CU: Walking on Water with the Living Water

I want to start this by sharing a story. In Island of Adventures, Universal Studios Orlando, Florida there is a water ride called Ripsaw falls. It has a ridiculously vertical drop. I looked it up and it starts at 45 degrees but then moves to 55 degrees, whereas most are 45-50 degree drops. Also in Ripsaw Falls the log things you sit in are horribly designed. It has no seatbelts and the only thing you can grip onto is the back of the chair in front of you. It has a small indent that fits to the first joint on your finger.

Ripsaw Falls tells a Rocky and Bullwinkle story with little robots moving and sound recordings but do not ask me what they story was because I was so petrified that I honestly have no idea. Now I am not a person who gets scared on rides, I don’t I love them, I love the thrill of them and being spun and upside down and whatever else is all great craic. But that’s when I feel safe.

This ride did not feel safe, no safety equipment was provided, no seatbelts, nothing decent to hold onto, no bar covering you and holding you in place, nada. Fear sets in and you panic, I panicked and I didn’t pay any attention to all the story that probably cost Universal Studios so much money to put together and which I had paid, or well mum and dad had paid, a lot of money for me to experience.

It’s at this point that you try and calm yourself down thinking that many many people use this ride daily and survive and that you have to just trust the operators of the ride to know what they’re doing and to think of my safety as something of paramount importance while on their ride.

Of course the ride turned a corner, just as I thought that, and I see one of them. He has bleached hair, is standing there looking like he normally doesn’t have a job and possibly doesn’t own a shower (or shirts).

It was at this point that my uncle also lost it. He said to me “You’re a Christian, do something religious”. So I took up an offering!

No really I prayed that we would survive the drop, which, obviously, we did; soaked but alive.

Ok so for this I want to look at two Bible passages. The first is found in John 4:1-30: “Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria. So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

     A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

     Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

     Just then his disciples came back. They marvelled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him.”

This passage is a really cool one when you are thinking about water and it tells us a lot about Jesus too. Going back to my other story about the water ride and the operator. That operator inspired no confidence in my life, which I was sure was nearly over. The fact that I looked to the operator tells me something about fear and that is that when we are afraid we look to someone else that we hope is in control. At least that’s what I think. This in our lives more generally is true too. When we are afraid we look to something to take that fear away, that ‘operator’ should be Jesus.

Why water though? Why talk about water? Well first of all my name is Wavey, which has a lot to do with water, second I love water (not being in it but listening to it and being near it), third water is beautiful, necessary but also deadly and lastly Jesus calls Himself the source of Living Water and the Holy Spirit living water.

What does that mean? Just like the body needs water to survive so does the spirit. Jesus is the source of that water. He is all sufficient. We see that when He says ‘never be thirsty again’. What Jesus gives is enough. God revealed this to Paul as well when He said, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). From just that little passage Jesus uses water as a metaphor for how God gives life, for how God’s grace is enough and for how God is our great provider.

There was once a time when God reminded me of some of this stuff using water. It had been a really bad year, my life felt as if it was falling apart. I was visiting a friend who had an apartment facing the river. When the Sun set I was out watching the reflection of the lights from City Hall I think, on the river Lee. The way the lights were shining and the wind was blowing it looked as if the river was flowing towards UCC as opposed to away from it. I was thinking about how chaotic that was and then, floating down the river, the correct direction, came some local election poster. At that point God said to me, “just because everything looks like it’s chaotic doesn’t mean that it is. I am still in control, both of the direction of the river and all the circumstances in your life and though you feel overwhelmed remember that I am enough. Trust me.”

From that passage another thing that strikes me is the second part of verse 14: “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

It is such a beautiful picture of the abundance God gives us but, as well as that, the idea that the Holy Spirit in us becomes a spring of water which leads us to eternal life but it also suggests the spilling over of the Holy Spirit to touching the lives of others.

I could spend ages more on that passage but I want to talk about another passage. It is found in Matthew 14:22-33: “Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

     And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Firstly here we have the storm that causes the waves to toss the boat about the place. In the Bible the sea is often shown as this uncontrollable thing. If you think classical period and the amount of appeasing the gods of the sea sailors would do. Think of Jonah and throwing him overboard; that was commonplace. The sea was the uncontrollable thing in creation. There was nothing people could do but appease the gods before they went and pray if they got caught in a storm.

The Bible talks about the One who can control the sea and that is God.

Psalm 29:10 says “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.”

Psalm 89:9 says “You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.”

Psalm 107:28-30 says “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.”

Jesus, walking on the water was showing that God is in control, even over the water and the waves and that He is, in fact, God.

The disciples are terrified of course, they think it is a ghost. I think it is easy for us, in our position 2000 years in the future, to judge the disciples harshly. Even I as I was writing this I said ‘they think it’s a ghost’ and my head sarcastically added, ‘logically’. But we should not do this. Imagine you are in a storm, water is pouring in over the sides of your boat. You remember Jesus calmed the storm last time you were on a boat in a storm like this; and that saved your lives. This time though Jesus isn’t there. He stayed behind and sent you ahead so He could pray. You feel like you are going to die. Then, in the middle of all of this, walking across the water and the waves comes a figure. People don’t walk on water! What does walk on water? Ghosts… The only thing I can think of is a ghost, you say to Peter. That starts a panic.

Jesus’ words are fantastic here. He tells the disciples don’t be afraid. Many scholars think that the word translated ‘it is I’ in the ESV could have been Jesus saying Yahweh, as in the name God called Himself (translated as ‘I am’). So Jesus comes walking across the water, showing He is in control of it and says I am. The disciples got a glimpse of our all-powerful God in human form.

The next thing is my favourite bit of this story. Peter says ‘tell me to come to you’. The walking on water is very cool but even more cool is the fact that Peter trusts Jesus enough to want to join Him on the water.

I think we are often very hard on Peter. We see that he saw the wind and the waves and took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink and we think Peter failed. Peter did fail but at least he tried. How much more of a failure were each of the other eleven disciples. They are, what John Ortberg calls ‘Boat Potatoes.’ Peter took two steps in his walk to the water, the first was submission to Jesus. He submitted himself to Christ’s power. He didn’t think he could do it himself but knew that he would only be able to walk on water if Jesus commanded him to. The second step Peter took was strength. He walked out of that boat in God’s strength.

I want us to apply this story to our lives. The boat is where you are generally. I don’t want to use this word because I think it is so much more than this, but the boat is like your comfort zone. I like to think of it more as ‘where you are now’ perhaps you are out of your comfort zone by even being here; but perhaps you are never out of your comfort zone. Perhaps your comfort zone on your boat looks like this. Lovely linen, bright room, sea view. Perhaps this is your ship.

Whatever your present place is like you need to open to hearing the call of God in your life, and when you hear that call, coming from the stormy water (something that looks difficult/will be difficult). You have to respond to that call. Your response can be one of two. You can walk on the water or you can be a boat potato.

Perhaps God is calling you right now, maybe into a ministry in Church, like helping with youth group for example.

“I’m too busy Lord!”

That’s boat potato talk.

Maybe it’s to join a summer mission team.

“But I have to work to fund college Lord!”

That’s boat potato talk.

Maybe it is to talk to that non Christian friend or join the CU outreach group.

“My friend/friends will judge me and laugh at me.”

Boat Potato talk.

Maybe it’s to leave college and go to Bible college.

“I want a degree Lord.”

You guessed it, boat potato talk.

Perhaps it’s to get your head down and study to do well in your degree.

“But my friends are doing fun things and I want to go too.”

Okay this is the last time, I promise, that’s boat potato talk!

You get the picture. He calls and we answer. If we make excuses and say no we are being boat potatoes. Now let’s look at the other response.

Peter is called and he submits himself to Jesus. What I mean by this is that he recognises who Jesus is and puts his whole trust in him. He realises he cannot do what Jesus has called him to do in his own strength but only by allowing Jesus to be in control. He fixes his eyes on Christ and he takes his first step towards those outstretched arms. He ignores the problems in his way (the wind and the waves) and keeps his eyes fixed on Jesus, taking step after step forward. This is the first step for us when we respond to God’s call in our lives. We need to submit to Jesus, to turn over all our cares and our worries to him and to focus on him and not on those worries and problems. We need to fix our eyes on him with each and every step we take. We need to trust Jesus to look after us even with all this water (here meaning trouble) around us. We also need to realise we cannot do these things in our own strength but only in Christ’s strength.

It is then that Peter steps out in strength. He moves step by step in the confidence and strength not of himself but of Jesus. When Jesus calls us out of our boats towards a new situation we first submit to Him, then we step out in strength. This strength only lasts while we submit and it is not our own strength but the Lord’s. Yet, He gives it to us to wield. He allows us to step out in that strength and walk on the water. In fact it is Jesus’ desire that we would all be metaphorical water walkers. Of course it is unlikely you will ever physically walk on water, unless you do what Andy is doing here, but even he isn’t succeeding in walking on water with help. Jesus wants us all to answer his call, not be boat potatoes and submit to Him, humble ourselves, realise that He is enough for us as we walk in His strength and accomplish works for His Kingdom. Jesus Himself said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12 ESV). Do we believe Jesus’ words? Do you believe that you will do greater works? Jesus said it, and we know that Jesus cannot lie. Jesus wants us to submit to Him and then go out in His strength and powerfully advance the Kingdom of God in our lives, our communities, our college, our relationships, the places He sends us and the people He sends us to.

Please note that when Peter stops submitting and starts worrying it is then that he sinks. This is the same for us. If, when we are walking on water, we try doing in it in our strength and take our eyes off Jesus, then we will begin to sink under the pressure of everything we have to do. Note though that in the passage that Jesus ‘immediately’ reaches out to rescue Peter. He does that with us too. He is not far off and when we cry out to Him He will be there and will stop us sinking completely. Peter may have been carried back to the boat, he may not have walked on the water again but Jesus rescued him. This might be similar in our experience. We might call on Jesus when we start sinking and we will be rescued but we might still be looking at the waves and problems and perhaps Jesus will not let us walk on the water again for awhile, maybe He will carry us and so we might feel like nothing is getting better because we are not walking, but Jesus has not let us sink and when we are ready to walk again  (when we focus on Him and not the waves) He will allow us, when we submit again then He will give us the ability to go forward in His power again. Then we move the Kingdom of God forward in His power again.

We can only do these powerful works if the Living Water lives in us. The Living Water is the Holy Spirit who flows from Jesus to us, filling us up and giving us life then pouring from us into the lives and situations of the people we find ourselves coming into contact with. Jesus said of the Living Water, which we talked about earlier from John 4: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39 ESV).

So, in effect we are walking on water with the Living Water when we respond to the call of God in our lives.

As I close I want you to think is Jesus calling you in any particular direction tonight? How are you going to respond? Are you going to be a boat potato? I beg you not to be so. I beg you to submit to Him, recognise your weakness and His strength, recognise you have nothing but that He has given you everything and will provide everything for you. Fix your eyes on Him and take that step in His strength. Be a child of God that wields the power of God and moves His Kingdom forward everywhere you go. Trust Him, Follow Him, Bring Him. Get out of your boat and walk on the water with the Living Water.

Love 1: Brandy

The first story is about a dog, a cuddly dog, named Brandy. Brandy was not just any dog, he was a dog with a little red dicky bow and a Santa hat. A little boy named David got him for Christmas when he was one year, and a month, old. David loved Brandy a lot (he was named by David’s grandmother who was partial to a brandy every now and again and had recently lost a dog of the same name, though a completely different breed and not a stuffed toy). David used to bring Brandy everywhere. He hoped, that like he did, others would love the little doggie and his red dicky bow and hat. Brandy came to bed, Brandy came for walkies, Brandy even came to school. I’m fairly sure, though not 100% certain, that Brandy may have even come to the bath once or twice. David loved Brandy. For Brandy, the love of that boy has sometimes proven to be a fatal attraction.

If you saw Brandy now you would think very little of him. He once had beautiful ‘fur’ but now it’s all kind of flat against him. His dicky bow is long gone, and one time, when David brought him to play school, some bully tied his Santa hat into a knot. He may, or may not, also be missing an eye.

Despite these facts David still loved Brandy and brought him places, long after the knot in his hat and everything else. If anyone saw Brandy they would think him of little value or worth, they would think him quite worthless, they would think him quite raggéd. He might simply appear to be a filthy rag. He appears fit for the bin only. So much so that he has, three times, been ‘liberated’ from the bin when some parent threw him there, and also bought back from a jumble sale. For some unknown reason, in the way that children often do, David continued to love Brandy even in his raggéd days, just as in the days of his beauty.

You see Brandy is not just a teddy; he is a story. His story and my story are intricately woven, he is my oldest possession, he kept me warm at night as a child and he is a gift from a relative who has passed on. He knows all my secrets, he wiped up a lot of my tears, he shared in a lot of my joys and he was the catalyst that gave birth to my imagination.

Yes I have outgrown him, he sits, gathering dust, on a shelf in my room in Limerick (a place I practically never ever go anymore). Yet, he is there and someday I will take him, get that knot out of his hat, fix the rip in his back, get him a new eye and dicky-bow and give him a good wash and pass him on to Josiah (my son, if I ever have one and if my wife allows that name). To me he will not look better but to others he will look shiny and new. The little spruce up he gets will allow people to see on the outside what I know is on the inside even despite how dusty, dirty, broken and raggéd Brandy is.

I hope that he will then become part of my child’s story, and have worth to them and then be passed on to their child and so on.

Brandy is not important because of what he is, his worth does not come from himself. I have had a number of stuffed toys in my day, especially dogs (I was so unoriginal with names, one was blue with black paws and ears and I called him ‘Black n’ Blue’ and another was brown, I called him Brownie). Each of those other stuffed toys cost the same, I got Brownie on the same day and Black and Blue about six months before. However, those other dogs, who probably cost the same amount of money and were from important people in my life, have gone the way of most children’s toys; they are in a dump somewhere. Brandy was different. Not because he initially had more worth, but because I invested in him. His worth stems, not from himself, but from the value I placed on him.

Question:

Of the two characters in the story, which, on the grand scale, are we more like? Brandy or his owner? Why?

Then which is God more like? Why?

I’m not sure if you got the point of this little story? There are two truths about human beings that matter deeply. The first is that all of us are like Brandy now: flawed, wounded, broken, dirty, bent and sometimes even forgotten. Ever since the fall of man every member of the human race has lived on the raggéd edge. The second is that we are all God’s Brandies. He sees and knows all our raggédness; and He loves us anyway. This love means that our raggédness is no longer the most important thing about us, it no longer defines us. Praise God!

TotD: Evangelism vs Discipleship

This is from my old blog, it is a blog post I never published but have decided that I will now do so.


This is something I have been thinking about an awful lot. Please forgive generalisations and anything that can be construed as criticism of individuals, this is not intended that way and I am trying to watch how things sound when I read them back.

I come from Limerick, from a Church that at one point (say when I was fifteen) that had about fifteen to twenty young people in it. (I get that this isn't an awful lot but we were a Church of between 50 and 70 at that time.)

In Limerick at that time there were a lot of Christian youth groups. Many of these would forsake time in the Word for games and other activities that brought young people in. This is well and good and there is a need for a place young people can come, hang out, play games and hear a small gospel message; but what about those who want to actually know God.

Then there was this other group. It was run by people who spent most of their time Evangelising (teaching non-Christians about Jesus) but the great thing was that they got what young Christians needed. The general format of this group went something like hang out time (guitar, Japanese lessons, conversations about superficial things, conversations about God) then a really good, often quite deep, Bible time; followed by food and more discussion time. Normally there was a thought for the week at the end too. Things like "What would it look like if you lived your life like Jesus had defeated Satan and death this week." (I don't think I got the enormity of that at the time.)

Anyway, all good things as they say. This group ended. Not too long after (within a year) the people so on fire for God; those who were going out and telling others about Him, those who were becoming more active in small roles in the Church, were leaving the Church (or their lives did not match up to their beliefs) I include myself in that one.

Now, a few years later, by the grace of God He led me to Himself. Also He gave me a task and that was to start a group that would allow the young Christians I was in contact with to have that Summer close-ness with God all year around. From this the JA was born. This was a group that was for anyone interested in knowing the things of God more. It was friends meeting up, it was me learning from God and teaching, it was discipleship. Of the people who left the Church around the time mentioned above the ones that are now still committed to God are the ones that came to the JA and found something else to plug into after the JA ended. (this is a generalisation, there were one or two others that never attended the JA and are walking with God but also were not in the group previously mentioned)

With all other groups doing things that wanted to draw people in it was refreshing to have something that fed those doing the drawing.

No offence to the Church, but sometimes there is no discipleship that is appropriate for young people (because they are too small or whatever) there is general discipleship but nothing specific. Most churches are scared to say the word sex at the front. If you can't talk about it in Church how can you expect your young people to learn about the way God sees it and how He values it and how He has commanded us to treat it? It's things like this the JA dealt with, it's things like this that need to be dealt with more.

I heard a scary statistic two Octobers ago (2011) about the amount of people actively involved in Christian Unions in University and then leaving Church once they were out of it (it could be argued that the friend group in CU is what kept them with God in the first place, so we need to take that into account). The figure was close to half of all people involved.

In UCCCU this year (2011-2012) we had roughly 80 people coming irregularly with 60 coming/ attending small group regularly. The figure applied here means that 35 of those 80 will not attend Church, ever, in the next 2-4 years.

CUs are known as mission teams on campus. As in it is their goal and aim to reach out to the others in college and convert them, but not disciple them as that is the job of the Church.

This is going to be controversial but if you are seeing one person become a Christian over three years through the evangelistic work of the CU but (statistically speaking) 20 leaving Church after college is the CU not right in the middle of the best place to be used by God to help His people grow in their knowledge and love of Him? Isn't the CU in a place that is perfect for God to use it to talk about the hard things? To grow a passion for service? To grow gifts? To stop that 20, or 35, leaving once they graduate (or within five years I think the number actually is, not sure though)?

My question is, why then, do we focus on the one person in three years who might be saved instead of the people who God could use to save millions if they would only stay abiding in Christ and producing fruit as they are discipled.

Maybe that isn't the place of the CU in some peoples opinions, but what... just imagine for a minute, what if that is what God had in mind when He dreamt up CUs. A place where His people could take the next step on a lifelong journey in following Him and share all He has done for them with their friends?

I think for too long Evangelical Christianity has had a focus on numbers and converts and not enough on discipleship. After all we are called to make disciples in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) not converts. Some would argue there is no difference, there is. A convert needs discipling or else they will live lives that are displeasing to God and may even walk away and turn their back on God again.

I read something interesting recently about the difference between becoming a Christian convert and becoming a Christian disciple. I would attest to the fact that I became a Christian convert at 6 years old, but I only became a disciple of Jesus Christ at 17 years old. There is a difference; between 6 and 17 (well 12 and 17) I lived as I pleased with no regard to God, or at least very little. It was at 17 that God started to break in, make me realise how my life was not in tandem with His way for my life, and that I responded in a way that would make me an actual disciple of Christ.

I want to quote Dallas Willard (this is long so apologies). This comes at the end of a chapter on discipleship from his book The Spirit of the Disciplines (ch. 11). He is making the case that we will only see real and godly improvement and revival in our churches if people take discipleship seriously, which he believes they have not.

"The people of Christ have never lacked for available power to accomplish the task set for them by their Master. But they have failed to make disciples in the New Testament sense of the term. And naturally following upon this they have failed even to intend to teach people to do all that Christ would have us do. Certainly this was, more often than not, because they thought it impossible. But in any case they have failed to seek his power to the end he specified, and they have not developed the character needed to bear his power safely throughout the social order, or even within the church itself.”

“At this point in history, every leader among those who identify with Christ as Lord must ask himself or herself: ‘How can I justify not leading my people into the practice of disciplines for the spiritual life that would enable them to reign in their lives by Christ Jesus? How can I fail to give them this opportunity? How can I justify not giving myself to those practices until I am a spiritual powerhouse, the angels of God evidently ascending and descending upon me in my place?’

I want to comment here that he is saying this to every leader that identifies Jesus as Lord, I would imagine that includes CU leaders, but is especially true of Church leaders. (Just read paragraph 2 again before you continue). Also the last line sounds shocking but think of it in the context of the quote and it makes more sense.

“Ministers pay far too much attention to people who do not come to services. Those people should, generally, be given exactly that disregard by the pastor that they give to Christ. The Christian leader has something much more important to do than pursue the godless. The leader’s task is to equip saints until they are like Christ (Eph. 4:12), and history and the God of history waits for him to do this job." Let's be honest here, if you disciple you will have greater numbers because the love of God and His Spirit flowing from people will naturally cause people to wonder and become disciples in themselves, disciples produce disciples.

“There is a special evangelistic work to be done, of course, and there are special callings to it. But if those in the churches really are enjoying fullness of life, evangelism will be unstoppable and largely automatic. The local assembly, for its part, can then become an academy where people throng from the surrounding community to learn how to live. It will be a school of life (for a disciple is but a pupil, a student) where all aspects of that life seen in the New Testament records are practiced and mastered under those who have themselves mastered them through practice. Only by taking this as our immediate goal can we intend to carry out the Great Commission.”

I couldn't have put it better myself. I understand the urgency in making converts (Jesus is coming back after all) and those people could die tomorrow and then eternal separation... but at the same time imagine the person you sit beside in Church on Sunday; you the know the one? Prays a lot, cries at the right moment, always the first to shout amen; arms lifted high (or sits neatly in their seat when worshipping, whatever) imagine if that person left the Church this Sunday.

Would you notice?

Would you care?

God does! That person is likely to walk away if they aren't being discipled. God calls us to make disciples, not converts.

Now imagine the person you led to Christ yourself. They enthusiastically responded to Jesus in some Evanglelistic event you helped at. Then a week/month/year later they stopped coming to Church. Now imagine judgement day when that person is there in front of you, your spiritual child. They are talking to Jesus. You get closer to hear what He has to say to your baby Christian that disappeared off the radar to you, maybe moved to Oz or something. Jesus is saying "I never knew you."

What? But He did? That guy, when He was a kid, you led Him to Christ right? Maybe, but did he really understand it? Did he actually repent and believe in Jesus or was it an emotional thing or a fad that lasted a while.

How can this ^ not happen? Allowing God's Spirit to move in the lives of people by His power through His using of who He chooses to disciple that person. No discipleship no Christian, it's that simple. We can all say a prayer and think we mean it but Scripture says "you will know them by their fruits" (I paraphrase) [Matthew 7:16]

We, the Evangelical Church, need to wake up and smell the Great Commission. It isn't about getting them in the door, it isn't about bums on seats. It's about getting people in and keeping them in the door (not us, but allowing God to do so by working through us) it's not just about bums on seats it's about lives being changed and infecting other lives with this change. 

It's not about Evangelism; it's about discipleship. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," Matthew 28:19 ESV

TotD: Men of God

I have very recently read a book that has changed the way I see Christianity quite a bit. It's called 'The Map' and is by David Murrow. Do buy it if you can!

Basically Murrow has discovered a map to true manliness in the Gospel of Matthew, he calls it the Three Journeys of Jesus.
When I first began reading the book I thought of Murrow as a bit of an idiot that put too much weight in his manliness. He wrote a book about the Church being too feminine and that was the reason that men attend church less and less.

In 'The Map' he has changed his opinion, and this is because of the three journeys of Jesus.
The first journey is found in Matthew 1-7 and that is the submission journey. Jesus showed this when He left Heaven and was born on this earth, submitted to baptism and was tempted, it is also shown in the teachings of the sermon on the mount.
The second journey is the longest journey and that is Jesus' journey of strength. It is found in Matthew 8-25. This is when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and his friends, taught about leaving the dead bury themselves and following Him, cast out demons, calmed storms and walked on water, fed thousands with a packed lunch etc. etc.
The third journey is one of sacrifice. This is seen in Matthew 26-28 and is most evident in the fact that Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross.

Murrow says that every man is on a journey like these. We start our lives feminine, in our mother's womb, and from the time we are ten men move towards the masculine (holding hands with boys, crying in public, showing weakness etc. are all out.)
When you become a Christian you submit to Jesus and enter through the narrow door (which is Jesus) and begin walking on the narrow path. On this path you move towards what has traditionally been considered feminine practices like love, turning the other cheek, kindness and humility.

Because churches largely focus on non-Christians (seekers) and new Christians in their Sunday meetings this is the focus of most worship and most sermons. People hear about love, submission, humility, kindness, meakness, turning the other cheek etc. more often than not in Church. This is why, to some men, Church can feel like it is too girly.

Murrow talks about the second stage, strength. He says, and I agree, that God desires His sons to be actively advancing His Kingdom in His power which He provides. Some men try to have this strength without the submission stage and they are men that become over bearing and controlling and are very much not godly, but men who walk in a strength that is submitted to God are different. There are some things Murrow talks about here that I am not sure about. He talks about Jesus rebuking Pharisees and says that we are to do likewise when we walk in strength. I agree with that but he says that the Sermon on the Mount nearly no longer applies when you walk in the strength of God, it is for a different stage of life and being submissive and servant-like and turning the other cheek no longer apply. I'm not fully sure if he is right on these accounts but what I do know is that God wants men to move past submission and move towards advancing the Kingdom of God in power. This stage is seen as moving back towards the masculine characteristics- strength, battle, change, advancing etc.

The final journey is again a more feminine one, sacrifice. Men are much worse at this in their lives than women. Women give up everything, something men are a lot slower to do. Jesus did this on the cross and as a follower of Him we need to be willing to die for Him. More than that though we need to be willing to sacrifice the power we have and the strength we have in God and pass it on to the next generation. We also need to sacrifice our wants to the higher calling of following Jesus and effecting change in this world.

I am now going to type a chunk of the book that spoke to my heart and my thoughts on Church. Please continue to read/ read this later at your leisure it is worth it.

This comes after he has talked about Churches catering to people on the first journey, submission. He talks about the larger Churches in the US who have done surveys of their members and found large turn over is commonplace and that the younger the Christian the more satisfied they are with Church but the more mature they become in the Lord the less they want to be there and the more they stop going.
"I think the place to teach strength is in a small group of men who know and trust each other... Challenges to a person's lifestyle from the pulpit can sound judgemental and narrow-minded, but the same exhortation delivered in a small group of friends will come across as caring. A man will accept challenging doctrine more readily from a friend sitting beside him than from a pastor standing over him.

Now, I'm going to go controversial on you. If Sunday morning worship services are going to target seekers and young Christians, then we need to excuse the mature from attending them. Yes, that's what I said. At some point we need to let people "graduate" from the weekly worship service.
I know this sounds like heresy. But whether we like it or not, this is happening already. I know many committed men (deacons, elders and even pastors) who are abandoning institutional churches, not because they are running from God, but because they want more of Him. John Eldredge has noticed this trend as well:
We've spoken to a number of good people, mature believers who sincerely love God and dearly want to join him in his battle for this world, but who have found church to be an exercise in frustration. The number of these folks continues to grow; it is a very significant trend. These are not simply malcontents, who really just want to sleep in on Sundays. These are sincere followers of Jesus and they want a genuine place of Church; they just don't know where to find it.
These restless men (and women) are simply being honest: church attendance does little to grow their faith. They're no longer searching for a "better" church, because they've realized that a weekly worship service will never deliver what their hearts long for. Instead, these guys are cobbling together a spiritual life based on personal devotions, fellowship with other believers, service and giving. They listen to podcasts from the handfull of pastors who have the courage to teach the second and third journeys. These dudes are more than willing to invest in their faith, but they don't want to sit at base camp, they want to climb."

TotD: First Day in IBI

I recently started a module in IBI (The Irish Bible Institute) and this blog will be about my first day there which was Wednesday!

The first thing I have to say about it is how close it is to the bus station. That seems really trivial but it is such a big deal when you are travelling Cork to Dublin for just one class, proximity to transport hubs becomes a big deal. I found that I'm a little nervous I'm Dublin, it's big and people have terrifying accents, no offence Dublin readers, so I very much enjoyed that I didn't have to walk far in the scary capital.

The second things have to note is how tiny IBI actually is in terms of floor space. It has a library, two classrooms, two offices, two bathrooms, a boardroom, and a large kitchen, dining area. That may sound big but in terms of a college it's quite tiny. It occupies half the second floor of Ulysses House. I, for some reason, had been under the impression it owns all of Ulysses House, so I was shocked by the tininess. The fact that it is small means that the classes are small. There are 10 people doing the module I am doing, pastoral care. That is so so strange for me, in a nice, refreshing way. In UCC my history class, in first year, was 450 people and Religion was 160. In second year history dropped to about 250 and some classes had only 50 (my dissertation module has only 13) and religion dropped to 70 (classes averaged about 45 tutorials were 20). So it was very strange to be in a class smaller than my tutorials. I guess it shows how tiny Christianity is in Ireland. Increase our numbers greatly Lord!

That's about all the bad I have to say about it haha.

First thing that impressed me was the obvious diversity. There was Iz, who is diverse denominationally in herself, two Pentecostals, a lady from a Chinese church (though she is not Chinese), a Baptist or two, a Presbyterian and a me, whatever I am...

The second thing was prayer. Joan Singleton, the muinteoir (lecturer isn't right but nor is teacher, muinteoir, the Irish term generally used for teacher, is more far reaching in what it means I feel) began the class with prayer! That was so refreshing as well. Imagine starting a class with prayer so cool.

Next was the content, the class was so good. I learned things I didn't even realise I didn't know. Mainly from Galatians 6:2,5. It's about bearing others burdens but also each carrying their own burdens. It was good because I never thought about it that way before.

Anyway overall IBI is proof that good things come in small packages. (What a lame ending)

TotD: Prophecy

So recently I have been thinking a lot about prophecy. By which I do not mean the bla telling the future brand of prophecy but the wonderfully biblical version. My thoughts today may make no sense, this is because I am ill... Please bear with me. :)

The Biblical version of prophecy comes from the Old Testament idea of being a prophet.

 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
(Jeremiah 1:5-7 ESV)

This passage shows a little about what I mean. There is two lines there that sum it up, 'for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak.' Therefore the Biblical idea of prophecy isn't telling the future, though that could certainly be involved, it is about speaking the words of God at the right time, in the right place, in the right way. This has been on my mind a lot lately because that would be a very cool thing to be able to do.

That was literally the worst way I could have described that ever!

I am interested in prophecy because I think it is so fundamental to being a Christian for me. What I am saying here is NOT, in any way, that a person needs to be able to prophesize to be a Christian. That is unthinkably unbiblical, what I am saying is that the kind of Christian I am, and the path on which I feel I am being led by the Lord, is one that the gift of prophecy would fit so beautifully into.
Prophecy is, of course, one of the spiritual gifts and, as such, is not meant to be possessed by every Christian, nor is it even necessarily open to every Christian:

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills."
(1 Corinthians 12:4-11 ESV)
This passage suggests that not every person is given every gift and so it would be biblically unfaithful to say that every Christian should have the gift of prophecy. Equally though, scripture says we are to desire the greater gifts (1 Corinthians 12:31).

That is what I am doing... I am desiring the greater gift. The gift I think would be wonderful to have as the pastor of a church. I think (although it might not be mentioned on that list) that I have a teaching gift and possibly other things but I'm not sure. Andy always says you should never speak unless it is God speaking. I am not confident enough to say it is God speaking all the time but I am sure it is what He would say if asked about that thing. I think it would be so much more useful to actually be able to speak the words of God as He reveals them.

Imagine the situation where someone is upset about something and God tells you what and tells you exactly what to say to them that would help them and encourage them and lift them up all at the same time.

I have decided that I want this in my life, though, like I said previously, it is a Spiritual gift. This fact, that the gift of prophecy will only come to me if the Lord wants it to, made me think about what I could do to with Him that could start me on a road.

Here's a couple of things I think would be good to do.
1. Be intimately familiar with the Word of God. After all, that is His major form of revelation and any and all prophecies should be in agreement with the revealed Word so it is good to learn verses from the word of God and use them as He calls them to mind in various situations in life.

2. Pray more: knowing God comes from talking to Him about things. My prayers lately have all been very one sided, I have not been doing a lot of listening and that is more important than me talking as God has things to say on all the things I have to pray about. It would be worth inserting some 'listening' to God times in times of prayer :)

3. Be encouraging: as a person I am not this. I have known for some time that my often negative outlook stops me from being as effective for God as I can be. The Bible says, "Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body." (Proverbs 16:24 ESV)

4. Love: Love is the most important thing of all. If you love the people you are hoping God will give you a word for then you will pray to God for that word and you. Of course, without love, prophecy and teaching and pastor-ship (that's not a word) are nothing.

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV)

Of course, these things are not the gift of prophecy, and that cannot be learned by human means, but those things would still be most beneficial to life as a pastor :)

Okay, that's me done on prophecy for now.
in A anim agus A chuid seribhís,
Wavey ~

Nothing

This is going to be a blog on nothing... literally; I am writing just because I should.

So what is nothing? Nothing is the absence of everything. Enjoy the rest of the nothing.