Welcome to our second “Week in Review” Podcast. With this podcast, we hope to provide a summary of our CTT, DiM, Gospel Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Sermon posts; however, it won’t be a mere reading of our posts. We will share some background information, commentary, post-publishing insights, and perhaps even answer some email. We are still working through some technical limitations (and a healthy level of user error) in the audio quality in today’s podcast. We ask for your patience, particularly in the music captures.
For today’s good sermon, we’ll be visiting Grace Life Church’s online ministry the Grace Life Pulpit. Our sermon for today is delivered by Phil Johnson and was preached on Sunday, August 2, 2015. This is an excellent sermon, one that was brought to my attention by Chris Rosebrough of Fighting for the Faith.
If you’d rather just listen to this sermon click the below:
The sermon text is John 10:7-10.
John 10:1-21 (ESV) | I Am the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”6 This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.
7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them andscatters them.13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words.20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?”21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Let me begin by first acknowledging just how powerful and mesmerizing Lauren’s voice… particularly in the chorus of this song. To make the jump from the verse to the high note of “First” in the chorus is difficult, and she absolutely nails it. I get chills during the chorus, her voice is that awesome. I am also a fan of the break-beat techno feel. But we are here to discuss the lyrics. The song is vague, and the best construction we can put on it is a song of expressing a desire to feel a certain way about (we assume) God. Let’s listen to the song, read through the lyrics, and discuss.
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
Before I lift my cares
I will lift my arms
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I bring my need
I will bring my heart
And seek You
(chorus)
First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
Before I speak a word
Let me hear Your voice
And in the midst of pain
Let me feel Your joy
I wanna know You
I wanna find You
In every season
In every moment
Before I speak a word
I will bring my heart
And seek You
(chorus)
First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
(bridge)
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
You are my treasure and my reward
Let nothing ever come before
I seek You
(chorus)
First
First
I want to seek You
I want to seek You
First
I want to keep You
I want to keep You
First
More than anything I want, I want You
First
First
The song does not clearly identify who the “You” is. Sure, most would assume the God of the Bible, but why do we make that assumption? Because of the station that is playing the song, or because of what we think we know about Lauren Delaigle… but there is nothing in this song pointing there. In truth, there isn’t anything in this song that would distinguish between the Mormon god and the God of the Bible.
Even when we assume the audience of the song to be the One True God of the Bible, the focus of the lyric is not the audience; rather, the focus is on the singer. The entire song is a chain of vocalized desire. The desire is to want/seek the right things, namely to keep God (assumed) first in the singer’s life. It is a desire to keep the Law.
Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV)
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”37 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.38 This is the great and first commandment.39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Now, the song’s hook comes more from a different passage of scripture.
Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV) | Do Not Be Anxious
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
This is the Law of God, seek Him first. As sinful, fleshly beings, we cannot in our own strength/zeal fulfill or keep this Law. It is by Grace through Faith that we are justified in Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:10-20 (ESV)
10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
We sin, we fall short, even as believers. The unbelieving world is lost and bears the guilt of their sin fully. We pray that they might hear the Word of Christ and have their ears opened by the Holy Spirit so that they might come to penitent faith in Christ. For those who believe, we understand that while we desire to keep the Law, we must daily seek forgiveness for falling short of it.
Luke 9:18-23 (ESV)
18 Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”19 And they answered,“John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.”20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one,22 saying,“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” 23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
Romans 6:1-11 (ESV) | Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
1 John 1:5-10 (ESV) | Walking in the Light
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Amen. Now we have clearly explored the Law of seeking God first, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that grants us forgiveness and Grace to walk in newness of life. Within this context, the song can serve as a motivational cheerleader of sorts… kind of like “B-E Aggressive” motivates football players on the field.
Conclusion
The song is vague and doesn’t remotely stand on its own. It doesn’t bring Glory to God, it’s a bit pious and empty without infusing a lot of Biblical context. I hope we’ve been able to provide some for the listener. In its best light, the song is an appeal to Law… don’t lose sight of the Gospel.
Romans 15:13 (ESV) 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Welcome to our second “Week in Review” Podcast. With this podcast, we hope to provide a summary of our CTT, DiM, Gospel Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Sermon posts; however, it won’t be a mere reading of our posts. We will share some background information, commentary, post-publishing insights, and perhaps even answer some email. We are still working through some technical limitations (and a healthy level of user error) in the audio quality in today’s podcast. We ask for your patience, particularly in the music captures.
Today is another “Discernment in Music” (DiM) day here at Faithful Stewardship (2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (ESV)).
August 20, 2015. Today we’ll be taking a look at “Forever” by Kari Jobe which currently sits at #7 on the KLove top 10.
This is another cross-over song written for corporate worship that is very popular on Christian radio. This song does not call the hearer to repentance, but it is a song of declaration of a crucified and risen King, Jesus Christ. Overall, this song has some good stuff. It is full of emotional power, my eyes well up with tears each time I hear the song played… and since I keep the song on repeat as I work through these DiM posts… you may assume that my face is streaked with tears. I’m okay with that. Oh, how I wish there was a call to repent and be forgiven in Jesus’ Name. Without the call to repent and be forgiven… the theology behind the songwriters reflects Bethel’s Kingdom theology… which is to be avoided. Bethel teaches heretical Christology. Here, we will redirect whatever false theology lay behind the intent of the song, and re-frame it in Biblical theology. Jesus Christ overcame sin and death, so that we might repent of our sin and be forgiven in Jesus’ Name, for He bore the wrath of punishment for our sin upon the cross, and by faith in Him we might be granted the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us by an act of God’s Grace.
The moon and stars they wept
The morning sun was dead
The Savior of the world was fallen
His body on the cross
His blood poured out for us
The weight of every curse was broken
One final breath He gave
As Heaven looked away
The Son of God was laid in darkness
A battle in the grave
The war on death was waged
The power of hell forever broken
The ground began to shake
The stone was rolled away
His perfect love could not be overcome
Now death where is your sting
Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated
Forever, He is glorified
Forever, He is lifted high
Forever, He is risen
He is alive
He is alive
The first verse declares the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Luke 23:39-47 (ESV) | The Death of Jesus
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” 44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
Amen. But Jesus was not left in the grave.
Luke 24:1-7 (ESV) | The Resurrection
24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb,taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
The second verse of the song portrays Matthew’s account of the resurrection.
Matthew 28:1-7 (ESV) | The Resurrection
28 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
Now, onto what is missing from the song… why did Jesus come, live, die, and rise again from the grave? For that, let us go to Peter’s sermon in Acts 2.
Acts 2:22-41 (ESV)
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,
“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Now, I do have some minor concerns with some of the wording in parts of the song. The third line in the song describes the Savior as fallen, and we generally associate the word fallen with sinful. That is not what is being conveyed here. The picture here is one of a fallen soldier, one who has died on the battle field. Christ died and in that death He secured Victory for all eternity. This doesn’t detract from the song, but I worry that someone might wrongly use this as a disqualifier for the song, so I wanted to address it openly.
There is a portion in the second verse that asserts that Christ fought a battle in the grave. Bethel teaches some crazy mysticism and heretical Christology, so there is probably a lot of bad teaching driving this, but as I read the scriptures, the battle was won on the cross, when our Lord and Savior declared It is finished. The Resurrection is further proof of Who He Is, and awaits all of those whose names are Written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. One final point is that of death. The all will still taste the first death, and then the judgment. We who are in Christ will not taste the second death, which is reserved for the demons and the unbelievers.
Conclusion
For the most part, what is present in the song is very good. The song is incomplete as far as the Gospel goes. The context of the song as written is dubious, given its connection to Bethel. If your church is performing this song, I pray the Doctrine preached in your church is sound and sharply contrasted against Bethel’s false teaching.
Romans 15:13 (ESV) 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Welcome to our second “Week in Review” Podcast. With this podcast, we hope to provide a summary of our CTT, DiM, Gospel Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday Sermon posts; however, it won’t be a mere reading of our posts. We will share some background information, commentary, post-publishing insights, and perhaps even answer some email. We are still working through some technical limitations (and a healthy level of user error) in the audio quality in today’s podcast. We ask for your patience, particularly in the music captures.
Faithful Stewardship 
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