Under Accord
- olukemio
- May 4
- 7 min read
About two to three years ago, there was a season that I was just praying for the Church universal. I had just been overwhelmed by the disunity in the body of Christ. I get the different doctrines (to an extent) but couldn’t get the in fighting and the divisiveness and all that.
The ministry that disunity was so prevalent was the music ministry. I noticed as people used the ‘downfall’ of some as ladders to advance themselves. Some so-called ‘Christians’ unashamedly would go on YouTube and tell us not to listen to this person or that’s music anymore. They would, on YouTube, tear their fellow believers in Christ apart before the world (I can’t tell you how it grieves me when I see some of these on YouTube). I don’t go on Instagram or TikTok, so I don’t know the lines of conversation in this aspect but I would imagine it to be worse.
This got me praying for the Church. I guess because I was praying, I began to have an understanding of the heart of GOD in this matter. Although I was unhappy about the divisiveness, as I continued to pray I sensed the LORD telling me that Himself will unify His Church - after all, the body is His. He will bring His Church together as one in these last days as we await His second coming. Afterall, He already prayed to the Father to make us one just as He and His Father are one (John 17:22).
The LORD Jesus is coming back for a Church without spot or wrinkle. And as He’s coming for such a bride, He will do the work of washing His bride (the Church) with the washing of the water by the word. So that He might sanctify her and present her to Himself a glorious Church (Ephesians 5:25-27).
Music/singing is an integral part of worship in every religion. With a song, you can build people up or tear them down. You can create an atmosphere (ambiance) with music and you can get people to do what you want through music. You can certainly bring the spiritual realm into the physical through music, causing spirits to go into action through it. Through music you can gain access into the spiritual realm. In 2 Kings 3:15, prophet Elisha had requested for a minstrel (a singer/musician) to help him hear from GOD when the kings of Judah and Israel needed GOD’s direction while they were preparing to go into a battle. In Joshua 6, when the children of Israel circled Jericho and eventually sunk the walls, it was the musicians that led the way.
Music is a very powerful tool and we Christians see how very strategically the enemy is using it (especially against young people). Is it any wonder then that the enemy is attacking the music ministry so much. He certainly know the importance of our worship (maybe more than we do sometimes) and works hard to distort our our of music and worship.
For the endtime Church, music and worship is going to play an extremely important role, as for us Christians, it is an integral part of our worship and lives; whether in our individual lives or collectively as the body of Christ, although it’s a means to an end and not an end in itself. With our praise and worship, we enthrone Jesus as King, we encourage one another and we battle and dismantle the kingdom of darkness.
When I was in Nigerian, my pastor, Pastor Tony Rapu used to tell us at TPH that a praying worshipper (a minstrel) is spiritually weightier than a prayer warrior or a gifted and talented singer/musician. And this is because the minstrel understands that this is an office (worship and praise is a vehicle/transport), not just a title, a path to fame, to make money or to bring good music to people. The minstrel understands that their worship is an offering to heaven, which causes them to receives from heaven what they then release to the earth. Looking at one of my notes yesterday. I saw a quote I had written down - 'Praise has a sound but worship has an aroma.' (I can't remember who said it)
A minstrel helped Prophet Elisha get an incline into GOD’s heart and helped the Israelites chart the path ahead of them, crushing their enemy. A minstrel helped bring relief to king Saul each time he was tormented by the spirit of depression. Praise and singing of hymns to GOD helped break Paul and Silas' chains and open the prison gates (Acts 16).
If the office of the minstrel is more than just singing, the Church thus have a responsibility to see worship/praise as more than just an opportunity to loosen up, dance and enjoy ourselves (I know there’s a place for that) but for the worship of our GOD. If we see worship in the light of the activities the heavenly hosts engage in, we’d understand that this is more than the song or the music. It's more than just what we do at the start of service while we're waiting for the church to fill up/for late comers to come. We'd understand that we come before the King of kings and LORD of lords and we cannot but be joyful before Him (and thankful).
If the Church has this understanding, we won’t be jumping from one singer or a group to another following after the latest ‘hit song.’ We won’t stop listening to a song because the singer or group said something or did something wrong and we want to 'punish them' by not listening to their songs anymore. We’d look at the spirit behind the song when it was written/released. David sinned in the Bible, but we still read the Psalms he wrote and other books in the Bible about him.
In this end time, it’s not going to be a one man or one band show. Worship is going to become so important for us to call heaven to earth, dismantle the works of satan and confuse enemies.
GOD is going to unite the worship ministry in the Kingdom. I don’t know exactly how He’s going to do it but He will. He may just give a minstrel in a nation a sound and other minstrels in other nations will echo it for the what the LORD wants to do per season or according to the challenges of the season. I don’t know, there may be some nations that will be the leadership where sounds will come from with other nations take up and echoing the chant.
GOD already did this in 2020. At the start of March 2020 before the lockdown that rocked the entire world, Kari Jobe together with Pastor Furtick and the Elevation worship heard a sound from heaven (even though they didn't know what would happen) and released it which carried the Church throughout the lockdown - The Blessing.
From that one sound, many nations all over the world took that sound and did their rendition to cover their nations (there were collabs among Christian worship singers within nations) - as they covered their nations. There was the UK singers coming together to sing the Blessing over the UK. Nigerian singers came together to pronounce The Blessing over Nigeria. There was The Blessing US, The Blessing Australia, Philippines, etc. Churches within nations came together in unity to release that sound of GOD's mercy and protection over their nations through that song - The Blessing.
GOD is going to do this again - where there won’t be competition between or among the ministry, the Church or people pitching one group against the other. It’s going to be purely the Church universal coming together to worship King Jesus, encourage ourselves as one Church united and push back the darkness with praise and worship.
In view of that, we each have a responsibility to not just see worship of the King as an entertainment or something we can’t engage in. That means we each have a responsibility to have a personal worship life - in the closet. We can no longer afford to be a spectator in the presence of the King (I will worship if I know or like the song but won’t if it’s out of my comfort zone). The yardstick we’re expected to judge each song by - is it from the Spirit of GOD?
It’s okay to have our individual genre of music in worship but to recognise beyond our genre that worship is actually what we do, beyond the music. It's okay for the Church to enjoy different graces but we cannot continue to pick this one today and when we don't like them anymore, we dump and pick another one. We are people of the Kingdom.
And for minstrels to recognise the enormous responsibility given to them to proclaim the marching orders as heard from the Spirit of GOD. But how can we hear from the LORD if we are competing with one another, tearing one another apart, releasing songs not heard from the LORD but to be at the top of the chart? How can we hear if we are easily swayed by the fame and the tour rather than spending time with the One who made us famous in the first instance? How can we hear if we are concerned with the gift rather than the Giver?
Currently the enemy is doing divide and rule with Christian music and the Christian worship ministry but the LORD will bring us together under one divine chant - the song of the King - and that will sustain us till the coming of the King.
Oh! Did I mention that it doesn’t have to be all one genre? What about high praise, hymns, R&B, Fuji, jazz, country and so on.
Be it unto us according to your Word LORD. Amen!
Disclaimer: I struggled with this one, so if it doesn't read coherent, that is why (just got to obey).
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