The Month of Many Voices: It Starts Right Here

It Starts Right Here

Have you ever had a song make you stop in your tracks

and think about what you are hearing

a song that changes the way you look at something

or spurs you into action or emotion

That is where i have been with one song as of late, Casting Crowns- It starts right here. I am not going to play this for you as we would be blocked on broad cast for copy right. and i am definitely not going to sing it for you . But the song goes like this

We want our coffee in the lobby

We watch our worship on a screen

We got a Rockstar preacher

Who won’t wake us from our dreams

we want our missions overseas

But for the hurting in our cities

Would we even cross the street?

Its got to start right here

Its got to start right now.

The first time I heard this I was like eww that is harsh. and I think it triggered my listening closer to the words by the first two lines about the coffee and worship. It kind of hit home because we do (Not since covid) have coffee in the lobby and the worship is on a screen I guess that made my ears perk up.

but the more times I listened to the song the more I started thinking to myself, what was the band speaking about. Were they complaining about the all to present commentary on some big churches that make the news, for what ever unchurch like thing that got the reporters attention that day. Or were they speaking directly to our collective attitude? first question

When was a time that you had heard or read something that made you take a deep look into what you where doing?

I am not sure why this song spoke to me. So lets go through these lines that made me take a deep look

Coffee in the lobby perked my ears and anyone who knows me knows i love my coffee.

We like our worship on a screen, hmm that sounds like our church.

but those lines got my attention but the other lines is what started to make me think

We got a Rockstar preacher. Well this is the perfect month, as we have 4 different preachers. Are they rockstars, I would say so excluding me as I just started

Pastor Matt started us out this month with a teaching on listening to other messages and testing those messages against our gut and the bible. To test everything and all teachers with the word of God. I think he was preparing you guys for the rest of us.

Then Pastor Louis spoke on Love, specifically the love we show one another as christians and how that love speaks to those who don’t know the Lord and witness our love as the example. We will draw people to Christ by our love of each other.

Brad Weber the director of KLBC spoke to us about the parable of the hidden treasure and would we be able to give up everything for the treasure of Heaven Joyfully.

The next line is who won’t wake us from our dreams. based on the last three weeks I think the speakers before me have tried to give us teachings that should wake us from our dreams.

But why is this line forcing me to listen was it because i needed to start to look at what was going on in my life? Was I just living in a dream world? Was what the song said applicable in my life? I know that I have heard a great message and then thought that was really powerful but then left the church gone for lunch and that is all the thought and action that I put into it great message.

The song was starting to become hard to listen to so what did I do? I turned it up.

The next line was we want our missions overseas but for the hurting in our cities would we even cross the street.

Ok now I am mad, missions mean a lot personally to me. It was were I gave my heart to Jesus and every time I go on a missions trip I get to see Jesus work in all of the lives of the people on the missions trip and the people that we help when we get here. How can oversee missions be a bad thing. My experience was life changing how can it be bad?

But the song writer had more to the message. You know what, it is not the overseas mission is bad, it is the fact that we can leave our attitude we get while serving others, overseas. Would I walk across the street to help the hurting. Does the person on the street know that I am a christian but what i a doing or am i just another person not helping. Would I cross the street?

We as a church profess that we want change. Lives saved, people fed. We state we want to be the hands and feet of the Christ.

Then why is this song ringing my bell? Why is it like a punch in the stomach? Is it to close to home?

Then comes the chorus. It got to start right here It has got to start right now. That is a call to action if I have every heard one and it is speaking to me. Can i make my mission within my little world of right here. second question

When was the last time you were personally called to action?

This song is calling me out! It is pointing at me and saying you need to change.

It is like the Gospel of Mark and where the disciples have just witnessed Jesus heal the sick, Feed the thousands. The disciples have witnessed the power of God through Jesus. Peter declares “you are the Messiah”

Just like Peter, I would make the same declaration. You know what I BELIEVE. I have seen the miracles of God in my life. I have witnessed his blessings. I declare I am transformed.

But why is this song sticking in my head like a bad dream.

In Mark after Peter’s declartion of faith. Jesus starts talking about what is about to happen next to the disciples and predicts his death and Peter rebukes him. He doesn’t want to hear about the Messiah’s betrayal and death. The Messiah was here to save them from what they thought they wanted. Fight and win a war with the oppressors. But Jesus corrects him

Mark 8: 32-33

Mark 8:32–33 CSB

He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”

To me the song is pointing out that we are here thinking about human concerns. That is the dream we are not waking from in the song.

The diciples have walked with Jesus, they have seen the miracles he has done. But even they must be reminded that we are not here for human concerns. If the disciples had Jesus right with them and still had to have their selfish thoughts pointed out to them. How do we remind ourselves. We have to take a look at what we are doing everyday and every clue that makes us look at ourselves with this kind of light

It Starts Right here

It starts with getting out of our comfortable lives and serving others. We have a very human tendency to want to find the familar. It has a way of giving us a feeling of security and stability. Is this a bad thing. It seems that it is something we should be looking for. But we have to remember that stuck is asleep. Christ is calling us to to a life where we are not comfortable because at the point of being uncomfortable we begin to wake up and get out of the dream that has us self focused and stuck.

Remember as Christ calls us it is not a life of comfort.

Matt 4:16-20

Matthew 4:16–20 CSB

The people who live in darkness have seen a great light, and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned. From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.” As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

As you can see Peter and his brother dropped everything to follow Christ. But to put this into perspective image a homeless man coming into your place of work and telling you to quit your job and follow him. I wonder if they were feeling awake at that moment. I think their hearts were pounding and their minds were racing.

Doesn’t sound like a choice of comfort. But i bet they felt alive! question 3

What is your point of uncomfortable, where is your line?

It starts right here

The best part of the calling of Peter is the line and he dropped everything and followed. How many of us would drop everything to follow. Our lives are so full that it takes months of planning to be able to take a Vacation. We schedule, plan and commit in advance to book our vacation spot. And we love our vacations. Could you imagine dropping everything and walking away. We wouldn’t even think about such a thing without making sure we had enough time to weigh our options.

We would probably talk ourselves out of it so easily heck we can talk ourselves out of things we enjoy because we are too busy. Can you fathom what Peter and his brother did. Me either. We have lived our lives in such away that we have tied ourselves to the schedule. We own to much, We focus on things that take our time, We have committments. Even talking about this makes me think of things that i have to do next week so how did they do it.

This song is not saying that i have to Drop my nets but it is calling us to be aware and able to help those around us. For me it is reminding me that i can’t let my business keep my eyes closed, i have to see the hurting around me. Not just shedule a missions trip in a couple of years to love people. Don’t get me wrong missions trips are a great thing. We need to be reminded that we have to leave space in our lives so that we can take our eyes off our watches and look around us.

We have a lot of things that are taking us away from what we as a church has declared that we want to do. What Christ has taught us to do, so we are awake and living. We need to serve others and this world works so hard to make sure we don’t take our eyes off of ourselves. And when do we need to start changing the way we live

It has got to start right now.

matt 10:1-4

Matthew 10:1–4 CSB

Summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: First, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Matthew 10:1–4 CSB

Summoning his twelve disciples, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, to drive them out and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: First, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Jesus was summoning the twelve to send them out to prepare the way for his entrance into Jeruselm. He was preparing them for what they would face as Jesus prepared to follow out his mission.

Just like the twelve we have been readied to prapare the way. To love our neighbors and help those who need our help. We have been prepared for a life that is amazing and full. One that gets our heart pumping and we feel alive.

I know this is a lot for a song to say but i think we need to be able to listen to the Holy Spirit where ever the message comes from. I found this song to give me a comentary on how i was living my day to day. It was a reminder that we can put ourselves to sleep in the day to day if we are not careful.

Holy Spirit speaks to us in many ways. From the most unusual places expecially if we are open to His moving. We are not here just to navigate from moment to moment. We have been tuned to the world around us. We are placed here to serve those outside of ourselves but in doing so we are going to have the life we are supposed to have.

What this song for me is saying is that we have have to start right here in our hearts. We have got to start right here in our Church.

We have got to start right here in our community.

We have got to start right now.

Changing the way we look at comfort.

We have got to start right now at what we are doing as a church.

And we have to start right now today to change the way we live our lives

I hope that you have those inspirations whether in a song or in a book. Or from a message we hear. We have a job to do in this world and it won’t happen unless we look at the world.