the power of music to move the spirit

Those of you who are friends with me over facebook will have probably noticed that I am inclined to share my favourite songs. These songs are a reflection of my current spiritual state; often being songs that have inspired my faith, connected me to God in worship, or have touched my spirit in a very profound way. Music can take all forms and shapes, and ranges in value from the profane to the sacred. But what sets a particular song apart as sacred? For me music has great transcendental qualities to it, as well as being a powerful vehicle for worship - I think of worship ministries as "gateway" ministries, enabling believers to be transported into the very presence of God by harmonising body, soul and spirit in singing praise.

There is a strong connection between worship and the Holy Spirit:

"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," Ephesians 5:18-19

Notice the connection between being filled with the Holy Spirit and the act of worshipping God through music. Songs of worship naturally flow from being filled with the Spirit. Another important observation to make is the contrast between the acts of the flesh and the act of worship - when a person is making melody to the Lord with all their heart, they are not giving strength to the sinful nature, having turned from their acts of debauchery. Thus the act of worship is an act of denying the self and mortifying the flesh.

Music reaches the spirit in a powerful way, for example David played the lyre to sooth Saul's troubled spirit:

"And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him." 1 Samuel 16:23

Music changes a person's demeanour, emotions, and attitude. Spirit filled music can also activate a greater awareness and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Like the example of David ministering to Saul through his talent with the lyre, Spirit filled music contains words and even melodies that can liberate captive souls and set people free from emotional, spiritual or pyschological oppression. Worship is an act of healing in its own way.

Music is also connected to the revelatory work of the Holy Spirit, which explains why worship is so often connected to prayer events organised by churches:

"After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man." 1 Samuel 10:4-6

This event described in 1 Samuel is of the anointing of Saul as king over Israel. Samuel anointed Saul with a flask of oil. Olive oil was used in ancient Israel as a symbol of the anointing of God's Holy Spirit, known in Hebrew as the Ruach Hakodesh. Only the offices of Priest, Prophet or King were anointed by God with the Holy Spirit in ancient Israel. Saul was given instruction by Samuel to meet with a group of prophets, who were playing instruments and making music, and receive the Spirit of the Lord and the gift of prophesy. Here again we see a connection between music and the work of the Holy Spirit. These prophets were not playing music and prophesying separately, they were prophesying while making music simultaneously.

Every recorded event in which a person received the in-filling of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts is accompanied by signs of either tongues, praise or prophesy. All these signs are verbal and auditory in nature. The experiences of the early Christians in Acts link to Paul's instructions to the church at Ephesus to be filled with the Holy Spirit and make melody to the Lord.

Music is of God, music is encouraged by God, and music also transports us into the eternal Kingdom of God. John describes a vision he received in the book of Revelation of the throne room in Heaven, in which 4 Living Creatures and 24 Elders bowed down before Jesus and worshipped him:

"And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

“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 5:6-10

There is a majestic purity about Spirit-filled worship. God is worshipped in Heaven by the angelic beings of the spiritual realm. This heavenly worship echoes throughout eternity, and when believers enter into worship and express their praise and thanksgiving to God Almighty they too enter into this chorus. Just as the Kingdom of God reigns in the hearts of believers and manifests itself through the work and ministry of the Church here on earth; so too worship bridges heaven and earth, uniting them together in the heart and spirit of the believer. Worship is a manifestation of the state of the heart and spirit as instruments are tuned and played, creating melody and sound that vibrates in our ears. Thus worship is another manifestation of the very Kingdom of God itself, just as the Temple and the Holy of Holies were both earthly models of the Heavenly reality, reflections of the true Temple and Holy of Holies that Christ entered into after his ascension in his office as Great High Priest; so too the music we use to worship God is an earthly model of the music sung in Heaven.

Music is an important expression of my spirituality and my relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I encourage you to seek the heart of God and the power of the Holy Spirit through music.

Zion - The Kingdom of God

"For the Lord has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his dwelling place" Psalm 132:13

Zion, a word synonymous with two things - Heaven and Jerusalem. These two realms, one spiritual the other terrestrial are joined together through God Himself! Let that sink in for a moment...God chose to make His dwelling here on earth, as well as in Heaven. Even though this earth was marred by sin after the Fall, and wickedness increased upon the earth in the days of Noah, God decided not to abandon the earth. No, the earth has a very special place within God's heart, why? Earth was His design from before the beginning of time, to be our home. As we are made in God's image, created and designed for the purpose of being in relationship with God, God therefore chose to make His dwelling among us. God first created the universe, then the earth, then humanity and then through His chosen people the Jews, built Jerusalem, His Holy City - also called Zion. 

Zion bridges the divide between Heaven and Earth. Therefore Zion is none other than the Kingdom of God. Zion is an interdimensional realm, at one and the same time temporal and eternal. This is why Jesus came proclaiming:

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15

and 

"Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Mark 14:25

Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God in both the present and future tense. This is because ever since God laid the foundation for His Kingdom on Mount Zion (Jerusalem), the Kingdom of God was birthed here on earth, though not fully manifested, as is its Heavenly counterpart. Mount Zion may still be awaiting its complete redemption, when Jesus will return to reign over the earth from His throne in Jerusalem, but the Kingdom of God is still very much a present reality through Christ's Church. In this age of Grace, the Church has become the vehicle through which God has been expanding His Kingdom. God has never changed His desire for His Kingdom to reign here on earth - it was the focal point of Jesus' ministry:

"but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” Luke 4:43

 Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross was the means by which people are saved from their sin, but the cross was not entirely an end in itself. Jesus proclaimed he was the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no-one came to the Father accept through him. Jesus' sacrifice paid the price for our sin, as the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), so that we may have life! But what life? Our ordinary, mundane, busy, materially obsessed old life? Our life of sin, debauchery, immorality, addiction, greed and vice? No, Jesus died a criminals death - our death - so that we may have eternal life. Where is this eternal life to be lived? In the Kingdom of God. For the follower/disciple/believer in Jesus Christ that life begins at the moment of repentance. That life, not of sin but of righteousness, begins here on earth. The Church is the very manifestation of the Kingdom of God. 

If you are a Christian reading this then I invite you... I encourage you... I urge you to allow God to birth a new vision in your heart for His Kingdom, and a renewed passion for His Holy dwelling Zion. Realize that the Kingdom is not a future reality, but a present one. Realize that it is in our very midst (Luke 17:21). If you want to know the heart of God - it is for Zion:

"Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath." Zechariah 8:2

If you want to follow Jesus then listen to His commandment:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Matthew 6:33

Pray. Pray hard for that the Kingdom of God would increase upon the earth, bringing spiritual, emotional and political freedom to the oppressed; bringing justice to the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the refugee and the immigrant; bringing peace and joy to the tormented and to all those who seek it like the prodigal son in the temptations of the world. 

If you are not a Christian reading this, then respond to Jesus' call to repent and believe in the Gospel. If you are not living in and for the Kingdom of God then you are living under the kingdom of Satan. This world is corrupt - dictators horde power and deny people their rights, liberties and freedoms. Politicians fight amongst each other in an ideological battle for bragging rights. The god of mammon keeps people, governments and economies in bondage and leads to ruin through economic depression and recessions. What will you place your security in, your job? savings? investments? the economy? your government? your own wisdom and reason? These are all fallable things, which are predictable in their disappointments. 

Choose to live for the one thing on this earth that crosses the divide between Heaven and Earth; the one thing that is of eternal value, and the one thing that will bring you into the Glory and the majestic presence of the Almighty God - the Kingdom of God.