So when it comes to the subject of what music Christians can listen to,
I feel like there's two extremes. One side says that we should stay away
from all music that secular or non-religious, and we'll only listen
to Christian artists. And the other side
thinks that's just music, and then they'll proceed to listen to
whatever they want. I would say my stance lies somewhere
in the middle between those two extremes. So if you're a Christian that is wondering
what kind of music you ought to listen to, there's three points
that you should keep in mind. Point number one, music can lead to send
Daniel chapter three, verses 4 to 7. Then Harold cried aloud to you. It is commanded all peoples, nations
and languages that at the time you hear the sound of the horn flute, harp, lyre in solitary, in symphony
with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship
the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up,
and whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast immediately
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. So at that time, when all the people heard
the sound of the horn, blue harp and lyre and symphony with all kinds of music,
all the people, nations and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image
which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. In this passage, King Nebuchadnezzar set
up a huge golden image and gave a command that when the music is played,
people ought to fall down and worship that image, and whoever doesn't
will be burned alive in their furnace. And what I see here is the trigger
that music played here for people to sing. I want you to picture what happened. People here
were probably minding their own business, but then they heard a pleasant beat
and they heard the beautiful symphonies of the harps and the flutes,
all played by professional musicians to showcase the glory
of the Babylonian empire. And one by one, hundreds
and probably thousands of people bowed their heads to the beat of the drum
and ultimately gave their worship that rightly belong to God,
to someone else. So we'll see this music
and lead people to sing. It has in the past, and the same is true
today, in the same way that we can feel
the beat and hum the tune. Music can work its way into our heads and get us to do things that are against
God's Word. We can dwell on lyrics that are sexual. Certain songs can cause us to embrace
anger or depression, or we can listen to songs
that promote foolish living and can deceive us
into thinking that drunkenness is okay or filling our mind with explicit language
isn't that bad. All of that to say music is dangerous
because songs can be catchy and provocative
and they can find a home in our hearts. And like these people in the Book
of Daniel, we can bow to an idol that started off
as a seemingly harmless song. Point number two Music is powerful Acts. Chapter 16 versus 22 to 25. Then the multitude rose up together
against them and the magistrates tore off their clothes
and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid
many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding
the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison
and fastened their feet in the stocks. But at midnight,
Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them. In this passage, Paul just got done
healing a demon possessed girl, and him and his friend Silas were wrongly accused, were beaten
and then thrown into prison as a result. But despite this injustice,
Paul and Silas were up late at night and they prayed and they sang to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them. And if you continue reading the passage,
you'd read that there was an earthquake that happened,
that made all the prison doors swing open and the keeper of the prison woke
up, saw all the open doors, and assumed
that all the prisoners escaped. And because he wasn't
supposed to be asleep, he thought it would be better
if he died by his own hands instead of getting executed
by the Roman government. So as he was about to end his own life,
Paul yells, Hey, don't hurt yourself. We didn't leave. And as the guard came into Paul's
jail cell, he was shocked that no prisoners left. And then he fell at their feet and asked
them, What do I need to do to be safe? You see these prayers and songs
that were sung by Paul and Silas? They had enough power
to convince a jail full of felons that it was more valuable
for them to stay in prison than to escape. And can you imagine what went on through
the mind of that guard? He probably thought the doors are open,
the prisoner's chains are loose. I was asleep. These prisoners literally had everything
they needed to be free, but they stayed. So I need you to see how big a role music
played here. So don't downplay the power that it has,
because in this passage, the songs that were sung led to prisoners
coming to the knowledge of God. It led to the salvation of a guard
in his family, and they served as strength for Paul and Silas
to continue in their hardship. And point number
three, music has consequences. Galatians Chapter six versus seven eight. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked for whatever a man sows
that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh,
will of the flesh reap corruption. But he sows to the spirit
will of the spirit reap everlasting life. In this passage, Paul tells believers not to be deceived
because a man will reap whatever he sows. So if you sow sin, he'll get corruption. And if he says things of the spirit,
he'll get everlasting life. So to close, I would caution Christians
everywhere to be mindful of the fact that whatever we plant in our lives
will grow in one way or the other. So the music we listen to
will have an effect on us, and that effect will either be good
or bad. For me personally, I prefer not to listen
to any music with any cursing. And the reason why is because
I used to work in construction and everybody at my job first quite a bit. And one day
I found myself cursing in my mind a lot. And I soon realized
just how malleable the mind is. And I've loved tons of songs
that had bad words. And I soon found
that my mind would concern straight on those curse words
just because I love the song. All that to say. I'm not going to tell you which songs
or artists you should or shouldn't listen to. And I believe that there's
a lot of freedom that Christians can exercise
when it comes to their choice of music. But pay close attention
to first Corinthians chapter ten, verse 23 that reads,
I have the right to do anything. You say. But not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything. But not everything is constructive. In this passage, it says that Christians
have the right to do many things, but just because they have that right,
it doesn't exactly mean that it's good for you. So if a song can cause someone to stumble or concentrate on a sin
or act as a trigger person, then I would say that it would be unwise
to continue listening to it. Okay. So if you're a Christian
and you're wondering what kind of music you should be listening to, I would say
that you have the freedom to choose. And I would encourage you
to consider these three points. But number one, music can lead to sin. Point number two,
music is powerful and play. Number three, music
can have consequences to clothes. May I remind all of us that music
is a blessing and a gift from God. It has the power to soothe our hearts, breathe life into our minds,
and refresh our spirits. So my prayer is that our choice of music
is something that we all surrender to God. That way, the songs that we listen to
don't take away from our relationship with them. All right. So I hope that you have a wonderful day
today. And may you always
remember Jesus loves you.
