Quiet Zeal

Tony Hauck
Church on the Rock - Melbourne

What does zeal look like? We all know the story of Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers in the temple, and His disciples remembering that it was written, “zeal for Your house has consumed me”. Don’t forget that whole incident was about the importance of prayer. Jesus spent a lot more time in prayer, not quarreling or crying out, not breaking bruised reeds or quenching smoking wicks (Mt 12:19-20), than he did in flamboyant displays of zeal. Yet I believe He was zealous all the time. So what did His zeal look like most of the time?

"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' He answered and said, 'I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, 'I go, sir,' but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" (Mat 21:28-31)

I don’t know about you, but too often I’ve sung on Sunday, “Lord I want You, I want to do Your will, yes Lord”, and then, ignored Him on Monday. I really appreciate demonstrative worship, passionate prayer and stirring preaching, but I’m not sure these things are accurate indicators of zeal. Maybe true zeal is seen in daily disciplines, long faithfulness to a task, simple obedience. Maybe it’s less about emotion and more about making decisions in spite of how we feel. Maybe we’re most zealous when we’re dry and tired, but we’re doing it anyway.

The Worthiness of God

Pastor Gary Stebbins

Church on the Rock - Melbourne

When I come home after being gone for several hours, my dog will get very excited, jump up and down, and many times rolls over on her back in what looks like a total act of submission. Or, perhaps she just wants me to pet her stomach. In any case, she acts like she adores me and worships the ground on which I walk.

If you look up the definition of the word worship in the dictionary, one definition is: reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power (Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary). In different words, worship is the celebration of the worthiness of God. God is certainly worthy of our worship.

When my dog rolls-over on her back, she may not be worshipping the ground on which I walk, but she certainly is excited and glad to see me. As we approach God, whether privately or in a church meeting, should we not have excitement in our heart at the thought of worshipping Him?

The supreme reason for human existence is to worship God, our Creator. Worship is a natural response from God’s people to:

1. God’s Love - “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16 NAS).
God’s desire is for all men to be saved and for humanity to be restored in their relationship with Him.
2. God’s Presence - When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would arise and worship, each at the entrance of his tent (Exodus 33:10 NAS). When God appeared to Israel as a pillar of cloud they were awed by His presence among men and worshipped Him.
3. God’s greatness - Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3 NAS). We should always be in awe at the limitlessness of God, of the “breadth and length and height and depth”, of His incredible love for mankind.
4. God’s mighty deeds - But when the crowds saw this (lame man healed), they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men (Matthew 9:8 NAS). The people were constantly amazed as God worked miracles, healed the sick, and raised the dead. God is performing the same miracles today.

True worship is not a lifeless ritual, but the response of a heart that has fallen in love with God. True worship is not just an emotional response to external stimuli, it is based on an understanding of who God is that comes out of that place of revelation. True worship, regardless of how it is expressed outwardly, begins as an attitude of the heart that has experienced the eternal life of God.

As we come together to pray and worship God, may we find ourselves excited and in awe of who He is, His love, His presence, His greatness, and His mighty deeds.

How about you? How do you respond to God? How do you worship Him? What is it about God that causes you to want to shout and jump up and down and celebrate His worthiness?

I Walked Among Crowds of Worshipers

Pastor Gary Stebbins
Church on the Rock - Melbourne


The introduction to Psalm 42 says that it was written for the choir director. Perhaps it was intended as a song expressing the cry of the human heart. “As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.” (Psa 42:1, NLT)

We live in a world that has become very sensual and the heart of man ‘longs after’ many things that this life has to offer. Can I say that my heart ‘longs after’ God more than the many other desires that I have? The psalmist goes on … "I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?” (Psa 42:2, NLT)

The writer of this Psalm not only ‘longs for’ God, but has an overwhelming desire to experience the very presence of God. “When can I go and stand before him?” There is no sense of shame or guilt, or even fear of standing before God, simply an overwhelming desire to experience the grace and love of God. God is a holy God who cannot tolerate sin, but He is also a God of great love and compassion.

“Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, "Where is this God of yours?" My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! (Ps 42:3-4, NLT)

In the middle of the his despair, the writer gives us a picture of how much he enjoyed going up to the house of God to worship with other believers. These were times of great joy, filled with expectation at the thought of worshipping God together with others whose hearts also ‘long for’ Him.

As I read Psalm 42, my cry was, “God cause my heart to long for you more than for anything else that this life has to offer.” Not only that, “God cause me to desire to worship you with other men and women who love your presence.”

The more I make time in my life to pray and to read God’s Word, the greater the longing I find in my heart to know God. I also find a growing desire, not just for my own private times of prayer and worship, but a desire to worship God together with others. As I take time to attend prayer meetings and corporate times of worship, like the MyHOP meetings, I find my heart desiring to spend time praying and worshiping God with others. As King David said …
I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord.
(Ps 122:1, NLT)

We are saved as individuals but called to live life together with the community of believers. There is a growing expectation in my heart that as we continue to gather together for prayer and worship, we are going to see a great outpouring of God’s presence and power.

How about you? What longings do you find in your heart? Is your longing for God growing stronger than the many other longings you might have? How about your desire to gather together with others to worship God?

Help! I Don’t Know What to Do!

Tim Franklin
Freedom Christian Center

Jesus declared in Mt 21:13, “My house, will be called a house of prayer.” We often focus on the prayer part of that passage, and we should. But think with me for a moment: Jesus is the one speaking, and His statement is “My House!” Wow! Jesus has a house! He has a dwelling place that has an identity and it can be found! It is called the House of Prayer. David initiated the House of Prayer under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. God wanted a house and He found a man to build it—David.

Prayer is not an option! Worship is not an option! These represent the place of encounter with the Living God! It was David who said, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”

What I often find in the House of Prayer are people who do not know what to do. Let me try to answer this: “What am I to do in the House of Prayer?”

1. Intimacy. It simply means to engage God. In other words He has your attention and you have His. You can compare it to intimacy in a marriage. Intimacy in a marriage is when a couple engages each other. You have her attention, she has yours.
2. Intercession. In its simplest form intercession is me finding/hearing what God is praying and then praying it back to Him. It is a powerful form of agreement in prayer. What is Jesus praying about? Hearing that prayer and praying it back to Him. The prayer targets we cover in our MyHOP gatherings are things that we as leaders feel like God is putting on our hearts to pray and we pray it back to Him.
3. Antiphonal praying/singing. Many people get lost here! Because they are now singing they feel they are no longer praying. The power of antiphonally singing our prayers is that we are filling the bowls of heaven (Rev 5:8). We hear the worship team sing a prayer that has been prayed at the microphone. Most generally they repeat it several times in song format. During that time we who are engaging God begin to sing the same prayer. “Lord we delight ourselves in You!” One singer can sing that and 200 people can antiphonally sing the prayer back at them! Heaven hears! Instead of ‘one cup’ of prayer going into a bowl it now becomes 201 ‘cups of prayer’ going in the bowl.
4. Devotion. Many times in the atmosphere of Corporate prayer, we simply soak/get immersed/or positioned in the Presence of God. Interesting spiritual dynamics are released when we gather corporately together to seek Him and declare His greatness. In a crowd, I can suddenly find myself alone with God—enjoying Him, or He enjoying me. In a crowd, I can be alone receiving revelation from Him for my family, my work, or ministry. In the corporate anointing we are stimulated to pursue God because we are in a room with a bunch of like minded people who going after Him.
5. Dwelling. If His house is a House of Prayer, it is His dwelling. If we come with the mindset of entering His dwelling, not a church building, we then walk straight into the first two points on our list: intimacy and intercession. He lives forever to intercede and His love is eternal toward us!

There is plenty to do while in the House of Prayer if you know what you should be doing. If you feel lost in the House, follow the team; they are going somewhere and you will be glad you came along!

Have You Found the Secret Place?

Pastor Larry Booth, Our Father's House- April 22, 2010

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Have you found the secret place? I’ve heard that question before and often pondered the meaning of the secret place. One thing is for sure, each of us needs to meet with GOD and receive revelation for our day to day living! Amen!

The psalmist writes, “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear HIM, and HE will show them HIS covenant.” (Ps.25:14)

The very word translated most frequently in the New Testament for prayer "proseuchomai" is a worship word meaning to bow before, which certainly implies the fear of the LORD mentioned by the psalmist.

I believe it is in the place of worship where the secrets of GOD are revealed. Two wonderful examples from the Word of God are found in II Chronicles 20 and Acts 13. King Jehoshaphat set himself to seek the LORD (verse 3) and proclaimed a national level fast. The Bible tells us that the Spirit of God came upon a man who was standing in the midst of the assembly. The word of revelation defined the battle plan and set the worshippers before the army. Wow…what a place to meet GOD!!! Hallelujah!!!

In Acts 13 we see mission strategy unfolding from the place of worship and prayer. The Bible says, as they ministered to the LORD and fasted (Acts 13:2) the Holy Spirit revealed the plan of the hour. Hallelujah!!!

Do you see it? I believe GOD is raising up MyHOP for such a time as this. HE is putting us in the place of worship and prayer where we can corporately minister to the LORD. I believe we shall see revelation coming forth with divine strategies for our region as we gather, worship, pray, fast at certain seasons and minister to the LORD.

Will you become part of this awakening to minister to the LORD? Will you make the place of prayer and the seeking of GOD a priority in your life? May we find this road covered in grace that will enable us to fulfill our destiny as a region in GOD’S kingdom purpose. Hallelujah!!!