Error: Audio/Video Synchronization issues!

     The other night at our small group Bible study, we were watching the video teaching segment for the series we are doing. We were streaming the video over a network to a TV. The teaching began and everyone was genuinely interested to hear what the speaker had to say. It soon became clear, however, that there was a problem. The sound and the picture were not matching up. We would hear the words first, then several awkward seconds later the guy in the video would move his mouth. At first it was kind of comical but as the teaching went on, it became a distraction. The it became downright annoying. I found myself wanting to just stop the video, even though I really wanted to hear what he was saying.
     Ironically, the topic the teacher was speaking on was the role of the church in displaying the glory of God. As we all struggled to keep up with what he was saying without being driven to distraction by the out-of-sync video, the Holy Spirit said something to me and I wrote it down in my notes:

"When what people hear us say doesn't match what they see in our lives, it distracts from the message we are trying to deliver."

 In other words, if the audio is out of sync with the video, people can completely miss the point! And what is the point? The glory of God! We want people to see who God really is by the way that we live. The Holy Spirit is always working in the lives of God's people "conforming them to the image of Christ," so that we will reflect His character and nature to people who so desperately need to know He is real.
     Tragically, few people get to see that image of Christ reflected in us because our lives get out of sync with our words. This is not a new problem, either. It dates back thousands of years. Listen to what God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to His people Israel:

"Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!'-that you may do all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it," declares the LORD. (Jer. 5:8-11, NASB)

What was happening here? The people were coming into the temple, saying all the right words, singing all the songs, "amen-ing" the preacher in all the right places. But there was no life change. What they were saying didn't match up with what they were doing. The audio was out-of-sync with the video. And it was diminishing the glory that God intended the pagan nations around them to see through their holy lives. Ezekiel said it "profaned the name of God among the nations" for His people to live out-of-sync with the Word of God (Eze. 36:16-21)
     To much of the world watching this jumble, they have found the gospel message difficult to follow, distracting to watch, and have either become annoyed and frustrated by it, or have lost interest altogether. The name and glory of God is diminished when His people live out-of-sync with the Word they claim to believe. Churches go through the motions of services and programs every week, devoid of the power or presence of God, and then wonder why people are leaving in droves.
     But how can we expect His power or presence on Sunday morning when we don't give it much thought Monday thru Saturday? We worship on Sunday morning out of the relationship with God we have cultivated the rest of the week. What we bring to the table is what we have prepared in the kitchen. You can't bring a stale, half-eaten peanut butter sandwich to the table and expect it to magically become steak and lobster. Similarly, we can't live our lives all week focused on ourselves and then expect God to show up and do amazing things in our midst just because we have a band and lights and video screens and a dynamic, well-educated speaker.
     God help us! Please help us to repent. Help me to repent. Jeremiah warned:

But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

They have turned aside and departed.

'They do not say in their heart,

"Let us now fear the LORD our God,

Who gives rain in its season,

Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,

Who keeps for us

The appointed weeks of the harvest."

'Your iniquities have turned these away,

And your sins have withheld good from you.

'For wicked men are found among My people,

They watch like fowlers lying in wait;

They set a trap,

They catch men.

Like a cage full of birds,

So their houses are full of deceit;

Therefore they have become great and rich.

'They are fat, they are sleek,

They also excel in deeds of wickedness;

They do not plead the cause,

The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;

And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

'Shall I not punish these people?' declares the LORD,

'On a nation such as this

Shall I not avenge Myself?' (Jer. 5:23-29, NASB, emphasis mine)