daily java

Daily Java:

Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 33:7-9)

Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, "Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!" So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it! But when all these terrible things happen to them—as they certainly will—then they will know a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 33:30-33)

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,
‘Listen carefully, but do not understand.
    Watch closely, but learn nothing.’
Harden the hearts of these people.
    Plug their ears and shut their eyes.
That way, they will not see with their eyes,
    nor hear with their ears,
nor understand with their hearts
    and turn to me for healing.” (Isaiah 6:8-10)

I like being a preacher. I have been in the ministry for almost forty years and I choose to remain in it.

But there are downsides.

First is that God holds me more accountable than my church for what I teach them. He said I am a watchman. He was speaking to Ezekiel, but his message goes for all prophets, all “forth-tellers” of truth. We have a great obligation to get it right.

Second is that people, when they listen, do so insincerely entirely too much of the time. Someone once said that preaching is telling people things that they do not believe but want to pretend they do. And in some churches that is the case. They come, listen to the preacher, sing along with the band, throw a little money in the plate, maybe take a little communion and then go home thinking they have fulfilled their duties to God.

In this one, you are nothing more than a stop in the line of entertainment. And that is depressing to one who really cares.

Third is that they will not listen to you. I suppose this and number two kind of tie for worst. It is hard to choose between the worst: either you as entertainment or you as background noise. But God told Isaiah that they were not going to listen when he spoke. They would pretend to and even compliment his sermon, but they really were not listening. But he was to speak anyway.

It is a hard  job being a preacher. It has its rewards, but it also has its drawbacks. And it is true that unless God calls you into it, you are not going to stay. It is too heartbreaking at times for the man who is not committed or called.

And it is a fact that the call of God is not always a happy thing. Look at Hebrews 11 to see that. John the Baptizer, who spend all of six months in his profession before being beheaded. Jesus for that matter who spent only three years before being brutally killed.

But at the same time, thanks be to God. As 2 Timothy 1:11 said: And God chose me to be a preacher and preacher I will remain.

daily java

Daily Java:

All these men were under the direction of their fathers as they made music at the house of the Lord. Their responsibilities included the playing of cymbals, harps, and lyres at the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman reported directly to the king. They and their families were all trained in making music before the Lord, and each of them—288 in all—was an accomplished musician. The musicians were appointed to their term of service by means of sacred lots, without regard to whether they were young or old, teacher or student. (1 Chronicles 25:6-8)

Talk about a house band. This was the house band at the tabernacle when David was King.

When we were first baptized in the Spirit, we were looking for a church to go to during the week. I was pastoring a Disciples of Christ church in NW Missouri, but we wanted to find a place with a service during the week.

I called a church in St Joseph, MO, about 60 miles away, to ask him about their church. He told me several things, then he said the kicker. “We have blow-your-face-off music.”

I told Ella, I have to hear this. And they did.

They had a professional sounding band that played Petra-style rock and roll for their worship. Petra, of course, was a very popular Christian band at the time. This band played along that style and they were good.

We went to their Friday night service almost every week for a while. And it amazed me that you could have that many talented musicians in one church.

Of course, it was a big church, 1400 at the time. The musicians, for the most part, were on the staff so that they could go with the pastor when he went to other countries and the like.

But when I read this, I thought of them.

It has always been my dream to have a band that is good. I even have a name for it. LOP. Loud Obnoxious Praise. It is my firm conviction that good praise be energetic. After all, who wants tepid singing.

These people, here in 1 Chronicles 25, were praise teams and worship leaders. All were accomplished musicians and they played in twenty-four bands of twelve musicians. They made music at the house of the Lord. Probably, they sang scripture, psalms David had written, maybe just jammed for a while each day.

But one thing for sure, they sounded good.

And I would venture to say they were happy.

I believe the musical talent is a call from God. When one answers that call in God, the musician is happy. When he or she doesn’t, they are not, no matter how financially well off and successful they may be.

Think of all the talented musicians that have self-destructed. In my own generation, there was Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, others. Later there were people like Kurt Cobain and more. If they do not die from their excess, they soon become so burned out that they are almost unrecognizable, so bitter, so jaded.

It is because they are taking something that is holy and making it for other purposes. As the old song by Dire Straits with the phrase, “Money for nothin' and your chicks for free.”

When it is all about you, it soon becomes worthless. And the singers are always looking for a charity or something that they can do. And they never find the comfort of something greater than they are.

When it is about God, it is for something greater than you.

These people in 1 Chronicles were serving the greatest person in the universe: the Almighty God.

What a life, just singing all day, playing your instruments, praising.

the call of music

I recently watched a documentary about Jimi Hendrix. Whether you liked his music or not, and I did, you have to admit that he was a musician that pushed the boundaries of music.

It was this young man, only 28 at the time of his death, who brought about much of the kind of music we listen to today. Even in praise and worship bands, the influence of his style of music is common.

If you listen much to Christian radio this influence on modern Christian music is strong. In fact, it is hard to find a place where that influence is unknown.

However, unless all reports are false, he died outside of Jesus. His life was one of drug and alcohol abuse. And not only him, but the music industry is full of people who  were like this. Tremendously talented, yet they burned themselves out by hard living, drugs, alcohol.

Why is this? Why would such talented people with all the world to live for die like this?

It is because music is a call from God, a gift. When one answers that call in God, that person is happy. It’s not that nothing bad happens, it is that they fulfill themselves in a way that no one outside of Jesus can.

Outside of Jesus, the music is nothing but self-gratification. Inside of Jesus, it is a response to the One who gave it to you.

Why else have we seen musician after musician over the years die from overdoses, suicide, just plain hard living?

Music in and of itself is not enough. It has to be in response to that call from God. Nothing in this world is greater than praising God anyway; and praising him with your instrument is wonderful.

It is no wonder that the psalmist kept on entreating people to praise God with instruments, drums, voices, everything within one’s power to use.

Listening to Jimi play is amazing. His style and sound is immediately identifiable. But it has been almost 40 years since he died of a barbiturate overdose. What would have happened if he had answered that call of God in his music?

What an amazing thought. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.