Psalm 139:1 and 6
O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!
Ministry time at VRC last Saturday night.
This is what it's all about!
Honesty at all cost...
A desire to change....
Sick and tired of being sick and tired.
The young man at the center of the group with his head held back, has reached the point in his life that he is ready to do something about his addiction.
He is awaiting acceptance into a treatment center......
Knowing the struggles that he has been going through, coupled with the waiting period before he can enter, he asked for prayer that God would empower and keep him until he can get into the program. What makes this picture so special to me, is that this young man is surrounded by others who know his pain. They have walked down the same road, facing the same choices, trying to make sense of this thing we call addiction. But at some point all the reasoning in the world has to fall by the wayside. Reasoning has to be replaced by faith.
Faith that grabs hold of you and doesn't let go. Faith that says "God is who He claims to be, and God will do what He has promised He would do. Faith.....
To me this picture sums up what Vineyard ReCovery Church is all about. Breaking free of the isolation that addiction places on individuals, to answer the tug of God's Holy Spirit on our hearts. I've written this before, and I'll probably write a few million more....I go into each meeting expecting God to move on all of us. That we all go away changed. I expect that God will speak in some way, be it through the worship time.....or the teaching of the word. If we don't have these encounters with Him, then we go away empty.
When Jesus taught and spoke the word of God, he always backed up His word with a demonstration of Power. He do so to validate that He was the Son of God and the word of God was true. When we finish teaching each Saturday night, we ask for God's Spirit to validate the truth of His word. We open up a time of ministry where anyone can receive prayer. At the center of our prayers is a cry for God to come and heal.
Emotional healing....
Relational healing.....
Physical healing......
Mental healing.......
Spiritual healing.....
All within the scope and realm of God's ability.
In fact, the ultimate healing a person can receive from God is the healing of salvation.
I have been blessed over the years to be a part of a group that truly believes that God is in the healing business. Blessed to be a part of a group with , what I believe, is a healthy view and understanding of the Kingdom of God. The "Now" and the "Not yet" of God's kingdom.
So, this coming Saturday night, we'll go downtown and unlock the doors, set up the equipment, turn on the lights and make the coffee....and...oh yeah....spend time in prayer asking God to come and meet with us one more time.
God on you.....
mbb
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