Last week I had the pleasure of speaking at the WEC Holland Conference ... A bit of a road trip with my son, which was very good, but also the opportunity to meet with other folks whose commitment to know and serve their Lord has led them through many and various journeys is always an encouragement. The caramel waffles that are so popular is also a great reason to visit this country!!!
In preparation for this conference I was pondering the words of Luke 8 ... Where it is written....
Luke 8:22-25 (NIV)
One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
There were a number of things that struck me;
Firstly, their response to His leading - 'Let us .... And they went!'
How often do we have that same response when we hear the Lord speak to us about His plans? We might be keen to ask some clarifying questions in response ... Why? Where are we going? How long will we be gone? How much is it going to cost us? Let me think about it for a few weeks/months/years and I will get back to you!!!
But we should respond like the disciples!
Secondly, the importance of the 'Let us...' in relation to Vision statements ...
Where does the 'let us' fit? There are many different Vision statements around the Church and Mission world ... and I wonder to what degree we are convinced that they are truly of the Lord, or how much we feel they are simply a business management gimmick?
Soon we will have the privilege of hosting up to what we hope will be 4500 people over the weekend at Bulstrode at our annual GO.. Mission festival. http://go2011.org.uk/ as we were developing this we prayed and listened to the Lord and felt to develop the following vision statement ...
“To establish Go as a leading UK mission festival that seeks to communicate God’s heart for the nations and inspire global vision;
o By Partnering with Churches and other agencies that have a similar vision, and by creating opportunities for people to explore and celebrate what God is doing worldwide.
o In order to encourage a growing involvement in fulfilling the command of Jesus to “Go into all the world and preach good news to all creation.”
Which gives us a good sense of direction ... But what really gripped me this weekend was that, for me, there is such a difference in my way of thinking if I append two little words and imagine Jesus speaking them to me ... Such that I hear "Let us establish Go as a leading UK mission festival that seeks to communicate God’s heart for the nations and inspire global vision etc...." I'm labouring with Him, not simply for Him ...
Thirdly, For what were the disciples rebuked? Lack of faith ... Why? Not having enough faith to calm the storm themsleves? Or not having enough faith to trust for "sun and shield" in the midst of trouble? Or to trust that no matter what circumstances might look like, He is still sovereign, still in control, still working out his good purposes ... Sometimes when we are in the midst of the storm we would do much better if we curled up next to Jesus and fell asleep with Him, rather than fight to get ourselves out!
I'll end with a quote which I hope will encourage you to outrageous obedience and trust:
J Hudson Taylor … There are three stages to the work of God: impossible, difficult and done.
- Press on!
Follow me on twitter @johnbagg
In preparation for this conference I was pondering the words of Luke 8 ... Where it is written....
Luke 8:22-25 (NIV)
One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
There were a number of things that struck me;
Firstly, their response to His leading - 'Let us .... And they went!'
How often do we have that same response when we hear the Lord speak to us about His plans? We might be keen to ask some clarifying questions in response ... Why? Where are we going? How long will we be gone? How much is it going to cost us? Let me think about it for a few weeks/months/years and I will get back to you!!!
But we should respond like the disciples!
Secondly, the importance of the 'Let us...' in relation to Vision statements ...
Where does the 'let us' fit? There are many different Vision statements around the Church and Mission world ... and I wonder to what degree we are convinced that they are truly of the Lord, or how much we feel they are simply a business management gimmick?
Soon we will have the privilege of hosting up to what we hope will be 4500 people over the weekend at Bulstrode at our annual GO.. Mission festival. http://go2011.org.uk/ as we were developing this we prayed and listened to the Lord and felt to develop the following vision statement ...
“To establish Go as a leading UK mission festival that seeks to communicate God’s heart for the nations and inspire global vision;
o By Partnering with Churches and other agencies that have a similar vision, and by creating opportunities for people to explore and celebrate what God is doing worldwide.
o In order to encourage a growing involvement in fulfilling the command of Jesus to “Go into all the world and preach good news to all creation.”
Which gives us a good sense of direction ... But what really gripped me this weekend was that, for me, there is such a difference in my way of thinking if I append two little words and imagine Jesus speaking them to me ... Such that I hear "Let us establish Go as a leading UK mission festival that seeks to communicate God’s heart for the nations and inspire global vision etc...." I'm labouring with Him, not simply for Him ...
Thirdly, For what were the disciples rebuked? Lack of faith ... Why? Not having enough faith to calm the storm themsleves? Or not having enough faith to trust for "sun and shield" in the midst of trouble? Or to trust that no matter what circumstances might look like, He is still sovereign, still in control, still working out his good purposes ... Sometimes when we are in the midst of the storm we would do much better if we curled up next to Jesus and fell asleep with Him, rather than fight to get ourselves out!
I'll end with a quote which I hope will encourage you to outrageous obedience and trust:
J Hudson Taylor … There are three stages to the work of God: impossible, difficult and done.
- Press on!
Follow me on twitter @johnbagg
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