Recommended Citation: Lawal, J. O. (2025, February 23). Songs of the Spirit. Single Sermons.
In Colossians, chapter 3, verse 16, Paul says this:
“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” (NIV)
I have shared some things with us along from this verse of the Scriptures before. Yet I want to speak to us from it again this morning, as we sing together. Now I want you to know that what we are doing this morning is spiritual. It is not a waste of time. It is not something we are doing to just fill in the gap. It is something spiritual.
Well, from the verse I just read to you, Paul makes it clear to us that we can do two major things with singing in the church. First, he says we can instruct ourselves with songs. Yes, we can teach and admonish ourselves with songs. We can educate ourselves in the things of the Spirit with songs. And we have done some of that this morning. Haven’t we?
Then he also tells us that we can praise God or minister to Him with songs. We can worship God, praise Him and bless His heart with songs. That is why he tells us to sing to God with gratitude in our hearts to God. In other words, we are to express our gratitude to God with songs.
There is, of course, another use of songs in the church, which Paul does not mention here. It is that we can pray to God with songs. And when we talk to Him with songs, He will answer us, as long as we are talking to Him according to His will. That is why Paul tells us in that text that our songs must be songs from the Spirit. That means they must be spiritual songs, songs that are in line with the will of God.
In any case, when we begin to sing like this, all kinds of things will begin to happen to us and for us in the realm of the spirit, especially when we are doing so from our hearts and according to the will of God. Truly, we may not be able to immediately tell what is going on when we are singing spiritual songs from our hearts. But things are surely going on.
For instance, in Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16, we are told of how Paul and Silas were arrested in Philippi for setting free a young lady that was possessed of a demon. They were arrested. They were beaten. And they were jailed. But then, as Luke tells us, in the middle of the night – about midnight – Paul and Silas began to pray and to sing hymns. They could have been depressed because of their situation. Remember that they had been unjustly treated. And that was enough to give anyone a reason to feel sad or sorrowful and to pity himself.
But these men did not pity themselves. They did not allow depression or anxiety to take over. Yes, they had every reason to be depressed. But they chose not to be depressed. And all kinds of bad or negative things may be happening around you or to you too, if you allow yourself to become depressed because of them, it is your choice. That is because you can choose not to be depressed. You can choose not to be anxious. You can choose not to be afraid.
Now you may look at your life and see that things are not going as they are meant to be going. And that can indeed be what is obvious. I mean that it may be obvious to everyone around you that your life is a mess, that it is out of order and place. And you can allow that to depress you. Or you can choose to praise God and bless His name.
These men – Paul and Silas – chose to pray and to sing to God. And they were not doing this quietly, as Luke further points out. Everybody heard them, as they prayed and sang to God. All the prisoners with them in the prison could clearly hear them as they prayed and sang hymns. That means they were excited about it. That means with all the pains that they must have been feeling in their bodies, with all the bruises and cuts on them and with the horrible odour of blood that must have been coming from them, they still chose to pray and to sing aloud.
Well, as they were doing that, suddenly a miracle happened. They were not expecting it. They were just doing what they knew to be right. Remember that the word of God says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, ‘Rejoice!’” And to rejoice always means to rejoice always. This ‘always’ means all the time, including when you have no money in your bank accounts, including when failure is staring you in the face, including when your body feels weak. (Cf. Philippians 4:4)
So, it is not the circumstances that should determine your devotion to rejoicing in the Lord always. Rather, it is the word of God. The word of God says, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” That is God’s command to you. That was what Paul and Silas were obeying. And as they were obeying it, there was an earthquake that shook the prison where they were being held to its very foundations. Immediately, their chains and those of all the prisoners with them fell loose. Also, all the prison doors were flung open. In fact, it was so serious that the jailer was going to kill himself, for he thought that all the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul quickly stepped in and said to him “We are all here. Don’t harm yourself.” And that same night, salvation came into the house of that man. Why? The reason was that two men chose to act differently. They chose to go against the tides. They chose to do the will of God. And if you too will choose to do the will of God this morning, praising Him, miracles will happen in your life. Yes, miracles will happen around you. Miracles will happen in your home. Concerning your business miracles will happen. Concerning your job miracles will happen. Concerning your academics miracles will happen. There will be earthquakes that will destroy the limitations in your life. There will be earthquakes that will destroy barriers. There will be earthquakes that will remove the mountains hindering you. There will be earthquakes that will bring to you all that God wants you to have, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Let us continue to bless His name this morning.
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