let God arise

yipeeeeee! summer semester is done, dude!!! i took my finals today. hopefully, i aced them. glad to be done, so i can enjoy the summer. i think tiff and cason and i are going to try and get away for a weekend soon. we need it. 

yesterday was an awesome day at the Journey. the bransfords were there, to update us on what's going on out in the mission field. man, i want to go on a mission trip so bad i can taste it. maybe that's where tiff and cason and i can go! Thailand! 

i taught a new song to everyone yesterday, aslo. it's actually not new, just new to the Journey. it's called, "Let God Arise", by Chris Tomlin. if you don't know this song, go to itunes and get it! while you're there, get "Sing, Sing, Sing" as well, also by Chris Tomlin. this is a song that we'll be teaching this upcoming sunday. 

so yesterday, before we started, i was taking a moment (like i always do before service) and just talking to God. it's been awhile since God just literally gave me a "word", meaning: something specific that He wanted me to say to everyone. i mean, i get the sense of things that He wants me to do, or things to talk about, but to literally give me the actual words, in sentence form, that's something all together different. yesterday, He did just that. that word was this: "today, we are going to take back some ground for the Kingdom!" 

now here's the funny thing. earlier in the week, i had a conversation with cindy, our piano player. we were talking about spiritual warfare and the new teaching series that erik is about to start. she made the comment about how we are to engage in this warfare and take back ground. i thought that it was a really cool statement. apparently, God did too! because when He gave me the word, it was in that context that He showed it to me. 

now, here's the even funnier thing! i asked my wife, if she heard me say that. she said no. that in and of itself isn't a big deal. she never hears anything that i say!!!! :) just kidding, honey! but i asked a few other people if they heard it too, and they said no, also. i wasn't asking them because i thought i did something so cool or said something soooo brilliant that i wanted everyone to recognize it. i asked them because i wanted to know if it had the same impact on them that it did on me. 

here's what i believe: i don't know if ANYONE heard it. but i know i said it! and i believe that it wasn't for anyone at the Journey to hear. i believe that it was for someone else, and he knows who he is! no need to give him any more screen time than that! 

here's what i know: a lot of churches talk about spiritual warfare, and what it is, how to combat it, etc. not a lot of churches talk about how to engage it! there are a lot of people at the Journey who are excited about this teaching series. there are a lot of families at the Journey who are ready to engage it! i know that erik's teaching series is going to open  a lot of eyes! 

here's my challenge: WAKE UP! whether you want to admit it or not, there is a war going on for our souls, one not of flesh and blood. scripture tells us this. Ephesians 6:12. don't just sit there and let the battle go on around you. get engaged. read the book of Ephesians. there's a lot of great stuff in there. you'll also learn how to equip yourself! 

i thought about what my "one prayer" would be for the church, as we went through the whole "One Prayer" series these past four weeks. after hearing this Chris Tomlin song, "Let God Arise" again, i know what it is. my one prayer for the church is that we would get out of the way, and let God be God. stop trying to do the things that only God can do. that we would learn how to be servants, who lead, not leaders who ask to be served. that we would LET GOD ARISE!