MUSIC

 Music is a very good way to tune your soul, body, and mind to focus and relax. Music has been every man’s and woman’s go-to whenever life takes a turn. I remember in high school; entertainment times were the best times because they were the times when boys could listen to hip-hop and songs that made us wild like animals. Afro-pop was not on the rise at that time and it was all about rap music mainly hip-hop. I remember I was so soaked with sweat from dancing and jamming to hip-hop songs that my school son had to wash the white shirt all over again. I am just trying to paint the picture of how songs can make even the quietest boy go wild. Music has the power to move both the calm and quiet guys to be wild and even violent. Music is such a powerful tool that everyone who gets involved becomes powerful in their own right. You can ask 10 teenagers who their role models are and if they are to list them, you will have two or three musicians inside that list. I had a favorite rapper or musician when I used to listen to rap or hip-hop. Jay Z was one guy I loved and when he dropped the song run this town, it was my jam till I had to change to another song. I want you to see the power of music and how it impacted my whole high school life. I became a high school gangster because of music, and it became hard whenever I had to choose between hip-hop and gospel music. Today as I was doing my Bible studies, the Holy Spirit made me see the power of music and how it can impact my life as a believer. The whole point of music is to get the listener into a mood that will be beneficial to the spirit or the flesh. This great knowledge was dropped into my spirit and it has been hovering over my mind since I saw the importance of music. Let’s talk about music.

Who is your favorite musician? I will not judge or pass judgment because it is your choice and you have a perfect understanding of why he or she is your favorite. Do you know your favorite musician has the right sound and vocal cords to make your body, mind, and soul move to his or her rhyme? He is the owner of your body, soul, and mind. Jay Z was the owner of my three (body, soul, and mind), and every time I was a slave to his words and poetry. Let me even talk about the power of even rap music. Sarkodie, the landlord of Ghana music as many of those who have worked with him call him, had the whole of Ghana at his feet when he came with a different style of rap. Whom you listen to has the power to own you and what you think about most of the time. Music in itself is not bad and I stand by that fact. Because music with the right words can bring healing to anyone who listens to it. There is healing in music and music is the best invention of man’s creations. Some might argue that man didn’t create music and I will agree with them but man has authority over music. Your favorite musician or artist is the one whom you most enjoy their rhymes and how they join beats and words together. Imagine the devil when he was in heaven using his God-given talents to make God enjoy his worship. He was the worship leader in heaven. In the same way, your favorite artist is your worship leader just so you know. I know you are thinking about what I just said but the truth is your favorite artist is the one leading the choir in your body to worship whatever the worship leader is presenting to you. Your favorite artist is the choir leader here because whether he or she is a Christian or not, he or she is the one leading the elements of your mind, soul, and heart to worship. This is why what and whom you listen to is very important to your existence as a human being. Let me share a little story that happened not long ago in my life. There is this rapper called Lil Durk and I was listening to his come-up story and how he has made it to where he is now. Unfortunately for me, I was moved to listen to his songs and he became the worship leader of my choir. I started doing the gang signs he did in his music videos and even started mimicking his gun signs too. I was moving to the rhythm of his songs and I was the first one present to follow his worship of violence. It is easy to deny that your favorite musician or artist is your worship leader but the reality is he or she is the one orchestrating the worship of the lord he or she is portraying to you.

Music, how do you feel after you had listened to your favorite artist? What comes to mind after hearing and listening to your favorite artist? The aftermath of what you paid attention to will be seen in your actions. Let’s use love songs as a case study here. There is one Usher Raymond song which is the type that is made for sex or using the word of the world, making love. I want to make love in this club, that is the song and I believe the aftermath of what you have listened to will be seen in your desires and actions. Whenever you listen to a love song, what desires do you have or receive and what actions are you most likely to do afterward? I am just trying to make you understand the real impact of any music you seek to listen to you. There is this special friend in my life and her favorite artist is Burna boy and I don’t have any problem but the issue I have is he leads her choir in worshipping whatever he is telling her to do. The impact of what you listen to might not be felt instantly but it can affect your tomorrow with thoughts that you might not understand. You have thought of shooting someone and you might not understand but it might have come through a song you listened to some time ago. You will say that your favorite artist doesn’t do songs that instigate violence but his or her song promotes the flesh over the spirit and that is even worse than instigating violence. The question I want you to consider is what is your favorite artist's main message? Is he glorifying the spirit or the flesh? Songs can instigate spirit to indwell any individual and make them lose themselves to other things which will make the individual lose the precious connection with his or her God. I was thinking of how I was so into Lil Durk and how his songs got to me. I got the answer to this when I was reading 2 Kings 3:15 and it made sense to me and how I was so into the actions the songs portrayed.

And Elisha said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a musician." Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

2 Kings 3:14-15

Music. It has the power to invite the Holy Spirit or the other spirits to come and dwell in you and me. My understanding of music and songs was enlightened by these memory verses. The songs I listened to and the songs you listened to have the potential to make you worthy to receive the Holy Spirit or the spirit that is not holy. So, with this verse, Elisha looked for a man who will play the song that will bring the Holy Spirit so he could say what the Lord desired to say. Remember, Elisha was a major prophet and he even needed the song played for him to prophesy to the King and those around him. Why? The answer to why he needed the harp player is that he knew the power of music and what it could do for him and how he could benefit. Elisha knew in his spirit that for him to prophesy, he needed more than just desire, he needed the Lord to come upon him (the Lord God likes to worship, and anything that brings worship to Him, he responds) and when the guy played the song or the instrument, the Bible says the Lord came upon Him. If the Spirit of God can move with the song Elisha listened to, what will the other songs bring to your system? You will benefit from any song you listen to but the benefit of your spirit’s desires will not be the same as your body’s desires. Why didn’t Elisha call anyone at all but call for someone who pays the harp the way His Spirit likes? A thought came into mind and this is the thought, how sure are we that the harp instrumentalist was a believer? Let this thought get into your mind, would he be around the Prophet if he wasn’t in the same spirit vibe? There is a possibility that he was with the king’s crew. But the main point of what he did was he brought the Holy Spirit down for the prophet to benefit. I want you to think of your spirit’s benefits and listen to songs that will not only cause your spirit to be joyful but listen to songs that will cause your spirit to receive from the Lord. What you receive or gain from a song must be beneficial to every part of your system. You must be careful.

 

And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

1 Samuel 16:23

Music. One will allow the other to depart or the other will depart for one to stay. The true-life experience will tell you that both cannot stay in one place. This is what happened when David played his harp, the evil spirit that had inhabited Saul after the Lord left Him had no right to stay because the music brought the Holy Spirit back into Saul and he was refreshed. Why didn’t the evil spirit stay when David played his harp which was spirit filled? That music that came from the harp of David was not the kind of music the evil spirit was accustomed to or in other words, it was not the type of music it liked. This goes to show that spirits respond to music that they are accustomed to and when they are not their type of song, they immediately leave the person. Music has its spirits that live on them and strive on. They might be innocent at first but the spirit in the music will either stay in you when it can identify with the same spirit in the song. I can compose a song with no ill intention but the words of the song will either bring the Holy Spirit or the other spirits into the song. When the music from the harp of David was played, the evil in Saul had to give way and allow the spirit in David’s harp music to inhabit the King. I have seen what Spirit-filled music can do to an individual and how it can stir up in the person the desire to look for God and I can confidently say that you will be a better person and believer if you are tuned into the Spirit-filled music. The Holy Spirit-filled music will be helpful because every piece of music has the spirit that is riding on it and for your life to be better and glorious, I need to listen to the songs that are truly and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit. Your growth as a believer depends on your willingness to let go of any song or music that doesn’t benefit the Spirit of God in your life.

¹⁹ singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.

Ephesians 5:19

Our task is simple if we want to please God, we must listen, make music to the Lord and dance to music for the Lord. Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs should be a daily thing for us as believers. I will not hold any grudge against you if you decide to follow your current worship leader if he or she is not a believer. I understand but if you want to grow as a believer and become what God had in mind for you when He created you, I beseech you with the mercies of God and the grace of The Lord to be mindful of the worship leader you will follow. Make melodies in your heart to the Lord and see your life change from within.

God bless you for reading and I hope your Christian walk will be impacted by this piece. If you haven’t given your life to Christ, get a Bible and read John 3:16 and Romans 10:9-10 and say this after

LORD GOD, I KNOW YOU GAVE YOUR ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO COME AND DIE FOR ME, I BELIEVE IN YOUR LOVE FOR ME, TODAY WITH MY HEART I BELIEVE IN YOUR SON AND WITH MY MOUTH, I CONFESS ALL MY SINS AND ASK JESUS CHRIST TO CLEANSE AND MAKE ME WHOLE. AMEN