6:19 Newsletter
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A date for your diary!
6:19 Trust Day Conference
19th June 2010
at Great Walstead School, Lindfield
A day to: Seek God’s Face, Encourage the Church, and pray for Revival
We hope that the day will fulfil a number of aims: firstly, to bring together as many as possible of those of you who support the vision behind 6:19 – you all know me but most of you have not met each other!; secondly, to share the vision of renewal and revival that is at the heart of 6:19, and give an opportunity for you to invite others to come and find out what we are all about; and, thirdly, an opportunity to meet with God in worship and call out to Him for revival in our land.
The conference – for which there will be no charge - will be held in the beautiful setting of Great Walstead School which is just outside the village of Lindfield in West Sussex.
We would be delighted if you were able to come and wanted to give you the date as early as possible. Further details and booking forms will be made available in due course.
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
You are probably familiar with these words from Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth. It’s a reminder that in the church God has given different gifts to different people, but that ultimately the work is His; therefore, there is no place for competition between members of the church, but only faithful obedience to the God who calls and equips us.
When I reflect on my own journey of faith there are two things that I can see have hindered me, and on so many occasions have held me back from stepping out for God. Firstly, I spent a long time being envious of the gifts that God had given other people, rather than being thankful for, and moving in, the gift that He had given me! How often do we look at other Christians and think, “I wish I could be like them?” Secondly, I have always had a tendency to take responsibility for ‘making it grow’ rather than simply being obedient and planting the seed, and allowing God to do the growing. How many times have we held back from sharing our faith by the fear of what people will think of us? How many times have we held back from praying for someone for healing because of the fear of what we will say if/when nothing happens? I’ve been thinking along these lines recently for two reasons:
Living by faith means living by trusting in a God who is faithful
I’m just coming to the end of a study of the book of Hebrews that, in its later chapters, celebrates the people of God who have lived by faith. The writer, Tom Wright, points out that we live by faith when we choose to believe that certain things about God are true and we decide to live our lives accordingly. If, therefore, God has promised that He will honour those who honour Him, and if it is true that it is His love for me that is all I need to depend on, to give me my sense of self-worth and security, then it does not matter what others may think of me when I tell them about Jesus! In the same way if I believe that God is a God who heals, and that I have been given power and authority to heal in His name, then I should have no hesitation in offering to do so. My part is to share the love of Jesus, and out of that love to pray with sensitivity, gentleness and authority for those who are sick. Not everyone I pray for will be healed – but what happens when I pray is not my responsibility. We must plant or water, or whatever He has called us to do, and leave Him to do the rest.
More news from Burkina Faso
You will remember from the last newsletter that I had the privilege of preaching at an open-air service at the church in Bobo where we spent the second week of our trip. You will remember that on the evening itself only one person stood to give their life to Jesus – hardly a stampede after I had preached my socks off! But the following week three others came to the pastor’s house to give their lives to Jesus, and I have since heard that in the weeks before Christmas three more have done the same. The pastor, Moise, assures me that there will be more.
It has taught me once again a lesson about simply being obedient to what God has called me to do, and not to take responsibility for what happens next. To paraphrase Paul’s sentence – “I planted, Moise and his church family have watered, but God has been making it grow.”
2010 – a year of stepping out in obedience
So my goal for this year is to ruthlessly pursue the God who is faithful in all things; to choose to believe the truth that He has revealed about Himself; and to live my life accordingly. I hope and pray that for you it too will be a year of going deeper in your relationship with Him.
