DREAM Worship is honored to partner with NewSpring Pastor Perry Noble and the entire team of NewSpring Church for their brand new EP Difference Maker. The EP stems from NewSpring's worship ministry, a branch that has grown from the vibrant local church that has planted multiple locations across South Carolina. 

NewSpring's mission is both to reach those who may not be in a relationship with God, and also to disciple them after that connection is made. Worship Director Lee McDerment shares "From stage to studio, we want to passionately declare God's glory and goodness to the world! It's our desire that when people listen and sing along, they will encounter Jesus, and the hope He offers." 

The newly released EP is a clear outworking of that mission and that desire. I had the chance to speak with Lee McDerment about "Now and Forever."

Please tell me the personal story behind this song.

At NewSpring, we are so collaborative in everything that we do. "Now and Forever" came about from several different writers and songwriting sessions. It is essentially the idea of how God is our salvation. The chorus paints the picture of our response to that. The first verse, "You're my fortress, You're my helper, a mighty tower and my shelter, with grace that covers all my failures--" that's the Gospel right there, "now and forever." 

We firmly believe that once you are saved and born again, that can't be taken away. Once you belong to God and are adopted into His family, you don't back up from that. His grace is something He gives, and He doesn't take it away once He gives it. Our response to that is, "I lift my hands, lay down my heart, my eyes have seen how great You are." We believe that is the first response for anyone who comes face to face with the grace and love of Jesus Christ, which is to really present their whole body to Him. Lift your hands, lay down your heart and give everything you have internally and externally to God in response to what He has so clearly given to us.

The songwriting process was taking bits and pieces of people's ideas, the verse from one person, and the chorus from another person. The bridge is another response. You encounter the Gospel in the verses, and you respond in the chorus and the bridge, moving from salvation to seeing God for who He is.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Proverbs 18:10 (NKJV): "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe."

Psalm 28:1-2 (NIV): "To You, LORD, I call; You are my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if You remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place."

Psalm 63:4 (The Voice): "I will bless You with every breath of my life; I will lift up my hands in praise to Your name."

Ephesians 3:14-19 (NKJV): "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV): "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Revelation 22:20 (NKJV): He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

What is the takeaway message?

It's funny you referenced Ephesians 3:14-19, as Ephesians 3:20-21 are what our church and this Difference Maker album is all about. One of the things we hold so tightly is that the best is yet to come. That's a real phrase for us. We do believe that God "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think." Also, "to Him be glory in the church" is a huge concept for us at NewSpring. We want to see lost people saved, and all those in the church to grow in their walks with Christ. Really all of those concepts in Ephesians 3:14-21 are expressed in these songs and can be prayers for people at every stage in their walks with Christ. 

"Now and Forever" is our response to the Gospel where we encounter the love of Christ. "Love Me Like That" is an upbeat, fun song expressing how we can't believe God would save us after everything we've done. "Every Line" is a song of surrender to God in any type of adversity, and you experience another dimension of God's love. The hymn "It Is Well" reminds us when things are bad, we are still able to say "it is well with my soul." Our sins have been paid for, and Christ is returning. These four songs each paint a picture of the height and depth of the love of Christ.

Lyrics:
You're my fortress, You're my helper
A mighty tower and my shelter
With grace that covers all my failures
Now and forever

I lift my hands, lay down my heart
My eyes have seen how great You are
I lift my hands, lay down my heart
My eyes have seen how great You are, now and forever

Delivered up for my transgressions
Becoming sin for my redemption
Forgiving all of my rebellion
Now and forever
Now and forever

There is no other name on earth worthy of honor
Jesus You reign over all things now and forever
There is no other name on earth worthy of honor
Jesus You reign over all things now and forever
There is no other name on earth worthy of honor
Jesus You reign over all things now and forever

Now and forever
Now and forever

Proverbs 18:10 tells us that the Name of the Lord is a strong tower. This is a truth for believers to cling to. We're not supposed to hope it is true, or turn to the Lord as only our last resort, but daily be washed by the Truth of the Word of God. 

What an awesome comfort, to know that calling out the name of the Lord, Jesus, is a promise that He will keep us safe. As followers of Jesus, we are His sons and daughters, and we are His redeemed ones. We know from the teachings of Jesus that the wise build their houses on the Rock. So many people struggle to apply God's Word to their lives. If we learn to build our lives on Scripture, we would all have a Rock as our foundation in how we navigate our lives. 

We lift our hands to celebrate and in surrender. We can lift up our hands in confidence to God and know that His mercy is unfailing. His love is never-ending. He is our refuge and our strength. God's ultimate will is not to bring affliction upon people, but to restore us so that we may experience His unfailing love. There are many pop songs that say "lift your hands up." There are also 36 Bible passages that reference lifting our hands up to God.

This song has become one of my personal anthems, and I sing along at the top of my lungs the sincere and emotive lyrics of hope that something better is coming in the bridge: "There is no other name on earth worthy of honor, Jesus You reign over all things now and forever." The song also causes my heart to sing along with this glorious promise in Ephesians 3:19 (NKJV): "To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Amen to that!

Listen to the song below.