A SERVICE OF PRAISE

Soon I saw a huge building resembling a convention center here on earth. Thousands of saints were going into it. The building had a glowing circle around it. Jesus and I were met by two angels who escorted us down to the second row, where two seats were reserved. People greeted us on the way down to our seats. There was not a sad face in the entire place.

You would have thought we were at a family reunion where people had not seen one another in years. They were hugging and kissing each other, and saying, "How are you? Glory to God!" They seemed to be permeated with an attitude of love. They loved everybody. They did not care what you looked like or where you were from, they just loved you. Everything they did was out of a motive of love. As soon as we were seated, a holy hush swept over the entire auditorium. You literally could have heard a pin drop. From the right of the stage, 500 to 600 praisers walked out. These were people, not angels.

They were dressed similarly to a church choir on earth. They wore robes, and everything about them was absolute perfection. These saints were smiling as they walked out on stage. All of a sudden, they began to praise God and lost all resemblance to a formal choir. Their hands went up, their voices lifted in praise songs, and they began to dance. The service was not comparable to our praise services on earth. The audience joined in, not ashamed to praise God, either. Everyone lifted their hands, praised God, and jumped up and down. The service seemed to last about two hours.

No one led, but everyone moved in unison. In spite of the singing and dancing, everything was done in perfect order—everything. There was never a dead space of silence. The praise never died down, but grew in power and momentum. When I looked over at Jesus, He was smiling widely and obviously enjoying the service.

One observation regarding our services on earth is that we let praise die down too soon. We do not keep going. We have not yet learned the sacrifice of praise and worship. To really praise God, we need to cross the line in the spirit where joy becomes evident in our praise. If we do that, I believe we will see signs and wonders.

Praise is a substance. I saw all of the praises ascend out of the mouths of the people as glowing, bright vapors that collected at the top of the building. When the service was complete, the collected praise shot out of the top of the building and went to the Throne Room of God. The writer of the books of Chronicles described this kind of praise that took place when Solomon dedicated the house he had made for God in Jerusalem. (. . . Also the Levites which were the singers . . . arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 5:12,13 In worship, miracles occur. Sometimes they will occur during praise, but when a congregation moves into true worship, I believe miracles will occur. I have seen many miracles occur during my ministry as we worshipped God, when everyone present was giving his or her all to God. You must not hold back. You must give everything you have to God, in order to receive everything He has to give you in return.

Those saints I saw in heaven gave 100 percent to everything they did. They were greatly enjoying the service and said afterwards they could not wait for the next one. Praising God is going to be a large part of our lives when we get to heaven. Jesus asked me, "How did you like the service?" I said, "I loved it!" (Robert Liardon)