God wants musicians to FEEL His overwhelming unconditional-love as joy

 

 

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In fact, God has told me several times that the joy that artists and musicians often feel when they are ‘in the zone’ is actually Himself sharing the feelings He has when He creates art and plays, which He has done for eons of time and still enjoys doing.  He shares this with others so that they will wonder where these intense feelings come from, and by this observation they will become more aware of Him.  This is revelation knowledge of Him.  By closely observing His beauty, which we’ve seen is closely related to joy, He hopes will desire to actually experientially ginosko know Him, which is zoe genuine-life.

 

After critically analyzing every bible verse about music, I see absolutely NO emphasis on skill and professionalism, but I do see great emphasis on adoring and praising, boasting and honoring, singing and shouting loudly, playing and dancing, even by spinning around with exuberant, clamorous, uninhibited, glorious, celebratory, child-like joy (a), just as all of nature does (b).  But again, we are to seek “the joy of/belonging-to the Lord” (c) and not try to manufacture it from our flesh’s “might and power” out of some religious duty FOR God or to somehow manipulate God or others. <Notes> a) 1 Samuel 18:16; 1 Chronicles 15:16; Psalms 5:11, 27:6, 63:7, 67:4, 71:23, 81:1, 84:2, 92:4, 95:1, 98:1, 4, 105:43, 149:5; Isaiah 24:14; 35:2, 6, 35:10, 42:11, 51:1, 52:8, 55:12; Zephaniah 3:14; 1 Kings 1:40, b) 1 Chronicles 16:33; Psalms 64:13, 98:12, 98:8; Isaiah 49:13; Jeremiah 51:48, c) Nehemiah 8:10.

 

In fact, all of creation was made so wonderfully beautiful and intriguing so that we would desire to know its creator!  He told me that by just closely observing a beautiful sunset instead of hurrying past it, we could share in His feelings of creating it, and if we do this long enough we will make a connection to Him.  He told me that listening carefully to the beautiful music would result in the same discovery and a deepening fellowship.  Paul said:  “For what can be experientially, relationally known (a) about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For God’s invisible attributes, namely, His eternal dunamis dynamite-like enabling-power and/coupled divine nature, have been clearly noeo perceived-by-the-mind, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made, so they are without excuse.  For although they did experientially, relationally ginosko know God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him” (b).  David said:  “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.  Day after day pours-out/bubbles-up omer speech or Greek: directly-spoken/heard-rhema-words, and night after night reveals gnosis info-knowledge” (c).  “Great are the works of Yahweh, darash/exzeteo searched-out by all who delight in them” (d).  It comes down to what we delight in! <Notes> a) gnostos, adjective of ginosko, b) Romans 1:19-21, c) Psalms 19:1-2, d) Psalms 111:2.

 

Again, the emphasis of these music passages above have NOTHING to do with using human “might and power” or skill to pre-compose a song with or without instrumental accompaniment to honor or glorify God.  But it has everything to do about being spontaneously exuberant, even out of control with great emotion, even looking foolish to others, jumping up inside or on the outside with incredible joy, such the joy of/belonging-to the Lord’s Spirit within us overflows so that we can’t help but give thanks, honor, praise, and glory to God for all that He has done for us and is doing NOW in us!  This certainly may occur when a person first composes a song or plays an instrument under the move of the Spirit because it is “freshly” happening, but after that happens, it is no longer a “NEW Song.”  What makes it kainos/chadash NEW at the present moment is that is “fresh” right then and there!  This is the very definition of spontaneous music.

 

Reflection:

 

 

The “NEW Praise Song” happens right in the moment God hits you with His Spirit!  It can’t be faked ‘in the flesh’ to impress God or anybody else.  It has to come from the heart, not the head!  And because it spontaneously comes from God’s Spirit within you, it is anointed and prophetic by nature!  What is kainos/chadash “NEW” in the song also by definition makes it “superior” to what is palaios “old, dated, ancient, antiquated, worn-out, weak, worthless, and useless” – see New Covenant Ways.  Therefore  prophetic things are what we should strive for foremost over all other grace-gifts of the Spirit, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:1 “I strongly urge you to ongoingly pursue unconditional-love and moreover to ongoingly burn with zeal for the Spirit–kind [grace-gifts], but especially that you may prophesy.”  The Christian musician must keep this goal foremost in mind.  Anything else simply is not anointed, prophetic, even spontaneous music or a “New Praise Song” and will be second in quality and effect.

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, thank You so much for not asking us to try and make better some palaios “old, dated, ancient, antiquated, worn-out, weak, worthless, and useless” thing of the flesh, even if we NOW could do it FOR You.  Thank You for nailing religion to the cross with all of it “might and power” dutiful works.  Thank You for calling us to totally surrender all of this skill and effort to take ‘the same old same old’ and somehow make it different or better, and instead call us to “let go and let God” by “being routinely being filled with Your abundant-fullness by the means of the Holy Spirit” and then let joyful, exuberant, celebratory music just happen “by My Spirit” for this completely-different-in-kind, superior “NEW Praise Song” that is anointed, prophetic, and spontaneous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healing music doesn’t come from skilled musicians but anointed, prophetic ones

 

 

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1 Samuel 16:15-18 says: “And [King] Saul’s servants said to him, ‘Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our king now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is “yada experientially, relationally knowing” or “eido mentally ‘seeing’ to perceive/know” to psalm (a) the kinnowr/kinura 10-stringed harp, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he (the musician) will psalm it, and you (Saul) will be well.’ So Saul said to his servants, ‘Find me a man who psalms yatab/orthos and bring him to me.’”  The servants had one idea and the king another using 2 different sets of words!  Talk about ‘putting words in someone’s mouth!”  <Notes> a) nagan: touch/play a stringed instrument; psallo:  “hit, twang, pluck, or twitch” out a song with/without singing.

 

The servants used the Hebrew word yada in the Qal form meaning “acquainted with or understands or is wise by learning or experience acquired through the senses.”  This the word used throughout the OT (a) for experientially, relationally knowing God, normally translated into Greek ginosko.  This is absolutely not gnosis info-knowledge that only “puffs you up” (b).  I know too many “heady” musicians that can show you every scale but they just don’t have “feel or soul” when they play, and few really know how to “groove!”  Instead, a different Greek word eido is used here, which instead means “eido mentally ‘seeing’ to perceive/know.”  This not something you get from reading a book either, but how prophets would know God and His will – by God putting it into their minds.  “The servants” were thus suggesting to the king that he get a musician who ‘knows his stuff’ either from direct experience, more than just book knowledge.  <Notes> a) Psalms 46:10; Jeremiah 31:34, b) 1 Corinthians 8:1.

 

However, the king wasn’t going to have his servants put words in his mouth!  He used a different Hebrew word yatab in the Hiphil form as in Psalms 33:3 from Joy – BT6, meaning praiseworthily-gloriously-joyfully-beautifully-harmoniously playing” (a).  Like Psalms 33:3 the context of this verse and every other verse concerning music does not support a translation of “psalms well or skillfully,” as too many translations wrongfully imply, but emphasizes the attitude and focus of the players. The Greek word orthos was used to emphasize that the musician was to literally be: “horizontally level or straight or direct,” or figuratively be: “straight up, erect, or upright in character.”  Again, this has NOTHING to do with the externals of skill but the internals of character!  Both translations focus on internal quality of attitude.   <Notes> a) The Hebrew yatab in the Hiphil form means: “1. literally, to make a thing good, right, beautiful, or glorious, 2. figuratively, to cause to be/make happy, glad, or joyful through rejoicing, 3. figuratively, to do good to, deal well or ethically with a person, 4. figuratively, to make successful or effective by doing thoroughly or well.”

 

The servants naturally cared about externals, but the king was concerned about internals.  Instead, the king wanted an “upright (godly), honorable, beautifully-harmoniously-balanced, joyful, praiseworthy” musician that could meet his deeper needs – healing-restoration from God.  So he needed someone ‘straight’ with God or of a character God that could ‘praise.”  And that was David!  And God did!

 

1 Samuel 16:18 continues:  “One of the young [servant] men answered, ‘Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse [David] the Bethlehemite, who is ‘yada experientially, relationally knowledgeable’ or ‘eido mentally ‘seen’ to perceive/know psalming” and the Greek adds “a sunetos man who has ‘connect-the-dots’ understanding,” then the Hebrew text adds: “and mighty valiant man,” and both texts continue:  “a warrior,” and Hebrew biyn ‘mentally distinguished for understanding, diligently/eloquently instructed’ or Greek sophos ‘wise one’ in dabar or logos messages (a) and a man to’ar/agathos handsome/good-beautiful to the sight, and the Lord is im/meta (b) him.’”  <Notes> a) dabar: of words, message, saying, sentence or section of discourse, report, counsel, charge, reason, a way or manner; logos: message content, b) im: equally beside or with; meta: changed afterward after being with.

 

O yes, one servant understood the king this time!  They said David was “experientially, relationally knowledgable or perceiving to know and “a rationally understanding” and “wise, distinguished for understanding one” for “psalming.”  Now we know from 1 Chronicles 15:16-22 and 25:1-8 that the musicians that David would later assign to be like him as “having sunesis ‘connect-the-dots’ understanding” in their playing, were most likely all prophets who got their skill directly from God – see Music-Prophetic and Skill.  Very wisely, “this servant” brought out to the king David’s other admirable qualities:  “courageous warrior, wise speaker, and handsome man” but he saves the best for last, what I believe they wanted the king to remember:  “God was WITH him!”  That was like being a prophet!  I bet that’s exactly what helped Saul make the final decision!  None of those others things would help with his sickness, but surely that would – see Prophetic and Signs, Wonders, and Healing.

 

It should be noted in 1 Samuel 16:23 that AS SOON AS David played, the harmful spirit left Saul and he was refreshed and made well.  Again, it is very unfortunate that many translations have misled readers to think that King Saul wanted just a knowledgeable, skillfully musician, like the servants suggested who consistently focused on external worldly traits that would impress a king.  It’s a crying shame these translations think that the king was just looking for someone who could play “good, well, excellently, or skillfully.”  If that was the case, why would the king state the obvious – why would he even consider a novice?  It’s a given he would be looking for a skilled musician, so why would he ask for this?  These translators have really diverted the reader from the main point – that the king needed an “upright (godly), honorable, beautifully-harmoniously-balanced, joyful, praiseworthy” musician, and that one servant got it exactly right: “that the Lord is im/meta him” as with a prophet!  The king was looking for a miracle and only 1 servant got it right, but it appears many translators got it wrong!

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, even if we are skilled, knowledgable musicians that plenty of bookers and even churches are looking for, that plenty of worldly musicians are, or even if they happen to be “upright (godly), honorable, beautifully-harmoniously-balanced, joyful, and praiseworthy” as many Christians musicians are, if we aren’t going beyond this, we simply aren’t much different than the world, and thus still in the “might and power” of the flesh and palaios “old, dated, ancient, antiquated, worn-out, weak, worthless, and useless” covenant!  That’s where a lot of Christian music is stuck!  These really are all “stones” that are helping build The Great Wall that is quenching the Holy Spirit in the Church.  We must get to the final qualification that actually bring healing, the very definition of soteria salvation:  “the Lord is WITH us” as with prophets!  With anointed and prophetic, even spontaneous music, we can even drive out demonic spirits and heal people!

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, we want to go beyond ‘the same old same old’ that got the Jews nowhere and much of the Church that quenches the Holy Spirit by building The Great Wall between them and You by ‘borrowing stones’ from the palaios “old, dated, ancient, antiquated, worn-out, weak, worthless, and useless” covenant that You replaced by the completely-different-in-kind-superior New Covenant.  We surrender-control of it ALL and not put our trusting-relying-faith solely on Your “by My Spirit” instead of our “by might and power” of external resources and internal abilities like skill.  We know the only difference that will matter when it comes to supernatural healing and enabling-power is have we been really “WITH You” for You to be “WITH us” so that “all things are now possible.”  Help us meno connect and remain connected to You “so that we can indeed bear much fruit.” See A 11-21-2021 Vision about Meno abiding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joyful praise ‘party’ music can even manifest the ‘thick’ presence of God

 

 

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As music ministers, don’t you long for your playing to be such “praise to the Lord” as 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 describes that God’s glory comes in as thick as “a cloud of glory” such that all the other ‘busy-bee Martha-type workers FOR God’ in the congregation (a), can’t even stand up?  I’ve been privileged to be in a few church services that were so abandoned in worship that the preachers wisely sensed in the Spirit that they need not break the flow of the Spirit by adding their ‘two cents worth.’  Yet, I’ve seen prophets be prompted by such intense worship to speak bold, encouraging, and correcting directly-spoken/heard prophetic rhema words directly from God that sent the worship service to an even higher level!  Unfortunately, after one pastor realized he was ‘getting a talking to,’ he soon stopped prophecy in that church all together!  The same thing happened around 200 AD in the Catholic Church as the bishops became increasingly corrupted by the greed and power of the Roman Empire. <Notes> a) In Luke 10:38-42 Martha erroneously thought her waiting on Jesus and the apostles was the “better portion,” but Jesus clearly explained that Mary’s full attention to His “every rhema-word that comes from the mouth of God” that is “our daily bread of zoe genuine-life” actually was.

 

Look what happened in 2 Kings 3:14-15 when the prophet Elisha said, “Bring me a musician” and “When the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him (Elisha) and he prophesied: “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry stream-bed full of pools [of water] . . . filled with water, so that you shall drink . . .” And that’s exactly what happened in some of our worship services!  What was previously “a dry stream-bed” in peoples’ lives became “filled with water so that we could drink” the living waters of the Holy Spirit, being so full we became “drunk in the Spirit.”  It all comes down to being willing to surrender control of our pre-planned programs and schedules, even the prepared pastor’s sermon (a later development in Church history), in a worship service and instead listening watchfully for what the Holy Spirit is doing, and then ‘going with the flow’ instead of interrupting it, which surely grieves the Holy Spirit by forcing our flesh’s “might and power” upon HIM!

 

Read for yourself other verses regarding musicians (a).  There is absolutely no emphasis on ‘external resources’ like quality of instruments, having raised stages, or very expensive sound & lighting setup, nor any emphasis on ‘internal abilities’ individual or collective skill and professionalism, for this is exactly the definition of the Hebrew and Greek of Zechariah 4:6’ “might and power” from the palaios “old, dated, ancient, antiquated, worn-out, weak, worthless, and useless” covenant that was prophesied to be replaced by the completely-different-in-kind-superior NEW Covenant!  <Notes> a) Psalms 81:1-4, 150:3-6; Revelation 15:2-3; Habakkuk 3:19; 1 Chronicles 23:4-5, 6:30-32, 9:33, 13:8, 15:16, 27-28, 16:8-11, 22-24, 32-34, 19:22; 2 Chronicles 9:11, 20:21-22, 23:18, 29:25-30 30:21, 35:15; Genesis 4:20-21; Amos 6:5-7; and Job 21:11-12.

 

God doesn’t care about these ‘resources and abilities’ of man, but all these verses show that God really cares about the internal attitude of the heart directed towards Him that is freely expressed in different ways, using such phrases as:  sing aloud; shout for joy; raise a song; sound out; blow; let everything praise Him; praise Him with; offer praises to the Lord with instruments that I have made for praise; celebrating before God with all their might, with song, and lyres, harps, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets; the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy; with shouting, to the sound of the horn, trumpets, and cymbals, and made loud music on harps and lyres; sing to Him, sing praises to Him.”  Now that is what I call a party!

 

The Christian ‘party’ with music is what Ephesians 5:18-20 (compare Colossians 3:16) is all about – not getting habitually filled-up-by-wine-to-the-point-of-drunkenness but instead habitually getting filled-up-to-completion by the Spirit, speaking to/addressing one another reciprocally with psalms, hymns, and Spirit-kind-of odes (a).”  Sign me up!  Rarely have I seen this enthusiasm in the many churches I’ve attended or played for.  But I’m not the only musician that yearns for this!

 

<Notes> a) odes are psalms or hymns, thus any song with or without instruments.  However, to differentiate from flesh-kind-of odes, Paul says “Spirit-kind-of odes.”  These aren’t pre-planned or pre-composed by secular or Christian artists using their natural, flesh “might and power” skills.  Instead, they are anointed, prophetic odes created “by the Spirit” right then and right there spontaneously.  That’s makes them the completely-different-in-kind-superior chadash/kainos “NEW Praise Songs” of the like-kind chadash/kainos New Covenant.  This is exactly why Paul decided in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 to not only “pray and sing with The nous mind” that is “productive” in creating thoughts that can be expressed with intelligible, understandable words, but Paul will ALSO “pray and sing with THE Spirit” which is “by the means of a [supernatural glossa] tongues” that Paul teaches often is a grace-gift of The Spirit to build up individual believers though if interpreted during assemblies can also build them up like prophecy does.  Again, this comes down to surrendering-control of your mind’s planning, thinking, scheming, rational understanding, and skills to allow the Holy Spirit to take control of your “members,” whether it’s your tongue to speak tongues, your mouth and breath for wind-instruments, your fingers and arms for stringed-instruments and piano, or even legs for the drum-set player.  It really comes down to Romans 6:13 “presenting yourself (the internal) to God . . . and your members (the externals) to God as instruments for dikaiosune divine-approval-righteousness.”  And what could be more “righteous or divinely-approved” than worship when God has your internal and externals, thus your whole self?

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, don’t we want the ‘party’ with the Lord and His people to be more exciting and fulfilling than those in the world that are almost always centered around alcohol and/or drugs?  I’ve been on 15 worship-teams in a LOT of churches, but I’ve also played in 25 secular bands for a LOT of types of this world’s celebrations.  I’d say 80% of the churches are dull and boring compared to the parties the world has!  That’s because 80% of the churches are working really hard FOR God but they aren’t WITH God in His actual presence.  They have solemn, busy, dutiful religion but not joyful, peaceful, overflowing relationship!  And frankly, people in the world have so much more fun in their celebrations they simply aren’t interested in the former.  However, because these worldly celebrations are fleeting and leave the people just as empty and unsatisfied the next day and restless, they are definitely ready for a “WITH God” celebration!

 

There are a lot of Martha ‘busy-bee’ workers FOR God running churches that really don’t know how to lead people into the actual presence of God, basking in the prophetic rhema words of God spoken through Body-Ministry, so they program their services to quickly move from one thing to another to keep the people from getting bored, but actually that’s all they know themselves.  They will never know the completely uncontrollable experience of being controlled by the Holy Spirit and the overwhelming unconditional-love and exuberant joy that comes from this!  They will never really ‘party’ WITH God!  However, people in the world REALLY are looking for this!  The New Covenant came to bring David’s abandonment in worship that is “after God’s own heart” to the Church!

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, we want to ‘party down’ WITH You instead of what the world offers!  Lead us into Your presence and fill us up by Your Spirit. Help us Meet-Up with others who really want this, too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These “NEW Songs” will have you foolishly shouting, jumping, dancing, and spinning

 

 

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As we saw in the last BLOG these “NEW Praise Songs” that are “joyful, glorious, harmoniously beautiful, and praiseworthy” are completely-different-in-kind by the definition of chadash/kainos:  “fresh, completely-different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior.”  Most likely this is what Paul had in mind for Spirit-kind-of odes in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, which are anointed, prophetic, and spontaneous instrumental psalms and acapella hymns.  And we will see they are rowdy!

 

Psalms 98:1-6 “Oh sing to the praise of (a) Yahweh a New Praise Song (b) for He has done marvelous things! . . . Shout/howl joyfully like a battle cry to (c) Yahweh, all the earth; break/burst forth in loud, joyful sound (d) with joyful shouting (e) with “hit, twanged, plucked, or twitched” songs with/without singing (f).”  The Greek has “Sing to the praise of (g) and/coupled jump with exceeding joy (h) and/coupled psalming (i).  Be psalming (j) to Yahweh with the lyre/harp, with the lyre/harp and the sound/voice of psalms (k)!  With trumpet and the sound of the horn, shout/howl joyfully like a battle cry (c) before the King Yahweh.” <Notes> a) shiyr, ado, b) chadash shiyr, kainos atos, c) ruwa’, alalazo, d) patsach, e) ranan, f) zamar, psalmos, g) ado, h) agalliao, i) psallo, j) zamar, psallo, k) zimrah, psalmos.

 

Psalms 149:1-9 “Shine forth clamorous, foolish-looking, boastful, adoring praise to Yahweh (a)!  Sing to the praise of (b) Yahweh a New Praise Song (c), His hymn of thank-offering, honor, or praise (d) in the assembly of the godly!  Let Israel brighten/cheer up/rejoice (e) in their Maker; let the children of Zion spin around with joy/rejoicing (f) or in the Greek: jump with exceeding joy (g) in their King!  Shine forth clamorous, foolish-looking, boastful, adoring praise to (h) or in the Greek: sing praises of thanksgiving to honor (o) His name with dancing, psalming (i) to Him with tambourine and harp/lyre! . . . Let the pious/saints to jump for joy/rejoice (j) in glory; let them shout and jump with exceeding joy (k) [even] while on their sleeping beds.  Let the lifted up praises (l) or height/high things (m) of God be in their throats . . . Shine forth clamorous, foolish-looking, boastful, adoring praise to Yahweh (n)!” <Notes> a) halal YHWH, allelouia, b) shiyr, ado, c) chadash shiyr, kainos atos, d) t’hillah, ainesis, e) samach, euphraino, f) giyl, g) agalliao, h) halal, i) zamar, psallo, j) ‘alaz, k) ranan, agalliao, l) rowmam, m) LXX: uqwseiv, n) halal YHWH, allelouia, o) aineo.

 

Isaiah 42:10-12 “Sing a hymn to the praise of (a) Yahweh a New Praise Song/Hymn (b), His hymn of thank-offering, honor, praise or glorification (c) from the end of the earth . . . let the habitants of Sela lift up (d) [their voices] or make joyful (e), let them exultingly screech or cry out from feeling (f) from the mountain tops.  Let them give glory/honor to Yahweh, and declare His hymn or good tidings/report of thank-offering, honor, or praise (g) in the coastlands.”  <Notes> a) shiyr, humneo, b) chadash shiyr, kainos humnos, c) t’hillah, doxazo, d) nasa’, e) LXX: euphraino, f) tsavach, boao, g) t’hillah, anangello.

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, do we want people to fall asleep in worship service or actually enter into the presence of God with completely-different-in-kind, superior NEW praise songs of the Spirit-kind instead of the flesh-kind?  Then we will have to play anointed, prophetic, and spontaneous songs that are so “joyful, glorious, harmoniously beautiful, and praiseworthy” that they have us “shouting and howling like a battle cry, exultingly screeching or crying out from deep feeling as from a mountain top, jumping with exceeding joy, dancing, and spinning around in such a way that are worship service is clamorous, foolish-looking, boastful, adoring praise to God, just like the little children we are called to be would act in the presence of God?  Sign me up!

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, guide us to Christians who want to actually be in Your presence and surrender-control to You, who are willing to be like a little child with You.  Lord, guide musicians to Meet-Up with each other to play this kinds of anointed, prophetic, and spontaneous songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The “NEW Song” of the NEW Covenant is a completely-different-in-kind-superior Song that is joyful, glorious, harmoniously beautiful, and praiseworthy

 

 

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The anointed, prophetic, and spontaneous music of the completely-different-in-kind, superior chadash/kainos “NEW Praise Song” (a) has nothing to do with our flesh’s “might and power” or skill as too many bibles have mistranslated and preachers have taught, but all about “praiseworthy, glorious, joyful, beautifully, harmoniously playing” (b), even with a loud, shout-like noise!  Let’s look at just one of these verses here, but others are broken down on the New Covenant Ways page. <Notes> a) Psalms 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9, 149:1; Isaiah 42:10; Revelation 5:9, 14:3, b) yatab, kalos – see definitions below.

 

Psalms 33:1-3 “Righteous ones, routinely praiseworthily-gloriously-joyfully-beautifully-harmoniously shout-play (a) in/by/with Yahweh . . . give thanks to (f) Yahweh with the lyre/harp; Be psalming (b) to Him with the harp of 10 strings!  Sing to the praise of (c) Him a NEW (d) Praise Song (e); psalming (b) praiseworthily-gloriously-joyfully-beautifully-harmoniously playing (a) on the strings with loud shouts (g).”  <Notes> a) yatab, kalos, b) zamar; psallo is to play a psalm: “hit, twanged, plucked, or twitched” a song with/without singing, c) shiyr, ado, d) chadash, kainos: fresh, completely-different-in-kind, unprecedented, sharing nothing with its predecessors, unique, and superior, e) shiyr, atos, f) yadah, exomologeo:  hold out or throw your hands to confess, to worship, g) Hebrew t’raw’ah: “clamor – acclamation of joy or a battle-cry, especially a clangor of trumpets as an alarm, loud noise of jubilee – a high or joyful sounding of trumpets; Greek agalliao:“ring out or jumpt with shouts of extreme, triumphant joy/gladness.

 

The Hebrew yatab above in the Hiphil form means: “1) literally, to make a thing good, right, beautiful, or glorious, 2) figuratively, to cause to be/make happy, glad, or joyful through rejoicing, 3) figuratively, to do good to, deal well or ethically with a person, 4) figuratively, to make successful or effective by doing thoroughly or well.”  The Greek word kalos  means: “1) to make beautiful physically or morally, this is distinctly the ‘beauty‘ that comes from harmony or proportional symmetry and thus completeness, or 2) to make excellent in nature or character, thus well adapted for its use, and thus praiseworthy and noble.”  Context always narrows down a word’s meaning!  As you can see from my prophetic rhema above about joy, the Lord has shown me this connection between His beauty and joy before!

 

Sure, it’s possible from the literal meaning of the Hebrew yatab 1) above, the most common use of the Greek kalos 1) above, and overall context being musical performance, that the emphasis is on intensively, intentionally, and routinely playing music “beautifully by playing together with other musicians and/or the choir in unison or proportional symmetry and thus completeness.”  However, there is another possible emphasis based on the most common figurative use of the Hebrew yatab 2) that is consistent with the most common use of the kalos 1), and especially the immediate context of being a loud celebration:  intensively, intentionally, and routinely playing music “happily, gladly, joyfully from a glad heart with loud shout-like celebration.”  Context always defines the meaning of words!

 

Therefore, although the 4) meaning of Hebrew yatab is “to do thoroughly or well” and 2) Greek kalos is “to make excellent in nature or character” resulting in some bibles to translate Psalms 33:1, 3 “play skillfully,” not only is this NOT the dominant meaning of yatab or kalos, it doesn’t fit the context of any ‘music’ verses that use these words (a), and thus more dominantly refers to being glad, happy, or pleased (b), a joyful heart that makes the face cheerful (c) even for healing (d), and having a great celebratory time (e) even the way people feel after drinking wine (f). <Notes> a) Psalms 33:3; 1 Samuel 16:17 – though Isaiah 23:16 could emphasize skill, b) Genesis 34:18, 41:37, 45:16; Leviticus 10:20; Joshua 22:33; 1 Samuel 18:5; 2 Samuel 3:361 Kings 3:10, 21:7; Nehemiah 2:5, Ester 2:4, 9; Psalms 69:31; Judges 18:20, c) Proverbs 15:13, d) Proverbs 17:22; Ecclesiastes 7:3, e) Judges 19:6, 9, 22, f) Ruth 3:7.

 

The context of Psalms 33:3 sure isn’t about personal skill to bring our own selves praise, nor does it even insinuate that our skills bring praise to/for God, but that being made righteous by God’s charis unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace, we shout with chara joy, even throwing up our hands out toward Him in surrendering need of Him like a little child reaching for the unconditional-love of their parent, or bowing before Him in confession of our struggles to worship Him, but also finding freedom we praise Him joyfully in harmony with His Spirit and others in celebration.  We cannot forget the emphasis or thrust of a passage and end up “majoring in the minors.”  The passage doesn’t tell us where the “beauty and joy in harmonious completeness” comes from, but it sure doesn’t imply it comes from hours of practicing with the “might and power” of the flesh.  However, it does tell about our attitude and focus – praising God’s with great joy!

 

Context always defines words!  The next phrase “on the strings with with t’raw’ah or agalliao” tells you exactly the emphasis of how to “play the instruments”, even the ‘strings’ of your vocal chords, for the Hebrew t’raw’ah means: “clamor – acclamation of joy or a battle-cry, especially a clangor of trumpets as an alarm or the loud noise of jubilee celebration, which was a high or joyful sounding of trumpets.  The Greek agalliao means:  “ring out or jump with shouts of extreme, triumphant joy or gladness.”  Clearly this then Psalms 31:3 is referring to “praiseworthily-gloriously-joyfully-beautifully-harmoniously playing together with loud shout-like celebration!”

 

It’s wonderful to see that the Revised New American Bible gives both possibilities of “Play beautifully and joyfully on stringed instruments” and The Voice shows a leaning to the second emphasis: “be bold with your joyful feelings.”  Yes, your attitude is what is in focus here!  However, it is very disturbing that so many other versions go completely in the wrong direction by translating it “Play skillfully” when the context just doesn’t support this.  In a related passage in 1 Samuel 16:7 leading up to v. 17-18, “For Yahweh sees not as man sees:  man looks on the mareh/opsis visual-outward-appearance/look, but Yahweh looks on the heart.”  God is not as concerned about externals but internals.

 

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers correctly explains the phrase “Play joyfully [and/or beautifully in harmony] with loud shouts” is actually a “typical Hebrew expression in common hymn use, describing the full choral-orchestral effect when instruments and voices were joined together in the service of the sanctuary . . . just as kalos  above means ‘beautiful in harmony’ instead of discordantly.”  He cites other examples as Psalm 95:1 “Let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock our salvation” and Psalm 100:1 “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth” and 2 Chronicles 5:13 “The trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, and when the song was raised with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord . . . the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because for the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God,” and finally 2 Chronicles 23:13 “There was the king standing . . . and the trumpeters beside the king, and ALL the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and the singers with their musical instruments leading in the celebration.”  From this analysis, it’s clear that Psalms 33:3 is referring to individual and/or group spontaneous singing and also composed psalms with the choral shouts and instrumental parts playing harmoniously together with jubilee-like, joyful celebration.”  The whole group was bringing the house down!  It is a real stretch to say the emphasis is on individual skill and professionalism that I’ve seen too many try to do when everything in context and comparative verses indicates it was their attitude of joyful celebration together in beautiful harmony!

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, do we want to continue to play old, worn-out songs or a completely-different-in-kind, superior NEW song?  Then we will need to surrender control of our skill to play spontaneously by the Spirit!  That’s the whole point of the NEW Covenant!  All the verses that talk about this do NOT focus on externals at all but the heart of the singers and players being joyful and celebratory, because God is looks at the heart.

 

I’ve played in a lot of big bands with big choirs and to play together with good timing, harmony, and beauty often takes enormous skill.  I’ve seen too many worship-teams take this professional approach when most of them are nowhere near professional in their skill or experience.  This unrealistic expectation just causes tension, frustration, guilt, and resentment – I’ve seen more fleshly behavior in Christian rehearsals than 25 secular bands!  So few musicians know how to “Let God and Let God” the Holy Spirit direct the music to wherever HE wants to go for as long as HE wants to go and supply ALL the skill needed to do it while are hearts are singularly focused on adoring worship.  The few times others have joined in with me were joyful, beautiful, glorious, harmonious, and praiseworthy, but you absolutely didn’t want to stop this supernatural exuberant praise celebration!  This is “worshipping by [singular] Spirit” that Jesus said the Father is looking the earth for!  See Music-Anointing, Music-Prophetic, and Music-Spontaneous music pages.

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, where do we sign up?  I want to meet-up with others that want to leave their resume of skills at the doorway in total surrender and learn how to completely “Let go and let God.”  Bring us together so that Your Church will get back to the anointed, prophetic, and spontaneous worship You have been diligently searching for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should we manufacture this “joyful shout or howl like a battle cry” as our religious duty to God?

 

 

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In many verses these same Hebrew and Greek words from Joy – BT4 for “joyful shout or howl” are used to describe an army’s battle cries!  This kind of behavior is certainly not ‘subdued or solemn,’ so many of our churches would be quite upset if these very loud shouts of joy actually went on, saying “it was not decent and in order,” as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:40 that “all things [in a church service] should be done.”  However, Paul was a Jew that would expect celebratory worship and the context has NOTHING to do with worship but the respectful ‘taking of turns’ in Body-Ministry.

 

You just can’t manufacture this kind of uninhibited exuberance through the emotional “might and power” of the flesh.  I’ve seen so many charismatic churches try so hard to ‘whoop up’ the congregation, but when for a moment they took the loud music and the cranked-up microphones away for the congregation to hear themselves worship, the volume and enthusiasm of the congregation dropped to a whimper – like listening to people after they just got out of bed or after being in the desert starving for a week!  In many churches you could really feel this “spirit of heaviness.”  I have been so many worship-team meetings where they ‘programmed’ the music set list with lots of clapping and moving praise songs first to get them emotionally ‘over this hump’ before actually getting into worship songs.

 

I was recently at a prophetic conference where they tried everything to ‘whoop up’ the congregation into a frenzy but it was very limp!  I begged God to show me what was wrong and He showed me The Great Wall blocking the Holy Spirit’s flow in the Church and reminded me that Jesus said: “The Spirit [in Christians] is actually willing, but the flesh (a) is asthenes beggarly-poor-weak-feeble-impotent” (b).  This feeling I was hearing from the congregation and that I was feeling myself of “asthenes lack of vigor, feeling depleted, frail, feeble, sickly, without adequate strength, and lacking necessary resources” describes “the flesh” trying so hard to do the things of God by it’s “might and power external resources and internal abilities” but coming up short!  So many church services are just that – people doing “works of righteousness” FOR God with their own “might and power,” making it no different than the old covenant or Law of the OT.  <Notes> a) body and soul’s mind, emotions, will – see Identity, b) Matthew 26:41; Mark 14:38; Romans 8:3.

 

Then God really opened my eyes about The Great Wall.  This supernatural celebration of “loud joyfully shouting, praising, ringing out shouts of extreme triumphant joy/gladness, and shouting or howling out joyfully as with battle cries,” which the Hebrew and Greek describe in so many verses, can only occur from mere humans when they are actually in the presence of God.  You just can’t fake this!  A lot of churches rightfully want this, but they simply don’t get into the presence of God, so their worship may be FOR God, but they are not para with/close-beside God.

 

They justify their actions by quoting 1 or 2 verses they think says, “If we ‘sacrificially’ force ourselves to exuberantly praise God, then this will bring us into the presence of God.”  They even say that’s why “praise” is different from “worship,” but the original languages and context make no such distinction and use them interchangeably as synonyms.  They say “praise” should be done first to “wake the people up, and to get them into the presence of God so they can then worship God.”  This is ‘borrowing’ psychology from the world!  And so they have “worship-team planning meetings” to order the songs so that this will happen, and that’s really tough if the pastor only gives you 5 songs because he has to get his sermon in, which will take twice as long, so he can get the congregation out the door in time for lunch, or so that he can do 2 or 3 more services!  This is all flesh!  What they say they have achieved as “the presence of God” is actually emotional hype, or in many churches, no emotion at all except maybe boredom!  I’ve been on 15 worship-teams since 1980 in hundreds of services, so I’m speaking from experience!  But that doesn’t seem to keep them from trying week after week to do this with all their “might and power.”  It becomes their religious duty FOR God to just keep trying the same routine, even if they don’t see any changes in results!

 

Prophetically speaking of Jesus, David sang in Psalms 21:6 “For You make Him most blessed forever; You make sharp to triumphantly rejoice/be joyful (a) Him in/by/with festive-joy-from-grace (b) with the [face of] your presence.”  And prophetically in Psalms 45:7, “God has anointed You with the oil of exuberant, exulting joy/gladness (c) beyond your companions.”  And prophetically in Psalms 16:9-11 “My heart is rejoicing/glad/cheery (d), My tongue (Greek) or My glory/splendor (Hebrew) rejoices (e), My flesh also dwells secure hope [of resurrection from Sheol]. . . . You make experientially, relationally known (f) to Me the path of genuine zoe genuine-life; in your [face of] presence [is] fullness (g) of festive joy (b); at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”  Nehemiah 8:10 tells us how powerfully-enabling this joy is:  “The joy of/belonging-to Yahweh IS-defined-as/exists-as our fortress/rock (i)” in Hebrew or in Greek “endowed strength/power (j).”

 

<Notes> a) chadah: be/grow sharp, rejoice, make joyful; euphraino: have a merry/cheery outlook from inner triumph, b) simchah: joy, glee, gladness, mirth, gaiety, pleasure in festivity; chara: joyful awareness/recognition of God’s charis unconditionally-loving-favor-of-grace, c) sasown: exultation, rejoicing; agalliasis: intense, exuberant joy and gladness, d) samach: rejoice, be joyful, glad, exult or boast in; euphraino: have a merry/cheery outlook from inner triumph, e) gil: go round about with excited levity or joy; agalliao: to have intense, exuberant joy and gladness, f) yada, gnorizo from ginosko, g) soba: abundance; pleroo: filled to completion, h) simchah: joy, glee, gladness, mirth, gaiety, pleasure in festivity; euphrosune: merry/cheery outlook from inner triumph, i) ma’owz – see a vision I had about this on 12-24-2020, j) ischus.

 

Well, we could do a detailed study on all these other words used for joy but I bet we would get the same overall message:  we simply can NOT produce this supernatural joy with our own natural “might and power” and God doesn’t want us to keep trying out of religious duty!  We simply need to acknowledge “The Great Wall” and surrender-control.  We can’t get different results until we do different things!

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, are we going to twist 1 or 2 verses so that we can justify ‘faking it until we make it’ in worship, and thus end up back in the “might and power” religious duty FOR God from the palaios “old, antiquated, worn-out, useless” covenant?  Or are we going to enter into the para WITH/CLOSE-BESIDE God “by My Spirit” completely-different-in-kind NEW Covenant?  If we do the latter, we certainly will NOT be “decent and in order” in our worship but “joyfully shouting or howling as with a battle cry,” maybe so “loudly people can hear us from far away.”

 

Just as we can’t ‘borrow’ the old covenants ‘work FOR God out of religious duty” approach to worship, we also can’t ‘borrow’ the world’s ‘the end justifies the means’ approach by trying to ‘psych ourselves out’ and having worship-teams program the song list using the world’s psychology to emotionally manipulate the congregation into ‘a state of worship.’  Turning the music up doesn’t get people “in the Spirit!” If you have the ‘blues’ and simply can’t find joy in worship, the “sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise” answer of ‘just do it and the feelings will come latter’ is a lie – see Joy – BT1.  This is all still “might and power” flesh that “opheleo oudeis absolutely in fact useless or profits nothing” according to Jesus!  Both of these create The Great Wall to quench the Spirit.

 

No, the answer to the ‘blues’ is to “Worship by [singular] Truth” by totally surrendering our ‘blue’ feelings to the Lord through confession.  It doesn’t cover up evil, but “brings it into The Light of Jesus who is The Truth.”  Yes, we are to “celebrate the festival, but not in possibility with the palaios ‘old, antiquated, worn-out, useless’ leaven, the leaven/yeast of kakia inward-evil/spite/malice-even-if-not-expressed and/coupled poneria ‘pain/evil resulting in hard, menial, or monotonous-work,’ but instead with the unleavened (unmixed with yeast) bread of [singular] pure-sincerity and/coupled [singular] Truth” per Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:8.  We aren’t supposed to “white-wash tombs of dead men’s bones” like the Pharisees who celebrated the Jewish festivals of worship to hide who they really were.  This ‘fake it until you make it’ is repulsive to God – it is religion!

 

In the parable of the soils, Jesus is looking for “a kalos beautiful-harmonic-symmetrical-praiseworthy – 39 translations says honest – and/coupled agathos good-natured-useful heart” and the “kalos beautiful-harmonic-symmetrical-praiseworthy soil” that will then “bear fruit with patient-endurance.”  In other words, Jesus isn’t looking for ‘quick fixes’ that are hide the truth of who we really are with “white-wash.”  Dishonest with God and others is NOT “beautiful nor good.”  <Notes> a) kalos: “1) to make beautiful physically or morally, this is distinctly the ‘beauty’ that comes from harmony or proportional symmetry and thus completeness, or 2) to make excellent in nature or character, thus well adapted for its use, and thus praiseworthy and noble, b) agathos: “good natured, pleasantly joyful, excellent or distinguished and thus useful, upright, or honorable.”

 

The solution to any form of inward evil, including depression and unforgiveness, that blocks our ‘prayers’ and naturally closely-related in meaning ‘worship’ isn’t denial, suppression, masking, deflection, or sublimation as the world teaches, but taking it ALL to the cross for Jesus to destroy the evil by His blood so we can be free from its dominion.  This is brutal honesty and tough love – see Unconditional-love – BT21.  Then having ‘bound the demons’ by nailing their accusations to the cross, we can ‘loose the Holy Spirit’ to fill us with His character to replace our sin.  So by “worshipping by [singular] Truth” through sincerity before Jesus, The Truth, through confession and “cleansing from all unrighteousness,” we can be supernaturally enabled to “worship by [singular] Spirit” – and this is actually “the worship the Father is eagerly seeking.”  The answer isn’t more flesh, but death to the flesh so we can have the Spirit.  If this goes actually goes on in a worship service, a lot of people will be on the floor crying, knocked out by the Spirit for ‘major surgery,’ or when actually filled by the Spirit exuberantly worshipping with loud shouts of joy and wild dancing – just like King David did!  When you have the real thing, there will be A-Z going on during the worship.  You cannot control it, but you can surrender control to it!

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, free us from terrible translations of the bible, terrible doctrines that came from them, and preachers who keep these imprisoning lies going.  Lord, you never promised more holy writings or teaching of them for the completely-different-in-kind, superior NEW Covenant, but You did promise us “One is Your Teacher” Holy Spirit direct teaching of your will to us by prophetic rhema-words.  Lord, we will not hide our feelings from You anymore when we come to You in worship.  We will surrender the truth about how we feel, confess our sin, get cleansed by Jesus, and then relentlessly ask, seek, and knock for your Holy Spirit to routinely fill us with your abundant fullness. And we will hold our hands up to you, even as a little child yearns to be picked up by their loving parent.  Or we will fall flat on our face in confession!

 

We will no longer ‘go along with the crowd’ or insistent ‘whooping-it-up’ cheerleading of the pastor or worship-team and all their emotional gimmicks to produce an ‘end result’ that they desire, but listen to our hearts and present them honestly to You in true repentance and confession.  We will wait with patient-endurance for ‘the real thing’ – zoe genuine-life to come from You.  We will no longer play the game of ‘fake it till you make it’ or ‘just do it Nike’ commercials preached to us from the pulpit!  We will no longer play along with their mass psychology/sociology manipulation.  We aren’t going to ‘blend in’ any longer!  We are going to be honest before You and others – no more white-washing of our tombs of dead bones.  We will cry out to You in supplication and confession and then patiently wait, knowing that when You come then we will genuinely worship because we will have zoe genuine-life by the means of Your Spirit!  Lord, we want to adore You.  Free us so that we can adore You more and more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What does it mean to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord” in worship?

 

 

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Many of our English bibles say “joyful noise” or something tame like “let us sing” or “sing aloud” or “sing for joy” or “heartily sing” or “cry out,” but the original Hebrew and Greek words are so much more intense!  Some do at least get the idea of “shouting” right, but The Passion Translation was closer with “shout our loudest praises to God” or Christian Standard Bible “shout joyfully,” and surprisingly the Message Bible nailed it with “raise the roof!”

 

Psalms 95:1-6 actually says, “Come, let us joyfully shout/praise (a) to Yahweh; let us shout out/howl joyfully like a battle cry to (b) the Rock of our salvation!  Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout out/howl joyfully like a battle cry to (b) Him with ‘hit, twanged, plucked, or twitched’ songs with/without singing (c)!  . . .  Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before Yahweh, our Maker!”  This celebration comes from actually being in the presence of God, and we can enter into this with gratefulness!  <Notes> a) Hebrew: ranan; Greek: ainos, b) ruwa’, alalazo, c) zamiyr, psalmos.

 

Psalms 100:1-2 is identified as “a thanksgiving/acknowledgment psalm (a):  Shout out/howl joyfully like a battle cry to (b) all the earth.  Worship/serve/be subject to the Lord with gladness/joy/mirth (c). Enter before Him with ringing shouts of extreme, triumphant joy/gladness (d).  I don’t believe this verse is teaching us to be fake with God.  If we feel in the dumps, we can surrender in confession this to Him and also surrender “these member(s) of our body to God as instruments for righteousness” (e), in this case our mouths for shouting, joyful praise! <Notes> a) Hebrew: zamiyr; Greek: psalmos, b) ruwa’, alalazo, c) simchah: joy, glee, gladness, mirth, gaiety, pleasure in festivity; euphrosune: merry/cheery outlook from inner triumph, d) r’nanah, agalliasis: Luke 1:14, 44; Acts 2:46; Jude 1:24; Hebrews 1:9, e) Romans 6:13.

 

1 Chronicles 15:16 says: “[King] David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy (a).”  I long for those days! <Notes> a) simchah: joy, glee, gladness, mirth, gaiety, pleasure in festivity; euphrosune: merry/cheery outlook from inner triumph.

 

Job 38:7 says: “The morning stars joyfully shouted/praised (a) in a united chorus, when all the sons/angels of God shouted out/howled joyfully like a battle cry (b)” or in the Greek “with great voice all My angels praised Me.”  Man, I can’t wait to see this!  <Notes> a) ranan, aineo, b) ruwa.

 

Psalms 66:1 is a song (a) [or] psalm (b):  Shout out/howl joyfully like a battle cry (c) unto Elohiym all you lands.”  <Notes> a) shiyr, atos, b) zamiyr, psalmos, c) ruwa’, alalazo, d) Elohiym:  plural in number for rulers, judges, superhuman beings including gods, the Godhead, and angels.

 

Psalms 47:1 says, “All you nations, clap your hands!  Shout out/howl joyfully like a battle cry (a) to Elohiym in celebration.” a) ruwa’, alalazo.

 

Psalms 81:1-2 to another chief musician:  “Joyfully shout/praise (a) or in the Greek: “Ring out shouts of extreme, triumphant joy/gladness (b) unto Elohiym our strength; Shout out/howl joyfully like a battle cry (c) to Elohiym of Jacob.  Lift up a psalm (d) and/coupled give/set/play the tambourine, the sweet sounding lyre with the 10-stringed harp.”  There are other similar verses:  Zephaniah 3:14; Isaiah 16:10, 44:23; Ezra 3:11; Zechariah 9:9.  <Notes> a) ranan, b) agalliao, c) ruwa’, alalazo, d) zamiyr, psalmos.

 

1 Samuel 4:5 says Israel “shouted out/howled joyfully like a battle cry” (a) or in the Greek: “screamed or cried from the depth of the throat (b) so loudly that the ground shook!  In Ezra 3:13 this was so loud that “the sound was heard a long way off.”  <Notes> a) ruwa, b) alalazo.

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, isn’t it too bad that so many English bibles water down the meaning of the original languages and in many cases are so misleading – see Bible Info?  Like “let us sing.”  It actually means “to shout or howl joyfully as with a battle cry” while singing, clapping, and playing instruments loudly with festive joy – so loud that it could be heard far off!  Now that is what I call a rowdy celebration!  No wonder so many of our churches are boring!  Maybe the problem is that so few churches actually experience the presence of God!  So of course, they are going to be bored!  So many people in churches fight to keep from falling asleep.  Blah, blah, blah they go on and on with so many empty words, as if the monologue sermon is the main point of coming together, even though you can’t find that anywhere in the NT or early Church history!  One pastor would just read from his iPad.  I thought I would die – worse than my monotone high-school geography teacher!

 

The early Church until 70 AD was mostly Jewish and according the Alfred Edersheim, after scripture was read by a person, there was ample opportunity for dialogue and discussion.  Still by 150 AD we don’t see any sermon mentioned by Justin Martyr, only that readings were done by “the president” of the assembly.  But once the secular Roman Empire merged with the Catholic Church around 300 AD, the bishops, and soon only one, controlled ALL the speaking in the Church, so that Rome could have complete control!  There really needs to be a reformation, especially when you see what the NT says congregations should be doing “when you come together” – it’s called Body-Ministry!

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, we are tired of snoozing in church services, rushing through 4 songs so we can listen to a long boring sermon and looking at our watch thinking about lunch!  Lord, we are tired of announcements taking up more time than worship!  We are tired of all the loud worship bands drowning out the congregation.  I’m tired of a revivalist playing “the sounds of revival” and then when the congregation couldn’t reach that in 10 minutes, turn up the recording thinking that would help!  I’ve seen so many people put tissue in their ears to keep from going deaf, when they can’t even hear the person next to them singing!  And if the band suddenly stops, you hear a whimper from the congregation – this shows you exactly how “in the presence of God they really are.”  Pitiful!

 

Lord, we are tired of feeling like we have to force ourselves to worship, because our flesh could care less, and it seems the pastor can’t wait for it to get over so he can speak for at least twice as long.  It’s almost as bad as watching Joe Biden check his watch every time the casket of a Marine is unloaded from the plane, Marines that got killed because of his botched military planning, though he boasts in his great foreign policy.  Lord, I can’t watch pastors and people looking at the watches any more in so many worship services.  God, help us!

 

Lord, all we care about is really experiencing Your presence!  Lord, teach us how to completely surrender our plans and schedules, and instead pursue You with everything we have – and meno REMAIN there UNTIL You break through the demonic walls of apathy, depression, and distraction.  We cancel those religious spirits that will keep us busy talking or moving instead of abandoning ourselves in utter pursuit of You. See A 11-21-2021 Vision about Meno abiding.

 

We can’t wait for Your presence to actually show up so churches can stop “faking it until they make it” by “programming worship services” ahead of time – I’ve been in so many of these meetings – to use mass psychology and sociology to manipulate emotions toward a desired experience.  Lord, save us from these worldly methods to achieve a desired end.  Save us from the “might and power” of the old, religious covenant and bring us to the “by My Spirit” of the completely-different-in-kind, superior NEW Covenant!  Save us by breaking through all The Great Wall quenching the Holy Spirit, especially by bringing us back from ‘the one man show’ and their ‘golden monologue” to Body-Ministry by the enabling-power of the Holy Spirit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joy in my Spirit-baptisms, dreams, visions, and prophetic rhema words

 

 

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The consistent experience I’ve had from many Spirit-baptisms was that immediately after getting just overwhelmed with unconditional-love, I soon experienced profuse tears of joy for such non-judgmental, totally-accepting, undeserved, unearned, unmerited, unconditional-loving-favor-of-grace.  And sometimes, I just wanted to run down the street shouting the praises of God I was so happy!  See the Spirit-baptism page for my experiences.

 

Once while jogging around the park in the summer while proseuchomai conversationally-praying by the Spirit, which is by the grace-gift of tongues (a), I was trying to get to a stand of weeping willow trees to cool down.  As I got near it they appeared to be extra bright, almost as if the leaves were mirrors and the sun was reflecting off it with sparkles.  I thought maybe I was getting heat-stroke!  I looked at them closer, and in the air between between me and them I saw what looked like a small soccer-ball sized piece of fruit somewhere between an orange and grapefruit in color – see Unconditional-Love – BT3.  Man, was I freaking out!  Especially when I saw the words in my mind, “Take and eat!”  <Notes> a) 1 Corinthians 14:2, 4, 9, 14-15, 18, 26, 39, cf. Ephesians 6:18, Jude 1:20.

 

So I literally reached out, grabbed it, and took a bite.  I was immediately overwhelmed with unconditional-love, but after awhile after having surrendered-control more I started crying with immense joy!  Then when I could finally catch my breath, a great peaceful-rest came over me and I was as calm as a sea of glass.  I had absolutely no worries!  And I had so much energy I thought I could run 10 miles!  Then I came near the shade of the trees, still in wonder about the reflections of the leaves.  Then suddenly hundreds if not thousands of monarch butterflies flew out of the trees into the sky.  This was other-worldly!  I got into the shade where the park’s lake was and saw a big goose floating on the water.  I looked at him and said, “Does all of creation praise the Lord with the joy I feel right now?”  I was truly bubbling over with great exultation or glory for God.  I was full of energy!  I almost started dancing up and down in the park!

 

The goose immediately sat up out of the water with his feet barely in it, doing so by flapping his massive wings, and he continued in this position for 15 seconds I bet – a really long time!  It was so obvious the answer was “Yes!”  I will never forget that afternoon!  I understood then that worship is “true worship” WHEN you are “worshipping by [singular] Spirit,” just as Jesus said the Father was looking for (a).  It was WAY different than most church services I’ve had to sit through!  I’ve played drums for 15 churches and only 1 or 2 were this free to worship, and even in those I didn’t witness much abandonment either!  <Notes> a) John 4:23-24.

 

I once had a vision of a kid building a sand castle on the beach, his father watching with a smile as his son was lost in the joy and fascination of his project.  When I looked back it was me playing my drums all those years as a kid and I saw The Father’s smile of pleasure!  However, throughout much of my childhood, even though I could feel intense joy and success in my drumming through so many bands from the time I was in 7^th grade, I didn’t know it was God’s joy and success but claimed it for myself.  It’s only been the last few years that I became aware that it was God’s joy He was sharing with me and that He was calling me into deeper fellowship through this.  See Spirit-Practice-Drums – BT4 with the video “Keep the Joy in the Journey or end up with an Urn full of ashes” and Spirit-Practice – BT1.

 

On 8/5/2016 I had a God-dream:  I was ‘in joy’ playing my childhood drum-set in my childhood home’s carport.  As I was, I saw what looked like a colorful butterfly shining like the sun, coming into the carport, being attracted to my drumming.  It was mesmerizing and I just wanted to watch it.  It landed on a cymbal and I was compelled to play on it.  Now I had mallets and I felt compelled to roll on it.  I felt a kid-like joy!  Then it moved to a tom and I felt compelled to play on it.  More joy!  It just kept moving and I kept chasing it.  We were like 2 kids playing a “cat and mouse” chase and I started laughing more and more – I didn’t want the game to stop, I was having the best time!  Also, I was absolutely amazed at the skill of the drumming – I was watching myself in awe as the Holy Spirit took control/mastery of me.  Kids have a lot of fun with the Lord – see Least Among You – BT12!

 

In one vision, God said to get up out of my bible study chair, walk away from my study desk, and open the door in front of me, who I knew was Christ and go outside. When I did I saw the bluest sky, greenest vegetation, and brightest flowers ever, and sparkling bread floating down from heaven like floating diamonds and I was filled with incredible joy!

 

I remember a dream where I saw people from another country playing on hand-drums, and without knowing their language, I joined in and we were massively filled with joy by the Holy Spirit and I felt as if we were a big family.

 

 

 

 

Then there was the time I was in the backyard just feeling grateful for all the music experiences I’ve had growing up and in my career – see About-Resumes.  Then I noticed a bunch of birds on my 3 power/cable lines across my backyard, and from the angle I was sitting they formed a perfect staff of music, and the birds were forming a rhythm I immediately recognized as “shave and a hair cut,” so I had to laugh.  Then I noticed that the lines and the rhythmic tune was leading right to my drum room!  When I did, I got massively filled with joy by the Holy Spirit with many tears.

 

The Lord has also spoken directly to me prophetic rhema words about sharing in fellowship with Him the joy of watching Him paint a beautiful sunset, the joy of practicing drums like He feels when He still creates beautiful music, the crests of joy and swells of peaceful rests like ocean waves that I’ve felt while playing spontaneous music by the Spirit with a few musicians that actually know how, the joy of showering my plants with water like He feels when sending rain, the joy of seeing the beauty of bright yellow flowers in my yard or on walks or on the walls and ceilings of my sleeping room – maybe because I’ve had visions of bright-yellow gold rain from the Holy Spirit – see 1-25-21 vision, 1-23-21 revelations about colors, 12-20-20 vision, and the joy of listening to birds sing so many beautiful songs, which He created for them to make music. One time while Spirit-practicing-drums, God said:  “Tension is evil.  It is work.  It is striving.  Rest and let the skill come to you.  I will give to you what others run after, if you will rest in Me and stay in My joy!”  Sometimes, these experiences of joy have taken my breath away, oftentimes with tears, and sometimes with shouts of praise and leaps of joy!

 

The Lord also showed me that visual and sound beauty and joy are very related to one another, just as St. Francis was reported to have praised “The Artist” in every one of his works:  “Whatever he found in things made, he referred to ‘The Maker.’ He rejoiced in all the works of the Lord’s hands, and with joyful vision saw into the Reason and Cause that gave them life.  In beautiful things he came to know ‘The Beauty’ itself.  They cried out to him, ‘He who made us is infinitely good.’”  I’m looking forward to exploring more of this and more kinds of this also!

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, don’t we want worship music to come from the Spirit and not our flesh by our own “might and power?” That is “worship by [singular] Truth” that the Father is searching the earth for per John 4:23!  Then we will have to be “routinely filled-to-completion with the abundant-fullness of God by the means of the Spirit” according to Ephesians 3:19 and 5:18 – we will need more Spirit-Baptisms!  Only then we will play with great skill and be filled with Unconditional-Love that reflects Himself as Joy and Peaceful Rest.  Don’t we want this for ourselves and those we play music for?  The little children that we are to “become like” for God’s “kingdom to come and His will to be done” know how to learn while they are ‘in joy’ playing and the Lord loves to play with them!

 

Our word “Enjoy” is like the biblical word “Rejoice.”  The Greek preposition En means “inside or within, by the means of, or with the company of” and the Lord showed me that all of this is true when it comes to Him!  Joy comes from within, by the means of the Holy Spirit, because we are in the company of the Lord, so “para with/close-beside God all things are possible.”  Yes, even if we are depressed, when we get into God’s presence the Holy Spirit within us will change this to Joy!

 

So, when you see the word “Rejoice” in the bible, don’t think this means to conjure up our “might and power” and ‘psych ourselves out’ to muster up Joy.  No!  It means the opposite:  Totally surrender-control of our ‘weakness’ of depression to the Lord, boldly and relentlessly aiteo ‘ask’ and zeteo ‘diligently-seek or crave,’ and persistently knock on God’s door for His attention just as a little child would, UNTIL you are in His glorious presence and are Spirit-baptized and filled with God’s JOY!  Now you are “inside of Joy as He is within you, filled by the means of the Holy Spirit, ‘with or close-beside’ the Lord.”  That’s what “Enjoy” is supposed to mean, for “The Joy of the Lord is your strength” per Nehemiah 8:10.

 

I’ve also been told by the Lord to watch or listen very closely to beautiful creation whether sunsets, flowers, birds, plants, rain, or music, because if you do long enough, the Lord will reveal Himself to you – the Joy that you feel from Beauty is actually Him sharing Himself with you so that you can experientially, relationally ginosko know Him better.

 

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, we need You so much!  All our “might and power” of the flesh can’t give us the zoe genuine-life we are all looking for, just in the wrong places.  That’s because it is Your Unconditional-Love we seek but we don’t know it.  When we look elsewhere we just live frustrated lives, like all those scientists looking for “the unifying theory” in all the wrong places!  The happiness or Joy and Peaceful-Rest we seek is not ‘out there’ somewhere in creation, but is but one of many facets or flavors of “the singular fruit of Your Spirit that is-defined-as/exists-as Unconditional-Love.”  Lord, we ‘ask, seek, and knock’ for You alone!  Everything else is IN YOU.  We want to be IN Love with You, IN Joy with You, and IN Peace with You.  Even self-control, mastery, or skill is IN You – Your Unconditional-Love.  Baptize or fill-to-completion us with Your abundant-fullness by the means of the Spirit over and over again until “the kingdom of God is within” and it really has “come on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agalliao leaping for joy is also from the Holy Spirit

 

 

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Another NT Greek word agalliao that comes from agan “much, very” + hallomai “jump, leap”, together means “getting so experientially glad or joyful that you jump in celebration, or even exult/boast in the Source of such an intense emotion.”  After Elizabeth was pleroo filled-to-completion by the means of the Holy Spirit (a) and prophesied with a loud voice over Mary’s baby Jesus in her womb, who then leaped inside her, Mary then megaluno ‘enlarges, magnifies, highly-esteems, boasts-in, exalts, extols, lauds, celebrates with glory and praise’ the Lord and/coupled her spirit agalliao joyfully leaps/exalts in God my Savior (b).  <Notes> a) see Spirit-Baptism, b) Luke 1:40-48.

 

The only other time it says that Jesus had this agalliao joyful leap was after the 72 disciples Jesus had sent returned with chara joy (a) because the devils were subject to them through Christ’s name/authority for divine healing.  Jesus reaffirmed their delegated authority for healing and their safety.  Jesus said, “Instead, [I urge you to] do not in possibility ongoingly chairo be joyful/delightful (a) that the spirits are subject to you but rather [I urgent you to] ongoingly chairo be joyful/delightful (a) because your names are written in heaven. In that very time, Jesus actually, definitively/wholly agalliao joyfully leaps/exalts by the means of the Holy Spirit, and praised the Father that “You have kept hidden these things from the ‘sophia wise and sunesis understanding ones’ but instead revealed them to little children. Yes!  Father, for to do thus was well pleasing before you” (b) – see The Least Among You.  <Notes> a) chara joy is defined as the awareness of charis unconditionally-loving-favor-of-grace, b) Luke 10:17-21.

 

Jesus did say that even Abraham was eido mentally ‘shown’ to perceive/know the coming of Jesus and that’s when he was chairo glad/joyful, but he also agalliao joyfully leaps/exalts (a).  After the jailer and family were water-baptized after hearing the gospel logos message from Paul and Silas, “they agalliao joyfully leaped/exalted having already had [with ongoing results] trusting-relying-faith in God with all his household” (b). <Notes> a) John 8:56, b) Acts 16:30-34.

 

Peter uses both chara and agalliao:  God “has given us a new birth into a living hope . . . into an inheritance . . . it is reserved in heaven for you, which is kept-guarded by the means of [singular] enabling-power of God through-the-realizing-channel-of trusting-relying-faith toward-reaching salvation to be revealed in the last time. In/by/with this you presently agalliao joyfully leap/exalt, although you are now having to suffer for a short time in various trials in order that the dokimion tested/proven genuineness of your trusting-relying-faith, more precious than gold, this routinely apollumi being permanently destroyed through-the-realizing-channel-of fire though routinely being dokimazo refined-to-pass-the-test-as-genuine [so that it] may be heurisko discovered-after-searching [that it is] toward-and-reaches epainos praise and/coupled glory and/coupled honor when Christ is revealed. [Until then], although you have absolutely in fact not horao observed/perceived-known/discerned Him [as many Jews who physically saw Jesus], you actually, ongoingly are unconditionally-loving Him and/coupled although you are not in possibility now routinely horao observed/perceived-known/discerned Him, you nevertheless are routinely having trusting-relying-faith, agalliao joyfully leaping/exalting with inexpressible chara joy/delight and/coupled already have been [with ongoing results] routinely been rendered/esteemed glorious” (a).  But for now Peter urges these persecuted Christians to “actively be chairo joyful/delightful inasmuch as you are presently fellowshipping in Christ’s sufferings in order that when His glory is revealed you may passively become chairo joyful/delightful, routinely agalliao joyfully leaping/exalting (b).” <Notes> a) 1 Peter 1:4-8, b) 1 Peter 4:13.

 

Revelation 19:7 also uses both of these words, words shouted by a great sea of Christians at the wedding of the Lamb to His Bride of Christ, the Church.  They shouted “actively be chairo joyful/delightful and/coupled passively become chairo joyful/delightful and/coupled give definitively/wholly give honor to Him!”

 

Reflection:

 

 

As Christian musicians, can you see how joy, even leaping with joy, comes from the realization of God’s unconditionally-loving-favor-of-grace, and that this realization is the work of Spirit-baptism or filling, often followed by grace-gifts like revelation and prophecy, and closely associated to magnifying/celebrating, praising, and glorifying the Lord?  These aren’t decisions or actions based on gnosis bible knowledge, but actual experience of the Holy Spirit, experiencing the presence or glory of the Lord that glorifies us!

 

Prayer:

 

 

Lord, fill us to completion with Your abundant-fullness by the means of the Holy Spirit so that we will overflow with joy from your grace, even shouting and leaping with joy as we magnify, celebrate, praise, and glorify you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Striving in the flesh versus receiving joy from the Spirit

 

 

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Evidently you can do any ministry in the flesh of “might and power!”  So Hebrews 13:17 implies that “chief-leaders (a) that keep attentive watch over others (b) need to be able to do this with chara joy (c) instead of with complaint/groaning.”  1 Peter 5:2 is addressed to shepherd-overseers:  “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking oversight, not by constraint/compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you – not for gain, which is shameful, but eagerly.” <Notes> a) hegeomai, b) the overseer or shepherd does this, c) awareness of charis unconditional-favor-of-grace.

 

But Solomon asks:  “What has a man from all the toil and striving (a) of heart/mind with which he toils beneath the sun?  For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation (b).  Even in the night his heart/mind does not rest (c).  This also is vanity!  There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.  This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?  For to the one who pleases Him God has given sophia wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God.  This also is vanity and a striving after wind” (d). <Notes> a) longing, vexation, anxiety, restlessness, b) provocation, grief, frustration, c) find quiet and peace to slumber or sleep, d) Ecclesiastes 2:22-26.

 

Peaceful rest, repose, stillness, quietness, and joy are grace-gifts of God, because they are the nature of God’s own Spirit.  They come from taking a break or mini-vacation, like Psalms 46:10 says, from our busyness and toil – including work to “please” God – and the stress, soreness, frustration, and grief that often comes from it, and instead leaning against, trusting, or having trusting-relying-faith in our fellowship with Christ.