“If the world can scream and shout for earthly, temporary things,
I can give my loudest praise to Thee!”
-Tommy Walker
The following is a true story. However, the names have been changed to protect the ignorant!...I was flipping channels on a Sunday evening at about 7:00. I came across a well known home video show. They were running a montage of people who had been tricked into thinking that they had won the lottery. I guess this is a pretty common prank amongst lottery players. This very plain housewife, standing in her bathrobe, stopped scratching her ticket as she realized she had “won” $10,000! Now, keep in mind, $10.000. She didn’t win a million dollars. She didn’t win the powerball 35 million dollar jackpot. She won $10,000. This woman began screaming, jumping around, telling everyone in the room, and screaming some more. “I won 10 thousand dollars, 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS!”
You know exactly where I am going with this. The worship leader in me begins to think…”What would our worship services look like if Christians could grasp the unbelievable gift we have been given in Jesus Christ?” Even more thought provoking, “What would church leadership do if we got that excited about our God?”
Throughout Scripture it is stated, “Shout to the Lord”. What does that mean? How do we get our minds around this idea of shouting to the Lord? For the congregations that shout comfortably, do they understand the biblical concept of such an expression?
Throughout the Old Testament, many examples are given of God’s people shouting aloud. In Joshua 6, we remember the Israelites marching around Jericho. “The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, ‘Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!’” Upon their shouts, the walls of Jericho came down. In Judges 6, Gideon defeated the Midianites, not with sword or strategy, but with a shout unto God. Similarly in 2 Sam 6, David brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
The Hebrew words used here give a picture of an alarm, or a battle cry. These shouts are loud, ear splitting, triumphant shouts. Throughout God’s story, His people responded with exuberant expressions of triumph. In comparing these texts, I completely understood why Gideon and Joshua would use a battle cry. I became confused how the same word used for them, was also used in the example of David celebrating the ark being brought to Jerusalem. What is so joyful about a battle cry? What is so exciting about heading off to war? Why celebrate a confrontation?
Here’s why…the Lord has given us the city!! The victory is ours. This battle that we are fighting is already won. Is that not reason to celebrate? This battle is not like that of Gideon or David or Joshua. No! Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We shout, not for victory, but because of our victory. We shout because everyone born of God overcomes the world. We shout because 1 John promises: “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Make no mistake, friends, the war is not over! Although we know the outcome, we are still called to fight. We are still in the heat of the conflict. Satan has many fiery darts waiting for us. Yet, we cannot live defeated lives. As Satan hurls his flaming weapon, we shout “HALLELUJAH!” As the roaring lion prowls around seeking to devour, we scream “MY GOD REIGNS!” As the prince of darkness masquerades as light, we clamor, “PRAISE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD IN WHOM THERE IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL!” As the serpent spews lies, we shrill, “THE TRUTH HAS SET ME FREE!” Although the war is won, the battle, itself, is gained each time we shout unto the Lord. Each time we claim victory in His name, our enemy is defeated. Each time we shout aloud with a voice of triumph, another stronghold is released, another chain broken, and another bondage freed.
Can you imagine a church who understood the power of this shout? We would be a people who have life abundantly. We would be a people diving into this river with reckless abandon. We would be a people effecting change for the kingdom of God. We think that people would see us and think we were strange, shouting all over the place. In all actuality, people would be drawn to our victorious Christian life. People would be seeking us out to determine the source of our joy. People would be saying, “I need to have some of that!”
I can’t say it any better than my dear brother, A.W. Tozer:
This may be hard for some to admit.
But when we are truly worshiping and adoring
the God of all grace and of all love
and of all mercy and of all truth,
we may not be quiet enough to please everyone?
I can give my loudest praise to Thee!”
-Tommy Walker
The following is a true story. However, the names have been changed to protect the ignorant!...I was flipping channels on a Sunday evening at about 7:00. I came across a well known home video show. They were running a montage of people who had been tricked into thinking that they had won the lottery. I guess this is a pretty common prank amongst lottery players. This very plain housewife, standing in her bathrobe, stopped scratching her ticket as she realized she had “won” $10,000! Now, keep in mind, $10.000. She didn’t win a million dollars. She didn’t win the powerball 35 million dollar jackpot. She won $10,000. This woman began screaming, jumping around, telling everyone in the room, and screaming some more. “I won 10 thousand dollars, 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS!”
You know exactly where I am going with this. The worship leader in me begins to think…”What would our worship services look like if Christians could grasp the unbelievable gift we have been given in Jesus Christ?” Even more thought provoking, “What would church leadership do if we got that excited about our God?”
Throughout Scripture it is stated, “Shout to the Lord”. What does that mean? How do we get our minds around this idea of shouting to the Lord? For the congregations that shout comfortably, do they understand the biblical concept of such an expression?
Throughout the Old Testament, many examples are given of God’s people shouting aloud. In Joshua 6, we remember the Israelites marching around Jericho. “The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, ‘Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!’” Upon their shouts, the walls of Jericho came down. In Judges 6, Gideon defeated the Midianites, not with sword or strategy, but with a shout unto God. Similarly in 2 Sam 6, David brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
The Hebrew words used here give a picture of an alarm, or a battle cry. These shouts are loud, ear splitting, triumphant shouts. Throughout God’s story, His people responded with exuberant expressions of triumph. In comparing these texts, I completely understood why Gideon and Joshua would use a battle cry. I became confused how the same word used for them, was also used in the example of David celebrating the ark being brought to Jerusalem. What is so joyful about a battle cry? What is so exciting about heading off to war? Why celebrate a confrontation?
Here’s why…the Lord has given us the city!! The victory is ours. This battle that we are fighting is already won. Is that not reason to celebrate? This battle is not like that of Gideon or David or Joshua. No! Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We shout, not for victory, but because of our victory. We shout because everyone born of God overcomes the world. We shout because 1 John promises: “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”
Make no mistake, friends, the war is not over! Although we know the outcome, we are still called to fight. We are still in the heat of the conflict. Satan has many fiery darts waiting for us. Yet, we cannot live defeated lives. As Satan hurls his flaming weapon, we shout “HALLELUJAH!” As the roaring lion prowls around seeking to devour, we scream “MY GOD REIGNS!” As the prince of darkness masquerades as light, we clamor, “PRAISE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD IN WHOM THERE IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL!” As the serpent spews lies, we shrill, “THE TRUTH HAS SET ME FREE!” Although the war is won, the battle, itself, is gained each time we shout unto the Lord. Each time we claim victory in His name, our enemy is defeated. Each time we shout aloud with a voice of triumph, another stronghold is released, another chain broken, and another bondage freed.
Can you imagine a church who understood the power of this shout? We would be a people who have life abundantly. We would be a people diving into this river with reckless abandon. We would be a people effecting change for the kingdom of God. We think that people would see us and think we were strange, shouting all over the place. In all actuality, people would be drawn to our victorious Christian life. People would be seeking us out to determine the source of our joy. People would be saying, “I need to have some of that!”
I can’t say it any better than my dear brother, A.W. Tozer:
This may be hard for some to admit.
But when we are truly worshiping and adoring
the God of all grace and of all love
and of all mercy and of all truth,
we may not be quiet enough to please everyone?
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