Song #6

#6 on the year end top ten is by Meredith Andrews
"The Gospel Changes Everything."

The first time I heard this song (track #10 on her new cd) was shortly after the Vertical Church Book tour event in Columbus.  I sent it immediately to Shawn with these words - "This week is communion and this song is a must during the passing of the elements."  It makes the list at #6 only because we haven't been to faithful at singing it more regularly.  For content alone - it should be #1 or at least #2 behind David Crowders "Sequence #4". (by far my two favorite songs of 2012-13)

Here are the lyrics - sing along as you watch the video:

The gospel changes everything; The turning point in history
Even now it's changing me - From who I was - (think about that - who I was - Praise God for the Gospel!)

The story of my Savior calls- Me to the wonder of the cross
The gospel changes everything And it is changing me

You saved my soul By Your blood
And I'm undone By Your great love
You made a way So I could come
Just as I am To You my God

Jesus changes everything There is no greater mystery
That God would come to rescue me From who I was

The kindness of my Savior calls Me to the wonder of His love
Jesus changes everything And He is changing me

You saved my soul By Your blood
And I'm undone By Your great love
You made a way So I could come
Just as I am To You my God
[x2]

#8 - God, You are my God!
Surprise NO TIE.  Josh McManaway first shared with me the Joshua Sellers CD.  Joshua Sellers is a worship leader at Harvest in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.  Joshua Sellers wrote this song with many of his Harvest Bible Chapel worship directors here in America, including Rory Nolan. Both his recording and Meredith Andrews recording just bring my heart to a full on race. God, you are my God, your glorious, victorious!  Here's the words:

no praise can define You, no thought can contain You God.
no other one is Holy, no other one is robed in righteousness.
God You are my God, glorious, glorious,

no light can outshine You, no power can defeat You God. no other one is Holy,
no other one is high and lifted up.
God You are my God, glorious, glorious, God You are my God, victorious, victorious.

from the dawn of time You reign, to the end of days, You're the God who saves. sing,
all the earth will shout Your praise. You will never change. You're the God who saves, sing.
God You are my God, glorious, glorious, God You are my God, victorious, victorious.

Ethan the Ezrahite wrote something very similar in Psalm 89:
8 O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you. 9 You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them. (Pastor Nate says - that's awesome)10 You crushed Rahab like one of the slain; with your strong arm you scattered your enemies. 11 The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. 12 You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name. 13 Your arm is endued with power; your hand is strong, your right hand exalted. 14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you. 15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD. 16 They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. 17 For you are their glory and strength, and by your favor you exalt our horn. 18 Indeed, our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.

#9 in our year one top ten:
ANOTHER TIE! 
9a - We're United!  Who could forget the live recording at Harvest University!  2500 brothers and sisters in Christ, from all over the world, screaming out "we're united…"  Early on we sang this song about every other week.  Rightly so, it's a great anthem for unity and purpose.  Here are some of the lyrics:
"How good it is to gather at Your throne
Father you have called us as Your own
Bind our hearts together now in love
Be glorified in us
Spirit stir our hearts in unity
Standing in the presence of the King
Lifting up Your Word as one we sing
Be glorified in us; Be glorified in us

Bound as one, standing strong
there is nothing that can over come
for the fame of your Son
WERE UNITED!"

9b - JAILBREAK!  not a great title for a worship song, but what great lyrics.  And for our church, instrumentally this is a great fit as well.
"Go on and speak against my borrowed innocence;
The JUDGE is my defense - I'm going free
Right when the gavel fell, I heard the freedom bell
ring through the gates of Hell - I'm going free, I'm going free

Glory, glory, Hallelujah, you threw my shackels in the sea
Glory, glory, Hallelujah, Jesus is my victory - Im going free,

some day I'll fly away on your amazing grace
Your love is my jailbreak I'm going free"
'
(LOVE IT!)

#10 - It's a tie!
10a - Beautiful Things by Gungor. 
I have to go back to April pre-launch in our basement and Mike Bergerson showing me the cords to the chorus/bridge.  First time I played it in Drop D!  I remember the whole basement core team singing it and really looking at the words -

"All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You (those are some great lyrics)

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us"

10b is my wife's favorite song - Whom Shall I Fear [God of Angel Armies] by Chris Tomlin.  My wife isn't one to suggest much when it comes to worship songs.  I do remember the day she just couldn't get that song out of her head.  She watched the video maybe a dozen times.  What a great truth - "whom shall I fear?"  Be blessed by these lyrics/they are amazing! - This is our God! Worship Him!

"You hear me when I call; You are my morning song
Though darkness fills the night; It cannot hide the light
          Whom shall I fear?
You crush the enemy; Underneath my feet
You are my sword and shield; Though troubles linger still
           Whom shall I fear?

I know who goes before me; I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies Is always by my side
The one who reigns forever He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies Is always by my side..."

2 John - Part 2

1A] God’s People are Filled Up with Truth!  We learned Truth is important, and God is truth!  Now onto part 2 - notice from the text…

2A] God’s People ENCOURAGE others with LOVE. (vv.4-5)  Notice from the text:  “I rejoice greatly to find some of your children walking  in the truth just as we were commanded by the Father…”  Stop there - Question - Do you know one of the exciting things about seeing you all each week?  Every Sunday I am so blessed as I think about each of you and how you are growing and how I watch you worship Jesus, (the real reason we are here).  I get so pumped up about what God is doing in you, through the truth.  That what John is saying here - When I hear about you and your children, Your Church and its people - I am fired up!  And like John, I love to hear what God is doing in and through you; to see you praying with others and to watch victory in the truth come out of your lives! Keep pressing on in your walk with Christ!

            Then he continues: “And now I ask you, dear lady - not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning - that we LOVE on another…” Love!  The Love from God that we have for each other - it is what encourages and blesses us as well as others.  I tweeted this week, “Love has always been the single outstanding Characteristic of Jesus and his followers.”  (John 13:35 - “This is how they will know that you are my disciples, if you LOVE one another.”)  So let me ask you - Do you know what Christian Love is?  Is it feelings? Is it emotions?  Well it can be, but I think it is bigger than that…look here, don’t miss this…Christian Love is the act of the will that causes us to treat people the way God has treated you. Whoa - DOESN’T that blow your mind - Mind blown!        Now, for a moment, think about God’s love. If it were emotionally based we wouldn’t have a chance. We would have all been destroyed long ago.  He would have been like Zeus, or Buddha - unknowable, distant and withdrawn.  If it were based on feelings, we would have never known him in our sinful state. But God’s love came to us and drew us to himself and freely gave of himself at Calvary.  Again - Mind blown.  Now John reminds them - this isn’t a new command, but one you should know.  This isn’t based on looks, or feelings, or even emotion, but this is an act of your will.  LISTEN - We may not feel like we should love a person, but we must.  We can’t will our affections - (feelings and emotions) but we can will our attitudes and actions.  HOW NATE? Here is this example - if you want to be rude - try being kind.  Or, if you want to persecute them, yell at them, argue with them, or poke fun at them - pray for them and do good to them.  This is what Paul says in Romans 12.

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

            Did you see how we are to respond in Love?  Have genuine love (v.9); Have love that is outdoing one another (v.10); Bless those who persecute you (v.14); Live at peace with all men (v. 18); and Love doesn’t act on emotion, but does just the opposite.  See it, “If your enemy is hungry/thirsty give him something to eat or drink”  WHO DOES THAT - People of the Truth, God’s people!

            Now, think about it - won’t that just blow someone away.  You may not be emotionally attached, but I can say without a doubt, you will feel better and they will be floored. 

Illustration: Let me finish with this story? I love the discipleship process.  Seeing someone who has just come to Jesus and seeing the lights come on.  Several years ago I had the privilege to work one on one with a young man.  We spent many months growing him in the faith. I bought many lunches, and ordered many pizzas as we worked through issues in his life.  Now our family was moving away.  I thought I could trust him to watch a few things of mine, important things.  I know you can see what is coming, so I’ll just say it - it didn’t end well.  On a return visit to my old stomping grounds and after months of silence, who do you think showed up?  Yes there was a lot of hurt there, but what are you suppose to do?  We are commanded to Love one another.  So I did what Romans 12 said - I grabbed 3 slices of pizza and a root beer and headed in.  Did it fix the issue? NO.  Did he admit the wrong?  NO.  Was anything resolved about the hurt that was dealt? NO!  So, what was the result?  OK, as a Christian - one of God’s people - I have to love one another - and I have to tell you, to get down and dirty and involved in the process makes me feel better.  Also, to those teenage eyes that were watching me - I showed them what love is supposed to do, even when it hurts.  And finally, I have left the door open for a time when we can address the issue. 

God’s people - They are people that show other people LOVE!

2 John Part 1

First - I will confess my complete failure to upkeep my blog spot.  Hopefully you will find it in your blog readers heart to forgive me.  Thank you! Now with that being said, I want to update my blog with my notes from Sunday's Message on 2 John.  This is a great book that we need to pay attention to.  I hope to update every other day with another point for you to be re-learning.  I Love You HBC Cambridge - lets grow in this together - Enjoy!

From My notes - Greatest Scripture Never Told - 2 John 

Introduction

• History of the Book - Written by John to a church or personally to a lady, or to both.  John is the last apostle alive  He has been in prison once already; Rome had tried to burn him, but the fire wouldn’t go, so they tried to poison him but it didn’t work.  They banished John to an Island called Patmos, but now he his back.   
• The Reason - John is passionate about the Lord Jesus, about his people, (pastor of the church in Ephesus) and about the truth about his friend and savior, Jesus Christ.  He now writes what we would call a letter, or better yet, a post card to 1) uplift, and encourage the readers; 2) to instruct them and 3) to warn them of the potential dangers that may come their way - 

1A] God’s people are FILLED UP with truth. (vv. 1-3)

Notice from the text:  “The elder (John) to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:  Grace, mercy and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, IN TRUTH and love…” Did you see it there? There was a key word said 4x’s - what was it - TRUTH! Right. Now key in v.2 “because of the Truth that ABIDES in us and will be forever…”  Abide = TO REMIAN, to PERSIST in.  WOW, That sounds awesome, but one question -What is Truth?

Truth in this case equals “reality” or “ultimate reality”; “it’s the basis of all we see, feel and know…”  In the scriptures it’s further described as:  Jesus - John 14:6, “I am the Way, the TRUTH and the LIFE.”  What is reality here - Jesus.  John 17:7 - God’s word is called Truth.  “Sanctify them in the Truth, your word is Truth…” John 14:17. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. “I will ask my Father to give you the Spirit of Truth…” who will help us know what is the truth. “…He will guide you into all truth…” John 16:13

John MacArthur, in his commentary on 2 John said this, and I quote:

"The Bible, the Word of Truth, (Ps. 119:160; John 17:17; 2 Cor. 6:7; 2 Tim. 2:15; James 1:18), majors on the theme of truth. God is the "God of truth (2 Sam. 7:28; Num. 23:19; Titus 1:2), who abounds in truth (Exodus 34:6) and always speaks the truth (John 8:45-46).  Christ is the truth (Jn. 14:6; Eph. 4:21), is full of truth (Jn. 1:14), revealed the truth (Jn 1:17), spoke the truth (Jn. 8:45-46), and testified to the truth (Jn. 18:37).  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1Jn. 5:6).  God's TRUTH is eternal (Ps. 117:2), infinite (Ps. 57:10; 86:15; 108:4 and saving (Ps. 69:13).  Salvation comes from faith in the truth (2 Thes. 2:13); beleivers are sanctified by the truth (Jn. 17:17); love the truth (2 Thess. 2:10); are set free by the truth (Jn. 8:32); worship in the truth (John 4:23-24); rejoice in the truth (1 Cor. 13:6); speak the truth (Eph. 4:15, 25); meditate on the truth; manifest the truth; obey the truth; are guided by the truth and most comprehensively, walk in the truth (1 Kings 2:4; 3:6; 2 Kins 20:3; Pss 26:3; 86:11).

Believers must be committed to the truth, because we exist in the world which is the realm of Satan (1Jn. 5:19), the father of lies (Jn. 8:44).  He (Satan) strives to keep sinners from understanding and believing the truth; he is "the god of this world who has blinded the minds of th unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4).  As a result, "Everyone deceives his neighbor and does not speak the truth, they have taught their tongue to speak lies" (Jer. 9:5).  Unbelievers are "men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth" (1 Tim. 6:5), who "oppose the truth" (2 Tim. 3:8) and "turn away their ears from the truth" (2 Tim. 4:4) because "they exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (Rm. 1:25)

           

 You say, “well, duh?!” (go ahead - well duh?!)-what else is there to trust in besides truth?  I’m glad you ask -

Top five answers on the board - top deceiver that block the truth - here we go:

#5) Strength - that is to say - Larger is better so these folks must be right, right?  How can so many people be so wrong?  Well the Bible has a lot to say about following the crowd vs. following the truth, namely - Broad is the road that leads to destruction, but narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life.  Bigger isn’t always better.

#4) Nothing- Trust Me, Nothing is something!  Especially with People who are usually hurt or angry or bitter.  They hate you, they hate everyone, and they trust nothing.  Usually they say something like: “well you believe what you believe and I’ll believe what I believe…”  But here’s the rub…they don’t know what they believe.

#3) An Ideal:  Something like Reason or Science or the Goodness of Man.  They tend to believe grandiose ideas that only truly benefit them and not the world as a whole.

#2) Someone/Something Else:  Modern Day Movements like the Mormons or Moonies, the Muslims or the Hindu’s all trust in a man.  They trust the wisdom of a finite sinner or sunnie or dali-lama, vs the Truth of God and his word.  They are drawn in by their senses - they can see this person, touch them, hear them and less faith is needed.  Everything seems so right and so real - until it all goes wrong.  History is full of cult leaders who destroyed lives and ruined families all for their own glory…more on that in a moment.

#1) Who do we trust more than truth - Themselves!  I am the captain of my own fate.  I am the master of my soul.  I exist for me and for my pleasure.

            Here it is - John is saying - Truth is what God has revealed about Himself - Creation, The Law, the OT - Truth is in particular what He has revealed about the ultimate reality of his plan - The Gospel. And most importantly, Truth is found only in Jesus Christ.    

            Now quickly, before we move on, notice the benefits of Truth:  Grace, mercy and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, IN TRUTH and love…”  Grace = Favor, undeserved favor; Mercy = is a combo of Love and pity that seeks the best for its object; and Peace = Wholeness (Shalom) Wholeness physically, mentally, and spiritually.   

     Where is it from?  1) God the Father 2) Jesus Christ.  But don’t miss “and from”.  Those two words will come into play later, but are extremely important here for the sake of the deity of Jesus.  John is saying  that this is from God and from one on the same level, equal to God, worthy of worship and praise - Jesus.   This is a statement of his Trinity.

God's People are FILLED UP with Truth - Are you?

Friday - "God's People Encourage others with LOVE"

Lessons from the pulpit

 

Yesterday my wife stumbled on to an old wooden pulpit sitting out in a pile of junk to be sent to the trash.  Convinced we needed this “gem”, she pursuaded Jeremy and me to quit our all-important Black Ops 2 conquest and go and grab it.

 To say it was “rough” was an understatement.  I took one look at it and could tell it had about six coats of touch up paint on it and the last coat was probably put on when it was moved to the basement youth room area.  (Somehow white and orange didn’t seem to be the colors you would find in an auditorium.)  For some reason, maybe it was my wife’s voice in the back of my head, I told Jeremy, “Let’s get it – we will sand it up and see what happens."

Later that night we decided to pop the little 1’x1’ top off the stand and you wouldn’t guess what we found.  Under this simple top was a message for the builder – “Built by L.W. Sayer for the F. M. Church, July 11^th, 1895”.  To say we were shocked was an understatement.  117 years had past since that pulpit had been placed in the church – 117 years.

Today I started to strip away the old paint.  I have to tell you, I am fascinated by this junky old piece of Guernsey County history.  Several times I stood behind the pulpit and every time my heart flooded with so many thoughts.  Let me share a few of them with you:

1 – As I stood there, I reached out, like most preachers do, with both hands on the back corner of the pulpit as if to steady myself before the message.  I said to Jeremy, “look at how worn down these corners are!”  The paint was gone. The sharp edges were gone. Just years of oil off the sweat of the men of God who were leaning on the pulpit, moved by the Spirit of God to preach the word to eager and listening hearts. 

I imagined the fire and brimstone evangelist letting them have it- face-red, veins popping out of his throat with his voice billowing through the room. 

I thought about the quiet preacher, the humble theologian, who had slaved over and over the message all week, and now felt solely unworthy to bring what he had prepared. 

I wondered, “How many men had the privilege to stand behind this old chunk of wood and preach to the people?  How many revival services did this old pulpit attend?  How many missionaries returned home to stand and tell their stories of the nations hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ?”

Worn corners…because the word of God was heavy upon their spirit…WOW!

2 - I also thought about all the people sitting in that building for 110 plus years.  O, the messages they must have heard.  How many times did the pastor or missionary share the greatest verse in the Bible?  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” How many weddings and funerals did the congregation come too?  How many times were they comforted by the 23^rd Psalm?  How many broken souls wondered in on their last leg and received mercy when they heard the Romans road?  How many times was this place packed to hear God’s word expounded at Christmas?  How many people heard about Jesus for the first time on Easter?

You know, the more I work on this old chunk of wood, the more special it seems.

3 – The smell of the citrus paint remover now is filling the room.  I’m sure it would be important for me to have a mask on, but none the less I work on.  As I was removing the 6 or so layers of paint, I thought about the burden I felt the first time I was the interim pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Cresaptown, MD.  I recall leaving my office and going to the auditorium to practice my delivery and completely breaking down in tears.  How can I speak for this God?  How can I do anything for Him?  Of course, as I scrapped away, I thought – “How many times did the pastor(s) weep on that very pulpit for souls to come to Christ?” 

Ministry is a series of heartaches surrounded by moments of great joy.  Pastors are often broken, beaten men who feel the weight of the responsibility of preaching the Word.  I know the tear stains are there, I just couldn’t see them yet.

4 – Of course I had to post this rare find on Facebook, right? Quickly someone responded “just think, that guy is now with Jesus now...”- I hope so.  In 117 years this pulpit has had many men grip its wood work and pound its top.  I am sure that most have now gone on to glory.  I thought about every pastor who truly preached the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our messiah.  How upon breathing his last breath stood face to face with our Savior and heard  - “well done…well done! Welcome home.”  I thought about these brothers in Christ now “seeing face to face…” the glorious King of kings and being comforted for all those moments when in this life, comfort fled from their grasp.  They now know what their song leader sang - "what a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see.  When I see him face to face, the one who saved me by His grace.  Then he took my by the hand and lead me to the promise land, what a day, glorious day that will be."

Now, I am starting to feel a little bit more impressed with this old pulpit.

5 – Then I had a somber thought.  It's only 117 years old!  I have lived just 3 blocks from the building where we rummaged through the trash and rescued the old pulpit.  For the last 3 years the building was empty – EMPTY!

 Somewhere along the line of time,  a preacher decided to stand behind this pulpit and preach something other than the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel of self or maybe the gospel of prosperity – either way, the Word no longer went out like a light - piercing the darkness of evil; or like salt seasoning and preserving.  It slowly dimmed. Now the glory has departed.  "Ichabod" had been written on the pulpit and on the church.

In my soul I stopped and prayed, "Lord in my lifetime, should the you tarry, I want to see Your glory return as I preach from this pulpit." My iphone was ringing out my prayer – “Show us, show us your glory, show us, show us your power, show us your glory Lord…we want to see you…” (Track 13, The Vertical Church Band). 

I am pretty sure that when I finish this little project and I use this old piece of wood, I'm pretty sure when I open the Word of God for the first time, I will be overcome with emotion.  I thank God for men who have come before me with such a burden to follow the Lord.  Men with a passion for the lost.  There is nothing sacred about this pulpit.  It's wood and nails and that's about it.  The power is in the Word that is proclaimed from the man of God who is using the pulpit.

This old thing is a lot like you and me – once tossed aside but now being restored to what it was created for –Did I mention, this project is going to be fun!

Pastor Nate