WholeHeartedLife

Asleep By the Fire

Today marks the end of our "40 Days of Prayer". 40 Days was birthed in the heart of our staff (I don't actually remember who's idea it was) as a response to the fact that we knew that we were going to LAUNCH! in March. We knew the statistics of our church; We knew that it appears (on the surface) that 3 services are not necessary; We knew that people don't generally like change and that we were possibly putting more of a strain on our excellent volunteers. There was just one issue: we felt led by God that this was necessary and the right thing to do for Hyde Park. The problem was (and is) that, in our own excellence, hard work and strength we couldn't make LAUNCH! a success...

WE KNEW THAT WITHOUT GOD WE WOULD FAIL.

"40 Days of Prayer" for me has been an awakening - much has happened in my heart through this journey. I am more passionate in my private prayer life today than I was 40 days ago. I am much more specific in my requests and the seriousness that prayer covering holds in our lives; But most importantly, I am more dependent today upon the movement of JESUS in me than I've been in years (perhaps ever!). I am more aware of His power through me than ever before - my faith has grown and strengthened - i truly believe that "i can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me".

In my daily reading this morning (i even read scripture differently - last year I read for distance, this year i read for depth. I've been in Matthew since the beginning of the year!) I came across this verse and it spoke volumes to me. JESUS was in the garden praying before His arrest. He took Peter, James and John with Him as he was going to pray saying, "This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me." He went a little further, praying, then went to return to check on the 3 and this is what transpired:

Matthew 26:40-41 (The Message)

40-41When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, "Can't you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don't wander into temptation without even knowing you're in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire."

Does that hit you like it does me? Can you relate? There is a part of me that is so eager for God, ready for anything. But within 20 minutes I can become "like a lazy old dog sleeping by the fire." I hope that the change that has taken place in me over the past 40 days will decrease the amount of "lazy dog" time JESUS sees in me. The key for me is and will continue to be one word: DEPENDENCE.

Who or What are you depending on? (17 days to LAUNCH!)

From the Inside Out

So, how's the 40 Days of Prayer going for you? Let me encourage you, no matter what stage that you're in (that means "on fire" or "i haven't opened the prayer book once since Sunday" or even "what's 40 Days of Prayer?") - hang in there and allow God to do an awesome work of renewal.

I wanted to give props to my great, great friend, Eddie D. for putting together and compiling the prayer guide for 40 Days. He works so hard to serve God and it is his sincere desire to help YOU grow in your relationship with JESUS. (and for those of you who prayed for me today - WOW!!! You can't imagine how awesome it is to think that hundreds of people uttered my name before God, praying for my family and ministry - i love ya'll. By the way, this week has been UNBELIEVABLE in the area of "breakthrough".)

For me, the following song describes the state and desire of my heart. Read these lyrics from Hillsong's "From the Inside Out":

"(in) My heart and my soul, i give YOU control, consume me from the inside out, Lord.
Let justice and praise become my embrace - to love YOU from the inside out..."

Jeremiah 29:13 says, "13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Let's join our hearts together (be unified) and seek Him with all that we are. Worship Him with me as you view this great song of praise.

Scared?

"...my heart was beating so fast, my pulse was pounding in my temples. I was sweating, my breathing was kind of labored and my stomach was literally nauseous!"

Heart attack scare? No.(Thank You, Jesus.)

A work-out at the gym in honor of my new year's commitment to better living and working out? Hardly.

A quick game of full court, pick-up basketball? NAAH.

An exhilirating game of "Marvel's Ultimate Alliance" on PS2 with Matt? i wish!!!

"Enough already, Mike P!!! What was it?!!?"

IT... was the condition that i found myself in during last night's awesome worship service as Pastor Harrell stood before our congregation, our friends and fellow workers in Jesus, and shared the vision of our "enhanced worship schedule" (beginning March 4th - see details in a recent post). It was exciting, exhilirating, embracing, envisioning ("enough with the 'e's, mike p!" sorry.) It was also TERRIFYING!

Why, you might ask?

I honestly can't answer that question, except to say - last night was the 1st time that the new schedule has actually been verbalized from the stage; although we've talked about the possibility for a while we've never actually come out with the "here's WHAT we're doing and here's HOW we're gonna do it".

I have to admit - the whole idea is a little overwhelming. Am i scared? Yes. Am i fearful? No.

Why? I'm scared because we are definitely "faith-walking" (2Cor. 5:7) with this whole process. You know, I am (admittedly) at times a CONTROL FREAK! I love to know the outcome of whatever i'm doing and at times have even been known to "orchestrate" it whenever possible. It kills me to know that I can't make this whole thing just easily happen and be succesful.

The vibe was really great last night. It wasn't like someone "made" me feel that way - I know that we're doing the right thing - more importantly, I believe with all my soul that we are doing the "God thing". Now, I know, some people might not understand why we're doing this and think we're crazy for starting new services, but...

WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE! IF WE WANT TO KEEP REACHING PEOPLE FOR THE GLORY OF GOD, SEEING LIVES CHANGED, TRANSFORMED, WE HAVE TO DO THIS! THERE IS NO OTHER WAY! THIS IS THE COOLEST! IT'S SCARY, BUT IT'S THE COOL KIND OF SCARY - THE KIND OF SCARY THAT ANYONE WOULD OPT TO HAVE.

You know, we've been talking about enhancing our Worship Schedule for a long, long time. We've known that the day would come when we would have to make these additions to our schedule. The question has never been "IF", it has always been "WHEN". We've prayed about this diligently. We've asked for directions on another way. We've even sought the easier way, but in the end we've seen that without the addition of a 3rd Worship Service / Multiple Small Group Times there is no way to increase opportunities to reach people for Christ.

Am i scared? Yes, because without Him we will absolutely fail. The only way this whole thing comes off is by the Mighty Hand of God making it happen. When it does we will acknowledge that He is Indescribable and give Him the glory that only He deserves.

Am i fearful? No, not at all. Fear is a tool of our adversary - He skillfully uses fear to keep you from going after God-Sized things. (2Tim 1:7).

So, for the next 40 Days, we will listen. We will plan, but the plans we make will be by His direction. This is what 40 Days of Prayer, the church-wide prayer emphasis we started today, is all about - learning to worship Him in all we do while we trust Him for all of our outcomes in life.

Isaiah 30:20-21 (New Living Translation)

20 he (God) will still be with you to teach you.
      You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
21 Your own ears will hear him.
      Right behind you a voice will say,
   “This is the way you should go,”
      whether to the right or to the left.

The Teacher will teach - and we will listen. Join us on this prayer journey - it promises to be one of the biggest adventures you've ever seen.