Redeeming Music
Why should the devil have all the good music?
Welcome
Thanks guys, my name is Brad Loomis and I am an Elder candidate and I lead the music department here at Damascus Road Church. I am not the normal preacher here. Actually all of our Elders preach but Sam does so most often. This is actually my first sermon ...ever, so yeah I'm a little nervous but basically the way we see it it's summer time and most people take their vacations during the summer so lets stick the newbie up there and if he sucks no one will notice anyways. So you guys get the short end of that stick.
Sermon Series
Well today we are going to continue the Redemption series "Saving the world from Church" and if you've missed it or are new here basically what we've been going over is some of the more fundamental and controversial topics such as Politics, Work Alcohol, Language, the roles of Men and Women, Sex, Money, and today Rock and Roll. Well actually Music in general. These tend to be issues that the Church has not spoken up enough to teach people about and the world around us can't exploit enough. And the problem is that if the Church doesn't teach people about how to navigate contentious or potentially dangerous issues they are going to learn about them from the world and that is when people's lives are wrecked. Well today we are going over music, and music tends to be a divisive subject because everyone likes music and tastes and preferences can be all over the map.
There is no accounting for taste.
Music affects and moves us at a deep emotional level and emotions can be volatile. And often times our preferences for music can be polarizing. We rally around a certain genre. A funny thing about this is that it's all about perspective and there is no accounting for taste. You can have like your top five albums of all time in common with someone and then find out they love John Tesh and you're like what the heck? For example I really like progressive alternative and music you can get lost in like Sigior Ros, Radiohead, Keane and Cold Play but few people know that I am a closet Neil Diamond fan and I actually have Burt Bacharach's greatest hits and the Bee Gees greatest hits! I am not cool. There is no accounting for taste its weird! She likes Gangsta rap and classical music two genres with nothing in common I am pretty sure. And he likes Goth Rock and Polka music, which oddly enough are both popular in Germany then again so is David Hasselhoff. I went on a road trip with Sam and Aaron two of our Pastors here to Idaho and on the way we were comparing the music on our ipods. Well on Aaron's ipod he has jazz music and classical music and opera and then Dragon Force which is like Lord of the Rings set to Speed Metal it's so freaking fast that when I listen to it all I can do is giggle! It's ridiculous! Matt Nickel , one of the other Elder candidates here, likes a lot of the same music I do but you can have in depth philosophical discussions with him about the age old debate of the comparative values of Backstreet Boys or N' Sync. Our preferences and tastes in music can illicit strong emotional reactions from us. How much more so in the realm of religion?
Divisiveness of Music
Within churches often times our allegiances to personal preferences rears it ugly head in a divisive manner. These people want rock music, those people want nothing but old school hymns, and all the youth want nothing but Gaither brothers! I'm just kidding because that's impossible. If you didn't get that joke be glad. One thing I'm very thankful for is that here at DRC we really have been spared from that. I never get "requests" or complaints about style or genre of music. I don't get complaints at all. I'm not sure if it's because I'm scary looking or what. I would like to think that no one complains because we've been able to effectively articulate why we do things the way we do. And that we are not afraid to take risks or that we have been able to foster an environment that is conducive to change.....but it's probably because I'm scary looking. Lets face it.
Why the sermon series?
So anyways our attempt in this sermon series is to show God's plan for each of these topics, how sin and the curse of the Fall has jacked it up to two extremes. On one extreme you have worldly self-indulgence or syncretism and on the other you have cultural abstention or bunker mentality of self-righteousness where you avoid all things cultural. So then how we can, like Jesus, redeem these things. So the first thing that I wanted to look at, for the sake of clarity is What the differences between music and worship are. Today I'm primarily talking about music in a broad sense, and not necessarily in the context of church. We will a little but it is important to understand that while they are not mutually exclusive they are also not mutually inclusive. It is extremely limiting and terribly inaccurate to refer to worship as the small portion of our response to the word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit that is set to music on Sunday mornings. In the Old Testament the people gathered in the temple for worship in the form of sacrificial ceremonies that pointed to Jesus and that he fulfilled. Hebrews 7:26For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest,holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, andexalted above the heavens. 27He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily,first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did thisonce for all when he offered up himself. 28For the law appoints menin their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been madeperfect forever. So through the Blood of Jesus we move from a system of worship based on "time and place" to a system of worship that hinges on spirit and truth.
He says in John 4:23Butthe hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Fatherin spirit andtruth, for the Fatheris seeking such people to worship him. It isn't about our sacrifices it is about our heart. Do we live for the glory of god? Do we worship in spirit and truth in all that we do? 1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Music is just a tool that allows and helps us to connect and be moved to an emotional response. It is a means to an end. In everything that we do, whether we know it or not, we are giving of ourselves to something either Creator or creation. Music is just another creation. We can sin with it or we can worship with it, just like anything else.
What the Bible says about Music?
Music is a tool, but it has great affect on our moods and emotions and it was designed to be that way. The Scriptures are packed with references to music in every aspect of life expressing every kind of emotion in fact 989 times. I wanted to take a look at some of these references to get a feel for the scope of how much music was part of biblical life
Work- Isaiah 16:10 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field, and in the vineyards no songs are sung, no cheers are raised; no treader treads out wine in the presses; I have put an end to the shouting.
Play- Luke 15:25 "Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.
Celebration- James 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.
War- Exodus 32:17-18 ‘When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted; he said to Moses, "There is a noise of war in the camp." 18But he said, "It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear."
Death- Matthew 11:17 "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'
Slowly
Music was also used to remind God's people of remarkable events in history, to teach and equip them, and to celebrate military victories.
God, himself commanded the use of music for many purposes to summon Israel to meet with Him, to call them to worship, to be used in worship, to signify Holy Days, to celebrate, for warfare, and to announce His presence.
Looking at the Psalms
So in looking at music in the bible we have to go to the book of Psalms. The word Psalm literally means song, and that's exactly what it is. The Psalms is acollection of songs that were formed over the course of the entire Old Testament and Martin Luther called them "the little Bible, and the summary of the Old Testament". It's actually one of my favorites because in the Psalms the entire emotional spectrum is represented. There is joy and thanksgiving, praise and adoration, fear and anger, repentance and humility, hope and peace, faith and love, and a longing for the coming of Jesus Christ. What I really love about the Psalms is that they are not all happy clappy "everything is swell" endlessly cheerful Christian-ese. There is celebration, and that is important but what happens when you don't feel like celebrating? They are also raw and brutally honest and hardcore. They speak to the depravity of man and his wickedness and then tell of the glory God and His righteousness. The Psalms are broken up into five sections and I want to read a Psalm from the third section which is filled with Psalms of lament. This is a long section of scripture so bear with me.
Psalm 79 "O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name! For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation. Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name's sake! Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes! Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die! Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord! But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
How does Culture view Music?
I love the rawness and the authenticity. The author is devastated at seeing Israel crushed and is bitterly angry and not afraid to cry out to God. This is a song from the bible! And a great example of the power of music to communicate. And today music has not lost that power. Music is everywhere in our world and from place to place different varieties or genres and styles may have more prominence than others and there we see the affects or tastes of individual cultures. And we have music that is both native to and the embodiment of cultures and the people within that context. For example, you have Polynesian music that hails from Hawaii, Polka music from Germany and its relative Banda from Mexico.
So in some sense music represents or communicates aspects of our societal identity. We can also see how music is valued by looking at both how much time and money we spend on it.
- itunes the # 1 retailer of music recently announced 5 billion songs sold
and downloaded
But like any creation sin perverts and we go to extremes. We see these extremes in music in two ways. The first glorifies sin. Often times we want to confine this to a specific style of music like rap or rock & roll, but whether or not music, of any kind, has moral value is based on the lyrics. Do the lyrics glorify sin?
How has the Church dealt with Music?
When confronted by anything that seems to promote sinfulness the Church (big C) has been pretty consistent in its response. Crucify it. Burn it. Outlaw it. Reject it. Build a bunker and let's hide in it. That might cause us to consider thinking about possibly sinning....get rid of it! I had a buddy who used to say "Don't have sex because it leads to dancing". But that's often our mentality! And what it is, is self-righteousness. We create all these extra rules to avoid the temptations of sin and in doing so we freaking neuter the Gospel. God is sovereign; absolutely. And our worst sins cannot thwart His will, but when we do this, when we remove ourselves from culture altogether, we are actually working against Him; we are putting ourselves in the way. We shelter ourselves thinking we are able to hide from sin to the point that pretty soon we have no way of interacting or relating with the people around us. The people who need Jesus the most! How many of you have seen the Village by M. Night Shamalan? See it. That's your homework. But if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about. And removing yourself from culture to hide from sin doesn't work. Matthew 15:17-19 says Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Sin comes from within us; it's not a cold we can catch. And not only does it not work but it's a sin! We are to be Fishers of men, not hunkered down in the basement with our matching jumpsuits on listening to nothing but Michael W. Smith, waiting for Jesus to ride in on a comet and rapture us. Not exactly the image of Christ. But seriously, sometimes that's how we look! We look like we are completely out of touch because we can't relate and then we parachute in, or "outreach", toss some tracts at people and run back to our compounds feeling pretty good about ourselves because we shared the Gospel. But really we probably just freaked some people out and helped them litter because the tracts never even made it to their pockets.
Our desire to be safe
We do this to try and be safe to hide from temptation Matt 18:7 "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! Which is in a sense noble and can be a good thing but we are not called to be safe. John 17:14 says I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
So the good news is that you don't have to burn all your secular cd's...just the Country music. And because of this desire for safety we listen to music like Christian radio because it's kids safe. I'm not saying that Christian music sucks, although I'm not saying that it doesn't, but it is still a business and out of that attempt to appeal to as many people as possible it is reduced to the lowest common denominator.
Christian music
So we get music that is really simple so that it can be approachable, and lyrical content that is not offensive and that sucks. Not that we should try to be offensive but the Bible says that God's word offends those who don't believe. And if I am going to be disliked I want it to be because I am faithful to Jesus.
Easter 105.3 story
On Easter two years ago on the way to church Loren, my son, and I were listening to the local Christian radio station, wait it gets worse. The DJ was talking about the meaning of Easter and being a Christian and he said "you know being a Christian is all about being the best person that you can be" I just about had kittens!
I immediately shut the radio off and spent the rest of the car ride explaining to Loren what the meaning of Easter and how we are sinners and only through the blood of Christ and His Lordship and the work of the Holy Ghost are we ever able to do any good. If you want to be all that you can be go join the Army. That was for you James.
My discussion with Kim.
So when I got home I told my bride, Kim, that I didn't what Loren exposed to that junk, but her reply was that she did not want the kids to hear the occasional swear word or colorful language; which I understand because as a mom she wants to protect the kids. But I would rather my kids hear some swear words than to think that Jesus is a guru of positive thinking and enlightenment. I would rather my children see a perspective unlike their own and to reflect or discuss how and why that may or may not be biblical than to be corrupted by the yeast from within. 1Corinthians 5:6-9 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
How do we Redeem Music?
So how do we redeem anything? Honestly this is tough. It means that we never get to stop filtering and discerning. We never get to stop assessing the world around us to use creation along with the Word of god to point to our Savior Jesus Christ. We have been sent into the world to do just that. Matthew 28:18-20And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." We are to be in the world but not of it, we are to be on mission. The Bible gives us some great examples of this, Acts 17 where Paul is in Athens and spends time observing the culture around him so that he may bring the Gospel of Jesus to their context
Acts 17: 22-28 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being' as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'
He used something that was very familiar to them and a part of their culture to point back to Christ. Jesus, God, when He came down as a lowly peasant carpenter to live in culture and redeem His bride used aspects of that culture to point to God and the Kingdom of Heaven. As they moved around Israel with His disciples he would point to things and say the kingdom of God is like this or like that.
That is how we are supposed to be as the image of Christ. And we can apply this same idea to music. We listen with discernment to the music of the culture around us to see if it can be redeemed and pointed back to Christ. That may require some risk, as some songs can't be redeemed or are just plain inappropriate again that glorification of sin. It will also require us to read our Bibles, as John 17 says Gods word is truth and through His word we can see the fallacy in everything else. But this can lead to some awesome questions and conversations.
Maroon 5 story with Loren
I do this with my son in the car now. In fact one time a Maroon 5 song came on the radio and Loren says to me "Daddy is he talking about God?" It was awesome! And so we talked about how the song was about the singer who expected another sinner to save them from loneliness and make everything better and he was upset that the other person failed him. I then told him about how we are sinners and broken and that we can't save ourselves let alone anyone else. And that Jesus is the only one who saves us and will never fail us. That in Him and Him alone do we find forgiveness for sins and reconciliation with our Creator. And the rad thing is that he is learning to search for that, he is learning to search for Jesus in the music he hears and my hope is that he continues to look for Jesus in everything.
Scripture songs and their themes.
So when we play what we call the scripture song, which is a song that points to the theme of the scriptures that we are reading from that given week, we are playing something that the artist did not necessarily intend to be about God, their need for God, their brokenness because of sin, their need for freedom from guilt or their need for redemption. But all creativity comes from God. It almost seems like we think that that God gives creativity to Christians and Satan gives creativity to all the heathens! Although that would explain the whole boy band thing. God is our creator and He gave us the ability to create. Like Martin Luther said "Why should the devil have all the good music?"
Jason Franklin
This is what I do when I am driving I search through the songs I hear looking for Jesus. Recently a buddy, who is a newer Christian and has a wicked collection of music, came up to me and told me that he is meticulously pouring through it to set aside songs that can be redeemed! That totally made my day because he gets it! He is looking for Christ in places we wouldn't think to look for him and seeing these narratives that point to Christ and our need for Him. When he is talking music with a buddy that doesn't know the Lord he can point that song back to God back to scripture.
And like any other form of creation we can use it for His glory or not. Redeeming something is merely taking something that has been tarnished by sin in that it glorifies creation not creator and turning it to again glorify God. Here are some themes that I look for when assessing whether or not something is redeemable:
These are the themes of the Gospel.
I want to challenge you today to look for Jesus in the things that you value and that the culture around you values, and if you do you will be surprised with how often you find Him.
In a minute I am going to pray and then we will respond to Jesus and if you are not a believer just enjoy the music we don't pass the offering basket and we don't want your money but we are glad to have you here. If you are a believer and you are on mission with Damascus Road, come and respond with us with our voices, our finances, and our hearts. Take of the bread that symbolizes Jesus body broken for us. The wine represents his blood poured out for us; His death for our sin. Forgiveness is found in Jesus Christ. Let's pray.