Now Performing: The Original Gospel Choir

In other words, Paul is saying here that the sound of the gospel has been vibrating around the world for the instrumentation of creation. Did you hear did you see the lyrics of God in the sky and in his musical masterpiece of creation. This collection of voices. This grand gospel choir called creation is now performing ego and fairness playing it plays day after day and night on tonight January, where's the most beautiful place you God designed his creation with purpose. When we look at it were supposed to marvel at it. It points to him were supposed to look at God's creation and realize that there's a wonderful creator today on wisdom for the hard Stevens cannot explore this were looking at what the apostle Paul taught concerning the lessons we learn from creation or in Romans 10 today Stephen called this message.

Now performing the original gospel choir as it ever occur to you that when we sing together were joining a practice that is been around since before the time actually began if I Job informs us that when God laid the cornerstone of the universe and the foundations of his creation. The morning stars reference to the Angels saying together Job 3867. This was the original gospel choir you can imagine the sounds of these is created host before the worlds were created.

God treated them first as if it were to sing praise. While the universe was being brought into being. What an amazing choir that must've been a choir of millions of angels singing praise to God thing will man I would've loved to have been there would've loved to have seen that one of love the son along well. Revelation informs us that the new creation the new heaven and new earth.

This great host will again assemble and we will be with them. We will be singing praise to God, and that requires all doing here is tuning up right at some of the more tuning than others, but were just toning up getting ready for the great day, but were singing here in praise and worship the God of course it would. God is doing in our lives. Using has a tremendous impact in our lives and can have a great impact in the church as well. Martin Luther, the reformer once said that sacred music is the handmaiden of theology powerful statement. Sacred music is the handmaiden of theology, no one rewrote him for his congregation to sing and we still sing some of them to this day it's no surprise that a Jesuit priest would make this comment in the 16th century, complaining about the lingering effects of Martin Luther's Reformation within the church, and ultimately let outside the church's complaint is enlightening. He said this, I quote Luther has stolen away more people with his hymns then will always sermon powerful statement the power of music to soothe and to convict to challenge to encourage to bring about change in the believer is impossible to fully estimate even in the secular world the power of music is very obvious of ever watched a television commercial that music one medical doctor was trying to help some of his patients and he came up with this conclusion is at half an hour of music produced in many of my patients the same effect as 10 mg of Valium, you see that truly don't universe MO 16.

David is brought in with his heart. Saul is depressed. He is discouraged and David would play his harp in the text would say would become refreshed and well and the distressing spirit would depart from Saul so question would be, are you troubled, maybe this is a brief moment in your week where you seem to have your spirit lifted. Is it any coincidence that it would be related to music.

Are you anxious throughout the week you troubled are you distracted. Are you tempted while leave this here this is intended to stay here who are your musical counselor will be allowed in your life to motivate you and encourage you and determine your mood and your spirit power of sacred music is possible to estimate. I wonder who you've allowed to move your soul throughout the week. I wonder who you listen to and what you listen to when you drive to work with you. Listen to in your apartment when you listen to is your coming home from school who will be allowed to counsel your soul and woman come up after one of the earlier hours. She said you know what you're talking about about music that's so true. Something's been happening in my life and I wanted to tell you and I asked her if I could inserted here.

I will tell her name. She said sure. She told me she said you had reached a point where my Christian life evidencing the growing effect. They seem to be going the other way scourged and distracted had a friend call me up and saying. I've noticed things are right with you. Would you come over, could we get together and she said I didn't really want to go over because I knew would be held accountable and have to answer some questions as young mother. She said what I did go a friend sat with me and talk with me and then said you know can I pray with you she said I don't know I guess and I really don't feel anything since anything in and she civil pray anyway so she prayed and she said after the prayer she looked up at her and she said and I don't know why we got spirit seems to be impressing me.

Would you mind if I just say you want to sing. Just listen.

She said I begin to sing some of the old hymns. This woman told me she said it was unbelievable. With tears coming down her cheeks. He said I got spirit to sort of really grabbed my heart and then I begin to think about what I'm allowed with music that so profoundly affected me would've allowed in my life over the last months and years, and she said I went I went home. I gathered all of my secular CDs and the pop stuff and all of that. I gathered it altogether at a yard sale giveaway. She said I'm committed sacred music like never before. Challenge to reconsider who you allowing to counsel your soul throughout the course of the week it is a handmaiden to theology. Does your music match theology we often ask each other how is your prayer life is a good question. How is your Bible study like that's a great question to ask one another as you music like this is your music that sort of over there. No, it's not profoundly affects our lives more than we could ever imagine a W toes or once wrote, I say without qualification, after the sacred Scriptures. The next best companion for the soul of sacred music. Sometimes our hearts are strangely stubborn and will not soften or grow tender. No matter how much praying we do at such times, it is often found that the reading or singing of the hymn will be ice jam and start the inward affections flowing again that so good.

This idea was music to begin with. It was created before man was created is not man's idea. It's God's idea one wears be pointed out that each member of the triune God saying God the father sings Zephaniah 317 where the prophet Zephaniah wrote these words, the Lord your God is in your midst, the mighty one will say he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will rejoice over you with singing is in your midst, and is rejoicing over you with singing.

Can you imagine this morning he was singing along God the son sings we know that in the upper room had that meal in the few hours the Lord will be crucified, and before they departed what they do, they sing in, imagine God the son leading in the singing got the spirit sings through us.

Paul writes to the Ephesians to be under the influence of the spirit of God and this is what happening in to speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs you sing and make melody in your hearts to the Lord. Music is not the idea of man music is the idea of God bring God into your music bring godly music into your life. God was the first lyricist. He was the first composer.

You could even say it this way. He was the first choir director. He was the first he was the original composer of gospel music saying what is this have to do with Romans chapter 10 is so cynical well turn to Romans chapter 10 I'll show you what I found fascinating is that the apostle Paul summarizes his argument about the lost condition of not only the Jews but the whole world by quoting gospel music were this great Jewish attorney pulls out two songs from the way this past two songs out of Israel's life and he brings them in to use as testimonies that the unbelieving world is responsible for their unbelief before we dive in and word about verse 18 here. 19 you study this letter long enough with me and another pull off and anticipated the objections of his readers need. So what he would do as he would just spell out their objection and then he would just answer it is the same thing here. Let's back up to verse 16 and get a running start. However, they did not all heed the glad tidings for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report.

So, in summary, faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. But I say here's the objection.

Shirley. They have never heard. Have they never heard I would be the objection and Paul anticipates it so he just says it but the truth is the Jewish people have heard the gospel they heard it from Moses they heard it from Abraham they heard it through the prophets, they heard from the Lord himself they heard it through Stephen they heard it through the apostles and the reaction was always the same. They rejected some did believe, but it's as if Paul here says well you know that's a good objection. So what I want to do is to answer that objection by playing you a song right now to hear him notes on page number 19 goes like this. Psalm 19 the heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. Day-to-day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor are there words, their voice is not heard. Their line or their voice has gone out through the earth and their utterances to the end of the world. Sound familiar. That's the point that Paul uses right here in Romans chapter 10. He quotes that line out of that third or fourth stanza their voice went out into all the earth. Did you remember that song. The word translated voice in Romans 10 is a rare Greek word. It's a word that was created to sound like that which it was describing phone phone. It's a word that describes the strumming of the spring phone and the vibration of that sound. It's a word that only appears two times the other. What is it for screenings for teamwork. Paul talks about the sound of a flute or harp.

In other words, Paul is saying here that the sound of the gospel has been vibrating around the world through the instrumentation of creation. Did you hear did you see the lyrics of God in the sky and in his universe by quoting David. Though Paul is actually expanding the application of David zombie on the Jewish people and beyond the Roman Empire. In fact, everybody we learn from Romans is exposed to the creator's musical masterpiece of creation. This collection of voices.

This grand gospel choir called creation. It's now performing you glad they are displaying it plays day after day and night on tonight's can you hear it. Do you see you add to that general revelation of creation. The special revelation of the Scripture and the rapid progress of the gospel, even as Paul is writing throughout the known world in the first century was amazing Tertullian would say we are of yesterday, but we have already filled your cities. We filled your islands. We filled your camps. We filled your palaces. We have only left alone your temple Justin Martyr in the middle of the second century, wrote there is no people Greek or barbarian, or of any other race by whatever appellation or manners.

They may be distinguished, however ignorant of arts or agriculture, whether they dwell in tents or wander about in covered wagons, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered in the name of the crucified say we saw the statistics in the 21st century. There are roughly 1/2 billion people never heard the name of Jesus Christ. That's true. There are 4 1/2 billion who have and more importantly for you today.

You're one of them. What are you doing about it you adopted the lyrics of these for yourself is this your music to even those who never heard the name of Christ will stand guilty and without excuse before the Lord because they were given the music of creation or general revelation turn back to chapter 1 in Romans very quickly and look at verse 20. Again, he writes for since the creation of the world. That is, since this vibration began his invisible attributes, his eternal power.

His divine nature. They been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made politically crafted so that they are without what excuse they've seen what I know they decided to ignore it or speculate about.

In fact that's what he says in verse 21 for even though they knew about God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened instead of saying wow look at creation. There must be a creator. They say wow will worship that three will worship the river will worship mother nature, or maybe earth itself in some way create all there is. Rather than worshiping God.

They profess to be wise. Verse 22, but they became fools. They were given the praise of nature. They were given the praise of creation. They were given the order and symmetry and masterpiece of all there is and they have said we will choose not to give glory to a creator God. So Paul takes the lyrics of David's old gospel hymn encounters the objection by saying what you can't say you haven't heard, can't say it and read the lyrics vibration of the created order, like the sound of a spring it's been plucked reverberates around the world today when you tell people about the gospel and the gospel involves the story of a creator, what they say you need to really believe that you believe but did you fall off and get Colossians 1 tells us. For by him that is Christ, the second person of the deity who is the actually the agent of creation. For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible. He is before all things and in him all things hold together you will actually believe that you share with people and you'll discover that the responses will be just what Jesus Christ said they would be four different kinds of people will receive the gospel. Matthew 13 tells us to give them to you very quickly. First of all, there are the defiant ones there the hardened people. The seed of the gospel beyond the exposure of creation that our hearts, their hearts are hard, like a beaten-down path of the seed never gets through the people that you say something about Jesus or the gospel to work or at school on those that want to hear. There are the dissolution. Secondly, they seem to receive the gospel until persecution arises and they abandon what they said they believed there are third the deviant.

These are the ones that say they believe in the gospel seems to penetrate seems to bring about some form of life until prosperity occurs, not persecution, but for them, prosperity, and it grows up in their lives, and like thorns and chokes off would seem to be life. They walk away from any desire for the one true living God, and they pursue their other gods.

They by Babylon they choose playing people and all those other things that they find as idols and you have not only defiant and disillusioned and deviant, but you do have the disciple. This is the one who receives the word embraces it somewhere prior to perhaps even hearing the word, they saw creation and God worked in their hearts to where they said you know there's got to be something else. Gotta be more now.

In Romans chapter 9 Paul is spelled out. The doctrine of election and you're left with the truth of God's sovereignty and you get to Romans chapter 10, and Paul spells out human accountability to believe, and he never seems to try and even reconcile these two thoughts and he tells us know in Romans chapter 10 that mankind will stand accountable before God for their unbelief. No one will ever stand before God and say, well, I was elected can send me to hell though. Every person will stand before their Creator and God will say I gave you the music I showed you the lyrics and what you know the law say we disbelieve.

We didn't believe we heard the music and we rejected it. We chose to worship the sun, the moon, some tree we chose to worship ourselves but as for you today. The message is simple. Hear the music. Listen to the gospel choir of God's creation join the choir sign out sign and sing-along is the invitation. Paul says they heard whether they say they didn't, or whether they say they can't they heard it's the universal vibration of God's masterpiece called creation.

I remember reading funny story of an older man was very concerned about his wife's hearing. He went to his trusted doctor and he asked for advice. He said I know she's not gonna come in to see about Emily trouble because she doesn't seem to be responding. Sometimes I talk to her so that Dr. Ceballos experiment what you go home and try to talk to her work. Maybe she can see you or whatever. Let's find out how bad it is to sit okay so we went home and when he walked in kitchen. She was at the sink with her back to him and so he stood at the door and he in a normal voice said what's for supper.

The response so we stepped a little closer and he said a little louder. What's for supper. No response he got right behind her and he said very loudly. What's for supper and she wheeled around and she said for the third time were having soup so they say okay okay okay are we got the music part. Now, the objection would be, but we don't understand it, that would be what they object with next verse 19 but I say is the next objection. Surely Israel did not know no skill. They did not understand the day. Once again Paul says well I'll answer that question by playing you another gospel song. This really goes quite a ways back. It was written and sung by Moses would've loved to have heard Moses say he says in verse 19. Again, look there. I will make you jealous by that which is not a nation by a nation without understanding will I anger that doesn't sound like a song to me the lyrics of those will Moses actually saying this composing it, singing it after the commissioning of Joshua is going to die very shortly and he in this song that's recorded in Deuteronomy 32 is just recounting the history of Israel and is recounting God's providence and is recounting God's power and and then he says some prophetic things and that's all inspired by God. He says there will come a day Israel, when you will be jealous and angry by those who are not a nation believing in God's part of his lyrics. To be angry that they believe in Isaiah sort of goes along with his song so he quotes him. In verse 20 of Romans 10 look there.

Isaiah is very bold and says I was found by those who sought me not, God is being quoted here. I became manifest to those who did not ask for me that's interesting. The Jews were exclusively the people of God. They were the people of the law. They work the people of prayer. They had died in their corner only, but now we discover the Gospels gone to the rest of the world. That means a few billion Gentiles.

We thought God belonged sin.

They became angry and jealous way to second I thought the objection.

Here in verse 19 was that Israel didn't understand the gospel. How does the fact that Israel is jealous of Gentiles answer the objection that they didn't understand. Well let me put it to you this way, if the Jew had not understood the gospel he wouldn't have cared any bet whether or not the Gentiles, believed or not. If you didn't believe that they were literally getting a message from God. They wouldn't of cared, angry, jealous. Who cares. The believe they want to believe, but the jealousy and the anger indicated that they understood very well what is happening. They knew that the message was coming from God and it was a different message was a message of grace had nothing to do with them keeping their laws and regulations. It was not a fulfillment of Judaism.

It was not an extension of Judaism. It was in contradiction to Judaism. We all like that fact that God would deliver them a message of grace, so they became very angry and guess what Moses and sung about it there emotion revealed their understanding knew full well what it meant.

By the way, that is encouraging to those of you share your faith, you go out into the world he might write off somebody the response, with vitriolic anger. You know you share the gospel and they sat here that I don't believe that you not to me. I don't care about God. I don't hear anything about God, you know, something that guy might be really close to salvation because he so angry is penetrated. There is ignorance, though that would be inexcusable to God, limit, categorize them into different statements. God would hold mankind responsible for these forms of quote unquote ignorance. There is an ignorance number one that comes from neglecting knowledge you neglected to read the fine print on that contract. It was at the bottom of your member on page 73. And you can read it but you signed the contract. Are you responsible and accountable to the fine print your all I didn't read it. What you could've your responsible for knowledge. You could've had because it was available.

It is inexcusable when ignorance comes from simply neglecting knowledge that was available. Secondly, another form of inexcusable ignorance is ignorance, which comes from willful blindness. We call that turning a blind eye update myself with this illustration, but I member watching as a kid. Hogan's heroes remember any of you I was before there were reruns in black and white. Was it and they had that guard name Schultz which old people in here with me.

I could tell by just the humming and and and Schultz would see one of them coming out of a tunnel or you know those so that a sabotage of Aaron slip him some food and eat the food and he would say his famous line. I see nothing I know nothing. Oh boy, you got it done. I see nothing in the world does at all.

I don't see creation and I enjoy little bit of it but I see I hear the gospel know I got my hands firmly over my ears.

I don't hear that's inexcusable because it is willful blindness.

Paul just pulls out a him here to the nation and beyond that sung by Moses and he says you know what, you're accountable in your anger and your bitterness proof that you understood all along. Let me make one closing comment and challenge that comes out of this. Number one, here's the statement, and that I give you the first and last challenge the music of the gospel points to a divine conductor, the music of the gospel points to this divine conductor their voices heard around the universe which would point us to a conductor, composer, so here's the challenge where she there's nothing less that we can do that obey him, worship him, follow them part of this grand scheme and one day working to see human oh my tune it up now sign on single we accepted the seed of the gospel joined the choir we say God is great and we surround ourselves with music that is sacred and glorifying him raisins are actions toward him points our minds toward him because were being for the great when with unfettered soils and unhindered natures we sing, glory to God like never sung before. So sing. I hope that this challenge from God's word is encouraged today. You're listening to wisdom for the heart. The Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davey thankful that you took the time to join us. If you've never taken the time to introduce yourself to us.

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