Jump Start # 3439

Exodus 15:1 “Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, ‘I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; the horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.”

Recently Matt Bassford passed through the doorway of death into eternity with the Lord whom he loved so dearly. I never met Matt, but I have sung many of his hymns. Matt had a wonderful gift of writing lyrics for hymns. His catalog of songs is long and extensive. Although he died young, at the age of 45, from the terrible ALS disease, Matt has left hymns of praise that may well be used for generations.

Our verse today, coming after Israel’s triumphant march through the parted sea, reflects their praise, joy and hope in the Lord. Trapped with no way out, God opened the sea. And, when the Egyptians pressed onward, God closed the sea upon them and they died. It was a victory in which no arrows were shot in the sky and no soldiers fought. God protected and saved His people. Highly exalted is the Lord.

Exalted is one of Matt Bassford’s well known hymns. The name of the Lord is exalted and lifted high. The way of the Lord is exalted and followed dearly by those who cherish the Lord. And, in the end, the people of God will be exalted.

There are some wonderful lessons that Matt’s life teaches us:

First, he used his talents for the Lord. He was given a special talent by the Lord and to the Lord he used that talent. Few can do what he did. And, rather than writing songs to hopefully be picked up in Nashville by a country star, he wrote songs that honored the Lord.

Our hymn books are filled with hundreds of songs. Why write more? Some would say, “We haven’t sung all the ones in the book yet?” Matt wasn’t competing with the earlier song writers. He wrote lyrics that came from a heart that was saturated with the word of God. His goal wasn’t to be honored, but rather to honor the Lord. He used what God gave him to honor his God.

Among us today, there are so many talented disciples. Find your talent and use it for the kingdom.

Second, he shared his talent with others. I have learned so many wonderful stories about how Matt would help others who were working on hymns. Finding the right word and saying it in the right way is difficult. Rather than see these others as competitors, Matt encouraged them and shared what insights he had.

Jealousy and pride have no place in the kingdom. Together we honor our Lord. Together we help each other to walk with the Lord. Preachers, shepherds and teachers all understand this. We help one another. We want each other to excel. It’s not about who has the most listeners to a podcast or most readers to a blog, or who holds the most meetings, but who can we all help in some way. Matt got that.

Helping each other become better furthers the kingdom.

Third, Matt’s courageous battle with life and death left a lasting impression upon us. Often asked, “How are you doing?” Matt would reply, “I know how I’m doing. How are you doing?” His focus was Heaven. His suffering was intense. His pain was severe. But, no more than our Lord’s. And, it is into the arms of our Lord that he now rests. His journey here finished, but through those wonderful and marvelous hymns, his heart, faith and love continue on.

Someday, you and I will leave this place. Are we leaving it any better than what we found it? Long after the funeral is over, and the flowers have faded away, what footprints do we leave for others to follow? Are we making an impact in our families spiritually? Are we pointing the way towards Heaven for those around us? Our attitudes. Our words. Our passions. Long after we are gone, what will people remember?

I expect from what I have seen about Matt that he wouldn’t want to go down in history as a hymn-writer. He’d just rather be known as a disciple of Jesus. He used what he could, for as long as he could, to honor the Lord that he loved so much.

Exalted.

Roger