“Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped” (Exodus 34:8). The revelation of God’s nature overwhelmed Moses when he saw how merciful, long-suffering and patient our Father is with his children — even the stiff-necked ones who grieve him.
It’s important to note that this is the first mention of Moses ever worshiping. Prior to this revelation of God’s glory, Moses tearfully prayed and interceded for Israel and even talked with God face to face. But this is the first time we read the words, “[Moses] worshiped.”
This tells us much about the church today. Christians can pray diligently without ever really worshiping; indeed, it’s possible to be a prayer warrior and intercessor and still not be a worshiper. Worship cannot be learned, it is a spontaneous outbreak — the act of a heart that’s been overwhelmed by a revelation of God’s glory and his incredible love for us.
Worship is a response of gratitude that recognizes how we should have been destroyed by our sin long ago, incurring the full wrath of God for all our failures. But, instead, God came to us with the powerful revelation, “I still love you!”
At this point in scripture, Moses was no longer pleading for sinful Israel and he wasn’t asking the Lord for guidance. He wasn’t even crying out for a miracle of deliverance or for power or wisdom. He was marveling at the revelation of the glory of God!
The revelation of God’s glory should be the wellspring of all our worship. We should regularly lay claim to his glory; it is our assigned right and it is meant to be claimed. When Paul says, “I do not set aside the grace of God” (Galatians 2:21), he means, “I won’t nullify God’s offer of mercy by rejecting it.” Those who truly worship God claim the blessing of his promises and see the glory of his love in Christ.
Lay hold of God’s glory today and allow him to guide you into a new revelation of worship.
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David Wilkerson (1931 – 2011)
Founder of Times Square Church in New York City with over 100 different languages spoken in the congregation. Wilkerson wrote many powerful books such as: The Vision and Cross and the Switchblade. His ministry was prophetic as God called him to be a watchman to the Church in North America. He gave clear messages on repentance to the Church.Wilkerson also founded Teen Challenge where there are hundreds of centres for Christ-centered drug recovery and addiction recovery. He also organized and spoke at pastors gatherings in many countries where he gave prophetic strong messages to encourage pastors and leaders.
Recommends these books by David Wilkerson:
The Vision and Beyond, Prophecies Fulfilled and Still to Come by David Wilkerson
Knowing God by Name: Names of God That Bring Hope and Healing by David Wilkerson
God's Plan to Protect His People in the Coming Depression by David Wilkerson
David Wilkerson is an American Christian evangelist, most well-known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade. He is also the founder of Times Square Church in New York, an interdenominational church.
Wilkerson is well-known for these early years of his ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. He co-authored a book about his work with the New York drug addicts, The Cross and the Switchblade, which became a best-seller, selling over 50 million copies in over thirty languages since it was published in 1963. The book was included among the 100 most important Christian books of the 20th century.
For over four decades, Wilkerson's ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. He has authored over 30 books.
David Wilkerson is the founder and president of World Challenge, Inc., a nonprofit organization incorporated on September 22, 1971. Reverend Wilkerson, the author of over thirty inspirational books, is perhaps best known for his early days of ministry to young drug addicts and gang members in Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn. His story is told in The Cross and the Switchblade, a book he co-authored which became a best-seller. (The story has been read by over 50 million people in some thirty languages and 150 countries since 1963. In 1969, a motion picture of the same title was released.)
For over four decades, Reverend Wilkerson's evangelistic ministry has included preaching, teaching and writing. Throughout that time a distinctive characteristic of his work has been his direct efforts to reach the neediest members of the population with help for both body and soul. Even now, the almost 70 year-old minister often goes out alone or sometimes with an assistant to walk through the streets of New York City, along Broadway and Eighth Avenue or down 42nd Street and nearby "Crack Alley" on 41st Street. His mission is always to seek out the lost, the disoriented, and the addicted , to tell them of the power of the risen Christ to set them free.
David Wilkerson, born in Hammond, Indiana on May 19, 1931, was married in 1953 to Gwen Carosso. The Wilkersons' two sons are ministers, and their two daughters are married to ministers. They have 11 grandchildren. The Wilkersons served small pastorates in Scottsdale and Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, until Reverend Wilkerson saw a photograph in Life magazine of several New York City teenagers charged with murder. Moved with compassion he was drawn to the city in February 1959. It was at that time he began his street ministry to what one writer called "desperate, bewildered, addicted, often violent youth.