Christmas Presence
by Steve Phifer
There will be no major shortage of Christmas presents this year. Even in a down-turned economy, gifts in bright paper will flow from giver to receiver. There is little church musicians need to do to enhance Christmas presents this year. I’m sure many of us will present carefully prepared musical expressions of seasonal music as loving gifts to our congregations and communities.
Many will also participate in special ministries that provide toys and other gifts to those with special needs or those who are disadvantaged. The Christmas spirit does indeed flow, even amid the commercialization of Christmas, through the institution of giving and receiving Christmas presents.
This article is not about Christmas presents. I am concerned with Christmas Presence. There is a gift we can give that will never be purchased or presented by those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus—His Holy Presence. Our music and other artistic presentations can have a power deeper than music or art. Music has a power all its own to move the human soul. It can be used for many purposes including the worship of God and the telling of His story. There is, however, another plane of life—the spiritual. Many times we confuse excitement or passion for spirituality. The forces of the human soul (memory, emotion, pain, sorrow, joy, to name a few) reside in the soul of the human being, not the spirit. The trinity of man is this: We are a physical body equipped with the five senses, a soul where the above mentioned senses lie, and a spirit which is sensitive to the spirit world. Another way of defining these things is this: The body is the world-sensitive part of us. The soul is the self-sensitive part of us and the spirit is the God-sensitive part of us.[1] Music and the other arts move us physically and soulishly but not necessarily spiritually. The human spirit is subject to other spirits—the spirits of the people around us, ministering angels from the Lord, evil spirits from the pit, and the Holy Spirit. This is one reason why the words of Jesus to the Woman at the Well are so revolutionary. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. I want to talk about ways we can add this spiritual dimension to our music this Christmas.
Pray for the Anointing
“The anointing” may be an unfamiliar term to some. It refers to power of the Holy Spirit and is found throughout the scriptures in one form or another. One of the most clearly set forth passages is in 1 John:
As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit-just as it has taught you, remain in him. 1 John 2:27 NIV
The Greek word for anointing is chrisma. Strong defines it this way:
Chrisma (khris'-mah); from NT:5548; an unguent or smearing, i.e. (figuratively) the special endowment ("chrism") of the Holy Spirit: KJV - anointing, unction. [2]
This is the root word from which we derive charismatic. A “chrism” is a special endowment of the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word also suggests that to anoint something or someone is to mark them as set them apart for service to the Lord.[3] I sum up these two definitions this way: The anointing is the sign of God’s choice and the flow of God’s power. It only makes sense that if the Lord chooses someone to do a certain thing that He would then empower them to do it.
The concept of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit on our music is an exciting one. Our music can carry power in the spirit realm to touch the spirits of our listeners. For true Christmas Presence in your music this season, pray for a special endowment of power from the Lord. Your music can truly be anointed by the Holy Spirit!
Prepare the Heart
The Lord does not give the gift of the anointing indiscriminately. As Jesus told the Woman at the Well, the Father is on a heart search. Those whose spirits have been touched and cleansed by the Holy Spirit can receive the flow of the anointing. There are two ways the hearts of our singers, players, actors, technicians and builders can be cleansed in preparation for the anointing: prayer and scripture. A verse from the Psalms became a wonderful prayer song in the 20th Century:
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
Ps 139:23-24 NKJV
Cleanse Me
Search me, O God, and know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray;
See if there be some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from ev’ry sin, and set me free.
(Public Domain Words by J. Edwin Orr, Maori Melody)
I grew up singing this tender song and can attest to its effectiveness as a prayer. There are three more stanzas that explore the possibilities of living life with a clean heart.
The other great cleansing method God uses is the Bible. When Paul exhorted the Ephesian believers to holiness of heart he used the powerful love a husband should have for his wife as a metaphor for the purifying love of Christ for the church.
…to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Eph 5:25-28 NIV
There is spiritual power in the Word of God to cleanse the human heart in preparation for the endowment of Holy Spirit power.
I challenge you as leaders to lead a prayer and scripture study plan for all those who will help you celebrate Christmas this year. Prepare hearts as well as music. Prayer will empower your music and bring in audience! The “washing of the Word” will prepare your company and your community for a move of the Spirit.
Present the Story
I have written in this space before about how easy it is to get distracted from the story at Christmas. We get carried away by the music, the audience, the traditions, the effects and the emotions. We can actually lose the Jesus Story in the middle of the sights and sounds of the season. The Holy Spirit is primarily interested in empowering the presentation of the Jesus Story. While using secular music is a widely used strategy to make seekers feel welcomed in the concert or theatre environment, we must make sure that the truth we present outweighs the trappings and traditions by a hefty measure. You will actually find the prayer and scripture plan you use to prepare hearts will cause the content of your program to go deeper into the hearts of your presenters, if that content is of interest to the Holy Spirit.
Produce with Integrity
One more thing—be careful how you produce your Christmas celebration this year. We have referred to worship in spirit but it is time to discuss worship in truth. In addition to the truth of the presentation itself, there is a kind of truth that is told in how you do your work. I love the word integrity. It was been described as the difference between solid oak and oak veneer. No matter how deeply you cut into solid oak, what you find is oak. With an oak veneer, once you cut past the surface, you find a cheaper wood. When the lights go up on your Christmas presentation it will be all smiles and waves. If there are tears behind the smiles because actors, singers, players, technicians of all descriptions have been abused and used by their leaders, the audience may never see. Jesus, however, will see. This will grieve the Holy Spirit and He is not given to sharing His anointing with those who are grieving Him.[4] In short, the message of the presentation, “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men,” should be the experience of those who do the work.
If you are planning a special worship service, a beautiful choral concert, a moving pageant, a colorful singing Christmas Tree or a meaningful musical play, you and your company are candidates for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. With prayer, pure hearts, and production integrity, you can tell the Jesus Story in way that touches the spirits of your audiences and congregations. The power of the Holy Spirit can rest upon your presentation, stirring the spirits of those who attend. They will receive this gift nowhere else. You and your company can give them Christmas Presence.
[1] 1 Thess 5:23-24 NIV May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[2] New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.
[3] OT:4888 mishchah (meesh-khaw'); or moshchah (mosh-khaw'); from OT:4886; unction (the act); by implication, a consecratory gift: New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.
[4] Eph 4:29-32 NIV Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Steve Phifer
(863) 512-3671 |
