Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Sojourn Music: We Are Listening

Crossing, my church here in the ville, planted 3 years ago August from Sojourn here in the ville. Sojourn has some great music you can find here. A friend loaned me their newest regular cd - Before the Throne - and I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop in my car. I have come to appreciate the songs and the Spirit usually convicts on some point while I am intentionally listening to them.
One of the songs, #6 (because I skip to it sometimes), We Are Listening, has been especially convicting. We sang it Sunday at Crossing. I loved it! Its always fun singing songs corporately that have meant a lot to you individually. Here are the lyrics:
Father, I long to be wise, to see with new eyes
The truth that was written by your hand
Father, speak, your truth into me
Because I still believe, that you will help me understand
And we are listening to your word
Morning and evening we come
To delight in the words of our God,
Give us eyes to see, give us faith to hear
That the Word has come, the the Word is here
Father, I long to see Christ
The Truth and New Life, the Word, that made the universe
Father, speak, now I believe
I have been set free, by the Word that lived and died for me.

I'm sure if you listen and meditate on music at all, there seems to be a part that sticks in your brain. Well, the first verse of this song pierced me first. How the Word makes me wise, by listening and obeying the Word of truth (we've been in Proverbs at church). And the doctrine of Scripture is in there too - that the Word is very words inspired by God and breathed by Him into man for our good and sanctification.
Sunday night, the Scripture read right before this song was John 1.1-14 - about Jesus being the Word, creating the universe, dwelling among us, bringing grace and truth into our lives, being God with skin on to us - so that we might see and hear and come and believe. After hearing this passage read in prelude to these songs, I really focused on the second part.
The Incarnation of Christ - how He is the very Word of God brought down to man. How He made everything we see - but came in grace and truth to dwell (pitch his tent) among us. He made it possible for us to know the unseeable God.
Learning point from listening to the sermon from Sunday night in light of this song: Dustin preached on self-discipline. I had already been convicted of still trying to work for my standingi n Christ. My consistent or daily reading of the Word makes me no less "worthy" of participating in communion then if I didn't read the Word at all. My "ability" to take communion is based on His finished work of the Cross. If I start equating my standing before God with what I do and how self-disciplined I am - then I have gone away from the teaching of Scripture and have subscribed to my own form of idolatry with a works-based salvation.
How grateful I am for both - the Word (as in the Bible) and the Word (as in Jesus, the Incarnate God, God with us - as we celebrate at Christmas). And I'm also grateful for talented musicians at Sojourn who wrote the lyrics and music to this song - and for Crossing worship band who played it on Sunday.

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