Verge | You Are God & You Are Good by Austin Stone Worship

Come now in power and let our chains be broken! Pour out Your Spirit, Jesus our hearts are open! – "You Are God and You Are Good"  

If you have been following Emmaus City's website, you most likely already know that we take Ephesians 5:18-20 to heart: " ... be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ ... "

We greatly appreciate The Story in Song. We know songs can help shape a life of worship service. And some songs make for great anthems for church planting.

In 2013, two new songs quickly became new favorites: "Jesus Is Better" by Austin Stone Worship and "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" by Hillsong United. And now Aaron Ivey and Austin Stone have done it again in 2014 by creating what will most likely be my favorite worship song of the year.

For some background to the Ivey family, and how this song could have been inspired by their experiences of adopting children from Haiti before and after the earthquake, check out this video, "The Ivey Adoption Story," this post by Aaron's wife, Jamie: "Four Things To Do When Bringing Home a Child from Hard Places," and another song by Aaron called "Amos Story."

"You Are God and You Are Good"
by Austine Stone Worship

(c) 2014 

Verse 1

For the fatherless, we pray be the Father.
Let those who lost their way be understood.
For the widow and the broken – be the Lover who will hold them.
We know that You are God and You are good.

Yes, we know that You are God and You are good.

Verse 2
For those who mourn today, be the comfort,

And who hunger after You, be satisfied.

You bless the poor in spirit for heaven is their kingdom.
We know that You are God and You are good.

Yes, we know that You are God and You are good.

Chorus 1
You are God, You're the risen King.

You are good, Lord of everything.

No mountain, no valley could ever separate us from Your love.

You are God and You are good.

Yes, we know that You are God and You are good.

Verse 3 

As we look upon Your Word, God give us vision.
Restore us by the power of Your blood.
Come now, Holy Spirit – when You whisper let us hear it.
We know that You are God and You are good.

Yes, we know that you are God and you are good.

Bridge 

So come now in power!
And let our chains be broken!
Pour out Your Spirit!

Jesus, our hearts are open!

 Chorus 2
You are God, You're the risen King.

You are good, Lord of everything.

No mountain, no valley could ever separate us from Your love.

No power, no darkness, could ever stand between us!
No mountain, no valley could ever separate us from Your love!

You are God and You are good.

Yes, we know that You are God and You are good.  

"Redeemed to Redeem" rocked me the first time I heard it at Verge 2013 in Austin, Texas. "You Are God and You Are Good" was introduced at Verge 2014 during two of their worship set lists and continues in the vein of "Redeemed to Redeem" in bringing a powerful view of God's redemption and restoration, and His invitation for His followers to provide glimpses of His kingdom and resurrection power. 

 

"For the fatherless, we pray be the Father. Let those who lost their way be understood. For the widow and the broken – be the Lover who will hold them. ... "

This first line hooks me because it immediately puts me into the perspective of an orphan. And one of the greatest joys of walking with God in recent years is recognizing what He's done through Jesus to reconcile and adopt His children. How will this rich reflection propel Emmaus City forward to seek the orphans, widows and broken in Worcester who need to have someone share the good news that God not only redeems and restores, but also adopts by the power of His Spirit?

 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." – Jesus (John 14:18)

" ... For those who mourn today, be the comfort, and who hunger after You, be satisfied. You bless the poor in spirit for heaven is their kingdom ... "

Jesus Himself said that blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Only in Jesus and with Jesus can we become His church who suffers well together, fully trusting that His strength can meet us and those He has sent us to in our weakness. How do we step into the broken places of our city, walking humbly with the Spirit of God so that we hunger for and ask God to come into the places that need His healing balm?

"The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!" – King David (Psalm 22:26) 

" ... As we look upon Your Word, God give us vision. Restore us by the power of Your blood. Come now, Holy Spirit – when You whisper let us hear it. We know that You are God and You are good. ... "

As much as I hope God will accomplish through Emmaus City to give Jesus glory, if we're not seeking His Word by His Spirit, we will be looking for answers with our own eyes that meet our own desires. In the whirlwind of wanting to do so much and see so many people encounter Jesus, we need to rest and listen and wait for the Lord to whisper His goodness and strength to us again and again in our weakness. How will we trust that even when we are not doing or cannot do anything, God is still working to bring His redemption and restoration in the lives of those I love, but He loves more?

" ... And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. ... 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him and her who are of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite'" – YHWH (1 Kings 19:11-12; Isaiah 57:15)

" ... So come now in power! And let our chains be broken! Pour out Your Spirit! Jesus, our hearts are open! ... "

This is my absolute favorite part of the song. A complete and climactic shout of prayer and praise to the One who can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine!

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,  because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." – Jesus (Luke 4:18-19)

" ... No mountain, no valley could ever separate us from Your love. No power, no darkness, could ever stand between us! ... "

Jesus comes to us. He is the death-defying God and Savior. Nothing can separate us from His love. Why would we not turn back to Him again and again, knowing He is with us and that all He asks for is a mustard seed of faith to believe He can do mountainous moves in our lives, the lives of our families, the life of His church, the lives of people in our neighborhoods and the lives of those who call Worcester home?

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." – Paul (Romans 8:38-39) 

P.S. For more reflections on Verge 2014, here are some helpful links:

• Verge 2014 Part 1 of 4 | Redeemed: Jesus is Better Notes of Quotes
• Verge 2014 Part 2 of 4 | Redeemed for Redemptive Leadership Notes of Quotes
• Verge 2014 Part 3 of 4 | Redeemed for Gospel Communities on Mission Notes of Quotes
• Verge 2014 Conference Part 4 of 4 | Redeemed for Everyday Mission and Discipleship

– Sully

If your curiosity is piqued, or something inside you is being stirred, feel free to connect. For other updates, like and follow Emmaus City on Facebook.

Verge | Redeemed for Everyday Mission and Discipleship

Verge 2014 Part 4 of 4 | Redeemed for Everyday Mission and Discipleship Notes of Quotes

This is the fourth and final post in a series on Verge 2014 featuring notes of quotes for quick perusing. Previous posts of quotes from Verge are below:

• Verge 2014 Part 1 of 4 | Redeemed: Jesus is Better Notes of Quotes
• Verge 2014 Part 2 of 4 | Redeemed for Redemptive Leadership Notes of Quotes
• Verge 2014 Part 3 of 4 | Redeemed for Gospel Communities on Mission Notes of Quotes

Neil Cole, Helen Lee, Steve Timmis, and Bryan Lorrits closed the conference well during the final round of discussions at Verge 2014.

Neil Cole

Church Multiplication Associates

Founder and Executive Director

        

           "The kingdom of God is where everyone gets to play. It's time to stop having a gift. It's time to start being a gift. The church is about going out and getting the God-stuff out of people along the way."

         "In Ephesians 4:11-16, we see how God has given the church a collection of leadership qualities to help equip everyone in the church for ministry. Every type of leader and every person being led is necessary in order for us to grow into maturity as His body because Jesus was mature all of these areas.

The leadership qualities in the church that work together to represent Jesus are like a hand:

• Thumb: Apostolic – They're ready to help us hitch a ride; they know how to help us to be sent with the Spirit
• Pointer: Prophetic – They make sure we're listening to God the Father and pointing to His Word for our direction
• Middle Finger: Evangelistic – They're out in front of us all; they reach the world first with the Word and the Spirit
• Ring Finger: Shepherding – They help us be committed to Jesus and His bride, the church, so that we lay down our lives for Him and each other
• Little Finger: Teaching – They dig into the details and make sure what we're saying is in line with what Jesus said, which was always in line with what His Father told Him 

    These leadership characteristics also work together like the way our bodies work:

• Glandular System: Apostolic – They help us grow and mature in being led by the Spirit; they keep us productive 
• Central Nervous System: Prophetic – They keep us obedient to the head of the body 
• Muscular System: Evangelistic – They strengthen the body to continue to exercise our faith with others in word and deed in the world 
• Circular System: Shepherding – They keep us connected to the heart of God
• Digestive System: Teaching – They make sure the nutrients from God in His Word are digested and absorbed by the body regularly

Thinking of them this way helps us realize we need all of them in order to be a healthy body of Christ.

Helen Lee

Missional Mom

Author

"Too often, our culture pressures mothers and children into being productive members of a society where they are defined more by what they do and how they're doing in the home, at school, or in the community than who they are."

"We need moms to see that their first identity is not as a mother to children. They are redeemed daughters of the King who wants them to be on His mission with Him. We need our kids to see that their first identity is as redeemed children of the King who can inspire others in how they follow Him."

"Mothers and children have such a great opportunity to connect with others for the sake of others meeting Jesus. They are at the front of where God is moving to reconcile families to Himself. We can and should use inspiration and imagination to help mothers and children join their part in the mission of God. Share stories where mothers and kids worked together to serve others in their communities. For one example among many, one eight-year-old girl decided she was going to use her lemonade sales to free 500 children from slavery. For two years, she sold lemonade, and at the end she had $100,000 and she did free 500 children. Her family supported her imagination and now she is an inspiration. Another story is where two boys wanted to bring together the two things they love the most: Jesus and their friends. And so they do. There are countless stories of moms and kids who chose to follow the King in big and small ways that gave great glory to Jesus." 

Steve Timmis

Acts 29 Church Planting Network

Global Director

"The church is a community of lovers who keep loving during the mundane, the routine, the regular. In this way, they will become a family living out the mission of God, by the power of the Spirit, for the glory of Jesus."

"What does a community of deep love look like? 1 Peter 4:8-11 shows us. 'Love covers a multitude of sins.' 'Show hospitality without grumbling.' 'Be good stewards of varied grace.'"

"Love covers a multitude of sins: Love pays for the sin and the cost of forgiveness. We're a community of flawed others, but we don't want to be bothered with forgiving each other. But we need to remember, the Spirit bears fruit in us by exploiting our tension and challenging us to be ministers of reconciliation for the glory of God."

"Show hospitality without grumbling: Often, the last part of the person to get saved is his or her home. Jesus didn't say, 'Go home all you who are weary and it will give you rest.' Jesus is our rest. His hospitality is working in us when we realize everything we own is not our own. Opening our front door to one another is generosity."

"Be good stewards of varied grace: If you are a steward, then you own nothing. He's given you what you have by His grace so you can bless others through it. We own nothing, but we are entrusted with so much. We need to live, walk, and talk with due diligence to serve. We're all servants. We need God's grace because this will be tiring. But God has called us to live openly before a watching world."

"When we look at the incarnation and the crucifixion, we see that it is in the ordinary that God's glory most shines. It's through the times of bruisings, piercings, and stabbings that people get saved. The church is something like a phenomenon of God – it's ordinary people living ordinary lives with extraordinary gospel intentionality because they know how God has extraordinarily acted on their behalf." 

Bryan Lorrits

Fellowship Memphis

Lead Pastor

"God's welfare is not a system of enablement, but empowerment. Tim Keller says, 'The righteous disadvantage themselves for others'. In Matthew 25:31-46, we see how God views the righteous and the wicked as they are most closely linked to how the righteous share and the wicked hoard the world's goods. Being saved by a gracious and generous God is about being changed by Him in every area of life."

"Are we known more for what we know, or who we are obedient to and how? Fundamental to the gospel message of God's generosity for us is how Jesus' grace has impacted us so much that we are compelled to be generous to others. There are 2,350 verses related to God's heart for the alien, the widow, and the poor throughout the Scriptures. And Jesus regularly warned against all forms of greed. Why? Because it's such a subtle sin. You don't know when you've crossed 'the line' until you're already miles down the road."

"We need more faithful, generous believers who give up their lives for others in the marketplace. One person we can learn from is William Wilberforce. He served for 50+ years in Parliament. When he considered leaving, John Newton told him to stay. And because of his influence and steadfast commitment, he helped the slave trade to be abolished in Great Britain in 1807. And slavery was soon abolished in 1833. When Wilberforce retired, someone asked him what he would do next. His answer: 'Find the next thing to abolish so others will be helped.'"

– Sully

Curiosity piqued? Something inside you being stirred? Go ahead and connect. For other updates, like and follow Emmaus City on Facebook.

Verge | Redeemed for Gospel Communities on Mission

 

Verge 2014 Part 3 of 4 | Redeemed for Gospel Communities on Mission Notes of Quotes

This is the third post in a series on the Verge Conference. These won't be full-on-reflection posts, but rather notes of quotes for quick perusing. Previous posts of quotes from Verge are below:

• Verge | Redeemed Because Jesus is Better
• Verge | Redeemed for Redemptive Leadership  

Caesar Kalinowski, Mike Breen, Dhati Lewis, Todd Engstrom, William Branch, Steve Timmis, Hugh Halter and Jeff Vanderstelt unleashed some gospel saturation during the most jam-packed flow of discussions during the Redeemed for Gospel Communities on Mission section of the conference.

Caesar Kalinowski

GCM Collective

Executive Director

        

           "When Jesus tells us to baptize people into His family (Matthew 28:18-20), He also means for us to soak them into their identity in relationship to the identities of the Father (member of the family), and the Son (servant of the King), and the Holy Spirit (sent one on Jesus' mission to gather more learners to follow Him)."

         "The name we have, that we've been given from another, means that we are a part of that family. So our birthright as part of Jesus' family (in God the Father), of servants (in God the Son, the Servant King) of missionaries (in God the Spirit, the One who empowers to send us) means we have a great inheritance in which we can’t outspend or outdo our Dad’s generosity."

            "In repentance, we turn from unbelief to belief, from a false identity to a true identity in who God says we are, and we make disciples, or learners, to proclaim this good news in their lives to the people God has sent them to love and serve."

Mike Breen

3DM Movements

Founder

"We need the Spirit to help us wake up refreshed and get up inspired. All are called to participate in God's mission and many are called to lead. God is unity in community. He is mission trinitatis."

"In God’s humor, we are learning how to be a family from a single guy. Jesus has His identity tested in the desert, then He goes home and He’s rejected even as the head of His household, and then He goes to find friends who will connect with Him, follow Him, and become family with Him."

  
"Jesus takes the skills of His friends and equips them in His Kingdom mission. But remember, at the beginning those closest to Him, His mother and brothers, think He’s out of His mind." 
 

"We need to follow Jesus, and as He did, create predictable patterns in which people can grow in their spiritual purpose to be a family on mission. The disciples were called to do and say what they had seen Jesus do and say."

"As you read through the New Testament, the word 'disciple' drops from the text in Acts 21; the Gentile world doesn’t know about Rabbis and disciples, so it switches to family (i.e. oikos). As Paul did, strengthen and grow your family with the recognition that as a leader, you’ve been called to be a spiritual parent to them (1 Corinthians 4:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8)."

Dhati Lewis

The Rebuild Initiative

President

"A church is a network of families on mission that come together to serve neighborhoods and people groups in towns and cities for the purpose of making disciples of Jesus."

"We need the dynamic of a family reproducing itself and multiplying in order for people to learn how to be sent out to make new learners and followers of Jesus where they live, work, and play. And just like we experience with explaining things to kids, there are never too many times a person can hear or see the gospel in his or her life. We want them to be strengthened and compelled by the gospel to share the gospel."

Todd Engstrom

The Austin Stone Community Church

Executive Pastor of Campus and Communities

"A missionary sacrifices everything but the gospel for the sake of the gospel. And this is only possible if we know who God is and what He has done for us to set us free."

"Before Christ we were orphans, but in Christ we are adopted children. Before Christ we were aimless, but in Christ we are on mission for others. Before Christ we were dead, but in Christ we are made alive."

"Practices are helpful, but without personhood, we will be helpless. Our new identity in Christ and our joy in the gospel must be the foundation for our mission. Obedience in joy can only flow from the heart."

"If mission is producing judgment in you, then you are trying to prove yourself. Not one of your neighbors or friends is impressed with your sacrifice, but Jesus’ sacrifice can impress upon them something different."

"You’re not on this earth to just do something; you’re here to be someone. As missionaries, know who you are, know who you love, and then you’ll know what to do. 'For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them' (1 Corinthians 9:19)."

William Branch

The Ambassador

"How do you serve Jesus today? Learn how to be servants to your fellow servants and to your neighbors. 'You are' and 'you did' go together (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus said I know who you are because I see what you did. Ministering is giving all practical help possible to others. But unless the Spirit is training us in love, we will not know how to minister."

"Serve. But do it to reveal who you are in Christ, not in an attempt to define who you are next to Christ. See how Jesus served you. Then you will serve Him and you will want to learn from Him how to serve others."

"Serve. If you follow Jesus, the Servant King, then it’s true to who you are. So do what it is true to who you are."

Hugh Halter

Adullam Communities
Lead Pastor

"God intentionally put skin on for us. Are you considering how to put on Jesus (Romans 13:14, Galatians 3:27)?"  

"Who says to you, 'You make it really hard not to believe'? Paul shows us how this is done when he says, 'I’m going to stay with you until Jesus is formed in you, even when it's as painful as childbirth' (Galatians 4:19). And often, it will be."

"Jesus is our righteousness, yet there is no self-righteousness in Him. His love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). Does your love? If not, ask for His love for those He has sent you to."

Jeff Vanderstelt

We Are Soma
Vision and Equipping Director

"Preach the gospel to yourself more than anyone else. Whatever you are most confident in, you will speak about the most. You don’t have to train people to talk about who they love. We have Jesus' story to tell – do we believe it’s the greatest one in our lives?"

"What if you say, 'I don’t think I can tell people about Jesus ... ' Don’t worry. If you are born again in following Jesus, you have someone in you who loves Jesus more than anyone – the Holy Spirit. He knows how to give glory to Jesus better than anyone else because He’s known Him forever."

Next post: Verge | Redeemed for Everyday Mission & Discipleship

– Sully

Curiosity piqued? Something inside you being stirred? Go ahead and connect. For other updates, like and follow Emmaus City on Facebook.