ROCKHARBOR Church is a tremendous blessing to Orange County California but we also have four strategic partnerships throughout the world to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of those partnerships is in the country of South Africa. These are some people’s experiences with God’s focus on our development to a place closer to His own heart. God’s pursuit of their hearts lead them to South Africa.
How does God actually transform one’s heart?
Growing up as a Christian I have often heard rallying cries for congregants to “be transformed.” However, It’s easy to throw around this phrase without considering the implications. But as Christians, I believe there are tangible moments in each of our lives, where God has transformed us. This happened to me about two years ago when I decided to go on a Mission to South Africa with ROCKHARBOR.
Even before I heard about the Mission, I had been working through a season in my life where I was dealing with “fear”, the fear of not being in control, of trusting God, fear of resistance, and doing things differently. For a variety of reasons I felt that the Lord wanted to grow and mature me in my faith. In Romans 12 Paul describes what it means to live a transformed life. Christ makes this possible, but He is always calling us to be transformed further, deeper. So as I worked through my “fears” I would intentionally do things, or seek out projects where I could essentially address and overcome these fears. It felt exhilarating. At the time, I remember having an excitement, and a slight trepidation, about “what is next.”
Then one day at ROCKHARBOR, I was minding my own business, when I felt a nonchalant punch from God. There on the screen was an announcement for a mission trip to South Africa. My heart sank. I knew I had to go. Now, I had never done anything like this before in my life! I was 29 and had never been outside of the country (save a few times to Mexico). It had been ten years since I last flew on an airplane, and I generally didn’t like traveling, or the possibility of acquiring communicable diseases like Typhoid or Malaria. This sounded scary! It sounded like I would not be in control, which is exactly what God wanted. He had been transforming me, drawing me through a process of addressing fears, and developing trust and faith in Him.
So, I said yes, and went to South Africa.
It was an experience that not only met, but completely exceeded, all of my expectations. God had taken me through a process of transformation (addressing and conquering my fears) in order to bring me to a place where I was willing to step out in faith and totally trust in him. For me this was expressed in the form of a Mission Trip to South Africa. Having gone on that mission, God transformed my heart even farther, beyond what I could have imagined! I discovered a newfound joy of traveling and serving people. Celebrating, laughing and crying with people. Hearing about injustice, and striving to enlighten others to the suffering that is going on around the world. Suffering that grieves the Lord! My heart was transformed in an unexpected way!
Global mission work is now a natural expression of my faith. In the two years since going to South Africa, I have served with other mission organizations in Central America, the South Western U.S. and most recently to Israel/Palestine. Now I am by no means suggesting that everyone must go on a Mission trip to Africa to be transformed, but for me, that helped. The idea is being open and willing to be transformed, allowing God to take you to places you never would have dreamed. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).”
Here is another story about being obedient to God’s calling on your life no matter the consequences.
In 2007 I got the opportunity to go to South Africa. I returned from that trip and immediately went into planning for the next trip. In 2008, I went back to South Africa. I remember stepping off the plane and hearing God ask me what was holding me back from being in South Africa full time. As I went through the two weeks of non-stop ministry I found myself realizing that I didn’t want anything to hold me back from living completely for God’s glory.
God made it clear that He had called me. Not because I was highly skilled, but because I was willing. It took 3 years and then in 2011, my husband and I moved to South Africa. God has transformed me.
I have never felt qualified. I have never felt like a missionary. I have only felt like I had to go and live my life for God. I have so many wants and desires from living in Orange County that have nothing to do with God. Living in South Africa has made me realize that I don’t *need *a whole lot. I don’t need a big paycheck, I don’t need a fancy car, I don’t need a nice house, I don’t need new clothes. I am constantly checking to see if I am living my life to glorify God. I am so not perfect and I can’t tell you how many times I fail. All I can do is persevere.
As I work here, I am overjoyed by the fact that I can make a small difference in lives here. I love teaching the students at Bridges Academy. Bridges of Hope International started the Academy for students who have lost one or both of their parents. Here we can help the students get a really good education. The class sizes back where they live are 60 to 80 students. At Bridges our biggest class size is 16. We get to disciple these students daily. Our hope is for them to go and be a light in their community. God has transformed me, and through that I try to live for Him in all I do.
Sermon Recap: The Servant
This past weekend we continued our series in The Story of God. We finally arrived in the New Testament, the most pivotal transition in the history of the world. Now as we begin studying the character of Jesus of whom the New Testament is about we take a look at Jesus as Servant.
We brought ourselves up to speed as we come on the scene of Jesus living on the earth. The Word of the Lord spoken through the prophet Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, was spoken about 400 years prior to Jesus Christ coming. We looked at what those 400 years of complete silence from the Lord would look like and feel like for the Jewish people. At first glance they probably can’t help but feel like God has failed. They are under foreign rule and God’s will and plan for Israel in terms of prosperity and exaltedness as God has described numerous times throughout the Old Testament is not being realized. However, as they read and hear Gods word through the Old Testament they probably can’t help but realize that there are some promises that God has made that have not been fulfilled yet. So, in the glimmer of hope that they have in God’s silence, they say, “God is not finished yet”.
As Jesus continues to build his following many of the Jewish people are saying, “this could be the one to fulfill God’s promises”. The problem among the nation however, is that the fulfillment of God’s promises to restore Israel and the world as well has a very specific structure, a specific outline, in their own minds. They forget that God does not run on the outlines and plans of man and they remain confused or blatantly ignorant of the passages in the Old Testament that allude to the Messiah as one who will come to “suffer”. They believed Jesus would lead a rebellion against the Roman Empire. They thought Jesus would lead a military campaign against Rome.
When a revolution is successful the leaders of the revolution now have the authority to set up there own kingdom and government in place of the old one and it is this thinking that has the mother of the Zebedee brothers bringing a request to Jesus in Matthew chapter 20. Essentially she asks Jesus to put her two sons in high-ranking government positions when Jesus overthrows the Roman Empire and establishes his own Kingdom. Jesus however, makes it clear as he does many times throughout the gospels that their worldly thinking is actually the opposite of how things are going to be done. He tells her that we are not overthrowing governments so that we can impose our will on others and have them be our servants, which would be an appropriate act in the worldly system, but instead we are going to be servants to others “for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve others.”
… What?
Why would we do that? If you’re the king you can do anything you want. Where is God’s glory in becoming a slave to others? That makes no sense.
Well it is EXACTLY as you have said. God’s glory is not always shown in physically impressive demonstrations and the lost and brokenhearted will be drawn to me because of the serving acts of my people. So, “count the cost” before you follow me.
It is important for every Christian to realize in the development of their faith and their relationship with God that simply following your own plans in a morally upright and ethical fashion is not enough in God’s eyes. Discipleship WILL cost you everything. In a very specific way one of the costs is serving. God calls us to serve others. This discipline does not come naturally to us and it is a great reminder for us to stay in Word so that we become motivated to serve because Jesus himself came to serve.