#321 Why Series# 5, Why I Sing?

#321 Why Series# 5, Why I Sing?
By: Pastor D. Karl Thomas

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 

Hans Selye Endocrinologist known for his studies of the effects of stress on the human body.
“Gratitude produces more positive emotional energy than any other attitude in life.” 

Colossians 3:17
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” 

Ephesians 5:19
“Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.” 

Psalm 50:23 (AMP)
“He who brings an offering of praise and thanksgiving honors and glorifies Me; … prepares the way that I may show him … the salvation of God.” 

Psalm 69:30
“I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him  with thanksgiving.” 

Singing is a big part of God’s creation.  God’s plan unfolds with singing
Revelation 4:8  (NRSV)
“Day and night without ceasing they sing,’Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.’” 

MARTIN LUTHER
When man’s natural ability is whetted and polished to the extent that it becomes an art, then do we note with great surprise the great and perfect wisdom of God in music, which is, after all, His product and His gift; we marvel when we hear music in which one voice sings a simple melody, while three, four, or five other voices play and trip lustily around the voice that sings its simple melody and adorn this simple melody wonderfully with artistic musical effects, thus reminding us of a heavenly dance where all meet in a spirit of friendliness, caress, and embrace. . . . A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard it [music] as a marvelous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs. (Luther, “Preface to Georg Rhau’s Symphoniae iucundae,” LW 53, cited by Buszin in “Luther on Music,” The Musical Quarterly 32, no. 1 [1946]: 85) 

John Wesley
“Sing lustily and with good courage. Beware of singing as if you were half-dead, or half asleep; but lift up your voice with strength. Be no more afraid of your voice now, nor more ashamed of its being heard, than when you sung the  songs of Satan.”

Pentagon’s School of Music — It takes 15 months of instruction to produce one bandleader. By contrast the Air Force takes 13 months to train a jet pilot.

Psalm 96
Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
But the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before Him;
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
Give to the Lord glory and strength.
Give to the Lord the glory due His name;
Bring an offering, and come into His courts.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!
Tremble before Him, all the earth.
Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
The world also is firmly established,
It shall not be moved;
He shall judge the peoples righteously.”
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness;
Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.

Singing Releases Our Faith:
1. Towards God
Psalm 92:1,4 “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; …
For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands.”

2. Towards Myself
SURROUNDING YOURSELF with music that glorifies God actively puts you in the very presence of God.
Physically … heal your body.   Mentally … make you smart.    Emotionally … shift attitude 

CARTOON …. Woman with bad singing

3. Towards Others
Colossians 3:16 “…teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing…”   Your song impacts others. Singing with others brings your hearts in alignment.

4. Towards Circumstances
Acts 16:22-30 “…singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, … and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.”

5. Towards Injustice
Psalm 101:1 “I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.”
1 Corinthians 13:6 “It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.”

 Dr Martin Luther King … Memphis … soon after he was killed.
Deep in my heart I do believe, we shall overcome.
Now I join hands often with students and others behind jail bars singing it: We shall overcome.
Sometimes we’ve had tears in our eyes when we joined together to sing it, but we still decided to sing it! We shall overcome.
Lord before this victory is won some will have to get thrown in jail some more, but we shall over come. Don’t worry about us, before the victory is won some of us will lose jobs, but we shall overcome.
Before the victory is won, even some will have to face physical death. But if physical death is the price that some must pay to free their children from a permanent psychological death, then nothing shall be more redemptive. We shall over come.
Before the victory is won, some will be misunderstood and called bad names and dismissed as rebel-rousers and agitators. But we shall overcome.
That’s the place true worship that is pleasing to God will take us. It will take us to jails, to lost jobs and even to death. It will be called rebel-rouser and agitator. It will sing the words of wholeness where the spirit and the body are at peace.

Bono from “U2”
“One man come in the name of love, one man come and go, one man come here to justify, one man to overthrow. In the name of love, what more in the name of love.”

December 20. 1987 Tempe Arizona … Sing pride and it will be the last song you sing … He sang it and when he opened his eyes … Adam Clayton the Bass player was standing in front of him.

321 Why Series# 5, Why I Sing, PowerPoint Slides

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