I know a man...

I know a man...
A man who lead a group of people to purchase a plot of land on the outskirts of a city area surrounded by farm-lets and small holdings of animals.
This man had a vision to build a Church of 1000 people and to him, this was the next step to seeing the vision become a reality.
At the time most large Churches peeked at 200-300 and imploded if they got close to 1,000.
I wonder if those outside this small group of faithful believers wondered if it would ever work? Maybe some questioned the wisdom of this purchase? Maybe others sniggered and waited for the failure that they were sure would follow in due course.

I visited this place I guess in its early days when they had a shell of a building to meet in.
I remember two things distinctly from that visit:
1. We got lost because it was in the country
2. The building was not finished
But that man had a vision...

Many many years later that same man saw something in me and invited me to join his staff.
By now the vision has essentially been fulfilled. The buildings were built. The targets have been reached. The goal had been achieved.
They were no longer in the country as the town had turned into a city, and now they were right in the middle of it, on a main road, exposed to the world in a dramatic way.
One day that same man sat us all down to talk about how that dream was fulfilled and how God had caused him to dream now even bigger for the future.

For over a decade now I have been serving in another part of New Zealand but have always looked to see what God was doing with the vision he gave that man.
Now they have campuses all across the city. They reach 1000's upon 1000's instead of the original 1,000. The Church seems to be thriving, growing, impacting!

I know a man...he had a vision.
God gave it to him. Others joined him on the journey.
And now God is glorified but something being built impacting generations...

Be encouraged. Dream, dream and dream some more.
Let's be people who partner with the dreamers in faith.
And let's see what God can do with a God shaped dream!

Something to think about...

Blind Faith

Have you heard of the phrase "Blind Faith"?
I have many times!
And according to many it is not a good thing...

Over my lifetime I have noticed that the meaning of things seems to change even from one generation to another.
What was considered a swear word to one generation is no longer considered course language by another.
Naming something "wicked" when I was a kid meant something was bad. By the time I was in my twenties "wicked" meant something was really cool.
When I was a teenager if you were called a "spunk" by a girl, that meant they thought you were attractive and was an indication they might be interested in you romantically.
It apparently comes from use in naming fungus many years ago.
And now no-one says it like I grew up with. It has gone back to having a less flattering meaning.

Now let's go back to that phrase again..."blind faith".
Today I hear people saying "blind faith" is bad.
It means you are trusting in someone or something you can't see and that is apparently silly and unwise.
It means that you are kind of having wishful thinking about a matter.
The mantra of many today is "I will believe it when I can see it."

If you are like me in anyway in the sense that you want to follow Christ, to live your life for Him, faith and really "blind faith" is actually a huge key to it.

I can't see a physical Jesus to follow but I do. My faith by definition is blind.
When I pray for someone to get healed even though they are sick. My faith is by definition blind once again.
When I ask God (who I can not see also) for what myself and my family needs...my hope is once again placed on who I can not see.

My friend faith is not based on what we see but on what we don't see right now.
"Blind faith" is actually the right type of faith if you want to see God move in our generation.

Of course I am not talking about presumptive faith where God is some sugar daddy to our every want and desire. I am talking about Kingdom Faith where we take the little we know and add faith to it believing God is bigger than we can ever hope dream or imagine. Where God's word and His ways have influenced so much that our "blind faith" causes us to act differently from the world around us.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV says clearly...faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Jesus even said to His disciples one day...“Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 NIV

So today, how about joining me in some good old fashioned "blind faith"?
Let's pray some big prayers. Believe in God's power and goodness.
Let's not let the world redefine the Kingdom on us!

Something to think about...

Have you got 13 spare minutes?

If you do, please take those spare minutes and check out a short message I shared recently.
https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-a4k23-d17138
Click on the graphic for something to listen to...

What's your motivation?

Some movies impact me not because of their amazing story lines, life changing message, or calls for a better world. Sometimes they have simply entertained me and the lines from some of the dialogue have stuck with me.
In our home it is not uncommon to quote movies lines as part of our conversations, and mostly just for the fun.
But sometimes they point to something else.
And sometimes they get me thinking like one did again recently...

In the corny Star Trek inspired movie called Galaxy Quest, the Captain is about to be pulverised by some sort of a rock monster on a strange planet.
Via an intercom link to his orbiting ship, a super unhelpful crew member asks "what is its motivation?"
It is a corny joke that my wife and I quote from the movie many times. You can catch a glimpse of it here.

It is a question I felt I should ask each of us today...thankfully without the need of a rock monster threatening to pulverise us!
"What's your motivation?"

Can I suggest that a lot of frustration in life, in ministry, can simply be avoided by being motivated by the right thing?

If you are motivated by honour, glory, attention or some other pathological need, you are going to come unstuck.
If you are motivated to do what you do to atone for your past, earn favour, prove yourself, again you will come crashing down at some stage.

Here is some great advice for you today from scripture!
Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Colossians 3:17 NIV
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Colossians 3:23 NIV

I learned a long time ago that doing anything in the Kingdom of God for any other motivation leads to disappointment - every single time!
Doing anything that I do, knowing I am doing for my King, is motivating, sustaining and right.
I can keep on keeping on when I am motivated to did it first and foremost for Him.

So what's your motivation for what you currently do?

Something to think about...

Two Mountains

I don't know if we do this more than another time in history or whether it is just easier now?
People love to share their "considered" opinions on whatever they are involved in or what they see.
Reviews on meals, accommodation, movies, books, businesses, relationships, sports teams and even Churches.

I have been thinking about this recently...
Wondering whether just because we can, should we?
Wondering if we have to be maybe more "considered" about what we critique?

There is this account in scripture from many years ago where God's people stood purposefully before 2 mountains.
From one they read out all the blessings from God.
On another the read all the curses.
There was a very real and distinct differences between the 2 mountains and experiences.
From one there were blessings.
From the other there were curses.
And you do not need to be bright or a theologian to work out what was better...

Back to today...

I think we have maybe got our 2 mountains a bit confused.
It is like our culture has brought through a bunch of powerful excavators and flattened the mountains to create a level playing field. Where people freely bless and curse seemingly within one breath at times.

I have lost track of the number of times I have seen this recently...
Couples in a marriage facing challenges speaking the very worst about each other to each other. Getting friends and family to join their side. Cursing what on one hand they say they want better.
Employees sometimes face challenging situations and relationships in a work place. Their default strategy it seems is to curse their boss, workmate, even the very place they are employed.
Christians are sometimes really good at this...unfortunately!
They visit another Church for whatever reason and then curse it because it doesn't have this or that, doesn't match their expectations, offends something in them.
And yes, I have even regularly heard people curse the Church they are in, in some vain hope that cursing it, might motivate something cosmically to change it to the way they want it to be.

Sorry to be so heavy in these comments but I have a goal for you and me today!
I want us to seperate our comments back to potentially 2 mountains.
Maybe something is wrong and needing attention.
But maybe also we are adding fuel to the problem fire by speaking a curse over it.

If you want your marriage to be better - bless it and not curse it.
If you want your job to be better - bless it and not curse it.
If you want your Church to be better - bless it and not curse it.

Which of the two mountains is God asking you to stand on today?

Something to think about...