You have seen it all in our services!!

PRAISE •

NOISE •

CLAPPING IN CHURCH •

UPRAISED HANDS •

PRAYING IN UNISON •

DANCING •

LEAPING •

LAUGHTER •

WEEPING •

SHAKING •

QUIVERING LIPS •

FALLING PROSTRATE •

TRANCE •

SPEAKING IN TONGUES •

AND YOU DON'T LIKE ALL THAT COMMOTION?

The important question is: Does God like it?

WHAT DOES GOD'S WORD SAY ABOUT IT?

"Praise him with the timbrel (tambourine) and dance. " Psalm 150:4

You say you don't like it?

It sounds like fanaticism to you?

You think religion should be more dignified, and that people should not get emotional about religion?

Well, you certainly are not alone! There are a lot of people who agree with you. There are even preachers, bishops, and religious leaders of all kinds who agree with you.

I am telling you right now that I don't really care what you think, or what those religious leaders think!

What I do care about is what GOD HAS TO SAY about it!

Any preacher who cares more about what people think than he does about what God thinks is a blind leader of the blind. Jesus said that when the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch (see Matthew 15:14).

It doesn't even matter what I think! I am not going to tell you what I think. I am going to give you God's words, direct from His Holy Scriptures.

PRAISE

Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name (Hebrews 13:15),

That ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9).

Praise is comely for the upright (Psalms 33:1).

But should we be constantly praising God in church?

Read on!

Praise ye the Lord ... ye that stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God (Psalms 135:1,2).

My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation (Psalms 22:25).

Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary (Psalms 150:1).

In fact, we are instructed to enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise (Psalms 100:4).

I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holy day (Psalms 42:4).

I want you to take a look at what happens when God's people praise Him. Then decide who it is that wants things quieted down—God or Satan!

[They] praised the Lord, saying, for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord ... for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God (2 Chronicles 5:12-14).

I quote from the closing words of the Book of Luke and the second chapter of Acts together, because Luke is the author of both books, and the verses quoted comprise a continuing sequence:

And [those who had seen Jesus ascend into heaven] were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and begin to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:1-4).

Is it any wonder why Satan tries to discourage the praises of God's people in their worship services today? Praise brings God's presence into the midst of the congregation, and Satan hates and fears the presence of God!

It is not a new thing for religious leaders to oppose the open expression of praise. Read Luke 19:39,40.

And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out."

God pleads for men to praise Him!

Oh that men would praise the Lord (Psalms 107:8).

Will you make God beg for your praises?

Will you cast your vote with the Pharisees?

Will you succumb to the trickery of Satan to rob God of the praise which is due Him and rob God's people of the joy and glory that comes with His presence and power in their midst?

There is one perfectly scriptural reason that some should not praise Him:

The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence. But we will bless the Lord from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the Lord (Psalms 115:17-18).

Are you alive? Are you still breathing?

Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord! Praise ye the Lord (Psalms 150:6).

NOISE

"Well," you say, "at least you don't have to make so much noise about it!"

Why not?

Who said we should not make noise about it?

Certainly not God's Word!

O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence [come to church] with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms (Psalms 95:1,2).

Do you believe in worshiping God in church? Then why not try doing it His way?

"Praise Him with stringed instruments and organs" Psalm 150:4

"But," you say, "that was in the Old Testament! Wasn't that just for the Jews in days gone by?"

Don't you believe it!

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands (Psalms 100:1).

God wants His people everywhere to serve Him with gladness. (See Psalm 100:2.) So long as the noise is joyful, surely it is a scriptural part of our worship.

Even when musical instruments are used in worship, we are exhorted to play skillfully with a loud noise (see Psalms 33:1-3.)

Read 1 Samuel 4:7, and note what happens to the enemies of God's people when they hear the noise of a great shout. They cried out, "Woe unto us!" When God's people worship Him according to His Word, there will always be woe unto the enemy!

HAND CLAPPING

Clap hands in church? How terrible!

Not the way God sees it!

O clap your hands all ye people, shout unto God with the voice of triumph (Psalms 47:1).

Someone says, "Why should I do that?"

Because He said to do it! That should be reason enough!

"But I don't feel like doing it!"

When people have the real joy and gladness of salvation, they are going to feel like doing what God tells them to do, because they are going to want to worship Him in the manner that gives Him pleasure.

HANDS UPRAISED

In many churches today, it would seem strange to come into a service in progress and find people standing all over the congregation with hands held high. How far God's people have drifted! Church services certainly follow a pattern. But is it the pattern set out in God's Word, or is the tradition of men? (See Colossians 2:8.)

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord (Psalms 134:2).

Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name (Psalms 63:4).

I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands (1 Timothy 2:8).

PRAYING TOGETHER

A common complaint of those unfamiliar with the type of services in which the Holy Ghost is moving is, "How can God answer any of your prayers, when you are all talking at once? I just can't understand a word anybody is saying when everybody is praying out loud at the same time!"

Well, to begin with, none of them is praying to you! You couldn't and wouldn't answer their prayers even if you could understand them. Besides that, if I had to wait to address a prayer to God until I was sure that there was nobody else praying in the whole wide world, I would never have a chance to pray at all. If God can hear a prayer in New York and one in Philadelphia, and another in Dallas at the same time as one in Los Angeles, another in London, and another in Bombay, why should I believe that He cannot hear my prayer at the same time as that of my brother who is standing next to me?

But all that doesn't matter half as much as what God says about it in His Word. For a start, read Acts 4:23-24, And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord (See also 1 Timothy 2:8 and Mark 11:17.)

DANCE

Solomon declared that there is a time for all things, including "a time to dance" (see Ecclesiastes 3:4).

David danced before the Lord with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14).

If you read the whole story, you will find that this didn't please everyone who saw it.

"Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: Praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals." Psalm 150:5

But God's disapproval was upon the critic, not upon David!

When God brought His people Israel out of Egyptian bondage, Miriam danced and all the women of Israel joined her in worship to their Deliverer.

Have you been delivered?

You may be more in bondage than you realize — in bondage to pride, fear, indifference, or unyieldedness.

The Book of Psalms is the book which gives us our clearest pattern for worship. Here, we are exhorted to praise his name in the dance (Psalms 149:3, Jeremiah 32:13.)

LEAPING

The song says, "If you want joy, you can leap for it! And God's Word declares, The joy of the Lord is my strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Jesus said, Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy (Luke 6:23). See also Acts 3:8,14:10,2 Samuel 6:15, Psalms 18:29, Luke 1:41.

LAUGHING

Then was our mouth filled with laughter

(Psalms 126:2).

And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me

(Genesis 21:6, cp. Luke 6:21 and Job 8:21).

WEEPING

This does confuse the unbeliever!

Here he finds people gathered together, worshipping God. Some are shouting, some are dancing, some are laughing, and some are weeping. Such contradiction!

Solomon declared,

[There is] a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:4).

True worship does indeed include much rejoicing. But this is not the giddy song of the grasshopper, who, according to the fable, danced and sang the summer away and made no provision for the change of seasons. There is also a place for weeping.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise (Psalms 51:17).

My soul thirsteth for God...My tears have been my meat day and night (Psalms 42:3).

Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh (Luke 6:21),

See also Isaiah 16:9, Lamentations 2:18, 2 Corinthians 2:4, Acts 20:19.

SHAKING

Jeremiah said,

All my bones shake ... because of the Lord (Jeremiah 23:9).

When Daniel found himself in the presence of the Lord, he declared, I stood trembling (Daniel

10:11).

When Paul met Christ on the Damascus Road, he trembled (see Acts 9:6).

See also Habakkuk 3:16 and Job 16:1,2.

FALLING PROSTRATE

In God's presence, Paul not only trembled, he fell to the earth (Acts 9:4).

Look again at Jeremiah 23:9. Jeremiah declared that he was "like a man overcome with wine." Dead drunk! Out cold! But not with any fermented or distilled beverage of this earth!

On the Day of Pentecost, when the noise had brought a crowd to see what was going on, some said, "What a shame! These people are all drunken, and so early in the morning!" Peter said,

These are not drunken as ye suppose... but this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh (Acts 2:15-17).

Daniel said,

He came where I stood, ... I fell upon my face (Daniel 8:17).

John, the beloved disciple, said,

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead (Revelation 1:17).

One may ask, "Can people still come into the presence of God like that today?"

Why not?

Only iniquity can separate us from God (see Isaiah 59:2).

Jesus said,

Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20).

Is it surprising, then, when God's people gather in His presence that some shake and tremble, and some fall prostrate before Him as dead? For those who earnestly seek the face of God today and come into His presence, it is both scriptural and natural that they should react in the same way as did men in Bible days.

God's Word describes the worship of some as having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5). It is the power, not the form, that brings about the visible manifestations of His presence! When God's people come together to worship Him, believing He is in their midst, they will sense His power in such a manner as to cause them to shake and tremble, laugh and weep, dance before Him, shout His praises, or fall at His feet as dead!

Jesus said,

The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him (John 4:23).

TRANCE

No, the true spiritual trance is not a thing of the past. Neither is it an "epileptic seizure" as some would have us believe. Seizure and coma are purely physical reactions due to disorder in the body, and are easily discerned by any spiritual Christian as being as unlike a spiritual trance as night is unlike day. When seizure or coma occurs, there is need for healing or deliverance. When the victim regains consciousness, there is an aftermath of discomfort and disability. When trance occurs, the individual is radiant with God's presence during the experience, and completely free of unpleasant after-effects, such as those which normally follow a seizure or coma.

It is, at times, during such trances that the individual loses contact with the world around him and is fully yielded to the power of God to such an extent that God can speak to him, even revealing things to come.

Paul, after returning to Jerusalem following his Damascus experience, declares that It came to pass, that...even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance (Acts 22:17). During that trance, God revealed matters to him that not only changed his life but the entire course of the Church and of the world.

The last days began at Pentecost and have not ended. The prophecy of Joel as quoted by Peter still applies today.

And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams (Acts 2:17).

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

This is too large a subject for this brief treatise.

However, I refer you to Acts 2:4 and Acts 10:44-46, wherein this phenomenon is described in connection with Christians receiving the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

Read also 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, where speaking in tongues is described as a gift of the Spirit. You may find these chapters difficult to understand, especially if you have had no experience related to the subject. These chapters are instructions to Spirit-filled churches, familiar with the fundamentals of the workings of the power of God. To others, they are about as useful as an electrician's chart is to an Aborigine.

God does have many wonderful gifts for His people. None of them should ever be belittled or ignored. If you do not understand them, wait patiently and seek His guidance.

Covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39).

THE REV. R. W. SCHAMBACH is one of America's dynamic pulpiteers. Daily his "Voice of Power" is beamed from radio stations throughout the United States and in several foreign countries. His Stateside crusades in great auditoriums and in his Gospel Tent are attended by thousands. And the missionary crusades regularly conducted abroad have witnessed some of the largest crowds to gather in the history of those nations.

Brother Schambach’s POWER Magazine is distributed to thousands of homes monthly; and all his sermons are available in cassette or printed form.

Headquarters for this globe-encircling ministry is in Tyler, Texas.

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