Brunch N' Bible: "The Essence of Worship" (LIVE)

Summary

Brunch N' Bible: "The Essence of Worship" (LIVE) – Detailed Summary

Podcast Information:

• Title: Brunch N' Bible
• Host: Heaven Kore
• Episode: "The Essence of Worship" (LIVE)
• Release Date: September 25, 2023

Overview: In this profound live episode of Brunch N' Bible, host Heaven Kore, alongside guests Jessica, Faith, and Chilayo, delves deep into understanding the true essence of worship. Moving beyond the conventional notions of worship as mere singing or outward expressions, the conversation emphasizes worship as a heartfelt response to God’s presence and a comprehensive lifestyle that encompasses every aspect of a believer’s life.

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1. Introduction to the Topic

Heaven Kore sets the stage by expressing a sense of depth and gravity for the day's discussion. She introduces the guest worshipers—Jessica, Faith, and Chilayo—and quickly pivots to the central theme of the episode: "The Essence of Worship." Heaven shares her revelation about the need to return to the fundamental aspects of faith, emphasizing that understanding the basics of worship is crucial before tackling more complex spiritual topics.

Heaven (00:01): "What I came to realize in my weeks of study is that this generation, we're just too advanced for our own good. We need to know and understand and learn the fundamental things of our faith..."

2. Defining Worship

Jessica takes the lead in defining worship, stressing the importance of understanding "who we worship." She distinguishes between praise and worship, describing praise as exalting God for His deeds, while worship is adoring Him for His very essence.

Jessica (03:48): "Praise is exalting him for what he's done, and worship is adoring for who he is."

This foundational understanding sets the tone for exploring worship as a response to God's nature, highlighting that true worship stems from a deep recognition of who God is.

3. Worship as a Lifestyle

Faith expands on worship by presenting it as "your gaze unto Jesus" and a lifestyle, not confined to songs or specific times. She emphasizes that worship permeates every action, from how one speaks and dresses to daily decisions and interactions.

Faith (06:03): "It's our worship. You're presenting yourself holy and acceptable unto Jesus. A living sacrifice."

Chilayo reinforces this by describing worship as a "living sacrifice," urging believers to let every aspect of their lives reflect their devotion to God.

Chilayo (06:34): "Worship is being a living sacrifice. It's letting your life be worship every single day, acknowledging Him even in your thoughts..."

4. Ensuring Acceptable Worship

The conversation shifts to what constitutes "acceptable worship" in God’s eyes. Jessica references the Bible, highlighting that unresolved issues like unforgiveness can hinder one's worship.

Chilayo (09:44): "If you have something in your heart, anything, something that's in your heart that needs to be transformed or moved, he will not accept your worship."

Heaven draws parallels to biblical narratives, illustrating how true worship requires a sincere heart and a posture of reverence, not just external expressions.

Heaven (10:00): "There's an example of freestyle worship that Cain offered that ended up getting him in trouble with God... we need to understand that there's worship that is acceptable unto him."

5. Worship in Spirit and Truth

Jessica introduces the concept of worshiping "in spirit and in truth," underscoring the importance of authentic, heartfelt worship grounded in a true understanding of God.

Jessica (12:22): "Worship in truth is the knowledge of the true revelation, that of who God is."

She likens worship to the natural response of love, drawing from John 15:15 to illustrate that a genuine relationship with God transforms desires and actions.

Jessica (13:04): "If we truly love God, our lives will reflect it."

6. Challenges in Modern Worship Culture

Chilayo and Faith critique the contemporary worship scene, pointing out the pitfalls of "performance-based worship" and the lack of genuine intimacy with God. They caution against the allure of trends and performances that lack depth, advocating instead for a heartfelt, personal connection with God.

Chilayo (20:36): "Christianity has become like a trend... but intimacy with God is the most important thing."

Faith further elaborates on worship as a decision, not just an emotion, emphasizing the need for intentionality in choosing to honor and obey God daily.

Faith (17:33): "Worship is a decision. You're choosing every day to worship one Creator, one God."

7. Biblical Examples of True Worship

The guests highlight exemplary figures from the Bible to illustrate authentic worship:

• Mary Magdalene: Her unwavering devotion and readiness to worship Jesus, even in challenging circumstances.

  Faith (40:54): "She worshiped him. She went to go and see him. She did not know that he was gonna 100 come back."

• Mary, Mother of Jesus: Her faith and submission in the face of societal condemnation.

  Jessica (41:44): "She didn't care what anybody had to say... she just gave it all."

8. Practical Steps to Ensure Proper Worship

As the discussion draws to a close, the panel offers practical advice for cultivating authentic worship:

• Reading the Word: Engaging regularly with Scripture to deepen understanding and connection with God.

  Faith (42:55): "Read your word."

• Focusing on Jesus: Keeping Jesus at the center of all worship and daily activities.

  Jessica (43:10): "Let the subject of your affection be Jesus."

• Vulnerability: Approaching God with honesty and openness, akin to a child with a father, allowing for genuine intimacy.

  Jessica (35:12): "We can be real. It's okay to go before Him that way..."

• Intimacy Over Performance: Prioritizing a heartfelt relationship over outward displays of worship.

  Chilayo (20:45): "Let him be the reason why you sing."

9. Conclusion and Call to Worship

Heaven Kore wraps up the episode by inviting listeners to engage in a moment of prayer and worship, encouraging them to seek God sincerely and personally.

Heaven (44:27): "Close your eyes and see Him. This is your moment. You and God..."

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Key Takeaways:

• Worship Defined: Beyond songs and rituals, worship is a heartfelt response to God's very essence.

• Lifestyle of Worship: Every action, thought, and decision can be an act of worship when aligned with honoring God.

• Authenticity Matters: True worship requires a sincere heart, free from unresolved conflicts and genuine intimacy with God.

• Practical Steps: Regular engagement with Scripture, intentional focus on Jesus, and vulnerability in one’s relationship with God foster authentic worship.

Notable Quotes:

• Jessica (03:48): "Praise is exalting him for what he's done, and worship is adoring for who he is."

• Faith (06:03): "It's our worship. You're presenting yourself holy and acceptable unto Jesus. A living sacrifice."

• Chilayo (09:44): "If you have something in your heart... he will not accept your worship."

• Jessica (12:22): "Worship in truth is the knowledge of the true revelation, that of who God is."

• Faith (17:33): "Worship is a decision. You're choosing every day to worship one Creator, one God."

• Jessica (35:12): "We can be real. It's okay to go before Him that way..."

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This episode serves as a compelling reminder for believers to reevaluate their understanding and practice of worship, urging a move towards a more authentic, heartfelt, and comprehensive expression of devotion to God.

Transcript

[Heaven]

Ladies, it's heavy today. I didn't know it was going to be this heavy. I don't think I need to do a long introduction, but I have up here some amazing ladies who are doing amazing things in this community. And they all happen to be worshipers. And I'm not just talking about ladies who sing songs, but all of them glorifies all of God. And so, without further ado, I just want to introduce them quickly, but before I introduce them. Welcome to brunch and Bible. My name is Heaven, and I'm privileged to host this amazing platform that God has given us as a community to just find fellowship and community and strengthen our faith, holding each other's hands side by side. And here we have Jessica. We have Faith here, and we have Chilayo here. Everybody say, hey, we're just gonna get into it. I mean, I really don't feel the need for a long talk. I'll just introduce the topic. We're here talking about the essence of worship. And, you know, I was telling them upstairs that God just whispered this in my ear. I was actually going to have a whole different topic. And so I'm so glad that I caught that whisper, that, no, this episode is going to be about the essence of worship. And what I came to realize in my weeks of study is that this generation, we're just too advanced for our own good. And we need to know and understand and learn the fundamental things of our faith, the things that make us Christians. We need to know and master those things before we move on to all kinds of diverse and complex topics. We need to know what worship is. And many of us, many people don't know what worship is. We think worship is a song or we think, you know, worship is just whatever we think it is. And today we're just here to correct our mindsets and just to help us go deeper in a place of worship, even in our own time with Abba. And so I'll just throw out the topic here. What is worship, ladies? Anybody can open up and we'll get the. We'll get the ball rolling.

[Faith]

And I said, she. Take it away. My mentor.

[Heaven]

Your mic. There we go.

[Jessica]

I. First off, is such. It's such a heavy presence of God in the house.

[Heaven]

Too heavy.

[Jessica]

It's amazing. So when we say, what is worship? I think we first of all need to understand who we worship.

[Faith]

Okay.

[Jessica]

I do not think we can answer what is worship? If we don't understand the who. The essence of worship is. Yeah, the who in the worship and understanding who we Are to worship takes us to how to worship, where to worship, you know, and so starting from the top.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

I think worship, in my words, is just acknowledging who God is. I like to break it down this way. Praise is exalting him for what he's done, and worship is adoring for who he is. So when you ascribe greatness to him, when you inwardly and outwardly, when you have a posture that says, this is. I recognize you for who you are.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Not for what you've done, but for who. For who you are. And from the knowledge of that, what busts out of us is what we describe as worship is a response to who God is. Worship is basically just a response to who God is. And that's why I said we need to know who we worship, because we can't respond to what we don't know.

[Heaven]

That's good.

[Jessica]

And that's why when Faith was leading the prayer and she talked about the woman at the well, you know, there's a portion of the scripture that says when Jesus said, you worship who you do not know. But we worship who we know.

[Heaven]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jessica]

So if there is no if there is not a knowing worship can be. So we have to know God Revelation. Yeah. It's a response to who he is. That's what worship is.

[Heaven]

Wow, that's so good. Ladies, take it away. You guys are loaded.

[Faith]

To add to what she just said, I also believe worship is your gaze unto Jesus.

[Heaven]

Okay.

[Faith]

Jesus is the focus of our worship. He is the focus. He is who? What we just did right now is worship. We were all looking to Jesus in our own personal way, and he was encountering each of us personally. That is your worship. And your response was what just happened? As she was speaking, as she said, it's important to understand that because worship is your focus on Jesus, it is also a lifestyle. It's not just a song.

[Heaven]

Okay, let's get to it.

[Faith]

It's not just a song because your lifestyle is focused on Jesus. Your lifestyle gaze is on Jesus. Everything that you do, the way that you move, the way that you talk, the way that you smile down to what. What you wear, it's focused on Jesus. It's our worship. You're presenting yourself holy and acceptable unto Jesus. A living sacrifice. A worship. So I'll leave it there before we go to. Before we go.

[Chilayo]

Yeah, I was going to say exactly like worship is. Is your life. It's your lifestyle. It's being a living sacrifice. It's letting your life be worship every single day, acknowledging Him Even in your thoughts and what you think, the way you talk to others, everything is taking a step to the side and saying, looking at yourself and saying, am I worshiping God? With everything that I do at my job, at my school, when I'm having conversations, God, are you pleased? Because I want to be. I want to be your expression.

[Faith]

Yes.

[Chilayo]

And that's what. Worship's not about. Singing a song. It's not about even just praying. It's about every single day, every moment, having him on your. Your heart. Because we sing these songs like he's everything. But is he truly everything? Is he truly everything?

[Jessica]

That's right.

[Heaven]

You know, that's so good. And I think we have to really correct this with our generation because there's a scripture, and I don't know it off the top of my head, but it says, you honor me with your lips, but your heart is far from me, away from me. And I really want us to understand that's. That's really my prerogative today is to understand that worship is when all of you glorifies all of him, all of you. So your mindset, your heart, posture, how you dress, what. What you listen to, when all of it glorifies him. So I want us to understand that worship is not just a song or it's not in the lifting up of hands, and it's not, you know, in the bowing of knees necessarily, but it finds expression that's right through these things. But in and of itself, it's not that. And so there's something that a lady, that. She came to our church and she actually said that a lot of us, we kneel physically, but in our hearts, we haven't kneeled. In our minds, we haven't kneeled, we haven't submitted. We say, I give you everything you haven't given him, Jack. Not even your time to say one hour a day, to say 15 minutes a day, five minutes a day, you can do. And so I really want us to understand that it's not a song. It's not 30 minutes on Sunday. Worship is. Is you. You are worship unto him. Because it says, like she said in Romans 12:1. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship. So there's a way, there's actually worship that is acceptable. It has to be acceptable unto him. Yeah, and I want to talk just a little bit about that. What are ways that we know that our worship is. Accept what is acceptable worship unto him. What is that? What does that look like?

[Chilayo]

One of the things I recently read, I don't remember where, but one of the things that the Bible says is that you can't even come to him and offer him your worship if you haven't forgiven your brother or sister next to you.

[Heaven]

Let's talk about that.

[Chilayo]

That's one of the things, right? That there, if you have something in your heart, anything, something that's in your heart that needs to be transformed or moved, he will not accept your worship. If you can't go and. And come to your brother or your sister and fix things. That's. That's one of the things is. Is fixing your heart with the people around you. We think that we can just come up to him just any way, and we can't. That's not how it works.

[Heaven]

Exactly. And if you look back all the way to the beginning of time when Adam and Eve got kicked out of the garden, they had Cain and Abel, and you see a worship that was acceptable and a worship that wasn't acceptable, and you see an example of freestyle worship that Cain offered that ended up getting him in trouble with God. And I believe that the reason why Abel's worship was acceptable, sorry, acceptable, was because it was his best. It was the first of what he had Cain just did anyhow. And I think nowadays we've kind of lost that reverence for God, that fear of God where we kind of just do things anyhow. And so I really want us to understand that there's worship that is acceptable unto him. So with all that we've said, make sure that you give him your best, whatever it is. Don't give God the scraps. And he just does. So like we said, it's not about what he's done. But if we were to even go there, like he does so much for us, then for us to be giving him our scraps, the. The worst or last part of our day, or not thinking about it, not thinking about him at all, or whatever it is. I want us to understand that, indeed, make sure your worship is acceptable unto God. Does anybody want to touch on that? Yeah. Oh, you got something.

[Jessica]

So I'm talking about how to worship in spirit and in truth. So in spirit means from, you know, the soul, the. The depth of our heart, you know, and I want to touch on the truth.

[Heaven]

Okay.

[Jessica]

When we say worship in truth, it is like I wrote here. It is the knowledge of the true revelation, that of who God is.

[Heaven]

Yes.

[Jessica]

So let's take it from the Top for God so loved the world. The Bible. There's a part portion of the Bible that says, I have loved you with an everlasting love.

[Heaven]

Yes.

[Jessica]

And I have drawn you with my loving kindness. So even before we think of worshiping, God is interested in a relationship with us.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

And from that standpoint, it draws us to Himself. Now when we respond to that drawing, that's where the life of being, living a surrendered life comes in.

[Heaven]

Wow.

[Jessica]

And so I think about it this way. I'm married and I love my husband. I want to please him. He's just a human being. But my wanting to please him, do the things that I know makes him happy, comes from a place of love. My, my willingness to. To be go after his heart is my response to. Is the response of my love for him. So a lot of us, I think in the world today, we see a lot of people that have lost the love of God.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Because if you as human. That's why I talked about my. As human beings, when you love somebody, you just want to please the person. It just comes natural. You don't even think about it. I love this. I want to hang out with you. I want to buy you a gift. I want, I just want to do everything to put a smile on you. It's a natural response, responds to love. You don't even think about it. It happens. It's, it's an is, an is in our nature. When you love, you just, you just respond that way. And so if we truly love God, our lives will reflect it.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

And that is where worshiping in truth comes in. Because when you know who he is.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

You know, you respond to his love for you. You want to give him everything. Like, you don't even think about it. You just want to. It's, it's, it's a struggle because we live on this side of time, but that's why we have the Holy Spirit is. When he was leaving, he said, I leave you not helpless.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

I leave you with the help of the helper, who is the Holy Spirit. So when we, when we, when we realize. I think when we approach love from worship, from the standpoint of love, it makes it all better. It makes the understanding of it better. You know, and it wouldn't be so much of a struggle to live a surrendered life. It won't be so much of a struggle. Like you said, we make it so. Look so difficult these days. Like, it's such a task. It's almost impossible. We can achieve this, you know, but if we go Back to the basis of it all, which is love.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

It will be easier for us to respond.

[Heaven]

That's so good.

[Jessica]

You know, open up our hearts. What are the things that, you know, that the Lord wants? Either keep it My commandments. Love me. You know, we want to seek him, we want to follow after Him. We want to spend time in communion with Him. So outside singing. Singing is just an expression.

[Heaven]

Right.

[Jessica]

One of the ways our worship find expression. Expression. Right. But when we think about it deeply and we just want to love on God the way we give him everything, that in itself is what we say. We offer ourselves as a leading sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him. So for me, I feel love is a big deal. It's. It's. It's. It's in the. It's in the center of it all. The way we love on God and we respond to his love for us.

[Heaven]

And that's so good. And the verse that you just mentioned, again, I think we're on. We're still in Romans 12:1, right. Holy and acceptable. So when we talk about the holiness of God, it's not just to put restrictions on us or to make us feel like we're under some type of dictatorship, but it's actually a secret that God has given us because he knows that sin separates us from Him.

[Jessica]

That's right.

[Faith]

And yes.

[Heaven]

And so he's saying, stay away from this, because I want us to be good. I want us to stay in communion. And so when we even delve into the topic of holiness, we won't go too far, because that's just a whole nother thing in itself. But holiness is so impactful when it comes to worship because it keeps it pure and untainted, you know? And so let's not forget holiness. Amen. I want us to get into how we have missed it as a generation when it comes to worship.

[Faith]

I think she said, I have a.

[Heaven]

Lot of things to say. I'm gonna let y'all just dump out first.

[Faith]

I think she said a part of it. We live in love culture, though. Like, right now, everything is about love.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Faith]

And so. But love is an emotion. Not. Love is like a love as an emotion. Love as an emotion. When love is really a decision.

[Heaven]

That's right.

[Faith]

While they were both speaking, what I wanted to say is worship is a decision.

[Heaven]

Okay.

[Faith]

You're choosing every day to worship one person, one creator, one. Well, not one person, but one creator, one God. Do you understand what I'm saying? I was speaking to somebody yesterday, and in Africa, he was. We were Talking. He was, he's from Puerto Rico and he was talking about how they have papalabos in Puerto Rico. And he was trying to explain it, what it was to me, and I was like, oh, no, I know what they call it. Yeah, they call it crazy, right? And he was like, even Christians, he's. He was surprised when he heard of it because he said, even Christians go to see these babalawos to go and like, you know, conjure something up to, to, to. To. For what they need in that moment.

[Heaven]

That's native doctors, by the way.

[Faith]

Yes, native doctors, village doctors. So they conjure up things to help people in that moment, but it's because they have not chose one God to worship. They have not made a decision that I'm going to worship one God.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Faith]

I truly love one God. The Bible says, if you love me, you will obey my commands. John 15:15, you will obey my commands. So you have to make a decision every day to obey his commands because our flesh is fighting against us. Actually, every second a thought is coming through your head that should not be coming through your head right now. And your job is to make a decision to rebuke that thought and say, you know what? I cast you down, I bring you under captivity. And I'm going to choose to use my thoughts to worship God. Simple. It can really just be going back to the basics is understanding that we actually can control ourselves and can, can control our minds. We have self control and we can choose to worship Jesus. We can choose in our daily activities to please the Lord. When I first came into Christ, my number one thing was I wanted to please Jesus. And I'm so grateful that that was one of the first things I like, like I attached to. You know, I attached to. Because it literally, it literally helped me in my worship. It helped me understand what that, okay, I just don't have a voice to sing. It's really. My heart is to please God. If you ever see me minister, my heart is really to please God. I want to convey the message of God. Do you understand? I'm making a decision to put time into my relationship with God so that when I leave my room, people can see, see the effects of that relationship.

[Jessica]

Because you can't give what you don't have.

[Faith]

I can't give what I don't have. I can't give what I don't have. So it's important to make that decision behind closed doors so that when you leave those closed doors, it reflects that.

[Heaven]

That's good.

[Jessica]

That's right.

[Chilayo]

Got anything yeah, like, it just. It, like it goes back to the secret place of having a secret place with God and like, going back to where this generation has missed it.

[Faith]

Yes.

[Chilayo]

For some reason, like, Christianity has become like a trend. It's become a trend to follow God or whatever. Oh, it looks cool and things like that. And people are in with the hype. And you go so to church and the fast song comes. The drums get loud. Oh, let me jump up. Let me do this. Let me. But that's a physical. That's a physical. There's nothing there. Hype cannot heal you. There's. That. That doesn't. Hype cannot heal you.

[Faith]

Thank you.

[Chilayo]

Hype not healing you. And I think that that's where they're missing. It is. Is intimacy with God is. Is the most important thing. You see so many, like, gospel artists and things like this who are, like, doing their artistic expression and stuff like that, where we are just called to be God's expression and allowing him to use us to express his love, to express. Express Him. And I think that that's where we're missing it. A lot of the times people are so, oh, I want to do this. I want to be known for the nations. I want to do this. I want my name out there and this and that. And they forget. Holiness is a factor. You can't just come and you can't just be however you want to and. And cover it up. Well, it's my artistic expression. No, we're forgetting the holiness of God and that He. He truly longs to. To have time with you and go deeper in intimacy with you and share with you the secrets of heaven and unlock the things unto you. As you read the Word, as you spend time with him, he wants to speak to you. He wants to download things of heaven inside of you. But we're so. We get so caught up in, oh, when's the next concert to go to, or when's the next worship night, when's the next youth night. But we're not every day longing for his presence, longing to be in intimacy with you, with. With God.

[Jessica]

That makes me. Sorry. That makes me think about the scripture that says, having the form but not the power. You know where we want to look like it. Yeah, you know, Jesus, but we really are not what it is. You know, where we want. We learn the church language. We learn how to cry when the song is so emotional. We learn to lift our hands. We learn. Learn how to spread. Look like you're having a good time. But what happens when you walk out of the gathering, you know, it's emptiness. Like there is nothing there. And it just made me like what she said. You know, we have a lot of people that in our age now, this generation that want, you know, they want their parents of it, but they don't want to stay. They don't want to do the work. They don't want to spend time tiring at the feet of Jesus. You know, true intimacy comes. How do you know me? You have to spend time with me.

[Heaven]

That's it.

[Jessica]

To know what I like, what I do not like. The things that make me happy, the things that make me sad. To even know what's on my heart, my next move, you know, you have to spend time with me. And the way that she will say, oh, Faith will say, oh, I know Minchi, you know, and say this and this and this. That's because we kind of spend time together. So she can be my voice to say, well, if you're having a conversation about me, and you're like, me. And she wouldn't like that. No, she wouldn't like that. But we can do it this way, you know, and this way, I think it would. That's because we spend time together. So the same thing happens when we spend time with God.

[Heaven]

Interesting.

[Jessica]

Yes. We will be able to be his voice.

[Faith]

Yes.

[Jessica]

On earth. Shine the light. And honestly, this is what it means to live a life of worship. Like, let's. It's as simple, yet so hard. But it's as simple as that. Spending time with God in. In prayer. And I think another thing. Uh. Oh, go there.

[Faith]

It's okay.

[Jessica]

She's like, oh, we live in a time now where we. We want to worship. And I am. Let me say this. First off, I am a Christian that believes in the evidence of speaking in tongues. I speak in tongues a lot, you know, But I think we need to learn how to worship with our words.

[Heaven]

Oh, yes, yes.

[Jessica]

A lot of us don't even know how to communicate with God anymore because once we get into that place, we start to blast in tongues, you know, which is good. And it has its place. Yeah, but how do you say, God, I love you. I. I thirst for you. Like, there is no me without you. How do we calm you if you. If we're trying to have a conversation now and you just start to speak some. I'm not saying God doesn't understand, but you need to be able to be vulnerable.

[Chilayo]

Yes.

[Faith]

Yes.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

And the funny thing is, God already knows how you feel anyways. But. And that's where the Vulnerability is because you. He knows how you feel. But are you vulnerable enough to say, even though I know how you feel, this is still how I feel?

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

I want to talk to you about it. I love you. You are. You are everything to me. We need to go back to learning how to use our words to dwell.

[Faith]

That's good.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

You know, Use our words to dwell.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

It's not every time we begin to just blast in tongues, which is good. Yes. That's building. This gives us power. That's. That's where we generate power from, you know? But after you've generated power, what do you use? The powerful.

[Heaven]

Okay.

[Jessica]

You know. You know, you. Because you can't. You can't. You can't approach God without some measure of power, you know, so. Which is good. But turn around and speak to him from the depths of your heart, you know? That would also breed intimacy, and that would also show when it's time for the outward expression, which is the songs, the dance, the cries, because all of those things don't move. God is not moved by our emotions anyways. Our tears do not move him. It's our posture, our faith. Do you believe that I can do this? If you cry from now to tomorrow and say, God help me, do you believe that I can do this? So it's not. It's not really moved by all. All of our outward expressions. It's the inward that matters the most.

[Heaven]

So, you know, that's. I think we need to go back to being a Jacob generation.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Heaven]

Of those who actually seek God. Seek God and not for his hand, but literally for his face.

[Jessica]

That's right. Seek the giver and not the gift.

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Faith]

I was learning about Sikh. Well, at faithfully. This is the month of the power of the Sikh.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Faith]

So I've just been learning about seek.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Faith]

And I don't know where. I don't know if it was this. It was in Luke. I've been reading the book of Luke every day, one chapter a day. And I believe it was Luke 14 or 15. 14, I believe. And it was two days ago, and I was reading it, and it was about the law, the prodigal son, and how when he came back to Jesus, all he wanted was change. When he saw after Jesus's face, all he wanted was to be fixed was change. I mean, not Jesus's face, his father's face, his father, you know how. Like the analogy. But when he went back to his father, all he want was a. All he wanted was a change. Because he was starving, he left his home. He was about to eat pig food. It was getting real bad. No, it was getting very bad. Yeah, it's getting very bad. And so all he wanted was a change. He wanted something to be fixed. Sometimes we don't even come back to God for Him to fix us. We don't do that anymore. We just come back to God for Him to give us something or for him to use us. No, but before you're used, get fixed. You can't use a broken car.

[Chilayo]

O.

[Faith]

Before you are used, get fixed. Get fixed. And that's why it took me. It took me back all the way down to the basics, which is why I'm so happy that she said the basics today. Because we need to. Our generation needs to get back to just being fixed.

[Heaven]

Okay?

[Faith]

Just seeking God to be fixed. Just seeking God to be changed from the inside, to look more like him, to represent him, to. To. To. To. For him to change our desires. For him to change our desires. She said something and she said something about pleasing God. And I went there, but I forgot to. I didn't touch on it. When I first came to Christ, the reason why I wanted to please God is because my desires had changed the more I spent time in his presence. The things I liked to do before, I didn't like to do anymore.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Faith]

The things I like to listen to before, I could not find myself listening to it anymore simply because it was not conducive to the presence of God. Every time I would listen to it, I would no longer feel comfortable.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Faith]

Comfortable.

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Faith]

Because I want Jesus around me 24 7. Do you understand? I want Jesus in my space. I want to be able to say he's here. I want to be able to say he's here with me right now. And we always say God is everywhere. Yes, God is everywhere. But you should also make your space conducive to. For him to dwell for any given moment. If anybody was to walk up to you and say, I'm going through it right now. Do you have to get some Jacuzco song? Sorry, I don't have the English. You have to get some Jacuzco song out of your head before you can pray for that. Some. For that somebody. We have to make ourselves conducive to the. To the will of God, to the spirit of God, so that he can work through us, so that he can fix our heart, so that we can understand him more.

[Heaven]

Can I read a scripture? 2nd Corinthians 3:18 is literally what you're talking about. And I'VE been actually meditating on this verse for a while. It says, but we all with unveiled faces beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord. Yes. And I always say this. When you behold, you become. You become like him when you. When you thirst after him, when you see him.

[Jessica]

That just made me remember. Have you spent time with a friend? And after a while you begin to speak like that person. Literally, the way the person begins to.

[Heaven]

You know, ridiculous how humans are.

[Jessica]

So like you said, what you build, you become. It's honestly as simple.

[Heaven]

It's so simple.

[Jessica]

As simple as that.

[Faith]

And, you know, we want to skip that process.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Faith]

That's what we want to do these days.

[Jessica]

No, we want to skip that, but we cannot. You know, I was. When you were talking, I was thinking about it and I was really, you know, and I gave it a thought for a moment and I'm like, how I wish people honestly knew that you could have a better quality of life.

[Faith]

I was going to say that.

[Heaven]

Only they could get a taste.

[Jessica]

Just saying it like that sounds so casual.

[Heaven]

Yeah. But it's so real.

[Jessica]

But trust.

[Heaven]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Don't take my word for it. You know, you can actually. The quality of life that you can leave.

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

The richness of life that can come to you incomparable. It. Listen, doesn't mean that the struggles won't be there. It doesn't mean. But it will shift your mental, your perspective to the fact that even when the troubles come, greater is he. You know, because the Bible has said it, test and trials, tribulations will always come, you know, But I would make what a way of escape.

[Heaven]

So.

[Jessica]

But the quality of life that comes from dwelling, from intimacy is so good.

[Faith]

Literally.

[Heaven]

And, you know, another thing is that I think another place we've missed it is we don't know how to be broken before the Lord anymore.

[Faith]

Yeah.

[Heaven]

And I want us to even look at Revelation. I believe it's either 4 or 5, but it talks about the 24 elders. And, you know, this passage always baffles me because I'm like, okay, they're describing the throne room. There's. With the throne. There's angels all around the throne room. And they're crying, holy, holy, holy. And then they talk about these 24 elders that have crowns on their head and they're at least seated in a position of royalty. But at the sound of the angels crying, holy, holy, holy, they cast their crowns and we need to Learn how to cast our crowns. We cannot go to God as master's mommy. We cannot go to God as chief prophetess and chief minister. When I sing, the heavens tear open. You have to go before God as. As his little girl.

[Faith]

Yeah.

[Heaven]

And I think when I learned this, it just took me into a deeper realm. Truly, truly. I will be literally like a baby before God. And that's all he's asking from us.

[Faith]

Literally.

[Heaven]

Childlike. Before him, who was the greatest in the kingdom?

[Jessica]

The children.

[Heaven]

One who knows how to act like a child, who knows how to be broken before God, who carries the heart of David. Really?

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Heaven]

A whole king. But see how he's. He is in front of his God. You would never imagine that this man would wear a crown on his head. And there was a lady who got cursed with barrenness for mocking him.

[Jessica]

Yeah.

[Heaven]

He said, I will be more undignified than this. He didn't care about his accolades. He didn't care that he had been the king over Israel, that he had won all these wars. He had the right to be puffed up.

[Jessica]

So that makes me think about, you know, that just you were just speaking to me right now, and that just made me think about the fact that I think where it comes from not being able to be broken before God is because a lot of us have grown up hearing that we can ask God questions.

[Faith]

Yeah, that's good.

[Jessica]

So we approach him like a boss. You know, we want to be careful. We don't want to offend him with our words. But if you really think about it, do you have a father that you can say, Daddy, I'm tired. Like, I'm just not happy. This. And this. My grade is going down. This. I don't know what to do, like Daddy and just really break down. Be like dad. Like, it's tough. I'm honestly tired. If we can do that with our earthly father. So who says you can go back to God and be like God? I don't understand what's going on. No, for real, Like, I'm tired, you know? Speak to me. Show me the way, you know? So I think we need to understand that we can actually. It's. That's the kind of relationship actually seeks after. He wants us to come to him and bear it all and say God, let him know, like, give him your broken pieces. Like, take it. Pack it together and be like God.

[Heaven]

That's good.

[Jessica]

What are we doing? It's okay to go before him that way, not like God. I just want to thank you, Father. No, we can be Real.

[Faith]

That's the thing.

[Heaven]

And some of us are so used to this, and I think social media has a lot to do with this. We're so used to our best and perfect selves presenting it before people that we don't even know how to let our guard down anymore.

[Jessica]

That's right.

[Heaven]

And sometimes not even to go too deep. But the way we've grown up or the way we've seen things, we've had our guard up. And with God, you can't do that. If you really want a deep relationship with God, you cannot do that. And so you have to know how to let down your guard before him. That's why you see me as I am. I can literally snot in. In the cutest clothes, literally mess up my whole face. Because I've been understanding that it's not about all this. It's not about all this. Really care less about it. Even though I like to look cute.

[Jessica]

I mean, because if you come to God, all got it, you know, who's gonna save you at the end of the day?

[Heaven]

I'm telling you, you're your own savior at that point.

[Jessica]

If you cannot be real and be like, okay, this is really what it is. Like, if you come with a. With a face of, everything is fine. This is my best foot. When push comes to shove, who saves you? The same God that you call into the mess. So before it becomes a mess, just let him in and invite him in. And with that, he can walk you through and at the end of the day, we can all save ourselves some, you know, message. Yes.

[Chilayo]

You know, I. I love Psalms 51. And that was. That was David basically coming to the. Coming to God. And it was his repentance prayer. And I love it. Psalms 51:17. He says, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These. Oh, God you will not despise. So coming into, Coming to God with all of our broken pieces, he knows exactly what to do. And when you know him, you're able to bring it to him and say, God, I'm hurting. He can take your anger. He can take all the things. He can take it, and he knows exactly what to do with it.

[Faith]

Yeah.

[Heaven]

Yeah, that's the best part. You don't have to have it figured out. You don't. It's so easy, actually, because he does the. The heavy lifting.

[Faith]

It's really hard because we also want to do the. We also want to do something. I think that's where it gets, like, complex a little bit.

[Heaven]

We Want to do the heavy lifting, you mean?

[Faith]

Yeah, we want to lift something. We wanna help, you know? But Jesus is so good that we don't need to help. Like, we don't need to help. We don't. Because when we help, we're really just giving ourselves more headache than just letting him feel.

[Jessica]

It's the audacity to think we can actually help. Who do I. Who do. Oh, like, really, who do I think I am to think I can help God? Like, what kind of special powers do I think I have? It's the audacity for me.

[Heaven]

So who are women in the Bible that carried posture of worship quickly so that we can go back and identify ourselves?

[Chilayo]

I love Mary. Mary Magdalene. When Jesus, she came to watch Jesus feet. I think that her. The way that she came unto him, she didn't care about the people. And they were saying, you going to let her come in here Exactly. And do this? And. And Jesus. Like, yes. She did not care what anybody had to say. Not her pastor, not. Not her, not. Not the, the people who were there. She didn't care about anybody but him but worshiping. She didn't care about what her brother said, her sister, sisters. Her sister said nobody. She didn't care about what they had to say. She came and she. I'm gonna worship you, God. Exactly how I know to worship you? I'm gonna bring my oil and I'm gonna pour it out. I'm gonna pour it out unto you because you're worthy and you deserve it. And I. I will give everything. She gave everything. The oil that she used was so expensive, but she. She gave everything for. She's one that I really just. I. I love. Like, she. She just. She didn't care about what anybody had to say. She just gave it all.

[Heaven]

Beautiful. Anybody else?

[Faith]

I say her as well. I say Mary Magdalene because she was the first to see Jesus. Oh, she was the first to see Jesus. And I find that to be so profound because even when he was dead, she went to go see him.

[Heaven]

Wow.

[Faith]

She worshiped him. She went to go and see him. She did not know that. She didn't know that he was gonna 100 come back.

[Heaven]

Right?

[Faith]

She didn't know.

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Faith]

But she didn't care. She continued to worship Jesus. She went to his tomb and she was ready to clean up. She was ready to. I think they were taking his, his, his stuff and she's like, it's okay. I'll clean it up. Like, I can. I can handle it. She was ready to worship. She was. She's she's just. She just loves the Lord.

[Jessica]

So for me, it will be Mary, the mother of Jesus.

[Heaven]

Yeah, she's a good one.

[Faith]

Oh, all the Marys.

[Jessica]

The mar.

[Heaven]

For real.

[Faith]

All the Marys.

[Jessica]

You know, where when the angel came to her and was like, you were going to have a child and she. Because that in itself in those days, by law, could have gotten her killed.

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

You are engaged to marry somebody else and then you oppress pregnant with not his child.

[Heaven]

Stone her.

[Jessica]

That in itself could have caused her to be killed in those days. But our response was, my soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.

[Faith]

Yes.

[Jessica]

Even when something looks like man, this could literally take my life. You know, this could cause people to judge me, condemn me, kill me. But our response in that moment was to worship God. So for me, you know, that really spoke to me. Because sometimes we want to worship God when everything is good, when it looks like we understand where this is going, we got it figured out something. But even when things are like, you don't get it all over the place. Yeah. Can your response still be worshiped?

[Heaven]

That's good to ponder on. As we're wrapping up practically, how can we ensure that we are properly worshiping? Just practical steps. What are practical things we can do? Just practical.

[Faith]

Read your word.

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Heaven]

Okay. In spirit and in truth. Yeah.

[Faith]

Read your word. Yeah, it's really. That's it.

[Jessica]

And always make sure that you know. And this is speaking to me as well, and us as worshipers. So we're not just instructing you, you.

[Faith]

Know, they're instructing me.

[Jessica]

But honestly, let the subject of your affection be Jesus.

[Heaven]

Always. Always.

[Jessica]

Yes. You know, even when you, you know, let's bring it down to when we sing. You know, let him be the reason why you sing. Like, let. Let him be on your heart, on your mind forefront. See him like. Like center your thoughts.

[Faith]

Yes.

[Jessica]

This is for Jesus.

[Faith]

Yes.

[Jessica]

You know, and not self absorbed. Not in our skills, in our gifts. And, you know, let. Let him be the center of focus. You know, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. You know, even practically in the Bible, when, you know, in the water situation, when Peter was going to Jesus and he took his eyes off Jesus, anytime we take our eyes of Jesus, we know that. Yes. So how to worship? You know, keep your eyes on him. Turn your eyes onto Jesus.

[Chilayo]

Yeah.

[Jessica]

Let him be the center of your worship all the time.

[Heaven]

That is so good. And I just want us to get into a short time of prayer as we've said all this. There's a lot to digest here. I just want you to close your eyes and just. This is one last time. Give you an opportunity to worship. Close your eyes and see him. This is your moment. You and God. Pretend like no one else is here. Don't think about what you're wearing. Don't think about what you look like, but think of Him.