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Now let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Of all people. Christians should sing, The most. And you know why I say that? we have the most reason to sing.
We have something to sing about. We have a reason to sing. We are created, we are chosen, we are redeemed, we are adopted into God's family, we are provided for, we are cared for by God. My goodness. We should sing.
I just looked it up. The word sing, singing, song. Saying appear in the scripture 206 times. It's a very common expression. Here's the sampling.
And there are Hundreds of them, so I won't go through them. But here's just a sampling. There was singing at creation. You would expect that, right? It's one of the biggest events ever.
Creation, God created the heavens and the earth. Choirs of angels sang. God said this in Job 38: the morning stars sang together, and all the angels shouted for joy. They were singing at creation. In the Bible, there is singing.
For redemption. When King Hezekiah formed a revival in Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites and the people got together during the sacrifices. We are told that they sang about their redemption. Their atonement. You know, you and I should never get tired of singing songs about the cross.
About the blood of Jesus Christ. I know in some progressive churches there's a movement to pull the blood out of the worship. Nope. Pour it into the worship. We should never tire of singing about our redemption.
And here's why: it's going to be. Our theme in heaven. You don't believe me? You should read Revelation chapter five, where. The Lamb opens up the scroll, and everybody says, You are worthy to open the scroll and unloose the seals, for you were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tongue, tribe, nation, and people.
Front and centre in heaven. Then There was even singing in confrontation. Did you know that in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 20? When Israel was facing a battle, King Jehoshaphat appointed singers to walk ahead of the army. Singing to the Lord and praising.
I don't know if you wanted to get rid of his worship team or. But I think he was on to something. You know, we even sing, right? This is how I fight my battles. This is how I fight my battles.
My friend Michael W. Smith wrote that great anthem of praise. It's by singing. Then we They're singing for celebration. Remember James chapter 5?
If is any among you suffering, let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing. Psalms. You ever find yourself?
Singing worship songs. During the day Something makes you happy and you just automatically want to pour that out. Yeah. And then I should mention this, there's also. Singing in affliction.
Which doesn't make much sense to some people because you go, well, if you're happy, I can understand that you sing. But um that's a natural expression. When you're suffering. What Paul and Silas did, you know, the story in Acts 16, they were shackled in the Philippian jail, and it says, at midnight they lifted up their voices and they sang praise or hymns to God. Most people would be sulking.
They were. Singing. Charles Spurgeon put it this way: Any fool can sing in the day. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight, but the skilful singer is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by.
Songs in the night come only from God. If you've ever read Fox's Book of Martyrs, Case after case of martyrs went to their death Singing.
Songs of praise.
Now, I'm going to bring something up because it always gets brought up whenever you say that part of our worship is singing. You always have somebody who goes, but I'm not a good singer. And my response used to be: well, that's okay, but here's my response now: get over it. Really? You know, and what I mean by that is Um You have the voice.
God Almighty gave you. For good or bad. But you have the voice God Almighty gave you, and I think God believes it is more than an adequate instrument for you to praise Him. Especially since the Bible says it's as easy as this. Ready?
Make a joyful noise. Unto the Lord.
So if your voice sounds like, That's a noise. And if you're joyful... That's a joyful noise. I had a camp counselor who told me this. He goes, If you have a good voice, you should be honoring God with it.
If God gave you a bad voice, give it back to Him. Yeah. The question is not: do I have a voice? The question is, do I have a song? Robert Ingersoll was.
An atheist, but he was called the great agnostic. This is over a hundred years ago, or more than the 1800s. He was so opposed to Christian music that he made sure That the invitation when he died for his funeral, in capital letters, said, No singing will be allowed. I'll just tell you right now. When I kick the bucket, There will be singing.
You'll be rejoicing.
Now, just a quick note before we get into the next one. This is to worship leaders, and I know that this goes out to people all over the country and hopefully the world. But let me just tell you. If you're a worship leader, why... Churches that you lead may not sing, and you want to say, come on, sing, sing, get it out.
There's some reasons people don't sing. Reason number one: They don't know the songs. Reason number two. Not every song works well for congregational singing. Number three.
You're singing in the wrong key. Too high, too low. I know it's not easy because everybody sings differently, but The rule of thumb. For safety, is to do it around the key of C. That's like the sweet spot, key of C.
The lowest should be the key of A, the highest should be the key of D. Has to be in the right key. Number four, reasons why people don't sing. The congregation can't hear themselves singing. If it's too quiet.
People won't sing. If it's too loud, people cannot hear themselves or people around them. to sing. And then, number five, a reason some people won't sing is because It is not a worship environment as much as it's a performance environment. And I'm all for musical, artistic display and creative lighting.
I like that, but. You got to make sure it never distracts people from worship. Our team has a motto that we should complement the worship, not compete with the worship.
So, their worship was biblical, their worship was vocal, third, their worship was musical. Go back to verse 27. The dedication of Jerusalem. They sought to bring out the Levites in their places. And notice how they're celebrating both with thanksgiving and singing.
Here it is with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. Go down to verse 35. And certain of the priests' sons, uh priests' sons. With trumpets, and I'm not going to read their names, but there's now trumpets. And then again in verse 41, trumpets are mentioned.
So they didn't just sing. But they sang Accompanied with musical instruments. Musical instruments have always been a part of worship throughout the scriptures in Psalm 150. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, that's mentioned here, praising with stringed instruments and flutes, mentioned here. Praise them with loud cymbals.
Praise him with clashing symbols. You see, it's been long known that if you can... Add melody and music to words. It will heighten the effect of the impact of those words. It will stick in the memory longer.
You know what that's like. You hear an old song you haven't heard in a long time and you know the words. It has stuck. This is how advertisers Live and breathe. They are spending millions of dollars to come up with little tunes.
that you will remember. I still remember. L. J. Snow the Ford Man.
The Jolly Four Dealer. I can sing the song that I heard on the radio when I was a little kid. in Southern California.
So music can do that.
So The reason music is added to vocals in worship. It's for a very simple reason. Worship songs or hymns. Embody truth, embody theology, doctrines of sin, doctrines of redemption, especially the old hymns. There was a depth.
Of teaching and theology, and here's why: we want to reinforce what they're hearing from the pulpit. We want to provide music that they're going to remember and sing throughout the week and throughout a lifetime. If we give it a tune, it will reinforce it. You're listening to Connect with Skip-Heitzig. Every day, friends like you help bring clear verse-by-verse Bible teaching to people searching for truth in a world that often feels confused, divided, and uncertain.
And this month, we want to thank you with a powerful resource designed for times like these. When you give, you'll receive City in Shambles, Pastor Skiff's complete 18-message study through Nehemiah on CD plus digital download. In these messages, you'll discover how God works in seasons of spiritual and cultural collapse, how prayer and obedience become the starting point for renewal, and how ordinary believers can respond with faith instead of fear. We'll send this resource as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skiff Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskiff.com/slash offer.
Now, here's the special invitation for you. Hi, I'm Skip Heitzig, pastor of Calvary Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. and the author of the devotional, Soaring Above It All. If you're a believer who longs to see the big picture of God's Word, But maybe you felt overwhelmed or you've been unable to make all the pieces of God's story fit together. I wrote, Soaring Above It All.
For you. From Genesis to Revelation, I've highlighted the Bible's big picture. distilling key passages, events, people, themes, and significance. This approachable overview of Scripture will help you stay engaged in God's Word daily. My hope is that as you read through the Bible, this devotional will enable you to better understand God's truth and His heart and plan for your life.
Pre-order your copy now on Amazon or wherever books are sold.
Now, let's return to today's teaching. I've always loved this. I've shared it over the years. Martin Luther, some of my greatest quotes on music come from Luther. Luther said this: Next to theology, I give to music the highest place and honor.
Music is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us. And then he said this: This is probably my favorite thing he said: if any man despises music, as all fanatics do, For him I have no liking. For music is a gift and grace of God, not an invention of men. Thus it drives out the devil and makes people cheerful. Then one forgets all wrath, impurity, and other devices.
Now, I do want to say this, and I'm not picking on any particular group, but it needs to be said, and that is. The churches of Christ. And you know that they're in every community. Do you not believe in adding instruments to vocal Worship. They think it's wrong.
And the reason they think it's wrong is they say instruments are not commanded in the New Testament and they should not be used in the church. And that the only thing that should be used in the church is the voice that God gave you, the Old Testament. Was mechanical instruments of music. The New Testament believer's instrument is his or her voice. But it would seem odd, would it not, if you have music written about so often in the Old Testament?
And music written about often in the future, Book of Revelation, there's going to be all sorts of musical expression in heaven, as well as singing. It would be odd to have it here and there, but then not right here. And you go, well, why do people say you shouldn't have music in church?
Well, it's because of two particular verses of scripture. One is Ephesians 5, where it says, Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart to the Lord, and in the book of Colossians, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. And here's what they say. There's no instrument mentioned in those verses.
Okay. Singing is not mentioned in those verses. It just says speaking to one another. In psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, admonishing, teaching one another. There's no Mention of singing.
And if you think, wow, you're getting now a little weird with that. Here's the point I'm making: it's always dangerous. To develop a doctrine based on what's not in a text. The argument from silence is often a flawed argument. Though the New Testament does not explicitly mention musical instruments, the New Testament also doesn't explicitly forbid musical instruments.
I mean, along the same token, I could say, well, the Bible doesn't explicitly mention cars. Airplanes? Golf clubs? Smartphones. Do you use them?
Why? You shouldn't. It's not written about in the Bible. That's a flawed argument. Also, Churches that forbid music often have stained glass windows, which are also not mentioned in scripture.
And also, churches that forbid music also pass offering plates, which are not mentioned in scripture. or make announcements from the pulpit which are not mentioned in Scripture. You could go on and on.
Now Another word to worship leaders. My encouragement. If you are a worship leader in a church, Mix Old songs With new songs. Yes, I know what the Bible says about singing a new song to the Lord. I know that there's always fresh expressions.
I'm a big advocate for that. I've preached on that. But As a worship leader, you should always stay in touch with your roots. as well.
So a mix is, I think, healthy. And here's something you'll notice: when you sing an older song, either a hymn or an older worship song. There are people in your congregation that immediately make an emotional connection. Oh yeah, I remember that song. And what they're remembering is what God was doing in their lives when they first started singing those songs.
So you will serve your congregations and you will serve the Lord by mixing the old with the new. That's the first little note to worship leaders. Also, be sensitive to the fact that not everyone can stand on their feet for 30 minutes straight. We're not all young anymore. We're not all as energetic as we used to be.
In our hearts we are. We think we are until we look in the mirror and we discover, oh yes, that's the guy I am.
So Some of us have knee problems and hip problems and back issues.
So perhaps Mix it up. A little bit of standing and sitting, relaxing. Just a thought.
So their worship, back to Nehemiah, their worship was. Biblical, it was. Vocal, it was musical, and I'll close with this. Their worship was joyful. Their worship was joyful.
Verse 27, I'm taking you back there again at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. They sought out Levites. In all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to. Look at the word celebrate. The dedication with Gladness.
Now go all the way over to verse 43. Also, that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced. Notice the word rejoiced. For God made them rejoice with great joy. The women and the children also rejoiced, so that, I love this.
You ready for this?
So that The joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. Joy. The first time I saw people singing from their hearts and not just following a liturgy. I'd never seen it before. It was...
It was amazing. It was a little unnerving. I saw people with their hands up and I thought, I'm not going to do that. But it was genuine. They weren't just reciting something, they were bubbling over with joy.
Psalm 16 says, In your presence is fullness of joy, and at your right hand there are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 95. Oh, come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving.
Let us shout joyfully to him with psalms. When I was a kid and my parents said, you're going to church. I didn't smile.
Okay. Kind of frowned. When I go to church, and I'm here just about every day of the week. It's a joy. It's a joy.
David said, I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord. I was glad. You know most bars have a thing called happy hour. Yeah. Saturday night at 6:30 in this building is happy hour.
Tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock is happy hour. Tomorrow morning at 11 o'clock is happy hour. Spurgeon, I love what he said. He said, Our happy God should be worshipped by a happy people. That is not to say you should come to church and Fake it and put a fake smile in your hi.
Bless your heart. No, don't fake it. Don't plaster a happy face on. Truth be told, some people weep during worship songs. God touches them deeply.
At the same time, they can have deep abiding joy. You can have a sad countenance and a happy heart. You can have a happy Circumstance. and a sad heart.
So The joy, the Bible says here in Nehemiah: the joy of the Lord is your strength.
So these are These are four elements of their worship. There are four more. There might even be five, but I'm going to stop with four more. And we're going to cover that next week. But their worship was biblical.
Their worship was vocal, their worship was musical, and their worship was joyful.
Now back to that thought that I just mentioned. that you can have sad circumstances and a happy heart. And you can have happy circumstances. and a sad heart, And you know, it is always about. Your heart, who you really are inside before God.
That counts. We've said it so many times. God wants you, He wants your heart, He wants the real you. And I realize that not everybody that comes to a worship service is actually worshiping God because not everybody that comes to a church service or a worship service has a relationship with God. And they kind of look at those of us who worship, like I did, when I first went to Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa and saw kids with their hands raised and they were happy.
And I just thought, eee. I mean, I'm watching it. They look happy. It looks genuine, but. I haven't entered into that.
I don't know what they're drinking, but I kind of want some of it. And I say that because Just about every church service we have, people come, they're invited. They're watching the worship. They're seeing what seems to be a true... Honest.
Not fake devotion. toward what people believe in, but. That person is an observer of that and has not entered into that. And so I always like to give an invitation, at least when I have time for it. That if somebody here doesn't have a relationship with the living God, you haven't entered into a covenant with God where you've surrendered your life to him, you've asked him to take over, you've turned from your sin and turned to him, you can do that.
You can become A worshipper. A son, a daughter. In covenant with the living God, having an ongoing personal relationship with Him. Thanks for joining us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we go, remember, your generosity helps share God's Word with people around the world, offering biblical truth and hope in a time when many feel discouraged or overwhelmed.
And this month we'd love to thank you for your gift of fifty dollars or more by sending you City in Shambles, Pastor Skiff's complete eighteen message study through Nehemiah on C D plus Digital Download. These messages will encourage you to respond to brokenness with prayer, repentance, and courageous faith. and remind you that God still rebuilds what's been torn down. Give today at connectwithskiff.com slash offer or call 800-922. 1888.
See you next time on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection. Make a connection now. At the foot of the crossing. A castle burn.
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