It is post-Easter. Jesus has risen. He has met with his disciples a couple of times.

In the absence of knowing what next, the disciples keep a semblance of a routine going. Always a good thing when your world is upside down, to remain consistent in healthy routines. 7 go fishing.

They catch nothing all night! Not good when half the crew are experienced fisherman.

Someone calls from the shore telling them to cast the net out on the other side and try again. Curious, tired, bewildered, they do it. They catch a catch of a lifetime. The nets are bursting. Fish jumping all over the place.

But get this. See what Peter does.

... they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.  John 21:6,7

A miracle is jumping all around him, yet Peter simply wants to get to Jesus!

When God moves, there tends to be a lot going on!  Yet Peter’s first response was to actively give his attention to Jesus.

We cannot afford to get so enamoured by what God is doing that we forget it’s all about Jesus.  On the other hand we don’t ignore what God is doing, we are so thankful it becomes a trigger for us to press into and delight in Jesus.

Easy to think that joy, freedom, breakthroughs are where it’s at, surely this is what God wants us to be experiencing. It is! But don’t forget it’s the fruit of a life centred on Jesus.

If we are to sustain a move of God, we need to stay constantly enamoured by Him, more than the move, without any less joy in or appreciation of what God is doing.

Yes, still Jesus only.

The greatest teams have certain things going on that make them great.

There is no team without what I call ‘A Reason‘.  Some call this a vision.  The word vision might seem a little too much for some team functions. But every team must have ‘A Reason’ for existing.  What is your purpose?

There is no team without a ‘Team Leader‘.  About 15 years ago companies experimented with the concept of what they called ‘Self-managed Teams’ – it failed!  A team will never work at its maximum ability without a Team Leader – leadership is essential.  A leadership that can adopt a style suitable for any given moment of the day – coaching, directive, consultative, listening and developmental.

Of course, needless to say, a Team is not a team without ‘Team members‘.  It’s here where there are some key behaviours that can make the difference in being ‘great’.  Let me list a few:

– Ownership : A great team has team members that feel fully responsible for the success or failure of the ‘Reason’ for the Team.  Ownership, language like ‘My Team’ and ‘Our Goals’, is an essential force in any team.

– Flexibility : A group of individuals will stay rigid to their individual roles, a great Team will be flexible in what each person needs to do to achieve the ‘Reason’ for the Team.  Huge corporations have closed overnight due to the inability to be flexible.  McDonalds is a great example of a flexible mindset.  When healthy eating hit the conscience of western cities they responded by updating their menu with a ‘healthy option’ – salads and smoothies!  They would have joined the historic great failures if they didn’t do this.  Everyone does what it takes to make the team’s Reason succeed.

– Role Clarity : Not in contrast to but in support of my above point, it is also important team members are very clear what their specific role is in the team.  There is always need for flexibility but only once everyone is clear what their default position is.

– Self-confidence : No team member should feel completely lost to the great ‘Reason’.  If each person doesn’t come contributing with full self-confidence the team actually loses out.  You have more to offer when your self-esteem is healthy.  Warning, this may at times create a few frictions as egos rub together – but better this than a team not fully performing.

– Self-aware : In Daniel Goleman’s studies on Emotional Intelligence he lists Self-awareness and self-management as 2 of the 4 competencies that determine Emotional Intelligence – a measure of an individual’s future success.  To function successfully in a team you need to be aware of your own behaviour, your strengths and weaknesses.  For example : If you are a loud, dominate figure then tone it down in meetings to ensure others voices get heard.  If you are a quiet and thoughtful person, come to a team meeting prepared so you are more likely to be ready to contribute.

– Communication : No team will be great without healthy communication.  Let me outline 3 types of communication that are essential:

1. Information Communication – things you don’t need to know to fulfill the direct tasks of your specific role but is relevant to the overall ‘Reason’ of the team.  Its essential for continual buy-in that team members are up to date on other team member’s activities to a certain degree. Communication for just information sake is a good thing.
2. Functional Communication – this is communication between team members things that relate directly to the tasks at hand for that person.  In order to function as a team we have to regularly think ‘Who else needs to know this’, ‘What do I need to communicate to fully empower this individual’.
3. Relational Communication – Building strong team rapport is essential to a great team.  Take time to connect, to gel, to build, to understand, to relate positively for the greater good of the team.

We all work in teams – whether our family ‘team’, in our workplace or at Church.  Even if you are a ‘sole-trader’ business you have a team – your clients, your accountant, your bank manager, suppliers and so on.

I’m believing with you today for the best.  See you in one of our services or groups this week C3 Imagine.

Recent years have reshaped how we need to approach the world, our lives and ministry. I’m not just talking about the effects of the pandemic, but also shifts in sociological norms, the savage pressures of media on Churches and the shifting expectations from within ourselves.

We need to navigate this well as our future success and well being will hinge on it.

It has been my observation that there are some fundamentals we need to keep in shape in order for us to stay strong in the midst of these onslaughts. These observations, I trust, will help us live free of internal conflict or division, hence why I use the word ‘authentic’ to describe them.

Authenticity in its purist sense is being the real deal. It is a behaviour that is integrated within oneself. A person who is what they say they are, and they project what they truly are both in public and behind the scenes. A person who is not constantly conflicted in their fundamentals. This is not an excuse to do or say whatever we want, in the name of ‘take me as I am.’ Anyone who wants to make life work well, will understand that we want to be working on ourselves, to be better people.

3 areas of critical authenticity:

Authentic Identity

It requires great intellectual calculation and energy, to have a different identity in public to your private world. To be incongruent is conflicting, to be conflicted is not good for our wellbeing. In our attempt to measure ourselves by a certain set of sociological values, we can develop a tendency toward being someone in public who is different in private. This exhausts and divides our soul.

For example, a big one right now, even in the Church world, is the value of ‘coolness’. The cool have influence. So we ask ourselves “what is cool?” “Am I cool enough?” We come home and realise ‘cool’ doesn’t cut it amongst our close circle. However much we like cool, it is not our true identity.

Now I am not saying we are to give no attention to how we behave, dress or speak in differing situations; we cannot literally be the same everywhere. But we can learn to be comfortable in our own skin everywhere; we can find our true identity in Christ and live this out everywhere; we can drop the chase for self, for approval and fulfilment of a certain mould.

This is having an authentic identity. You are no longer divided within yourself.

Authentic Spirituality

All of us at some point or in certain areas of our lives face the pressure to conform to a certain set of standards. We feel the pressure to live to external expectations. Not all of this is bad if those standards and expectations are healthy for us. However, where they cause us to compromise, dilute, or veer away from our true north in Christ we are in danger.

When talking about freedom and the expectations we live by, Tim Keller, American pastor, theologian, and Christian apologist, puts it like this : “Because a fish absorbs oxygen from water, not air, it’s free only if it’s restricted to water. If a fish is ‘freed’ from the river and put out on the grass to explore, its’ freedom to move and soon live is destroyed.”

When our spiritual life becomes merely a show to others; conforms to the pattern of our society; or is an attempt to meet other’s expectations, or our own expectations, of what a good Christian life looks like, our hearts get divided and cold really quick.

Holiness is wholeness, says Australian pastor and author Mark Sayers. It is not an attempt to be uncool, cool, relevant or irrelevant; it is not a calling to be boring, but neither is it a calling to be adrenaline driven. Holiness is a form of spirituality that seeks Jesus first and therefore wholeness of spirit and soul in Christ.

Spiritual authenticity shows itself in a person whose true devotion to Christ is consistent and unwavering. They care less about the approval of others or society, and care a whole lot about seeking first, Jesus.

My wife, Lizby, frequently says, when describing what we are looking for in our preachers, pastors and ministers, “I want to be able to feel their relationship with God”. Our deep connectedness to Jesus, a life in worship, working through our deals with Him (and others), keeping our hearts soft and pursuing, humble and strong, determined and focussed on Him.

This is spiritual authenticity. It is tangible.

Authentic Calling

It is my observation that some people live a conflicted life, carrying a degree of unnecessary internal pressure because they are pursuing avenues of life they were never meant to pursue. We have probably all heard the phrase ‘stay in your lane’ many times before. Well there is some sense in this. Knowing what you are called to do and sifting out other options enables us to stay authentic and not conflicted in our internal world, our external focus and our energy output.

There are so many good, urgent and important causes all around us. Some of which we may even be gifted to serve, but still shouldn’t as it is not our primary call or purpose in life. Saying no to the opportunity can be hard, but necessary.

When Lizby and I got married I had just ended a job and was looking for a new one. I declined a sales job that was offered to me, trusting God for a door to open that better matched my gifting. Neither of us had much work and we had little financial buffer; I wouldn’t even recommend this action to someone else. However, I did it. Within a short time doors did begin to open in an avenue of business that eventually became the financial opener to Pastoring. Your primary call is cared for better sometimes when we say no.

If you are working left handed when you are right handed, life will be conflicted. If you are working 2 right hands, when you only have 1, life will be hard. Whether you are adding to your primary call something contrary to your gifting or complementary, you don’t have to be doing it.

Now I am not saying you can’t work more than one job, carry more than one project or run a business alongside ministry. All of this may be necessary, maybe fulfilling and manageable for you, it maybe what you are called to and fruitful in your life; it may not be conflicting. But I am saying remain authentic to your first and primary focus.

Stay true to your primary call.

In closing my friend. Stay authentic, as non-conflicted as you can, stay true to Jesus and be in good health.

In the background are all the usual party sounds, the bustling of glasses, coffee cups and chatter.  Music is faintly penetrating these sounds to bring an ambiance to the evening. Yet through this are the tones of Lizby talking to a couple of people.  I can’t make out exactly what she is saying, but I know it’s her voice, I know her tone, her vocal rhythm and intonations.  I can even tell the mood of the conversation.  She is so familiar to me it isn’t difficult to hear this through all the other background noises.

There is an echo in our spirit.  It’s a heavenly sound, which is why it is sometimes so quiet, it sounds different to other sounds, it is not pushy but it is insistent, it doesn’t take over, but it can consume, it isn’t a demand, but it is a call.  Inside of you has been placed purpose.

… we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this HOPE we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  Romans 8:23-25

In this same passage Paul talks also about the whole of creation groaning with a desire for freedom from its brokenness. There is a God given purpose for creation, it will one day become a new earth, filled with hope, no more groaning from disfunction.

The same is true of you and I.  There is an echo inside of us toward the spirit of hope – Jesus Himself who saved us and gave us new birth.  His DNA is in us. Or better put, our lives are now in Him.  Therefore, purpose, or calling is awakened. And we cannot escape the echo of it, like the familiar tones of one we know ringing in the background of our spirit, despite all other noises, a voice that resonates with familiarity.  He calls us by name.  He may not even need to use our name, but the call is personal and specific to you.

We love it when our name is called! Unless it’s in the middle of a class, and we’re expected to know an answer.  Or it’s with a certain tone we know is attached to a rebuke.  Or it’s because it’s our turn to step forward and get ready for the bungee jump.  But except for these we love the use of our name.  It suggests recognition, the fact that we have been seen.  We want to know we have been seen, recognised and value.

Jesus calls, with a faint echo in our hearts, it is familiar, hope filled, it is personal and we have a knowledge in us that we were born for this.

But born for what?  What exactly are we called to?  What are we called to do?

By the way, if you ever wondered what to do with this pleasant echo, Paul goes onto talk about how the Spirit intercedes for and with us and in doing so the echo rings louder and purposes become clearer.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also CALLED; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:26-30

You are called!  When you pray, allow the Holy Spirit to draw out of you the echo of that call.  It will have hope written all over it, it won’t be hard to recognise, as it is a tone different to many other voices that pressurise, demand, accuse, or even simply give a reassuring noise of happiness. Hope  cuts through these sounds.

It’s a sound that reassures firstly of who we are in Christ, that our lives are hidden in Him, transformed and made new in Him, filled with a heavenly destination because of Him, and nothing can separate us from it; it’s a sound full of promises.

… If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39

There is distinctly a sense of future call here.  But incredibly intwined in who we have become, in Christ.

In understanding our calling, we don’t just begin to understand ‘why am I here?’ but also ‘who am I?’.  The 2 big questions everyone wants an answer to right?

When we discover that it’s not just a matter that Christ has saved us and lives in us by His Spirit but that we are ‘IN HIM’ we discover our true, authentic self.   Christ in us is a revolution that brings us into Christ – we lose ourselves to Him, His image, identity, behaviours, DNA.  Christ in us is not about us becoming a better version of ourselves, or Jesus being in our pockets for a rainy day!!  It is a change of nature, becoming who we were designed to be.

So in Christ, I am clothed with Him, then I am clothed in who He is.  He is free, therefore, I am free, because I am in Christ.  If Jesus is righteous, then so am I.  If Jesus is holy, then so am I.  If Jesus is a healer, then so am I.  If Jesus is chosen and loved, then so am I.  If Jesus is purpose-filled, then so am I.

IN HIM we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:11,12

We are chosen, in Him.  We have purpose, in Him. What is that purpose.  Paul says ‘in order that’ we might be for the praise of His glory.  Our purpose is to stand in Christ in such a way as to emphasise His glory.  Our lives should glorify Him.

‘In order that’, that is to suggest there is a reason, and as we know the reason makes all the difference right? 

You need to replenish the oil in the engine of your car.  But why? It’s a bit of a hassle.  Well because it stops your engine from seizing up, and you needing to pay for a new engine rather than a new can of oil.  I know from personal experience!  But that’s another story.

Knowing the reason gives us perspective and motive for something.

Our ‘reason’ – that we would be for the praise of His glory.

What does that mean? In Him your life looks completely different – holy – called out for Christ, set apart – you look as your original intent – He rejoices at the view of you, in Christ.  You cause praise to rise, and His glory to be noticed.  You ARE different.

But I have a choice as to whether I live wearing these clothes comfortably or whether I push against it. 

An attempt to blend in to this world’s culture, is an attempt to veil His glory – be normal, but unashamedly His.

So with all this said we can start to deduce that calling has 4 forms.  And it is important we understand this, because we use the word ‘calling’ to suggest a specific role we are to play, but scripture indicates something far bigger than just that.

The 4 forms aspects of our calling are:

Let’s take a look at each of these.

Whilst we have been made in the image of God, there is a tendency, as humans, to want to make God in our image.  I am happy to worship a God who suits me.  I am happy to follow a God, who seems reasonable to me.  I am happy to believe a truth that makes sense to my finite, limited worldview.

But that’s not God and thats not who you are.

You are called to follow Jesus, to worship Him no matter whether you like it at times.  You are called to live by Truth regardless of whether that truth is convenient to you or not.

I could tell you that my house is 8m high.  Your response might be ‘I can believe that’. Well the truth of the matter is whether you believe it or not it is still true, my house is still 8m high.  

Your worldview does not change Truth.

The wake up call is simply this.  God doesn’t change from being who He is and the Truth about God does not change regardless of what we believe or what our personal preferences are.  He doesn’t stop existing because someone says ‘I don’t believe in God’.  He doesn’t stop loving just because someone says ‘God is mean’.  Salvation doesn’t change it’s dynamic just because someone says ‘Science is the only true enlightenment’.  Jesus still remains THE God, and the ONLY way of salvation.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus came at the point in history that He did?

A little history lesson for you, and then we will bring this right back round to your call to Christ, promise!

The Romans believed that their kingdom would last forever.  They believed Caesar was god, and that by no other name on earth could people be saved.  They would also call him the ‘king of kings’, and they would say ‘Caesar is lord’.  

This was an extremely brutal time in history for Jesus to turn up, there would be many easier moments, many moments where the message could spread faster.  Such as now, with the benefit of news channels, instant communication, instagram, YouTube and tiktok.  I’m not sure twitter would have worked for Jesus, He was the master story teller, hard to fit into 40 characters!  With all this possibility of today, He still chose 3 short years, a team of 12, a time in history where the pace was slow, and messages spread slower.

Yet at few other times in history could He set up the contrast of the Kingdom of God.  With the backdrop of Rome and of Caesar, Jesus was presenting a Kingdom that would truly last forever, presenting the true Son of God, the genuine King of Kings, spoken about before hand for centuries, the genuine Lord of all and the one which would be said of Him “there is no other name by which people can be saved”.  It was at this junction in history that everything pivots.  

I know we like to think in terms of before and afters, eg. Before WWII and after, or before the Twin Towers attack and after, or before the covid-19 pandemic and after; but really history is only divided into 1 before and after – before Christ and after – BC and AD – Before Christ and Anno domini nostri Jesu Christis (The year of our Lord). This year is the ‘year of our Lord’.  Every year is the ‘year of our Lord.’  Whilst Jesus lives on with a cause that is as advancing as ever, His Kingdom continuing to reign, Caesar is resigned to a history book and with a salad named after him!  The contrast made and the right kingdom left standing, shining, overwhelmingly brilliant, paling all earthly kingdoms into the very, very quiet shadows, to bow their knee to the one and the only.

This does not change just because someone says ‘Caesar was real, but I don’t know about Jesus’. This does not change on the days we are troubled with doubt. He remains contrasting, He remains true, there will always only be one Truth that sets someone free to be who they were born to be and do what they were born to do.

It is to this Jesus we are called.  The one who said ‘follow me’, not ‘let me follow you’.

You are called to Christ.  It’s a high calling, it’s a wonderful privilege, it’s a calling you were chosen for. It’s a calling everyone has been predestined to fulfil.  He calls into your spirit – and calls you out into a life designed by Him for you, a heavenly design, full of purpose.  You are chosen.

Our first call is to Him.  If we never discover what else we are to do on this time on earth, we know at least we are here to surrender our lives to Jesus, before all things and above all things.  We know we are to follow the echo of hope in our hearts, the echo of Jesus and serve Him alone.  We can at least live our lives to the restraint of Christ, a restraint that is brings the greatest freedom imaginable.  Because attachment to anything else enslaves us.

Jesus is our hope, it is to this hope we are called. Listen to the echo of this hope within. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:18-23 

You are His.  When you respond to the call to Christ, you have the power of Him living within you, to be and to do all that He has called you to be and to do.  This power is as transformational as death to life, broken to whole, bound to liberated, bitter to sweet.  How can this be so?  Because HE IS GOD.

I am meant to be surrendered to Him, my life is better that way because the rhythms of my being were made for this.  When I live my call to Christ it’s like an untuned piano having it’s strings put back in order and playing a sound it was always meant to play.

Surrender to Christ will require a denial of individualism, self-orientation, post modern enlightenment, but the embrace of personal happiness has actually never brought true purpose and fulfilment.  We were not wired to fulfil happiness, it’s simply an emotion not a calling.  We were not wired to find ourselves, as if there is a version of ourselves out there that is amazing without Christ.  You only find yourself in Christ.

We are called to Him.  Like putting on your favourite outfit, that seems to fit you better than any other, like finding the runners groove, the perfect blending combinations in a recipe, you were meant to belong to Him.

You are called to Christ.

So as for me I am devoted!

As we have seen already, Jesus lived with a strong sense of purpose and intentionality.  He was not shaped by situations and circumstances and worldview around Him, He shaped them.  He had His eyes forward.  What was He seeing?  What was His motivation?  What was His call?

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Jesus saw a world beyond death, a world filled with you and I.  He saw beyond the challenges of now, to the value of enduring for a goal that was heavenward.  For a multitude of people who would do likewise and reap the benefit of trusting the His work on the cross, and the power of His resurrection.

The other calling we have is a calling toward heaven.  Having the echo of heaven in your spirit is your life force, motivation, and the reason for endurance in times of extreme difficulty.  It is what causes us to live our life here on earth in perspective, being shaped, holding ourselves accountable because we live now in the shadow and perspective of eternity.

Ever played that game of stepping on shadows.  Tough to play at midday, easy at dusk when shadows are so long.  Heaven and its’ amazing presence, its’ incredible promises, casts the shadows of promises and longings we can choose to step into and chase after, live our lives in the direction of – difficult at times but necessary.  I press on.  A decision we make. Why? Its a call an echo inside of us.  All others may fall away but I won’t.  Tragedy may hit, but my call heavenward still has a hold on me.  I am called.

One of the greatest bible stories of all time shows us this.  The story of David and Goliath is set in the valley that stretches away from the Mediterranean coast line (an easy entry point for invaders) up toward the city of Jerusalem.  David, the youngest son in the family, usually occupied by shepherding the families flock of sheep, is sent by his father to visit his older brothers.  They are serving in the army. But when David arrives on the scene he has more than salami and pitta on his mind!  He hears the jaunting of the champion of the Philistine army, Goliath.  Goliath was a huge individual, and an expert at hand to hand combat especially.  Armed with a javelin, a spear and a sword.  But it was the sword of his tongue that stopped David in his tracks as Goliath taunted the Israelite army and defied God Himself. 

Now it is at this point that decisions are made based on the practice of following that echo in the heart, the call we have toward heaven.  If we live with the perspective that heaven is not just a place we are going to, but a place that influences our journey now as we head there, then we act now based on a joy that sees beyond.  David’s view of God and the purposes of Israel, overrode the immensity of the challenge before him.

He headed into battle with eyes on promise, on trust in a God who delivers, on a purpose he knew his nation was called to.  Much the same as Jesus went to the cross for the joy set before Him, beyond the cross.  Jesus endured because He saw a resurrection.

When we live called toward heaven, our prayer and action will be based on ‘May your kingdom come and you will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.  We will live to bring the Kingdom of Heaven into today’s situation.

David ran at the challenge with a sling in hand.

The question is, do we know our call toward heaven enough to run at life with this same perspective.  It mayn’t always be clear, there is always a whole lot of mystery about our future and eternity, but there is one thing perfectly clear, and that is if I am in Christ, my life is not my own and I have a destiny that is in heaven.  This is echo inside is a call.  This is how we run, this is how we fight our battles, this is how we make decisions, this is our call.  We live on purpose, for a purpose.

Paul describes in Philippians 3 how his call toward heaven effected his life now.  He describes the perspective this call brings.  He lists all the things that set his life up for a perceived advantage – the school he went to, the level of education he had, the people he was privileged to have in his world, his family line and the achievements that had given in him confidence as an achiever. Yet he makes this statement, which shows us the power of the shaping perspective of living called toward heaven.

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found IN HIM, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. … our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.  Philippians 3:7-14,20,21

Dear friends let’s keep our lives in perspective, the things that tend to consume us, worry us or drive us.  Let’s realise that nothing compares to the surpassing worth of being in Christ, called to Him and nothing brings greater perspective and motivation to press on than knowing we are called toward heaven.

You holding in there?  I can’t express how important this section is to being devoted.  Devoted is not motivational talk, it has its roots firmly in  the Bible.

Okay moving on to our calling to what we do.  We are called to Christ, and toward heaven, and we are called to be the light of the world.

I have just got back from painting the wall of our living room. Well actually I painted a section of it a few days ago, but it has dried leaving it looking very patchy.  The wall has a stipple effect on it, and some of the stipple has not been put on well, these areas don’t absorb the paint so well.  When the natural light casts across the wall it looks a mess!  This was quite upsetting, annoying, frustrating … ahhh!!

Today my project was to have another go at it when I needed a break from writing for an hour. I will let you know if it worked.  

To be honest this is what my life often feels like.  The white paint has been applied but it is still looking less than perfect; and in the light of the sun it looks a mess!  Sound familiar anyone?

It’s for this reason we love the fact that ‘in Christ’ we have been made whole, holy in fact.  Our completeness comes from Him, Great news.

We kicked this section on calling off with Romans 8, where we see that we were saved by hope, this hope is clearly Jesus, not a positive mindset!  We are called to hope, to the perfect embodiment of hope, to Christ, as we have seen.

There is nothing about hope that we don’t like, need or resonate with.  With this in mind we can begin to believe that while my life may seem still blotchy, in Christ it is perfected and in Christ it becomes possible to fulfil our purpose, that our lives are for the ‘praise of His glory’. A life full of deliverance, transformation, life, power and authority.

With this in mind Jesus makes one of the most shocking statements we could ever read in scripture.  He doesn’t simply say follow me, be my disciples, you are called. No, He makes a bold declaration that is more than a slogan, it is more than a job description, it is a call, one that can only be fulfilled because He spoke it and therefore He creates the ability for it to be true.

So before we understand what our specific call is we must be sure of this call that is general to every disciple of Jesus.  Jesus puts it like this.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Hold on a minute Jesus, I thought you were the light of the world.  Well yes that’s true.  But remember all authority in heaven and earth have been given to me and I needed to return to my Father for a while, so therefore, you go.

Go where? Do what?

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  Mark 16:15

That word ‘world’ is ‘cosmos’ in the original Greek.  Which more broadly means atmospheres.  Jesus is saying go into all the atmospheres, cultures and environments you come across and there preach.

St Francis of Assisi put it like this: 

“Preach the Gospel at all times.  When necessary, use words.”

How do we preach largely without words?  We preach by how we live.  You are the light of the world.  You preach by being the light you are called to be.  

Christ in you is the hope of glory.  You shine when you live in Christ, and live deliberately out of the hope He has placed within you.

He has given all the authority and power you need to be a transforming human being by grace, to be the light now. Whenever, always actually, wherever you go.

You are the light of the world.

Remember Ephesians 1, we read earlier – you have the same power that raised Christ from the dead living in you so you can be the light. Furthermore Paul goes onto say:

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be 

head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of 

him who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:23

He, in you, fills atmospheres, cultures, places around your neighbourhood, work place and city, with His presence – full, free, abundant, light – in every way possible, in every way He knows.

You are the light of the world.

In Christ you are free, alive, blessed, a child of God, you have a secure future inheritance, you are called.  You are in Christ.  

You are the light of the world.

Let your light shine.

Don’t hide it.

But Jesus doesn’t just stop at ‘lights’, He goes on to talk about cities!  “You are a city on a hill”, He says.  

In my early 20s I was hitchhiking with a friend in Israel.  Not to be recommended now.  Buses, trains or uber would be a better way to go. However, hitchhiking was more acceptable then and certainly helped the budget!  We found ourselves in Megiddo national park. In case you have a certain impression of what a national park looks like, let me explain.  This was arid, very hot, a long way from any where and not hiking territory!

Megiddo stands on the southern edge of the Jezreel Valley and is probably the most famous battlefield in the world. In biblical times, Megiddo was one of three cities that guarded the Via Maris trade route. Standing near a critical mountain pass, it was the most strategic location on the well-traveled road.

With such an important location, Megiddo became a military stronghold, as well as a store city. 

Controlling Megiddo meant having enormous influence over the ancient world, and people often vied for its control. Archaeologists have discovered seventy-seven layers in Tel Megiddo, each representing a time when the city was battled for, destroyed, and rebuilt.

Megiddo served as the royal city of Canaanite king, Taanach, whom Joshua defeated (Josh. 12:21). Later, Solomon fortified Megiddo as one of his chariot cities (1 Kings 9:15). Ahaziah, king of Judah was killed there (2 Kings 9:27) and King Josiah foolishly fought Pharaoh-Neco and was killed as well (2 Chronicles 35:20-24).

The area around Megiddo is known as Armageddon, referenced in Revelation 16:13-16 as a symbol of the great battle between good and evil which will one day result in God’s triumph.

Ok, so we were stuck in Armageddon trying to hitchhike out!  Rather dramatic, I know.  But we were running short of water, and every other person hitchhiking on the same road would get the pick up and not us, as they were generally Israeli soldiers.  Who would you have picked up? I know.

We eventually got picked up by someone, but it soon became clear to us they were heading in the wrong direction; suspicious, we insisted on being let out.  The hitchhiking process started all over again.  Nearly no water, in the heat of the day, in arid Armageddon.  In our minds it couldn’t be much worse.

The story ends well.  We got picked up by an army bus and we made our way out of the valley and eventually to the town where we were staying.  You can imagine just how good that feels when you see the lights of the town, the activity, and all that it represented.

When you are in a valley looking up at a city on a hill, it’s a dream come true!  It’s the place of cafes and supermarkets, food and water are there; it’s the place of transportation, accommodation and shelter; it’s where there is life; you will find libraries, schools and other places of knowledge and wisdom.

Jesus is telling us that our lives will carry the relief from the relenting heat of this world.  People will look to you for life, wisdom, supply, strength, light and direction.  You aren’t just the light of the world, you are a city on a hill.

In Christ you are relief and hope on the street you live, the place you work in and the people you spend time with.

You are called to be the hope on every street you walk.

Back to Caesar … well at least the contrast he brings as Jesus turns up on the scene.  Caesar, representing everything fake about kingship and lordship, Jesus representing everything you would want in a lord and king.  Jesus the King of the true Kingdom that trumps all others.

The devoted serve a kingdom, the devoted serve a cause.  The devoted are committed to seeing strongholds of resistance pulled down, hearts that are open filled and the kingdom of heaven take its place in every place, to bring hope on every street.

There is a work to do and a call to fulfil.

So when we see nonchalance toward Jesus, or aggression, or apathy, or belittling, it is not simply what it seems on the surface.  A stronghold is holding that person from taking a step toward Christ.  In compassion we need to be praying for people, pulling down their strongholds, changing the atmosphere around their lives so they can more easily see Jesus.

When we are with them, let’s not simply say the expected thing, or give the ‘pat answer’ – ask questions, don’t be provoked or rise emotionally to a frustrating behaviour, remain consistent, dependable, showing love and kindness.  Occasionally asking those questions that open up their vulnerability “how did you feel about that?”, “do you mind me asking, when your parents separated how did that leave you feeling, what was your experience?”; or asking the question to expose motive and try and shift mindsets “why do you say that?” (If someone is making a statement that Jesus is irrelevant for today), or “what do you find relevant for today?”

Most importantly where you go, His presence goes.  The devoted spend time in His presence, allowing Him to refresh their call daily, place a fresh anointing on them daily, fill them afresh with His Holy Spirit, so we can bring that presence, strength, peace and joy wherever we go, and not so quick to buckle under emotional pressures.

There is a kingdom of God, it is real, and people you love and people you don’t, people you know and people you don’t are living for a different kingdom.  Let’s be devoted to the cause to reveal His kingdom.

You are the light of the world.  

You are a city on a hill.

You are the hope on your street.

I have just got back from the little gym in my garage.  I am currently enjoying the new weight lifting bar and weights I have bought.  The old bar was narrower, so less comfortable to grip, it was bent and the clasps that held the weights on could not hold them tight, so the weights clattered as I used it.  My use of this was clunky and awkward at times.  

My new bar on the other hand is wider and smoother for the grip, the weights are not metallic and the clasp is tight so there is no clattering or excessive turning of the weights. Oh and the bar is not crooked!  It’s a dream to use.  Every motion is smooth, comfortable and natural.  Except the fact they are heavy and just as difficult to lift.  I will have to work on that next!

Both bars serve the same purpose, but only one was made to fit and do the job naturally.

One of my other favourite purchases of the last couple of years has been a garden hose.  The only time I have every succumbed to an infomercial playing in a DIY store.  

Our old hose was made from a rubbery plastic material and had to be wound round a wheel.  The nature of the material meant it frequently bent and created a kink in the hose, stopping the water from flowing.  When winding it back in around the wheel it was important to make sure it wound back without any of these water-flow defying bends in it.  Whilst it did it’s job, it certainly didn’t feel like it was born for this!

The infomercial said that this new hose pipe, which was made of some sort of fabric, obviously lined with some equally flexible but waterproof material could never bend and kink. It didn’t need to be wound back round a wheel.  The snake-like item was actually not that long, UNTIL the water was turned on and then the pipe expanded.  The infomercial said it could expand from 7 to 20 meters.  When the process was finished and the water stopped flowing the hose shrunk back to it’s original compact size and could be simply left, or dropped in a bucket. 

This was too good to be true!  I had to have one.

To this day it is still one of my favourite purchases.  It does everything it was designed to do.  This garden snake in a bucket was born for this!

Same summer heat, same dry garden but only one of them seemed to be made for the job.

Every one of us was made to live out our general call in the context of a specific call.

In the beginning God said “Go forth and multiply”; we were called to populate, rule and subdue the earth.  This means having families, building cities and infrastructures, developing education systems, health services, enriching cultures, developing all the expressions of our healthy creativity.  In order to develop humanity at its’ best.  Not for its’ own end, but for the glory of God.

Everyone of us has a role to play in this purpose.  Your specific call will be a fulfilment of your gifts, personality and desires.  God wired you with these.  Therefore, it is no surprise when these come together in what you do you are fulfilled, it feels like you were made for this.

The King of Israel and Psalmist, David in Psalm 139 wonderfully tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, knitted together in our mother’s womb.  You are unique, even if your gifts and desires are the same as someone else, they are packaged in an utterly unique and wonderful personality.  

If someone were to come to me and say, you have enough musicians in your church, I would want to say to them ‘but none quite like you’.  Sounds a little cheesy in writing, but it’s entirely true.

God wired you for a specific purpose blending your personality, your gifts and your passions.  When the anointing of God comes upon this you shine – your ultimate goal is to create, shape, build, and add kingdom culture to it and be a light in it.

When we operate outside our gift set or call we can be clunky.  But when we run with our call, with the oil of the Holy Spirit, it’s like we were born for this.

The world needs us to be confident of who we are and what we are about.  

Confident of who we are, because we will be faced with all sorts of temptations to compromise this, yet it’s only when we stand confident in who we are in Christ that we can be the light of the world, a city on a hill.

Confident of what we are about, because it’s here that we will know the true fulfilment of our reason for being here, and the world will see the goodness of God through this. As we run in our call to God, our call toward heaven, our call to be the light of the world, and our call to … 

Eric Liddell was a Scottish Olympic 100 and 400 meter runner in the 1924 Olympic Games.  He later became a missionary to China until his death in a Japanese civilian internment camp in 1945.  The story of his athletics and his faith was turned into an Oscar winning movie called Chariots of Fire in 1981.

He is quoted for saying “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast! And when I run I feel his pleasure.”

What is that for you?  Engineering? Nursing? Teaching? Cleaning? Parenting? Building? Designing? Singing? Helping? Administrating and managing?

When you discover this, put your passion into it and be the best, do it as serving the Lord, do it through your unique personality and asking for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to multiply every touch you have in that sphere of influence.

You were born for this.

So as we wrap up this chapter, let me say it again, the devoted are devoted to a cause.  This cause is way bigger than any one of us, in fact, it’s not about us, but it is worth giving our lives for.  

https://whatisyourmeaning.com/

Purpose, isn’t that what we all feel we want to be living for? It is probably one of the strongest forces in us, is the need to feel our lives have meaning. Growing up as a teenager I had a growing sense of what I wanted to do, no details, just a vague direction; I am living in that right now, 30 plus years later (who’s counting anyway!)

Here are some lessons I’ve learnt what the 4 enemies are to living a fulfilling sense of purpose.

If you are searching more on this topic right now, try out our What is your meaning website.

1. All at once

I want it, and I want it NOW. I have the vineyard, but I want the grapes also, in fact I want the champagne NOW! The desire for overnight success will be an enemy to your purpose.

When the Israelites took hold of their Promise Land, it was taken, little by little, giving them a chance for their capacity to keep up with their purpose development.

Fame is a curse if it comes too early, but can be used as a blessing if it comes in maturity.

If we are to flourish in our purpose we need to stop wanting it all now, and embrace the process that grows us step by step. Don’t bi-pass the essential process needed for your purpose to prosper.

Be patient, and simply take your next step.  What is your next step?

2. Self centred

When our purpose is not in anything outside our own personal sphere we have an enemy to our purpose.  My happy family, my business making money, starting a business because you don’t like working for a boss, running a project because it is what I enjoy … whilst these aren’t wrong in their own right, they are shallow in their nature.

There needs to be an altruism in our purpose to bring your purpose to life.

Our purpose needs to be connected to a higher call.

You are not called to be an Accountant, or a teacher, a business owner – you are called to higher calling to Christ – to be a light, an influencer, a discipler.

I want to help you get planted in God’s House, so she can fuel your primary purpose, to go and make disciples through whatever sweet spot God has given you. It is in the context of God’s House you learn the selfless higher call.

If we are not planted in God’s House, which is His promise (“I will build my Church”) our purpose will never fulfil its higher call.

You have a purpose to have a healthy family life.  Great purpose, but missing the point … place that purpose inside the promise (I will build my Church), then suddenly it’s elevated … my purpose is for my family life to be healthy, a place of discipleship, & as for me & my house we will serve the Lord – now that can scare some devils!

You have a purpose to have a thriving business that supplies work for many people – admirable.  But you are called to a higher call than that; to a living hope, and to lift others up into that call to Christ.  Inside the promise (I will build my Church) your purpose may become : to have a thriving business, based on Christ-like values, that seeks to show the power of Christ in the marketplace, and multiplies the possibilities for generosity toward God’s house and the community. 

We are told to love God and love others.  There is really no place in our purpose for serving ourselves!

3. Resistance

There will always be obstacles to meaningful purpose.  Challenges are normal, push back is normal, obstacles are normal.  Yet when we treat resistance like it is abnormal or unfair it becomes an enemy to our purpose.  Be more concerned if you have no resistance!

When we hit a tough times in our first few years of moving to the Netherlands, we had good people telling us to return. What we really needed to hear was encouragement to keep moving forward.

There will always be Pests to Purpose. Hell itself is a pest to our purpose, but we can overcome it.

The great thing about resistance is it builds us for a purpose. In fact Paul says in Romans 5 that “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Facing down resistance one at a time, builds you to be the person you need to be for your purpose.  Obstacles form and shape us.

Talking about the hell-resisting nature of the Church – it is here you will find both the power of the Holy Spirit anointing and equipping you, and others encouraging so resistance can be overcome and used as fuel to your purpose. What you learn through overcoming your weaknesses becomes fuel to accelerate your purpose. That’s the power of grace.

4. Lack of current ability

My gifts aren’t ready yet, I don’t have what it takes yet, I don’t have the resources YET.  The emphasis here is on the yet. If we get stuck on what we don’t have and don’t see the ‘yet’, then our current lack becomes an enemy to our purpose.

When we realise, that ‘yet’ means not currently, but one day I will, then we will earnestly seek what we need.

What are some of the areas I need to seek to expand in order to have resources?

Expand your gifting. Use the gift you have, grow the gift you have, fuel it so it compensates for your weaknesses. Seek God for an anointing on you for your purpose :

As you build His House, He supplies you with what you need to build your purpose inside this promise. He supplies the sower with seed, the server with gifts, the willing with opportunities.

His House is a place of wonders, gifts flourishing, purposes fulfilled and the imperfect being perfected.

Don’t hold back … Build. You are called to engage in a higher call!

Watch the video version …

He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. Psalm 103:7,8

An interesting differentiation between the aspect of God that Moses got to see, and what everyone else got to see. Moses intentionally sought the face of God. He longed for the presence of God, he desired to know God deeply personally. In this search God was able to reveal to Him, who He is – His character.

Moses called on God “Show me your glory” (Exodus 33). And God did, He visited Moses with His presence and revealed His character – compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love – the statement God used of Himself – revealed to Moses, not everyone else.

For others, all they got to see was the outworking of who God is. His deeds. Not to undermine the value of that of course. It’s a wonderful thing to see God at work, and in seeing God at work we do get to know something of who He is.

However, the lesson here for us, is that to seek God’s face is more significant than seeking His hand. To seek who God is, is of greater value than to seek what he can do. To know Him is of far greater importance than to know what He can do.

The greater transformation we need is the transformation of our lives not of our circumstances.

Let’s be a generation of God seekers, not a generation of solution seekers.
For it is the generation of those who seek God that find true intimacy, fulfilment and blessing (Psalm 24).

Seek first the kingdom of God and everything else will be added to you (all the needs of this life).

Moses knew the character of God, everyone else only knew the deeds of God. Which will it be for you?

The ROYAL law – to love others, whoever they might be, from whatever background, broken, whole, … this is dignity, this is carrying ourselves with honour, because we give honour.  There is no more supreme act of faith.

When we love someone as ourselves we are showing ‘royal’ behaviour. It’s supreme, it trumps all other behaviours, it is how disciples show the world that we are followers of Jesus, by our love for one another. It is how our communities discover a love that is beyond normal.

I like to put it like this, we are here to be the hope on every street.

How can I be hope to my street?  By being the pastor to my street – given the royal law, one could argue easily that this is our highest call, our most important task. So when you see your street as your church, when you see yourself as the pastor of those living on your street, you behave differently.

Of course this is not limited to our street. Jesus, of course, explains in the parable of the ‘good Samaritan’ that a ‘neighbour’ is actually anyone you see who is in need.  Why is this critical?  Because people come to Christ in a storm usually.  The ground has been broken for a seed of love and of the gospel. Love and kindness open up the way for a miracle of heaven in someone’s life.

Hence in our Church our goal is to have a Group in every neighbourhood in the cities we have a location. A small group is one of the most royal of communities we can be developing – it brings ‘hope on every street’ into an even more tangible force.  A community of hope in the community. A community of believing prayer, of active love, of biblical and audacious faith.

The presence of a community of hope meeting together is a powerful beacon of life to our friends, colleagues and neighbours.

It also forms the basis out of which discipleship happens – so if to love is our royal call, then our royal mandate is to make disciples (Matthew 28:19).

Ultimately royalty are not there to be served but to serve, they serve the kingdom that they have the privilege of working for.  Their behaviour matters, in order to live the values important to that kingdom.  If these values live, the kingdom comes alive, and the royal call and mandate are given life.

In our Church these are our 5 core values (and what they feel like):

• Faith

Confident, bold, secure, stretch, bright, encouraging, honouring

• Hospitality

Generous, serving, warm, embracing, inclusive, ’it feels like home’, ‘how can I help you?’

• Presence of God

Palpable, force of prayer, hungry, Godly, worshipful, powerful, expectant

• Discipleship

People invested, next step, progressive, believing, risk taking, challenging, personal, releasing

• Freedom

Not religious, fun, laughter, expressive, creative, secure

When we live a set of kingdom values, then the kingdom comes alive, a living, active, dynamic Kingdom is the context for our Royal activity, of loving and discipling.

Back to the Royal law then.

No doubt you spent 20 minutes this morning caring for yourself. You had a shower, you brushed your teeth and your hair and you dressed yourself. What if we were to give someone else 20 minutes of our devoted attention every day. I don’t mean coaching someone at work, if that’s your job, or helping out a colleague in their job. I mean, “how are you doing?”, “anything I can help you with, neighbour?”, “here is a meal I cooked”, “I have put your bins out already” … going out of our way, showing love through kindness type of royal behaviour, doing that which you would find a treat yourself.

That’s the Royal Law. Simple. Yet profound in impact.

If there was ever a time the world needed some stability it would be right now.  

We’re going to take a few minutes to look at the behaviours and actions of a person you might call ‘safe’. Because right now safe people, and safe places, might just be what people are needing.

What if we could provide the community with some security, not so much in terms of what next month may look like, but in terms of people and places that are consistent, secure, predictable, with peace, hope, that are restorative, in other words safe people and safe places.

Whilst the Bible is very much full of stories of travel, adventure, extraordinary feats of faith, injunctions to go, conquer, take ground; yet the greatest act of faith is to stand the ground of your inner world. To remain steady in the midst of instability.

For this reason Jesus is never described by what He does as much as by who He is. He didn’t say “I am the baker” but “I am the bread of life” – this is who He is (a baker would be what He does). Yet which would you prefer when you are hungry – the baker or the bread?! He never said “I am your chief navigator”, He said “I am the way”. He said “I am the resurrection and the life”, He didn’t say “I am your surgeon”. When we encounter Him, He, Himself is enough.

The Bible also tells us God is our “hiding place”, our “strong tower” and a “fortress”.

We need to understand that safe people and safe places create strong futures.

Safe parents and safe homes create children that grow into adults that are trusting and open. Safe leaders and safe communities create confident people and empowering environments. It’s only in the context of a secure environment do we open and trust.

So how could we describe a safe place? How about a place you can be yourself and not judged, a place you can make mistakes and be forgiven, a place where restoration is placed before pride, a place where you prefer to be than not, a place where consistency of character overwhelms brokenness of personality, a place where reliability is held in balance alongside spontaneity, a place where you feel comfortable taking risks.

So one of the best gifts you can give to your children is safety.

The nice thing about this is you don’t have to be a perfect parent for your children to feel safe.

You don’t have to be a perfect leader to be a safe leader. Yet people will follow a safe leader more readily than a ‘perfect’ leader.

So what does a safe person look like?

they are reasonably predictable in their responses

If you do not know how someone is going to respond today, short tempered, moody, soft, strong, that unpredictability creates vulnerability. We can all work on being predictable with a little self control.

Predictable and reliable is a person who doesn’t easily change their mind, they are not constantly changing their decision or course of direction. Unless through collaboration because a change is the right thing to do. But then it is well considered. So a safe person shows they can be influenced, they are not closed minded.

they have a consistency of behaviour

You create predictability by being consistent in your character. Be a person of values and stick to them. They may not be perfect values or all encompassing values, but if you remain consistent, not only does your character form with strength, you will provide consistency to those around you.

A person of integrity with a moderate vision will carry a family or an organisation further by far than a person of grand vision who lacks integrity. A lack of developed character will always be the unmaking of any of us.

Integrity simply means, I say what I mean and I do what I say, I can be relied on.

they use carefully chosen words

A safe person is thoughtful. A safe person will speak in a way that places themselves in the other persons shoes. Empathy is a parent or a leaders greatest strength. A few carefully chosen words can be the difference between a person feeling like you believe in them or not.

they have no problem with showing their love

Now this is an interesting one, because we all express love or like to receive it in different ways. It even varies from generation to generation. There is still a generation alive today who certainly didn’t express their love with hugs. A generation where “children were to be seen and not heard”!

Now whilst this is less than ideal, it does not mean those children in that context did not feel love. That largely comes down to the warmth in which other means of expression maybe used.

So whether you hug, use the words “I love you” (my wife uses this on the end of so many phone calls to anyone!), or through expressions of interest, attentiveness or acts of kindness we can all find ways to show we love. And repeat these behaviours over and over.

I can sometimes notice the difference between someone who was raised in a safe place and one who wasn’t. It shows up in their behaviours, slow to trust, slow to show their vulnerabilities and less open.

So where can you start in being a safe person, creating a safe place amongst the people you are in relationship with? Try out these simple pieces of advice.

Before we get dulled by our environment, bring joy

Don’t be too serious, too harsh, have some fun, smile and bring joy. The world is small enough and dull enough as it is right now, with very little excitement or stimulation. Bring some joy.

You can’t always be hounding or pushing your kids, your spouse, or your friends.  The relationship has to be saturated in joy, freedom and fun.

Before picking up your phone, be present

We’ve gone from connecting face to face to connecting thumb to thumb. Where we used to meet, we now call, where we used to call we now app. Our communication style has begun to reflect the adverse effects of isolation.

Let’s escalate our presence. Where you were going to app, consider calling; where you were going to call, try a video call (look into their eyes), or meet face to face AND be present, not on a device, be present with your attentiveness not just your body!

Before being ‘right’, be kind

Chris Pringle, co-founder of the C3 Church Global movement, puts it like this “Before pressing send, wrap your words in kindness; before speaking that prophecy, wrap your words in kindness; before sending that mail, wrap your words in kindness.”

As a teenager I used to love arguing with my father over the dinner table. The funny thing was though, the next day in school I would have the same argument with someone at school but now be arguing my fathers point of view! Because it was the thrill of being right that drove me. But being right will never enhanced a relationship! But being kind will.

In the last few months it seems like everyone has become a scientific expert on a certain pandemic, after reading a few blogs and watching a youtube video!  Or a political expert after watching 4 news items and throwing in a personalised filter.  And so the opinions fly around with great vigour.

Jesus didn’t tell us to be right but to be loving. Jesus said people know me by how much you love one another not how correct you are. Before being right, be kind.

Before looking for an apology, say sorry

I know it maybe the other persons fault! However, rather than waiting for an apology, try saying sorry, it opens a restorative conversation.

A safe person is a restorative person. This means we have our hearts turned toward people, not away. We don’t build up walls, we repair. We don’t ignore that which we are becoming aware of.

The prophet Malachi said that God would turn the hearts of the parents toward their children and the hearts of the children toward their parents. If we can keep our hearts turned toward people, pull down walls that may emerge in our hearts, and not ignore what we are becoming aware of, we will be a restorative person. Safe.

Before trying to be ‘just you’, be Jesus

Let’s not lower the bar of what we can give people by an over sincere sense of authenticity. People’s favourate saying today is “just be yourself”. However, what if ‘just yourself” isn’t the best version of you?! You are completely unauthentic and selling yourself short by ‘just being yourself”.

You are never better, never more authentic than when you are in Christ. Before trying to be ‘just you’, be Jesus to people.

Let me conclude by saying clearly and definitively that ‘safe’ does NOT mean conservative. You can be a parent or a leader that takes risks, that takes people on an adventure, in fact you must! Adventure is the fuel for releasing the potential in us.

Safe is not about the journey you travel it is about the character you display.

Go ride some necessary waves, take some essential risks, step out of the boat but be a safe person, that creates safe places. The world needs you right now.

It’s the closing of 2020. An unusual year to say the least, devastating for some, frustrating for all, and overwhelming for others.  So when I look back it’s good to see the hand of God at work, because I know He is up to something in the midst of our turmoil.

When I look back and see where we have come I am regularly surprised at the hand of God in so many unexpected ways.

Before I share this story it should be noted that whilst I have an interest in property investment, I am not a property expert. And whilst I come from a family of entrepreneurs, I do not see myself as primarily that. I am primarily a local Church pastor, determined to see the very best for our church, and devoted to Jesus, determined to ensure He shines in what we and I do.

So this story is more a story of faith, wisdom and patience than it is about property.

Faith is about what God has said.

Wisdom is about “what would God do?”

Patience is about when God is going to do it.

Faith is not the same as positive thinking or optimism. Although optimism is a very fruitful posture. It has been shown that ‘take a person who can’t but think they can, they will win every time over someone who can but think they can’t’

Whilst faith displays itself this way, faith isn’t the same for one core reason. Faith comes from hearing God’s Word. So optimistic or not about a situation, the moment you allow God’s Word to dwell in you about that situation, faith rises. When we move on faith, we see our situation with a Godly optimism.

You don’t need a ‘word from God’ to have faith. Although I love it when He does directly speak into a situation. But without this you have the never failing, always true, ever present Word of God in scripture. Every bit is God-breathed, with potential to speak into any given moment of your day. If we let it faith will rise.

I’ll come back to this later in the story.

Of course not everything happens immediately, even though we are believing for it. God is up to something, He has an outcome in mind, but it may not be for just yet. Maybe because we’re not ready for it and we adjust and change to be ready; or maybe because He is manoeuvring circumstances in our favour that take time.

Patience is that waiting, knowing God is up to something, He is going to do something. The question is ‘what will we do in the waiting?’ – remain grateful or complain; remain firm or always wavering; remain at peace that God is up to something or worry about what is going on?

Then there is wisdom. When you read the book of Proverbs it is evident that wisdom is not just sensible thoughts, good decision making; wisdom is described as a person. It isn’t hard to conjecture that it’s the person of Jesus. Wisdom comes from a desire to please God, a fear of God, a live for Jesus; it comes from asking the right questions – what would God do, how could He be honoured in this. It is not always about what to do that wisdom is required but how we do it.

The means does not justify the end. That is to say, just because the end goal is good, it doesn’t mean we can go about it any way we like.  That lands people in bankruptcy, marriage problems, unwise purchases, bad leadership appointments.

Wisdom helps you navigate the process well.

All that said …

It was September 2016 we had realised that the building our Amsterdam South-East location was in was getting too small. We had kids meeting in a foyer space; teenagers converting our offices into a meeting space and an overcrowded, over noisy cafe.  Not a bad problem to have. But it needed a solution.

We had already started another location and we were able to plan to get another service in this location off the ground too, this for a while would help us manage the situation. However we needed to expand the place!

We looked at our options. As we saw it there were not many! In essence our backs were against the wall.  Not a bad situation to be in. My experience is that this tends to polarise people – they either retreat and accept this is not going to work or they advance with a dogged determination to succeed. We fell in the latter.

The front portion of our building was a brick construction with a foundation that could take the load for a 5 story building, we had 2, so decided we needed to build up another floor.

However, we had little financial reserves as it wasn’t so long before that we had purchased the building and renovated.

But still it seemed good to us to make this the move. We engaged an architect, got some prices and were faced with the obstacle of how much money we would need to raise to do this!  We have a fund raising campaign each year for investing in our buildings. However the amount we would need to raise this year was between 2 and 3 times higher than we had ever done before! And our church were already generous givers!

It seemed a near impossible situation, but we had faith based on a call to expand and a confidence that God was into this. Expansion has been a constant word at the heart of our church – Isaiah 54.

It seemed a near impossible situation, but we had faith

I projected the vision to the church! “Church we are going to build a 3rd floor” – wohoo great excitement … of course. But now the real work had to happen. Excitement doesn’t always translate into financial capability.

This is where wisdom comes in. We had already begun to access where the money could come from. One of our churches had  a building fund they would not be ready to use in the next 3 years or so, they were willing to lend us the money on a reasonable interest but better than the banks for them. We had one or two other options also. Why do I call this wisdom?

Well, faith acts, and wisdom assesses.

We had acted but were not going to drive our church dry in a desperation for money. We wanted people to give as usual, with conviction, with vision and in faith.  As a result we have seen the church’s giving rise significantly in the last 4 years. However, not nearly by the extraordinary amount we needed. It is wise to think of Godly plans and approaches.

If I am honest I am not a big fan of borrowing short term from others close to your situation (however kind), a bank contract is a lot cleaner, and even then wisdom would ensure you assess your ability to repay that loan so it is not an excessive burden on the church.

So I am feeling a little conflicted whilst doing this due diligence.  Right in the middle of this dilemma we are approached by a building development company, who explained to us that the local municipality is looking to turn this business park into a multi-purpose area with housing, cafes, supermarket, school and more.

Now let’s just hold it there before I go any further.

One of the things that we were not entirely happy with the building was its position. We were not in a residential area. Whilst we knew the building was a good one to pursue, and we had Gods peace on it, it seemed far from perfect in both size and position. In fact I would always suggest to pastors that the location of their church is important. Be near public transport, easy access from the road and in a community that keeps you grounded to your real mission.

We had some of this but not all!

Ok back to the story in hand. So now the municipality is wanting to bring the community to us. 5000 new homes right on our doorstep, and community facilities. The question to us was, do we want to redevelop our plot to help assist with this vision? Oh and in doing so it could be constructed in such a way that you would get twice the space you have now, with 100 plus apartments on the site, the profit of which will pay for the development of your own building!!

We did not see that coming. But that’s what happens when we act according to faith and are patient to see what God is up to. I had been slow to activate the other fund raising options due to a little discomfort. In the wait comes the act of God.

Of course we did our due diligence on the company, we did our due diligence concerning the municipalities interest in us. It was all go! We would get a new, bespoke building, with more than double the space, and be positioned as the community centre for this brand new development.

Even as I write this I find I have to include every detail because it keeps waking me up to the reality of what is happening!

Now I’m not saying that every step we take will end in an outrageous outcome like this. However, every step we take is for sure a hinge swinging a large door concerning the plans of God. So we should not despise the day of small beginnings, we should not be dissatisfied with what God is satisfied with as He us a greater plan. Rather take the step, abide in Him, and His peace, be patient for greater things yet to come and always you will see the goodness of God unfold some how in some ways.

So where are we at right now, 4 years down the road?

We have signed a contract for the sale of half of the 116 apartments, and an agreement with the municipality.  Building will begin in 15-18 months from now.  And construction will take a year.

Yes, that’s 6-7 years down the path! Did I mention patience! Oh yes … 6-7 years later, complicated negotiations with the municipality, with developers, lawyers and court rooms … but we are there.

By faith AND patience

By faith AND patience … what will you do in the wait? What we did was to hold to our course, employ professionals, stay true to integrity, keep vision alive in the sight of our church AND we did not make it the main thing! 

Just one word of caution to pastors – however exciting the project, however significant, never let it steal from the main thing – winning people to Christ, making disciples and building God’s church, His people. Every project must come second to this mandate.

So we employed a project manager and professionals to ensure I and our staff would not be overwhelmed or distracted.

Obviously I cannot write about the end of this story, as it’s in the making, but by sharing it now, I want to suggest that God is always up to something even in the most difficult, or even strangest of situations. He has never stopped working. There will be a day we will occupy this new building and will be at the heart and centre of this new community, bring hope on every street in a myriad of ways we could never have imagined!