Building A People of Power
in Articles
YWAM Associates can end up in many different areas of society once they leave our Mission. One former YWAM couple we know are pastoring a church in Sudbury, close to Wembley in London. On entering the building you’ll experience a very warm welcome. Following is a recent article from the Church newsletter – written by the Pastor – which concerns a building project currently underway.
The building work has finally begun. After numerous delays the workmen arrived and set about their various tasks. I was amazed at how much seemed to be accomplished in such a short space of time. Within a few days the pulpit had been removed, a hole knocked through from the church into the large vestry, the floor of the vestry had been removed and another hole had been knocked through from the vestry to the hall. This whirlwind of activity produced clouds of dust, the likes of which I had never seen before. It seemed to have got everywhere. It was in the air and I could feel it drying out my throat. Somehow the dust had even seeped through closed doors, and the toys in the Chatterbox cupboard all needed wiping down. Still, I can’t complain. At least it wasn’t as bad as what happened in Egypt: Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land.”
They say “No pain, no gain” and this is certainly true when it comes to building projects. It is noisy and disruptive but there is no way to get round that. If we want to improve the facilities then we have to pay the price. The same principle holds in our spiritual lives. God is “re-building‟ us. He accepts us as we are but then begins to work on us. He strips away the things that need to change and replaces them with much better things. Now, that can be painful. I’m sure when the floor of the vestry was ripped out it took a lot of force but I never heard the building complain! I didn’t hear the church say, “No! don’t remove my pulpit. I’m very attached to it.” Buildings don’t have feelings.
God’s work of rebuilding is much trickier. He is working with people who struggle and resist change. That’s why Jeremiah had such opposition. He was called to be a prophet while still a child. He was appointed by God “over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” The people resisted him. No one likes to be told what to do by someone younger than them. They even imprisoned him down a well to try and silence him!
The Bible says that there is a battle going on inside us. The version of Bible which we use in church says this, “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.” But I love the way the King James puts it, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other.” We don’t passively accept the changes that God brings into our lives. Often we oppose them very fiercely. But you know, God doesn’t give up on us. He is so committed to making us holy that he will come back time and time again and challenge us with the same issues until finally we say, “OK Lord, I give in. You win.”
The building project is going to be messy and inconvenient. There’s no way to get round that but I am sure that in three or four months time we will look at it and see that it was worth it. At least I hope we will! I am certain of this though: The work which God is doing with our lives is definitely worth the pain. Paul could say that we are “being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” He says of the church, “In him (Christ) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.” If you ask a child whether Bob the Builder can fix it, they will answer with resounding confidence, “Yes he can!” Can God the Builder “fix‟ us and the church? “Yes He can!” but don’t resist what He is doing in your life. Co-operate fully and the work will be finished much more quickly.
