Raising the Dead

First Thessalonians 4:16b “…and the dead in Christ shall rise first.”

Many of our churches today seem to be trying to win this race. They want to be first in the resurrection so they remain dead! But it’s high time we woke up! We will not reach our generation if we remain lifeless. It’s time to wake the dead.

How do we wake the dead? How do we take a meaningless repetition of old songs, an offering, and a message and transform it into an energetic time of worship and praise of our God with a relevant message? It all hinges on one aspect of the service—the music.

Music sets the mood for the service and the overall effectiveness of the message. Music is such a powerful tool. And it is just that—a tool. God gave us music to praise Him. Yes, man has distorted that tool, but man has distorted just about everything God has given us. So instead of throwing out all music because some is bad, we must use the tool correctly.

Example. If I set a hammer before you and asked you what it’s used for, you would probably say to pound in nails, hang pictures, etc. But what if I told you I found that hammer at the scene of a violent crime and that it had been used to commit a murder? Would you outlaw all hammers because one had been misused? Follow me here.

Okay the parallel. God has given us music as a tool and because some of it is being misused, we automatically label any type of music with a beat as bad. The beat in music is not bad. Gasp. Yes, stay with me. What the beat causes you to do and the spirit it creates in you makes it either good or bad. If it causes you to think wrongly, lust, or sin, then yes, it would be bad. But if it helped you in worshipping your God, then no it is not a sin. It is helping you do something good—something God commanded! Psalm 100:1-2 says, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”

Think about your day of worship yesterday. Did you come before God with singing? Did you make a joyful noise unto Him? Far too often, we confuse the singing of old songs we’ve known for years and don’t even have to read the words as our worship. I doubt God is truly praised when we merely repeat words. But when we focus our hearts on Him and we worship Him through vibrant praise and a meditation of body, mind, and soul on Him, He is honored and glorified!

Now, do I think so-called Christian contemporary music is wrong? No. Do I believe that some forms of Christian rock are okay? Yes. Also, do I believe that there are some songs that can create a fleshly rather than Christ-like spirit in the body? Of course! I am not saying that all music goes in church! It still must be Christ-honoring and uplifting. But I challenge the thinking that only hymns written before a certain date are acceptable. We must not think that God stopped working in hearts after 1943 or whenever. He is still powerful, still almighty, still omniscient, still sovereign, and can still work in lives today! He still moves men to write songs that honor Him.

My point is this: God wants you to worship Him, truly worship Him. He wants you to come to Him, fully aware of His greatness and your insignificance. He wants you to lift your voice to Him and ascribe Him the worth He is due. He wants you to pour out your heart to Him through praise and honor. He deserves it after all He has done for us! Now, how is the best way to do all that? Exactly. Now focus your mind, soul, and body on Him and praise your God for how great He is and for all He has done for you!