Pastors Garage
September 7, 2023
So I just wanted to write this before it gets too late in the week. What is
on my mind is the various opportunities that were shared during our morning
service last Sunday, which I announced as a mission’s summit!
If you’re anything like me, in the heat of the moment, when the need and
opportunity is presented right in front of you, especially by a high energy
fella like Danny Delong, it’s easy to get excited about something! After
fifteen minutes of him sharing about what God is doing around the world,
and the different projects available, I was literally going home to pack my
bags! The trouble is, give me a couple days to get the wind and excitement
knocked out of me by rain, a breakdown, or maybe a despairing comment or
personal failure or two, and suddenly I’m not quite as enthusiastic! How
about you? Were there any seeds planted in your spirit on Sunday about the
possibility of taking part in a mission trip? How are you feeling today?
My mind goes to an all familiar parable that Jesus shared in Matt 13. *“Listen!
A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his
field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted
quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the
hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they dried. Other seeds
fell among the thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still
other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty,
sixty, and even a hundred times as much as was planted.”* Later in the same
chapter Jesus goes on to describe what the different scenarios meant. The
point I want to make, however, is that it was the same seed, and soil in
every case! The difference in the yield was due to the conditions of the
soil and factors that affected the seed, all of which with some work and
preparation, could be made the same as the fertile soil that produced much!
The seeds were all thrown by the same sower out of the same bag! They were
all thrown in the same field! With some tillage the footpath wouldn’t have
been so hard! If the stones were picked the soil wouldn’t have been so
shallow! With a pre-burn of Roundup the thistles likely wouldn’t have been
a problem! So the question that needs to be asked is not what kind of seed
was planted or even what kind of soil it fell on, but rather, what kind of
conditions are we allowing in our lives to give the seed a chance to
flourish!
As a reminder, this is what was presented.
1.Trip to Mexico during Feb break, to encourage local pastors, help build a
training facility, and work with street kids. The cost is $2500, initial
deposit of $1000 is due this coming Monday. This Saturday the
missionaries(Saul and Amber Muchado) that we are going to work with will be
in Regina at the Ap for an information meeting at 9AM.
2.Trip to Turkey sometime next year with Danny Delong and Bruce Lungren to
take the Kairos Course literally in the locations where many of the things
in the Bible happened. Check out outreach.ca/kairos
3.Joining Gateway Church out of Prince George, BC(the church Greg and Carla
Paulson pastor) next summer in a project they do every summer in the
Okanagan BC in working with The Okanagan Gleaners in processing food to be
sent to the hungry throughout the world. Take a look at
www.okanagangleaners.com
4.Joining a team from Eston College in going to a student fair in Europe
next Sept to hand out bibles!
5.Along with those out of the Regina church, take training through
searchforjesus.net an arm of peacewithgod.net an arm of the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association to become a call centre/chat room host for those
interested in hearing about Jesus. Then possibly in a year or two down the
road taking a group of us to visit and encourage those who we have
personally led to accept the Lord through this ministry in their own
country, ie maybe Egypt! Checkout the above mentioned websites!
If you have any questions about the above, or you would like to explore
something else as a church please reach out to me!
Are these the only opportunities we have? Nope. Are there no local
worthwhile causes that could use our help? Yup, for sure! But the reality
is it’s not a matter of the need just arising. It’s always been there! All
around us! Both near and far! The real question is what’s it gonna take to
get us excited, engaged, and involved? I guarantee you that if you go on
one of these trips you will come back a different person and it will also
affect how you operate here! Is that a bad thing? The reality is the first
thing that always comes to mind when contemplating going on something like
this are the reasons one possibly couldn’t or shouldn’t be involved. Could
I challenge you instead of thinking of all the reasons you possibly
couldn’t go, is to just ask the question “what could I do?” Allow God to
plant the seed, if it’s there, allow God to prepare the soil!
Would you consider joining us for our Sunday morning gathering? We’re
better together, and it’s just not the same when you’re not here! This
Sunday Waylon Kardash will be sharing what the Lord has laid on his heart,
and his wife Rachel will be leading the song service!
Pastor Mike