WORSHIP THE KING

Sample: Chapter One

Sing Me Like a Song: A Lifestyle of Worship

By Nic Billman

The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

—Zephaniah 3:17 NKJ, emphasis added—

Created In His Image

Do you realize that during the seven days of creation God created everything with the sound of His voice? God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God said, “Let us create a firmament,” and there was a firmament. As we read the creation story in Genesis, we see God speaking creation into existence. When He spoke, molecules began to vibrate and what was nothing became something. God created everything by the sound of His voice, except for you and me.

When God created man, He descended to the earth, got down on His knees and got His hands dirty as He reached into the dust to begin forming His most precious creation. Imagine the picture of God carefully molding and shaping man to be the mirror image of Himself. Each detail, each little line and curve was so important to Him. I picture God singing destiny over this, His most special creation, as He worked. When He was finished and man was mold­ed and ready, you can almost see the proud smile of anticipation on God’s face as He prepared to give life to His creation. Then God breathed His Spirit into the nostrils of the man. When Adam took his first breath and opened his eyes for the first time, he saw the face of his Creator, Father God. Adam was face-to-face with God in the paradise of His creation, the Garden of Eden.

Do you recall the first thing God told Adam to do? God cre­ated the animals, brought them to Adam, and said, “Name the ani­mals.” Why would God do that? Was it simply because He wanted to give Adam something to do until He created Eve? I believe it is because Adam was a son created in the image of his Father, not only in physical appearance, but also in his spiritual DNA; after all, God’s breath gave Adam life.

God the Creator spoke all things into existence; likewise, Adam had the same ability to speak identity and destiny into cre­ation. I am not suggesting that Adam was equal to God, but simply that Adam was like God in his ability to be creative. The enemy, who has no creative powers and can only steal, kill, and destroy, understood that you and I are to be creators and restorers, just like our Papa. This is why the lie of the serpent that deceived Eve was so tragic. Consider what he told her, “If you eat from this tree you’ll be just like God.” However, she was already like God because He had created her in His likeness. This is the same lie the religious use when they offer you by “works” that which is already yours through “inheritance” when you become a born-again child of God.

When we return to our place of being sons and daughters of the Living God, we are re-created in His image with the ability to speak identity and destiny into creation – into the lives of men and women, our families, our churches, and our cities. Your voice car­ries the reverberation of God’s creative voice, and it has the power and authority to cast out darkness and replace it with light.

Ever since the Fall of man, God has been in the process of redeeming and restoring us to His original purpose, the one He spoke over us in the Garden of Eden. Just as then, He desires to talk with us and walk with us through the Garden. Our spiritual act of worship is for us to be living sacrifices maintaining a lifestyle of worship, walking hand-in-hand with our Papa through the garden of life, stepping between the flowers and thorns, speaking destiny and identity with each stride.

Thermostats vs. Thermometers

Recently we were in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and had an amaz­ing encounter with Jesus in the middle of the city. We were with our dear friend, Alan Hawkins, who wanted to show us the Plaza in Santa Fe. The Plaza is a town square with a big yard, some trees, and a large monument in the center. It is a gathering place of both locals and tourists, a popular place to pray, play, or smoke weed. If you have never been to Santa Fe, you need to know that it is the New Age and spiritual capital of western United States. There is a fusion of the New Age, eastern religions, Wicca, and Native Ameri­can spiritual beliefs.

While Alan parked the car, I noticed a guy playing a beat-up guitar and singing through a mike plugged into an amp, powered by a car battery, with a hat in front of him to collect money. He was singing a mixture of ’60s folk songs and his own original music. When he took a break, I went over and asked if I could play a song. At first he was hesitant, but when I slipped him a twenty-dollar bill, he happily obliged.

When I started playing, Rachael came over to join me. We sang a song that we wrote, called “Sing Me Like a Song.” If you did not know us, you might think that it was just a simple love song. As we sang, a crowd gathered and people began putting money in the man’s hat. When the song was over I thanked him and started to give him his guitar, but as a smart businessman who saw the money overflowing from the hat, he asked us to do another song.

The second song we sang is called “Shores of Grace.” Again, if you did not know the reason we write music, you could think it is just a beautiful song about a father and his love. One of the things I like about the people in the New Age is that they are very open to other religions and any positive spirit. As we sang, the crowd grew even larger. Once again, after the song, I tried to give the guitar back, but he was counting the money and he said, “Keep playing!” This time we did a song called “The Invitation.” This song, unlike the others, clearly identifies for whom it was written. At one point in the song, we declare the name of Jesus three times. I want to share the lyrics of that song with you.

The Invitation

by Nic and Rachael Billman

I see the light coming from the throne

Breaking through the night as You call.

I feel the trembling

The trembling of the dark

At each mention of Your name,

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Come up here, come up here,

My beloved, my bride.

I hear the cries, the cries of a broken bride

And I long to hold you in My arms

As we dance.

I’ve taken away the stained and filthy rags

That you once called identity.

And I have laid out garments of white

Sewn with grace and washed in blood.

Come up here, come up here,

My beloved, my bride.

The Spirit and the bride say come.

The Spirit and the bride say come.

The Spirit and the bride say come.

As we sang, you could feel the atmosphere thickening with the presence of the Holy Spirit. When we came to the part of the song where we speak the name, “Jesus,” hands went up all around the Plaza and some began to weep. It was a powerful encounter with Jesus! Think about it, people of the New Age, eastern religions, and witchcraft were worshipping the name of Jesus. Do you know what all of those people had in common? They were all seekers, and Jesus promises that if we seek Him, we will find Him. Although they are disconnected from God, they too were created by His hand and breath. They may not know it, because it is hidden deep within their spirits, but inside they have a longing for the Father. They were responding to the sound of the Father.

After we finished, we thanked the man and returned his gui­tar. As we got up to leave, several people from the crowd greeted us. One guy with long dreadlocks who was sporting the unique fragrance of marijuana said, “Thank you. That was such a positive spirit.” I hugged him and said, “You have no idea how positive He is.” Several other people simply asked, “What was that?” We told them, “It’s Jesus and He loves you very much.” One young lady asked Rachael to pray with her. She was a vocalist who had been dabbling in Hinduism but had not felt at peace for a long time. She said that when we sang, she felt peace return to her. Rachael had a chance to pray with her and share a prophetic word that God had for her. The girl wept and wept, and she gave her heart to Jesus. Then she smiled, and her radiant smile was beautiful.

Do you understand what happened at the Plaza that day? We worshipped the Father, He came and inhabited our praise, and the atmosphere changed. He did not call you and me to be thermom­eters; we were created to be thermostats. Thermometers are passive, they simply gauge the temperature, but thermostats are active and change the temperature. It is very easy to look at a place like that and say, “Oh, wow, look at this mixture of different religions, look at all of these false gods and evil practices.” That requires no talent or spiritual gifting.

God did not create you to list all that is wrong in an atmo­sphere; He created you to change the atmosphere. Think about what Jesus did. Jesus looked and saw with the eyes of the Father and then changed atmospheres with His compassion, with His words, and by healing their diseases. God called you and me to be thermostats.

Ultimate Tuning Fork

Rachael and I love to use new and unique sounds in worship. God is the creator of sound and we love to discover new ways to direct sound back to Him through our worship. One of our favor­ites is crystal singing bowls. They are crafted from pure crystal, cut and tuned perfectly to the key of your choice, and the sound they make is absolutely gorgeous. To produce a tone, you hit the side of the bowl with a padded mallet and slowly drag the mallet around the edge of the bowl. It is similar to running a damp finger around the top of a crystal glass.

These bowls were created originally to stimulate the chakras, which comes from the Hindu belief that our bodies have seven energy centers that are in tune with seven different notes. They believe that when you play that note, it clears up blockages in that “chakra” or area of your body and there is healing. My belief is similar in some ways but very different in others! I believe that when we direct our music and songs to God in worship, it cre­ates an atmosphere of freedom and healing. Not because a specific instrument or note brings healing, but because God inhabits the praises of His people (see Psalm 22:3) and “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17 NCV).

We have seen many divine healings during worship – both physical and emotional. Recently during worship, a man who had been mute for seven years because of a stroke began to speak as God touched him. Personally, I believe that the chakra practice was originally a revelation that came from God but that the enemy distorted. We have to remember that Lucifer was the director of music in heaven. Consequently, two of his favorite practices are destroying atmospheres of worship and distorting revelation con­cerning music and worship. This is why many of the disagreements in church center around styles of music and worship.

Not long after we received the bowls we were in Santa Fe and had our encounter at the Plaza. We were to minister at a church in the city that evening. At the end of our worship time, Rachael and I played the crystal bowls, and a beautiful thing happened. At first, there was absolute silence. Then the first bowl chimed “dong” and the deep sound swelled and began to grow. Then the second bowl, in a higher octave, chimed “dong,” and the sound of the two bowls filled the silence in the room. After a minute or two, a woman be­gan to sing in the Spirit along with the bowls. Within five minutes, everyone in the room was singing in the Spirit in perfect harmony with the bowls.

It was a beautiful and holy moment. Then the Holy Spirit, the Teacher, began to pour revelation into my heart. I heard Him say, “These bowls are just like Jesus. He was sent to bring the sons and daughters, and all of creation, into harmony with the Father.”

You see, Jesus was a song that God sang over the earth. God has always been singing to us, and the greatest song He ever sang was Jesus.

When He sent Jesus to earth, it was not only die for our sins and redeem us, but it was also to show us how to live. He sent Jesus to be the ultimate tuning fork to give us the perfect tone, pitch, or key by which to live. As the writer of Hebrews put it, we are to look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2). He was the perfect song sung by the Father to bring His children back to Him. Even on the Cross, He sang to us in sweet surrender. Once we hear the song of Jesus, we fall in love with Him and join in the song, and that is the greatest duet that can ever exist – the Bridegroom and the bride singing in harmony the love song of salvation and redemption.

Recently, we visited a rescue home for children near us in Bra­zil in a city known for prostitution. Eighteen girls, ranging in ages from one to eighteen, lived in this particular house. After a time of visiting and sharing, we moved out to the porch and spent some time in worship. As I played the guitar, I watched these girls cry tears of joy and sing love songs to Jesus, thanking Him for saving them. Many of their families sold them into prostitution for as little as $5 worth of crack cocaine. They were raped an average ten times a night, beaten, abused, molested, and in some cases left for dead.

Yet, there they were, singing their hearts out, thanking Jesus for His goodness and mercy. The director of the house told us that they earnestly pray for forgiveness and the redemption of the peo­ple who abused them. Why would they do that? Because they are not only rescued, they have been redeemed. They have tasted the freedom found in Jesus and want others to experience the same freedom, even those who caused their bondage and pain. They have come into perfect harmony with the redemption song of Jesus and they sing it daily, not just with their mouths but also with their lives.

Earlier, I mentioned that we wrote a song titled, “Sing Me Like a Song,” and I would like to share the lyrics with you. John Wim­ber, the founder of the Vineyard movement, said something that I love: “God, I want to be a coin in Your pocket, spend me however You want.” What a simple, yet profound prayer! As a musician, my prayer is, “God let me be a song in Your heart, sing me however You want.” As you read the lyrics, you may want to make it your prayer as well.

Sing Me Like a Song

by Nic and Rachael Billman

The sound of a thousand dove’s wings in flight

The sound of many waters rushing over and o’er

The sound of heaven’s keys dancing in the night

The sound of a Father, the song of a Son

The roar of a Lion, the breath of a Lamb

The sound of the harvest receiving the wind

My lover, I am Yours.

So sing me like a song.

However and whenever you want

Just sing me like a song.

The sound of your breakers colliding the shore

The cry of the deep, the beckon of love

The shackles and chains falling down to the floor

The sound of your heartbeat calling me home

The sound of our tears filling bottles of clay

The dropping of blood on stones meant for us

My lover, I am Yours.

So sing me like a song.

However and whenever You want

Just sing me like a song.

Additional chapters include:
Worship Is More than You Think – Jonathan Williams

The AS of Worship – Bishop Joseph L. Garlington, Sr.

A New Wave – Brian Wright

The Intimate Touch of an Infinite God – Michael & Angela Pinkston

Lectio Divina: A New (Ancient) Way of Experiencing God – Steve Mitchell

Is Your Lamp Full? – Sandy Lockhart

Release a New Song – Julie Meyer

Praise Is Movement – Caleb Brundidge

Touched by Worship – A Little Boy’s Story – Art Lucier

Simply Deeper – Dennis See

The God-Date – Vince Gibson

24/7 – 365 – A Global Worship Revolution – Sean Feucht

The Battle for Intimacy with the Lord – Patricia King

For more information about this book or to order it CLICK HERE: Worship The King

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