattainable or unreasonable. The enemy wants nothing more than to blind us to the power of holiness and the anointing it brings to decimate his plans.

God declared to His prophet Ezekiel that other nations would know that He is God when He manifested His holiness through them (see Ezekiel 20:41-42, 28:22-25). “It is not for YOUR sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but FOR THE SAKE OF MY HOLY NAME, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.” (Ezekiel 36:22-23)

Jesus said His Father seeks those who worship in spirit and in truth. This can only happen when we pursue holiness as a mantle of overcoming victory instead of a yoke of guilt and condemnation. Let us prayerfully consider how to adjust our worship services to make room for His holiness. May we learn how to be still in His presence and allow Him to invade our gatherings and consume our agendas. Let us come with clean hands and pure hearts in order to seek His presence more than to receive our blessings.

When we sing the song of the Lamb and corporately embrace the Fear of the Lord, it will compel the heavenly host to join in the chorus, and very force of darkness, every curse and hex of witchcraft, and every demon in hell will have to bow to the King who, alone, is worthy of it all.