What Are The Elements Of Worldly Music?

How can we know anything about anything

To try to explain truth to him who loves it not is but to give him more plentiful material for misinterpretation. George Macdonald

Do we have to make a choice between science and the Bible?

NO!

That is NOT where the problem is, but that is what everyone seems to want to talk about.

Take science as an example. How can we know anything about the created material world around us?

How can we know anything from what we can see using natural sciences?

We all see the same things in the material world, but we don't come to the same answers.

Why is that?

How can we know anything about the Bible and what it teaches? Every person believes different things about the Bible and how it should be read.

Why is that?

Same scientific facts. Different answers.

Same Bible. Different answers.

Why is that?

The true question is this: How do we come to our answers that we get from what we can see through science or what we can read in the Bible?

How do we think about what we see using science or what we read in the Bible?

How do we analyze what we have seen and read?

How do we interpret what we have seen and read?

We use logic, but logic always has a foundation. Jesus talked about building on the Rock. That Rock is Jesus Christ. He is the true foundation. There are also the false foundations of the ungodly.

An example might help.

Question: Why do believe in evolution?

Answer: Because my science teacher told me that evolution is scientific fact.

Question: Why do you believe your science teacher?

Answer: because he agrees with the textbook he assigned us to read.

Now, we have asked, "Why?" twice.

If we continued to ask, "Why?" we would come down to the foundation of this person's thoughts.

When we get down to the foundations, there are no more questions that can be answered. So where to the foundations come from?

There are three possibilities.

things that we make up, pulled from the air
demonic lies
divine revelation

Question: Why do believe in creation?

Answer: Because God revealed this to me. He spoke to me through the Bible and gave me His faith so that I could believe Him.

See how quickly we got to the foundation. This is a belief that has a foundation that is solid and that cannot be moved.

In reality, the things that we make up, that are pulled from the air, are actually from demons and all the lies of demons spring from the prince of demons, Satan. So these are one and the same.

Divine revelation comes from the Almighty, Creator, God, Jesus Christ. So there are only two choices, but how do we know there are only two choices? Because God has revealed this truth to us.

The question then is how do we tell the difference between the revelation that comes from God and the lies of Satan?

The answer is that everyone who sincerely wants to do the will of God will know.

Jesus said, "If you really want to obey God, you will know if what I teach comes from God or from me"

The rejection of the revelation that comes from God is not an intellectual problem. It is a moral problem.

Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it shall be opened. *

Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to those who ask him? Matthew 7:7-11 *

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. You can set the truth before someone, but you can't make anyone believe those things that they don't want to submit to. They have to want to obey God.

How frequently it is brought to our attention that nothing good can be done if the will is wrong! Reason alone fails to justify itself. Richard M. Weaver

Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32)

"If we are not prepared to buy the truth at the cost of our own humbling we shall not receive it"

Lies appear to have no price upon them. They seem cheap and they abound everywhere. But for the truth there is always an obvious price to pay.

[God] has set a day when He will judge all the world's people with fairness. And He has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for Him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death" (Acts 17:31).

"There is a judge for the one who rejects Me [Jesus] and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day" (John 12:48)

That also stands for every person who speaks the utterances of Jesus. When we hear them, we hear Jesus Christ, and we either accept or reject. Every person who follows Jesus Christ is commanded to only speak His utterances and not their own.

"When we love others, we know that we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the presence of God" (1 John 3:19)

Ravi Zacharias did two open forums in a university. On the second night, one man told him that he had brought two Atheists in the night before who said that the arguments presented were so strong that they could not contend with them, but they were going to remain Atheists because that is what they prefer to be true.

In listening to an unbeliever and drawing out his reasoning, the unbeliever finally came to his foundations.

They turned out to be assumptions that were pulled from the air. When asked why he believed his basic assumption, the unbeliever looked startled and blurted out, “I guess I’m making the whole thing up.” It was quite a revelation to him since he hadn't even known that he had any assumptions. However, he decided to remain an Atheist because he didn’t want God to rule over him.

It's difficult to catalog exactly what makes music worldly rather than spiritual. We could point to loudness, shrillness, over-bearing beat, loud base or all four. We can point to music which creates an addiction to stimulation and encourages strife, anger, or fleshly sensuality. These do cause a kind of emotion, a bodily reaction to a noisy pestilence. That emotion is not the Holy Spirit. It is contrary to the Spirit.

"The congregation erupted in beautiful African harmonious praise that reached the heavens. The praises in Swahili lifted us all into another state, into the presence of the Lord. The words were in Swahili, but I heard the voices of angels."

"The choir treated us to beautiful singing, coupled with the African synchronised worship with dance. Every word, every chord, every motion, every drum beat, every hand clap seemed to speak of glory, honor and praise to our God in heaven."

Note that everything is for glory, honor, and praise of God. What a huge difference!

Voodoo beats are used to conjure demons and actually cause brain dysfunction when scientific studies are done. These beats are ancient in voodoo, but have only been introduced to Western music since about the 1920s. They were first used in Jazz and Blues, then in Rock, and Rhythm & Blues. Now, they can be found in almost any kind of music, even so-called Contemporary Christian Music. These also cause an emotional excitement that seems to be rooted in the confusion that is brought on by beats that are working so effectively against the creation of God. These are the kinds of beats that result in no anointing, just coolness.

The beats are easy to detect. They follow certain patterns. Screaming heavy-metal guitars are easy to spot. There is an area, however, where discernment is more difficult. One of the problems is that exposure to certain types of music actually work against our ability to receive wisdom and discernment from God. The more subtle evil is difficult to describe, except that it gives one of several moods that are against God. It may be a mood of rebellion, lust, sensuality, drunkenness, silliness, disrespect, or any such thing. It may lead to lifting up a performer rather than Christ. One thing is certain, you will not see these techniques used in a Spirit led service. If someone introduces them, the Spirit lifts from the service and it is no longer a Spirit-led service.

It seems that each worldly technique does mimic, however poorly, something that is real in the Spirit. That's what makes it so easy for the weak Christian to rationalize and fall for the worldly music. In fact, the one who is being deceives will often help in the process of deceiving themselves. It's even easier to rationalize when the weak Christian is concerned about his or her popularity. The Christian who has his or her senses exercised by reason of use is not fooled at all, but many Christians are indeed fooled.

That which produces discord or strife is not spiritual. Some methods convey anger. Music can be earthy and sensual even without words. Music can be used to create a kind of a mind-numbing hypnotic effect. There are musical techniques that are used to send a message of relativism, drunkenness, a questioning of authority and a rebellious attitude. Others. Also, any technique that brings attention to the singer or musician comes from the wrong spirit. Any of these techniques make sense in the world, but don't belong among those who have been called out of the world.

The problem with making a list such as this is that someone will look at it and try to twist it to mean something that it does not mean. For instance, I'm not saying that a singer is in error when people give glory to that singer but the singer never did anything to seek any glory. In that case, the people are in error rather than the singer. On the other hand, there is no quicker way to ruin a true ministry than to give the glory to the person. A true ministry will immediately give all the glory to God and will never seek popularity. One of the problems with the "Christian" recording industry is that is built on this type of earthly popularity.

If you don't like the old hymns, this is a warning sign. If Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross, Just As I Am Without One Plea, or A Mighty Fortress Is Our God seem to be boring to you, it is time to get help. The old hymns, drenched with the holy anointing of the Holy Spirit, and filled with the deep messages of the Gospel, should move you beyond words. If that's not happening, your faith has died in you. Sometimes it is good to sing choruses, but we need the depth that is found in the verses of these old hymns. They have stood the test of time. There are new hymns that do have a depth of meaning, and time will tell whether or not they will stand the test of time. I pray that there is enough substance in some of them that they do last. The point is that a disrespect or boredom with the old hymns, or with any other form of the moving of the Spirit of God, is an indication of a spiritual problem.

Probably the most serious violation of spiritual music today is the emphasis, in the Church, on entertainment value. There is far too much emphasis in the Church today on entertainment in every area, especially music. It's been said that the way to build a big church is to keep people entertained and never to make them feel challenged. God isn't concerned with entertainment at all. And God is not concerned with creating big congregations either. God desires a sincere heart. The fact that you could never sell a recording of a certain singer's voice in the marketplace makes their singing no less beautiful in the ears of the Lord. And we ought to be hearing things as God hears them.

Since Music Has Transforming Power For Good Or Evil, What Do Christians Need To Do? (Go)
How Can Christians Discern Between Good And Evil In Music? (Go)
What Are The Characteristics Of Spiritual Music? (Go)
What Are The Elements Of Worldly Music? (Go)
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How Was The Music For FreeGospelMusic.Net Created? (Go)
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Spiritual Music Examples (Go)

What Are The Elements Of Worldly Music?

How can we know anything about anything

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