New Mountain I

On January 25th 2015, M and I will join the Mercy Town team adding vision-casting, leadership, teaching to this amazing group of people.

The call to join them came out of left field, but that is for another time. We planted and led Glenridge Church [in Durban South Africa]for around 13 years. Then replanted Southlands Church [in LA] for around 14 years. God our most wonderful heavenly Father has given us one more 'at bat' - one more great global gospel story.

God loves giving us new mountains to climb. None of us live our dreams. They are generally too light, selfish and small. These new mountains are huge, scary and impossible without God, and those he joins us to. If we can do it without Him and / or others, it is simply too small.

When Jesus curses the fig tree in Mark 11, Peter gently queries him about this most intriguing ecological happening. But Jesus totally ignores him. Instead Jesus goes all geological on him. Jesus says instead: "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you whoever says to this mountain 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will come to pass it will be done for him.'" [vs 22 + 23]

God is on about new gospel assignments. The fig tree represents the last season with much fruitfulness [possibly]. But that season is over. It is now about getting a new mountain assignment from the Father. Close the door on the old and getting going onto the new.

But this God-given mountain is going to be much larger that you imagined. It is going to intimidate you, overwhelm you, scare you, surprise you, even disorientate you.

So Jesus says speak to the mountain - don't let the mountain speak to you. He will say - "you can't climb me! You are too small, insignificant, unqualified, without resources. You will obviously fail!"

We have to speak to this new mountain. We cannot trust our emotions, feelings, even our history. This is about a God - entrusted chapter. It requires faith, a fight, forgiveness. But more of that in the next blog.

What is your new mountain? What does the Lord require of you? How radical is it? How deeply does it deviate from the normal, the old, the known? Where and how does it challenge you? How does the mountain seek to intimidate, scare and silence you? What will it take to climb it? Who is on the journey with you - you will not get to the top by yourself!