A Minstrel Ministry through Spirit-led song: Linda Brown (See bio.)
Linda lives near Perth in Western Australia with her husband, Bill, and their two children, Kirsty and Stuart. She has recently released a prayer-song called Let Us be a Lighthouse. Linda's songs, received as she travels and ministers, express a fresh depth of intimacy with the Lord.
Peter:
Welcome Linda! Tell us how you receive words and melodies from the Lord.
Linda:
It is something that is beyond me. Initially, when this began in 1997, I lived in a river of song for around three months. The heavens opened and I heard the orchestral sound of heaven, along with words and melodies... it was an awesome experience. Sometimes, I could not get out of bed to write down what I was hearing, it was too wonderful. The Lord gave me around 30 songs within that time frame. Now, I usually find that the Lord gives me a song when I am waiting upon HIM for a purpose. I'll give you an example of a poem I received... Reflections on a Sunset. I was admiring a beautiful sunset, which was just asking to have something written about it - creation is wonderful - and I said, "Lord what would You say about this sunset?" I could write and sing and say a lot about what I think, but I tend to ask God, and see what He says. I am blessed to have the words and melody come together, like a "download" from the computer, if I can put it that way. I feel "separate" from the songs and music, because I have previously tried to write in my own strength, and have failed miserably. The way the Lord puts it, is never how or what I think.... All He needs is someone who will listen and then relay what He wants to say. One thing I did ask the Lord was that He might make the songs simple, so that anyone can pick them up and play them. We were all created to worship from the heart, not to concentrate on technicalities or perfection in performance - although there is a time and a place for those things. I went to record a song once, called "He's Calling for You," and I got so overwhelmed with aiming for perfection on the digital recording that I cried for a week! The Lord spoke to me and said, "Whatever you do for Me will never be perfect, because only I am perfect! I don't want performance, I just want your heart." That sure takes a weight off! I never did get to finish that song in the studio!
Gemma: In your songs, My Beloved Comes for Me, and especially Please Take Me with You, there is an idea of lying down with the Lord: "Hold me in Your arms of Love, As a bridegroom holds his new bride." Then you talk of Him taking you... us... into His chambers and closing the door behind us. That is so beautiful. Is that how you know the Lord?
Linda:
Gee, I hope so... but then, I guess only people looking in from the outside can tell me that. I think when you live in a place, you often don't know what you've actually got, until it is taken away, or until someone comes along and says, "... Is that how you know the Lord?" It is like being in a forest and not seeing the wood for the trees... or like a mother with a newborn child; her love just oozes out because of her baby, and because it comes so naturally to her she thinks she is "normal," when, in fact, she is radically, passionately in-love with her new child. Her outward expression is a reflection of her heart. So, I guess that was what was in my heart when the Lord gave me that song. Others can sometimes see more than we can... I do long to know the Lord more; I long to hear His Voice more clearly; I want to KNOW HIM and HIS WAYS... and I want to know what is in HIS HEART!
Tessa: I see your songs opening a global door in worship, bringing revelation of a deeper level of Christ's Love. Are you ready!
Linda:
Nope! I never think I'm ready.... I just follow Joyce Meyer's advice and "do it afraid." Good job people can't see my knees knocking or my stomach doing somersaults before I do anything; people don't hear my prayer... "Lord, I'm not going alone, it has to be You! Please shut my mouth and don't let me go, don't let me speak unless it's YOU!" It's not about me, it's all about Him - but then I stand back in amazement and watch what He is doing, or has done, and I know that it was Him, not me, who made a way. That's a beautiful comment to make, but very scary! Over the years, I have had many prophetic words spoken over me about songs, nations,etc., and at the time I thought... Me? You have to be joking! You have to understand, the Lord has brought me from the miry clay and healed me, and restored me... I was so full of fear and rejection and everything else - there would have been no way in the world I would ever have stood in front of a congregation of people and sung or spoken. When I was first put in a worship team, the person next to me had to keep pushing the microphone up to my mouth because I had it so far down on my chest, no one could hear me sing! That shows you where I came from, and I was also put in that team, I didn't ask to be there! I know now that I am called to be a minstrel and not a worship leader, but, in answer to your question, I don't think I'll ever be ready... that way I have to depend on HIM.
Peter: What is the heart and message of your ministry, Linda?
Linda:
When the Lord gave me the name Tangent Music, I thought about going off on a tangent, and I was very concerned that this name was not from GOD!! Then, I looked up the word tangent and it comes from the Latin word tangos, which means "tangible" or "touching." My heart is to see people experience the Tangible Presence of God, through music, song, word, or however the Lord chooses to reveal Himself to that person. My heart is to see broken people restored, to let them know that they have worth and value. My heart longs to see people healed, while sitting right there in their seats - Spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I want people to know who they are in Christ and to walk daily in that place. The logo the Lord gave me is a red love-heart with a circle round it, with music going through the middle. I asked Him, "What does this mean, Lord?" and then He said, "It is music that touches the heart and makes you whole." That is very precious. As a minstrel, my heart is to ask God to help me express His Heart, through what He gives me, that it will go forth and minister there and then. I have also written a drama/dance with narration; a parable about the 10 virgins; and a children's book called The Fruit Tree Collection. Most of what I have written has not been recorded or published yet.
Let me give you another example of what is in my heart. My mother was very ill in Great Britain. I had not seen her for several years and I was asked to visit her. My first reaction was that I had no money for travel from Australia, so it couldn't be the right time to go. I didn't think she was going to die, and there were things that needed to be done for ladies meetings etc... it would be very cold in Scotland too.... But the Lord very clearly said to me, "You are being selfish. There is a cry in your mother's heart, she wants to see you, and this is not about you. It is about Me, and I am answering the cry of her heart, so you will go, and you will go to other places too, and sometimes it will not be convenient for you, but you will go." And I said, "Yes Lord, forgive me, it's not about me." The result of that experience? I know that there is a cry in the heart of the people who come to a meeting, and my prayer is that God will use me to answer that cry, to give them His answer. I know that I am called to travel as I minister too, fitting the Spiritual role of a minstrel. Again, it's not about me, it's about God reaching out, touching, answering, and ministering to HIS people, all by the power of the Holy Spirit - because of Jesus. That's the heart of my ministry: To see God change lives... for His Glory! So, I wait on God, and I ask Him what He would like to say. He wants to bring us to the Banqueting Table, where His Banner over us is Love. That's my heart - to worship Him, to learn how to be "Personified Love"... just like Jesus,,, to be Christlike in thought, deed, or action. The Lord has given me so many songs over the years, for all sorts of situations. His desire is "that none should perish." It is an honor and a privilege to be given such a gift and to have a relationship with Him, doing and saying whatever He wills. At the end of the day, it's about standing before the Lord and hearing Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" That's it!
Thank you so much for asking me to do this interview. It is an honor... God bless you Jen, and newbornbooks.com, and your team!
Buy Linda's song or visit her website!
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