THINGS THAT ARE ABOVE Today a professed "praise" movement is sweeping across America, and in other parts of the world as well. It is primarily concentrated among younger believers, and has served to redefine praise, worship, and the primary purpose for religious gatherings. Bible colleges and theological schools have reshaped their curriculum to accommodate this new emphasis – even though there is not so much as a syllable addressed to the church that suggests this emphasis is true. Church staffs have also been impacted by this new thrust, as new religious careers have been created by this new "movement." -- Tomorrow:
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory" (Col 3:1-4)
Devotion 12 of 25
A rather lucrative segment of entertainment is now found that reflects the offerings of this phenomenon. "Christian" CD's, videos, and television are now found in abundance. Even the clothing industry has been affected by the "praise" of the day.
Many churches of our land have pushed preaching into the background, together with any substantive teaching, giving the majority of the gathering time to what is called "praise and worship" – a phrase that is not found in any translation or version of Scripture. Even though the body of Christ is admonished to let "the word of Christ dwell" in them "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" (Col 3:16), such results are rarely found in the musical thrust of reference.
Much of this praise is more related to the Old Covenant than to the New. There is more reaching out than taking in, and frequent pleas that are more like those who lived during the time when the glories of the New Covenant had not yet been revealed. There is a spirit of ignorance that pervades many of these new lyrics that reveals an inexcusable lack of acquaintance with the Lord Himself, as well as His Word. It is not unusual to find expressions in these new songs that actually clash with Scripture, rather than agreeing with it.
It is not fashionable to question the validity of the musical thrust of reference. Many consider it to be a kind of spiritual awakening that has introduced an element of freshness into the religious mainstream. I am quick to say that there are some aspects a few of these songs of which this is true. Wherever there is accord with Scripture and the revealed purpose of God, there must be no opposition from within the body of Christ. Wherever there are godly singers and God-glorifying music, we will not set ourselves in opposition to it.
However, there is a controversy that I have with the thrust of this new wave of music – with those who have authored it, and with those who have embraced it. This has much to do with the text that we are considering, and with the quest for "the things that are above" that is mandated by the Holy Spirit of God.
One of the great deficiencies of the modern praise movement is that it is not awakening a hunger and thirst for righteousness. It has not spawned an aggressive appetite for the things that are above. In fact, it has largely become an end of itself, even taking the place of the preaching and teaching of God's Word. It is too earthly – too close to the temporal zone from which faith seeks to escape. There are too many spiritual pygmies driving this movement. It is not producing spiritually minded people, or compelling its adherents to earnestly want to be spiritually minded. There is too much shallowness in it. The flesh is too easily awakened by it. Those who are apparently living at a distance from God tend to feel very much at home in surroundings that are being shaped by this music.
Great spiritual leaders are coming from this movement. Those who are able to speak "unto edification" are too rare among their numbers. There is too much juvenility and levity in it. There is not enough room for the Word of God in it, or for fervent and effectual prayers, or for spiritual affirmations that challenge the mind, and move men to prepare to stand before "the judgment seat of Christ." There is too little interest in the "deep things of God," or the provisions that prepare us to dwell forever with the Lord. The coming of the Lord, the day of judgment, and an eternal inheritance are too in consequential to those who have embraced this movement. The earth is too important in it, and "the things of the Spirit of God" are not important enough.
This movement has taken an entire generation and isolated it from the rest of the body of Christ. What role do Apostles, and prophets, and evangelists, and pastor/teachers have in this movement? Where has a primary place been made for those who "have spoken unto you the word of God" – people God has categorized as "them which have the rule over you" (Heb 13:7). Why are those who are guilty of moral failures common among them? Why is it so easy for those caught up in this kind of music to make the transition to worldly music? Why do many of them look so much like the world? And why is it often exceedingly difficult to distinguish between their music and that which is spawned in the domain of darkness?
If these assessments are true, the answer is obvious. Here is a new thrust of considerable influence that does not require people to seek the things that are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. It does not demand that its constituents set their affection on things above, and not on things on the earth (Col 3:1-2). Self is not thrown down, fulfilling the word, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col 3:3). Where such qualities are found – qualities required by our text – they become abundantly evident in those possessing them. What is more, there is no provision made for Divine acceptance where they are not found. These are the things that confirm a person has really died with Christ, and has been raised with Him.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You that newness of life shows itself in manners that confirm its presence.