[Zoom In] The Essence of and the Attitude in Praising
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September 22, 2008 |
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Music enables people to feel all types of emotions and serves as a tonic in life. When it is used for such a good cause, music brings about many benefits; when it is abused, music becomes a device that leads countless people to depravity. In the Lord, however, music enriches the spirit and it possesses the power to beautify everything.
In order for spirits to be renewed and one to lead a life in which he receives God's answers and blessings, this edition of Manmin News will examine the type of praise with which God is pleased.
 It is natural for saved children to praise God in gratitude of His grace. Our God, who is "enthroned upon the praises" (Psalm 22:3), gives us comfort and joy when we please Him through prayer in a melody (Psalm 105:2-3), heals wounded hearts (1 Samuel 16:23), gives strength and help to overcome all afflictions (Acts 15:25-26), and blesses us to receive the desires of our hearts. Mere acts of praising will not warrant such blessings; our spirits will prosper only when we offer God the kind of praise with which He is pleased.
The origin of music was praising of God
We find in Psalm 69:31 that "it will please the LORD better than an ox Or a young bull with horns and hoofs." It is not an easy task for a man to sacrifice an ox. During those times, people who were not as affluent offered sheep or goats and others who were even less affluent offered doves or flour. Keep in mind here that God is more pleased with praising from one's depths of heart than the sacrificing of an ox, the most precious of all sacrifices.
From the beginning of time, countless angels have been praising the glory of God and they will forevermore praise and worship Him. It can be said that the origin of music is the praising of God's glory and archangel Lucifer, who had been in charge of praising, was blessed to always praise God's glory at His side through beautiful performances and singing. Lucifer was given authority and majesty and unlike other angels, she was also given human nature. With the passing of much time, however, pride began to bud within her and her heart began to deteriorate from the type of heart God had given her.
Lucifer ended up betraying God, was subsequently confined to the abyss, and when the time came she began ruling as the leader of evil spirits and governing the forces of darkness. When God loved her, Lucifer had been inexplicably beautiful; after her fall, Lucifer has become ghastly in appearance. Today, in order to have people take after her image, Lucifer is striving to captivate people's heart and mind and rule them according to her purpose.
Lucifer and music
Among musicians are those being controlled by darkness without their knowledge. Some cover their bodies with frightening tattoos or accessories, bang their heads full of entangled hair, and sing in ear-popping sounds of their instruments and grotesque noises in self-absorption while others mesmerize the listeners with strange lyrics and melodies.
Among listeners of such music are those who exhibit signs of grave deviation. Lucifer, who had been in charge of praising prior to her corruption, has instigated worldly music in order to beguile people's hearts and is worshipped by them. Here, "worldly music" refers all forms of music, including lyrics, tunes, and singers who sing such songs, that are not proper in God's sight.
There are many types of music that has beautifully described the ways of life and reminds the listeners of the beauty of heaven. Unless in special circumstances, people who truly love only God and have an earnest hope for heaven stay firmly away from worldly music. No matter how good it may be, such individuals try to listen only to songs that praise God and give them hope for heaven.
Furthermore, it is proper to guard a type of music that can deprive one of the love one has for the Lord or thrust his heart towards the world. Upon learning that the origin of music is to praise God and that He delights in receiving our praises, we would also gladly listen to praise songs and sing not worldly music but praise songs.
 Praise with which God is pleased
God is not interested in our outward appearances but in our heart. Thus, He places a greater emphasis on one's faith, love, obedience, and the extent to which how that person worships God and lives by the truth, not on that praising individual's craftsmanship or beautiful voice. Praising contains one's faith in God and his love for God, and it is a declaration of God as the Creator and His majesty with one's voice and body.
In Revelation 14:1-3 is a scene in which 144,000 martyred evangelists during the Seven-year Tribulation sing a new song before the Throne of God, the 4 living creatures, and the elders. As their hearts are clean and beautiful in the truth, to an extent that they can die martyrs' death for the Lord, Scriptures tells us that their praising was "like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps."
The God of holiness wants each of His children to possess a clean and holy heart devoid of any elements of evil. When people praise God and the Lord with all their heart and seek the strength of the Holy Spirit, they will be moved by the Holy Spirit. At such times, they will receive the strength to overcome the world and rid themselves of sin while faith, hope, and love in their hearts will be increased.
This requires fervent prayer and making every effort to achieve sanctification of the heart. One must also do good in everything, be at peace with everyone, and utter only sweet words. When he pleases God with such proper praising, God will cause him to be moved and touched, communicate with, and be filled with the Holy Spirit, pour grace of sanctification upon him, and answer the desires of his heart.
Praising enriches our lives
In Acts 16 is a scene in which the praising of imprisoned Paul and Silas opened all the prison doors and unfastened everyone's chains. When they found themselves in the valley of the shadow of death, Paul and Silas, whose hearts never wavered in their trust of God, could offer Him praises of gratitude from the depths of their heart. When their praise cut into the darkness of the prison and resounded throughout the prison building, it resounded throughout heaven and shook God's Throne.
Recorded in 2 Chronicles 20 is an incident in which the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon form an alliance and invade Judah during the reign of King Jehoshaphat. During the invasion, Jehoshaphat "appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who praised Him in holy attire," and had them praise God. Jehoshaphat displayed his faith and trust in God who subsequently caused the enemies to fight each other and brought a great victory to Judah. We also read in 1 Samuel 16 of an incident in which the evil spirit departed from King Saul when David played on the harp.
The kind of praising with which God is pleased drives away darkness, brings forth solutions to various problems in our lives, and, as our spirits prosper, allows us to receive His answers and blessings. Therefore, the praise we offer God must be a confession of our faith stemming from the depths of our heart and by the love God pours upon our spirits, our lives become prosperous both in spirit and in flesh.
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