What Song Are You Singing?

Isaiah 40:10 “Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth”

I’ve always loved music.  In fact, I always aspired to be a musician/songwriter while I was growing up.  So naturally, I was always walking around singing to myself (but usually loud enough for anyone who wanted to listen—and even for those who didn’t).  Well, one of the members of my audience was my mom.  And, needless to say, she didn’t always approve of my choice of music.  I usually listened to rock music with some country thrown in there simply by the virtue of having not one but two country music stations coming out of my little home town.  And, let’s face it, the Christian music of the 90s wasn’t anything like it is now (with the exception of Steven Curtis Chapman and DC Talk). 

On one occasion, Mom told me “Be careful what kind of music you listen to.  It can get stuck in your head.”  Well, of course to a 19 year old, it means nothing to hear your parents tell you something.  You have to figure it out for yourself, right?  So, I decided to run an experiment.  For one week, I would listen to my "normal music".  Then, for one week, I would listen to Christian music.  You know what?  Mamma was right.  I found that during the week, and especially toward the end of the week, that when I woke up and throughout the day, I would catch myself singing the songs that I had been listening too.  I also found that, not only was it in my head, but it affected my mood as well.  When I listened to sappy ballads about broken hearts, I found that I was more heartsick than normal.  When I listened to Praise and Worship music, I was normally in a better mood and more cheerful. 

Some of you might be saying, “Duh!  Now what does this have to do with this blog?”  Well, I’m glad you asked.  Recently, as I’ve been reading through the Psalms, one phrase keeps jumping out at me.  “Sing to the Lord a new song.”  That’s it, a simple little phrase, but it got me thinking about the song I sing to the Lord.  I'm not talking about actual lyrics and a music.  I'm talking about the spiritual song that I'm shouting out with my actions and my attitude.  In Luke 19:40, Jesus says, “I tell you, if these (His disciples) were silent, the very stones would cry out.”  He also says in John 4:23-24, "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."  So, even when we aren't speaking, we are crying out something to God.  For the next 15 minutes, I want to us to ignore the things we say, and think about what is pouring out of our minds and hearts as we go through the day.  As we look at Philippians 4:4-9, I want us to think about: (1) What song we should be singing to God?; (2) What song we shouldn't be singing to God?; (3) What influences the song we sing?; (4) How can we ensure we sing the right song?

(1) What songs should we be singing?

      From Phil 4:4-6 I think there are three songs we should be singing.     

The Song of Rejoicing—“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

            Def of Rejoice: to feel or show great joy or delight.  We should be demonstrating our great delight in God for all that He has done for us.  

           --Deuteronomy 12:7 “And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.”

           --1 Chronicles 16:10 “Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!”

The Song of Peace—“Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.”

           I think that the reasonableness here translates to peaceful.  Someone who is known as reasonable doesn't come across as hot-headed, ill-tempered, or divisive.  

Def of Peace: a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations: Try to live in peace with your neighbors. I think there are three elements of Peace here:

Be still before the Lord--Stop trying to do it all on your own time table.  Rest in mental and spiritual stillness.

           --Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him”

           --Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”

Be at peace with God--Stop trying to reconcile the sin of your past with God or earn an audience with Him.  Come to him as a completely forgiven child.  

           --Psalm 103:12 “as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”

Trust God--He is in control anyway.  Yield your life to Him and trust His sovereignty. There is no actual control to be had beyond the control we have to lay down our life.  Any control we think we wrestle away from Him is illusionary. The struggle will only drive us crazy.

            --Prov 3:5-7

            --Jeremiah 29:11

The Song of Thanksgiving—“but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”

           Def: self-explanatory.  All of our conversations with God should stem from a thankful heart.  Regardless of whether we are in want or plenty, we should always be thankful. We should recognize that God gives us what He wants us to have, not what the world tells us we should have.  That's a key distinction there. 

           --Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me”

(2) What are some songs we shouldn’t sing?

      From Phil 4:6-7, I see three songs we should not be singing.     

The Song of Fear—“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything”

This one kind of goes without saying.  If we're living in constant fear of the bad that might happen, what good might not happen, or the fear that God will forgot about us, our song is going to sound just like the songs of the lost.  How then will we ever convince anyone of God's goodness.                   

            --Deuteronomy 31:6: “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you”

--Matthew 7:9-11 "Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"

The Song of Indifference--"but in everything by prayer and supplication"

God wants our everything.  He doesn't want to us be on autopilot living with no intention at all, just headed whatever direction we're pointed.  Nor does he want us to live life like a pinball, bouncing around from one experience to the next.  He was us to passionately pursue Him.

              --Revelation 3:16 “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth”
The Song of Why—“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

I've heard it said that you'll always get the wrong answer as long as you're asking the wrong question.  We spend too much time asking "Why?" in our lives.  We want to know why bad things happen, why God hasn't answered a prayer yet, and why He does what he does.  We aren't asking for understanding.  Instead, it's as if we are saying, "God, I need you to tell me what you're up to so I can let you know if I approve or not."  God doesn't need our approval.  And we don't need to know why.  We just need peace.  God knows what He's doing.  We just need the peace that surpasses understanding.  This will carry us much farther than knowing why.  

            

What influences the songs we sing?

Our Thought Life--Don't buy the lies that satan is telling you.  Use the shield of faith to defend your mind from the fiery arrows of the evil one.  Discipline your mind to focus on God and his truths.  This goes back to the not being on autopilot.  Take charge of your mind and fight the evil one.

           --Philippians 4:8-9: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Our social life--"If you lie down with dogs, you'll wake up with fleas"  It's easier to fall down than to stand up.

            --2 Corinthian 6:14: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness.”

             --2 Thessalonians 2:6: “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.”

What we Pursue--You can say you love God all day long, but your day planner, checkbook, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest will shout louder about what you truly worship.

            --Matthew 6:19, 24: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

             --Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

  

(3) How can we ensure we sing the right songs?

Fellowship--Surround yourself with people who desire to worship and serve God and who are singing the right songs.

             --Acts 2:42, 46: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers…And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God

              --Hebrews 13:15 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God”

Discipleship--Be involved in bible study with fellow believers that will help you dive deep into God's word.  

              --Proverbs 27:17: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another”

              --1 Thessalonians 5:13b-18: “Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Study--Learn God's word and consume it like your favorite food.

               --2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for  reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

To close I guess I just want to encourage you to be aware of the song you sing to the Lord.  We need to constantly check ourselves.  Sometimes we may be humming a tune our of habit and not even be aware of what we're singing.  Make sure your song is intentional.  And, just like my music experiment, make sure we aren’t just mindlessly singing worldly songs and complaints, always asking “why?” or for more “stuff” or for relief from situations we’ve gotten ourselves into by making bad choices.  We can call ourselves a sparrow or an eagle, but if we quack like a duck…I guess we’re a duck.