The Power of Music
In our Bible study, we looked at 1 Samuel 16:14-23, a passage that shows us David entering Saul’s service after his anointing by Samuel. Saul at this point is a troubled man; the Spirit of the Lord had left him because of his disobedience and rebellion and he was tormented by an evil spirit. HIs servants recommended music therapy to him, and David was singled out as being someone who was not only musically skilled but was also blessed by God.
The power of music to soothe the spirit and help with both physical and mental illness was known even then, it seems, and modern scientific studies have confirmed these truthsListening to (or making) music increases blood flow to brain regions that generate and control emotions.[1] The limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and controlling memory, “lights” up when our ears perceive music.[2] The chills you feel when you hear a particularly moving piece of music may be the result of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that triggers sensations of pleasure and well-being. As your brain becomes familiar with a particular song, your body may release dopamine upon hearing just the first few notes of the song. Just as Pavlov’s dogs learned to associate food with a ringing bell – and eventually began drooling at the sound of a bell, even when no food was in sight – our bodies actively anticipate pleasure upon hearing familiar notes. Interestingly, music can affect our mood even if we can’t recognise or replicate the notes and rhythm. Science has documented numerous instances of people who suffered brain injuries and lost their ability to distinguish melodies but retained the ability to recognise the emotion conveyed by music. Researchers noted that these patients had sustained damage to the temporal lobes of the brain, a region involved in comprehending melody; their frontal lobes, which play a role in emotional regulation, were unaffected.
Singing is also recognised as a valuable means not only of enhancing lung capacity but also of improving mental alertness, memory and concentration, as it involves focusing on multiple things at once, engaging many areas of the brain in the process.
David’s musical ability, probably honed whilst he was tending the sheep, was of great benefit to Saul at this time, and we are indebted to it as he was the author of many of the Psalms. We know much about David’s inner life with God from these prayers set to music, and the Psalms continue to inspire songwriters today. One of the most famous (Psalm 23) reflects his experience as a shepherd and his knowledge of God as the ultimate shepherd. Many psalms urge us to sing and make music to God (see Ps 33:1, Ps 13:6, Ps 96:2) Worship of God is at the heart of a life well lived; David is our example in this.
[1] Singing My Dad Back to Me. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/well/family/singing-my-dad-back-to-me.html?fbclid=IwAR1sMO0jS1lb7Knnzw9o6tf1YP1ldnhkZ7kuYzBD3EQK-rxvgsMWaPzg-6Y
[2] Jäncke, L. (2008). Music, memory and emotion. Journal Of Biology, 7(6), 21. doi: 10.1186/jbiol82. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776393/
Prosecho! – but not the wine!
Garry urged us to ‘keep watch!‘ tonight, echoing Jesus’s words in Luke 21:34-36, with the subtitle ‘be prosecho!’ The Greek word ‘prosecho’ (not the sparkling wine!) can sometimes be translated ‘be careful‘ or ‘take heed’ or ‘be on the watch’ and indicates a state of alertness. We live in difficult times, with the aftermath of the pandemic affecting our economy, the war between Russia and Ukraine adding to our anxieties and now the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict has reared its head. We are bombarded daily with bad news (climate catastrophes, crime, cost of living crisis etc.) and often feel as though we are swimming with clothes on, weighed down with care, unable to see any way forward.
Sometimes we deal with this situation by trying to ignore what is happening, but this does not work long-term. Jesus told us we must be careful and watchful, rather like the work of a watchman (or night security guard.) Ezek 3:16-19 echoes this theme, reminding us that we must be responsible for our own hearts. Jesus wants us to be wise about events and situations and people, learning from our mistakes. Wisdom comes from following the instructions of those wiser than ourselves; God Himself wishes to instruct us in how to live.
Eph 6:10-18 reminds us that we are in a spiritual battle and have spiritual armour from God which enables us to stand (and not drown under the barrage of bad news.) His truth tells us how things really are; His righteousness is available to us so that we can live in right relationship with Him. We are prepared (for He has spoken many warnings about the future) and are shielded from the enemy by faith. Salvation means we have access to God and the Word of God gives us the insight and help we need.
We need to be watchful (prosecho!) and on our guard. We should neither be weighed down with cares nor overwhelmed, for we are taught by God and have the armour we need to protect us. We can stand in the power that He gives and can overcome.
Divine Encounters
This morning in our series ‘The Miraculous & The Mundane’, we looked at Philip’s remarkable encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40). Here, we see how an angel of the Lord directs Philip to a specific road and a specific chariot and how after this divine encounter, which leads to the salvation and baptism of this important official in the Ethiopian Treasury, God takes him away to continue ministry elsewhere.
It seems that the God who made the world by speaking the word wants to be in partnership with people, involving us in His work and speaking directly to us in various ways. It takes time and practice to discern the voice of the Shepherd, but Philip shows us what happens we are prepared to let God interrupt us. Miracles happen when we allow God access to our everyday lives!
But for all that God worked in clearly supernatural ways, Philip’s role was simply to explain the Scriptures and introduce the man to Jesus. There is nothing particularly spectacular about this; we should all be reading the Bible on a daily basis and letting its truths inform us and direct us, so that when an opportunity comes our way, we are ready. Peter says, ‘Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.’ (1 Pet 3:15) We need to be ready and willing to give our testimony, praying for opportunities to explain the hope we have and living in such a way that others are attracted to God through our lives.
This incident with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch shows us how the miraculous works alongside the mundane and how God uses ordinary people to do His work. Once again, we see how privileged we are to be called co-workers in God’s service! (1 Cor 3:9) All that is required to be involved in the miraculous is a willing heart, listening ears and obedience. So often, we look at stories like this one and feel that nothing this specific or spectacular will ever happen to us. But as we wait before the Lord, He will speak to us, guide us, lead us, direct us and bring about God-encounters which have eternal significance.
Letting Go of Anxiety
Dave spoke tonight from Philippians 4:6-8, where Paul urges us not to be anxious or overtaken by worries. When we surrender to God and to His plans, our worries can also be released to Him.
THis is done firstly by prayer, by talking to God about the things which worry us. The Message version of these versions says, ‘Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.’ God is not interested in formulaic prayers but wants to hear our heart’s cry. He knows our needs anyway, but in articulating these needs, we often can then let go of our worries. We are to cast our cares or anxiety on the Lord (1 Pet 5:7) and to ask God for what we need (see James 4:1-2), Prayer is a great way of banishing worry!
Secondly, Paul urges the Philippians to pray with thanksgiving. As we learn contentment (1 Tim 6:6), we can be thankfull for all things (see Eph 5:20, 1 Thess 5:18). He urges the Philippians to get control of their thought life, focusing on what is good, true, noble, right, pure and praiseworthy. Our thoughts will either lead us towards God or they will lead us away from Him, towards a deeper relationship with Him or to a shallower relationship. If we learn to focus on God, then we will draw closer to Him and will find anxiety’s grip lessened in our lives.
The Wonders of Anagrams
All of you will know that Isaiah 61:3 is a very special verse to me, particularly the part where God promises to bestow on His people the crown of beauty instead of ashes. This morning I discovered that the Hebrew word for ‘beauty’ (pe’er) is an anagram of the Hebrew word for ‘ashes’ (‘eper). One author comments that if we rearrange these letters once more, we find the Hebrew word for healing. ‘God will not only rearrange the letters to give us beauty for ashes, but He will also continue to rearrange the letters to heal us of all the wounds that are associated with these ashes.’ (‘Hebrew Word Study: Beyond The Lexicon’, Chaim Bentorah)
I find it fascinating that beauty and ashes – things which seem diametrically opposite in our experience – share a common etymological root in Hebrew. It’s a reminder yet again of the divine exchange which God promises us. Transformation comes not so much because God imposes something on us, but because He transforms our brokenness into beauty, our blackness into colour. He is a God who transforms situations in ways we find hard to fathom, but the effects of what He does are visible to all.
Healings in the book of Acts
This morning we looked at the subject of miraculous healings in the book of Acts. As well as the lame man healed at the temple gates (Acts 3), there are many other examples of healing recorded by Luke, including the fact that people brought the sick into the streets and even Peter’s shadow seems to have been capable of bringing healing! (Acts 5:12-15) Other examples of healing include Aeneas (Acts 9:32-35), the raising of Dorcas and Eutychus from the dead (Acts 9;36-42, Acts 20:9-12), the father of Publius and others on the island of Malta (Acts 28:9) and the healing of many by Stephen and Philip. (Acts 8:6-7) Healing may be a controversial topic with many unanswered questions, but there is no doubt that God is Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord who heals us (Ex 15:26) and that He heals all our diseases. (Ps 103:1-5)
We see from these examples that healings brought relief from distress and suffering to individuals (both believers and those who simply came to be touched by God), great joy to all who witnessed God’s miraculous power and were valuable proofs of the gospel message preached. The result of these healings was often salvation: ‘more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.’ (Acts 5:14) When Peter’s words of authority led to Aeneas being healed, ‘All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.’ (Acts 9:35) When Tabitha (or Dorcas) was raised from the dead, ‘This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.’ (Acts 9:42) When a lame man was healed in Lystra, the people thought Paul and Barnabas must have been gods come to earth to be able to do such things and as a result of this, the gospel could be preached. (Acts 14:8-18) Miracles are God’s way of demonstrating to people who He is and what He can do and healings are one of the ways He underlines the truth of the message preached.
Jesus told us that ‘whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.’ (John 14:12) Miracles are not simply reserved for the super-spiritual; James reminds us, ‘pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.’ (James 5:16) As we believe God’s word and rely on the Holy Spirit living within us, God is still able to use us as He did those first followers to bring miracles of healing to others so that His name may be glorified and His kingdom increased.
