So can we be honest here? Things are getting really exciting, and yet at times feel really insane when we consider what's before us. As many already know we are set to launch church services Sunday, 23 August and are currently making a proposal on a local cinema to gather in, which would be nothing short of a miracle if the Lord opens it up.
However, if we are to be brutally honest, its a crazy thought when you feel the Lord leading you to do something that doesn't make logical sense. It's one thing to talk big and exhort others to step out in faith, but when it becomes personal its easy to find yourself trembling a bit. It makes me think about what the priests must have been feeling when they carried the ark down to the raging waters of the Jordan during flood season (Josh 3). Its just not a logical thing to do, but then faith is not logical either is it? Just imagine the implications if Joshua and the elders would've spent days and days doubting and speculating because of the risks involved!! When God speaks, we are called to move. And oh what a glorious end we are moving toward!
Let me explain our situation a bit more. Right now we are looking into hiring a cinema that can hold up to 180 people even though we are only a small band of believers praying in our flat. One might ask, as I have, what's the point!? I really don't see the need for this... isn't it a bit of a foolish move? Well, you tell me, what do you think about a multitude of people, women and children, crossing the raging Jordan river during flood season?! God spoke, the people moved. We believe this is where God is leading us and it looks a little crazy right now, but we are going to step out in obedience and expect God to spread the waters..
How big is our God anyway?? Do we really think that we can wreck God's plans by stepping out in faith towards something He is leading us to do even when it seems risky and dangerous!? Looking back, would anyone call Gideon a fool for taking 300 men into battle against an army so big it couldn't be numbered!? Why are we always trying to "just play it safe" when we serve the sovereign Lord of the Universe who has unlimited resources at His disposal!! He wants to show His power and strength through us! God forbid that we should rob that from Him because of our pride and unbelief. Too often we are afraid of looking like fools when in reality we are only fooling ourselves if we think we are anything more then what the Bible declares us to be (1 Cor. 1:27).
How about the resources and £££ you need for this launch? Are you mad!? That's just plain reckless and crazy! Would you call Jesus reckless and crazy for telling His disciples to feed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:34)?! What about Moses leading a nation of people into the wilderness without sufficient provision (Ex.12:39)? Think about it, if God told him that He would make food from the dust and bring water from a rock do you believe it would be right to doubt Gods abilities? What about Abraham and Isaac on the mountain in Gen. 22? Is there anything too hard for the Lord?
God will provide for us.
Lastly, when thinking through these steps I believe we get a minuscule glimpse of what must have went through Noah's mind when he was building that massive ark on bone-dry ground in preparation for "things not yet seen"(Heb.11:7) and I take great encouragement in his example . "It looks crazy!" "Are you sure about this??" "Do you know what you are doing?" "It doesn't make sense!" "There is no need for this right now!" "This is going to fail!" The list goes on and on, yet the answer always remains: God has spoken, and we will step out in obedience regardless of how crazy circumstances may appear. Are the steps we take out of God's control? Can we, through our risky ventures of faith in pursuit of obedience to Jesus thwart God's plans?
Be encouraged, and pray with us as we move forward in London. May God's will be done, and may He get all the glory.
2Kings 3:15-18 ... But now bring me a musician.”Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ For thus says the LORD: “You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD..."
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