Put Your Foot in the River!
KC/IHOP Summary
PTony/myself- went to KC for PJim’s Memorial.
Spent time w/Stuart/Esther Greaves- from COTRM- sent out into ministry- Stuart- on staff an IHOP.
Share some thoughts from my trip-
Toured IHOP-Prayer Room, Internship, University
Known for- Prayer Room- prayer- 24/7 since 9/99-
Live link to prayer room
I believe we are seeing an end-time movement of God bringing His Church into a place of prayer.
This is why MyHop- to develop a culture of prayer.
Prayer venues- Tues/Thur/Sun/Thur PM/Wed-noon.
Prayer/faith- speak of an active relationship w/God.
Our Mission statement-
Encounter God, Love People, Share Life
All life flows out of encounter/experience w/God.
Rom8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give LIFE to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
It was a great honor to attend PJim’s funeral
His life touched many lives- his was a life well lived.
I’m convicted by the lovelessness of my own heart by the testimony of Jim Maher’s life. Billy Humphrey (director- IHOP Atlanta)
We need to allow the life of others to provoke us.
A life well lived- what will they say at my funeral?
Many in the church live their lives without a view of the end. Rachel Hauck
Jim-lived w/view of the end-what is God doing now?
Every generation, whether Christ is to return in their generation or not, needs to live w/view of the end
To live like God is returning tomorrow will change how you live today-God could return for you now!
1 Jn 3:2-3
I want to hear at the end of my life-
Mat 25:21 (NAS) “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
What is it mean- “enter into the joy of my master”?
God is a God of great joy- I can experience that joy.
Rev 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain
Perhaps that is why-
Neh 8:10 ... Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
Be ALL God made you to be!
be who you are,
be who God created you to be,
do not try to be someone else, BUT,
BE who God created you to be.
Do not BE nothing- in the sense of ignoring the life God has given you to live for Him.
David, as a young man, was a shepherd/psalmist.
He learned to express his feelings for God in song.
But as a young man He had to decide who he was and how he would live his life.
1 Sam 17:33, 37-40
David could have walked away- he was not a soldier and Saul had an army of warriors.
Instead- decided to use what God had given him.
He could not fight w/armor- used a sling-shot.
He had to be who God created him to be- but he could not be less than- God created him to be.
Rom 12:3 (NAS) For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
David made a choice- am I going to sit back and do nothing because I am not a great soldier/warrior?
David was willing to take a chance and trust God and who God had created him to be.
Life Goals
Many in the medical/metaphysical arena- believe man has within him an incredible “life force”.
There is- “life force”- God breathed into every man-
Gen 2:7 (NAS) Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Elihu, one of Job’s friends said-
Job 33:4 (NAS) “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Every man is a “living soul” with great potential.
This potential- released out of- relationship w/Jesus.
Jn 5:21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
Through a relationship with Jesus Christ, we are filled with God’s eternal, supernatural life.
Marvin Olasky- speaks about developing life goals-
To put my foot in the Jordan River before the waters separate. To believe in a God of miracles.
What was he saying-
Josh 3:10-13
The Jordan did not part until they stepped into it.
We can wait all day for the waters to part but God is waiting for us to step into the move of His Spirit.
Ex 14:13-16
God said to Moses, “Tell the people to go forward.”
As they stepped forward God provided a way.
I want to be a person willing to put my foot in the Jordan River and believe God for the impossible.
Conclusion
Most people live, whether physically, intellectually, or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential. Henry James
Just as we box God-up/restrict what He can do by our belief system or our unbelief, we also
limit what we can accomplish by a lack of confidence in who God has made us to be.
Church Challenge
Remind you of our Take Action Today challenge-
30 Day Challenge- 3/7 to 4/7- spend at least 15 minutes a day in prayer and to read at least one chapter of the Bible each day.
To grow spiritually- you must engage God.
