Healing, Restoration, and Deliverance to God's People
"Truly there would be reason to go mad were it not for music", wrote Tchaikovsky, one of the world's great Russian composers of the Nineteenth century. I would like to more accurately restate this so-called noble quote. "Truly, without the true Word of God in music, there would be reason to go mad." Yes, that sweet music, marked by the beauty of God's design and spiritual coherence of form, awakens the human emotions and kindles the spirit to worship and praise the one true God, the fruit of which will issue in love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
Galatians 5:22 and 23 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 23gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Oh, how unaware, or shall I say, willingly evasive we can become to the captivatingsound of music! It has been called the language of emotions; somehow the people of the ages have tended to shun the negative side of these emotions: anxiety, tension, stress, doubt, worry, fear, hopelessness. Without a keen spiritual awareness of the devil's intent to destroy God's people, both physically and spiritually (John 10:10), and with little or no instruction of godly music, generations of well-meaning, God-fearing people, especially young people, have been ruined to the point of the above negative emotions, and even unto death. God's people need to know the musical score.The objective of this teaching is not to focus on what ungodly music can do to the humanmind, although examples will be used for clarification and clearness. The aim is to bring awareness, realization, and concern to the true possibilities of healing, restoration, and deliverance on a daily basis to the mind and heart and life of the believer.
Psalm 149:3b and 4 3b...Let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.4For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation [deliverance from evil and danger].
Music, through the ages, has had a powerful influence on society, culture, and the way oflife. All over the world, music, from its most primitive form to its most modern, has affected the populations of every inhabited part of the earth. Its effects on individualsand societies have been, and continue to be life changing. For example, normal pulsebeat makes suggestions more easily induced. In other words, when the beat of music is at pulse rate, the mind will receive the suggestions in the song more intensely, thus causing the listener to act accordingly. Therefore, when this suggestive beat is accompanied, for example, with words of hate, frustration, anxiety, sadness, fear, and hopelessness, they will lead a person in those directions. Words of love, contentment, comfort, joy, faith, trust, and hope, will likewise lead one into deliverance.*
Isaiah 51:3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
Even music without words has the potential to bring healing and deliverance. There is arecord in God's Word where King Saul was delivered of an evil spirit by the music played by David.
I Samuel 16: 14, 16, and 23: 14But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from theLord troubled him.16Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.23And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Also, the heart of the prophet Elisha was comforted and quieted by godly music to the end of receiving revelation from God.
II Kings 3:10-15 10And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!11But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.12And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.13And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.14And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.15But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.*
*Jehoshaphat was accompanied by the king of Israel and the king of Edom, both of which harbored evil spirits. Even in the midst of this, Elisha was able to be ministered to by musicians who played for the one true God, backing down the devil spirits, resulting in deliverance. The Spirit of God came upon Saul as he heard the music and the prophets who came with instruments.
I Samuel 10:5 and 6 5After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:6And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
In Colossians 3:16, the word "admonishing" tells what the believer receives when the Word of God is presented in music.
Colossians 3:16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
The word "admonishing" is the Greek word noutheteo. This is a compound word madeup of nous (the Greek word used of the entire mind, the organ of mental perception) and tithemi. The word tithemi is "offered in". Moulton's Analytical Greek Lexicon has "to set with design in a certain arrangement or position." Hence, noutheteo could be rendered, "to set something with design in a certain arrangement or position in the mind of another." To noutheteo implies spiritual ability and knowledge of the Word of God combined to use the Word to meet the needs and open the hearts of individuals. Godly music will help a believer to worship and praise God, whereby that believer could be in a spiritual place to receive God's deliverance and healing. God's purpose in music is tohave the believer's whole head and heart opened up to receive all the abundance He has available for His people.**
To be continued…ÿ
Note: All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. NIV indicates The New International Version, NKJV indicates the New King James Version, ASV means the American Standard Version, BBE means the Bible in Basic English, DBY means the Darby translation, NAU means the American Standard Version, 1995 Edition, and NAB means the New American Bible translation. For more information, go to the Works Cited page.