Music is a universal language which transcends all cultural and ethnic barriers. Even when you don’t understand the lyrics of a song, the melody or rhythm can somehow get you tapping your toes or moving parts of your body. It is a well-known fact that therapists have prescribed soothing music as “medicine” to the emotionally troubled and have seen dramatic recoveries in some cases.
So, what exactly is the function of music (anointed music or gospel music) for God’s people? In the coming weeks I will attempt to use the scriptures to answer this question in the best possible way I can. I may not have all the answers, but with the insight I have gained in the last couple of years walking with the Lord, I hope to shed some light on this very crucial but most overlooked aspect of our worship experience.
The keynote scripture I will be using is Psalm 89:15 which states:
“Blessed are they that KNOW the JOYFUL SOUND. They will dwell O Lord in the light of your countenance”.
Joy is entirely different from happiness. Happiness is dependent on what’s happening, which implies that if everything around us is going fine, then we are happy. However, when things go wrong, we become unstable and get involved in wrong things and speak wrong words. Joy on the other hand is maintaining a HEART condition of gratitude and positivity no matter what is happening around us, whether good or bad. However, this is supernatural condition and cannot easily be faked for long.
“KNOWING the JOYFUL SOUND” is the ability to hear God’s word so powerfully communicated through the medium of music, which will keep you constantly in a state of Joy. This means that music in the house of God must cut through the soul and touch the spirits of people because JOY is a fruit of the Spirit. Music must not just excite but should heal and bring hope to people who are hurting. Producing this type of music, therefore requires more than putting melodies and words together to create a nice sound (as important as this is) – but that it must carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
In the next few weeks I will be getting into the nitty gritty of what I believe it takes to constantly and consistently produce that JOYFUL SOUND so that when broken people come into God’s house they will not leave the same. The scripture in Psalm 47 says……. “There is a river whose streams make glad the City of God…..” must literally be fulfilled every time we gather in God’s house. The stream of the life of God (symbolic of a river since water is life giving) in His house must always make people glad (satisfy their thirst).
Join me next week as we explore this crucial topic together…………. See you!!!
