Why do we sing in church?

Pure Worship this evening! 

Have you ever thought about why we sing in church?

85 times in scripture we are exhorted to sing praise to the Lord.  Not once, or twice but 85 times!

Chinese Christian leader Brother Zhong tells this story:

"I was attending a training course for my house church network's council members and youth leaders.  The Public Security Bureau (PSB) raided us the first day.  All the leaders were arrested.

The prison authorities shaved our heads and interrogated us.  We were warned that the hardened inmates would beat us.  So with much trepidation, another brother and I entered our cell.

We were greeted by the sight of 16 other inmates, lined up in two rows and thumping their fists.  My heart beat rapidly as I sent prayers up to God.

The leader of the gang asked, "Why are you here?"

"Because we are Christians," I replied.

"You don't beat people up?"

"NO," I assured him.

"Do you sing?"

"Yes,"  I answered.

The leader ordered me to sing a song.  I wept as I sang.  The Holy Spirit moved in our midst, and b y the time I finished singing, every prisoner was also in tears.  To my shock, the gang leader than asked to hear the gospel.

After that, my cellmates hungered to hear the gospel every day.  One Sunday, we held a worship service.  The prison guard demanded to know who was behind it.  He threatened to punish everyone if no one spoke up.  I stood up and confessed.

I was forced to remove my clothes and stand at an inclined angle to the wall.  The gang leader couldn't bear it anymore.  He asked to be punished with me.  All the others volunteered to do the same.  The infuriated guard stormed out.  I was moved by my clelmates' act.  One of them, who had been there for three years, became a believer that day.
 

That is the power of a song.

Psalms 100 (1,2) opens with these wonderful verses:  "Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!  Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing."

From these two verses we learn several things:

Please notice that this is a command from God to every follower of His.  "You lands" means you and I.  Everyone in included - not just the smaller portion of our church family who are musically inclined.

The implication is not a performance of stunning perfection but one of gusto - enthusiasm - even fun!

God desire that everyone get into the act.  I decided a long time ago that my primary goal in worship was to sing - and to sing loud, with all of my heart, soul and mind!

The issue is not aesthetics or style.  The issue is participation.  Joyful involvement.

The issue is not, "what did I get out of a worship service," "but how did I participate?"  With what attitude?  With what preparation? 

Praise is a method of service - we are to serve (worship) the Lord with gladness!

Joy is contagious!  It spreads like wildfire.  As we sing and worship, discouragement is lifted, the burdened become lighthearted, the bound are set free.

That is the power of praise and worship in song!

The joy of the Lord is our strength.  Stress is vanquished.  Anxiety has no place in an atmosphere where God's people unify in worshipful song.  That is why singing is important in the process of praise.

Singing clearly directs our attention (mind, will and emotion -soul) toward the Father.  It is a spiritual release.

It bursts barriers - real and imagined.  Singing levels the playing field.  Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, new Christian or veterans in the faith, we can all lift our voices in song.

Judson Cornwall writes, "Singing can give us endurance spiritually, emotionally and physically." 

Praise is a verbal act.  It is thanking God for what he has done in our lives.  We praise Him for His loving kindness in Psalms 63:3,4 - "My lips shall praise you," the Psalmist writes.

Praise glorifies God in Psalms 50:23.  As I praise God (Psalms 103:1,2), I receive forgiveness for my sins, I can be healed from my disease, my life is redeemed from the pit, God crowns me with loving kindness.

I sing praises with understanding.  Psalms 47:7 sates, "For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise."

As I sing a song of praise for what God is doing, I am giving testimony to God's love for us and our love for Him.  Others, listening to us praise God, hear testimony of our salvation and our joyful relationship with Him.

Here's what I know:  I tend to praise God in song by the way I have lived and praised Him throughout the week. 

I just can't automatically walk into a worship service and turn on, like a switch, the anointing and presence of God in my life.

Praise in song is to be current.  Relevant.  That's why in Psalms 149, God encourages us to sing a "new song."

The Psalmist writes in Psalms 149:1-4, "Praise the Lord.  Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.  Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.  Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.  For the Lord takes delight in his people, he crowns the humble with salvation."

What do we learn here?  Musical instruments are a part of praise.

David writes in Psalms 33:3, "Sing to him a new song, play skillfully, and shout for joy." 

Many times, we who lead worship struggle with, "how perfect should our praise be"? 

There is just a balance.  Unskilled or limited abilities in church music ought never to be put down.

But neither should an "anything goes" attitude be tolerated. 

I write to worship leaders now.

Showing up late.  Showing up tired.  Showing up unprepared. 

Psalms 33:1 states, "sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him."

It is the living God that we are worshipping - and our singing, our praise, with "all of our hearts," brings God "delight" as we see in verse 4. 

My heart and attitude must be right if I am going to participate in worship.

2 Chronicles 5:13 tells us, "The trumpeters and sings joined in unions, as with one voice; to give praise and thanks to the Lord."  That presupposes skill and practice.  And then the scripture goes on to state, "then the temple of the Lord was filled with a cloud and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God."

There seems to be a direct connection between songs in praise that are given to the best of a person's ability, with the right attitude and preparation - and experiencing the powerful presence of God and his Shekinah glory.

David knew the power of music.  He would play for Saul and Saul's depressive spirit would be uplifted.  Praise in song is medicinal.  It soothes our troubled soul.

Music, anointed of the Lord, can lift the spirit, distract incoming evil thoughts, break evil bonds, and focus our attention on God.

When you are down, listen to worship music.  Do not rest on the arm of the flesh.

Make an altar where you are:  in your car, next to your bed.  While working in the office.

We know that story of how praise and worship delivered Paul and Silas in prison in Acts 16.  As they sang and praised God around midnight, and earthquake took place and their prison doors were opened.  The jailer was converted, his whole household saved.  Praise will cause very chain of bondage to drop away.

Songs in praise open prison doors!

Finally, for we Pentecostal types, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:15, "I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding."

I will sing with "spiritual songs".  Spiritual songs are impromptu, spontaneous lyrics given by the Holy Spirit in English (or a person's language indigenous to them) and in "tongues".

Singing in my prayer language with other believers in a spontaneous way - lifting up our voices in song using our heavenly languages - is a slice of heaven itself.

Come join us this evening as we sing and praise God!