Now
dancing is not an expression of worship that many churches allow. However,
just because some churches don't allow dancing doesn't mean that it
isn't biblical. Apart from King David dancing before the Lord, we are
commanded in the Psalms to praise the Lord with dancing.
Before you think I've gone off the deep end, let me reassure you that
I am not going to insist that we all dance, any more than I insist that
we all have to raise our hands. But I do want you to think for a moment
about why we might find it uncomfortable to dance during our worship
service. I think the answer is because most of us didn't grow up in
churches were dancing was part of the service. And the reason for that
is because we don't read about any of the New Testament Christians dancing
during a worship service.
In seminary they teach you that the rule of thumb to discern what are
acceptable practices for the church is if it is something that Jesus
taught about, and if that subject was seen being practiced in the book
of Acts, and if it was further explained in one the Epistles, then it
is a legitimate practice for the church. However, you have got to be
careful to use silence from the Scriptures as a reason to build a doctrine.
For if that were true, then those churches that hold to the position
of not using any kind of musical instruments, just because the New Testament
doesn't tell us to, are right.
The two passages of Scripture we looked at last week are the pretty
much the crux of New Testament teachings on singing. The reason that
none of the New Testament writers went into any detail about what kind
of worship service a church should conduct is the same reason they didn't
go into great detail about tithing. The answer is because the early
church was predominately made up of born again Jews. And just as no
Jew would ever withhold his tithe/offerings when he entered into the
Temple/synagogues, no born again Jew would ever enter into a church
and withhold his tithe/offering. And when it comes to the worship service,
the model for the worship in the New Testament church was the worship
of the Jews in the Old Testament. The born again Jews continued to worship
exactly the same way they did before they got saved.
A passage that gives us the best glimpse of the Jews worship service
is 2 Chron. 5. In this chapter, we see that as the Jews sang, the presence
of God came among them. One of the reasons why we should sing is to
celebrate the truth that God is truly among us. Yes, God is still sitting
on his throne, high & lifted up. The book of Revelation closes by declaring
that Jesus Christ is the King of kings, and Lord of lords. And as such,
right now Jesus is sitting in heaven ruling over all the heavens & earth.
But at the same time, the triune God is in our midst as we sing songs
to him.
This chapter tells us of the time when the Israelites dedicated the
Temple. It was a special time in the history of Israel. And as the people
were singing to God, his presence came upon them in a special way. Look
first at verse 1-2. In verse 2 we see that all the governmental leaders
were commanded to come for this worship service. Can you imagine what
this nation would be like if all our governmental leaders gathered with
the rest of God's people for worship? Our nation would once again become
a nation under God. Some of the goofy laws that have been passed would
never have been passed: Abortion wouldn't be legal. Our courts wouldn't
be considering whether or not to legalize same sex marriages. We could
post the 10 Commandments in public places like our courtrooms. Our kids
could even pray & sing Christmas Carols in our public school system.
As exciting as it would be to have godly men & women in government,
God knows that the moral fabric of a nation is not shaped from within
the halls of the Senate or the courts, but from within the homes. For
he knows that a nation is only as strong as the families that make up
that nation. And he knows that the strength of the families comes from
the fathers. Which is why God commanded all the men to bring their families
to this historic occasion-verse 3.
I want you men to underline the first part of verse 3. That tells us
that from God's perspective, the spiritual leadership of the home, is
not the responsibility of the mothers, but of the fathers. God expects
the men to take the role of leading his family in spiritual matters.
Men, you can't delegate this responsibility to your wives. I know that
it is tempting to do so because women are much more open to the Lord
then men are. The Lord doesn't nearly have as much problem getting the
attention of women as he does of men. Because of this, women seem more
sensitive to hearing the voice of the Spirit than men are. And they
are much quicker in declaring their feelings towards God. Which is why
most men aren't as enthused about singing as women are. I have noticed,
that for the most part, women seem to get into the singing aspect of
worship much more then men do. In fact, most men merely go through the
motions of singing, but they don't put their hearts into it. Part of
this is because Satan has been very successful in spreading the lie
that doing the church thing is for women. In far too many churches,
it is the women who attend the worship service while the men stay home
to drink coffee & read the Sunday paper, or to get a few more hours
of sleep.
One of the things this church has done since its beginning is to encourage
men to not only attend the worship services, but to also get involved
in the various aspects of the ministry. Even most of our Sunday school
teachers are men. And that is very rare in most of today's churches.
Men, listen to me, it is crucial that you provide the spiritual leadership
for your family. Your wives are praying that you will step up to the
plate in this area. So don't be afraid to initiate prayer time and family
Bible devotions. And as we see from this passage, don't be ashamed to
let your family see you singing passionately to the Lord.
Look now at verse 12. Here we see that the Israelites were the first
to have a worship band. They had percussions, string and wind instruments,
to accompany the singers. Our modern day worship movement didn't introduce
drums & guitars as part of a church's worship service. It merely reintroduced
what used to be standard equipment for the worship of God's people.
I discovered that the order of the instruments that are listed here
has to do with how music is put together. Percussions are the instruments
that help us to feel the excitement of music. But they serve an even
greater purpose then to excite us, they provide the foundation for music,
what we call rhythm. How many bands have you seen that didn't have drums?
Without the drummer setting the beat, the rest of the musicians will
play what is right in their own eyes. And the results will be chaos.
I believe that God loves it when our kids start to bang on everything
in an attempt to play the drums. So don't yell at them to stop making
so much noise. Instead, encourage them to use all that pulsating rhythm
for the glory of the Lord. Why your child may be one of the drummers
in the next generation of church. Not only did God want his worship
band to have a good percussion section, but he also had string & wind
instruments. These instruments bring out the sweetness of the music.
It would be hard to enjoy the music if all you had was a drummer. In
order for music to be something that is beautiful to listen to, you
need the string & wind instruments. The percussions produce the rhythm,
and the string & wind instruments produce the harmony.
I praise God that he has opened our eyes to where we can enjoy bass,
electric & acoustic guitars, along with violins, flutes, saxophones,
and trumpets as part of our song service. For they bring with them the
fullness that God wants his church to have in their times of singing.
It is sad that for too long, the only instruments allowed in a worship
service were the organ & the piano. Because of that, many talented musicians
have entered into the secular world, which resulted in them using their
God-given talents to glorify Satan. God doesn't want these kinds of
instruments to be used to glorify the evil one. He wants them to be
used to accompany the words of the songs that glorify him.
Look next at verse 13. The key to good worship is that it praises and
glorifies God. There is nothing wrong with having a good time while
we are singing. I believe that God wants us to get excited as we sing
songs to him. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with getting emotional
as we sing songs that declare our love for Lord. And there is nothing
wrong with having the music being played loudly to encourage the people
to sing with a full voice. Neither is there anything wrong using physical
expressions, like raising our hands, and even dancing, while we are
singing. But we have to make sure that our emotions & our expressions
don't become the focus of our worship. For if the only reason you worship
is to get your emotions stirred, or to draw attention to yourself by
your expressions of worship, then you don't really understand the purpose
of worship. As I have stated throughout this series on worship, worship
is for God not for you. Worship is not just something you do to feel
better about yourself, it is something you to do to honor God. God is
to be both the object & the subject of our worship.
I have noticed that the best music ministries, are those who get so
caught up in worshipping God that they don't even notice what they are
doing. The musicians are not concentrating on playing the right cords,
neither are the singers worrying about singing on key. Instead their
sole focus is on Jesus. And as they are singing & playing their instruments
to God, from the very depths of their soul, something supernatural happens.
As a music ministry enters into the realm of worship instead of the
realm of performance, they will take the congregation right into the
throne room of God. And as God pulls back heaven's curtain, he allows
the congregation to catch a glimpse of his holiness. And when this happens,
the worship will transform us. And this is why God wants his people
to sing.
As the Israelites gathered to dedicate the Temple, and as they sang,
God allowed them to see his Shekinah glory. But before we look at that,
I want you to notice first the words of the song they sang in verse
13. Since these are the only words we are told that they sang, I wonder
if they didn't keep singing this chorus over and over again. Normally,
I don't like to sing a chorus over & over again. That's because too
many worship leaders use this technique as a way of whipping the people
into a frenzy. But a couple of weeks ago I went to a worship conference
at one of the Calvary Chapels in Atlanta. And one of the songs we sang
was "Breath!" The last lines of that song are "I'm desperate for you.
I'm lost without you." I enjoy that song, but normally it doesn't move
me emotionally. However, that day, the worship leader kept singing those
lines over & over again. And as I repeatedly sang "I'm desperate for
you. I'm lost without you," I started to cry like a baby. The Spirit
used those words to convict me that I was taking my relationship with
God for granted.
In the song the Israelites sang, the first part of it stated the truth
that God is good. People need to be reminded that God is good. Especially
since so much that happens to us in life is bad.
One of the most popular TV preachers, is Robert Schuler. Do you know
that he is so popular that his church is one of the top 10 tourist attractions
in LA? The thing that has made him so popular is that he preaches positive
messages that try to get you to realize all the potential you have in
Jesus Christ.
Although I can't stand his preaching, I have to admit that no one wants
to come to a worship service to get beat up by the preacher. Even the
author of the book of Hebrews tells us that when gather ourselves together
for corporate worship, we are to "encourage one another." That doesn't
mean the preacher is to never preach about sin, or hell, or holiness.
But even preaching about hard subjects like these, the people need to
be reminded of the grace of God. They need to be reminded that since
God is good, that he is the God of second, or third, or forth, or even
gazillion chances. They need to be reminded that because God is good,
everything he allows into our lives is for our good. And we also need
to be reminded that God's love lasts forever. Especially since so many
people today have experienced love that didn't endure. How many of you
are in your second or more marriage? Those previous times you got married,
didn't you think they would last, as the vows you made said: "Till death
do you part"?
How many of you came out of broken homes? How many of those people you
thought were your best friends, who you thought would always be there
for you, are now gone? How many of our kids have had their hearts broken
by boyfriends/girlfriends breaking up with them? When they entered that
relationship they thought it would last for an eternity. Instead, they
were dumped a week later. As we grow up we will encounter many loves
that won't last. But praise God, his love will last forever.
The song they sang here was a song that got the people to think about
the goodness & the love of God. And those are two powerful truths that
help us enter into a true worship of God. However, like any other elements
of worship, they will not cause worship to happen. They are merely ways
that the Spirit anoints to help us encounter God during our worship
of him. They are designed to help lead us to a point where a spiritual
transformation occurs. As I said earlier, true worship will only occur
when our hearts & minds focus on Jesus.
I want to close by looking at how God responded to his people singing.
Look at the last part of verse 13 and verse 14. God wants his church
to sing because God responds as we minister to him through singing.
As we sing songs that declare our love for and to him, he will fill
his temple with his glory. And guess where his temple is today? It's
not this building. Even though God's presence is here this morning,
this building is not the temple that God wants to fill with his glory.
The temple that God wants to fill today is our body. He wants to fill
this temple with his glory just as much as he wanted to fill Solomon's
Temple in Jerusalem.
So one of the reasons we are to sing is that as we celebrate God's goodness,
as we celebrate his love, and as we celebrate the privilege of having
an intimate relationship with God Almighty, the Creator of this universe
will come among us, and fill us with his glory.
Let's pray!!
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