Lecrae/Trip Lee Concert Part 2: The Talks

One thing I really appreciated about the concert last Friday are all the talks between the songs.

Lecrae’s talks really made an impact on me. He started to talk about how Christ was the substitute for our death when really we should’ve been the one’s hanging on that cross. He referenced Galatians 3:10-14:

10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”[e] 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”[f] 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”[g] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”[h] 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

What I like about the message he gave was that he made it so real. I started to tear up, thinking of “what should’ve been.” Lecrae started out talking about the basics, but then got deeper. God is THE Creator. He created EVERYTHING. Then he got into how God created the people who killed Him. God created the people who made Him carry His own cross. God created the people who spit on Him. God created the people who pierced His side. God created all those who mocked Him. And since God is Jesus and Jesus is God, (the trinity, being 3 in 1), His own creation killed Him. It took me a few minutes to just sit and fathom that. All things I knew – but when I really thought about that, it just brought me to tears. He was a king, but yet He did not use His power to overtake His mockers. He humbly submitted to God’s will and said “not my will, but yours be done.”

How often do we say that? When the going gets tough, are we willing to accept the situation that God has us in and realize it’s not about OUR will, but HIS?

All the rappers, but mainly Trip Lee and Lecrae talked about significance. Where do we find our significance? Jesus could’ve yelled through the towns “I am King” but no; he humbly served others and became a servant even in death. What do we try to find our significance in? Lecrae talked about all the people he has met – Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, etc. All people trying to “find” significance in a broken world. Where does it lead them? Nowhere. Not that Lecrae and Trip Lee were trying to toot their own horns and say “we know better than you do,” but it was a “you can only find TRUE significance in Christ Jesus.” You can try to find all these other “avenues,” but they will never suffice. They joked about how if it was all about the money, they surely wouldn’t be Christian rappers :). We all had to chuckle at that one because it’s true!

Lecrae also talked about being a father. He didn’t have a father growing up – he didn’t have that father to look up to. So, he tried to find that approval otherwise. What he soon realized though is that fathers AND mothers are given to us to POINT us to our TRUE heavenly father. Here on earth and in ALL of our relationships, we fail. We fail because we are human. We will never be perfect until our bodies are made new. That is why in EVERY relationship, we cannot put all our dependance on that human relationship – they need to ultimately point us to our Abba, Father.

They all mentioned how their life, is really no different than ours. Yes they happened to have cds out there, but they are only answering the call in their life. They are just witnesses of the gospel. They are all a part of the group 116 clique, which is based off of Romans 1:16 which says,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

We cannot be ashamed for what we believe in. We need to stand up for our Creator. We need to stand up for what we believe in. We need to stand up for who God created us to be – that is a child of the King. We need to stand up and be witnesses of the gospel! Countless times they mentioned how they do not want to be looked at as superstars – Jesus is the Superstar – not them. They are just proclaiming what they believe to be true. They don’t want an ounce of glory. So why is our culture so HUNGRY for that glory? Because again, they don’t know who their Creator is. Hence why we ALL need to take a stand be a living witness in EVERY area of our life.

Trip Lee had a t-shirt with a grill (teeth grill that is…) with the passage Jeremiah 9: 23-24 which says,
This is what the LORD says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

The reason for it? It is contrary to culture. Our culture is all about the grills, all about the big chains, all about the money, all about the possessions. All of that is rubbish in comparison to knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Boasting – there is NO room for it, accept that of boasting in Christ Jesus. It’s not about what you have or the latest style. It will pass away.

In all of this, God reminded me of the high call we all have as Christians, to bear His name. But how we “bear” that name makes all the difference. Do we imitate Christ in one area of our life, but mock Him in another? Do our actions and words match up to those of Christ’s? Does our lifestyle match that of one that bears His name? It caused me to do a lot of self-reflection. Also, it reminded me that DO have significance – but where do we find that significance? I sometimes feel that we need to please man to just get by. But if we start to do that, we lose focus of our real mission. Our significance can only be found in Christ. We should NEVER look elsewhere because we will come out empty!

I hope that the things they talked about (even though you may not have been there), challenge you too. I think they are all things that we all tend to forget.