Change the song

Soundtracks

How many people here like watching movies? My wife is a movie person. Personally I’d rather watch sitcoms but you know how it is once in a while I’ll give in and we will watch a movie. You know what I have learned in my movie going and watching experiences? I have learned you can have great performers, great dialog and even amazing cinematography but if you get the wrong music in the background you can really mess up a good story.

It is true did you know you can change a story simply by changing the music in the background? Here watch this video and I think you will see what I am talking about. Warning this is an opening scene from Pirate of the Caribbean. The first one. The best one in my opinion, anyway right at the end of this clip you do see the dead bodies of pirates hanging and to make my point the clip repeats multiple times so if that is too hard for you to see near the end of each clip just close your eyes as soon as he starts bailing water.

Insert video here

Were you able to see how a simple music change was able to change the whole story.

I have always been a music minded person. I love to sing, and play and so it is not uncommon for something in life to trigger a memory of a song, which will often cause me to break out in song.

In fact if there are life forms from other planets watching us and observing us, because let’s face it if you have the ability to travel all over the universe why wouldn’t you come to just watch us, anyway, if there is, if they were to tune into me long enough they might think my life is a musical.

I wake up in the morning and think Arise and Shine let my enemies be scattered arise and shine let my enemies be scattered.

Unless I was up all night then I sing Good morning good morning we’ve talked the whole night through good morning good morning to you.

Just kidding if I don’t get enough sleep here is what I hear in my head.

I live my life to an internal soundtrack just like a movie. The internal music helps determine my attitude, my emotions, how I perceive things.

And before you all get together to have me committed I should say I don’t really hear music in my head, unless I’m humming, what I am talking about is a metaphorical soundtrack that each of us have in our lives. This inward atmosphere that effects how we see the world.

This is something we all have it effects not just our mood but our perspective as well. It determines if what we are seeing is scary or funny happy or sad.

Unfortunately a lot of people seem to live to the soundtrack of… Play Darth Vader music again...

Others are living to the soundtrack… Nobody loves me everybody hates me might as well eat some worms.

So the question I want to ask today is...

What do you do if you feel miserable all the time?

To answer this question I want to look

Psalm 40:1–5 NLT

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols. O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them.

What do you do if you feel miserable all the time?

Change the Song

Me: When I was in my rebellious stage of life the song I lived to was very negative and selfish. My life sucks, It’s not fair, poor poor me. I probably don’t need to tell you that sound track does not make for a very happy life. I was miserable. I would cry myself to sleep, I was angry all the time and really it was not good. But when Jesus recaptured my heart, not only did He change my life, He also gave me a new song to sing. It was a song of His goodness, and how unworthy I was to be given such a wonderful gift as salvation. The song of my life was less focused on me and more on Him and it was not negative, but positive. What do you suppose that did for my mood? Don’t get me wrong on occasion I would put on that old CD and sing those old songs of it’s not fair and Nobody loves me and poor poor pitiful me. And when I would become so miserable I finally Cried out to God you know what He would say? Change the song, go back to the song I put in your heart. A song of praise. I will tell you what when I would go from feeling sorry for me to praising God, well my miserable existence didn’t feel so miserable.

We: How many here Know what I am talking about? Truth is all of us from time to time get listening to the wrong music and need a friendly reminder to simply change the CD of our heart to the one God gave us when we were saved.

God: That is what David is talking about in this Psalm. He tell how God changed the song of his heart to a song of Praise. Living to a song of Praise rather than a song of pity not only changes our perspective it also changes our mood. For David it took him from crying to praising.

You: Let me ask have you been feeling miserable lately? Well what songs have you been listening to in your heart. Not real music but that metaphorical music. Are you litening to that old soundtrack of life’s not fair or are you listening to the new soundtrack called God is awesome. One will make you miserable and the other will give you a fresh new outlook on life and your circumstances.

We: When life get’s hard we may not be able to change the circumstances, but we can change the songs of our heart because when Jesus saved us He gave us a brand new soundtrack to live by.

Next Step:

We are going to sing He brought me out

And this week as you go home Don’t just keep the song inside. Let it out look at verse 10 of the same chapter.

Psalm 40:10 NLT

I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness.