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The Science and Spirit of Sound
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Authority and Power in Sound
Great getting' up mornin' to ye, Folks! Blessin's on Ye!
There, how's that for a good morning greeting. Awwww, well... Anyway...grab that fresh cup of coffee from your French Press coffee maker, or that cup of super hot Expresso. From some of the responses I got after yesterday's piece, I shoulda recommended Expresso yesterday. Maybe I wouldn't have come across to some folks the way they took things.
That's OK, though! I'm not trying to offend anyone -- just trying to get you to rethink some things you've taken for granted, and in the process maybe wake you up to some spiritual realities.
Continuing from where I left off yesterday, let's talk today about spiritual authority and power that exists in sound. Because, as we have previously discussed, the sound is the "voice" of some onoma, the purpose and intent of that "being" -- whether it be life or death -- is communicated. More than that, it has a force which is either creative or destructive.
No sound is passive. No sound simply entertains. No sound simply communicates a thought or idea. Life or death, strength or weakness, faith or fear, hope or despair, blessing or cursing are literally transmitted by the sound. One becomes virtually immersed in the onoma which originates the sound. This results in change -- for the better or for the worse.
Observe, if you will, some examples recorded in scripture.
Mark records numerous incidents when Jesus came face to face with individuals under the control or dominance of evil spirits. In Mark 1:21-26 an event is recorded in which Jesus was speaking in a synagogue. In this instance, sound is coming forth. Life is coming out of Jesus'
onoma. Mark tells us that those present were immersed in His authority.
There was a man present in the synagogue who had "an unclean spirit." The longer Jesus spoke, and the more His authority was manifested, the more fearful this spirit became until it could take Jesus' presence and spirit no longer. All evil spirits display fear in some measure or another because it is a major part of the onoma of Satan. This occurrence was no different. The evil spirit could no longer stand the power and authority being manifested and it screamed out in fear,
"What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth. Have you come to destroy us?....."
The sound of Jesus was power and authority. The sound of the evil spirit was fear. Jesus had not even been speaking to either the man in whom the evil spirit resided, or the evil spirit. The sound of His life was simply filling that room.
When the evil spirit screamed out, Jesus spoke simple words of His authority -- The Ultimate Authority --
"Be quiet, and come out of him."
No doctrines, no preaching, no teaching, just a simple address:
"Be quiet, and come out of him."
The result was instantaneous. The man in whom the evil spirit had resided convulsed, the unclean spirit screamed out again in terror, and departed him in haste.
Consider the many examples in the record of Jesus' deliverance of the Gadarene demoniac. Jesus has just been on the Sea of Gennesaret (sometimes called the Sea of Chinnereth) with his disciples. A storm, which was obviously created by Satan, arose and began filling their boat with water. (The Greek text describes this storm as a great "shaking" of the sea as though being moved violently by some external force.) It was an abnormal storm, to be sure, and it caught the disciples off guard.
They became fearful because of the cyclonic sound of the whirlwind (The Greek text uses the word, lailaps, for whirling wind), and the sight of waves breaking over the boat, and they cried out in fear,
"Master, do you not care that we are perishing?"
Jesus, being awakened from a peaceful sleep in the stern of the boat, simply looks at the storm and speaks peace,
"Hush! Be still!"
Once again you have a sound. This time it is not an articulate sound as in speech, it is the sound of the
onoma of Satan. It is the sound of violence, and its obvious intention is the death and destruction of Jesus and His disciples. The sound of this great shaking of the sea, combined with the sound of the cyclone or whirlwind, produced exactly the desired effect in the disciples: fear. And this is the sound which now comes forth from them.
Upon being aroused, Jesus also utters a sound. Again, this sound is the sound of His onoma, and it is the sound of absolute authority. He speaks three simple words,
"Hush! Be still!"
The instantaneous effect is the proof of that onoma: the winds ceased, and the waters were suddenly calm.
Consider the fact that this storm would have easily been visible from both sides of the sea. They were crossing from Galilee to the district of Gadara -- a distance of roughly five to seven miles. A storm of the described magnitude would have swamped the entire region. When that sound of authority came forth from Jesus, it didn't just become calm where they were situated: the entire storm -- from end-to-end -- ceased instantly.
The sound of Jesus' authority, and the sudden silencing of the storm and its sound, piqued the curiosity of a man at Gadara -- one who lived in the tombs, and hid in the rocks near the seashore. Here is a man in whom a legion (normally counted as 6,600 foot soldiers, and 172 horse-drawn chariots) of evil spirits has lived, creating such chaos and insanity as to turn him into an uncontrollable monster with more than sufficient strength to break iron and steel chains and shackles.
Seeing Jesus arriving at the seashore with his disciples, he begins to move toward them. Whether these demons had anything to do with the storm at sea, or not, Jesus instantly recognizes them; and before even a word is uttered by the man, Jesus speaks with the same authority which calmed the sea.
"Come out of the man, you unclean spirit."
As we have seen before, the immediate response on the part of the demons is pure terror. Running towards Jesus, they begin to cry out,
"What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of The Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me."
Here is the only recorded instance in which Jesus pauses to have the most brief of conversations when he says,
"What is your name?" The head spokes-demon answers,
"My name is Legion, for we are many."
Pleading with Jesus not to send them "into the abyss" before their time, the
spokes-demon asked that they be given permission to enter a herd of swine feeding nearby. Jesus gave them leave, and they departed into the swine. That they were subject to Jesus' word and authority was clearly evident. That his sound arrested them was also clearly evident.
I have shared with some of you an event which took place in the summer of 1991 when our friend, Marcia, was killed in Atlin, B.C. in a strange accident.
Walking on an elevated sidewalk made of 2x10 wooden planks, she stepped on a plank which was not fastened down.
It flew up and struck her across her face and left temple.
As she began to fall, Della saw Marcia’s leg about to be broken as the board fell back into the open slot catching the leg in a pincer-like action.
It was something which the Lord had shown to Della previously in a flash vision. In that instant, Della felt the authority of the Lord, and quickly shouted,
“NO!” Instead of snapping Marcia’s leg, the board rotated under her foot.
With the weight of her falling body once again on the plank, it flew up a second time and struck her like a baseball bat directly across the temple.
Della grabbed Marcia and cushioned her fall, holding her as she settled into a semi-sitting position.
Marcia was breathing hard as she said to Della, “Don’t leave me.”
Della responded quietly, “I won’t leave you. I’m right here.”
Then Marcia’s eyes rolled back in her head, and she expired with the death rattle coming from her throat.
In that instant, Della felt as though the Lord simply poured Himself into her.
She saw, visibly, the death angel coming for Marcia.
With an authority she knew could only come from the Lord, she simply uttered the words, “NO, YOU WILL NOT!”
No religious phraseology. No repetitious, “in Jesus’
Name!” Just the sound of authority – true authority.
The death angel continued to approach, and Della again spoke,
“NO, YOU WILL NOT!” Then, with scarcely a pause, she shouted, “MARCIA!”
Instantly, Marcia’s eyes snapped back, she took a deep breath and sat up, saying, “What happened?
Where am I?” Della helped her to her feet, and ushered her back into the home where we were all visiting.
During the next forty-five minutes or so, I played my guitar, and we all worshipped together.
In that length of time, Marcia completely regained her strength.
Following our time of worship, we put on our hiking boots, and Earle (Marcia's husband), Marcia, Della and I went hiking in the mountains.
The marks left by the blows to her face and temple were pretty severe, but there was no swelling, and the marks vanished within three days, so much so that Marcia was able to fulfill a commitment to help out an Anchorage business for a week or so as a receptionist.
There is a bunch more to share on spiritual authority and power that comes forth in sound, but we will let it wait until Monday.
Tomorrow, we’ll take a break from this topic, and I’ll tell you about faith in
shoe leather.
That said, finish that cup of coffee, and have a spectacularly blessed day!
Be blessed in the city, blessed in the field, blessed coming in, and blessed going out!
Regner
A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
700 South 6th Street
Sunnyside, Washington 98944
(509) 837-4657
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