Love ExpressedSample

The Victorious Chariot of Worship

By Eric Orson

One day, as I was praying about worship and specifically its role in spiritual warfare, I felt like the Holy Spirit gave me a vision of a mighty chariot. In ancient times, chariots had a very prestigious and important function in battle. In fact, most artists depict biblical war scenes by painting a mighty king in his royal chariot drawn by a big, white horse, charging bravely into battle with his army. The Bible often refers to chariots as symbols of great power reserved for kings (Psalm 68:17; Isaiah 66:15; Jeremiah 17:25).

In the same way, our worship is a powerful chariot in that it’s a vehicle that ushers in the presence of our King—Jesus Christ. In Matthew 18, Jesus said: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20, NKJV). How incredible is that! When we gather together to worship, Jesus Himself shows up in our midst!

Jesus also said: “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life” (John 8:12, NLT). By its very nature, light dispels all darkness. And when we usher in the presence of our King— Jesus Christ—we usher in His light, which dispels all darkness and brings healing, freedom, victory and peace (John 3:20–21).

Contrary to what many believe, true godly peace isn’t the absence of warfare or conflict. Instead, true peace occurs when Jesus’ presence is on you and within you in the face of the war raging around you. And that’s why worship is one of our greatest weapons as we engage in spiritual warfare. When you worship, you usher in Jesus’ presence, bringing His light and peace into your life, which drives away all darkness and leads you to victory.

My wife and I have a one-year-old baby boy. Occasionally, our baby would wake up suddenly in the middle of the night crying inconsolably for no apparent reason. As new parents, we tried all the typical tricks to soothe him, but to no avail. It wasn’t until we began worshipping and declaring God’s name over him that we saw his little heart be at peace again and he would fall fast asleep. It was simple: We worshipped. Jesus’ presence was ushered in. His light overcame the darkness and brought peace to our son.

But praise and worship isn’t only a powerful weapon on a personal level; it’s also incredibly powerful on a corporate level. Because when we worship together as a congregation of believers, the impact of our worship is exponentially magnified. When you were a kid, did you ever use a magnifying glass to focus sunlight into a red hot, burning laser beam? Bugs, my dad’s lawn furniture, my sister’s foot … nothing was safe from me and my magnifying glass laser beam! Corporate worship works in the same way. As we lift our voices together and praise the Lord in song, we combine and unify our individual supply of light. This, in turn, exponentially creates an even more intense and deadly weapon against darkness and ushers in an atmosphere where the truly miraculous can occur!

The Bible gives us an extraordinary example of the power of united corporate worship in Joshua 6. As the priests blew horns and the Israelites shouted with one mighty voice, the walls of Jericho triumphantly fell and the city was overtaken! When we gather together as a church body and collectively lift our praise unto the Lord, God’s great power is released. When we shout for joy and sing aloud our adoration of our King, any obstacles or massive walls the Enemy tries to put in our way are annihilated and turned to dust!

Next time you engage in worship— whether individually in private or corporately at church—remember the power you have through the Holy Spirit to take back ground for the kingdom of God. We’ve been charged with an important assignment and responsibility to usher in the presence of Jesus in order to drive back the darkness. And we can literally change the direction of any situation for the better through the chariot of worship. Because when we shine the light of His presence into our battles, we will find victory!

Christ is looking for a volunteer army that will stretch forth His strong scepter of authority, ruling in the midst of their enemies, enforcing His great victory. So, once again, did He place all other authorities under foot or do we? Yes! He did; we enforce. He conquered Satan and his kingdom; we enforce the victory.
~ Dutch Sheets

Prayer

Father, thank You for the power we have in worship through the Holy Spirit to be an offensive weapon in spiritual warfare. Help us to be bold and take action against the Enemy in our lives and in the lives of others, knowing that we fight from victory not for victory. In Christ, the battle has already been won! Thank You, Father! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Activation

Next time you’re hit with bad news or feel any kind of weight or oppression of spiritual warfare, try dropping everything and simply lifting your voice in worship—a worship song, hymn, scripture or just speak out praises to the lord for who he is and what he has done. Use words like you would for a prayer, but sing them with a melody. it doesn’t have to sound good—just let it come from your heart. let this be a regular exercise for you as you spend time with the lord. Sometimes worship is just thanking God for the blessings you have, instead of the challenges or fears in front of you. remember the past challenges he’s brought you through. reflecting on his goodness and faithfulness makes all the difference in changing your perspective. 

Memory Verse

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. Ephesians 1:4 (NLT)