‘Day 313

“And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” Revelation:19:4,6. (NASB)

To recap: The worship in this text is grounded in God’s marvellous deliverance of His people from End-time Babylon (Rev.19:1-2). In Revelations 4 and 5, worship had taken place in response to creation and the cross. In the OT, worship was grounded on God’s mighty acts in the Exodus. True worship is always about an awareness of the mighty things that God has done for you. And the result of true worship is tangible. When we remember and recite what God has done, His mighty power is rekindled in us and our lives are changed.

There is one OT text that unpacks this in detail, 2Chronicles 20:1-23. The Israelites are under attack; they are outnumbered 3-1. The enemy is less than 50km from Jerusalem. King Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast and rises up in the temple courts to lead the prayers. 
Now if you were in his shoes what would you pray about? “Oh Lord, help us! Do something, please! We’re in big trouble!” Prayers get really focused when you are about to die! But Jehoshaphat’s actual prayer just rehearses the actions of God in the past. He reminds God of the Exodus and how God had promised the land to the Israelites forever. He puts God on the spot. “These nations wouldn’t even exist if You hadn’t spared them at the time of the Exodus!” Through a prophet, God assures him not to worry about the battle, God will fight for them.

So what does Jehoshaphat do? He sends out the temple choir to lead the army into battle!  And the enemy is destroyed. What was the choir singing that day? It wasn’t “Trust and Obey!” They were singing, “Give Thanks to the LORD, For His Love Endures Forever.” They were rehearsing the mighty acts of God. They were focused on God, not on the problem.

And what happened when they rehearsed the mighty acts of God in their past? The power of the original act was rekindled in their midst. The power of the Exodus became a living presence among them. The result was another mighty act of God to celebrate in the future! 
Right now, you can celebrate the mighty deliverance that Jesus has wrought for you when He Paid the price of your redemption and has, as a gift, given you’re the right to eternal life. Hallelujah to that!