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January 15, 2020 3:00 am
The Christian life is really a movement to be like Christ and the only time you're moving that direction is when you're filled with the spirit so as were filled with the spirit gazing on the glory of Christ we become like Jesus Christ.
That's the key? That's where you know the duration of baptism and the Lord's table.
But what does the Bible say about the role of music in your worship service. How do you worship the Lord through song. John MacArthur deals with those questions today on grace to you as he looks at the connection between singing whether it's at church in your car or at home, and the spirit filled life's current study is titled living in the spirit. If you have your Bible handy turn to Ephesians chapter 5. And here's John with today's lesson. The Christian life is really a movement to be like Christ and the only time you're moving that direction is when you're filled with the spirit. When you are working on the function of the flesh you flatten out and there's no progress. The only progress in your life is during those times when you feel the spirit of God. That's the upward movement. God wants to move toward Christ likeness.
So as were filled with the spirit gazing on the glory of Christ we become like Jesus Christ.
That's the key to the Christian life.
That's where you get the victory.
That's where you know the joy that's where the exhilaration comes in the fruitfulness of usefulness to God. Now we saw there were three things in this text that we wanted to note. First was the contrast in verse 18 remember that the apostle Paul says be not drunk with wine and which is excess or so to you dissipation a hopeless and terrible sickness, but be filled with the spirit and that's the contrast following the contrast we saw the command in the command is at the end of verse 18 B being Continuously filled with the spirit now walking that is a good way to look at is just take one step at a time.
Let's look at Galatians 1 book back in the fifth chapter and see that this in fact is the very illustration the apostle Paul uses in another context.
Verse 16 because this is where he uses the term walk to speak of this ministry of the spirit. He says walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Now here is the spirit control on its own walking thing. It's one step at a time is just taking one step at a time. In the spirit that is under the control of the spirit keep on literally in the Greek keep on walking in the spirit don't deviate from that and if you do that you will not fulfill the lust of the flats. In other words, the way you override your sinfulness and the way you override your evil desires and the way you override the temptations of Satan is simply to walk in the spirit just continue walking in the spirit you see the positive thing takes care of the negative problem. Verse 25 sums it up if we already live in the spirit positionally, then let's walk in the spirit practically right. What is the sense of living in the spirit and walking in the flesh doesn't make sense at all. If you want Christ to begin with. Don't you want it now. If you have begun in the spirit.
Are you now to be made perfect in the flesh. I mean if you live in the spirit then walking the spirit fulfill the capacity and potential of your destiny. So it's really the same thing. Beloved Paul says in Ephesians, he's just saying live in the spirit walk in the spirit before the spirit control by the spirit of the word of Christ dwell in you, the whole point is God wants us to be controlled by him, not by get that are let's go to the third point the consequences. The contrast the command and the consequences.
What are the consequences if you're filled with despair. What happens in your life. Well, really, the consequences stretch clear to the end of the book of Ephesians all rest of what happens in this book is consequence for filled the spirit all kinds. These going to happen.
First of all is singing that is personal, that is toward myself. The result, first of all of the spirit filled life is a certain thing that occurs in the that produces song okay so the first thing is very personal. That's very beautiful the way Paul does at the where the Holy Spirit inspired him to do that the to love walking in the spirit to be filled with the spirit. First of all, as a result, in my singing of this is a very personal issue and it fascinates me just literally fascinates me to take a tremendous theological truth like this be filled with the spirit music whole book if we were filled with spirit will sell all we could not be removed.
It would be important to do one of preach the word and supposedly save them my things and you know what it says before the spirit and you can sing, say, will that seems a little missing or that's a semi-monotone you know I mean is this for me doesn't say at this thing onto. I want to know great comfort in it doesn't even say anybody has to listen to his seat, but the first trial of the spirit filled life is something that happens in my life that is released to the song you see singing is the expression of the emotion of the soul. God is put music in the soul of man and releases in its most beautiful form of the filling of the Holy Spirit while taking one somebody stole the Holy Spirit and they sing, it doesn't even matter. It doesn't matter whether they sing very well doesn't matter if it doesn't necessarily mean they got beyond pitch either. Paula say when we come together and congregations we sing to ourselves. That's different than the songs we used to hear, love it if there is anything at all to be new in the Christian life. It ought to be the music if listen to this. If music really reflects the language of the soul that is to be different than that of the world should because were different.
Colossians 316 says the same thing it says when you're filled with the word of Christ. This is what's going to happen.
You're going to speak to each other in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, it is again singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, it always starts from the heart and always goes to the Lord to see in James chapter 5. Such a beautiful statement there. It says verse 13 is any among you afflicted. Let them pray is any Mary let him saying songs are always the expression of the joy of the Holy Spirit in Romans.
It tells us that the kingdom of God's righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit and when the Holy Spirit produces that peace and that righteousness and that joy breaks forth in us all. The great thing the spirit of God is given us that release redemption gives us a new song see a new one and it's not cost that is new in chronology.
It's new, crying us, which is a song that is new because there's never been a song like it before. It's not new in chronology. It's new and kind. It's new in character. It's new and quality are song want to be a different song.
Newsom and by the way, you have all of the mentions of a new song.
I think there are nine different times it's mentioned in Scripture and every time that it's mentioned is connected with redemption is connected with salvation so that it is salvation that produces a new song I can illustrate that to you so graphically by having you look with me at the Psalms for just a moment in Psalm 40 it says in verse two he brought me up out of a horrible pit out of the miry clay he set my feet on a rocky establish my goings and as a result of such a glorious salvation. He put a new song in my mouth to see you go further into Psalms and Psalm 96 in verse 10 sing out of the Lord a new song sing of the Lord, all the earth sing unto the Lord, bless his name show forth his salvation.
Again, it is the song of salvation in verse one of chapter 98 Psalm 90 80 sing on the Lord a new song why verse two. The Lord has made known his salvation. You find it, even at the end of the Psalms. Psalm 144 has it in verse nine. I will sing a new song under the Psalm 149 verse one sing on the Lord a new song always. This song is connected with redemption. That's the whole essence and finally, I love it. In Revelation 59 it says and they sang a new song and what was the new song worthy is the Lamb really because he has redeemed us out of every tribe and nation people and tone is always the song of redemption was the beloved. If there is anything new in the Christian life is a new song is the song of redemption born out of the indwelling Spirit of God breaks forth in praise from the joy that is there when were controlled by his spirit. We have been redeemed and that's given us a song in the spirit of God when he controls our life because of that song to break forth Moses song was a song of redemption written Exodus 15 got it taken Israel out of Egypt. That's a picture of a redemption in the senses and it brought them through that see when it was parted and then drown Pharaoh's army. The first thing they did when I got on the other side. Exodus 15 the whole company of Israel got together and they sang the song of Moses and then there was the time when God delivered Israel in Judges chapter 5 by the hand of those two wonderful people. Deborah and Barrack and you have the first duet in the Bible Deborah and Baruch Judges chapter 5 sang a duet, a duet of redemption how God spared his people so it goes.
Song is the song of the redeemed song of those whom God has wondrously delivered from bondage from sin from trouble. Love you know that that God is love his music. I mean, he just loves the angels sang before the fall in heaven forever.
In the end is going to be filled with singing. He just loves music you in the Old Testament just give you some information about it in the Old Testament there were 38,000 individuals who ministered in the temple 38,000 4000 of them were musicians. That's almost 1/9. God loves music. You know that in Exodus chapter 15 verses 20 and 21 we have the first women's chorus is right.
You know the conductor Miriam. She started a women's chorus. You know something you know the first men's chorus I could find is a first end of chapter 10 verse five it was made up by the prophets, the prophets all got together and had a men's chorus. They had a congregational singing first Chronicles 13 in verse eight says the whole people sang in Congregational praise and instruments and I love this and they sang with all their might. It says listen. The Bible says God likes it allowed not raucous but praises fitting to him and he likes it that way in first Chronicles 16, four and five.
David's instituted a acquire in David was a master musician was any you can imagine what kind of acquire.
That was you know that in the Solomon's Temple and first Chronicles 23 five. It tells us that Solomon had acquire a 4000 voice what acquire that must imagine hearing 4000 trained people saying when Ezra talks about rebuilding the temple you know and Zerubbabel came back and they had a smaller one in the country had been through the terrible Babylonian captivity.
One of the first things I did as a chapter 2 they got acquire it at 200 people, but it was acquire.
You know that the Levite some of the priests were trained to be skillful musicians listen people. If you have children that have any propensity toward that goal.
You challenge them in that direction. Make them be skillful because they help the rest of us express our praise. You see, Nehemiah chapter 12 there was antiphonal singing, which apparently is one of God's favorite times we get one choir over here one quiet over here and they sing at each other.
God likes that initially wine a few minutes. They had instruments. I'm not an expert in this, but I did find these things in the Bible string instruments and wind instruments and even drums.
So you're going over that of the Bible. There are drums in a bottle. There are also other membrane member phones with a comet membrane kind of drums, and some of them were handheld and they were beaten that way there timbrel and bells of the things that fit into the precautionary, but of the string instruments. There was the Azor which is like a heart. There was the dulcimer which is struck rather than plot. There was the Hartford South. There was the sacrament, which was a liar.
Large handheld kind of thing. There will wind instruments trumpet or cornet, a flute, a pipe organ and for people were to go with the notes, there was a ram's horn just to get in there and blow safe and there were all of these kinds of thing because praise to the Lord was fitting in music was the way that the soul could release its expression. And when you come to the New Testament is little different New Testament does teach the use of instrumental music. But you know what the Lord's table. The last thing they did before Jesus went out to be taken captive and to be tried and crucified. It says in the last thing they did after the Lord's supper. They sang a hymn sing the disciples got together and say in acts chapter 4, I believe we have one of the early hymns. I believe we have one of the early hymns of the church saying all these believers got together and verse 24 they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and they said, and then they go they take off on the say well how could a hold of people all say the same thing unless they knew the word right, and they all say Lord our God. It was made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them, and so forth all the way down to the soak we would have some texts, no doubt in the New Testament of hymns. They say what were Paul and Silas doing prison singing worked, singing in first rent is 14. The apostle Paul was trying to correct the singing of the Corinthians, and he said look you sing with the spirit, but you also sing with what the understanding he says when you come together every one of you has a song that's too much. You don't want eight people singing solos all the same time. That's a little difficult to handle. So you gotta get it all ordered out. But there was music always with God's people. Now you know something when Jesus comes back, he's going to set up the millennial kingdom. Write a 1000 year reign on earth.
The cursor be reversed and that's when the Angels are going to sing again and everything in the world to be wonderful he's gonna rain as the Prince of peace.
And you know one of the first things is going to do is construct the temple in the millennial kingdom. Now Ezekiel describes the details of this temple in Ezekiel around chapter 40 following. He gives us a description of the temple. The Lord is going to construct to glorify him in the millennial. One of the most fascinating things about it is that fit in that Temple God is going to build a huge choir loft, you know that in the millennial temple there will be acquire. It gives the dimensions one on one side, one on the other seems to indicate that will be in antiphonal choir.
There will be one element over here and one element over here and the things described in it is so huge that it could easily encompass thousands of people in both chambers singing back and forth. Now that's how God feels about music and I want to take the time to go into that. Just to let you know that God loves music.
But he loves music that reflects the new song of redemption music that comes out of a spirit filled life. That's what he looks now in the future, tells us all about the singing. If you go all the way over to Revelation chapter 14 and you find it to their voices break forth in this wonderful wonderful choir is the choir and I want you to see what acquire this first one it says and I looked in Lola Lamson on Mount Zion and within the hundred 44,000, having his father's name written in their foreheads and I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters and like the voice of a great thunder.
I heard the voice of the harpers harping with their hearts and they saying as it were a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders, and no man could learn that song but the hundred and 44,000 who were redeemed from the earth. Listen to have 144,000 voice choir with heavenly Hartford mandala was was chapter 15 tells about another thing, same thing. Chapter 15 verse three again same idea what was saying were saying God loves music.
God loves music that rightly reflects him both in the vehicle and in the content. Let's look back at Ephesians 5 that was all just kind of digression but look at Ephesians 5 now when spiritual people come together.
This is the way the church functions when spiritual people come together. First of all we are saying that's the expression of what's in us, among whom do we say or write, among whom here's the first answer I want to push the point just want to make speaking to yourselves in Psalm seems to we sing to our selves among ourselves and ultimately verse 19 at the end says to the Lord. So our song is directed among ourselves to the Lord. I want to notice that I really feel this is important to just make this mention that the singing of the saints is always among themselves to God.
That's true all through Scripture you really don't ever find evangelistic music is. I think God can use music to bring somebody to Christ.
I think God can use music to reach a tender heart but I think there's got to be a presentation of the gospel. Somewhere along the line, and maybe the music strikes a responsive chord that brings the reaction. I believe that but music is not primarily designed by God as a tool of evangelism and yet you're always running. It appears there will we have a evangelistic music group. We have a singing group that goes out while I'm not sure that's evangelism now. You may use your visit to get a crowd, but sooner or later you better preach Christ if you want to get a response.
Music is primarily the expression of a spirit filled, and I really don't think people I really don't think that it's for unsafe people to sing our music. I don't think it's for us to use people who don't know the spirit of God who don't know the Christ that is the source of our music to express our music.
I think that's our music and it comes from our hearts so we are to have it among ourselves directed toward the Lord.
That's the primary use of music is to be used in our worship and our corporate sharing in the celebration of our life together in Christ and as a praise to him really not music for the world are on the outside and I think sometimes it's kind of sad when we we we want so much to sing our songs to the world that we take our our songs and we put them in the world's vernacular and then we think that's gonna be evangelistic when really that's not the point for music in the Scripture, so we are to sing among ourselves. It was a sad thing when a church doesn't sink you know the reformers themselves were some of the greatest hymn writers that ever lived. One of the first things the great reformers did was put music back in the church music back for the people to sing because they had been left without that. So when we come to Grace Church. We sing the because that's what spirit filled people do among themselves they saying so it's for us to sing together.
Second question from where what is the song generate what is the point of origination look in verse 19. Again, it says at the end of the verse, singing and making melody using the phrase in your heart. The word herein is not there in the Greek it is implied by the case in which the noun appears, but there is all kinds of possibilities about that case, I dug out my old Greek text this week and just kinda chased around little bit found that it could be a locket to form for you Greek students could be instrumental of means or it could be instrumental of clause. In fact, there is a very similar use in the instrumental of because if it's used that way that it is saying, singing and making melody caused by our hearts to the Lord and that's really the heart of the matter is our song is from our heart love it if it's not in your heart you can't sing it.
Can you can't sing it the way God wants its own member Israel. Israel captured taken to Babylon sad hearts broken how they responded that Psalm 137 one by the rivers of babbling. There we sat down.
Yea we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps on the Willows for their they had carried us away captive required of us a song and they that wasted as required of us. More saying, sing us one of the songs of Zion. How should we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land. They say they hunger harps in the willow. You see, when there was no song in their heart.
It was no song in their voice either. It couldn't sing the couldn't entertain the Babylonians. There wasn't anything there like I have to admire that. Don't you they were going to be hypocrites.
They were going to perform. They were going to be showbiz. There wasn't any song in their hearts was Nissan� Wasn't any music to play. There weren't any harps. They hung them on the woman's if you don't have a song in your heart you can't really sing one with much credibility from� There are people who will sing for money are people who will sing for fame. There are people who will play because of pride they will sing without the spirit they will sing without being spirit filled, but that is not the song the Lord wants to hear. You know that that's the kind song single sing it. If you sing because everybody sings in your bitter toward God and your anger toward God, please don't sing God's want to hear your song or if you have an opportunity to stand up sing a solo or play a song in your heart is not filled with the spirit of God. Don't do that because you want to be hypocritical because our song is the song of the redeemed and the song of those filled with the spirit of God, and remember the word of Amos the prophet who indicted the people of Israel because they kept their singing up even though their hearts were wrong, and in Amos chapter 5, verse 21 God says to the prophet I hate and I despise your feast days, I will not take delight in your solemn assemblies will you offer me burnt offerings and meal offerings all not accept them. Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts take away from me. The noise of your songs. I will not hear the melody of your harps. Let justice run down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. In other words, until you get justice and righteousness are not interested in your music. God wants to hear the song of the redeemed song comes spirit, grace to you with John MacArthur thanks for tuning in today. John is our pastor and author and Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary is good study from Ephesians chapter 5 is titled living in the spirit of John, as you pointed out today. Music can be a form of worship, but it isn't the only form that may surprise some of our listeners who week after week in church.
They hear the singing described as the worship so if music isn't the primary way are the only way that believers worship God.
Is there another form that is well yeah music is simply a means by which a worshiping heart can offer praise to God unequally, and if not even more important way to worship is by obedience. Obedience may be the purest form of worship.
That's a pretty profound thought, yeah, what is it matter if you go into the building, and some races.
Let's worship and you start singing praise to God but your living in sin and disobedience.
That's not worship so music is a means by which we give expression to the praise of our hearts. Worship is a hard experience.
Worship is not external.
In fact, usually the less the internal reality of the more external hoopla for a worshiping heart. You don't need much.
I don't need anybody to make me worship because if it's my heart bubbling over and overflowing, which is what the term really means in its root meaning is just pouring out of me all the time I find myself having a worshiping heart all the time. I love it when I come together with everybody else and all of our worship rises in praise to the Lord, but for me the purest form of worship is obedience. Jesus said this, if you love me, keep my commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments. He doesn't say if you love me sing songs he says if you love me, keep my commandments. So that's the pure form of worship, and that means that I need to love him.
If I'm going to miss commandments that that's that that's a result of loving him so I need to love him more.
I don't need somebody to stir up some external experience.
I need to love him more so how do I cultivate love for Christ. How do I know I do that answer that is good to know them better. You're the first book of yours that I ever edited almost 40 years ago was on worship the ultimate priority, yet still there and it is the ultimate priority.
Cultivate your love for Christ. There's nothing more wonderful than that. That's helpful. John thanks and friend. As I mentioned, you can get John's book on worship. It simply titled worship the ultimate priority in it. John shows you how to make worship part of every aspect of your life even in the work you do throughout the week.
It's helpful biblical insight for new or mature believers to get your copy of worship, the ultimate priority. Contact us today. Call toll-free 855 grace or go to our website TTY.org. This would be a great book to go through with a small group is really nothing more important than knowing how to worship the correctly again to get John's book, worship the ultimate priority call 855 grace or go to GT Y.I also encourage you to visit our website. Have a logical question that you don't know how to answer. Maybe it's about creation or the way of salvation or the supposed contradiction in the Bible no matter what your question is just go to GT Y.org and there you will find sermons, blog articles and devotionals just might answer your question our website. Again, TTY.now for John MacArthur and the grace to you staff on Phil Johnson.
Keep in mind you can watch grace to you television Sundays on DirecTV channel 378 or check your local listings for channeling time and then make sure you tune in tomorrow. John's going to look at the blessings the Holy Spirit gives believers that practical messages part of John's current series living in the spirit. Don't miss another 30 minutes unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on wasting