JESUS OVER EVERYTHING

by Andy Harrison (of Planetshakers/planetboom)

“Jesus Over Everything”! This song is a declaration on behalf of a generation. This is the statement that we are making over our lives and our world. Jesus already has authority over all things (Hebrews 2:8), but this is about us giving Him the highest position in our lives. I guess another way of saying, ‘Jesus over everything,’ is actually, ‘Jesus before everything.’ We’re saying that Jesus is first. He is number one in our lives and everything else comes second to Him. There’s no person, relationship, dream or goal for our future before Him, and no amount of fame, success or money, could compare to having Him in our lives. We’d never trade His first place to any other thing. If given an option of Jesus and anything else, we choose Jesus before everything, every single time. It’s more than just words, it’s a lifestyle of worship that’s full of passion for Jesus. In a world that may be darker than ever and in a time when we are taught that our God is irrelevant, there is a generation of worshippers rising up like never before. Jesus IS the King of our generation!

LITTLE G’S
There’s a line in the spoken-word piece of the song, “Jesus Over Everything,” that says, “Over the gods of our generation, things we were meant to bow down to…” It’s actually the thought that this whole book came out of. It’s not saying that we were ‘meant’ or created for other gods, but just that there are so many other things that our world tries to get us to bow down to in place of Jesus. The enemy wants to steal the worship of this generation. He is jealous of God, but he also understands the potential that we carry as the people of God and is afraid of the God-given destiny that’s inside of us. He knows how powerful it is when young people get ‘on fire’ for Jesus and dedicate their talents, passion, creativity and hearts over to Him, so he does whatever he can to distract us and take our focus. The truth is, he doesn’t show up like some monster from another galaxy to scare us and demand our worship. It’s much more subtle than that. He tries to trick us by setting up fake ‘gods’ that demand our attention. Then he hides behind them hoping that we won’t notice it’s him. The tragedy is, so many young people are falling for it – giving the best of who they are to so many other things in place of the One who truly deserves it.

Now, these ‘gods’ are not actually gods – they’re just fakes. They’re nothing like the one true God. There’s a little ‘g’ at the start of gods because they’re nothing special. They think ‘they fancy,’ but they ain’t nothing. God, our Creator, is the only real God. He stands out from the rest of these fakes because He is, “holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3)! In other words, no one else can come close to being on His level or being in His league.

So, what are some of the ‘gods’ of our generation? The truth is, almost anything can become an idol in our lives, but I believe there are some specific things the enemy aims at us to steal our attention today, such as money and possessions, success and popularity, pride and vanity, and the search for identity. Every one of these ‘gods’ or ‘idols’ comes with a lie. When we don’t really believe that God is everything we need, we start looking for other options, even if we make them ourselves. That’s when the enemy uses these idols to lie to us and promise us that they can bring the goods and give us what we need in place of God. They try and flex as if they’ve actually got something to offer us, and they make themselves seem so big, powerful and important, as though we should be building our lives around them and thinking about them all the time. BUT BEWARE – it’s all a scam! They’ve got nothing! They’re like a fake social media account pretending to be someone that they’re not. Their profile looks good and they seem to say all the right things, but if you actually met the real person behind it, you’d realise it’s all made up. You better block that thing AND report it!

Idols can’t actually speak into your situation or do anything to change it either! They can’t even see what you’re going through or answer back when you go to them for help. They can’t change your life or make you feel better about yourself, and they will never fill that hole on the inside of your heart. That’s what God does. Do you get it? They’re trying to imitate who your God already is! He is the God who sees you (Genesis 16:13), hears you (1 Peter 3:12), knows you (Psalm 139:1) and He LOVES to answer your prayers and help you (Isaiah 65:24).

© 2019 Planetshakers Ministries Inc.
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This article is an excerpt from the title chapter of Jesus Over Everything, Harrison’s first book and 180-page companion to the first, full-length album from planetboom, also titled Jesus Over Everything. Leading readers into a deeper, richer relationship with their Creator, Harrison says, “Each chapter matches with one of the tracks on the album and is an explanation of the message behind that song. It’s the Word and worship put together.”

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