Episode 1. Don't Just Sit There
Interview with Ryan Day: If you’re anything like me you love worshipping God. One of the ways we do that is by singing songs at Church but worship, as it turns out, it’s not a spectator …
Interview with Ryan Day:
If you’re anything like me you love worshipping God. One of the ways we do that is by singing songs at Church but worship, as it turns out, it’s not a spectator sport, in fact it’s more a training session.
Berni: As I said today and indeed this week on the program I’m joined by Christian artist and worship leader Ryan Day who’s just released an amazing new album called ‘The Sending’. It’s an interesting name for a worship album and that’s because Ryan has an interesting and I believe powerful take on what this worship thing is all about. Ryan welcome today to the program.
Ryan: Hi Berni.
Berni: Now tell us a bit about this new album and why you called it ‘The Sending.
Ryan: Well this album really encapsulates my journey as a worship leader, as someone who’s trying to understand worship and it’s based on John 20:21 from the Bible where Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me so I am sending you.” So that’s really the core idea behind the album.
Berni: Alright we’ll dig a bit more deeper in a moment, let’s go back and tell us a bit about yourself, how did you get to the point of being a muso and releasing a worship album?
Ryan: I grew up in a musical Christian family, we went to Church, I was involved in all kinds of music through school and when I was a teenager God really impressed on my heart the importance of worship. It set my heart on fire and I really wanted to be involved in worship ministry in a big way. And it took a little while for me to journey with God to be ready to do worship as a ministry but about five years ago God opened up the opportunity for me to be able to serve as a worship leader and worship co coordinator in Church.
Berni: Good stuff. Well let’s get back to this whole idea of ‘sending’. You said that sending was always part of God’s plan but in your mind what does that actually mean, not so much in a dry theological sense, I mean we’ve probably heard some dry old sermons on that over the years, what does it actually mean to me, to you, here and now today in the lives we’re leading to be sent?
Ryan: To me it means that each of us has a Kingdom purpose, that God has a purpose for each of our lives, something that He is calling us to do to contribute to His plans, His purposes to save and to restore the world and really to live a life that looks like Jesus, how He would live if He were living our life.
Berni: Now someone might be listening to you and think ‘well that’s okay for this guy on the radio, he’s a worship leader, he’s released an album, it’s fantastic for you Ryan but me, I can’t see God sending me’.
Ryan: I think that God has actually sent each of us, it’s not just something for special people but for everyone. He loves everyone as a child and He has a purpose for each of us, He’s uniquely created us to contribute to His Kingdom, to be loved by Him and to love others. I think that’s relevant to everyone.
Berni: Hey that is really exciting isn’t it? We’ve all got a part in God’s plan no matter how small or insignificant we see ourselves.
Ryan: Absolutely.
Berni: I’m sure that there have been times when you had your call to be a worship leader and then to release a worship album, when you thought ‘what am I doing here?’
Ryan: Lots of moments of doubt and fear and uncertainty and ‘God is this something you really want me to do? Are you really calling me to take this step of faith?’ And really it’s just one step at a time, I’m not special compared to anyone else, I’m just trying to figure out how to live the life that Jesus has called me to live.
Berni: Okay, I hope everyone is listening to that. So if you are feeling insignificant, if you feeling like ‘I don’t’ know if God’s called me’, the guy whose talking on the radio who just released a worship album has exactly the same problem from time to time, we ALL do. Now listen one of the songs, one of the tracks of this album is called ‘King of Calvary’, let’s have a bit of a listen and we’ll come and talk about it.
“Thank you for the cross where you gave your life for me. Thank you that you that you rose again, the King of Calvary.”
Berni: Hey, great sound, great stuff, what’s the heart beat behind this song?
Ryan: The heart beat behind this song is that the Christian life starts with looking at the life of Jesus, that’s how we understand what sending is. When we look at what He’s done our first response and the first response of understanding what it means to be sent is to be thankful for what Jesus has done for us on the cross.
Berni: Especially at Easter time, we look at the cross and what Jesus did and we kind of skim by that and forget about it and yet what Jesus has done on the cross is relevant to every moment of every day of our lives isn’t it?
Ryan: Absolutely. What Jesus did has changed everything, every moment is different because of what Jesus has done now for us.
Berni: Okay. So you worship, say you go to Church on Sunday or Wednesday or whenever you go to Church and you’re worshipping and you’re singing a song, you then walk out of that and you go back to work or go back to home or, how does this worship thing connect into life?
Ryan: Jesus made a way for us to connect with God and that fundamentally alters the way that we live every other day in the week, it’s not just a Sunday thing but it fundamentally changes the direction or our orientation of our whole life.
Berni: Let me ask in your life, how does the cross change the way you live Monday morning? Maybe I should ask your wife that.
Ryan: Yeah, that’s right. The cross means that I am called to live a life that is about Gods love, a life that is orientated towards God and not towards myself, I think that is the fundamental difference. That’s the example we see in Jesus and that’s the reason why He came, so that we would be reconnected with God in relationship with Him and live a life of purpose. I think that’s the difference Jesus makes in everyday life.
Berni: Do you reckon you have more of a sense of purpose in your life now than you had maybe five years ago?
Ryan: Well I know that the closer that I draw to God and get to know Jesus more the more I feel filled with purpose and my life starts to reflect that.
Berni: It’s interesting I get a lot of emails in response to this program and one of the really common themes in that is ‘I lack a sense of purpose’ and I’m like you, the closer I get to God the more I know that I’m in the right place.
Ryan: That doesn’t need to be something that just happens for some people but that’s something that’s available for all of us because God is near to us. He says to us in His Word that when we seek Him we will find Him and that’s a great promise.
Berni: Another verse that I love is Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 where it says “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do the good things that God prepared beforehand for us to walk in.” God’s got a plan.
Ryan: Yep, now that’s an amazing promise isn’t it? That He has planned our lives out and we walk in that. What a great truth.
Berni: Okay so Jesus was sent, do we then take that on as our personal model for mission too?
Ryan: Well I believe so because Jesus’ invitation to the people in His day and it echoes through to us today is follow me. He invites us to take up our cross and follow Him and that means to live a life for Him and not for ourselves. And so I think the mission that Jesus gave to His disciples is the same mission that we have as well.
Berni: Yeah I love that and again for anybody who’s listening who is kind of uncertain and think ‘I don’t know where my life is going, it’s kind of rudderless, how do I find what Gods calling is for my life?’ My answer and I reckon Ryan you’ll probably agree is just draw closer to Jesus, just draw closer to the cross and the empty tomb and in that relationship somehow God speaks, the Holy Spirit speaks and the Holy Spirit opens doors and we get a sense of who we are and what our purpose and calling is.
Ryan: Absolutely, I thoroughly agree.
Berni: We were just talking before, we were having a cup of tea together right? And the whole idea of going to work is a complete nonsense to me. I ‘work’ (in inverted commas) twelve hours a day but none of it feels like work. I guess worship doesn’t feel like work to you either.
Ryan: I think when you’re operating in what God has called you to do there’s a certain ease and flow about it, that it’s enjoyable and sometimes there are things where it is challenging but ultimately when we’re walking in the purpose of God then there is life and freedom, it’s great.
Berni: Mate thank you, we’ll catch you again tomorrow. That’s all we have time for today, I want to pick up again tomorrow and talk about our sending, mine and yours.
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