Author: Faithful Stewardship

DiM | “One Thing” by Hillsong

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Evangelical Worship Edition

January 25, 2016. In this edition we are going to be taking a look at the next song on the top new song list for 2015 found at Worship Together. Today’s song is “One Thing” by Hillsong Worship. If you’re idea of a worship song is to take the typical “woo your girlfriend for romance” type of song and replace “girlfriend” with “Jesus” and “romance” with a mystical experience (or just leave it as it is and call it ‘passion’), then this is the song for you. *sigh* 

This should never be played in a church service… but what worries me is that this was probably aggressively pushed at youth conferences/rallies/retreats.

Hillsong Worship Lyric Video

 

Lyrics (via Worship Together)

Verse
I tasted the world, seen more than
Enough, it’s promises fleeting.
Of water and wine I emptied the cup
And found myself wanting
But there is a well that never runs dry
The water of life, the blood of the Vine

Chorus
And all I know is everything
I have means nothing
Jesus, if You’re not my one thing
Everything I need right now
All I need is You right now

Chorus 2
‘Cuz all i want is
Everything you are and nothing
Jesus if you’re not my one thing
Every thing to me right now

Verse
Just one thing I ask
And this I will seek, if
Only to know You
To be where You are and
Go where You lead, my God, I will follow
The things of this world, I’ve counted as loss
I lay it all down to take up this cross

Chorus

Chorus 2

Bridge
And I’ll sing, Whoa , whoa
I want nothing but to know
You and Be with You, my God
|2x|

Chorus
Instrumental
Chorus
Chorus 2
Bridge

Writer(s): Joel Houston, Aodhan King, Dylan Thomas
Theme(s): Call to Worship , Commitment & Dedication , Faith & Trust , Peace & Hope
CCLI #: 4869957
Scripture Reference(s): John 4:14; Psalm 27:4

Discussion

Let’s begin with its Scripture Reference(s):

John 4:14 (ESV) but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Clearly this single verse isn’t the complete thought. However, this passage wasn’t torn out of its context for this song. The passage is referenced in a manner consistent with its context… though I really wish they’d reference the full passage. The point of the first verse of this song is an attempt to place the singer in the shoes of the adulterous Samaritan woman at the well. Let’s read it in its context.

John 4:1-42 (ESV) | Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Such a powerful story. Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Christ, to the Samaritans. But what is the water that flows from Jesus and becomes a spring of water in us unto eternal life? The Gospel of Jesus Christ, of forgiveness, of the waters of Baptism, of the resurrection and the Life in Christ Jesus. Does this song faithfully convey this? No… true to Hillsong teaching, it’s switched from the Gospel to some emotional worship experience that comes as a result of “making Jesus your One Thing”. What does that even mean? We’ll get to that, but for now lets move on to the other referenced passage.

Psalm 27:4 (ESV)
4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.

This passage is used to explain the rest of the song. This one isn’t kept as contextually based as the other. The Seeker-driven approach to corporate worship connects exuberance and excitement to attend a Hillsong concert, or “worship experience” to dwelling in the house of the Lord and inquiring in his temple. They don’t focus on preaching the Word of the Lord, Law and Gospel. They are selling the exuberance, the emotion, the passion of the moment. Hillsong preaches the prosperity false-gospel, so they didn’t include the rest of the Psalm that demonstrates hardship and hard times. No, they pulled verse 4 to turn it into a formula that the song is presenting… If I make Jesus my One Thing, then I’ll have everything I need and nothing else will matter. The problem with this formula is the “if I make Jesus my One Thing”. No one is capable of making Jesus their one thing… for we are all sinners. We sin. This is LAW (do this to be righteous). The Samaritan at the well was familiar with the LAW… it wasn’t the LAW that forgave her, it was the Gospel. In this Psalm, David has asked for permission to dwell in the house of the Lord… and committed himself to seeking Him in His House. But he asked, because the LORD gives by His Grace and Mercy… it cannot be granted us by our merit, for we don’t merit anything and our vows are worthless. Only in Christ are granted access to God, adopted as sons through Him.

Verses. These verses are quite pious in their claims at rejecting earthly living. Notice there isn’t a mention of sin, guilt, shame, or repentance… there’s just a sense of “well, I’ve tried the world and am left empty and wanting more… I’m not satisfied”. This is the problem that Prosperity doctrine tries to remedy… not sin and the Wrath of God, but mediocrity, blandness, unfulfilled living. I don’t like throwing out the “pelagian” card, but that philosophy is here… as if to say that we are somewhat neutral at our core, but we’ve been looking to the wrong places for fulfillment… when what we should be doing is ignoring everything but Jesus so we can finally be fulfilled.  That’s not preaching neither God’s Law nor His Gospel… it’s scratching itching ears and teaching for shameful gain what ought not be taught.

Choruses. Here’s the wooing of “girlfriend Jesus”… where impossible promises are made to secure an intimate experience. No one else matters to me, hun, you’re the only one I see… No one holds a candle to your radiant sunshine… or more directly, Nothing else matters to me than to make you my One Thing right now, in this moment, in this place.

Conclusion

So, the point of this song is to make a promise to Jesus that “you’ll make Him your One Thing” so that He’ll give you an emotional/spiritual experience in this moment… so you can feel Him… and then nothing else in the world will matter. So… what happens if you don’t feel Him? Well, just walk through the song to see that clearly you haven’t made Him your One Thing. You need to give sacrificially of your time or money… you need to do more… let go of more… until YOU’VE made Him your One Thing. Anything less than that is failure, worldliness, mediocrity. Law, law, law…. law. Who benefits from this? Hillsong. Who suffers? the congregant who recognizes his/her own sin and crushed by the LAW but isn’t preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of sin.

This song is abusive in its theology, and teens are particularly susceptible, given their fixation on the “here and now” and “emotional intelligence”. But they are not the only susceptible group… millions of people worldwide are held captive under this false doctrine of “experience” and law-heavy, man-centric piety.

Jesus is the well of Life… and you don’t even get to draw the bucket. He washes you, regenerates you, and Saves you. You contribute nothing but the sin that needs to be forgiven.

Jude 24-25 (ESV) | Doxology

24 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, 25 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

Friday Sermon | “Sermon Cage Fight” via Fighting for the Faith

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Today, we are going to be listening to an episode of Fighting for the Faith with Pr Chris Rosebrough. In previous Friday Sermon posts referencing Fighting for the Faith we’ve tried to focus in on just an hour or so of the show. This show, however, is important to listen to in full, so the goal here is to encourage you to work through the full episode from Thursday, January 21, 2016. *This is a re-broadcast of an older episode.

• Five Illegal Uses of the Law
• Email
• Ed Young’s Rap Song UBU
• The Drukerites are VERY Cult like because in their thinking, there is no such thing as a valid or godly critic
• Sermon Cage Fight: Rev. William Cwirla, Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church VS. Dan Southerland, Purpose-Driven Church Transitioner & Practitioner

One Cult-Like Quality of the Druckerites

Source: http://www.piratechristian.com/fightingforthefaith/2010/02/24/one-cultlike-quality-of-the-druckerites

 

I pray this episode of F4F is helpful to you. Be blessed this weekend, do not forsake the gathering of the saints, and we hope to see you again next Monday here at Faithful Stewardship.

Romans 16:25-27 (ESV) | Doxology

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “It Is Well With My Soul” by Matt Redman

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Presentation1Evangelical Worship Edition

January 21, 2016. In this edition we are going to be taking a look at the next song on the top new song list for 2015 found at Worship Together. Today’s song is “It Is Well With My Soul” by Matt Redman.

So, when you read that title, you may have thought (as I did), “cool, Matt Redman redid the beloved Hymn by Horatio Spafford. Well, no, Matt didn’t. He just used the refrain from the song.

MattRedman VEVO Live/Lyric Video

 

Lyrics (via Worship Together)

Verse 1:
Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives,
And Father how you brought us through
When deep were the wounds and dark was the night
The promise of Your love You proved.
Now every battle still to come
Let this be our song
Chorus:
It is well, it is well
With my soul, with my soul
It is well, it is well
with my soul
Verse 2:
Weeping may come, remain for a night
But joy will paint the morning sky
You’re there in the fast, You’re there in the feast
Your faithfulness will always shine
Now every blessing* still to come
Let this be our song
Chorus
Bridge:
You lead us through battles, (You lead us through battles)
You lead us to blessing, (You lead us to blessing)
And You make us fruitful, (And You make us fruitful)
In the land of our suffering God
It is well, it is well
with my soul!
Chorus

Writer(s): Matt Redman, Beth Redman
Theme(s): Commitment & Dedication , Faith & Trust , Peace & Hope
Ministry(s): ThankYou Music
CCLI #: 7000696
Scripture Reference(s): Psalm 62:5

*I changed “battle” to “blessing” here to match the VEVO Live audio in the clip above.

Discussion

The best thing this song has going for it is that it causes those who know the hymn to think on it rather than these 2 verses. However, if you are unfamiliar with that great hymn… this song doesn’t do much to back-fill the theology. Before we get into that, let’s look at the single-verse proof text cited for this song.

Psalm 62:5 (ESV) For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.

Verse 1. Our scars are a sign of grace in our lives. Perhaps in the most general sense of “you lived through it”, this stands as a valid statement. That you are still breathing is a sign of God’s Grace to you, yes. For believers, it means that God has not yet decided to call you home, so you’ll be relying on His Grace to hold you steadfast a while longer. But our scars also are a sign of sin. A very real and present sign of the sin, death, and the curse. So our scars, on their own, don’t point us to Christ and the Grace of God. The next three lines allude to the cross, but don’t clearly point to it. So we have a verse that mixes two metaphors poorly, one of our scars and another of Christ’s deep wounds and a promise of God’s love. Christ didn’t give His life on the cross for your circumstances, your trials, or your hard times. He gave His life on the cross for your Forgiveness and Reconciliation to God the Father. The original hymn took 2 verses to get to the Gospel of the cross. Our modern-day approach to worship songs tries to condense everything into quaint, simple songs of 2 verses, a chorus, and a bridge/outro that can be repeated ad nauseam. Matt’s song makes an attempt at reflecting upon our own scars, then remembering the cross as God’s grace bringing us through the darkest night in the history of mankind as encouragement that He’ll bring us through all the battles to come… and we’ll do so by singing the refrain, “it is well with my soul”. As a story arc, I’m okay with that to a degree, but it’s not stated plainly enough. There are lots of other ways to interpret the artistically vague lines in the verse. It starts by looking at our own scars, poetically alludes to the cross, then launches into the refrain, as if the point is to get the listener to “align their faith with God’s promises for their lives” or “accept that God is in control”. These are law-heavy themes prevalent in Word of Faith (WoF) and Prosperity teaching where the promises of God have to be proclaimed, declared, and decreed with as much faith as you can muster, otherwise they might be blocked by your own unbelief, negative self-talk, complaining, or law-breaking (not tithing, unrepentant sin, etc). I say all of this to point out that whenever the lyric is vague, the doctrine/theology of the venue determines the meaning of the song.

Chorus. The chorus is the refrain from the old hymn. In the original hymn, it takes 6 verses to lay out the theology that enables the singer/hearer to confess trusting in the LORD despite his circumstances. In spite of trials and struggles, the author is proclaiming the Gospel and confessing that by faith, it is well with his soul. Matt Redman hasn’t built up to that just yet, and with only one more verse and a bridge to go, it’s not looking great. Again, those of us familiar with the hymn are ahead of the curve for rightly understanding what is behind the refrain. The refrain is both a confession and a watermark or goal much like “be anxious for nothing…” (Phil 4:6). It’s not a law to be kept, for it’s not something you can do to keep it… it is Gospel, good news, something that is only made available to you by faith in Christ Jesus. When our eyes turn to our circumstances or to our own strength, we fail… we become anxious… we become troubled… we sin in looking away from our Savior. Repentance is available for that, and His Grace will carry us through and restore us every time we cry out to Him. Don’t let this refrain become a burden or a rebuke for feeling sorrow. Don’t let become an empty statement, either. Let it be a prayer and a confession of faith in Christ Jesus.

Verse 2. I don’t like the first two lines as presented in this song. They do come from Psalm 30, but the lines fit a more metaphorical sense… as in seasons rather than literal night and day reversals of circumstances. That is the sort of thing that can happen when you only grab the second half of the verse.

Psalm 30:5 (ESV)
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

You see, the Psalmist sets up the idea by contrasting the momentary Anger of the LORD against His Favor for a lifetime. When we endure punishment for our wrong doing, we who are of Faith repent and are forgiven by His Grace to spend an eternity with Him. So the night/morning is much bigger than getting over “having a bad day”. The song doesn’t do a good job of setting that in motion here. I suppose if the hearer were familiar with Psalm 30, then perhaps there’s no harm done. But having grown up in WoF churches… this passage is used to bolster many a “decree / declare” victory speech. The rest of the verse isn’t bad, I don’t feel like picking it apart. But we’ve finished the second verse without a clear Gospel. We have an empty promise setup by the Ps 30:5b being presented as a Promise from God that “things will be better in the morning”. They might not… not temporally, anyway… and that might be all in God’s Will… for His Glory and your benefit, even if you can’t see it. The cancer may kill, the surgery might fail, the ship may sink (as it did in 1873). The Gospel is our hope, and it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ which grants us the faith needed to confess, It is well with my soul.

Bridge. Typical of Redman, Passion, Hillsong, … we get a victorious overcomer pep-rally cheer in the bridge. This is the part you repeat… and repeat… throw in a chorus… then repeat…. because this is the Positive Atmosphere or purpose-driven dream destiny thingy.

Let’s take a better look at Psalm 62.

Psalm 62 (ESV) | My Soul Waits for God Alone
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
set no vain hopes on robbery;
 if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
11 Once God has spoken;
twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
according to his work.

Did Matt Redman capture the theology of the Psalm in this song? I don’t think so. I wish he had, though… it’s a wonderful Psalm.

Conclusion

The music portion of song is fine… upbeat tempo, modern instrumentation, easily sung by a group of people. But lyrically, its a bit of a flop. I don’t know why we’ve abandoned writing 4-6 verses to a song to fully express theology. It’s not for brevity’s sake since we’ve also included Intros, Instrumentals, and repeated Bridges. The original hymn needed 6 verses to explain the refrain. We need to get back to writing songs that clearly express doctrine/theology rather than the current model of “artistically vague” just to broaden the marketing pool for increased revenue. Theologically rich worship songs aren’t going to be bought up by those who no longer endure sound doctrine, and we need to be okay with that.

Jude 24-25 (ESV) | Doxology

24 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, 25 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

Gospel Wednesday | Mark 3

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GWWelcome back as we continue working through the Gospel According to Mark. Last week we covered Mark 2, where we saw Jesus declare Himself Lord of the Sabbath and demonstrated His authority to forgive sin.

Today, we’ll resume reading, beginning in Chapter 3 of the Gospel According to Mark.

Mark 3:1-6 (ESV) | A Man with a Withered Hand

3 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand.2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

The Pharisees had a false understanding of the Sabbath. We saw Jesus confront them last week in Mark chapter 2. Here, knowing that the Pharisees will object to healing on the Sabbath, Jesus challenges their false doctrine with a question of the Law. Notice that Jesus leaves no middle ground in His question… Healing the man would be to do good while not doing so would be to do harm. Let’s think about the false teaching of the Pharisees for a moment. They enjoyed the places of honor, best seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the market place (Luke 11:37-54)… yet they did nothing for the sick, the hurting, or the poor that didn’t reflect well on them. Their limitations on the Sabbath weren’t to Honor God, they were to make much of themselves and excuse their unwillingness to shepherd the flock of Israel. They were waiting for Jesus to miraculously heal a man, so that they might accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath. Given Mark’s brevity in most of his writing, it is refreshing to see him record that Jesus was angry and grieved at the hardness of hearts of the Pharisees. Angry. Our Lord Jesus Christ was angry at the false teachers and grieved by the hardness of their hearts. He is still angry and grieved by false teachers.

Mark 3:7-12 (ESV) | A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The crowds pressed in on Him, seeking temporal healing and release from evil spirits. It has always made me curious that the unclean spirits would react in such a way and that Jesus would order them to be silent. Jesus didn’t come to eradicate temporal disease and sickness from a cursed and dying world, He came to make a way of Salvation for man, to heal them of their eternal separation from the Living God.

Mark 3:13-21 (ESV) | The Twelve Apostles

13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

The appointment of the twelve Apostles was so that they might be with Him and He might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. Notice the focus of what He would send the Apostles to do was to Preach. Yes, they’d have authority to cast out demons. They were being sent out to Preach.

Mark 3:22-30 (ESV) | Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

It is the Holy Spirit that convicts us of our sin and grants repentance to sinners. Blaspheming the very Spirit that grants repentance and faith leaves the blasphemer condemned in his unbelief, cut off from the only Way of forgiveness, of reconciliation with God the Father, through the finished work of God the Son.

Mark 3 (ESV) | Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Jesus is not breaking the fourth commandment, He is not dishonoring His mother here. His mother and brothers are in the wrong for they were staging an intervention of sorts. Look back up to verse 21.

Conclusion

Next week, we’ll continue working through the Gospel According to Mark, starting in chapter 4. Until then, we will continue our expanded Discernment in Music work. It is our sincere prayer that you will devote some time to reading and studying God’s word, and researching your church’s confessions and doctrine. Know what you believe and why you believe it… where it is taught in Scripture. The Pharisees were completely wrong about the Sabbath… and they were the ones charged to serve Israel as stewards of the Law.

Romans 16:25-27 (ESV) | Doxology

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Amen, Indeed.
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

DiM | “Your Words (feat. Harvest)” by Third Day

Faithful Stewardship 2 Comments

Presentation1CCM Radio Edition.

January 19, 2016. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Your Words (feat. Harvest)” by Third Day which currently sits at #13 on 20thCountdownMagazine‘s top 20 chart.

I find myself somewhat disappointed with this song, though it isn’t a bad song. When I saw the title of the song and that the song was from a “worship” album, I hoped for more meat in the lyric. I appreciate the general call to listen to the Words of God, but find the lack of definition or even application to be a disappointment. The value of this song hinges upon the understanding of what it means to “listen to and speak God’s Words”. The song doesn’t point to God’s Written Word. I have a problem with that.

Third Day Lyric Video

 

Lyrics (via KLove)

Your Words

Above all other voices
Above all the distractions in this world

Let me hear Your words
Above all other voices
Above all the distractions in this world

For Your words bring life
And Your voice speaks promises Lord,
Your love offers more
Than anything else in this world

Your words give us life that’s never ending
Your words bring us love that never fails
Everything else will fade away
But what will remain
Are Your words

Let us speak Your words
More than ours, more than ever
Let us share Your love with all the world

The grass will wither and the flowers will fall
But the word of our God will last forever
The grass will wither and the flowers will fall
But the word of our God will last forever

Publishing: © 2015 DATAMAMA Music (ASCAP)
(admin. by Essential Music Publishing LLC)
Writer(s): Mac Powell, Tai Anderson, Mark Lee, David Carr

Discussion

Okay, so if we come into this song with the clear understanding that “Your Word” is pointing directly at the Written Word of God, given to us by God the Holy Spirit, then the song is not bad. The song points us to reading and studying God’s Written Word, it might even encourage Pastors that the reason we come to church isn’t to hear his creative speeches or anecdotes; rather, we come to hear God’s Word faithfully preached. That is how we hear God’s Words, when they are being preached or read aloud. But that understanding of Your Words has to be imported into the song.

The song becomes instantly problematic once the listener is under the impression that God is speaking fresh words that we are somehow supposed to figure out how to dial into to hear them, or worse, that we need to seek out prophets and apostles to tell us what the Lord is saying for us today. The Bible doesn’t promise us we will hear direct revelations from God in any sort of audible voice, still small voice or thunderous booming from a mountain top. That is simply not what the Bible teaches. There are no more apostles, that office is closed, the foundation of the Church has already been laid with Christ as its cornerstone, and we have the testimony of the Apostles recorded for us in Scripture. God-breathed Scripture. Any so-called fresh word from God must be taken to Scripture to see if it is indeed from God the Holy Spirit… and if it is, then it would be good and it pointed us back to Scripture which is where Christ has revealed Himself to us anyway.

What I find most frustrating, is that this song, written for a worship album, squanders an opportunity to actually preach the Word of God. I mean, we’ve already pointed out that it doesn’t point to the Written Word of God, but why not connect what Scripture says about Jesus Christ being the Word made flesh?

John 1:1-18 (ESV) | The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

There’s plenty of scripture to connected these doctrinal points, such that singing this song might do more than simply extol the virtues of hearing and speaking God’s Word.

Hebrews 1:1-4 (ESV) | The Supremacy of God’s Son

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Singing this song, encouraging ourselves and others to desire to hear and speak God’s Words is much like singing a song that uses the word “Gospel” a lot in it without actually sharing the Good News of the Gospel. There is so little scripture in this song, just a vague praise of the Goodness of God’s Words.

Conclusion

We need God’s Word in our hearts, in our minds, and without hearing the Words of Christ there is no hope of saving faith, for faith comes by hearing the Words of Christ. Saying the word “gospel” isn’t the same thing as actually sharing the Gospel, and singing a song that says we should long for God’s Words and how important it is to have God’s Words doesn’t actually accomplish the goal of hearing God’s Word or Preaching it. I think this song was a huge missed opportunity, lyrically. Point the listener to the Written word, or the Preached Word, but don’t leave such open space in the lyric for false teachers, false prophets, and false apostles to step in and supplant the Word of God for their own dreams, imaginations, and machinations.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (ESV) | Preach the Word

4 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

In Christ Jesus,
Jorge