Hi FNAME,
Sent on behalf of Korrie Silver:
There is no doubt that we find ourselves tossed by a global socio-economic-political storm of astonishing proportions—arguably the worst ever, and one that is wreaking havoc all over the world.
The question is, where is God? And how can we find Him, especially when we feel that we are sinking?
We have pondered that question ourselves, and quite frankly, we have experienced tinges (and even more than tinges at times) of despair when we couldn’t figure out where God was in the storm…until recently, when one of our colleagues in transformation, Pastor Kent Mattox, shared an illuminating insight that we now wish to pass on for your encouragement. Be ready to be blessed, and most importantly, to be empowered!
In the New Testament we see three types of storms:
In the first type, believers cry out for help, Jesus rebukes the storm and it stops right away (see Mark 4:39).
The second type is a storm where Jesus invites us to face the winds and walk on water, and when we sink, He rescues us, walks with us back to the boat, and the storm stops (see Matthew 14:22ff).
The third type is the most severe storm because the boat capsizes and everything on it is lost, and the only way to survive is to hang on to a piece of wood from the wreckage to reach the safety of the beach. That was the case with the apostle Paul in Acts 26.
COVID-19 and today's social distress is such a storm. Everything we have been sailing on or with—things we took for granted—are fast disappearing. Not only in government, education, business, health care and the economy, but even the way we used to do church has washed away, leaving us with little to hang on to but a plank of wood, as was the case with Paul and his fellow passengers.
That piece of wood symbolizes the Cross. When everything else is sinking, we must hang on to it and remind ourselves that we are saved by the blood that Jesus shed on that Cross, and propelled by that unsinkable fact and the power it emanates, we will gain the strength to swim to a safe shore.
But make no mistake…once we get there, it will get worse before it gets better, as Paul experienced.
As he was building a fire to warm himself and the other distressed passengers, he was bit by a viper, apparently a demonized one because it stuck to his hand rather than biting and fleeing as is customary for vipers to do. This caused the locals to suspect Paul of a crime for which the viper’s attack was divine punishment. But Paul shook the viper off, threw it into the fire, and survived the attack. When the locals saw this, they looked to him as a divine messenger which led to the establishment of an Ekklesia in Malta where many came to faith, including the governor when his father was miraculously healed.
The devastation wrought by the storm was used by God to establish the Ekklesia in a place that otherwise would have been left without one.
Which brings us back to today’s crisis.
To capture the fullness of the power of the Cross symbolized by that piece of wood, now that so much is going under, we have developed the Ekklesia Excelerator to show how the Cross provides the way to not only survive, but to thrive in the storm. This is presented in ten interactive lessons that show you how to experience transformation in your personal life, in your family, and in your sphere of influence; that is, where you live, your neighborhood, your work, and your school.
This is more than theory…it works! Over 1,300 believers on five continents have taken the Excelerator and become strengthened personally and in their spheres of influence, and as a result, the storm unleashed by COVID-19 is causing Ekklesias to be established in places they could never have reached before.
This is why I ask you to join us in two action items:
- We have a waiting list of worthy but under-resourced global leaders in needy areas who are ready to register. They only lack the means. This is a pivotal opportunity to provide scholarships for these leaders to be empowered with the Ekklesia training. Click here to sow a scholarship for them. It will be a gift that will bear much fruit!
Let us invest what we have now before it is lost in the storm.
We look forward to hearing from you today!
Warmly and expectantly in God, |
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Blessings my friends,
Korrie
TOW Canada GTA Chair
647.300.7952
www.transformationcanada.ca
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