SURRENDER YOUR VISION

A recent 'insight' that stemmed from a comment by a respected church leader during a mentoring session has highlighted for me a key step in growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ; the importance of surrendering our vision to the Lord.  Jesus' words as recorded in Luke 9:23 are central to the life and work of any disciple of Christ.  “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Radical abandonment of self for the cause of the gospel is our focus as a church community in 2012 and surrender of 'your' vision is central to this radical lifestyle.  Let me unpack this a little.    When God spoke to me through a brother in Christ about the importance of God's leaders surrendering their vision to the Lord, my further prayerful reflections enabled me to hear God afresh - and to see what it is that hinders so many of us from allowing God to do the things he wants to do in and through us.  I knew that God was saying to me that I needed to surrender the vision I have of what I want God to do in and through GWAC, because this Church is HIS church and he will build his church.  The potential for me to limit or manufacture what God is doing in the life of GWAC is great.  As God's appointed leader at GWAC I am called to serve God's vision for us by serving you, his people and therefore enabling you to fulfill the vision he has given you. So often I find God does a work in me as as part of the servant leadership he has called me to at GWAC and I believe this is one of those times.  God challenged me with the importance of me surrendering my hopes and dreams to him, in part because that is also God's challenge to all of you who see GWAC as your 'base-camp' for global missional endeavour. 

At a personal level, what are your hopes and dreams for the future?  More than simply asking God to bless what you have in mind and heart, God is still calling you to deny self and follow him; surrender your vision.  In a wonderful way God will take your offerings and make of them what he wills.  I think we find this difficult for a number of reasons.

• Paranoia concerning control - we actually do not believe that God can and will do the best in and through us so we foolishly seek to 'muscle' God.  I know it sounds crude but I see it all the time (and that is no understatement).  I see evidence in my life and in yours, and I share that with a profound sense of humility.  We have to stop 'man-handling' or women-handling' God. Surrender involves trust!
• Our 'hunger' for the things of this world - In the one news bulletin on TV, we will see images of a massive crowd of malnourished and dying people clambering to get food off the back of an aid agency truck followed by a crowd of Melbourne shoppers clambering to get the latest phone or tablet (and I don't mean paracetamol)
  
• A narrow or 'blinkered' perspective of life - when a prominent person died a year ago, a tweet spread across the globe "One man dies and millions cry; yet millions die and no one cries".  
• Failure to allocate time and space to grow in our intimacy with God - we crowd God out with all the other things that occupy our life.  You will not be able to surrender your dreams and hopes and aspirations unless you take the time to name them before God, lay them down and spend time reflecting on his goodness and love.  Surrendering vision does not mean giving up on possibilities - it simply means we seek God's will and purpose and to do this we must spend time in prayer, humbly seeking Him.  Too often I hear people talk about their need for "me time"; I believe a more biblically balanced approach is seeking more "God-time" because when we seek genuine God-Time, God will lead us into green pastures, beside cool streams, embrace us in dark valleys and provide a feast for us and give us rest when needed.
  
• We look at people and circumstances as objects of opposition or relationships we have to foster, instead of opportunities to love as Jesus loves and serve as Jesus serves.

Appreciating how God has shaped me

Learning to appreciate and value how God has shaped us can be a very sobering exercise. There is much temptation to be someone that we are not. Day 32 of 40DOP provides great encouragement to recognize your abilities and and discover your gifts. While I agree that one way of discovering your gifts is through experiencing service opportunities, I believe that appropriate stewardship demands that we do better than simply try and see. Rather than simply encouraging people who do not know their gifting, to experiment in different areas of service, I would encourage people to take the time to read about the various gifts mentioned in the scriptures, talk with others about what they observe in you and spend time prayerfully reflecting on how God appears to be leading and guiding you.

Where possible, it is crucial that we allow God's word to shape us and form us - that is how God primarily works through his Spirit in our lives. He is not restricted at all to this but it is the way he has chosen to usually work. Given this, what can we glean from the scriptures about discovering and using our gifts in service.

First, Paul urges that we 'do not remain ignorant about spiritual things'. By this it is clear he is speaking about spiritual manifestations; that is the gifts (1 Cor 12:1, 3-11) The gifts have been given, and Paul wants us to be knowledgeable about this fact. Secondly, 1 Cor 14:1 instructs us to "go after spiritual gifts". The context implies 'go after with intent to use'. Thirdly, Paul instructs in Romans 12 that we should be aware of and serve in our gifting. "if prophecy, then according to the faith given you" etc. If your gift is teaching, then teach! There appears to be an expectation that we will serve in the area of our gifting and that we will become knowledgable about the gifts we have been graced with. In general, we are called to serve and so we should serve with a cheerful heart irrespective of our gifting - if there is opportunity then we serve. But to simply infer that we just start serving and see what happens is to ignore the community aspect of gift discovery and the value the scriptures place on serving within your gifting. It seems to me the most appropriate way for us to be responsible in discovering and using our gifts is for us to serve God church and in the process seek feedback, gain biblical insight, and prayerfully reflect on what I am learning about how God has shaped me.

An attitude of 'try and see' is a good way to have a go and see what God does. If it is the main way we intend to discover our gifting it will be quite limiting. God's word needs to instruct us. How we feel about a ministry experience must be put through the grid of scripture. All this means that we need to commit ourselves to serving and start serving and at the same time we need to be students of God's Word and receptive to God's people and their feedback. It is a discovery package.

The observation assessment tool available from GWAC is a great way to seek insight from family and ministry friends. Getting the considered thoughts and observations of people who are close to you while you are simply living your life for God will begin to point you in the right direction.

Don't shrivel up and die!

I was reading in The Age this morning about the challenges we have with successful organ donations here in Melbourne.  "Due to the current stress on the system and the risk of negative fallout from being unable to facilitate donation, it has been necessary to constrain some initiatives in order to prevent an even more rapid rise in the donation rate,''  Organs, when left apart from the body shrivel up and die.  Severed from the body without blood supply, organs die.  The "body-life" image that the apostle Paul uses illustrates the importance of diversity in ONENESS.  Rick Warren puts it this way, "Disconnected and cutoff from the lifeblood of a local body, you your spiritual life will wither and eventually cease to exist."  The Bible reminds us of how God has made us to function.  "In Christ, we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Rom 12:5)  If you are part of the 40 Days of Purpose, that's our current memory verse - so learn it now.  Let the truth of God's word sink deep into your life - it's what I am doing. The reality "In Christ" is that I am intimately connected with my brothers and sisters.  It's not that I have done something significant to bring this about - rather, it is a consequence of what God has done "In Christ".  And it means I belong to my brothers and sisters.  That is an incredible statement to make and even far greater to internally own. 

Of necessity, this realisation MUST change the way I view and relate to, my brothers and sisters in Christ.  It can be no other way really; there can be no other outcome, other than an interdependent relationship within the organism called the local church and the world-wide church of God.  If we are serious about not simply reading the Bible as the word of God, but also applying it in our lives and relationships then we will be serious our place of belonging in the local fellowship of Gods people. 

First and foremost, we need to be serious about God's call upon us to value the local church and to commit ourselves to belonging to the fellowship.  I would go a little further, however.  Any wider ministry that a believer might have, should be seen as an extension to your connection with the local fellowship.  Paul's missionary journeys came out of the local fellowship - he was set apart and sent from them and he regularly returned to them.   When new local churches were commenced, elders were set in place so that leadership and teaching could be provided and that God's people in that place might live within the local expression of the body of Christ.  God is on a mission to redeem his people and he will do this first and foremost through his church. 

God has committed himself to build his church.  If local and global 'ministries' do not find their life blood in, extend from and feed into the local church a warning light must go on.  Equally, if individuals believe that 'dating' the church, hopping from here to there to hear different speakers and meet new people at the expense of stable, growing and maturing relationships in one local fellowship of Gods people, the same warning light must be recognised.  Almost without exception, when the Bible speaks about "the church" it is the local fellowship that is first and foremost being referred to.  That's were it starts and it's where each of us needs to live in, be sent out from and go back to.  It's how God intends for us to live life.

The priority of love expressed in time.

I went to a celebration of the life of the wife of a colleague today.  Sheryl is deeply loved and will be greatly missed by her family, friends and her church family who have the privilege of bridging both categories.  Quality time spent loving people is of primary importance.  Love was expressed in beautiful words and moving images as people gave thanks to God for this precious women.  Time, love and care were words that dominated what was spoken. The auditorium was packed and they spilled into the hall and when it was full the remaining people spilled back into the auditorium.  People wanted to be together, to mourn and grieve together, to worship God together and give a collected "thankyou" to God for the gift of this women.  Humanly speaking, she left us way too early.  From the perspective of eternity however, she is where we all long to be. 

What matters most - LOVE!  Let's not wait till someone dies before we post it on their Facebook - or however else we communicate with them.  Take time today to express your love and care and demonstrate the value of the shared relationship.  From a human perspective, the best expression of love is time and the best time to express it is now. Day 16 in Purpose Driven Life could not be more timely!

The danger of focusing on feelings

There are so many positive experiences for us to enjoy in life here in the west that we can be duped into thinking somehow that we have been especially blessed, and we therefore have what we have.  In a subtle way, we see it as justified reward for good works or good attitude of something.  However, reverse that positive experience and how do we feel?  betrayed, alone, rejected; the list goes on and on.

We must seek God, not experience.  At the end of week two, in our journey to better understand God's purpose for our life, seeking God is a cool place to pause and reflect.   When we seek God, we focus on God and not ourselves.  I have found the words of Job incredibly challenging: "Naked I came and naked I depart; the Lord gave and the Lord takes away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:21)  Focusing on God and what he has done and what he will do sharpens our resolve to serve God with our lives; it's what Romans 12:1-2 is all about.  It is what our persecuted brothers and sisters appreciate and it is what is so easy for us in the western world to forget. 

The basis of our frendship with God

I realise that the "Purpose Driven Life" devotion book is designed to be read one chapter a day - however, if you are following the sequence with us, then please read day 11 and day 12 NOW and give prayerful relection to your learning from today, tomorrow.  I say this because day 11 unnecessarily breaks the flow into day 12 and we run a great risk of wrongly interpreting the beautiful teaching Jesus gives on what it means to be a friend of God.

When we read day 11 and 12 together we can harmonise the central teaching -  God indeed does want us to enter into a special relationship with him, but we do need to be clear about how we become friends with God.

First and foremost, Jesus tells us that we are HIS friends if we obey him.  This is the starting point of our friendship.  Our understanding of what he has done on the cross and our need to respond in obedience and surrender are crucial.  It is not about works - it is about surrender the significance of the reminder today that we can be friends with God is that this friendship stems from obedience to God, and everything else flows from that.

Second, we continue the process of remaining friends with God by constant conversation with God.  Rick Warren's reminder of the need to "Practice the presence of God" is a good and helpful one.

Third, we need to meditate on the word of God and apply it in our lives.  It almost completes a circle - application leads to obedience.

Getting things clear and in order is important.  Don't wait till tomorrow to start a friendship with God based on obedience - because without an attitude of surrender and a desire to be obedient in that surrender, friendship is not possible.  Rick does remind us of what the writer of Psalm 25 wrote - "Friendship with God is reserved for those who reverence him"  My renewed confession and surrender is crucial for my relationship with God - Jesus says it straight and clear. The second part of chapter 12 offers suggestions for cultivating this friendship with God, so enjoy the stimulation and encouragement.

SURRENDER - a moment and a practice

If you are spending time reading "Purpose Driven Life" and reflecting on the various Bible readings quoted in the text, you will be up to day 10 today - if not, take it out and read day 10 NOW, then come back to this blog.

The heart of worship is SURRENDER! Who hasn't heard that before.  Yet I found myself in deep and considered reflection on the nature and extent of a surrendered life to God.  The reminder today that surrender is best demonstrated in obedience and trust sounds so simple, almost 'cliche', and yet indeed it is the heart of our worship of God. The connection made with Jesus prayer in the garden on that night before he died on the cross for the sin of the world, is confronting and thought changing.  As I sat at my desk this morning, reflecting on the devotional reading and the bible texts associated, I was drawn into a fresh and new read of this significant passage from God's Word.  "Do what you want father, not what I want." (Mark 14:36).  I read this familiar passage with a new sense of resolve.  So many Easter messages had I heard from this text, so many had I preached myself and yet God spoke afresh into my life - and I heard the call of God come to me again; surrender your life. 

Rick Warren writes of two aspects of SURRENDER. The moment and the practice.  For me, the moment of surrender was when I was 13 years old and I heard the call of God to surrender my life to the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ.  This call was clear and the implications were life changing.  I saw God work instantaneously in my life and in the lives of those around me.  Over the years the practice of surrender has in deed been moment by moment, little by little and year by year. In Romans 12:1, the Apostle Paul urges us to "present yourself" or "offer yourself" as living sacrifice to God.  The context of the command to "offer" requires us to see the 'offering' as a present and continuing activity.  We are to make it our practice to constantly offer our self to God.  Surrendering to God is giving up our personal selfish 'wants' and be obedient to the Lordship of Christ. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, once said "The greatness of a persons power is the measure of his or her surrender (to God)"

The flow on from such reflection is profound.  I cannot sit here at my desk and NOT surrender to the Lordship of Christ.  I cannot turn my face to the day ahead and not surrender the day and my part in it, to the Lord.  Today, a sister in Christ returns to her country of birth in the hope that she will be granted a visa to return to Australia.  There are no guarantees - except that the LORD is with her and will sustain her no matter what happens.  That is SURRENDER.  Today, brothers and sisters are being maligned and ridiculed, demonised and professionally disparaged because they have surrendered their lives to the Lord and serve him in our schools as chaplains.  I know some of them personally.  They are God honouring, faithful, dedicated "professional" carers of some of the most vulnerable people in our nation.  And because of a few people intent on hindering the work of Christ in the lives of our children and families, their reputation and good name is maligned and their motives are questioned.  That's SURRENDER.  Christian Religious Education teachers will go into schools this week - TODAY even, in the knowledge that only a few people are making a stink about these dedicated and faithful servants of God, yet still they will come under fire, and their motives will be questioned and their person, their reputation will be sullied.  That's SURRENDER.

So I sit here at my desk and I surrender afresh to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  And in doing so, I pray for my friend who travels today into a potentially hostile homecoming and I pray for my brothers and sisters on the line, for the cause of the gospel, who love the kids in our schools and seek to help them in their daily struggles.