Beyond the Walls is a weekly email to help Christ-followers move beyond the walls of their church buildings, homes, comfort zones, and culture to engage people where we live, work and play with the Gospel.
"We cannot organize revival, but we can set our sails to catch the wind from heaven when God chooses to blow upon His people once again." G. Campbell Morgan
This is one of my favorite quotes and so fitting for the beginning of a new year. And not just a new year but a new decade. Over the next year, we will have numerous opportunities to join God beyond the walls as He works in people's lives where we live, work, and play. The sad thing is that many of us will miss out on joining Him because we are too preoccupied with life. With our plans, our goals, and our agendas.
That is why I want to encourage you at the beginning of 2020 to begin today setting your sails. Have you ever thought about the reason those who sail set their sails is because they are expecting the wind? They don't always know when it is coming but they want to be ready to catch the wind when it blows.
Throughout 2020, God's wind will blow. The winds of revival. The winds of transformation. The winds of awakening. The winds of opportunity. Will we be expecting it? Will we have our sails set to catch the wind of God when it blows? Will we hear His still, small voice as He invites us to seek Him and join Him in His work?
This, of course, leads to another question: What sails should we set to catch the wind so we don't miss God? Though you may think of additional sails in relation to your life, here are three that should be set in each of our lives daily.
1) Expectant Prayer - We need to awaken each day seeking God and asking Him to blow upon His people once again. We desperately need revival and awakening across our land. We need to pray and pray with expectation! In Psalm 5:3, David wrote, "In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly."
2) Active Repentance - When we go through the day with sin in our lives that we have not confessed and turned from, we will not be sensitive to God when He speaks or moves. Sin takes the edge off our discernment. It becomes like a cataract on our spiritual eyes. It acts like excessive wax in our spiritual ears. It dulls our spiritual senses. That is why we need to immediately deal with sin in our lives, actively confessing and repenting throughout the day.
3) Obedience - Obedience is the key to hearing His voice and recognizing His wind. In John 14:21, Jesus said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and disclose Myself to him."
Many of us already sense His wind blowing as we enter this new year and decade with great expectancy. God is on the move. Redeeming. Awakening. Healing. Drawing. Whispering. Do you see Him? Do you hear Him? It is time to set our sails!
For the Fame of His Name!
John Whaley
The Rooftop US
Comments
John,
thanks for reminding us to rethink; to reapply Romans 12:2 ("be transformed by the renewing of your mind"),
Phil