UNDERSTANDING THE GATES OF LIFE

Gates of your life

What are gates

Gates are:

• Entrance or exit to a place
• a means of access or entrance
• an opening in a castle or city wall or other defensive structure
• an opening in a wall or fence
• a movable barrier, usually on hinges, that closes a gap in a fence or wall

In the Old Testament gates were key areas and were critical to the functioning of the city/town. This was where the government of the city sat.

· The elders who were the keepers of the city made decisions concerning the city

• Decisions were made concerning the buying and selling of land. ( Abraham buying land to bury his wife serah)
• Marriage decisions were made at the gate( Judah asking for a bride from the keepers of the gate)
• Guards were posted to keep out unwanted people (Paul being let down by the wall of the gate,)
• Watchmen were posted at the gate to notify the king and the city of any impending danger

Nothing came in through into the city unless by the gate. When the gate was locked then you could not enter the city. Once the gates were breached then you had conquered the city. A city without any walls or gates could easily be taken

Today in the modern world there are still gates and keepers of the gates. In every nation, continent and land sphere

An understanding of gates and the knowledge of the keepers of the gates will give great insight to any believers.

Every geographical region has a gate and a gatekeeper, every nation and every city has a gate and a gate keeper. Some gates are actual physical areas that are used to access a place. Traditionally Satan who likes to counter everything that God does seeks to control the gates to regions, nations, cities and towns. Ephesians 6:12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

This is the satanic hierarchy

• Principalities: controlled by princes, e.g prince of Greece, Prince of persia they control regions
• Powers: report to the princes; control the nations
• Rulers of the darkness: control cities
• Spiritual wickedness in high places.: control towns

Once you understand this hierarchy then you gain an understanding which you can use in your daily prayer life. Paul says that I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I Corinthians 14: 15

PRAYER POINT

Father open the eyes of my understanding, give me a 20/20 vision in the spirit

Let every gate in my life open in the name of Jesus

let the gates of my nation open in the name of jesus

Role of a worship leader

what is the role of the worship leader
Sometimes it is not clear what exactly is the role of the worship leader. Many times a worship leader, is the song leader during the service, carries out pastoral duties, is a group leader, a full time ( or not )staff member, a member of the congregation. It may seem to be many things to many people. The roles depends on where you are standing!. That influences how you quite see the praise and worship leader.

To the congregation

He is the song leader,
The person who invites and takes them into the holy presence of God.

He at the same time may speak the word of God to the congregation, encouraging them with scriptures as they come before God

To the worship team/choir:

• He is the leader,
• Offers guidance and couselling
• Song leader
• Mentor

He selects the songs with suggestions(sometimes!) from his team members. His team mates will view him as a mentor by reason of the annointing that rests upon his life. People tend to view the men and women that God uses tremendously as role modes.

How does the word of God view him:

• He is the servant of God; answerable to God and accountable to God for his actions
• He is a person who serves/ministers under authority of the mantle of the angel of the house.
  
• He is the minister who oversees the different expressions of ministration to God through music and other arts.
• He is a song leader; David led the priests in praise, when he met the prophets and the spirit of the lord descended on him
• He is the The keeper of the flame; the oil in the tabernacle was kept burning by the priests who tended it day and night. The levites who are the priests ensured the oil in the lamp did not go out. The worship leader has the responsibility to ensure that the oil in the tabernacle does not go out. He is the leader of the keepers of the flame.
  
• Drawer of the glory of God; the word of God has reports that when sacrifices were made to the Lord at the tabernacle, when the priest lifted their voices in praise, the glory of God came down and no one could go into the tabernacle. the priest with their praise drew the glory of God to the tabernacle. Says may our praise be like incense to him, God inhabits the praise of his people
• kept away the spirit of the devil; when Saul was tormented by an evil spirit, David was called before Saul and ministered to him in song and the evil spirit departed from him.( 1 kings)
  
• Sustains the anointing; in the old testament when the prophet needed to prophesy, they often had a musician come and begin to minister to the lord in song and instrument, and the anointing of God would come upon the Prophet and his spirit would be stirred up and he would be able to prophesy to the people. you will therefore find that many ministers when ministering to the people often like to have music in the background. It sustains the anointing and continually charges the atmosphere
  

In the present day ministration praise & worship is taking an increasing major role in the services. Many services comprise of praise, announcements, and, the sermons and I belive that as the days continue as the Lord continues to unveil his glory he will use more of the ministers of worship where the glory of the lord will cover his people as they worship and lift his name.

Weapons Of Our Warfare

WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE

 The bible admonishes us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but they are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.

When praying we need to pray smart, i.e specific measurable, attainable, being Realistically, With a time frame.

An understanding of the weaponry at our disposal will enable us to fight more effectively and become over comers.  An understanding of the weapons we have at our disposal, will enable us to apply them strategically against the enemy of our souls

 Many countries spend billions of their money to train their soldiers and equip them to understand the weapons that they can employ against the enemy in whatever situation.  In fact the security budget is the largest in any given country and is given top priority.  A lot of research goes into security and new weapons are always being developed and tested, so that the army may remain relevant 

 Likewise as believers we should always seek to read and research on the weapons that we can use against the devil and his demons.  An understanding of the weapons of our warfare will enable us to deploy them more effectively and we become snipers in the hand of our master and saviour.  

 Today we will examine the first weapon which is :

1.                 The blood of Jesus

 “I’ve heard that” I can almost hear you say!!! But truly, a deeper understanding of what the blood is and what it did for us will enable any one to become more effective in their prayer life.  Many times we do not clearly understand what kind of victory the blood bought for us, and we only use it lightly.

It is by far one of the most powerful weapon we have in our armory of weapon

 When Jesus died on Calvary, Golgotha, and his blood touched the earth, several things happened,

• there was an earthquake,
• the graves opened,
• the curtain at the temple tore into two,
• there was darkness on the earth for 3 hours. 

It was a defining moment in time, in all history.  The defeat of Satan was being finalized. 

 You see this was the second time Satan was being defeated by the blood. In revelation 12, we read of Satan being cast out of heaven and before he was cast out there was war in heaven where Michael the archangel and his army fought the devil, and cast him out.  The bible says they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. ( a thousand amens!!!)

 

From then on Satan hated the seed of the woman, and he relentlessly pursues man because of the defeat he suffered, in heaven,(Genesis 12) read it please!!!!, it is simply delicious!!!.  

 We are in a battle standing in a position of victory, because the weapon we are using has already defeated our enemy and will continue to defeat him every time he comes into contact with it.

 That is why when even under extraneous circumstances someone can call on the name of the Lord and the blood of Jesus and the demons and Satan have no choice but to move. 

 What the blood of Jesus does

• It cleanses us from sin, confess your sins and ask for the cleansing of the blood
• It becomes a covering to us as we approach the throne room of the Lord for Mercy ( it is not by our works but by the blood of Christ)
• The blood speaks ( it has a voice) of a better promise to us
• It bloats out ( wipes out) ordinances(curses, stuff) written/ spoken over our lives
• The blood gives us a new relationship with God in that we now become his sons and heirs of his kingdom.
• The blood makes us have a covenant relationship with Christ.  All that he has is ours and all that we have is his.
• The blood overcame satan in heaven, when he was cast out, here on earth by the death of Christ on the cross.  So whenever we use it, Satan is reminded of his defeat.    

  No matter how stubborn an issue has been or no matter how long it has been in existence, the blood of Jesus when applied to that issue or situation can bring a complete turnaround.

 How can I say that, look at what the blood of animals did when Israel was delivered from Egypt.  They had been in bondage for over 400 years, ( I am yet to met/hear  a person  who is 200 years), but with a divine promise (covenant ) and the blood of the Passover, God delivered them overnight, with wealth, riches, favour, freedom, etc.  What then can the blood of Christ which is divine with the a divine covenant of God for Salvation do?  Is there any thing too hard for the Lord

 Further look at what God did when the walls of Jericho came down, the people had just been circumcised, blood had just been poured evoking a covenant of circumcision and walls which had stood for years, strong, unshakeable, immovable, fell down in one go.  Is there any thing too hard for the Lord.

 When Solomon in his dedication of the temple to the Lord slaughtered thousands of animals.  Historians say that the blood that flowed  that day was like a river, and it ran for days. That blood (of animals ) caused God to visit Solomon that night and ask him what he wanted God to do for him.

 We could go on and on, the blood of animals did so much in the old testament, can you imagine the divine, pure, unadulterated, holy blood of the lamb Jesus!!!! It is the ultimate weapon.

 Prayer points

• I activate the speaking of the blood of Jesus
• in my life,
• in my destiny,
• in my marriage,
• in my ministry,
• in my family,
• in my work,
• in my body, in the name of Jesus

 

• I activate the speaking of the blood of Jesus
• upon my foundations,
• my roots,
• my beginnings,
• my birth, in the name of Jesus

 

• I silence the voice of any blood shed in any sacrifice, covenant, agreement, bond, ritual, rite, ceremony, concerning me, by the voice of the blood of Jesus in Jesus name

 

• I bloat out the handwriting of ordinances written against me in the heavenlies, in the earth, under the earth by the blood of Jesus

( these should be prayed repeatedly,  tenaciously, with violence, holy anger, aggression, for a minimum of five minutes each)

 

Keys To Successful Prayer: understand your spirituality

One of the ways I find that helps me to keep focused on who God is and who Satan is, is by the way I pray. On point, aggresive, focused, repeated prayers, clothed with the word of God which act as a sword to the enemy. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but they are mighty to the pulling down of strongholds.......

The bible clearly encourages us that our war is not physical but spiritual, "for we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers, rulers, principalities........ ephesians 6: 11

The following keys will aid you in leading a successful prayer life. 

1.  Know you are a spritual being.

This may seem obvious but it is not.  We need to consiously develop our spiritual man and begin to see ourselves more as spiritual beings than physical beings.  Once we perceive our spirituality, then we will begin to act more like spiritual people.  Man is made up of body, soul and spirit.  

• The body is what we see physically: the home of the soul and the spirit
  
• The soul is where the emotions of man reside
  
• The spirit is where the life of God or the breath of God resides.
  

When we get born again the spirit of man indwells in our spirit    

This is the part we give the least of our attention and it is the most important.  It is the part of us that will live forever.  The spirit is a being with facilities like our physical bodies. ephesians 6 says put on the full armour of the lord, the helmet of salvation(head), the breastplate of righteousness(chest), the belt of truth (loins), the preparation of the gospel on our feet, take up the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit(hands), garment of praise(body)isaiah 61:3)

One of the tactics of the devil is to let us view our spiritual man as an obscure and unclear thing which only the pastor and God seem to understand.!!

Your spirit man is like your physical man with ears, eyes, feet, body, hands, mouth, head, etc.

Internalise this one point and your prayer life will take an upward turn for the better.  You will be able to perceive and understand that the devil is also spiritual, and God is spiritual, and thus you must employ the weapons that are spiritual to defeat him( the devil).

Many things that manifest in our physical bodies begun way back in the spirit, but because we pay little or no attention to it, the progression to our physical is then made possible.   Victory must first be attained in the spiritul realm then be made manifest in the physical.  

In every level of our life whether we are seeking for healing for our bodies, solutions to problems that plague us, we must first conquer in the spirit before we see results in the physical     

We could live here on this for a  time, but for now we will leave it at that when you pray begin to visualize yourself as a spiritual person, close your eyes and see what you are saying.

As you put on the full armour of God in your prayer see yourself in your inner eye putting it on your spiritual man.  Your words are life and are being listened to in the spiritual realms, by both God and the devil 

       

Prayer points  that I pray continuously to activate my spiritual man are:

•  open my spiritual eyes and ears that I may see, (ephesians 1: 19 open the eyes of my understanding that I may know the hope of my calling)  
  
• let every deaf and dumb spirit blocking my eyes and ears, die now in Jesus name
  
• I operate a 20/20 vision in my spirit man in the name of Jesus
• My ear will hear clearly and distinctly the voice of God in the name of Jesus 
• Arise Oh God! and scatter every evil spirit that is blocking my vision  and my hearing in the name of Jesus  

Next we look at understanding our weapons  

Leadership: 10 qualities any worship and praise leader should have

Invariably, every praise and worship team member is a leader in some way or another. The worship leader then is a leader of leaders. People tend to put those in the limelight at a pedestal, and have an expectation that they should be able to perform to their expectations .


What then are the qualites that a leader should aspire to posess to enable them function effectively


1. Be a Prayerful Person

This is one of the most challenging areas of any christian. The Devil who knows the power of prayer often puts many people in the place of prayerlessness. The power of prayer cannot be overemphasised, sufficient to say the prayer life of any worship leader directly affects his ministry. The scriptures encourage us to pray without ceasing. Jesus himself who was the son of God, spend many nights in prayer. How much more should we pray?.


2. Be bold
A worship and praise leader must be bold and courageous. Bold to encourage the congregation to embrace God and seek for new ways to praise him. Bold to encourage non traditional methods of worship like the use of dance in praise and worship, use of flags, introduce new songs,

3. Be creative
Be creative in your worship. Let not words become words but mean them from your heart or spirit. many times after leading for a long period you may find that some words become pat words, words that you say without meaning, and you say them repeatedly, e.g "come & lift your hands", "worship him" or "this is the day that the lord has made let us rejoice and be glad" yet your mind and heart are far from what you are saying. Ask the lord for a creative way of bringing the people to him

4. Possess leadership attributes from titus 1.6-9

• Have one spouse
• be a man/woman of integrity
• Be hospitable
• do not be a drunkard
• not greedy for money
• manage your family well
• be just
• have self control

5. Be a worshipper

Worship God in private and in public. If you are not a worshipper you cannot lead people into the presence of God, you have not been there!. A worshipper is not necessarily a musician, but a person who loves to worship God and stay in his presence. God loves those who worship him in spirit and in truth. He is seeking for them.
6.Have a basic understanding of music
To lead in worship and praise songs or lyrics, one has to have a basic understanding of music or have an ear for music. It can be quite challenging to lead worship when tone deaf!!!!
7. Pay attention to details
This often is what seperates mediocracy from excellence. Pay attention to details of your music, the notes, the way you arrange the lyrics, the song lists, the flow of the songs, the way different keys work either together or not, the way different musicians( your musicians) play the songs. If you will talk between the songs, what will you say, how will you say it, when will you say it,your backup singers. The difference this will bring to your leadership is simply amazing!

9. Listening to the Holy Spirit

Many times in the services the praise and worship leader may stay long on a song but he already has lost the people. The annointing is not in the song, and he does not seem to sense or know it. He just goes on for another 5 mins singing the same song, while the congregtion's mind wander away and only come back when another song is sung. A good worship leader should pray and ask the Holy Spirit to let him know when the annointing is on a song, when to stay on a song, and when to move away from a song when to allow the people to lavish their worship on God without a song. The key here is being senstive to God

10 Ability to inspire your worship team and the congregation you are serving
In other words have an annointing. Where when you lead, the glory and the presence of God comes down. When the annointing of God is upon you your words inspire both your team and the listeners.

-until next time when we shall examine the role of worship leader!!!

In his service
chrysty

5 Keys to sucessful leading of praise and worship

Prayer, praise and worship are my passion as should be for any worship leader. Having been a worship leader for the past 12 years, every time I know that I will be leading the service, thoughts like, is my preparation adequate?, will the presence of God come down?, am I sure these are the songs that will draw the glory of God? pass through my mind.
The following keys will aid a worship leader to sucessfully lead a congregation in praise and worship

Holiness
As a worship leader you must leave a holy life, i.e a life where Christ is glorified in and out of the
public eye. Out of the heart the mouth speaks, if you fill your heart and your body with ungodly stuff, that is what you will be pouring out as you sing, and speak to people. If you have an area that is not under the blood of christ, and you minister to people you are liable to release the same annointing over their lives. Your life must be one that is glorifying to the Lord. The annointing that comes from a man/woman of God who has been living a holy life cannot be faked, or substituted.

Prayer
This cannot be overemphasised. A poor/weak prayer life leads to poor, annointless, unspritual leadership. Right here there is a whole lot more that can be said, but the long and short of it, is that the effective, prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Note the word effective prayer
Many of us pray prayers that are not on target, not effective, we are not even sometimes sure what we are praying is the will of God! God's will aligns to his word, anything outside hiS word most likely may not be the will of God!!

Preparation
Practise makes perfect. What you practice you perfect,
practice, practice, practice!!!!!!!!
Prepare yourself untill the ministration comes out of your heart and not your mind. There is no substitute for good preparation.
Get the song list ready early and let everyone on the team know what, when and how you will sing

Be a team player
A good worship leader is a good team player. A team player who knows that the result of the praise & worship is team work, not individual skill and talent. Acknowleging your team will motivate your team members to give their best.

Be a leader
This may mean different things at different times, but essentially, it is taking responsibility of what is happening when you are holding the microphone. Doing that may mean changing what needs to be changed as the Holy Spirit leads, corrrecting and or guiding your team, stepping up boldly and moving the congregation where God wants them to go, trying out new ideas etc.

These are just a few keys that have personally aided me in the past and even now as I endeavour to fight the good fight.

untill next time
chrysty