power

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE – Bethel Music, Dante Bowe

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

“Anything Is Possible” is from Bethel Music’s 2020 album Revival’s in the Air. Dante Bowe delivers a powerful lead vocal on this track, and he is one of its writers along with Brandon Lake, Hannah McClure, and Michaela Gentile. I usually focus on reviewing brand new songs, but this one came to my attention because of a post in a Facebook group for worship leaders. The comments were divided; some people loved the song’s celebration of God’s power while others thought a particular line verged on heresy! Let’s take a look at this popular, divisive church tune and ask if “Anything is Possible” is biblical, and if it should worship.

Focus

This song celebrates God’s indomitable power. He can do anything, and nothing has any chance of stopping him. We also celebrate the breakthrough and victory that we experience through his victory.

The verses and bridge are sung directly to God (2nd person) while the chorus is sung to the congregation about him (3rd person). We mostly call him “you,” but in the chorus he is identified as “God.”

The chorus mentions “me” a lot, but only in a figure of speech: “show me one thing he can’t do.” The bridge uses a lot of “I” to describe the victory celebration of the worshipers and their leaving behind of negative emotions.

Lyric Analysis

VERSES 1 & 2
The first two verses follow the same pattern: they list powerful, bad things and declare that they are powerless before God. This is a great way to celebrate God’s power! When we list things that we are afraid of and then remind ourselves that God is greater, we mute the power of fear in our lives and redirect it as awe to the God who deserves it (Matt. 10:28). Regarding armies lacking the power to conquer truth, Church history has demonstrated that while persecution and violence may threaten or even decimate a Christian population, they can never fully stamp out the truth of the Gospel.

At the end of each verse, we remind ourselves that God has always been with us (John 14:16-17, Josh. 1:8-9), and then we say that we’ve already won every battle because God has already won every battle. This is true in a now/not yet kind of way. We’ve already won every battle because Jesus has already defeated sin and death on the cross. But we also haven’t already won every battle, because he hasn’t returned and ushered in the perfect new creation yet. We know the outcome will be victory, but we can’t pretend that we’re not still in the battle here and now.

My first problem with this song is the major Christological heresy in verse 2 (I don’t get to use the H word very often!). The song states (talking to God) that “there is no weapon that has ever left a mark on You.” That statement is true of God the Father and God the Spirit, but it is untrue of God the Son. Jesus was crucified, a spear pierced his side, and he still bears those wounds (John 19:18, 34, 20:27, Rev. 5:6). This isn’t a minor, obscure point of theology; this is at the very core of who Jesus is and how he saves us! The invincible God took on human flesh and allowed himself to be killed for us (Phil. 2:7-9).

Are there some ways to wiggle around this error? Sure. You could say that this song is addressed to the Father, not the Son. Or you could say that since the spear doesn’t exist anymore, the line is technically correct. Those arguments don’t hold up. We serve and sing to a triune God, and the emphasis of this line is on God’s inability to be wounded, not on the survival of the Spear of Destiny (which, incidentally, four different churches claim to possess). Pedantry notwithstanding, I’m not going to sing a lyric that contradicts the essential Gospel truth of Jesus’ wounds and scars.

CHORUS
The chorus uses rhetorical challenges to invite the listener to name anything that is impossible for God. Is anything too hard for him? Any mountain too high or waters too deep for him (Ex. 14, Matt. 17:20)? Of course not! We should face life with the knowledge that “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).

I’m not quite sure what “God of the breakthrough” means because “breakthrough” has several different meanings. For most people, a breakthrough is a sudden leap forward in technology or understanding, or maybe the first hit single of a previously unknown music artist. In the context of this song, I think it means overcoming some sort of obstacle or defeating an enemy, like breaking through enemy lines in a battle. The main point of the song is that anything is possible for God, so I think the anticipated breakthrough could be any obstacle in the life of the worshiper.

VERSE 3
There is, in fact, a Kingdom, and it is, in fact advancing (Matt. 10:7, Matt. 16:18)! Saying it’s at the speed of light is an exciting line, but I’m not sure it really means anything. Certainly there have been times when the Kingdom has exploded in growth and influence, but there have also been lots of periods of regression and stagnation in Church history.

The line “every dead thing is bound to rise” could be misunderstood as teaching universalism, the idea that everyone will be saved, regardless of their belief in Jesus. The preceding phrase “and in his Kingdom…” mitigates this somewhat.

God is certainly our Redeemer (Gal. 3:13), and he is faithful, reviving our dead hearts in Christ, and one day he will fully resurrect those who believe in Jesus in a resurrection like his (Rom. 6:5). Hallelujah!

BRIDGE
The bridge celebrates a great reversal of fortune in the spirit of Psalm 30:11-12, “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing…that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” A small but important difference is that in the Psalm, it is God who turns the mourning into dancing, while in this song, tho one crushing disappointment and turning fear into praise is “I.” It’s odd that the rest of the song is focused on God bringing breakthrough, but this part seems to present a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality. We can’t just shake off fear and despair and break chains on our own; we need God for that. I think that’s actually the truth this song is trying to present, but the first-person wording on the bridge confuses the issue.

Accessibility

“Anything Is Possible” is 95% easy to understand. The song uses plain, everyday language except for the churchy word “breakthrough.”

The bridge might be misunderstood. Based on the lyrics alone, it is the worshiper who is shaking off their own negative emotions. I think the author probably means that God is helping them do this, that just isn’t clear from the words.

The range is an octave plus a fifth, which is pretty wide for a congregation but not uncommon in worship songs. The rhythmic monotone singing of the bridge and chorus makes them more like a victory chant than a melody; they’re very easy to learn. The verses are easy to pick up too. This song is infectious and very congregational.

Music

This is an exciting, upbeat, celebratory song. It’s pretty easy to play, and it carries an almost irresistible impetus to get up and dance and clap. The music effectively supports the themes of the lyrics.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Nope.

Verse 1 was good, but I felt like this song’s theology went downhill from there. Even ignoring verse 2’s Christological heresy, the overall thrust of this song is triumphalistic. It hypes up the idea of living in Christ’s victory and having him break down all our obstacles without acknowledging that we don’t get to fully experience that victory this side of heaven. Jesus promises that we will face trouble in this world (John 16:33), and for anyone in the midst of suffering, I worry that this song extends toxic positivity rather than the peace of Jesus’ completed work on the cross.

Image by Ambreen Hasan from Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

LION – Elevation Worship, Chris Brown, Brandon Lake

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

“Lion,” the title track of Elevation Worship’s 2022 album, is a joint effort by well-known songwriters Chris Brown and Brandon Lake and pastor/author Steven Furtick. It evokes mystery, majesty, and power with its words and instrumentation, and it has captured the attention of Christian listeners, accumulating over 22 million streams on Spotify.

I have to confess some skepticism toward “Lion.” My initial impression was that somebody had strung together a bunch of random words and titles from the Bible to create a strong, manly worship song. As I’ve examined the words, I’ve come to see the unity of this song’s themes and the skillful way that the authors use music to paint the lyrics with emotional weight and meaning.

My dad likes to joke about “7-Eleven songs,” which are worship songs with 7 words that you repeat 11 times. This song comes pretty close to meeting that definition; the chorus has nine words, and we sing them ten times. Repetition can be great if the words we’re repeating speak the truth of Scripture, so let’s look at what these lyrics say!

Focus

The main theme of this song is the power and glory of Jesus, especially in the sound of his voice. The song portrays him as a roaring lion, unmatched and victorious. The music and words work together create a secondary theme of the mysterious nature of God.

This song may not address Jesus by name, per se, but it does call him by a lot of very specific titles that can refer to no one else, including the main one: Lion of Judah.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
We begin by listing several names and attributes of God that evoke his power and authority. The God of Jacob is one who wrestles and gives us new names (Gen. 32:22-32). The Great I Am stands alone, uncreated, strong enough to bring his people out of Egypt (Ex. 3:14-15). “King of Angels” is self-explanatory. “Son of Man” is what Jesus often called himself (Matt. 9:6), and it’s a reference to a prophesied figure from the book of Daniel who appears riding on storm clouds to receive a kingdom along with eternal glory and dominion (Dan. 7:13-14).

The second half of this verse focuses on the power inherent to Jesus’ voice. The description of his voice being like “many waters” comes from Revelation 1:14-16. I take it to be a poetic way of saying that something is really loud and awesome like a thunderous waterfall, and the sounds of multitudes are often described this way in Scripture. Jesus is certainly the focus of the song around the throne in heaven in Revelation 5:9-14, a passage we’ll revisit throughout this song. God sometimes speaks in thunder throughout the Bible, and it is often representative of his power and victory over his enemies (2 Sam. 22:13-15, Job 40:9, Ex. 19:19).

The last line introduces the chorus by asking God to make his glory known.

CHORUS
“Hail, hail Lion of Judah // Let the Lion roar”

Now we arrive at the central image of the song: a conquering Lion who is also a Lamb. This idea is also represented in the album art: an image of a lamb on a record called LION. This picture is found in Revelation 5, a chapter that we’ve referenced already.

“And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.”

Revelation 5:5-6

The lion represents Jesus’ identity as a victorious warrior. The phrase “of Judah” refers to his ancestry as a descendent of David and connects him to prophecies throughout the Old Testament like Genesis 49:10, which says “the scepter shall not depart from Judah.”

What does it mean to ask the Lion to roar? This question really puzzled me at first, but I think the last line of verse 1 gives an answer: we’re asking him to make his glory known. A roar is a display of power. It imparts courage to allies and makes enemies flee. When we roar with the Lion of Judah, we join with Jesus in declaring his victory—past, present, and future—over sin and death.

VERSE 2
I’m not sure where “Pride of Zion” comes from. Zion is a poetic name for the city of God, or Jerusalem. The pride of a city is the person or thing from that city that is most famous or honored, so it makes sense to call Jesus this name. It’s also a clever choice since a pride is a group of lions. The Bible usually give the word “pride” a negative connotation, so I might have chosen a different word here, but it’s not wrong.

The next couple lines declare that Jesus is the Messiah foretold by the Old Testament prophets (1 Peter:10-12). They also make the point that he came into our world as a real, flesh-and-blood human, not merely a spirit (John 20:26-28).

We return to Revelation 5 to look at the image of only Jesus being worthy to open the scroll. This scroll represents God’s final answer to all the evil in the world. John weeps because no one is able to open this scroll, but the the Lion/Lamb Jesus appears and he is worthy to open it, setting in motion the events of the end of the age, the end of sin and death, and the consummation of the Kingdom of God.

The end of the verse contains the clearest statement of of Jesus’ Lion/Lamb identity in this song. It also succinctly explains the two animals; the Lion is the mighty victor, the Lamb suffered for us. I dislike that it places the two identities consecutively, as if Jesus was a Lamb but became a Lion at his resurrection, when in fact he was both the entire time. God presents himself as presented as a lion sometimes in the Old Testament (Hosea 5:14), and when Jesus appears in Revelation 5, it’s actually in the form of a slain lamb (Rev. 5:6). The one does not replace the other.

One more thing: call me a grammar snob if you need to, but the last line should be “the Lion has arisen,” not “the Lion has arose.” I get that it doesn’t fit the meter, and prosody is important, but grammar is important too! 😆

BRIDGE
I love how half of the singers are saying “prepare the way of the Lord” while the other half sing “O valley be raised up, O mountain be made low.” I haven’t heard a polyphonic worship song this good since Marc Imboden’s “You Are Holy!” This tool works especially well here because the lyrics explain each other to some extent.

The leveling of the mountains and valleys is for the purpose of making a flat road for the coming of the Lord in his glory. These words come directly from Isaiah 40:3-5, and they’re quoted in all four Gospels to describe John the Baptist’s work in preparing Israel for Jesus’ ministry (John 1:23). John the Baptist introduces Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” (John 1:29), so his ministry is also the link between the bridge and the rest of the song and Christ’s Lion/Lamb identity.

I haven’t been able to figure out if this is part of Isaiah’s meaning, but I can’t sing about mountains being made low and valleys being lifted up without thinking about God’s love for those who are humble and his anger towards those who are arrogant. I think this bridge is at least in part a plea for justice, for God to exalt those who are lowly and to bring down the proud (James 1:9-10, 1 Peter 5:5).

Accessibility

This song’s meaning is cloaked in deep scriptural allusions. Without doing some serious research, most people will not understand the majority of the lyrics or how they connect to one another. The average worshiper will come away with a vague sense of having been impressed by God’s mystery and power, but I am concerned that not enough of that feeling will be from a real understanding of who God is. When we pray and sing to God, we should do so with our minds, not just our spirits (1 Cor. 14:15).

The extensive repetition in this song makes its melody and lyrics easy to learn. It’s a bit rangy, but only because the chorus jumps up an octave. Basses can just keep singing in the lower register. The “roar” parts also make excellent use of antiphony, so the congregation can jump in easily by repeating after the leader.

Music

This song has the drama! Mysterious synth drones. Minor tonality. Rumbly bass and drums. Powerful chorus. Sick-nasty guitar licks. Abrupt dynamic changes. The outcry on “roaaaaar!” The almost eerie, chant-like “prepare the way” bridge gives me chills. As mentioned above, I love the use of polyphony here.

The chord progression is also really cool. The song goes back and forth between melodic minor and harmonic minor, so the IV chord goes back and forth between major and minor, creating a really cool effect.

I think this one is going to be really challenging for the band to play. Part of that is the timing and the unusual chord progression, but most of the challenge comes from the fact that to make this song work, you really have to nail the dynamics. If you don’t layer in correctly and create some of those cool effects, this song loses the musical texture of mystery and power that underlines the words.

Depending on how many singers are leading worship, you can decide how much of the crazy multi-part vocal stuff to add at the end of the song.

Conclusions

I came into this review expecting to give “Lion” a firm no. Now I’m on the fence between yes and maybe. This is one of the most epic worship songs I’ve heard in a long time. It masterfully expresses the power of Jesus’ voice and the majesty and mystery of his identity as the Lion of Judah and the Lamb Who Was Slain. It’s also very deep, a little hard to figure out, and challenging to play.

Will it worship? Maybe. I feel the same about this song as I do about Honey in the Rock. I love it now, even though I didn’t when I first heard it, and I would sing my heart out in a worship service that included “Lion.” But I can’t discount the high barrier to entry represented by the rapid-fire Bible deep cuts and the difficulty of playing this song well.

Image by Glen Carrie from Unsplash

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

MIRACLE POWER – We the Kingdom

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

“Miracle Power” is such a cool song. The creative chord structure and the exciting dropouts on the choruses pulled me in and wouldn’t get out of my head! This 2022 single from We The Kingdom is also featured on their self-titled album. It’s co-written by the five members of the band, Andrew Bergthold, Ed Cash (he’s everywhere!), Franni Cash, Martin Cash, and Scott Cash. Let’s dive into this groovy celebration of God’s power in our lives and ask: will it worship?

Focus

The focus of “Miracle Power” is (as you might expect) God’s power. Specifically, we’re focusing on our hope in Jesus to answer us in power when we call on him from the midst of life’s difficulties.

This song uses a lot of “I” language and functions a little like a testimony song. It’s saying, “Here are my struggles, and here’s how I call on Jesus in the midst of them,” and it invites every listener to participate in that same story. When we talk about God in “Miracle Power,” it’s to express hope in him and celebrate our relationship to him.

This song clearly identifies God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit. Bonus points for including the whole Trinity!

Lyric Analysis

VERSES 1 & 2
Here we identify who the song is for: the lost, lonely, broken, afraid, hurting, addicted, and troubled. The verses are pointing forward to the chorus, offering it as an answer for all the problems mentioned in the verses.

Verse 1 uses third person language while verse 2 is written in first person. This makes the song both an invitation and a personal expression of faith. It offers us an opportunity to look inward and encourage our own hearts, and also to look outward to invite others into the power of God.

CHORUS
“I believe in miracle power, in a wonder-working God . . . When it feels like I won’t make it, I call on Jesus”

The chorus functions like a miniature creed, a corporate expression of what we believe about God. Roughly half of the lines describe God’s power while the other half identify the persons of the Trinity and our relationship to each.

This song takes a very open, ecumenical approach to God’s power. We proclaim that we believe in it, we declare that God works wonders, but then we don’t explain much what those wonders are. Even a cessationist can sing this song confidently since the fourth line says that God is working wonders in my heart. I love this line because it reminds us that we shouldn’t just be looking for external manifestations of God’s power, but we should seek his transformative work in our own hearts. I usually dislike vague theology in songs, but I think lack of specificity is a strength here. Many different church groups hold different views on the miraculous, and this song affirms God’s power in the present without taking a divisive stance on what form it has to take. Even though we don’t know how Jesus will intervene in our lives, we know that he answers when we call.

The other half of the chorus tells us how we relate to God in each of the persons of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit fills us (Acts 13:52). The Father loves us as his children (Rom. 8:15). Jesus calls us his friends (John 15:15). I love it when songs articulate trinitarian theology, and this song does it clearly, simply, and without feeling clunky.

The central theme of the song is articulated in the last line: no matter hopeless we feel, we can call on the name of Jesus and he will hear us. In John 14:14, Jesus says, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” I think it’s worth adding a caveat here; several passages of Scripture teach that God doesn’t listen to our prayers if we are doing evil or rebelling against him (1 Pet. 3:12). I don’t think this is a flaw of the song; the verses and bridge clearly position the singer as one who is trying to seek God and believe in him, even when it’s a struggle.

VERSE 3
This verse presents praise as an antidote to suffering. Like many heroes from Scripture, the songwriter faces struggles and pain. My devotional reading today is from Psalm 6, where David says “I am weary with my moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears,” and “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.” So we’re in good company when we say that sometimes it’s just hard being human.

The next two lines give me a little bit of hesitation. Praising God is an excellent way to deal with discouragement, perhaps even the best way. I just don’t want anyone to get the idea that as soon as you sing “hallelujah,” all your worries, fears, and problems will evaporate instantly.

BRIDGE
I love the bridge. It’s short, simple, and hopeful. It also provides clarification for any misunderstanding of verse 3. It expresses that we face uncertainty in life, and we will walk through darkness, but we can still trust that God is in control. We can still trust in his power, and we can still teach our souls to sing to him through discouragement and pain. The words remind me of Zechariah’s song prophesying of Jesus’ birth, “because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high” (Luke 1:78).

Accessibility

The lyrics of this song are very accessible, even to brand new believers and visitors. They’re self-explanatory and don’t depend on a lot of Bible knowledge for understanding. The verses use plain language that connects to people’s everyday experiences and struggles. The choruses use equally plain language to celebrate the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The bridge is a simple, poetic description of hope in God.

The melody of this song falls almost perfectly in the classic recommended C-to-C range for congregational singing. I think there’s one optional note on verse 2 (“say good bye”) that goes up to a D. Rhythmically, the verses and chorus are catchy and easy to learn. The bridge is more flowy and tricky, but since the singing is so free and slow here, the congregation can still follow along.

Music

“Miracle Power” is super fun to play and sing. The chord structure changes things up with regular use of the flat seventh chord, but it’s not so weird that it’s difficult to learn or understand. There are also a couple of really fun and distinctive walk-downs on the instrumentals; they’re kind of tricky, so make sure your instrumentalists know about and practice those. Similarly, the final chorus has a really cool walk-up halfway through that adds a ton of energy. The songwriters also employed dropouts effectively to keep this song exciting.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yes!

I definitely believe in “Miracle Power.” The words are clear and fresh, and they celebrate God’s saving power in a personal way. This song focuses our understanding of miracles on the wonders God works in our hearts rather than flashy external displays. The music is fun and catchy, and I have no doubt that my congregation will latch onto this one as soon as we start singing it this week.

Image by Cynthea Magana from Unsplash.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

STAND IN YOUR LOVE – Bethel Music, Josh Baldwin, Rita Springer

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Joshua Earle from Unsplash

“Stand in Your Love,” would be at home anywhere. You could play it in an arena, in a church big or small, or gathered around a campfire at night. It’s simple, easy to learn, uplifting, and catchy. It was released in mid-2018 and subsequently featured on Bethel Music’s Victory album in 2019. Since then, it has become a staple in Christian worship, and as I write this, it’s smack in the middle of CCLI’s top 100 list. What does “Stand in Your Love” mean, is it Biblical, and should you be singing it in church? Let’s investigate.

Focus

The focus of this song is the singer’s steadfastness and ability to overcome fear because of the love and power of Jesus.

This song never specifically mentions God or Jesus, and could be sung about a romantic partner except for the reference to an empty grave in the bridge. This isn’t necessarily a problem in a church service where it’s obvious that we’re singing to God, but it’s worth noting.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
This verse personifies the forces of evil, sadness, and pain, and the singer refuses to be shaken even when in the midst of them.

In the New Testament, Jesus is the light (Jn. 1:5, 8:12). His enemies are symbolized by darkness (Ac. 26:18, Col. 1:13). Darkness trying to “roll over my bones” is a poetic description of the spiritual forces of evil that try to oppress believers.

Sorrow here represents sorrowful circumstances that attempt to rob us of the joy that we have in Jesus through his Spirit (Gal. 5:22, John 15:11). Saying that brokenness and pain are “all I know” is a common hyperbole to evoke an emotional state, not a literal statement that the singer doesn’t know anything else. That would be silly.

We echo the Psalmist in saying that we won’t be shaken. This is only a true statement if we are keeping our eyes on God, following him, and counting on his strength rather than our own. This is not a statement of personal empowerment, but of God’s power. (Ps. 16:8, 62:6, Isa. 41:10)

CHORUS
“My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in Your love”

We sing directly to God in the chorus, repeating the same line over and over as a declaration of God’s power over our fears and of our trust and confidence in him because of his love.

God tells us not to fear too many times to count in the Bible. The clearest and easiest passage of Scripture to link to this chorus is 1 John 4:18, which says “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” God’s love is stronger than all the things we fear, and the more we love him, the less room there is for fear of man, devil, or circumstance in our hearts.

Standing in God’s love sounds a lot like abiding in God’s love, so let’s look at Jesus’ words in John 15:9-12.

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

So what does it mean to stand or abide in God’s love? A big part of it is obedience to his commands. And a big part of that is loving one another. So standing in God’s love doesn’t just mean remembering that God loves you, it also means remembering that he loves the people around you and being a conduit of that love, lavishing it on them like God lavishes it on you.

VERSE 2

Shame, lies, and the past are our enemies in the second verse.

I think our normal understanding of shame is more private and personal than the kind of shame normally described in the Bible. The Bible speaks often of being put to shame, which feels more like public disgrace than the internal experience I associate with the word shame, and seems to be tied to being defeated or disproven. Trusting God means that we will not ultimately be put to shame or disgraced, but vindicated (Rom. 10:11, Ps. 25:1-2). With regard to the internal kind of shame, God is the one who purifies our consciences (Heb. 9:14), takes away our regret through repentance (2 Cor. 7:10), and lifts up our heads (Ps. 3:3).

Jesus is the truth, so he is the antidote to the lies the enemy breathes in our ears (John 14:6).

We can leave our past sins and regrets behind because anyone in Christ is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and he has removed those sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12)

BRIDGE

Breaking chains is a metaphor for the freedom from sin that we have in Jesus (John 8:34-36), and God also breaks literal chains several times in Scripture (Ps. 107:10-16, Acts 16:26, Lev. 26:13).

Jesus’ power empties out several graves by resurrecting their occupants from death (John 11:43-44, Matt. 27:52), most notably his own (Matt. 28:6). We eagerly await his second coming when he will raise all of those who belong to him from our graves (1 Thess. 4:16). There’s a second meaning here as well, a sense in which we have already been resurrected from our spiritually dead state and raised to new life in Christ (Eph. 2:1-7). That is the powerful grace that saves us (Ephesians 2:8).

Jesus’ name contains the power that will cause every knee to bow (Phil. 2:10). It is the name into which we are baptized, symbolizing our death and resurrection with him (Rom. 6:3). It is the name through which God hears and answers our prayers (John 14:13).

Accessibility

This song uses everyday language and common figures of speech rather than specific Bible allusions that you have to understand in order to grasp the meaning. The only Bible reference you really need to understand is the line “power that can empty out a grave.” I think this song actually makes an easy stepping-on point for an unchurched person to begin to learn how to sing to God, since much of the language of the verses is similar to what you might hear in a counseling session or self-empowerment talk, but the chorus and bridge redirect those feelings of encouragement by telling us that the power we need comes from God, not ourselves.

If someone hears this song outside of church and they’re not paying attention to the bridge, it could be mistaken for a secular song about a romantic partner who has helped the singer overcome self-doubt and regret. In a worship service, I don’t think that’s really an issue.

Music

I’ll be describing the standard Bethel/Josh Baldwin version of the song here, but if you’re looking for a female-led version that’s less country/more pop, check out the less well-known recording by co-author Rita Springer.

A simple guitar accompaniment with a light swing rhythm guides us into this song, followed by a classic “b-boom clap” drum part on the first chorus, and then the rest of the band comes in with the full groove of the song on the following instrumental. Nothing super challenging for the band here, and the chords are pretty much the same pattern for the whole song except the bridge.

The bridge provides much-needed contrast, and the following chorus sees the band drop out and just play single hits on the chord changes while the congregation’s voice comes to the fore. We end with another big chorus and a little ad-libbable outro.

The melody and rhythm are super easy for congregants to learn, especially the chorus, which is just the same line over and over. My only musical concern is that the same simplicity that makes “Stand in Your Love” so congregational might also cause the band to tire of playing it.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Yep.

What “Stand in Your Love” lacks in specificity, it more than makes up for in accessibility. It might not explicitly reference a lot of Scripture, but the ideas presented are eminently biblical. It’s an anthem of trust in God and a commitment to the kind of boldness that Paul demonstrated in his Kingdom work. May it propel us to serve God and our neighbor with confidence by standing in and pouring out the great love that he has toward us.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

BELIEVE FOR IT – CeCe Winans, Lauren Daigle

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Marc Thunis from Unsplash

“Believe for It,” written by CeCe Winans, Dwan Hill, Kyle Lee, and Mitch Wong, is the title track from Winans’ early 2021 live album. It came to my attention when a new version came out this month featuring Lauren Daigle, and K-Love lists the original live recording as one of their top songs right now. I have enjoyed and worshiped to songs from both Grammy-winning artists before, so let’s see how the words of “Believe for It” measure up to Scripture.

Focus

There are two. The first is an unspecified obstacle, described as unmovable and unbreakable. The second (and more significant) is God’s power, as the singer trusts him to overcome the obstacle.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
Jesus tells us that faith can move mountains three times in the Gospels (Matt. 17:20, 21:21, Mark 11:23) and Paul references mountain-moving faith in 1 Corinthians 13:2, calling it worthless without love. No one ever moves a literal mountain into the sea in the Bible, so I think it’s safe to see these statements as metaphorical language for God’s power through faith. Winans is also speaking metaphorically. She’s concerned with some oppressive, seemingly unchangeable circumstance in the listener’s life, not geography.

This same obstacle is described as chains and an unchanging tide. Jesus says he came to give liberty to the captives and the oppressed in Luke 4:18. While God has certainly broken literal chains, such as when he freed Paul and Silas from jail in Acts 16, I believe the primary sense in which Jesus liberates us is from the spiritual forces of sin and darkness. In John 8:32-34, he says, “‘You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, “You will become free?'” Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.'”

CHORUS
“From the impossible
We’ll see a miracle
God, we believe
God, we believe for it”

What I like about the chorus, and the rest of this song, is that it extols God’s power. Nothing is immovable or unbreakable to him (see Ps. 29) Luke 1:37, referring to the upcoming miraculous births of John and Jesus, says “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

What I don’t like is that this song lets each listener decide what they are believing for. Whatever obstacle comes to your mind in verse 1 when you sing about unmoving mountains and unbreakable chains is likely what you’re going to be singing about in the chorus and bridge. Is it cancer? Financial strain or poverty? A sin addiction? A broken marriage? An abusive situation? There’s a big difference between believing God is able to fix something and believing that he will. Of course, we will ultimately be rescued from all of those things, but Scripture doesn’t promise that we will experience that rescue in this life. Jesus promises that he will work wonders through our faith in him (Matt. 17:20, John 14:12), but he also promises that we will experience persecution (John 15:20) and trouble, but can find peace in the midst of it because of his victory. (John 16:33). Paul tells us that reliance on God is how we find contentedness in prosperity and poverty, not how we get from one to the other (Philippians 4:11-13). While these lyrics don’t necessarily contradict Scripture, I think they are too open to misapplication.

VERSE 2

Our hope can never be lost because it is laid up for us in heaven (Col. 1:5). Jesus’ grave is empty because he rose from the dead, and we get to share in that resurrection (Matt. 28:6, Rom. 6:5). We should absolutely believe that there is power in the name of Jesus; this is the witness of the whole New Testament. Just do a Bible Gateway search on “Name of Jesus.” Demons are cast out and people are healed in his name (Acts 3:6, 16:18), we are baptized and sanctified in his name (Acts 2:38, 1 Cor 6:11), and every knee will one day bow at his name (Phil. 2:10).

BRIDGE 1

Jesus is the way in John 14:6. Verse 17 clarifies that this means he is the way to the Father, and there is no other way apart from him. The whole Bible is full of reasons to trust in God. Saying he has the “final say” refers to either his final victory and judgment, which will come by his powerful word (2 Peter 3:7) or his total sovereignty over the world, and by extension our circumstances (Psalm 22:28, Romans 8:28).

BRIDGE 2
“You said it, I believe it
You said it, it is done”

We should absolutely believe everything God has promised (Josh. 21:45). But we’d better be sure that when we say we’re believing for something because he said so, we’re believing in something that he’s actually promised in Scripture, not just something that we really, really want. We also need to make sure that we’re trusting God to fulfill his promises according to his timetable, not ours. Many of God’s promises to Israel didn’t find their ultimate fulfillment until the coming of Christ (Heb. 11:13), and others will not be fulfilled until he returns (2 Peter 3:8). So let’s be careful not to believe for “it” unless “it” is something that God has actually said.

Accessibility

I don’t think anyone would have difficulty grasping the meaning of this song. The metaphors are clear, and the words of the chorus and bridge are simple and repetitive. My concern is that anyone not thoroughly grounded in what God does and does not promise in Scripture is likely to sing this song with incorrect assumptions about what we should believe for.

Music

I’m a sucker for a good chord progression with changes on beat 4 leading into the next chords on beat 1, and this song has that. I also really enjoy the drum groove, which is classic and propels the song forward while the melody soars heavenward. That same melody is very repetitive and learnable. I don’t think this song would be difficult for worship teams to learn. The most challenging part would be achieving the gospel styling of the backing vocals and the ad-libbing of the lead singer. Winans utilizes both to powerful and moving effect. Of course she does; she’s a legend.

Conclusions

In an article about this song on K-Love’s website, Lindsay Williams quotes CeCe Winans as saying, “The song challenges people to not brush off your dreams; don’t give up or give in, but it’s time to believe that you can make it. Believe that you can achieve what’s in your heart. It’s time to believe for wholeness and healing for yourself, your family, and your community. It’s time to believe for unity.” Those aspirations are all good, and most are even Biblical. But the idea of following your dreams and achieving whatever is in your heart is not based on the truth of Scripture.

It’s an inspiring song, but I have to pass on it. The belief that is at the crux of the chorus never finds a concrete promise of God to stand on, so the listener is left to supply their own meaning, which could be anything. That’s dangerous and veers uncomfortably close to Word of Faith teaching and the Prosperity Gospel. What we should believe for is the return of Christ, when he will fully and finally reconcile all creation to himself, and the working of his Kingdom in and through us now, which rarely happens the way we expect it to.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.

KING OF GLORY – Passion, Kristian Stanfill

/ Jason Henry / Leave a comment

Image by Robert Thiemann on Unsplash

Live from the Passion 2020 Conference, “King of Glory” is a peppy, encouraging call to worship. One of the high school students on my worship team recommended it to me, and I was immediately caught by the catchy instrumental hook, and then led to celebrate the power of God through the lyrics.

Focus

The clear focus here is the glory and saving power of God, followed by the awed praised that we and all creation bring as a response.

Lyric Analysis

VERSE 1
The writer addresses his soul, just like the psalmist in Psalm 42:5. Also like the psalmist, the answer to his discouragement is the hope and praise that result from God’s power and salvation.

VERSE 2
We can have peace even in life’s storms because Jesus is Lord over all of it. (Mark 4:35-41, John 14:27, John 16:33)

CHORUS
The chorus draws heavily on Psalm 24. In fact, the title “King of Glory” seems to me to be unique in Scripture to this Psalm. The Hebrew word for glory here is kabowd which has a range of meanings including abundance, riches, splendor, and honor. Kabowd is used to describe both people and God in the Old Testament. Whatever impressive things are included in its meaning, we can be confident that God exceeds all of it in splendor and is king over it all. The psalmist applies the title to Yahweh, Israel’s God, and the New Testament clearly teaches us that Jesus is that same God, so it is fitting to identify Jesus as the King of Glory (John 8:58, Philippians 2:6).
The next two lines allude to the same Psalm, where God is described as Israel’s savior, and strong and mighty in battle.
“Freedom is in his name,” doesn’t come specifically from Psalm 24, but it’s not an alien idea either. For the Israelite, freedom from the captivity in Egypt was the archetypal example of God’s saving power. In the New Testament, we see that our primary freedom in Christ is that we are set free from sin, death, corruption, and bondage to the spiritual forces of evil (Heb. 2:14-15, Rom. 8:2, Gal. 5:13). I think Psalm 24 even hints at this with its mention of vindication in verse 5.
“Open the gates of heaven” is pretty much from Psalm 24, though the gates there are more likely of Jerusalem, to allow the King into the city. I’m not particularly bothered by the inversion describing them as the gates of heaven, implying that God is coming out of his city to meet us rather than coming into ours. I think it’s the same idea.
Shouts of praise are everywhere in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms.
The lion roaring here is obviously Jesus, the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5), not the devil (1 Peter 5:8). It’s interesting to me that lion symbolism throughout the Bible is split between good guys and bad guys. Lions are strong and deadly, equally able to tear you to bits or protect you from just about anyone who would harm you. Furthermore, Jesus’ title as the Lion of Judah refers back to Genesis 49:8-12, when Jacob blesses his son Judah with prophetic words about the Messiah who will come from his lineage.

VERSE 3
This verse is based on Psalm 121:1-2 with the added reminder that our help only comes from the Lord, and that we should stand in awe of him (Ps. 22:23, 33:8).

BRIDGE
Nations bow to God in Psalm 86:9, and everyone bows specifically at the name of Jesus in Philippians 2:10. Mountains quake before Yahweh in Nahum 1:5. Ephesians 1:20-21 says that Jesus is seated above every rule and authority and power and dominion; that sounds like reigning over all to me.

Accessibility

This song is clear and straightforward. Even unchurched people will be able to understand the declarations about Jesus being made here. I also like that this song specifically identifies Jesus as God, Lord, and King, worthy of praise and inspiring the awe of all creation.

Music

The dulcimer hook at the beginning is great, and I love the high-energy rubber-band arpeggiation in the background if you’ve got backing tracks. The drum beat is simple enough to emulate and keeps the song driving forward with excitement. The dynamic changes are swift, powerful, and attention-grabbing. I also like how the bass doubles the melody on the bridge. The instrumental channel from the bridge to the chorus provides a great opportunity to exhort your congregation.
The melody is easy and repetitive; congregations should have no trouble learning it.

Conclusions

Will it worship? Absolutely. We’re singing it this Sunday.
I think this song is best suited toward the beginning of your service, as it contains call-to-worship elements, and I always love starting our worship with some strong declarations about God’s character and power.