Isaiah 60

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Tonight was nothing short of extraordinary (Free Hillsong concert at Brooklyn Tabernacle). I am extremely glad that I was able to share with my YG a part of what I experienced last year without them. It’s been such a long time since I felt worship of this magnitude, and this time I get to share it with the very people I chose to avoid so much in the past. Although we were pretty far back in the church, getting the chance to be in that room was just amazing. My favorite part about it all, is watching other people during worship. I loved watching the people rise one after another during worship; I loved watching hand after hand come up into the air; I loved that people danced and jumped in exuberance; I loved that half our voices were shot by the end of the night; I loved that people who I never expect to see fully submerged in worship lifted their hands high in praise.

Darlene Zschech really has a gift from God, as do the rest of the team. Every time I watch a Hillsong Live video, I think about how awesome their job is. Not so much about the recognition, but the fact that they get to worship God for a living! That’s not to say that we don’t worship God in our own lives, but their job descriptions specifically allows them to lead the people to worship in songs. Everyday they get to wake up and feel that tremor all over again. How awesome is that?! As tough as ministry may be, knowing our place in Christ really makes up for it all. Tonight’s short message was very similar to today’s Sunday sermon; about taking what God has given us and turning it into a blessing for others. Isaiah 60 really stood out to me tonight. Sometimes I stop to think about the lives that may have been changed through me, maybe it was just an attempt to feed my own ego, but until I stop to think about it, I never realize how God’s blessing were poured out onto others around me.

There’s something about worship music that touches a part of my heart no one else can ever get to. If I really stop to think about it, sometimes by my own logic it seems like a crazy idea to believe in God. But I believe that part of knowing Christ comes with a unity between God and you. I can spend a whole day doing the most un-godly things, but at the end of the day when I come before the cross (via iTunes library or Youtube), the heart just cannot deny the amazing love and grace. I bought their ’09 CD (Faith+Hope+Love) and I have been listening to “It’s Your Love” for a long while. The lyrics to the song is just so pure and true. Knowing God’s love and what Christ’s blood did for us gives us such freedom in life. I thought it was really neat that she took some time out to pray specifically for the worship leaders in attendance. It certainly encourages me to put more heart into leading worship (especially at work).

Every time I see young children in services or concerts, I wonder if they know about what amazing thing is going on around them. When Darlene put the spotlight on little Stephen, I remember thinking to myself, “Kid, your life is forever changed and you have NO IDEA about it!”

It’s Your love, It’s Your love, it’s Your love that has saved me

Your blood, it’s Your blood, it’s Your blood that has claimed me…

Hillsong//It’s Your Love