A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN FROM THE DARK CONTINENT

September 17, 2009

A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN FROM THE DARK CONTINENT

Psalm 96

Brett VanderMolen

Central Truth

The level of joy you experience when you "[s]ing to the Lord a new song" is a good indicator of your level of anticipation of spending eternity worshiping God. Furthermore, singing to the Lord has spiritual power to break the chains of evil.

Sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth! . . .
Tell the nations about his splendor!
(Psalm 96:1, 3a)

Worship in the Splendor of Holiness

1 Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
    sing to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
    tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
    he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
    but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
    strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
    bring an offering, and come into his courts!
9 Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;^{1

96:9
Or in holy attire}
    tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12     let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13     before the LORD, for he comes,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
    and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Footnotes

[1] 96:9 Or in holy attire

When I read Psalm 96, I think of heaven in a way similar to what is described in Revelation 4 and 5. My closest experience of heaven here on earth happened in 2008 at Camp Life Zambia, a summer camp full of joy, energy, and God’s love for orphans who come from homes in which darkness and light wage war in very tangible ways. Witchcraft, demons, nightmares, and rape battle love, joy, peace, redemption, and freedom. The former win against the latter in the children’s lives until the godly weapons of 2 Corinthians 10:4 break the chains of evil through “proclaim[ing] his salvation day after day.” (Psalm 96:2b NIV)

My favorite weapon for battle during Camp was to “sing to the Lord a new song” at the end of each day, along with my Zambian brothers and sisters. I felt like I was in heaven while doing it. Most of the time, I didn’t even know the words the Zambians were singing, but I remember sensing that this was true worship, singing with “every nation, tribe, language, and people,” (Revelation 14:6b, NIV) after serving children like the ones about whom Jesus said, "[T]he kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)

As I danced and sang praise to God in the warm African sun, I lost myself in worship with the choir of saints around me. Afterward, one of the Zambians would begin to pray with incredible power, and 300 other passionate believers would follow suit. We were fervently thanking and praising God for the work He had done that day and petitioning Him to break the chains of evil and reveal Himself to these kids the next day.

I wish I never had to leave that moment. Some day, I never will.

1. How can you build your anticipation and prepare for an eternity spent worshiping God?

2. If you struggle to worship God with authenticity, consider what may be holding you back: settling for just “good enough” in your spiritual life, a distorted view of God from past experiences, lack of time spent cultivating your relationship with Christ, etc.

3. Have you considered upping your commitment to ministry to see how God would stretch you and reveal Himself to you in ways that you haven’t experienced before?