Hillsong United
"The Stand"
You stood before creationEternity in your hand
And you spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand
You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders
My soul now to stand
So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart oh God
Completely to you
So I walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise
My soul now to stand
So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
So I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours
"You stood before creation
Eternity in your hand
And you spoke the earth into motion"
Dude, God is huge. I just close my eyes and try to imagine MY God creating the universe by SPEAKING it into existence. MY God is the creator of the universe. The crazy thing is that even before creation, MY God was there. (Now that's a strange thought, isn't it??)
"You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders"
MY Jesus, who took upon MY failures, and the failures of the entire world and nailed to them to the cross. I wonder if we realize what that actually looks like and what that actually meant and what that must have actually felt like to Christ. MY Jesus took every single sin of every single person upon HIMSELF. I no longer have to be ashamed of my sinful past because it's done. Jesus paid the price already. (A friend shared the following with me and I thought it was beautiful and I couldn't have put it better myself):
God became His broken creation. He humbled Himself as Jesus, and Jesus humbled himself to washing the feet of sinners. How beautiful is that? We will never understand His love for us, but the mystery of it is the most beautiful thing in the world (I think the mystery makes it that much more beautiful)
"So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart oh God
Completely to you"
This should be our response to God. This is how I try, and WANT to respond to Him every day. But what does it look like to offer EVERY part of you to God... COMPLETELY? That sounds dangerous... it sounds exciting... it sounds scary... it sounds impossible... And it is hard to follow Him completely. It's not easy (and anyone who says it is is a liar) because the Bible says that what the flesh wants is opposed to the spirit. (Galatians 5:16 & 17 - If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should.) So of course we don't FEEL like being completely submitted to God 24 hours a day, because that sinful nature inside of us wants to go against the Spirit.
"So I walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise"
So, MY God is the Creator of the universe, and the Savior of the world... but there's more... By excepting HIS salvation and LIFE, I get to receive HIS Spirit. His Spirit is in ME. (I find this verse astounding):
Romans 8:11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Back to the song again. The last line here is key. Don't miss this... it reminds me that Christianity isn't just an "internal" thing. Following Jesus means more than praying before meals and having a quiet time... it's also about DECLARING. It's about sharing with others what God's done in your life. Do we do that often enough? Unfortunately I don't think so. It might be "uncomfortable" or "awkward", right...?
Mark 8:38- Don't be ashamed of me and my message among these unfaithful and sinful people! If you are, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Um... so, basically, evangelism isn't a negotiable thing. Are you a follower of Christ? Then tell others about what Jesus has done in your life. If you find that "uncomfortable", I'd ask myself why. (NOTE: Understand that I'm preaching to myself. Forcing myself to step out of my "fleshly comfort zone" is HARD work. I don't want it to be hard; I want it to come naturally and that's something I've been working on.)
Speaking of preaching, I think that's what I'm now doing so I'm stopping myself. I think it runs in the family... ;)
1 comment:
Nice.
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