Thrive Worship – Pour Your Spirit Out

Thrive Worship is an American band headquartered in Sacramento, California.  According to their website, they are a “collection of people from diverse backgrounds all pointing in the same hope-filled direction. With a singular goal of instilling a passionate pursuit of a future hope, Thrive Worship’s songs are a timely reminder that in the midst of the struggle, Jesus is there, leading the way out.”

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Thrive-worship-pour-your-spirit-out-live-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.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Thrive Worship gives two reasons why we should stop experiencing shame: because God’s love is unconditional and that we can’t hide from His undeserved favor.  I’ll explain more in section 2 why these reasons don’t support Thrive Worship’s claim, and why the second reason is Biblically dubious.

God grants to Holy Spirit to those who are willing to receive it.  Though God knocks, we must open the door to let Him in, allowing Him to work within us.  We cannot expect Him to answer prayers without doubtless faith.  Thrive Worship offers an example of how God worked in their life.

Aside from this song’s first two stanzas, I have two other issues with this song’s message.  First, what does Thrive Worship mean by “rewrite history”?  It reads like God changing the past, which is unsupported Biblically and logically.  For a more in-depth explanation, see section 2.

Second, Thrive Worship’s message of “just ask” and “just believe” has the ring of Word of Faith.  While they aren’t claiming that God’s power resides within them, there’s potential that this message will lead some in the Word of Faith direction.

Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, it begins in Stanza 9, where the same statement repeats seven times (the lyrics only have six).  After that, the same Stanza repeats four times.  Stanza 16 repeats the same phrase ten times (the lyrics have six).  Finally, the song ends with essentially three more repeats of Stanza 10.

Score: 6/10

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

Most of this song lines up with Scripture, except for Thrive Worship’s rationale for living without shame in Stanzas 1 and 2, and that God rewrites history in Stanza 3.

This song does not contain a Verse/Chorus/Bridge format.  Therefore, I assigned stanzas to each paragraph.

[Stanza 1]

Lines 1-4: Thrive Worship counsels their audience, that they should not live downcast because Christ’s love is unconditional. Yes, God’s love is without condition in the sense that He died for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:6-8), nothing will separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39), and He is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13).  However, this alone isn’t good supporting evidence to cease shameful feelings, Thrive Worship adds additional reasoning in Stanza 2.

[Stanza 2]

Line 1: Essentially repeats Stanza 1, line 1.

Line 2: This depends on whose perspective Thrive Worship references and how much knowledge God imparts to them.  From God’s perspective, He chooses those who will be His children (Exodus 33:19, Deuteronomy 7:7-8, Deuteronomy 9:4-6, Isaiah 65:1, Matthew 22:1-14, John 15:16-17, Romans 8:29-39, Romans 9:10-24, Romans 11:1-6, 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, Ephesians 1:3-14, Colossians 3:12-14, 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15, 2 Timothy 1:8-9, 2 Timothy 2:10 James 2:5, and 2 Peter 1:3-11).  However, from our perspective, many people can hide from grace, incurring eternal separation from God (Matthew 18:7-9, Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46, Mark 9:43, Romans 6:23, Jude 1:7, and Revelation 14:11).

How does Thrive Worship know whether we, their collective audience, are elected or not?  Has God informed them?  If we assume their audience is only believers, how do they know some aren’t false converts who will walk away (Ezekiel 3:20, Ezekiel 18:24-26, Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 12:42-48, John 15:1-6, Acts 4:32 , Acts 5:1-11, Romans 1:28-32, Romans 11:13-23, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Corinthians 7:23, 1 Corinthians 9:27, 1 Corinthians 8:11, Galatians 5:4, 1 Timothy 1:18-20, Hebrews 3:12, Hebrews 10:26-31, Hebrews 10:38-39, James 5:19-20, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Peter 2:20-22, 2 John 8-9, Revelation 2:4-5, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 3:14-17)?  Given these considerations, this line’s Biblical accuracy is questionable at best and unbiblical at worst.  It also doesn’t address my concerns about Stanza 1.

Lines 3 and 4: Repeats Stanza 2, lines 3 and 4.

[Stanza 3]

Lines 1-3: Thrive Worship borrows from Lazarus’ resurrection in John 11:38-44 to make the case that God rewrites history.  The problem is that rewriting history means changing the events of the past.  This opens the door to several temporal paradoxes that make this claim difficult or impossible to defend.

If by “rewrites history”, Thrive Worship means “God intervenes in human affairs”, then yes that’s correct.  The entire Bible is filled to the brim with moments when God interacted with His world, succinctly summarized in Isaiah 45:6-7.  However, the wording “rewrites history” carries with it the notion that, from our perspective, God changes the past amid our present.  This isn’t supported in Scripture.

Lines 4 and 5: That is, Jesus changes those of us who trust in Him (1 Samuel 10:9, Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 24:7, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 2:29, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and 2 Corinthians 7:10), including granting us the Holy Spirit.  This outpouring of the Spirit was prophesied in Joel 2:28-29, promised by Jesus (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, John 14:16-26, John 15:5-15, John 15:26, John 16:7, and Acts 1:8), and received after Jesus’ resurrection (John 20:22), Pentecost (Acts 2:1-18), and thereafter (Acts 8:14-18, Acts 9:17, Acts 10:45-46, Acts 11:15-17, and Acts 19:6).

Lines 6-8: References the account in Acts 16:16-40 to make a point about our “prison walls”, signifying physical and spiritual malady.  As our Great Physician (Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, and Luke 5:31), Jesus has the power to break these walls down.

Line 9: We surrender to God’s will (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).

Line 10: Repeats line 5 as a petition to God.

[Stanza 4]

Lines 1 and 2: Essentially repeats Stanza 3, line 5.

[Stanza 5]

Lines 1-4: Thrive Worship offers two reasons why we and trust God and rest in Him.  Namely, His easy burdens (Matthew 11:28-30) and perfect ways (Leviticus 11:44-45, Leviticus 19:2, Deuteronomy 32:4, 2 Samuel 22:31, Psalm 12:6, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 19:7-11, Psalm 25:8, Psalm 92:15, Isaiah 26:7, Matthew 5:48, Mark 10:18, Luke 18:19, Romans 12:1-2, and 1 Peter 1:16).

Side Note: By “burdens are easy”, Jesus isn’t saying that we will live a pain-free or challenge-free life.  In some ways, life is harder because of persecution, doing the right thing, and sacrificing for others.  However, it’s easier in the sense that we’re not burdened with the guilt and eternal consequences of sin.

[Stanza 6]

Lines 1 and 2: Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Lines 3 and 4: See commentary on Stanza 1, lines 3 and 4.

[Stanzas 7 and 8]

Repeats Stanza 3.

[Stanza 9]

Essentially repeats Stanza 3, line 5.

Side Note: I counted a seventh when I heard this (not including background vocals).  The referenced lyrics link only contains six.

[Stanza 10]

Lines 1-3: If we are to expect God to respond, we must ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7-12 and James 4:2) without doubting (James 1:6-8).

Side Note: This isn’t a guarantee that because we ask, we will always receive.  There are Biblical reasons why God might say “no” to us.

Line 4: Refers back to Lazarus, described in Stanza 3, lines 1 and 2.  I’ll explain more about this in Stanza 14. lines 4-6.

Line 5: Repeats line 4.

[Stanzas 11-13]

Repeats Stanza 10.

[Stanza 14]

Lines 1-3: See commentary on Stanza 10.

Lines 4-6: God has been knocking at our door also (Revelation 3:20).  He doesn’t force Himself in, but patiently waits for us to open.  When we “roll back the stone”, we open the door so that Christ can come in.

Lines 7 and 8: Repeats Stanza 10, line 4.

[Stanza 15]

Repeats Stanza 3.

[Stanza 16]

Essentially repeats Stanza 3, line 5.

Side Note: I counted ten of these when I heard this (not including background vocals).  The referenced lyrics link only contains six.

[Stanza 17]

Lines 1-16: Thrive Worship offers their testimony on God healing their anxiety.

[Stanzas 18 and 19]

Repeats Stanza 3.

[Stanzas 20-22]

Repeats/essentially repeats Stanza 10.

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Thrive Worship includes many names that push unbelievers towards a Christian interpretation, including Paul, Silas, Lazarus, Jesus, God, and Father.

They will likely conclude that to receive the Holy Spirit and for miracles to occur, all we need to do is ask for it, believe that God loves us, and believe that we can’t hide from His grace.  While we should ask in faith, this sounds a lot like the “sinner’s prayer” that often leads to false converts.  Though unbelievers will correctly interpret the benefits of trusting in God (e.g.; God’s loving embrace, rest, eased burdens, etc.), without conviction of the Holy Spirit, those who accept will be like the seed in thorns, choked by the troubles and worries of this life.  While I don’t expect songs to be sermons, it is unfortunate that Thrive Worship doesn’t talk about shame as lawbreaking, the penalty we deserve for breaking His laws, and the means by which God provides forgiveness: through Christ’s sacrifice.

Many unbelievers have been burned by this Word of Faith thinking, that miracles and answered prayer occur through the power of our words.  The overwhelming majority of these lyrics repeatedly point in this direction, making it potentially difficult to see that the power is from God, not us.

Finally, many of them will agree with me that God doesn’t rewrite history.  Even if He did, how would we know?

Score: 3/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While it glorifies God that He loves us without condition, changes us from the inside out, and eases our burdens, it does not glorify Him when it offers poor reasoning to forsake shame and incorrectly states that God rewrites history.

Score: 7/10

Closing Comments

Thrive Worship’s Pour Your Spirit Out is a mixed bag.  While I applaud their testimony and push for the Holy Spirit to transform us, their reasoning to forsake shame, that God can rewrite history, and potential Word of Faith proclamations leave much to be desired.  Though it’s true that we should trust God, that by asking in faith, we will receive, I fear that it will lead unbelievers astray, that they will think God always answers in the affirmative.

I cannot recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 6/10

Artist Info

Track: Pour Your Spirit Out (Live) (listen to the song)

Artist: Thrive Worship

Album: Coming Back (Live)

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2022

Duration: 9:55

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.