Worship Is A Verb Part 7
Scripture: Ps. 96:1; Luke 24:30-32; Eph. 5:19-20; Acts 16:22-26; Col. 3
Introduction:
As you may recall, my current series is titled “Worship Is A Verb.” My hope through this series is that we will all come to a point where we fully engage God in true worship – that our worship experience here will not be based on following an outline or set program, but as the Spirit of God leads us in each service. To date we have discussed the historical perspective of worship and how what we do today is based on what was recorded in Scripture. This morning and for the next couple of weeks, I want to go a little deeper into some of the specific areas of worship so that no matter what Church you visit, if they are worshiping God, you will be able to freely join them in worship. This morning my focus will be on the dynamics of music in worship.
I. Sing Unto The Lord
David said “Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 96:1) The first thing we need to understand is that we are not singing to each other during our worship service, we are singing to the Lord. When the choir comes up here to sing, they are not singing to us, they are singing to the Lord. Although we get to sit here and witness what they are doing, in truth, they are not singing to please us, they should be singing to the glory of God. Now let me pause for a moment so this may sink in. You see, we miss this very important point in our Churches.
When you attend a secular concert, the performers are judged not only on how they perform during the concert, but also if they can sell out the venue. The better the performance is at one concert, the more tickets that are sold at future concerts. Well that mentality has found its way into Church thinking. Choirs no longer sing to glorify and please God, they sing to the Church members. So when there are only a few Church members in attendance, the choir does not sing as hard as if there are hundreds in attendance. If a choir is invited to another Church to sing and the Church is half empty, you may or may not see them “singing” to their best. This also comes down to the individual level. When you look across the members of any choir, you will see some singing hard while others are looking bored and barely moving their lips. Do you think this pleases God? Absolutely not! If we were able to always remember that we are not singing to please people but to please God, it would make a huge difference in how we sing and how much energy we put into it. So praise team and choir, I am putting you on notice – no more singing to the congregation. When you step up here to lead praise or to sing, sing as if there is no one in this place but you and God and you are giving Him His own private concert. No more performances, just heartfelt singing to our Creator and Savior. I promise you, our praise services will be changed and how you sing in the choir will sing. You are not singing to us, you’re singing to God.
II. Four Principles Needed To Integrate Music Into Our Worship
There are four principles I want to share with you that we need to consider as we integrate music into our worship service moving forward.
1. The first principle is “Worship is not determined by musical style, old or new.” There are people in Church that believe that only certain types of music can be utilized within the Church if you truly want to enter into worship. This is not the case as I have shared with you before, worship starts and ends in the heart. Tradition for the sake of tradition will not preserve the blessings of the Lord. Change for the sake of change will likewise not determine future blessings. An emphasis on either extreme will be divisive to the body of Christ because no matter which way you go, someone is not going to be fulfilled. Our focus should not so much on the style, but on truly worshiping God. So our goal should be to help the worship service experience become individualized to the point that we can personally enter into worship despite of the music.
2. The second principle is that “The minister of music and Pastor are equally responsible to minister worship to the entire congregation.” To this end there must be an understanding between these two individuals as to what is being accomplished. I am blessed to have Cynthia and Randy taking care of this and I do not have to worry about it. Cynthia functions as the Pastor overseer of the music ministry and Randy is the minister of music. If you will function in this Church in the music ministry, you will go to and through these two people as I have given them that responsibility because I trust them. Where there is a disconnect between the pastor and minister of music, normally you find the minister of music leaving the church which causes a lot of discord within the membership. These two leaders must walk in harmony with each other if the music is to flow appropriately.
3. The third principle is that we need to “Accept that cultural shifts and appropriate adjustments no matter the location or age of the congregation, will take time.” People say often that “Rome was not built in a day” to imply our need for patience. When it comes to the music within the worship service, there will be times when shifts and adjustments must happen, but it can be a slow process as we are led by the Spirit of God. Some will hear and receive it more quickly than others, but we cannot move so fast as to leave others behind or move too slow where we never get there. It is a coordinated effort but the primary focus is hearing God and following.
4. The last principle pertaining to the integration of music into the worship service is that the “Worship of God is not dependent on the use of modern technology, sound equipment, fancy digital gear and creative arrangements by wonderful composers.” Many of you know that I grew up in a small country Church. For years our piano was out of tune, but that did not stop us for praising God through song and fully engaging in worship to the best of our knowledge and ability. Today, if someone entered an old country church and heard the piano playing out of tune, they’d be so offended and disturbed that they would not be able to enter into praise and worship. We have confused true praise and worship with the “equipment” needed to have it. Where I grew up we did not have a microphone, not even in the pulpit, but do not try that today. We have to have sophisticated instruments to help us sound good, look good and praise God “the right way”. Real praise and worship is not about any of this!
Let me share a story with you that will help make this a little clearer. After Jesus had been crucified and before there was wide spread knowledge of His resurrection, He appeared to two men on the road to Emmaus. These two men were talking about Jesus’ crucifixion when he approached them on the road and began walking with them. As they continued to talk, Jesus asked them what they were talking about. The two men looked at Him as if he was crazy because everyone was talking about Jesus. They assumed He was a visitor and had not heard about what had happened. So they began to tell Jesus what had happened concerning the crucifixion and the fact that now His body was missing. Then Jesus began to explain to them why “He” had been crucified. He took them from Moses through all of the prophets helping them understand why things had happened the way they had and most importantly why Jesus had died. When he had finished talking it was close to evening so they asked Him to stay with them and he agreed. Now look at what is recorded in Luke 24:30-32: “When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us? Even before they recognized the man as being Christ, when Jesus talked to them, their hearts burned. In other words, their hearts were moved and they felt “something.” Although they did not recognize Him with their eyes, their hearts were moved as He spoke. Their hearts felt the desire, the desire to worship.
These disciples on the Emmaus road did not need microphones to hear Jesus – their hearts heard Him loud and clear. They did not need the latest equipment or up-to-date keyboard in hand when their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus. All they needed was to see Jesus. The early Christians did not need an overhead projector when bowing in one accord in worship (they did not need the songs displayed on a screen – the song was in their hearts.) The early Christians did not need voice coaches in order to feel comfortable singing and praising God “on key.” The thousands of martyrs who have through the centuries paid the ultimate sacrifice for their worship of Jehovah did not have excellent ministries on their mind when marching out before their peers and loved ones to a certain death. A genuine encounter with God comes only when we worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. This is especially true when applying the principles of worship to music.
There are many references in the Bible that mandates singing unto the Lord but I want to share with you what praise and worship can do when it comes from the heart. Turn with me to Acts 16:and we will examine verses twenty-two through twenty-six.
“The crowd rose up together against them and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them beaten with rods. When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all of the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.”
After they had cast an evil spirit out of a slave girl, her owners were upset and took them before the authorities. The authorities ordered that they be beaten and cast into jail. Although they were hurt and cut from being beaten with rods, they were not depressed or scared. What they did was start praising God. They did not have musical instruments in the prison, all they had was their voices and a desire to worship God. I believe that the ground on which that prison was built and the chains which held them bound, began to join them in praise because the foundations of the prison shook and the doors came open. As the doors came open, the chains rattled and opened also. See, their praise posted their bonds and made them free. The word of God tells us that if we will not give God the praise, the rocks will cry out. Luke 19:39-40 records “Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, ‘Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.’ But Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” The kids used to sing a song that said “Ain’t no rock, going cry out in my place” and Paul and Silas did not let them cry out in their place. I just believe the rock the prison was built on was waiting for their turn and when it did not happen they just decided to join in. This is heartfelt praise. The music was within them because the desire to praise and worship God was within them. If you can only praise and worship Him when you have the music in Church you are fully missing God in a lot of your situations.
III. Three Steps To Effectively Utilize Music In Corporate Worship
I want to end this message today with three steps needed to effectively utilize music in our corporate worship. As I walk through these, think about how these can affect our worship service here at New Light.
1. The first step is to focus on the purpose of music in worship. Ephesians 5:19-20 says “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God, even the Father.” The purpose of the music is not to overshadow God by our being so focused on the songs sung; the music played; or the instruments used; its only purpose is to enhance our worship of God. The ultimate purpose of music in our corporate worship is to sing and make music to the Lord, not to each other, but to the Lord.
2. Follow biblical pattern for music in worship. The 3rd chapter of Colossians makes this clear. When you read this chapter, the very first verse lays it out for us. This verse says “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” When we are looking above, we are not focused on what is happening around us – we are focusing on God. The music part of the worship should point us upward. Our worship experience should reflect the peace of God. Colossians 3:15 says “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” We should worship God allowing His peace to envelope us which then transcends into our worship. Our worship is not hurried or frustrated, but a peaceful time with God as the Holy Spirit directs. But there is more. Colossians 3:16 says “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” The word of God must be prevalent within our worship because it is His word that we rely on for strength, understanding and power as walk on this earth.
3. The last step is to find and develop a creative process for clearly declaring worship. 1 Corinthians 14:13-18 says “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. But if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.” We must understand why we worship. Our corporate worship should be designed so that people can readily apply biblical principles to their daily lives and live with a sense of worship in their hearts all week. It is really not about coming to a worship service and having a good time – it is about coming to worship services and actually worship God. To accomplish this, the worship leaders must have good communication skills so that everyone will be able to understand. For example, one day we will have people in our services who will communicate to member of the congregation through the use of sign language while others will interpret our services through the language of the attendees if English is not their primary language. All of this will be in an effort to allow everyone to freely into worship while understanding what is happening within the worship service. There are also cultural barriers that can hinder someone from entering into worship and these must also be address if everyone is going to experience a fulfilling worship experience.
God has given us a wonderful mandate for using music in our worship. First we are to sing to the Lord – publicly and privately (Ps. 96:1-2). Second, we are to follow the biblical pattern for worship which involves the peace, grace and word of God are all being reflective within our services. Third, we must understand why we worship and are to communicate worship in a language that people can quickly identify. I will continue this series next week. May God bless and keep you.
