JANUARY, 2020

Yet Not I, but Through Christ in Me

(Click Title to Listen)

By Jonny Robinson, Michael Farren, Rich Thompson

Yet Not I, but Through Christ in Me

Verse 1

What gift of grace is Jesus my Redeemer!

There is no more for heaven now to give;

He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom,

My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace.

Refrain 1

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus!

For my life is wholly bound to His.

Oh, how strange and divine, I can sing, “All is mine!”

Yet not I, but through Christ in me.

Verse 2

The night is dark, but I am not forsaken

For by my side, the Savior, He will stay.

I labor on in weakness and rejoicing,

For in my need, His power is displayed.

Refrain 2

To this I hold: my Shepherd will defend me!

Through the deepest valley He will lead.

Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome!

Yet not I, but through Christ in me.

Verse 3

No fate I dread—I know I am forgiven;

The future sure, the price, it has been paid;

For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon,

And He was raised to overthrow the grave.

Refrain 3

To this I hold, my sin has been defeated!

Jesus now and ever is my plea.

Oh, the chains are released, I can sing, “I am free!”

Yet not I, but through Christ in me.

Verse 4

With every breath I long to follow Jesus,

For He has said that He will bring me home;

And day by day I know He will renew me

Until I stand with joy before the throne.

Refrain 4

To this I hold; my hope is only Jesus!

All the glory evermore to Him.

When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat,

“Yet not I, but through Christ in me!”

To this I hold; my hope is only Jesus!

All the glory evermore to Him.

When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat,

“Yet not I, but through Christ in me!”

Tag

When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat,

“Yet not I, but through Christ in me!”

“Yet not I, but through Christ in me!”

“Yet not I, but through Christ in me!”

About the writers.  .  .

This month's featured Hymn is from the band CityAlight, a music ministry from St. Paul’s Castle Hill church in Castle Hill, Sydney, Australia. In an interview with Tim Challies in December of 2018, Richard Thompson and Jonny Robinson, two of its members and the writers of "Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me," explain the vision of CityAlight, namely "to write songs with biblically rich lyrics and simple melodies for the Christian church to sing. We’re very pleased to admit there’s nothing particularly groundbreaking in what we do. There’s nothing especially new or unique or fashionable. We’re not on the forefront of anything and don’t pretend to be. (It’s probably better to be three hundred years out of date than three. . . .)"

Rich and Jonny continue, "Most churches around the world aren’t large. Some figures tell us that the average number in Australia is about 70. That means these are churches without large music teams or complicated sound equipment. These are churches with one guitar, or no guitar, one organ, one trombone, two singers – something like that. And we want to partner with those faithful congregations. Our vision is to resource them with simple songs. There is nothing on earth like the sound of a church singing, big or small, ancient or modern, skilled or not."  

Specifically talking about this song, "Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me," the writers say, "This is an exploration of one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith. Having Christ in us calls together two apparently paradoxical ideas: we contend for the faith and we do it with Christ’s energy (Colossians 1.29, ‘To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me’). Having Christ in us does not mean we do no more work, and neither does it mean we do it all. Rather, we contend and we contend with his energy. Even our final resurrection is made possible by the gift of Christ in us. He will bring us to glory. In our weakness he is strong, and he will complete the work he has begun. He himself is within us, leading us home, step by step. Every believer has been given this gift. It’s worth singing about!"

(Click here for the complete interview by Tim Challies with Richard Thompson and Jonny Robinson, December 10, 2018) 

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We are commanded to, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." (Colossians 3:16). Accordingly, we incorporate hymns into our regular Sunday morning worship at Pacific Hope Church. We firmly believe in equipping God's people with the knowledge of His Word through sound teaching in our classes, Bible studies, and even in our Sunday morning worship. Our worship will always be with the purpose of exalting the Lord to His proper place; it is never man-centered or seeking to create an emotional experience.