People love to dance. And it’s not a thing of the flesh. Man wants to praise. He wants to praise with dance. These are body languages. This language carries a message. The one watching is supposed to receive the message through this language.
Many genres of dance art, such as ballet, theater and others, convey a message, and people understand this language. But religion went into such blindness that it considered dancing a sin.
Yes, there are different kinds of dance. There are those that awaken low feelings in a person, but there are those that have a language of worship. Of course, the dance should not glorify the body, in a dance you don’t admire yourself. I call it different tongues when we can demonstrate God’s love in different languages.
Oh, if I were a bird, I would make such incredible twists in the air! And if I were a fish, I would jump out of the water and make noise to glorify the Lord under the water and above the water! And if I were a mole, I would shout underground: “Hell, shut down!” It seems to me that whoever you are, you can dance. I don’t know how moles dance, but I know how flying fish, dolphins and birds dance.
You have seen how huge myriads of birds fly in a bizarre dance – they never knock each other down, they twist the same circles all together.
One man, our friend, taught me how to watch birds. I watch the sparrows in the morning. They gather in one tree and start chirping so loudly, as if they had some kind of planning meeting, for about twenty minutes, they chirp so loudly! Incessantly, in the cold, they are filled with singing! They sing so beautifully! I was surprised: “What kind of hubbub is this?” I look out the window – and these are sparrows! Then suddenly, as if by a conductor’s move, they fall silent, and fly away on business, to work.
Do you understand what God has put in these little heads? The sparrow has a head like a thimble. But he praises God so much, so beautifully! Where does this come from? It’s not an instinct. It is written, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” Everything that breathes has a heart because it pumps blood. If you breathe, then you must oxygenate your blood. “Everything that has breath” means all insects, birds, fish, and us.
One of the martial arts of the spirit for us is to believe in God celebrating Jesus. You think it’s easy. But it’s difficult. When something brings you pain, you experience losses, but you still celebrate Jesus. It is written: “Keep the feast not with old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” God’s Word tells us to celebrate Jesus. Because He is risen. It’s not only Easter day that we should celebrate it, but it is for every day, He is risen forever. You need to understand that Jesus was resurrected for you personally.
Today the Lord calls us to see the Risen Christ. The Lord revealed to us from the very beginning about the Church of free praise. What does He mean by this? So that we can understand something. We need to learn that the Church is to be a church of free praise. This doesn’t mean showing off how beautifully you dance. It’s something bigger, when your faith is this praise. This also applies to worship. Our faith is our worship. Bow down to the Almighty God, bow down to the Great God. The Heavenly Father is looking for His worshippers.
I ask a question: can I call my faith worship? If I am a “beggar”, then I just always ask. One seems to be a prayer man, but keeps asking things all the time. I think it’s better not to pray like that. It is written that we always have the poor with us, but not always we have Christ.
From the very beginning we have served the poor. I have always had this in my heart – not to pass by a beggar. Something happened to my heart at my 20 when Jesus took it. Love dwelled in it, some kind of mystery happened. I remember how I was in a tram and saw a beggar lying in the street, and I though: “Lord, if I pass by, then I won’t be able to sleep.” I returned, took him, dragged him home. I was surprised that this happened to me. It all happened in secret, before no one, just myself. God changes people’s hearts.
God is looking for worshipers.
How can you celebrate Jesus? – Celebration is always associated with joy. The greatest joy is in heaven.
What is joy about? Heaven rejoices about the Lord and saved sinners! Scripture says that all heaven rejoices over one sinner repenting. This is what Jesus said: “All the angels rejoice…”. How important it is to Scripture that it’s “all the angels”! Myriads of Angels rejoice over a saved sinner. I think that the heavens rejoice non-stop, because sinners repent one by one.
I experienced it myself. I was looking for a church, I needed the people of God. I went to the Orthodox, Catholics, Evangelical believers. And one day I got into a community where I saw love. The Holy Spirit manifested in radiance of a certain color, the Bible had fragrance around it. For a few more weeks I could smell it, as it kept flowing from the Word. God gave me a gift – to see His presence. In different churches I saw the presence of God. But I saw it differently. Somewhere it was stronger, other places weaker. Then I got to a place where there was a strong presence of God. I was sitting in a small apartment, there were a lot of people, mostly old people, but I remember how the Holy Spirit touched my heart. I don’t remember whether I made it to the end of the meeting or not, but I said: “Brothers and sisters, if you consider me worthy, receive me! If possible, can I also be saved?” At that time I didn’t know anything, how to speak correctly. And they all rejoiced, “squealed”, and the pastor approached me, already an elderly man, knelt beside me and laid his hands on my head, and how the church “exploded” with the Spirit, how everyone began to pray with tears and cries of joy! And I was carried away somewhere, and so everything spun – and laughter, and joy, and crying, and celebration. I saw, as it were, millions, millions of glare – how the ocean glitters at sunset – millions, millions of glare came from the setting sun! I took a closer look – and these are the wings of Angels! So many Angels – they were flapping their wings, I realized that heaven had accepted me!
Just think what we have! What a treasure!
These people, strangers to me according to the flesh, were crying out of love for me and for the Lord! It touched me very much. I later realized that the Angels received my soul. This is what it means that all the angels rejoice when one sinner repents! How important it is for us to preach the Gospel! How important and valuable it is to bring joy to heaven!
I think that’s the way to celebrate Jesus. And celebration of Jesus is connected with the joy of the Angels, the joy of heaven. If we want to know true joy, we should look up to heaven and what it rejoices about.
God created man for joy. He gave delicious food – this is not “chemistry”, this is the soul. A smile back brings joy to the soul. Nice weather. Nice picture. A healthy soul is a joyful soul. Therefore, keep your heart in joy. Don’t fade.
If you allow sadness to take over, you will be spiritually ill. A sad church is spiritually sick. Something is wrong with it. It feeds on some false Word. Because pure milk of the Word brings joy. Proper nutrition, even if it is solid food, brings strength – to overcome adversity and overcome sorrows. Therefore, Scripture teaches to remove sorrow from one’s heart.
In traditional religions, despondency is considered a mortal sin – like fornication or murder. A despondent person turns away from God – he doesn’t believe Him, but believes his own feelings. Keep your joy.
When joy turns into fruit, you have to fight for it. You can’t simply “pick it up” on the road. One has to fight for it to stay above feelings. Love by faith, sacrifice by faith, believe by faith!
Therefore, celebrate Jesus! Church of God, celebrate Jesus! Let’s make a decision: to believe celebrating Him. What a wonderful faith! God’s faith! Christ had sorrow from the sin of man, but the joy of heaven lies deepest of all – it can’t be touched unless you yourself give it away.
Don’t give away your joy, celebrate Jesus, be strong. A joyful heart heals many people, but a desponding heart dries the bones. Come on, don’t be discouraged! Stay in the light. Let our churches feed on the good Gospel teaching and grace. Because grace is a good gift.
Another martial art of the spirit is that when we have fellowship with each other, the Blood of Jesus washes over us.
When spiritual weakness, despondency comes to you, and as soon as you get with the saints, then something secret and wondrous happens – then you fly out of there with your wings! You’ve done nothing, just been with the saints, but you come out strong. That’s a promise that works, the Blood of Jesus washes over us when we have fellowship with one another. This is healthy communication. Not when you went to gossip, but when you went to the saints. We don’t meet for gossip, we meet for the spiritual fellowship of Jesus, and turn everything into prayer. And when we have this miracle, the Blood of Jesus washes over us.
Paul once kept silent, had no power to preach the Gospel. But when he saw Timothy, he exploded in spirit. A young man who was younger than Paul encouraged Paul. We have such young men. You just have to look at them, and it feels is if you took communion. They have the power to empower the saints with strength and joy.
This martial art is called – “Draw strength in your neighbor.” Draw strength from one other! And those, who have the power, don’t be stingy. Give me living water to drink from you! It is written that “if one member rejoices, the whole body rejoices.”
Draw strength from your neighbor. I have come to give you a blessing. And you do the same. Celebrate Jesus, dance before Him!
I am very interested in how Apostle Paul moved with Barnabas. The brothers got into situations where it was necessary to expose the insides. And in one place, in Lystra, one man was sitting, unable to walk. He was a cripple from his mother’s womb. He had never walked. Never. He didn’t know what it meant to jump and run. And Paul, seeing faith in him, said with a loud voice (this is Apostolic courage), “I say to you in the Name of Jesus Christ, stand up straight on your feet!” And he immediately leaped and walked.
Imagine the power! The man had never walked. Peter did this at the temple, and Paul in Lystra, among the Gentiles, far away. He did the same.
It is written that Paul saw faith in him. Paul didn’t look at his watch as preachers do, he looked into his eyes. He looked into the eyes when he preached. And when he saw this man, he realized that the crippled man had faith. So Paul was looking for faith when he preached! He did what Jesus did when he preached, because Jesus is looking for faith on earth. Jesus is looking for faith in us.
So when you preach the Gospel, look into people’s eyes. Look for faith. And if you catch faith, then command all the seas to stop, the heavens to bow, the lame to leap, the deaf to sing songs, and the poor to preach the Gospel!
“Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them…” (Acts 14:11-15)
Modern preachers are so fond of praise. Paul would never do such a thing. These people offered sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas. But the Apostles tore their clothes and rushed into the people, loudly stopping them! This is what the Apostles of truth do!
But how these same people changed: “… then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there and having persuaded the multitudes to leave them behind, saying: “They don’t say anything true, but they all lie.” And arousing the people, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead” (Acts 14:19). The same people that wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul changed their minds and wanted to kill Paul!
“And when the disciples were gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city, and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe” (Acts 14:20). That’s what we are talking about – to draw strength from your neighbor. I am sure that if the disciples hadn’t come, Paul wouldn’t have risen up. When they came, something began to happen and move apart. Life began to overflow. The empowerment came. The spirit began to move, and Paul rose up!
It doesn’t even say that they prayed. They just gathered around him, and Paul rose up and went into the city.
“And when they had preached the Gospel to this city and made many disciples, they went back to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the Kingdom of God”. So when they had appointed elders in every church, they prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed” (Acts 14:21-23).
The incredible power of life in Paul! He wasn’t physically strong. This is the power of Christ’s life. This is trust in the Eternal One.
The sermon was crowned with beauty. They strengthened the disciples. After being stoned for the Gospel, you shall strengthen. Why do so many weaken? Because they didn’t suffer for Christ. The person who has suffered for Christ and has received God’s grace to rise up after suffering carries strengthening, he will strengthen.
Paul and Barnabas strengthened the souls of the disciples, exhorted them to abide in the faith, and taught that through many tribulations we have to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Not blessings, but sorrows. It was Apostle Paul’s preaching.
What a holy priesthood! Paul prayed with fasting and ordained elders in every church. That’s faithfulness to the Gospel! It was a dedicated vessel. They imparted the faith they had in themselves. Today it’s a simple Word. But the prophetic ministry reveals the truth and makes it comprehensible through the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
This is an amazing Word! Suffering for Christ, the power of God, humility, the rising power of life, this is the joy of the Lord in the celebration of Jesus Christ, the sacred action for the rise of churches, and this is the rising of priests of God throughout the earth. In this purity and truth, we will be saved and will save those who listen to us, who come to meet us and along the way!