How Does God Describe Your Voice?

Does anyone remember what HI-FI stands for?

"A kind of sound-producing system whose realism of reproduction is judged to be better than average. Stereo reproduction can be high-fidelity or otherwise.” (From Stereophile.com)

Webster further explains fidelity as "the degree to which an electronic device (as a record player, radio or television) accurately reproduces its effect (as sound or picture)."

High fidelity stereo equipment reproduces accurately the original sound. Jesus Christ came into this world as the Voice of His Father. Jesus is the Word, the logos. He accurately reproduced the thoughts and words of His Father. Paul indicates something about believers in Christ in Ephesians:

Ephesians 1:1 (NIV) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

If you continue reading in Ephesians, you discover that God predestined that all those in whom Jesus lives to be conformed to His image. To me, we are to be "high-fidelity" reproductions of Jesus Christ. Fidelity is one of the translations of faith. Look at Titus 2:6-10:

Titus 2:6-10 (NKJV) Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

Our manner of life is to be high fidelity-an accurate reproduction of the good works and speech and behavior of Jesus Christ, “that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”

• We know we are to bring "every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (II Corinthians 10:5)
• "let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).
• John tells us "to walk just as He walked" (I John 2:6).
• Christ . . . [left] us an example, that you should follow in His steps" (I Peter 2:21).

To Christians, fidelity is to reproduce faithfully and exactly the thoughts, attitudes, steps, and paths of Jesus Christ.

We all make sounds with our lives. Each one of us has a “VOICE”. Our lives speak volumes to those around us. Charles Finney said, “At every step you tread on chords that will vibrate for all eternity”.

What does God think of your voice, the sounds of your life?

The "VOICES" of our lives reach the ears of God as either the scratchy, tinny, garbled clanging of selfishness and carnality, or as harmonic, melodious, pleasant reproductions of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

We need to rediscover our VOICE for God. We need to desire to produce a HIGH FIDELITY Voice that God loves to listen to.

Are We Really Innocent?

I watch American Idol. I usually record it and watch an hour in about 25 minutes. But that show really defines what is going on in America. The songs, the way ordinary people get transformed into Pop Stars. How becoming an idol is the dream of millions of people. Last Tuesday David Cook from Blue Springs, MO sang a song called Innocent. I was intrigued with the song's cath phrase "We are all innocent" but I had to look up the lyrics to understand what he was singing about (after all I am a geezer):

Oh Tina’s losing faith in what she knows

Hates her music

Hates all her clothes

Thinks of surgery

And a new nose

Every calorie is war (He starts after this line)

And while she wishes she was a dancer

And that she never heard of cancer

She wishes God would give her some answers

And make her feel beautiful

I remember feeling low

I remember losing hope

I remember all the feelings and the day they stopped

One day you’ll have to let it go

You’ll have to let it go

One day you’ll stand up on your own

You’ll stand up on your own

We are We are all innocent

We are all innocent

We are, We are”

Now I may be misinterpreting this song but it seems to be about all those people who dream of being something they can never be. Like Tina, who wants to be a dancer, she realizes she isn’t attractive, she is probably over weight. Her clothes don’t fit right. Maybe she even has cancer. She wants some answers from God. She is feeling low, she is losing hope. But the song says she’ll have to let it go, she’ll have to stand on her own. We are all innocent. We are all special in our own way.

This desire to be special, to “OWN” our destiny is inherent in men and women, boys and girls. We want to discover the reason we are here on earth.

But there is a war going on for our souls. God is crying out-hey it’s my way, I am God! But our ears are clogged up and we say, NO!, it’s my way, I’m am the important one. I can’t relate to you, I can’t get any answers from you! You didn’t create this world There is no sin. There is no hell. We are all innocent. We have to make our own life. I’m not going to ‘DO’ anything to please a God I don’t even know exists. I’m going to ‘DO’ to please me. Sometimes, just in case, we do a little to please God.

This desire to please ourselves is entwined in every aspect of our society. Our children are growing up with this and parents are encouraging it. Our schools are encouraging it. Even grandparents foster it.

This is why the story of Ananias & Sapphira in Acts 5 doesn't make sense to most of us, especially the younger generation. Preacher’s don’t like preaching on this either. First of all we don’t like talking about a God who makes people drop dead in the middle of the church service. Second, we don’t want to discourage people who want to give money to the church. These verses seem to speak against what this world thinks Pastor’s are most worried about-more people and more money. So we ask "How could God do something like that to Ananias and Sapphira?" After all, they were doing something tremendous for the church They were “OWNING” their destiny. They were in control of their lives.

This is exactly the problem. This is exactly why we are losing the cultural war for the souls of our children today. There is a little verse that I skipped over last week adn will be preaching on this Sunday. It contains a phrase that defines the battle we face for this coming generation. It defines the battle that I will face as I try to influence my grandchildren for Jesus.

Acts 4:32 simply says this:

Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

That little phrase “neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own” defines this church that Jesus Christ gave His life to birth.

This is the key element of the Church-It is all about Jesus! It is not about us, it is not about what we have, it is not about what we do. The Church is all about what Jesus has done for us. Only the Son of God gave everything He had for us. Only the Son of God has the right to Redeem us from our sin. Therefore, He has the right to say what goes on in His church. He is more concerned about "WHY" we do rather than "WHAT" we do. When we come to Christ as our Savior, we come possessing nothing. Nothing we have or are is worth holding on to. We are saved by faith in Jesus and Jesus alone. When we give to Him, we hold nothing back. If we do we are lying to the Holy Spirit. We will die in our sins, for we have not been born again. Being "Born from Above" means that all things are new, we are a new creation. The old man has been crucified, we now walk in newness of life. To only go part way to Jesus means we have not truly been born again. There is no room for pretenders in God's Church, the Bride He is preparing for His Son. Ananias and Sapphira had no part in Jesus Christ, they were still in the flesh. They were lying to each other and the Holy Spirit. Beware, your sin will find you out.