Welcome to the All In All Church Teaching Site. The purpose of this Teaching Site is to help you find healing for your wounds; find hope in your despair; find intimacy in your loneliness; find refuge from the storms of life; Basically, to help you find a deeper walk with Jesus. There is one thing I know after having lived all these years: God wastes nothing. Not our sorrows. Not our wounds. Not even our failures.
Today’s teaching is the story behind not one, but two of my songs. One is intimate worship while the other is a song of deliverance from Father’s heart to yours. Both songs are from the studio recording Kingdom Come. The first song I’d like to share is called Overwhelm Me and was born on April 18, 2001.
I believe the deepest yearning of every human heart is to know and to be known. We are wired for intimacy…intimacy with God and intimacy with one another. Our deepest needs are met in relationship with our Maker. Many have been the times I have longed to be simply overwhelmed by His presence and by His love…and many times, I have been deeply overwhelmed by both. Like wave upon wave of God’s love rolling over my soul, the overwhelming presence of God brings comfort and shelter in the stormy times of life. Our God is with us…and He hears our cries…
Hear my cry, O God;
Give heed to my prayer.
From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.
Psalm 61:1-4 NASB
When I was on staff at a church in my home town from the mid 90s until about 2005, once a month during the year our local body took time to come together for a corporate prayer summit. On this particular evening, I was leading worship and flowing in ministry with the pastor. He would lead in prayer and ministry and I would lead worship accordingly during those times. At one point in the evening, the pastor sensed that there were many who felt like giving up. As we prayed and sang over those who stood for ministry during this time, the Lord began to give me a song. This song was born spontaneously and I shared it at the close of the ministry to those who stood. The chorus and verse one are just as I received them that evening. Verse two came a few days later. Allow the presence of Father God to overwhelm you right now as you read the lyrics of the song, Overwhelm Me.
Overwhelm Me
Words & Music: Dennis Jernigan
April 18, 2001
Chorus
Overwhelm me with Your power!
Overwhelm me with Your grace!
Overwhelm me with Your glory,
As I rest in Your embrace!
Verse One
Let me see a light
At the end of the tunnel!
Let me hear Your voice
When alone in the dark!
Let me feel Your presence
Both below and above me!
Let me hold Your hand
So I can know where You are!
I will not give up the battle;
Run the whole entire race!
I will keep my eyes on You, Lord!
I will rest in Your embrace!
Chorus
Overwhelm me with Your power!
Overwhelm me with Your grace!
Overwhelm me with Your glory,
As I rest in Your embrace!
Verse Two
Let me see with eyes
That can see where You're going!
Let me run with strength
To the battle and fight!
Let me feel Your passion
Like a fire that's growing
Strong enough to pierce
The very darkness of night!
I will not give up the battle;
Run the whole entire race!
I will keep my eyes on You, Lord!
I will rest in Your embrace!
When the circumstances of life overwhelm us, there is One Who can overwhelm those circumstances with grace and love and power…Jesus Christ…and we must run to Him and abide in Him during such times. In His presence is fullness of joy and peace that passes our understanding and hope to take that next step.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NASB
Brothers and sisters, we never leave God’s presence. We either forget He is with us or we choose to ignore Him. Let’s choose to include Him in every area and aspect of our lives today.
The second song of today’s teaching is called Rest. It is a song of deliverance and it was born on September 5, 2007.
I will bless the LORD who has counseled me;
Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.
I have set the LORD continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
Psalm 16:7-9 NASB
What do you do when someone you love is hurting? What do you do when there’s nothing you can do…except pray? One of my children called and was in the deepest anguish I had ever felt one of my children suffer. I prayed with my child and fell apart after our phone call…right into the arms of Jesus. And that is how I prayed – that they would fall apart in the arms of Jesus.
Later that same day, I had been with a friend and his wife who were experiencing some deep, wrenching turmoil that was directly affecting their marriage. Seeing my friends in pain, I did the same thing I had done for my child: I prayed for them and then fell apart in the arms of Jesus. This song came as I sang over these situations…and am glad to say that the Lord powerfully intervened in both situations! Use this song to bring healing to those you know who are in emotional pain. Here are the lyrics:
Rest
Words & Music: Dennis Jernigan
September 5, 2007
When everything you are
Just seems to fall apart
And you're alone in the dark;
Sorrow, like endless rain,
No longer hides the pain
And now you've drifted too far;
Come down from the ledge
Of your own broken heart.
Run here to My open arms
Where you can fall apart!
No more tears left to cry.
Wishing that you could die
And make this hurt go away!
This endless raging storm
Has left your heart so torn
You simply can't see a way!
Come down from the ledge
Of your own broken heart.
Run here to My open arms
Where you can fall apart!
I'll be your Light in dark!
I'll be right where you are!
I'll hold you close through the pain!
I'll calm the raging tide!
I'll be right by your side!
I'll shelter you from the rain!
Put your head on My shoulder!
Put your head on My shoulder
…and rest.
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Hebrews 4:9 NASB
"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8 NASB
We are spiritual beings in physical bodies that get tired and worn out and weary. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is to simply rest. After all, rest is part of God’s plan for us. Let us set aside a day each week in which we allow our entire being to just rest. Use the songs from today’s teaching to help you do just that!
Dennis Jernigan
To listen to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast on today’s subject matter, go to http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/overwhelm-me-and-rest/
Photo courtesy of https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/08/14/16/30/man-888591_1280.jpg