Quote from Forum Archives on March 1, 2001, 10:55 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

What does Fishing and Breaking Bricks have to do with worship?
Well, my friend Larry Davies has a good way of sharing with us
how God can work in the minds and lives of people who are willing
to be listen and then be obedient to the Spirit of God.

To me, the Spirit of God works when I am an active and eager
participant, one who really wants to know what God wants to do
with my life, but then one who responds when an answer comes.

Let me ask you a question. Ponder it over quietly in your own
heart, then decide for yourself what is the correct response.
How many times have you read the Word of God, sensed a gentle,
inner tugging about something you read, then wondered what to do?
How many times have you let those thoughts pass on by?

I believe that when the Word of God speaks to us, things happen,
and lives are affected by it. We have to be careful when we read
the Word to check our interpretation for consistency. One
sentence, by itself, can cause us to go off on some tangent.
This happens, and even among people who believe, we become
splintered because of differences in interpretation. I believe
that God can work in that, in spite of our own difficulties. But
I also believe that if we carefully study what God teaches us in
His Word, we can be free of wide fluctuations in interpretation.
Certain things are very clear.

This message about form and function is one of those things. If
you examine scripture, you will find just about every possible
posture when it comes to bringing honor and praise to God: quiet
reflection in a private room, loud singing and dancing,
celebration, mourning, intercession for the welfare of others,
helping the poor, homeless, widowed, and sick... the list goes
on.

To me, the key to it all is to get to know the mind and heart -
the very essence of the Spirit of God. Once that happens, the
Spirit of God can be readily seen in every facet of life.

God wants people to know Him. To me, that says whatever methods
and means draw appropriate attention to Him, without painting a
false picture of either God or ourselves, might be appropriate
tools for helping others to see God. One question I ask myself
is, "Does this activity point to me, to others, or does it point
to God?" If the answer is that it points to God, I'm all for it.
If it is something vainly disguised as something else, it is time
for me to get quiet before God, seek Him, read what His Word
tells me, then ask for new direction and guidance, then wait.

I think that our desire to put God in places where WE are
comfortable comes from just that - our own desires. To me, that
becomes sin when it gets in the way of what God wants to do in
our midst. My prayer is that God can somehow use each of us in a
tangible way, regardless of whether it is something we are used
to or not. Please help us, Lord. We need Your Spirit, active
and alive in our midst. Teach us who You really are, and show us
how to be more like You. Amen.

Brother Brian

From: "Sowing Seeds Ministry" <sowseeds@nesbeonline.com>
Subject: Worship 4: Fishing and Breaking Bricks
Sowing Seeds Ministry Devotion March 1, 2001

For part one of the worship series:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/worship.htm
For part two: www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/worship2.htm
Part three: www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/worship3.htm

Sowing Seeds of Faith

Worship 4: Fishing and Breaking Bricks
Larry Davies

You can do almost anything and catch a few fish but to do more
you have to experiment, to be creative, in other words be willing
to listen to the voice and fish on the other side of the boat.

The brochure featured a picture of a guys head crashing through
a pile of bricks and read: Team Impact: Revolutionize Your City
One Heart At A Time! Crowd-Drawing Entertainment A ministry of
world-class athletes who are also world-class preachers using
feats of strength to convey a world-class message. An event so
spectacular; people will stand in line, waiting for the church
doors to open. This is how you reach the masses. A proven bait to
fill your sanctuary with the lost

Breaking baseball bats? Chopping bricks? Ripping telephone books?
Bending steel bars? I thought it was funny at first but something
enticed me to keep this particular brochure. For several years, I
had been looking for something that would help me reach out to
people who would not normally come to a church service but how?
Could a Team Impact worship event be what I was looking for? No
way!

The disciples had been fishing all night long and caught nothing.
At dawn, a voice on the beach called out, Friends, have you
caught any fish? They replied, No.

Then he said, Throw out your net on the other side of the boat
(From John 21:4-6)

You can do almost anything and catch a few fish but to do more
you have to experiment, to be creative, in other words be willing
to listen to the voice and fish on the other side of the boat.

At first the advise of the mysterious voice on the beach makes no
sense. The distance from one side of the fishing boat to the
other is only six feet. Six feet! How can moving the nets six
measly feet catch any more fish? It doesnt make sense unless you
are willing to trust the voice The disciples trusted. They threw
the nets on the other side and couldnt draw them in because
there were so many fish.

The voice was urging me to throw my nets on the other side of the
boat. So, our church invited Team Impact to Lynchburg, Virginia
and for five days, four of the most powerful men in the world
performed amazing feats of strength. One guy took a steel
horseshoe and bent it into a heart. Another danced through fire
breaking pile after pile of bricks. Another broke out of
regulation police handcuffs behind his back. Crowds came from all
over to watch them perform but the performance was simply bait

Each man spoke of his faith in God. One served aboard the
aircraft carrier, USS Saratoga and told of a sailor who fell
overboard. He described the helplessness of struggling to stay
afloat and watching his safe haven and his home sail away. The
total darkness and the thought of creatures lurking beneath the
surface was terrifying. After a few hours, a rescue chopper
appeared and dangled a lifeline. But the sailor couldnt reach
it. As the light shined down from the chopper he could see the
fin of a nearby shark circling closer and closer. Salvation was
so close yet so far away. He desperately needed help.

At times we all feel lost and alone in a darkness filled with
fear and foreboding. Unknown creatures seem to lurk just below
the surface. God feels so close yet so far away. Our own efforts
to reach the lifeline come up short. We desperately need help.
The sailor received his help when a search and rescue expert
shimmied down the rope, attached a special harness to him and
together they were pulled upward to the safety of the chopper.
Jesus is our search and rescue expert who shimmies down the rope
and attaches a special harness to you and together we are pulled
to the safety of God.

Each night people came forward to accept Jesus Christ as his or
her Savior. Over one hundred and fifty lives were changed thanks
to the unique ministry of Team Impact. Just as important,
hundreds more of us felt our faith renewed and strengthened by
the testimony of these mighty representatives of God. We listened
to the voice, fished from the other side and our nets were filled
to overflowing.

You can do almost anything and catch a few fish but to do more
you have to experiment, to be creative, in other words be willing
to listen to the voice and fish on the other side of the boat.

For more information on Team Impact Ministry you can call
1-972-790-5856 or visit their website at
www.Team-Impact.com or send an email to
mailto:info@team-impact.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sowing Seeds Ministry Prayer challenge for 2001: Prayer of Jabez
1 Chronicles 4:10

And Jabez called on the God Israel saying, "Oh, that You would
bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would
be with me, and that You would keep me from evil." So god granted
him what he requested.

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www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/feedback.htm

=====
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Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/
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