Genuine Worship
December 31, 2030 - March 14, 2040
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 feeling 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.
“Doing The Cover to Cover DTS at Pacific Reach was one of the best things I’ve decided to do. Reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation helped me see more of the different characteristics and nature of God. The Cover to Cover DTS was great. It taught me how to be diligent, manage my time properly, and helped me have a more sturdy foundation and in my beliefs. “
Talon Jernigan, 20, USA
“Our outreach to the Cook Islands taught me how to enjoy the simplicity of life. I learned that God is always focusing on my heart first and then on the hearts of other people. God also showed me the importance and power of constantly being in prayer.”
Judith Evers, 20, Germany
“My life used to be run by my fears, my struggles, and my failures. I had no way of fighting them because I didn’t know the truth. Over my time with YWAM [Pacific Reach] and beyond, I have encountered so much freedom as God has shown me the truth of who He is in His Word. Dive into the Bible on Cover to Cover and watch God transform you as He begins to show you who He really is and who you were really made to be.”
David Souter, 22, England
“Reading the whole Bible was a real challenge for me, but it was so rewarding. My eyes were opened to the fact that Jesus had existed from the very beginning and that God’s gracious heart always was and is the same! I learned that the Bible isn’t just a story about God, but rather a story about imperfect, raw, real people. I know now that I am one of them, and that I can see God work in my life just like He did it with them!”
Jenny Fritz, 19, Germany
“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
“Before doing the Justice Movement stream I was so full of hatred and anger toward the perpetrators of human trafficking; completely lacking the love God has for them. But through the stream meetings and prayer it’s been a beautiful journey in which God has shown me how deep and vast His love is for ALL His children. God completely changed my view and I couldn’t be more thankful for this experience!”
Kara Spencer, 19, BC, Canada
“This is the craziest stream ever, not just doing fun activities, but the people I was with; they are wild as! Throughout the school, I’ve learned so much from the Bible that doing life with God and living my life on the edge is so much more interesting.”
Mun Hei, 21, Malaysia
“Since being here at Pacific 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
“SPHC was honestly one of the best experiences of my life so far. From the lecture phase to outreach, my mind was constantly blown by the endless stream of possibilities that become available when you combine practical medical care with the power of prayer. Also, getting to hike, ride in boats and in the back of trucks, and setting up clinics basically anywhere was quite the highlight for a city girl like me.”
Tabitha Abishegam, 26, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
“In the worship stream 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