Many Voices, One Voice

MEDITATION: “Many Voices, One Voice”

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

February 1, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza

When I was a little boy, I learned quickly that honesty is the

best policy. Thanks to my Mom!

I am looking for an honest person.

Let me ask you, if you found a billfold filled

with money, what would you do?

How many of you would return it?

How many of you would just think about?

Reader’s Digest conducted a test on honesty and

this is what they found.

Big Cities

Seattle: nine returned it, one kept it.

St. Louis: seven returned it, three kept it.

Atlanta: five returned it, five kept it.

Suburbs

Los Angeles: six returned it, four kept it.

Houston: five returned it, five kept it.

Boston: seven returned it, three kept it.

Medium Cities

Greensboro, North Carolina: seven returned, three kept it.

Las Vegas: five returned it, five kept it.

Dayton, Ohio: five returned it, five kept it.

Small towns

Meadville, Pennsylvania: eight returned it, two kept it.

Concord, New Hampshire: eight returned it, two kept it.

Cheyenne, Wyoming: eight returned it, two kept it.

So here’s the conclusion: the most honest people live in

Seattle and in small towns.

Webster defines honesty as “fairness and straightforwardness

of conduct.” Also it says, “sincerity.”

Once a man was at a lawn and garden store and he pulled

out his driver’s license for identification. The owner

of the store said, “Don’t need it.” “In all the years

I’ve been in business, nobody ever wrote me a bad

2

check when they were buying something to

work with.”

In Psalm 46:10, the psalmist writes,

“Be still and know that I am God.”

There are two kinds of world that we live in.

One world is noisy, busy, full of distractions.

It is the noise of metal, concrete, and machines.

It is the world of crowds screaming and yelling.

The other world is silent where forces move

planets, a vast system of galaxies. That

world is the inner world that gives breath, blood

and life.

In Psalm 51:10, the psalmist calls for what we all need.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And put a new right spirit within me.

What the psalmist is telling us is that we all have gone

out of bounds. We have missed the mark. In

Greek the word sin means, missing the mark. When

I was in college, in my first quarter, I had a rude

awakening. I was getting an A in English, but I

got a D- in Introduction in Education. I was missing

the mark. Olay! Olay! By the time the semester

ended, I got it up to a B.

I have entitled my sermon today, “Many Voices, One Voice.”

The world is full of voices. It’s okay if you cheat

as long as you don’t get caught. One little lie won’t

hurt you. God doesn’t exist, if he did, he wouldn’t

have allowed you to suffer. It happened again. In

Sarasota, a group of doctors lost all their investments

because of a sham. One couple lost $400,000 and that

was everything they have saved.

In book of Deuteronomy, chapter 18:15-20, Moses says “The Lord

will raise up for you a prophet like me from among

your own people, you shall heed such a prophet.” Moses

was right, there came a line of prophets – Elijah, Elisha,

Nathan, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Micah, Jesus. Jesus is the

One Voice – He is Lord!

3

How many of us are like the man who was said, “If I can’t

my money to heaven, then, I ain’t going.”

Moses was right. A prophet will rise among you. Listen to

what Jesus teaches. What have you gained if you gain

the whole world but you lose your life. Do not store up for

yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust

consume. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there is

your heart also.”

Many Voices, One Voice … some say there is no God. I say,

there is a God holds everything together with mercy,

with love, and purpose. When there is disorder, it is just

a part of a system of laws and consequences. If you drop

a glass on the concrete floor, the glass will shatter: that’s

how gravity works. If you travel 80 miles per hour and

you hit the telephone pole, the law of physics says the

inertia of the pole will stop the inertia of the car which is

moving. When this happens you really don’t want to be

in the car. That quiet voice probably told you to slow down,

but you didn’t listen.

If we all stopped for a moment and looked at this universe, it

is a wonder, it’s a marvelous creation, and all the natural

forces are here to give life.

Johnny Cash is one of the great country music singers in this

America. Like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, he

got his start with Sun Records. What he did find is that

success and fame also bring a mountain of problems.

He was rising with gold records, but he was also popping

pep pills to keep going. He got addicted. In 1965 he was

arrested. He got caught holding a thousand pills. He

dropped from 200 pounds to 140 pounds. He got into a

really bad car accident with several broken bones and a

concussion. On May 9, 1971, Johnny Cash went to a

small church and sat in the pew. When the pastor finished

his sermon, he called on the people to come forward to

set their lives straight. Johnny Cash got up, walked up

to the wooden altar and he gave his life to Christ.

Jesus keeps on calling us and when we give our life to him,

we’ll never be the same again. Listen! Johnny Cash

sings A Thing Called Love.