Hymn of the Week

Here's a song that struck me the other day.  I think it would make a good song for a missions theme.  Our goal as we reach out to the world around us is to show the compassion of Christ to those that need it.  And at the same time we are worshiping because we are emulating Christ and His servanthood (Mark 10:45).

Compassion Hymn

There is an everlasting kindness  

You lavished on us 

When the Radiance of heaven Came to rescue the lost; 

You called the sheep without a shepherd 

To leave their distress

For your streams of forgiveness 

And the shade of Your rest.    

And with compassion for the hurting, 

You reached out Your hand 

As the lame ran to meet You 

And the dead breathed again; 

You saw behind the eyes of sorrow 

And shared in our tears, 

Heard the sigh of the weary, 

Let the children draw near.    

CHORUS 

What boundless love, 

What fathomless grace 

You have shown us, O God of compassion! 

Each day we live 

An offering of praise 

As we show to the world Your compassion.     

We stood beneath the cross of Calvary 

And gazed on Your face 

At the thorns of oppression 

And the wounds of disgrace,

For surely You have borne our suffering 

And carried our grief 

As You pardoned the scoffer 

And showed grace to the thief.    

How beautiful the feet that carry 

This gospel of peace 

To the fields of injustice 

And the valleys of need— 

To be a voice of hope and healing, 

To answer the cries 

Of the hungry and helpless 

With the mercy of Christ.  

Words and Music by Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend 

Copyright © 2008 Thankyou Music   

"Religion versus Worship"

Probably by far my favorite author on the subject of worship is A. W. Tozer.  Right now, I am reading through The Purpose of Man: Designed to Worship.  If you are skeptical about the book, I would advise you to start with chapter 5 and I think you will want to read the rest.

In this book, Tozer describes the origin of religion as coming from Eden.  When Adam and Eve sinned, they formed coverings for themselves of fig leaves.  What Tozer calls "Fig-Leaf Religion" is man's vain attempt to correct his relationship with God by external means.

In chapter 5, Tozer further evaluates misguided religion:

"If we do not know how to worship through Jesus Christ, our Lord, the human heart will break out somehow like a flood that pours over the riverbanks and it will worship.  If it does not get going in the right direction, it will go in the wrong direction but it will worship."

So countless religions are born from man's observation of the world around him and worship of it exchanging God's glory for images (Romans 1:21-25).  Religion is stuck on the externals because that is man's confused response to God's revelation of Himself.

Christ taught that true worship is in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).  This is the right response to Who God is.  "God is spirit; therefore God is everywhere, and we do not worship in places any more."

Today I went outside and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.  I worshiped God for His beauty, majesty, and incomprehensibility.  I didn't have to make a sacrifice or bow to an idol.  I didn't even have to run to the church and conduct a "worship service".  I just had to be in awe and worship in spirit and truth.

That's what God made me to do.

For Your Gift of God the Spirit

One of the subjects that hymnody lacks is that of the Holy Spirit.  Check your hymnal.  If you are discerning, I'm guessing you'll find many of the hymns about the Holy Spirit present some biblical issues in their theology or are simply lacking in content altogether.

I think it is a shame that we should let the Pentecostals, who have a very misguided, superficial idea of the Spirit's work in the life of a Christian, dominate in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible is not silent concerning His work in our lives and neither should we be.

Early this year, I found this hymn text on the Holy Spirit by Margaret Clarkson, one of the excellent hymn writers of the twentieth century.  I was amazed at the doctrine in the text and the good grasp of the Holy Spirit's work in the life of the believer.


1 For your gift of God the Spirit,
pow'r to make our lives anew,
pledge of life and hope of glory,
Savior, we would worship you.
Crowning gift of resurrection
sent from your ascended throne,
fullness of the very Godhead,
come to make your life our own.

2 He, who in creation's dawning
brooded on the lifeless deep,
still across our nature's darkness
moves to wake our souls from sleep,
moves to stir, to draw, to quicken,
thrusts us through with sense of sin;
brings to birth and seals and fills us--
saving Advocate within.

3 He, himself the living Author,
wakes to life the sacred Word,
reads with us its holy pages
and reveals our risen Lord.
He it is who works within us,
teaching rebel hearts to pray,
he whose holy intercessions
rise for us both night and day.

4 He, the mighty God, indwells us;
his to strengthen, help, empower;
his to overcome the tempter
ours to call in danger's hour.
In his strength we dare to battle
all the raging hosts of sin,
and by him alone we conquer
foes without and foes within.

5 Father, grant your Holy Spirit
in our hearts may rule today,
grieved not, quenched not, but unhindered,
work in us his sovereign way.
Fill us with your holy fullness,
God the Father, Spirit, Son;
in us, through us, then, forever,
shall your perfect will be done.

Notice the doctine of the Holy Spirit in these stanzas...

1 - Regeneration, guarantee (Eph. 1:14), deity
2 - Work in creation (Gen. 1:2), conviction, seal (Eph. 1:13), filling (Eph. 5:18)
3 - Author of Scripture (2 Peter 1:21), illumination, help in prayer and intercession (Rom. 8:26)
4 - Deity, indwelling, help in the spiritual battle (Eph 6)
5 - Prayer for the Spirit's control

If you found anything else, let me know!  I think teaching this text would be a great way to get people to think about the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives in a biblical way.

It can be sung to the tune HYFRYDOL, most commonly sung with Jesus, What a Friend for Sinners

What is Worship?

"Worship..."

It's a buzz word in our Christian culture.  We are bombarded with terms such as "contemporary worship", "traditional worship", "worship wars", "worship music", and this list goes on.  But despite the popularity of these catch-phrases, I fear we are still often at a loss as to what the true nature of worship is.

We go to church and sing, pass the offering plate, endure 20-30 minutes of preaching, talk to our friends and go home unchanged and unaffected.  We do all these things because that is what church is supposed to be.  Why?  Because that's how we've always done it.

The rest of the week is no different.  We crack open our Bibles for 10-15 minutes before eating breakfast and forget it all as soon as we get into the car and turn on the radio.  At work, everyone knows we are a Christian, but we never have the courage to talk to them about Christ.  We don't want to offend anyone or lose our reputation with our coworkers.  We get home, turn on the TV, and turn off our minds.

Isn't there more to being a Christian?  What distinguishes us from those that are perishing without Christ other than our "ticket to heaven" Christianity?

Here's the clincher... what sets us apart from the world has to be Who we worship.  Humans are worshiping beings.  From the moment we were born we were worshiping something or someone--most often, ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-3).  When we were born again by the Spirit of God, the object of our worship changed.
  
¹ Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Romans 12:1,2 HCSB

Paul described to the Corinthians what their response to God's mercy shown in salvation was to look like.  The Christian's spiritual act of worship is to affect every aspect of life: thinking, talking, loving, desiring, doing.  A true Christian must be characterized by worship of God.

So what is worship? Worship is a lifestyle, not a music style.

Here's a working definition...  Worship (of God) is the Christian's response to Who God is (His divine attributes) and what He has done (His divine works) that ascribes ultimate worth to God, delights in Him alone, and involves every aspect of his/her life.