Arrived in Seattle!

8/17/2010

Tuesday night. I have been in Seattle for three days now. It feels more like three months. I will attempt, in a very meager fashion, to put my experience so far into words.

We had dinner at Erik’s house, met his wife Rachel and 3 daughters (Janey, Kelly, and Sarah). My parents had driven down with me and stayed until Sunday afternoon. Marissa met me at the house on Austin and it took about 5 minutes to unload the car. I was shocked by the beautiful kitchen and amazing view.

Sunday we landed at church – Mars Hill West Seattle Campus. Even looking back at Sunday, I knew so little of what God had in store. At this point I was still very much torn between Minnesota and Washington, my parents and the church body, saying goodbye to the previous season of my life and jumping into the next one. I got to meet the male interns: Michael B, Michael M from Portland, David from England, and Ryan, originally from Montana. My parents and I went out to lunch (I opted to spend more time with them instead of serving during the 2nd service), and we said an abbreviated goodbye at my house. I then left to attend community group training. For those of you unfamiliar with community group, it is people who meet weekly, living out life with each other, for the glory of God and the spreading of the gospel. I ran into my first recognition of how God has prepared me specifically and pointedly for being here: they were studying the book of Romans. My heart warmed. I felt at home. I have been listening to Romans for the past 6 months or so, and am working on memorizing portions (if I’m fully honest with myself, my long-term goal is to have the book of Romans memorized). I can’t explain it other than the Holy Spirit has given me an appetite for it. He speaks to me about Himself, He opens my eyes to His truth, He puts a craving in my heart for more. I then took the rest of the day off and ran some errands.

Monday comes. Rubber meets the road. The interns meet in the morning to get a visual of why we are here, a vision of our roles, where is God calling us, the needs in the church, the community. We tour the church and learn more of the history of the building and see the unused potential. I get a small glimpse of my role as supporter and organizer, although there is much more definition of my role to come. Tuesday we got the privilege of attending the staff conference, taught by Mark Driscoll, Jamie Munson, and Dave Bruskas. As I’m sitting here, I’m realizing I could write about so many things that happened, meetings, conversations with so-and-so about such-and-such, but it all boils down to this: God has hand-picked every single one of us to be here, at Mars Hill West Seattle, and at Mars Hill Church, for this time and season, for His purpose and glory alone. I am absolutely convinced of this. You ask the other interns, I can already tell you they agree. You ask the deacons and pastors and staff. This is His team. We are one branch of the vine. I struggled to believe this at first, thinking (arrogantly) that I had made the decision and somehow had the ability to do this trip, make this move, keep my car running, pay for everything needed, on my own. I believed it was MY decision. MY choice. MY abilities. MY idea. Can you see how ugly that is? Can you see the self-centeredness? Can you see the complete lack of belief of God’s sovereignty over my life? In these three days, God has removed another set of blinders from my eyes that have kept me from seeing this sovereignty and our complete dependence on Him. As I attempt to put words to this new understanding, they sound so “Christian-ese” and empty. Let me see if I can explain by giving you a window into a lesson I’ve learned in the last 72 hours.

You see the pastors and deacons and elders and staff here, fully aware that without Christ in us, without God’s overflowing grace, without Jesus, we can do NOTHING of eternal value. We can’t change hearts. We can’t convince anyone of their need for Christ. We can’t teach. We can’t explain. We can’t convict. We can’t worship. It is only Christ through us who can do those things, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s how Jesus operated. He was God in human flesh on earth. I HATE how people explain away His miracles of healing and casting out demons and multiplying loaves and fish by the fact that He was God. They’ve missed this vital point, which is absolutely essential to our understanding of who lives in us, God’s children. I’ve missed this point for years. Jesus was God, but He chose to lay aside His attributes of God and was FULLY human. God is all-present. Was Jesus ever in two places or more at the same time? No. He chose to lay aside that attribute of God and NOT USE IT. He traveled and walked like his disciples did, like other human beings did. He performed His miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the same Spirit He gave to us! This is the same Spirit who comes upon us when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, recognizing that only through Him may we have life! We are dead in our sins, and if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is LORD, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved! Let the following sink in. Romans 8:10-11 tells us this: “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Did you get that? The same Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in YOU. He lives in us who have said “yes” to Jesus. That’s why Jesus told us that we can do all miracles He did, and even greater ones than these. We can do them, because WE don’t do them! The Holy Spirit does them through us. When that truth sinks into the very core of your being and infiltrates every fiber of your body, it should change your life. The end of Romans 11 says this: “Oh the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For who has known the mind of the LORD, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”