www.gracecommunity.com
https://GCCWinchster.Online.Church
Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; Praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! (Psalm 150)
We come to one of the most intensely debated topics when talking about worship: music. This morning I don’t want to spend much time debating you about style. I want to teach about the precedence and priority for music to be used in our worship. In fact, it is a command of God for us to worship him using music. Music was God’s gift to us to give praise and honor to Him.
It’s no wonder that Satan uses music to divide God’s people, but also lead people away from God. The idea that Satan was a chief worship leader in heaven before his fall comes from the Bible “The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created” (Ezekiel 28:13 NKJV).
It is no wonder Satan works so hard to use music so powerfully to draw people away from God. So how much more should we; and do it with the highest degree of excellence and honor God. You may say, “Wait a minute, PB, I don’t have a musical bone in my body.” You do, and even though you are not a musician, God still commands you to join in to praising Him:
1 Sing to the LORD, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 2 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place. 28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; 30 tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!” (1 Chronicles 16:23-31)
With that in mind, we need to understand what the Bible says about music in worship and why it is so important. Why singing and why music? Do you understand the priority of worship? If you do, where is your worship taking you? Church, are we putting our highest commitment of giving our best for worship, or are we coasting downhill?
I. God Created Music for Worship
Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! (Psalm 98:1-6)
There is power in music. Music bypasses the mind and enters straight to the heart, but music also reaches deep into the mind. The more we know about God, the more we can worship, but also the more we worship the more we can know about God. Music helps us learn. Why do you think we use music to teach our children their ABC’s?
Scientists found that music induces a state of meditation and relaxes the brain. Thus, the effect of music on memory is that it allows our brains to become more disengaged, or free of “debris” which impede their proper functions.
We catch tunes and they stay with us. Sometimes we can’t get them to go away (called ear worms). Like Mana-Mana. But we also are powerfully wired to recall music for instance:
• (Say) “All you need is .....”
• (Sing) “Sweet Caroline....”
How about recalling the title and singer of a song with just a few notes:
• Abba - “Dancing Queen” (Did you know that when Abba first started recording, the did not speak any English?
• Survivor - “Eye of the Tiger”
• Laura Daigle “You Say”
Marketers also caught onto this and search for that perfect jingle to help you recall the product they’re marketing
• “We are Farmers....”
• “I’m a Pepper...” (Dr Pepper,1977) Play Commercial
• “Two All Beef Patties....” (McDonalds, 1975)
• “Oh I wish I were...” (Oscar Meyer Hot Dogs #1 Jingle Ever 1960’s)
• Play Coke Commercial from 1971
• Intel Theme (4 Notes)
Now, if we can do that for hamburgers and sodas, how powerful should it be to use music to help up memorize Scripture and teach doctrinal truths? Music is a powerful way to glorify God, and declare the awesome truths of His deeds, majesty, and character. This is one reason that I am moving away from much of our popular Christian music on the radio and selecting songs that accomplish this. But Paul already knew this.
II. God Commands Us to Use Music for Worship
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16).
Someone once said, “Worship begins when we put God into our view.” What a beautiful expression of what our response should be when we see God. (on a train in Alaska) Beholding Him should stir our hearts to praise him. When we witness a miracle, sense his closeness, behold his creation, realize his love for us.
• Psalm 22 :4 tells us that God is enthroned inhabiting the praises of his people.
• Psalm 33:3 says Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts
• Psalm 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
• When the birth of Christ was announced to the world, a choir of angels was permitted to break through the heavens and sing out from the heavenlies the glory of God.
• Hebrews 13:15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
• In Luke 19:40 Jesus told the people if they didn’t sing, the rocks will cry out his praise
Over 250 times in the Bible we are told to praise the Lord. It is the second most frequent command in the Bible. In fact God mentions in the Bible worship 509 times. One of the reasons God made music in worship so important, is that it is multidimensional.
First, and most importantly our worship is directed from Us---> God. Paul wrote in Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
We’ve spent several weeks covering this very important facet of our worship. But it would be unfortunate to leave it there. If all we are doing is trying to please God, then our worship is simply: ‘God, I hope you hear me. I’m going to really mean it this time. I hope you hear me.’ And we vainly continue to repeat ourselves time after time. What we are left with is a pressure to perform for God, hoping he’s happy with us.
I want you to know that giving our best and repeated giving our best to God is noble and biblical, but it is not the only purpose of worship. I want to tell you something that should be very liberating. Our worship is also something that God is moving in worship too. God---> Us
In our worship, God shapes us. Speaks to us. Comforts, strengthens, loves, and makes us more into His image. Worship and music in worship connects the soul to God in a unique way. Our music should be honoring and pleasing to both God and the people participating in the service. But wait, there’s more...
Our worship, and our music in worship also Us--->Others. That’s what Paul meant when we wrote to teach each other in song, hymns and spiritual songs. Worship is a time to help each other be set free from our bonds and our burdens. Others hear us and they received the blessings that we’re receiving because we are worshipping.
Our worship speaks to Us ---> Situations. In Acts, Paul and Silas are in jail. And it says that they began to sing and the jail was shaken and they were set free. This should remind us that worship should shake our prisons and our situations, but our situations should never shake our worship. Why, because in all situations, God deserves our worship
III. God Deserves Our Worship
Psalm 113:3 says from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praise!
In John’s vision of the throne room in Revelation, he sees all the elders bowing before his throne saying , “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created (Revelation 4:11)
• Worship, including music in worship is not a luxury; it is a priority
• Worship is not about your likes; it is about His glory
• Worship is not about your righteousness; it is about his holiness
Everything in Worship is a response to what Jesus has already done. That’s why Paul tells us in Romans 12:1 not to be conformed to this world, because this world is pulling us away from the holiness of God. Worship is something that draws us nearer to God and his Holiness.
I want to challenge you today to learn to praise God in all circumstances. Learn to give God praise during your most difficult moments. That gift of praise, at that moment, is a gift you cannot give during most of your days, since most of our days are not terribly difficult. But when it is given during tough times, it is a precious gift to the Lord.
The LORD is my strong defender; he is the one who has saved me. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will sing about his greatness. (Exodus 15:2)
Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! He rescues the oppressed from the power of evil people. (Jeremiah 20:13)
I want to say this again, EVERYTHING in worship is a response to what Jesus has already done for you. Christianity is the only religion where we are worshipping God from a position of victory that has already been won. Everyone else is trying to figure out how to reach God. But God already reached down to us.
Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son! (Ephesians 1:6)
Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Hebrews 13:15)
The most important element in any worship service is the heart of the person attending the service. If your heart is bent toward God when you walk in the door - it will be full of God when you walk out. Worship can be defined as "getting drenched with God." It can happen anytime you want it to; it's simply a matter of preparing yourself, and simply a matter of coming face to face, heart to heart, with Jesus Christ.
Take it to the Cross
Close
Pray
Close: All Who Are Thirsty
