"BE YE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY"

       by M. Wendy Parrish 

 King David said, "The spirit of the LORD spake by me..." (2Sam 23:2). Jesus said, "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you" (Matt 10:20).

The following is a prophetic word given to Wendy Parrish by the Spirit to deliver to the pastors and leaders at the World MAP Spiritual Renewal Seminar in Manila, Philippines in September 1996. During a largely sleepless night, she wrote this as the Spirit gave her the thoughts, scripture verses and words.

Although it is mostly composed of Scripture, we have chosen not to apply quotation marks or Bible references for the sake of continuity in reading.

The call of the Lord is a call to holiness.

You are a people who have been kept by the power of God. You have been given an inheritance that cannot perish, and that should not be defiled.

The things that you have suffered have produced a genuine faith, more precious than gold, and it brings praise and honor and glory to Jesus Christ. For without seeing Him, you have loved Him -- and believing in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory to Him.

Therefore, gather yourselves and prepare for action.

Be obedient children. Do not go back to the way you once were. You have escaped the corruption of this world; do not return to it.

For the Lord has called you -- and He is holy. You also be holy in all your conduct. For because He is holy, you too, shall be holy; for He will share His holiness with you. Your life has not been given to you to just be happy or healthy -- you are to be holy.

Set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts. Serve the Lord Thy God, and Him only. Do not allow anything into your life that is not acceptable to a Holy God.

Be set apart for His use. He is holy, so be holy unto Him, desiring only His purpose and will.

Conduct yourselves in the fear of the Lord; for He redeemed you, He paid for you, not with silver or gold, but with something far more valuable... it is priceless... it is the precious blood of Christ, poured out for you. Receive that sacrifice and walk with a holy fear before God.

Love one another with all that you have.

Pursue love for one another. Purify your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit. For the grass withers, its flower falls away, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

Since Christ suffered for us in His flesh, we, too, may suffer. But let it have its purifying work, that we might then live for the will of God. For you have spent enough of your past lifetime in doing the will of the unbeliever; live now for the will of God!

You have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Therefore, lay aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and all evil speaking. Grow instead by feeding on the pure milk of the Word.

Come to Him as a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. For you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are the temple of God?

And that the Spirit of the Living God dwells in you? If anyone defiles or destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, and you are His temple. You, as a person, are to be a holy temple.

And you together are members of the household of God, with Jesus Christ Himself the Chief Cornerstone, and the whole building is being fitted together and growing into a holy temple in the Lord; for you are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. So you, as a people, are to be a holy temple.

So lay aside all strivings and envyings, deceit and evil speaking; be unified in love, one with another.

For you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.

This is so that you may proclaim the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

You are A CHOSEN GENERATION. You have been picked out, gathered up for special service. Who knows whether you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this?

You are A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD. As Aaron was clothed in holy garments, you, too, are to clothe yourselves in the beauty of holiness. And as Aaron wore a gold plate over his forehead inscribed "Holiness To The Lord," you, too, are to be marked with the devotion and lifestyle of holiness, that you may be acceptable before the Lord.

Under the Old Covenant, the priesthood and royalty were separated. But Jesus Christ, Who loved you and freed you, and washed you from your sins in His own blood, has made you kings and priests to His God and Father, that you might walk with Him in prayer, and march with Him in praise.

You are A HOLY NATION. For the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of person ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?

Grow in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

For His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness; and through His exceedingly great and precious promises you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in this world through desires that were out of control.

So become a partner with the Holy God. Add to your faith courageous moral excellence, and to that add knowledge of God, and to that add self-control, and to self-control add patience, and to patience add godliness, and to godliness add brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, love. For then you will be useful and fruitful.

You are His own special people, with a mission to proclaim His praise and spread the blessing of the gospel to the whole earth.

Beloved of God, I beg you... do not partake, but stay away from, fleshly lusts that war against the soul; having your conduct holy and honorable among the unbelievers, that they may observe and see your good works and holy lives, and then know that this day of visitation is of the Lord, and thus give God the glory!

Therefore, be ye holy, for God is holy.

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. Walk with holy feet. Speak with holy lips. Listen with holy ears. Think with a holy mind. Serve the Lord with holy hands.

Walk in holiness before the holy God. He is calling you to dedicate yourselves to a life of holiness. Do not go back to your former ways, but dedicate and consecrate yourselves to go forward into a holy walk before the Lord; to live holy. The Lord is holy; therefore, be ye holy.

COME ON, CHURCH! LET'S WORSHIP JESUS!

In the Philippines, gals makes terrific worship leaders!

by Gretchen Finch Mahoney

Leaping around on the Seminar platform like a whirlwind is a diminutive young woman, smiling, laughing, jumping, artfully waving one arm. In her other hand her wireless microphone is battery powered -- but this little gal is most definitely powered by the Holy Spirit.

There are not enough exclamation marks or superlatives to describe her anointed talents. This is Nenette Torrecampo. Her last name means "strong tower" which may be more than just a significant coincidence.

Another Little Worship Explosion

Nenette isn't the only feminine worship-leading dynamo in the Philippines. Over at Eddie Villanueva's Jesus Is Lord Fellowship (JIL) there's another little stick of dynamite, whose name we didn't learn. Her style is a bit different than Nenette's, but the energy of the Holy Spirit is the same. JIL's lady worship leader literally yells into the microphone across the heads of 5,000-plus earnest believers gathered for the open-air Sunday evening meeting: "Come on, church! Let's worship Jesus!"

She stamps her little high-heel clad feet. She whirls in place. She flails her arms. She puts in a lot of time jumping up and down with the beat of the song. The people respond in loud cheers of praise to the Lord.

I was glad to meet up with her later in a restaurant. She showed some concern for me while I was looking for the restroom and came along just to chat and (I guess) protect me. Her maturity and caring heart were evident.

Law Student Turned Worship Leader

Wondering what sort of background produces a female worship leader of such notable stature, we interviewed little Nenette Torrecampo during one of the World MAP Seminar meetings.

She'd just finished enthusiastically leading a song in Tagalog, the prevailing tongue in Manila. She is fluent in two native languages of the Philippines, as well as English.

We were surprised to learn that Nenette has a university degree in Political Science. She explained this was because her family wanted her to become a lawyer. After she found the Lord during her four years of pre-law, He changed the course of her life and she went to Bible school.

"I Want To Sing For You, Lord!"

We asked her about her history as a singer. She replied, "When I was a teenager I loved to sing, but I think my voice doesn't sound good, I don't sing with a very good melody. Even my friends would laugh at me every time I would sing. And so I tried hard because I loved to sing.

"When I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ I told Him, `I don't have anything, but I can sing for You. I think I can sing; I want to sing for You.'

"I wanted to worship the Lord with all my heart, with all of my being, because I had found the fulfillment of all I had been longing for in Jesus. And so I finally decided I will serve the Lord with whatever I can give to Him.

"The Lord provided me with a voice teacher. She's a missionary, and trained me for two years for free.

"I've been in Jaren Lapasaran's church seven years. I started as a choir member... Whatever things they needed me for, I offered myself. If they needed someone to write down the names of those who got born again, I'm willing to do that."

Nenette finally had the opportunity to become backup singer for the worship leader, and she joined the evangelistic team. They would go to different places all over the Philippines ministering through song and music. Because one of the pastors didn't know how to write, he handed Nenette an outline he wanted her to develop. After that experience, she wound up finding herself teaching the Word of God.

She's Still Afraid Of People

When speaking about her philosophy of worship, Nenette enthused, "Basically I believe that worship is a life-style. I don't just worship because I'm on the platform, but I worship the Lord whether anyone is watching me, or whether I'm alone in my prayer closet. I just worship the Lord!

"In fact, the first time my pastor asked me to lead worship, I didn't know how. I was so nervous because I'm so afraid of people. Even right now it's the grace of God that just flows through me because I'm still afraid of people."

For encouragement, Nenette would say to herself, "`Lord, You have given me the opportunity to lead the people to worship You in spirit and in truth, and so be it. Lord, I will just stand there. I will just worship You. I will not mind the people.'

"When I started doing that I was so inspired by the people! When they started worshipping the Lord I was so blessed... I was in the presence of the Lord. I can see God! My goodness! I can see the grace of God. I can see the goodness of the Lord...

"When I'm weak, I can see the strength of the Lord. When I need healing I can see the health of God. When I'm lonely and lonesome I can see the hope that's in Jesus Christ."

We Can Learn From The Filipinos

We hope the reader senses the sincere vivacity of this little gal. It would seem that worship teams in the United States and Canada could learn something from our Filipino sisters.

In the first place, women are well accepted as worship leaders in the Philippines, something which is not always so in other parts of the world. There is also a sincerity and intensity in these young women, born possibly of the many trials that all Filipino Christians have endured.

Nenette seems really joyful. We asked her, "Are you happy in what you're doing right now?"

"I'm so much happy... Hallelujah! Praise God!"