Flag Ministry or Flag Worship

The use of flags can be quite an entertaining sight to see, but when used to lift up blessings, glory, honor, and power to the Lord in His presence, flags can be more than entertaining. Used in accordance to the Word, flags become the primary sign for lifting up a "standard" of God. The Bible refers to the word flag as "standard" or "banner." The Hebrew word degel is translated as, a flag or banner or standard. Degel comes from the Hebrew root word dagal, meaning to flaunt, i.e. raise a flag; to be conspicuous, setting up with banners. Standard is defined as a banner used as an emblem, marker or rallying point; an ensign; military or personal flag. In the Old Testament, God commands Moses to instruct the children of Israel to camp by their own "standard" to signify their tribe. (Numbers 2:2) There were 12 different flags or banners for the 12 tribes. (Numbers 1:52, 2:2-3, 10, 18, 25; 10:14, 18,22, 25) Banner is defined as a flag or cloth standard. It is used figuratively to define one of God's Name's, Jehovah Nissi, the Lord is my banner! God's salvation and truth is declared by the raising of the banners, Psalms 20:5, Psalms 60:4. He is a banner of love and protection described in Song of Solomon 2:4 and reigns with great power, Song of Solomon 6:4, 10. He is a standard and He is calling us to lift up a standard, declare and proclaim it to all the world. (Isaiah 5:26, 11:12, 13:2, Jeremiah 50:2).

Flag Ministry or Flag Worship is the union of flags, music, and the Word of God that allows one to enter into the awesome presence of God. This worship art form brings a memorable experience of worshiping our Lord under His anointing. There are two reasons or purposes I believe for Flag Worship: (1) to exalt the name of the Lord and give Him all the praise and the glory, and (2) to destroy the works of the devil. The basic technique of flag waving is not really a new art form. We see this art displayed in the world in rhythmic gymnastics or in a school's marching band, but waving those same flags and streamers under the anointing of God as the Holy Spirit ministers to our hearts, minds, and spirits leads us into an unforgettable time of worship with the Lord. God has a message for us and through Flag Worship is one way He can deliver it.

How does one begin to praise and worship with flags begins with a desire to praise and worship the Lord. There is no special talent needed to worship with flags, even though having some skills in dance and ballet enhances your worship, but a willingness to use your body for the glory of God definitely is required. What you don't have the anointing will make up for as you present your offering to the Lord. Flag Worship can be done as an individual or group worship. As an individual, you are called on to ministry with several flags and streamers of all sorts while worshipping to a song or sometimes no music, being one with Christ. As a group, you minister as one in Christ even though each person gives their offerings with flags to the Lord in a choreograph worship or spontaneous. Through each worship piece, flags are raised and a "standard" as we know is lifted up for all the world or your audience to see. You or the group become the "bannered one (s) or standard-bearer (s), one who carries an ensign into battle. The types of flag worship pieces are the same and similar to those of dance ministry. There is a flag praise piece, a flag worship piece, a warfare piece, a flag prophetic piece, a flag celebration and dedication pieces, and many more. Notice that I didn't say, "flag praise dance piece", because dance is not a necessary requirement to worship with flags. Therefore, one can stand still and worship with flags!

The ministry comes from the heart! The colors of the flags are important as you select them for ministry. The meaning and references are many as the Holy Spirit ministers to each person individually.

White
- Glory & majesty (Daniel 7:9, Revelation 20:11)
- Purity (Revelation 1:14)
- Completion (John 4:35)

Purple
- Royalty (Judges 8:26)
- Wealth (Luke 16:19

Black
- Sorrow, Calamity (Revelation 6-12)
- Hell (Jude 13

Blue
- Heavenly Character (Exodus 28:31)

Green
- Spiritual Privileges (Jeremiah 11:16)
- Spiritual Life (Psalms 52:8, Psalms 92:12-15)

Red
- Atonement (Isaiah 63:2) - Persecution (Revelation 12:3)

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Article courtesy of Beit Tehlia Congregation

The Earth Is The Lord's!

The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. (Psalm 24:1, NASB)

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. (Psalm 19:1, NLT)

As believers in Jesus Christ, we can sometimes forget how big God is. When life gets hard - and it does in a myriad of ways, we wonder if things will ever get better. And if we hurt bad enough we even wonder where God is in all of this, or even question our faith; "Why do I trust God?" "What is it all for?" The Psalmist in Psalm 73 had a very similar concern. I've been there - have you? Somebody might be reading this with a heavy heart, but I've brought you some good news!

Today's passage says the very earth belongs to God. Everything, and everybody in the earth belong to Him. There is nothing He does not see, there is nothing He cannot do. We don't have to look far to see wickedness in the world, but God's glory is still in the earth. All you have to do is look up. Psalm 19 presents a breathtaking picture of God's artwork in the earth; don't miss that. If you allow yourself to see it God is showing Himself every day in a perfectly blue sky, the wind moving through the trees, how the lightening lights up the sky, in how birds fly through the air, such a number of stars in the night that we can't even count them. Psalm 147 says He calls all the stars by name. Who wouldn't believe a God like that? God puts Himself on display on a daily basis all around us; we just have to open our eyes and our hearts to see it. That new job belongs to Him. Every bank, every mortgage company, every dollar running through Wall Street belongs to Him! Be encouraged to understand the very earth and everything in it belongs to Him, and His glory fills the earth. Whatever it is your heart so longs for, ask God to show you His glory. 

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Article courtesy of http://www.experiencingworship.com/articles/studies/2013-6-The-Earth-Is-The-Lord-s.html

We Must Only Worship God - Lesson 8

Jesus said in Matthew 4:10, "You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve." If we worship God in spirit and in truth, we cannot worship anyone or anything else. Anything we worship, other than God, is an idol. According to Webster, an idol is "an image used as an object or instrument of worship."

God forbids us to make and worship idols. God says in Exodus 20:4-5, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." We see we are not to make any image whether it is a statue or any likeness of anything in heaven or earth to worship them. But this is done today when people worship icons. People bow down and pray to these statues and painted pictures whether they be the supposed likeness of Mary the mother of Jesus or one of the many other dead people who are called saints. This is in direct disobedience to the command of God.

When I see people bowing down, burning candles, praying, and worshipping an icon image of a saint, my heart bleeds for them because they are putting their souls in jeopardy of being lost. We are warned in Colossians 2:18, "Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worshipping angels." We can loose our reward in heaven if we worship someone other than God. He is the only one we are to worship because He is a jealous God. God will not allow us to worship anyone else other than Himself. Revelations 21:8 tells us that "idolaters shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." We must only worship God and our worship must be in spirit and in truth if we expect to be with Him in heaven when this life is over.
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Article taken from  http://www.bible.ca/interactive/worship-8-god-alone.htm

We Must Give Our Best To God - Lesson 7

As we worship God, we give Him ourselves. Romans 12:1 says, "I beseech you therefore, brethern, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service." Under the Old Testament some of the Jews were not offering their best and were condemned for it. In Malachi 1:8 we read, "And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?" Is it not just as evil today when we do not give God our best?

Under the New Testament we do not offer animal sacrifices as the Jews did under the Old Testament; but we give Him our lives in service to Him as a living sacrifice. In doing this we must give Him our all. Anything we do for God must be our very best. Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind." All our heart, soul, and mind, or in other words, our total being must be in our worship.

How do we show our love to God? Our Lord says in John 14:21, "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me." We show our love to God when we keep His commandments. We do not show our love to God if we only keep the commandments we want to keep or if we add some of our own commandments.

In Matthew 28:18, before Christ ascended into heaven, He was giving His apostles some last minute instructions concerning those they would baptize. Jesus said, "Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." Everything the Lord has commanded us is to be observed. We are to do all that God says and in the way He says to do it. Jesus says in Luke 6:46, "But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"

In worship we must do all God has commanded and we must do nothing He has not authorized. Our worship must be from the heart with all reverence and sincerity. We must give Him our very best. Then and only then will we be worshipping God "in spirit and in truth". The purpose and holiness of true worship to God is a precious privilege available only to those who are obedient to the will of God.
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Lesson found at http://www.bible.ca/interactive/worship-7-give-best.htm

Vain Worship - Lesson 6

Our Lord says in Mark 7:7, "And in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." When we follow the commandments of men instead of God's instructions, our worship becomes vain. If our worship is vain, it is empty, hollow, and useless. It will do us no good. If it is vain, it would be as though we had not worshipped God at all and we will be lost. When we worship in the way "we want" then God is dishonored and insulted. When we worship the way God has told us in His word, God is honored and glorified.

As we read in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." To worship in truth is to worship as the word of God directs. Jesus said in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." Since the word of God is truth, when we worship God in truth, we worship Him according to His word. The only way God will accept our worship is to follow His directions in the Bible.

God says in Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." If we don't know what God says, we are going to be destroyed or lost for our lack of knowledge. It is sad to say but the vast majority of people are illiterate of God's word. They don't really know what the Bible says.

When people are ignorant of God's directions on how He is to be worshipped, they wander in spiritual darkness. Our Lord says in Matthew 15:14, "And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch." We must first have a desire to know the truth of God's will and then be willing to change when we find we are wrong and are not worshipping according to His truth. Jesus says in John 8:32, "And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Only the truth can make us free, otherwise we are still under the bondage of sin. We may be sincere in our worship, and we must be, but if we do not worship God "in truth", that is as God directs, then our worship will be vain and unacceptable to God.

Also if we try to worship God "in truth" but not "in spirit", that is not with the proper motive of honoring God and with reverence, then we are just practicing ritualism and our heart is far from it. This type of worship is also vain and unacceptable to God, for Jesus says in Matthew 15:8, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." We must worship God both in spirit and in truth.

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Lesson taken from http://www.bible.ca/interactive/worship-6-vain.htm

Acceptable And Unacceptable Worship - Lesson 5

God has shown, in the Bible, His approval with those who follow His will and His displeasure and wrath with those who refuse to worship Him the way He has directed. An example of acceptable and unacceptable worship in the Old Testament is that of Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel both worshiped God. Abel did as God directed, but Cain tried to worship God the way he saw fit. We read in Genesis 4:3-5, "And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering."

Why did the Lord have respect for Abel's offering and why did He reject Cain's offering? Hebrews 11:4 tells us, "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Notice Abel offered his sacrifice "by faith" but Cain did not. Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." So faith comes by the word of God. Abel offered his sacrifice by faith or according to the word of God. If we worship God by faith, we worship as the word of God directs.

Abel offered the firstborn of his flock "by faith" and it was accepted because his worship was according to the instructions of God. But Cain chose to ignore God's instructions and sacrificed an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Cain chose to sacrifice to God the way he saw fit. Cain did not offer his sacrifice according to God's instructions, so God rejected his sacrifice and worship, since it was not "by faith".

From this example we see our worship must be "by faith", that is "by the word of God." We read in Romans 14:23, "For whatever is not from faith is sin." If our worship is not "by faith", that is it is not "by the word of God", then it "is sin". It will also be rejected just like Cain's. It is a very serious matter if God rejects our worship. If He does we are going to be lost. 

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Courtesy of http://www.bible.ca/

Worship Is Not For Our Entertainment - Lesson 3

 

There is an erroneous idea today that the main reason we attend worship is to "get something out of the service", rather than going there to give our worship to God. This is a selfish motive on our part. This is the reason people cannot be satisfied with the worship service when their emphasis is not on the proper object of worship, God. People want to "do their own thing" in the worship of the church. What the Bible has to say about worship for many people is of little consequence as long as they are happy and feel good. We must be concerned with what God says on how He is to be worshipped instead of what we might want to offer Him.

The United States has produced the most entertainment-oriented people the world has ever known. We have more forms of amusement than has ever been know to man, but we still want more. In our age everything is designed to appeal to our emotions and to entertain us. We seem to have forgotten our worship service is to bring glory and honor to God, and not to entertain ourselves. When we have choirs to sing to us and concerts to entertain us, we are not worshipping God; but we have become the spectators who are being entertained. Worship is not a spectator event. We dare not become spectators, because in worship it is God who is the spectator. People have the roles reversed. People expect divine will to conform to what seems right in their own eyes. Proverbs 12:15 says, "The way of the fool is right in his own eyes." The emphasis is how can the worship service be made more entertaining to people to please themselves and not God.

Worship to God is holy and sacred. To pervert and corrupt it with entertainment and what we can "get out of the service" in trying to please and gratify ourselves is nothing short of blasphemy! The sacredness of true worship must not be sacrificed on altars of entertainment-oriented quartets, choirs, and other entertainment groups. We are as Hebrews 13:15 says to "Offer the sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." In worship we must be the participants, not the observers. We want to please and entertain ourselves. In Galatians 1:10 the question is asked, "Do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Worship is God-centered not man-centered. When our worship is to please God instead of ourselves, then and only then will our worship be much more meaningful and spiritually uplifting to us and acceptable to God.

When people seek an "emotional high" from worship and don't get it, they are disappointed and start blaming the song service, the preacher, etc. The world wants their worship service to be "more entertaining", thus they are failing to worship God in spirit and in truth. Where in the Bible can we go to show that our worship is designed to please the worshipper. The desire to have an experience or an encounter along the lines of mysticism also gives little regard to what God says in the Bible.

Our worship to God requires commitment on our part. People had rather worship Christ as a babe in a manger than Christ as their crucified savior. Their worshipping Christ as a babe in a manger requires no commitment on their part. They feel they can put Him in a box and live the rest of the year as they please. But worshipping Christ as our crucified savior requires commitment, a complete change of our life, and a willingness to do all that He says. Jesus says in Matthew 10:37, "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me." God and Christ must be first in our lives, and this requires that we be committed to them.

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Article courtesy of http://www.bible.ca/interactive/worship-3-not-entertainment.htm

The Purpose Of Our Worship Of God - Lesson 1

 

The purpose of our worship is to glorify, honor, praise, exalt, and please God. Our worship must show our adoration and loyalty to God for His grace in providing us with the way to escape the bondage of sin, so we can have the salvation He so much wants to give us. The nature of the worship God demands is the prostration of our souls before Him in humble and contrite submission. James 4:6, 10 tells us, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up". Our worship to God is a very humble and reverent action.

Jesus says in John 4:23-24, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." It doesn't say we can worship God anyway we want, but we "must worship Him in spirit and in truth". The word "must" makes it absolute. There is no other way we can worship God and be acceptable to Him. The word "must", according to Webster, expresses "an obligation, a requirement, a necessity, a certainty, and something that must be done". When "must" is used it means that it is not optional. Here the word "must" is expressing that in spirit and in truth is the only way to acceptably worship God. God seeks true worshippers, and He identifies them as those who "worship Him in spirit and in truth". Worshipping God in spirit and in truth is a serious matter which must not be taken lightly. If we have any regard for our own souls, we will want to make sure we are worshipping God in spirit and in truth.

Since God is the object of our worship, He and He alone has the right to determine how we are to worship Him. We read in Jeremiah 10:23, "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps." We are not granted the option of directing our own ways in religion. God is the One who we look to for guidance and direction in our lives.

Our very best in worship is due God and is prescribed by Him in the Bible. The worship God has prescribed is the only way we can be pleasing to Him in this life and finally attain everlasting life with Him in eternity. The Christian's worship is of the greatest importance.

Worship is a time when we pay deep, sincere, awesome respect, love, and fear to the one who created us. Acts 17:24-25 says, "God who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives life, breath, and all things."

God is the one who holds our eternal destiny in His hands. Philippians 2:12 tells us to, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Our salvation is a very serious matter and will not happen by accident. We must work it out "with fear and trembling". Our salvation depends on whether our worship is pleasing to God or not. On the Day of Judgment it will be too late to make any corrections.

Worship should cause us to reflect on the majesty and graciousness of God and Christ, contrasted to our own unworthiness. God does not have to have our worship, but we must worship Him to please Him. Our singing, praying, studying His word, giving, and communion are designed by God to bring us closer to Him and to cause us to think more like He thinks, thus becoming more like Him. James 4:8 tells us to, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

Our worship not only honors and magnifies God, but it is also for our own edification and strength. Worship helps us develop a God-like and Christ-like character. We become like unto those we admire and worship. When we worship God we tend to value what God values and gradually take on the characteristics and qualities of God, but never to His level. As Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ." How do we take on the mind of Christ? In Romans 12:2 we read, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." We renew our mind as we study and meditate on God's word and worship Him.

When we worship God we develop such traits as forgiveness, tenderness, justice, righteousness, purity, kindness, and love. All of this is preparing us for eternal life in heaven with God and Christ. As we are told in Colossians 3:2 to, "Set your mind on things above, and not on things on the earth."

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Article taken from  http://www.bible.ca/interactive/worship-1-purpose.htm

Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening - Devotional - Friday, April 26, 2013

Morning

"This do in remembrance of me."
1 Corinthians 11:24

It seems then, that Christians may forget Christ! There could be no need for this loving exhortation, if there were not a fearful supposition that our memories might prove treacherous. Nor is this a bare supposition: it is, alas! too well confirmed in our experience, not as a possibility, but as a lamentable fact. It appears almost impossible that those who have been redeemed by the blood of the dying Lamb, and loved with an everlasting love by the eternal Son of God, should forget that gracious Saviour; but, if startling to the ear, it is, alas! too apparent to the eye to allow us to deny the crime. Forget him who never forgot us! Forget him who poured his blood forth for our sins! Forget him who loved us even to the death! Can it be possible? Yes, it is not only possible, but conscience confesses that it is too sadly a fault with all of us, that we suffer him to be as a wayfaring man tarrying but for a night. He whom we should make the abiding tenant of our memories is but a visitor therein. The cross where one would think that memory would linger, and unmindfulness would be an unknown intruder, is desecrated by the feet of forgetfulness. Does not your conscience say that this is true? Do you not find yourselves forgetful of Jesus? Some creature steals away your heart, and you are unmindful of him upon whom your affection ought to be set. Some earthly business engrosses your attention when you should fix your eye steadily upon the cross. It is the incessant turmoil of the world, the constant attraction of earthly things which takes away the soul from Christ. While memory too well preserves a poisonous weed, it suffereth the rose of Sharon to wither. Let us charge ourselves to bind a heavenly forget-me-not about our hearts for Jesus our Beloved, and, whatever else we let slip, let us hold fast to him.
 

 

Evening

"Blessed is he that watcheth."
Revelation 16:15

"We die daily," said the apostle. This was the life of the early Christians; they went everywhere with their lives in their hands. We are not in this day called to pass through the same fearful persecutions: if we were, the Lord would give us grace to bear the test; but the tests of Christian life, at the present moment, though outwardly not so terrible, are yet more likely to overcome us than even those of the fiery age. We have to bear the sneer of the world--that is little; its blandishments, its soft words, its oily speeches, its fawning, its hypocrisy, are far worse. Our danger is lest we grow rich and become proud, lest we give ourselves up to the fashions of this present evil world, and lose our faith. Or if wealth be not the trial, worldly care is quite as mischievous. If we cannot be torn in pieces by the roaring lion, if we may be hugged to death by the bear, the devil little cares which it is, so long as he destroys our love to Christ, and our confidence in him. I fear me that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than in those rougher times. We must be awake now, for we traverse the enchanted ground, and are most likely to fall asleep to our own undoing, unless our faith in Jesus be a reality, and our love to Jesus a vehement flame. Many in these days of easy profession are likely to prove tares, and not wheat; hypocrites with fair masks on their faces, but not the true-born children of the living God. Christian, do not think that these are times in which you can dispense with watchfulness or with holy ardour; you need these things more than ever, and may God the eternal Spirit display his omnipotence in you, that you may be able to say, in all these softer things, as well as in the rougher, "We are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

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http://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/ 

Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening (Devotional) - Tuesday, April 23, 2013

 

 

Morning

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."
Romans 8:37

We go to Christ for forgiveness, and then too often look to the law for power to fight our sins. Paul thus rebukes us, "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" Take your sins to Christ's cross, for the old man can only be crucified there: we are crucified with him. The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear which pierced the side of Jesus. To give an illustration--you want to overcome an angry temper; how do you go to work? It is very possible you have never tried the right way of going to Jesus with it. How did I get salvation? I came to Jesus just as I was, and I trusted him to save me. I must kill my angry temper in the same way. It is the only way in which I can ever kill it. I must go to the cross with it, and say to Jesus, "Lord, I trust thee to deliver me from it." This is the only way to give it a death-blow. Are you covetous? Do you feel the world entangle you? You may struggle against this evil so long as you please, but if it be your besetting sin, you will never be delivered from it in any way but by the blood of Jesus. Take it to Christ. Tell him, "Lord, I have trusted thee, and thy name is Jesus, for thou dost save thy people from their sins: Lord, this is one of my sins; save me from it!" Ordinances are nothing without Christ as a means of mortification. Your prayers, and your repentances, and your tears--the whole of them put together--are worth nothing apart from him. "None but Jesus can do helpless sinners good;" or helpless saints either. You must be conquerors through him who hath loved you, if conquerors at all. Our laurels must grow among his olives in Gethsemane.
 

 

Evening

"Lo, in the midst of the throne ... stood a Lamb as it had been slain."
Revelation 5:6

Why should our exalted Lord appear in his wounds in glory? The wounds of Jesus are his glories, his jewels, his sacred ornaments. To the eye of the believer, Jesus is passing fair because he is "white and ruddy:" white with innocence, and ruddy with his own blood. We see him as the lily of matchless purity, and as the rose crimsoned with his own gore. Christ is lovely upon Olivet and Tabor, and by the sea, but oh! there never was such a matchless Christ as he that did hang upon the cross. There we beheld all his beauties in perfection, all his attributes developed, all his love drawn out, all his character expressed. Beloved, the wounds of Jesus are far more fair in our eyes than all the splendour and pomp of kings. The thorny crown is more than an imperial diadem. It is true that he bears not now the sceptre of reed, but there was a glory in it that never flashed from sceptre of gold. Jesus wears the appearance of a slain Lamb as his court dress in which he wooed our souls, and redeemed them by his complete atonement. Nor are these only the ornaments of Christ: they are the trophies of his love and of his victory. He has divided the spoil with the strong. He has redeemed for himself a great multitude whom no man can number, and these scars are the memorials of the fight. Ah! if Christ thus loves to retain the thought of his sufferings for his people, how precious should his wounds be to us!

"Behold how every wound of his

A precious balm distils,

Which heals the scars that sin had made,

And cures all mortal ills.

"Those wounds are mouths that preach his grace;

The ensigns of his love;

The seals of our expected bliss

In paradise above."

Scriptures Relating to Flags/Banners

Scriptures of Flags (Banners)

Psalm 20:5 - “We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.”

Song of Songs 2:4 -  “He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.”

Song of Songs 6:4 -  “You are beautiful, my darling as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners.

Exodus 17:15  - “Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner.
 

1 Corinthians 1:27 -  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty KJV

Psalms 149:3 -  Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp. KJV

Psalms 150:4 -  Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. KJV

Psalms 60:4 - Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. KJV

Song of Solomon 2:4 -  He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. KJV



THE WEAPON OF PRAISE: Psalm 150

“Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATHE PRAISE THE LORD. Praise the Lord.

When we give praise to the Lord, we are in a spiritual battle. We may be totally unaware of it, but the battle is there! This is my favorite army position. As we are giving praise and worship to the Lord, we become so delighted in his presence and his greatness, that we usually are unaware of the spiritual battle going on. Don’t be fooled. This isn’t just a pretty scene of colorful, fun looking flags. This is a battle. While we exalt Jesus, we tear down the enemy’s camp at the same time. However our focus should always be on the Lord our God while we worship!

When a shout was given out from the army of Joshua the walls of Jericho fell. David killed Golitith with a mere stone! Samspson had supernatural strength with his uncut hair. Though there was no power in the yell, stone or hair itself, they became mighty weapons. A stone on it’s own has no power, but add faith with it and it becomes a massive destructive weapon. Dangerous enough to kill the enemy! That is like worship flags and accessories. There is no power in the flags themselves, however the power comes in what we proclaim with them as we use them. Then they become destructive weapons, which disable the enemy!

Flag Color Symbols

It has been my experience that each colour has a specific meaning. May I suggest that you be sensitive to the Holy Spirits leading, as you prepare to worship through flagging. He will guide you as to what colour to use, depending on what the Holy Spirit chooses to communicate through you and the flags. So please prayerfully consider your colour choice. Below, I have listed several colours and their meaning.

Gold - Glory, Deity, Godhead, Divine Light

Silver - Word of God, Righteousness, Wisdom

Royal Blue - Priesthood, Holy Spirit, Truth

Red - Blood of Jesus, Cleansing, Atonement, War, Life

Green - Praise, Mercy, Prosperity, New Beginning, Healing

Purple - Royalty, Kingship, Power, Majesty, Kingdom Authority Fuchsia Pink - Joy, Compassion, Passion for Jesus, Bridegrooms Heart

White - Purity

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Courtesy of Touching Heaven

Flag Ministry

Biblical Color Meaning in the Bible

"When God appeared unto Noah after the flood, and placed a rainbow in the sky, He did much more than shows him a phenomenon. 

In the seven colors, beginning with red and ending with purple, God was displaying a natural miracle that demonstrated the complete redemption of man". - Antipas/M. Stewart

This is a compilation of many interpretations of biblical colors meaning that I have collected over the last several years.  I hope that you find it biblical and authentic.  

From Genesis to Revelations the Word of God is full of symbolic (biblical) color meaning.  Using colors to express how we feel towards God in dramatic worship (with banners) can be very therapeutic and beneficial to us and a blessing to God's people. 

I have found that when we enjoy worshipping the Lord He enjoys receiving our worship.  Blessing and strengthening and uplifting the Body of Christ uplift and unify the Lord's work. 

I hope that you will be able to utilize the many color definitions.   I do know that God loves color. The colors that we see here on the earth realm are only a portion of what is in heaven. 

May you be blessed by what is here and I hope that it releases you into a deeper understand of the impact that color brings. 

Biblical Color Meaning In The Bible

Zephaniah 3:9,10

For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language that they all may call

 on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord.  From beyond the rivers of

 Ethiopia My Worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.

RED

Red:  symbolizes blood atonement; sacrifice of Christ's blood; covenant of grace; cleansing justification; sin, atonement; war; the wrath of God; judgment; death; love; life; the earth; redemption; sacrifice; consuming fire; the person of Jesus; the cross; refers to flesh. Isaiah: 1:18, Hebrew 9:14.

Red con not be formulated by mixing any other color together.  The Hebrew word "OUDEM" means "red clay".  It is the root word from the name Adam, Esau, and Edom; all speak of flesh.

Burgundy:  The Red earth; selfish; Covetous sin, copper and gold, washing by the word, righteousness, right standing.
Rose Pink:  Messiah, glory, Rose of Sharon, the Father's heavenly care over the Lilies of the Field-His children,

 Jesus loves me-this I know!  Symbolizes right relationships, heart of flesh, intimacy, child-like faith (Romans 3:25;

Rev. 19:8; Ez. 11:19; 1 Peter 5:5-6; Song 1:2; Matt. 18: 3-5.

Fuchsia: Joy, right relationships, compassion, heart of flesh, passion for Jesus, the Bridegroom's heart, koinonea. 
Plum:  Richness, abundance, infilling of the Holy Spirit

ORANGE

Gold or Yellow:  Symbolizes the Glory of God ; divine nature; holiness; eternal deity; the Godhead; Purification;
 majesty; righteousness; divine light; kingliness; trial by fire; mercy;  power; His Deity; Glory.     Revelations  3:18;  Revelations 4:4;  Mal: 3:3;  1 Peter: 1:7 

Yellow or gold is also primary.  It always speaks of trial and purging.  "That trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes,  though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ".(1 Peter 1:7)

Amber:  Glory of God, the Father's heavenly care, fiery passion, flaming throne of God,  the temple of God, wisdom.
Orange: Praise, Warfare, Passion, power, fire, harvest season, fruitfulness, joy
Bronze:  Judgment upon sin; fires of testing.
Brown:  Man as we are on earth.

GREEN

Green:  Praise, eternal life, vigor, prosperity, mercy, restoration, health, healing, new beginning, freshness, God's holy seed, harvest, sowing and reaping, immortality, fresh oil, new life, joy in hope.   Rom 12:12;  Ps. 23:2;  Gen. 1:30;  Lk. 23:31;  Rev. 22:2;  Ps. 92:14.

BLUE

Blue speaks to us of the eternal presence of YAHWEH.  The color of God's chosen nation, the people of Israel, blue dating back to the time of David.  We also note in Ezek. 1:26 that the restored throne of David which will rule supreme in all the earth, being God's throne, is spoken of as sapphire, which is blue.  Blue also speaks of healing. Matt. 9:21 M. Stewart 

Blue:  Symbolizes the heavenly realm; prayer; priesthood; authority; revealed God; grace; divinity; Holy Spirit; overcomer; revelation knowledge; the Truth; the Word of God; the Word; Messiah.

Light blue:  Heaven, Heavenly Ezek.:26
Turquoise (is a bluish-green):  River of God, sanctification, healing, life-giving flow of the Holy Spirit, the New Jerusalem.

PURPLE

Purple:  Symbolizes Jesus' royalty; believer's royalty; majesty; wealth; power; penitence; the name of God; kingdom authority; dominion, son-ship; the promises of God; inheritance; mediator; inheritance; priesthood.   Revelations 5:10,”And has made us unto our God kings and priests and we shall reign on the earth."

RAINBOW

Rainbow:  Symbolizes God's promises (Rev. 4:3) Covenant (Gen 9:13 and 16).

Noah looking at the rainbow saw seven steps (the number of spiritual perfection), beginning with flesh, going through trial, being guided by the Word of God, bringing forth immortality and priesthood; thus fulfilling Rev. 5:10, "and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." This is further emphasized in Ezekiel's glorious vision of the Cherubim, the immortalized host of God, as outlined in his first chapter.  (Colors of the rainbow)--Antipas, M. Stewart.

WHITE 

White: Symbolizes Creator; righteousness acquired through blood of Christ; Bride's garment; salvation; surrender; holiness, saints; angels, peace; triumph; victory; glory; joy; light.   Rev. 4:4, 6:2 

Iridescent:  Fruit of the Spirit (Rev. 4:3) Overcomer, Rainbow Promise, Precious Stones Rev. 21:7; Rev. 4:3; 2: 11:19.

Clear, Transparent:  Water Baptism, Wind, Holy Spirit, Born Again, Matt 3:11; John. 3:3; 5:7 Iridescent Crystal:  Cleansing Work of the Holy Spirit, blessings of God, sanctification, the Bride of Christ, Truth.

Black:  Righteous Judgment; Death; Death of old self; Famine; Mourning; Evil; Humiliation; Affliction; Calamity Primordial color of creation; Sign of humiliation. Lam. 4:8, Rev. 6:5, Jer. 8:21.

Color black in Scripture:  And I looked and behold a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand (rev 6:5). Their appearance is blacker than soot, they are not recognized in the streets; their skin is shriveled on their bones, it has become like wood (lamentations 4:8).

Black symbolizes death, punishment, famine, sin, affliction, death, repentance, bondage (John 3:19-20).    

Silver:  Symbolizes paid price for redemption; price of a soul; Word of God; strength; Spirit; Revelation; Grace; The Word of God; divinity; wisdom; purity; strengthened faith (Matt. 27: 3-8)

Cream:  healing.

Brazen: Christ the Healer

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Courtesy of Raised Praise