A couple of months ago, I was preparing to speak at All Nations Church in Cardiff. The title of my sermon was to be ‘The Spirit of Singing’, and the Scripture I was using was Ephesians 5:18-21:
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
At first, I thought to myself, ‘why does God want me to talk about singing?’ It seemed to me that too few people would be interested in a message about singing; I mean, even a sermon more generally on worship might not excite everyone. But we know, don’t we, that God is always right and that he always has a purpose in all he says and asks us to do. As Paul tells the church in Rome, ‘we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose’ (Rom 8:28). And so, inevitably, I began to hear stories of how God was speaking in other places to other churches about singing. And then, while looking again at Ephesians 5, the Holy Spirit dropped these words into my heart: ‘too many Christians are listening to music when they should be making it.’
I looked once more at Ephesians 5:19 – ‘...singing and making melody to the Lord...’ it said. What did it mean? What did the Holy Spirit mean when he said to me that too many Christians were listening to music when they should be making it? I thought about it for a while. Should we all be writing and recording songs – is that what he meant? Should we all be learning instruments? But as I thought about it more and more, I realised what the Holy Spirit meant. You see, you and I were born and born again to sing and make melody: it’s in our natural and spiritual DNA. Singing is what sons of God do. Look at the description of Jesus in Hebrews 2:1—12:
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
Do you see that Jesus himself is a singer: he sings praises to God his Father when we, the church, gather together to worship. And because Jesus is a singer, I’ve decided to be a singer too.
What does the Bible say about singing? Well, lots! Here’s a few examples:
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Psalm 104:33
An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices. Proverbs 29:6
I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together! Psalm 34:1-3
Now, we need before going any further to bursts some bubbles that exist in the Christian world today. The first one is this – that worship is only for some. What rubbish. You and I and every other Christian alive on this planet today is destined and designed to be a worshiper: someone full of thanks, praise, song, adoration and wonder in response to Jesus Christ. Worship exists because God exists and because he’s worthy to receive it! Look at these verses from the Book of Revelation:
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. Revelation 4:11
Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10
God is worthy of our worship, our singing, our thanks and praise, because he is God: he’s the creator of all things and the redeemer of mankind. His worthiness is not dependent upon my feelings, my circumstances or my talents and abilities. I’ve been saved to serve, worship, glorify, praise, thank and sing to Jesus Christ.
The next bubble to be burst is this – that God created worship to keep musicians happy. Again, it’s rubbish. The worshipers in your church are not just the people who play instruments; the singers in your church are not just the people who happen to hold a microphone. This is what Jesus himself said:
The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23-24
God is seeking worshipers – not just musicians. And here’s the next one – that you have to be a ‘good’ singer to worship God. Who says so?! You know, some of the most passionate worshipers I’ve known, some of those who’ve taught me most about the power of singing praises to God, have had terrible, terrible voices. But what does it matter? This is what AW Tozer once said: ‘I can’t sing a lick but that’s nobody’s business. God listens when I sing to him and he thinks I am an opera star.’
So I want to encourage you: make singing a part of your lifestyle. Sing praises to God: sing your favourite worship songs and write your own. Sing the Scriptures and sing ancient hymns. Sing in the shower; sing while you drive your car. Turn down the radio, turn off your CD player, put the iPod away for a while, and let God hear your voice singing praise to him. You see, there’s nothing wrong with listening to music. I love music: I have a music degree, I worked as a music teacher for a while, and I’m responsible for the music in my church. I love all kinds of music: music by Christians and no-Christians. I write songs and have been involved in recording Christian albums. If you came to my house for dinner or travelled with me in my car, there would no doubt be music. Music is the soundtrack to our lives: we commemorate birthdays, marriages and anniversaries with music and song; even our funeral services are filled with song, so precious to life is music. But I can’t allow all the music that surrounds me to stop me from doing what the Bible commands me to do – to sing and make melody. So, let me encourage you, take time to sing to the Lord and watch how it changes your life.
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