I believe this is such an important email.
What another great day at church yesterday! Thank God that January, regardless of the cold, was rich with the presence of God and has been such a good start to 2010. We should not only look forward with anticipation to the rest of this year, but should also work with great determination (Orego) to ensure we make the most of this year. We can sing, but we must work. We can play, but we must work. We can pray, but we must work. We can preach, but we must work. We can have Bible studies, but we must work. We can attend Connect Groups, but we must work; and we must do so with determination. All of these things mentioned are important, but all need to be combined for the purpose of fulfilling our vision to reach the lost; to grow the church; and to develop mature believers.
Sunday morning: Jonathan spoke on the subject of "Orego", which means "Desire", "Desperation", Determination", and "Longing" etc. Based on Psalm 142 he showed that sometimes desperate needs make us desperate for God and that desperate needs make us do desperate things in order to get to God, as with the woman who pressed through the crowd to get to Jesus in Mark 5.
He went on to make the following points:
> The difference between achieving and just getting through is Orego = the determination to succeed.
> There is unfulfilled potential because of a lack of Orego; a lack of determination; a lack of desperation.
> We will not succeed just because we have a good worship team and good preaching etc;
> We will only succeed because we have Orego = desire; determination; longing etc (Psalm 42v1)
> We can fool ourselves like the rich young ruler, but when we're challenged we lack Orego.
> Our desire should not only be for ministry, but for the presence of God (Ps. 42 As the deer pants...)
Sunday night: Brian Longridge was with us all the way from the Philippines. Once again he challenged the socks of us as he talked about his work among lepers. He showed us some horrific photographs of members of his congregation who were badly disfigured as a result of leprosy. Brian said that Jesus is not only in the church, but that he walks among the poor and the hurting, and at times you can almost see Jesus looking at you through their eyes.
He shared with us regarding the commencement of a "24/7 House of Prayer and Worship", showing again the need to truly connect with God and then, from this, reach out beyond the walls of the church to connect with the world, and to do so as those who truly represent Christ. He made a comment, which I believe was truly prophetic to New Life City Church, as follows: "The devil has tried to box you in, but you must break the boxes". Brian then moved to the keyboard and began to sing "prophetically" over the church. This means that instead of speaking over the church, he sang over the church what God was putting on his heart at that moment. The core of this was a question, "Why are you here?". He then sang a song before speaking to us from 1 John 4v7-12. He shared with us that no matter how much we say we love God, love is not love until it is given away.
I again want to thank everyone who participated in the delivery of both services and everyone who came along and participated as worshippers. There was a really good turn out at both services. Believe me, this is much appreciated. Many thanks.
This week. I have attached the Newsletter in case you did not get one. This shows most things that are planned for the week, but let me highlight a couple:
Prayer & Bible Study Thursday at 7.45 pm. We spend 20 minutes taking a look at something from God's Word. Last week Robert Ballard (YWAM) brought an excellent word from Ezekiel 1v10 "Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle". He showed how these represent different portraits of Jesus and how they coincide with the different presentations of Jesus in each of the four gospels. After this we prayed for various needs within the church and for others that were brought to us. So why not plan to be with us as we study and pray together.
Next Sunday 11.30 am Morning Service for worship, teaching and communion.
7.00 pm GLOW for all our women and friends
PRAYER: Please continue to pray for the church; for family members who are ill, some very seriously; for situation known and unknown. My week is often taken up with meetings and reports and emails, and with visitations to those in need at home or in hospital. This past Friday I was involved in a very serious situation that seemed to be life threatening, but God intervened in an amazing way. All I will say is that the person involved is not a stranger! So it's good to pray for one another.
My last thought: In recent weeks I have encouraged you to encourage each other. Who have you "encouraged" this past week?
Have a great week. Stay focused; stay strong; and keep being a God-influence.
Pastor Jack
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