May 12, 2025 • 47 mins
Today, on Karl and Crew, we started the week with a focus on David and how God-given ability to minister through music. Music is a form of expression that can communicate a story, event, dialogue, or the gospel. 1 Samuel 16 talks about how David would play music to soothe the troubled King Saul. Our discussion examines how God can use music to minister to us. What’s a song that God has used to minister to you? Dr. Winfred Neely also joined us in analyzing David's life and anointing. Dr. Neely is a newly retired Vice President and Academic Dean of Moody Theological Seminary. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Biblical Interpretations, Old Testament, and Biblical Preaching at the Moody Bible Institute. He has also contributed and written commentaries and books. He wrote the commentary on 1 and 2 Samuel for the “Moody Commentary on the Bible.” You can hear the highlights of today’s program on Karl and Crew Showcast.
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S1 (00:00):
Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (00:08):
Have you ever watched the show Name That Tune? They
would play a couple notes and see if you could
identify what the song was, and they would guess. I
can name that tune in three notes, and then they
would get like three plucked out sounds on it.
S3 (00:22):
It's insane. I don't know how in the.
S2 (00:23):
World we're going to play Name That Show. Can you
name the show that's being played here? Take a listen.
S4 (00:31):
As the fate of a people hangs in the balance, again,
I ask this question. Can one stone change the course
of history?
S2 (00:51):
Did you get it? Of course. It's House of David,
which has been a wildly popular series on Amazon.
S3 (00:59):
Right on Amazon Amazon Prime.
S2 (01:01):
At what point at what point you said you opened
up Amazon and saw what.
S3 (01:04):
It was the it was the thing that was at
the top. You know, they do like a featured show,
which is usually one of their top shows. And and
it was there and actually during its course of when
it was still airing episodes, it hit number two on
all of Amazon Prime, just behind their top grossing ever show.
S2 (01:21):
So it's been really cool to see the interest in
David's life in David's story. Uh, if you've seen it,
let us know. What did you think? And I think
that there are opinions in terms of how accurate it is.
Does it take too many liberties? There's some opinions out there,
and I'm not going to necessarily weigh in with my own,
but I'd love to hear. What if you saw it?
(01:43):
What did you think? Text us 800 555 7898. Text
US 800 555 7898. We're going to be spending quite
a bit of time this week looking at the life
of David and some of the often overlooked aspects. I mean,
there's so much to David's story. It is kind of
a it's built for a TV series, if ever. I mean,
(02:07):
you think about the stories that lend themselves to a
TV series. I think Daniel's story, probably.
S3 (02:14):
Daniel's a good one.
S2 (02:15):
Joseph would be would make an awesome mini series.
S3 (02:18):
Great one. Uh, Moses. I mean, they made a movie of.
Of Moses, the animated prince of Egypt.
S2 (02:23):
Absolutely. Obviously. Paul.
S3 (02:25):
Yeah.
S2 (02:25):
A life of Paul would be a would. Well, and
it's all true.
S3 (02:29):
And it's all true.
S2 (02:30):
It's all true. This stuff actually happened. Coming up, let's
take a look at the life of David. Still taking
your feedback. If you want to weigh in on what
you think of the series. 805 55 7898 805 55 7898.
Special guest joining us as well. Coming up.
S1 (02:48):
It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (02:51):
And we've got a man in studio. Doctor Winfred Neely,
you said you have been hanging out with David for
a long time. You wrote a first and second Samuel,
the commentary in the Moody Bible Commentary, and you did
your dissertation on a couple chapters of Second Samuel. Is
that correct?
S5 (03:06):
Yeah, I wrote my dissertation on second Samuel 11 and 12.
So I spent many years just focused on on the
Hebrew texts of those two chapters and had the immense
privilege to write the Moody Bible Commentary on first and
second Samuel. And I must say that it was a
life transforming experience for me at the just. The Lord
(03:30):
used his word so, so powerfully in my life. It
had a deep, sanctifying effect on me as I was,
as I had the privilege to comment on God's Word
in Samuel documents.
S2 (03:43):
Now, before we get into some of the specifics for
somebody who maybe is new to Bible reading, who is David?
Who are we talking about here? Give us just kind
of a there's a lot you could say here, but
for someone who doesn't know who David is, how can
they even join the conversation here? With enough understanding.
S5 (04:01):
God raises up David at a significant period in the
history of Israel, and he is the greatest Old Testament
King David. He is the standard, the norm by which
all other subsequent kings were measured. Next to Moses. There
(04:24):
was no one in the Old Testament who captured the
heart and mind and imagination of God's people. In the
Old Testament era, like David, he was a massive figure.
He was an able man. He was a warrior. He
was a leader. He was a monarch. He was a singer.
(04:48):
He was a musician, he was a composer. And I
wish I had all of them.
S6 (04:56):
Right, right, right.
S5 (04:57):
I mean, he was he was such a unique figure
in so many ways. He's one of the godliest men
that ever lived. And yet he was imperfect. There was
a period in David's life where he was far away
from God for about a year, and it was quite
(05:19):
shocking what happened in the life of this man of
God because of some decisions that he made in a
moment and consequent decisions after that. But what's interesting is
that the chronicler, when evaluating the life of David, says
this in essence, and I'm paraphrasing now that he walked
(05:40):
with God all of his life, except in a matter
of Uriah the Hittite, so that David's overall life a
man after God's own heart, he was, except the sin
that that he engaged in. But apart from that, this
his overall life was was pleasing to God. Yeah. That
(06:01):
David is the anointed of God. Now, this is hard
for us as Americans. I think with our, uh, way,
the way we think about things, to really grasp that
this is the anointed of God. This is God's chosen king, anointed.
(06:22):
He represents God. And I think one of the big
takeaways for me is I as I looked at David,
Paul says that if anyone thinks you stand, let him
take heed lest he fall. None of us are exempt
from doing something stupid in one moment. That can mess
our lives up and mess up the lives of those
(06:43):
that are very close to us. We have to be
vigilant to the day we breathe our last.
S2 (06:47):
Yeah. Doctor Winifred Neely, our guest right now, coming up.
I want to go back to David's pretty humble beginnings
A shepherd boy who was called and anointed by God
for a unique role. And he was also pretty, a
pretty skilled musician. We're going to talk about David, the
musician coming up.
S1 (07:06):
She was trying to earn her way to God, but
God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (07:16):
Well, of all the things that we learn about David,
we learn in first Samuel 16, verse 16 that he
is a man who is skillful in playing the lyre,
which is in the harp family. It's a small harp. You.
How would you describe a lyre? It's.
S6 (07:32):
Yeah, essentially.
S5 (07:33):
What you just.
S6 (07:33):
Said.
S2 (07:34):
It's not the really big harp, right? He wasn't toting
that around. It was a small harp, and he was
very skillful. He was a he was gifted at poetry
and songwriting.
S6 (07:42):
He was.
S2 (07:43):
Tell us about this detail. Because when we initially see this,
we him use this to soothe Saul.
S6 (07:50):
He did.
S2 (07:50):
That was kind of the beginnings of how we see
him use this musical gift, although certainly he had developed
it over time.
S5 (07:56):
He certainly he obviously had developed it considerably by the
time he is becomes the instrument to to play and
ease the troubled mind of Saul. And good music can
do that, even even to this day. Uh, but David
was a skilled musician and singer and poet. He's called
(08:16):
the sweet psalmist of Israel.
S2 (08:19):
I love.
S6 (08:20):
That a.
S5 (08:20):
Sweet psalmist of Israel. And, um, he penned at least
half of the Psalter. There are 73 psalms that are
clearly attributed to David. You know, have the heading the Superscription, which,
by the way, are ancient. By the way, there isn't
any ancient Hebrew manuscript, even the Dead Sea Scrolls that
(08:42):
doesn't have this, these superscriptions about a Psalm of David.
So at least 73 of them are in the Psalter
are explicitly Licitly identified as a Psalm of David. And
of course, they they, they, they're they are designed to
be sung. Right. So and, you know, of course, they
(09:02):
have the you have this expression to the choirmaster.
S6 (09:05):
Yes. Yes.
S2 (09:06):
What does that.
S6 (09:07):
Mean?
S5 (09:07):
Well, this in other words, we're going to sing this right.
And it depends on it was interesting was well, I
don't want to get into that. That's another technical conversation.
But but let me say this. Let me say this.
When we see to the choirmaster, that means it was
just not for David. It was not just for Israel.
It's for all of us. We can sing this. We we.
(09:29):
I still hear my Old Testament professor, the late Herbert Wolff, saying,
we sing our faith. And this is why. This is why.
This is another reason why David had such a massive
influence on Israel, because not only was he a great king,
he was he understood worship. And and so you are
(09:52):
organizing the temple worship with the with the sons of
Korah and Asaph and, and the choirs. And then these
psalms are being sung. Right. And and the temple worship
under Solomon, of course, is going to really take off.
But it begins with David, who saw saw the value
(10:12):
of of worshiping the Lord, uh, in ways that bring
glory to him and that edify people and also address
every situation that we experience in life, which is one
of the dynamics of the Psalter. There isn't any emotion
in the Psalms that's not addressed.
S6 (10:31):
Yeah.
S5 (10:32):
So David, he he was a songwriter. And so if
you if we have at least 150 psalms, um, and David,
73 of them are attributed to him, that means that
at least half of the Psalter was written by David.
And if you could consider Psalm two, which doesn't have
the title The Psalm of David, but in acts. And
(10:55):
it says, you said through your servant David. So that's
another indicator that you know. So there's another psalm, actually,
that even this is not even attributed to David, but
yet in the New Testament it is. So he had
a he was just a, a significant, uh, servant when
it came to composing these psalms and using them as
(11:17):
a means of to help God's people with the vocabulary
of prayer and worship. It was quite wonderful.
S2 (11:25):
Now, is it fair to say he was sort of
the initiator of this in practice, or was there any
sort of template for this before, David that we can
be aware of or point to?
S5 (11:36):
I don't think, well, Israel was a singing people, you know,
when they came out, the Exodus says that Miriam took
the tambourines and They they, you know, they they the Moses,
they sing a song. Then there was dancing with with
the tambourine and so forth and so on, which was
(11:56):
also a part of the worship experience. Which reminds me,
by the way, that there are certain churches, they dance
in the churches in Africa.
S2 (12:07):
You spent how many years there?
S5 (12:09):
I spent I spent ten years in Africa. But the
last time I was in Ghana with my dear friend
Bruce Everhart and others. Uh, I'm sorry, I'm wondering, but
it just came to me and they started dancing. It
was absolutely wonderful. And one guy that was so was
so moved by in the presence of God that he
(12:30):
started doing push ups. I think he did about 20.
S6 (12:32):
Okay.
S2 (12:33):
So as, as far as like what how we apply
something like this today because you think about corporate worship
and I know that this is this is on your heart.
Like David really cared about corporate worship. He talked about
how he arranged the musicians.
S6 (12:47):
Yeah, yeah.
S2 (12:47):
How he how we kind of orchestrated how this was
going to happen? How do we apply that today? What
do we take from that?
S5 (12:56):
Well, I think it should be. We need to give
it thought. When I was pastoring at Judson Baptist Church,
one of the things that I wanted was the hour
and a half where we come together corporately to be
one of the more meaningful spaces of time that we
(13:20):
would experience during the week. So we would have to
give thought to that. Song selection matters. Lyrics matter. So
that if a song is not biblical, I don't sing it.
I won't. So I would ask my worship leaders, if
you're going to do this, well, let's adjust some lyrics
(13:42):
to make sure that they're in line with scripture. It's
too much at stake.
S6 (13:46):
Yeah.
S5 (13:46):
And I realized too, that, uh, the the singing, uh,
with God's people is one of the means of grace
that God has put at our disposal and disposition. I
think of the lives that have been transformed not through preaching,
which I'm a champion of, but sometimes just through singing,
(14:10):
singing a hymn or singing a chorus or just I'm
in the crowd and I'm learning that God never loses
a battle.
S6 (14:21):
Yeah.
S5 (14:22):
That there's no defeat in Jesus. I, I'm learning that
he turns. He turns graves into gardens. Huh? And see
what happens. We take strength. We take courage, and we
go back to life. Ready to take another step. By
the way, this is why so many. I say, you know,
(14:45):
I'm an. I'm an African American, although I, you know,
I've been in multicultural spaces for many, many years, uh,
and enjoy that space and love that space. And, and
I'm in that space now. But yet at the same time,
recognizing that my mother's generation and her, my grandmother's generation, uh,
(15:05):
what got them through a lot of the difficulties that
they were struggling with as African Americans is the, the,
the church, the local church. And they would come together
and they would sing and worship and come out of
that with the strength and courage to face another day. Yeah.
And this is a transcendent this is a a this
(15:28):
is a transcultural, uh, principle that the corporate worship of
God's people matters. And so there's something about sitting next
to somebody singing, great is your faithfulness, or we've come
this far by faith or one of the contemporary expression
(15:53):
of worship to God. And so and David understood this.
There is something about theology that sound and accompanied to
music that helps us internalize the Word of God in
ways that would not happen otherwise.
S2 (16:12):
Yeah. Now, because the Psalms capture so much emotion, and
some of them you can even draw direct, parallel to
what was happening in in David's life at the time. Right?
Some of them capture lament and sorrow. Are all of
the Psalms meant to be sung as theology?
S5 (16:32):
Well, uh uh, yes. I think lament is a form
of theology, actually. Uh, you know, of course, the title
of the Psalter is in Hebrew. It says Rehelim, Halim,
which means praises. Interestingly enough, a third of the Psalter
is lament. So.
S2 (16:52):
Should we be singing that, you think?
S5 (16:53):
I think we should. I think we should, because, um, sometimes, uh,
we are we. Life happens.
S2 (17:01):
Mhm.
S5 (17:03):
It would be nice if the church could, could recapture
some of that, but but I think there has been
that sometimes I feel like a motherless child. Glory, hallelujah.
Which was a form of lament. Right. We can sing that.
(17:25):
And so I think it and and in other words,
I can bring my suffering, my perplexities to the Lord
in song as well as my joys, and leave a
corporate worship experience with a sense that, uh, it's going
to be okay. That God is going to give me
(17:45):
grace to get through this.
S2 (17:47):
Yeah. Doctor Winifred Neeley, our guest this morning, so much
more we could chat about. We're going to put a
pin in it for now. But Doctor Neeley, newly retired
vice president and academic dean of Moody Theological Seminary, spent
a lot of years with David. And we're grateful for
you sharing your your knowledge and your passion this morning.
S1 (18:05):
He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
curling crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (18:15):
Well, as we've been talking about David the musician this morning,
I've got a question for you. What's that song for you?
You know, the one that God used so powerfully in
that one moment? There's probably already one coming to mind.
It's a song that's near and dear to your heart.
Maybe a played on the radio at a time and
the Lord spoke to you through it. Maybe it was
(18:35):
a source of comfort or ministered to you during a
difficult season of life. What is that song that when
you hear it, it just takes you back. It's a
Christian song, obviously a song that the truth of God's
Word is spoken, and it was really used powerfully in
your life. I want to play some of those and
hear the story behind it. So if you've got one,
give us a call 805 55 7898, 805, 55, 78, 98.
(19:03):
You know, when you think about the songs, the songs
of your life, I mean, it's crazy how you can
be in a grocery store or something, and all of
a sudden a song plays that takes you back to
like middle school or high school, and you still sometimes
to your own shame, can still remember all of the
song lyrics, even to songs that are are. Oh boy.
(19:24):
I say shame not. We should not feel a sense
of shame, but there are definitely some lyrics that I
knew when I was growing up to songs that I go,
what in the world was I listening to?
S3 (19:33):
Oh yeah. Absolutely. And you know what's interesting to me
sometimes if I try to recall song lyrics with the
music not playing, I can't remember them, but as soon
as the music's going, it's almost like they're popping into
my brain a millisecond before they come out of my mouth.
And I'm like, I don't know where these words are
coming from, but they're just in here somewhere. That's a
very weird feeling.
S2 (19:54):
The music is so powerful, you know, and it can
be leveraged both for the good and for the bad.
I mean, the, the the messages that are often pushed
on to young people through music are sometimes pretty startling.
S3 (20:09):
No doubt.
S2 (20:10):
You think. Oh, wow. And kids, I know because I
was one of those kids and you're just singing stuff
and not even really aware of the messages that you're proclaiming.
S3 (20:19):
No, certainly.
S2 (20:20):
The enemy certainly can use music that way. But all
truth is God's truth. So when you think about the
power of music to be leveraged, I mean, David soothed
Saul when he was being tormented by playing the harp,
and all of a sudden there was a peace that
came over him. So what's that song for you? that
(20:40):
song that God used so powerfully in your life. We
want to play as many. I will say up front,
we will not be able to play all of them.
We just won't have enough time. But we want to
play as many as we can. So if you've got
one in a story behind it, 805, 55, 78, 98,
805 five, five 7898 let's go to Leslie calling in
(21:01):
from Chicago. Leslie. Go ahead. What's that song for you?
S7 (21:08):
Oh, no. I'm from Irving, Texas.
S2 (21:11):
Oh, sorry about that. Leslie from Texas. My bad. Go ahead.
S7 (21:16):
Yeah. Um, so I'm walking to school, so you may
hear some noise, but I, um. Yeah. When God ran,
it was, um, I became baptized. I got baptized in college.
So it was first by, um, um, Benny Hester and
then later by Phillips, Craig and Dean and I. It's
still my, um, my favorite song of all time, because
it reminds me that the Lord relentlessly pursues me through
(21:38):
it all, and I just. Yeah. I just can't believe it.
He'll never. He never gives up on us. And, um.
And he is, um, just loves us unconditionally.
S2 (21:48):
All right. God, I love it. Thank you so much.
Leslie from Texas. Appreciate you calling in this morning. Jonathan,
do you have a song that was that God used
that really sticks with you?
S3 (21:59):
Yeah, I do. This one's actually pretty recent to me,
but impactful. Okay. The song Miracle Child by Brandon Lake.
I love that song. You know, my story is an
illusion of salvation kind of story. And so I didn't
realize that I didn't know Jesus, even though I knew
of him. I was kind of living the Christian life,
but not not living for God. And when I came
(22:22):
to him, you know, my desire was to follow him.
And it really changed my whole life. But Satan still
plucks at me a little bit here and there. How
do you know that? You know that, you know. And
he scares me. And I have to be rooted in
Scripture in order to fight against those things. And this song.
Miracle child. Just a couple of the words that really
get to me says death. Where is your sting? My
(22:44):
Savior's word is final. I'm resurrected, blood protected. And that
just reminds me that what my Savior has said, he's
always saying that he doesn't take it away from me,
that I'm good, that I'm under him. I'm blood protected
by his blood, not by my own ability to do
or not do something.
S2 (23:04):
Man, that's the power of a song. Let's play that one.
Brandon Lake, miracle child. I want to hear from you, though.
What is that song for you? You hear it and
it takes you to a moment. Or God used it
to minister to you to bring comfort. Give us a
call 800 555 7898 (800)Â 555-7898.
S8 (23:23):
I shouldn't be alive. My future was six feet under
one foot in the grave. No hope to be saved.
I shouldn't be alive. But I'm a miracle child. Defied
(23:48):
every diet. And as close as it came. I can
stand here and say I'm a miracle child. O death,
where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine. I
(24:12):
am resurrected, blood protected. I am a miracle child. If
your face in the eyes. If you think you're beyond
his saving. There's no life he can raise. No, your
(24:35):
wounds aren't too great. He's a miracle God. He shouldn't
be alive. His body was six feet under. Three days
in the grave without stone rolled away. Our God is alive.
(25:00):
O death, where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine.
All I am resurrected, blood protected. I am a miracle child.
(25:20):
O death, where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine.
I am resurrected, blood I am a miracle child. You're
(25:42):
the living, breathing God of glory. I'm a living, breathing testimony.
You're the one who turns a dead end story to
a living, breathing testimony. You're the living, breathing God of glory.
(26:05):
I'm a living, breathing testimony. You're the one who turns
up dead. His story to a living, breathing testimony. Death.
Where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine. I
(26:29):
am resurrected, blood I am a miracle child. O death,
where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine. I
am resurrected, blood protected. I am a miracle child. I've
(26:58):
been crucified, raised with Christ. I am a miracle child.
S2 (27:07):
Miracle child by Brandon Lake. We played that one for
Jonathan this morning. That's his song. Asking you about the songs.
Not just that you like to hear, because I got
a lot of songs that I like, but there's some
songs that when I hear, man, they take me back
to a moment or they remind me of something that
God has revealed to me. What is that song for
you that God God used so powerfully in your life?
(27:29):
Let's go to Lisa calling in this morning from Tennessee. Lisa,
tell me, what's that song for you?
S9 (27:35):
Um, a song that, um, would be, um, God only
knows by for King and Country.
S2 (27:41):
Okay, give me the story. Why?
S9 (27:44):
Well, I was away from God for quite some time, and, um,
hearing that song just really brought me back. Every time
I would hear that song, it was like God was
convicting me and. And calling me.
S2 (27:56):
Yeah. Sweet. Thank you so much. Lisa from Nashville, Tennessee.
Let's go to Maureen from Indiana. Maureen, what's that song
for you? Tell me.
S10 (28:06):
The song for me is Give Me Jesus by Fernando Ortega.
S2 (28:11):
Oh, that's a classic. Go ahead, tell me why.
S10 (28:13):
Well, God used that to get me through a very difficult,
depressing time. And now I can look back and see
what joy I can experience. And I don't have to
go back to that dark place anymore, because.
S2 (28:31):
Maureen.
S10 (28:31):
Has given me.
S2 (28:33):
Amen. Just give me Jesus. We're going to play it
for you. Maureen from Indiana, this is Fernando Ortega.
S11 (28:39):
In the morning when I rise. In the morning, when
I rise in the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus.
(29:03):
Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all
this world, but give me Jesus. And when I am alone. Oh,
(29:39):
and when I am alone. And when I am alone.
Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You
(30:08):
can have all this world, but give me Jesus. Jesus.
(31:04):
And when I come to die. Oh, and when I
come to die. And when I come to die. Give
me Jesus. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can
(31:39):
have all this world. You can have all this world.
You can have all this world. But give me Jesus.
S2 (32:08):
It's Fernando Ortega. Give me Jesus. I've been asking you
this morning. What is that song for you? That song
that takes you back to a moment that God used
so powerfully. I think most of us have at least
1 or 2 that that we hold near and dear.
What is it for you? 805 55 7898 coming up,
let's hear from somebody. Our music guru. What song does
(32:32):
she have?
S1 (32:33):
She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
Super dei is in the crew. It's Karl and crew
on Moody Radio.
S2 (32:43):
You know, God created music. Wasn't something that man came
up with. And there's nothing like I say this. And
maybe it sounds strange, but when I hear the layering
of voices in harmony, to me that is one of
the things that I go. There has to be a god.
S3 (33:07):
Yeah, I agree.
S2 (33:07):
There has to be a.
S12 (33:08):
God. Can you imagine heaven like someday? Oh, I hear this. Oh,
always for eternity. Yes.
S2 (33:16):
So we're asking you, what's that song for you? That
song that God has used in your life in such
a powerful way? We've heard some. Some really phenomenal ones.
I hope you're enjoying listening. Even if it's not your
song that's played. I hope you're enjoying hearing these stories.
Let's go to Anne calling in from Illinois. Tell me
the story and or the song and the story behind
(33:36):
it for you.
S13 (33:38):
Well, another Fernando Ortega song. Jesus, King of angels. And
when my mom was really sick and my kids were
growing up and I was working and but all those
times that I drove to mom's to take care of
her and stay overnight and come back in the morning,
poop out, you know, until I had to go another day. Jesus,
(34:00):
King of angels, came on every time during that drive
to minister to me. And so it was my let
down time to cry and to just worship God. And
he was in the midst of it the whole time.
S12 (34:12):
Wow.
S2 (34:12):
And thank you so much. Incredible story. Let's let's go
to Bradley from Alabama. Bradley, give me the song and
the story.
S14 (34:22):
My mom was a crazy in the Storm by Casting Crowns.
In 2007, I was going through the process of losing
my grandmother. I was having a horrible time with my job,
horrible time at home. I wasn't listening to much contemporary music,
so when I heard that, it brought me into this
world of contemporary Christian music that I never really experienced
(34:45):
and ever since has comforted me through so many trials
and tribulations. And recently, my family and I were going
through a little bit. Now that I just think it
would be a great time to bring that song back.
S12 (34:57):
Yeah.
S2 (34:58):
Bradley from Alabama praise you in this storm for Casting Crowns.
That's that's a good one. One of my favorites, Super die.
I'm curious, you have a whole catalog of music. I
noticed on your computer, but stored up after years of radio.
What's that song for you?
S12 (35:17):
Actually, it's a newer song. It's by Jamie McDonnell. It's
come out and it's called desperate, and it just really
hit me. I heard it on the radio one day
and I was just it took me back. First of all,
to that very first time, if you've if you've heard
just coming to Christ or reading the Bible and just
falling on my knees and the opening line is, I'm
at the end of myself and I'm tired. I've tried
(35:39):
to do it all by myself. And that was that
was me. That was my point of being desperate for Christ.
And it just opens up that way. And the other thing, too,
is hanging on by a thread that one of my
favorite biblical stories is right out of Gospels, where the
woman is reaching out and touching the thread, the hem
of Jesus's cloak. Yeah. And sometimes we are desperate and
(36:00):
we're running out of hope. And another part of the story,
it says, I'm down on my knees. Redeem this wreckage.
So whatever you're battling right now, whatever just seems like
you're just drowning in it. And you seem like it's
overflowing and you are desperate. God redeems the wreckage. He does.
And this song is just a beautiful prayer for that
to God to give, to have him give you his peace.
S2 (36:24):
Well, we're going to play it for you. Super die.
And maybe this is a new one for you, but
I would invite you always when you're listening to music
of any kind, really listen to what the words are saying.
I mean, it's so important. It sounds like stating the obvious,
but what are you singing? There's sometimes beautiful songs that
(36:44):
aren't saying what you want to be declaring at all.
S3 (36:47):
Oh yeah, I'm a music listener, so I like the
sound of things. And there's been multiple times where I've
been listening and I'm like, that's a good sound. And
then I listen to the words and I go, no, no, no, no, no,
turn that off.
S12 (36:57):
Yeah.
S2 (36:57):
And then there's songs, you know, sometimes you may go
to church and there's not and they're not playing your
favorite song during worship. And you could sometimes like, I
don't really like listen to the lyrics. Yeah, yeah. Don't
worry about whether you love the song or not. What
are the lyrics declaring that are true? This is from
Jamie MacDonald. It's called desperate. I hope you enjoy this
(37:18):
one as much as Superdry does. Take a listen.
S15 (37:29):
I'm at the end of myself and I'm tired. I've
tried all that I know to do. Right now. It's
just by a thread. But I'm. I'm hanging on to you.
I'm running out of hope. I need a miracle. And
(37:53):
if I ever needed you, it's right now. Oh, God,
I'm desperate. Down on my knees. Send help from heaven.
Cause that's what I need. Redeem this wreckage. Restore my peace.
I'm not asking, I'm begging. Lord, come through for me
(38:17):
I need heaven and I don't. Spring? Yes, spring. Oh,
I need heaven. Need heaven tonight. Prayed all the prayers
I can pray, but I. I won't stop knocking till
(38:38):
you open the door. You can move a mountain. You
can call my soul. I know you can. Cause I've
seen it before. Oh, God, I'm desperate. Down on my knees.
Send help from heaven. Cause that's what I need. Redeem
(39:02):
this wreckage. Restore my peace. I'm not asking, I'm begging. Lord,
come through for me. I need heaven and I'm. Desperate,
I need heaven. Need heaven. And I've got. All I
(39:31):
need heaven, need heaven. And I'm. Home. And you're my
only hope I need a miracle. And if I ever
needed you. It's right now. Oh, God, I'm desperate. Down
(39:59):
on my knees. Send help from heaven. Cause that's what
I need. Redeem this wreckage. Restore my peace. I'm not asking,
I'm begging. Lord, come through for me. I need heaven tonight. Desperate.
(40:24):
All I need. Heaven. Need heaven tonight. Desperate. Desperate. Need heaven.
Need heaven tonight.
S2 (40:40):
It's Jamie McDonald. Desperate. Love these songs taking a lot
of us back. Some of them newer, some of them older.
But so many of them. When you hear that story
for someone else, you almost go in that moment with them, right?
You hear this, the story, and then you go, okay,
that song, it hits a little different. After you hear
this story.
S1 (41:01):
Tune in whenever you like. Check out the Cast and
Crew podcast wherever you like to stream.
S2 (41:07):
Talking about those songs this morning, the songs that have
been used so powerfully, and there's a couple that I've
seen repeated throughout the morning, Blessings by Laura story I've
seen a couple times. Uh, but sometimes it's such a
unique thing. It may be a song that everybody else
would go, huh? That's your song. God spoke to you
or ministered to you through that, uh, hearing your stories
(41:28):
this morning, I love it. 800 555 7898 let's go
to Kirsten calling in this morning from Indiana. Tell me,
what's that song for you and the story behind it?
Go ahead.
S16 (41:42):
Um. Hi there. I was just, um, thinking this morning
that the goodness of God has been such a life
song for me. Um, as I struggled with my daughter
being diagnosed with a progressive illness that eventually took her
life last year, um, one time I was in counseling
talking about how could God be good? You know, when
your daughter gets sick and you know you're probably going
(42:03):
to lose her someday? And, um, I came out of
that counseling session, and right when I came out, the
goodness of God was on my radio and station, and
I know God put that there for me that day.
And so, yeah, sometimes I just have to, um, just
play that song, remind myself God is good. Sometimes you
know you believe, but you just need help with your unbelief.
But he definitely has been good through this whole season
(42:25):
and this whole process. And sometimes life isn't good. But
but he still is. And she's now with her savior,
who she loved so much. So I just praise him
for that.
S2 (42:33):
Kiersten, thank you so much. Such a precious story. We're
so sorry for the loss of your daughter. This this song,
we pray, brings some comfort. A reminder that God is
good even when life is really hard.
S17 (42:46):
I love you, Lord. For your mercy never fails me.
All my days I've been held in your hand. From
the moment that I wake up. Until I lay my head. Oh,
(43:11):
I will sing of the goodness of God. Cause all
my life you have been faithful. And all my life
you have been so, so good. With every breath that
(43:38):
I am made. Oh, I will sing of the goodness
of God I love your voice. You have led me
through the fire. In darkest night you are close like
(44:03):
no other. I've known you as a father. I've known
you as a friend. And I have lived In the
goodness of God. Hey. Cause all my life you have
(44:26):
been faithful. And all my life you have been so,
so good. With every breath that I am made. Oh,
I will sing of the goodness of God. Your goodness
(44:55):
is running after. It's running after me. Your goodness is
running after. It's running after me. With my life laid down,
I surrender. Now I give you all. Me, O Lord,
(45:17):
your goodness is running after it's running after me. Your
goodness is running. After me. Your goodness is running after.
It's running.
S15 (45:36):
Out.
S17 (45:37):
To me. With my life laid down I surrender. Now
I give you everything. Everything your goodness is running after.
It's running out of me. I'm gonna sing.
S15 (46:01):
All my.
S17 (46:02):
Life.
S8 (46:03):
You have been faithful.
S17 (46:05):
All of my life you've been faithful. All my life
you have been so, so good, So good. With every
breath that I.
S8 (46:19):
Have.
S17 (46:19):
Made. Every breath I'm able. I'm gonna sing of the
goodness of God. Yes, I will sing of the goodness
of God. Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God.
S2 (46:45):
Cece Winans, goodness of God. You know, you think, how
in the world could you sing about the goodness of
God in the face of something so tragic as losing
your daughter? And you know, it's their great mystery. There's
a great mystery there. But we trust what we know
to be true about God, that he is good and
that he is sovereign and that he's faithful, and that
(47:07):
even when we don't understand the why we trust in
the who, the person of Jesus Christ.
Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (00:08):
Have you ever watched the show Name That Tune? They
would play a couple notes and see if you could
identify what the song was, and they would guess. I
can name that tune in three notes, and then they
would get like three plucked out sounds on it.
S3 (00:22):
It's insane. I don't know how in the.
S2 (00:23):
World we're going to play Name That Show. Can you
name the show that's being played here? Take a listen.
S4 (00:31):
As the fate of a people hangs in the balance, again,
I ask this question. Can one stone change the course
of history?
S2 (00:51):
Did you get it? Of course. It's House of David,
which has been a wildly popular series on Amazon.
S3 (00:59):
Right on Amazon Amazon Prime.
S2 (01:01):
At what point at what point you said you opened
up Amazon and saw what.
S3 (01:04):
It was the it was the thing that was at
the top. You know, they do like a featured show,
which is usually one of their top shows. And and
it was there and actually during its course of when
it was still airing episodes, it hit number two on
all of Amazon Prime, just behind their top grossing ever show.
S2 (01:21):
So it's been really cool to see the interest in
David's life in David's story. Uh, if you've seen it,
let us know. What did you think? And I think
that there are opinions in terms of how accurate it is.
Does it take too many liberties? There's some opinions out there,
and I'm not going to necessarily weigh in with my own,
but I'd love to hear. What if you saw it?
(01:43):
What did you think? Text us 800 555 7898. Text
US 800 555 7898. We're going to be spending quite
a bit of time this week looking at the life
of David and some of the often overlooked aspects. I mean,
there's so much to David's story. It is kind of
a it's built for a TV series, if ever. I mean,
(02:07):
you think about the stories that lend themselves to a
TV series. I think Daniel's story, probably.
S3 (02:14):
Daniel's a good one.
S2 (02:15):
Joseph would be would make an awesome mini series.
S3 (02:18):
Great one. Uh, Moses. I mean, they made a movie of.
Of Moses, the animated prince of Egypt.
S2 (02:23):
Absolutely. Obviously. Paul.
S3 (02:25):
Yeah.
S2 (02:25):
A life of Paul would be a would. Well, and
it's all true.
S3 (02:29):
And it's all true.
S2 (02:30):
It's all true. This stuff actually happened. Coming up, let's
take a look at the life of David. Still taking
your feedback. If you want to weigh in on what
you think of the series. 805 55 7898 805 55 7898.
Special guest joining us as well. Coming up.
S1 (02:48):
It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (02:51):
And we've got a man in studio. Doctor Winfred Neely,
you said you have been hanging out with David for
a long time. You wrote a first and second Samuel,
the commentary in the Moody Bible Commentary, and you did
your dissertation on a couple chapters of Second Samuel. Is
that correct?
S5 (03:06):
Yeah, I wrote my dissertation on second Samuel 11 and 12.
So I spent many years just focused on on the
Hebrew texts of those two chapters and had the immense
privilege to write the Moody Bible Commentary on first and
second Samuel. And I must say that it was a
life transforming experience for me at the just. The Lord
(03:30):
used his word so, so powerfully in my life. It
had a deep, sanctifying effect on me as I was,
as I had the privilege to comment on God's Word
in Samuel documents.
S2 (03:43):
Now, before we get into some of the specifics for
somebody who maybe is new to Bible reading, who is David?
Who are we talking about here? Give us just kind
of a there's a lot you could say here, but
for someone who doesn't know who David is, how can
they even join the conversation here? With enough understanding.
S5 (04:01):
God raises up David at a significant period in the
history of Israel, and he is the greatest Old Testament
King David. He is the standard, the norm by which
all other subsequent kings were measured. Next to Moses. There
(04:24):
was no one in the Old Testament who captured the
heart and mind and imagination of God's people. In the
Old Testament era, like David, he was a massive figure.
He was an able man. He was a warrior. He
was a leader. He was a monarch. He was a singer.
(04:48):
He was a musician, he was a composer. And I
wish I had all of them.
S6 (04:56):
Right, right, right.
S5 (04:57):
I mean, he was he was such a unique figure
in so many ways. He's one of the godliest men
that ever lived. And yet he was imperfect. There was
a period in David's life where he was far away
from God for about a year, and it was quite
(05:19):
shocking what happened in the life of this man of
God because of some decisions that he made in a
moment and consequent decisions after that. But what's interesting is
that the chronicler, when evaluating the life of David, says
this in essence, and I'm paraphrasing now that he walked
(05:40):
with God all of his life, except in a matter
of Uriah the Hittite, so that David's overall life a
man after God's own heart, he was, except the sin
that that he engaged in. But apart from that, this
his overall life was was pleasing to God. Yeah. That
(06:01):
David is the anointed of God. Now, this is hard
for us as Americans. I think with our, uh, way,
the way we think about things, to really grasp that
this is the anointed of God. This is God's chosen king, anointed.
(06:22):
He represents God. And I think one of the big
takeaways for me is I as I looked at David,
Paul says that if anyone thinks you stand, let him
take heed lest he fall. None of us are exempt
from doing something stupid in one moment. That can mess
our lives up and mess up the lives of those
(06:43):
that are very close to us. We have to be
vigilant to the day we breathe our last.
S2 (06:47):
Yeah. Doctor Winifred Neely, our guest right now, coming up.
I want to go back to David's pretty humble beginnings
A shepherd boy who was called and anointed by God
for a unique role. And he was also pretty, a
pretty skilled musician. We're going to talk about David, the
musician coming up.
S1 (07:06):
She was trying to earn her way to God, but
God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (07:16):
Well, of all the things that we learn about David,
we learn in first Samuel 16, verse 16 that he
is a man who is skillful in playing the lyre,
which is in the harp family. It's a small harp. You.
How would you describe a lyre? It's.
S6 (07:32):
Yeah, essentially.
S5 (07:33):
What you just.
S6 (07:33):
Said.
S2 (07:34):
It's not the really big harp, right? He wasn't toting
that around. It was a small harp, and he was
very skillful. He was a he was gifted at poetry
and songwriting.
S6 (07:42):
He was.
S2 (07:43):
Tell us about this detail. Because when we initially see this,
we him use this to soothe Saul.
S6 (07:50):
He did.
S2 (07:50):
That was kind of the beginnings of how we see
him use this musical gift, although certainly he had developed
it over time.
S5 (07:56):
He certainly he obviously had developed it considerably by the
time he is becomes the instrument to to play and
ease the troubled mind of Saul. And good music can
do that, even even to this day. Uh, but David
was a skilled musician and singer and poet. He's called
(08:16):
the sweet psalmist of Israel.
S2 (08:19):
I love.
S6 (08:20):
That a.
S5 (08:20):
Sweet psalmist of Israel. And, um, he penned at least
half of the Psalter. There are 73 psalms that are
clearly attributed to David. You know, have the heading the Superscription, which,
by the way, are ancient. By the way, there isn't
any ancient Hebrew manuscript, even the Dead Sea Scrolls that
(08:42):
doesn't have this, these superscriptions about a Psalm of David.
So at least 73 of them are in the Psalter
are explicitly Licitly identified as a Psalm of David. And
of course, they they, they, they're they are designed to
be sung. Right. So and, you know, of course, they
(09:02):
have the you have this expression to the choirmaster.
S6 (09:05):
Yes. Yes.
S2 (09:06):
What does that.
S6 (09:07):
Mean?
S5 (09:07):
Well, this in other words, we're going to sing this right.
And it depends on it was interesting was well, I
don't want to get into that. That's another technical conversation.
But but let me say this. Let me say this.
When we see to the choirmaster, that means it was
just not for David. It was not just for Israel.
It's for all of us. We can sing this. We we.
(09:29):
I still hear my Old Testament professor, the late Herbert Wolff, saying,
we sing our faith. And this is why. This is why.
This is another reason why David had such a massive
influence on Israel, because not only was he a great king,
he was he understood worship. And and so you are
(09:52):
organizing the temple worship with the with the sons of
Korah and Asaph and, and the choirs. And then these
psalms are being sung. Right. And and the temple worship
under Solomon, of course, is going to really take off.
But it begins with David, who saw saw the value
(10:12):
of of worshiping the Lord, uh, in ways that bring
glory to him and that edify people and also address
every situation that we experience in life, which is one
of the dynamics of the Psalter. There isn't any emotion
in the Psalms that's not addressed.
S6 (10:31):
Yeah.
S5 (10:32):
So David, he he was a songwriter. And so if
you if we have at least 150 psalms, um, and David,
73 of them are attributed to him, that means that
at least half of the Psalter was written by David.
And if you could consider Psalm two, which doesn't have
the title The Psalm of David, but in acts. And
(10:55):
it says, you said through your servant David. So that's
another indicator that you know. So there's another psalm, actually,
that even this is not even attributed to David, but
yet in the New Testament it is. So he had
a he was just a, a significant, uh, servant when
it came to composing these psalms and using them as
(11:17):
a means of to help God's people with the vocabulary
of prayer and worship. It was quite wonderful.
S2 (11:25):
Now, is it fair to say he was sort of
the initiator of this in practice, or was there any
sort of template for this before, David that we can
be aware of or point to?
S5 (11:36):
I don't think, well, Israel was a singing people, you know,
when they came out, the Exodus says that Miriam took
the tambourines and They they, you know, they they the Moses,
they sing a song. Then there was dancing with with
the tambourine and so forth and so on, which was
(11:56):
also a part of the worship experience. Which reminds me,
by the way, that there are certain churches, they dance
in the churches in Africa.
S2 (12:07):
You spent how many years there?
S5 (12:09):
I spent I spent ten years in Africa. But the
last time I was in Ghana with my dear friend
Bruce Everhart and others. Uh, I'm sorry, I'm wondering, but
it just came to me and they started dancing. It
was absolutely wonderful. And one guy that was so was
so moved by in the presence of God that he
(12:30):
started doing push ups. I think he did about 20.
S6 (12:32):
Okay.
S2 (12:33):
So as, as far as like what how we apply
something like this today because you think about corporate worship
and I know that this is this is on your heart.
Like David really cared about corporate worship. He talked about
how he arranged the musicians.
S6 (12:47):
Yeah, yeah.
S2 (12:47):
How he how we kind of orchestrated how this was
going to happen? How do we apply that today? What
do we take from that?
S5 (12:56):
Well, I think it should be. We need to give
it thought. When I was pastoring at Judson Baptist Church,
one of the things that I wanted was the hour
and a half where we come together corporately to be
one of the more meaningful spaces of time that we
(13:20):
would experience during the week. So we would have to
give thought to that. Song selection matters. Lyrics matter. So
that if a song is not biblical, I don't sing it.
I won't. So I would ask my worship leaders, if
you're going to do this, well, let's adjust some lyrics
(13:42):
to make sure that they're in line with scripture. It's
too much at stake.
S6 (13:46):
Yeah.
S5 (13:46):
And I realized too, that, uh, the the singing, uh,
with God's people is one of the means of grace
that God has put at our disposal and disposition. I
think of the lives that have been transformed not through preaching,
which I'm a champion of, but sometimes just through singing,
(14:10):
singing a hymn or singing a chorus or just I'm
in the crowd and I'm learning that God never loses
a battle.
S6 (14:21):
Yeah.
S5 (14:22):
That there's no defeat in Jesus. I, I'm learning that
he turns. He turns graves into gardens. Huh? And see
what happens. We take strength. We take courage, and we
go back to life. Ready to take another step. By
the way, this is why so many. I say, you know,
(14:45):
I'm an. I'm an African American, although I, you know,
I've been in multicultural spaces for many, many years, uh,
and enjoy that space and love that space. And, and
I'm in that space now. But yet at the same time,
recognizing that my mother's generation and her, my grandmother's generation, uh,
(15:05):
what got them through a lot of the difficulties that
they were struggling with as African Americans is the, the,
the church, the local church. And they would come together
and they would sing and worship and come out of
that with the strength and courage to face another day. Yeah.
And this is a transcendent this is a a this
(15:28):
is a transcultural, uh, principle that the corporate worship of
God's people matters. And so there's something about sitting next
to somebody singing, great is your faithfulness, or we've come
this far by faith or one of the contemporary expression
(15:53):
of worship to God. And so and David understood this.
There is something about theology that sound and accompanied to
music that helps us internalize the Word of God in
ways that would not happen otherwise.
S2 (16:12):
Yeah. Now, because the Psalms capture so much emotion, and
some of them you can even draw direct, parallel to
what was happening in in David's life at the time. Right?
Some of them capture lament and sorrow. Are all of
the Psalms meant to be sung as theology?
S5 (16:32):
Well, uh uh, yes. I think lament is a form
of theology, actually. Uh, you know, of course, the title
of the Psalter is in Hebrew. It says Rehelim, Halim,
which means praises. Interestingly enough, a third of the Psalter
is lament. So.
S2 (16:52):
Should we be singing that, you think?
S5 (16:53):
I think we should. I think we should, because, um, sometimes, uh,
we are we. Life happens.
S2 (17:01):
Mhm.
S5 (17:03):
It would be nice if the church could, could recapture
some of that, but but I think there has been
that sometimes I feel like a motherless child. Glory, hallelujah.
Which was a form of lament. Right. We can sing that.
(17:25):
And so I think it and and in other words,
I can bring my suffering, my perplexities to the Lord
in song as well as my joys, and leave a
corporate worship experience with a sense that, uh, it's going
to be okay. That God is going to give me
(17:45):
grace to get through this.
S2 (17:47):
Yeah. Doctor Winifred Neeley, our guest this morning, so much
more we could chat about. We're going to put a
pin in it for now. But Doctor Neeley, newly retired
vice president and academic dean of Moody Theological Seminary, spent
a lot of years with David. And we're grateful for
you sharing your your knowledge and your passion this morning.
S1 (18:05):
He's a sports fanatic with a stat for anything you
can think of. Young Thunder is in the crew. It's
curling crew on Moody Radio.
S2 (18:15):
Well, as we've been talking about David the musician this morning,
I've got a question for you. What's that song for you?
You know, the one that God used so powerfully in
that one moment? There's probably already one coming to mind.
It's a song that's near and dear to your heart.
Maybe a played on the radio at a time and
the Lord spoke to you through it. Maybe it was
(18:35):
a source of comfort or ministered to you during a
difficult season of life. What is that song that when
you hear it, it just takes you back. It's a
Christian song, obviously a song that the truth of God's
Word is spoken, and it was really used powerfully in
your life. I want to play some of those and
hear the story behind it. So if you've got one,
give us a call 805 55 7898, 805, 55, 78, 98.
(19:03):
You know, when you think about the songs, the songs
of your life, I mean, it's crazy how you can
be in a grocery store or something, and all of
a sudden a song plays that takes you back to
like middle school or high school, and you still sometimes
to your own shame, can still remember all of the
song lyrics, even to songs that are are. Oh boy.
(19:24):
I say shame not. We should not feel a sense
of shame, but there are definitely some lyrics that I
knew when I was growing up to songs that I go,
what in the world was I listening to?
S3 (19:33):
Oh yeah. Absolutely. And you know what's interesting to me
sometimes if I try to recall song lyrics with the
music not playing, I can't remember them, but as soon
as the music's going, it's almost like they're popping into
my brain a millisecond before they come out of my mouth.
And I'm like, I don't know where these words are
coming from, but they're just in here somewhere. That's a
very weird feeling.
S2 (19:54):
The music is so powerful, you know, and it can
be leveraged both for the good and for the bad.
I mean, the, the the messages that are often pushed
on to young people through music are sometimes pretty startling.
S3 (20:09):
No doubt.
S2 (20:10):
You think. Oh, wow. And kids, I know because I
was one of those kids and you're just singing stuff
and not even really aware of the messages that you're proclaiming.
S3 (20:19):
No, certainly.
S2 (20:20):
The enemy certainly can use music that way. But all
truth is God's truth. So when you think about the
power of music to be leveraged, I mean, David soothed
Saul when he was being tormented by playing the harp,
and all of a sudden there was a peace that
came over him. So what's that song for you? that
(20:40):
song that God used so powerfully in your life. We
want to play as many. I will say up front,
we will not be able to play all of them.
We just won't have enough time. But we want to
play as many as we can. So if you've got
one in a story behind it, 805, 55, 78, 98,
805 five, five 7898 let's go to Leslie calling in
(21:01):
from Chicago. Leslie. Go ahead. What's that song for you?
S7 (21:08):
Oh, no. I'm from Irving, Texas.
S2 (21:11):
Oh, sorry about that. Leslie from Texas. My bad. Go ahead.
S7 (21:16):
Yeah. Um, so I'm walking to school, so you may
hear some noise, but I, um. Yeah. When God ran,
it was, um, I became baptized. I got baptized in college.
So it was first by, um, um, Benny Hester and
then later by Phillips, Craig and Dean and I. It's
still my, um, my favorite song of all time, because
it reminds me that the Lord relentlessly pursues me through
(21:38):
it all, and I just. Yeah. I just can't believe it.
He'll never. He never gives up on us. And, um.
And he is, um, just loves us unconditionally.
S2 (21:48):
All right. God, I love it. Thank you so much.
Leslie from Texas. Appreciate you calling in this morning. Jonathan,
do you have a song that was that God used
that really sticks with you?
S3 (21:59):
Yeah, I do. This one's actually pretty recent to me,
but impactful. Okay. The song Miracle Child by Brandon Lake.
I love that song. You know, my story is an
illusion of salvation kind of story. And so I didn't
realize that I didn't know Jesus, even though I knew
of him. I was kind of living the Christian life,
but not not living for God. And when I came
(22:22):
to him, you know, my desire was to follow him.
And it really changed my whole life. But Satan still
plucks at me a little bit here and there. How
do you know that? You know that, you know. And
he scares me. And I have to be rooted in
Scripture in order to fight against those things. And this song.
Miracle child. Just a couple of the words that really
get to me says death. Where is your sting? My
(22:44):
Savior's word is final. I'm resurrected, blood protected. And that
just reminds me that what my Savior has said, he's
always saying that he doesn't take it away from me,
that I'm good, that I'm under him. I'm blood protected
by his blood, not by my own ability to do
or not do something.
S2 (23:04):
Man, that's the power of a song. Let's play that one.
Brandon Lake, miracle child. I want to hear from you, though.
What is that song for you? You hear it and
it takes you to a moment. Or God used it
to minister to you to bring comfort. Give us a
call 800 555 7898 (800)Â 555-7898.
S8 (23:23):
I shouldn't be alive. My future was six feet under
one foot in the grave. No hope to be saved.
I shouldn't be alive. But I'm a miracle child. Defied
(23:48):
every diet. And as close as it came. I can
stand here and say I'm a miracle child. O death,
where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine. I
(24:12):
am resurrected, blood protected. I am a miracle child. If
your face in the eyes. If you think you're beyond
his saving. There's no life he can raise. No, your
(24:35):
wounds aren't too great. He's a miracle God. He shouldn't
be alive. His body was six feet under. Three days
in the grave without stone rolled away. Our God is alive.
(25:00):
O death, where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine.
All I am resurrected, blood protected. I am a miracle child.
(25:20):
O death, where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine.
I am resurrected, blood I am a miracle child. You're
(25:42):
the living, breathing God of glory. I'm a living, breathing testimony.
You're the one who turns a dead end story to
a living, breathing testimony. You're the living, breathing God of glory.
(26:05):
I'm a living, breathing testimony. You're the one who turns
up dead. His story to a living, breathing testimony. Death.
Where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine. I
(26:29):
am resurrected, blood I am a miracle child. O death,
where is your sting? My Savior's word is fine. I
am resurrected, blood protected. I am a miracle child. I've
(26:58):
been crucified, raised with Christ. I am a miracle child.
S2 (27:07):
Miracle child by Brandon Lake. We played that one for
Jonathan this morning. That's his song. Asking you about the songs.
Not just that you like to hear, because I got
a lot of songs that I like, but there's some
songs that when I hear, man, they take me back
to a moment or they remind me of something that
God has revealed to me. What is that song for
you that God God used so powerfully in your life?
(27:29):
Let's go to Lisa calling in this morning from Tennessee. Lisa,
tell me, what's that song for you?
S9 (27:35):
Um, a song that, um, would be, um, God only
knows by for King and Country.
S2 (27:41):
Okay, give me the story. Why?
S9 (27:44):
Well, I was away from God for quite some time, and, um,
hearing that song just really brought me back. Every time
I would hear that song, it was like God was
convicting me and. And calling me.
S2 (27:56):
Yeah. Sweet. Thank you so much. Lisa from Nashville, Tennessee.
Let's go to Maureen from Indiana. Maureen, what's that song
for you? Tell me.
S10 (28:06):
The song for me is Give Me Jesus by Fernando Ortega.
S2 (28:11):
Oh, that's a classic. Go ahead, tell me why.
S10 (28:13):
Well, God used that to get me through a very difficult,
depressing time. And now I can look back and see
what joy I can experience. And I don't have to
go back to that dark place anymore, because.
S2 (28:31):
Maureen.
S10 (28:31):
Has given me.
S2 (28:33):
Amen. Just give me Jesus. We're going to play it
for you. Maureen from Indiana, this is Fernando Ortega.
S11 (28:39):
In the morning when I rise. In the morning, when
I rise in the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus.
(29:03):
Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all
this world, but give me Jesus. And when I am alone. Oh,
(29:39):
and when I am alone. And when I am alone.
Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You
(30:08):
can have all this world, but give me Jesus. Jesus.
(31:04):
And when I come to die. Oh, and when I
come to die. And when I come to die. Give
me Jesus. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can
(31:39):
have all this world. You can have all this world.
You can have all this world. But give me Jesus.
S2 (32:08):
It's Fernando Ortega. Give me Jesus. I've been asking you
this morning. What is that song for you? That song
that takes you back to a moment that God used
so powerfully. I think most of us have at least
1 or 2 that that we hold near and dear.
What is it for you? 805 55 7898 coming up,
let's hear from somebody. Our music guru. What song does
(32:32):
she have?
S1 (32:33):
She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
Super dei is in the crew. It's Karl and crew
on Moody Radio.
S2 (32:43):
You know, God created music. Wasn't something that man came
up with. And there's nothing like I say this. And
maybe it sounds strange, but when I hear the layering
of voices in harmony, to me that is one of
the things that I go. There has to be a god.
S3 (33:07):
Yeah, I agree.
S2 (33:07):
There has to be a.
S12 (33:08):
God. Can you imagine heaven like someday? Oh, I hear this. Oh,
always for eternity. Yes.
S2 (33:16):
So we're asking you, what's that song for you? That
song that God has used in your life in such
a powerful way? We've heard some. Some really phenomenal ones.
I hope you're enjoying listening. Even if it's not your
song that's played. I hope you're enjoying hearing these stories.
Let's go to Anne calling in from Illinois. Tell me
the story and or the song and the story behind
(33:36):
it for you.
S13 (33:38):
Well, another Fernando Ortega song. Jesus, King of angels. And
when my mom was really sick and my kids were
growing up and I was working and but all those
times that I drove to mom's to take care of
her and stay overnight and come back in the morning,
poop out, you know, until I had to go another day. Jesus,
(34:00):
King of angels, came on every time during that drive
to minister to me. And so it was my let
down time to cry and to just worship God. And
he was in the midst of it the whole time.
S12 (34:12):
Wow.
S2 (34:12):
And thank you so much. Incredible story. Let's let's go
to Bradley from Alabama. Bradley, give me the song and
the story.
S14 (34:22):
My mom was a crazy in the Storm by Casting Crowns.
In 2007, I was going through the process of losing
my grandmother. I was having a horrible time with my job,
horrible time at home. I wasn't listening to much contemporary music,
so when I heard that, it brought me into this
world of contemporary Christian music that I never really experienced
(34:45):
and ever since has comforted me through so many trials
and tribulations. And recently, my family and I were going
through a little bit. Now that I just think it
would be a great time to bring that song back.
S12 (34:57):
Yeah.
S2 (34:58):
Bradley from Alabama praise you in this storm for Casting Crowns.
That's that's a good one. One of my favorites, Super die.
I'm curious, you have a whole catalog of music. I
noticed on your computer, but stored up after years of radio.
What's that song for you?
S12 (35:17):
Actually, it's a newer song. It's by Jamie McDonnell. It's
come out and it's called desperate, and it just really
hit me. I heard it on the radio one day
and I was just it took me back. First of all,
to that very first time, if you've if you've heard
just coming to Christ or reading the Bible and just
falling on my knees and the opening line is, I'm
at the end of myself and I'm tired. I've tried
(35:39):
to do it all by myself. And that was that
was me. That was my point of being desperate for Christ.
And it just opens up that way. And the other thing, too,
is hanging on by a thread that one of my
favorite biblical stories is right out of Gospels, where the
woman is reaching out and touching the thread, the hem
of Jesus's cloak. Yeah. And sometimes we are desperate and
(36:00):
we're running out of hope. And another part of the story,
it says, I'm down on my knees. Redeem this wreckage.
So whatever you're battling right now, whatever just seems like
you're just drowning in it. And you seem like it's
overflowing and you are desperate. God redeems the wreckage. He does.
And this song is just a beautiful prayer for that
to God to give, to have him give you his peace.
S2 (36:24):
Well, we're going to play it for you. Super die.
And maybe this is a new one for you, but
I would invite you always when you're listening to music
of any kind, really listen to what the words are saying.
I mean, it's so important. It sounds like stating the obvious,
but what are you singing? There's sometimes beautiful songs that
(36:44):
aren't saying what you want to be declaring at all.
S3 (36:47):
Oh yeah, I'm a music listener, so I like the
sound of things. And there's been multiple times where I've
been listening and I'm like, that's a good sound. And
then I listen to the words and I go, no, no, no, no, no,
turn that off.
S12 (36:57):
Yeah.
S2 (36:57):
And then there's songs, you know, sometimes you may go
to church and there's not and they're not playing your
favorite song during worship. And you could sometimes like, I
don't really like listen to the lyrics. Yeah, yeah. Don't
worry about whether you love the song or not. What
are the lyrics declaring that are true? This is from
Jamie MacDonald. It's called desperate. I hope you enjoy this
(37:18):
one as much as Superdry does. Take a listen.
S15 (37:29):
I'm at the end of myself and I'm tired. I've
tried all that I know to do. Right now. It's
just by a thread. But I'm. I'm hanging on to you.
I'm running out of hope. I need a miracle. And
(37:53):
if I ever needed you, it's right now. Oh, God,
I'm desperate. Down on my knees. Send help from heaven.
Cause that's what I need. Redeem this wreckage. Restore my peace.
I'm not asking, I'm begging. Lord, come through for me
(38:17):
I need heaven and I don't. Spring? Yes, spring. Oh,
I need heaven. Need heaven tonight. Prayed all the prayers
I can pray, but I. I won't stop knocking till
(38:38):
you open the door. You can move a mountain. You
can call my soul. I know you can. Cause I've
seen it before. Oh, God, I'm desperate. Down on my knees.
Send help from heaven. Cause that's what I need. Redeem
(39:02):
this wreckage. Restore my peace. I'm not asking, I'm begging. Lord,
come through for me. I need heaven and I'm. Desperate,
I need heaven. Need heaven. And I've got. All I
(39:31):
need heaven, need heaven. And I'm. Home. And you're my
only hope I need a miracle. And if I ever
needed you. It's right now. Oh, God, I'm desperate. Down
(39:59):
on my knees. Send help from heaven. Cause that's what
I need. Redeem this wreckage. Restore my peace. I'm not asking,
I'm begging. Lord, come through for me. I need heaven tonight. Desperate.
(40:24):
All I need. Heaven. Need heaven tonight. Desperate. Desperate. Need heaven.
Need heaven tonight.
S2 (40:40):
It's Jamie McDonald. Desperate. Love these songs taking a lot
of us back. Some of them newer, some of them older.
But so many of them. When you hear that story
for someone else, you almost go in that moment with them, right?
You hear this, the story, and then you go, okay,
that song, it hits a little different. After you hear
this story.
S1 (41:01):
Tune in whenever you like. Check out the Cast and
Crew podcast wherever you like to stream.
S2 (41:07):
Talking about those songs this morning, the songs that have
been used so powerfully, and there's a couple that I've
seen repeated throughout the morning, Blessings by Laura story I've
seen a couple times. Uh, but sometimes it's such a
unique thing. It may be a song that everybody else
would go, huh? That's your song. God spoke to you
or ministered to you through that, uh, hearing your stories
(41:28):
this morning, I love it. 800 555 7898 let's go
to Kirsten calling in this morning from Indiana. Tell me,
what's that song for you and the story behind it?
Go ahead.
S16 (41:42):
Um. Hi there. I was just, um, thinking this morning
that the goodness of God has been such a life
song for me. Um, as I struggled with my daughter
being diagnosed with a progressive illness that eventually took her
life last year, um, one time I was in counseling
talking about how could God be good? You know, when
your daughter gets sick and you know you're probably going
(42:03):
to lose her someday? And, um, I came out of
that counseling session, and right when I came out, the
goodness of God was on my radio and station, and
I know God put that there for me that day.
And so, yeah, sometimes I just have to, um, just
play that song, remind myself God is good. Sometimes you
know you believe, but you just need help with your unbelief.
But he definitely has been good through this whole season
(42:25):
and this whole process. And sometimes life isn't good. But
but he still is. And she's now with her savior,
who she loved so much. So I just praise him
for that.
S2 (42:33):
Kiersten, thank you so much. Such a precious story. We're
so sorry for the loss of your daughter. This this song,
we pray, brings some comfort. A reminder that God is
good even when life is really hard.
S17 (42:46):
I love you, Lord. For your mercy never fails me.
All my days I've been held in your hand. From
the moment that I wake up. Until I lay my head. Oh,
(43:11):
I will sing of the goodness of God. Cause all
my life you have been faithful. And all my life
you have been so, so good. With every breath that
(43:38):
I am made. Oh, I will sing of the goodness
of God I love your voice. You have led me
through the fire. In darkest night you are close like
(44:03):
no other. I've known you as a father. I've known
you as a friend. And I have lived In the
goodness of God. Hey. Cause all my life you have
(44:26):
been faithful. And all my life you have been so,
so good. With every breath that I am made. Oh,
I will sing of the goodness of God. Your goodness
(44:55):
is running after. It's running after me. Your goodness is
running after. It's running after me. With my life laid down,
I surrender. Now I give you all. Me, O Lord,
(45:17):
your goodness is running after it's running after me. Your
goodness is running. After me. Your goodness is running after.
It's running.
S15 (45:36):
Out.
S17 (45:37):
To me. With my life laid down I surrender. Now
I give you everything. Everything your goodness is running after.
It's running out of me. I'm gonna sing.
S15 (46:01):
All my.
S17 (46:02):
Life.
S8 (46:03):
You have been faithful.
S17 (46:05):
All of my life you've been faithful. All my life
you have been so, so good, So good. With every
breath that I.
S8 (46:19):
Have.
S17 (46:19):
Made. Every breath I'm able. I'm gonna sing of the
goodness of God. Yes, I will sing of the goodness
of God. Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God.
S2 (46:45):
Cece Winans, goodness of God. You know, you think, how
in the world could you sing about the goodness of
God in the face of something so tragic as losing
your daughter? And you know, it's their great mystery. There's
a great mystery there. But we trust what we know
to be true about God, that he is good and
that he is sovereign and that he's faithful, and that
(47:07):
even when we don't understand the why we trust in
the who, the person of Jesus Christ.
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