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People after our own hearts here! Please check out their site. I love that they have a page devoted to the importance of Israel. :yayisrael:



<URL url="http://www.gatewayministries.co.uk/index.php">http://www.gatewayministries.co.uk/index.php

Quote:Gateway Ministries was formed in September 2000 and is based in Northern Ireland. It is currently a husband and wife ministry led by Jeremy and Naomi Gadd. We have big vision and dreams but it is not a big name ministry!!!



The vision is to see a literal 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Worship and Prayer Centre (like the Tabernacle of David [Acts 15]) established in Ireland.

Take time to visit David Stanfield's delightful website about the ministry of worship and warfare with banners.



<URL url="http://www.worshipbanners.org/index.php">Out of Our Minds Banners

Quote:If we are out of our minds, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right minds, it is for you!

2 Corinthians 5:13



Educating and encouraging people to enter more fully into worship is part of a larger vision. We believe that as we enter more fully into understanding and worshiping our awesome God then we will see the fulfillment of God's purposes on earth.

I'd never heard the term "extravagant worship" before but I know that's what I do! My flag worship often reduces me to pulp after a particularly energetic session! And my doc says I should get more exercise! I told her she should come and see me at church!



But when you said "it costs us" that I could relate to! I've wrecked both my shoulders which now require surgery some time - can't decide when because my knees now both require joint replacements (and probably my hips as well but I won't blame the flag worship for that! Just my great weight and maybe my age of 64!). However, I'm still believing God for a miracle both of healing and weight loss! But I rarely experience pain or inability to function when I lift the flags - quite the opposite. As a friend said - "It's the annointing!"



But even if I'd known this was on the cards, it wouldn't have stopped me doing the flag worship - it's the most wonderful spiritual experience ever and the Holy Spirit has always dictated what I do within it so who am I to complain or criticise about the consequences?! God never promised us it would be an easy ride to worship Him.



Got another 'cost' today - keep getting blisters on my right little finger - heaven knows why! hrug: Anybody got any suggestions as to how I can prevent them!!?

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BIBLICAL PAGEANTRY

by Helena Thomas





Scripture says that God's Word contains the power necessary to accomplish His purposes. As I've come to know the zeal of the Charismatic Episcopal Church to discover and walk the "ancient paths" of the faith, I find it right in sync with the road I have during my ministry calling. About that time, I began to make banners, flags and garments, and minister with them in worship and pageantry. From the beginning, I have been keenly aware of the importance of portraying and reflecting accurately the truths of the scripture in the colors, symbols and designs of the objects I have produced, and in the messages and choreographies of the stories I have told with them.



The scripture says that God's Word contains the power necessary to accomplish His purposes. My desire has always been to tap into the eternal, transcendent, Spirit-power of the Word of God. I have little interest in using my energies making things that are based in sentiment or cultural language. These things have only emotional power, and it is only temporal at that. And so I have been on a continuous pilgrimage in the Word, searching out and learning symbolic language to be translated into the visual mediums of banners, flags, garments, movement language and pageantry. In my quest to uncover the biblical roots of pageantry, I have discovered that God loves a parade! He orchestrates them from Genesis to Revelation with animals and people and objects, and on occasion, even processes Himself.



The purpose of this article is to reveal the pageantry of the scriptures and examine our responsibility to reflect this aspect of physical proclamation in our worship expression. Although accounts of pageantry exist all through the old testament, it had been virtually lost to the church through the ages. We do have the Catholic church to thank for the preservation of vestiges of pageantry through the 2000 years of church history and we should be grateful to them, for it is a mighty tool. The power of pageantry is, in recent years, being returned to the entire Body as the mystery of the restoration of David's tabernacle is revealed in these last days, and worship is explored in all its Biblical dimensions.



Pageantry and proclamation

What is pageantry? Webster defines it as "grand spectacle" or "gorgeous display." It comes from the word for medieval mystery plays. A pageant is often a dramatic presentation portraying historical events. In the case of Biblical pageantry, we can portray historical events and interpret their importance and prophetic significance to our present day. We also portray "historical events" that have not yet occurred in time, echoing the character of our God Who "calls things that are not as though they are." (Romans 4:17) Prophecy can be foretelling, or it can be forth-telling. Biblical pageantry is prophetic in the sense that we are "telling forth" the truths of what has been, what is, and what is to come. This is proclamation, a tool that is sadly under-used in the modern church. Islam, however, understands the power of proclamation. In the Mideast, the blaring loudspeakers of the Islamic mosques blast the "wisdom" of the Koran into the air at regular intervals.This has great significance in spiritual realms, for constant exposure to this pervasive chanting can reshape the thinking of the listeners.



The church has the opportunity and the responsibility to use the powerful tool of proclamation through her pageantry. As we lift up declarations of God's sovereignty into the air around us, we invade enemy territory. (Remember that Satan is called the prince of the power of the air.) Our proclamations fulfill the directive given to us in Ephesians 3:10. "[God's] intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms..." We can make God's wisdom known to the spiritual realms through pageantry. This is a facet of true spiritual warfare. We cannot kill spiritual powers and authorities, because these are ancient, eternal spirits. However, by lifting praise and proclamation into the physical realm that surrounds us, we can displace these powers and principalities, knowing that darkness must flee from the light.



Processional models in Scripture

Processionals are a part of the pageantry of the Bible. To process means "to go forward". The simple act of walking forward is powerful in the spiritual realms because it represents the advancing armies of God. Let's go to the scripture accounts of some of the great processionals of all eternity. The first processionals are found in Genesis 2:19 and 7:14-16. Here the animals "parade" before Adam to be named, and then there is another animal procession as they come in pairs to enter Noah's ark. Notice that it is an orderly activity. You could say it was choreographed. It is right to plan and order our processions. (And recruit the appropriate participants!)



This orderliness appears again in Numbers 2:34. Israel camped by their standards (banners), and moved out (processed) in family groups, each with their father's household. This practice is a military function that we can model in our pageantry. An army is divided into troops, each with individual identities and assignments. Processionals can utilize this pattern by incorporating vignettes, or groups in which all the elements of the group contribute to a common proclamation or message.



In Joshua 3:17, we again see Israel processing, this time before the priests holding the Ark . As the priests stood there, Israel crossed the supernaturally dried-up Jordan river and entered the promised land. This was a procession that included a holy object--the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was a physical, visible reminder that the presence of God was the power holding back the waters of the river. In our processions today, it is biblically appropriate to use holy objects to represent the messages and truths to be expressed. We do this in the opening processional of the Eucharistic service. The cross, the torches and the book are physical elements of this processional that "speak" the truths of our faith.



Joshua 6:12-20 contains the account of the famous procession around Jericho. This procession had a battle plan: an order of the marchers, a set number of circuits, and a culminating "big finish" that included seven priests blowing seven trumpets and a collapsing city wall. You might say it was spectacular. God seems to love spectacle and uses it to communicate His power and purpose. He is a God who has presented Himself as a pillar of fire, and who has lifted up His own Son in the most passionate of spectacles--the crucifixion. We have every reason to make our pageantry as magnificent and awe-inspiring as possible, as it is meant to honor and proclaim this God of spectacle, splendor, and indescribable love.



One of my favorite processions is found in Exodus 33:18-23. Moses said to the Lord, "I pray Thee, show me now Thy glory!" And He said, "I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.....You cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live!.....Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock; and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but my face shall not be seen." In this amazing account, God Himself processes before Moses, but takes care in the way He does it that Moses might not die. We should look for God to be in our processionals, as His presence and His glory goes before and after us. But we should also soberly recognize that God can only be approached successfully according to His own requirements.



There was a massive procession in 2 Samuel 6:12-15. It was the bringing back of the Ark to Mt. Zion from the house of Obed-Edom. The choreography seems to call for a sacrifice of oxen and fatlings every six paces. There was shouting, and the sound of a trumpet, with David dancing before the Lord with all his might, wearing a linen ephod. Here, the king's garments tell of his priestly role in the festivities. Garments are an important element in processionals, and can speak a vital part of the message. Processionals can sometimes be hard work, take a very long time and incur some expense. Imagine the extravagance of this offering of thanksgiving. If an average pace under the load of the Ark was 18 inches, and only two oxen and two fatlings were dispatched each time, that is 440 sacrificial stops and 1760 animals per mile! When you compute the time to kill and burn the offerings, you realize this procession could have taken days, perhaps weeks to accomplish. There can be great requirements of strength and time and resources in the doing of Biblical pageantry, as well as a need to organize and prepare gargantuan projects that don't make a lot of sense to the natural mind.



Jesus himself led a procession into heaven. Ephesians 4:8 says, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men." He also made an open spectacle of His enemies, "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." Colossians 2:15. When Jesus processes, the enemy is laid to waste, and gifts are given to men; gifts of revelation, healing, deliverance and blessing go out from the processional to be received by His people.



It was customary for the closest kin to the victor to lead out in celebration. In the event of the parting of the Red Sea, Miriam, the sister of Moses, led the celebration dance with a tambourine (Exodus 15:20). How much more should the church, the Bride of Christ, celebrate the victory of her champion, Jesus, and fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:13 "Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and old men together..."



In the courts of the King...

Pageantry allows the King to display the beauty of His queen. In the book of Esther, King Ahasuerus has a six-month long party in which all the riches of his kingdom are exhibited. It is culminated by the celebration of a feast, in which the king orders the beautiful Queen Vashti to appear in her crown and be paraded for public viewing. The queen refused, and was subsequently deposed, making the way for Esther to become queen. The principle here is that the king has a right to display the beauty of his queen. When we participate in pageantry, we respond to the King's desire to show the glory of His Bride to the world. We foreshadow the great procession of Revelation 19, when Jesus comes on his white horse, displaying the beauty of all His saints behind Him, dressed in white linen.



The throne of God is a recurring theme in the pageantry of the Bible. Isaiah saw the Lord "high and lifted up", His train filling the temple. Ezekiel saw a vision of the throne with all manner of glorious manifestations surrounding it. John saw the throne of God in Revelation 4, and it is the focus of a great pageant of worship activity. Pageantry prepares us for this throne-room worship of eternity by exposing us to the etiquette of the King's court and by reminding us of the awesome deeds and wonders and character of our Holy God.



In Psalm 68:24 , the psalmist declares, "They have seen Thy procession, O God, the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary". If they saw it, there must have been something to see! One of the strongholds that operates in the church today is the deception that we can worship God just by our thoughts and heart attitude. This is the dualistic thinking of the Greek mindset that seeks to destroy the godly Hebrew concept of the whole, integrated person of spirit, soul and body. "Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all of thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5). Love is an action verb! The expression and the demonstration of that love as we present our bodies is our "spiritual service" spoken of in Romans 12:1. As we join our strength and our emotions in the physical expression of our heart of worship, God is glorified in wholeness--the way He has ordained. An exchange takes place. An acceptable offering is received, and we are changed in the encounter. What makes pageantry powerful? It is the exchange that happens when we connect with the Holy God by following His rules and patterns for approaching and glorifying Him. In this true worship, incremental adjustments are made to our being as God conforms us to the image of His Son. His Word does not return to Him void, but accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent. When we are faithful to represent His Word in our pageantry, we will see the power of God move in our midst through this public, exhuberant expression which brings the gospel and the proclamation of God's sovereignty to the world, the principalities, and to the church.







This article was published in the April 2000 edition of Sursum Corda, the official publication of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church. It helped prepare many of the more than 2,000 who attended the International Convocation of the ICCEC, held in July of 2000 in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Helena was part of the team that prepared the environment and brought pageantry for the three day event.





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BLENDING OF THE ARTS IN WORSHIP MINISTRY©

by Helena Thomas



The Holy Spirit is preparing His Bride in a heavenly pattern of worship that will move us into the worship of Revelation. When we have been given access to the throne and the king’s chambers, are we going to want to stay in the outer court? No, we want to enter, but we also want to learn how to appear and behave appropriately in the presence of the King. We learn from Zechariah 3, that when Joshua the High Priest appeared before the angel of the Lord that his garments were a matter of discussion. In Revelation, we see elders bowing and casting crowns, and the armies of heaven following behind the Rider of the white horse in glorious procession. Songs, choreographies, costuming, staging and dramas are detailed in many accounts of worship in the scriptures, and many times, several or all of these elements are present.



To Him Who Sits on the Throne [use Exalted One banner, etc.]

O Most High [dance, use New Jerusalem garment]

----pray----

*Throne room worship--the picture of never ending praise in revelation

*The King’s chamber--intimate personal encounter with God



What you see in our ministry is a unique blending of the arts. We use banners, garments, dance, mime, drama, exhortation, narration, fabrics stationary and in movement. In the pieces above, (environment) banners, dance, garments are used to paint a picture of worship.



What happens when an artist paints a picture?

* he prepares a canvas to receive the painting

* he might use several kinds of brushes

* many colors and textures: the more variety, the greater possibility for full

expression

* he decides what colors to use. Is red more important than yellow? Green more meaningful than blue? Not inherently, but each has different

applicatons

* the blending of colors creates excitement and depth and gives options beyond

primaries.



Think of the Holy Spirit as the artist. He is the designer and brush-wielder--we are the medium, the colors he places on the canvas as he paints the living, eternal portrait of His Bride. He sees the finished picture--He knows where each color should go and how they should blend with those around them. He knows the best way and clearest way to communicate the whole message. It’s something the paint itself cannot know. As we leave the brush of the Master and connect with the canvas, our color is added to the painting in just the right place.



Would it not make sense that the Artist/Designer would want to blend the palette? To interweave the different colors available to Him, to use them together in a way more intense and powerful than they could be used alone? This is the opportunity we have when we bring our various giftings and expressions together. If we will allow it, we can be woven into an exquisite, intricate tapestry of color and design that speaks truth to the world and brings glory to the Lord.





Hindrances to cooperation in the arts



It seems that in most bodies and even worship ministries, there are struggles and tensions between the different ministry expressions. In most circumstances, the phrase “worship team” is used as an interchangeable term for the music team. Musicians in many cases, seem to reign supreme, with dancers and drama artists competing for service time and platform space. The ministries are viewed as several separate teams that have to figure out how to get each other to let them do “their thing”. Rarely is there an understanding of the worship team as a whole unit, with leadership by mutual submission in the service. When the all the arms of the worship team view themselves as one team, the relationship and trust that builds is the foundation for leadership through mutual submission.



How does leadership by mutual submission work? It is not just a free-for-all where everyone does their own thing and then passes the ball off to the next person vying for attention. There is a hierarchy of government involving both headship and leadership. There is someone who is in charge of the flow of the meeting, such as a pastor or director. The music leader does, in fact, control the flow of the music, but remains open to support others should prophetic movement or song come forth. Pastors or prophets might break in during the flow with a move of the Spirit. In the atmosphere of trust found in a unified team, an opening will be made in the musical flow and all will continue in peace. All of these leaders are listening to the Holy Spirit and testing the wind for the next direction. They respect the giftings and wisdom in the other leaders and are eager to allow whoever has the fresh Word of the Lord to bring it forth.



Unity of the body is an important doctrine of the Church, but we don’t often see it walked out in the context of arts ministries. Why is this? What prevents the Master from blending the palette?



Because artists have highly developed gifts of expression,--passions, emotions and motivations are also magnified. Jealousy and competition are frequent problems. Our overall spiritual vision is often nearsighted. We have the tendency to see the interpretation of a piece in the perspective of our own art form. We don’t see the whole picture. We may think what we are doing is more important, more valid, but competing for space and prominence does not honor God.



Phillipians 2:34 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look, not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.



The remedy:



We must see beyond the scope of our own giftings and expand our vision. When we have an opportunity for interpretation, we must ask the question: What is the most effective form to communicate this message? Or combination of forms? How can I cooperate with other artists to bring a complete message?



Lack of trusting relationships leaves an opening for the enemy to do damage. A friend of mine was given a vision of a wall separating two parts of a troubled worship team. Spears were descending on each group, and each group was blaming the other for the attack. In reality what was happening was the enemy was hurling the spears at both groups. Because of the wall, each thought they were being attacked by the other. The enemy will use us to attack each other if he can. (Message of spears on Kingdom of Darkness banner)



Leaders need to get together. Form healthy relationships. Find and agree upon a common vision. This is pleasing to God.



Psalm 133: 1,2 Behold how good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes. It is as if the dew of Mt. Hermon were falling on Mt. Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore.



Let’s look at Aaron. He was the high priest over Israel. The old testament representative of the fulfillment of the promise--Jesus our High Priest and the kingdom of royal priests to which we now belong. For the anointing oil to reach the feet--the part that walks out the vision--the oil must pass over the whole of Aaron--the beard, the robes, and then drip over the hem of his garment to the feet. The oil (life) comes from the head (inspiration of the Holy Spirit) and then to the beard (the representation of eldership) and then the hem, or fringes of his robe (emblems of those consecrated to the Lord) and then is “walked out” in a physical way through expression. Then , it says, the Lord commands the blessing--the giving of life. For each work that we interpret, we must let the oil flow over the whole of the priesthood. As the oil flows, it will bring some forward, set some aside for the moment, or join several to produce the most effective picture so that life is imparted.



Each arts ministry has a call to express the Word of God and impart life through the gifting. This call is just as valid as the call to preach, evangelize, or pastor. We give a message of truth and hope to the world through our expression of worship. I Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare (show forth) the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.



We need all the facets of the arts ministry to be available in an atmosphere of unity, so that all of our giftings can be blended into one holy tapestry of worship by our Master artist, the Holy Spirit. This unity brings glory to God and the opportunity for the fullest expression of worship.



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