VIDEO The Heart of Worship, It’s All About You Jesus

PastorRufus1
Published on Jan 13, 2012

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about Jesus

Matt Redman – The heart of worship Lyrics
Album: The Heart Of Worship

When the music fades
And all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart

I’ll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You’re looking into my heart

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
All about You, Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I’m weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath

I’ll bring You more than just a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
All about You, Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You Jesus

Its all about you
Jesus

Never Forsaken – The “Go” of Renunciation

Never Forsaken

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama Sabastian?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46

A mysterious passage in the Bible has Jesus feeling forsaken by God the Father. It is mysterious because we think of the Godhead as being united in love and purpose. And it is. But in the moment that Jesus Christ hung on the cross, He was bearing the sins of the world. He had become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because holy God cannot dwell in the presence of sin, He turned away from His Son who had become sin in our place. Could there be any lonelier cry in history than these words of Jesus?

Yes, Jesus felt abandoned. But just as He knew David’s “forsaken” lament from Psalm 22:1, He also knew David’s hope of resurrection in Psalm 16. He knew that God’s forsaking was only for a season. On the third day He was alive again! There may be times of discipline in our life in which God’s actions may be “painful” (Hebrews 12:11). But He has not forsaken us; He is not punishing us. He is teaching us to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:10).

God does not leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

None can find out a single person whom God has forsaken after having revealed Himself savingly to him.  Charles H. Spurgeon

 

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The “Go” of Renunciation

…someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” —Luke 9:57

Our Lord’s attitude toward this man was one of severe discouragement, “for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). We would have said, “I can’t imagine why He lost the opportunity of winning that man! Imagine being so cold to him and turning him away so discouraged!” Never apologize for your Lord. The words of the Lord hurt and offend until there is nothing left to be hurt or offended. Jesus Christ had no tenderness whatsoever toward anything that was ultimately going to ruin a person in his service to God. Our Lord’s answers were not based on some whim or impulsive thought, but on the knowledge of “what was in man.” If the Spirit of God brings to your mind a word of the Lord that hurts you, you can be sure that there is something in you that He wants to hurt to the point of its death.

Luke 9:58. These words destroy the argument of serving Jesus Christ because it is a pleasant thing to do. And the strictness of the rejection that He demands of me allows for nothing to remain in my life but my Lord, myself, and a sense of desperate hope. He says that I must let everyone else come or go, and that I must be guided solely by my relationship to Him. And He says, “…the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Luke 9:59. This man did not want to disappoint Jesus, nor did he want to show a lack of respect for his father. We put our sense of loyalty to our relatives ahead of our loyalty to Jesus Christ, forcing Him to take last place. When your loyalties conflict, always obey Jesus Christ whatever the cost.

Luke 9:61. The person who says, “Lord, I will follow You, but…,” is the person who is intensely ready to go, but never goes. This man had reservations about going. The exacting call of Jesus has no room for good-byes; good-byes, as we often use them, are pagan, not Christian, because they divert us from the call. Once the call of God comes to you, start going and never stop.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The message of the prophets is that although they have forsaken God, it has not altered God. The Apostle Paul emphasizes the same truth, that God remains God even when we are unfaithful (see 2 Timothy 2:13). Never interpret God as changing with our changes. He never does; there is no variableness in Him.  Notes on Ezekiel, 1477 L

Uniting Belief and Behavior

Acts 24:14-16

If we understand that we are sinners saved by grace, we may find ourselves struggling with the idea of a “blameless conscience” (Acts 24:16). After all, we know our own hearts and motivations. Yet the apostle Paul found a way to ensure that his conscience commended rather than condemned him. What was his secret? Paying attention to his beliefs and his behavior.

In today’s passage, Paul pleaded his case before the Roman governor Felix, offering the consistency of his faith and behavior as evidence of innocence. His actions were determined by his convictions—namely, that he served the God of his fathers, and God would raise the dead to judgment. Together, these two firm beliefs helped him maintain a clear conscience

As a student of Christ, Paul knew that our deeds flow from who we are on the inside. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described conditions of the heart and illustrated with practical applications. He was saying His followers would be “the light of the world” because of their work, but the work begins in the heart (Matt. 5:14-16; Luke 6:45).

Too often, Christians focus on doing the right things, rather than on the underlying beliefs that drive such behavior. We can give, serve, or in some other way act “good,” but unless we pay attention to the convictions motivating our actions, we may end up with an unclean conscience after all. If, however, we submit to God and allow Him to transform us from the inside out, then our consciences and our testimony will be strong and clear. We will be able to speak the truth through our deeds.

God’s Dwelling Place

“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life. . . . For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me: he shall set me up upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:4-5)

David is absolutely confident that in God’s dwelling place is the security of his life and the surety of his purpose. It is there that David will find the beauty of the Lord and will be able to inquire for the necessary instructions. There in God’s presence will “the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us” (Psalm 90:17), and there will wisdom dispense her “ways of pleasantness” (Proverbs 3:17).

The descriptions of God’s dwelling place are often given in military terms. David was a warrior. The New Testament Christian is often challenged to think like a soldier. Therefore, it is certainly fitting that the Scriptures are full of these portraits of protection and deliverance. The God of salvation and deliverance hides us from the eyes of the enemy. We are kept “as the apple of the eye . . . under the shadow of thy wings. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about” (Psalm 17:8-9). “And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD” (Psalm 27:6).

Today, the desperate saint need go no farther than his own prayer closet to be in direct contact and under the sheltering “pavilion” in His secret tabernacle. HMM III

Adapted from Treasures in the Psalms, Henry M. Morris III, 342-343.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven

Psalm 32

After David had obtained a sense of pardon, he sang that sweet gospel Psalm, the thirty-second.

Psalm 32:1

Yes, even a great sinner may be blessed. When his sin is effectually covered by the great propitiation, he is as blessed as if he had never sinned. Have all the members of this family tasted of this blessedness? Sin has cursed us all, has pardon blessed us all?

Psalm 32:2

He who is freed from guilt is also cleansed from guile or deceit. David had been very crafty in his endeavours to hide his crime, and he felt it a great relief to escape from the tortuous way of living which arises out of deceit.

Psalm 32:3, 4

While sin is unconfessed it ferments within the heart, and causes inward anguish; and when God’s hand presses from without, the awakened sinner is in a wretched plight indeed. Such are the feelings of all who seek the Lord, in a greater or less degree.

Psalm 32:5

Forgiveness followed on the heels of confession, for atonement was already made. Who among us will refuse to confess? Let us all acknowledge our sin before the Lord, and the blood of Jesus will put it all away, at once and for ever.

Psalm 32:6, 7

He who before he sought the Lord was compassed with sighs is now compassed with songs. If we would be happy we must be pardoned; if we would be pardoned, we must confess our iniquities, and look to Jesus who covers all our sin.

Psalm 32:8, 9

Forgiven men should be tender in heart, and fear to transgress again. We ought not to need rough means to keep us out of mischief, we ought to be sensitive to the faintest touch of the Lord’s hand.

Psalm 32:10, 11

Those who begin with holy weeping shall end with holy rejoicing. If there be one unforgiven one in this family, let him or her go to the. heavenly Father and cry for that gracious forgiveness which is given to all who believe in Jesus. It is not given as a reward of good works, or as the fruit of any efforts of our own; but as the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says that David here describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, and he declares most plainly that it is not a matter of merit but of grace. The very worst and vilest sins will be freely and at once forgiven if we will confess them to the Lord, and trust in the infinite merits of his dear Son. Do not linger then, but fly at once to the open fountain.

 

In Christ I have believed,

And through the spotless Lamb

Grace and salvation have received:

In him complete I am.

 

My sins, my crimson stains,

Are blotted out each one;

No condemnation now remains!

God views me in his Son.

 

Confess Your Faults One to Another

James 5:16

I remember how glad I was when I finally admitted that Satan was trying to drive a lie into my head! Even though I knew that the lie I was hearing was untrue, the devil wouldn’t let up. He just kept pounding my mind hard and fast, one blow after another, as he tried to batter his way into my head and take my thinking captive.

I was too embarrassed to share with anyone else the stupid thought that was trying to take me hostage, so I tried to handle it on my own for a long time. Finally, I thought I would break under the assault that was bombarding my mind and emotions. The lie was beginning to affect how I viewed myself, penetrating and manipulating my mind to think poorly of myself. So in obedience to James 5:16, I went to a friend and told him what the devil was trying to make me believe. The moment I confessed the lie, it was as if an over-inflated balloon had just popped. The power that lie had held in my mind simply dissipated once I admitted to a friend what I was hearing!

I’m not recommending that you go from person to person, blabbing about all your faults. But if you experience a time of real need in your life when the devil is assaulting your mind and emotions, you might need to go to your spouse, a good friend, a brother or sister in the Lord, your pastor, or your parent and confess: “I need someone to help me! I’m being attacked in my mind, and I need someone to speak to me and to tell me the truth!”

In James 5:16, the Bible commands us, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed….” The word “confess” is the Greek word ekzomologeo, a word that means to declare, to say out loud, to exclaim, to divulge, or to blurt. I particularly like the last meaning—to blurt.

You see, sometimes it’s hard to confess the wrong thoughts that are rolling through your mind. Even though you know you need to confess and thus destroy what the devil is trying to tell you, it can be embarrassing and humiliating to be so honest. Perhaps you’ve tried to admit these things before to someone, but each time you retreat back into silence because you can’t bear the idea of anyone knowing that you ever entertained such foolish thoughts!

It’s time for you to get bold! Go find a friend in whom you can confide—one who will not repeat what you tell him or her. Tell that person you have something you need to confess. If you feel yourself pulling back, just go ahead and blurt it out! Once you say it, you’ll be done with it. Then the agony of telling someone will be over, and you’ll be on the road to freedom!

But what are the parameters of what we are to confess to each others? James 5:16 goes on to define what we are to confess. It says, “Confess your faults….” The word “faults” is the Greek word paraptoma, which describes a falling in some area of one’s life. That “falling” may be an actual falling into sin, or it may be a tripping up in the way one thinks. Either way, this word refers to a person who has fallen, failed, erred, or made some kind of mistake. One Greek translator says it can also denote a person who has accidentally bumped into something or one who has accidentally swerved or turned amiss and has thus thought something or done something that is erroneous.

This perfectly describes what had happened to me that time when my mind was being harassed with those distracting thoughts. The devil was pounding away at my head, and I was starting to believe the lie! As a result, it was affecting me; I was even starting to produce failure in that part of my life. I had bumped into a mental lie that was about to knock me off my feet and cause me to make some very erroneous decisions in my life!

I think of others who were harassed in their minds and never confessed it to anyone. Because they were not able to conquer those lies by themselves and yet were too proud to confess it to anyone else, these people eventually became enslaved by the lie and ended up doing some very regrettable things. If only they had confessed their faults to a godly friend who loved them, they could have been liberated from the lie and the actions that followed.

When you blurt out those destructive lies to a trustworthy friend, your confession is often the very thing that throws that lying spirit off you. As long as you keep those lies secretly hidden away in your mind and soul, they will continue to have the power to hold you hostage. But the day you expose them to the light of day, those lies will begin to lose their power over you!

You may be afraid to confess what you’ve been experiencing because in the past, something you shared privately wasn’t held in confidence. That memory is Satan’s ploy to keep you all tied up. But you must forgive those who betrayed your confidence and go get the help you need right now. Get that lie out of the darkness! Bring it into the light so it can dissipate and lose its power over your mind and emotions.

MY PRAYER FOR TODAY

Lord, I thank You for speaking to my heart today about confessing the things that are secretly bothering me. It is no secret to You that I have been struggling with fear, insecurity, and temptation. You know that I desperately need someone to stand with me in faith and to assure me that everything is going to be all right. Help me to know exactly to whom I should go to discuss what is disturbing me—someone who will be faithful to hold what I say in confidence. Once I confess this burden and get it off my heart, please let this be the very act that sets in motion the power to liberate me!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY

I confess that I have friends who are trustworthy and in whom I can confide when Satan is trying to pound my mind with his lies. I do not fear that friends will laugh at me or repeat what I tell them. They will stand with me, speak the truth to me, and help me step out of the darkness and into the light. My confession will break Satan’s vice grip on my mind and bring wholeness and soundness of thinking to my soul!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

QUESTIONS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER

1. Have you ever gone to someone and confessed something that was secretly bothering you? Once you finally blurted out to someone what you’d been struggling with, what effect did it have on you?
2. Are you the kind of person that people can confide in when they are being inwardly harassed? Do they consider you to be faithful and confidential, or would they be concerned that you might repeat what they told you?
3. Has the enemy been bombarding your mind with his lies lately? If so, who is the one person to whom you’d most like to confess this inward harassment?

 

Five Impressions From The Life Of Billy Graham

 

In a day when worthy role models are in scarce supply, and public spiritual leaders are suspect, Billy Graham looms as a man of God. Probably no individual has so influenced the direction of conservative Christianity in the 20th Century. Recently I completed two books on his life, and five impressions stand out:

 

1. He sees the big picture while keeping the vision and approach simple — Graham has always pushed out the walls in asking, “How can we reach more people?” “Is there a better way to do it?” He refuses to get bogged down in the details at the expense of the larger picture.

 

“Where there is no vision, the people perish… Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest‘? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest… ” (Proverbs 29:18a – kjv; John 4:35)

 

2. He refuses to get enmeshed in petty religious factions — When Graham came on the scene in the 1940’s, conservative Christianity was embroiled in doctrinal factions and in fierce skirmishes with liberals. Graham has avoided these entanglements by staying focused on the larger issue of winning the lost.

 

“You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,‘ and another, ‘I follow Apollos,‘ are you not mere men?” (1 Corinthians 2:2, 3)

 

3. He refuses to criticize others or defend himself — He has been the object of fierce criticism by ultra-conservatives who take exception to involving “liberals” in his crusades. In reading about Graham, I was repeatedly struck by his gracious response to their vitriol.

 

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23)

 

4. He exhibits integrity in the use of money — He takes steps to ensure that his books are regularly audited by a public accounting firm and that the results are published for public perusal. The money he has made from his 16 books has been given away to charity and related causes. His home, salary and personal lifestyle are modest.

 

“If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else‘s property, who will give you property of your own? (Luke 16:11, 12)

 

5. He refuses to take any credit for how God is using Him. In fact he has often stated,

 

“When I get to heaven, the first question I am going to ask God is, ‘Why did you choose to use a farm boy like me?'”

 

“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips.” (Proverbs 27:2)