Stories From The Field: Raised2walk, Inc.: Giving the Kingdom Away @ Youth With A Mission Nashville, TN

ENCOUNTERING THE SPIRIT OF RELIGION

This past week was EPIC, but it started as an epic struggle. As soon as I arrived to this base, I immediately endured what I later was able to understand to be a strong atmosphere of apathy and lethargy. It was so thick. It had completely changed some people I knew from this base. I saw these people before as they lived in Kona, and then how they were when I arrived at the base, and they were completely different. Subdued…like their passion had been sucked away from them. This was week 4 in this school, yet I felt no prophecy, no spirit of worship, no identity, no victory in the air. I felt…religion. No person in the school was on fire, nor connected it seemed to why they were there in the first place. They were learning about things, for sure, but they were not living the things they were learning about.

PSALM 100:4

I came to speak on the Character of a Worship Leader, but never got to the teaching, because they would have just written it down and it would have meant nothing, because the listener was not ready. Jesus was not in the room, and it was evident. SO, we clashed and I invited Holy Spirit to the class, to the room, and let Him work; and we worshiped, and worshiped more. I brought them through Psalm 100:4, which says we enter the gates in thanksgiving, and in the courts in praise, how we have to choose a personal heart of thanksgiving, something as small as a seed, but if it is our true personal thanksgiving to God, He can work with that. Most in the room began to have an utter reality that they do not know God, yet they know all about Him. Many knew God, but it was a memory from a while ago when they used to seek Him. I encountered a relationship deprived group of people. I heard stories later how they used to know Jesus, and be close, but a lapse in judgement here, and fall in sin there catapulted them into such shame and condemnation, and they have been on their own every since.

MOMENT OF TRUTH

We had a morning where Holy Spirit told me to share on the old man/new man paradigm. Long story short, the Kingdom of Heaven was invited, the Kingdom of Heaven showed up, and the realm of apathy, lethargy, and outright indifference gave way to sons and daughters discovering Ephesians 1:17-20. Basically, they discovered who God is, who they are, and what they are gonna do together in this life. They discovered they are loved. There is nothing they have to do perfectly to win His love. They have to believe and receive they are loved by almighty God. They also discovered that they never knew life on the God side of the cross. See, we need a Savior on the old man side of the Cross, and He is always our Savior. But on the God side, or the Kingdom side of the cross, we need Christ as LORD. This is where religion comes in the way, because religion always has man as the head, not Christ as Lord. We seek, we listen, and we obey on the Kingdom side of the cross. So, I drew a line in the middle of the room, and asked everyone to start on what I called the old man side of the cross, choose whether or not they want to give their entire lives to Jesus, Lord and Savior, all the way, and cross the line to enter a brand new life in the Kingdom. See, Jesus didn't just save us from hell, a life of sin, and separation from God relationally, He also saved us to LIFE! Life with Him, intimacy, true sonship, true identity, the kind everyone on the old man side of the cross are still searching for. Several students could not cross. This was the defining moment in the week. So, we began to walk together through why they couldn't cross over.

END RESULT: 5 salvations, 13 deliverances, and one heck of a thursday night worship party!!

Jasmine Rene's Moment

After our time of celebration and worship came to a close, I decided to take everyone out for a celebration dinner: at 11:00 PM! HAHA! So, we decided on Steak N Shake. We brought Jesus with us, because we are learning how to keep Him present-tense with us at all times. Our waitress kept coming over to see us, and felt very drawn to us. I felt in my spirit that she didn't know Jesus, and Holy Spirit began to speak to me about her situation and where she was in life. Michael McClanahan, the School of Worship Director, came right out and asked her, "Jazzy, (name on her name tag) do you know Jesus?" BAM! Adda boy! Michael, I am so proud of you! She said, No, I don't." He said, "Well, would you like to, because we do know Him." So we invited her over to our table. She sat down with us, and Vinny started us off by sharing with Jazzy (Jasmine Rene) what God had done to kill religion in his life this week. He was electric! I love that guy! Then, Jackie shared of how far the Lord had taken her in her walk with Him, then Erin, then, Gabrielle, then Michael, then Anthony, and on and on.

Then I began to share how God is after her with all the love she has been looking for and never found. I explained to here that I saw a huge whole filled with wounds from results of trying to fill that whole with other things, and people. They all failed her. But Jesus was designed to be in that whole in her heart, and her heart was designed to be filled with His love for her. The presence of God was STUPID!! LOL! Incredibly thick. I began to prophecy over her life, and she agreed that the things I was sharing with her was exactly where she was. She gave her life to Jesus that night, and we all partied more!! Gabrielle, one of the students then asked her if she knew what her name, Rene, meant. She did not. So Gabrielle shared with Jasmine Rene that "Rene" means "Born Again"! PERFECT! Then, the lights went out in the restaurant. YEP. The thunderstorm all around us knocked it out. We spent another hour at least watching the most beautiful lightening storm, sharing with her, and listening to her story, and we found out that she is due in court this Thursday because she got caught with drugs! So, I told her that the school will all be there to support her. That is tomorrow. They will all be there with her. She is going to see God's hand of mercy on her. She couldn't believe it!

She is now planning to do her Discipleship Training School with Youth With A Mission, and she has dedicated her life to Christ! And each student who was filled with religion just two days before, led her right to the Jesus they each just met. Everyone shared their personal hearts, from their relationship, from their love for Christ with her. I was so blessed to watch this unfold!

It was a battle of a week, it went toe to toe, and Jesus won. Even though it was week 4, the Lord shared with me the day I arrived, that it was their week number 1. Pray for these guys. They are awesome, and they are now chasing God, not religion. Hallelujah!!