We were just thinking about how honored and blessed we are to be able to serve and minister to such a special family of Believers. Every week we are privileged to share in fellowship, teaching, breaking of bread and prayer, just like the original Church in the second chapter of Acts. This is so amazing!
Many years ago the Lord gave us the following songs:
Pioneer the Chosen
Fulfill the Father’s dream
Pioneer the Chosen
That He has redeemed
March through barren land
To waters never seen
Pioneer the Chosen
To the place where they believe.
Little did we know that over 17 years later, we would be living out the lyrics of that song as pastors leading a church family in a mission to rebuild, restore and renew hearts and homes.
You may wonder why we are working so hard to keep your email inbox constantly receiving an encouraging word. We believe that we are under orders to consistently send forth the Word of God to dismantle the strongholds that have built up in many of your lives.
Most of you have had so much negative reinforcement of doubt and fear that it is going to take a deliberate and very intentional assault to destroy what has been built up over many years.
It’s going to take FAITH in order for you to overcome in this relentless battle for your purpose to be fulfilled. And FAITH comes by HEARING the Word of God, over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. That’s what the apostle Paul meant when he wrote in Romans 10:17, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
We discovered that this usage of the word hearing meant a constant repeating of the Word of God. We have to hear the Word of God over and over until FAITH (Insight from God, agreement with God, and obedience to God) comes forth in our hearts and lives.
We have a dear pastoral friend who worked in a top U.S. corporation for 20 years. He said that when they trained people in the company’s policies and procedures, they would repeat the instructions at least seven times. This practice was based upon various psychological studies that said new ideas and concepts must be repeated at least seven times in order for a person to be able to really grasp the new way of thinking.
That’s why we are making every effort, to the best of our abilities, to give you the opportunity to hear the Word of God over and over again. That’s why we’re sending something to you almost every day, every week and every month. It takes this kind of effort to help us grasp this new way of thinking.
We’re not trying to fill up your email inbox with useless information and advertisement. This is not junk mail, as needless email has been labeled. This is LIFE email.
So here is our FAITH BY HEARING strategy:
For those who feel they are in a season of transition, we’ve set up an online class that we call Purpose Preparation. Each video is an actual a clip from various teachings at Urban Life since 2005. You will find that these teachings will settle and ground you in foundational principles that are necessary for understanding what God is doing in this season of your life. Every Monday we send you a class segment to build your FAITH concerning your purpose and future.
Every Tuesday, we send you a replay from a Sunday gathering so that you can rehearse and reinforce the Word that was taught. We call these our IN CASE YOU MISSED IT posting and it is designed to keep the cares of this life and deceitfulness of riches from choking out the Word that was sown in your heart. It will also give you an opportunity to receive a seed that may have been plucked away or fallen on shallow soil in your heart the first time it was sown.
Of course, every Wednesday we send this Midweek Connection e-mail.
Every Thursday we send you a Nugget of Wisdom to help you navigate through life’s trials, challenges and changes.
Every Saturday we offer words of advice and healing for married or engaged couples from our We Made a PACT video series. These video clips can also benefit those who may be separated or divorced.
Every Sunday, we post some of our most important teaching sessions. We have broken down the sessions into short video clips so that the Word can be received in smaller bite-size portions. We call this our ONLINE CHURCH.
These daily releases are part of our God-given mandate to Pioneer the Chosen. To pioneer someone means that we are commanded to lead them out of the place of bondage, through the wilderness and into the land of promise and purpose. We have to guide them through unknown and unfamiliar territory into a place of fruitfulness.
We have been commanded to do this because God has chosen YOU for a powerful mission in this community.
In John 15:16, Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain.”
