Created to Sing!

Sing!  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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A number of years ago Orel Hirscheiser was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had just won the World Series, & Orel had been named “The most valuable player of the series.”
One of the TV shows about the series showed him in the dugout just before the 9th inning started. He was leaning against the wall & his lips were moving. It was obvious that he was saying something to himself.
So when he was a guest on the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson asked him what he had been saying. “I wasn’t saying anything,” Orel responded. “Well, then, tell us what you were doing.” Finally Orel replied, “I was singing.”
“You were singing?” Johnny said. “I didn’t know you were a singer.” “Aw,” Orel said, “I’m not.” Johnny persisted, “What were you singing? Sing it for us now.” “Nah, I don’t want to sing.” But by that time the audience was chiming in with “C’mon, sing it, sing it to us!”
Finally, Orel Hirschheiser started to sing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below.” And Johnny Carson was speechless. The whole audience was dead silent. Then one person started clapping, & soon the whole audience joined in applause.
This morning we are going to launch a series that focuses on singing and why believers should take this seriously. The Bible has much to say on this subject. I want to start by tying a couple of verses together and driving home a point.
We were created by God to do His pleasure
Revelation 4:11 KJV
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
We are commanded to sing.
Psalm 30:4 KJV
Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, And give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalm 33:2–3 KJV
Praise the Lord with harp: Sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; Play skilfully with a loud noise.
Psalm 68:4 KJV
Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: Extol him that rideth upon the heavens By his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
Psalm 96:2 KJV
Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; Shew forth his salvation from day to day.
Ephesians 5:19 KJV
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
We have been given all we need to obey Him
2 Peter 1:3 KJV
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Therefore God has created us to sing. Scriptures lead us to conclude then that we have been designed to sing. We have been given unique voices to use. We have been made to sing in God’s image. When we sing praises to God we are joining all of creation in a chorus of praise. Brothers and Sisters we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and we have been made to Sing!

We Are Designed To Sing

Psalm 139:13–14 KJV
For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.

A Desire To Sing

We have three young daughters, and it has surprised us with each of them how early they could sing. Simple melodies with mumbled words grew into phrases like “O sing happylujah,” or a bizarre mixture of “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” To sing is written into our human DNA; it is part of God’s design.

A Desire to Make Instruments

Genesis 4:21–22 KJV
And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.

The Physical Ability to Sing

Vocal cords form at 12 weeks in the womb.
We sound different but all have the same vocal apparatus.
Lungs. voice, tongues and lips all made to sing, not just speak… and that is by design

The Psyche to Sing

. When singing praise to God, so much more than just the vocal box is engaged. God has created our minds to judge pitch and lyric; to think through the concepts we sing; to engage the intellect, imagination, and memory; and to remember what is set to a tune (we are confident that, right now, 99 percent of this book’s readers can remember more lyrics set to music than can recite Scripture by rote). God has formed our hearts to be moved with depth of feeling and a whole range of emotion as the melody-carried truths of who God is and whose we are sink in.

We Are Designed To Sing Uniquely

Ephesians 5:19 KJV
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
2 Peter 1:3 KJV
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

If You Can Speak, You Can Sing

Sometimes we meet people who say, “I can’t sing”—as in, “The sound that comes out of my mouth when I try to sing is not what I was hoping for.”

God Cares Whether and What You Sing More Than How Tunefully You Sing.

The beauty of the song starts with God making a beautiful heart.
When believers unite with heartfelt songs of redemption, the world around them is changed.
Ezekiel 36:26 KJV
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Psalm 40:3 KJV
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.

Practice Makes Better

To learn to walk takes time, and we first must learn to press down on our feet. To learn to speak takes time, and we must first open our mouths and make sounds. To praise God in tuneful song takes time, and we grow better at singing by singing. And once we’ve reached our peak, if it is still some way short of the tuneful heights, a sense of humor is a useful ally. Some people do have a special gift of singing absolutely every note slightly off pitch (which is, ironically, very hard to do). Since we sing to encourage and praise, not to impress and earn praise, we can smile about that and sing anyway.

We Are Designed To Sing In God’s Image

Genesis 1:26–28 KJV
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Created to Enjoy Beauty and Creativity

We can tell the difference between an orchestra tuning up and them then playing a coherent piece of music—suddenly, there is a “rightness” in how the notes sit together. We know that sense of throwing back your head or raising your hands to sing a great hymn with every ounce of your being and the feeling of losing interest in a mediocre one. This is why for a songwriter, it’s worth striving day after day for months (or years) to compose that one melodic idea that is fresh, compelling, and might touch another person’s soul.

Created To Benefit From Beauty in Creativity

We don't just recite the lyrics to our national anthem.
Kids learn the alphabet to rhyming songs rather than monotone spoken sounds.
Our senses and memories are engaged through music.
Imagination is another dignity God has given humans above the other animals, part of being in His image.

Created to Communicate To Each Other and To God Through Beauty.

We are not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker. - J.R.R. Tolkien
Psalm 19:1–2 KJV
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, And night unto night sheweth knowledge.

We show our God-inspired creative spirit when we make music—not just in the songs themselves, but in the many different creative ways we arrange and express the songs together. Whether it is the rhythmic vibrancy of sung worship led by the African Children’s Choir, or the pristine beauty of a chorale echoing within the ancient walls of a European cathedral, or the blended accents in the increasing number of international churches in cities around the world, we seek to create beauty because that’s how we’re designed.

And as we create, we communicate—just as God does through His creation:

When His Church sings together, voice upon voice like arms linked across a room, and indeed across all the gathering places of His followers around the globe, across history, we are doing what we were designed to enjoy—using our God-given voices to sing praises together to the One who gave us those voices. It expresses what unites us, and it reminds us of our interdependence.

We Are Designed To Sing Along With The Rest of Creation.

Psalm 98:4–9 KJV
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: Make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; With the harp, and the voice of a psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet Make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: Let the hills be joyful together Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: With righteousness shall he judge the world, And the people with equity.
In C. S. Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew, the great lion Aslan creates Narnia by singing it into existence. The character and timbre of the song are seen in the shapes and colors of all that springs up out of the nothingness. Lewis delights to point out that the song could not be separated from the Singer and that when your eyes saw the Singer He eclipsed everything else.
“God is the ultimate musician. His music transforms your life. The notes of redemption rearrange your heart and restore your life. His songs of forgiveness, grace, reconciliation, truth, hope, sovereignty, and love give you back your humanity and restore your identity.” - Paul Tripp
God’s design is perfect. He tells us to Sing. He has designed us with the ability to sing. He has designed us with unique voices we can use to offer up in song. He has designed us in His image with the ability to create and appreciate beauty in lyric and song. When we gather as believers and join our voices, we join all of the rest of creation in praise to God. Brothers and Sisters we were created to SING!
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