Tag Archive for 'Jesus'

RE:VIEW - Released!

Published
by
Mark
on October 22, 2008
in Gospel Life
. 0 Comments

Pastor’s Journal Entry #3

Ministry is tiring and I can really see how it has the potential to kill.  Mark Driscoll once did a great series of teachings titled “Death By Ministry” and leading CityWest Church for almost 7 years now I can understand his perspective.  There were seasons over the past few years where I was so close to burnout that it scared me.  I slowly felt myself drifting into a numbness and a deadness inside that made me deaf to God’s voice, unmoved by the hurts and needs of others and totally disinterested with church and ministry.  When a pastor gets that way something has to change or he can do some serious damage to those around him.

But today I am reformed and Jesus has messed me up in a good way.  After some painful sessions of confession and repentance God stripped it all back and made me see what was really important.  It was a time of refining that eventually led to a confidence in my calling like never before and a renewed devotion to Jesus that empowers me to go on.  He has released me from all of the false expectations I placed on myself and for the first time in my life comfortable with who I am and who I am not.

You see, for many pastors there is a huge pressure to live up to some glimmering standard of perfection and to be the superman for the people.  Flying-in to save the day with all of the wisdom that alludes the ordinary person, to rise above the problems of life and be untouched by them and to be the definitive example of holiness on earth.  But what we soon discover is that pastors are ordinary human beings dealing with the same stuff a lay person would and not untouchable to life’s tragedies, trials and troubles.

There comes great freedom when Jesus deals with us in such a way that releases us from these unrealistic expectations and breaks us down to simply rely upon Him for everything.  I love that!  He is my life-source.  He is the air I breathe and without Him I will suffocate.  Jesus is enough for me.

Thankfully He dealt with me when He did because now as we are experiencing a beautiful move of God at our church I am prepared to handle it.  Sure I don’t have all of the answers and there are still moments when I scratch my head wondering what’s happening, but I am convinced and persuaded that Jesus is Supreme God, in control and He is our Senior Pastor who is building His Church.  I can now enjoy the journey and not just hold my breath until we reach the destination.  I can see His grace surround me and be thankful for what He is doing and not dwell on what I don’t see happening.

In closing I want to encourage you.  If you are a pastor I pray that your eyes will be focussed on Jesus and you will give Him complete and unhindered access to your ministry.  It is after-all His church, His people and His purpose.  He gave it and He can take it away.  Your identity is NOT in your ministry but rather in Jesus.  Be released and set free in Jesus’ Name and let Jesus lead you.

If you are one that feels life is chaotic and confusing then please stop for a moment, stop running and ask God a question, “God, who am I and why am I here?”  You’ll find His answer will set you free and give you hope.  You are not created to just survive and hold out for retirement.  You are made to thrive and live with Jesus in a way that makes your life count.  Don’t settle for average and empty.

Prayer: “Jesus, thank you for being our Saviour.  Without you life does not make sense and it all gets overwhelming and insane.  But you give balance, hope and meaning and you alone can save us.  May today be a day of release for many people.  A day in which they discover who they are in you and what this life is for.  Open up their eyes to see the beauty of it all and enjoy the evidences of your grace surrounding them.  Be glorified and honoured in everything as we live for you.  I love you Jesus and it is in your name I pray, Amen.”

Identity in Jesus - Baptism Day

Published
by
Mark
on September 3, 2008
in Gospel Life
. 1 Comment

This past Sunday at CityWest Church I had the honour of baptising three amazing women.  It never ceases to capture me how Jesus works in a person’s life as each one of them had their own unique story to tell.  I looked at them and I could not help but praise Jesus for breathing new life into them and adopting them into God’s Family.

It was a day that started early and ended late but the tiredness and exhaustion I felt as I hit my pillow at about 11pm cannot be compared to anything else in this world.  The atmosphere was thick with excitement and anticipation that God was doing something beautiful.  For me it was a highly memorable moment as it felt like the visible evidence of us coming through a difficult and trying season.  As a church it reminded us once again as to why we are here and brought focus onto our all-important mission.  The mission/cause of Jesus Christ fuels us like nothing else and seeing Linda, Leah and Ruth get baptised highlighted the fruitfulness God longs to see in His churches around the world.  Sure we have not got it right many times and often it seemed like we were riding an out of control car without the capacity to steer, but through it all Jesus has remained faithful.

As I preached about Jesus and had a brag-fest about how magnificent He is, my heart was stirred about the identity we all must deal with.  For some their identity is found in what they do.  For example, “I am a factory worker”, or “I am a property investor”.  For others their identity is shaped by circumstances.  For example, “I am a divorcee”, or “I am disabled”, or “I am unemployed”.  These words might seem insignificant but when spoken from the heart reveal an identity that is challenging to reform.  But here’s the good news…with Jesus our identity is corrected and brought into alignment to reflect who HE is rather than who we think we are.  This is the idea I conveyed to the three women who were baptised and to the church as a whole.  We now have our identity founded and secured IN Jesus so that when God the Father looks at us He sees His Son.  WOW!!  What grace!

Another beautiful moment was having the children of the church (and there are heaps!) to also witness the evidence of new birth in Jesus.  At one point I was about to baptise Ruth when her little boy Jackson yelled out, “My mummy doesn’t like water”.  Well this of course sent the crowd into a laughing fit and it reflected the joy of the day.  Just on a side note, Ruth’s daughter Dayna went to school the next day and announced to her class, “Yesterday my mum had a bath on the stage at church with all her clothes on.”  Um, how do you explain that one?  I guess they have some explaining to do.

What an awesome day!  Celebrations like this just serve to remind me about my heart to see people’s identity crisis’ be transformed under the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.  I get such overwhelming joy when I see someone once lost be found by Jesus that it ruins me.  I get wrecked, ruined and messed-up when I see a person fall at the feet of Jesus and rise up a brand new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).  It ruins me because every other thrill seems to fade into nothing and the work of Jesus consumes me.  May we all live for that cause and be obedient as The Sent Ones.  Reach them for Jesus!

Mark Driscoll Burns Your Plastic Jesus in Sydney

Published
by
Mark
on August 29, 2008
in Gospel Life
. 0 Comments

My good buddy Simon (a.k.a. Lay Guy) and I just spent 9 hours in the car, each way, to spend an amazing evening at the Sydney Entertainment Centre with Pastor Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, USA.  I have been blessed by his ministry over the past 2 years in a way that has literally changed the way I see Jesus, His Church and my calling to serve Jesus in ministry as pastor of CityWest Church.

It was very encouraging to see massive crowds of young and old people unite together as the stadium was filled to a capacity of 10,000 people.  The whole night was centred around the theme “Burn Your Plastic Jesus” as Driscoll in his unique way preached a message that broke down the stereo-typical mindsets of who Jesus is.  We heard him correct the false pictures of the Religious Jesus, the Bling-Bling Jesus, the Moral Jesus, the Aussie Jesus, the Country Jesus, and a few more.

What really impressed me was the way he read the Australian culture and applied these findings into his sermon to give us a very relevant message.  The statistics, the perspectives, our way of life was confronted and we were all challenged to see Jesus in His true light and live sold out to Him and His mission.  What also moved me was Driscoll’s commitment to reach the young men for Jesus.  He spent some focussed time calling them to a higher way of life and to even consider their part in church planting for the spread of the gospel.  Love that stuff!

After the event was done we exited our section and saw Driscoll right in front of us in the foyer meeting and praying with people.  We were able to thank him personally for all that he has done for us and had a photo taken with him (see above).  What was amazing is how after preaching for over 1 hour he still gave of himself to speak to hundreds of people and pray for those that needed it.

After staying for awhile he was still there meeting with people and who knows how long this went for?  It has been a long, long time since I have been empowered like this and having been to many conferences this one stands out as one of the best.  My faith was strengthened, my call was confirmed, my devotion was challenged and my focus renewed.  While I never want to attribute celebrity status to a man or elevate him as an idol, I do greatly appreciate all that Jesus is doing through Mark Driscoll and I look forward to many more teachings that empower the Church of Jesus to rise up and serve God on mission.

Mark was also saying that in 18-24 months he intends to return with the intention of conducting an Acts 29 boot camp to train and equip church planters in Australia and hopefully we can connect with him then.  It is encouraging to see the church in Australia move towards a more missional mindset and go back to a more Reformed view on theology.   To see so many young people attach themselves to this gives me great joy and hope for what is ahead.

So, we move foward with the gospel of Jesus to tell the world about the real Jesus and not the plastic version that is so unattractive and comical to this world.  I encourage you to review the way you see Jesus and make sure your perspective lines up with the way the Bible describes Him.  For a great picture be sure to read Revelation 19 and have your views revived to see the power of King Jesus!

Kingdom People

Published
by
Mark
on August 14, 2008
in Gospel Life
. 0 Comments

We recently finished a series at CityWest Church called “Kingdom Come”.  It was a verse by verse exposition on the Sermon on the Mount as preached by Jesus in Matthew chapters 5,6 and 7.  In this series we began to appreciate how much Jesus did for us to adopt us into His family and call us to lives that are lived beyond ourselves.  We are literally Kingdom People…men and women redeemed by Jesus and chosen to make a difference for the Kingdom.  People who have rejected the deception of building their own kingdom but have rather been sent to build into the eternal Kingdom of God.

In this video clip we are reminded that the Kingdom of God is greater the satan’s and it is God’s Kingdom alone that will reach into eternity.  Watch this…

The Sermon on the Mount is a great reminder that we are living beyond ourselves and the life that Jesus calls us to cannot be lived without Him empowering it.  Only then do we make an impact on the kingdom of darkness and express the Kingdom of God to a desperate and lost world.

Let’s live as Kingdom People and show that JESUS IS KING!!!  Let’s reject all temptation to get distracted from our mission.  Let us all flesh out what Jesus preached and watch how He works through us to build His Kingdom and Family.

New Breed Arising

Published
by
Mark
on August 9, 2008
in Teaching
. 0 Comments

Tomorrow I am honoured to preach at Melton AOG.  This wonderful church were really the only ones to welcome us into the area when we first planted CityWest Church in Melton.  With a common heart and a common cause we serve this town and take the life-changing Gospel of Jesus.

In the sermon, titled “New Breed Arising”, I seek to reveal a new breed of Christ-follower totally sold-out to the mission of Almighty God.  A mission that goes beyond our comfort, our excuses, our doubts and even our own dreams and ambitions.  This new breed are missionally minded as they seek to carry the gospel into their context and speak a language the culture can not only understand but also respond to.  This new breed are what I call “dangerous”, “on the edge”, “radical”, “courageous” and “bold” for the things of God.  Dangerous to satan and his schemes…Christians that actually frustrate the work of the enemy!

The greatest picture of this is found in the Apostle Paul’s life in Acts 20 and 21.  Hearing the Holy Spirit say that he will go to Jerusalem, but warned of trouble facing him, he goes without hesitation because his love for Jesus COMPELS him!  He couldn’t help himself but obey God.  The amazing contrast follows as the disciples in Tyre hear the same word from the Holy Spirit yet their response was different to Paul’s, “And through the Spirit they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” (Acts 21:4 - ESV).  Again in Acts 21:10-14 the disciples and those travelling with him urged Paul to not go.  But Paul was driven and drawn irresistibly to the will of God.  What an awesome example!

Are we too comfortable?  Too cosy?  Too concerned with playing it safe?  I belileve God is raising up a new breed of Christian who acts out of a compulsion to serve King Jesus in everything He says.  A breed that are compelled to obey Jesus regardless of what lies ahead because they hold an undying conviction…JESUS IS KING and all is in His control.  What a dangerous person!  I pray that I am counted in that number.