Noise vs Praise

There is a clanging taking place in the body of Christ. This clanging is so....loud that it diffuses the words that are necessary for life everlasting. The noise stems from the dissatisfaction of those who do not respect God's way of functioning in the Kingdom. Therefore, they create noise to distract and overshadow sound doctrine and teaching, legitimate moves of God and the praise and adoration meant for the living God. They are disgruntled believers who would rather dwell on social traditions and the spiritual games of the times. They are believers who seek to say words to God but their hearts are far from Him. They are people who have turned the church into a musical phenomenon with no depth, spirit or anointing. It has become a place of entertainment and fun. All of the time they are spiritually insulting God through their behavior. Pretty soon all they become are clanging cymbals and clashing metal; noise.

This type of mentality does not give way to righteousness, ministry, evangelism and worship to God. It is a Hollywood salvation that waits on the next great attraction, buzz words and fleshly doctrine.The results are people can literally dance, shout, and make a great deal of noise, but their lifestyle and devotion to God is seriously lacking. It has literally turned many church gatherings in to a religious social club.

I am reminded of a passage in Ezra, whereby the Jews were released from captivity by King Darius to return back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Upon building the foundation and the altar-a place of worship, there were persons in the crowd who could not get past the new thing that God was doing because they were so..... set on the former temple and altar. They were so disappointed that they began to create a great noise in the midst of the people. They were wailing and screaming because they remembered and only desired what they had and not what God was providing for them at that time.  They were only satisfied when God was doing what they wanted. They were bent on having their way without any regard to what God wanted or desired for them. However, there arose another sound. It was not just noise, it was praise and adoration for what God had done.

 The scripture text said that their praise drowned out the noise of dissatisfaction. This sound stemmed from gratitude that after 70 years of bondage and not being able to come to the place of worship. God had allowed them to rebuild their symbol of communion and intimacy with Him; the altar. These people rejoiced because they understood that if it had not been for God on their side, they could have died in captivity. They did not regard their own desires as more important, rather, they regarded the plan of God, His ways, His precepts, His will as the foundation for rebuilding their lives. Yes, they were imperfect, but they were committed to living and functioning in the Kingdom according to the will of God. They were receptive of Kingdom lifestyle and behavior. Whatever God said and wanted to do was fine with them.

No, God is not looking for perfect people to praise and worship Him, however, He is looking for people who's heart is perfect (mature) towards Him. Noise and Praise is really a matter of the heart. Noise focuses on emotions and whatever feelings people want to be expressed from the fleshly realm. However, praise has nothing to do with the individual's feelings. It has nothing to do with what the individual has done. Praise is totally focused on what God has done. He has done great things! He has delivered me! He brought me out of a bad situation. It is the acknowledgment of the wondrous workings of the Lord. God desires praise not noise that is self-centered and fleshly. Yes, make a joyful noise. Yes, this may lead to an audience with the King, but after you get an audience, you must come right before Him with intentional and deliberate praise.

My prayer for the body of Christ is that we will not major any longer in just noise and certainly not noise of dissatisfaction, but that we will rather make deliberate effort to raise up a sound of praise and adoration to our God who has and continues to do great things in our lives. Let's not just make some kind of noise, let's make intentional praise flow from our hearts to the ears of God.