This past week has been kind of crazy. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have been compelled to step out in faith and actually walk out the things that have been on my mind and heart the past few months. So I finally began to start taking the initiative for prayer and evangelism.
For the past couple weeks, I have been meeting with my friends Chris and Heidi to pray for the campus each morning. However, as the weeks drew on my frustration was mounting. I couldn't stand just praying each morning. I needed to take the next step. I needed and wanted to go out and share, but I was experiencing a lot of fear. But I knew I had to take a step of faith...
A few weeks ago, I went to a conference called Take My Life. It was such an awesome conference now that I look back on it. At the time I was so burn out and jaded with conferences. I had become a disillusioned, constipated Christian. I was so tired of going to Christian conferences and hearing the same messages that tried to fire you up to go out. I had been to some of the most "radical" of conferences. But it just wasn't doing it for me anymore. Then, I went to this conference, I re-learned a realized some things that really opened my eyes to the steps I needed to take next.
What was cool about this conference first of all that my girlfriend Sara and her friend Skyy got to come from Hawaii and hang out with me! It was so fun getting to hang out with them and connecting with other influential student leaders across Arizona. It was an amazing time to step into a greater revelation of what God had in store for us. It was also amazing to get to meet some of the most passionate and inspiring Christian leaders moving forward in what God has called our generation into today.
At this conference, I got to learn somethings about intimacy with God and evangelism that I just didn't get before. Last summer, I had been so consumed by my passion for God that I had isolated myself and went on an extended fast to seek God's kingdom. It was an amazing time to grow in intimacy with the Father and learn His heart. However, after a while a became disillusioned because I tried to replicate this experience from time after time. I tried to increase my intimacy with God by isolating my self more and more. However, what I realized at this conference was that sometimes having intimacy with God means going where He is already hanging out.
I realized that God has called us fishers of men. He has called us to GO those who need him the most and not to merely stay in one place. When we look at Jesus' life, we see that Jesus hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, and the worst of all sinners. Yes, Jesus took time to isolate himself and pray, but that was not the only thing He did. He went out and shared the love of God with those who needed it the most. We must realize that sometimes having intimacy with God means going to where Jesus already is hanging out. Jesus is already hanging out with those who need him the most. Our time in the prayer closet is great, but we cannot stay there. We must experience intimacy with Jesus by being joining in on the journeys of the lives of people that God is already working on. Sometimes, we make the mistake that when we go out and share the gospel it is our wise words that make the difference. This is far from the truth. God is already working in the lives of the people around us, and we are simply coming along side what God is already doing. God doesn't need us, but He has chosen us to be a part of His bigger plan.
I began to realize that intimacy with God was so much more than extended prayer times. I realized that evangelism was at the very heart of intimacy with God as well. But we must be careful here. Evangelism and personal prayer time must go hand in hand. Once we lose our quiet time and communion with God, we lose our energy and our power. We must move out with the foundation of prayer each day. But realizing that evangelism is such a big part of intimacy with God has been such a big realization for me. When we go out and seek those God has placed on our heart, we are able to experience in Jesus in ways that we would have never thought possible.
One of things that really inspired upon going to this conference was meeting Erik Fish. Erik is the new director of Campus Church Networks. The organization Jaeson Ma started which desires to see simple churches be planted on every campus, city, and nation. Erik has an amazing heart for evangelism, and he really encouraged me to continue in stepping into the calling God has placed on my life. On one of the days he came to ASU, he taught us how to do creative open air evangelism. Basically, we would do skits on campus that would engage the campus to think about the gospel in ways that were less abrasive and direct. These skits were like the parables Jesus told. For those who really were interested, they dug deeper into understanding the message. For those who were uninterested, the message went right over their head. It was such a cool way to do evangelism that really inspired and excited me to want to step out in faith in new and creative ways. It showed me that evangelism wasn't a boring, mechanical process. It is a creative, life-giving, relational process that is exciting, fun, and relevant!
One of the most encouraging times was getting to talk to Erik one on one about his passion and his calling. It was amazing to see a man of God with a family and children, yet so on fire and sold out for God. It was so different for me because I had been use to the radical, "fire-fall down" personality of Jaeson Ma. I had strived to be like Jaeson which made me at times miss out on who I really needed to be like: Jesus. But seeing the way Erik was so normal, yet so focused and intentional was amazing. He really encouraged me to see that being who God wants you to be is more important than trying to step into someone else's calling. When we realize that who God made us to be is more important than trying to be like someone else, we are affirmed of just how much God really loves us and has a special plan for us. I got to share with some international students with Erik and he really encouraged me in stating that we had similar hearts. Erik has an amazing passion to see people come to experience the love of God, and he truly has a heart for evangelism that encourages me to chase more after God's heart for loving the world.
In the end, God really was showing me that part of having intimacy with Him was stepping out in faith, sharing the love of God with others, and finding out who Jesus was already hanging out with.
What is even more crazy was the things God was showing me in dreams....
To be continued...
Listening to one another's stories
1 year ago
0 comments:
Post a Comment