Releasing Our Unique Sound

Today, I wanted to spend a little time talking about each one of us releasing the sound of the Lord.  Not just any sound, or a general sound, but an individual sound; a sound that is unique to me: unique to you.  Hopefully, we will have a fuller understanding of the sound and the placement of each one of us in a particular sphere of influence. God has given us each a place where we can release that sound and change the atmosphere to come into alignment with the sound of heaven. 

Recently, I had an experience with the Lord as I was in worship.  I felt like the Lord came close to me, and stooped down until He was at eye level.  He took his right hand and ran His fingers over my forehead.  I could see Him gazing intently and reverently at the Name that was engraved there.  It was glowing golden with living light.  I couldn’t read what it said, because it was written in Hebrew letters, but I understood that there was a reverence in His attitude; a softness; an honoring.

As I began to contemplate the vision, I was reminded that in Gen. 1:26, God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  This is a picture of  Creator King, announcing His crowning work of humanity, to the members of His heavenly court, and giving humanity authority to rule over that creation.  God placed a creature in His visible creation to represent His claim to kingship and to BRING ITS FULL POTENTIAL TO REALIZATION, to the praise of His glory.  I could pause right there and contemplate that sentence for a long time.  It is awesome to think God delegated authority to mankind to bring the full potential of creation into realization. 

In the ancient Near East, kings marked their territory by setting up images of themselves in a region they had conquered, as a sign of their authority.  We are His living stones.  We are God’s living, breathing markers. Wherever we go, we are announcing the kingdom of God has arrived.  We serve as the boundary marker saying the limit of the kingdom is here!

We are the sons of God who are the climax of God’s creative activity, crowned with glory and honor, and made rulers over creation. We are made in His image with delegated authority bestowed upon us.  According to Psalm 8:4 that is also echoed in Hebrews 2:5-8, we are now made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory and honor and have everything put under our feet.

We resonate with the sound of God’s nature and victory that He spoke when He created the heavens and the earth.  That sound, or word, holds all things together.  Since we are made of the dust of the earth, we also have that sound as part of our DNA.  Each of us has the sound of the kingdom, and it produces a unique expression through our lives. 

For instance, I know that the unique sound God has given me has to do with the restoration of understanding of Israel in the plan of God.  I am called to awaken the church to her prophetic purpose regarding the land and the people.  I am to bring clarity to leaders about the prophetic thing that is swirling around them. I have known that for 7 years.   That means the mountain God wants me to influence is the Mountain of Religion.

I have other assignments where I am called to release a sound, but I wanted to use that as an illustration that all of us have a place and a sphere of influence.  Your place might be the mountain of Business.  One of my friends is called to influence the mountain of Arts and Entertainment.  Family may be the one some of you are primarily called to.   There is also the mountain of Education, Government and Media.  Some of you may be called to one or more of those.

We are here to be a voice and a presence to release the Kingdom of God in whatever sphere of influence has been delegated to us.  We are here to change the culture of that mountain to release the glory of God.  One is enough.  You are enough.  I am enough.

I wanted to look at the life of Daniel for a minute to illustrate this from a Biblical perspective.  I chose Daniel on purpose, as an example for us because he blows our excuses out of the water. Daniel was in captivity.  He was taken out of his home environment where he was comfortable, and thrust into an unfamiliar culture against his will.  It was not only culturally foreign, it was spiritually foreign.  

Nebuchadnezzar saw the potential in Daniel and his friends, and decided to groom them for his own court.  Daniel remained true to his God, uncompromising, in the culture around him.  He used wisdom and tact, but released a sound of worship that protected him, and ultimately gave him influence in a kingdom that was diametrically opposed to the kingdom of His God.

It is interesting to note that Nebuchadnezzar erected a statue of himself that was a pillar of gold.  He was named after the god, Nabu.  Nebuchadnezzar means, “Nabu protect my son or my boundary.”  Here we see again, that erecting the image was his way of marking the territory of his conquest.  Nebuchadnezzar required everyone to bow down to his image when they heard the sound of worship.  How many of us are in environments where there is another god that is honored above the God of heaven? How many of us are being required to bow at the sound of another system?  

Daniel and his friends were tuned to a different kingdom sound.  That sound was in conflict with the sound of the earthly kingdom.  They refused to bow down.  As you know, the three friends spent time in the fiery furnace, and God honored their sound of worship to Him, by saving them from the flames.  Sometimes the sound we need to be releasing is “no", but I believe there are many more positive sounds God is wanting released through us that will capture and intrigue the hearts around us.  It is not just that Daniel said no to what was being demanded of him.  He was releasing a sound that the culture around him did not understand and had no paradigm for.  Because he was faithful to release that sound, or be who God called him to be, he and his friends were given privilege and influence in that culture.

In chapter 6, Daniel is faced with another test.  This time he has to go it alone. This time, there is a conspiracy to undermine him and take him out because he would not forsake the worship of his God.  He is in conflict with the ruling forces around him.  His co-workers scheme to create a law that will trap only him and get rid of him, and trick the king into making it immutable law.  We still find Daniel releasing the sound of worship in such a way that his enemies hear and report him to the king.  Daniel does not change his behavior.  When the situation is brought to the attention of Nebuchadnezzar, the king realizes there is no way around the law, and so he is forced to order Daniel thrown into a den of lions.  

When I say Daniel was releasing a sound, I really mean he was being himself.  He was just doing what he was called to do, and he was responding to God.  It just so happens, that he was worshiping in a way we can relate to, but the sound does not mean just worship.  It means being true to yourself and your convictions no matter the audience, no matter the cost, no matter the outcome.  (It also requires tremendous wisdom.  Daniel was not offensive in his convictions.  He was gentle when he asked to eat food that would not require him to compromise his beliefs).

We know the rest of the story.  God sent his angel and shut the mouths of the lions.  This was God’s endorsement of Daniel before the rulers of the land.  King Darius recognized that Daniel’s God was the living God, and issued a decree that in every part of his kingdom, people should fear and reverence the God of Daniel.  Daniel gained influence in the kingdom.

The awesome result that resounds today may be of greater effect than Daniel had on his culture.  Because Daniel loved his God and was willing and courageous enough to agree with the sound of heaven and release it in his own unique way, we benefit today.  One man can make a tremendous difference that can endure for generations.  Daniel is a first fruits type of a people that are beginning to arise today.  Daniel is a show and tell for us today.  Daniel is our prototype, not just in a general way, but for THIS DAY.

Why do I day that?  I say that because, right after the lion’s den incident, he is given his visions and dreams about the end times.  He is seen reading scripture and understands that the days of Jerusalem’s captivity are about to end.  Gabriel comes to him and reveals things that are to take place in the future.  There are specific things in the Book of Daniel that are for us to know and understand for today.  Some of them didn’t make sense even a century ago, but now with hindsight, we can see some of these things have already unfolded.  We can see possibilities in place that were hidden before. 

We are living in the times that Daniel saw and wrote about.  He is a NOW prophet.  He is a very real example and prototype of what we have the potential to be and are called to be.  One man, one woman can have influence far beyond our imagination or current circle of influence.

We have each been given a sphere of influence and a unique sound.  We are called to advance within the sphere we have been entrusted with; not to merely occupy our present territory.  We are called to influence and change the atmosphere by remaining true to the sound God is developing in us. 

We are called to be a Matthew 22:37 people.  "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments." 

We cannot win what we do not love.  It is all about the people in the sphere God has given us.  It is all about sound of the love of God being released in and through us, to captivate and enthrall hearts with the beauty and the hope and the victory of the King and his Kingdom.  It’s all about releasing the kingdom of God within us; being Jesus’ representative to cause my sphere of influence to realize the full potential of that kingdom in the here and now. 

Daniel gives me great encouragement.  I think it is note worthy that Daniel was found praying at the time of the evening sacrifice when there hadn't been any sacrifice for 70 years.  Daniel was honoring his God and remaining true no matter the circumstances. That's faith.  That's the quality God honors.