Thriving | Life in the City + Praying for Spiritual Formation

Thriving Frequency 2015 | Restoring the Breaches

Pastor Curtis Dunlap and Rev. Charlie Dates

I have loved every Thriving event I've had the privilege to attend. Posts from the 2013 Thriving Summit and the 2014 Thriving Frequency conference can be found on this website. And here are the previous posts from the 2015 Thriving Conference: 

2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Worship Sets Song Lyrics

2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Restoring the Breaches by Focusing on Jesus and Connecting with God

2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Restoring the Breaches by Being Rescued from Ourselves and Giving Ministry Away 

The following posts will feature notes from some of the sessions I was able to attend. For an overall video review of this conference, check out the video Thriving Frequency 2015 Recap. I have a small cameo at the 3:36 mark.

Restoring the Breaches | Knowing Life in the City

Pastor Curtis Dunlap

Epiphany Fellowship Church

Philadelphia, PA

Nehemiah 1-4

When we care enough to ask what is broken in our community and why, we also need to remember that we aren't going to change anything just because we care. When was the last time you got on your knees and fasted and prayed for your city? Do you ask God for:

A spiritual and emotional burden for the people that moves you to speak and act?

A growing hunger to have regular and disciplined times of prayer and fasting on behalf of the people?

An understanding that your ministry with Jesus to the city is not just for the city, but also for your growth in the Gospel?

Nehemiah 1:6-7 | See yourself in the city as we/us, not them/they. Identify if you contribute to any of the negative ideologies that exist.

Nehemiah 2:2-5 | We need to get out of our comfort zones and prayerfully risk some things. Let your burdens be known to the people who have the power to help change the conditions of the city. Ask for resources to help them do this even if they may be the people who have contributed to the plight.

Nehemiah 2:10; 5:1-13 | Minimize both internal and external distractions. There will be people who will oppose the work you have come to do. There will be issues that arise internally that have the potential to compromise the mission. We need to clarify and keep priorities with a clear mission and effective strategy.

Nehemiah 4:10-12 | Identify where the breaches exist. We need to get out and walk our neighborhoods with Jesus, praying and seeing:

What is the climate of my city? Of my communities? Of my neighborhood?
What are the issues being talked about the most?
Who is being impacted by the biggest issues in the city?

We need to ask our questions with the people who live in the city. What are the issues with the Church? Is there understanding of the Gospel? Where are the areas of tension? We need to identity the issues from those who have lived in the city for a long time. We need both outsider and indigenous perspectives.

When you're among the people of the city, you'll hear the complaints and the needs. Be astute. Be authentic. Be available. 
Be affirming of where you see God at work.

People are never connected to the Church until they start to serve the Church. People are never connected to the Missio Dei until they join the Missio Dei. Are you fishing with a pole or with a net? Are you willing to catch all that God brings in?

Restoring the Breaches | Praying for Spiritual Formation

Rev. Charlie Dates

Progressive Baptist Church

Chicago, IL

Romans 8:26-27

Life, ministry, and wherever we are and whatever we're doing needs to be handled with prayer. In any moment in life, we can pray. Our problem is we try to live life standing up instead of on our knees before the Creator and King.

Believers in Jesus, when we pray, we never pray alone. The Spirit of God makes it possible that our words are heard and interpreted for God not only to receive, but renew, and answer with all the love and power He provides.

Creation groans for our redemption. 
The Spirit groans for our rescue.

Even when we don't know what to pray for or how to pray, when we step out in faith to pray, the Holy Spirit aids us in our uncertainty. We have reason to hope because of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in us. Suffering is a fact of living. But we do not lose hope. The scale of suffering does not have the weight of glory.

"God does not have any adult children. In our weakness, we understand the strength of God" (W.T. Glenn). 

But we can be strengthened. Even though there is certainty in our insufficiency, there is certainty in the Spirit's sufficiency. The answer to our weakness is God Himself. God sent His Word and His Spirit to work out communication with us Himself. 

The Spirit searches our hearts and Jesus intercedes for us in accordance with the will of Father.

– Sully

Email Pastor Mike | Facebook Us | Join Us | Support Us

Thriving | Being Rescued + Giving Ministry Away

Thriving Frequency 2015 | Restoring the Breaches

Dr. Paul David Tripp and Pastor Bryan Loritts

I have loved every Thriving event I've had the privilege to attend. Posts from the 2013 Thriving Summit and the 2014 Thriving Frequency conference can be found on this website. And here are the previous posts from the 2015 Thriving Conference: 

2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Worship Sets Song Lyrics

2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Restoring the Breaches by Focusing on Jesus and Connecting with God 

The following posts will feature notes from some of the sessions I was able to attend. For an overall video review of this conference, check out the video Thriving Frequency 2015 Recap. I have a small cameo at the 3:36 mark.

Restoring the Breaches | Being Rescued from Ourselves

Dr. Paul David Tripp

Paul Tripp Ministries

Philadelphia, PA

Book of Jonah

What is the biggest obstacle in life with God? You are. And our criticalness of the Church needs to begin with the person in the mirror. Where is Jesus' Church going to get mature leaders when immature leaders leave or tap out?

There is no situation or relationship that we can run to that is not ruled by King Christ. Are there moments when we want to just stop and step "outside of His presence"? Yes. But again, this is a dangerous perspective. We have to recognize that the biggest danger in our lives is ourselves. It's not others. So stepping away from God or others isn't the solution.

"The Holy Trinity of the Holy Father, the Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit has been replaced by our so-called 'holy' wants, 'holy' needs, and 'holy' feelings" (Eugene Peterson).

Running from our Holy God is seldom a matter of location. It's first a matter of the heart. How do you run away from God and others? Jonah wasn't allowed to preach God's judgment from a distance. He had to move to the city and walk the streets among the people. And remember, anytime that God announces His judgment, it is an act of mercy and grace. And it was for Jonah and for Nineveh.

How do we run?

When we act like our lives belong to ourselves.
When we close our eyes to the brokenness and the spiritual needs around us.
When we resist any call from God.
When we resist being an instrument and conduit of God's grace.

God's invisible grace incarnates in people changed by grace to give grace to people who need grace. When you are wronged, do you see it as a glorious opportunity for grace? How much of your anger in the last two months had anything to do with the Kingdom of God? The greatest moment of Jonah's groaning didn't have to do with the Kingdom of God or desiring people to repent, but instead was focused on His own comfort.

We run from God and others because we simply don't share His heart. In Jonah's story, God appointed a worm to work on Jonah's heart. And the worm obeys, even as Jonah, made in God's image, complains and wishes to die. But with the worm, God shows us that nothing is too small for the King of the universe to use to teach us.

And at the end of the story, the Creator God is still using all of His power to love and to teach Jonah about His glorious grace. Nothing about Jonah or us can be exposed that hasn't already been covered by the righteous blood of Jesus. We don't need to be rescued from the hardship of ministry or walking with God. We need to be rescued from ourselves.

Restoring the Breaches | Giving Ministry Away

Pastor Bryan Loritts

Trinity Grace Church

New York City, NY

2 Timothy 2

We need to glory of the reverse of the curse and join with God as He rewrites the legacy. With this in mind, we should never forsake the Great Commission or the ministry of Jesus' Church. Discipleship is key. God is looking for faithful servant leaders. Even more so, He is calling spiritual sons and daughters. Ministry leaders should do the same: look for faithful servant leaders and call out spiritual sons and daughters God has given you to lead.

We need to do make disciples and spiritually father and mother with humility and confidence in the Spirit. "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control" (2 Timothy 2:7). We have been called to pass on what has been poured into us into others. 

Discipleship is not only spiritual, but also sociological – it's life. "Every problem in our society is a failure to disciple" (Dallas Willard). For those who want to be discipled, we need to step out of adolescent Christianity: wanting the rights and privileges without the responsibility and accountability. Discipleship will include:

Relationship-building between people
Inspiring others to look at and look like Jesus
Doctrinal teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness
Experiential in every area of life

This discipleship R.I.D.E. together will also dig deeper through John Powell's five stages of communication that he shares in his book Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?:

(1) Cliche
(2) Facts
(3) Opinions
(4) Emotions
(5) Transparency

Are those we're leading growing up into maturity through our teaching and preaching? Do we come with the power of the Gospel and are we willing to preach none other than Christ crucified? 

One day before Charles Spurgeon was about to deliver a sermon in an old theater, thinking he was alone, he tested the acoustics by saying out loud, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). A custodian was cleaning and upon hearing these words fell to his knees and believed. Spurgeon didn't bring the power through an eloquent sermon, but through testing the words, the Word brought His power.

We bring Christ, and Christ alone in truth and grace by His Word and His Spirit, to discipleship.

Next post: 2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Restoring the Breaches by Knowing Life in the City and Praying for Spiritual Formation

– Sully

Email Pastor Mike | Facebook Us | Join Us | Support Us

Thriving | Focusing on Jesus + Connecting with God

Thriving Frequency 2015 | Restoring the Breaches

Dr. Eric Mason and Pastor Larry Smith

I have loved every Thriving event I've had the privilege to attend. Posts from the 2013 Thriving Summit and the 2014 Thriving Frequency conference can be found on this website. And here is the previous post from the 2015 Thriving Conference: 

2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Worship Sets Song Lyrics

The following posts will feature notes from some of the sessions I was able to attend. For an overall video review of this conference, check out the video Thriving Frequency 2015 Recap. I have a small cameo at the 3:36 mark.

Restoring the Breaches | Focusing on Jesus

 

 

Dr. Eric Mason

Epiphany Fellowship Church

Philadelphia, PA

Hebrews 11:39-12:4 

Jesus is our Rock, He's our Fortress, He's our Deliverer, in Him we can trust. Will we pick up our crosses and follow Him, trusting He can give us more life than we could try to take?

What would it be like to see the splinters, the wood chips, the dragged trails of the crosses the followers of Jesus have carried through their neighborhoods and cities? Who are we willing to bleed for? Who are we willing to lay down our lives for?

We have to focus on Jesus. There can be so many other things to focus on, even good things, that we miss the main thing. But anything else we focus on will crush us because we will roll with the false highs when things are going "good," and will be crushed by the temporary lows when things are "bad." 

The whole focus of the book of Hebrews is Jesus is better than anything we could focus on to be our strength and our deliverance.

If you look to angels, 
Jesus is more glorious and heavenly.

If you look to Moses and the Law, 
Jesus is a better prophet and teacher of love and obedience.

If you look to the Sabbath and rest, 
Jesus is our perfect rest and satisfaction.

If you look to sacrifice and service, 
Jesus is the final sacrifice and serves you and this world with utmost dedication.

If you look to the temple and God's presence on earth, 
Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

In human history, we have been surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who understood that delayed gratification is the life of someone who is looking to when God will reconcile heaven and earth. The Scriptures Christology (teachings on Jesus), Ecclesiology (teachings on the people of God), and Eschatology ( teachings on the renewal of all things) all point to this.

If God didn't give you another thing in your life on this earth, if He's given you Jesus, has He not already given you enough? Are you willing to lay it all on the line for Jesus' legacy? 

Church, are you hunkering down in a building or are you living on the block? Lay aside every weight and run (Hebrews 12:1). Do you want the seats filled or do you want the people filled with the Holy Spirit who sanctifies, empowers, and sends?

God loves to do a lot with a little. He loves it when we can say, "I don't know how He did it, but He did it."

And remember, God uses us in spite of us. But that doesn't mean we're supposed to be falling back into the "in spite of us" again and again. If we're walking with Him, we should be growing in holiness. So what are you laying aside? What is the sin that is clinging closely that needs to be torn off (Hebrews 12:1)? "Running the race" includes the word run, "agon," where we also get our word agony. We run the race even when all hell is breaking loose. God gives the strength even when we don't feel like it. Walking with Jesus is consistency in the face of adversity.

More money (i.e. more expectations for comfort), more people (i.e. more sinners who need invitation and challenge in becoming more like Jesus), and more building (i.e. more expenses and repairs) doesn't mean you stop needing God. We always need to look to Jesus. He is the Founder and Trailblazer. He is the Perfecter of our faith who will bring us to completion. He is our Joy who gives us unending satisfaction with God no matter what.

Jesus brings blind and broken eyes into glorious focus to see things we could never have seen without Him.

Restoring the Breaches | Connecting with God

Pastor Larry Smith

Epiphany Fellowship Church

Philadelphia, PA

Psalm 84:10

Are you vitally connected with Jesus throughout your day? We can too often be diligent in working on others while neglecting ourselves. 

Harriet Tubman reveals how we are so often blind to where we are blind to the Gospel in this quote of reflection on her own incredible life of service and sacrifice, "I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves."

Do you recognize that any area of life where Jesus is not reigning as King and giving you true freedom is an area of slavery? Do you have any "Jesus replacements" in your life?

In Psalm 84:10, the heart of the person close to God sings that they would rather have one day in the courts of the temple where God's presence is than a thousand elsewhere. They would be a doorkeeper or temple beggar in the house of God. They would rather be considered the least of these on the fringe with God than revered in the loftiest places of society without Him. This means time and presence with God is more rich than any comfort or wealth. 

So how do we build our lives in such a way that times of disconnect with God are minimized? How do we not settle with saying, "I would like to buy about three dollars worth of Gospel, please. Not too much." (D.A. Carson), and instead seek the greatest treasure. Our seeking should be first and foremost for transparency and intimacy with Jesus. We cannot trade for a false Gospel that is based on our feelings or accomplishments. We need to be apprentices of Jesus who desire more disciplined repentance, not just easy ecstasy, more persevering transformation, not just entitled transcendence or we regress. Some things we cannot learn except through time, trials, and enduring hardships.

You don't find time for connection with God, you make time for sitting with God. "A dead thing can go with the stream. Only a living thing can go against it" (G.K. Chesterton).

The real Gospel is union with Christ, and union with Christ not just as a theological proposition, but as a daily life-defining reality. This is the heart of God's presence and activity in creation and redemption. Union with Christ requires the long journey and ongoing execution of self ("I die daily," 1 Corinthians 15:31) so we can see who God has truly made us to be for Him and others. Proper adherence to dead religion requires the ongoing execution of acts and duties that we do to make ourselves feel better. We move towards Jesus by:

Practicing the habit of remembering God (Psalm 84:10)
Practicing the discipline of renewal and eternal focus (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Practicing stopping to recognize Jesus is with us (John 15:1-11)
Practicing delighting in the God who is and acting accordingly (Psalm 37:3-4)
Practicing yielding to the Holy Spirit in submission and thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:18-21)

When we practice the habit of thanksgiving for the opportunity to practice all of the above, we will discover the contentment and peace God has given us in Christ in profound ways. 

Living in thankfulness is a consistent, active, and hardworking decision to oppose entitlement and disillusionment. This practice involves:

(1) Consistent thankfulness for God's presence with you at least three times per day (begin the day, during the day, end of the day)

(2) Cross-centered thankfulness that the deathly wages of sin are not being paid on you because Jesus paid it all

(3) Circumstantial thankfulness that is active in times that are good or bad

"God can't give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing" (C.S. Lewis).

Only broken people really need Jesus (Matthew 9:12). We need to abide with Him (John 15:1-11). This will include:

Bearing fruit for Christ (vv. 4-5, 8)
Possessing the ability to do anything that pleases God (vv. 5-7)
Experiencing an effective prayer life (vs. 7)
Reveling in God's lavish love (vv. 9-11)
Keeping and doing God's commands (vs. 10)

Abiding takes ongoing consistent effort in our abiding (Philippians 2:12-13). If you don't change how you spend your time with God, you won't see transformation apart from God.

Next post: 2015 Thriving Frequency Conference | Restoring the Breaches by Being Rescued from Ourselves and Giving Ministry Away

– Sully

Email Pastor Mike | Facebook Us | Join Us | Support Us