Tag: Worship

Bring Me a Musician

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I love 2 Kings 3:15 for several reasons. First of all, my wife is a wonderful minister and musician, so music is such a large part of the worship experiences she leads.

Also, as a church staff, we share prayer requests and concerns in our weekly meetings and one concern involved the proposed new contemporary service. We are praying that God provides a worship leader and musicians to help lead our dynamic new worship experience. So, I guess we’re literally praying for God to “bring me a musician.”

I also love what this verse represents. Music creates an environment where God can speak and we can listen. Here’s the context of the passage (more details are below). Three Kings (of Israel, Judah and Edom) come to Elisha asking for spiritual guidance or a revelation from God (2 Kings 3:12). It seems Elisha is pretty perturbed at Jehoram (2 Kings 3:13, 14) and he feared he might not hear God speaking to him, so he asks for musicians (2 Kings 3:15 ESV).

These were minstrels, players of stringed instruments, like a harp. Somehow the music calmed Elisha and stimulated his spirit in such a way that it unleashed his prophetic gift. This is not the first time the Bible records this sort of soothing music thing, remember Saul (1 Samuel 16:23)? For Elisha, it must have worked because the Bible says: “when the musicians played, the hand of the Lord came upon Him” (2 Kings 3:15).

In church, we need to create environments that foster God’s revelation of himself. We need to put ourselves in places where God can speak to us without distraction. We need to feed our spirits in ways that unleash the gifts of God inside of us. This works in the church, it also works when we are alone with God. We will hear God only as we eliminate distractions. Can music calm the savage beast? We know that music can calm our spirits and helps focus our attention on God speaking to us. Try listening to soothing music as you spend time listening for God’s voice.

Details of This Interesting Story:

  1. An Incompetent King: 2 Kings 3:1-9
    1. Idolatry (2 Kings 3:1-3) Ahab’s son Jehoram becomes the 9th king in Israel
    2. Intent (2 Kings 3:4-8) He convinces Jehoshaphat to fight against Moab, who rebelled against him
    3. Ineptness (2 Kings 3:9) after seven days they are in a place with no water for the army
  2. An Indignant Prophet: 2 Kings 3:10-27
    1. The Request (2 Kings 3:10-12) Jehoshaphat asks Jehoram to seek a prophet’s advice
    2. The Rebuke (2 Kings 3:13-14) Elisha tells them he wants no part of him or even look at him (Jehoram), but agrees to help for the sake of Jehoshaphat
    3. The Reply (2 Kings 3:15-19) God tells him the dry valley will be filled with water
    4. The Red water (2 Kings 3:20-23) In the morning the sun causes the water to look like blood to the Moabites and they think the other armies have killed each other
    5. The Running (2 Kings 3:24-27)
      1. Moab’s Defeat (2 Kings 3:24-25) the Moabites come to collect the spoils of war and then Israel’s army rushes out to kill them
      2. Moab’s Desperation (2 Kings 3:26-27) the king sacrifices his son as a burnt offering; Israel freaks out and they decide to go home.

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Missions and Worship

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I was reminded of a fascinating book by John Piper called, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions. He begins this intriguing book discussing the relationship between missions and worship, two topics very dear to my heart.  

 

Piper says, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.” 

He goes on to say that it’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God. (Psalm 67:3-4). 

“But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. (Psalm 104:34; 9:2). Missions begins and ends in worship.”  

Piper concludes his chapter one introduction with, “Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak. Churches that are not centered on the exaltation of the majesty and beauty of God will scarcely kindle a fervent desire to ‘declare his glory among the nations’ (Psalm 96:3). Even outsiders feel the disparity between the boldness of our claim upon the nations and the blandness of our engagement with God.”  

 

I understand his point, but I suppose it is also possible to have little zeal for God in worship and still be a congregation focused on missions, perhaps as a substitute for a dynamic relationship with Jesus. This type of missions may be more helping the less-fortunate than it is bringing the nations and our neighbors to Christ. 

 

In corporate worship, how do we encounter God (how do we even encounter God on a personal level)? Can it be that the modern church in America has settled for a worship service over an authentic worship experience, whereby the congregation is connected with God at the deepest level? When was the last time that you saw God’s people gathered for worship where they were passionate about experiencing God (as opposed to being excited about fellowship with others, love for the music, praise for the preacher, etc.)? If God is truly the audience of our worship, what sort of performance did we put on last Sunday? Was He pleased?