We then sang the song “Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace)” for the first time together. Here's what Joel said...
The name of Jesus... The name above every name.
What comes to your mind when you think of Jesus? Easter? A bearded guy with blue eyes? I know for me, Jesus is everything. And I know for a lot of people, the reason that we can sing with hope and freedom and victory, is all because of the name of Jesus. Not because anyone is good enough to be in the presence of God, but because of Jesus. Because of what He did for us, we can freely come and worship Him; truly set free; not bound by what we’ve done, not burdened by all the areas in life where we’re not good enough, but alive in Him... in His righteousness, not our own.
We’ve been singing a lot of new songs in our church lately. For many years, our church has been bringing a new song, it's an amazing gift and opportunity, and I pray that we would never take it for granted.
The prophet Isaiah, talking about bringing new songs, said this (Isaiah 42):
“This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
'I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
'I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.'
Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth.”
I believe with all my heart, that when we bring these songs, they’re not just random melodies, random lyrics, or random thoughts about a God who once was. I believe that the living God, Jesus, is breathing His life, is breathing what He’s wanting to say, what He’s wanting to do in this day and age, at this time in history, in this place, in and through His people.
When we sing these songs, it's like the prophetic is cutting through the atmosphere. The prophetic cutting through culture, lighting the way, showing what God wants to do. I pray that we’d all rise up and take a part in that. That we'd understand we’re all a part of it, not because we’re special, but because of pure hearts. He says; a broken and contrite heart, He will not despise (Psalm 51:17). That's what He’s after.
I love that God takes pride in using broken vessels, ordinary people, like you and like me. It's because of His amazing grace that our eyes are open to the fact that He wants to use us, to do what only He can do, so that people will see Him.
Whether you've been in church for thirty years or have never set foot in a church building, I want you to know that this grace, this amazing grace, is as much for you as it was for anybody; when Jesus died upon that cross, that it was to give you freedom as much as it was for anyone else.
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