Monday, April 14, 2008

The story behind the song...

Story number 2 is such an amazing, jaw-dropping, hand raising, 'no way'-saying kind of story. Hopefully I didn't build it up too much.

During the last worship service Saturday night [which I must add is now in my top 5 worship experiences...yes I rank them], Louie Giglio came out onto the stage and started to talk about the inspiration of the next song, God of this City. Y'all, this story is so sweet. Here it goes:

Louie starts off by talking about a worship event Chris Tomlin and his band were at in Belfast. It was early in the afternoon and Tomlin's guitarist was the only one not doing something. So he decided to go out and "support" the local bands there. While he was listening in the back, the band started singing a song and it gripped his heart. He said he ran to get Chris out of the dressing room to come hear this song because "he HAS to hear it!" By the time Chris got to the stage, the song was over. So Chris Tomlin and the rest of his band met with this local Belfast worship band afterwards. They gave him MP3s of all of their songs and he listened to that one special song. Tomlin said that he was so moved that he just had to ask them what inspired this song.

They started saying that their band and a few other members of their church went on a mission trip to Pattaya, Thailand recently. In Pattaya, there are over 30,000 female prostitutes over the age of 18! [That is not counting the ones under 18, or even the male prostitutes there] While they were walking around the town, they walked into a local bar there called....the Climax bar, which you can imagine the folk that were up in that joint. Anyway, the owner of the bar somehow found out that they were a music group and asked (through a translator) if they would mind playing music for his "guests." They agreed and asked how long they wanted them to play and the owner answered back, "As long as your team continues to buy cokes." So they ended up buying cokes for 2-3 hours.

Think about it! For over 2 hours this band sang Jesus over these prostitutes and they had no idea what they were singing! All of the sudden this song "came down from heaven," as one of the band members recalls. Then spontaneously they started singing:

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the light in this darkness
You're the hope to the hopeless
You're the peace to the restless
You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done here


I'm getting goose-bumps just writing the story behind the song. Doesn't the song mean so much more to you now that you know the inspiration behind the song?! You ARE the God of this city loaded with prostitutes! You ARE the King of these people God! You ARE the Lord of this nation! This city is dark Lord but You ARE the light in this darkness!! And...ANd...AND!!...GREATER THINGS HAVE YET TO COME AND GREATER THINGS ARE STILL TO BE DONE HERE!!

Needless to say, Chris Tomlin asked if he could play their song for the up-coming Passion tour. They agreed [Who wouldn't?] and then Chris sent the MP3s to Louie and told him to listen. He said that there is one song that ruined him but wouldn't tell him which one. Louie listened to the songs and quickly wrote him back asking in wonder about God of this City. It was unanimous, this song had the Holy Spirit and God's heart all over it!

All I can say is WOW!! Believers, soak in this truth! Bask in His light! Rest in the warmness of His embrace! Get close to Him! Your circumstances may be dark and hopeless, but He IS the hope to hopeless and He IS the peace to the restless!

Hold on Beloved! Greater things have yet to come!

Grace and peace.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wow.