Oneness of Mind:

Good afternoon everyone, so wonderful to see all of your faces here. When you hear the word harmony, music likely will come to mind and it can be quite incredible when harmony is done well. I could be talking about voices, or I could be talking about instruments. When harmony is done well, it can sound absolutely incredible. I would venture to guess that the vast majority of us don’t understand a lot about music, but many of us if not all of us, have heard of the most popular and common types of harmony.

For example, there’s two-part harmony. It’s frequently heard in various genres of music, pop, folk, even classical music. Duos, and I’ll be dating myself here, like The Everly Brothers or Simon and Garfunkel, were very famous and often used two-part harmony in their songs. And it’s simply when a person or an instrument plays a melody accompanied by a harmony line. That’s a term they would use, but after two-part harmony obviously, would come three-part harmony. Probably heard of that as well.

It adds an additional amount of richness and complexity to the music. It, of course, involves three different vocal or instrumental lines. Again, the melody with two others that harmonize altogether. Groups like The Beatles, for example, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison. There was obviously, Ringo Starr, but the first three that I mentioned, those are the ones who typically would do the three-part harmony, and they did a song one time, I believe, it’s titled Because.

Then there’s Crosby, Stills and Nash. They sang a song... One of the songs they sang was Sweet Judy Blue Eyes. Those were examples of three-part harmony. But then there is four-Part harmony. Although there are differing opinions about this and you could look at various sources, but most sources say that four-part harmony is the easiest.

That may sound counterintuitive, but one source actually says that writing harmony with fewer than four parts, like the two-part harmony I just mentioned or three-part harmony, introduces complications such as incomplete chords or sounds and we may wonder, how is it then that these famous duos and bands achieved such fantastic sound? Well, the answer, I didn’t realize it but it’s quite obvious when I say it, they use instruments to fill in, to make their song sound so incredible.

Now, choirs that sing four-part harmony create the most complete and richest sound. How many of you have heard of a for example barbershop solo? Barbershop solo is not... You don’t want to hear a barbershop solo because the whole idea is to harmonize, nor would you hear a barbershop duo or a barbershop trio. What we’ve heard and what was popular in the early nineteen hundreds and the late eighteen hundreds was barbershop quartets and now I recognize in the affirmative many of you have heard that before.

Many of us saw and listened to the recent performance during the last New Moon. It was a wonderful addition to what we do on the New Moon. A small group here at Headquarters sang some hymns in four-part harmony. It was excellent. It was wonderful to hear. Now, let me wow you if I haven’t already with a little bit more musical acumen or expertise and believe me when I tell you I am not a musical expert.

But I will need the assistance of one of the members here at headquarters, a pianist. So I’d like you to take up your hymnals, but do not stand. We’re not finishing services yet. We’d break the record for the shortest sermon ever given… in the Church’s history. But we’re going to turn to page twenty-four, Righteous Judge. And what I want to show you is what I was just talking about.

If you look at your hymnal very closely, the first line, I think that’s called the staff there, you see that first note at the very top and to the left, that is the alto. That would be the melody, and then just below that, there’s a little black dot on that upper staff, if you will, or lines, that is the alto. And then you have to skip down below the words, and you’re going to see that first note hanging up above those lines. That note there is the tenor, the tenor part. And then this fourth one just down below it is the base.

Now, I’m going to ask the pianist to start off by just playing what all of us would hear, something very familiar, that’s the melody. Let’s do the soprano part of Righteous Judge, just the first line.

[music]

You were probably singing it in your mind, very familiar to all of us. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard this before, but I’d like the pianist now to just play the alto part by itself and we’ll see if it sounds any different.

[music]

That’s very different. Imagine we couldn’t sing it. In fact, we probably couldn’t even guess what the song was or the hymn was if we just heard that played. Now, you’re going to see the same thing when I ask him to play the tenor part.

[music]

That may even sound a little bit more odd than what we heard in terms of the alto. So that leaves one more line or harmony line, if you will, and that would be the base at the very bottom of that first staff, that line.

[music]

And again, very different than what we would be familiar with. If I’m singing in my car alone, or I’m in my house, we’re at the feast, I wouldn’t be able to sing that. I’m not musically inclined. And so none of the three that were the harmonizing parts sound anything like the melody. What I’m going to ask the pianist to do now is take the soprano, the melody, and add the alto to it, and let’s see how it sounds. Just the soprano and the alto.

[music]

And that’s the harmony just below that supports the soprano. It’s starting to sound richer. Now, we’re going to go to a three-part harmony and we’re going to add in the tenor part to the soprano and the alto. Bring those three together, and let’s see how it sounds now.

[music]

You see the difference, and now you probably are starting to get really enthusiastic about the possibility of, “Maybe we just sing the whole hymn” because that’s what harmony brings. It brings a desire for everyone to come together and begin to sing, but now, I’ve saved the best for last. We’re going to add the base, the anchor to the chord, to the soprano, the alto, and the tenor, and let’s hear how it sounds.

[music]

And brethren, that is four-part harmony. That’s why we come together and sing that. It sounds so beautiful. We could have done the same thing with members of the Headquarters choir, Choral. Some may wonder at this point, thank you for the music lesson, but what does that have to do with me? What does that have to do with us? Could any principles, brethren, of four-part harmony, be learned from the scriptures?

Could any of the principles of four-part harmony be applied in our lives? Does God command that we live in four-part harmony? Now, there’s a question you may have never heard before, or is this a stretch on my part? Does anything come to mind in the scriptures? If you’re struggling with that, I do too, if somebody would’ve asked me that question. Let’s turn to First Peter chapter three. First Peter chapter three.

And we’re going to read just one verse. Verse eight. “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love his brethren, be pitiful, be courteous.” I thought we were going to talk about harmony. We are. You don’t see it. It’s right there. Brethren, in fairness, I didn’t see it either. This phrase “of one mind” is one Greek word, and it is spelled H-O-M-O-P-H-R-O-N-T-H-E. Again, that’s H-O-M-O-P-H-R-O-N-T-H-E, and it’s pronounced homophronthe.

And you’ll find it only once in the entire Bible, here in the New Testament. It is unique and you’re going to find that it’s almost... it’s as unique as some of the other words are going to be looking at in this verse today. That was extraordinary to me. And Strong’s definition starts with... this is how it is. It says “like-minded,” and then the translators jump right at it and put of one mind. And that makes all the sense in the world.

But the definition actually goes on. It says “like-minded, that is...” In other words, let me clarify it even further, what this word means, like-minded, that is harmonious. So if I were the translator and I were reading it more accurately, I would say, finally, be you all harmonious. Now, the Oxford definition of harmonious is tuneful, and the example they give is harmonious music.

And also, if you look in the Oxford Dictionary, it means forming a pleasing or consistent whole, think rich, full, sound. And the Oxford example they give is a harmonious blend of two or more things. You can reach harmony in your house. For example, your curtains could harmonize with your furniture, your decor. You could choose three colors, maybe for your living room, and they harmonize with one another.

It takes two or more things to be able to create harmony. Well, it just so happens that the Apostle Peter reveals one of God’s goals because God, brethren, is the choir director. The word “finally” here is telos. And for those of you who are unfamiliar with that term, it means the point aimed at the conclusion of an act or a state. So the Apostle Peter, inspired by God, told the Church to aim for to be in complete rich harmony, to be harmonious.

Think about those who direct the headquarters choir or those who direct at the feast. They too work with members to achieve harmony. The pianist worked very hard to not just play the melody, but to play the four-part harmony so that we can sing along joyfully with the pianist. What I found fascinating is that Peter does not list one part only in this verse. We’ll call it the melody. It does not list two and he doesn’t list three. Brethren, I was fascinated by the fact that he listed four, four parts. The apostle’s goal was to hear compassion, brotherly love, or loving his brothers, pitifulness. And that means good-heartedness, and we’ll come to that in a little while, and courtesy from us. The apostle Peter wanted to hear four-part harmony because the choir director God wanted it. And it’s going to be plainly obvious why.

So today we’re going to draw parallels between four-part harmony and music, and these four elements that help us harmonize with each other daily. Now, each voice and four-part harmony, the soprano, the alto, the tenor, and the bass, follows as we heard its own distinct line. Separate with the exception of melody it’s hard, but when you bring them together, they complement one another. That’s why these words that we’re reading here are so very closely related.

You have to really dig deep and see what the distinctions are but at the end of the day, they complement one another. And I know very little about music, but the one important thing I learned is that harmony cannot be achieved without a melody. We heard that play out. When I sing hymns during Sabbath services at the feast, I’m always singing the melody, the soprano part. Don’t ask me to sing any of those and much less ask me to sing the harmony lines because it’ll sound far more odd, if you will, than what we heard play on the piano.

And some of you can easily perform those other parts, not me. Most of us only know, as I said, how to sing and some better than others, the soprano part. Now, you men may be shocked. Those are fighting words. “Mr. Houk, I don’t sing soprano,” as your voice gets deeper and deeper. Well, of course you may not have a soprano voice, but you are singing soprano, the soprano line, the melody. Yes, men, wherever, I agree, you don’t have a soprano voice, but you are singing the melody.

So brethren, it’d be helpful if I define melody for us. Melody is a sequence of single notes that is the principle part of harmonized music. Let me say that again. Melody is a sequence of single notes that is the principle part of harmonized music. Therefore, when it comes to being in complete harmony with one another, which is the ultimate or goal, the state that God wants us to be in, we all must learn the principle part. And I’m going to spend a lot of time on this one because without this foundational part, we can’t go on to harmonize with one another.

So let’s continue here in eight. Let’s go back to verse eight, “Here finally, be you all harmonious.” We found that that’s what that means of one mind all harmonious. And now we’re going to jump to the end of the verse. “Be courteous.” Why courtesy? Think about it. When I was meditating on this, I thought about when I first came into the church, I knew nothing of what Godly compassion really meant. I still work at loving my brethren, but I didn’t have God’s spirit.

Very hard for me to understand. Even though I grew up with all brothers, I had no idea what brotherly love meant. And again, I’m still working at that and we’ll get to that. Or good heartedness. Think of Romans three, twelve. “No one does good.” Which is quoting Psalm fourteen, three. “No one does good.” But I knew a little bit about courtesy.

I could hit the road running, if you will when I first stepped into the church in terms of courtesy, it didn’t mean that I had a lot to learn about it and understand the depths of it and the power of it. I’m even learning today, many years later, the implications of what courtesy is between all of us. And think about it logically, I cannot... And we’re going to define courtesy here or be courteous in a moment. Can I honestly say that I have mastered compassion or brotherly love and good heartedness if I haven’t first mastered courtesy? Anyone who tells me that they exercise brotherly love, but I see them being rude regularly or occasionally, I’d have to question how much brotherly love they truly have or take compassion or good heartedness.

Well, I’m good hearted or I’m compassionate. But if you’re impolite or inconsiderate, it’d be hard to take that in and believe what you’re saying. In music, a singer cannot learn to harmonize without the melody or soprano, if you will, in the hymnals. Likewise, we cannot harmonize in the Church until we master courtesy toward one another. And good thing that being courteous is an easy one to learn.

Growing up, there were two things I often heard from my parents or grandparents. They often talked about using, or often when we messed up, they would challenge us on whether or not we were exercising common sense. We’ve all heard the term common sense. The overall message my parents and grandparents were trying to instill in us is that we didn’t have to be the most intelligent people.

And my grandparents and parents would affirm that, that we were not the most intelligent, but they did not tolerate when we were senseless or conducting ourselves or behaving ourselves in a senseless way. The problem is you don’t hear parents instilling that in their children. In fact, today society forces parents to try and make sense of the senseless conduct and behavior of their children. It’s the parent’s problem if they can’t understand the senseless things that children do today. We’ve got it all backwards.

Common sense is nearly extinct. I found it interesting that President Trump described his policy approach in his recent inaugural address as a revolution of common sense. Why would you need a revolution? Because everything is senseless nowadays. But the other term I would hear ever so often, and you may have not... some of you may not ever heard it, some of you younger folks, was common courtesy. I didn’t hear that as often, but that was also instilled in us as young people, at least, a generation or two ago. How many of you recall that phrase, “common courtesy”? How many know that phrase?

Well, I’m afraid courtesy too is on the endangered species list. And I won’t say completely extinct because common courtesy exists in the Church, right? The question is, how prevalent is it in my life, in your life? How commonly is it seen and heard in congregations around the world? How common is courtesy among us, brethren. It’s not easy.

Why would Peter... I mean, courtesy, you can get it conceptually, academically, but how common is it, is the challenge. Why would the Apostle Peter be inspired to write it if it were easy? Was it only for the first-century Church, what Peter wrote? Let’s turn to Second Timothy, chapter three, Second Timothy three. A verse we’re all very familiar with.

Again, the question is, was that instruction in First Peter chapter three verse eight, only for the early church. Second Timothy chapter three, verse one, “This know also that in the last days,” there it is, “...perilous times shall come.” Just as the Apostle Paul told Timothy, what Peter wrote was for the last days, as much as it was for the first days of the church. And in my opinion, think about this, one of the leading indicators of how dangerous society has become, and this may seem a trivial point, is the absence of common courtesy. Think about it. To me, there’s a correlation that as common courtesy drops in a society, danger increases. Again, it may sound trivial, but it’s foundational. These next verses are chock full of causes and effects, and it is no wonder why society has lost common courtesy. Why?

Verse two, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent,” that means without self-control, “...fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” This is why people today, young, old, middle-aged, men, women, no one’s exempt, are so discourteous.

That’s why people today are impolite and rude. Just take a subway in New York City or any major city. Disrespectful and inconsiderate toward each other. Some don’t even realize it. That’s how far removed common courtesy is from society today. What’s courtesy? Brethren, if we are not careful, we can slip into this type of behavior occasionally because it is a mindset, and I’m going to prove that here momentarily.

One great challenge we all face coming out of the world and even throughout our Christian walk is seeing ourselves for who we truly are, realizing where we are deficient. Here’s a list that I compiled, a short list of what is common in today’s society. Of course, we’re not guilty of any of these, so I’ll just go through them fairly quickly. Some general discourteous behavior.

Interrupting and talking over others because I’ve got an important point to make. Brethren, I’ve got to be careful with that. I’m in a business environment. I was nurtured and brought up in a business environment, and it all is about competing ideas in a business environment. I have to be careful even to this day. Oh, I just confessed. Oh, wait, I’m guilty of the first one. I hope I’m not guilty of other ones on this list. Let’s see here.

Ignoring people when they’re talking to you. You have that faraway look like you’re looking through them and not at them. Being late without informing them. Leave them wondering. Using a phone during a conversation, at the dinner table. Making sarcastic comments. Not holding the door for someone. Does my list end there?

Wait, there’s more. Tailgating and hogging the left lane while driving. Oh, I thought that was exclusively for men, but I’ve seen women do that too. Cutting off other drivers. Not using a turn signal. Wonder why it was put there. I’ll even give them credit if they put the turn signal in the wrong direction. At least they’re trying to put the turn signal on. Honking excessively. Road rage for silly things.

How about discourteous behavior in our marriages? Ignoring your spouse’s opinions. Criticizing your spouse in front of others or your children. Not sharing responsibilities in the home as you should. Interrupting or talking over your spouse, your wife, or your husband. Discourteous behavior with our children. Using belittling language rather than language that lifts them up even when we’re disciplining them. That’s discourteous.

Being inattentive. Not having those deeper, longer conversations about fundamental things of life. That’s inconsiderate, discourteous. Failing to communicate. Showing favoritism for one in front of others. How about discourteous behavior towards older people? We see that rampant in society today. People won’t give up their seat on a bus to an elderly or even a pregnant woman nowadays. Disrespectful language. Ignoring or dismissing their opinions. People have lived more than half a century or more, three-quarters of a century, and they have nothing to offer?

Showing impatience with them because they’re a little bit slower than they used to be. Takes them a little bit longer. Not offering assistance to them. Interrupting when they’re speaking. Children displaying bad manners and being discourteous. Not using basic etiquette at the table. You wouldn’t have wanted to have sat at the table at my house when we were growing up, there were strict rules.

When to talk, when not to talk. What utensil to use, what utensil not to use. Smacking our lips. Talking when we still had food in our mouth, that was not tolerated. It was corrected immediately. You could lose your dinner over it. Misbehaving at the table. As I said, misbehaving in public. These are children I’m speaking of.

Not greeting visitors. I remember when I was young the six of us when visitors came, even if it was for the holidays, we had to take their coats at the door. Didn’t matter what age we got to, if we were in the house and we had visitors, we had to help with the coats. Disobeying in front of others. Brethren, the list could go on and on and on and on. And notice, I did not mention not using please on that list or thank you, or please, I’m in no hurry. Go ahead of me. Or may I help you with that? Those weren’t even on my list.

From preschool to college, kids are taught to be lovers of themselves. They are the latest and greatest. They’re taught to be selfish and self-centered. They’re taught to forget everybody else except when they covet what the other person has. Adults and children nowadays boast in the faces of those they defeat. There’s no honor in victory anymore. They’re proud of who they are. That’s why they call it gay pride. Unthankful because they’re entitled. They have no self-control, and of course, despise those who are good.

Brethren, we have lost common courtesy in society, and we have to be careful that we don’t fall in one or more of the things I just listed. So, let’s look at several ways to avoid these among ourselves and develop a humble-minded, courteous attitude because, brethren, that is what the definition of courteous is. Courteous, be courteous in the Greek means friendly-minded. It can also mean humble-minded.

Remember I said that courtesy is a mindset. It begins up here. Matthew chapter seven, Matthew seven. The world has reached a point where no one expects any more courteous behavior. We must expect it from each other. I want you to pay very close attention to what we’re about to read. In fact, we must want courtesy from others. It’s crucial to us being courteous ourselves and let’s let Christ teach us the first and most important way to learn to be courteous.

Matthew seven verse eleven, “If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” and here it is, verse twelve, “...Therefore, all things whatsoever you would, that men should do, or whatever you want men to do to you,” want is the operative word there, “...do you command even so to them for this is the law and the prophets.” How do we develop a consistent, courteous attitude? How do we learn the melody, the principle part, to be harmonious with each other?

We must want others to be courteous to us. I must want you to be courteous to me, because when I want you to be courteous to me, Christ mandates that I must do it. You must want me to be courteous towards you if you have to create an obligation on your part by Christ’s words to be courteous yourself. Nobody in society expects anyone to be courteous to one another. But brethren, we need to want in the church each other to be courteous to one another.

It’s that simple. I hope that makes sense. Example, if I want my wife and children to be courteous to me, then I must without exception be courteous to them. Or we would be hypocrites. Why? Because Christ said it is the driving force behind actually being courteous. And we could apply this to any area of our Christian lives.

Let me say it another way coming off Christ’s instruction and harkening back to the Apostle Peter’s instruction. Being courteous starts here, again, in the mind. And this again brings us to the meaning of courteous. That word is philophron. And as I said, it means friendly of mind or friendly mindedness. So please, thank you, pardon me, may I, please go ahead of me, how can I help? All the other ways that we can show ourselves to be courteous begin in our hearts and our minds.

Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two...

and verse three, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory but in lowliness of mind,” remember, courteous means humbleness or humble-minded, “...but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not on every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” There’s a lot to unpack here. You think it’s just a small verse, and it doesn’t say much, but it says a lot.

Why should I say thank you to my wife who prepares me lunch and dinner for me while she works a full day as well as I do here at headquarters? Why does my wife use her not-so-secret weapon, please? Is it because it tends to make me do things faster when she does? No, it’s because I esteem my wife better than myself, and she esteems me better than herself. That’s why we do it. That’s why we say thank you and please to one another regularly. That is friendly, humble-mindedness.

Brethren, why do we teach our children through our examples to use manners, encouraging them to say, please, and thank you, and excuse me, and yes sir, and no ma’am? Why do we encourage them not to interrupt during conversations? Because we are teaching them to develop the mind of Christ at a very early age by setting for them consistent examples when we do it in front of them and to each other. To the spouses and parents, a word of caution. We often take our closest relationships for granted and are not as courteous to them as we should be. I never want my wife to want me to be as courteous to her as I was with a lady at the grocery store, or again, I’ve used in the past, at the deli. I want her to see that I’m consistently courteous with her as I am with people that I hardly even know, and sometimes we take it for granted within our families and even within the choir of God, if you will.

Why do we allow the older folks and families with children to go first in line for the potluck or at other events? Is it because we’re told to? Well, that should be good enough, but why do the youth go last in line at the potluck or stand if there’s not enough seats for everyone? Why do you young men open the doors for children in the church? Young men, why do you open the doors for the ladies that are your peers? Duh. Why do you open the doors for the adults and the elderly, young men? Is it because you’re told to?

Why do the young men and women offer seats to adults, particularly the elderly? Because they’re looking first at the needs of others before looking at their own needs. What this verse tells us, why do we teach everyone, ministry or not, to address older folks in the ministry by their surnames? Why do we young adult obey God’s command in Leviticus nineteen to literally stand when a hoary head arrives or Mr. Pack for that matter?

Some of you may have not known that that is a command in Leviticus nineteen. Why say good morning when interacting with someone for the first time and use their name? Why would we say good evening or have a good night, see you tomorrow, and again, use their name after a long day? I just want to go home. Why do we take a second of our time to do that? Because we live in lowliness of mind. At least we should be because we are friendly and humble-minded.

We have the gift of courtesy, brethren, so it isn’t extinct. The question again is how prevalent is it. Why would we treat all people outside the church with courtesy? Why move over on the road and let others who are going faster than us pass? Why would we impede their way? Is it because we thinking, ah, we rationalize it and say, “Ah, they’re maybe having an emergency,” or something that, and I find it quite inspiring in the sermonette.

Why do we apply Proverbs fifteen, one and give a soft answer? Why do we give people more time to do something or explain something, even if we are extremely busy? And again, you can set boundaries, but why would we give them that extra sixty seconds or fifty seconds to finish their thought before we either respond or move on to the next thing? Why do we do that? Because all these small acts, brethren, of courtesy are an expression of our commitment to having the same mind as Christ. That’s why.

Colossians chapter four, Colossians four, not far, just a couple of pages here. How often and with whom, is what this verse is going to answer for us. Verse six, how often and with whom should we be courteous? Verse six, “Let your speech…” your actions “…be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how, in what way you ought to answer every man.” There’s a lot of superlatives in this verse. Not any wiggle room, two superlatives jump out, always and every, and that pretty much covers it.

We must be courteous before our morning coffee. Oh, I started meddling in somebody’s life. It might be appropriate to apologize to my wife a little bit later here. We must be courteous after coffee as well. Both apply. That means, and let’s face it, I’m a realist. We sometimes have to force ourselves to be polite, even when we do not want to be.

But Mr. Houk, are you asking me to be courteous even when I don’t feel like it? That would be hypocritical. Well, this is not conditional. The problem’s yours if you don’t feel like it. It says always and to every man. But Mr. Houk, the person doesn’t deserve it that I’d be courteous to them. Well, that word grace is graciousness. Unmerited favor.

If our courtesy isn’t driven in part by a desire to want others to be courteous to us, and we’re not gracious, willing to give out unmerited favor to people, well, then yes. And that word graciousness in the Greek actually connects to a salutation in the definition, a meeting or parting, so it includes those even. You’re commanded to be gracious in our salutations, and when we say goodbye, farewell, it means God’s speed.

Brethren, I recognize that people sometimes don’t deserve courtesy, but unmerited favor, grace, says we should always be friendly-minded to everyone, especially those of the household of God. Every time we sing from the hymnal, men and women, older, younger, as a congregation, we sing the soprano voice. In every situation, no matter how difficult the moment becomes, we should be courteous whenever we are together.

Two final points about courtesy. Again, I’m spending time on this because this is the principle part, by definition. Here’s what the Apostle Paul instructed Corinthians. Second Corinthians chapter one, just a few pages over. Verse twelve, here’s what Paul instructed the Corinthians about our conduct in general, which would include courtesy.

Verse twelve, “For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and Godly sincerity,” now there is a high bar, “not with fleshly wisdom,” or craftiness or cunningness, “but by the grace of God, we have had our conduct,” this is Paul speaking of himself, “in the world,” so outside the church, he’s speaking of his conduct, “and more abundantly,” inside the church, so if we’re courteous outside the church, more abundantly inside the Church, “to you-ward.”

But Paul’s conduct toward brethren was done with simplicity and Godly sincerity, and not just sincerity, but a sincerity worthy of God. True friendly-mindedness toward one another is with Godly sincerity. At times, we sing falsetto, if you will, meaning our politeness is insincere. We’ve seen it, but I’ll say, “Okay, at least you’re giving it a try.”

God wants sincere courtesy rather than sincere rudeness if it comes right down to it, but I’ll take an insincere person being polite and then a sincere person who’s rude. Ephesians, chapter four. Ephesians four, verse twenty-nine. Ephesians four twenty-nine, this is where we were a moment ago, well, where I read a moment ago, “Let no corrupt, rotten, worthless communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying.” That is what we say or what we do, brethren, “That it may minister again, grace under the hearers,” and I would add, to the onlookers. So, let’s not do anything that is useless to us harmonizing with one another. Let’s not say anything that is useless or rotten when it comes to trying to harmonize with one another.

Paul is not instructing Timothy or Titus here in Ephesians. He’s not talking to only the ministry. He’s talking to everyone. He’s talking to you and me. We’ve all heard the saying, “If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything or don’t say it.” Well, here’s another version, “If you cannot say or do something courteously, don’t say or do it even if you’re angry.”

Think back to the sermonette. Brethren, if we live by these rules, I think it’s five if you were counting. If you want courtesy from others, if you esteem others more than yourselves, if you always speak graciously to everyone, whether or not the person deserves it, if you talk and act with Godly sincerity, and if we keep our mouths from rotten, worthless communication or our actions from the same, if we live by these rules of courtesy, we have learned to sing the melody, the soprano that’s necessary to harmonize with each other.

Now, let’s layer in the second part of the four-part harmony. Bring in the alto. The alto is the second-highest voice. Let’s go back to First Peter chapter three. First Peter three, verse eight, “Finally, be you all harmonious.” Remember, we’ll start off there again. How? What closely buttresses courtesy? What is the alto that supports the soprano? Be pitiful. That Greek word for pitiful is eusplagchnos. Eusplagchnos, and it means in its basic form, it’s made up of two words. The first word means good. The second word means bowels or inner parts. It literally means good-hearted, but it’s translated tender-hearted. Does that term sound familiar? We just heard that and we didn’t speak to one another.

The sermon at man and myself, it refers to a deep-seated goodness that arises from the innermost part of our being. That’s what it means. Some of the most impressive people I’ve ever met are those who are truly good-hearted people. Good. Back to Ephesians four. Let’s go back to Ephesians four. This word is only found two times in the scriptures.

Let’s go back to Ephesians four and verse twenty-nine, where we were just a moment ago. We’re talking about alto supporting the soprano. Good-heartedness, supporting courtesy, “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying.” We just read that in verse twenty-nine, “That it…” again, what we say or do may “…minister grace under the hearers.” I added on lookers.

That’s courtesy, common courtesy, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed to the day of redemption. Let all bitterness,” verse thirty-one, “wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice,” and verse thirty-two, “and be you kind to one another, tender-hearted.” That’s the same word in First Peter three, pitiful, which means, tenderhearted means good-hearted or good inner parts. What makes this word interesting that the two times that it’s found in the scriptures, it’s right next to courteous behavior. The soprano and alto often stand next to each other in a choir. Why? Again, the alto provides supporting harmonies to the soprano. Now how many times do you think I mentioned the word good to this point? Roughly twenty-two times. It’s all through the Bible. It’s a simple but powerful word, especially as an adjective to describe someone or something, and I’m about to say it another five times.

Luke chapter six. Luke six, and verse forty-three. Christ speaking here, “For a good tree brings not forth corrupt fruit, neither does a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit, for every tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns, men do not gather figs nor of bramble, bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil, for the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks.” Here’s what Christ adds, “And why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say.”

The whole point of Christianity is to do what Christ says. I will say again and again, be courteous is the principal part. It’s the melody, but we want to be known and we want to be much more than courteous with each other. We want to be, and we want to be known as good people with good hearts that do good things for the benefit of others. Let me say that again. We want to be, and we want to be known as good people with good hearts who regularly say and do good things to benefit other people. As we read in Second Timothy chapter three earlier, we will be despised for being good, and that’s not bad. Brethren, we must be good and develop that goodness.

Proverbs twenty-three. Proverbs twenty-three. This verse warns against eating and drinking with evil people, spending a lot of time with them, breaking bread with people who we know are evil, but we can learn another important lesson. Proverbs twenty-three, verse six. It says, “Eat not the bread of him who has an evil eye nor desire his dainty meats.” Don’t be fooled. What it’s telling us, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he, eat and drink, says he to thee.” We usually substitute those for you, but it rhymed, so I thought I’d leave it in there, he to thee.

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he, eat and drink, says he to thee,” in other words, come and have a meal with me and drink, “but his heart is not with you.” What pleases God is when we come together for drinks in a meal, when we host one another, whether it’s at potluck or in our homes, which God commands us to do. Drinking and having a meal with one another should be a good effort at building stronger bonds that become unbreakable.

It isn’t just about complying with a command to host one another. When we host, it must be done simply with a Godly sincerity, with a desire from the goodness of our heart to build bonds that are unbreakable. Being good-hearted towards each other builds true bonds and fosters strong relationships. We are beginning to harmonize because being courteous to each other, I’m afraid, is just not enough. It’s a good start.

Again, harmony can only be achieved if there’s the melody, but harmony, two-part, in this case, is only achieved when the soprano and the alto sing together. Remember those notes we played at the beginning. If we want our courtesy to look and sound fuller and richer, let it be done from the goodness of our hearts. First Peter chapter three. That’s the alto.

Back to First Peter chapter three. Now let’s bring in the tenors. You heard the soprano. You’ve heard the alto. Being good hearted, pitiful, buttressing and supporting courtesy, but now it says, verse eight, “Finally, be you all harmonious.” How? Having compassion for each other, and that Greek word for the phrase is sumpathēo. To have a fellow feeling, period.

Now you would think it’s sympathy and only times of tragedy, but it conveys the idea that we’re sharing someone else’s feelings simultaneously, whether it’s pain or joy, and that’s key. To be compassionate is to experience similar feelings simultaneously. Maybe not as intense as the person that’s going through it or experiencing it, whether it’s good or bad, but it is sharing that fellow feeling at the right time, and singing tenor comes more naturally for some than others, but none of us again have a choice.

God, the great choir director, demands the same from each and every one of us in His choir. We have to work on the tenor part. Imagine if the tenors here at headquarters decided not to sing from the same piece of music, or out of sync with the sopranos and altos. Think of what that would sound like. To be compassionate is to experience the same feelings of joy or sadness. Again, maybe not as intense as that individual, but we have to do it at the same time, and we need to ask God for that ability. Father, I want to build up my ability to sing tenor, to be compassionate. Why? Because he has a lot to say about it.

First Corinthians chapter twelve. The chapter leading up to the love chapter as we sometimes know it. First chapter. First Corinthians chapter twelve, [verse twenty-six] “And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” Remember I said both good and bad. I cannot imagine a block falling on my big toe and the rest of my body not being ready to respond.

I have no deficiencies in that area. Some people obviously cannot. They may be paralyzed or suffer some other kind of medical condition, but me personally, I just speak for myself, and that’s what the intent of this verse is saying, is that if I drop something on in my big toe from the top of my head, all the way to the bottom of my feet, my body is going to react to that.

The same with the body of Christ. It isn’t every day I drop something on my big toe. It’s not every day that we need to demonstrate compassion, but it has to be ready. We have to be ready to sing that part if we’re called upon, but while we may not see or hear compassion every day, just wait until a member of God’s one true Church gets sick.

You want to hear this tenor sing? Look to the Church of God. Just watch and listen as people compassionately help one another. When another member of this beautiful choir recovers from a medical procedure, or if another member of this beautiful choir, God’s choir, God’s church, is recuperating from an accident, although the situation is sad, our music performance and those situations, now three-part harmony, is wonderful to God.

Remember, I said compassion is also a fellow feeling of joy. Someone graduates, does well in a play or a musical, sings a part well in the new moon performance, gets promoted at work, finds a job, marries, becomes pregnant again, healed miraculously, we must all sing tenor with them, and rejoice. Now, maybe some of you think, “Mr. Houk, that’s a nice exhortation,” and maybe this doesn’t rise to the level of a commandment. What if I showed you that compassion for one another is a law?

Galatians chapter six. Galatians chapter six, in verse two, “Bear one another’s burdens.” I could add, rejoice when others rejoice, “And so fulfill the law of Christ.” By law, specifically Christ’s law, we must all learn to sing tenor. It is a crucial part of learning to harmonize with each other. More could be said about this. Jesus Himself wept after taking in the emotions of those weeping at Lazarus’ death. Christ is our example in every way, brethren.

But finally, let’s add the bass. Remember back to the beginning, we thought it was really nice when the alto was played with the soprano, and then we realized, “Wait, that’s what this sounds like when the tenor and the alto support the melody, the soprano?” But then it became all so familiar, even to the point, maybe some of us wanted to sing out loud at the beginning when we pulled all four together in the bass, anchored the entire court.

Let’s go back to First Peter chapter three one final time, and verse eight. It’s arguably my favorite. With my own sound systems that I have owned over the years, I always lowered the treble and increased the bass. I like that sound. I think a strong bass anchors that four-part harmony and gives it great depth. I like going to the IMAX theaters, sound systems, incredible, but you can hear that bass makes your inner parts kind of vibrate. Cars passing on the interstate. You can hear them as they’re going by at about 70 miles an hour when that bass is playing. You can hear it. Can’t hear the rest of what it is, but you can hear that bass.

It’s the lowest voice. It’s the foundation of the harmony. Again, it adds depths and anchors the harmonic structure. “Finally, be you all harmonious.” How? Well, we have, by process of elimination, one left. “Love each other as brothers and sisters.” The Greek word for love, brethren, is philadelphos. It’s a combination of philos, love, and adelphos, brother. This is speaking of familial love. A bond that transcends mere friendship.

How many times do you think this word is found in the New Testament? A lot, right? We’re the church of brotherly love, once, here. It, too, is precious and unique. Love, philos is found twenty-nine times, brothers is found three hundred and forty-six times. But when you bring those two together, one time, that’s how unique it is. That’s how precious it is to God, unique to His Church, unique to the Body of Christ.

If you’re looking for the Body of Christ, look for the bass. Listen for that beat, that harmonic anchor. And I’m not going to say much about this at this point, about brotherly love. “What? Mr. Houk.” Why? Well, let me repeat what the Apostle Paul, told the Thessalonians. First Thessalonians four. I don’t have to spend a lot of time on this, and I’m thankful for the Apostle Paul to give me an escape route as we begin to close here.

First Thessalonians chapter four and verse nine. This is what he told them, “But as touching brotherly love, you need not that I write, or speak to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.” I don’t have to say much. You have God’s spirit. The previous verse actually references the Holy Spirit, which Paul says God gave us. The first of the nine fruits of His Spirit is love. Brethren, God is love. Need I go on? No, but I will.

In Leviticus chapter nineteen verse eighteen, we don’t have to go there because we’re going to go to John thirteen. In Leviticus nineteen eighteen, the Lord God commanded, “Love your neighbor.” Love our neighbor, each other, as we love ourselves. It was a command in the Old Testament. Then why does Christ say in John thirteen it is a new command? Maybe because he repeats those words. We often read over a vital part of Christ’s words.

Let’s turn to John thirteen. John thirteen, verse thirty-four, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,” but that’s not new. Oh, wait, “As I have loved you.”

Those who do not understand the love of Christ towards His Church don’t understand how to “love one another, that you also love one another; by this, shall all men know you are my disciples. If you have loved one to another.” oh, don’t forget, as Christ loves us. That’s the standard of love that should be manifested between all of us. That brings in the bass.

Brethren, let’s turn to First John chapter four. First John chapter four and verse twenty. Again, I didn’t have to say much about it, but I decided I’ll include enough verses here. Verse twenty, “If a man says I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” Logical.

And this commandment we have from Him, “He who loves God sings bass.” Oh wait, that’s not what it says. “He who loves God, love his brother also.” That’s why he says sings bass because that’s what First Peter chapter three says, loving each other. Any of us who claims to love God must learn to sing bass. That is what anchors you when harmonizing with everyone else in the church. We are nothing if we perform courtesy, we are nothing if we perform good-heartedness, we are nothing if we show compassion without love. So says one Corinthians thirteen. It says, “We are nothing and it profits nothing.” You cannot have four-part harmony without this bass. This last part, brotherly love. Hebrews thirteen, last verse. I said I wouldn’t say much but I couldn’t help myself because I said bass was my favorite. First one, very simple. You remember I asked earlier regarding friendly and humble mindedness, how often should we see and hear courtesy? Oh, how often should we see and hear brotherly love in all its forms?

Verse one, “Let brotherly love continue.” Brethren, the bass must never stop singing. Our love for each other must continue because without love we cannot have the full rich sound of four-part harmony. The final state that goal that God the great choir director, wants. So out of common courtesy, let me thank the pianist for helping me with the message today, and out of the goodness and sincerity of my heart, I rejoice with him because we could team on this, as an expression of our brotherly love towards you. Pianist and myself, we harmonize today. What are we waiting for, brethren, then? Bringing the courtesy, now good-heartedness, then compassion, culminating and anchored all by loving one another.