Daniel 3:1-7 | The King’s Music | Pastor Daniel Banna

We have looked at the book of Daniel twice so far, and we have looked at ways the world tries to change the church. Satan wants the church to mingle with the world, to tear down any walls of separation, any differences. This sounds, for some, wonderful. But if this means something, it means losing our identity as a church and as a pure bride of Christ, and we must, as a church, reject it. We have seen some of the methods the world uses to change us.

We have seen in chapter one of the book of Daniel, one of the ways is to teach them the literature and the language of the Chaldeans. The world wants to change us by substituting the Christian values, God's word with their own methods, the world methods and indoctrination. But secondly, the world want to change us by changing our appearance. The world wants the church to believe and appear and look like them. The world wants us to believe this is not important how we look or even how we conduct ourselves.

We have seen this is false, that children of light must must always look and behave and conduct themselves as children of light. But, also, we have seen that the world want to change our food, our menu, to indulge in the king's menu. We have talked about the abundance of of poisonous food, spiritual food I'm talking about. The word offers to us on daily basis through the media, through the schools, through the universities, even, I would say sadly, through many pulpits. Our last point I'd like to mention we find in chapter three of the book of Daniel beginning in verse one.

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the Plain Of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then king Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that king Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the councilors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image of the king, of king Nebuchadnezzar that had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And the herald proclaimed aloud, you are commanded, oh peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, liar, trigon, harp, bat pipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that king Nbuqdad Nasr has set up.

And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, liar, trigon, hard, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that king Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Let's pray. Our god, we refuse as your people to to do what all the others did. Lord, we refuse to bow down to anyone else but you.

Lord, we come here this afternoon just to declare our allegiance to our god and savior, Jesus Christ. We pray, god, help us as we hear your word to accept it. Help us to reject all what the world offers and receive all what you have for us. In Jesus' name, amen. What I find interesting here is the mention of these instruments one by one, and it is repeated, by the way, four times.

We saw it in verse five. We saw that in verse seven. We see the same instruments mentioned again one by one in verse 10 and in verse 15. And I always thought, would it be sufficient just to say when you hear the music, when you hear the symphony play, or when you hear the instruments or the orchestra play play? And and if you have to mention the instruments, would it be enough just to say once?

Why repeating the number of instruments one by one four times? Could it be that this instrument represent the many nations mentioned in verse four? And the herald proclaimed aloud, you are commanded, oh peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, hard, backpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that king Nebuchadnezzar has set up. There is evidence that some of these instruments are not Babylonians, but they are rather instrument of the nations who were under Babylonian authority. One multinational orchestra with one purpose and one goal.

When the music is played, all people must bow down and worship the golden image. The command of the king is very clear that all those who are in authority from the top down and all the people in his provinces, when they hear the music played, must bow down and worship. Now this reminds me when all the nations will bow down to the image of the beast as we read in the book of Revelation. We don't have much time to talk about that, but just let me give you a glimpse of this. In the book of Revelation chapter 13, we read of two beasts.

One will come out of the sea, and another will come out from from the land. In verse 13, it tells us this, and I saw a beast rising out of the sea with 10 hoards and seven heads, And then verse three, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given the his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast saying, who is like the beast and who can fight against it? Now again, the book of Revelation 13 worried of a second beast. In verse 11, he says, then I saw another beast rising out of the earth.

It had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast whose mortal wound was healed. Now these are not two literal beasts. These are men, but they are morally and spiritually beasts. They are here to devour everyone who refuses to submit to them and accept their wicked cause.

I believe these are two men who probably represents two systems in the world, a political system and a religious system, although these two men might be religious figures. One of them, I believe, is or who thinks of himself or make the people think that he is the promised prophet, the promised Messiah of Israel. He will be extremely gifted and knowledgeable in Jewish law, in the Jewish scripture. He will be able to deceive the people of Israel into believing he is the Messiah of Israel. He will probably help rebuild the third temple and introduce again, reinstate the sacrificial systems.

The false messiah, to be believed, I believe he must fulfill at a minimum one Old Testament prophecy, and that is to be Jewish. Deuteronomy eighteen fifteen. The lord your god will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen. Now we know this man cannot fulfill the prophecies about the Messiah's birth, the place of birth, the virgin birth, the date of birth.

Yes. By the way, the Bible tells us exactly when Messiah was supposed to be born before the destruction of the second temple in seventy AD in the book of Daniel. The false prophet cannot fulfill any prophecies about the suffering, the death, and resurrection of Christ. He cannot, but he should be able to fulfill this one prophecy, at least to have any legitimacy that he is the Messiah, the savior of Israel. But you see, he cannot do it on his own.

He cannot do it on his own. There's still a greater figure, a gentile beast, the one who comes out of the sea. Remember? There are two beasts, one out of the sea, and the second one, smaller one, comes out of the land. And I believe in the scripture, often the land represents Israel, and the vast sea represents the world, the gentile, the chaos that is also in the world.

For the beast, men throughout Christian history have suggested different names, political and religious figures. Simply, we do not know, who this man will be, but we know he will be a leader with great influence in all over the world. The false prophet of Israel will be his agent, his right hand man, if you will. The mission of the false prophet is to fulfill the vision of the beast. The vision of one world order, one religion.

Now I don't think it's necessarily means everyone must abandon their own religion. Not at all. Muslims can remain Muslims. Jews can remain Jews. No one of the Christians can remain no one of the Christians, but just add extra thing.

Submit to me. Bow to me. Worship me. Everyone must worship the beast unconditionally. And then maybe when all these groups come together, maybe they'd find a way to build a third Jewish temple in a place will be agreeable to all.

And when Jews, Muslims, and no matter the Christians and others come together hand in hand, wow, The whole world will marvel at the accomplishment of the beast. And when you see the miracles that he is performing, wow. What an extra reason for them to bow down and worship him. Let's go back to the book of Daniel. The sound of musical instruments must be followed by immediate worship.

Now this was not just any music. Music is played daily in Babylon. It played in feasts, during feasts, in weddings. It played in homes, in Jewish homes. This is not just any music.

This is clearly special music. When it's heard, it's identified, and must be immediately followed by the worship of an idol. This music very well could be a music to prepare the hearers to bow down and worship. Music is extremely powerful, and it can be used to prepare a person to worship an idol or to prepare a worse a person to worship the holy and living God. Let us never underestimate the power of a music we listen to or the music we sing.

Now instrumental music has been for centuries, by the way, used in pagan worship even to this day. But as well, it was used in the temple of God to worship our holy and living God. But, sadly, even in Israel, musical instrument was used in the worship of Baal. When king Jeroboam divided the kingdom and he had his city there in Samaria. He created completely a new system of worship, replacing that worship in Jerusalem, a new place, a new temple, a new system of worship.

In Amos, the book of Amos, we have a reference to that worship. Chapter five chapter six verse five tell us these things about that worship. He says they're who sing idol songs to the sound of the harp, and, like David, invent for themselves instruments of music. If you continuously who drink wine in bowls and amount and anoint himself with finest oils but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. Now I'm gonna say something, that most believers, I think, are not aware of.

Most of us here are not aware of. The majority of church fathers between January and May did not accept the use of musical instruments in the church worship. Did you know that? Was completely almost rejected. And there is no evidence, by the way, that musical instrument were used in the early church of the book of Acts.

In fact, it's more almost certain instrumental music was never used. Now we have to ask ourself this question, why is that? When the Old Testament clearly allowed the use of musical instrument, and the New Testament never prohibited its use either. To understand why musical instrument were not used in the life of the early church, we need to understand the common use of these instruments in those days. In the pagan Roman Empire, there were four styles of music.

Number one was the magical use of flutes and drums to produce good omens. The second use was the banging of gongs and drums to drive away evil spirits. The third use was music used to summon the pagan gods, and the fourth use of music instrument were at feasts and weddings that often led to drunkenness and debauchery. That probably explains some of the reasons why musical instruments were not used in the early church years, because their use what was attached then to some sort of idolatry. In fact, most Protestant churches did not use musical instruments until the eighteen hundreds.

That's another news for you. Because we have assumed that throughout church history, right, this is how the church sang, sang accompanied by musical instrument, but this is never was the case. At the time of reformation, let me read a few things for you. Churches opposed instruments in church worship. Listen to what Martin Luther said, the reformer.

He said oh, he called the instrument an insign or an emblem of Baal. Now that's harsh. That's harsh. Listen to what the great John Calvin said. He wrote musical instrument in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense.

He's referring to a Jewish burning of incense in the temple. The lighting up of lamps and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. Calvin saw musical instrument as an old covenant practice, no longer suitable under the covenant of grace. It's going back to the shadows. They understood it.

The church followed, they understood it this way. As much as the church does not worship as the Jews do, one place of worship, Jerusalem, a temple, an altar, a sacrificial system. So if we are done away with all of that, so we are done away also with the musical instruments that were attached to the whole system of Jewish worship. This is how they looked at it because they were part of that old system. Now John Wesley listen to what John Wesley says, another great man.

He said, I have no objection to instruments and music in our chapels. Now that sounds good. Right? Let me repeat. I have no objection to instruments of music in our chapels provided they are neither heard or seen.

That's John Wesley. Adam Clarke. Maybe some of you read the writings of Adam. I do like his writings. He wrote he says, music as a science, I esteem and admire, but instruments of music in the house of God, I abuminate and abhor.

Charles Spurgeon never allowed any instruments in his Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. So we conclude from these examples of great men of God that some of them thought of musical instruments as a sign of the old covenant. But also, and that's very important, I believe they were defensive about the possible influences of pagan music creeping into the church and leading it astray, and I believe their fear here was legitimate. Today, some churches still hold to this teaching as the churches of Christ and other smaller denominations. Are we then to follow the footsteps of this great great man of God?

I would say not in this area. I respect him. I love him, but not in this area. Why? Well, we have no New Testament prohibition of the use of instruments, musical instruments.

Also, I believe musical instrument played beautifully and in the spirit, and, yes, we can play in the spirit and you can play carnally. So I believe beautiful musical instrument played in the spirit and beautifully can help the worshiper experience and exalt the glory of God. Now why I had mentioned all of this, well, I want to emphasize one important point we cannot and we should not ignore. Music is very powerful. Musical instruments, when they are played, can be very powerful.

Melodies can be very powerful with lyrics and without lyrics, both ways. Listen to an orchestra playing without any larynx can be very powerful. You are moved. You are moved to happiness, to sadness, to calm, to anger, to peace, even to aggressive and defiant behaviors. The instruments of music, those tunes played move you often to the core, And your emotions and subsequently your actions can be the result of the music you have been listening to.

There is power, tremendous power in music. Now the Bible tells us that king Saul the Holy Spirit departed king Saul and a horrible Holy Spirit, if you remember, would would come upon him. Now his servants, saw his behavior change and became very violent, so they have recommended a young man by the name of David to be brought to him and play for him some calming music. In first Samuel sixteen twenty three, we went through that with through with with pastor Daniel. And it says whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played with his hand.

So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. Now I'm sure if David brought with him a drummer and he played heavy metal music, the result would have been very different. Now Saul was already crazy. He needed some calming music. So there is power in the music.

Now is there such thing as bad or evil music? Bad, I agree. You you think probably I'm sure there's some bad music. Right? But what is there such thing as evil in music?

Now I believe there's no such thing as an evil musical instrument. Every musical instrument can be used for the glory of God and also can be used for the gratification of the flesh. It's a neutral. But is there such thing as evil evil music? Some Christian would say, no.

It's all about the lyrics. I would argue that's not true at all. I believe this is what the devil wants us to believe, that music by itself is harmless. Listen to any tunes, anything. It's harmless.

But, again, we've seen David needed I mean, Saul needed a calming music, not a heavy metal music because it does affect you. It does affect what you think and maybe how you would behave later. They will tell us, some of those who believe that, only lyrics are important, the music not important. It would tell us, just bring to church any type of music. It would tell you you cannot reach this group of people until you bring something, some melodies that they like and they love.

You cannot reach the lost until you accommodate them and you imitate them and you offer them what they like. You have to be culturally and musically relevant. Then you see many Christian bands are not much different than any worldly or secure bands using the same methods. They look the same. They act the same.

The only difference may be the words of the songs. But even the words, sometimes, you are confused with because you don't know what you are they are singing about. Are they singing about Jesus or someone whom they are madly in love with? You have no clue. They're all mixed up.

Now am I trying to single out here one type of music as sinful? I'm not. I'm really not. But I want to ask few simple questions to any true believer, to you. Is the music you are listening to drawing you closer to God?

Number two, is the music you are listening to teaching you truths about God? Theologically sound and rich. Is the music you are listening to helping you to have a deeper fellowship, deeper worship experience in spirit and truth. And I would like to emphasize that last sentence, in the spirit and truth. This what we need to be seeking.

Is there a change of thought and direction over time? Is there spiritual over spiritual benefits over time from the experience we have in worship or in listening to such type of music or melodies? And if it's not, I would ask you think about what you are doing twice. Now as we have mentioned earlier, musical instrument were used in pagan worship, but they were also used in the temple of God under the Old Testament covenant. Now turn to turn with me to second Corinthians five verses 11 to 14.

I wanna talk about the conduct of the musicians and also us as worshipers in God's presence. Look at verse 11. It says there, when the priests came out of the holy place, for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves without regard to their visions, then verse 12, and all the Levitical singers, he mentions by name, arrayed in fine linen with cymbals, harps, lyres, stood east of the altar with one twenty priests who were trumpeters. Now when David brought the ark to Jerusalem, all the priests consecrated themself, prepared themselves for the worship. They consecrated themselves, and all the Levites and singers were dressed in fine linen.

This is a picture of preparedness beforehand. They consecrated themselves, and in purity and holiness in the presence of God, they were dressed in pure white linen. Let's look at verse 13. It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison and praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. And when the song was raised with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments in praise to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

The house of the Lord was filled with a cloud so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. No. This is not emotions. This is the presence of God in the midst in response to their worship, in response to their attitude when they come before him. This happens when writing music is played accompanied with lyrics that are doctrinally sound, having the right attitude before a righteous and a holy God.

God fills the house with his presence. He fills the house with his glory. Is this what you is this what we want? Is this what we seek? What is plaguing the church today is empty in music.

Music without substance, without sound theology, emotionalism. People are moved by the sound of music, not by the theology of the lyrics. Stop the music, and you'll stop a whole movement. You have a whole movement based on music without substance, on performance

and

emotionalism. Satan has succeeded, I believe, in bringing worldly ideas to the church, putting melody in the forefront, artistic performance over sound theology. You see, this kind so called worship does not produce holiness holiness. It's emotionally driven. It's superficial, does not bring conviction or or repentance.

People might shout loud, and they do. People might clap their hands or raise their hands. They might jump up and down. They might dance. They might cry, but nothing really happens.

All these things happen also in worldly concerts. You know that. Right? Listen. If after thirty minutes of singing or so, you don't feel convicted or stirred to holy living or edified, there is either a problem with the songs, the singers, or you.

The worship should stir us up to a holier living, should convict us of something, should bring us really under that spirit of true worship. It's very probable, very possible to confuse feelings produced by melody with feeling produced by the truth. It's very, very possible. Listen to what Saint Augustine said back in his days in the fourth century. He said, when I find the singing itself more moving than the truth which it conveys, I confess that this is a grievous sin, and at those times, I would prefer not to hear the singer.

That is very convicting even for me. It's very convicting. When I find the singing itself more moving than the truth the truth being conveyed in the words, in the song. Paul writes to the Colossians in Colossians three sixteen saying, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your heart to God. It is the word of Christ, the truth communicated in the song that must dwell in our hearts richly and produce a holy response.

Not the creativity of the musicians, and thank God they are creative, but not their creativity, not the volume, not the skill, not even the atmosphere. We must be honest. Beautiful mauledis can easily push the word of Christ away from the center of our hearts. They escape the word of Christ as the center, dwell richly, deeply in our hearts. Now let me give you some points to indicate that this might be happening in your life or my life, where music, the melody takes over the theology, the sound theology I'm I'm I'm I'm affected by.

One, we tend to respond emotionally more to arrangement and instruments than content. I want to wait just a second here to that you would meditate on this and see. Singing feels boring when it's a music I don't like. We care more about how songs make us feel than what they say. We actually don't think much about what we're singing.

We're just singing. I believe we are, as a local assembly, we try to choose always the best hymns, theologically sound doctrine, rich. We try to put these things always in the forefront. Yes. We love good melodies, and we want to sing nice melodies with beautiful words.

Now look with me with me one example. One more example in first chronicles chapter 16. And, hopefully, this will be our last example, and I say, hopefully, we'll see. The ark of the Lord was brought and put in a tint of meeting. And in the first few verses in this chapter, we see the musical instruments that were used, in the worship of the tabernacle, the harps, the lyres, the cymbals, the trumpets.

But beginning in verse eight, we see the lyrics. The words. Oh, the words. Oh, the lyrics. Look look at verse eight.

Just a couple of verses. Look at verse eight. Oh, give thanks to the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him. Sing praises to him. Tell of all his wondrous works. Seek the Lord, verse 11. Seek the Lord and his strength.

Seek his presence continually. Go down to verse 29. Ascribe to the Lord the glory to to his name. Bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

Verse 30. Tremble before him all the earth. Yes. The world is established. It shall never be moved.

You see here, there is praise. There is task giving. There is telling of what God has done. There is a proclamations of God's truth and who he is. There is a joy.

There is strength. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. Verse 29, there is holiness. Tremble before him, verse 30, there is a healthy fear. This is how true worship should look like.

This what we need to aim for and seek in our church and also in our private lives? Clearly, this is not what Babylon wants. This is not what the world wants. Babylon says when you hear the sound of the Babylonian orchestra, just bow down and worship. Worship the god we meet.

All other peoples had no problem doing this. All bow down and all worship the golden image. You see, Nebuchadnezzar did not tell them not to worship their gods. He had not he did this on different occasion, but not. They could still do that.

Worship your god, but you must also worship the god I tell you to worship. Do you see it? This is strategy. It's okay to meet in a church building, but use my methods, the world would tell you. The Babylonian methods.

It's okay to open the Bible, at least for now, but I will tell you how to interpret it. Sing songs at your church service, but make them relevant. Keep believing in Jesus, the Jesus we, the world, invented, the Jesus who is tolerant of sin, the all inclusive Jesus, the Jesus of love and six color rainbow. Not Jesus of the bible. Not the Jesus who loved us through death on the cross.

That Jesus who demands repentance. That Jesus who is the savior and also the judge. Jesus, the lamb of God, and Jesus, the lions of Judah. We don't want that Jesus. Jesus in his humility as a son of man and Jesus in his glory as a son of God.

Jesus of the gospels and Jesus of the book of Revelation. Jesus of the Sermon of the Mount and Jesus when he speaks, he speaks like many water and as thunders. We don't want this Jesus. Don't give us the Jesus. Speak of our invented Jesus who cannot save and who will judge no one.

It's not your Christian faith that will tell us we don't want, but your claim that Jesus is the only way to heaven. It's a claim that there is no salvation but through Jesus alone. This we cannot accept. But that's exactly what my Christian faith is. The exclusivity of Jesus, the exclusivity of the Christian faith, to deny this or to is to deny what Jesus has said and who Jesus is is to deny and shake the holy Christian foundation.

To deny that means that millions of Christian martyrs died in vain. They suffered and died, beaten, burned at the stake, stoned, crucified, given to be eaten by wild animals, were killed in all manners of death for the sake of preaching the truth of the gospel, the true Jesus, the son of the living God. They died for the truth. They give the life for this truth. They did not love their lives unto death.

The same truth that millions of Christian martyrs stood for, I will promise you, and I'm sure pastor Batasu will promise you, we will continue forever standing for. And this was this church will continue to stand for and uphold. For Babylon, for the world system today, this is a narrow mindedness. This, they will not tolerate. Then in verse six of Daniel three, and we'll end with that, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.

One judgment to all who defy the king's order. Anyone who does not bow down and worship the golden image will be killed. Now we have not reached this point yet, but the Bible tells us that this day is coming. Remember the words of our Lord in John sixteen two. They would put you out of the synagogues.

Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God, and they will do these things because they have not known the father nor me. But in Babylon, there were still few good and courageous men who were ready to defy the king's demands as there are in every generation, men and women who Christ will not be ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, men and women who love God's truth more than anything, more than their own life, who will stand before the throne of God and before the lamb wearing white robes. To these, Christ will say, well done. Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter the joy of your master.

Are you this one? Are you this one? Will Jesus utter these words to you when you come before him? Well done, good and faithful servants. May God find us all faithful until the end.

Let's pray. Our god our god, we worship you. Oh, we declare your authority. We declare your power. You we declare your majesty above all.

Lord, we thank that you have in your wisdom established us in this generation and in this place to hold up, to hold your truth, to defend your truth. Lord, the world says something, but your word tells us something else, and we are ready as your church to follow you even unto death. So we thank you for the millions of martyrs throughout Christian history who died defending your truth and did not love their lives unto death. Lord, we pray we pray, God, that when you come, you find your church faithful. Faithful, willing to love you more than anything.

Lord, help us follow your methods. Follow your ways. Not be distracted of what the world tells us or want us to do, but rather be obedient. Loving you, serving you, and yes, Lord, worship you in the spirit of and truth. Lord, we pray that the continuation of the service and always our worship will be in the spirit and truth.

That's what we want to seek, Lord. Not professionalism, but rather a true worship that is pleasing to you. Lord, we give you the glory and the honor. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Thank you, pastor Ben. It's let me tell you. From a preacher standpoint, to receive a notice less than twenty four hours before a preaching opportunity to be told, can you preach, is not an easy thing. So we're so grateful that you're able to speak God's word to us. And this subject is so vast.

I mean, you might be a visitor today and thinking, really? You Christians are even caught up in singing and singing the right things and listening to the right things. And it's not like it's our personal conviction. It's in the word of God. And in my personal study of this subject, one of the things that made such an impact on my soul concerning this is a is a few verses in the book of Job, and I'm gonna read it to you as as we are prepared to close.

But consider this as maybe an added thought to everything that our brother just shared with us. In Job 38 verse four, this is the Lord speaking to Job and rebuking him. And he says this to him in verse four of chapter 38. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. Or who's who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who'd laid its cornerstone?

And this is the part that touches me in verse seven. When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. You know what that tells me? The sons of God here are reference to the angels. Singing is as old as creation.

Singing was there before the creation of the very world that you and I inhabit. And so think about this. Before a love song was ever written, before a band was brought together, before an orchestra was ever created, and I believe music is a gift in those different areas. The DNA of singing was worship to God. That's the DNA of singing.

It was there in the heavens before we ever enjoyed it here on earth, which tells me that if that is the DNA, then its sole purpose, its primary purpose is for us to sing unto him, and to worship him, and love him, and create for him. And I believe from that trickles down, innocent pure music where where a man can write a love song to his wife. Right? Look at the song of look at the song of songs. All these things that we enjoy, but its primary pinnacle purpose, glorifying God.

Glorifying God. Isn't that a wonderful thought to consider? Lord, we do want to sing to you. Lord, we thank you that when a person is born again, you put a song in that heart, and you you put a desire for us to even though our voices may not align with that desire, Oh, it's so real to say, I now want to pour out my praise to him. Surely, this is a supernatural thing.

And and, Lord, we pray that we would know how to sing the way you want us to sing. And we pray that we would never forget the power of this, Lord, how it can really rescue us from despair. It can even teach us, Lord. It can edify us. It can build up our faith.

And we just ask, Lord, that as much as we are a people who want the word to be preached faithfully, Lord, may our singing be pure. May it may it echo what this word says, and may it have the effect that you had designed it to have in our lives. Lord, would you be blessed? Would you be blessed? And would you gift us and continue to gift us and use us?

Make us Maranatha Bible Church, a singing church. This is our prayer and our desire. Lord, and even beyond these walls, put a song in our mouth when we drive to work. Put a song in my in our mouths when we are praying over a sick child. Put a song in our mouth when we are enduring trials, Lord.

Put a song in our mouth, oh God, when all is well and you are deserving of glory for all the good that we enjoy. Lord, put a song in our mouth, and we'll be blessed by it. Be blessed by it, Lord. Thank you, Lord, that we are the only creation in all the universe that can sing of what it's like to be forgiven of our sins. May we never forget that, Lord.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen and amen. Go ahead in Jesus' name. God bless you, and we'll see you next week if the Lord wills. Take care.