Reveal Week 6 - The Cycle of Grace

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalm 139

Over the Reveal weeks we have covered, considered and challenged a huge range of topics and issues. As we came to consider the cycle of grace (see Mark Stibbe, From Orphans to Heirs) we recognised that throughout the sessions we have, in different ways, already well covered the elements of the cycle relating to 'Acceptance' and 'Sustenance'. However, that is only half of the story. We realised that now it was time for us to move forward through the cycle and take on the challenge of 'Significance'. In other words, we had spent many weeks considering our journey from slavery to sonship, from orphan to heir, and we had spent a lot of time seeking God and asking Him to reveal to us more of what he has done for us in adopting us as children. Now was the right time to think about what significance looks like as children of God. 

We started the night by gathering people in the hall in seated groups of 7, with refreshments of course. After explaining the cycle of grace for a few moments we asked the groups to move one chair in to the middle of the circle and take in turns to sit on the seat. As they were in the middle the other people in the group would pray for them, prophesy over them, encourage them with words and testimonies, and hopefully help them to understand that they are significant and loved. We intentionally gave no other guidance in terms of time limits or orders, and once the groups got started they spent a significant amount of time with each person, tailoring the time for each different person. 

It was fantastic to see peoples reactions. At first some were shy, sceptical or uncertain. However, as the groups moved through everyone individually you could sense a lift in the room, as people began to hear just how significant and special they are in God. You could hear people sharing stories about how someone's actions or conduct had inspired them. Testimonies of times people had been there when they needed a friend, or had shared a word in the past that had made a difference. Prophesies, pictures, encouragement and words of knowledge were all being freely released and proclaimed over 40 people from Scunthorpe Baptist Church and you could see the impact it made.

It became clear very quickly that this was a significant time for many people and so we decided to dedicate almost the entire evening to people receiving affirmation and blessings. However, significance is not the last section of the cycle of grace. There is also the need to move forward again to achievement. With this in mind we asked everyone to gather in a circle, and proclaimed that as children of God we have access and rights to more of His kingdom than is currently being realised, and so we need to pray again for healing, release and revelation. As everyone gathered around one by one people began to move in to the middle and ask for prayer. Each time someone would pray on behalf of the group, and together we stood believing that now as significant children of God we would begin to see or 'achieve' great things for God. The sense of unity, love and faith in those moments was both tangible and in many ways overwhelming.

It is impossible to know all of the words, prayers and prophesies given to everyone who was at Reveal that night, but I am certain that as people left for home they all had a fresh sense of just how precious and significant they are to God, but also to each other as a family at SBC.

Reveal Week 5 - Slavery to Sonship

“Discipline in the spiritual life is the concentrated effort to create the space and time where God can become our master and where we can respond freely to God’s guidance.” – Henri Nouwen

Throughout Reveal we have tried to create a variety of opportunities and ‘events’ that evoke all sorts of emotions, thoughts and questions. Many of these have been designed specifically to help everyone go on a journey through the specific concept and idea we want to explore. In almost all of these cases we have made sure that we have given a strong indication of what we want people to consider, and hinted at how we might want them to do it. This structure has allowed people to have direction in their pursuit of God, but at the same time allowed them to explore God in new ways with freedom. However, this week we very much stripped back the structure of the evening. Reveal is a fantastic evening for people to come and be taken on a journey towards an increased or new revelation of the Father, but we cannot always rely on using planned events to seek after God. We want people to face the challenge of just giving God free time and space in their lives.

As people arrived at Reveal this week they were asked to consider the ways in which they had become ‘slaves to law’. In other words, what rituals, processes, structures or disciplines had they placed in their lifestyle that were not birthed from a genuine desire for the Father, but more an attempt to please and earn the love of God. Having pondered these aspects of their faith life, they were encouraged to write them down. Following on from this they were encouraged to take the piece of paper outside and lay it down on the fire pit that was burning away. As they returned indoors from laying down these things before God, everyone was encouraged into the Sanctuary where a space had been created for them to be with God.

In the Sanctuary there were a few stations designed to give people a creative outlet in prayer, and some people immediately took the opportunity to spend some time painting, drawing, sculpting and writing. However, many others just rested in God’s presence, listening to the gentle worship music, or reading through some scriptures.

For many people the chance to give so much time to God is not normal or even easy. It is a great challenge to us all to become more comfortable with spending time with God, and not only when it is a well-planned and structured event. After a significant and lengthy time of unstructured prayer the evening began to draw to a close. Tom shared with the room a word that God had given him during the week, expressing just how beautiful God says we all are. He then led a time of prayer for the group, as well as gathering everyone around a few individuals to seek God specifically for healing. At this time Phillipa Snelling shared what she had used done during the time of reflection, believing it was a significant word for a wider audience than just herself. 

She had drawn a picture of a rope that had soon developed into a noose. Following this Phillipa drew a candle, believing the significance was that it was burning away the noose and setting us all free from the things we had placed in our lives than we could consider ‘slavery to law’, and now we would be free to serve and love the Father as true sons and daughters.

A great image and a fantastic way to end the evening.

Reveal Week 4 - The Loving Spirit of Adoption

“God lives in the place of praise. If we want to be where He is, we need to go to His address.” - Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Having spent the last few weeks in reflective contemplation during Reveal, many people have done a lot of 'business' with God. We have been told on numerous occasions that the opportunity to be still and speak with God has meant that certain issues which had been put off for years had come to the surface and been dealt with. We also found ourself in a position where people were saying that they had met with God in completely new ways, had discovered things about him that they had never known before, been challenged and moulded and shaped by creating space in which he was able to manoeuvre. We had even had testimony of healing. We came to the conclusion that there was only one way we, as a body of people could react to this: Worship.

The beginning of the evening gave the congregation an opportunity to think; what has God done in my life in the last few weeks? What have I learned and gained from considering my father in this way? How am I able to process that? We allowed several groups about 20 minutes to consider and discuss this. After speaking with a lot of people I was massively encouraged by the response. it seemed like every person had in some way experienced something new of God. But we still realised there was so much more. We still knew that we could draw closer to God and deepen our relationships once more.

As we all left the hall and made our way to the sanctuary, a band struck up and began to play 'Great is your faithfulness'. Those in attendance seemed surprised and delighted by the presence of the band, which they were previously completely unaware of. Immediately I saw people with their hands in the air, on their knees, reflecting, praising, singing, worshiping and abandoning themselves to God. As the quote says, at the beginning of the evening we decided this is where we were going; Gods address. We wanted to meet with God in praise because we know that he is enthroned on the praise of his people (Psalm 22:3). I personally meet with God in worship more so than at any other time. This was not only a response to what God had been doing, but also a way to meet with him afresh and discover his heart for our congregation.

The band led us through a time of amazing praise and then into a time which allowed more reflection. As the evening went on God began to speak. One of the members of New Life church had been passing the building and saw all the cars so decided to come in and join our Reveal evening. She shared with me something she had felt God wanted to remind us of:Psalm 84. This person had no idea that we had gone through this psalm during our spring conference earlier in the year. We began to speak out the psalm and be reminded of the promises contained within it. Richard then began sharing with us some amazing news which he had heard regarding two of the members of our congregation who are battling cancer. He spoke about how their test results had shown dramatic positive changes in recent weeks. We had been reminded not only of the promises God has made, but the ways in which he is fulfilling them.

As the evening drew to a close I was personally struck by the way in which we had entered into the presence of God that night. We had postured ourselves not only to hear from him, but to pour back praise for what he had already been doing. His faithfulness to meet with us during these times has been unparalleled. We have been overwhelmed, and continue to be so every week. I am excited to see what he is going to do in the next couple of weeks.

Debbie.

Reveal Week 3 - The Son who became a Slave

God took the worst thing that man could do to his Son, and transformed it into the best thing he could do for man. - Anonymous

Our journey to discover more of the Father has inevitably led us to a point of transformation. The cross of Christ. Discovering the nature of our adoption would always have led us to this point. It is, after all, the pivotal point in our journey from orphan to heir. Considering the cross is something we do on a regular basis as Christians; we sing about it regularly during worship, devote ourselves to it again at the communion table, and relive the moment that the world was truly changed during Easter. The majesty of what was accomplished at the cross and resurrection has not escaped our notice. But I wonder how often we have considered the Son who became a slave.

We all know about Jesus earthly ministry, and his life was testament to what God wanted to accomplish; our adoption as children of God. But how often do we consider what Jesus had to relinquish in order that we might be adopted; HIS position as a son of the King. How often have we considered what Jesus gave up in order to die the death of a slave for us?

During reveal this week we wanted to create a space for those who came to consider this fact. We had set up two rooms which we called throne rooms. Each had an empty throne, with a candle on the seat. Flowing fabrics decorated the area around the throne. Scented rose petals gave a beautiful aroma, scattered candles provided an ethereal  glow and the sound of angelic choral singing reverberated around the room. This was a simple, symbolic representation of the throne room of Jesus; the privileges he relinquished to become our saviour, and our brother. We gave each person the first part of a scripture, Philippians 2:5-7 and asked them to consider the sonship of Christ.

After a little while of consideration, we wanted to move the journey on. As we went into the throne rooms we said 'Ladies and Gentlemen, as we have considered the sonship of Christ, let us take you to the pinnacle on his slavery.' As the group made their way to the hall the were met with the cross. The room had scattered chairs, allowing each person some space to consider what Christ had done as he died the death of a slave.  We gave them the next part of the scripture, Philippians 2:8 and allowed them time to consider what Jesus had done, whilst there was a visual representation, a cross. The cross was draped in purple fabric, stones were scattered around it, and candles were lit. The angelic music continued in the background. We believe that in order for us to truly grasp our adoption, we must look at the way in which it came about. We had to look at what Jesus had given up. We had to realise that what he had before he came to earth, is what we have now entered into thanks to his sacrifice. We had to understand that his death was sacrificial in more ways than one. It is the pivotal point.

The end of the evening was the beginning of our next phase of discovery. We shared with the group that up until this point we have considered our journey from orphans to heirs, and in order to do that we have spent some time thinking, in different ways, about what our life was like before we were heirs. But that is the end of that. From this point on, we are living in the light of what Christ did for us. We are living in the truth that because of his sacrifice, we no are no longer considered orphans. We are to move into the mindset of heirs.

We wish to take the journey to the next phase; living as heirs in the kingdom of the living God. We are very excited about what this means to us. We are very excited about the ways in which we can explore this further. We hope you can continue to join us as we journey deeper into understanding our adoption, and our loving, gracious Father who accomplished it all for us.