Don’t forget: As you reach UP, reach OUT!

After a week with two hundred young people from varied backgrounds, I feel greatly inspired to devote this blog to some of those youths.

The week was a tremendous blessing and there were some significant times of encounter with God, especially during worship. The messages spoken during the sessions were clear and relative, and I truly believe that the hungry were fed and the thirsty were watered.

But the devotion of this blog is to those few. I really can’t quantify or say how many, but to those who arrived with many questions possibly left with many questions, and those who struggled to engage during sessions. Those who during the times of deep intimacy of the spirit during worship were overwhelmed by the atmosphere, the intensity of the praise and the revealing of Jesus through the Word; and felt lost, these few words are your thoughts written down.

For me; no matter how powerful the service was, or how profound; or practical, our teachings were, there were some “lost sheep in Israel” that were crying out right there in our midst. Crying out for love, for hope and for peace.

They were crying out through their frustration; even through their absence in sessions, to know more than just the practicalities of the youth camp. Their behaviour screamed I don’t want to be here but their tears and conversations told another story.

I guess my point to all of this is that the church must encounter God to touch people, to embrace Jesus and all his amazing qualities which then must lead to embracing our youth. To embrace those who may not have the language of church that says, “I need help!”

We cannot become religious in our pursuit of God and remain behind the four walls of a building, forgetting how to connect with people we are meant to serve.

As we strive as the church of Christ to encounter Him more and experience; and receive His grace, it should not be at the cost of isolating ourselves behind the stained glasses of traditional windows or the lights of contemporary churches and miss the amazing opportunity to share all that we have received with those who truly require it.

Let us not forget this week during our meetings, our studies and our worship times: As we reach up, let’s reach out!

Matthew 9:35 “and Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”

­­– Pastor Michael

What Do You See?

In order for us to have hope in something, we must first believe in something.

If you know me then you will know that I love TV and films. God really speaks His principles and parables through these mediums. Writing about faith brought me to the television series Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA.

Ramsay saves struggling restaurants by helping owners and re-building businesses. I was captivated by series 4, episode 5. In 2011, Ramsay was called in to help salvage Italian restaurant Davide, in Boston, Massachusetts USA.

The highly successful restaurant first opened in 1982, brought by brothers Frank and Anthony in 1997. Frank found out Anthony was embezzling money due to his drug problem over the first few years of the business. Anthony went to prison, leaving Frank with the responsibility of the brother owned dream, until his brother returned.

As the years went by and the unresolved issues mounted, Frank sank. This is where faith comes into the story.

“When Anthony left, Frank gave up.” 
Franks wife

Frank’s hope was the dream of owning and running a business with his brother. When Anthony’s life changed, so did Frank’s.

“Tonight I saw something quite frightening. It wasn’t about the food. It wasn’t the complaints, and it certainly wasn’t the service. It was Frank. And here’s why, he is so burnt out that he has given up.”
Gordon Ramsay

No matter what Ramsay or the family did, Frank had to be the person who took steps to rebuild his OWN hope. Pastor Michael’s teachings on Cultivating a Spirit of Expectation is exactly what Frank had to do.

To cultivate something is to raise up, improve, develop, evolve, prepare or work on something. You have to actively do something in order to cultivate something; its's an action.

Frank lost his passion for both the business and cooking because of what he saw. He wouldn't even wear his chef's jacket! He literally gave up.

If you are to cultivate a spirit of expectation you must re-evaluate your belief system. You must question what you see because from it is determined what you believe, and therefore hope for.

You have to cultivate an inner strength and core belief on the inside.

When Jesus healed the blind man at Bethsaida, he asked him what he saw (Mark 8:22-26). His vision was blurred the first time; it wasn’t until the second time that he could see clearly. However, the man knew that Jesus would heal him. Just like the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48), she knew Jesus would heal her. Vision is key as it directs where you go.

Ezekiel spoke the word of the Lord over the dry bones; that they would live because God said so. He spoke the word more than once (Ezekiel 37).

Our hope must be built on WHO God is (Matthew 16:15). We must be confident in the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11) and that He WILL do and finish in us what He said He would (Philippians 1:6).

If your vision is dull, your heart grows dim and you won’t expect (look forward to, anticipate the birth of) something.

Sometimes we have to do what Professor X from X-Men: Days of Future Past did, we need to talk to ourselves.  We have to re-address the things we believe (have confidence in the truth) because of what we currently see, as it can be influenced by our past and present; not our future.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 (NASB)

Sometimes we have to keep speaking to what we do not presently see. We have to speak and believe, INTERNALLY, what God has said. We must learn to restore and have hope beyond what we physically see and mentally think to be true. Even David had to encourage himself in the Lord (1Samuel 30:6).

We must also be assured that what we are building, we will also partake in. We must build in hope (1Corinthians 9:10). 

If we follow the necessary processes with the Holy Spirit in cultivating a spirit of expectation, we will become persuaded as Paul was in Romans 8:38-39.

To go back to the series, Frank slowly re-built his hope by changing his heart and mind. He reassessed what he saw; therefore what he believed. 

He changed his mind (Romans 12:2) and learned to hope again through faith that the dream he once believed WOULD happen. He had to keep thinking and believing this in his heart and mind.

We must also have this mindset and heart attitude.

“Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.”
Psalm 27:14 (Amplified)

BY STACEY SPENCER

Series clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbzJc8_eVEc  and http://www.channel4.com/programmes/ramsays-kitchen-nightmares-usa