Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp. (Psalm 149:3)
Music has been around for what may seem to us, like an eternity. As a matter of fact, it is!
On August 28th, we were honored and privileged to have Kelvin Lim. He came all the way from Kuala Lumpur to share with us the true meaning of worship through a 3 hour Worship and Tech Workshop that was opened to all. From his humble beginnings to the incredible experiences he has had in the music industry, we were given the chance to journey with him as he related to us how God has been using his passion for music to draw him as well as thousands of others all over the world closer to God. “Worship brings change”, the motto of his 1 Accord Ministry (1a.m.) band, represents everything they strive to achieve.
Music. It’s something the world at this age can’t live without. People use music to describe themselves. People can easily relate to music be it through the lyrics or in the genre itself. People express their emotions through music. In short, music is at the core of our lives, hearts and spirits. Why? It’s because God created music.
David penned Psalm 139:3 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” with evidence, apart from learning about the heart of worship, the power of sound, the power of light, yes, even lights HAVE sound! (just out of our hearing range) and the creative arts.
One of the highlights from the workshop was the sharing of the research study about genomic music. It’s something that many of us were not aware of.
Genomic, as we know it, has something to do with our genes.
In this comprehensive and extensive research, a group of brilliant people translated the DNA of different types of animals into musical notes/expressions using a specific algorithm complemented with advanced technology to see if what was produced made music or merely noise. What was shocking to the researchers, and I’m sure to many of us, was that each species of animals had such a distinguished music, unique to its own kind. (e.g. all dolphins had the same symphony of music, whilst swans had their own kind of symphony). Kelvin played a few samples to help us better understand. It was indeed extraordinarily eye-opening! To think that the DNA of animals had the power to produce such beautiful composition was beyond our imagination.
What was even more phenomenal was that this exact research was further done on the genes of human beings. The outcome of the research was without a doubt, mind-blowing to not only the researchers, but to us, too. Whilst animals had a sweet and graceful symphony unique to their own species, what they found was that human beings, on the other hand, had a uniquely dynamic symphony not as a species, but as individual beings! How incredible is that! A short sample was played and what we heard was enough to send chills down our spine. The music was just indescribably captivating. The melodious music accompanied with such dynamics was powerful enough to create such harmony in the spirit. The expression and emotions it delivered was infinitely astonishing and tremendously majestic!
So… what does that tell us? In essence, it tells us that each of us has his own song! God put a distinct sound in each of us even before we were born. Yes, we were indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. Why? It’s because we were made in the image of the King of Kings! How can we not stand amazed at our amazing God?
To wrap it up, Science and God indeed complement each other. Everything screams of God’s work. Let us guard our ‘music’ by guarding what we allow to penetrate our ears and ultimately our spirits as well. With the type of music this world dances to, as well as the catchy music that gets us bopping to unknowingly, let us be reminded that everything we listen to has the potential to distort the beautiful music God has placed in each of us. The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but God came to give us life in all its fullness. (John 10:10)
Let us remember that God created music. The devil can only distort and imitate what God has created. The original intent of music was to exalt and praise God for His goodness, love and faithfulness. Thus, we call it ‘worship’, “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration to something or someone that’s worthy to be acknowledged.” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
What are we listening to today? What are our children listening to? More importantly, what is media exposure doing to the children of this generation? Let’s contend for purity and redeem back the true essence of music, see the next generation taking a stand for their beliefs and not just allowing the media to steal away their precious God-given music.
When we truly allow our music to resound ever so clearly by guarding our hearts and offering true worship unto God, we’ll find that we can and will be renewed and transformed, simply because “worship brings change”.
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