There is something in the air...
It feels thick.
It's as if we're in an enclosed room and if a match were to be lit, there would be a massive explosion. The question is will this explosion be a good thing or a bad thing?
Now I'm not one to get all crazy and over spiritualize things...usually.
But today, something is different. I can't deny the spiritual world. I can't deny that Ephesians 6 is real.
I feel it.
I sense.
I see it.
I see the lives of people very close to me being ravaged and ripped apart. I see others even closer that feel like they are on the brink of shutting down.
The only way I can describe it is as an attack...an onslaught...an all out war. No one said that planting a church would be easy. But right now, I feel like I have to stop playing games. Stop praying little wimpy prayers.
On the way home from the gym this morning something snapped inside of me...It was a "I can't stand this anymore" kind of snap. A "I can't stand this anymore and we have GOT to do something about it" kind of snap. I literally raged out in the spiritual realm and started to pray like I haven't in a while. It's hard to explain. I was yelling, crying, listening...you name it. And all I can attribute this sudden change to is one thing...
I asked for God's heart for this city and region. I know...it sounds weird. But I've come to realize that I'm very selfish and greedy and arrogant and if TXC is going to reach ANYONE and reconnect them to Jesus, then I, as the "lead" leader, have got to see our region through the eyes of God and feel his heart for the people.
So I asked for it. And this is what I got. The anger I felt this morning and am still feeling is not anger towards people that don't follow Jesus. It's anger towards Satan (Yes I know...some of you think that even mentioning his name is giving him to much credit) It's anger at the injustice that is going on in the lives of people in this region...people in our church...my friends. It doesn't have to be this way!
Part of the problem is that I think too many of us are sitting on the sidelines...watching. And as we watch, we are getting taken out. We are watching because we are afraid. But the reality is that whether you choose to watch or whether you choose to run into the war head on...you are a target. So do you want to be a target that is fighting or a target that is watching?
For anyone that reads this and is a part of TXC or is in support of TXC, I want you to do something. I want you to get off the sidelines. And right now, you do this by starting to pray. Start praying that God would continue to give us his favor with anyone that is disconnected from him. Pray that our influence would continue to expand that those seeking God would find him. Pray that those in our church and community would find the freedom that God says is already ours. Pray that God's kingdom would forcefully advance in Mission.
I know I might sound crazy to some of you. You may even be laughing. You might think I'm over spiritualizing this...that I sound like a wing nut.
But I've come to this conclusion...
I DON'T CARE! We are always going to have critics - if not more when this starts to pick up like it will. Why not get started now! This is far too important to pussy foot around living in fear of what people will think. I can't care what other people think about me because it will paralyze where we go as a church. The lives of thousands and thousands of people are at stake and I'm choosing RIGHT NOW to run into the war with everything I've got.
And when this match is lit, I am believing that the explosion we see will be thousands of people running towards God, not away.
It's as if we're in an enclosed room and if a match were to be lit, there would be a massive explosion. The question is will this explosion be a good thing or a bad thing?
Now I'm not one to get all crazy and over spiritualize things...usually.
But today, something is different. I can't deny the spiritual world. I can't deny that Ephesians 6 is real.
I feel it.
I sense.
I see it.
I see the lives of people very close to me being ravaged and ripped apart. I see others even closer that feel like they are on the brink of shutting down.
The only way I can describe it is as an attack...an onslaught...an all out war. No one said that planting a church would be easy. But right now, I feel like I have to stop playing games. Stop praying little wimpy prayers.
On the way home from the gym this morning something snapped inside of me...It was a "I can't stand this anymore" kind of snap. A "I can't stand this anymore and we have GOT to do something about it" kind of snap. I literally raged out in the spiritual realm and started to pray like I haven't in a while. It's hard to explain. I was yelling, crying, listening...you name it. And all I can attribute this sudden change to is one thing...
I asked for God's heart for this city and region. I know...it sounds weird. But I've come to realize that I'm very selfish and greedy and arrogant and if TXC is going to reach ANYONE and reconnect them to Jesus, then I, as the "lead" leader, have got to see our region through the eyes of God and feel his heart for the people.
So I asked for it. And this is what I got. The anger I felt this morning and am still feeling is not anger towards people that don't follow Jesus. It's anger towards Satan (Yes I know...some of you think that even mentioning his name is giving him to much credit) It's anger at the injustice that is going on in the lives of people in this region...people in our church...my friends. It doesn't have to be this way!
Part of the problem is that I think too many of us are sitting on the sidelines...watching. And as we watch, we are getting taken out. We are watching because we are afraid. But the reality is that whether you choose to watch or whether you choose to run into the war head on...you are a target. So do you want to be a target that is fighting or a target that is watching?
For anyone that reads this and is a part of TXC or is in support of TXC, I want you to do something. I want you to get off the sidelines. And right now, you do this by starting to pray. Start praying that God would continue to give us his favor with anyone that is disconnected from him. Pray that our influence would continue to expand that those seeking God would find him. Pray that those in our church and community would find the freedom that God says is already ours. Pray that God's kingdom would forcefully advance in Mission.
I know I might sound crazy to some of you. You may even be laughing. You might think I'm over spiritualizing this...that I sound like a wing nut.
But I've come to this conclusion...
I DON'T CARE! We are always going to have critics - if not more when this starts to pick up like it will. Why not get started now! This is far too important to pussy foot around living in fear of what people will think. I can't care what other people think about me because it will paralyze where we go as a church. The lives of thousands and thousands of people are at stake and I'm choosing RIGHT NOW to run into the war with everything I've got.
And when this match is lit, I am believing that the explosion we see will be thousands of people running towards God, not away.
