The Message of the Sound
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - Let me clarify for all my Cleveland Brown fans, emphatically yes, I am a Cleveland Browns Fan, but I do live in Michigan, so I have some partiality towards the Detroit Lions and that is where it stops O-H-I-O.
Last Sunday the Detroit Lions played the L.A. Rams in the Wild Card Playoffs and beyond the drama of the 2 quarterbacks meeting for the 1st time since they basically swapped teams it has been confirmed that the loudest sound ever measured in Ford Field, the stadium where the Lions play, happened measuring 133.6 decibels also making it the 2nd loudest in NFL history!
The sound indicated that the people were excited and proud of the Detroit Lions Football Team. One of my work associates said he went to the game and that you could hear the person to talk to them because the sound of the screams and cheers was so loud.
UNDERSTAND: - There is power in sound and the world has learned how to harness that power and use it effectively sadly often more effectively than the church. Just watch a football game the crowd understands that if they are loud enough, they can cause confusion among the opposing team to the point they will change the play or receive a penalty for the delay of game because the sound effected the ability of the players to hear the message delivered from the quarterback.
Sound has the power to create as well as destroy. Scientists show how sound vibrations can cause particulates to form very intricate designs. Just google sound vibration art designs and see some of the amazing videos of how different sounds will create different designs. Sound caused creation to happen, Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said (that’s sound), Let there be light: and there was light”.
Sound also had the power to destroy, have you ever seen an opera singer shatter a glass from the sound of their voice. Sound is even used to treat certain types of cancer because the ultrasonic sound vibrations destroy the molecular structure of the cancer cell killing / destroying the cancer.
Sound is powerful.
Well, the Glory of God has a sound Acts 2:2 says, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting”. What came – wind - no - A SOUND, and it filled all the house – what filled the house A SOUND. So, the Glory of God has sound, that sound is powerful, it is a distinct sound, and that sound has a message.
The Message of the Sound.
PRAYER: -
SCRIPTURES: - Acts 2:1-8, 1 Corinthians 14:7-8, Exodus 28:31-35, Exodus 32:17-19.
TEXT: - It is without a doubt that every sound carries some kind of message. If you hear the sound of sirens, rather it is an ambulance, police, or firetruck you understand the message is clear the way because there is an emergency happening somewhere. If you hear the sound of glass breaking at 3:00 in the morning the message is someone is trying to break into your house grab your gun. If you hear the sound of the dog barking and whining the message, is it needs to go out. If you hear the sound of the alarm clock going off at 0 dark 30 the message, is it is time to get up. Sound has a message.
The sound of the church, the body of Christ has a message as well and we the people of God must harness the power of the sound and deliver the proper message. The sound of the church cannot sound like the world because if the sound of the Church sounds like the sounds of the world, then the church will deliver the wrong message and we cannot afford to deliver the wrong message eternal life or eternal death depends on the message in the sound. The Church must have a distinct sound. There are a lot of sounds coming from the so-called church today, but it is not a distinct sound.
WATCH THIS: - 1 Corinthians 14:7-8 says, “And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle”. This verse lets us know that unless there is a distinction in the sound how can people prepare for what is coming. The problem today is there is no distinction from the world and the church in its sound. So often the same sounds you hear in the world are the same sounds in the church. Now understand this is deeper than the music sound. Some churches are accustomed to the Hammond Organ, drums, guitars, and tambourines in their Praise and Worship. Some are accustomed to Hymns and pipe organs, while some are accustomed to banjos and wash boards understand even though all those make sound that is style and everyone will have their preferred style but regardless of the style the sound must be distinct, because it is the sound that carries the message.
The sounds of the world versus the sounds of the church are not the club sound, the reggae sound, the hip hop sound, the jazz sound, or the gospel music sound because those are Genre, which is a category of artistic composition. Artistic composition is a means of conveying specific emotions, stories, or meanings in an arrangement.
However, sound is defined as energy that travels in waves through air, water, or other substances that can be heard. Energy is defined as the ability or capacity for doing work. The sound of the church has work to do therefore it must be distinct from the world.
The sounds of the world I want you to understand are: - the sound of gossip, the sound of abuse, the sound of backstabbing, the sound of negativity, the sound of defeat, the sound of hopelessness, the sound of lies, the sounds of lust, the sounds of the flesh. Unfortunately, the sounds coming from the church are these same sounds just like the sounds in Exodus 32:17-19 which says, “And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. And he said, it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount”. This sound that Joshua heard was a sound of false and corrupt worship, it was the sound of man and not the sound of God. It was a sound the was birthed from the desires and pleasures of mankind, from their own flesh, a sound that satisfied carnality, that promoted sensuality, promiscuity, lasciviousness and is the same sound that we hear so often in the church today.
The sound heard today by a lot of the church says things like God wants you to be rich, God wants you to have 3 mansions, or God wants you to drive a Bentley, God never said he wanted you to drive a Bentley. When my wife and I lived in Florida down the street from our apartment in West Palm Beach there was a Volvo dealership, a Mercedes dealership, a Bentley dealership, a Land Rover, and a Lamborghini dealership, my flesh desired to be able to have anyone of them vehicles, my wallet said otherwise, but God NEVER SAID He wanted me to drive one of those my flesh, my lustful desires wanted one of those cars – NOT GOD.
This corrupt sound of the Apostate church treats the Bible as a contract between God and us and if we sound off in tithes and offerings that God will deliver prosperity and financial security to us. This is exactly what the Children of Israel were doing in Exodus 32 it is the sound or noise of war, not a battle cry, but the sound of an internal struggle, the struggle between the flesh and the spirit. Romans 7:15-20 says, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would do, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me”.
These are internal struggles sounds of the flesh and lustful desires 1 Peter 2:11 says, “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust, which war against the souls. Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation”.
The church, the body of Christ, the people of God must bring back the distinct sound before the Lord. We must present the proper sound that pleases God a sound not birthed in lustful fleshly desires but a sound of joy and peace because of who God is. Exodus 28:31-35 says, “And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof; it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem therefor; and bells of gold between them round about: A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about it. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister; and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die not”. This scripture unfortunately suffers from a lot of misinterpretations and because of the misinterpretations we miss the beauty and the message of the sound.
The Misinterpretation:- It is misinterpreted as the priest had a rope tide around his ankle and as he ministered before the Lord in the Holy of Holies the bells would make a sound and if the sound of the bells stopped then the people outside would know that the priest died because God rejected the offering and they would pull him out since no one was allowed in the Holy of Holies - makes for exciting preaching but poor theology.
WATCH THIS: - When the High Priest went into the Holy Place with the blood of the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, he was not dressed in the robe with the pomegranates and bells, he was dressed in priestly garments, but not the High Priestly Garment – He first had to go through a process of sanctification and purification. Then the blood from the sacrifice on the Braxen Altar he had with him in the Holy Place. The blood he sprinkled on the altar of Incense that was before the veil of the Holy of Holies that ascended before God as a sweet-smelling savor. The blood covered him and allowed him to be able to enter the Holy of Holies. There is no place is scripture will you find that bells will wash aways sins, only by the shedding of blood is there remission of sins. The sprinkling of the blood covered him if he was not sanctified at this point, he never would have made it into the Holy of Holies, he would have died because God rejected him and the offering.
UNDERSTAND THEOLOGY: - This is where Nadab and Abihu are slain at in Leviticus 10:1-2 says, “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord”. They died at the Altar of Incense before the veil of the Holy of Holies they were not sanctified by the blood.
UNDERSTAND: - Because the High Priest would have sprinkled the blood on the Altar of Incense, which was in the Holy Place before the Veil of the Holy of Holies he is covered by the blood and is sanctified before the Lord. Hebrews 12:24 says, “And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel”.
After this is done, he puts on the Robe of Blue with the Pomegranate’s and Golden Bells the official High Priest dress and draws nigh to God and enters the Holy of Holies on behalf of the stiff-necked, hardheaded, rebellious, complaining, murmuring, ungrateful, backstabbing, perverse sinful people. He came from a place that was filled with filth and enmity against God and sounds of contention, backbiting, abuse, worldliness, pride, arrogance, unbelief, strife, and a cornucopia of other sinful characteristics, but he himself (the priest) must not be bound by the sounds of the flesh and the world as he enters the presence of God. God required that the sounds of heaven, the sounds of praise went before him, this is before Psalms says “Enterr his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise”. This sound which please God was sent forth by his footsteps as he stepped into the Holy of Holies the bells would ring and sound pleasing unto the Lord.
Although he came through the midst of worldliness and confusion his steps would not send the message of corruption, not the message of the fleshly desires of mankind, or the lusts of the flesh but the sound of praise, a joyful noise preceded him. He himself, the priest, had already been sanctified, purified, and consecrated now he is coming to God for the people and the people had to be represented by the proper sound. This sound had to be heard by God as Exodus 28:35 says, “that he die not”. If he wasn’t preceded by the sound or if the sound was not the distinct sound God required, then it was certain death for the priest.
There is a proper sound that must proceed us coming into the presence of God. The sound of the bells indicated that he was coming with a joyful sound for the people that needed atonement. As he leaves the Holy of Holies and enters back into the camp of the people that sound of the bells carried the message and represented the still small voice of peace and holiness calming the true worshipper confirming the fact and sending the message, that all has been forgiven and they are right in the sight of the Lord.
We must bring back the distinct sound of the bells to the church a sound that carries a message of hope, peace, joy, and salvation. Acts 2:6-8 says, “Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaens? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born”. This was a sound that carried a message that something was different, that something changed, it was the message that this is what you have been waiting for. It didn’t sound like the world; it didn’t sound like what they were used to. It didn’t sound like a form of godliness but had no power. This was a sound that carried the message that God loves them; it was the message in the sound that caused 3000 souls to be saved. This is the sound that must be heard in the church again.
We need the distinct sound of the King is here to be heard in the church again. 2 Chronicles 23:10-14 says, “And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. Then they brought out the king’s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king, And Jeoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king. Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the Lord: And she looked, and behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason Treason. Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges; and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the Lord”.
Let me briefly explain what is happening here: - Athaliah is the daughter of Ahab and possibly Jezebel (some discussion about that), she marries Jehoram the king of Judah. After Jehoram’s death their son Ahaziah reigns and Athaliah is his counselor and advisor in doing evil. After he is killed Athaliah tries to kill the rest of the royal dynasty, killing her family and becomes the only woman in the Bible who reigned in Israel/Judah. She reigns for 6 years without realizing that there is one remaining survivor of the royal dynasty and the rightful King and yes her own grandson. Jehoiada the priest leads a revolution against Athaliah and places Joash, Athaliah’s grandson, the rightful 7-year-old king, crowns him king, and places him on the throne. When he is made king, the people rejoice and sing praise to the king. Athaliah hears the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the Lord.
What drew her - it was the sound with the message there is a King and because she heard the sound she came to the house of the Lord. Although her story ended up in her death when the world hears the sound of the King from the church it should draw them to the house of the Lord and cause them to die to sin.
That’s why the church can’t sound like the world because the church has work to do causing and leading people to die out to sin.
The church needs to make a sound that the King of Glory is here in this place. Sounds that carry the message that God loves you, that God will deliver you, that God will save you.
The church needs to make the sound that victory is mine.
Psalms 66:1-2 says, “Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands. Sing forth the honor of his name: make his praise glorious”. The church needs to make a joyful noise, a joyful noise does not draw attention to the one making the noise but leads to the king. A joyful noise is not the noise of flesh, the noise of lustful desires, the noise of complaining, but a noise that begins with a pure heart, that uplifts and exalts and honors God. A joyful noise is the sound of the crowning of the King – the King of Glory is in this place.
Remember Acts 2 which we call the birth of the church stated with a sound and that sound caused people to come and inquire about what was going on. The sound carried the message of repentance, baptism, and the filling of the Holy Ghost.
QUESTION: - What is the sound the church is sending out today. I am not talking about the building, the denomination, or the organization – 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own”.
What kind of sound are you making.
What is - The Message of the Sound.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
