Experiencing God

by Angel McAdams

Honestly I never thought it would happen to me. It isn’t that I don’t believe; it’s more like all I could think was, “Not me.”  I’m not good enough for something like that…..until we got to Reality #5 in the series. God’s personal invitation to join Him results in a personal crisis of trust and belief. Wow! He didn’t just give me a personal invitation; He actively pursued me to make sure I was coming to the party that in my mind I had no intention of going to.

God provided me with the strength to seek out help for what I was informed actually was a crisis of belief. He provided me with the people to guide me through what I needed to do. Then Reality #6 rolled around. I had to make major life adjustments. Was God really speaking to me? God was showing Himself through the answers that were being given to me through the series, which went exactly with the struggle I was going through. This was something I had prayed for and asked others to pray for. The answer was very painful to receive and I faced a crisis of belief I had never imagined I would encounter. The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart though, that in order to get out of the darkness I so desperately wanted to get out of, I would have to make major life adjustments. I was so compelled to share this with my New Hope family at a Sunday evening Experiencing God study session. Instead of being judged or questioned, I was supported, inspired, and surrounded by unconditional love. I have not had much of that in my life so I really wasn’t expecting it. So many people were praying for me the day this major life adjustment was to be made. That whole day the enemy threw so many things at me, trying to make me think I wasn’t capable of doing what I had to do. I prayed so much that day and every wall that was put up was broken down one way or another.

When it came to the moment of truth, Christ gave me the strength and the words to say and do what I had to. There is no other answer for that because I knew I could never do what I DID accomplish. The whole situation that I thought was going to go quite badly actually went very smoothly. Even when I tried to fall into guilt and despair when all was done, I couldn’t.  My Father was holding me safely to Himself because of my act of obedience to Him. He has kept me safe through my emotional roller coaster by placing certain people in my life. I know I have truly experienced God in my life and it is so awesome. Through this crisis I was finally able to realize that I was of worth to Him. I also came to know that “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13).

 

How Many People Does God Need?

by John Wills

King Saul was very superstitious. He was at war with the Philistines. The Philistines were camped on top of a steep hill. Saul’s camp was in the valley. Saul wanted to attack but was afraid to do it without an explicit command of God. Meanwhile his army was doing nothing.  Jonathan was Saul’s son. He was not superstitious, he just trusted God completely. Jonathan was tired of doing nothing. He turned to his servant and said, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few” (1 Samuel 14:6).

Jonathan and his servant went to the bottom of the hill and started making faces at the Philistines. The enemy called, “Come up here and we’ll teach you a lesson.” Jonathan took that as an invitation from God and the two started climbing the hill. The Philistines didn’t wait. They started running down the hill to catch those two wise guys.  Have you ever started running down a steep hill and tried to stop again?  The running is easy. The stopping is the hard part. Jonathan made a quick battle plan, “Get behind me. I’ll trip ‘em, you croak ‘em.” It worked great! Soon there were dead bodies all over the slope. The rest of the army, not sure what had happened, decided that this was a full-fledged attack by the Jewish army. They turned and ran in all directions.

When Saul saw the enemy fleeing for their lives he set his army following them and they won a great victory; a victory that all started with two men who trusted God.  Do you have a challenge in front of you that you know God wants you to take on? Are you waiting for a special sign from God? Some people say, “I’m praying about it,” but that’s really only an excuse. That was what Saul was doing. It didn’t help much. The people God uses are the people who do what needs to be done no matter how big the job looks. God is bigger than any task and any problem. He doesn’t need a crowd in order to win.  He just needs a few good men who will trust Him and get moving.  Do you see a job that needs doing?  Will you be a Saul or a Jonathan?

 

R.S.V.P.

by John Serritos

Christ invites everyone to His party but you have to make sure to RSVP to Him.          We were made in God’s image and were created for fellowship with Him. God loves and cares for us, and this is how He showed it: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). I like to think of the “while we were still sinners…” part as “while we were still God’s enemies.” Christ suffered and died for people who hated Him. He died for people like you and me who constantly break God’s law even though we know it’s wrong. We all crowned Jesus with thorns. Every one of us mocked him as He carried His cross and we all drove nails into Christ’s body with our sins. And now He calls us to enter into a relationship with Him that we might fellowship with Him not only in this life but for all of eternity. Who else but a perfect, all-loving God would sacrifice His life for His enemies? Our invitation from God has to do with trusting Christ who suffered and died so that we might be saved. “Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven, given to men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). But the RSVP is more involved than just trusting in Jesus for salvation. We must also commit to live according to Christ’s example. “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1) “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Jesus calls us to repent of our sins and then make life adjustments, an ongoing process that may include volunteering for Christian service. Going to church is very important in our spiritual growth but the Holy Spirit moves us to be more involved in the Body of Christ. Jesus makes it very clear: Trust that He died for your sins, repent and live by His example. Live confidently in God’s promise of eternal security: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28, 29). The invitation is plain: Come as you are. Then as you present yourself to Him, He will do an amazing work of transformation in your life. Whether you have been a follower of Jesus for a long time or have just accepted Christ this morning, Jesus calls everyone to spend eternal life with him in heaven. How will you reply?

The Crisis of Belief

by Nico Magundayao

If you have been following New Hope Church’s original video series r.s.v.p. for four weeks (and counting), then you’re in for a privileged treat by just reading this – SPOILER ALERT: someone is breaking up with somebody today.

As we go more deeply into our walk with Christ, we are given heavier and heavier crosses to bear. We begin to realize that signing up as a disciple of Christ is not a walk in the park. It requires a lot of faith. This is that part where relationships with friends, family and acquaintances become strained because we decided to follow Christ and adjust our lifestyles to Him. This is the time when we have to make decisions that will impact our lives for the next few years or decades. Do I respond to God’s invitation, willing to “go with His flow?”

For some people this is also the part where they get stuck or stunted in their spiritual growth. It is indeed hard to give up that lucrative job offer for a vocational Christian ministry position. Or perhaps, it is unthinkable to give up cases of beer and a gazillion bottles of expensive wine so as not to become a stumbling block to others. As we mature in our walk with Christ, we will find that though the choices become harder, the struggle to follow Christ becomes less, and we find that our new normal involves adjusting our life choices to God’s purposes.

Take Abraham’s example, for instance. At any point in time before he was called by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, he probably would not have done what God had commanded. God took His time in developing Abraham’s faith, and gave him “strength training” such as giving him covenants to ratify (Genesis 15), providing him with so many blessings (Genesis 13:2) and providing a son, when he was 100 years old, who would carry his bloodline (Genesis 21:1-2). At that moment when God asked him to sacrifice his son, Abraham was brought to a crisis of belief.

Any other father, or person for that matter, might have wavered and/or abandoned God at that point. The price to pay was too much to handle. But in the Bible, never do we see Abraham complain or gripe about this. The very next day, he saddled his donkey and took his son Isaac to Mount Moriah, where he would sacrifice him as an act of obedience to God. He responded to the crisis of belief by following God’s call, trusting Him with the outcome.

Is there a thing or two in your spiritual life that currently stunts your Christian growth? Surely, like Abraham and the character who breaks up with someone in today’s r.s.v.p. episode, you may have to break ties with something (or someone) today in order to follow Christ.