Well, I Don’t Enjoy Singing

As I think about the Area-Wide Singing we are hosting on Saturday evening, July 19, I am reminded of how many times I have heard people say, “Well, I just don’t enjoy singing.” I understand what is meant by the expression, but there is more to enjoying singing than some realize.

It is true that too many times we have placed such an emphasis on the notes of songs that we feel uncomfortable when trying to sing. If those who are adept at reading music struggle with focusing on the words of a song where the music is particularly trying, think of how those who do not “sing well” struggle when they sing less “difficult” songs. The problem is that we may have thought that singing has more to do with notes than with words.

Think about it for a moment. Since we are told to sing psalms in our worship, who would ever say that “I do not enjoy reading the psalms”? This is a key concept each of us should get! There is little difference between reading a psalm and singing a psalm. So the next time you are tempted to say that you do not enjoy singing, think before you speak.

Another aspect of singing is to “speak to one another” and thereby encourage them to live closer to God and give more diligent service. So if I say, “I just don’t enjoy singing,” is it not true that I am saying, “I don’t enjoy encouraging my brethren”?

Many of our songs are prayer songs like Be With Me Lord, Take My Life and Let It Be, Purer in Heart, or Have Thine Own Way. Who would ever read the words of these prayer songs and say they do not make one soberly reflect on his own spiritual growth? Yet if I say, “I just don’t enjoy singing,” am I not in some way saying that I don’t enjoy asking God to help me be more spiritual?

Then there are songs that extol the praises of God like How Great Thou Art, There is A God—He Is Alive, A Wonderful Savior, or Our God Is an Awesome God. Listen to what we are saying when we say,

“I just don’t enjoy singing.” Do we really mean this?

So, before you ever again say, “I don’t enjoy  singing,” sit down with a song book and read the words carefully. Which words in which songs do not bring you joy? Singing that springs forth from the depth of our soul— “making melody in your heart to the Lord”—is singing that God honors and every Christian enjoys!

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The Most Effective Advertising

Gus Nichols preached for nearly half a century in Jasper, Alabama. During the time he was there, the church grew and became a very powerful influence throughout that area. The church was deeply respected for the many lives which were changed through its evangelistic efforts.

He once described the most effective gospel meeting they ever had and the method they used to advertise it. Before the meeting began, the members were told they would not be using radio, TV or the newspaper to let others know what was happening. In fact, they did not give the members any flyers to hand out to others. The thrust of the effort was, “If people in Walker County even know that we are having this gospel meeting, that information must come from you.”

Now think about it for a moment. Is it that hard to understand why that meeting was the best attended meeting the church had ever had? There is nothing personal about hearing of an event on the radio. The same is true of television advertising. Nor is there anything personal about reading a flyer or newspaper ad. These are wonderful ways of conveying information but are so “cold.”

Is there anything more persuasive than someone giving you a personal invitation? Especially if the event has no strings attached and is entirely for the benefit of the person invited. I cannot think of anything more persuasive.                 However, suppose it were possible to combine both kinds of advertising. Imagine the impact when there is extensive use of commercial means of advertising in addition to a personal invitation. This dual approach is precisely what we have planned for the upcoming “The Silencing of God” Seminar.

So many of you have taken flyers to post on local bulletin boards or in shop windows. Others have used the cards provided to hand to those you know. Literally hundreds of letters have been mailed to every church of Christ in south Florida, to every denomination in Palm Beach County and to every elected local, state and federal official in this area. In the next few days, there will be radio commercials and five large ads in the Palm Beach Post.

We are counting on every member of Palm Beach Lakes to add to this the most effective advertising and that is a personal invitation to others. We will never have this opportunity again. May God help us to have eyes to see what can be done!

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Allah is not Jehovah

The Muslim world would have us believe that they follow the same God we do but they simply call Him by another name. Their view is that God’s blessings promised through Abraham come through Ishmael and not through Isaac. There are several reasons why we can affirm that we do not serve the same God as the Islamic world.

The most obvious one is that they see all Christians as atheists. Their philosophy of jihad (a holy war) is directed against those who believe in the God of heaven. This in and of itself shows that the One in whom we believe is not the one in whom they believe. We are atheists to them, and an atheist is one who does not believe in God.

There is a second reason why Christians and Muslims do not serve the same God (even though some would have you believe they do). The God whom I serve is described in these words, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Allah did not send a son to die for me! Allah did not make provision for my salvation through that Son! Allah does not promise everlasting life through that Son!

A third way to know that Allah is not Jehovah is to contrast the “primary prophet” of Allah with the “primary prophet” of Jehovah. Study the life of Allah’s prophet, Muhammad, and you see a marked contrast between Allah and Jehovah. The founder of Islam is renowned for his army of thousands fighting against the enemy. He also had eleven wives and several children. Contrast this with Jehovah’s Prophet whose “army” “…beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4). Contrast this with Jehovah’s Prophet who honored the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman for one lifetime (Matt. 19:4-6).

The final way of knowing that Allah is not God is to look at the devoted followers of Muhammad and the devoted followers of Jesus. The one believes in the jihad, the holy war. The other believes in peacefully touching the hearts of every man with knowledge of a loving God. The one is out to destroy the unbelievers, the other is out to save them. The one believes in retaliation, the other in turning the other cheek.

Do not be deceived! Allah is not Jehovah. To believe in one is not to believe in the other. There is an eternal difference!

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God had a Debt and He Paid It

In 598 B.C., the army of Babylon, led by their king, Nebuchadnezzar, besieged the city of Tyre. This ancient city was one of the wealthiest cities of the world because of their merchant ships which traversed the known world. However, the city did not immediately fall. In fact, it was thirteen years later that the merchants of Tyre sailed away taking their treasures with them. When the Babylonians entered the city, it was abandoned. In anger, they leveled the city and left it in ruins.

Nebuchadnezzar had been God’s tool to bring heaven’s judgment against Tyre, because she had rejoiced when Jerusalem was sacked (Eze. 26:2). The Babylonian king had accomplished God’s will, even though he did not believe in God. He had done God’s will, but he had not been rewarded. Even more amazing is the insight this story gives us into the nature of God. Here the words of Ezekiel, “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army” (Eze. 29:18-19). Here is the truth so many have failed to see. God always pays His debts. The absence of the spoils in Tyre was replaced by the riches from Egypt. God always pays His debts! Even the smallest debt!

Now think about how this applies to your life. “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecc. 12:14). If God notices every idle word a man speaks, will He not also note every kind word you have ever spoken (Matt. 12:36-37)? You have never given even one cup of water (tea, coke, or coffee) to another which He will not reward (Matt. 10:42). You have never brought a single can of food to the church building which He did not see, nor which He will not reward. You have never made a single visit to a hospital, an assisted living facility or to a shut-in which He will not repay (Matt. 25:37-40). He rewards every coin, even the smallest, contributed by the poorest person (Luke 21:1-3).

Think about it. If our God did not fail to reward the deeds of an evil king, He will never fail to reward you! God always pays His debts—just ask Nebuchadnezzar!

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Pleasing Whom?

One of the great challenges facing Christians is peer pressure. We all want to be liked and so the tendency is to alter our lives just enough so we will be accepted by others. How many Christians have compromised values simply because they did not want to stand out and be different?

One lesson each of us must learn is how fickle those around us are. Look at two incidents in the life of Paul. When he cured the crippled man in Lystra, the city erupted in praise for he and Barnabas. “They raised their voices, saying, ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men’” (Acts 14:11). Paul and Barnabas did all they could to stop this action. Luke described it in these words, “They could scarcely restrain the multitudes from sacrificing to them” (Acts 14:18). The very next verse shows that the city then turned against them and stoned Paul and thought they had killed him. The point is obvious. Don’t worry too much about what your peers are saying.

Several years later a similar thing happened again. On his voyage to Rome, he was shipwrecked.  While gathering sticks, a poisonous snake suddenly bit him. Now look at what his peers said. “No doubt this man is a murderer . . .” (Acts 28:4). But when God protected Paul and preserved his life the situation changed drastically. “They changed their minds and said that he was a god” (Acts 28:6). Again the point is obvious. Don’t worry too much about what your peers are saying. They are fickle.

So when you are tempted to compromise your principles remember these words of Jesus, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). If we succeeded and had every person around us praising us, we would be a failure!

Jesus said another thing that might help us with thinking that the praises of our peers is so important. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake” (Matt. 5:11). Contrast the words “woe” and “blessed” in the two verses we just noticed. Think about it!

So what’s your goal? Acceptance by others at all costs? Having your peers sing your praises? There is another audience which matters. It is not those around us we should seek to please. It is those who are above us! Cherish that day when you will hear these words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” That’s all that matters.

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