Thursday, September 23, 2010 40 Days of Prayer & Impact: 17 Days to Launch

Today, there are 17 DAYS before the Encounter Grand Opening on 10-10-10. We are asking you to join us in what God is doing and is going to do in these last 40 days.

Pray with us. Act with us. Imagine the impact we could have in Helena if each one of us is individually involved in making Helena a better place. Imagine the lives that could be touched. Imagine how the spiritual landscape of our community could be changed even BEFORE the grand opening.

No More Secondhand Faith!

Today, we are looking at 2 Kings 2:11-14 ...

Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven. Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!" And as they disappeared from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress. Elisha picked up Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen when he was taken up. Then Elisha returned to the bank of the Jordan River.

What an amazing site it must have been for Elisha to see his father and mentor be taken up by a chariot of fire to be with God! And at the same time, Elisha knew what this meant — no more resting of the faith of his father. Elijah was no longer there to facilitate his son's relationship with God. It was time for Elisha to trade in his "secondhand faith" and encounter God for himself.

A while back I came across Glenn Packiam's book called Secondhand Jesus: Tradinging Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith. While I have not yet read Secondhand Jesus, I truly resonate with the title because it speaks to this condition of letting our faith become a spectator sport. Like the Israelites in Exodus 19, we let Moses climb the mountain to meet God for us.

Oswald Chambers speaks of verses 13-14 of this passage, "You have been to Jordan over and over again with Elijah, but now you are up against it alone. It is no use saying you cannot go; this experience has come, and you must go."

If you want to experience firsthand faith in God, then you must go through your Jordan yourself.

TODAY'S PRAYER

Too often we let fear dictate our obedience to God. We fear making the wrong decision so we make no decision at all. But God uses people who are more afraid of missing opportunities than making mistakes. People who dream the unthinkable and attempt the impossible. They go forward and face their Jordan alone to find God is already there waiting to move in their life.

For some of us at Encounter, we've had to let go of the "safe church" of our parent and embrace the idea of a dangerous church. We are no longer letting our mother, our father, and our professional ministers "climb the mountain for us," but instead take a bold God-sized risk to see broken lives restored by Jesus. We've stepped across our Jordan into actively making a difference in our community and the lives of those around us.

Today our prayer is for God to free us from a fear of mistakes — to allow us to experience a firsthand faith where God can step in and turn failure into victory. We can no longer expect to live our faith through someone else. Instead, we're asking God to guide us into whatever Jesus-shaped risk put before us.

TODAY'S IMPACT

Your impact today is to step out of the shadow of your Elijah. Make a bold move for Jesus to see your faith come alive! When Jesus came there was nothing but darkness, but when Jesus left there was only light. Through His Spirit we too can make that difference in the lives of our community.

Today's impact is really an invitation to take a risk. Leave the status quo behind and find true safety and comfort in boldly following Jesus. Everyday I consider that what God is doing in Helena through Encounter is nothing short of amazing! For those who are choosing take this journey with us, God is removing the barriers and restrictions we've experienced in the past. He's allowing us to experience our faith in Jesus firsthand. You can too!

There are only 17 days left before the Encounter Church Grand Opening. We invite you to be a part of something greater than yourself. We invite you to step out of the boat. Come belong with a group of people discovering with what it means to follow Jesus in the context of real life. No more secondhand faith.

Got questions? What to find out more? You're invited to some personal conversation over coffee. Click here to find out more.