A few years ago I was leading worship one Saturday evening with a friend of mine at his church. We were well into the service when I began to hear voices coming from our monitor speakers. The only person singing through the sound system besides my friend and I was my wife. When the service was over we compared notes and realized that all of us had heard the voices. The only conclusion we could draw was that angels had decided to join us for the service. The worship of heaven had invaded the worship on earth.
Having led worship for more than twenty years I have had people give reports of hearing what they believed to be angelic voices during worship services. Others have reported seeing angels. One such report came from a lady who saw a giant angel hovering over the worship band one Sunday morning.
In Ephesians 2:6 Paul writes that God has made us to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Notice this is not just a future hope but a present reality. You may look around and wonder how this could be heaven (especially during rush hour), but if our eyes were open to a higher dimension we would see ourselves seated with Christ in the heavenlies.
There are many instances in scripture where ordinary people saw into the heavenly dimension. One such instance occurred when the shepherds saw and heard angelic beings proclaiming the birth of Christ. Stephen, the martyr, saw the Son of Man at the right hand of God and Isaiah saw the Lord in His holy temple. Most of us tend to view heaven as directional when in reality it is dimensional. Heaven is all around us. God is not way off “up” yonder somewhere. He is among us in a dimension we cannot see with the physical eye.
As we worship we are joining thousands of other created beings. We are but one small part of creation that is worshiping its creator. Revelation 5:11-12 reads, Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne . . . and the number of them was ten thousand and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.
More proof of this is documented in the Psalms. Psalm 65:13 says, The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy, they also sing. Psalm 96:12 reads, Let the field be joyful and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. Also Psalm 98:7-8 which says, Let the sea roar and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord. Psalm 148 gives a list of various created entities being commanded to worship. Among those are angels, the sun, moon, stars, mountains, hills, animals and trees. Psalm 150:6 sums it up by saying, Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.
The whole universe rings out with praise and adoration for its creator, and we have the awesome privilege of joining in.