This last week there was another amazing supermoon, the harvest moon and the conditions were perfect to view it. A few weeks ago, we talked about the moon and the sun doing just as God created them to do. Jeremiah 33:20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’” Since the moon and the sun are still doing just as God commanded them to do, there is still hope for the church, although only a remnant of survivors is left. God said 2 Chronicles 7:13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” God also gave us this warning. 19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’”
Instead of obeying, the church has ignored the commands and Zechariah 7:11 “refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’” Now the abomination that causes desolation has left the church desolate. True repentance changes everything and God will listen once again. Zechariah 1:3 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.” Ezekiel 18:30 “I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” Jesus came to give us life. John 4:14 “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Mark 1:14 “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” But as scripture and history show us, people refuse to repent. The Jews still will not accept Jesus as their Messiah and the church refuses to turn from their wicked ways, both continuing on a path that leads to death and destruction.
I enjoy music, especially quality sounding music. Going into a grocery store playing music with a system that doesn’t sound good is hard on the ears. I listened to long playlists of music on iTunes, especially when riding my bicycle, that I had purchased over the years. I recently tried Spotify free for three months and started listening to jazz. After a while, even though it is really good, it got a little empty; no offense to jazz lovers as I like to listen also to the words and you cannot do that with most Jazz. One time, I asked the youth of our church to bring in their secular CDs (yes, years ago) and we talked about the lyrics. They were a little shocked with some of the lyrics when they read them out loud and said we don’t listen to the words. I said you really should. I like worship music and I do listen to the words. One thing I have noticed over the years is that in some cases people during worship would raise their hands to a song that felt good, yet the words were basically meaningless, meanwhile a song with powerful words, nobody raised their hands. I will admit that music is hard to understand because sometimes songs with powerful lyrics come out of places with questionable theology and doctrines. You may have one song that is descent and then others that are not, so you have to be careful. Words are still the key to music selection, not just how they sound.
Today worship is a huge industry in the church. Many churches / worship teams have their own music that is for sale. The church is filled with all kinds of groups and individuals selling their wares and not just music. It seems everything in the church is for sale these days. Paul said 2 Corinthians 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” Jesus said, John 2:16 “To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” This has happened and worship has been turned into a concert, as Jesus said Mark 7:6 “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” The church has a serious problem, and it doesn’t matter if Chris Tomlin is your worship pastor.
God said Amos 5:21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. 22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. 23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.” Isaiah 1:7 “Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; 2 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. 14 Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” Whether music and worship is not so good or absolutely amazing, because God’s people have rebelled, God is not listening and despises what is happening in most churches and it is not because hymns are no longer sung. It is not the style or genre; it is the heart that is the problem.
It really is amazing how fast time goes by. Matt Redman wrote a song that came out in 1998 called the Heart of Worship. In an article talking about behind the song, they said, “We were challenged to ask ourselves individually, ‘When I come through the door of the church, what am I bringing as my contribution to the worship?’ We needed to take drastic action. For a while, in order to truly learn this lesson, we banned the band. When we had learnt our lesson, we brought the band back. It was at this point that Matt began to sing the song he had written out of this experience. I wept as we sang it for the first time. The words expressed exactly what was going on.” The song then became a hit in the church. One site, “Top 100 Worship Songs of 1998-2018” had it at 93. They were on the right track to stop, but banning the band is just a small portion of what they should have done. That should have been just the beginning of that church’s journey of repentance. The question should have been asked, who is it we are actually worshipping and what are the gospels we are following? Doctrines and theology should have been evaluated and changed / rejected but after a short period of time, they were back it at. They thought that a song would fix the problem about the heart and then offered God a song that He didn’t want because as the song said, God wants more than a song. Then churches around the world started singing another song that God did not want to listen to, especially when you think about the above scripture verses. The lyrics are The Heart of Worship - “When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come. Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless Your heart. I'll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself is not what You have required. You search much deeper within, through the ways things appear, You're looking into my heart. I'm comin' back to the heart of worship and it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus” Is it really about Jesus? Are you really coming back to the heart of worship? So oddly a song about not bringing a song became a hit and most who sang it, did not do the hard work of repentance; the repentance that requires change.
The church, because of its rebellion against the word of God, is in massive desolation and most have been taken captive and there is only a remnant left. As Isaiah said above “Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire.” You can insert church to country and cities, which has happened because of the abomination that causes desolation. As I said, I used to buy music and then used those songs for our worship. Spotify allows you to search any kind of genre, so when I selected Jazz, it gave a huge selection that I had never heard of. I also put in worship music and 100’s of songs would come up, again many that I have never heard. Since I have injured my knee and can’t ride my bicycle, I go for slow rides in the van down the gravel roads in the country and listen to music and contemplate on life and on God’s word. As songs came up, I either moved on to the next one or listened to them completely and then liked some of the ones to a play list. What I noticed with some of the songs I liked, is they seemed to be referring to what is missing in the church and the power that should be available, but the problem is they are still just offering a song and not their hearts. I think most think that if they write a song, stand and sing during worship, God is pleased with their efforts and will listen and revive us again. But as we read above, God is not pleased, and He is not even listening. Worship carries on kind of like David bringing the ark, on the cart and by all appearances if was awesome and very worshipful. 2 Samuel 6:3 “Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals. 6 When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.” David would later explain why that happened. 1 Chronicles 15:13 “It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the Lord our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way.” Can you imagine that happening today? You can because we read about it in Acts 5:1 “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.” People are praying for God to come into their midst but are you actually prepared for His presence? How many would be left standing?
Today the church continues not to follow God in the prescribed way. The church has placed reason, tradition and their experience above God’s word. The church has followed other gospels and a different Jesus. Most go to church, sing, listen to a sermon for an hour or so, then go home, while some doing it again later that day and possibly one other day during the week and then repeat and some just hit the big days like Easter and Christmas. Most then think that because they have attended church and accepted their distinct beliefs, they are Christians and will see eternal life. But the pattern does not include true repentance, as hearts do not change because most think and are told there is nothing to repent for, even though there is no power and the church looks nothing like scripture. Most in the church have accepted powerlessness as normal Christianity. The change most make is really a facade. They change their websites, hire new ministers, change their worship style, change their name, their mission statement, who they are associated with, types of seating, add coffee, and even change their buildings and locations but with all the changes, their hearts remained the same, have the same beliefs, follow the same doctrines and theology and have not returned. For many going to church is the change but their lives remain the same. These renovations do not include turning from wicked ways. True restoration means to restore what once was. This means returning to God’s word and no longer following man’s words, man’s doctrines and theology and doctrines of demons. This means testing the spirits on everything. Denominations, churches, schools / seminaries should be shut down, not to just renovate but to be truly revived by God. What a shakeup that would be. Some may never operate again. Because of rebellion, God has allowed horrendous desolation in the church that is so bad that Jesus said Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Deuteronomy 29:24 “All the nations will ask: “Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?” 25 And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt. 26 They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. 27 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book. 28 In furious anger and in great wrath the Lord uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.” Many chain restaurants will renovate but they still offer the same product when finished. That cannot happen with the church. True restoration is going back to the church Jesus intended and empowered the church to be. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” Acts 8:5 “Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.”
A few of the songs I checked, were these. The first one I actually wrote to the worship leader and said I liked their song, but I was wondering what their church was doing in order for this to happen again. I said writing the song meant that it wasn’t happening, so I was curious. I did not hear back. The first song is As it Was – “It was in the upper room where the Spirit lit the flame, the start of sacred fire that burns from age to age. Where the holy wind of heaven came down on your saints in Your church. Verse 2 - Miracles signs and wonders followed where they went bold as lions moving mountains, healing sick and raising dead. We’re asking for revival just like it was back then in Your church. Chorus: As it was let it be in us, Hear the sound of heaven ringing, As your name is lifted up, as it was let it be in us, like Pentecostal fire, Lord, let it rain on us, As it was let it be in us.” So they acknowledged it wasn’t happening but the good part is they want it to happen. But what are they doing to repent before God or is it just a noisy song?
This song acknowledges the wickedness of our hearts and the fact that we need to be awakened. World-Wide Revival – “I can feel it in the air, desperation everywhere. Spirit, come and meet us here, turn the dark into light. Rend the heavens and come down, turn our wicked hearts around. For Your glory, show Your power, make the dead come alive. Chorus: All around the world, we wanna see, a great awakening. In the name of Jesus, we believe.” There is power but people do not seem to be desperate enough to turn from their wickedness. This song desires revival, but it is the church who needs to be revived. God of Revival - We've seen what You can do, oh, God of wonders. Your power has no end, the things You've done before in greater measure You will do again. Come awaken Your people, come awaken this city, oh, God of revival, pour it out, pour it out. Every stronghold will crumble, hear the chains hit the ground. Oh, God of revival, pour it out, pour it out. We've seen what You can do, oh, God of wonders Your power has no end, the things You've done before in greater measure, You will do again.” They acknowledge that there was power before and are asking God to do it again but are they repenting of their wicked ways. The church truly needs to be awakened. This song also believes God will do it again. In God We Trust – “In God we trust, in God we trust, cause there is power in His name. Age to age, He's still the same. We believe He is the great I Am, we know He holds the whole world in His hands. Oh, Christ alone, our cornerstone and everything He's done, He'll do again.”
This song believes miracles are possible and wants God to move. Miracle in the Works – “Some may say it's hopeless, but I know that God's about to move, God's about to move, yes, He is. There's a miracle in the works, and I can feel it, yes, there is and there's revival in the church. I believe it, I believe. Reignite us, reawaken, breath of God, come breathe again.” This one says Jesus reigns, but which Jesus is reigning, because the church is not seeing the power of His kingdom? King of Glory - Don’t lose heart oh my soul, oh my soul. There is a King of glory, there is a God who saves, One who is strong and mighty, freedom is in His name. Open the gates of Heaven, lift up a shout of praise. There is a lion roaring Jesus the king of glory. Nations bow, mountains shake at the sound, of just one name. Overall, Jesus reigns.” And this song believes there is hope still available. Alive and Breathing - Joy still comes in the morning, hope still walks with the hurting, if you're still alive and breathing, praise the Lord. Don't stop dancing and dreaming, there's still good news worth repeating, so lift your head and keep singing, praise the Lord.” But God is looking for more than a song and praises from our lips, He is looking at our hearts.
Yes, some acknowledge the church doesn’t have the power it should have. Some acknowledge we need to be awakened and need revival. Some acknowledge God to be all-powerful but are content to be powerless. Gathering on a Sunday or at a concert and singing praises is of no interest to God if His people refuse to repent. There is nothing wrong with praise and worship, but it must come from a pure heart, from people who follow God wholeheartedly. Participating in other gospels and following another Jesus cannot be worship and it is detestable in God’s eyes. One church played a song from the Rolling Stones as their call to worship. We must make sure we are following the right Jesus and not other gospels. As we read earlier in Deuteronomy, “They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods he had not given them. Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book.” Nehemiah describes the dedication of the wall that was rebuild. He had said, Nehemiah 2:17 “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.” Nehemiah 12:27 “When they had finished they worshipped God. the Levites were sought out from where they lived and were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres. 28 The musicians also were brought together from the region around Jerusalem. 31 I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of the wall. I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks.”
The church needs to be rebuilt and revived and songs of praise will once again be heard. Isaiah 51:3 “The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.” Amos 9:11 “In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be.” Ezekiel 36:35 “They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” Ezekiel 37:10 “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.” 2 Chronicles 5:3 “The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.”
The church needs to be focused on repenting, not on who has the best and latest worship or following the latest guru. For most in the church, repentance is closely tied with believing what the church they attend tells them to believe. There is no testing the spirits and people wrongfully assume all is now well with their soul. This is much more than benching the band, it is about giving our lives to Jesus. Isaiah went on to say Isaiah 1:16 “Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 18 “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land; 20 but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 2:2 “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. 3 Many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths. 5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”
True worship is obeying God’s word with our lives. Singing praise is just part of it as we must serve God wholeheartedly. We then can come before Him with music and song. Psalm 95:1 “Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, 8 “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’” 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” Don’t be those people. Repent and the kingdom of God will come near once again.
