Sound
Pt. 3 – Sound Stage
We have been talking about the importance of sound. I stated that our problem is that our world has learned to harness the power of sound more effectively than the children of God. Our world understand that sound has the ability to create and produce change.
So on week 1 I challenged you out of the account of Joshua's instructions at Jericho to learn that sound precedes victory. If you lose your shout you lose victory. You must sound victorious even before you are victorious. Your shout can't resemble your situation but rather your situation will line up with your shout! I told you that silence is for a season. There is nothing wrong with seasonal silence. However, I am concerned that some of you have accepted silence as a substitute for sound. The enemy will try to keep you quiet so he can keep you in bondage.
Last week we talked about Sound Seep. Remember that out of the account of Paul and Silas in jail we learned that your sound can't be tied to your sight!
Your sound must be tied to your spirit instead! That's why David said I can praise Him in the day and declare His faithfulness by night! We also learned that your sound isn't really for you! Your sound must seep. We need each other's sound. Look at your neighbor and say, "I have been waiting to hear you all week!" Your sound has the ability to reach all around you and encourage, empower, infuse someone else with joy, faith, strength, and trust again!
So today I want to once again deal with sound by taking you into another Sound Scripture.
Text: Acts 2:1-6, 11, 41
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run.
11 . . .we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God.
41 That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
If you will allow me this morning I want to deal with one sound lesson and then break down the components of the sound that set the stage for such a great revival and move of God!
a. Sound draws people!
The one lesson I want to teach you today is what we learn in Acts. Notice if you will that on the Day of Pentecost a sound invades the room where the disciples are hiding. However, I also think we have read verse 2 and then failed to keep reading. The sound seeped. The sound not only invaded their sanctuary verse 5 states that without the benefit of amplifiers or speakers people all over the city heard the sound! And in the very next breath the writer states and when the people heard the sound they came on the run to find out what was going on!
Stated simply. Sound drew people! The people were drawn first to the sound then they were drawn to God.
Could it be that if people aren't drawn to our God it is because they aren't drawn to our sound?
Is your sound distinct, different, or appealing? Is your sound drawing anyone? If no one is running towards us, then could it be that we have stifled the sound?
I want to prophetically declare that we will see people drawn when we learn to consistently release the sound!
I honestly can say after the last two weeks that I believe we have arrived at an important fork in the road! The stage is set or in this case the sound stage is set. It is one of those points in time where we have to choose who we are and whether or not we will go backwards or keep pressing forwards. Will you continue to come in here and release a sound (even when you don't feel like it) so that that sound permeates our life so that we can take it out there! What started in private went public!
This can't be a series thing where when I shift to a different topic our sound stops. As a body we are at a moment where I believe we are literally defining and fine tuning our sound. We are hearing the sound we have been praying for, were planted for, and believing for for five years and if we shut it down now we go backwards and we become marginalized. People run to a different sound. People are drawn to sound. I have seen this first hand. I took my kids to Guatemala and then took another trip to South Africa and in both places all you have do to gather a crowd is set up a small speaker and starting playing music or start singing. People flock around you to see what is happening. Sound gathers! So corporately we must find out sound and individually you must hone your sound.
So what sound set the stage for the disciples? What is the sound that will draw people to us?
Before we look at the two sound components I want to tell you in advance that there is a common belief right now that flies directly in the face of what I have been teaching you and what we have been experiencing together over the last 2 weeks! We can embrace this belief and we will become silent or we can believe what the Bible says and we can continue to see the power of sound released in our lives and in our community.
The common belief is that in order to reach our community, friends, and world we must be extremely careful to not offend anyone, do anything that they would think is weird, do anything that would make them uncomfortable. Instead we should just water down our God into a nice, neat, palatable package! Christians and churches should be seen and not heard. We should keep our faith/belief/values to ourselves. The only dilemma with this is that it doesn't line up with the lessons about sound that we learn in the Word.
So let's look at the two components that drew people to the disciples and ultimately to God because these are the same two components that we need to have in our lives and in this church! I want to work backwards because the second sound component is dramatically impacted by the first.
B. Sound components.
2. Praise draws people!
The second component of this sound was praise! Acts says in verse 11, that the people said, "we hear them describing the mighty works of God."
They described God. They didn't draw attention to themselves. They deflected to Him. They didn't make a name for themselves they made a name for Him. They didn't boast of their good works but on the goodness of God! Do you want to draw folks to you or to your God? Do you have the answer or does He have the answer? Does He have their provision or do you? If you have it then sing about you, talk about you, declare your goodness. Sing "I Exalt Me" or "There is None Like Me!" Go ahead and make praise about you, church about you, your POD about you, and prayer time about you! However, if you are in the same boat I am in and you have no answers, no healing, no provision for anyone, then why don't we just simply involve ourselves in praising and lifting up the One who can change them, heal them, set them free, deliver them! Besides we have already been given the promise that if He be lifted up He will draw all men to himself!
Does the sound of your life draw folks to Him?
But here is my question . . . what made this praise any different from the centuries of praise that had gone on prior to this moment? It wasn't like this was the first time anyone had heard Jews worship. It wasn't the first time they had heard Jews talk about God! What was the difference maker? What had changed that got these folks attention! If it was just praise, then we would be seeing people run to us now! If it was just worship multitudes, then would be flocking! So what is the first component that impacted the 2nd component of praise and altered it to the degree that it produced a flash mob of people who encounter God?
1. Pentecost draws people!
The only thing that had changed about their praise was what had occurred in verse 2. The sound of Pentecost had invaded their lives. Their praise was different because of Pentecost!
I have taught you that Pentecost isn't just about the sound but it certainly wrapped up in the sound! Without the sound you aren't Pentecostal!
There are two groups of people around us . . . those who have never experienced Pentecost and this is all new to them and then there are those of us that have been around and have experienced Pentecost for decades. I am not as concerned about those who have never experienced Pentecost as I am those who have experienced it. Let me explain. Those who have never experienced it will be alright and even vouch for the validity of the sound if it is in order, genuine, used for more than just good services and actually allowed to impact our lives and the way we live outside of church! The only time I have seen those who haven't experienced it have problems with it is when Pentecostals abuse/mix the sound with pride thinking this is a gift parade for their benefit and advancement or when Pentecostals sound off in church and then still live like the devil the rest of the week!
No . . . my biggest concern is those of us who have the sound in us but have become so accustomed to the presence of the Holy Spirit that we take Him for granted, underutilize the power that is in us, or box up and marginalize the sound for worship rather than for life. I am more concerned about us because it is so difficult to get that crowd to once again see the need for the sound. It is so difficult to get this group to dust off the gift once again and actually depend on it as if it was our life!
If we are going to have the sound we need then we are going to have to have some Pentecostal folks rise up again and boldly release the sound of the Spirit that is in us . . . not just at church! Listen as long as you follow the sound systems prescribed in the New Testament, and I demand that you do, as to how the sound is to be handled in public worship then you are released to release the sound! We need the sound!
This thing started with sound . . . the sound of a rushing mighty wind . . . and for some reason we have been trying to quiet it down since then. We started in sound and for some reason we want to end up in silence! Hear me state it once again I am for quiet moments . . . but some of us are allowing quite moments to change to quit moments! We live in a noisy world and we live in a quiet church! It is time to embrace and operate in the sound again! Did you know the fastest growing segment of Christianity around the world today is the Pentecostal movement. We have sound that draws folks. And yet, here in America we are scared or ashamed of the sound and try to push the Holy Spirit to the back rooms. I want you to hear me clearly . . . release the sound! The day for silence is over!
The sound that sets the stage for the greatest move of God that any of us have ever witnessed is the same sound that set the stage for the greatest move of God the disciples had ever seen. The sound that will draw folks to you and then to God is the sound of Pentecostal . . . power filled . . . Holy Ghost permeated . . . spirit breathed praise!
Set the stage with those components and we will see people drawn!
