Be Radical- Be Still
9 September 2013
My pastor has been speaking of being “radical” several times recently and it has like watching that butterfly struggling to be released from its’ constricting cocoon. As I have reflected on her journey it would appear, at least to me, that the TEN Conference back in July was the point where her presence in the world outside caused her to break through the restricting bonds of a spiritual cocoon to fulfill her destiny. People around her meeting her for the first time would see a woman on fire with the Love and Zeal of the Lord and would be correct but what they cannot see are the countless hours she has spent waiting on God and seeking His guidance and release. She has, and continues to, pay the price required to be laying hold of the prize set before her. And lest you read this and envision someone spending every day in her pristine office at church lost in prayer please note she has a full time job, a wife and all the other every day responsibilities we all have. She is committed and sold out to the vision Daddy has planted within her heart. She is becoming RADICAL! And her spirit is saturating the house. For the record I am not trying to borrow money, gain favor or suck up to her. What I am doing is simply giving honor where honor is due.
Since the 70s I have been apart of all great movements of God and have seen countless “crash and burn” ministry and lives come tumbling to the ground seemingly without any fore warning. By God’s Grace and that alone I wasn’t one of those but as we are moving into a new season of change I feel a need to share what I have learned. I have not shared this with Pastor Sherry so this is strictly my personal belief speaking.
Sne has been speaking of the radical men and women of the Bible and in every case what is hidden behind their radical choices in life was a very personal and intimate relationship with the Father. Although they are not usually recorded except for Gideon and David from personal experiences I would imagine the radical acts were preceded by countless smaller ones that built the confidence and boldness needed in their later life. In the 1980s my wife and I were asked to pray about and consider moving from Kentucky to Texas to help start and establish a new local church. We heard Daddy saying it was time to move and sold our home, quit my job and packed up a family of 5 children and moved to Bedford, Texas with around $300 and a word from the Father. Yes He met us there and we spent 12 years of our lives in Texas but what you can’t see is how smaller challenges were put before us to build and strengthen our faith and how much time was spent in prayer and just being still and waiting on the Holy Spirit to show us the way He prepared for us. Yes our move was radical and common sense would have rejected it but the Holy Spirit won out over man’s wisdom. We were not alone in stepping out in faith like that but in every case I am aware of the radical acts were preceded by a progression of smaller at first and then ever enlarging acts all which were smothered in prayer. In my home church, a place filled with misfits and rejects by the world’s standards, there are brothers and sisters saturated in the anointing of God that are wrestling with all the demons of doubt and the lie that says “God would never use you, you are a failure or unworthy or…..” and yet the anointing remains waiting to be brought forth. Pastor is right in calling for us to be radical and for some it will mean great acts of outrageous faith and for others it may be in that season of smaller steps to build your faith and bring you to that radical place of taking God at His word. Wherever we are individually I believe setting ourselves apart from the chaos around us to be still and quiet before Him is critical. I cannot do what the Holy Spirit is guiding me towards if I can’t discern His voice from all the others that bombard our daily lives. It took Samuel four times to recognize God’s voice in the beginning and he was asleep next to the altar. I have made a myriad of mistakes in my walk by listening to the wrong voices and thinking they were Daddy’s and yet He caused me to press on, He redeemed my mistakes and encouraged me to press on and by His Grace I am at this point in my journey. Sunday after church a sister gave me a ride home and I found myself resting quietly on the back deck. There was no music, no television, computer, phone or any of the other usual distractions. I felt a deep need to just “BE”. I needed to turn off and tune out all the distractions both around me and within me. No I wasn’t studying or reading the Bible I was being still and in that place Daddy met me and we communed and I was restored, refreshed and renewed by just being with Him. Jesus has to be our living example and He made it a point to set Himself apart for time with His Father and we need to do the same. He raised Lasarus from the dead but He started out by changing water into wine. Being radical isn’t a one time incident but a life style that grows and changes along the way. It is a commitment to sell out to the vision and to be willing to pay the price.
Again my personal belief. As I said in the beginning I have watched countless spiritual tragedies unfold and in almost every case there was no spiritual covering in place or any oversight by a pastor, shepherd or some form of spiritual authority. Jesus walked in it and spoke often of His relationship with the Father. He took the disciples and taught them through words but more importantly by example every day of their three year time together. I firmly believe we need to find that person or persons the Father has prepared for each of us to help us and guide us through a living example, and most importantly to help us hear clearly what the Spirit is saying to us. I have had times in my own life when what I sincerely thought was the Holy Spirit calling me to do was actually a voice from deep inside myself pressuring me in a direction that would have been disastrous. Apart from having someone in my life that I had given spiritual oversight to I would have gone headlong into situations that could have ultimately brought me to destruction. I am not talking about everyone running to their pastor with every little thing but rather seeking God for the person He has prepared for you and then building a solid relationship with them. To the world this would appear to be bondage bur being rightfully yoked with the one Daddy has prepared for you is actually freedom and it brings a liberty and confidence to step out and become that radical son or daughter you were called to be. We were called to be sons and daughters that reflected their Father and that is about as radical as you can be , at least by the world’s standards. We aren’t a religion or a denomination- we are Family. Actually we are THE Family, not all of it but a part and if we will be faithful to be still and listen and then obey we will surely become that radical son or daughter we were formed and created to be. Be Still then Be Radical. May you be truly blessed and encouraged on your journey and enjoy and embrace the adventure. It is what Jesus called Life Abundant.
Charlena Marie Andrews-Hayes
9 September 2013
My pastor has been speaking of being “radical” several times recently and it has like watching that butterfly struggling to be released from its’ constricting cocoon. As I have reflected on her journey it would appear, at least to me, that the TEN Conference back in July was the point where her presence in the world outside caused her to break through the restricting bonds of a spiritual cocoon to fulfill her destiny. People around her meeting her for the first time would see a woman on fire with the Love and Zeal of the Lord and would be correct but what they cannot see are the countless hours she has spent waiting on God and seeking His guidance and release. She has, and continues to, pay the price required to be laying hold of the prize set before her. And lest you read this and envision someone spending every day in her pristine office at church lost in prayer please note she has a full time job, a wife and all the other every day responsibilities we all have. She is committed and sold out to the vision Daddy has planted within her heart. She is becoming RADICAL! And her spirit is saturating the house. For the record I am not trying to borrow money, gain favor or suck up to her. What I am doing is simply giving honor where honor is due.
Since the 70s I have been apart of all great movements of God and have seen countless “crash and burn” ministry and lives come tumbling to the ground seemingly without any fore warning. By God’s Grace and that alone I wasn’t one of those but as we are moving into a new season of change I feel a need to share what I have learned. I have not shared this with Pastor Sherry so this is strictly my personal belief speaking.
Sne has been speaking of the radical men and women of the Bible and in every case what is hidden behind their radical choices in life was a very personal and intimate relationship with the Father. Although they are not usually recorded except for Gideon and David from personal experiences I would imagine the radical acts were preceded by countless smaller ones that built the confidence and boldness needed in their later life. In the 1980s my wife and I were asked to pray about and consider moving from Kentucky to Texas to help start and establish a new local church. We heard Daddy saying it was time to move and sold our home, quit my job and packed up a family of 5 children and moved to Bedford, Texas with around $300 and a word from the Father. Yes He met us there and we spent 12 years of our lives in Texas but what you can’t see is how smaller challenges were put before us to build and strengthen our faith and how much time was spent in prayer and just being still and waiting on the Holy Spirit to show us the way He prepared for us. Yes our move was radical and common sense would have rejected it but the Holy Spirit won out over man’s wisdom. We were not alone in stepping out in faith like that but in every case I am aware of the radical acts were preceded by a progression of smaller at first and then ever enlarging acts all which were smothered in prayer. In my home church, a place filled with misfits and rejects by the world’s standards, there are brothers and sisters saturated in the anointing of God that are wrestling with all the demons of doubt and the lie that says “God would never use you, you are a failure or unworthy or…..” and yet the anointing remains waiting to be brought forth. Pastor is right in calling for us to be radical and for some it will mean great acts of outrageous faith and for others it may be in that season of smaller steps to build your faith and bring you to that radical place of taking God at His word. Wherever we are individually I believe setting ourselves apart from the chaos around us to be still and quiet before Him is critical. I cannot do what the Holy Spirit is guiding me towards if I can’t discern His voice from all the others that bombard our daily lives. It took Samuel four times to recognize God’s voice in the beginning and he was asleep next to the altar. I have made a myriad of mistakes in my walk by listening to the wrong voices and thinking they were Daddy’s and yet He caused me to press on, He redeemed my mistakes and encouraged me to press on and by His Grace I am at this point in my journey. Sunday after church a sister gave me a ride home and I found myself resting quietly on the back deck. There was no music, no television, computer, phone or any of the other usual distractions. I felt a deep need to just “BE”. I needed to turn off and tune out all the distractions both around me and within me. No I wasn’t studying or reading the Bible I was being still and in that place Daddy met me and we communed and I was restored, refreshed and renewed by just being with Him. Jesus has to be our living example and He made it a point to set Himself apart for time with His Father and we need to do the same. He raised Lasarus from the dead but He started out by changing water into wine. Being radical isn’t a one time incident but a life style that grows and changes along the way. It is a commitment to sell out to the vision and to be willing to pay the price.
Again my personal belief. As I said in the beginning I have watched countless spiritual tragedies unfold and in almost every case there was no spiritual covering in place or any oversight by a pastor, shepherd or some form of spiritual authority. Jesus walked in it and spoke often of His relationship with the Father. He took the disciples and taught them through words but more importantly by example every day of their three year time together. I firmly believe we need to find that person or persons the Father has prepared for each of us to help us and guide us through a living example, and most importantly to help us hear clearly what the Spirit is saying to us. I have had times in my own life when what I sincerely thought was the Holy Spirit calling me to do was actually a voice from deep inside myself pressuring me in a direction that would have been disastrous. Apart from having someone in my life that I had given spiritual oversight to I would have gone headlong into situations that could have ultimately brought me to destruction. I am not talking about everyone running to their pastor with every little thing but rather seeking God for the person He has prepared for you and then building a solid relationship with them. To the world this would appear to be bondage bur being rightfully yoked with the one Daddy has prepared for you is actually freedom and it brings a liberty and confidence to step out and become that radical son or daughter you were called to be. We were called to be sons and daughters that reflected their Father and that is about as radical as you can be , at least by the world’s standards. We aren’t a religion or a denomination- we are Family. Actually we are THE Family, not all of it but a part and if we will be faithful to be still and listen and then obey we will surely become that radical son or daughter we were formed and created to be. Be Still then Be Radical. May you be truly blessed and encouraged on your journey and enjoy and embrace the adventure. It is what Jesus called Life Abundant.
Charlena Marie Andrews-Hayes
