A New Level of Worship

The Lord has revealed that many in this hour who will worship Him will actually be taken into His ecstasy. These ones will find themselves lost in His wonderment, amazed by Him and His miracles, going into places in worship they have never been before. Due to their newly found freedom in Jesus, some of these individuals will be freed from the prison of their souls as they experience this new level of worship - Ekstasis Worship.

The Definition of Ekstasis

Many people have asked me questions about Ekstasis Worship. In this article, I will share what it means and how to move into this new level of worship in your own life.

The word ekstasis is a Greek word; in our English, we would say ecstasy.

Ekstasis - Greek word for:

• trance
• moving beyond oneself
• finding freedom from the perceived constraint of time and space
• being in a state of amazement
• being astonished by
• being of one mind, beside one's self - insane
• throwing of the mind out of a normal state

Let's look at a few terms often used when speaking of Ekstasis:

• amazement
• a feeling of great surprise or wonder
• astonishment, shock, speechlessness, awe, wonder and wonderment
• ecstasy
• an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement
• chiefly archaic, an emotional or religious frenzy or trancelike state, originally one involving an experience of mystic self-transcendence
• rapture
• a feeling of intense pleasure or joy
• the transporting of Believers to Heaven at the second coming of Christ; rapture is a way of being transported

I know you may be saying, "What?"

But listen to what we say sometimes: "I want to be raptured with God." Now feel that...Where are you going? What are you feeling? Are you seeing yourself rising up? Are you feeling intense joy? Are you moving beyond yourself? This is Ekstasis. Ecstasy.

Happiness is one thing; bliss is another, suggesting a state of utter joy and contentment. Ecstasy is even more extreme, describing a trancelike state in which one loses awareness of one's surroundings.

Although rapture originally referred to being raised or lifted out of oneself by divine power, nowadays it is used in much the same sense as ecstasy to describe an elevated sensation of bliss. Transport applies to any powerful emotion by which one is carried away (i.e., a transport of delight).

When happiness is carried to an extreme or crosses over into mania, it is called euphoria. Euphoria may outwardly resemble ecstasy or rapture, but upon closer examination, it is usually found to be exaggerated and out of proportion.

Now you have a definition of Ekstasis.

True Joy

How many times have you felt the intense joy of God - "The Joy of the Lord is my Strength"? There is fullness of joy in His presence.

Now, can you imagine this intense emotion of joy? Some emotions, like this one, make us want to move, dance and jump up and down. Now add music - a beat. Keep thinking about His joy - your strength. Now the joy is more than you can contain! You begin to move outside of your normal state of mind. You are in the presence of the Lord. His Word says to praise Him in the dance. Dance = joy. When we begin to praise Jesus, He comes and inhabits our praise. We can then go places with "Daddy."

This joy doesn't have to come from any certain style of music. Worship is not a genre of music. Throughout history in Christianity, worship has been considered by most Christians to be the central act of Christian identity, as the personal act of lifting one's mind and heart to God.

I was talking to a friend the other day about the words she wrote for a song. I asked her what kind of music was right for the song. She said to me, "You know, normal worship music." I then said, "What is normal worship music?" I continued, "I am a black man, and what I call normal is not normal to you, because you and I are from different cultures. Different cultures and races of people have different styles of music."

What I am saying is that it is not the style of music that puts you in the ekstasis of God. It is your relationship with Jesus. Also, worship is not just music. Music is only a part of worship; worship is a lifestyle of adoration of the King of Glory. Worship is to adore Him.

Astonishment & Amazement

Let's look at the words astonishment and amazement. As I was researching the word ekstasis in the Greek lexicon, these two words came up as ekstasis. Here are a couple of Scriptures that in the Greek used the word ekstasis.

Mark 5:42:
"And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment."

Luke 5:26:
"And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, 'We have seen strange things to day.'"

These words, astonishment and amazed, are ekstasis in the Greek, and, as we said earlier, mean: feeling of great surprise or wonder; astonishment, shock, speechlessness, awe, wonder and wonderment.

In these Scriptures, the people were in ekstasis (ecstasy) over a miracle of God. This is one expression of ekstasis. This is the first area of Ekstasis Worship I want to achieve in a worship service.

Trances

The next definition of ekstasis is when it is used to describe a trance.

Acts 10:10-11:
"He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw Heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to Earth by its four corners."

Acts 11:5:
"I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from Heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was."

Here the word trance is also ekstasis in the Greek. We see ekstasis being used in the definition of moving beyond oneself. Here is, I believe, a state of being in the presence of God. I see this happening as people are praising God in the dance. Psalm 150 says to praise Him in the dance. The psalms say He inhabits the praises of His people. The sheet comes down and He comes and sits in your praise dance.

Freedom!

I have one more characterization of the word ekstasis that I really like. The Greek lexicon gave reference to lutron, which means:

• the price for redeeming
• ransom paid for slaves and captives, for the ransom of life
• to liberate many from misery and the penalty of their sins

In looking at the definition of ekstasis, it also said:

• Freedom
• Find freedom from the perceived constraint of time and space

I thought about my own life and how God brought me into freedom. Freedom from my own prison of drugs, freedom from homosexuality, WOW! Right now I am going into His ekstasis - freedom from a man-pleasing spirit. Wow! Oh, more of His ecstasy is coming over me now - the freedom to tell the world about His glory. I am in amazement just thinking about His freedom and how He paid for my lutron. It puts me in a state of ecstasy!

Your Assignment

Here is an assignment for you! This next week, begin to look for the ekstasis of God in your life.

• How many times in your week does the amazement of God happen for you?
• How often do you find yourself in extreme joy?
• How often do you feel like dancing and rejoicing in His presence?
• How many times in this week does God just "blow your mind"?

Choose to release some extreme praise this week. See how He comes and sits in your presence and takes you into the joy of His presence.

Scripture Meditation

Week One:

Psalm 149:1-5 (The Message):

"Hallelujah! Sing to GOD a brand-new song,
praise Him in the company of all who love Him.
Let all Israel celebrate their Sovereign Creator,
Zion's children exult in their King.
Let them praise His name in dance;
strike up the band and make great music!
And why? Because GOD delights in His people,
festoons plain folk with salvation garlands!
Let true lovers break out in praise,
sing out from wherever they're sitting,
Shout the high praises of God."

Week Two:

Luke 5:22-26 (New King James Version):

"But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, 'Why are you reasoning in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, "Your sins are forgiven you," or to say, "Rise up and walk"? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins' - He said to the man who was paralyzed, 'I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.' Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, 'We have seen strange things today!'"

Week Three:

Acts 11:5-8 (New King James Version):

"I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from Heaven by four corners; and it came to me. When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.' But I said, 'Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.'"

Week Four:

2 Samuel 6:14-15 (New Living Translation):

"And David danced before the LORD with all his might, wearing a priestly garment. So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams' horns."

Caleb Brundidge
Extreme Prophetic