One Man's Journey
Good afternoon. God is so good and I have to share!
It is so difficult to explain all that the Father is doing and welling up in my heart. He continues to make me sensitive to His spirit when it comes to sin, vision, direction for my life, and ways to be a vessel for Him. A very eager and willing vessel.
As I continue to seek for His hearts desire to be my hearts desire, it becomes a pruning process in my life. Allowing Him to take away selfishness, complacency, and negativity becomes a daunting task that brings you to your knees and reveals to you that it is all about Jesus.
Ironically as God has expanded the burden, love, and passion I have for people, I have experienced a difficulty with His people. Christian society has become so complacent in our very comfortable box. When one of those Christians goes outside that box and begins to talk about Christian disciplines that are not of the average Christian norm anymore, then that Christian gets judged, criticized, and labeled as pias. I mean evangelism, fasting, extreme faith and the such.
I cannot allow those people and what they think to hold me back from experiencing the life change God has for me and neither can any believer. You don’t have to answer to anyone except your creator.
I know that God is calling me out to make a difference beyond what I can fathom and it excites me to the point that I cannot and will not hold it in. When that happens, you can’t! This is so different from the times I have been “excited” before. The process that God has been taking me on over the last several weeks has been one of stretching, revealing changes that needed to take place in me, and an absolute freedom.
As this process continues, He is moving me to action. To expand the finite thinking of my mind as well as other believers. To see the greatness that He has in store for all those who will totally surrender and have faith in things that only God can do.
God is sovereign! If He can take somebody like me and change him, he can take anybody and change them as well. I want to communicate that more. I long for the God-ordained opportunities to share my faith with others now. I had gotten so apathetic to the fact that there are people all around me that need a fresh touch from the Father. Philemon verse 6 says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” It has nothing whatsoever to do with bringing someone to the Lord. It has everything to do with obedience. The sin of silence has affected me too much. I was denying Jesus by not opening my mouth when I had the chance. I was denying Him with my silence.
God continues to make known to me that I am weak. This mere man in the flesh is weak. God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness…makes room for His power.
It is about hunger. I hunger for God to break through in my life, the lives around me, and in the ministry.
This has been an overwhelming experience that I know has only begun. I know I have heard from God. No it hasn’t been some sensational crazy vision. It has been God simply revealing His promises to me through scripture. As I said before, it is God calling me out and tugging me toward an experience of His power. His transforming power. It is a holy excitement.
His for students and families,
Ryan Epps, Minister of Students Boone Trail Baptist Church repps@boonetrailbaptist.orgGalatians 2:20 / Proverbs 29:18
The sad thing is when we expect non-Christians to act like Christians before they become one. It’s like asking a cat to be a dog – just can’t happen; not until the transforming power of Christ brings about the ‘change’ with the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why it’s so very, very important that we don’t try to translate any “Christian values” to non-Christians except the only one they can start with, i.e. “Do you have a plan to get to heaven?”
Paul was very clear about the necessity of what we now call being ‘seeker sensitive’ and to speak with people where they are, not where we want them to end up. As we do so, we honor Christ, His Word, and as Ryan said, we can go with confidence where the Spirit opens the door for us to go.
We recently gave away 400+ Share Jesus leather pocket Bibles – with the stipulation that they share their faith and the scriptures with someone, give them the Bible, and then come and get another one to use as they share with someone else. Yes, we’ve had some just give them away and not really share the Gospel, but its miles beyond where they’ve ever gone before. We are seeing God honor the smallest efforts as we trust Him and share the Good News about His Son. What a way to go broke! I know, I know…why not give away the $2.00 one? Because there’s value in the fact that you’re willing to give the best; it just moves the whole sharing thing into a different sphere when they know they’re giving them away at $8.00 a pop and people actually want to receive them!
Sharing Jesus Without Fear,
Pastor Steve Gallimore
Tennessee Valley Community Church
Paris, TN
www.tvcc.us http://stevegallimore.blogspot.com
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