Hearing the Father Sing – Longing for it

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“I’m not certain I’m loved by God!” Recently 2 people shared with me a podcast from the well-know Christian pastor, speaker, and writer Francis Chan, where he openly revealed his heart. In the podcast (see link below) he disclosed that there was a season right before he turned 50 years old that he wondered if he was truly love by God.

Francis Chan was facing doubts and fears that the Father in heaven didn’t fully love him. Perhaps it came out of a rough childhood where he experienced incredible loss and rejection or even some of the teaching he received at school which led him to battle with knowing he was fully loved.

He felt prompted by the Spirit to share this wondering first with his wife and  later with his ministry team on his 50th birthday. He specifically asked for prayer so that he would know for certain the Father love. What a gift to his family and friends promising to cover him by prayer and fasting for the next year that he would be overwhelmed by such love. He expressed  how such prayers were the greatest of all birthday gifts.

Answered prayers. An overwhelming love. In Francis Chan’s 50th year of life he experienced a Father’s love beyond comprehension.  The words from Zephaniah 3:17 came alive to him. He knew without a doubt that His Heavenly Father “delights in him and rejoices over him with singing!” 

It is a powerful podcast and I hope you can take time to listen. It highlights some of what we have been looking at in the last few blogs. And in the midst of the recent tragic killings it is evident our world desperately needs to know the Father’s love more than ever before.

When we miss out on His love song and replace it with the lies of the enemy that bombard us at every turn we are left empty and hopeless. The more we try to fill the void and find our own love song the more desperate we become. This is when loneliness, self hate, self pity, anger, and destruction begins to grow like a repugnant weed.

I am thankful to Francis Chan for his honesty and for his courage to tell others of his struggle. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. It such an amazing gift of grace when our spiritual ears and eyes encounter a singing God. Embracing our emptiness AND understanding that even good things such as ministry, simply are unable to heal the void within our heart.

The Spirit puts a desire in our hearts to long to hear the love song of heaven in the very core of our souls. Francis asks his team to join him as he prays to know the Father’s love authentically singing over him. Prayer is a gift given to us, an open door for us to walk into the Father’s house and join this amazing celebration of love.

I’m sure if we are all honest there are times and seasons where we too wonder about the Father’s love for us. Where we are not 100% sure if we are truly loved. Be honest about it, long for it in prayer and even ask others to pray that His love would be made known to you.

Jesus left these words for His disciples and for us the night before He went to the cross. Such words challenge us to keep asking and longing to know the Father’s love through the Son’s work on that cross:

“Until now you’ve not been bold enough to ask the Father for a single thing in My name, but now you can ask, and keep on asking Him! And you can be sure that you’ll receive what you ask for, and your joy will have no limits! (Jn. 16:24).

Podcast on youtube – (https://youtu.be/P5GD9FTSCFQ)

 

 

 

Hearing the Father Sing – LOOK

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Kids get it! One of the gifts of being a grandparent is rediscovering the world through  the eyes of a child. It’s as if God needs to remind us that we benefit from experiencing His Kingdom just as child experiences the world. In so many ways children are more in tune to the here and now and certainly not overwhelmed by the stuff of life that we as adults get fixated on.

One of the things I’ve observed is their love for music and especially worship. I remember a time when Patty and I were babysitting one of our grandkids and we turned on worship music and all of the sudden the toys were dropped as the arms went up in the air and the little legs started to dance.

We couldn’t help ourselves as we picked this little one up and joined in the dance of praise. Before long we both found ourselves in tears, this was a holy moment, a gift to remind us of what really maters in life.

For the next several weeks I want to consider ways to help us hear the Father’s voice as He sings and dances over us inspired by Zeph. 3:17:

“The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

The first step in hearing our Father sing over us is to look at the One who sings over us-using our childlike faith. Jesus taught that the way into the presence of the Father’s Kingdom is to become like a little child again (see Mt. 18:1-4). How I desire that simple childlike trust.

Notice the text says: “The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save…”  Earlier in vs. 15 is says “The LORD has taken away your punishment, He has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.” Powerful words indeed!

Zephaniah the prophet was pointing ahead to the gift of the Father’s Son Jesus and His mighty work as our Warrior God, One who would fight for us on the cross and destroy the power of satan and sin over our lives. Jesus became our King when the Father raised Him from the dead and gave Him the throne of authority over all the world.

With childlike awe and trust we look. We recognize. We know our Heavenly Father sings over us with the gift of His Son Jesus. Jesus is the Father’s love song and IF we stop hearing His singing we need to pause and once again lift up our heads, look at Jesus, and claim the work He did for us. Jesus not only saved us from the power of darkness and sin, but He created in our hearts a place for God the Father and Son to make their home through the Holy Spirit (see John 14:23).

The Creator of the Universe lives in us, and is with us, and is always singing over us with His love song. Therefore we have nothing to fear in life or even in death. His arms will never, ever let us go.

As we were singing, dancing, and holding our little grandchild with arms of love, I couldn’t hold back the tears because God was giving me a picture of just how much He loves me. My Father just wants me to let Him hold and carry me  and with childlike faith look at His love song revealed in Jesus. He is The One who shed tears of love for me, and that love led Him to the cross so that I could hear the love song for all eternity.

Are you having trouble hearing His Song over you? Now is the time to become like a child again. Look at the Father’s gift of Jesus given to reveal His love for you. There is an old hymn that helps me look again, perhaps it will help you as well:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God: All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down: Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or throne compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole ream of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. Amen!

Hearing the Father Sing

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What does the Father’s voice sound like? I recently asked this question while preaching at the Gospel Outreach Church in Masiphumelele Township. I’d been pondering Zephaniah 3:17 and the surrounding verses for a few weeks. It reads:

“The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Those last words are truly amazing words-our God sings over us with “rejoicing.” In Hebrew it can be translated as dancing with praise.  I answered the question that Sunday by stating that I believe the Father’s voice sounds like the the last several hours of praise and worship.

My brothers and sisters at the Gospel Outreach Church hold nothing back with their praise to God. They use not only their voice but entire being to let their Mighty Savior know how much they love Him. The passion is evidenced by the perspiration pouring down many faces causing an angelic glow to light up the room. Those of you who have been there know exactly what I’m describing.

This African worship experience helps me comprehend how the Father exuberantly sings and dances with a love song over us, His beloved children. In my mind I attempt to recreate such a picture- trying to imagine that when the Father sees me He lets loose; He celebrates with the angels in heaven my homecoming and apart of His family.

The Father loves to rejoice over His children and especially when we realize our brokenness and sin and turn to Him. I encourage you to take some time and read Luke 15: the stories of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Sons. When the lost are found and brought home there is singing, rejoicing, and yes even dancing in the Father’s house. Jesus shares these parables to show us the behind the scenes look into the Father’s deep affection for us.

It is vital today that we encounter the singing of our Father to drown out all the noise of our culture shouting out shame, rage, and false lies from the Ancient Serpent. When you hear the Father sing your soul will find peace and quiet rest, for you are held securely by His everlasting arms of love. This is what we have been created for! This is what deep down in our soul we all long for! Our hearts will not find lasting peace until we hear Abba’s love song over us.

Over the few weeks I intend to share ways to tune our spiritual ears to hear the Father sing His transforming love song over us. I truly believe this truth will transform your heart. I would also suggest a book “The Singing God,” by Sam Storms which I believe will bless and assist you as you listen for His song.

Building Community

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Written by Mike Verkaik 

Have you ever had someone leave your church community that you knew well? Someone you could converse with easily because of the familiarity you had with them? This is the season we find ourselves in at the motel ministry.  We have been rejoicing and celebrating with many of our friends over the past months as they have found new homes in trailer parks and apartments.  This has broadened our community, since many of the former residents desire to continue relationships, and also opened a door to build a new community at the motel.

There has always been a percentage of the residents at the motel that have been more transient and distant to our attempts to come along side of them with love and service. Lately that sect has grown.  This morning God reminded me again of Jesus’ simple outreach through His encounter with Zacchaeus. In the text Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) As I read through the passage again, I was reminded there were two ways Jesus sought a relationship with Zacchaeus through His daily walk of life. Jesus noticed him and then invited him to have a relationship, regardless of how he was perceived by others.

As we continue to build community at the motel our prayers are for the Holy Spirit to give us these divine appointments to see and invite new residents. What a joy it continues to be to walk and dwell with our eyes open to notice the people God puts in our path. It is such a privilege to let them know they are seen by not only us, but their Abba Father, and also invited to have a relationship, friendship with us as we represent Him and live out Jesus’ message we heard from the beginning: We should love one another. (I John 3 : 11 – NIV)

During the past summer months God has once again overwhelmed us with His timely gifts and resources to invite residents into a relationship with us.  Below are a few of those expressions of His goodness and blessings that have allowed us to build community as we continue to make the heart of our Father known. Each event seems so simple, but isn’t that exactly what Jesus demonstrated when he said, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” (Luke 19 : 5)

Baseball game with our kids group: The West Michigan Whitecaps are a local minor league team for the Detroit Tigers. Oceans Ministries was blessed with tickets, parking, and voucher cards to spend on food and a small souvenir. This invitation opened the door to conversations and opportunities to listen and learn about the motel children’s lives, and for them to hear and see the love, joy and oneness of the body of Christ in us.

As we walked up to the stadium I made the children aware of how cool it was that our Abba Father gave us a VIP parking spot, so we paused to offer a thanksgiving prayer for the being a God of the details.  As we entered in we learned five of the nine children in attendance had never been to a ball park before.  As we were leaving one child said, “ it was the best day I ever had.” Another child described it as “amazing” and while he had been quiet and reserved up to this point, he talked the whole way home as he began to open up to us. There were also beautiful conversations in the car ride with one child even singing,  “Jesus lift me higher” to the other children in the car.

Girls Group to the zoo and ice cream: Over the years the families staying at the motel seem to usually have a majority of daughters.  This inspired one volunteer to create a time for female mentorship, and now we have a girls group that meets every other Friday.  The volunteer has invited the girls into deep discussions about the Father’s love and the hope Abba has for their response to His love. Invitations to special activities have created a deeper bond and an openness to reach out in difficult times.

This past week the girls were invited out for ice cream and to the zoo.  A few days later the volunteer received a message from a girl’s mom saying, “ I have a big favor, can you keep my mom in your prayers? She has stage four lung cancer.  We need God to guide us in what we should do.  I’m overwhelmed and tired.” As we pray for the troubled mom, we also praise God for the willingness and openness to reach out and seek prayers for her and her mom.

 

  Cookouts and Games: Cookouts are the favorite meal for us to serve and for residents to enjoy.  This summer we have again set up a big tent and brought in some yard games as an invitation to an event bigger than a meal. Each time we set up the tables in the parking lot I am reminded again that there are no tables in any of the rooms at the motel.  This evening meal is the only opportunity residents have to come, sit and dwell as a family or with others.

The other week I was talking with two men in their room.  Construction work has brought them to the motel. Currently, this is their life as they move from city to city, staying in the most affordable place they can. During our conversation they jokingly asked if I was going to give a sermon in the back, which opened the door for a mini-one in their room.  After the meal I came by again and one of them said, “Mike, traveling from place to place is what I do for a living.  I’ve been staying in motels for twenty years and I have never experienced something like this. Thank you for being here.”

So, here is what God has been teaching me through this time of transition. In building community, baseball, ice cream and calling someone down from a tree aren’t that special on their own. But when you use them to reach out to people who feel lost, amazing things can happen. The Holy Spirit can work through you to change someone’s life, heal their hurt, or bring people together. The key? That simple, daily question: “Abba, as I walk my ordinary path today, whose eyes do you need me to meet, whose story do you need me to hear?”

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. (I Peter 2:21)

I Surrender All

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We weren’t sure we would make it to church a few Sundays ago after 4 days of flooding on Oceans Ministries campus. How thankful we were for a break in the rain which allowed us to encounter the Father’s voice during the worship time in Masiphumelele. The song right before the message was the old hymn, “I Surrender All.” As Sunny, the worship leader, repeated the refrain several times these powerful words from Scripture (see Lk. 9:23-25) rocked my heart:

I surrender all, I surrender all: All to Thee, my blessed Savior. I surrender all.

A few night earlier I was having a conversation with the Father about the flooding on campus. It always seems to happen in the middle of the night when all seems the darkest. There was no one else to help as the school was on break and Delgun who oversees our facilities was on a much needed family vacation.

As the sewage water was seeping into one of the buildings, the rains intensified, and I couldn’t find an adapter for the pumps. Without a doubt I was having one of those “why me” moments.  A few hours later I was upset about my pity party and strong emotions.  I knew others living in shacks were having their homes washed away.  I also knew other things were churning in life and the flood was a tipping point. And then the word “control” popped into my head. Deep down I was upset because I couldn’t stop the rain, the flooding, poverty and so many other things in life. Once again I was reminded that: I was not in control and I am not God.

In the wee hours of the morning I felt the Spirit say “Surrender,  you are not Sovereign, but I am!”  The first verse of the song says it best:

All to Jesus I surrender, All to Him I freely give:  I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

At the heart of surrender is “love and trust” in a Father who is in control of my life-even when it doesn’t make sense and even when things don’t seem right. The way I show my love is to trust Him even in the midst of life’s storms. He will use it and in some way work it out for good. This battle for control began along time ago in Garden of Eden in the hearts of Adam, Eve and their children, and now us. When we try to take matters into our own hands things seem to get worse. However, when we learn to daily surrender and live in the Father’s loving presence there is freedom.

As the song was revetting through the church it was a powerful reminder of my need to daily surrender this truth and apply to my life. Yes Lord, today “I surrender all” to my loving Sovereign Savior.  What happened next was quite out of the ordinary, as right after the song, the person who was to preach that Sunday stood up and said, “I feel Pastor Tim has a message for us today.”  As I slowly walked up to the podium, I knew I was in need of help. I sensed the Spirit in my heart say, “Don’t worry just surrender!”  I thanked Him for this answered prayer, and sighed deeply as His peace overcame me and spoke through me. It was truly His words not mine that were shared that morning.

Let these verses be a prayer which you cling to whenever challenges, storms, and uncertainties arise in your life :

All to Jesus I surrender, Humbly at His feet I bow;

Worldly pleasures all forsaken, Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender, Make me Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit, Truly now that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power, Let Thy blessings fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender, Now I feel the sacred flame;

Oh the joy of full salvation! Glory, Glory to His Name!