Go Dream

It as indeed been a while since I have written.

Things became busy and sick for me during the last week of school.

managed to get the famine 'to do' list done, raising a massive 9800 dollars, a very gratifying feeling indeed, every minute of stress was well worth it, still more to come though.

During these holidays I attended my first ever Get Smart youth conference, entitled "Dream". And indeed they focused on dreams, the dreams we have and how to align them with the plans that God has for us.

we all know of the lines people get in for days, whether it is to get the new Iphone, or to see a international band, or for a new book release - but I was blown down and completely awe stricken to hear that young people from all across the south island were queuing from 7am till 9am to get in, queuing to praise God, to learn about him and to have their lives changed. The atmosphere was electric, and several times, the building filled with a warmth that I felt to be un-natural and could only be explained by the presence of God. And be assured that God did move, he did touch people, he broke down barriers, he healed lives and found hundreds more in his kingdom by the end of the conference.

It was an event full of brilliant international speakers, unforgettable worship and an atmosphere that will remain vivid in my mind for decades to come. I could fairly say that half my praise time was spent looking around, soaking up the fact that hundreds of teenagers were gathering to lay their lives down at the feet of the Lord and serve him, it does indeed feel like God is building up an army. And I pray with all my heart that the young people who attended do not lose heart, but study their notes, listen to their resources and read the books they bought, to grow and rest on God in these hectic days where it feels as if hell is right outside the gates of church. But as a speaker reminded us it is just the opposite, the Church (the body) is set up right outside the gates of Hell.

The two most memorable scenes in my mind were as follows.
1. the healings, and I talk of this in the broad sense of hundreds of lives being healed clean of sin by accepting Jesus as their saviour (and indeed my heart still rejoices.) but also in the direct meaning, the healing of the injured, right in front of me I saw people being healed of scoliosis (only to my surprise to find out I have it, as the symptom is that one leg is slightly longer than they other) and to see a person I know, walk up the stage on crutches, and then to walk off the stage without the assistance of the crutches, here is a young man who accidentally cut himself with a chainsaw, breaking bones. To be drastically taken under the power of God, and being healed, for hundreds to testify Gods Glory. For this I thank and praise thee oh wonderful God. Amen.
2. The speakers, in specific Reggie Dabbs, Andi Andrews, Brian Houston and Jurgen Mathesius. Reggie is one of those lively black Americans who have the ability to make people laugh, yet pierce their heart with Gods truth at the very same time. Reggie, during his first sermon asked for all the mothers in the crowd to come to the altar, and then asked anyone with addictions, with conditions of which the doctor said there was no hope to come forward, the aisles filled with hundreds of people in need for a mothers love, the love that is so unique and powerful that all Reggie asked them to do is to move amongst the crowd, looking them in the eyes, saying they love them and giving them a hug, lo and behold that was all that needed be done for the love of God to come to every person in that auditorium. Andi preached whilst pregnant, that alone to me shows the true heart of a Christian, to put aside your own needs and circumstances and to give it all you’ve got to bring people to Christ, my notes and undoubtedly the longest on her sermon, she spoke with challenging and convicting authority of how we as Christians need to get over what other people think, and to stop settling for second best, she hit the very important issue of relationship on the head by stating that so often young men and women settle for second best to suit their temporary needs of comfort in one another. She spoke informatively on how even today we still praise other Gods by giving into such things as, loss of our God given identity, loss of generations and most importantly our persistent ability to make ourselves sexually immoral. Brian talked about living on the edge, and touched on the fact that Jesus himself said ‘let your yes be yes and your no be no’ he talked with wisdom on not being indecisive, and that if we live our lives sensibly were not living what God wants for us, simply because sometimes what God requires of us doesn’t make sense! Finally Jurgen talked about living with a complaint, and not accepting the unacceptable. Living with a complaint does not mean we waste our time on our complaints but it means do not live with complacency, because it’s then that we lose our passion for the lost. And don’t accept that your friends and family members go on life condemned to Hell! because that’s unacceptable, He spoke with great passion and carelessness about the use of the word ‘Hell’ and ‘Devil’ which I think made him stand out for me.

There is simply too much to talk about, so for your sake I will wrap it up. But I must say that I see Get Smart being the beginning of something great, being the point in young peoples lives where they can say to their friends looking back, “that is the reason you are saved today, that is the reason I love God like I do and that is the reason you are seeing an uprising In followers of Jesus Christ”

God is doing something in my School, he is doing something in Wellington and he is doing something in our country, I am forever thankful that I am part of all three, any Christian living here today is part of his plans, and it constantly leaves me in awe that he would choose me to do his good works in life.

Amen to that.