SING LIKE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO
Ephesians 5:19
S: Music
Th: Prayer: A Passion for His Presence
Pr: WE SING TO THE LORD!
?: How?
KW: Expressions
TS: We will find in our study of Scripture, and specifically Ephesians 5:19, three expressions of how we sing to the Lord.
The ____ expression of how we sing to the Lord is with…
I. COMMUNITY
II. CREATIVITY
III. CORE BEING
Version: ESV
RMBC 28 April 02 AM
INTRODUCTION:
I know that you may be surprised by this question, but…
Have you ever noticed music can be controversial?
ILL Notebook: Music (differences between hymns and choruses)
An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church where his nephew attended. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.
"Well," said the farmer, "it was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."
"Praise choruses?" said his wife. "What are those?"
"Oh, they’re OK. They are sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.
"Well, what’s the difference?" asked his wife.
The farmer said, "Well, it’s like this - If I were to say to you: "Martha, the cows are in the corn"’ - well, that would be a hymn. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:
’Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows,
the black cows, the white cows,
the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS
are in the corn, are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn,
the CORN, CORN, CORN.’
Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well, that would be a praise chorus."
The next weekend, his nephew came to visit his uncle and attended the local church of the small town. He went home and his mother asked him how it was.
"Well," said the young man, "it was good. They did something different however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."
"Hymns?" asked his mother. "What are those?"
"Oh, they’re OK. They are sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.
"Well, what’s the difference?" asked his mother.
The young man said, "Well, it’s like this - If I were to say to you: ’Martha, the cows are in the corn’ - well, that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:
’Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense
Hearkenest they in God’s sun or His rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed.
So look to the bright shining day by and by
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animals make my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.’
Then if I were to do all the verses and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn.”
Well, many of us realize that music can be a heated topic of discussion in the church.
It has been the subject of debates throughout time, especially when a new style or instrument enters into use, like when the organ was introduced (what a brouhaha that one caused).
Historically, what we are not used to becomes labeled as the devil’s music.
More often than not though, it finds acceptance in time and another form, style, or instrument becomes the focus of ire.
TRANSITION:
Regardless of our opinions, we must realize that…
1. Music is a gift for the church that is not to be neglected (Psalm 33:1-3).
Note what the psalmist has written…
[1] Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. [2] Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! [3] Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
We are clearly instructed to get excited about the Lord.
The realities about God, Jesus, salvation, and heaven are simply too great for speaking alone.
These realities deserve song.
They must be sung.
Music is a powerful force, for…
2. Music has the ability to penetrate the heart and mind.
What makes music unique is its relationship with emotion.
When we feel a depth and intensity of emotion, music seems to spring from that (note Bill H’s “The Melancholy Heart”).
Music communicates.
It communicates not just words, but emotion and feeling as well.
Since music is such a powerful medium, penetrating heart and mind, music in the church needs to have a biblical base.
It must be spiritual, intelligent and relevant.
We have used this month to speak about the subject of prayer, and today is the last of this particular series.
Last week, specifically, we spoke about the priority of corporate prayer and…
3. One aspect of corporate prayer comes through the vehicle of music.
There is a definite relationship between prayer and music.
Many of the songs and hymns that we sing are communicated directly to our Lord in heaven…such as…
…“I Love You Lord”
…“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
…“I Need Thee Every Hour”
…“Glorify Your Name”
…“Take My Life and Let It Be”
These are all songs we sing from time to time, and they are prayers, directly addressed to the Lord.
But whether we sing directly to the Lord or about Him, it doesn’t change this fact…
4. WE SING TO THE LORD!!!
It is on God’s heart that we rejoice in Him.
When we sing, it is to be done in view to God’s hearing and seeing.
It is to be our desire that God receives it with approval and delight.
He is our ultimate audience.
So…
5. We will find in our study of Scripture, and specifically Ephesians 5:19, three expressions of how we sing to the Lord.
Let’s understand fully the context of verse 19 by reading 18-21:
[18] And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, [19]addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, [20]giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, [21] submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
As is too often true, we miss the context of a particular verse and thought when we don’t see it in the environment in which it comes to us.
So note this…
6. When we are filled with the Spirit, we sing.
There is a contrast that is made here with being drunk with wine.
Now, I am no expert here, but I am willing to say that a way a person probably gets drunk is by drinking a lot.
In the same way, we must drink in the Holy Spirit.
To do this, we must read and meditate on Scripture.
We submit to His will for us.
When we do these things, we spill over with the Spirit.
And singing becomes an expression of the fullness of the Spirit.
When we are being filled with the Spirit, we have a fulfilled life, a contented soul and a joyful heart.
This now leads us to…
OUR STUDY:
I. The first expression of how we sing to the Lord is with in COMMUNITY.
1. We are to speak to one another in song.
This verse gives us a clear mandate for corporate worship.
We know that worship is both individual and corporate, but this particular verse can not be obeyed in solitude.
God calls us to speak in song to one another.
ILL Sing with me…
“Yes Jesus loves me”
“O Come Let Us Adore Him”
“Standing on the Promises of God”
Please note what these three songs have in common.
One is that they are examples of speaking to one another.
None of these directly address God, but we are offering truths about Him.
The other thing in common is their repetition.
Sometimes I hear the idea of repetition get criticized, but it is not always a fair criticism, because repetition is a learning method that we all use.
When we repeat words, it effectively engraves them to our mind and heart.
So we sing to one another and…
2. We encourage and refresh one another with the proclamation of truth.
When we sing together, it is an opportunity to build each other.
We build courage into one another and we energized by our agreement.
These are truths that we believe together in our community.
So singing becomes a mark of the true fellowship we have in the Spirit.
This means that…
3. We sing together to communicate unity.
Music is not to divide us.
It is to unite us.
This does not mean that we have to enjoy every kind and style of music that there is.
Frankly, there are some kinds of music I find rather painful (do you know what I mean?), but if I know that it is a blessing to someone else—you know what—I am blessed, because we are one body.
So I am wrong if I curse by my attitude or facial expression something that is a blessing to someone else.
God wants us to be unified in the blessing we can give each other.
Well, just as God wants us to hear each other pray so we can agree with one another, so it is with music.
Music gives us the opportunity to agree and demonstrate unity.
II. The second expression of how we sing to the Lord is with CREATIVITY.
1. God provides a variety of ways to express our worship.
I believe that God loves music!
And music that is sung to give Him glory pleases Him.
The text gives us an example of the variety that existed then.
It is difficult to exegete these words because there does not exist hard and fast distinctions between them, but we will speak to their general differences.
First there are the psalms.
These would have been from the Old Testament psalter.
This reminds us that the psalms that we have in the Bible are essentially words to songs that have rhythm and measure (and sometimes repetition!).
They primarily speak about the nature and work of God with the purpose to magnify and glorify Him.
The second category is hymns.
It seems that this was put here to distinguish a difference from the psalter.
These were New Testament songs of praise that focused on the person of Jesus.
Spiritual songs seem to point to the idea of spontaneous praise.
These were possibly songs of testimony.
What is apparent is that the New Testament church experienced various forms of composition.
There was diversity.
And it only seems natural, especially when we give consideration to the kind of God we enjoy and worship.
ILL John Piper quote
“God meets us in high and holy ways. He meets us in lowly and meek ways. He meets us in thunderously glorious ways; He meets us in quiet, intimate ways. He meets us in complex ways and simple ways, furious and merciful ways. There are aspects of God’s character and relation to us that can only be expressed with high and fine expressions of music like Handel’s Messiah, and there are aspects of God’s character and relation to us that can only be expressed with more common and folk-like kinds of music like ‘Amazing Grace’ and ‘Just a Closer Walk with Thee,’ and ‘The B-I-B-L-E.’”
There is such a great variety to the person of God and the way He works, that it is only fitting that there be a variety of ways to respond to His infinite person.
ILL Notebook: Music (not our regular drummer)
Pioneers on a wagon train headed west became apprehensive when they saw a lot of fire and smoke in the distance. Then they noticed Indians wearing war paint observing them from the hilltops.
As night fell, the travelers drew the wagons into a circle. They built a bonfire, and everyone kept a gun handy.
Two of the men were keeping guard through the night when suddenly they heard the loud beating of Indian drums – PUM-pum-pum-pum, PUM-pum-pum-pum.
“Listen,” one of the watchmen said nervously, grabbing the other one by the arm. “I don’t like the sound of those drums.”
From out of the darkness came an Indian voice: “Yeah, well, it’s not our regular drummer.”
Well, this brings to mind that the variety also includes instrumentation.
Dan and Timmy read Psalm 150 for us earlier.
Did you notice the different instruments? Trumpet, flute, harp, tambourine, strings, cymbals…
It included instruments for melody, harmony…and rhythm!
Now, consider this as well…
2. God gives abilities that correspond to being in His image (Psalm 96:1).
Note the psalmist again…
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
God is the creative God, and our ability to be creative is a part of being in His image.
We are called on to sing a new song.
This means that our creative juices are never to stop.
We are always to be welcoming new music into the church.
There is always, always more to sing about when it comes to God.
The possibilities are infinite.
This leads us to…
III. The third expression of how we sing to the Lord is with our CORE BEING.
1. Music gives the opportunity to fully express our hearts.
Music is to come from our inner being.
It is the response of the soul and the heart.
This means that we sing because we mean it.
This means that we sing because we feel it.
But note this also.
It starts in our heart, but it does not stay there.
We are free to clap (a command, I might add), raise our arms and include hearty “Amens” to our worship.
Because…
2. God is truly valued when we rejoice in Him.
God wants us to know Him personally.
He wants us to experience Him intimately.
And He has given us music to do that very thing.
APPLICATION:
Sometimes, though, it seems like our singing is more lukewarm than dynamic.
ILL Notebook: Music (lukewarm songs)
There are some churches that seem more interested in comfort rather than commitment and dedication. As a result they might sing hymns with titles like these:
* A Comfy Mattress Is Our God
* Above Average is Thy Faithfulness
* My Hope is Built on Nothing Much
* Be Thou My Hobby
* I Surrender Some
* Sit Up, Sit Up for Jesus
* Spirit of the Living God, Fall Somewhere Near Me
* Take My Life and Let Me Be
Let’s be different than that…
1. Let’s demonstrate a passion for God’s Presence with music.
We have much to sing about.
We have much to rejoice in.
Let’s be passionate in our singing.
And…
2. Let’s edify one another in the declaration of truth.
We are really speaking to one another in many ways.
Let’s proclaim the truth about God together.
We grow the body of Christ when we dwell on the truth.
And…
3. Let’s be determined to make music a point of unity, not division.
Yes, there are always going to be different expressions of music that will find their way into worship.
But we must treat them graciously and with an attitude of meekness.
So when we hear the classical or the Celtic; when we hear jazz or reggae; when we hear the old or the new; even when we hear gospel and country (did my prejudice show through?), let us rejoice in God together.
He is worthy to talk to and to talk about.
He is worthy to sing to and to sing about.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Let’s sing to the Lord a new song…He wants us singing together, to each other, so that together with one voice we might sing to Him in worship.
Let’s sing to the Lord a new song…for there is much to sing about; and as we sing the tried and true that touch our heart, let us also welcome the new, for the possibilities of praise for our God are not limited, but infinite.
Let’s sing to the Lord a new song…let’s sing with our whole heart, our whole being, from the very depths of our soul; because we have the privilege to know God and to know Him intimately—that’s worth singing about.
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
