New Team Vision – Rush (for Thailand)
I woke up the other day and for some reason God laid it on my heart to be praying towards the east. In my mind I thought it really odd that God would have me practicing a muslim prayer ritual so I didn’t do it, but I did pray for the morning.
I was having a quiet time reading in Ezekiel and as I read God spoke about what the name of our new team would be. In Ezekiel 43:1-5 the bible says, “Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing toward the east; and behold the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. And His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory. And it was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when He came to destroy the city. And the visions were like the vision which I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face. And the glory of the Lord came into the house by way of the gate facing toward the east. And the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.”
I started to laugh. I had realized that when reading this God’s glory came from the east. Funny, I felt the Lord urging me to pray towards the east that very morning. It was as if He was already working on giving me a vision for our team name.
Then 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 came to mind which says, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
A Little Context – Paul’s referring to the entire Corinthian church (not individuals here just yet).
Then 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 came to mind which says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.”
A Little Context – Paul’s referring to specific individuals.
And now the meat of the Vision!
1 Corinthians 3:8-9 it says, “Now he who plants and he who waters are ONE; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
One of our new squad leaders (Scotty) implored us to step into the role that God has placed us into. The last thing I wanted for us as individuals in my team was to be the person God has created us to be. This looks like stepping into the reality that God has made us to live in. I want God to use us the best of our ability. I want us to live and cultivate our spiritual gifts. Romans 12:4-6 says, “for just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ accruing to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly…” Then the author gives a list of some gifts. The point is that everyone has gifts. God has created us with different personalities, tendencies, etc. He has blessed us with these things to be cultivated and used. In His infinite foreknowledge he has created us this way. Now here’s the thing. I don’t want this to be focussed on figuring out what those are in an of ourselves, but letting God lead and direct our lives as He has already seen fit. It’s a difference of paradigm. It’s a difference of perspective. It’s not about us in the first place, but God. God is a God of good gifts and the more we engage in His heart, stepping out of our comfort zones, the more we’ll learn to lead out of our gifts.
The main point is listening to God, which takes effort. God wants to use this team like the sound of rushing waters. Pray that we let Him do so with humble hearts accurately portraying the goodness of God in and through us in the name of Jesus Christ.
This will have huge effects especially because we have now started month 5 in Thailand and are working with at-risk girls endangered of being modern day slaves in the sex-trafficking industry. Being praying that God’s presence mightily moves or should I say RUSHes in breaking barriers and filling hearts with truth and love all in the name of Jesus Christ.
