Here's an update from Christina Reid's Blog:
I was supposed to preach in Peru. It was supposed to be a big service, there was supposed to be a lot of new believers, people who didn't know the Lord. It was supposed to be the first time I got on stage overseas and brought the Good news, but it never really happens the way it’s supposed too. Because this was a service for new or non-believers, our ministry host asked our team to include the salvation message. Makes sense. Our thought process was that all of us individually would be preaching some time or another, perhaps multiple times while on this journey but I think we were expecting to have the freedom to choose our own topic. We know it’s the Good News, but with a topic preached so many times I was afraid the sermon wouldn't be my own. That there would be nothing new to say. So no one wanted to take this turn on stage, including me. That was until I decided to suck it up and at least pray about it.
I decided to seek an answer through the Word, naturally it seemed like a good place to start. It was only a few minutes before my fingers came to Corinthians 5 and 6. I don’t think I had ever read these chapters before, at least I didn't remember, but it became clear to me that in these chapters God was talking about salvation and reconciliation, in fact it ended with these words:
“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.”
If it wasn't obvious to me before if I should take this turn on stage or not, it was now, so I told my team I would volunteer for this one. I started thinking up ideas the day after, a structure for my one hour sermon, Bible quotes, points of importance, stuff like that. But at the same time I started to feel sick. It was the day before I was supposed to preach. Overnight my body grew achy, my head fell with heaviness and I had to lay down during ministry. But that’s when it all happened. My pen didn't stop for an hour, I started writing down scripture, the story of salvation, the meaning of salvation, the battle between the good and the evil in our hearts, in our lives, in the world. My thoughts lead me to the works of the devil. I wrote:
“The devil attacks me the hardest when I’m about to do anything that’s important or in the name of God. He knew I was going to call him out tonight, but what he forgot is that some of my greatest revelations have come when I feel sick, when I rely less on myself and more on my God.”
In my pages of scribbled notes I continued to ask myself and those that I would be speaking to the question of: ‘How great is your faith? I wanted to encourage them not only to believe in Jesus, but in all the promises He gave to us freely. I wanted the kind of faith God says can move mountains. The Kind of faith that could allow me to walk out on water. The kind of faith that, if it were acceptable and good in God’s sight, could heal me of any sickness. After that thought, I glanced at my second page of scribbled notes and looked up the first Bible quote that referenced a piece of writing that had anything to do with faith. I hadn't paid any attention to it earlier, but it said:
“Jesus turned to her and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,’ He said “Your faith has healed you.”
And the woman was healed in that moment.” Matthew 9:22 Wow. Really? God was really speaking to me. I kept repeating that over and over again in my head. “Your faith has healed you.” Was that possible to have, if I just believed? I've struggled with health issues for years and the possibility of it all going away just because I believe it would made my heart jump. I continued to write until my mind and soul felt satisfied at the progress I had made in completing this sermon. I closed my eyes. I started to pray.
“Father I pray for your Holy presence tomorrow night, that you would overflow the room with new believers, with curious minds, that you would renew your message and there would be miracles in Your name and on that stage.”
I continued until I heard my name spoken out loud. I heard it again: “Christina?” I opened my eyes to one of my teammates standing in front of my bed, she had some news for me. She patted my leg and said “There’s no more service tomorrow night, it was cancelled, and you don’t need to worry about it.” Oh. I thanked her and she went off back to her job that day in ministry, and I went back to rethinking things in my bed. ‘No more service, no more sermon?’ And like a ton of bricks it hit me.
Jesus taught us about the importance of one. One single person and their significance, the journey He is always willing to take to leave the crowd and go after that one sheep. Jesus taught us that in His message of salvation, and in His journey on earth, He died for us. He died for me. One for all, and all for one. Like Jesus was enough, I was enough. He didn't want that crowd of people tomorrow night to fill His church, He just wanted one. God spoke to me, through me, to tell me. I was the preacher, and I was also the audience, but Jesus was the true teacher. I was looking for something new in the story of salvation, and I found it. I had always removed myself from the picture. I had also forgot that when Jesus gave His life for me that He wanted me to not only have the faith it took to believe it happened but the type of faith that could bring miracles! I needed to hear His voice, His message, the one I thought I had heard a hundred of times. The one I wrote down on paper, the one I intended to speak, and the one He wrote just to me, through me.
I was supposed to preach in Peru. It was supposed to be a big service, there was supposed to be a lot of new believers, people who didn't know the Lord. It was supposed to be the first time I got on stage overseas and brought the Good news, but it never really happens the way it’s supposed too. Because this was a service for new or non-believers, our ministry host asked our team to include the salvation message. Makes sense. Our thought process was that all of us individually would be preaching some time or another, perhaps multiple times while on this journey but I think we were expecting to have the freedom to choose our own topic. We know it’s the Good News, but with a topic preached so many times I was afraid the sermon wouldn't be my own. That there would be nothing new to say. So no one wanted to take this turn on stage, including me. That was until I decided to suck it up and at least pray about it.
I decided to seek an answer through the Word, naturally it seemed like a good place to start. It was only a few minutes before my fingers came to Corinthians 5 and 6. I don’t think I had ever read these chapters before, at least I didn't remember, but it became clear to me that in these chapters God was talking about salvation and reconciliation, in fact it ended with these words:
“I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.”
If it wasn't obvious to me before if I should take this turn on stage or not, it was now, so I told my team I would volunteer for this one. I started thinking up ideas the day after, a structure for my one hour sermon, Bible quotes, points of importance, stuff like that. But at the same time I started to feel sick. It was the day before I was supposed to preach. Overnight my body grew achy, my head fell with heaviness and I had to lay down during ministry. But that’s when it all happened. My pen didn't stop for an hour, I started writing down scripture, the story of salvation, the meaning of salvation, the battle between the good and the evil in our hearts, in our lives, in the world. My thoughts lead me to the works of the devil. I wrote:
“The devil attacks me the hardest when I’m about to do anything that’s important or in the name of God. He knew I was going to call him out tonight, but what he forgot is that some of my greatest revelations have come when I feel sick, when I rely less on myself and more on my God.”
In my pages of scribbled notes I continued to ask myself and those that I would be speaking to the question of: ‘How great is your faith? I wanted to encourage them not only to believe in Jesus, but in all the promises He gave to us freely. I wanted the kind of faith God says can move mountains. The Kind of faith that could allow me to walk out on water. The kind of faith that, if it were acceptable and good in God’s sight, could heal me of any sickness. After that thought, I glanced at my second page of scribbled notes and looked up the first Bible quote that referenced a piece of writing that had anything to do with faith. I hadn't paid any attention to it earlier, but it said:
“Jesus turned to her and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,’ He said “Your faith has healed you.”
And the woman was healed in that moment.” Matthew 9:22 Wow. Really? God was really speaking to me. I kept repeating that over and over again in my head. “Your faith has healed you.” Was that possible to have, if I just believed? I've struggled with health issues for years and the possibility of it all going away just because I believe it would made my heart jump. I continued to write until my mind and soul felt satisfied at the progress I had made in completing this sermon. I closed my eyes. I started to pray.
“Father I pray for your Holy presence tomorrow night, that you would overflow the room with new believers, with curious minds, that you would renew your message and there would be miracles in Your name and on that stage.”
I continued until I heard my name spoken out loud. I heard it again: “Christina?” I opened my eyes to one of my teammates standing in front of my bed, she had some news for me. She patted my leg and said “There’s no more service tomorrow night, it was cancelled, and you don’t need to worry about it.” Oh. I thanked her and she went off back to her job that day in ministry, and I went back to rethinking things in my bed. ‘No more service, no more sermon?’ And like a ton of bricks it hit me.
Jesus taught us about the importance of one. One single person and their significance, the journey He is always willing to take to leave the crowd and go after that one sheep. Jesus taught us that in His message of salvation, and in His journey on earth, He died for us. He died for me. One for all, and all for one. Like Jesus was enough, I was enough. He didn't want that crowd of people tomorrow night to fill His church, He just wanted one. God spoke to me, through me, to tell me. I was the preacher, and I was also the audience, but Jesus was the true teacher. I was looking for something new in the story of salvation, and I found it. I had always removed myself from the picture. I had also forgot that when Jesus gave His life for me that He wanted me to not only have the faith it took to believe it happened but the type of faith that could bring miracles! I needed to hear His voice, His message, the one I thought I had heard a hundred of times. The one I wrote down on paper, the one I intended to speak, and the one He wrote just to me, through me.
- Christina Reid
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