Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: May cause and will share updates on the situation.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Life 97.5 FM. The place where families gather. Life 97.5 FM. The place for daily inspiration. The station proclaiming the love of Christ every day, all day long. This is life 97.5 FM. Listen love live word that you've been.
[00:00:26] Speaker C: Waiting for all night.
Darwin, where are you?
How many know that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all you can ask something according to the power that worketh.
Hallelujah. How many believe it? Tonight somebody turn to your neighbor and tell your neighbor he's able.
Tell somebody else he's able.
Y'all ready?
Exceedingly, abundantly, above all, all you could ask according to the power that works in you.
You God is able to do just what he said he would do.
He's gonna fulfill every promise to you.
Don't give up on God. Cause he won't give up on you. He's able.
[00:02:10] Speaker D: Good evening and welcome to Elevate Take Me Higher. A one hour program that seeks to provide persons with an outlet for spiritual guidance through songs of inspirational worship and messages while spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping to transform the lives of persons. It will also provide a forum for open holistic discussion about issues impacting society from a biblical perspective. I am your host, Terry Jones and with me today in the capacity of co host is none other than Michelle Williams.
[00:02:46] Speaker B: Good evening, Barbados. Good evening to the region and the world.
[00:02:51] Speaker D: Sister Michelle, I was speaking with the producer of the show and they were so impressed with your first two sessions that they said we gotta elevate her. We gotta take her higher and make her a co host.
[00:03:03] Speaker B: Yes, Lord.
Thank you Brother Terry. It's my blessing to be here and.
[00:03:09] Speaker D: We are so happy that you're giving up your Sunday evenings to come and help minister with us.
[00:03:16] Speaker C: It was fragrance then it turned to fire A this is how you win your B roll let's go tell your neighbor say give me space give me space give me earthquakes where the response to my worship the fragrance of my worship rose up to the father Noises all these lightnings when the response to my worship the praise rose of my worship rose up to the father Noises out waits while the rest voice still my worship the fragrance of my worship rose up to the father Noises like this where the rest do my worship falls into sa then turn to fire My worship is my this is I win my battle fast is your favorite bang it up to fire hey. My worship is this is how I win my battles Everybody's like a fragrance of my Fragrance of my worship rose up to the father Noises of the rest goes to my worship. Yay. Reverend Song. My worship rose up to the father Noises, thunders, lightning where the rest comes to My worship Rose up to the Is my weapon.
This is how I win my. This is how I win My worship is. My worship is. My.
[00:06:42] Speaker D: Sister Michelle, we have a whole thing to discuss this evening.
Don't be selfish. Be selfless.
But when I heard that sound just now, I. I was wondering if we could draw on your skill set to explain the whole idea of fragrance to fire.
[00:07:05] Speaker B: Well, initially, Brother Terry, when I listened to this song, beautifully rendered by Danson Oye Kyan, beautifully, all I thought about was what does our praise and our worship actually do? When we go to church every Sunday and we join together with everybody else in the congregation, what are the effects of the singing, of the dancing, of the praising, the worshiping? What are the effects of this dung sung, sang about this fragrance that turns into fire? But what is he really talking about? You know, in Psalms 141, it says, David said, let my prayers be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. And I think another version also says, lord, treat my prayers as sweet incense rising. My raised hands are my evening prayers. And the Word also says that where two or three are gathered together, there he is also. So when we are together every Sunday or Wednesday, or whenever the saints of God come together and they're singing and they're praising God, the Word actually says that our prayers, our praises and our worship ascends to him as incense.
[00:08:32] Speaker D: Well, the Bible says that Christians are to be living sacrifices unto God, living each day to accomplish the good works for which they were created. So are you tying that idea then to fragrance, to fire, that we become a living sacrifice consumer by this fire?
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Yes, Brother Terry, but let me go back, because, you know, as an educator, I always have to set the foundation for where we're going. And if you may recall, in the Lord's Prayer, it says, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Whenever we meet together for praise and for worship, we are really coming into parallel with the protocol of heaven. Let me say that again. Whenever we join together for prayer, praise for worship, we are really aligning ourselves here on earth with exactly what is going on in heaven. I'm going to take you to Revelations. Revelation 5. 8 says that. And this is John speaking when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures. And the four and 20 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense. Now, you just asked me about this incense because you asked me about the fragrance. So stay with me now. In heaven, the Word declares that our God is being worshiped day and night, night and day. The elders are worshiping, the angels are worshiping. And the Word declares that the elders fall down before the Lamb. And each of them had a harp and golden bowls that are full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. So when we come together and we sing and we lift our hands and we worship our God, our prayers are actually being collected in these bowls and the harp or music, our worship is all being aligned or coming parallel to exactly what is going on in heaven.
[00:11:04] Speaker D: So would you say that we are, in a sense, giving ourselves away?
We are giving up ourselves for a bigger cause?
[00:11:14] Speaker B: I would say so. You see, when we come together, there is no space for us to be selfish. In fact, I dare say when we worship together, that is the ideal space for us to be selfless.
[00:11:29] Speaker D: Well, there's a worship minister who has a song with exactly that title. And we're gonna have a listen to William McDowell now.
Give myself away.
[00:11:44] Speaker C: I give myself away so you can use me I give myself away I give myself away so you can Come on, let him know. I give myself away I give myself away so you can you I give myself away.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: What would happen if a generation embraced this?
Come on, tell them.
[00:12:36] Speaker C: Here I am Here I am Here I stand Lord My life is in your hand Lord I d to see Lord Desires reveal in me I give myself away My life does not belong.
[00:13:16] Speaker B: To me.
[00:13:19] Speaker C: I want to be used.
[00:13:20] Speaker D: By you.
[00:13:32] Speaker C: Give myself away so you so God make my heart save My heart Take my life as a living sa Stepping forward Give myself away Give myself away oh God I give myself away oh, so you can you can you oh God Give myself away Give myself away so you I give myself away I belong to you I give myself away Give myself away so you can use me Lord I give myself away My mind doesn't belong to me I give myself away Give myself away Do I belong I give myself I give myself to you Our life is not.
[00:16:27] Speaker D: I give myself away so you can use me and the Dictionary.com says that being selfish is to be chiefly concerned with one's own interests, an advantage, etc, especially to the total exclusion of the interest of others.
Sister Michelle, am I seeing that.
[00:16:54] Speaker C: It.
[00:16:55] Speaker D: Can help you avoid being selfish? May you become a worshiper?
[00:17:01] Speaker B: Certainly if you're going to worship along with other people.
[00:17:05] Speaker D: Right.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: I dare say that, you know, the Bible says, forsake not the assembling together of yourselves. Forsake not the assembling together of the brethren. Congregational worship is so important. I know there are many people who might say, or some people who may say, I'm a Christian and I don't have to go to church. I don't know how you do it. That support, that structure, that encouragement that we receive when we are all together. That synergy of being in the same place with people of like mind, worshiping the same God, crying out to him for the same, same reasons. Oh, wonderful.
[00:17:49] Speaker D: Well, Sister Michelle, we, we hear this all the time. People say, well, I, I'll just stay home, you know, and I, I'll watch it online. But the experience within the sanctuary is like none other. And I, I think that you should want to desire to be in the house of the Lord and, and being online alone is not sufficient for not the gathering of his saints.
[00:18:18] Speaker B: I agree with you totally. Permit me, though, to go back to the Old Testament. We spoke just not about that fragrance and that incense and how our prayers and our prayers, praises, and our worship are being collected in these bowls. We spoke just now about how we are aligning ourselves or coming parallel to what is going on in heaven when we worship God together here on earth.
You know the tabernacle of Moses, if you recall, that tabernacle hid the Ark of the Covenant. In it, you had the outer court, you had the inner court, and you had the holy of holies. And if you recall, the ark was actually hidden behind the holy of holies.
After that, David himself built a temple, a tabernacle for the Lord. And if you would recall as well, in the Word of God, it says that there was no veil to keep the people from seeing the glory of God in the tabernacle in the sanctuary, instead of the veil that Moses would have used, David's veil was actually musicians and singers. And the Word declares in the first Chronicles. I think it is, I think it's in chapter six that David organized 4,000 musicians and 288 singers to minister to God in shifts.
Think about it. Parallel again. Like in heaven, day and night, night and day. The Word declares that David actually paid some of them. In fact, the Levites were called, and they were taken care of by the church to minister day and night, night and day, 24 hours in the sanctuary.
You're talking about being selfless.
Now, let me show you the effects of that we know that there are battles that are won in the heavenlies.
We know that there are fights that we sometimes will never even see in the earthly realm because of what takes place in the heavenly realm when we pray, when we praise and when we worship God. We spoke last week about King Jehoshaphat and how after the worshippers were sent out first, the army that was fighting against them actually began to turn on each other.
There is power in our corporate praise and power in our corporate worship.
[00:21:05] Speaker D: So what I'm hearing you saying is that if we could break this selfishness, this innate nature of man and become more aligned, become more aligned with the worship as you outlined it. Some of the things we are seeing here from selfishness where we say that self love fills self love fills a selfish man heart. He has no grief at another's trouble and no pleasure in another's joy. Wow. Instead of feeling as a member of a great body moved by the common pulse of a common life, he is like a solitary cell, detached and self concentrated. What a travesty.
[00:22:24] Speaker C: Give you praise, Lord. We give you praise.
We give you praise, Lord, we praise Jes Ra.
I. I can feel your presence here in this place. Oh I.
Yes, I can feel your spirit, your spirit.
Move by your spirit. Moved by your spirit. Moved by your spirit. Moved by your spirit, Lord. Move by your spirit, Lord. Move by your spirit, Lord. Move by your spirit, Lord. Move the Lord.
Touch, heal and deliver.
Touch, heal and deliver. Touch, heal and deliver. Touch, heal and deliver. Touch, heal.
Move by your spirit, Lord. We can feel you. We can feel you. We can fill you. We can, we can feel you. We can feel you. We can feel you. We can feel you. We can feel you. Jeremiah said, Jeremiah said, Jeremiah said. Jeremiah said, Jeremiah said. Just like father, Just like father. Just like father. Jeremiah, Jeremiah, Jeremiah. Just like father. Just like.
[00:27:15] Speaker D: That was Hymn of Praise by William McDowell I can feel. I can feel your presence in this place.
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[00:28:44] Speaker D: Sister Misha, there's a part in that song where the chords distinctly change and you feel the change in the mood of the sound. And McDowell then says, you know, I can feel your presence in this place, indicating it's God is here.
And is he speaking about almost the idea of heaven on earth, Heaven coming down to where we are. Could you tell us about that?
[00:29:19] Speaker B: Our prayers, our praise and our worship to God brings heaven to earth. So as we mirror the realities of heaven, we actually release and establish those realities here on earth. Now, you may remember that we spoke just now at the very beginning of the show. I would have recalled or recited the Lord's Prayer. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.
You remember the rest on earth as it is in heaven. Can you imagine that we have, just by what we do and what we say, we have the authority to usher the presence of Almighty God in a space and in a place through our worship.
[00:30:14] Speaker D: Wow.
[00:30:15] Speaker B: The presence of the Lord brings joy and peace and. And healing and deliverance. And we say these things a lot.
And if that really is the case, it would mean then that when we meet together, whenever we meet together, it can just be a song service.
[00:30:33] Speaker D: Wow. Sister Michelle, you are on the ball. You can call us at 467-7355 or landline or you can call. You can send a WhatsApp on 256-5433. Please call us WhatsApp us. Let us hear your thoughts. So, Sister Michelle, I'm in the sanctuary.
The presence of God is there.
Do things happen?
[00:31:01] Speaker B: That would depend.
You see, God allows us. Okay, let me put it this way. God comes to us the way we are. He does.
But you know what? He also desires that we come to him the way he is, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord. He that has clean hands and a pure heart. So when you are coming to the sanctuary, you should prepare yourself first. Not only if you are a minister, but as a child of God, you reverence the space as a holy place. The temple, the meeting place, the place where God is. So you cleanse yourself. You pray. You ask God to wash you cleanse. You pray for your Heart and your mind. God, this morning as I'm going into church, Lord, let my thoughts align with whatever is you would have for me to receive today. Father. I come into this place, Lord God, and I want to honor you with who I am. Purify me from the crown of my head, Lord, to the soles of my feet.
You reverence the place and you reverence the space that you are in. And you understand that that connection between heaven and earth and how you enter into that connection is critical. You see, worship is all about posture. There is no place for ego. There is no place for showing off. And no, we did not come to show off our clothes. We did not come to fix our hair to show off our makeup. None of that. We did not come to meet a husband and you did not go to meet your wife. That's not what this is about. Worship is about the posture of our hearts. And I would never forget the quote by Apostle Joshua Salmon. A worshiper is someone who understands the dynamics of hosting the presence of God. So I cleanse myself first because I know he is holy and I reference him as being the one true and living God, Yahweh, the creator of heaven and all earth, the all powerful God, the almighty God, the faithful God, the loving God, generations after generations praise you. So I come into your presence with an understanding of who you are and I take my place.
[00:33:20] Speaker D: Well, you're really driving home the theme for this evening because from what I'm hearing, you, you can't do this and be selfish. You can't do the type of worship that you're talking about, the preparation. So it's not just under worship leader, it's everybody to come into the house of Lord ready to worship. So when the worship leader says, put your hand in the air, you know, it's not about obeying you. It's about the heart of worship that I have inside coming out.
[00:33:47] Speaker B: Yes, sir. It is not about me in those moments. It is about us. And you know, I always love to say something very special to worship leaders. When you get on that platform, it's no longer I, Lord, I thank you, Lord, I praise you, Lord. You are good to me. Oh no, we are not together as a body. So Lord, we thank you, Lord, we praise you, Lord, you have been so good to us. And to invite the congregation to worship and to bring their praise and their praises together. You invite the congregation to tow to the Lord, which is the lifting of the hands to the Lord, to extend themselves, to be deliberate and intentional about involving their whole bodies. In the worship before their God. You invite the congregation to Shabbat. The Lord. Come on, church. Let us shout unto God with a voice of triumph. We know that there is victory Victory on the other side of our shout. We know there's victory on the other side of our praise. Come on, church, let's open up our mouths and give God the glory that he deserves. Worship is selfless and we are so.
[00:34:58] Speaker D: Thankful that there are music ministers who've tapped in and who've delivered songs like Flow to you. Bishop Paul Martin. We're gonna have a listen to that song now.
[00:35:10] Speaker C: Worship in this house that has to.
[00:35:12] Speaker B: Be brought forth this morning.
[00:35:15] Speaker C: And let us lift it up now.
Pray in all I do.
Let the river of my worship flow to you, Lord.
Like streams in the valley they swell with the rain Let the songs of my heart let him rise to bless your name and flow to you.
Glory you, Lord. Let my worship glory you.
Is that your desire?
Well then lift it up with us. Flow to you, Flow to you Let the river of my worship Let it follow you, Lord, I pray it's my praise all I do, everything I do Let the river of my worship glow to you like streams in the valley like streams in the bath they swell with the rain Let the songs of my heart rise to bless your name Rise to bless your name the river of my worship go to you it's your personal declaration to your Savior it's just between you and the river Lift up your worship to him Lift up your worship to him Lift up your worship to him Lift up your worship again Let all my praise Let all my worship my praise Let all my praise lo you.
[00:40:21] Speaker D: Back at me but that I'm still basking in that sound Flow to you. So you know, life is so much about self and persons talk about self even seeing society today, there's the person's, it's all about me.
But here's a song saying Flow to you, Flow to you. Let the rivers of my worship flow to you.
Is there any result happening there?
I release it. I flow to you. What happens after?
[00:41:11] Speaker B: Yes, there is an end result. Now we know that worship invites God's presence where we are. We know that praise invites God's presence where we are. And as we said before, the presence of God brings all these wonderful things. There's joy and there's peace and there's healing and deliverance and all that. But the presence of God in the word of God is often synonymous with the fire of God, the Holy Spirit. And when God comes, his fire in many occasions is also used as a weapon of destruction.
Our prayers and our praise and our worship is actually winning battles for us on the other side. Quote, unquote. We talked about Joshua and the battle of Jericho. We talked about King Jehoshaphat. But I want you to know that in the word of God I am seeing the fire of God, or the presence of God as a weapon of destruction where the Lord's fire smite enemies.
I remember the servant Elisha, remember he saw chariots of fire coming to rescue the Israelites. Remember that.
And the Lord himself would stand a wall of fire around Jerusalem to ensure its protection. That's in the word of God.
Even in terms of Nahum 2:13, it says a fiery punishment awaited Nineveh.
God's fire is nothing to be played with.
And when we pray and when we praise and we worship God and we are going through our stresses and our issues and our problems, we don't fight with guns and knives.
We fight with our worship and our praise. And our worship is actually our weapon.
[00:43:17] Speaker D: Well, that's really food for us to digest. And we have another song here that speaks about the heart of worship by promise. It's a live performance. I was watching it and I thought that it really connected with many things that we've said on this show.
So we want to have a listen as the Lily singer Sheldon Hope takes us through.
[00:43:57] Speaker C: When the music fades and all it swept away Then I simply come oh Lord, I know belonging just to pray Something dance of words that will bless your heart.
I'll bring you more than a song for the song in itself. It's not what you have required not what you have required. You search much deeper than those by the way things appear. You look into my heart I'm coming back to the heart of the worship. And it's all about you, oh Jesus. All about you, Jesus. I'm sorry for this thing We've made it. When it's all about oh Jesus all about you, Jesus King of endless words no one can express how much you deserve.
Though I'm weak and poor All I have is your every single breath.
I'll bring you more than a song for a song in itself. It's not what you have required.
You search much deeper than those by the great things appear. You're looking into my own about you, Jesus. All about you all about you, Jesus. I'm coming back to the heart, the heart, the heart of a world, Jesus. All about you, Jesus. I'm sorry for this thing We've made it well it's all about you.
It's all about you. Jesus.
[00:47:03] Speaker D: Well, I just love that live performance.
Sister Michelle, the heart of worship is that referring to our posture when we come before God?
[00:47:14] Speaker B: Yes, it is. Permit me to read from Genesis 4 through 3 to 5. The word says, in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering, fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering, he did not look with favor.
So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast. There's actually an offering that you can present to God that God don't like, that God is not pleased with. There's actually a sacrifice that you can offer to God that God is not impressed with and doesn't smell good to him. So my question is, what is your posture?
John 4, 23 and 24 says, but the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. So that means then I cannot be consumed with affirmation.
Worship leaders, when you go on the platform, no one must pat you on your back and say, good job. You look at the place this morning, you had it here.
[00:48:53] Speaker D: Literally.
[00:48:54] Speaker B: Literally. No man. No one must say to you, well done. And if anyone, and if no one says anything to you, how do you go home?
What is your attitude?
And beyond that, how did you come into his presence? What is your posture? You see, worship requires sincerity. But sincerity is no substitution for purity.
There's no place for showing off. There's no place for bad attitudes. No place for dishonoring leadership. I don't like this body on my team. I didn't want them singing with me. I hate when that worship leader on, I don't want he at all.
[00:49:35] Speaker D: You know, is it interesting that then that selfishness then talks about being careful about pride?
[00:49:47] Speaker B: Certainly worship is an act of surrender, presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice unto God, holy and acceptable to him.
[00:50:04] Speaker A: Elevate. Coming to you with the compliments of Auto Aid. Do you know where your vehicles are right now? With Auto Aid's cutting edge GPS tracking service, you can track, locate, protect and recover your vehicle in real time. With Auto Aid, you get real time GPS tracking and instant alerts, making fleet management easier than ever. Whether you manage one vehicle or 100, Auto Aid's GPS solution helps you monitor your fleet, save time, money and even reduce your carbon footprint. Our system features include track, locate and recover vehicles anytime, anywhere, remotely disable our vehicle, receive speed and geofence alerts when vehicles leave designated areas right to your phone or email. Plus advanced features like tire pressure, door open and temperature sensors and an SOS button for emergencies. Do it yourself Plug and play OBD solutions are also available. Call or WhatsApp Auto Aid at 246-287-1717 today and take control of your fleet with Auto Aid GPS tracking service because your fleet deserves the best.
[00:51:22] Speaker D: Sister Michelle I think I want to hear a little bit more of that live performance at Gospel Fest By Promise.
[00:51:33] Speaker C: If like never before, we needed to seek the Lord, I seek your face.
I recognize you are able, reassuring and faithful Lord, you're my prayer afraid to the end the brothers keeper, the king and the ruler it's you I fear you try on my I see the Come on, lift those hands to the Lord all over this place today.
[00:52:34] Speaker B: You'Re.
[00:52:35] Speaker C: My closer than a brother yes am I wrapped in yours, mine you make life to be so worthwhile Lord am as a child seeking your provision Lord, I hunger today for your word. I pray I seek your face, I seek your face.
When I seek your face, Lord, I recognize you are able Real story and faithful Lord, you're my friend I'll pray to the end of your brother's keeper the king and the ruler it's you whom I fear you die all my tears I seek your grace.
You, you are higher than the mountain, wider than the sky, deeper than the ocean.
I seek your name the king and the ruler it's still my fear you dry on my tears. Let's sing it one more time.
I keep the faith, I see your plan I recognize you are able.
[00:55:36] Speaker D: I seek your face by promise A live performance and Sister Michelle I seek he's saying, I seek your face, not my face. He's speaking to the Creator directly.
[00:55:52] Speaker B: Knowing God intimately is our source of strength. You know, in Daniel it says that the people that know their God shall be strong and do great exploits.
Jeremiah says, you will seek me. This is Jeremiah 29:13. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. So to know him, we have to pursue him. We got to pursue him passionately. David said earnestly, lord, I will search for you. My whole body longs for you in dry and in a weary land where there is no water. We have to learn how to pursue God intently and be devoted. You see, it's about presenting ourselves and our bodies and who we are, our hopes and our dreams and everything we thought we would have done in our life and everything we haven't done and our plans, who we are. It's about presenting who we are as a living sacrifice. We gotta pursue God earnestly.
God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. And I want to add this one before we go this afternoon. We have to learn how to pursue God sacrificially. You see, it's no longer about me, you know, it's about God using me. Yes, but I have to remember it's about us. It is about the body. It's about the victories. We win when we come together.
[00:57:25] Speaker D: Sister Michelle, this is now becoming the fastest hour on radio. I do not know where the time has gone, but we have come into the very end of our show. We have one more song which I think sums up what it means to to serve in the kingdom year after year. But this songwriter does it better than me and we're going to play the song after all these years. It's a cover of the song done by Todd Galberth. So once again, thank you for tuning in. This is Elevate, Take Me Higher from me and from my co host Michelle Williams.
We are out of here. Please enjoy this last selection. After all these years.
