There are
people in the church today, who do not understand why there is so much singing
going on in the church. They do not understand why people have to express such heavy
emotions, lifting up their hands, bowing down and sometimes even crying, while
in church or during church services. This is the main reason why some people
who consider themselves to be matured, shy away from the meetings of certain
Pentecostal churches. There are others
who despise worship leaders, and choristers and those who sing a lot. There are
still some young people who don’t like their friends that are constantly
singing praises instead of trendy secular music by world class secular hippop,
pop and rock stars.
Statistics
and certain studies have shown that up to 70% of all the things we do in the
kingdom of God, involve music or comprise of it. That is a fact, and that is
the way God intended for it to be.
YESTERDAY
It is important to understand that God
taught the angels of old, how to celebrate and activate his power and His
presence, through worship.
Lucifer, who
was chief among God’s archangels, was created specially with tabrets and pipes,
and we can see this in Ezekiel chapter 28 and verse 13:
“13 Thou has been in Eden the garden
of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, the topaz, and the
diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and
the carbuncle, the gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes were
prepared in thee, in the day that thou wast created.”
Therefore
Lucifer was created with special instruments of music, within himself, there
could have been no other purpose for this, except for worship. Then after his
fall and defeat, worship still continued in heaven.
On the day
our father God decided to re-create the world, including man, and decided to
make man in His own image, the angels were excited. They went hysterical with
praise and worship. Their excitement, about the fact that God was now going to extend
their realm of service, and make another one like him-knew no bounds. We can
see this in Job chapter38 and verses4-7:
“4 Where was thou when I laid the
foundations of the earth? Declare if thou hast understanding.
5 Who has laid the measures thereof,
if thou knowest? Or who has stretched the line upon it?
6 Whereupon are the foundations
fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof;
7 When the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
The angels
as we can see in verse 7 sang for joy on the day the world was created, it has
always been part of their ministry.
Again, in
the Book of Psalms, the psalmists such as David, and others- a acknowledged
this ministry of the angels, which in turn now enhances or amplifies a similar
ministry which has been given to man. This ministry has been given to the
saints of God in general. We can see this in Psalm 103, verse 20 and 21as
follows:
“20 Bless the Lord ye His angels,
that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of
His word.
21 Bless ye the Lord all ye His
hosts; ye ministers of His that do His pleasure”.
King David
recognized the beauty of angelic worship, and commands them to do the same as
an expression of solidarity, to His other creatures-because of God’s goodness
and His greatness.
Also in
Psalm 148 and verse 2 again, we read as follows:
“2 Praise ye Him, all His angels:
praise ye him, all His hosts,
3 Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise
him, all ye stars of light”
These are a
few examples from the old dispensation, beginning from before creation of the
world, to the time before Christ came.
TODAY
Right from
the day Christ was born, we began to see this ministry repeated with joy,
because as they sang (the angels), they gave glory to God in the highest, and
they declared-shalom or peace unto men. They declared the highest level of
total well-being to men of good will, because Jesus Christ our savior had been
born. We can see this in the Book of Luke chapter 2, verses 13-14:
“13 And suddenly there was with the
angel, a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good will towards men”.
This was just another glimpse into the
ministry of the angels in heaven, that as soon as the savior was born in Bethlehem
in a manger, an angel appeared to a group of shepherds who were watching over
their flocks by night. Immediately after announcing the birth of the savior to
them, another group of heavenly hosts, appeared, and worshipped God-celebrating
the birth of the savior in their presence.
TOMORROW
The Book of Revelation
is heavily packed with what shall come to be in the nearest future. Most of the
time, we focus on the coming rapture, the great tribulation, or the judgments
of God on the earth or all creation. However, there is so much concerning the
worship that already goes on around the throne of God, and will continue to go
on and will be amplified in the ages to come. These days, when we worship God,
we do not know that the angels are right there with us doing what we are doing,
however, and then we shall know. In Revelation chapter 5 and verse 11, we read
as follows:
“11 And I beheld, and I heard the
voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and
the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands.
12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and
wisdom and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing”.
This revelation,
showed an uncountable number of angels, probably numbering billions, worshiping God, together with the beasts, and the elders.
This great
ministry of worship will be one of the key ministries of the angels and the
saints, in the ages to come.
Therefore,
when we engage in this ministry today, we ought to do it with all our might.
The most astonishing thing about the ministry of praise and worship is the
release of God’s power that is associated with praise and worship. The release
of God’s power has to do with His manifest presence.
One of my
greatest experiences in the world is when I worship God, and He comes down with
His power, and the glory of God destroys the yokes of darkness. I experience
this every day of my life, and can assure you that there is nothing like it,
because the Bible tells us that in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His
right hand are pleasures forever more.
