Build My Life

This Sunday, February 17 we’re going to introduce a new song called “Build My Life” written by Brett Younker, Karl Martin, Kirby Kable, Matt Redman, and Pat Barrett and performed on the album Housefires III. I’ve been listening to this song for days, even months waiting for an opportunity to introduce this during our worship services. Few songs strike my heart like this one. If you haven’t had a chance to hear this song yet, I’d encourage you to get on our app and go to the Weekend Guide section and tap on Worship Playlist. Then open the list of songs on Spotify. (If you don’t have an account on Spotify, they’re free and you can listen to the whole song for free on there.)

Like I said, few songs strike my heart like this one. It resonates deeply with me. This song declares truth that’s wrapped up in Scripture and then our response to that truth. He alone is worthy.

We have to ask ourselves, has Jesus ever done anything for us? The true answer is a simple “yes”. But so often, too often we spend our time believing that Jesus has done very little to earn our trust or attention. Sure we may not say it out loud, but we tend live like it. Too easily we put aside time with the church family for various simple reasons, not really as big of a priority as it probably should be. We don’t spend much time seeking God in prayer and Bible reading before we make decisions because we already have it all figured out in our minds. When we face a crisis, our tendency can be to actually blame God for our situation when honestly either we got ourselves into it or had no control over it…how could He let this happen to me? We’ll complain about the message and that it didn’t speak to me, or about the worship, that it was too loud or not my style. All the while we don’t realize that we’re pushing away the fact (the fact, not a myth) that Jesus actually went to the cross and died to remove our sins from us and bring us into God’s presence so we can have a heart to heart relationship with Him.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

-Romans 5:8 (ESV)

Does this not make Him worthy of every breath we could ever breathe? Not just a few breaths on Sunday morning or when things go bad or good, but literally every breath? Every song? All acknowledgement and praise?

I was reading in Revelation 5 about us. Check out this scene in heaven and try and imagine yourself there. John is having a vision of what things will be like and a scroll is brought out by God. But no one is worthy of opening it or looking into it. John literally bawls his eyes out. An elder who was before the throne says something to him about the hope that there is One who can do it. He says in verse 5, “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.” In other words, “Look! Jesus is coming! And He is worthy!” Read this:

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Revelation 5:6-14 (ESV)

Note this: He is worthy because He gave His life and died on the cross for us and ransomed us for God. All of heaven and all of earth cry out that He is worthy of blessing, honor, glory and might forever and ever. No one was left out, not even you and me.

Did you notice? You and I are in there too! Every creature in heaven and on earth…that’s us. Basically it’s saying that whether we want to admit it or not right now in our current life, we will in fact cry out with everyone else that Jesus alone is worthy. Oh imagine the depth of our relationship with Him and with others in the church, the abundant life we all could be experiencing right now if only we would spend more of “our time,” “our breath” acknowledging that He is worthy of it! But more often than not, we claim that time and breath belongs to us and choose to build our lives on other things and not on Him and His love. And as a result we experience exactly we’re trying to avoid; a shaky home, a shaky relationship, lack of trust, and worry about the future.

Church! We need to pray and repent. I’m doing it right now as I write this. We need to purpose to build our lives on His love, the love that drove Him to die for our sins, and realize and grab on to what God transformed us into because He died for us. We’re His kingdom; we’re His priests. His sacrifice changes lives and should cause us to want to live for Him, to change even the world so they can see that He truly is worthy before they have no choice and it’s too late. Every breath we could ever breathe, we live for You, Lord. I will build my life upon Your love!