Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow / Livestream
Keep God’s fire burning, and do not hide.
That was the message from lead pastor David Stockton of Living Streams Church during Monday’s Chapel at Grand Canyon University, a precursor to the two-day Missions Fair, which concludes from 8:30-10 p.m. today on the GCU Ballpark lawn.
“If the people of God will stick to what God has called us to do, there is no weapon formed against us that will prosper,” he told an attentive crowd toward the end of his message. “This is one of the most exciting times of my life, to be a Christian. I think it is so awesome to be a Christian right now. Being a Christian has never made more sense in America.
“People are getting to the dead ends of all these other ideas that they’re following, and they’re realizing there’s a dead end. And what’s so cool about being Christian is there’s no dead end. There’s only resurrection, there’s only life. You keep falling this way, you keep diving into the heart of Jesus, and you just find more beauty and substance.”
Before Stockton took the stage, University Pastor Dr. Tim Griffin referenced Psalm 122 in encouraging students to pray for peace in the wake of last Saturday’s attacks in Israel “as you’re thinking about the world, thinking about the globe and impacting others with the Gospel, that you would pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
“David encouraged those that read Psalm 122 to do that during that time in the life of Israel,” Griffin said. “Keep that on your mind and heart throughout this service and after we leave Chapel.”
Stockton, in thinking of the Missions Fair would follow Chapel, spoke about a recent missional sabbatical he took with his wife and three daughters to Tipperary, Ireland. They were there for nine months to “see what the Lord might do, to try and strengthen churches, whatever church is going on, and spread God’s Word.”
The lush green mountains dotted with sheep and cattle were offset by the darkness and loneliness of the church.
“It’s true that Ireland, among nations over there, are post-Christian,” Stockton said. “There definitely was a day where the fire of God and the people of God were strong and alive, and it’s definitely not that situation.”
Stockton, who said he fasted and prayed on Thursdays while in Ireland, witnessed the support of a local church swell from five elderly ladies to 45 people of different ages.
“I wanted so badly to see the fire of God to come to this land to these people,” Stockton said.
In encouraging students to promote the fire of God, Stockton made three points about sparking our role as Christians.
First, he told the story of how Moses went into hiding for 40 years after killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew. “But God did not forget his name,” Stockton said, and called Moses out of hiding.
“The fire of God will not spread if the Christians will stay in hiding,” Stockton said. “We are facing a world where there is probably going to be more costs.
“There are a lot of things being said about Christians that are not true, but unless someone stands up and proves they’re not true, then they’re going to be the dominant thought. So, as Christians, we need to be like Moses and come out of hiding.”
Stockton's second Bible story was that of Elijah, who was sent to Israel because its people had turned away from God to worship a false idol, Baal. He confronted King Ahab and challenged him to a spiritual showdown.
Elijah, the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of false goddess Asherah would prepare a bull as an offering but were instructed not to light a fire on the altar. The god who answered with fire from the sky would be considered the true god. Nothing happened for the prophets of Baal and Asherah, but when Elijah prayed to the Lord, He sent fire from heaven to consume the offering.
Elijah was not afraid to pick a fight with darkness, but Stockton said it's important, too, to choose our foes.
“There’s a lot of darkness that has come into families and broken-up families, and the kids are carrying that darkness into their souls,” Stockton said.
“Christians, we are called to pick a fight with the darkness. I didn’t say pick a fight with the enemy. People are not the enemies. We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood. We wrestle against principalities and powers and the darkness of this age, the Bible says.”
Finally, he spoke about the original church and the power of community and togetherness.
“The first church got together and figured out what together meant, and the fire of God came to them,” Stockton said.
It is up to us to come out of hiding, pick a fight with darkness and find that sense of togetherness to make sure the fire of God keeps burning and and the people of God are strong and alive.
GCU News Senior Writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected].
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