MINISTERING TO THE LORD

 Today, many Christians are not able to receive their breakthroughs from God because they do not know how to praise and worship Him. 

To receive from God whatsoever you desire that is in line with His Word, you MUST worship God in spirit and in truth.

Praise and worship usher in the presence of God. Psalm 22:3 says, “…O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel (His people).”

What happens in His presence?  In His Presence the power of God is released to destroy every yoke in your life.

Therefore today, we are going to look at “HOW TO MINISTER TO THE LORD!”

The Bible says, “…2 AS THEY MINISTERED TO THE LORD, and fasted, the Holy Ghost SAID, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:1-2).

In this ministration, the people were not petitioning God to do anything for them. Rather they just fasted and ministered to the Lord. 

When we wait upon God and minister to Him, we should not ask Him for anything. Rather we simply praise and worship Him (1) in spirit and (2) in truth (Jn. 4:23-24).

In reality, what happens when we gather as a local assembly, we pray and seek God on our own behalf, praying that certain needs will be met, and then we minister to certain needs of each other.

We usually minister to ourselves and to one another because most of the songs we sing do not minister to the LORD. For instance, we sing songs like: 1) We are victorious, yes, we are victorious, glory be to God who has given us victory; 2) In my Father’s house, there are many mansions there. 3) Oh, when the saints, go marching in….; 4) My hope is built on nothing less; 5) Pass me not O gentle Saviour, 6) Unom di na Enigwe marama, etc.

The truth is that such songs do not minister to the LORD and is therefore, not result oriented.

Here is the truth: When we first of all minister to the LORD, He will then reach out to us and minister to our needs. This is because when we minister to the LORD first, we create the right atmosphere for miracles.

How? Our sincere praise and worship are God’s spiritual oxygen, and when He receives this oxygen, He releases the spiritual energy (ATP) required to do whatever He wants to do – heal the sick, raise the dead, provide protection etc.

Ministering to the Lord involves singing SPIRITUAL SONGS, to Him. Ephesians 5:18-20 says, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and SPIRITUAL SONGS, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for ALL THINGS unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

What are spiritual songs? These are songs that are strictly Scripture based. The wordings of a spiritual song must line up with the Word of God.

When we minister to the LORD, we just tell Him how much we love Him and praise Him by thanking Him for His goodness and mercy toward us. That is what ministering to the Lord is all about.

Let us now look at some songs that minister to the LORD: 

1. Thanks, thanks, we give You thanks (Ps. 100:4). 

2. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases (Lam. 3:21-23),

3. We are grateful O LORD; 

4. Thank You For the Cross, LORD; 

5. We thank You O God of heaven and Earth,

6. Thou art worthy (Rev. 4:11),

7. There is none holy as the LORD (1 Sam. 2:2),

8. For who is like unto Thee, O God (Ex. 15:11).

9. You deserve the glory, and the honour,

10. All Heavens Declare (Ps. 19:1),

11. Who is like unto thee (Ex. 15:11),

12. You deserve the glory, and the honour,

13. All Heavens Declare (Ps. 19:1),

14. Glory, Glory, Glory to the Lamb,

15. Be glorified (1 Pet. 4:11),

16. Hallelujah,

17. Yahweh, Your name is Yahweh,

18. Aka aka Ya,

19. Ihe imere di mma.

Watch out for the next edision of Good News from the Pulpit.

·      Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor, HOG).