I grew up in a UPC congregation and when I got converted at the age of 22 I attended a PAOC congregation. I have spoken in “modern tongues”, “danced in the spirit”, and been “slayen in the spirit”. So the Pentecostal meeting and ways are not new to me.

>>>Why can’t someone love praise and worship just as much & show it in the same way!

I think people can, and I have done it in meeting and in the private of my home and I noted that in the comments.

>>>Why is that disrespectful in your eyes? Do you think God is looking down shaking his head at them?

My point was to address mixing up emotionalism with the glory of God. Getting all worked up in your emotions doesn’t mean the glory of God has come down.

So I have no problem with people jumping and shouting, running the isles and waving their hankies, or weeping and laughing — as long as when all is done and said they live a life free from willful and known sin, have these kinds of emotions in their private devotions, and are not seeking emotions but seeking God.

I do know what it is like to get so blessed that I can’t do any thing but cry, but I don’t seek those kinds of emotions. I seek God and when God blesses me some times the emotions come. Yes I like emotions too but I never seek them.

As far as a life giving principle — I hold that the grace and power of God is the life giving principle. I don’t see how the grace and power of God could be a burden to a Christian.

I just was shaking my head when i read all the comments I could stomach. I found your view on worshipping our same God very unsettling. I understand that some people listen to music differently. While some just listen quietly & appreciate it, others sing quietly, but most people that i know when they hear music that they really love: dance & sing it as loud as possible unashamed in their home, car or shower when they are fully abandoned with no one around. Why can’t someone love praise and worship just as much & show it in the same way! Why is that disrespectful in your eyes? Do you think God is looking down shaking his head at them? NO WAY! How could God be ashamed of a people who are so in love with him that they cannot shout loud enough about him with no reservation that they might be judged on the right or left of them. I have been to many denominations through choir tours and switching churches when moving around but I grew up in a Pentecostal church and whenever I am there, it is an unforgettable filling of the holy ghost throughout my entire body that I have not felt in any other denomination [except in my current non denominational home church where the worship is very similar to Pentecostal worship]. There is no question that it is the Holy Ghost, it feels like a fire you can’t contain burning inside of you, giving you chills to your bone. I wonder if you personally have ever felt this indescribable feeling. I feel if you had, you would fully understand that it leaves you without the choice of dancing, it puts the step in your foot. I don’t judge anyone else’s style of worship because God is the only judge. I just know what suits my taste and my beliefs about the Bible’s example of praise! I believe that the Pentecostal church fits Psalm’s description of praise the closest. May God Bless you for your dedication to his word and your personal faith. I believe that is inspiring to others but be careful that you not make what is a life giving principle to you, a burden to others. Have a good day. :)

I took your last comment and turned it into a question and did a post called Emotions In Private And Public Worship that is a copy of my following post.

I would agree with you that the glory of God is holy, selfless, sanctified living that has victory over known or willful sin, self, and the devil. But at the same time I feel like we need to make room for expressions of emotions in private and public worship.

We are emotional beings, some of us are more so and some of us less. When God touches us we respond with our will, our mind, our spirit, and our emotions.

The man that got healed in the temple leaped and praised God and I believe that was in order. As long as people are not operating in the flesh and seeking attention I have no problem with outward manifestations of praise to God or emotions in a meeting.

I do have problems with people being emotional in meeting and then living a fleshy, selfish, unsanctified life, but that is part of having emotional meetings. Quite often the unspiritual will get caught up in all the emotion. For them it will be a “spiritual high” that products no change.

Some of the most emotional times I have had with the Lord have not been in meetings but alone with God in prayer, praise, singing, and reading the word. I have shouted and wept and run through my home praising God and have even jump over the coffee table from.

The things that have lead to these emotional expressions have been things like a deeper revelation of the mercy God has had on me, a deeper godly sorrow for the ungodly life that I have once lived, strong conviction of the lacks in my spiritual live, or a deeper revelation of the love of God for my soul.

I think that people that only get emotional in meeting and not in their private devotions need to examine themselves as to where they are doing it for show or perhaps just getting caught up in an emotional high. The Christians greatest times of amens, shouts, jumps, runs, and weeping should be alone with God.

Personally I love it when God blesses me in my soul to the degree where I respond emotionally, but I never seek emotions and I don’t confuse them and think emotions are the glory of God.

The emotions pass away and are forgotten. The dealings of the Lord and changes that result from these dealings need to be lasting changes. The glory of God is the deeper revelation which brought a lasting change in my spiritual life. The emotions were just part of my response to the blessings of God.

When God comes down in a meeting and people get victory of sin, self, and the flesh those that have prayed for them will rejoice also. This is all biblical.

The issue I have with emotionalism is when people start seeking emotionalism instead of God. Something has really gone wrong when leader employ tactics to stir up the people in their emotions instead of leading people to a deeper walk with God.

They know when God has come down in the past and touched and changed people the emotions of the people were stirred. But instead of preaching, exhorting, and singing designed to help people changes in their life which will product an emotional response, they go directly for the emotional response.

Hence you can have an emotional form but the people in the congregation are selfish, carnal, and fleshing and in some cases living in known sin. All this while they run the aisles and think they shout the glory of God down.

When people personally start seeking emotions instead of God or when leader start trying to stir up an emotional meeting things are on the downward road.

The main point that I was wanting to make in my original post was both the Restoration and the group in the video confuse the glory of God with an emotional style of worship.

Both groups consider congregations that don’t have emotion worship services to be, as the song says, “dead churches”.

While there are a lot of differences between the worship style in the video and the Restoration meeting, they are both the same in the following. They are both highly emotional, both confuse the high emotion to be the glory if God, and they both think if a congregations meeting are not emotional then they are a dead congregation.

Most people that hold the Wesleyan/Holiness view strongly reject the Pentecostal doctrinal position, experience, and that the glory of God is among them. Hence they will write off the video as emotionalism that’s void of the Spirit.

In rejecting the video as emotionalism void of the Spirit (which is the position I take) this should cause them to at least consider that the emotional worship services of the Restoration could emotionalism and not the glory of God.

Danny Layne has said “if you don’t have the glory you don’t have anything”. While they clearly hold that their emotional services are an expression of the glory of God among them, I think it is only fair to note that it is not the emotional services alone that they think is the glory of God among them. They would also include that people are being saved from sin among them, their young people are on fire for God, that they are all in unity, and other evidences that are indicators to them that God is with them.

It seems the worship is more of “we” than of Christ. At some point, this becomes rank idolatry, although I realize that the church of Christ is spoken of in good terms in the Bible, but in a way that glorifies the groom more than the bride. Which is opposite as to what happens in the flesh, as the bride often gets more attention than the groom.
Mike

Yes that is correct, both groups “think” that a shouting, running, jumping, praising, emotional meetings is the “glory came down” and it is with this position I disagree and hence include the word “think”.

My position that shouting, running, jumping, praising, emotional meetings are not the glory of God has no refection or your or any one elses deliverance and transformation. Nor would my position have any refection as to people being drawn closer to the Lord in those types of meetings.

As far has having an axe to grind I would hold that it is uncharitable to accuse someone to “have a grievance, a resentment and you want to get revenge or sort it out” with no reason other than they disagree with you.

I will make allowance that perhaps you don’t know what the idiom “axe to grind” means, or perhaps you are meaning to use it another way. Just so you know, charges like this are not following 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and the charge you appear to be making is not the fruit of the glory of God having come down in a persons life.

While I feel sorry for all those who get caught up in the Pentecostal faith and find it grievous, it causes no resentment or desire to get revenge at all.

While others are having the “glory come down” in their emotional meetings, I have by the grace of God had the glory of God come down into my soul and it not only sets me completely free from resentment and revenge getting but from committing all willful and known sins.

I am sure you have some axe to grind. Is it the line “Millions have come and millions on the way, They’re leaving their DEAD churches for this Pentecostal faith?” I kinda think it is! As for me…. Thank GOD for this wonderful New Testament Salvation!