Voice of the Jesus People

“Love Song” 1973 (some called it heresy). “My image of Jesus was that he was way up here and then Saint Paul was down here- and here was I. And how was I ever going to get there with those guys. And a Saint was something that I thought was this person who went around never doing anything wrong, just living this perfect sinless life. Then I found out later on, it really blew my mind to read in the Bible you know, when I first really read the Bible, I realized that these people had frailties, that they blew it once in a while. And it was right there in Scripture. I thought that everybody that was ever mentioned in the Bible was some holy person. And then you read about all the guys that blew it.” Quoted from “Jesus People Live Concert, Love Song 73 (DVD video), Bonus: Includes a reprint of the original Living Water Tract by Greg Laurie.” By The Word For Today, www.twft.com (The group “Love Song” ministered directly under the personal discipleship of Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa on and off between 1970 and July 10, 2009.)

“Love Song” is in agreement here with the exhortation of the humble author of Hebrews, who intentionally chose to remain anonymous but was a contemporary of the Apostle Paul the Pharisee. “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” [Hebrews 13:7-8]

Some Christians are fighting each other these days, even as the wicked spirit of Sodom and Gomorrah is advancing into the mainstream of our society. It’s a good thing that Calvary Chapel pastors are like-minded, one in the Spirit, united in agape love, and in agreement on key points like the inerrancy of Scripture and the unique perfect character of Jesus Christ, “The only guiltless man in all of history” in the words of Brenton Brown ("Jesus you are worthy"- it was a blessing to see him lead worship at Calvary Chapel Montebello.) The Calvary Chapel Statement of Faith proudly declares “Our supreme desire is to know Christ and to be conformed into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Not the image of anyone else, living or dead. All the inerrant teachings of the Bible apply to everyone who ever lived. We can’t pick and choose and make exceptions for certain people because of their position.

Personally, I had never even heard of the group “Love Song” until last week. I had never heard their music either, except in retrospect I remember hearing “Welcome back” when I visited Calvary Chapel Golden Springs. Somehow, the closing words of the Old Testament come to mind, from the Book of (the Italian prophet -Yes I respect and revere God’s inerrant Word and I tremble at His voice, but I also believe that God has a sense of humor) Malachi. “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” [Malachi 4:6]