Take a few minutes and work through this post. I am praying it will stir fresh affection for Jesus and for serving Him with your whole heart.
“Do not withhold good, from whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” Proverbs 3:27
Failing to honor those who serve well among us is a great failure indeed. It fails to show gratitude, fails to highlight the value of faithfulness, and fails to inspire others to serve with the same dedication. I’m gonna try to avoid that error right now . . .
1998
I was an exhausted 37-year-old servant of Jesus on a sabbatical with my family in England, in the summer of 1998. Ten years of church planting had left me uncertain if we would have the strength to return. I had been reading The Saving Life of Christ, by Major Ian Thomas, and because we were in the UK, we made our way to the original home of his ministry at Capernwray Castle, a Bible college and ministry training center in England.
I sat in the back of the small Sunday worship service with Kathy—and Luke, Landon, and Abby, none of whom had any idea how much I needed the Lord to visit and renew me. A simple devotion was given from the Scriptures, and as the elements of the Lord’s table were passed, the people began to sing, “Jesus Christ, I think upon Your sacrifice. You became nothing, poured out to death. Many times, I’ve wondered at your gift of life. I’m in that place once again. And once again I look upon the cross where You died. I’m humbled by Your mercy and I’m broken inside . . .” I felt so self-conscious sitting with my kids as the tears streamed down my cheeks, so I leaned forward on my elbows making a pool between my feet on the floor. Yes simple, but so profound—and Jesus Christ touched my life, stirring fresh affection for Himself. The song’s author was Matt Redman. I had never heard of him, but it was not the last time the Lord would meet with me through one of Matt’s songs.
Once Again
1999
I was still not following Matt Redman closely, but I resonated with everyone else, it seemed, that “The Heart of Worship” expressed well the passion of every worshiper to “bring something that’s of worth, that will bless Your heart,” and the awareness that Jesus is “looking into my heart.” Yes, “It’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus”—as fresh and needed today it was 16 years ago. I especially love that song’s line: “King of endless worth.”
The Heart of Worship
2002
Early in the new millennium, we experienced a mutiny of sorts from a gifted man in our church whom we had given much opportunity for ministry. Looking back, I know we handled him poorly and fearfully, and I pray for him a similar realization of contributing fault. Bottom line, it was very hard on me and my family. And though I found great instruction from God’s Word in enduring that trial, it was songs by Matt Redman that renewed and healed my soul. “Blessed be Your name, on the road marked with suffering; though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be Your name.” And for a season it seemed we ended every Walk in the Word rally and most weekend services with the beautiful words, “Befriended, befriended by the King above all Kings.”
Blessed Be Your Name
Befriended
2004
By now, I was a HUGE Matt Redman fan and counting the days until I could download the new release Facedown. Our church has sung many of these songs through the years, but it was the simple duet with Chris Tomlin, “Worthy, You are worthy, much more worthy than I know. I cannot imagine just how glorious You are, and I cannot begin to tell how deep a love You bring.” I had been learning that the word worthy is the idea of ‘balance on a scale,’ where Jesus Christ is on one side and our worship on the other. No matter how much adoration we heap on this side of the scale, He always brings it to balance. It’s never too much—HE IS WORTHY. The other line that I love revealed Matt’s deep love for the Word of God, as he quoted Job 42:5, “O Lord, my ears had heard of You, but now my eyes have seen.”
Worthy, You are Worthy
2006
Beautiful News was timely in the life of our church. We entered an extend season of trials related to a construction project that ran aground and almost sunk the ship. I had no idea God was preparing me for an additional season of personal trials, but I can say one of the peaks of worship in our church came through the song, “You Never Let Go.” “Oh no you never let go through the calm and through the storm, Oh no you never let go every high and every low, Lord you never let go of me.” The bridge still takes me apart, “and I can see a light that is coming, for the heart that holds, there will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes, still I will praise You, still I will praise You.”
You Never Let Go
2010
I am very blessed to have always had a loving father, and for that reason I had never really struggled with God’s love for me. At least not until I came into a season of great disappointment with men to whom I had looked as an example. I am sure they had more reason for disappointment with me, and yet I felt the pain of their rejection very deeply. After a season of immense struggle and wrestling to truly forgive, I retreated to my basement and loaded an old CD from, you guessed it, Matt Redman, as I wandered around my wood shop in hopes of something fresh for my soul. Though 10 years after the release of “The Father’s Song,” it was the first song to come on when I hit play. “Heaven’s perfect melody, the Creator’s symphony, You are singing over me, the Father’s Song. Heaven’s perfect mystery, the king of love has sent for me, and now You’re singing over me.”
The Father’s Song
That last line remains the most beautiful description of the doctrine of election I have ever heard: “The king of love has sent for me.” Wow . . . I mean God met me so powerfully through that lyric with assurance of His abiding presence—just wow. It was so life-impacting that this past spring I taught a whole series called The Father’s Song, using Matt’s song as our theme. He even graciously recorded a little intro for our church family.
2013
I am not sure what I was doing when “10,000 Reasons” came out in 2011, but I first heard that song when my friend Paul Baloche sang it in our church. Matt tells the story online of how it flowed from his soul pretty quickly, based upon his reflecting on Psalm 103. The part that resonated most deeply with me during a season of perseverance was that we would not allow the trials of the day to silence the priority of worship in our lives. “Whatever may pass and what ever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes: Bless the Lord, oh my soul.” Wow, no matter what, Lord, no matter what—we will “sing like never before.”
10,000 Reasons
I won’t give any more examples, except to say whole pages could be written about “You Alone Can Rescue”, “Thank You for Healing Me”, “Making Melody”, “Seeing You”, “I Will Offer Up My Life.” Our church even sings a portion of “Breathing the Breath”: “We have nothing to give, that didn’t first come from your hand . . . and all we do is give back to you what always has been yours.” I wonder if anyone knows we are singing a prayer the Lord gave us through Matt Redman.
Breathing the Breath [Harvest Bible Chapel]
When you visit a city far from your own, and someone waits in line to tell you how much your preaching has meant to them over the years, often through tears and with great fervency, the feeling is surreal. When I have occasionally experienced that, I have felt dismayed as I really have no one like that in my life. I actually don’t listen to very much preaching, as preparing and giving my own messages takes up so much time. However I do listen to a lot of worship music . . .
Tonight Matt Redman is coming to our church. (thanks to our Senior worship leader Andi Rozier sadly on the road today with Vertical Church Band, I know they hate to miss this.) Matt Redman is touring with his new release, Unbroken Praise. I have to confess, I will be the guy in the line with emotion welling up in my throat; I will be the guy waiting for my chance to tell Matt how much his worship ministry has meant to me for over 20 years. Don’t freak, but I will even ask if I can have a picture with him. (Updated: see below 
) And yes my heart will be pounding—with gratitude to the Lord when I get to introduce him.
With this post I honor Matt Redman and thank God for his ministry. To quote a friend, “Matt has often constructed an altar upon which I can lay my sacrifice of praise.” As is often the case, I have no idea what suffering has birthed these songs, what solitude, and faithful seeking has brought the insights expressed through his lyrics—I only know it’s cost him a lot. Thanks for paying the price Matt, and remaining on course, and staying in the Scriptures. We are more for Jesus because of your ministry to us, and are thankful for the privilege of serving the Lord with you tonight.
All words and music from song excerpts by Matt Redman.
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