Praise for Answered Prayers concerning the Worship Music Debates!

November 13, 2021

I have spent many years online discussing and debating issues with supporters of contemporary worship concerning what music Christians should and should not use in worship. I have had these discussions and debates on two Christian discussion forums, on Facebook, on my blog, and through email. Many of these interactions have involved daily conversations for extended periods.

Over the past 10 years or so, there have been quite a few occasions on which I have encountered notions from some supporters of contemporary worship that I knew to be false, but I did not know then how to answer them fully and specifically with Scripture. Through specifically praying and studying, God has granted me illumination of Scripture from more than nine key passages that specifically and decisively have answered these false notions!

In my praying to God about these matters, I have used several passages as the models for how I have prayed. I have not kept track, but I would not be surprised to learn that I have probably prayed along the lines of the following passages and sample prayers (some of these are not verbatim but only representative) many hundreds of times over the years:

2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) ⁵ Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ

Heavenly Father, please grant me specific and clear insight into Thy Word that I would be mighty through Thee to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God in all my hearers, and please bring their every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

1 Kings 3:9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? . . . ¹² Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart.

Gracious God, please give to me a wise and understanding heart that I may discern between the good and the bad.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Heavenly Father, I lack wisdom to know how to answer this wrong teaching. You have said that if any man lacks wisdom, he must ask of You Who gives liberally to all men and does not upbraid; and it will be given him. Do as You have said and grant me the wisdom that I need to answer this wrong teaching.

Proverbs 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. ⁵ Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

Father, please grant that I would not answer these people according to their folly, lest I would become like them and please grant that I would answer them according to their folly so that they would not be wise in their own conceits.

Titus 1:9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Holy Spirit, please fill me now and grant me all manner of skillfulness in every skillful aspect of answering these supporters of contemporary worship music so that I would be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince these gainsayers.

2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

Lord, as I carefully consider what Thou hast said in this passage, please grant me understanding in all things that Thou hast said in Thy Word.

Psalm 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

O God, I know and believe that the answers to every important question about what music is acceptable to Thee in worship are in Thy Word. Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy Law.

I praise, extol, and thank our Heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit for answering my prayers richly and specifically for illumination and wisdom about these matters repeatedly over the years! To God be the glory, great things He hath done!

In CCM, Music, Prayer, Testimony

Through the Bible for 2021!

November 6, 2021

This morning, I finished reading the Bible through for 2021! I praise God that He has seen fit to allow me another year of life in a country where I had the freedom to read the entire Bible one more time.

Lord willing, I hope to finish reading the Psalms at least one more time this year and read Revelation one more time by the end of the year.

Psalm 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

In Bible reading

Why Is 2 Chronicles 33:18-19 in Scripture?

October 30, 2021

2 Chronicles 33:18 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. 19 His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.

I have been studying the accounts about king Manasseh in 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33 for some time now. Second Chronicles 33:19 has especially caught my attention because of what it reveals and where it says that information is revealed:

1. Exhaustive (?) information about Manasseh’s sinfulness

2. Specific details about his sinfulness that are explicitly stated: “the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images”

3. The revelation that this information was “written among the sayings of the seers,” who were prophets of God

Why has the Spirit inscripturated this information and thereby called our attention to the existence and recording of such detailed information about Manasseh’s sinfulness that is not provided in Scripture?

In Interpretation, Theology

A Key Truth about the Occult from the Record about Manasseh

October 23, 2021

Scripture infallibly and inerrantly reveals that king Manasseh was a very wicked unbeliever who authentically had contact with multiple demons:

2 Kings 21:6 And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

2 Chronicles 33:6 And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

We are not told what the nature of those dealings were or what he did so that he had those authentic encounters with demons.

We know with certainty that he did not get any information from any Scripture or from any godly prophet, priest, or other servant of God about how specifically to have those dealings with familiar spirits.

Considering in this way what has been revealed about Manasseh, we learn with certainty that without any need for any biblical information at all, unbelievers can and have had authentic encounters with demons and have known all that they needed to know and all that they needed to do to have such authentic encounters.

Conclusion

Because no biblical information is necessary for any unbeliever to know to have such authentic contact with demons, we do not have any basis to hold that they cannot have or have not had such authentic contact with demons in our day.

Because unbelievers can and have known all that they have needed to know and all that they have needed to do to have such contact, we have no basis to deny a priori the authenticity of such testimonies about contact with demons in our day.

Our not having specific biblical information about such occult practices does not mean in any way that we cannot know whether wicked people have had authentic encounters with demons in our day.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Theology

Reflections on Studying Four Subjects For Ten or More Years Each

October 15, 2021

In God’s providence, He has directed me to spend a decade or more studying each of four different subjects. These subjects have been quite diverse.

Stewardship of the Physical Body

Prior to becoming a Christian, I earned a bachelor’s degree in Fitness Instruction and a master’s degree in Human Performance. After I was saved, God used that background to open up a graduate assistant position while I worked on a Masters in Bible.

After finishing that degree, He led me to serve on full-time staff for many years in helping believers be good stewards of their physical bodies.

During those years of coursework and ministry, I studied intensely everything that the Bible teaches about health, exercise, nutrition, and stewardship of the body. God gave me numerous opportunities over that time to speak to believers on these subjects.

Evangelism and Discipleship

Soon after I was saved, I became very active in evangelistic ministries successively in the two local churches that I have been a member of during my lifetime as a believer. All through those years, I studied intensely all that Scripture reveals about evangelism and discipleship ministries.

God gave me many opportunities to preach and teach on these subjects for a number of years, but it has been quite some time since I have had such opportunities. It’s puzzling to me that I have not had more opportunities to edify God’s people in this area.

Christ as God’s Judicial Agent

After having served for many years in ministering to believers about stewardship of their bodies and about evangelism and discipleship, God dramatically redirected me to return for seminary work in a doctoral program. During those very hard years of working on that degree, God directed me to study with a passion everything that He has revealed in Scripture about Christ as His judicial agent.

During the years of working on that degree and for about a year afterwards, God gave me many opportunities to preach and teach on passages concerning the topic of my dissertation. Remarkably, however, I have had very few opportunities to do so in the past decade.

Acceptable Music for Corporate Worship

For at least the last decade, God has dramatically shifted the focus of my studies and ministry opportunities to an exhaustive study of everything in the Bible about music and worship. He has directed me to immerse myself profoundly in the book of Psalms during these years, beginning in 2012.

God has led me to write numerous articles about what Scripture reveals about music and worship and has given me several opportunities to speak multiple times on these subjects in a few churches. I am also writing a book about what God has given me in this area of study over this past decade.

Conclusion

Reflecting on how God has directed me during my Christian lifetime, I find it striking that God has led me to so intensively study these four different subjects during that time. Seeing how God has dramatically changed the focus of my studies and ministries more than once in my life makes me wonder what God may have in store for me in whatever years He has left for me to serve Him in this life.

God has been faithful in all these things in spite of much unfaithfulness on my part throughout these years. To God be the glory for all that He has done for and through me!

In Discipleship, Evangelism, Health, Ministry, Music, Preaching, Testimony

A Special Decade of Reading the Psalms

October 7, 2021

Psalms is my favorite book of the Bible. From 1990 to 2011, I read the Psalms 25 times.

In the past decade, God has directed me to read the Psalms many more times than I had read in all my previous years.

Year	Times That I Read the Psalms
2012	25
2013	1
2014	1
2015	1
2016	3
2017	4
2018	6
2019	4
2020	5
2021	4^{1 2 3}
Total (2012-2021)	54^{1 2 3}

Having now read the book 79 times in my life, I hope to make it to 80 by the end of 2021 and to 100 by the end of 2025, Lord willing.

I praise God for giving me a special decade of reading the Psalms from 2012-2021!

¹Update on 11/28/21: I have now read the book through 6 times this year, 56 times from 2012 to 2021, and 81 times in my life!

²Update on 12/11/21: I have now read the book through 7 times this year, 57 times from 2012 to 2021, and 82 times in my life!

³Update on 12/24/21: I have now read the book through 8 times this year, 58 times from 2012 to 2021, and 83 times in my life!

In Bible reading

The Profound Musical Importance of the Hebrew Verb “Halal”

September 30, 2021

Two passages in the OT teach us a profound truth about the musical importance of the Hebrew verb halal.

First, 2 Chronicles 29:30 reveals to us that a key command given by Hezekiah and the princes to the Levites to minister musically used that verb to communicate what they were to do musically. Moreover, that same verse also reveals that the same verb was used to signify what the Levites did musically in obeying that command:

2 Chronicles 29:30 Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.

‎WTT 2 Chronicles 29:30

וַ֠יֹּאמֶר יְחִזְקִיָּ֙הוּ הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ וְהַשָּׂרִים֙ לַלְוִיִּ֔ם

לְהַלֵּל֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה

בְּדִבְרֵ֥י דָוִ֖יד וְאָסָ֣ף הַחֹזֶ֑ה

וַֽיְהַלְלוּ֙ עַד־לְשִׂמְחָ֔ה וַֽיִּקְּד֖וּ וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוֽוּ׃ פ

(2 Chr. 29:30 WTT)

The Hebrew text here thus teaches us that the verb halal is used twice in this verse to signify the singing of praises to God!

Second, the Hebrew text of Psalm 147:1 profoundly confirms this understanding by revealing that the command that has been widely transliterated as “Hallelujah” signified here the singing of praises to the Lord and not just speaking praise to Him:

Psalm 147:1 Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

WTT Psalm 147:1 הַ֥לְלוּ יָ֙הּ׀ כִּי־ט֭וֹב זַמְּרָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ כִּֽי־נָ֜עִים נָאוָ֥ה תְהִלָּֽה׃

In this verse, the command Hallelujah is directly explained as singing praise to Him by the use of the verb zamar (Heb. “to sing praise”) to signify what was good to do in obeying that command!

These passages thus teach us the profound musical importance of the Hebrew verb halal!

In Music

Does Your Theology of Evil Account for What Luke 11:26 Reveals?

September 25, 2021

According to Scripture, demons are evil angelic beings. Luke 11:26 reveals that Jesus made a remarkable statement about these unclean spirits that must inform our theology of evil in a vital way:

Luke 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Jesus teaches us through this statement that all demons are not equally wicked—some unclean spirits are more wicked than other unclean spirits are!

Because Jesus did not explain this statement at all, what He said on that occasion does not provide us with any further understanding of its significance.

Although we do not know how and in what ways some demons are more wicked than others are, we must still accept this teaching from Jesus. If your theology of evil does not include this truth, your theology is unbiblical in that respect.

Does your theology of evil account for what Jesus said in Luke 11:26?

In Theology

What Is Biblical Worship?

September 15, 2021

Looking at every occurrence of various forms of the word “worship” in Scripture, seven passages in the NT stand out to me as key statements about what worship is. Interestingly, they are from only two books of the NT.

Earthly Worship in the Gospel of Matthew

Matt. 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

Matt. 9:18 While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

Matt. 14:33 Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.

Matt. 15:25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

These statements reveal that earthly worship includes praying to God and exclaiming truths to Him about who He is.

Heavenly Worship in Revelation

Rev. 7:11-12 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,¹² Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Rev. 11:16-17 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,¹⁷ Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.

Rev. 19:4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.

These passages are especially important because they reveal to us what the perfect worship in heaven looks like.

Based on these passages, we must understand that worship especially includes giving thanks to God, attributing glory to Him, and saying, “Amen,” and “Amen, Alleluia.”

Exhortation

Let us base our understanding of what biblical worship is from these key passages about earthly worship and heavenly worship. Let us also be diligent to say “Amen” and “Amen, Alleluia” regularly in our worship.

In Exhortation, Interpretation, Theology

Beware This Faulty Notion about Christian Ministry

September 6, 2021

Is it an essential mark of a good preacher, teacher, or writer that he makes everything easy to understand for everyone? Scripture provides revelation that answers this important question decisively.

An Inspired Evaluation of Some Pauline Epistolary Teaching

The apostle Peter provides us with an inspired evaluation that some of Paul’s teaching in his epistles is not easy to understand:

2 Peter 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Keeping in mind that the Spirit inspired Paul to write everything in all his epistles exactly as the Spirit wanted them to be, we learn that the perfect Writer, the Holy Spirit, has not written everything that He has given us in Scripture so that all of it is easy to understand for everyone.

It simply is not true that a good preacher, teacher, or writer makes or even can make everything easy to understand for everyone. Although Christian ministers should try to make their preaching, teaching, and writing as understandable as possible, they should not burden themselves with the faulty notion that everything that they say about every subject must be made easy to understand for everyone.

Conclusion

There are subjects and issues that cannot be made easy to understand for everyone. Let us beware holding the faulty notion that if something is not easy to understand, the one communicating that message has necessarily failed to communicate it properly.

In Discipleship, Interpretation, Ministry, Theology

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Stewardship of the Physical Body

Evangelism and Discipleship

Christ as God’s Judicial Agent

Acceptable Music for Corporate Worship

Conclusion

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Earthly Worship in the Gospel of Matthew

Heavenly Worship in Revelation

Exhortation

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An Inspired Evaluation of Some Pauline Epistolary Teaching

Conclusion

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