REVEALING WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN GOD’S CYCLE OF MUSIC: THE WORK OF OUR CONDUCTOR; THE HOLY SPIRIT

Romans 8:12-17 

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

My wife and I recently went to Tanglewood in Massachusetts to hear a concert. An orchestra performed three pieces under the direction of three different conductors. The first two conductors received a nice but a short round of applause for their direction and their leadership. The final conductor moved his baton in a way that caused the musicians to sound like one of the finest orchestras in the world. It was amazing to witness the transformation that took place among these musicians through the guidance of this one special conductor.

The Conductor can make all of the difference in your life as well. He can lead you to the Agent so that you can have a personal relationship with the Composer. His guidance can cause you to become a "spiritual virtuoso" and your life can be transformed into something that is far greater than you could ever imagine. The Conductor also guides and directs everything that the Composer has created so that the Composer can receive honor and glory for the things that He has made. 

The Composer has a specific purpose for our lives so He needed to provide a way for us to find it. That is why we need to be guided by the Conductor. The Conductor reveals the Composer’s specific purpose for our lives to us. Without the Holy Spirit, God's purpose and meaning for our lives would continue to remain a mystery. Without the Holy Spirit, it would be impossible for any of us to ever understand how we could experience a personal relationship with God or be able to know where, when, and how to serve Him. However, through the spiritual direction that comes from the Conductor, we can know exactly what the Composer wants for us to do with our lives. 

It is very important to notice that the words that Jesus spoke to the people whom He was with could not be completely understood until the time when the Composer chose to reveal His message to them. For example, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to die and rise again from the tomb after just three days. The bible says in Matthew 20:17-19, “Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!" However, even after witnessing several miracles and being able to be in the presence of Jesus every day, none of His disciples sat at His grave with any hope at all of observing His resurrection. Where were the 5000 people who were fed with just a few fish and some bread? Where were the individuals whom Jesus raised from the dead? Why weren't they waiting at the tomb to see if Jesus could raise Himself? Where were the people who worshiped Him on Palm Sunday? Was all hope lost at the cross? Even Mary, who was one of His closest friends, did not recognize Him at His tomb. Two men did not know who He was while they walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. These men told Jesus that their Messiah was dead; even after they had been informed that the body of Jesus was missing from the tomb. Why couldn’t they recognize Jesus? Why couldn’t anyone believe that Jesus would return from the grave? We can only know the Composer and have a personal relationship with Him after the Conductor opens our hearts and our minds so that the message of the Agent can be revealed to us.

If you want to know the purpose and the meaning for your life, the Conductor must reveal it to you by introducing you to the Agent. The Agent will meet with the Composer on your behalf so that you can become eligible to serve Him. In order to serve the Composer, we must receive the power that can only come from the Conductor. That is why it says in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." In Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit came to live and reign in the physical bodies of the new believers. Immediately these individuals were able to know God and serve Him in ways that were never possible before.

Once we have a personal relationship with the Composer, the Conductor wants to direct our lives and to guide us in everything that we do and say when we participate in God's Cycle of Music. However, it is important to understand that the Holy Spirit will not usually reveal the Composer's entire purpose and plans for our lives to us all at once. The Conductor normally will only reveal small portions of His plan to us at a time. This is done so that we will need to remain dependent on the guidance from the Conductor in everything that we do and say when we serve the Composer.

I encourage every participant in God’s Cycle of Music to ask the Conductor for an opportunity to be of service to the Composer right now. We must also be aware that God will give us assignments that we will never request on our own. However, we need to be willing to serve the Composer whenever we are being directed by the Conductor.

Occasionally we will wonder if a particular assignment has come to us from God. One of the lessons that I teach to my piano students is that there is a significant difference between "hearing and listening." I believe that we all hear many things every day but it takes much more concentration and effort to be able to listen. Many of us will believe that we hear assignments from God but we will only be able to determine if they are “divine assignments” and be able to know if they are from the Holy Spirit when we make the extra effort to listen closely to Him.

In order to listen to the Holy Spirit, we will need to quiet our hearts so that we can know His voice. The Conductor provides spiritual discernment so that we can determine if the Composer is speaking to us. It says in 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” If we are confused about certain things in our lives, we must study the scriptures and ask God for His peace. If we do not have peace in our hearts, we should assume that it is probably not from the Composer.

I can not begin to express in words how important the Conductor’s guidance is in order for us to determine where, when, and how to serve the Composer. When I listen to the Conductor and seek His direction, He gives me the right words to say to people. My heart is also convicted by the Conductor whenever I do things that are unpleasing to the Composer. He helps me to understand the bible and He makes me aware of God's love. The Conductor guides me in every aspect of my life whenever I am willing to follow His directions. I can not be an effective participant in God’s Cycle of Music without the guidance from the Holy Spirit. If anyone wants to find the purpose and the meaning for their life, they must be willing to allow the Conductor to be their guide. It is my prayer that the Holy Spirit is, or that He will become, the guide of your life today.