Speakers week - Day 4 + 5

I am at home, in my bed, trying to reflect the week I just experienced. It was just so full of truth and love, and God's voice... that in the end it almost felt like too much. I felt like I couldn't receive anymore. But I did. God is good to even give for me to receive.

This is what He pointed out to me in the last 2 days.

2 Corinthians 9
2 marks of maturity:
1. Having a heart to sacrifice
2. Having a heart of dependency

This chapter also talks about money. Guilt is never a motivation but Paul exhorted people to be a body that gives. If we give with blessing, it comes back with blessing!
Matt 19:27-29 --> the economy of God works differently than the economy of men. Men hold it closely and lose it, God says to give it away and find it!
Time, money, stuff, life... if we give it away, it's not a resource issue; it's a heart issue. 
You never give unless you give yourself.
When we give, we fear we'll miss out and won't have something. "I don't sow because then I won't have it..". But we forget to realize that if we sow, it will grow and (re)produce!
God is overwhelmingly powerful and able to provide for us - but we need to depend on Him and have our hearts in the right place.

Do you believe the theology of dependancy on God or are you dependant on God?
We talk big but we need to live it!
God will NEVER let you down!

You want to change the world - but are you willing to pay the cost? It's going to cost you your own life!
Learn to depend on God!
_____________________________________

2 Corinthians 10
God is not in business to change our personality; we are who He made us to be.
God is in business to develop our character.

God brings us to a place of being complete + lacking nothing through shaping us!

We often think we'll go out in mission, claiming back people for the Kingdom of God. But before we can do that, we have to deal with strongholds of darkness that are within us.
(Eph 6) Truth, righteousness, Gospel, faith, salvation, the Spirit - these things are able to pull down strongholds. The contrast is the flesh!

Our salvation is not just coming out of bondage but coming to a place that God prepared for us!
_____________________________________

2 Corinthians 11
Ministry - not just about bringing the people in but about taking Christ out!

Corinthians began to believe a lie.
We must be careful; one of the deceptions out there is the idea that if I have a desire for something then it's probably not from God. Don't understand this in a wrong way - things still have to be confirmed by God - but we often think "Would God do what excites me?" --> God wants to give us desires of our hearts!
______________________________________

2 Corinthians 12
We can boast about a lot of things but even though Paul had a very interesting experience with the Lord, he didn't really share it with people.
Chuck Smith - he could boast about himself in so many different ways but his boasting was always in what God was doing!

When we're in our weakest, that's when God is the most glorified!

"A guy who is most blessed by God is usually most buffeted by Satan." - Alan Redpath

Suffering is not nice BUT it's needed! For us to learn our weaknesses, we need to be weak!
Step out into those things that are going to stretch you, break you, that are too much for you! That's when God's power is made perfect!

Are we willing to be used up for Jesus?
God's grace is enough - but it requires for us to walk in those areas of weaknesses to experience it and know it!
______________________________________

2 Corinthians 13
Verse 5 gives us two commands: examine and test yourself.
Continually do this.
- Examine, be found, be approved - find out where you are your walk with the Lord!
- Test, try, see if you're genuine, if you're the real thing.


This is how we finished our speakers week. With all that we heard, we took over 30min and just worshipped the Lord, took communion, spent time with our God. And we examined our hearts.

This was such a powerful week and my prayer is that I will remember the key things God spoke to me and live them, not just know them.

We have a really good God who speaks to us, if we listen.
Thank you Lord, that you opened my heart to hear you.

Speakers week - day 3

Today was one of those days when God just pours out SO MUCH! I was so richly blessed by all 3 sessions and all 3 pastors.
This is what stood out to me (forgive me, it's a lot.. which is a good thing really.)

School Paul went to - 2 Cor 6:4-5
1. Great endurance/patience - don't get ahead of God! Wait, wait, wait, then wait some more, wait, and wait until God tells you to go! How long did David have to wait to be a king, knowing he'll be a king?
Abide in Him and He will tell you when to go! John 15
2. Tribulation, living in need - 2 Cor 6:4-5
Faith-based missions movement! Who do you trust when you're in the season of need?
Classes Paul took at school - 2 Cor 6:6-8
Purity, knowledge, long-suffering, kindness...
He was learning how to treat people, learning about the Word of truth, the power of God - while serving God!
Degree Paul received at the end - 2 Cor 6:9-10
He became a nobody in many ways, people mocked him, saying his ministry was falling apart.
Paul said he was unknown but well known. Where was he well known? Read Acts 19 about the sons of Sceva - the demons in that story said "Jesus we know and Paul we know..." - Paul was well known in hell!

If you're in Christ Jesus, you're known in heaven. But you're doing very well in serving Jesus if you're known in hell!
Heaven knows those who are being in Christ. Hell knows those who are being used by Christ.

Paul was a man of sorrows - but sorrows for others!
If God gave you 2 bottles; 1 filled with tears shed for yourself and 1 filled with tears shed for others. Which one of them is full?

Paul gratuated his school with a heavenly perspective. He had nothing in the end but he was the richest, as are we! Why? Because we (will) always have enough. That's abundance!

Holiness! - 2 Cor 6:11-18
Have you yoked yourself to the worldly ideas and you don't even know it anymore? "I need to do something to succeed, I need to tell people I'm in need..." . Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. - Luke 12:31
___________________________________

3 marks of maturity - 2 Corinthians 7
1. Change - but being stable
Stability is not absence of change, it's the dependance upon God. Removing change from your environment  isn't maturity!
Am I changing? Is the ministry changing?

2. Commitment
We want commitment from everybody but we don't always commit ourselves. 
Paul had a heart to live + die for the people he ministered to. 
Will you give yourself for a people group/country/people/person...?
My generation has a huge fear of commitment because we feel like we're going to miss out on something (else) so we don't commit to anything! VERY dangerous in spiritual ways!

David + Goliath. David conquered Goliath.
Why was David at the battle? He was asked to carry some food to his brothers who were at the battle. He was a delly boy. It wasn't a great task - he was doing the daily things.
We think calling is formed in great decisions but we're wrong! Most of the time we receive our calling doing little things, like David! 
Commit yourself to anything you can find of the Lord you believe He calls you to! Don't just stand at a distance, help and then leave. Be a person who is willing to give herself in a service of Jesus Christ!

3. Repentance
Worldly sorrow vs Godly sorrow --- "I'm sorry I got caught" vs "turning from one direction and going a different direction, recognizing that something offended the heart of God."
Repentance = a change of mind, heart + action
Prov 23:7 --> your thinking reflects where you're at. 
Amos 3:3 --> you can't walk with the Lord unless you agree with Him!
Prov 27:18 --> your heart reveals who you are!
____________________________________

Giving - 2 Corinthians 8
When was the last time we thanked God for the grace to give? 2 Cor 8:4 - those people LOVED to give! 
When we understand the generosity God continually pours out on us, it should change our attitude of giving (finances, time, energy...). 
We wouldn't be able to give unless God gave us - it's a privilege to give!
It's easy to give when you have the money. When you don't, it's challenging.
Walking by faith - maturity.
We often limit what God would do because money isn't there.
Not having a lot of money makes us relatable to people we're ministering to.
If we look at ourselves and everything we have as the Lords, and God tells us to give to someone, the argument wouldn't/shouldn't be "But this is mine.."!
Do we abound in giving?
We should give as a habit.
The willingness to give reveals sincerety of our love. Jesus is the example --> gave up riches + glory in heaven to be with us and minister to us!
If we want others to benefit from our ministry, it's going to cost us something - life, health, money, time...

Receiving - 2 Corinthians 8
Money can corrupt you - be careful!
It's important to be transparent about money!
Have someone as an accountability!

The Bible never tells us about results but about fruit. Fruit has seeds in it and will re-produce. 
We want fruit that remains and not quick results - here today, gone tomorrow!
________________________________

This is some really good stuff! Well done if you stuck with me until the end! :)
I hope this is encouraging for you, it for sure is for me!

Speakers week - day 2

2nd day of Speakers week, another really good day with great messages.
This is what I got out of it today.

- Recommendation letters can never be what validates the ministry, and they will never qualify you for ministry - what validates the ministry is the fruit (2 Cor 3:2)

- You can't seperate your life from ministry; see it as a whole, don't make compartments out of this.
(My Missions training teacher Pam Markey puts it this way:

God is always #1, everything else is #2 - no specific order or anything.

- The older Paul was, he grew in the knowledge of how unsufficient he was - but he also grew in the knowledge of how sufficient God is!

- We want to bring people under the authority of the Spirit who brings freedom - the law brings death (2 Cor 3:7)


Pastor Phil Metzger shared on 2 Corinthians 4 and talked about how apostle Paul saw trials.
The first and the last verse of the 4th chapter in 2 Corinthians say "So we do not lose heart."
How can we not lose heart in trials?
1. Remember that God is using them; when ministry is successful, we say "it's all the Lord"! But what about when ministry isn't successful? We should also say "it's all the Lord"!
2. The eternity overshadows all of this;

Will we still be consumed with trials 15.000 years from now? Will we even remember what trial is?
3. Paul saw God was producing glory through suffering; "Trials are not to be endured to reach glory; it's a process that produces glory!"

Concluding message:
Your life is not your own - get that and you'll experience greater joy! You're owned by Jesus and you don't have a right to choose what happens in your life.


Amazing teachings, once again. So blessed!

Speakers week - Day 1

We arrived to Calvary Chapel Bible College in Vajta, Hungary yesterday around dinner time. We had a great time of catching up with our Slovene students here, laughing at all the fun they have with Hungarians that don't speak any English or any other language than Hungarian :)

We started with the first session of Speakers week this morning.
Speakers week is a week of teachings on a specific subject or on a specific book of the Bible. It's a week in the semester where students don't have to do any homework but just listen to teachings, make some notes and be open for God's answers + direction about their lives. It's pretty amazing, really.

We'll be going through the book of 2 Corinthians and it's just all about ministry. SO ENCOURAGING! (Also encouraging to hear it as someone who is in ministry and not as someone who's hearing about their future ministry)! Phil Metzger, the pastor of Calvary Chapel Budapest, shared in the first 2 sessions, and Mark Walsh, the director of Calvary Chapel Bible Fellowship in New Zealand, shared in the evening. I'll just share a couple of things that stood out to me:

- You need to be comitted for good, otherwise you're ineffective.
- Do you know what your calling is? Knowing your calling will be exceedingly important when criticism comes - it may be the only thing that keeps you where God has called you to be!
- Don't base your calling on response from people!
- Are you able to comfort others with the comfort you got from God?
- When in suffering, we think comfort is going to come in the change of circumstances but the only comfort can come through Jesus Christ! Comitt yourself to Christ! Don't run to other solutions!
- Apostle Paul didn't have to get a sense of gratitude from people, feeling he belongs to them.. He was receiving ALL he needed from God! Am I receiving all from God?
- God is the One that validates people and ministry, and no one else!
- Ministry needs to begin on the grace of God!
- If you are in Christ Jesus, no one has a dominion over you! Also, ministry isn't having dominion over people or to have control over them! They're in the hands of God, and you're just His worker!
- There is no "me" in Christianity; it's all about Christ!

5 things that show maturity in Christ:
1. The willingness to speak truth in love (even when you want to avoid it, when it's hard...) - 2 Cor 2:1-4
2. The ability to give forgiveness (+ comfort); Love = action = forgiveness. - 2 Cor 2:5-11
"Doctors practice medicine, lawyers practice the law and pastors practice grace." We are to be people of grace.
3. Being able to hear God's voice - 2 Cor 2:12-17
4. Bringing the frangrance of Christ into the situation (Do you smell like you or do you smell like Christ) - 2 Cor 2:16
5. Knowing we're sufficient in ministry in Christ - and never on our own. (Are my inabilities my excuse for not doing something for God?) - 2 Cor 2:16-17


We heard so much in just a day, and the Lord is good to be speaking to me; convicting, challenging and encouraging. I'm beyond thankful!

And it's so good to be here, for so many reasons. Bible College still represents home to me, even after being back in Slovenia for 2 years. And there's no place like home.

Worship

I listened to a sermon by Jeff Schlenz today. He is a pastor of Calvary Chapel DC Metro in Washington DC. It's a church my good friends go to, and I went there when I visited them.

Pastor Jeff is an amazing teacher and God always challenges me through him. He spent 4 Sundays talking about worship. This is what he talked about the first 15 minutes of the first Sunday.

What is worship?

Is worship something you came to consume or to produce?

Did you evaluate the worship or did you participate in the worship?

Is worship something you came to observe or is worship something you came to enact?

Is worship just the musical portion of gathering? It must be more than that, right?

When Satan was tempting Jesus in the wilderness, he said “All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.”… - Matthew 4:9

Satan wasn't talking about singing here, was he? 

Worship must be an attitude 

before it ever becomes an action!

Mechanics – what is worship, why those songs, how loud, how soft, how long, hands raised…

What's the heart behind it though?

Both are necessary – a right heart AND right actions! But before we dig into the mechanics of worhsip, we need to have a right heart. 

Why + how do we worship?

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." - John 4:23-24

True worshippers – one group. Their heart is in the right place about worshipping God. 

Are we doing what we do for our own purposes, to accomplish our own goals – or are we doing what we do completely for Him?
We can use God/worship as a tool to achieve our own emotional objectives! 

God had given explicit instructions on how He was to be worshipped. We have an obligation to obey God. We often do what we want to do instead of having a heart that is set on serving + obeying God. Both have to be in place: authentic attitude + heart = authentic worship. But you don't get to give yourself your own stamp of authenticity. You don't get to decide based on what gives you the greatest goosebumps what is the most authentic. It's objective and it changes from time to time. 

God established an unchanging set of principles what creates authentic worship. Do we accept His authority to define for us what authentic worship is or do we continue in the realm of worship to say »I will determine what I like the best, how I like to worship the best, and I will bring that to my God.«?

If you want to worship God the Father, Jesus says »you must worship in Spirit and in truth!«

It's not optional and it's not occasional – it's essential. You must worship in Spirit and truth – and God is the authority who defines what that is.

So what is our attitude? Is it about our needs or about God's glory?

This really challenged me today. Musical worship is different in every church, of course. And I find myself thinking about the way people sing and play guitar so many times! Am I worshipping God with it? No!
Where is my heart in worshipping God? I often have an attitude of complaining and I often think worship is to be in a way I like it to be. This message challenged me not to think that way but to focus on my attitude of worshipping God - in Spirit and in truth!

This is only 1 out of 4 sermons on worship, I'm excited to hear more!
You can listen to them with me: What is worship?

Christmas music? Yes.

Every once in a while I find myself in need of new music. Fresh, slow, fast.. whatever. Usually Christian music. Usually worship.
I often go to NoiseTrade to find new artists who aren't very known yet, and that's where I find the new, fresh music.

This time I discovered Folk Angel. Because we're coming close to the season of Christmas, I'm looking for some Christmasy music, and they just happened to have a Christmas album.

I really like them :)

"Right now"

Saw this on someone else's blog.. it would be interesting to do one every month.

Wearing: stretchy pants, a very warm and comfortable pullover + warm, warm socks. It's Monday - my day off - and it's just one of those days when I like to feel comfy.

Listening: Greer River Ordinance is a band I found on Noise Trade a week ago, and it's refreshing. But I'm also very much in love with Kelly Clarkson's Christmas CD (yes, I'm already listening to Christmas music).

Reading: Why Grace Changes Everything by Chuck Smith and The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson. Both very encouraging. I usually read more books at the same time, and I'm just about to start reading I Dared To Call Him Father by a muslim lady.

Watching: Slovene movies of my childhood with an American friend that lives in Kočevje and is learning Slovene.

Doing: Updating the wall in my room - I'm starting a project called "Prayer wall". It will help me remember to pray for people every day.

Loving: all the pumpkin food I can eat!

Hating: the rain - I'd be totally fine with sun or snow, but rain.. not liking it much these days.

Wishing: that my back would stop hurting.

Wanting: to have a pet - a very cuddly cat OR a lizard with fingers (aka salamander) OR a snake. I want company.

A Fall Party

Colorful leaves, fresh breeze, lots and lots of pumpkins.. and not to mention one week off school... of course we needed to use this opportunity for a party - a fall party!

We had super fun games, amazing food, great decorations, costume competition...
We had so many kids come, it was amazing!

Fruity shish kebab, guacamole throw-up, and "guess how many" + pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie... Lots of yummy food! :)

 Explaining the games, taking pictures, waiting for volunteers to get ready for a game...

Top 2 pics: a game where each group of kids had to make lemonade out of water, lemons and sugar. They spit it out in a pitcher. (our 2 most bravest kids actually drank the lemonade in the end - their idea, not ours! :)

Bottom 3 pics: "Find gum in the flower" - so much fun! :)

A group picture! :)

After all the crazy games Shawn talked about the spiritual world. We shared the gospel and talked about God and satan, and how calling ghosts, going to fortune tellers... is very dangerous and is not a game.

We then walked to the center of Kočevje where most of us played Assassins. It's a game where you get a piece of paper with a name of one of the contestants. We say "go", count to 30, and the game starts. You need to find the person whose name is on the paper, and hit them with a ping pong ball. But.. someone else got a piece of paper with your name on it and is trying to hit you with his ping pong ball :) Super fun game! We played it for almost 2 hours, and there was 22 of us playing! :)

We ended the night with hot chocolate and great conversations. Such a great day AND celebration of fall and all the pumpkins it offers :)