Looking Backward, Moving Forward...

WHAT ARE WE STRIVING TOWARD?

·        Where have I come from?

·        Where do I want to go?

Two questions I most frequently ask myself.

I always take stock of where I am at in life. I look at what I am doing and analyse what is working for me and what is not.

I look at the lessons God has been trying to teach me and "grade my own paper" (as Dr Phil says).

Am I getting it?

I have done that in my own life for a long time now and now I also have to do it with The Storehouse Church people in mind.

The short answer is YES. I am happy how things are going. My expectations have been more than met for this year.

Sometimes I get caught up in the moment...

·        Do I have everything I want NOW?

·        Have I attained ALL my goals NOW?

But that is an unrealistic view of the way we achieve success in life yeah?

We need to look at where we have come from and what we have achieved within a specified time limit. Dr Phil says: "The difference between a dream and a goal is a timeframe with an end date.

To me dreams are awesome. I dream ALOT and I try to understand what my dreams are telling me... whether they are warnings or encouragements or instructions or what.

But then my Dad's voice will ring in my head, "Nicole, get your head out of the clouds!"

Dreaming is great, but they are fluffy and hard to grasp. I have to make tangible goals that I can cling onto when my focus gets blurry. I need something I can work towards and measure.

In February this year God was speaking to me about the time being right to embark on something big. With a fair bit of opposition from some - together with a lot of good counsel others - we decided to give it a go and we started the process in opening The Storehouse.

To do some measuring from 12 March to December (10 months) I would have to say that we have achieved more than I thought was possible in such a short amount of time.

Especially since the stuff I have been doing is completely new to me and have no  experience at all.

Makes that scripture:

Eph 3: ²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..."

very real to me!

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We are heading into 2014 and I know you will agree with me that time goes much quicker when your older!

Have you taken stock of where you are headed lately?

Have you had a good look at where you have come from and whether you are heading in the direction you want to go?

Do you have specific things you would like to accomplish that have been forgotten?                   

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We hear sermons on how God wants to do "BIG" things in our life.

So are we seeing the Kingdom of Heaven manifesting in our lives?

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He wants us to have a "MINISTRY" to use those "TALENTS" He's left us with.

So, is God doing things for you and are you doing things for God?

All of these encouragements are great and true but they are very open ended.

Is changing 15 nappies a day "the Kingdom" living?

Is working at a job for very little money "the riches of heaven" flowing in your life?

Is sitting with papers up to my ears learning how to keep legal financial records for a Church, showing the love of Christ?

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I actually think the answer is yes to all those questions, but if we haven't set a goal it would seem like a big waste of time doing all these things, when all that is in our heads is: "We need to make disciples of all nations and baptise them."

I mean far out, where do you even start with that goal?!

What does account keeping have to do with Baptising someone?!

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There is a lot of LIFE that happens while we are heading towards our goals and that is what God uses to enable us to KEEP and ENJOY our success when we hit the target.

If we don't have the character to sustain what God wants to give us in our life, it will slip through our fingers when we get there.

This scripture keeps coming to mind lately:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27²⁴ Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. ²⁶ So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. ²⁷ I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Training is the changing nappies and learning to work for a hard boss. Training is being who you are in front of people as you are when no one is looking. Training is the attitudes we have toward people who are awful to us and so much more. It's hard and we will get it wrong.... many times.

Then I find this awesome encouragement when I fail...

Eph 3:¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

So a few things we can take from this is:

There is an eternal prize.

We need to train to attain it.

It takes a long time to obtain it.

The best way to move toward it is FORGETTING WHAT IS BEHIND and PRESSING ON TOWARD THE GOAL.

Now we just need to define what our goal is.

AND THAT'S BETWEEN YOU AND GOD!

KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST

When we are looking at what the future for our lives hold while we are working toward our goal... we can see in:

2 Peter 1:3

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to^[a] his own glory and excellence,^[b]

 

When we are wondering where we can find some wisdom, love and encouragement... we can see in:

 

Colossians 2

2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, ² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

 

When we feel like everything is against us and we are not succeeding.... we can see in:

 

2 Corinthians 2:14

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.

 

And when we have people around us who don't support us and ridicule us... we can see in:

2 Peter 3 

¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The commonality in us succeeding in our future is getting to know Jesus better. Growing in knowledge of Him. Very exciting to do that together with you in 2014! 

Let's pray:

Father you have created each one of us with a plan for our lives. We need you to tell us what that is and give us the wisdom to see the distractions. We want to glorify you in our lives - not ourselves.

Bless everyone here with a fresh understanding of the call on their lives and a renewed motivation to strive toward You in 2014. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Storehouse's VISION

I found myself struggling this week for a message.

Mainly due to being in the presence of really great preachers at the ACC Conference.

Listening to all the advice they gave and testimony of how they run their church and motivate their people.

Raising $60,000 dollars for Cancer research.

Walking into buildings of millionaire business men and ending up being given the place for their church in one day.

Having 200 people turn up to the first prayer meeting.

I hear about the strategies that God has literally "DOWNLOADED" to a person 20 years ago coming to fruition now.

Things that these Christian leaders have heard from God about and listened and obeyed and are right now reaping an amazing harvest.

I was feeling extremely inspired as well as completely out of my depth.

I wondered if everything I have heard God say to me could turn out to be as successful as what it has for these guys?

Then I said to myself:

·        "But I am just a girl."

·        I said, " I am pretty young."

·        I said, "I have a pretty bad past."

·        I said, "I didn't finish High School."

·        I said, "I don't think that much of myself so why would others?"

And I began to get a bit discouraged...

But then I looked at the Word of God and:

IT SAYS (about me being just a girl): Galatians3:26 "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

IT SAYS (about me being too young): 1 Timothy 4:12  "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." 

IT SAYS (about my past): Psalm 103:10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

IT SAYS (about me not finishing High School):  2 Peter 1:³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

IT SAYS (about not having a puffed up idea of myself):

James 4:6 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

So now what is my excuse for having an inferiority complex!?

Um coz I don't believe what the Word of God says?

Well I know that I believe the Word with every fibre of my being. 

There was a speaker there named,  Martin Steel. He blew my mind. Although everything he said resounded with what I already believe but just didn't have the vocabulary to put it into words.

In a nut shell he talked about the leaders of the church needing to start empowering there congregation to view their vocation as their field of ministry.

He explained how many people think that working in a church or for a church is the epitome of doing God's work, therefore being a good Christian worker and successful Christian.

We know that sounds wrong but it is easy to get caught up in a church that requires a lot of commitment to all its programs and ministries. That is not The Storehouse's call on you.

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·        Let me share with you what our Vision is for this church again...

"To introduce people to Jesus Christ, to help them grow to be more like him, and then to reproduce the process in others."

I know that vision cannot be completed through how many people I can recruit to work in the building of the church.

But still we need the building of the church. We need somewhere we can come together and be empowered to work toward the vision.

It starts to boggle my mind how big this job is when I think about how this vision will be perpetuated.

And again I go back to the Word to encourage myself... I am not too young, I am not just a girl, I have been called and graced to be in this position right now.

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I was at PMH on Thursday, in the outpatients waiting room. AGAIN.

A lady with a file came to me and asked if I had heard about the new way they were keeping medical records now. I said no. She explained to me what it was and did I want to sign up.

Believe it or not I was saying to Steve a few years ago now that the government should come up with a digital way of keeping records as I was sick of telling the same medical story a million times to different doctors.

Anyway she was filling in my details as I was contemplating the size of the job - of converting all of peoples medical history to a digital version. Wondering how far they would go back...

I said, "Gee this is gonna be a big job hey!"

And she said something to me I still can't get out of my head,

"Well that is not my job or yours to worry about."

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That was true, for that job as well as this job. Who's job is it to build this church? Mine? Yours?

The answer to this worry came again from the ministry of Ps Martin - at the conference.

Let's turn to Matthew 16:13

 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

 ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter,^[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^[c] will not overcome it. 

So I said to God, so what am I supposed to do then, if you're going to do everything?

He said, "Define the vision I have given you, then work to the best of your ability."

"To introduce people to Jesus Christ, to help them grow to be more like him, and then to reproduce the process in others."

Can you see how that vision is self perpetuating. It is a never ending cycle. Once we have completed it once, it should start to reproduce itself - gaining momentum the longer it goes on.

God has given us this vision for The Storehouse. So how do we define our role as individuals in this grand scheme?

Another revelation through Ps Martin... we take what is in our hand.

We look at where God has positioned us and we see that as our mission field.

The Church Building is not every bodies mission field.  

Also that a secular vocation is not everyone's calling either.

Neither is more important that the other!

·        Think about our vision:

We don't need to introduce people to Jesus - inside the church. It is outside the church.

But we grow to become more like Him by attending the church and learning His Word and being prayed for and supported in a fellowship of other believers.

So there are INSIDE THE CHURCH BUILDING jobs.

And there are OUTSIDE THE CHURCH BUILDING jobs.

To achieving the full vision.

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I don't want anybody here feeling like they are obliged to work for me. You are not. You are however obliged to work with your whole heart for the Lord.

How are we supposed to introduce Jesus to people if we don't know Him ourselves! Our relationship with Him is of ultimate priority.

That means YOUR role is to spend time with Him.

Ladies who are not married, he is your husband. Now I know that when you wake up, your husband is there the minute you open your eyes. Treat the Lord like that.

Men, he is closer than a brother or a mate. He lives with in you. Don't take on the day without connecting your heart with His.

This is MY role as your Pastor to encourage and equip you in your relationship with Him.

I am defining my role very quickly because I want to be effective fast. It was the reason I chose "Speed" as my drug of choice. I wanted everything very quickly. LOL. Funny how it worked the opposite.

I have heard many times that the Lord is going to do a "quick" work ... or He will "quicken" something to happen faster than usual.

I actually can't find any scripture that talks about Him doing this... but if I draw on my personal life in Christ, I can see how fast He can actually get things done.

Although, I think, this does depend on our level of willingness to abide in Him.

I believe The Storehouse Church has had a "quickening" to this point. We have moved very fast from conception, to birth, to nurturing a living part of Christs body.

Now we must define our role (with a element of flexibility) so that we can be effective in this vision.

I don't want to be doing a job that is better suited to someone else, at the same time I want to do the job that Christ has CALLED AND GRACED me to do - to the best of my ability.

I don't want you doing a job that you are not called and graced to do.

It says in Ephesians 2:⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So there are actually "works" prepared - by God - IN ADVANCE -for us to do.

Has anyone actually felt like they are smack bang in the middle of doing the GOD prepared work? I wonder.

I heard it said, I think it was a professional cyclist or marathon participant...

The good works that your Father has prepared you to do in advance is like picking up the bicycle that is fit perfectly for your body - height, weight etc. You will get on in and it will fit. You will be able to reach the pedals and you will ride that bike like an extension of your body.

Have you ever got on a bike that was not built to your specs? It is extremely awkward. Your back hurts and your hips hurt. You are not comfortable and you really just wanna get off before you fall off.

This is what it feels like when you are doing the works that have not been prepared for you.

The thing we have to remember - like cycling - it still requires work. It still requires you to be motivated and enthusiastic and willing.

The works God has prepared will still require commitment and determination and an expelling of your energy. You do not get to check out thinking that God will do it all through you.

You must pedal.

Will you pedal YOUR BIKE - alongside me - to work toward the introducing people to Jesus, growing to become more like Him and then replicating that process in others?

 Ps Nikki x

Mission's Sunday 27.10.13

I had a dream. I will read it to you...

I was in a stadium - like a sports stadium. It was bigger that the MCG and held quadruple times as many people too. I was in the crowd in my seat and I was sitting next to Jade Lewis. We were both enjoying the spectacle. I was looking down onto the ground, when I was suddenly out of my seat and standing in the middle of the grassed oval. I looked around to view the crowd. It was overwhelming.

Just then Joyce Myer appeared, she hurriedly took me by the arm and was saying that we have to hurry toward "the place". She took me into a large room - a storage room. In it were shelves and shelves of lovely, delicious food. I was amazed at how much there was in storage!

I said, "How come you don't eat all this food yourself! It looks so good!"

She looked at me with her finger straight up and said, "If I did that the blessing of God wouldn't come!"

I said, "Gee, what a temptation to want to keep it all to yourself!"

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I want to tell you what the Lord said to me after spending time in prayer over this dream:

"There are many people who need spiritual food Nikki. You need to share your bounty with people. If you don't, the blessing won't come. You have tasted and you know that my words are delicious, now you have enough in storage, you must get ready to start handing some of it out. Get ready!"

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The Storehouse Church is born out of this dream.

Since I met Jesus, my vision changed.

Before I met him, what I was looking forward to in my life (which by the way was very limited and quite illegal) changed significantly and very fast.

When you have that revelation of Gods acceptance of you - even in your sinful state - you begin to gravitate toward that love.

When you get to know Him and his love and forgiveness - by listening to the truth of what Jesus did on that cross. Soaking your mind in that truth and coming to a deep understanding of what this forgiveness actually means for you personally - You begin to change your priorities.

It literally feels like you are experiencing a new birth. His spirit opens your eyes and teaches you mysteries. He develops your character and you start to surprise yourself at how much better you are handling life.

When you get to a certain point of revelation, you take the step to be baptised and make a public declaration of your commitment to God. Going down into the water represents you dying to yourself and your own plans for your life - and coming up out of the water represents your commitment to obedience to him in new life Jesus died to give you.

After this happened for me, I began a journey with Jesus as my Lord. The one I follow. The one I trust with my life.

I read as much as I could about Christianity, I went to Bible College for a time but that didn't compare with the training I got at Teen Challenge that lasted almost 2 years.

I drank spiritual milk for ages and then progressed in to more substantial truths. As I showed God my willingness to Him and my desire to be more like Jesus than my own self, He poured out the revelation. He taught me, and he disciplined me and he loved me and he made me laugh and he made me cry.

My way of having a relationship with God has been very personal. I am a dreamer. So that is something on a different level. My relationship with God through my dreams is something quite boring for people to listen to. Ask my Mum or Steve! Oh I had another dream... oh yay another dream!

I am a reader and I journal. I write down every nugget of wisdom I find in books with reputable Christian authors. I immerse myself in the wisdom of seasoned mature Christians. I love to learn fast. I have proof that I am like this... ask Steve if he has any space on the bookcase aside my journals.

·        I have journals for notes out of books I read that I don't want to forget.

·        I have a dream journal actually I have 5 dream journals that I have recently converted to a Dream Blog as digital is better

·        I have 2 journals that have the last 10 years of life goals in.

·        I have a journal that sets out the goals I have up to the year 2022!

·        I have a journal that I document how to interpret symbols God shows me...

This is how my vision changed from planning out a life for myself, to storing up as much Christian wisdom as I could because I couldn't get enough of Jesus.

Reminds me of the where Jesus is talking to the disciples in Matthew 13 about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. He explains how there are different soils that the seed falls on - meaning that our hearts need to be prepared to receive the Word.

Then goes on to explain how it is like finding a treasure ...He says that when you find the treasure of the Kingdom, how precious it is! That is me. I find it to be so precious I started hoarding all of His delicious revelations and mysteries!

I am actually quite a shy person. I feel like I stumble over my words. I have a tendency to feel like someone could do a better job than me at sharing Gods word. I just like to stick to hoarding my pearls and enjoying them in my special time with Him.

This is what He was talking about in that dream. I have become a revelation hoarder - so much so that my first thought when I saw all that food in my dream was to ask, why don't you just eat this all yourself!

The fact that there were many people outside who needed the food didn't occur to me! Until I got the Joyce Myer finger! You must share Nikki.

You know what got me - the lil hoarder that I am - is that the threat of not receiving the blessing that would come if I didn't share!! How ironic is that!

I have had many dreams since then and God continues to speak to me like that. I love his Word and His life and we call it MISSIONS SUNDAY today, but what it really is, is just being willing to share your relationship that you have with God, with other people every day.

It is hard and that's why coming to church and being part of a fellowship that supports telling people about Jesus is a good way to be a part of that without having to be the one to stand up the front.

This church is called The Storehouse based on that dream and based on the account in the Bible of Joseph.

The story is about a man who was favoured by his father and hated by his brothers but ended up 2nd in charge from Pharaoh. Pharaoh had a dream and needed an interpreter. God gave Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams and this led to favour. Joseph was put in charge of the Storehouses in Egypt because the dream predicted 7 years of very good harvest, followed by 7 years of severe famine.

He was in charge of collecting the grain to store for the entire country and beyond. He did it and the nation didn't starve.

He was wise and had very good business sense! He could handle responsibility and was a great leader. I want to be like him!

This is why we are looking at what we can give out to a world that is spiritually starving. We have to.

Take a look at this video I put together and then I'll tell you about the project we as a church are going to be committed to supporting...

Deep Tube Bore Wells - Life Giving Water

Here in Australia, we have ready access to safe, clean drinking water. But many of our brothers and sisters in India are suffering. With issues such as extreme drought, over-population and a lack of sanitation in many areas, there is a scarcity of safe drinking water in many rural towns and villages.

Water borne diseases are on the rise in India. According to Water Aid, an international organisation working to ensure safe drinking water for Indian villages, 37.7 million Indians are affected by water borne diseases annually and 1.5 million children die of diarrhoea alone.

A large population of poor Untouchables and Christians suffer needlessly from preventable illnesses and water-borne diseases during times of water shortage. Where clean water is available, discrimination often prevents the poor and marginalised from accessing it. They are not allowed to go near an existing well when rich and high caste people are present.

When they do try to collect water they often suffer physical violence and abuse. Christians are treated as outcastes due to their belief in Jesus. They live under constant oppression and discrimination.

The majority of hand pumps provided by the government in India are drilled close to Hindu or Muslim prayer houses. These wells, over time, often become part of the prayer house or get ‘sanctified’ thereby denying access to members of other religious faiths whose touch or presence could taint the sanctity of the water.

Pastor Phin* laments “we have to wait till it gets dark to go near the well and draw water. During the day we are afraid to go near the well due to verbal abuse and physical violence.”

Mamata* states “we have to walk two kilometres to get water from the well. If high caste people are present we have to wait. It may take hours to draw water and then reach home. This situation becomes worse when the temperature sores and the water level dips low.”

Through their work with rural communities, Empart Church Planters and Key Women have identified the need to provide fresh drinking water for poor communities. Empart has committed to drilling deep tube bore wells across the north and eastern states of India where chronic drought and religious extremism exist.

The aims of the Deep Tube Bore Wells Project include:

·         Providing access to safe drinking water without discrimination.

·         Releasing the poor and the downtrodden from those who hold control over basic necessities.

·         Gaining wider acceptance, appreciation and participation for the poor in their communities.

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We want to be a church that gives out to the spiritually starving and we believe that looks like finding an outreach like this.

We want to make a pledge that we commit to every month and that is a financially wise amount. Steve and I have decided that we will commit to $50 a month to start us off.

I believe that when people know their money is actually going to a good cause they are more likely to part with it. So I hope I have clearly shared what we will be putting the money you give into.

Any money over the $50 per month that we collect will go into a separate account for Missions Money and that will go on things like the Coodanup Camp Appeal and things. I will always update you on what you are supporting!

So starting from next Missions Sunday will be taking up 2 offerings from next month on.