Category Archives: Ministry

Lovely Worship Medley

Worship, Personal, Ministry, Music

cloudscape over devon

This small but powerful worship medley is absolutely gorgeous. Fiona and I used to sing the first song, ‘You Alone are Holy’, as a duet. ‘We Exalt You’, however, although one of my favourite ‘uplifting’ songs, never quite caught on as well as I’d have liked – but I share it with you today in the hope that you too will find it uplifting.


You Alone are Holy

Can you hear Creation yearning
Longing to worship His Name?
Together in all adoration
I join them to proclaim

Can you hear the angels singing
In the Presence of the King
My heart cries out to be with them
As I fall on my knees and sing

For You alone are holy
You are worthy to be praised
You alone are holy
I offer up myself to You
For it’s the least that I can do for You

To live my life in Your Presence
To hide in the wings of Your grace
To drink from Your fountain of mercy
I hunger and seek Your Face

For You alone are holy
You are worthy to be praised
You alone are holy
I offer up myself to You
For it’s the least that I can do

For You alone are holy
You are worthy to be praised
You alone are holy
I offer up myself to You
I offer up myself to You
I offer up myself to You
For it’s the least that I can do for You

You Alone

You are the Peace that guards my heart
My Help in time of need
You are the Hope that leads me on
And brings me to my knees

For there I find You waiting
And there I find release
So with all my heart I’ll worship
And unto You I’ll sing

For You alone deserve all glory
For You alone deserve all praise
Father we worship and adore You
Father we long to see Your Face

For You alone deserve all glory
For You alone deserve all praise
Father, we love You
And we worship You this day

We Exalt You

We exalt You, we exalt You
We exalt You, Exalted King on high
We exalt You, we exalt You
We exalt You, Exalted King on high

We are called of You
Gathered from all nations
Called as priests to You
To demonstrate Your praise

We exalt You, we exalt You
We exalt You, Exalted King on high
We exalt You, we exalt You
We exalt You, Exalted King on high

We are living stones
Formed by Your own righteous Hand
Joined in unity
To celebrate Your Love

We exalt You, we exalt You
We exalt You, Exalted King on high
We exalt You, we exalt You
We exalt You, Exalted King on high

We exalt You, we exalt You
We exalt You, Exalted King on high

Header Image: Cloudscape over Devon; a view above the clouds at about 7,000ft on a crystal-clear day.  Seeing a view like this evokes real worship of the sheer magnificence of God as seen in His Creation.

I Hear Angels

Others' stuff, Worship, Ministry, Music, Testimony

One of my favourites of the ‘early’ Hosanna! Music songs is this one, I Hear Angels, by Gerrit Gustafson, from the album ‘Forever Grateful‘ with worship led by Marty Nystrom, whom I have featured on my blog before.

I love songs like this (especially with such superb piano tracks!), and ‘Holy are You Lord‘, because this is one of the main themes of Heavenly worship – Holy, Holy, Holy – as described in the various Heavenly visions in the Bible, for example, in Revelation 4:8 or Isaiah 6:3. If you’re singing this, you’re singing the worship of Heaven. The worship of those angels and humans described in those passages, the worship of people who can actually see Jesus in all His amazing wonder, power and glory – this is their song. And so it is only right that we join in; even here in our earthly place where there’s suffering, pain and decay, still we can celebrate ahead of time, as it were, in the ‘here and now’ where we know only in part and not in full (1Cor13:12); where we can see the outworkings of God’s plans in all His genius, and rejoice in them!

Here’s the song, then – I Hear Angels.

Enjoy!

I hear angels singing praises
I see men from every nation
Bowing down before the throne
Like the sound of many waters
Like a rushing wind around us
Multitudes join the song

And a symphony of praise arises
Tears are wiped away from eyes
As men from every tongue and tribe all sing

Holy holy, God Almighty
Who was, Who is and is to come
All the angels are crying “holy”
To the Lamb Who sits upon the throne

Holy holy, God Almighty
Who was, Who is and is to come
All creation is bringing glory
To the Lamb Who sits upon the throne

I see One Who’s full of wonder
Eyes of fire, voice of thunder
Shining bright, His Majesty
All the colours of the rainbow
Circle Him and fill His temple
So beautiful this is to me

And a symphony of praise arises
Tears are wiped away from eyes
As men from every tongue and tribe all sing

Holy holy, God Almighty
Who was, Who is and is to come
All the angels are crying “holy”
To the Lamb Who sits upon the throne

Holy holy, God Almighty
Who was, Who is and is to come
All creation is bringing glory
To the Lamb Who sits upon the throne
To the Lamb Who sits upon the throne

I believe I have personally heard angel voices singing.

It has happened to me only once, in about 1992, when I was in a prayer meeting in a hired room in Otley Civic Centre, in Otley, West Yorkshire. During a high, awe-filled lull in the open worship (which I was leading), I could hear music; voices and yet it was not voices; singing but the sound was more like trumpets of all different sizes. I couldn’t hear any words. No other party was in the building at the time; the sound was coming from somewhere below the room we were in. It wasn’t very loud, but it was real, and I shall never forget the sound.

To this day, I still believe this was angel voices worshipping along with our group’s high praise. I’d never heard anything like it before – in fact, it was like nothing I had ever heard –  and I haven’t heard anything like it since. Fascinating!

All I Desire…

Insights, Worship, Personal, Ministry, Music, Testimony
Whom have I in Heaven but You?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you
– Psalm 73:25

A long time ago, I was a worship leader who played in meetings and services week after week, month after month. Until, of course I burned out! Many of my readers will know of my Dark Night of the Soul, when I left behind me all things Church for fifteen years. And on each occasion that I burned out, I came closer and closer to never going back into leading – or even into Church; each time, that Dark Night beckoned. Eventually, it turned out to be exactly what I needed, but on this particular occasion the ‘only’ real thing was that I never wanted to ever hear again any of the Songs of Heaven.

Except for this one. ‘All I Desire’, from the Hosanna! Music album ‘Almighty‘. Despite everything, this one song just played over and over again in my spirit – and I didn’t mind, despite it being a Song of Heaven:

‘Oh Lord, my God, all I desire is You’.

And, you know, that was exactly what the Spirit was speaking to my heart at that time. I needed to put aside all the works, all the leading, all the action, all the ‘being indispensible’, and just concentrate on my heart’s Desire – all I really needed was Him. So, in His usual complete genius, He gave me the one song that could save my sanity, by putting my focus back on the One to Whom I owe everything. 

As usual, it had taken a big crash for me to learn my lesson – if indeed I did. But anyway, here is the song. If you’re blown away by life’s pressures, or especially by ministry pressures, remember your first Love; remember that He is all you really desire, and that all the resulting works and deeds flow from Him and back to Him. Let it be effortless. let it flow from your life in the Spirit, and not from any compulsion.

Hold your ‘ministry’ lightly;
but hold on to Him tightly

(I can’t believe I just wrote that, and I apologise. Too trite for my normal style, and I don’t like ‘Christian catch-phrases’ – but I feel perhaps it’s there for for someone!) 😉

So here it is: ‘All I Desire’, written and led by Rich Gomez.

Sing it. Mean it.

O Lord, my God
All I desire is You
O Lord, my God
All I desire is You

More precious than silver
More costly than gold
No riches on the earth
compare with You

And what can this world offer
when all I desire is You

– Rich Gomez, 1992

The Prophetic Piano Solo

Others' stuff, Worship, Ministry, Music

I’ve written before on the subject of singing in ‘tongues’; singing in another, unknown, language as the Spirit gives the words. It’s beautiful, moving, and very, very special.

Today I want to give you a really special worship track from the tape ‘Oil of Gladness’; you can find the whole tape on my ‘Vintage Worship Tapes‘ website.

When I used to lead worship in my old church in Leeds, sometimes I would be inspired just to play spontaneously, even sometimes to sing the words prophetically (like the chap in this example). This could happen either out of the blue, or after the end of a song, but it’s always gorgeous. In some ways, prophetic piano playing is like singing in ‘tongues’ as it’s spontaneous, not pre-planned; when it’s done ‘live’ it’s always fresh, always new, and it’s not usually playing any recognised tune – although sometimes I might be playing prophetically and realise that I am actually leading into another song, in which case I will roll with it and lead into that song.

So anyway, in the track I am sharing today, they’ve just finished singing  a song (I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live) and the pianist, David Matthew, carries on spontaneously into a lovely prophetic piano piece, later backed with his band, and the congregation join in gradually as they realise what’s happening. As I say about this track on on my webpage  on Vintage Worship Tapes,

“…yes it may only be a four-or-five-chord vamp but there are almost words in that music; I have loved that piece for nigh on thirty years and still it speaks new things to me; it really is prophetic piano playing.”

This was the first prophetic piano solo I’d ever heard, and I found that it inspired me to similar things in my own worship leading.

Have a listen and see what you think. Let the Spirit soak you with the worship in this timeless piece:

The worship was recorded at Church House in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1978. The piano that David was playing was a Steinway grand, which is why I have used a picture of a Steinway in the header image for this post.

It Is Well With My Soul

Insights, Others' stuff, Worship, Ministry, Music

It is such a comfort to me to know that, no matter what happens, It Is Well With My Soul. No matter what happens, my life is ‘…hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3). This means that my life in Christ is now so bound up within the Godhead that it is safe forever. That’s some statement! And it’s true for everyone who simply puts their trust in Jesus, whether they realise the reality of that truth or not. If you’re one of those people, then be encouraged and take in that simple but marvellous truth: It Is Well with Your Soul! Yes, with your soul! Let it soak into your entire being, and never let go of it – because it’s true and it’s real!

If you’re not one of those people? You too can have the assurance and say with me, “It is Well with my Soul”, if you simply decide to trust in Jesus. Have a think about that.

And so, I wanted to share with you today one of my favourite Christian hymns, ‘It Is Well With My Soul’, by Horatio G Spafford.

About 25 years ago, Hosanna! Music published a cassette tape called ‘Eternal God’, with worship led by Don Moen, on which ‘It is Well With My Soul’ was featured. It was the first time I ever heard it and I loved it straight away. So, here is the song from that tape:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

(Refrain:) It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)

And Lord haste the day, when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
(Refrain)

spaffordHoratio Spafford’s moving story, of a life full of tragedy and yet also full of service to Father, can be found here and here. You might read that story and think, whether you are already a believer or not, ‘How can someone go through all that and still believe in a loving God?’ And you would have my agreement – except that, because of the Grace of God, I believe that all believers are given the grace to carry on in faith under such circumstances.

I can testify to this in my own life; even as I write this, my wife and soul-mate Fiona has been fighting a particularly nasty cancer for the last two and a half years. Her survival through to this point in time is nothing short of miraculous. She refers to herself as a ‘walking miracle’, and with good reason too. And God has been close to us the whole time. Despite the circumstances, we still believe. This is real stuff, in real life – a real God drawing near to the brokenhearted, just as He promised He would do (Ps 34:18) And of course, it is well with her soul, too; whatever our lot, we can say that.

Along with Horatio Spafford, then, we can testify with full joy and assurance:

It is well with my soul!

Begin today to declare this awesome truth to yourself and for yourself. Let it make a difference! Wow!

For completeness’ sake, here are the full lyrics for It Is Well, including my favourite verse, the third (My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought…)

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

(Refrain:) It is well (it is well),
with my soul (with my soul),
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
(Refrain)

My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(Refrain)

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pain shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
(Refrain)

And Lord haste the day, when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
(Refrain)

At the end of the main track on this page, Don and his band play another song, ‘I Will Come To You’. Here is that beautiful song in its entirety, from the Hosanna! Music CD, ‘Eternal God, 1991:

I will come to You, You have the words of life
I will come to You, You are the door
I will come to You, You are the Light of Life
I will come to You, For You are Lord

You have laid down Your life to forgive my sin
And You’ve made a way for me to be born again
By Your stripes I am healed,
In Your presence I’m filled
I hear You calling and now I come

Holy Are You Lord

Others' stuff, Worship, Ministry, Music

The incredible piano and worship-leading talent of Terry MacAlmon cannot be overstated. Here he is singing his heavenly-vision-inspired song, ‘Holy are You Lord’. Excuse the dress styles and what have you; push through all that into what’s in these people’s hearts – this is real worship at its best.

If you don’t find your hands spontaneously rising up in worship as you listen to this song, it might be best if you check to see if your arms are still there 😉 :

Can you hear the sound of heaven
Like the sound of many waters
It’s the sound of worship coming from the throne
There are cries of adoration
As men from every nation
Lift their voice to make His glory known, singing

Chorus:
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord
The elders and angels bow
The redeemed worship You now
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord

With All I Am

Others' stuff, Ministry, Music

Here’s a gorgeous worship song from Hillsong – With All I Am (Jesus I believe in You). Last Sunday I woke up with this song on my mind – not that I knew it all that well – and it was ‘on’ in the worship session that morning. Another reminder from Father that in these dark times I need to keep my eyes on Him and not look down at the stormy waters.

Thank You, Jesus! 😀

Enjoy; soak it up!

Into Your hands I commit again
With All I am
For You, Lord, You hold my world in the palm of Your hand
And I am Yours forever

Jesus I believe in You
Jesus I belong to You
You’re the reason that I live
The reason that I sing
With all I am

I’ll walk with You wherever You go
Through tears and joy
I’ll trust in You
And I will live in all of Your ways,
Your promises, forever

Jesus I believe in You
Jesus I belong to You
You’re the reason that I live
The reason that I sing

Jesus I believe in You
Jesus I belong to You
You’re the reason that I live
The reason that I sing
With all I am

I will worship, I will worship You
I will worship, I will worship You
I will worship, I will worship You
I will worship, I will worship You

Help My Unbelief!

Insights, Others' stuff, Ministry, Music
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

I know a man who wants nothing more than to believe. He’s very well-read on matters spiritual; he has devoured most of the Bible and has also made in-depth studies into the ‘background’ of the Bible’s history. He’s read ancient history, he’s read about the ancient civilisations that are mentioned in the Bible (and some that are not!), and he’s even begun learning Hebrew. (And he’ll probably read this too – hey buddy!)

And he wants nothing more than to be able to believe. He wants it like nobody else I have ever met.

I love this guy. He’s so honest about his doubts and what-have-you.

And Jesus loves him too; there’s no question. His searching and seeking reminds me of two things: one, that Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Seek, and you will find…for everyone … who seeks, finds”; two, the verse that Jesus is probably referring to when He said that, from Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”.

jer 29-13

But he also reminds me of the story of the man in Mark 9:24, who says, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”. In short, Jesus fully appreciates that there are people who do believe, and/or want with all their hearts to believe (just like my seeking friend) – and that’s perfectly ok. He neither judges nor condemns people for that, or anything else for that matter. You can be sure that He’s also available to help those who do believe but in some ways still don’t, and also those who feel they don’t believe but would love to. Jesus would say to these people, like my friend, “You are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven!” (Mark 12:24)*

help my unbelief

Belief is not always a black-and-white, binary yes/no, do/don’t issue. There are shades of belief; even within a single church there are people who believe different things and at different levels. For instance, the whole lot of them may believe in Jesus’s power to heal, but some may balk at asking Him to heal something really serious, like Alzheimer’s or cancer or something. But Jesus accepts them all just the same, because they seek Him. Seeking comes first; believing follows on after. “Lord, help my unbelief” is the seeking.

And the great thing is that even just a little bit of belief rapidly grows into a larger ‘amount’, if such a thing can be measured. This is what Jesus meant in His parable of the mustard seed, “[The Kingdom of Heaven] is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.” (Luke 13:19) Once a person receives a taste of the things of God, he wants more and more! And God has already freely given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3); all we have to do is receive, take a hold of it, and live in the blessing. It’s really that simple.

No, Jesus is no stranger to those who want to believe, but can’t quite find it in themselves. That’s because it isn’t really in ourselves at all; it’s actually in Him. That’s why the man in Mark 9:24 had to say “…help me in my unbelief!” – and in his context, he was actually making that request of the one Person in the entire world who could actually grant that request. And it’s the same today.  All we have to do is ask Him and He will help us in our unbelief; He will make Himself known.

Prayer – in whatever way you feel able – is the way to do this. If something happens, it will be the best thing that ever happened to you – let Him in, let Him meet you! If nothing happens this time, don’t be discouraged; it’s all part of the seeking process! But be encouraged – Jesus is seeking you so much more fervently than you are seeking Him! His love for you blazes with a jealous, fiery passion and intensity that is straight from the heart of the Father. In that love, He will lead you to a place where you are ready to believe. And He will never let you go.

To finish with, here’s a story song about the man in Mark 9:24, told like only Don Francisco can tell ’em:

At first we trusted anyone who said they had a cure
But with every disappointment it grew harder to be sure
Still, when we heard of Jesus, we went looking for this man
Who could break the grip of demons by the power of His command.

We found His close disciples in the foothills where He’d been
But as I tried to talk to them the devil struck again
My son began to scream aloud and his eyes rolled back inside
And he fell and moaned and he stiffened out and I turned to them and cried.

“Cast it out of him, I beg you!”, but it was all to no avail
And as each one made excuses all my hopes began to fail
But then I heard excited voices shouting out “The Master’s here!”
And as Jesus walked right toward me, desperation conquered fear.

I begged Him, “Rabbi help us, he’s my son, my only son”
Your men have tried to cast it out ah but nothing could be done
He’s been like this since childhood; no one can tell us why
Oh but Sir, if you can help at all, I beg You please to try”

“If You can?”, He thundered, “You asked me if I can?
Everything is possible when there’s faith inside a man!”
I cried “Oh Lord forgive me, please, I’ve lived so long with grief
And I do believe You can oh Lord, oh please, please help my unbelief!”

He told the spirit “Leave the boy, and enter him no more!”
It shrieked and threw him on the ground, worse than all the times before
‘Til at last he laid just like a corpse, and I thought it was the end
But Jesus raised him up and said “Here’s your son, my friend”

We walked back home that evening, and his mother laughed and cried
As we told her all that Jesus did; how the others failed but tried
And the lesson that he’d taught me in the healing we received
Everything is possible to someone who believes.

Everything is possible to someone who believes
It is your Father’s joy to give to all who will receive
Those who strive are always caught in the tangled webs they weave
But everything is possible to someone who believes.

 – Words and music by Don Francisco, used here with his permission.

*The Kingdom of Heaven is not referring to the ‘afterlife’ (although that’s part of it), but as God’s Kingdom here on earth, which is basically wherever Jesus’s people are. The Kingdom of Heaven is where the power and reality of the future Kingdom seen here on Earth, in terms of the power of God and the Presence of Jesus, which are right there with His people. Unfortunately, some of His people don’t realise they’ve got all this!

I Came to Worship You

Others' stuff, Worship, Ministry, Music

Here’s a beautiful worship song from Terry MacAlmon – I Came to Worship You.

Get somewhere on your own, close your eyes, and then either join in or just listen. Let this song awaken a worship response in your heart and draw near to God as you do so. Worship has no time or distance; God is everywhere – you don’t need to be in a meeting to worship God even with recorded music like this! Let the Spirit rise in your heart as you worship Him. As Terry says in the worship, ‘Oh, just find Him as you sing…..’.

I came to worship You,
I came to sing Your praise,
I came to love You, Lord,
Your Holy name to raise,

Hallelujah, hallelujah,
Oh, how I worship You,
You are my Lord.

 

Darren’s Steam Engine

Insights, Others' stuff, Ministry, Prophecy

My friend Darren is a man after God’s Heart, and he’s also after Revival. Not just a small tent ‘revival’ like they do in the States, but a full-blown move of the Spirit in this day that will bring healing, blessing and righteousness to countless numbers of hurting people. He and I both want revival and, each in our own ways, we both work with God towards that end.

Yesterday, Darren shared a vision he was given while praying in the Moriah Chapel in Loughor, Wales, where the 1904 Welsh Revival began.

Here’s Darren’s post in full:

“I have something that I feel is very important to share with the Church…

“This morning as I was praying and soul-searching at the back pew in Moriah Chapel, God gave me a message in the form of an image in my head;-

“I saw an old steam train sitting on some tracks. It was not moving forward or backward but was just sitting there, unfulfilled in it’s purpose. Scattered in between the wooden sleepers that were supporting the rails were great weeds and the wheels of the train had rusted up and had probably also seized up too. It was clear that this train had not moved for a long time.

“The scene was then shifted and I was in the driver’s cabin of the train. I noticed that the water gauge indicated that there was no water in the reservoir. I then saw the door of the coal furnace open, revealing cold, long-burnt out coal. All of a sudden a shovel appeared out of nowhere and started to dig deeper and deeper into the coals, turning them over and over. I noticed that there were very dim ambers still barely alight right at the bottom of the pile and as the coal was being turned over and over, the ambers started to gradually heat up and ignite the cold coal. What seemed to be quite a long time went past but eventually the whole furnace was ablaze again. The heat was immense and the doors had to be slammed shut as the heat was unbearable.

“I then saw streams of water pour down from above and fill the reservoir until the needle on the gauge was indicating that it was full. Then the whistle blew louder than the loudest sound I have ever heard and thick black soot started to ascend until all was clear and clean steam was bellowing out of the chimney, to be seen for miles and miles.

“Then it happened! The rust fell off and the train broke free and start to slowly move forward. Then it picked up pace… faster and faster! Until it was speeding ahead at full speed, unstoppable! My heart was pounding.

“After seeing this, the Spirit spoke into my heart. He said that the coal furnace is the heart and the coals are the Word. He said that the Word needs to become a blazing fire within our hearts again. The water is Him. ‘What of the shovel Lord?’. His answer… prayer! For so long we have been thinking of ‘re-digging the wells’ in the sense of re-digging the ground but the reality is that we are re-digging the coals of the Word within our hearts!

“Then it hit me! His words… ‘The moment the water and the coal come together, the train will come alive! The water – the Spirit… and the coals – the Word… Wow, I’ve heard that before! Smith Wigglesworth prophesying in 1947. ‘When the Spirit and the Word come together…’ I always wondered what he meant! What a parable of revelation!

“Prayer is the key folks! Prayer is the key!! Turn over the coals of your heart! Use that God-given shovel! Pray that coal into a blazing furnace again and watch what happens when the Spirit ‘fills the reservoir’! Set your Bride alight again Lord for Jesus’ sake!”

Thanks Darren