I Project More Answered Prayers

Our heavenly Father is a God of "turn arounds" and "provision." These were two of the many wonderful reminders I heard from the Pastor of City Light church this morning. He spoke of how God worked in their past to pave the way for their church to continue ministering in NYC and around the world. There were several connections from his story and ours of God's faithfulness.

Connection Church NYC has already had many partners step out on faith with us. We have churches and individuals who have given of their resources to see our vision become a reality. Stepping out on faith is hard as it requires stepping out and taking action BEFORE you know the results! But there is nothing more amazing than seeing God come through time and time again.

Earlier this week we recorded a video (soon to be posted) that outlined some new needs our church has before our first service on March 4th. Little did we know that God would answer one of those needs BEFORE anyone ever saw the video!

After our morning worship, Larry and I walked up to the Pastor and shared with him how God really spoke to us during the message. We also wanted to follow up with him and get together during the week as we had previously discussed. We were talking about these things and he asked, "Do you have speakers, equipment, or projectors yet?" We said, "No. We need all of those things." He said, "We just bought a new projector, and you can have our old one if you like. It's the one we've been using here." (WOW!) Just like that... a $700+ projector for Connection Church!

Is this church the same denomination as us? No
Is this church one that has strong relational ties with us from personal connections? No
Is this church rich with tons of money just sitting around? No

This church loves Jesus and wants to help make Him famous! Praise God for people whose hearts have been broken and healed by the gospel. They desire to worship the Lord and exalt Him whenever they can. This is a kingdom minded church body, and we are pleased to be "partners" with them in our city.

Here are some current needs. We still have needs for sound equipment (microphones and speakers and sound board), we need a projector screen, money for promotional materials and advertisements for our first service, as well as people to lead the music for the first service. It's not a matter of "if" we get what we need, it's a matter of "when" God provides it. He always gives us what we need to do what He calls us to do.

I "project" more answered prayers are coming!

Only Two Chairs

Sometimes God works in our lives by giving us a desire and then limiting our choices. Tonight I am at rehearsal with my oldest two daughters and am trying to redeem the two hours of waiting but there's just not much to do. I brought a book to read, "Preaching God's Word," to sharpen my preaching skills (or develop them). As I began to look for a nice chair to sit in I found the only chair on the floor was connected to another chair. In that other chair was a Muslim man praying to his god and facing the east. What was my initial reaction, you ask? I thought, "Why did those crazy chair manufacturers have to join those chairs?" :)

Then I realized the irony of what was about to happen if I wanted to make the most of my time. I was about to sit next to a man praying to a god I don't believe in, and then read a book on how to effectively communicate to people the message of the God who wrote a book (the Bible) that this man doesn't believe in. Would I sit down next to him and study for my God's glory as he prayed for his God's glory?

I decided to sit down. Was it awkward? Yes. At first it was. Then I realized that he was not offended by my presence. I wasn't offended by his either. He wasn't pushing his faith onto me. Nor was I pushing mine on him. And there we sat, together yet separate, in those two chairs with each man praying to his own God.

There is a spiritual battle in this world that often goes unseen. This battle is for the souls of men and women and children. In essence, I see the battle represented by two choices, or two chairs if you will. We can either choose to glorify and worship God, or we can choose to glorify and worship ourselves.

Pray for this man in the other chair. Pray for me in my chair. Pray for the truth of God to be revealed on earth as it is in heaven. God has shown himself faithful, powerful, and loving through the death and resurrection of his Son. Jesus is the Messiah we have been waiting for. Let's engage our Lord and seek his Spirit to empower us and bring good news to people of all nations.

This Muslim man was praying to satisfy a wrathful god. But God's wrath is already satisfied through Jesus. This man also believes that no one can truly know if they are going to heaven, so he does not have the peace of knowing his sins are forgiven.  But this man can have life and peace and forgiveness when he embraces Jesus as his Redeemer.

Pray earnestly.

P.S. I did have the opportunity to speak to this man about my faith, and I also listened to him speak of his faith. While this man didn't have a divine moment of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, it's very encouraging to know that these conversations of who Christ is CAN happen. I pray God will open more doors of opportunity to sit down and share the testimony of Jesus Christ.