Are you seeking a Symphony for God or Sympathy from man?
Acts 16:25 … at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God (in prison) Suddenly an earthquake shook the prison, their shackles fell off, the walls came down, and they were free to go.
Lots of churches teach (and correctly so) that in your darkest moment, Praise God and He’ll be with you and see you through. It’s true! Try it, you’ll see! But this time it was different. Paul and Silas never read Acts 16:25. In fact they didn’t even have the New Testament. They never even heard this encouraging message. They were talking to God and singing to Him because He was there with them. I bristle when someone posts “pray for me, I’m going to the mall to evangelize, or my church is having a visitation event”. Christianity is a lifestyle, not an event. We should all evangelize and bodily visit shut ins and non believers all the time. An evangelical event is an oxymoron.
We have a choice. Either sing to Jesus continually or we can complain to people continually. You can either have a spiritual symphony with God going on in your heart, or you can seek sympathy from other human beings. You can’t do both.
This is not a salvation message. I know lots of cry babies and pouters going to heaven. This is a quality of life message.
People pray in Jesus’ name. In Jesus’ authority. They THINK when they pray like that, that they are only in seeking Jesus’ glory. Most of the time they are praying they are hoping to get a little of the glory too. When you pray in Jesus’ name for Jesus’ glory you are forfeiting your personal rights to that glory. I am like most people, unfortunately. People want to get credit for praying for things. They want people to get healed as soon as they pray for them in Jesus’ name. They want people to get saved in front of them when they pray to Jesus for their salvation with them. They want a specific city in the USA to break out into revival that they are interceding for. They want the rapture to take them to heaven while they are surrounded by angry non-believers beating them up and screaming at them. (Well, that’s probably just my idea of a good time)
Here’s the thing. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we will very rarely see the results. While I am praying for a revival in Cleveland Ohio, (or in Jerusalem) Jesus answers my prayer, but in Tehran Iran. Incidentally, Iran is experiencing a massive revival among the oppressed women there, even as I write this. Not what I was expecting, but it’s a win for all of us. I think my prayers aren’t heard when Jesus answers them someplace else, or in a way I wasn’t expecting. I pray for Machine Gun Kelly to get saved. But Marilyn Manson got saved first, much to my surprise. (Although I was praying for his salvation a year ago). I pray for a stranger to be saved. He rejects me, gets on a bus and an hour later a shy old lady tells him that Jesus loves him, and he bursts into tears, gets on his knees and repents. I didn’t get that ‘notch’ in my Bible, that little old lady did. God knows I would probably get proud (sin) but humble granny needed a boost of encouragement. I pray for someone to get healed, they don’t. A year later they are healed, or dead (which is healed as well). Jesus said one guy will get raptured in a field or in his bed with only one witness. (Not the wow Dean wants). Jesus answers our prayers, just not in the ways we want. It’s all good!Symphony with a loving sincere Holy God or seeking fake sympathy from fallen sinful bags of flesh who really couldn’t care less? It’s a choice.
Romans 8:28. ALL things work together for the good of those who love the Lord
When it doesn’t happen like they want, their symphony in their hearts gets muffled and possibly silenced. That happens the moment they complain to mere humans. That instance of murmuring kills their symphony because they are insinuating that Jesus isn’t with them, or not enough. That they feel abandoned. That He’s not listening. They (the bride) complain about their ‘bridegroom’ (Jesus) looking for sympathy. When they look for sympathy from their peers, they kill their symphony with God.
There was a missionary in Argentina in the early 1900’s. Only 12 conversions in 40 years! He went home to the states, and died feeling like a failure. One of the 12 was Luis Palau. Luis was the Billy Graham of Iberoamérica. I think the missionary got a lot of sympathy on this earth. But in heaven, he is having a symphony.
A person that complains about their spouse is unfaithful and is very likely to fall into adultery. They are looking for sympathy from someone else. Their marriage isn’t a symphony of love and harmony. A person listening ACTS like their sympathetic (but no one really is). They act sympathetic because they feel obligated to, or to get juicy gossip. They may just act interested to feel important, or to take advantage of the situation. No one really likes a complainer. Complainers go to flesh and blood vessels for faked sympathy, and in turn neglect a genuine symphony with the Only One who truly cares about and loves them.
The thing is, when you have a symphony with God in your heart, it’s not just in the bad times. If you don’t have symphony with God in your heart in good times, how on earth are you going to have a symphony with God in the bad times.
I’ve seen men under fire. I have seen tragedy strike families. I’ve seen people die. They tend to go through dark times exactly how they did in good times. The person that is a good and powerful testimony in bad times is also a good and powerful testimony in a mundane workplace in normal times. Your testimony, and even evangelism, have almost nothing to do with what comes out of your mouth. You don’t perform when it’s bad to get out of trouble, it just doesn’t work.
I was in a fatal bus accident during Hurricane Mitch. The bridge washed out, we flipped and landed in a river upside down. The roof caved in, and all the over capacity passengers, including myself, we crammed together like sardines. No one could move, or with breath very well because we were stacked 3 deep. I could hear the man underneath me screaming underwater as he drowned. All of us had peace, we just came back from an all night prayer vigil. We just were surrendering our souls to the Lord. Except the driver. He wasn’t saved, so he did not want to die. He had no peace, so he was proclaiming and screaming out every religious cliche he could think of. He was annoying. I was waiting to see Jesus and had a symphony in my heart, even though I couldn’t breath because of so many people in top of me, and the river water rising. The driver’s screaming and praying was kind of a buzz kill. Then people pulled us out through the broken glass. Still have a nice scar to remind me of that wonderful experience.
Paul and Silas always sang to God and prayed. I know this because he exhorted us to do so as well. Paul always had a symphony going on inside of him. Even his jailers got saved because of his testimony (inner symphony) in dark times. Paul was always praying and singing to God, in symphony – and he wants us to be in symphony with God as well.
◄ Ephesians 5:19 ► speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,
That is how Paul could say ‘none of these things move me’! We can stay in symphony with God by keeping Him on the forefront of your mind. (Forehead area physically). That’s where memories and habits are in our brains. I know that because that’s where my dad had a brain tumor. When they cut it out, they physically removed habits and memories as well. Believers are said n the Bible to be marked a few times on their foreheads in the Bible. (Because that’s where their thoughts about God are.)
Ezekiel 9:1 “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.”
Theologians and historians say that mark was the mark of the cross (like Catholics do on Ash Wednesday). Except it’s not just one day. It’s a symbol of permanence, of always thinking of God (being in symphony). Also, in the tribulation the people that got saved after the rapture were marked on their foreheads symbolizing where their thoughts were. I suspect that’s where the symphony is held as well.
Revelation 7:3 “ Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Notice when they get to heaven, they aren’t showing up bitter saying ‘we went through this’ or other complaints. They weren’t looking for sympathy but had a symphony, entering heaven not murmuring but singing
Rev 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders.
Thanks and un abrazo!!
Dean and Winnie Peters
www.whatistheloveofGod.com
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