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As a community we prioritise singing together, but why do we do this? Wouldn’t it be fine to just sing some songs at home on our own and call it a day? The Bible is clear that there is power when the people of God come together and worship Him as one. As Bob Kauflin puts it, “A worshipping community recognises that passionate times of singing God’s praise flow from and lead to passionate lives lived for the glory of Jesus Christ.”
Here are a few reasons (and there are many more than this!) why we should come together as God’s people to praise Him for who He is, what He’s done and to seek His face:
He desires for us to come and worship Him TOGETHER
“It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!” Psalm 100:3
The Bible repeatedly beckons God’s people to come together and sing to God. When we are commanded to do something, I think it’s worth noting, as it communicates God’s heart desires. Simply put, God loves to hear His people sing together! It seems to be one of His ‘love languages’. So when we gather and sing, we delight God as we are being obedient to what He commanded us to do. It is a reminder that we are primarily gathered to minister to Him and bless His heart.
JOY is released when we minister to God together
“O Come let us sing joyfully to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1
As we worship our God together, He releases His joy amongst us, as Psalm 16:11 says, “in Your presence there is fullness of joy.”
We experience God’s MANIFEST PRESENCE when we are together
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20
Jesus said that as we meet together that He is there amongst us. Our God is omnipresent but when we obey His command to gather together in His name, His promise is that we would know His presence in a different way, in a manifest way. The manifest presence of God is the earmark of the church, it’s what distinguishes us as a community.
We are reminded that we are His people UNITED in Christ
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1
As Bob Sorge puts it, “When you pray and praise with someone, your heart is joined to that person. When we hear someone next to us expressing the depths of their hearts to God in worship and prayer, we discover the rapport we have with them. Our hearts leap within us. This is my brother! This is my sister! These are worshippers indeed! They’re after the same thing I’m after. They long for Jesus like I do.”
We UPHOLD each other as we sing over each other
“When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up — one on one side, one on the other — so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.” Exodus 17:12-13
In Exodus 17 there’s a battle going on between Israel and the Amalekites with Moses surveying the battle from the top of a hill. As long as Moses’ hands are raised, the battle goes in Israelite’s favour, however when he lowers his arms the Israeli army start to falter. ed, the battle goes in Israelite’s favour, however when he lowers his arms they start to falter. As Moses tires, Aaron and Hur come alongside him and hold his arms up until the battle is won. This is a picture of what happens when we worship together. When we sing over our tired and battle-weary brothers and sisters — of His faithfulness, His kindness, His strength —it is as if we are helping hold up their arms in the midst of their trials.
Isn’t it such a privilege and honour that we are able to bring joy and delight to the God who holds the entire universe in His hands! As we pour our hearts out to Him, He sings songs over us too! “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17
Oh, how He loves us!
With love,
Josh John and the eFocus Team