Worship belongs to God and God only. The problem in our world today, is that we have so many choices on who and what to worship that we have lost sight of the commandment to worship God.
Revelation 22:9
But he said, “No, don’t worship me. I am a servant of God, just like you and your brothers the prophets, as well as all who obey what is written in this book. Worship only God!”
When John had this revelation and he bows down before the angel, the instruction from the angel is clear, Worship God. If we are looking for some great revelation out of these two words, then here it is: WORSHIP GOD ONLY. Its that simple, yet we as humans make it the most complex thing that has ever entered our minds.
One of the ways in which we worship God is through music. Music is powerful, it gets into your soul, and raises our emotions and it causes us to idolize something or someone.
In an eye-opening study, researchers have found that teenagers who listen to songs with raunchy, suggestive lyrics are more likely to lose their purity than those who do not listen to such songs. In 2001, researchers surveyed 1,461 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17.
Most of the participants were virgins at the beginning of the study. Between 2002 and 2004, the researchers carried out follow-up interviews and found that around 51% of teens whose music collection consisted mainly of music that degraded purity lost their purity within two years.
What we must understand is that what we open our hearts and minds to becomes the centre of our focus, and this leads us to idolise and worship these things to the extent that it begins to control our lives.
Daniel 3:5 (CEV)
“Trumpets, flutes, harps, and all other kinds of musical instruments will soon start playing. When you hear the music, you must bow down and worship the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.”
Even though the king made this decree look at what Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego did. They made it clear that they were not willing to be controlled by music that is meant for idol worship. They made a decision that what they allowed into their hearts and minds would only be Godly.
Daniel 3:16-18 (CEV)
16 The three men replied, “Your Majesty, we don’t need to defend ourselves. 17 The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up.”
Music has become a universal language, going across culture, race, and even gender. But ultimately, we have the choice of what we open our lives to, and this would determine who we begin to worship. Pop stars like Katy Perry, Michael Jackson and others have become household names and fans idolise these people.
What Nebuchadnezzar did is symbolic of what satan is doing right now across the world. He is creating this image through music and he is telling the world,” bow down and worship me”, and the reality of it is that millions of people blindly follow this.
Satan knows the power that music has on mankind, and this has become a battle that has to be fought every day of our lives. The type of music that we listen to, will either cause us to worship God and serve him only or fall into the trap of idol worship.
Exodus 20:3-6
3 “You must not have any other god but me.
4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those[b] who love me and obey my commands.
Making a pop star your idol, is something that can happen in an instant. What we must understand, and you would get this argument, that “I am not bowing down to them” but here is the real problem.
When the music and these idols become all we focus on, when we can memorise the latest rap song and heavy metal song, when we can play the keyboard and guitar and drums so that we can be praised and exalted for how good we are, its at this point that if we do not see the writing on the wall and make a U-turn, that we are heading for disaster.
Music has the power to cause us to become spiritually intimate with either God or satan. When a spirit takes over, we become dominated by that spirit, and everything we do is centred around it.
When we open ourselves to listening and singing gospel music, music that is centred around the Father, Son & The Holy Ghost, The Holy Spirit takes control and the flesh becomes weaker to the point where we worshipping God, not based on our flesh and emotions but rather in Spirit.
On the other hand, when we listen to and sing music that is immoral, sexually perverted, obscene and vulgar, we become dominated by the spirit of lust, sexual immorality and to the demonic realm.
We need to be so careful in the day and age that we live in, with television, radio, internet just click away. Let us be careful of the music we sing or listen to or even watch.
The more we draw ourselves to the music of world that is filled with lust and pornography and violence the faster we can move away from what God has commanded us to do, and that is to worship him in Spirit & in Truth.
Let us stay focused on being obedient to the word of God
Hope that this has helped you.
Feel free to comment or share on your experiences.
Trevor Naidoo
27.02.2020
The Potter's House Church 