God's Pace in a Fast World

***We live in a world where it’s all about speed. People are always looking for the fastest way to travel or the fastest way to complete a task. They look for the fastest way to make money or the fastest way to get rid of something or someone they no longer want in our lives. In fact, they disconnect from people very quickly at almost the first sign of disagreement or conflict. They try to find the fastest way to gain a college degree or the fastest way to get a promotion on their jobs.

In our world, we try to gain knowledge and wisdom through quick sound bites, Facebook postings, twitter statements, 60 second commercials, or 30 minute TV programs. If our interest is not captured within two minutes, we push a button, click a mouse, or tap a screen to move on to the next interesting thing. If it takes too long for someone to explain something, we quickly delete them and move on.

Interestingly enough, we carry this same thinking into the church. We seek the fastest way to gain a position in a ministry or the fastest way to grow a big church. We look for the fastest way to get through trials and troubles and demand that pastors and biblical instructors hurry up and get to the point. After all, we don’t feel that we really need all of that biblical background and historical context. 

We want them to just rush to the parts where the Bible text or the pastor’s sermon is exciting. We want our Bible teachers to hurry up and get to the 5 things we need to know to become a millionaire. Let’s get to the 10 things we need to know to marry the right person. Let’s get to the 7 habits of highly successful people.

One thing we have learned, as students and teachers of God’s word, is that if we truly want to know fulfillment in life, then we must obtain Godly knowledge and wisdom. But if we want the knowledge and wisdom of God, it’s going to take time. God is in no hurry at all. He will let us run around for months and years until we wear out and finally come to Him and sit down.

The past 40 years of modern Christian teaching has done a lot to promote a pattern of skipping key principles and steps to gain personal breakthrough in our lives. Countless well-known and well-meaning ministers have pushed the mindset of quick fixes and fast turn-around blessings in gaining victory in this life. They present a testimony of someone who gave $100 on Sunday and gained $10,000 by Thursday. This daily, weekly, monthly and annual barrage of skewed teaching has left a whole generation of Believers abandoning the true principles of the Bible and seeking God purely for personal benefits through Christian get-rich-quick schemes.

However, God will always raise up leaders to put things back in balance. That’s what we seek to provide for the Urban Life family; BALANCE. There is no fast track to maturity and victory. It takes 36-40 weeks for an unborn baby to become mature enough for a healthy birth. It takes several years for that baby to grow and become an adult. There is no way to speed up that process.

Even though we live in a fast-paced generation, it still takes 60 seconds to make a minute, 60 minutes to make an hour, 24 hours to make a day, 7 days to make a week, and 52 weeks to make a year. There is no shortcut. This journey with the Lord is a marathon, not a sprint. We have to learn God’s pace in a fast world.

That means we can't explain these great mysteries of God in brief postings or tweets. We have to take the time to walk our church family through the Holy Scriptures; trying to accurately explain what we are reading. It is extremely important for us to take the time to explore some of the historical and cultural backgrounds in biblical teaching so that the Holy Spirit can impart greater understanding and meaning to the listeners.

Even in our internet church outreach, the reason we post the short video clips is to stir the appetites of our viewers to desire more teaching. After a while, everyone should come to the place where they realize, they cannot live a consistent victorious Christian life on a diet of quick snippets of Bible teaching and emotionally charged sermons that provide no substance.

In our weekly prayer gathering, we are calling this the Year of the Open Door. We encourage everyone to come through the open tent entrance and begin to engage the Word of God and the God of the Word at a deeper level. Your personal growth won’t be instantaneous and your understanding may not be fast, but it will be steady and strong.

Isaiah 28:10, 12 says----
10 For it is [His prophets repeating over and over]: precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, rule upon rule; here a little, there a little.
12 To these [complaining Jews the Lord] had said, This is the true rest [the way to true comfort and happiness] that you shall give to the weary, and, This is the [true] refreshing—yet they would not listen [to His teaching].

In other words, if we want to see Godly results, we have to receive God's Word, God's way, at God's pace.

Whoever Heard of Such a Thing?

*** It never ceases to amaze us as we watch God bring people together to fulfill His purpose and promises for a community. Long before ministries like Urban Life came on the scene, the Lord was already responding to people who were crying out to HIM for deliverance and healing in their families. This ministry is simply one of His responses. Even now, as we observe our nation getting more and more corrupt, there are countless souls yearning for the love and peace that we have found in Christ Jesus.

Right now, we are in a season in which the Lord is beckoning us out of our personal limitations and boundaries. At the same time, He is calling us into a new level of intimacy with Him. In this Year of the Open Door, God is calling us closer to Him so that we can turn our eyes away from the empty enticements and intimidation of this world. We can't thrive if we long for the same things the world longs for. We can't overcome if we are fearful about the future.

So we believe that's the reason the Lord is leading us in such a strategic way. We must admit that we, too, are moving out of our comfort zone. We had grown accustomed to certain styles and methods in church over the last 30 years. But now the Lord is directing us to do things that almost feels like sacrilege according to our church background and experience.

Whoever heard of a ministry in which the pastor sits on a stool and simply talks while using a PowerPoint presentation? Whoever heard of a ministry where the people sing along with video worship clips? Whoever heard of a ministry where its Sunday gatherings are not on a predictable weekly regiment and program? Whoever heard of a ministry that sets up an internet church in order to accommodate the work schedules of its members? Whoever heard of a ministry that gives its families a Sunday off, so they can be together or just to have a day of rest? Whoever heard of ministry that dedicates the first Sunday of each month for nothing but worship, prayer and spontaneous exhortation? Whoever heard of a ministry that has no long term plan other than just to remain open for God to do whatever HE wants to do with it? Whoever heard of such a thing?

For those who connect with us on Sunday mornings, this is the kind of ministry that they are attending and the kind of church family we have been called to lead. We will do things that will break traditions. We will say things that will challenge your understanding of the Word of God. We will stretch you until you no longer attend any church only to receive a blessing, but you will be excited about how God is going to use you to bless others each and every day. This new approach to ministry is not the result of another marketing strategy or the newest fad to grow a big ministry. We're not trying to build a great ministry. We're trying to build people and families who will do great things for God.

You will receive emotional, mental, physical and spiritual healing as you grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. You will do things that you never knew you could do. You will speak with authority that you never knew was within you. You will see God change your attitude and transform your thinking. You will watch God provide for you and protect your family. Even in the midst of life's disappointments, you will know the peace that goes beyond your understanding. You will know joy that extends beyond your present circumstances.

We can hardly wait to get together again this Sunday just so we can see, hear and experience more of God's presence, power and purpose for our families and our future.