Dancing In The Spirit

 When I was a new convert so many many years ago, one of the first things about the church that kind of puzzled me was all the new terminology I had to learn to understand and use. I would hear people say they needed to "PRAY THROUGH" and immediately thought " Pray through WHAT?"

 "Shouting" was something people did in anger or in a state of panic or warning but a POSITIVE connotation to the word? It was kind of amazing how that in Pentecost we had a vocabulary all our own!

 But there was one phrase that just captured my imagination right off the bat! It was the phrase.......


 "DANCING IN THE SPIRIT"

 The first time I heard anyone use it , it just struck such a chord in my heart! LOVELY was the word that came to mind, Absolutely WONDERFULLY Lovely!

 I had loved dancing in the world. I wasn't a great dancer but I enjoyed it mightily!  And to find that in this Holy Ghost Experience there was an avenue of praise that transcended just LISTENING to the musical praises of God but actually allowed one to be lifted right up along with them in the Spirit to a place of absolute exalted dance before the King of Kings, I mean  WOW!

 I can remember praying as I watched the others Dancing in the Spirit (I LOVE even just TYPING that!)

 But I remember praying "Lord I would LOVE to have that experience!" And it wasn't long before one Sunday Night I was there in the middle of a red hot move of God and before I knew it I felt that exhilerating LIBERTY to dance before the Lord with all my might! I can truly say that there is absolutely NOTHING like dancing in the Holy Ghost!

 I thought I understood it, I mean David Danced before the Lord and so that was all the scripture and understanding I needed! Besides.... It felt GREAT!!!!!!   But one day at a Shopping Mall in Stockton, California I was passing out tracts when a man came over to me and said "Are those tracts?" I said "Yes:" He said "May I have one?" And I said  "Of Course!" and gave him one. I believe it was the old tract Pentecost is not a Denomination it is an Experience" The minute he read the cover it was like it was on fire in his hand! He immediately crushed it in a ball and threw it on the ground.

 "PENTECOSTAL! I MIGHTA KNOWN!!!!" and he turned to walk away. But I was so angry! I mean HE ASKED ME for the tract, no one forced him to take it. So I being the non confrontational person that I am said " HEY!!!!! WAIT A MINUTE SIR! WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR?????"

 He turned around and thought for a second and said "Because your doctrine is false!" I said  "oh Yeah? SHOW ME !" He said "Well for starters you people are a bunch of fanatics! You go to church and dance all over the place like a bunch of whirling dervishes! And there is NOWHERE in the Bible that it says for Christians to dance in Church!!!! You should come to the Church of Christ and Worship the right way!"

 Well now I "HAD HIM" ! I said Well sir Psalm 150 very CLEARLY says to "PRAISE HIM WITH THE DANCE" !

 He shot back "You see! That just goes to prove my point! You people are so ignorant it's laughable just to talk to you!"  he went on "The word DANCE in the Bible doesn't mean to dance with your FEET but rather is the old name of a MUSICAL INSTRUMENT! IGNORANT!"

 Well that kind of threw me for a loop! I mean I had never heard that! But at least I got off one parting shot "OH YEAH ?  WELL IF IT * IS * A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO USE IT ANYWAY!!!" and he was gone!

 Well I went home that night a little perplexed! I mean What if he was RIGHT???? I mean wouldn't that mean that there was no Bible for our Pentecostal Worship in the Dance??????

 So as usual I launched into a pretty deep study of the scriptures and what it led me to was more than beautiful!

 First of all the word for Dance in Psalm 150 most certainly DOES mean to dance with your feet. IN FACT it is not just a generic term for dance but a SPECIFIC word for dance "MACHOWL" it is the NAME of a Hebrew Dance of the time. When David said "Praise Him In The Dance" he used a SPECIFIC dances name! It left NOTHING up to the imagination of the reader in Hebrew as to what David was alluding to! It would be the same as if he used the name of one of our MODERN dances!

 If he had said "Praise Him In The Square Dance" then you would know EXACTLY what to do! "Swing your partner round and round Dosey Doe and Allemand Left"  Or if he had said "Praise him in the WALTZ" you could mutter under your breath "One two three, one two three, One two three , One two three..." But he said PRAISE HIM IN THE MACHOWL!

 The root of the word machowl means to be wounded , to limp, to be PIERCED! To the Jews they call the Machowl "The Dance of the Wounded Feet."

 That is why even today, when they do the Machowl, you see them take a step and then LIMP take a step and then LIMP it reflects WOUNDED FEET.

 When I read that the hair on my head stood straight up!  I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 I understood in a heart beat why the Devil hates our Pentecostal Worship so much ESPECIALLY  our DANCING IN THE HOLY GHOST! IT POINTS TO WOUNDED FEET!

 The very first person to preach a Gospel Message was GOD HIMSELF in Genesis 3. And the very first person to HAVE a Gospel message preached to them was the DEVIL HIMSELF! God said I WILL PUT ENMITY BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN, BETWEEN HER SEED AND YOUR SEED! HE WILL CRUSH YOUR HEAD AND YOU SHALL ***BRUISE HIS HEEL****

 When David danced before the Lord with all his might it was accompanied by SACRIFICE that pointed to CALVARY!  It was no wonder that the Devil attacked David for that Dancing! The sad thing was that his wife Michal who became the ridiculer of Davids worship JUST AS EASILY could have become a PARTNER to David IN THAT WORSHIP! Just as Moses Led the men and MIRIAM led the women IN DANCES so Michal could have laid aside HER false sense of propriety and gave vent to worshiping the God of Israel!

 So today we find our selves surrounded by lost humanity many of whom are deeply OFFENDED when they see Gods people actually DANCE in the presence of God! They don't understand HOW we can DANCE in Church! But the answer is that I CAN DANCE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD BECAUSE ***MY FEET*** THAT WERE ONCE SHACKLED BY SIN HAVE BEEN SET FREE BY THE ONE WHOSE FEET WERE WOUNDED FOR ME!

 When *I* "DANCE IN THE SPIRIT" it has a much deeper meaning to me now than it did as a new convert because I realize that far beyond "FEELING GOOD" I am now once again rejoicing in the victory of Jesus Christ over that old Serpent the Devil!
 My feet can DANCE because HIS FEET WERE WOUNDED! Hallelujah! That calls for a song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIPNegmUcPQ