For many years, I attended churches with contemporary worship services. I would dance in the aisles with the rest of them. But God gave me four dreams about how shameful this is to him.

The Lord showed me that most of the modern worship songs are pagan to him. The dancing done in worship services is lewd and shameful to him. People think they are dancing to God, but they are really dancing to the music that quite often has a rock beat to it.

The so-called Christian rock concerts are even more lewd aswell as appalling. The concerts are no different than secular concerts. The musicans normally have long hair or even mowhawks, tattooed, wearing revealing clothing, and shamefully dancing around on stage. There is normally strobe lights and smoke cannons.The kids attending the concerts are into body bashing each other aswell as the stage. They grab at the feet of their gods. Does this bring honor to the Lord Jesus Christ?

People are also lifting up unholy hands to God in worship.They are stained with the many sinful bondages in their lives. People are committing adultry, fornication, lying, using profanity ect.The Bible says to lift up holy hands unto the Lord.
The book of Revelation says this about the materialistic church of Laodicea.

NKJV REV 3:14 " And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,' These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:

15 "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 "So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

17 "Because you say,'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'-- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked --

18 "I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed,[that] the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

True worship is defined as prostrating yourself (face to the ground) before the Lord. God is holy and worthy of our respect and reverence. Praise songs should also show respect and honor for the Most High. For he is God Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth.

Hi Servant of I AM,

I agree. It has become a circus mentality... not worship of the one true God. I have experienced exactly the same as you are referring to.

I have seen both ends of the spectrum. Rock Concerts with some faggot leading the service for a pulpit pimp. The other end is the Funeral Parlors of yesteryear which have not all died out yet!

I too have been to the freak shows.

Some have gone to great degrees to ban certain or all insturments because their experience with them is defiled or they have appertained to a particular cult doctrine that forbids the use of such.

I have heard knock offs of "heres a quarter call someone who cares" where the tune is exactly the same and the lyrics were changed to "here's a bible call Jesus who cares".

The same can be said of hymns like "amazing grace" and others that actually were redeemed bar room tunes.

So in short it is important to Have the Holy Spirit and to walk circumspectly.

My Pastor comments all the time that during worship you can tell who has spent time with the Lord and who has not.
It isnt just the music its the spirits of the people as well.

When what is being done in secret is pleasing to him the open reward will be faithful and pleasing to hiim as well.

I dreamed that I entered a large mega church. There was valet parking, aswell as a large fountain and chandelier in the entryway. My eyes were then fixed upon a throne that was elevated on a platform. The throne was roped off with velvet rope. The throne belonged to the Pastor of the church.

Then I entered the sanctuary for worship. The seats were on elevated bleachers. Similar to what you would see in a school gymnasium. My wife was with me. All the people worshiping were around our age. At that time I was in my mid-thirties, I am now 42.

As we began to worship, the worship leader starting singing faster songs. The worship leader then said ,lift your hands up to the Lord. Then he said, let us dance before the Lord. Then he said, let us take off our clothes before the Lord. The worship leader then took off his shirt and began to dance wildly and lewdly.

Then I looked to my right, and I saw a second group of bleachers. All of the people on these bleachers were grey headed senior citizens. Their bleachers were at least twenty feet from ours. These were the previous generation. All of the older generation of people were pointing their fingers and shaking their hands toward us. They were repeating, Shame on you, Shame on you.

The understanding to the dream was that the worship and dancing was shameful to the Lord. The worship leader saying, take your clothes off before the Lord, then removing his shirt ,was symbolic of shame and lewdness.

The elevated throne, the valet parking, the fountain, aswell as the chandelier all reflect materialism, pride, greed,aswell as the love of money.

In another dream I had, God took me back in time to my teenage years. I was in my church in Arkansas. I noticed my old friends around me. During the slow worship songs we were lifting our hands up and singing from our hearts. The songs were filled with scripture verses. I understood that this was pleasing to the Lord.

Then we began to sing fast pace songs with hand clapping and dancing. The Lord spoke to me and said, this is a pagan song. We sang another similar song, and the Lord said again, this worship is pagan to me.

In another dream, the Lord placed me in a room with a long table and about fifty people seated at the table. My wife Kim and I were serving up a dinner for the people. We each had a deep pot filled with a soup with large chunks of meat in it.

We were dipping out the soup into bowles. We were feeding people spiritually the meat of the Word. Then I walked into a room with a man from Africa sitting on the floor. I began to place melted icing on his cinnamon roll. The man from Africa asked me for more and I gave it to him. Then I looked through the window into the sanctuary of a church.

I saw a worship team singing. They were all beautiful people dressed perfectly. They also sang perfectly. I said to the Lord. I wish I had a ministry like that. The Lord then said, no you dont, that means nothing to me, I am calling you to this. I then looked down to the African man whom I was feeding spiritually.

Another dream I had ,I was in my room ,playing Christian rock music like I did in my teenage years. The room was filled with darkness. I stepped out of my room and began to walk through the house. I heard a lady chanting outside my front door.

I walked into the living room where my wife Kim was seated. Kim said that she did not want to answer the door. I opened the door and there was a lady wearing a Christian tee shirt and cap loaded with scripture verses.

The lady had a smile on her face and she was chanting over and over, come worship with us. The lady sounded like a broken record and her hands were outstretched toward me. The lady then envited me to her church. She belonged to a mega-church in central Florida. It was pitch black outside. I told the lady that we did not approve of mega-churches or their form of worship. I then woke up. It was 3AM.

The next day, I heard on the news, that central Florida had experienced killer tornadoes at 3AM. Many church buildings had been destroyed.

God is not pleased with people making money off of his Holy name. Christian book stores are making a large profit off of Bibles, tee shirts, caps and music cd's. The prosperity movement is teaching that greed, materialism and decadence is pleasing to God. This is endtime apostacy.

This is very sad. As Christians, we need to be praying, that God will open the eyes of our Shepherds. For the flock is being led astray.

I am afraid that these are not our shepherds... but they are false prophets. (Matthew 7:15)

it seems then we are all in trouble to what i have read hear


david danced naked when he brought the Ark of the lord




2 samuel 6


14 And David danced before the lord with all his might and David was girded with a linen ephod


15 So David and all the house of israel brought up the ark of the lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet

16 And it was so as the ark of the lord came into the city of David that Michal the daughter of soul looked out the window and saw King David Leaping and Dancing before the lord and she despised him in her heart



Davids leaping and dancing before the lord was expressive of joy and praise to God. Davids dancing described in 2 samuel 6 - 14 was a form of religous rejoicing an expression of joy on the occasion of the return of the ark of the covenant to jerusalem kind david and all the house of israel brought up the ark of the lord with shouting and with trumpets and david danced before the lord he took the place of a slave at the head of the procession to express honor to Jehova God. his willingness to be the lords bondslave shows the true purpose and intent of his worship


while souls daughter looked out the window and despiced david the lord did not look down from heaven and he did not even rebuke david and the people when they brought the ark to jerusalem


i play the guitar and i play in our worship band hear abroad and when i visist my partner and my in laws in the philippines i play and i also dance before the lord and i fall flat sometimes on my face but most of the times i am on my knees at the front with my hands raised to the air telling my father how much i love him

but i come clean and dont dare mock god while i am in church or threw worship i ask the holy spirit to check my heart every day and if their is something i need to deal with by what the holy spirit brings to the surface i deal with it

before church i get up early on sunday i am up at 5am and i spend this time alone with god i have been doing this since i was young and i wil not stop for no one just because it does not sit right with how one expresses them selves before the lord or should you point and get on your soap box and say no you cant do this because it offends the lord


my partner and our members and the pastors in the philippines all do what i do my partner gets up on saturday morning at 3.30am and they get to the prayer meeting at 4am and pray from 4am to 6am they pray for the sunday service and they pray over the music ministry team


when i was a young chrisitan just out of jail at the age of 18yrs old i never use to raise my hands up to the lord in worship or would i clap my hands or would i dare to sing i stood at the back and observed what was happening i saw people singing raising their hands to god we had sevral people dancing with flags and these flags had scripture passages and sevral flags had the symbol of the lion

one flag has 4 white doves and a rain bow


i found it hard to do what the people in my church where doing then slowly god began to brake threw that wall

i was like sauls daughter looking down on those in my church


but today i am the one down the front with my pastor if i am not playing the guitar


you better be care full how you aproach this as what i am picking up does not sit right with me do you want to go back to the dark days or do you want to behave like the pharisees and the sadducees and do what some of the traditional churches are doing where our rights to worship god how we want to are taken off us and we just become robbots ?


and to call guys like my self who love to express our selves fagots be care full its seems that you want to place your self in the judges seat


the 5 churches we planted with in bacolod in the philippines al our members are allowed to express them selves freely we have young kids dancing and clapping and just expressing how much they love the lord



i will not change the way i do things until i see this from god him self


i have even written sevral worship songs



i know what the op is talking about and i can assure you me or the worship leader do not tel our members to take their clothes off or do we do what i saw in the strip clubs i use to work in

i know how sedductive music can be



you need to ask your self why you are getting these vissions



i use to listen to hard core metal and when i was angry i would express this threw the music i was playing like ac/ dc or matalica i have jumped in the mosh pit with the best off them when i use to have long hair



i am allowed to disagree and use my own head i dare not lay the guilt trip and expect to get members tapping me on the back

in the philippines music is used a lot they even use music in the jails by ussing music it helps to brake the walls people build around them selves every day the male prissoners and female prisoners dance to the old tunes i use to know very well

we use music to reach out to the aborigonal people in australia and we also use music in our nursing homes i am a male carer i work in a nursing home and i have seen the difrence what music can do

i listen to a lot of the new worship comming from america and britan like matt redman and i also have a collection of cds from our local worship leaders in australia i love the stuff that comes from ireland and there is some good stuff out their hillsong i love to listen to kevin prosh news boys and petra


thanks for sharing this but i feel that you should have kept this to your self until you worked out why you are getting thes dreams




God bless from damo

Many are indeed false Prophets/Teachers. But, there are also many Pastors with sincere hearts, but blind spiritual eyes. We are all growing in Christ, some produce 30/60/100 fold fruit. We must continue to fast and pray for the Church.

To Damo 7,

David danced before the Lord in holiness and from his heart. Also Miriam and the daughters of Israel danced before the Lord in worship, with great respect for the way he parted the Red Sea.

Today people are dancing to the music, to which often has a rock beat to it. People are often lewd with this. They are not dancing from their heart or in holiness. In Biblical times, dancing to the Lord never occurred in the Synagogues or in the temple. It always occurred outside in a private setting. The house of God would have been considered desecrated by this. We need to have reverence for the Lord aswell as his house. I think it is great that you prostrate yourself before the Lord. I also worship him in this manner. God Bless You.

Damo 7


Micah was not in the wrong when she was angry at David. David was in the wrong when he danced because he was exposing his privates. Dancing before the lord is not a sin but when David did his version of "Israel Kings gone wild" it angered God. Micah confronted David for showing his Genitals to all of Israel. Then when David said that he was in the right he refused to back up his claims in the name of the lord. David had always said previously he was in the right, becuase the lord had said he was. But note David never backs his claims up by saying "the lord was with me when I exposed myself".

Then note Micah was barren after this, she was Davids eldest wife and most likey he refused to sleep with her anymore. David had many other wives younger then her. So in his bitterness he didn't need the older woman when, he had younger ones to sleep with.


So dancing before the lord is fine as long as you keep your cloths on and don't sexualize it.

huh?


I never heard a teaching like this...

David was stripped of being encumbered and was "naked" before the Lord
in joy...Micah was inhibited and despised her husband...and the dance brought
it out...for if she had believed and understood she would have rejoiced in his
delight.

I would say that it was she that shunned her husband...not the other way
around...and like a woman that shuns the Lord because faith was not her way
but the traditions, of which David broke...

If your intention is to speak about todays kind of music...using the Davidic
dance is not a parallel. Speaking of David...who broke with what was
accepted and did what was acceptable before the Lord. I see a type of
church, in Micah, that is dogmatic and refuses to allow the moving of the Holy Spirit.

Micah means, something like 'who is like God'...and so I understand that
as her destiny to question, even her husbands joy and calling?

Maybe it is a lesson on jealousy...whew?

I would like to point out, that David did not dance naked before the Lord. He was wearing a loin cloth.

2 Samuel 6:14 Then David danced before the LORD with all [his] might; and David [was] wearing a linen ephod.

During OT times, the Lord never hesitated to meet out punishment when one of His stepped outside of His will, or someone spoke against one of His chosen, i.e. Miriam, Moses' sister when she spoke against Moses' wife, or David when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. Given God's pattern, David was never punished for dancing without restraint before Him, however, Michal was punished with barrenness, II Sam. 6:23, "Therefore, Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death." She was focused on appearance because David was king. But David's first priority was God. He knew where he stood with the Lord and he knew his heart towards Him. David's dance was not secular and of himself.

This 'epidemic' of 'holy' concerts has grieved me for many years. I actually attended a church for a few months where my husband and I were totally singled out because we didn't 'raise the roof' or run through the aisles or do the 'Electric Slide' with the congregation. This was every Sunday service almost. Church has become a show. It's about the concert and not God. But, this falling away was prophesied.

2 Samuel 6-20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!


David uncoverd himself before "the handmaids of his servants".

Micah was not "punished" by God either. David either would not sleep with her anymore or he spilled his seed during intercouarse.


Where does it say that Micah was punished, it never states "the lord Punished her" anywhere.

Leaping around wearing only a "linen ephod" will easily expose yourself if your not wearing an undergarmet.

Micah was in the right, David was in the wrong.

Amen!

And yes, concerning the concerts...it's just not of God. Idolizing certain *christian* singers is exactly what the world does, and it's wrong. Compromising to win the lost is not the gospel of separation and holiness. When you come against the rock *star* of rompha or tear down the sacred pillars, expect gnashing teeth.
God bless,
Kim

Just as it was asked, "Where does it say that Michal was punished," I ask, where is any scripture supporting the view that 'David either would not sleep with her anymore or he spilled his seed during intercourse?' We must be very careful about drawing assumptions regarding God's Word.

But let's look back further in scripture. II Samuel 6:14-16 states: "Then David danced before the Lord WITH ALL HIS MIGHT; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. Now as the ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David LEAPING AND WHIRLING BEFORE THE LORD; and she DESPISED HIM IN HER HEART."

We know the background of this scripture. The Israelites had recovered the Ark of the Covenant and were bringing it 'home.' David was with those who were bringing it back. The first half of v.14 tells us the spirit in which David's actions were based. It reads, 'Then David danced BEFORE the Lord with ALL HIS MIGHT...' David was deep in worship. The above scripture goes on to state, '...the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with SHOUTING AND THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET.' First, this makes it clear that the 'House of Israel' (everybody) was involved with the return of the Ark and they were 'SHOUTING' and the TRUMPETS were blowing. Everyone of the House of Israel was there and they were in worship too, so David probably wasn't the only one showing his 'business,' but the scripture focuses on David so I'll stay with him. Anyway, everyone was with David worshipping the Lord for the return of the Ark, but...where was Michal? She was sitting at home, looking out the window, watching everything. Why was she not with everyone else worshipping the Lord and giving thanks? One of the first questions I'm asking is how can she make a judgment when she's not even a part of the celebration? But, that's me and not scripture. Now, let's go further in the above scripture when it speaks of Michal looking through the window. It reads, '...Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window and saw King David LEAPING AND WHIRLING BEFORE THE LORD; and she DESPISED HIM IN HER HEART.' We already know Michal was NOT in the company of everyone else who was worshipping the Lord. If she had been, she would not have seen what she saw. This portion of scripture clearly describes the resulting condition of her heart. After watching David's 'unkingly' (according to Michal) actions, she DESPISED HIM IN HER HEART.' This woman, who was not a participant in the return of the Ark or the worshipping of the Lord for this blessing, made a judgment against David who'd made the choice to worship the Lord and acknowledge Him. She didn't think it important enough to be a part of the celebration, but she didn't see a problem with passing judgment on someone who was. If you'll read further scripture, which I have not cited, it states when David went home to bless his household, Michal greeted him only with accusations and judgment and nastiness. She didn't even say hi. She twists the situation and says he uncovered himself to these maid servants just as a 'base fellow shamelessly uncovers himself.' The word 'uncover' conotates a purposeful act, so basically, what she was saying is David purposely exposed himself to these young ladies. Her whole attitude throughout this scripture was wrong and it's clear that David's only intent was to worship the Lord.

But, I find it interesting that this chapter and this situation ends with, "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death." I don't believe she's mentioned anymore in scripture. I could be wrong, but I don't remember ever coming across her again. That statement in and of itself sums up her life from the point of her judgment of David to her death. It closes the book on her. Nothing is mentioned about David,... or is it? Look at II Sam. 7:1, the very next scripture. It reads, 'Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house and THE LORD HAD GIVEN HIM REST FROM ALL HIS ENEMIES ALL AROUND...' God gave him 'rest from all his enemies all around.' God does not give us peace when we're outside of His Will. If David had been outside of God's Will when he was exposed in the midst of his worship of the Lord, there would have been a consequence.

I said all that so we can see where David stood and where Michal stood, and the attitudes both had. When you say, "David uncoverd himself before "the handmaids of his servants" you're quoting Michal's words. You're quoting her judgment, the opinion SHE chose to take. These are not God's words, these are Michal's. God did NOT say he uncovered himself, Michal said this. What authority does she have when it comes to God's business. She didn't even think God was worth going out and celebrating.

I AM NOT ENCOURAGING OR ADVOCATING WORLDLINESS WITHIN GOD'S CHURCH. I AM NOT SAYING IT IS OKAY TO BE LAX IN OUR DECORUM. I AM, HOWEVER, SAYING IN THE MIDST OF WORSHIP SOME UNINTENTIONAL EXPOSURE MAY OCCUR. It's not a life or death situation. God said for us to worship Him or else He's going to have the rocks cry out. I can not imagine God wanting us to hold back our worship because we may have a skirt on or maybe shorts, or anything of the like. We're not sitting in church in our Sunday Best everyday and God's not going to accept us holding our worship until we're 'dressed appropriately.' I don't know about anyone else, but when I think about the goodness of the Lord, it's on!

I end with, dancing is not the only way to worship the Lord, but when it occurs let's be realistic. And yes, Michal did pay the price for her actions.

GOD'S TRUTH IS THE ONLY TRUTH
God Bless all!

So true, so true! Amen! It's just the world with a Christian spin.
God Bless!

Amen! Michal's heart was not right before the Lord or her husband. David was dancing before the Lord with all of his might. I believe that this was very pleasing to the Lord.

It is true that we are witnessing the great falling away. Sound doctrine has been replaced by a junk food Gospel. False prophets are a dime a dozen today. They prophesy wealth and power to the Church. God is not calling us to a materialistic Christian walk, but to a seperated lifestyle. The fear of the Lord is lacking in the Church today. There is no longer a reverence for the Lord or his House. God's house should not be turned into a disco tech, but a house of prayer. God Bless!

Those are colorful words. Are you allowed to use those words on a christian forum? No one can accuse you of not being passionate about it though.

quote]Amen! Michal's heart was not right before the Lord or her husband. David was dancing before the Lord with all of his might. I believe that this was very pleasing to the Lord.

It is true that we are witnessing the great falling away. Sound doctrine has been replaced by a junk food Gospel. False prophets are a dime a dozen today. They prophesy wealth and power to the Church. God is not calling us to a materialistic Christian walk, but to a seperated lifestyle. The fear of the Lord is lacking in the Church today. There is no longer a reverence for the Lord or his House. God's house should not be turned into a disco tech, but a house of prayer. God Bless!
[/quote]

Servant of I am you have some kind of problem. You see to think a man can show his privates off to anyone he chooses and it makes him righteos. David did a perverted dance and you must not like woman very much becuase Micha was a Holier woman then David was a man.

You choose Davids sin over Micahs comman sence and try to cover it up by saying Micah hates God ,your thinking it twisted.

Servant of I am you have some kind of problem. You see to think a man can show his privates off to anyone he chooses and it makes him righteos. David did a perverted dance and you must not like woman very much becuase Micha was a Holier woman then David was a man.

You choose Davids sin over Micahs comman sence and try to cover it up by saying Micah hates God ,your thinking it twisted.
[/quote]II Samuel 6:14-16 "Then David danced before the Lord WITH ALL HIS MIGHT; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.

David did not show off his privates. A linen ephod was a loin cloth that extended to just above the knees.

There are different versions of a linen ephod, just like there are different versions of a "
swimsuit, bikini, speedo, t-shirt ect". I trust Micah at her word over your assumption that she hated David because he praised God anyday. Micah never got sypilis like David did. Even thouhg he eventualy repented David was a very lewd man through much of his life.

David didn't even love Micah, he should have never taken her back from her the husband Saul gave her to.

no this member is not allowed to use these color full words on this forum he is a would be if he could be and has been reported to the moderating team raysondawn thinks he is king david when it comes to applying to certain topics and how he aproaches members in this forum who he does not agree with

dont let him throw you off or miss lead you if you see anything offensive hit your report button and the moderating team will deal with this

sadly we have many like this member living among us stopping what ever god wants to do in a persons life and i have had my fair share of raysondawns in a way i love challanging guys like raysondawn this shows me how much immaturity they really have and it shows me that guys like him cant be trusted to pastor a church or even mentor or disciple a new beliver

just be very careful sky



god bless from damo

Shame on you! Quit lying against King David. Nowhere in the OT or NT does it read that David contracted Syphylis...do you know how to agree to disagree? Would you tell God He was wrong to call King David "a man after my own heart"? If King David were a "lewd" man through much of his life, (as you put it)..surely God would not have called him "a man after my own heart", would He?

Why does the word say "Therefore"?...because of Michal's wrong heart attitude towards King David, that's why. II Sam. 6:23, "Therefore, Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death."

Your mind is not where it should be.

I agree with you kim,

I do not believe that Jesus would have been from the line of King David if David had been what some of you are accusing him of. David was not perfect, but he Loved God and was a great example to us on how to love God.

I do not agree with this topic. The music one chooses to worship the Lord with is individual. I don't like the idolization of any man and have seen Christian music stars being idolized.

However.............

I do not believe all people who listen to Contemporary Christian music or use it in worship is wrong. If God is being adored and lifted up and admired etc..... that is what matters.

If God uses modern Christian music to reach someones soul, who are you to judge what is right and what is wrong. If young people today are being drawn to Christ through modern tunes that point them to the cross and ultimately salvation than how dare we judge?

I have a dear friend that plays guitar as a form of worship. His music leans toward rock, but when he pours himself out to the Lord, it is beautiful. It reminds me of the story of the "Drummer Boy" playing for Jesus. It is good, because it is from the heart in sacrificial worship to our Lord Jesus.

I agree. I don't think the problem is with Contemporary music because when it gets right down to it, none of the music of today is close to the music of Bible times. But I think the problem is with the idolization of the music and those who play/sing. It seems as though the worship of God through music is taking a backseat to the mere enjoyment of the music. And there's nothing wrong with just enjoying music sometimes, but today the focus is quickly moving away from God and turning towards the medium itself. It's a very subtle thing. There's a thin line between the two and it's not hard to cross.

God Bless!

Hi Miche,
We don't consider it wrong to play guitar or other musical instruments. We are referring to style of music. It's hard to share differing examples without being able to hear them...there is a band called POD (if my memory serves me right)...and most of their music is heavy metal, thrashing type music, yet coupled with christian lyrics. This is an extreme example. But, I think we all can tell when the music itself is taking (worldly) precedence over the lyrics.

I've shared this before with others and here is more of what I've shared.....

I understand that many christians believe that hip hop and rock music are good ways to share the gospel or provide an outlet to christians...and I used to believe the same way, but I have since learned that these types of music are displeasing to God...
they do not honor Him or convey Him personally...
but rather they reflect the pride of life, personal glory, rebellion and idolatry.(ALL of which a person who is seeking Christ should turn away from).
What types of music does God find pleasing?...Is God pleased with christian rock or christian hip hop?

This topic is very important and should not be tred lightly.

Firstly, is it right for christians to make merchandise of God? The christian music industry is a billion+ per year money making industry. This is a seperate topic but needs to be addressed as well. According to the bible one should not be making merchandise of God. Of course those who agree with the christian music industry will argue that it costs money to produce etc. But we all know that CD prices are very over inflated and a large profit is being made. Not to mention ticket prices to concerts. This is not right and does not reflect the heart of God. His desire is that we have freely been given to, and to freely give. His desire is not to see his poor children being left out in the cold so to speak. CD's are expensive to a lot of poor people, and therefore they are excluded from this form of entertainment.

Entertainment, christian entertainment. It's not a biblical concept either. I see that the majority of christian music is geared towards entertaining the listener rather than drawing them closer to God. I am not against entertainment, but for the sake of clarity...praise and worship music should center on God, not our entertainment.

The purpose of genuine praise and worship is to draw a person closer to God. (For God inhabits the praises of His people). This cannot be accomplished by worldly means. Righteousness and holiness are pre-requisites to approaching a Holy God. The Lord says "Be holy for I AM HOLY".

Music style? The style of music is a crucial component in praise and worship. Music evokes emotions and those emotions can either glorify God or dishonor Him. What types of emotions are being evoked from rock music? I'm talking about style, not lyrics. Rock music and hip hop style provoke the following...pride of life, personal glory, rebellion and idolatry.

A reverential fear of the Lord is required for genuine worship to take place. This is not possible when one is engaged in the following, pride of life, personal glory, rebellion and idolatry.

When I speak of the "fear" of the Lord, I am speaking of an overwhelming feeling/emotion of AWE. A genuine sence of who you are in relation to God Almighty. When one magnifies the Lord, the Lord is High and Lifted up, He is exalted in your sight in comparison to who you are. I am speaking of the wonderment of God on a personal level. This is what draws His Spirit close to us. It is the TRUTH of who we are in relation to Him. Those who desire to worship the Lord must do so in SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH...it is these people whom the Father desires and seeks. Jesus quoted from the Psalms concerning this..."from the mouths of babes and infants thou hast ordained praise". This is the magnification I am speaking of. When you come to Him, trembling in fear and awe, viewing yourself as a very small child in comparison to Him, this is the proper emotion, the proper spirit to come to Him in.

This proper spirit cannot be accomplished by worldly means such as "rock" or "hip hop". I am speaking of this in sincere honesty, not a grandiose, judgmental, holier than thou mentality. The style of music is much more relevant than most are aware of.
Christian concerts? Who is being promoted at christian concerts? Is it not the singer, the band, the music, the stage etc? I have witnessed many christian concerts where the singer is being worshipped. This is idolatry of which we are to completely turn away from.

Christian dance? What place does christian dance have in a church? There is a TIME and a PLACE for a christian to dance before the Lord, but it is not in a church setting or a christian concert. Two examples of dancing are given in the bible which show a proper context. After the Lord used Moses to part the Red Sea and caused the sea to swallow Pharoah's army, this was a time for wholehearted celebration and dancing before the Lord. It occurred outdoors, outside of a temple or synagogue setting.
When the ark of the Lord was being returned to Jerusalem, David danced before the ark. I can guarantee you that David was not dancing in any sexual way or doing this as a display of himself, but rather he had the sincere joy of a child upon the arrival of Father God's presence to His proper resting place, Jerusalem.

Dancing is proper outside of the church when the fear of the Lord is at the forefront of one's mind along with a genuine heart attitude of rejoicing in God our savior. It is out of context in a setting where learning is to take place, or where the attention would be drawn AWAY from God, rather than to Him. Also the type of dancing of course should be taken into consideration. In other words, "shaking one's bootie" is NOT what is described in the bible!=)

To answer what is God pleased with as far as style or lyrics...
Types of lyrics which are pleasing to God are found in the book of Psalms. That's not to say other lyrics wouldn't be pleasing, but this gives us good examples. Lyrics which honor God in Spirit and in Truth are appropriate.

I believe that God is most pleased with music of a classical orientation....instrumental, symphony style. This can cover differing styles within this genre, such as Celtic style as well for example. That's not to say He's not pleased with guitar etc, but when the guitar is being used in a style which takes precedence over the lyrics, this is not right.

Christians need to examine their hearts to see what emotions are being evoked from the music they are considering to honor God with. We can ask the Lord out of sincerity to reveal the truth to us, and I believe He does and/or will.
Genuine worship upholds the love of Christ, but false worship detracts from that love.

If a group is imitating the world's way of singing/music, it's wrong. God's music should be set apart or different. When someone hears God's music, they should, without lyrics, be able to tell that it's God's music or in other words;"innocent" music...never having been connected to lewdness, profanity, pride, sexual connotations, egotism, power seeking or worship of other gods.

Rock-n-Roll has it's origins in Jazz, which had it's origins in Africa, as well as Hip Hop. In Africa the heavy emphasis on the drums was used to attract demons.

And heavy emphasis on the guitar attracts demons too.

Worship is a hugely VITAL component to our living with God. There is much said within the bible concerning worship. Simply because people decide to worship "differently" does not mean they are worshiping "rightly".

An example of this is when Aaron's sons offered strange fire to the Lord in worship. The Lord called for fire, but not the way that these two sons did it...and they paid the penalty of their actions, God smited them and they died.

We need to be careful about what we offer to the Lord in worship, it is a serious issue.

It really does matter.

No shame on you for not listening!!!