This series has really challenged me and this fast really opened my eyes to an error in the thinking of this church. Many people, including myself, were having a hard time asking God for good things that they felt as if they did not deserve, therefore trying to carry the punishment for themselves and diminishing the work of Jesus and the gospel. We know that God is sovereign and in control but do we believe that He is good and merciful? A good and loving Father who we can run to for everything? I think this error in our thinking has effected our worship, prayer, and faith. Today we spent time just praying and asking God for good things, not that we deserve it or that He has not already done enough for us, but that we believe that our God is good and His mercy endures forever. We are going to continue asking Him for grace and kindness. We had so many people coming up for prayer today crying and asking for God to show up in their lives and asking for miracles, healings, restoration, provision, peace, and the list could go on. I thank God for the good and gracious things He did this week and I know that something has been stirred in me so I want to run to him for continued grace. Thank you for being a good and merciful God.
My prayer for this church is that we would get a bigger picture of God. In the connection groups we are going to be spending time in prayer for each other and just asking for God to meet you at the point of your need. Then we will also be talking about a few other thoughts concerning these things. Look over these questions think about them and when you go to your connection groups we will discuss them.
(1) How do you view God?
(2) Do you believe your view of God effects your prayer life and worship?
(3) Do you know God is good and that He loves you?
(4) What are somethings that you are having a hard time trusting God for?
(5) What can your group be praying about for you?
Really think through these questions and in your groups you will be tackling some of these topics. Bless you and make sure to stay connected in your groups. If you do not have a group check the web page for days and times. See you sunday as we start a new series.
I’m glad you spoke on this matter of feeling worthy of God’s goodness, because it’s one I struggle with on a daily. Because, once I was lost, but now I’m found. In that knowledge and wisdom of what God expects of me, I fail somewhere just about daily. So in turn it does make it difficult to believe I have the right to ask for his goodness for something great to happen. Yet, I embraced your words and most of all believed that God is good and merciful and prayed for 2 major miracles in my life. Thank you Aaron.
My life was full of sin and bondage and knowing that I could go to God for forgiveness but yet hold onto my sin made me reject God’s grace and all that He has for me. I knew I couldn’t worship God because I had not repented, but I could pray and continually ask for forgiveness. It was sort of a Catholic type mindset of I sin and do religion and then God forgives, but that was the limit I had set on a limitless God!
Since the encounter last weekend I see how much more God loves everyone of us and really does want His children to ask Him for their desires. Without my addiction to sin I feel God’s grace more abundantly and even saw breakthrough in my life during the worship service, something I have NEVER done in my life was get into praise and worship! Praise God for His freedom and mercy and grace.
Something I saw God doing during the fast was that I could pray in any circumstance and just as good, I could praise God during any circumstance. God wants us to come to Him for any and all prayer requests because He loves us so much.
I’ve been thinking about this since the Day 5 post. How come we come up with our own conclusion about who God is, when He tells us himself? Check out Ex. 34 6-7. There it is – His nature and how He functions in relationship to us in his very own words: merciful, compassionate, longsuffering (patient), abounding in love, abounding in goodness and truth…
I wonder if the root of our problem is growing up with “reward & punishment” systems. It’s amazing how family systems shape our belief. That’s why we must be born again – to be raised by our Heavenly Father!
I think the hardest one for Ken and I was to truly believe God could help us get out of financial hardship. We feel like we need to be better stewards over what God has given us some how, and that we haven’t in some way, and that’s why we are in the place that we are right now. God has helped us out of so many tuff places before now that his grace has just run out & he just doesn’t have anymore to give, or that this time he’ll use tuff love & make us get out of this situation on our own.. After yesterday’s sermon, we realized how stupid that was because everything in all our finical situations has gotten us to this point up unto now, & we are exactly where He wants us so that says something right? Plus we’re to fully rely on him all the time, he’s not going to say “oh I’m sick of you and your problems figure this one out on your own” Anyway we have asked for help again & he is a good and gracious God who will provide. No matter what the means are. Whether its through us buckling down & him providing the exact right amount or Him blessing us, or bankruptcy, He will provide a way & because its his way, it’s the perfect way. He will take care of us & worrying will get us no where, it can’t add a day to our life. (really it will probably take days away) He has a plan that will get us to the next point where he wants us. That’s really all we care about, doing what he desires so that we can please him, & he can be glorified. We feel like money is just a tool, for him to use for his purposes. We don’t want to be rich, we never have. We just want him to be able to use all of his resources to advance his kingdom in the way he needs with out us getting in the way.
P.S. I love this the questions and stuff for group great idea!
You all are amazing for sharing these stories.
CORNEL,
I pray that God would continue to reveal His goodness towards you and you make a good point about knowing what is expected.
JON,
Thanks for sharing about your desire to worship. What a blessing that was to see you engaged and worshipping Jesus. I love that man… You are a great blessing. I see huge things in your life.
Heather great thoughts… I think our family does shape that in some way.
Amber, I am proud of you and ken and the growth and fruit i see in you daily.
Not only is it family systems that shape our belief but it’s congregational group experience that shapes our belief and view of God. I think we’ve all seen in our body God’s saving grace work miraculously to rescue the gravest of sinners. We have testimony after testimony of this. So we have a congregation who finds it easy to believe in the power of God’s saving grace.
But we don’t hear often of how God’s healing grace has impacted our body or how God has come to rescue so many from their deepest troubles and worries. I liked when we posted video testimonies of how God had done miracles in healing and we will figure a way to do this regularly. I’m thinking of like a video confessional booth setup after service where people can sit down and testify quickly of God’s power. Then we’ll post these up on the website.
I think this will help encourage our body and provide a broader view of testimonies and evidence of God’s power in our congregation.
Is this Heather here Terek’s Heather?
no drew that is heather campos…
But I like Terek’s Heather! We were Encounter roomies. I also like Kyle’s video booth idea. It’s sort of like the diary room on Big Brother – only sanctified. Oops, now you know I watched that thing…
Thank-you for your thought filled(& spirit-filled)questions to guide our group. Heather as always does an awesome job making us dig deeper, this time into our often fautly perspectives about God. For many of the women myself included the whole father issue has really shaped how we view God our Father.
Group was awesome tonight. Jon and Sampson were the only attendees but it was very productive. One of the things that we all struggled with was asking God for forgiveness and accepting it for ourselves allowing our conscience to be free from guilt so we could walk in freedom. we tend to view this good thing of forgiveness as something that is at a distance. the work on the cross was not intended to just be viewed from a distance but EMBRACED. Psalm 34:8 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.
During communion we thank Jesus for bearing our sins on his body and shedding his blood for all our sins. It’s because of Jesus that we are forgiven and set free from a guilty, self-condemning mind. You are so good Lord! It wasn’t until I embraced forgiveness that allowed me to get up and walk in freedom from a mind plagued and bounded in guilt and condemnation after committing adultery. I can have a free mind! Amen!