Encounter

About a month after I started going to WRC, the church hosted a youth and young adults conference. They announced it every week leading up to it, but honestly, I was not paying attention. The ladies kept asking me if I was going to go, and I kept saying no. One, I had to work. Two, it was the same weekend my friends were going to get married, so I was going to be partying all weekend with them. With about a week until the wedding, the bride posted on facebook that the ceremony was off. They were still going to get married, but they were going to elope to escape the family drama. I already had time off from both jobs, so, of course, I tried to plan to leave town.

The Wednesday before the conference, one of the ladies text me again, asking if I was going to go. Again, I said no. All night at work, Encounter kept coming to mind. Repeatedly, I woke up during my Thursday nap with Encounter on my mind. Finally, I grabbed my phone, bought a ticket and text Mary that I was in.

That was the best decision I could have made. Despite being exhausted Friday night after working both jobs, I left so energized by Pastor Steve's message on running the race. (This combines Friday night and Sunday morning's messages since it was a two-parter.) It was from Hebrews 12:1-2. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Pastor Steve talked about how the key to running the Christian race is not how fast you go, but what you carry. Only so much can fit inside you. Stop carrying the worries and sins. Just go. 

Pastor Steve said giving up on our race with God is the sin (singular) that so easily entangles us, and it is so true. How many times do we slack off or straight give up when things get hard? Making the same dumb mistake repeatedly is like running into a barbed wire fence at full speed. You know it's going to hurt. You know it's going to tangle you up.You know it's going to keep you from where you are going to go. Sticking with Jesus all the time is the hard part, especially when you are around people who don't believe the same as you or aren't used to your fire. I've seen this in my own life since finding my way back to God. I barely see some people I once called my closest friends. They don't know how to handle me anymore, some going as far as saying "It's like you are a different person. I don't know who you are anymore." (I chose to take that as a compliment, even though it wasn't intended as such.) Like Pastor Steve said Sunday, "Opposition is there to wear you down."When we look at the persecution Jesus had to go through, it really puts our lives in perspective. He was beaten. He bled and died for us. Is losing a couple friends or being called crazy really that bad in comparison? I think not. Americans are pretty dang lucky in that regard.

I missed Pastor Dustin's sermon Saturday morning because I was working, and was half asleep for Pastor James' message. I remember it was good, but didn't take notes. It had something to do with raising up a remnant. I need to go back and listen to it.

Saturday night was a big night for me. Isaiah's preaching was so spot on and full of fire. Take the 75 minutes and listen to it, because I seriously can't do it justice. He talked about how organized religion can send us to hell just as fast as meth; how the problem isn't getting the fire - it's keeping the fire; how we can expect to go through everything Jesus went through while we follow him; and how we need to show proof that we are saved, not just say it. 

Something Isaiah said that really stuck out to me was that grace isn't permission to sin, but rather, it's power to overcome sin. Hearing Isaiah's story about giving up his job, fiance and partying to go after God really stuck with me. The drinking part really convicted me, but I'll save that for a post all its own.

 At the end of Isaiah's message, I was at the front in the crowd of youth and young adults. At some point, he put a hand on my head and I heard him pray for fire to fall, and boy did it. Next thing I knew, I was on my knees speaking in tongues for the first time since I was a kid in Indiana. After a while, I started to stand up and heard "school of ministry." Of course, I'm stubborn and ignored it, but it didn't go away. I let it rest on repeat in the back of my mind for a couple days before I really did anything with that.

Bottom line, my life changed at the Encounter conference. It is a journey, but I'm loving seeing how God is moving through me and around me. More to come on all of that...