Childlike joy, Reverence, and Dying for your faith: a YC recap.

This past weekend was absolutely god orchestrated and designed. We spend the past three days in the city of Edmonton at the annual youth convention. We had amazing speakers and musicians share, as we had the opportunity to learn much. It was a good weekend for our youth as well as the leaders that accompanied. Personally, it was exactly what I needed. 

There were some prominent themes that showed themselves. Here's a few highlights and quotes:

1. Having childlike joy and peace. Going back to your first love. Was there a time when you lived bold for Christ, and somehow you lost it over time? Life or ministry wearing you down? Was there a time when you could rest in Gods promises, and now you are filled with anxiety and worry. It's like the coo of a child in his mothers arms. Psalm 131 - my heart is not lifted up... But I have calmed and quieted my soul... Like a child with its mother (Paraphrasing). Are you in a panic state because you are trying to figure everything out on your own? God is searching for you. For someone to support. He loves to support you. Rest in him. Get back to the "god and me mentality". Revelations 3 - strengthen what remains and is about to die. There is still hope. 

2. When you pray. See god. Who are you praying to? Who are you talking to? Remember who god is! Read Isaiah 6. The description of god on his throne in all his glory. Bring back the reverence. Don't be casual in prayer. Pray often, but fear The Lord! As he alone is holy - set apart. Different from us. What does Isaiah do when he enters gods presence and sees him shining? He covers his face as he is unworthy. That is me. I am unworthy to even look upon his shining face. But how does god respond? With saying your sin is atoned for. You are forgiven! Covered! It is finished! He is faithful and just to cleanse you of all unrighteousness.

When you get to heaven will god say well done my good and faithful servant or will he say, depart from me for I never knew you?

3. What does it really mean to die for your faith? To be willing to die to Jesus' name.  We listened to an unnamed speaker who worked in an unnamed country where to share to gospel is to accept the death sentence. Unreal. He watched 9 of his friends die for what they believed. They smuggled in thousands of bibles. Put thier lives at risk. Him and his family had to flee because his name was placed on a hit list. He understood the cost. Do we? John 15:13 - no greater love than one who lies down his life for his friends. For others. For the cause. For Christ. 

"If his love was the ocean and the clouds a scroll and you dipped your pen in the ink of the seas and wrote his love in the clouds. You would run the waters dry."

"Teach us to say, whatever comes our way, it is well with my soul."

"Be not afraid, for I go with you. I go before you. Start living the life you were called to."

"His presence is the promise in the process."

God's presence is not a theory.

"Patiently you let me unfold, just in time, you opened up my ribs and played your melody, when my brokenness was all I saw in front of me. You took my robes of shame, and covered me with praise. You never quit, you never let me go."

Sunday we heard a message about Courage and making decisions. Focused on the story of Joshua. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" Joshua 1:9. We learned from the teaching that courage rests on 1) a clear assignment (courage cannot exist without a mission), 2) the assurance of God's presence - no where in the bible does God call someone or send someone out without assuring that he will be with them. God's presence is not a theory. 3) Courage takes a focused determination... by taking steps of faith, you build faith, by taking steps of courage, you build courage. Courage ignites courage. Never does it say it will be easy, there will be opposition, without opposition courage would never have an opportunity. Do you think the forces of darkness are going to sit back while you do God's will...? No. We are in warfare, and prayer is the war time walkie talkie, God is commander. Lastly, 4) courage is resourced by the word of God. Meditate on it, hide it in your heart. Today's scripture reading will be tomorrow's test. Prepare yourselves! We then don't only do what God says, but we become what God says. Success is defined as following, loving, reading the word.

Thinking about this recap of Sunday's message, I remember the preacher asked, "What are you meant to do?" "What is your calling?"... For me personally, I feel like I ask myself this question way too often. What is the plan God? Where do you want me to go? What do you want me to do? And yet do I sit and listen to the answer he is actually giving me? or do I expect a certain answer and look for that and close my ears to all else? I feel like God is telling me... Emilie, Bloom where you are planted. He is the gardener after all. He plants people for a reason. I do often feel left behind, with an eagerness to go... move, run, fly. But... time and time again He reminds me that I am where I am for a reason. This is not for everyone. Some people may hear the words "go forth"... but for me in this time and season, I am planted where I am planted. It is God orcastrated that I am working the job I am working, that I have the friends I have, that I go to the school I go to. Bloom where you are planted. Trust me. I will release you when my time clears. (if at all... I don't know). I can't keep asking God what do you want me to do?! I already know what I'm supposed to do. Pray, give thanks, preach the gospel, show love, work hard, learn about him, live in community. For me, this takes courage. Courage to trust that God has me where I'm meant to be. Courage to push past doubt. Courage to fight the desires of this culture and world. Courage to be a bible loving, Christ following believer in my work, school and relationships. "Be strong and courageous"... I am with you. Be determined, be full of purpose. Dig into me and my word.

This is my "calling". Jesus - help me to live in a way where I am radically dependent on and desperate for the power only you can provide.

In Matthew 11 Jesus says "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"... and in Matthew 7 he says "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will y our Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Here is another quote from the book I am reading Radical by David Platt... "Think about it this way. Maybe you are going through a struggle in your life. A tragedy strikes you or someone close to you, and you are hurting. So you go to God in prayer and you ask him to comfort you. Do you realize what God does? He doesn't give you comfort. Instead he gives you the Holy Spirit, who is called the Comforter. The holy spirit literally comes to dwell in you and puts the very comfort of Christ inside you as you walk through your pain."

He literally promises us all the resources of heaven waiting for the people of God who desire to make much of him in this world.

What does it really mean?

What does it really mean to do things on God's strength? Growing up in the church, you hear this a lot. Don't rely on your own strength but on God's... I'm sorry but this is so out there for me. I don't think in vague statements. I just can't wrap my head around it. And in my experience, people don't take the time to actually explain what they mean. Even though 99% of the time, people who say this to you are well intended. So what do people really mean when they say that I can actually draw on Jesus' strength?

I am realizing prayer plays a huge part. Even a simple prayer, such as, "God change my desires, change my heart". When you try to do things on your own strength, you muster up all the courage, all the love, all the ability you need to accomplish what ever it is. But that's just it... it's "mustered up", it's gathered from inside you rather than from beyond you. It's like you just pull up your own shorts and "try to love that person more who gets on your nerves", or "just be more bold when sharing the gospel with those people at work or school", or "just be better, try harder, do more." There are millions of examples that this could apply to.

But it's not about finding strength within you. It's about saying, God... I don't have the ability to love that person who annoys me. Change my heart towards them, help me want to love them, help me to actually love them. I don't have the ability to be courageous in sharing the gospel, but God be the courage in me. Change my heart to desire to take that risk. Change my deepest desires. Not just surface level courage that lasts the first 30 seconds and quickly fades once they start to debate with me. But deep longing for them to know the Christ I know. The difference is that when doing things on your own strength, you are forcing yourself to do something you actually don't want to do, or can't do. But when you draw on God's strength, he will change you from the inside out. You will start to find joy in loving that person who used to annoy you. Your fear of man will slowly shrink as you start to share the gospel. You will find the ability to do something you never thought you could ever be able to do before you prayed that prayer. You will look back at your life and realize that without God none of that would have been possible. He gets the glory. It puts all the burden on God. (You still have to pray and seek him, yes you have a role) but it's freeing knowing he will work in you and you don't have to try harder to be a "better christian". His burden is light, so cast it all on him!

The modern day gospel says, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Therefore, follow these steps, and you can be saved." Meanwhile, the biblical gospel says, "You are an enemy of God, dead in your sin, and in your present state of rebellion, you are not even able to see that you need life, much less to cause yourself to come to life. Therefore, you are radically dependent on God to do something in your life that you could never do".

Quote from Radical, by David Platt


I'm still learning about what this all means. How do I use God's strength instead of mine? In real tangible ways. If you have any suggestions or things to add. Stories or comments about what you've learned and what you've experienced. Please leave them below... or in the comment section on facebook. I'd love to learn from you and with you!

Oceans; this song is my prayer.

You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown, my feet may fail.
And there I find you, in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand.

I will call upon your name.
And keep my eyes above the waves.
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in your embrace.
For I am yours, and you are mine.

Your grace abounds in deepest waters.
Your sovereign hand will be my guide.
My feet may fail and fear surrounds me.
You've never failed and you won't start now.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders,
Let me walk upon the waters, where ever you would call me.
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander,
And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior.

Do what ever it takes. 

Parable of the Talents

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25: 14-30

Do I want to be like the servant who takes what the master has given me and hides it in the ground to do nothing with it? God has given each of us specific gifts and abilities to use for his purpose. Don't hid them in fear of God's character. That's what this third servant in the story did. He said to the master, "I knew you are a hard man... and I was afraid". Afraid of what? Disappointing God? Fear of what man will think? In the message it says the servant thought the master "demanded the best and made no allowance for errors". Which really does not accurately reflect the heart of God. You won't make mistakes when you don't try. But God doesn't call us to live so cautiously. But to take risks, knowing that even if we aren't safe in the physical, we are safe in Him. Safe in our salvation. So use the talents God has given you. Glorify God with them. Because if you are faithful to God in little, you will be faithful to Him in abundance. You start off small. Start with what God has placed right in front of you, in the abilities you do have. Do what you can, where you are, with what you have... now.