Genres and God
The Bible is replete with instructions on music (Psalms 150:1-5, 98: 4-6, 2 Chronicles 5: 13) the music described is often celebratory, it is loud and joyful, so when I hear people tag a genre of music as “disco” music because its loud or has shouting components in it, I realize they are forcing the rest of us to see things from their own perspective and not from the scriptures.
We are not all going to like the same kinds of music and to think more highly of your preferred style, or to consider only what you like and connect to, is pride in a subtle form.
As a singer/songwriter I am amused more than anything when I hear people talk about the power and majesty of the “old songs” and how all/most of the new music lacks it and they would prefer we went back to those styles of music. I cannot deny the truth contained in certain hymns and songs from the past and because of the nostalgia they evoke, we might be tempted to confuse the anointing with your emotions. The Holy Spirit and His anointing are not goose bumps!
While the words in those hymns are powerful no doubt, one of their biggest effects is the nostalgia and emotional connection they inspire especially in people who grew up on that kind of music (so what about that 14-year-old who cannot connect with the nostalgia his grand-daddy feels, is he a bad worshiper? Absolutely not!).
We must know that they are not in any way more spiritual than newer music and we really must get away from this idea that “true power” lies in those particular set of words or the music they are set to. The power lies in the inspiration of GOD and let it not be in doubt, GOD still inspires His people even now and to think otherwise is untrue.
The great thing about GOD’s move in his worshipers in this age and every age in the past, and every age to come, is that He does so in ways that are contemporarily relevant.
Music excellence (artistry) and ministry
Music and songs should be played WELL and sung LOUDLY.
Psalms 33: 1-3
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy
The mistake we make is to assume that we cannot achieve both: Worship and Skill.
True worship is the destination, whereas the music is only a means (one of many) to get there, and we must be careful not to reverse that, the skillful playing serves to get us to worship, but GOD alone is and should be the object of our Worship.
Any style of music in church that is skillful and done to worship GOD must always be found to fulfill a double sided yet simple enough criteria which Jesus himself dictates in John 4:24 (God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth)
What is real worship?
Worship is that which we do with the intentional and sole purpose of magnifying and emphasizing GOD and nothing or no one else. It is not a song, nor is it a dance, it is an attitude that comes from our spirit (reborn) and is based on the WORD of GOD
John 4:24-God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit (recreated human spirit) and in truth.
Worship is the revelation of the truth of who God is from the Spirit of God to your recreated human spirit.Howeveryou react to that revelation (a song, a dance, a thought, a shout, a bow, a jump, a clap, silence, whatever) is your display of worship.
The foundation of worship should not be nostalgia, or feel-good experience- all those are from the soul and while there’s nothing wrong with them, but they are not built to withstand interrogation or testing by the realities of life.
Matt 13:5-6, 20-21
Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Here’s an example of what I mean, a soul-based reaction to God’s healing power cannot stand in the face of a diagnosis of cancer, so when the diagnosis shows up, the worry and concern it creates will soon swallow up the shallow rooted emotions of knowing or hearing that God is a healer and one begins to doubt who God is.
If the truth of God’s healing power has settled by faith into your spirit as a revelation from His Spirit, you realize that that truth will swallow up the cancer diagnosis and in the face of that condition affirm God’s power to heal. Why? It’s roots are deeper located in your recreated human spirit and not just in your emotions.
Emotions in worship
Psalms 96:9
O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
Psalms 103:1-2
My soul, praise the Lord!
Every part of me, praise his holy name!
My soul, praise the Lord
and never forget how kind he is!
Let me open by saying: God gave us emotions and he must have wanted us to use them for something!
Psalms 96 speaks to a “beauty” of Holiness, beauty is an emotional response to something one sees, hears, feels, touches or tastes. The psalmist’s description of beauty is very much based on something he/she has “sensed” (experienced) in the presence of GOD and in this particular case it is the Holiness of our GOD.
Psalms 103 asks that every part (spirit: as covered earlier, soul: seat of emotions, will and intellect, and body; physical posturing {kneeling, raising hands, bowing, standing still, and lying prostrate}) be involved in the worship experience.
Indeed, if you are to “never forget his benefits”, you’ll need your intellect for that.
I recommend that you read the entity of Psalms 103 and many other praise psalms, and you’ll see that the common thread is that they tell of a (truth) Great GOD and the awe (emotions) of a worshipper who knows GOD.
FACT: you can only worship GOD to the extent you know HIM and have experienced HIM
Emotions are not the enemy in worship, they should be seen as what they are: Natural human responses to a Supernatural GOD and I think it’s unfair to demand that emotions be expelled from worship.
We however must be careful as worship leaders not to emphasize the response of beauty above the truth of GOD’s holiness; the object of worship must and should only be GOD, however people should be encouraged to emote as they focus only on and worship GOD.
Here’s what I mean, at times, as a worship leader you might look out into the audience and see someone who’s not seemingly participating in the corporate experience, don’t allow yourself to interpret that as not worshiping (which it might be), but rather believe that everyone reacts to the revelation of a truth differently. For some it might be a shout and a dance, and for others, a state of deep pondering and quiet tears.
What about “distracting” lights and sounds?
Psalms 97: 1-6
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles.The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all peoples see his glory.
Revelation 4: 1-10
Then I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And I heard the same voice that spoke to me before. It was the voice that sounded like a trumpet. It said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” Immediately the Spirit took control of me, and there in heaven was a throne with someone sitting on it. The one sitting there was as beautiful as precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow with clear colors like an emerald. In a circle around the throne were 24 other thrones with 24 elders sitting on them. The elders were dressed in white, and they had golden crowns on their heads. Lightning flashes and noises of thunder came from the throne. Before the throne there were seven lamps burning, which are the seven Spirits of God. Also, before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal.
In front of the throne and on each side of it there were four living beings. They had eyes all over them, in front and in back. The first living being was like a lion. The second was like a bull. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of these four living beings had six wings. They were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stopped saying,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God All-Powerful.
He always was, he is, and he is coming.”
These living beings were giving glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, the one who lives forever and ever. And every time they did this,the 24 elders bowed down before the one who sits on the throne. They worshiped him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and said…
I would ask that you re-read the above scriptures with your imaginative cap screwed on tightly, GOD’s presence is not void of light and sound effects! Therefore, GOD CANNOT be diametrically opposed to lights and sounds, what He is opposed to is you having any other GOD before Him, including the effects in His Presence.
We must realize that GOD is not the lights or sounds around His throne and definitely not the lights and sounds from our stages on Sunday worship services.
Ideal worshipers should be able to cry-“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God All-Powerful, He always was, he is, and he is coming.”…With flashing lights and thunderous sounds, why? Because they know that GOD is holy with or without lights, why? They know HIM and nothing (either good or bad) is able to distract them from the awesomeness and benefits of His Presence
Spiritual and not sensual
The emphasis should NEVER be on the sensual, but the spiritual (again see John 4: 24) but the emotional has a role to play, why? All of you is required in a love relationship.
Try loving your significant other without an emotional connection and let me know how that’s going, so why do we feel our love and display of LOVE for GOD should be void of emotions? Why can we not love on GOD in an emotionally stimulating ambiance, after all at a candlelight dinner, no one eats the candles, or stands in forever awe of the candles. The candles only help the experience of sharing a meal with the one you love more special and memorable.
Luke 10:27
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.”
So why then do we have lights and sounds? Simple reason: they evoke a more majestic response from us to a mighty GOD.
Do we need them to worship? Absolutely not, but on a lighter note, think of them as practice for when we would stand eternally before GOD’s throne with all its light and sound effects, so you no go fall our hand ☺ (Parlance for “so you would not disgrace us”)
Vain repetitions vs. Faith repetition
Matthew 6:7-9
“And when you pray, don’t be like the people who don’t know God. They say the same things again and again. They think that if they say it enough, their god will hear them. 8 Don’t be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 So this is how you should pray.
This scripture continues as the Lord’s Prayer
Vain repetition is the practice of saying a thing multiple time to satisfy your vanity (your flesh) and prove that youhave succeeded in “doing” a thing. That is “works” and not “grace.”
It must be strongly distinguished from repetition that builds faith. When in worship and I repeat continually the phrase “God is able” I am bringing all of me into a place where that truth becomes my reality, and faith as we know gets stronger with each dose of WORD it hears.Romans 10:17 declares that faith (the belief in the person of God) comes by hearing and hearing (repeatedly) by the Word of God
Conclusion
I do not like that we try to make the beautiful art and act of WORSHIP a new instrument for internal division in the body of CHRIST. Your worship is not more worship than mine and vice versa, if I do it in a way that is scripturally sound and based on the truth of GOD’s WORD and you do the same, even if they look vastly different in form and manner.
Very importantly too, no one should feel judged when they worship. It is access to the most loving and powerful place ever and no child should feel like they do not belong if they adhere to the core principles of worship and not these add-ons, we slap on a thing to make it more difficult than it really is.
Lastly, let no one distract you from your worship of GOD with their personal interpretations of Scripture, always return to your source, the SPIRIT of GOD from whom your re-born spirit draws life and ask Him to teach you, because after all Jesus did promise that the Spirit would lead us into all truth (John 16:13)
