Evangelical Worship Edition.

April 7, 2016. Today we’ll be looking at a song that was pushed by Worship Together YouTube Channel back in December 2015. The song is worthless, but it does give us an opportunity to discuss the mystical movement called SOZO.  Today’s song is called “At Your Feet (Surrender)” by Dan Bremnes.

 

Music Video (via SOZO Playlist)

 

Lyrics (via Genius)

[Verse 1]
My eyes are on the Cross
Where You gave it all
I worship You, I worship You
I see the One who saves
The Light of heaven’s grace
I run to You, I run to You

[Chorus]
And I, I surrender
I lay my life down at Your feet
God of mercy, You are worthy
I give You every part of me

[Verse 2]
The things that I have done
The things that I will do
I give to You, I give to You
Holy God above
How could I resist Your love?
I run to You, I run to You

[Chorus]
And I, I surrender
I lay my life down at Your feet
God of mercy, You are worthy
I give You every part of me

[Bridge]
With every breath
With all I am
Oh Jesus, I surrender
My heart is Yours
I trust You Lord
Oh Jesus I surrender
(2x)
Jesus I
Through You, Jesus

[Chorus]
I, I surrender
I lay my life down at Your feet
God of mercy, You are worthy
I give You every part of me
(2x)

Written By: Scott Cash, Ed Cash, Dan Bremnes, Katherine Langridge, Ben Fielding
Release Date: June 9, 2015
Produced By: Ed Cash, Scott Cash

Discussion

The focus of the song is the singer. What the singer will do, what the singer is doing, what the singer is pledging. If the object of the “You” is truly the God of the Bible, then we can find some small phrases that are indeed true, like “You are worthy…”, “God of Mercy”, and “On the Cross is Where You Gave it all”. But these are not the focus of the song, nor are they even remotely explicated.

The song is filled with mystical promises bereft of meaning. What does the singer mean by “I run to you”? We don’t know. The only valid, Christian understanding is that we turn to God’s Word and the Lord’s Supper for grace and forgiveness. Mystics have a lot of false meanings for this turn of phrase. What does it mean to “surrender all to God” or to “give every part of me to God”? It’s a purely abstract, emotional, mystical promise of doing something for God, but it has no meaning. It’s like making a vow to keep the Greatest commandment without understanding that to do so according to the Law would necessitate keeping all of the Law, which necessarily includes loving neighbor as ourselves.

Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Jesus Christ is the Only One who kept the Law. And He laid down His life on the cross, bearing the wrath of God against sin, so that by Faith we might be clothed in the Righteousness from God, forgiven of our sin, and adopted as Sons of the Most High. Salvation had nothing to do with any of our “surrender” or “works”; therefore, our worship should focus on what He did for us, not what we claim to do for Him.

Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Your relationship with God is all His doing. Thank Him for that. God doesn’t need your good works, your neighbor does. Preach the Word of God, love and forgive your neighbor as an outflow of your understanding of the immeasurable Grace He extended to you at the cross. This song is off-mission, off-target, and completely out of focus.

Before we close out, let’s look at the artist behind the song and then we’ll examine the Sozo movement.

Dan Bremnes

I wanted to see what the artist’s doctrinal foundation might be, so I checked out his Facebook page.

It was a six-month missions trip in Australia with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) that would help re-shape his perspective: “While I was there, something happened in my life, and God started working on my heart. I started to go a lot deeper in my faith,” Dan shares. “Something sort of clicked in me. I’ve always had these opportunities to lead worship and share about my faith, and I started thinking about making music that was really intentional about reaching people on a spiritual level. I wanted to come right out and speak about God and my relationship with Him.”

Sharing “about our faith” or “about our relationship with God” isn’t the same thing as Preaching the Word of God, or Sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Sure, it could just be a wording issue where he means the right thing, but he also leads Christian worship. What is he really leading, who is he leading, and where is he leading them? That’s the question that really needs to be asked and answered. Look at how he describes his understanding of Faith.

“In my town we go cliff jumping in the summer. I’m always the guy to round up a group of friends to go jump off cliffs. But when I get there and stand on the edge of the cliff, I realize that I like the idea of cliff jumping more than I actually like cliff jumping,” Dan shares. “Faith is similar for me. I like the idea of being brave and jumping out in to the unknown, but when it actually comes to putting faith into action, I think I like the idea of it more than the actual act. But I know that God is always calling us out into the unknown, and He’s faithful to catch us anytime we take a leap.”

That said, leaps of faith are still intimidating, even scary, but for Dan, stepping out and pursuing music led to a tremendous sense of purpose and joy. Like the majority of artists, his journey began humbly—playing local churches for the cost of his gas. But as he shared his songs with anyone who’d listen and continued to hone his songwriting craft, it wasn’t long before people took notice.

Risk-taking isn’t the same thing as Faith. Scripture doesn’t call us to take “leaps of faith”, like what this artist is describing. This isn’t Christianity. This isn’t sound doctrine. Humanists and mystics talk this way about their own beliefs, too. How does the Bible define Faith? I recommend reading through the book of Hebrews, but here let us pull some portions from the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11:1-16 (ESV) | By Faith

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faithNoah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.

 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out,they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city….

Hebrews 11:29-40 (ESV) By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises,stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV) | Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

What the Bible records isn’t a blind leap of faith like jumping off a cliff or embarking on a music career… Faith is trusting in the Word of the Lord. They trusted in the Word of the Lord despite their circumstance, and what’s even more important is that many cited never received their promises while in this life, for they were trusting in an Eternal God who gave Eternal Promises. Christ is the fulfillment of these promises, and He is now in Heaven at the right hand of the Father, where all of our Promises wait for us who are in Christ Jesus… by Faith.

Is this man a gifted musician and singer? sure. Should he be leading Christian worship? No.

SOZO

Let’s talk about SOZO for a moment. It is one of the fruits of the heresy house, Bethel Church in Redding, CA. Now, the theology taught there by Randy Clark spurred on a mystic in Argentina who then developed Bethel SOZO. From their “history of SOZO” page:

In 1997 Randy Clark, a healing evangelist, held meetings at Bethel Church. At that time, Pastor Clark would send a team to train a congregation how to be prayer servants. A small portion of that training was a model of “deliverance” from Argentina. This model became our first tool “The Four Doors”. Dawna DeSilva, the leader and founder of the Sozo Ministry, attended this training at Bethel. Afterward, Dawna began to use the concept of “The Four Doors” when she prayed for people. Seeing a miraculous difference in people’s level of freedom, the “Sozo Ministry” was birthed. As the Sozo Ministry developed, the Lord introduced other tools that have aided in people being healed and released from the wounds and lies which have hindered those individuals from the Godhead and their destiny.

From their “overview” page:

There are six tools that the SOZO team uses:

• Father Ladder
• Four Doors
• Presenting Jesus
• The Wall
• Trigger Mechanisms (Advanced Tool)
• Divine Editing (Advanced Tool)

As you can see, this isn’t even remotely Biblical Doctrine. I think the folks at GotQuestions.org summarized this “ministry” well here:

Sozo prayer, or Sozo ministry (from the Greek for “save” or “deliver”), is defined as “a unique inner healing and deliverance ministry in which the main aim is to get to the root of those things hindering your personal connection with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Sozo was created by a group of people from Bethel Church in Redding, California, and modeled after spiritual practices observed at revivals in Argentina. Sozo is strongly mystical in its approach and relies heavily on ideas about God and the Holy Spirit that are not based on biblical fact.

Sozo prayer requires the presence of a mediator or guide who is trained to walk participants through a time of prayer and reflection that is supposed to facilitate intimacy with God. Intimacy with God is definitely something to be sought; however, the method of attaining intimacy via a journey through the subconscious is questionable at best. Intimacy with God is achieved by Bible study, prayer, regular church attendance, and obedience, not by a mystical “journey” through our past. The Bible warns us to be discerning and wise, and not to be fooled (Hosea 14:9; Hebrews 5:14). The Bible and the Holy Spirit—not our subconscious thoughts or a fallible human being—are our connection to the counsel and the voice of God (John 17:17). Many types of ungodly mystical practices include the presence of a “spirit guide,” but the Bible tells us that our connection to the Father is a direct connection, mediated by Christ (1 Timothy 2:5) and guided by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). No other spirit guide is necessary.

The methods and practices of Sozo are of human invention and require human instruction, without reference to Scripture. In fact, Sozo is much closer to new age mysticism than to Christianity. Participants are encouraged into a mild trance state, while being “led” into a series of mental/emotional rooms or stages where, by connecting to their own deeper feelings and thoughts, they believe themselves to have a new experience with God. Whatever participants feel has happened to them, the Bible tells us it is dangerous to open ourselves up to something that has not been sanctioned by God (Ephesians 4:11–14). Preaching and teaching, evangelism, and the practice of anointing a person with oil or laying hands on him, for instance, are all shown in Scripture to be spiritually safe and useful. But Sozo prayer does not have that kind of backing. (Read More)

This SOZO ministry is garbage mysticism posing as “christian”. Avoid it. Today’s song is presented as music conducive to such mysticism, avoid it also. This is not sound doctrine, it is false teaching… doctrines of demons.

1 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV) | Some Will Depart from the Faith

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 6:3-11 (ESV)

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

Conclusion

This song is worthless. It would be better to pray the 10 Commandments and then immediately asking forgiveness for failing them than to make the vaulted oaths to God about all that you are doing for Him in this song. Dear Christian, read the written Word of God (in context) or listen to it being read or rightly preached as your act of worship. Find music that is truly Christ-centered, be it hymns or Psalms set to music, but don’t chase every mystical wind of music being put out there under the label of “christian ministry”.

Jude 24-25 (ESV) | Doxology

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge