Beyond Sunday - East Campus

...by Andy Kaser

Sometimes we leave informed. Other times we leave inspired. Maybe there are times we leave with a plan for change. On Sunday I left with a mixture of each of these ingredients. The reality is that as Doug verbalized scripture and concepts, the Holy Spirit was breathing strength and encouragement in me. The question I have to ask myself is; “Do you really trust God Andy? I mean really trust him? Or do you give your energy over to ‘helping’ God out?

It’s a great question. Am I in control of my own destiny? Because if I am, I’ve made a pretty pathetic run at it. I mean if my life’s worth is fueled with the ‘good’ I’ve done, I’m not sure it provides any good content for someone to say at my funeral. The heartbeat, or to put it the Suncrest way – Big Idea, is that God is involved in us. The battle is His. And the good news is that our ‘limp’ or ‘handicap’ (that we pray for God to take away) is the very thing that keeps us attached to a dependence on God. It is the thing that allows us to keep Christ at the center, and the thing that gives people the ability to understand, empathize, and relate to. The thing that should most disqualify us from making an impact on humanity is the thing that God uses to bring good. Another example of the upside down Kingdom of God.

Doug used a powerful video illustration to drive this point to the center our souls. Lonely, lost, hurting, desperate, desolate, malnourished, decrepit people who pray for ‘healing’ in some capacity…and yet God remains silent. God is not distant, he just seemingly resists that prayer. As the story unfolds we begin to see the light switched on inside them…and they worship knowing that God has a purpose to our weakness and frailty.

Doug used the story of a guy with a funny, long, and hard to spell name. So why Jehoshaphat? Here’s a brief summary; He’s a King commissioned by God to engage the battle God’s way – not his own way. God’s way always sounds insane. His confession; “For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you (God)." His response; "Give thanks to the LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Doug even sang this for us…you would have had to been there!)God’s victory; “And when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. (Kaser’s paraphrase – the victors worshipped and put their trust in God and they did not use one of their manmade weapons to defeat the enemy…the enemy destroyed itself. God has a knack for using the low to humble the strong).

So what’s this all mean for us? It’s not about us. It’s about God. And what is impossible with man is possible with God.

“God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness.”

And that is a promise that makes me dance with gratitude and peace.