Planetshakers (Feat. Israel Houghton) – Nothing is Impossible

Planetshakers is a church that was formed in 1997, and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.  Much in the same organizational methodology as Hillsong, Bethel, and Elevation Worship, they created their own brand of worship music.  Planetshakers was formed in 2000.  Their youth outreach, Planetboom, was created in 2018.

Planetshakers released a massive 42 albums and 13 EP’s and received many nominations for their work.

Also, check out my reviews of No Other Name, God Is On The Throne, We Speak Life, and You Call Me Beautiful.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Planetshakers-nothing-is-impossible-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.  I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.

1. What message does the song communicate?

“You” gives Planetshakers the ability to do all things.  “You” opens eyes and destroy barriers.  Planetshakers trust and believe in “You”, that “You” is with them and can do anything.

Who is “You”?  It could be the Christian God, but it could also be speaking about a false god who supposedly does all these things.  Planetshakers make it clear that their trust is in some sort of deity, but aside from a context outside of the lyrics (sung in church, artist profile, etc.), it’s not clear which one.

Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, the entire Chorus, Verse, and Pre-Chorus repeat three times in a row.  After that, the phrase “I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe in You”, which repeats “I believe” three times, repeats four times in a row.  Then, Chorus repeats again, followed by two more repeats of Bridge as Outro.

Score: 6/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

Since it refers to a deity and not a human being, I’ve subtracted only one point to assume “You” is the Christian God.  Under this assumption, this song is in agreement with Scripture.

[Chorus]

Lines 1-4: That is, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

Line 5: As stated by Jesus in Matthew 19:26.

Lines 6 and 7: Eyes are opened both physically (Mark 8:25) and spiritually (2 Kings 6:17, Matthew 13:16-17, Luke 24:31, John 3:3, John 9:39, Acts 26:12-18, 2 Corinthians 3:12-18, 2 Corinthians 4:6, and Ephesians 1:18).

Line 8: That is, the chains that bind us to Planetshakers’ lifestyle of sin are broken, saving them (Mark 16:17, Luke 10:17, Acts 3:6, Acts 3:12-16, Acts 4:30, Romans 10:13, Romans 10:19, and Philippians 2:9-11).

Line 9: As opposed to living through their senses (2 Corinthians 5:7 and Hebrews 11:1).

Line 10: Repeats line 5.

[Verse]

Lines 1 and 2: See Chorus, line 9.

[Pre-Chorus]

Line 1: God is with Planetshakers (Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Joshua 1:5-9, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 139:7-10, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Zephaniah 3:17, Matthew 6:25-34, Matthew 28:20, John 14:16-17, Hebrews 13:5, Romans 8:38-39, and Revelation 3:20).

Line 2: See Chorus, line 5.

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: That is, Planetshakers have faith in God (see Chorus, line 9).

Lines 3-8: Repeats lines 1 and 2.

[Outro]

Lines 1-4: Repeats Bridge, lines 1-4.

Score: 9/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

As stated in section 1, unbelievers will likely conclude that Planetshakers place their faith in a deity.  The word “faith” gives it away.  “You” has many acts that also point to interpreting “You” as a deity, including giving Planetshakers power, fixing eyes, and breaking strongholds.

Score: 4/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God through His acts, it does not clearly tell us that Planetshakers mean the Christian God, which does not glorify Him.

Score: 5/10

Closing Comments

Planetshakers’ Nothing is Impossible is unclear.  If we assume God, it glorifies Him that it speaks of God’s power to open physical and spiritual eyes, remove strongholds, and empower us to do all things.  However, the song is not implicitly clear about which deity Planetshakers speak, which significantly impacts God’s glory.  Unbelievers will also struggle to know which god Planetshakers is talking about purely from the lyrics.

While I understand that some believe an implicitly unclear “You” could be redeemed in a church context, I can’t recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 6.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Nothing is Impossible (listen to the song)

Artist: Planetshakers

Album: Deeper

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2009

Duration: 4:05

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