“Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute
and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him
with strings and pipe!”(Psalm
150:3-4, English Standard Version (ESV)), “Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him
with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with
strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud
clashing cymbals!”(Psalm
150:3-5)... these and many more scriptures underscore the importance
of instruments in praise and worship in the house of God.
Though, I will not encourage anybody to disconnect from worship because
of the key of the singer or the inefficiency of the instrumentalist... but the possibility
of people disconnecting when the quality of music is low, is relatively high.
My main emphases today are the instrumentalist!
Have you ever started service while set up is still going on and the
drums are not set? Or enjoyed a service with wonderful sounding but the
organist is lost; what of a situation where the instruments are at war with
each other and harmony is a lost course...these questions spark up pictures in
our minds and realities that are not
entirely favourable to us. The instrumentalist is very important part of any
service, and any congregation that wants to grow, understands the importance of
that section of the house.
We all know that, for you to do anything; excellence is a key virtue, a
popular aphorism states that “Anything worth doing, is worth doing well”, so my
main trust of this discussion is not on the expertise...because I think that is
an obvious fact i.e. we should be very good in what we do. Excellence is not
negotiated for anybody in the Christian faith because, within us lies the
spirit of excellence, which should be translated into every aspect of our lives
including our talents (Learned or unlearned). Hence, please I want to use this
medium to encourage all instrumentalists in the house of God to continue to
rehearse and master the craft, for they are not average...they have something
those in the world do not have.
The focal point of today’s discourse is the “spiritual” of being an instrumentalist. As I have earlier
explained in an earlier post, there is no aspect in Christianity that can be
done outside the guidance and supervision of the Holy Spirit. The sounds of your piano might be excellent
to the eardrums; the excitement coming out from the combo as a result of your
bass send cold shrills down the spines of worshippers, Ooohhhhh! The sounds of your cymbals may bring brethren
to a different realm...but when the procedure is not right, there are
always questions to be answered. You cannot worship God outside God! It is not
possible...
That the atmosphere is changed and transformed when you minister does not
mean everything is right; God admires and love his people and “sometimes” will
not allow the shortcomings of anybody to hinder the work he has for them. This
is not to condemn! Far from it...but to encourage and exhort instrumentalist
that purity in all form is good for their musical health. The gift of the lord
is without repentance and his mercies endure forever, it is my sincere desire,
that we understand this and function under the guidance and direction of God. There
is a story, I like sharing; it’s from scriptures: David only played the harp
and the evil spirit that tormented Saul relived him (possibly left him at those
points in time)... who says in this generation that the sounds from the guitar,
conga, piano, drums etc...Cannot heal the sick, raise the dead, settle
situations in the lives of people etc. It can! I tell you again, it
can! A ready heart, through his skills can unleash such level of power. But
to begin with, INSTRUMENTALISTS have to begin to understand that they are
ministers of the most High God, hence when they have opportunity to express;
that lives must be ministered to.
The joy of the aftermath of an event should not be that I nailed it...but
that lives were ministered to. People should hear the sound of your drum
rehearsals and give their life to Christ because anything that portrays Christ carries
unlimited power! The spirit is one, expression in different dimension by the
spirit of God through different persons in one service to achieve a goal (–exalt
Jesus) also includes the instrumentalists.
Do not ever feel left out my dear! The choir or praise team have
opportunity to sing, the congregation can sing and dance but the drummer, pianist,
guitarist etc might not be able to sing but you can express it with the cymbals
and percussion, organ and piano, guitar etc. Get lost in the Holy Ghost; play
under the anointing of the father and something must happen. I often hear this
from my president “Do not be so carried away by what God is doing through you
and mistake it for what God is doing in you”..It’s dangerous! Instrumentalists
of the Third day, I want a revolution from your department...Let the whole
world praise God through you. Do you understand what it means to be the drummer
in the presence of God? Through your piano alone, the presence of God comes
down mightily in a place? It is my
prayer that the passion with which I write this flows through the hearts of all
who read as they read.
I do not want to major on the minor but for the purpose of mention let me
branch a little into it. You do not play for the church today, and tomorrow you
are playing in......... (Fill in the blank spaces with anywhere that does not
glorify God), how many masters do you want to serve. Scripture says seek you
first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and every other thing will be
added unto you (Why do we tend to want to overturn the sequence and search for
money and fame first). I do not know how true, it is; but I have always been
hearing that CHOIR and INSTRUMENTALIST are the most corrupt in any church setting
(I sincerely don’t know the yardstick for that assertion, so I am not building
on it). But I call this situation the minor because, with a good relationship
with the father, all these things do not come into play...his spirit directs
you. He that is born of God does not continue in sin (1 John 3: 9).
Fellow minsters in the vineyard! Drummers: pick up your sticks, let there
be a relationship between the sticks and the vellum, cymbals in rhythmic
intervals... all to the glory of the lord. Organists: let your fingers navigate
through the white and black nations of the board, producing wonderful sounds...
any instrument you play: express God- God is excellent , hence always try to
improve. As from today, make up your mind to perform with the heart that it is
for God and him alone, all glory and honour belongs to him... and let it be
done under the control of the holy spirit.
Disclaimer:
I might have said something that you have reservations about, just contact me...we
continue to learn every day
