With Dependence on Jesus, We Find the Freedom We Need

No more chasing useless things; You're our King. We declare our dependence! 

During this extended holiday weekend of 2023, we get to be reminded again of all that Jesus has done, is doing, and will continue to do to reveal that "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1). 

As Lecrae sings in "Set Me Free":

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance 

I just want to praise You ... 

Shackles on my feet, O, they won't let me be, 

Won't You set me free? 

Break this hold on me ... 

I got them shackles off my feet! ... 

I couldn't move, but now I'm free!

May the Kingdom of God break in to provide true freedom in Christ now for all who call the city of Worcester, Massachusetts home. 

Throughout this summer, my prayer is that Emmaus City Church would also grow in the freedom of realizing our dependence on God together. It in Him that "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). Urban Doxology provides songs from their two albums, Urban Doxology and Bread for the Journey, as a soundtrack for how to live into this reality. One song in particular, "Declaration of Dependence," helps encapsulate (along with their reading of Isaiah 58) the desires and cries of my heart for Emmaus City Church. May our worship this weekend bring forth an urban doxology throughout Worcester that reveals Christ's power made perfect in our weakness so that we and those around us might experience all the freedom experienced when we depend on the grace of God.

Isaiah 58 Scripture reading by Urban Doxology

Cry aloud, shout, lift up your voice like a trumpet! 

Declare to My people their rebellion. 

Tell My people what's wrong with their lives. 

They seek Me daily and delight to know My ways. 

They ask Me "What's the right thing to do?" 

They act like righteous people 

Who would never abandon the Word of God.

"Why have we fasted," they say "and You have not seen it?" 

"Why have we humbled ourselves and You have not noticed?" 

"Why aren't you impressed?"

Here's why: It's because you are fasting to please yourselves.

You fast, but you argue and fight over small things. 

You fast, but you attack those who don't think and act like you. 

This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere. 

You go through the motions, bowing your heads like plants, 

Bending in the wind, dressed in clothes for mourning. 

Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to God?

This is the kind of fast I'm after: 

To break the chains of injustice, 

Lighten the burdens, 

Free the oppressed, 

Cancel the debts, 

Share your food with the hungry, 

Give shelter to the homeless, 

Clothe those who need it. 

Don't turn away from your own flesh and blood. 

They are your family. 

Then your light will break forth like the dawn! 

Your healing will quickly appear! 

Your righteousness will go before you, 

And the Glory of God will go behind you! 

You will call, and God will answer! 

You will cry for help and God will say, "Here I am!" 

Remove the heavy burden of oppression. 

Do away with the gossip and finger pointing. 

Feed the hungry. 

Help those in trouble. 

Then your light will shine out from the darkness, 

Your shadowed lives will be bathed in the sun, 

And God will guide you always.

He will satisfy your needs in the emptiest of places, 

Restoring your strength. 

You will be like a well-watered garden, 

Like a spring whose waters never fail.

Restore.

Renovate. 

Rebuild the broken in your community. 

Raise up the age-old foundations. 

You will be called the Repairer of the broken systems, 

Restorer of home and community.

Declaration of Dependence 

Urban Doxology, 2014 A.D.

We're done with clinging to the 

Ways that box us in. 

Now we know we want to lean onto the 

Love You're offering. 

For too long we put our 

Faith in our own strength. 

We must submit unto the 

Reign of our true King.

So as a nation we call a mighty 

God who's waiting on a simple 

Declaration of our dependence, 

Back to Him is where we want to be. 

Now we see that we're 

Nothing without our King. 

We're gonna fall unless we're 

Holding to Your hands.
Too many bruises come from 

Making that mistake. 

We'll let You be the One who 

Heals our every ache. 

Not gonna take a step 

Unless You lead the way. 

(Repeat chorus) 

Selfish love and selfish gain 

Left us empty singing, 

"We declare our dependence!" 

We're finding refuge in Your name 

We don't want the fame 'cause 

We declare our dependence! 

We will trust in nothing else, 

You're our help, singing, 

"We declare our dependence!" 

No more chasing useless things! 

You're our King! 

We declare our dependence! 

We (We) 

De (De-) 

-Clare (-Clare) 

Our dependence!

P.S. Urban Doxlogy is connected with East End Fellowship in Richmond, Virginia. East End describes themselves as "a a multi-ethnic, economically diverse Christian church in the east end of Richmond, seeking God's joy and justice for our neighborhoods out of love for Christ," a beautiful statement that they truly embody. You can read more about East End Fellowship's origins here: Skylines & Silhouettes | Worcester, MA + Richmond, VA.

I've had the privilege to join with East End for a couple of their Sabbath gatherings. One of those Sundays, Doug Paul preached from Luke 9:1-19 and invited us to remember that King Jesus isn't inviting us to step into a miracle we can do, but to step into miracles that only He can do in our lives, in our neighborhoods, and in our city. To read such a miraculous story, check out this post featuring an excerpt from Doug's Ready or Not: Kingdom Innovation for a Brave New World:

+ CN | Freedom Comes to Angola Maximum Security Prison

On that day with East End, the Spirit of God was tangibly present in the words being sung, prayed, and voiced by the multicultural and socioeconomically diverse children, women, and men who I was able to stand with, sing, and cry out to God with together.

May God's Kingdom come, His will be done.
Jesús nuestra Rey, venga Tu reino! 🙏💗🍞🍷👑🌅🌇

+ Bonus: Fireworks & Stars: "Only One Thing Needed" to Be Free

With blessings of presence and peace,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

Christ & the Coronavirus Playlist | 3 Songs with Ike Ndolo: We Are the Beggars + Grave to Shudder + Land of the Rising Sun

"The dark is groaning, the tomb is reaching out, oh, but they can't have me, oh by they can't have me! The crows are circling, the jackal waits in the dark, oh, but they can't have me. Oh, but they can't have me! I belong the land of the rising sun where the grave is no more, the war has been won! I belong to the land of the rising Son, I belong to You, I belong! ... "

I love Ike Ndolo as a singer-songwriter, and he may be my favorite worship-in-song writer. Even more so, his music right now is brining consolations and courage to my heart and mind during this novel coronavirus pandemic.

Ndolo, a Nigerian-American and humble Roman Catholic, writes and sings with great passion about how Christ has overcome our fears and sin, and has defeated the powers of disease and destruction within us and outside of us. His songs resonate with a longing that captures the heart of what God offers us in Jesus in our deepest needs, often expressed by the prophet Isaiah:

Arise, shine, for your Light has come, 
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness will cover the earth, 
and total darkness the peoples; 
but the Lord will shine over you, 
and His glory will appear over you. ...

Come, everyone who is thirsty, 

come to the water; 

and you without silver, 

come, buy, and eat! 

Come, buy wine and milk 

without silver and without cost! 

Why do you spend silver on what is not food, 

and your wages on what does not satisfy? 

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, 

and you will enjoy the choicest of foods. 

Pay attention and come to Me; 

listen, so that you will live. 

I will make a permanent covenant with you ... 

+ Isaiah 60:1-2; 55:1-3

Ndolo's first album, "Rivers," features multiple songs we enjoy singing together with Emmaus City Church, though we have not had the opportunity to do so in person as of late. Two of his songs we sing in relation to the sacraments: "Offering" often before or during the time we partake in the Eucharist, and "Riverside" before we celebrate the baptism of an infant, child, household, or adult. 

But the three songs off of "Rivers" that have greatly resonated with me in relation to prayers for my city of Worcester during the Coronavirus Pandemic are "We Are the Beggars," "Grave to Shudder," and "Land of the Rising Sun" (the last of which is Emmaus City Church's favorite song to sing together based on a recent poll). These three songs speak of Jesus who brings healing from His wounds for those who see themselves in need of of His saving. And right now, I sing along with them from afar during this novel coronavirus pandemic, recognizing again that I am not my own or anyone else's savior. 

I believe that in Emmaus City Church and in our city of Worcester in the weeks and months to come, we will grow in our longing for more than our own strength can provide. Could this time in being quarantined with some forced reflection help us put to death relying on ourselves, trusting that we will be met and rescued by Another who can even make hell itself turn and run?

I dare to dream that there will be more in our beloved city who will hope in Someone to come to them and love them with the power that brings life out of death and causes dry bones to rise. I dare to believe that this Savior, this Servant King who washes even the filthiest and most diseased parts of us, is at work to make our wrongs right, and that He is making all things new even during a pandemic. 

What could our lives look like in Worcester right now in relation to Him and each other if our actions grow in being moved by faith, not fear, with this Jesus who fulfills everything He promises for us, not only moving in us, but moving through us?

With Jesus, we see Someone who even the grave shudders at. And if we choose to be the beggars in Worcester, we can give our lives for Him and for others, sharing His Good News with all in word and deed. And in doing so, we will find where life truly begins even in the midst of a pandemic.

Will you dare to dream with me?

Ike Ndolo's "We Are the Beggars" Lyrics and Video 

See hope and justice blaze,
Let it burn through this place.
Tear down our walls of sin;
See mercy flooding in.
In You salvation comes!

We'll run to Your cross!

You are here now,

You are here now.

We are the beggars here

Showing the beggars where

Life begins and death will end. 

Come Church and have no fear!

Look now our God draws near!

Our King, the Bread of Life

Who calls these bones to rise!

Take heart 'cause Love has won!

He makes the darkness run

We're singing it loud, 

We're singing it loud! 

(Chorus)

Ike Ndolo's "Grave to Shudder" Lyrics and Video

 

I was born under lock and key.

My slavery was like a friend to me.

It's all I knew, like the pressing night

Until You came and gave me back my life.

This beating heart was growing fainter still, 

Dry from the world and its empty meals. 

I tried to rise, but I could not die. 

You showed me how and put to death my pride. 

He has made the grave to shudder 

And all of hell to turn and run! 

He has looked on me a pauper 

and called me, "Son!" 

With a glance He melts the mountains 

That are building in my heart! 

He has given me a new life 

To shine like the stars! 

You count my hairs 

Like You count the stars. 

Gave me a name

And wrote it on Your heart. 

What reckless love

To give Your life away! 

Snatched from the pit 

My soul today. 

(Chorus) 

On the edge of night, 

Beyond the wall of sound, 

I'll stay close to You, my God, 

Lead me to higher ground! 

Upward on onward still 

To a land bold and bright! 

My Love, You have come to save 

And turn all my wrongs to right! 

(Chorus)

Ike Ndolo's Land of the Rising Sun Lyrics and Video

The dark is groaning, the tomb is reaching out.

Oh, but they can't have me!

Oh, but they can't have me!

The crows are circling, the jackal waits in the dark.

Oh, but they can't have me!

Oh, but they can't have me!

I belong to the land of the rising sun

Where the grave is no more,

The war has been won!

I belong to the land of the rising Son,

I belong to You, I belong!

The world is in my bones, it makes me wrestle with You.

Oh, but You have claimed me!

Oh, but You have claimed me!

No matter how far I've gone, even to the devil's table.

Oh, my God, You've claimed me!

Oh, my God, You've claimed me! 

(Chorus)

Through my wandering, and my failing, 

And my doubting, I belong!

Through the fire, and the darkness, 

Through the sadness, I belong!

I'm just a rebel who's tired of fighting,

So I'm laying down these arms.

The sun is rising, the sun is rising, 

The Son is rising! 

(Chorus)

Next post: Christ & the Coronavirus Painting | "Kitchen Maid with the Supper of Emmaus" by Diego Velazquez, 1618 A.D.

P.S. For more of Ike Ndolo's potent songwriting, see also his most recent powerful collaborations with Common Hymnal that touch on other ways Jesus connects with resonant themes in our nation and world: "How Much Longer?" and "Blue Collar Praise").

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us

Church Planter Anthems | 139 + Redemption in Motion

Seeking His Kingdom is how I Know and how I experience my King's Kaleidescope of Redemption in Motion

What's next for Emmaus City? We are going to begin meeting in a public space in Worcester on Saturday, September 12 at 4:30 p.m. at the Fusion Center located at 30 Tyler Prentice Road off Lincoln Street. It's cool to take this next step and see who God will connect us with. But too often, I want to know what the next 5 or 10 steps are, and I trend into running through a ticker tape of possible options before I let God get a chance to interject with His much better words and much better ways. And when He tells me to seek first His Kingdom, it is because it is so much better than any kingdom I could create and/or destroy.

And yet, I worry too much. I'm impatient. I long too much to control. 
I'm an unruly faux king of anxious immaturity. 

Thank God that He knows me. Thank God that He knows my sin of worry that eats at me like a parasite, and He calls me to repent and turn away from it to Him. Thank God that He formed me and He can restore me. Thank God that He redeemed me and listens to my prayers. Thank God that He is the beginning and end of this story. Thank God that He is mightier than any dream I could have, and more steadfast than any plan I could concoct. Thank God that He loves me and every person Emmaus City will have the privilege to share and show Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom with, and who receive it from Him with humility and grace. 

And thank God that His Kingdom is near and is coming to fruition. Jesus, help me to seek You first now. Spirit, I want to run this race well that You have set before me. Help me to keep step with You so that one day " ... I will run through heaven’s brilliant streets of gold! Shouting, “Hallelujah, Christ alone!” I know I will dance and sing and bow before the throne! This I know! ... "

Kings Kaleidoscope "Seek Your Kingdom" lyrics and Live in Color video

I’ve been anxious, I can’t sleep.

Worthless worries, burden me.

I hunt the sun, chase the wind,

'Til my tired spirit spins into the ground.

When I try to take control,

Fear and terror grip my soul.

I need joy, I need peace,

I need rest, I need relief.

I look to you, and you teach me to …

Seek Your Kingdom,

Seek Your righteousness.

See the ravens, they can’t farm.

They don’t have silos, trucks or barns.

But our God sees their needs


And He loves them

And He feeds them everyday.

See the lilies, how they grow.

They don’t work or buy their clothes.

But if God, by His grace,

Clothes the grass with great array,

Then how much more, is there in store, when I …

Seek Your Kingdom,

Seek Your righteousness.

I will seek Your Kingdom,

Seek Your righteousness.

When I’m worried about tomorrow,

Your will will guide me through.

All these things in my life won’t shake me,

You’ll take me home.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." – Jesus (Matthew 6:25-34)

Kings Kaleidoscope "139" and "Redemption in Motion" lyrics and Live in Focus video

139

You heard my first heartbeat before I could breathe.

Before my first cry, You knew me.

You knit me together when I was conceived.

When I was designed, You knew me.

You know what I wonder before I can speak.

Before my first thoughts, You know me.

You see what I’m dreaming when I go to sleep.

When I’m waking up, You know me.

I could run away or hide beneath the sea.

You’d still hear my prayers.

I could climb the peaks or dive beyond the deep.

Oh my God! You are there!

You crafted the heavens and care for my soul.

In all of your ways, You’re holy.

When I’m lost in darkness and far from my home,

Your hand guides my way and holds me.

You are the God who knows and loves me!

The God of David, the Rock of Ages!

You are the King who dwells above me!

The King of Zion, the Mighty Lion!

Redemption in Motion

You’re with me always, I won’t be afraid.
You died and rose and set the world ablaze.
Amazing grace, redemption in motion.
I will see You when I fly away
To the gates of heaven where I’ll see Your face!
Holy Jehovah, Alpha Omega!
You died and rose and set redemption in motion!

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,' even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! – Psalm 139:1-18, 23-24

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock. – Isaiah 26:3-4

“Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered." – Revelation 5:5

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” – Revelation 1:4-8 

Kings Kaleidoscope "I Know" official lyrics video

Every day at dusk, I chase the sunset

Looking for a glimpse of heaven’s skies.

I’ve been given a taste for something

That nothing in this world can satisfy.

But I know that at time is coming

When I will be in glorious delight.

I know I will run through heaven’s brilliant streets of gold!

Shouting, “Hallelujah, Christ alone!”

I know I will dance and sing and bow before the throne!

This I know!

Every day at dawn I chase the sunrise

Looking for a hint of heaven’s light.

(Repeat bridge and chorus)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. – Revelation 21:1-6

For previous church planter anthems, check these out: 

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) 

 God I Look to You 

Redeemed to Redeem

I Just Wanna Get There 

All I Want

Satisfied in You (Psalm 42) 

Oh God

Made Alive

Father You Are All We Need

Felix Culpa

Grace Alone

Defender

Fix My Eyes

– Sully 

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