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Welcome to Renewal – Part 3 in this newsletter series, a journey to find renewal in our relationship with God and in our spiritual lives. It is for those who want more in their lives and a way through to new things and a fresh start. It is a search for flourishing in our souls.  

RENEW is an acronym that represents the 5 shifts we need to make in our lives to find renewal. They are... Reliance – Expectancy – Necessity – Endurance – Wonder... all based on material in the book: Movement Ready Church by Robby Gallaty & Vick Green. 

This week we will look at the idea of...  

Expectancy: Moving from more of the same to more of God. 

Can you remember a day when you stopped believing God could and would do something in your life that only He could do

Did you start off believing that God could and would do anything and then ended up “hedging your bets” in prayer? Not expecting God to act. 

Maybe you had to wait too long for an answer? Or lacked the boldness to ask for what you really needed Him to do in your life?  

Maybe reason and logic have taken over the role of faith in your walk with Him?  

Did the possible become impossible in your mind, even for God?  

Would you describe your life with Jesus as one in which you look for Him to work with you and in you, to do something that only He can do, something that if He doesn’t step in, it will all fall apart?  

Would you like to live the life of faith where you see God at work doing things you would have never thought were possible? The healing of a human heart? The restoration of a broken relationship? The overcoming of an addiction, a wrong way of thinking, a sense of defeat? Healing? Provision? Breakthroughs? Someone coming to Christ that seemed about as far away from Him as possible? A dream that has long been unfulfilled beginning to come to life right in front of you, more vivid and life giving than you ever imagined? Are you ready to believe again that the impossible is possible in Jesus?  

Read the following verses and pay close attention to your internal response to each:  

“Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. - Jesus in Mark 11:22-24  

“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” - Jesus in Mark 10:27 

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” - Jesus in Luke 18:27 

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, - Ephesians 3:20 

Ok – now reread them. What do you believe about each one? Can you see yourself living these out? Believing them and acting like you really do? 

Now, I know we need to balance these out with a couple of other verses that keep us from going in the wrong way with this, namely... 

Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. - James 4:2b, 3  

We have to make sure our motives are pure – our hears aligned with God.  

And there’s also this verse... 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. - 1 John 5:14, 15  

Are we praying for God’s will or making this all up for ourselves? 

Ok – but have you gone too far in the other direction – pulling back in your prayer life, too afraid, too timid, too limited in your thinking ... “This isn’t going to work. There’s no way this will turn out for good,” effectively killing the prayer before you even utter it? 

I have.  

I hate to admit it, but I have been there. Too often, I have held back in prayer. Prayed with less than a great faith, already lowering my expectations, thinking of excuses of why it won’t happen – usually because of something I lacked – not living with anticipation. 

But I don’t want to stay there. I find myself like the father who told Jesus, “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24)   

You see, this newsletter is as much for me as it is for you.  

I want to continue to grow my faith as long as I walk this earth. God has brought me a long way, and there is a long way to go yet. I trust that He wants to do even greater things in my life and for Bridges. The best is yet to come.  

That’s the renewal I am looking for – fresh wind, fresh fire in my life. Waking up in the morning wondering what good and wonderful things will I discover as I walk with Jesus through my day. I want to live each day with expectation and anticipation that God can and will act for my good in all things and trust Him enough to pray big things and then have the patience and faith needed to wait for Him to do what only He can do.  

So let’s continue to walk together in this, seeking renewal as we go – looking for God to do the impossible – change us from the inside out.