OUR WORSHIP ARE VAPORS TO HEAVEN

by Tammy Phillips
October 31, 2020

“You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14 NKJV)

“Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold. Every man may see it; man may behold [it] afar off. Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out. For he makes the small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapor thereof: Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.  Also, can any understand the spreading of the clouds, or the noise of his tabernacle? (Job 36:24-29 KJV)

On Sunday October 25, 2020, “Let Us Worship” gathered on the mall in Washington, D.C.  Pastor Jentezen Franklin offered the contents of this encouragement in a seven minute mini-sermon on worship and the nine expressions of worship in the Bible.  It had to be shared, so I transcribed it. (I have filled in the blanks with scripture and he did not specifically mention point 4.)

 Job compares the accumulating clouds to the noise that happens in the tabernacle with musical instruments and with shouts of praise.  If you look at that text, he goes into detail.  He tells how clouds are formed. Here are how clouds are formed.  The sun shines down and it hits bodies of water. Those bodies of water give off invisible vapors that ascend up into the heavens and they condense, and they get heavier and heavier. The more vapors that go up from the shining of the sun, the thicker the clouds get, until finally the clouds cannot contain in heaven what is supposed to come down.  Suddenly, the rain begins to fall.

Elihu said in Job, if you want to know what the noise of the Tabernacle of praise and worship is all about you have to understand it’s about rain.

Zechariah says in chapter 14:17, “And it shall be, [that] whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.”

No worship; no rain.  Little worship; little rain.

Rain represents the Holy Spirit.
Rain represents righteousness
Rain represents revival
Rain represents miracles signs and wonders
Rain is what we need in America and in this world

There are nine expressions of worship in the Bible that are invisible vapors that create clouds. Three of them are done with your mouth.

1. SPEAK YOUR PRAISE.
   “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” (Psalm 34:1)
   In other words. get a praise phrase:

• • • Hallelujah!
    • Thank you, Jesus!
    • Glory to God!
    • I love you, Lord!

Do not just think about it and love him in your heart, but you are supposed to open your mouth, vocalize and verbalize.  When you say, “Praise the Lord,” you can’t see it, but an invisible vapor just went up into the heavens.  

2. SING YOUR PRAISE.
   “Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! (Psalm 47:6 NKJV) That is exactly what we’ve been doing.  It is biblical.  Sing unto the Lord. 

3. SHOUT YOUR PRAISE
   “To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” (Psalm 47:1 KJV) Psalm 47 said to shout your praise; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.

The next three expressions of praise are done with your hands.

4. PLAY INSTRUMENTS
   “Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” (Psalm 33:2-3)
   
   “Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God,  Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.” (Psalm 147:7-8 NKJV)
5. LIFT UP HOLY HANDS
   “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” (Psalm 63:4)
   When you lift up your hands, you can’t see them coming off the fingertips, but there are invisible vapors, when we worship God with our hands.  God loves to see your hands because you have something that nobody else has, your fingerprints.  Your praise matters.  It is different from the thousands that are raising their hands.  it is an invisible thing.
6. CLAP YOUR HANDS
   “To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” (Psalm 47:1 KJV)

   If nothing goes up, nothing comes down.  The more that goes up the more that comes down.  When people say, “Well, I’m not a charismatic.  I’m not a Pentecostal.  Praise is not a Pentecostal thing.  Praise is not a charismatic thing. Praise is a Bible thing. Let everything that had breath, praise the Lord.   This is not about certain denominations.  This about the King of King’s and the Lord of Lord’s. He is worthy of our praise.

There are three more expressions of praise. 

7. STAND IN HIS PRESENCE
   “My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.” (Psalm119:120)
   Even while your legs are getting tired. You amazing people by the 10’s of thousands, standing in the rain, worshipping God. Vapors…every minute standing…vapors have been going up.

    

8. PRAISE HIM PROSTRATE
   “Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” (Psalm 95:6)
   Lay out before him. There are times that we do that or kneel.   Your whole body becomes a vapor.

    

9. DANCE BEFORE THE LORD
   “And David danced before the LORD with all [his] might; and David [was] girded with a linen ephod. (2 Samuel 6:14 KJV)

   “Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.” (Psalm 149:3)
   When you begin to dance and leap, every part of your being send vapors up.

Here is the point, as you send the vapors up, clouds get thick and the rain falls.   Here is what you need to understand.  I was I was with an old man of God who has gone to be with the Lord.   His name was Norvell Hayes.  He was a faith preacher.  He said something to me in a swimming pool that we were in one time.  He said Jentzen, “Did you know that demons can’t swim?”  He said, “demons can’t swim!” and I thought, “He is a little flaky.  What’s he talking about?”    He reminded of Mark 5, where the demoniac had 2000 demons.  Jesus cast the demons out and the Bible said that they went into the pigs.  The pigs jumped into the sea and drowned. He said, “Jensen, demons like dry places.”  That is why the devil came in the wilderness to Jesus.  That is why the Bible said that when you cast the spirit out, send it to the dry places.  Demons like dry services and dry worship and dry preachers and dry religion.  The reason the devil hates worship is because when the rain begins to fall, suddenly, out of your belly will flow rivers of living water. Demons cannot swim. – Pastor Jentezen Franklin

I enCOURAGE you to worship the Lord with the vapor of your life. Live out loud and on purpose. The Son of God shines down on our bodies full of water.  We in return give off invisible vapors of praise and worship. The glory cloud gets full and heaven rains down.  Speak!  Sing! Shout!  Play! Lift Holy Hands! Clap! Stand! Dance! Bow down! Enjoy His rain.