Genuine Worship
October 19, 2020 - January 1, 2030
Genuine Worship
Genuine Worship
Testimony by David Teo (part one), 22, North Carolina
“Week 4 of DTS, I felt a calling to read Leviticus because of a dream where someone came up to me and called me a “Levite”. When I finally opened up the scriptures, the words JUMPED off the page. I became obsessed with ALTARS to the Lord. Why? Because the Altar was a place where a form of God’s presence resided.
In Leviticus 1, there’s a reference to 2 Samuel 24. In this chapter, David isn’t trusting the Lord to come through in battle, so he sends one of his officials to number all the fighting men in Israel to see how Israel’s numbers stack up to their foes. When David realizes his sin, he confesses it to God and wants to build an Altar to sacrifice and repent so that the plague on Israel may be averted. Then, David finds a threshing floor that he likes which is owned by a man named Araunah, who says….
“Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” The replies, “No, I will buy it from you for s price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing…”
Even though we live on this side of Christ’s payment, we still make sacrifices to God. It can be spending time with a friend in need, saying “no” at work to maintain our integrity, or while in a pew at church. But if we cheapen our sacrifice to the Lord and do things when they are “convenient” for us or “surrender” things that do not matter or have no value: HE IS NOT HONOURED.
This revelation was followed with an exhortation from an OG YWAM leader:
Marker Parker was standing next to me during worship. He looked over for a moment and motioned to me to get into it. I nodded back, but couldn’t get myself to be more excited and jump around… it didn’t feel right.
Afterwards, he asked me why I didn’t really step it up. He could tell. I told him that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to get exuberant. He asked me, “Why?”. I said I felt like I needed to be genuine in worship, so it felt wrong to get excited when my heart wasn’t in the right place. He responded:
“David, precisely when you don’t feel like worshiping, that is when you must. When you stop depending on your emotions to fuel your worship and start depending on the Spirit of God – that is when your worship becomes genuine.”
I was rattled. But then I realized he was right! OF WHAT COST TO OURSELVES IS WORSHIP THAT COMES EASILY?
Therefore, I must repeat the words of my namesake: “I will not make sacrifice to my God things that cost me noting.”
I spent hours worshiping and learning about worship on this worship DTS, but the most important lesson I learned was what Hebrew 13:15 and John 4:23 say: “let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise,” “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.”
When I’m not felling it, but in the complete dependence on God still place on the altar my real, 100% all-in worship, that is a powerful and honouring sacrifice.”
Hop on over to part two of David Teo’s testimonies, where he shares his heart and experiences of the Father Heart of God week of lectures during DTS. He opens up into a moment of vulnerability, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak truth about his identity.
“In the worshipstream I learned why we worship God, because he loved us first and because he’s worthy to be praised!
Also I learned that If you lead worship you have to be filled first in order to lead others into worship because you lead others in the intimacy that you have for yourself.”
Jaspar Wandtke, 20, Germany
“Upon first coming to DTS, I had settled for a mundane and ordinary life. But over time, He has captured my heart and instilled in me a new passion for His purpose. This has given me confident hope that I am worthy of intentionally being part of the greater good.”
Taya Newton, 20, Alberta, Canada
DBS has been a fulfilled prayer for me. When I was home, I asked the Lord to bring me deeper into his word, and He put that desire on my heart. I knew I would come back to staff, and I thought I would dive into it on my own. I found myself not having the right tools needed to effectively study God’s word. Once DBS became an option, I went for it wholeheartedly. I have been enjoying my time, going deeper than I imagined. God has shown me new things, removed false perspectives of his word and brought me into a deeper understanding of who he is. I have been challenged in many ways during this course, helping me find my place in God’s kingdom. I’ve been able to build a strong foundation with the Word of God. Over all, the Lord created a new heart within me that desires to love, praise, share joy, and bring others into the family of God. I love this school for all that is provided from strong friendships to heart moving moments in small groups and the teachings. My life will never be the same after this school!
Alex Denney, 20, Washington
“Being a part of the Justice Movement Stream has really challenged the way I see and define justice. It has made me more passionate and aware of the help this broken world needs, and what I can do to bring a stop to the injustice. I can now confidently say that I am able to take on the world, seeking justice and mercy for people in need.”
Chelsea Logan, 19, Newcastle, Australia
“Since being here at Marine Reach, my hunger for God has continued to grow more and more. In the Kingdom Come stream, our heart is to see the world changed by the message of His love and the demonstration of His power. It’s such a privilege to be apart of a group of people so on fire for Jesus!”
Joseph Pope, 25, Virginia, USA
“The Justice Movement Stream taught me to truly fall in love with and respect other cultures and people groups, and how to see them as God sees them.”
Kasandra Adler, 19, Missouri, USA
“God showed me that true worship always comes out of a place of intimacy and revelation of what Jesus has done for me. I realized that this is were I want to be – sitting at His feet and pouring out my love and affection before Him, because He’s so worthy.”
Julianna Suter, 20, Switzerland
“Being a Kingdom Come student was an awesome experience. We learned a lot about the kingdom of heaven and how to live it out in our daily lives.”
David Lindner, 21, Germany
“Being a part of the Pilgrimage Stream impacted my life for the better. Not only did it teach me how to function in a small community (as we shared the burden of climbing those mountains together), but also how to rely on one another, have fun and worship together, and, most importantly, how to be vulnerable with each other. The focus of our Stream taught me what it looks like to be on a pilgrimage for God. God calls us out of our homes to the wilderness, where we’ll see Him face-to-face, and are forced to fully depend on Him before we receive His inheritance.”
Harty Dumalagan, 21, B.C. Canada
“SPHC was a transformational turning point in my faith walk where I learned to focus on others, serve, and honour others with my skills. Everything I learned in the course I put into practice to serve in the mission work that we were doing in Vanuatu. In changing me the Lord has changed my future and I walk with him and others in everything that I do.”
Paul Kerpel, 23, Alberta, Canada