message by rev jon walker

October 13, 2012 at 7:48 am (Messages By Rick Warren)

Rev. Jon Walker

GOD REQUIRES RISKY OBEDIENCE

“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of.” (Luke 19:26 MSG)

If God tells you to take a step of faith but you hesitate to take it until he shows you what the second step will be, you’re not waiting on God. He’s waiting on you.

God uses risks, large and small, to push us into a deeper faith. And so he wants us to step forward in faith, even if we don’t know where the second step will take us. The not knowing is what requires faith, and the not knowing compels us to rely on God to guide us forward.

Regardless of what we see on the other side of a God-directed risk, the reality is God is there. What seems to be a no-guarantee situation actually comes with the greatest guarantee of all — a God-guarantee — that he’s working in your life.

  • With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of attempting things that are impossible unless God gives you his strength to do them.
  • With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of loving other believers so deeply and so richly that you prove to the world that God’s love is flowing through you.
  • With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of loving your unlovable neighbors just as God loved you, even when you seemed unlovable.
  • With this guarantee from God, you can enter into the risky obedience of changing your priorities to match God’s priorities, sacrificing, in faith, what you cannot keep for the things that can never be taken away.
  • With this guarantee from God, you can engage in the risky obedience of making disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them that the risky obedience of following Jesus comes with a God-guarantee (Matthew 28:19-20).

TALK ABOUT IT

  • What task is before you that seems impossible?
  • How would your approach to that task change when you believe it comes from God?

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message of note

October 13, 2012 at 7:40 am (Messages of Note)

Rev. Mark Pugh

BRINGING GOD INTO SITUATIONS HAS BENEFITS

Getting 25 per cent knocked off his bill in a Lebanese restaurant taught Mark Pugh a much more valuable lesson

I was on a ministry trip in London with a group of friends, and after a busy day we were in the mood to reward our digestive system with some calories. As we wan­dered out from our budget hotel and walked together down an unfamiliar street, we hoped that the direction of our footsteps would lead us to a good choice of food establishments.

We passed a sandwich store, which didn’t really have enough appeal for any of us. The same was true of a fast food outlet. We looked through the window of a Chinese buffet house but were slightly put off by the absence of any other customers at what should have been a peak trading hour. We kept walking in the hope of finding the perfect place.

An unusual looking restaurant attracted the attention of a few in our group and we all huddled around the window to take a closer look at the sample menu on display. The food on offer was of Lebanese origins and the majority of us were unfamiliar with the meal choices before us. The risk of ‘not enjoying’ the food was played off against the potential of discovering new tastes, so we all agreed to give it a try. We were greeted by a very friendly waiter who showed us to our table and handed us the menus. As I sat in my chair I felt a moment of regret. Only a few days previously I had downloaded a new application on my phone which was able to establish exactly where I was located and offer me a range of options on discounts for various retail, entertainment and food outlets. If only I had employed this a few minutes ago I may have been able to direct the group to a place that could benefit from the financial savings on offer.

I switched it on and was greeted by a list of restaurants in the immediate area offering benefits and incentives. The closest one to me was a Lebanese restaurant. I wondered how many there may be in the area and wondered if it would be as nice as the one I was now sitting in – it really was a very pleasant place and the smells were certainly appetising on the taste buds. The one identi­fied on my phone was offering a massive 25 per cent discount on the whole bill – if only I had seen it before we had walked in and com­mitted ourselves to eat in this place then we could have enjoyed a good financial saving. Just then I noticed that my phone app was saying that this ‘other’ place was 0.0 miles away – I thought it odd that two niche restaurants would be so close to each other, but then my brain cells starting ticking over and I wondered if the discount maybe applied to the place I was sitting in – surely not?

I stepped outside to look at the name above the window – it was the very same place that my phone was identifying a discount for. I sat back at the table and shared the news with a very pleased group of people. I was carrying in my pocket the ability to make savings and I almost didn’t realise it – I almost completely missed it!

How many conversations, situations, predicaments and circumstances do we engage in whilst forgetting that an omnipresent Saviour is with us, keen to engage, give wisdom and be applied into each moment? Revelation of the continual residency of God in our lives is a wonderful thing, but without application the revelation is wasted. Bringing him into each relationship, work situ­ation, study challenge, social activity and, in fact, everything, has benefits that go beyond saving 25 per cent off your food bill.

May God help us all know a timely revelation that he is with us, and know wisdom in giving him the space to breathe into every moment of our lives.

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