Weekend Preview | Don’t Hate the Messenger: Part 3 – Elisha
By Chris Denning
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I don’t know about you, but I’ve been really digging this series we’re in, Don’t Hate the Messenger. Each week, we’ve been taking a look at part of the story of a prophet and learning how these men responded to what God was calling them to be. It’s been cool hearing the different perspectives of Matt & Zack, and we’ve got David McNeely & Don Gentry coming up as well in this series.
We’re also introducing a new song this weekend called “Close.” I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to this tune and why songs like this are important for us to sing together as the Church.
We sing a lot about the character and personality of God, about His faithfulness and holiness. This song is similar in that we’re singing about His love and His desire to have a real relationship with us.
// In the arms of the Father //
// There is love like no other //
// He who formed all things offers love to me //
I love the chorus of this song, how its humbly aspirational, declaring our intent or hope to be close to Jesus. It doesn’t say anything about what we’re going to do, but instead gives us words to express our desire to be with Him & how incomparable He is.
// I wanna be close to You //
// I wanna be close to You //
// There’s nothing in this world that compares to all You are //
Sometimes in songs, we might feel like we can’t live up to what we’re singing. If you sing something with an absolute, like “I’ll never leave you,” or “I’ll always follow you,” you might feel disingenuous or like you’re even being fake.
While I can understand this kind of thinking and have been there myself, I think there is something to singing what you hope you will be. You may not feel joyful, but singing joyful words can help you see that change in your life. Same goes for this song.
You may not be in a place where you feel like your sole devotion or your only focus is to worship Him, but singing these words can help us grow into that person. Singing about surrendering, about abandoning ourselves to have more of God can help us to grow this desire in our hearts.
// My sole devotion, my only focus, to worship You //
// My life surrendered, my heart abandoned, for more of You //
I hope you take some time to really dig into this song, and every song we sing at Journey. These songs can be powerful discipleship tools, helping us to become more like Jesus. Sing with great hope and aspirations to live the words we sing. Not because we’re fake and want to pretend to be someone we’re not, but rather because we’re broken people who want to be more like Him.
Join us this weekend at 9 or 11am
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or Online at TheJourneyOnline.tv at 11am