Red Rocks Worship – On Earth as in Heaven

Red Rocks Worship exists as a collective of worship leaders and songwriters whose aim is to help us draw closer to God.  Born out of Red Rock Church in Golden, Colorado in 2005, they released four albums and two EP’s, including:

• Into the Light (2015)
• Living Liturgies (2016, EP)
• Here (Live) (2017)
• spark. (Live) (2019)
• spark.  ACOUSTIC SESSIONS (2020)
• Things of Heaven (Where We Come From) (EP, 2021)

Also, check out my reviews of Echo Holy, Breakthrough, and Not Afraid.

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?

The first half of the song is about the relationship between our service and God’s response.  Namely, that:

• When more of us gather to worship, it creates an atmosphere where we can experience His restoration and direction.
• We yield to His ways.
• When we seek Him and His Kingdom, there is no room for fear.
• We desire to experience His Presence.
• He exchanges our wickedness for His uprightness.

The second half lists the benefits of His Presence, including:

• Internal tranquility
• Liberty
• Correction
• Faith that moves mountains

In response, we worship Him eternally, dependent on Him.

Score: 10/10

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

This song perfectly aligns with Scripture.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

We bring our praise, You bring revival
We lift our hands, You lift our eyes up

Genuine praise demonstrates that we seek His face and turn from evil ways. In return, God will guide and restore us (2 Chronicles 7:14).

[Pre-Chorus]

Where Your love is found there will be no fear

This is so because perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

God, Your kingdom come, Your will be done here

This is part of the Lord’s prayer, found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.  It implies surrender to God’s ways (Psalm 43:5, Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6).

[Chorus]

On Earth as in Heaven
Spirit of God pour out
Our hearts are wide open
Jesus, we need You now
Come have Your way in this place
Break our walls down

See Pre-Chorus, line 2.

Spirit of God pour out
On Earth as in Heaven
Jesus, we need You now

Repeats lines 2, 1, and 4.

[Verse 2]

We bring our shame, You bring redemption
You turn our chains into our freedom

This describes the “great exchange”, where Christ exchanges His righteousness for our sin (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

[Bridge]

In Your presence there is peace
In Your presence we are free

Experiencing Christ causes us to receive internal peace (John 14:27, John 16:29-33, Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:14-15, and Colossians 3:15) and freedom from the shackles of our past (see Verse 2, lines 1 and 2) when we embrace Him.

There’s no better place to be

As stated in Psalm 84:10, one day in God’s courts is better than a thousand spent elsewhere.

There’s no better place to be

Repeats line 3.

In Your presence there is truth

Since Jesus is the truth (John 14:6), it should not surprise us that we receive truth when we enter His Presence.

In Your presence mountains move

Faith can cause mountains to fall (Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, and Mark 11:23).

We forever run to You

For all eternity we worship God (Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, Psalm 52:9, Psalm 86:12, Psalm 89:1, Psalm 115:18, Psalm 145:1-2, Psalm 145:21, and Revelation 5:9-13).

We forever run to You

Repeats line 7.

In Your presence there is peace
In Your presence we are free
There’s no better place to be
There’s no better place to be
In Your presence there is truth
In Your presence mountains move
We forever run to You
We forever run to You

Repeats lines 1-8.

[Outro]

Oh, we need You, we need You, we need You now

We need God as a deer requires water: completely dependant on Him for support (Psalm 42:1-2).

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will conclude that Christians are worshipping their God and completely dependent on Him, listing many things that He offers those who follow Him. We also claim that there’s no better time spent than in His Presence, easily understood by those outside of Christian circles. The phrase “Spirit of God” and the word “Jesus” makes this interpretation more apparent by explicitly naming who God is.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God by expressing how God’s Presence affects us from the inside out.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Red Rocks Worship’s On Earth as in Heaven is excellent. It provides a listing of things God offers those who follow Him, including exchanging our wickedness for His righteousness, internal peace, freedom, and love that casts out fear. It implies subservience and obedience to God when describing His will be done, bringing glory to God. Unbelievers should find Red Rock’s message is easy to interpret with its accessible and everyday language.

I highly recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: On Earth as in Heaven (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Red Rocks Worship

Album: spark. (Live)

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2019

Duration: 5:20

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*Copyright © 2019 RELWOF (SESAC) Songs of Red Rocks Worship Publishing (BMI) Be Essential Songs (BMI) All Essential Music (ASCAP) Red Rocks Worship (ASCAP) So Essential Tunes (SESAC) Man Cub Muzak House (SESAC) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

01/21/2022 – Per Artist Theology announcement, I expanded the red text to encourage others to study Red Rocks Worship’s theology.