Here’s one of Brian’s posts:

Have you ever seen the television show on the Animal Planet called “I Shouldn’t Be Alive”?  If not here’s the basic premise of the show.  A person or group of people starts out on an adventure…sometimes a new one and sometimes one they’ve done before.  A typical adventure might include a kayak trip on a river or on the ocean, a hike up a mountain, a family sailing trip, a day trip into the desert, etc.  The adventures typically start out simple enough, but inevitably something goes wrong and a seemingly-innocent day of fun turns into a fight for survival.

An episode I saw recently was one in which a couple’s first date consisted of a day hike in a desert-like location in Texas.  The couple started out their day of fun embarking on a couple-hour hike that would end back at their car.  However, after a short amount of time they got turned around.  They lost their bearings.  At some point their surrounding became unfamiliar.  They no longer recognized their path.  The fight…the struggle for survival was on.

Soon the young couple was in a fight for their very lives.  The 100+ degree heat soon began to take its toll on the couple.  Dehydration began to sap their energy.  Heat and dryness began to crack their lips.  Their skin soon began to turn red as it cooked in the sun’s rays.  After a couple of days they began to hallucinate…see things that were not there…hear things that were not there.  In their desperation to escape their predicament, they began wandering…looking for a way out…trying to find their way back to safety.Part of their struggle was due to the fact that they were ill prepared.  They carried no water.  Instead of sturdy hiking shoes they were wearing running shoes.  Why not?  They weren’t going mountain climbing.  They were only out for a walk in the desert.  They had no ability to build fire as the sun began to sink into the horizon and the temperatures began to drop to the mid 30′s.  Why would they?  They weren’t planning on being out after dark.  Their adventure was only to take a couple of hours.  They had plenty of time.

As with many of the hour-long episodes, the couple’s relating the details and the staged reenactments of their struggle came down to the last 10 minutes.  They were done.  They had resigned themselves to the fact that there was no way out.  They laid down to die in the desert.  They made peace with each other and themselves.  They gave up and prepared for the worst.

But then there’s a noise…a sound in the distance.  The sound of a helicopter.  The sound of help coming to find them.  The sound of rescue.

Sounds like a good show, although my wife would disagree, but what is my point?

Here’s the point…Think of this adventure as a parable, a story designed to illustrate a spiritual truth.  People start out innocently enough, but somewhere they hit a rough patch.  They make a wrong turn down a path they did not intend to go down.  They end up in a place they did not intend to end up.  They lose their bearings.  They lose their way.  Then the struggle is on.  The fight for survival is on.  I once heard it put like this…It’s kind of like Denny’s.  No one plans on going there; they just end up there.    They fall into a cycle of self-deliverance that, even though physical habits might be broken, the inner, spiritual pain continues.  They are ill prepared for the struggle.  They have the wrong equipment.  They fight and struggle for survival.  They wander around looking for help, a way out.  They try to reason themselves into happiness.  They try to work harder, believing that if they say and do the right things everything will get better.  Work more hours.  Do more good things.  Others try more “spiritual” things…just pray harder, read their Bible more, go to church more, obey the commandments, everything will get better.  But nothing works.  There is no relief.  There is no help.  There is no freedom.  The heat of battle begins to take its toll.  They become spiritually parched, dried up.  They cannot find their way back to a life of peace.
The day must come when we give up.

Stop trying.

Stop fighting.

Stop struggling.

Listen.

Listen.

Hear that sound?

Hear that faint noise in the distance?  What is it?  Am I imagining it?  What is that noise?

Don’t ignore that sound.  It’s the sound of rescue.  It’s the sound of deliverance.  If you listen closely you’ll hear it.  The sound gets closer and closer.  Soon, up over the horizon pops the source of rescue.  In the case of the couple in the desert of Texas, it came in the form of a helicopter.  For us it comes in the shape of the cross.  What Jesus did on the cross is the answer.  It is the deliverance.  It is our rescue.  Hebrews 9:12 (NLT) tells us that, “Once for all time (Jesus) took blood into that Most Holy Place, but not the blood of goats and calves.  He took his own blood, and with it he secured our salvation (or rescue…my emphasis) forever.”

The final scene in the Animal Planet show is usually that of the characters climbing aboard the rescue plane, helicopter, boat, etc. and being taken to safety.  The cross is our rescue vehicle.  Without going into too much detail in this blog entry (look for more of that in future posts!), our complete rescue was provided for on that “vehicle”.  Jesus bore our sins and freed us from its penalties.  We no longer have to wander in the wilderness looking for a way to safety.  Before time began, God knew we needed to be rescued.  He knew you and I would be in dire straits, in need of rescue and provided it in the form of a cross.  All we have to do to find peace and safety is climb aboard.  Allow Him to rescue us.

***We’re in need of bakers. If you’d like to bake 3 dozen cookies to contribute to the meal, let us know at jason@journeykc.com. We’ll even take them down there on Saturday if you can’t make it. It’s a great way for you to get involved even if you can’t be there.***

Come work together as Journey Church reaches out to the homeless through Hope Faith Ministries. Hope Faith serves the homeless from 7:00 am until approximately 3:00 pm. They generally feed 450-500+ each day from their current facility. The needs of homeless have doubled in the last 18 months and we need your service. Don your Journey Church shirt and grab a hat (or a hairnet will be provided for you) and come prepare and serve lunch at Hope Faith.
Donations will be accepted to buy the supplies needed, just write “Hope Faith Meal” on your giving envelope to designate beyond your usual tithe. Contact jason@journeykc.com for more info or to volunteer to gather supplies.

Volunteers enter at the north end of the building through the door under the “705″ awning. http://www.hopefaithministries.org/. Parking in the small southern lot or the lot to the west.

Do you deliver? Bob Sapp does every Sunday morning as he brings a church service to the residents of Kendallwood Assisting Living in Gladstone, Missouri from 8:30-9:30. He said it all started when hear heard the call of God to preach His word. ” You have to have an outlet for that. It’s either stand on a street corner and shout it or this. People are much more receptive in this type of setting. ” Bob explains.

He started the church service at Kendallwood over 3 years ago, just a few weeks after moving his family to the KC area from Houston. Providing a church service in this way just felt natural to Bob. He did it for many years with first, leading worship, then preaching on occasion. “Then, the guy who was preaching couldn’t do it anymore, so I just sort of took over preaching”.
That preaching has helped hold him accountable to consistently reading his Bible to prepare for messages. “It’s really kept me meditating on the Word, trying to hear from God ” acknowledges Bob. “An added benefit is that I’ve stayed consistent with my guitar playing, and been able to develop my worship talents.” With his current setup, he leads worship for thirty minutes and preaches for the other thirty.

It’s evident Bob’s heart has really been touched by what God has been using him for in this setting. “I mean, these are people who have gone to church their whole lives- a lot of them- and they were missing it” said Bob. Thankfully, Bob answered God’s call and brings church to those who can’t venture out. “I always get more out of it, I’m sure, than they do.” he explains. “You get to meet an entirely different population than you normally would.”
Now would be a great time for you to get involved. Bob explains “It’ s about as safe of an environment for someone to develop what they believe God is calling them to that I can imagine.” You could come help with worship time, teach a message, or share a story/testimony. Another way to participate would be just to come out and meet the residents during and after the service, help people to their seats, sit by them and help them find hymns in the book. Bob says that families are more than welcome.
Service Time is Every Sunday from 8:30 till 9:30 and it located off Antioch Road at:
Kendallwood Assisting Living
2801 NE 60th St
Gladstone, MO 64119-2040

Contact Bob at 913-909-2815 if anyone is interested.

Don your Journey Church shirt and grab a hat (or a hairnet will be provided for you). Arrive at 7 to start cooking breakfast. Journey Church is buying the ingredients for the menu. Donations will be accepted to buy the supplies needed, just write “Hope Faith Meal” on your giving envelope to designate beyond your usual tithe or given to Cheryl at the event.
Volunteers enter through the North doors, which is the office entrance (under the awning that says 705).

Contact jason@journeykc.com for more info

Or call Journey Church at 368-1540.

Don’t forget about the outreach event on Saturday at Harvesters! Check out the calendar section of our website for details!

Joplin from Journey Church on Vimeo.

For those who were at the church services the last two weekends, this is based on the words that were shared in service.  This post was actually written over a week ago, so some of what is covered here you may have already heard, while other parts did not get shared.  My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will use these words to edify the body of Christ at Journey Church and impart grace to the hearers (Ephesians 4:29).

What awesome services we have had at Journey Church!  At the recent healing service, the presence of God was strong in the auditorium.  I believe that many of you felt the power of the Holy Spirit moving.  I believe God began a work in His church that will continue to grow, to mature, and to increase the faith and hunger for His presence among His people.

As I began last week reading my Bible and asking the Lord what His plan was for me and for His church moving forward, I began to sense strongly that the Holy Spirit desires to continue the work that started at the Sunday morning healing service.  I believe many people felt the presence of God in ways they had never experienced before.  I believe there was a sense of expectancy among the congregation that God would be present, and He was.  I know of the hundreds of services I have been apart of in my lifetime, I can recall only a small handful of times I have felt the presence of God so strongly.  Events such as those we experienced recently can only be described as a move of the Spirit of God.  While seeking the Lord as to what was next for us as a congregation, He spoke Galatians 3:3, “Having begun in the Spirit, are you new being made perfect by the flesh?“  In my experience, following true encounters with the presence of God, it is natural for us to start asking ourselves what we must do to continue the work that the Holy Spirit started.  This is a good thing.  We are created to desire the presence of God; to walk, talk, and live in constant fellowship with Him.  It was not until sin entered the world that Adam hid himself from God’s presence.  The question is not whether or not we want God to continue to move among us, but rather, how to cultivate the seed the Holy Spirit has planted.

I believe the first thing we need to recognize is that it is God’s work in the first place.  Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” God began the work.  He planted the seeds of expectation among His people, and then honored those expectations by rewarding them with His Spirit. Philippians 3:3 tells us to “put no confidence in the flesh.” Nothing can be done by our flesh to nurture and cultivate an outpouring of God’s Spirit.  A move of the presence of God is born of the Spirit and must continue by the Spirit.

The second thing we need to recognize is that we live under the new covenant.  We no longer receive from God by the works of the law.  Galatians 3:5, “Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” Under the old covenant, the people of God were not filled with the Holy Spirit.  They were left to follow the law of God in their flesh, a task at which they failed miserably!  But we under the new covenant have something so much better!  Romans 8:3-4 says, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” It is no longer up to us to be good enough to receive from God.  After the lame man was healed in Acts chapter 3, Peter says in verse 12, “why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” The disciples in the book of Acts understood that it is the righteousness of God in Christ that positions us to receive from, and be used by God, not our own works.

So what then is our part?  Colossians 2:6, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” The way we are born again, is the same way we are healed, which is the same way we receive anything from God… by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).  We cannot earn the presence of God, but rather we can ask of Him who freely gives us all things (Romans 8:32), and believe that “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).  Remember, “the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you” (Romans 8:11), and in the same way that the Spirit brings life to your body, it can manifest the life of God in every area of your life.  As a congregation we are of one mind, with a shared goal and shared faith.  Philemon 1:6 says, “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Every good thing you need is on the inside of you, not in your flesh, but in your born again spirit.  The fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control) are already apart of you.  The life of God, the love of God, and the power of God dwell in you.  Your part is to learn to let it all out!

Suggested Donation List: 

• Flashlights
• Batteries
• Bottled water
• Towels
• Blankets
• Toiletries
• Large storage containers
• Breakfast bars
• Canned fruit/veggies
• Can openers
• Work gloves
• New underwear
• Gently used T-shirts, shorts, etc.
• Baby kits – formula, wipes, diapers, baby food
• Kids Fun Kits – 1 gallon bags with small toys, coloring books, games, play dough, etc.
• Chainsaws
• Gas cans
• Dust masks
• Safety Glasses