What a glorious day it was, and all the glory goes to Jesus Christ, the Sovereign Head of His church. After almost eleven years of watching our Lord accomplish His timeline and prepare His people at Calvary Baptist Church in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, groundbreaking ceremonies for a new ministry center were held on Sunday, August 12 at the conclusion of the morning worship service. Over 250 people gathered under the big tent on the 10-acre building site for two hours of worship music, ministry testimonies, prayer, and preaching. The challenge from God presented by Pastor John van Gorkom was taken from Genesis 11:1-9, where in the story of the Tower of Babel we discovered that the Lord requires right management, right motives, right materials, and the right mission.

Following the message, everyone gathered outside the tent with their shovels in hand. The Elders of Calvary began the groundbreaking ceremony with Scripture that God had given us during the previous eleven years of planning.

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. Isaiah 54:2-3 (NIV)

Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12 (NIV)

Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it. Isaiah 45:8 (ESV)

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 (ESV)

And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing. Ezekiel 34:26 (ESV)

It was a great blessing to have representatives of two of our NCCBA churches (Chippewa Falls and Bloomer) present to represent our partnership in the Gospel with our sister churches. Also present was Gordon Ellison of World Venture to represent our worldwide mission.  Each brought greetings, along with representatives of a local mission supported by Calvary and a representative of Derrick Construction, our general contractor.

Pastor Dennis Pond then introduced our honorary groundbreakers, consisting of seven church members with over fifty years of ministry at Calvary who were not able to be present because of health reasons. The honorary groundbreakers also consisted of two charter members, Marlene Cripe and Wilma Hodges, several other long time ministry partners including Joyce Russell, John Schone, Bob Strait, Marilyn Thames, and Janet Faulcner. They were joined by former Pastor Ralph Miller and his wife Dorothy. These people represented the heritage of our church, and were given the honor of turning the first shovels of dirt. Our ministry guests turned the second shovel, and then all of the congregation joined in turning over dirt in what will eventually become the children’s ministry center of the facility.

The service was closed with everyone praising God with shouts of rejoicing and then singing what has become our theme song of our mission, “Mighty to Save.”

The timeline for construction is as follows:

• Hauling of fill to begin as soon as DNR issues permit, hopefully this week.
• Excavation for footings should begin mid to late September.
• Construction completed in late April

The building will be over 21,000 square feet.

Connecting Points

Friday, August 10, 2012

Today’s Topic: The Test

Today’s Text:  1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV) ⁶ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

When it rains it pours – quite literally. For weeks and weeks we have gone without much rain, and then yesterday the sky let loose. It wasn’t predicted to be that much, and according to the official report at the airport it was only sixty-two hundredths of an inch, but it caused us some problems. Our big meeting tent up on our new property where we will hold church and our groundbreaking ceremony this Sunday collapsed, with people inside. Fortunately no one was hurt. The ground became saturated with heavy rain so fast that the tent stakes loosened enough for the wind, a constant issue on top of this hill, pulled the stakes right out of the ground. All of the thrift sale merchandise that was left at the end of yesterday’s sale is underneath. Today we have to try to re-stake and re-erect the tent so we can donate all the remaining items from the sale to the Hope Bargain Center. It will be a huge job, and any help, including prayer, will be greatly appreciated.

I find it very interesting that the rain yesterday symbolizes two types of rain mentioned in Scripture – the rain of blessing and the rain of judgment. When mankind had become so evil and obnoxiously opposed to God in the days of Noah, God sent the rain as judgment. In the days of Moses as the people of Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land, he declared, Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. [Deuteronomy 32:2 (NIV)]

Look at how the rain is depicted in these passages:

• Hosea 10:12 (NIV)  Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
• Isaiah 45:8 (ESV)  Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.
• Isaiah 44:3 (ESV)  For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
• Ezekiel 34:26 (ESV)  And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.

For the past several months – eight to be exact – there has been a steady rain of the Holy Spirit upon our church. People have been turning to Jesus in repentance to receive the forgiveness of their sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. Disciples are being trained by faithful followers of Christ as they pass on what they have learned from the Lord to the new believers. Our Head Jesus Christ has given us clear directions for the future ministry growth of our church and its outreach into our local area and to the world beyond. If our eyes are fixed on Him, the finisher of our faith, we are filled with an inexpressible joy.

But with the rain of blessing has come the rain of trouble. It is the rain Jesus spoke of when he told the parable of the two houses – one built on sand and one built on rock. He declared that the storms will come. The wind will blow. The rains will wash over the land. And when they do, only the house built on the Rock will survive.

The rains of trial have been washing over our church. Health issues, accidents, deaths, broken marriages, financial hardships, and temptations to satisfy the flesh have all multiplied since the rains of blessing have begun. All of these trials and troubles are tests of the foundation of our faith. They force us to consider the ground upon which we stand. Is our faith in the temporary things of this world or is it in the person of Jesus Christ who has graciously granted us a permanent position in glory? Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you,  who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [1 Peter 1:3-6 (NIV)]

Yesterday, after the tent collapsed, one of the Deacons of our church who has worked so hard to keep the Thrift Sale and the tent running smoothly and prepare for this weekend, sent me a text message that simply read, “This is just another one of the Devil’s schemes to try to get people down and negative.”

I refuse to get down about the rain God is sending. Even the rains of trial are blessings, for they strengthen our faith and prove it to be genuine. Let the rejoicing begin. God is blessing us. Satan is trying to devour us. But one thing Satan cannot eat is the Bread of Life, so we who feed on Jesus are untouchable. We may be physically challenged and hurt, but our spirits are unquenchable, for we know the resurrection power of Jesus Christ.

Let it rain. It only softens the ground more so we can dig deeper foundations!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, August 09, 2012

Today’s Topic: Let’s Build

Today’s Text:  1 Chronicles 22:19 (ESV)  Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the LORD God…

I’m scared. It’s not an unfaithful fear, but a humbling fear. It’s a faith-building fear that comes from an honest perspective of the awesomeness of God and my human frailty. It’s a faith-strengthening fear generated by the relationship between the incredible mission God has assigned and the recognition of my weakness. It’s a fear I embrace.

I’m experiencing this fear this morning because my heart is fixed on the upcoming events of Sunday. This Sunday is going to be an historic day in the life of our church. God has ordained it. This Sunday we break ground on our undeveloped property and officially begin the construction process of the facility God is giving us as a tool to accomplish His Son’s mission for us. That mission is to go into all the world and make disciples of Jesus Christ the Lord.

The magnitude of this upcoming event is overwhelming me. Who am I that I should be the leader of this movement of God? Why would the people of God trust me at this time? I know my flaws, and so do they. I know my weaknesses, and so do they. I can recall more failures than they know. I’m weaker than they think. In my flesh I cannot be trusted.

HOWEVER, it is in my weakness that Jesus Christ is revealed as all-powerful. It is in my weakness that Jesus Christ is revealed as all-knowing. It is in my weakness that His eternal presence is experienced. For when we are humble, then God is exalted. The fear I am feeling is the beginning of such faith.

I have wasted so much time in my life trying to make myself strong, only to discover the extent of my weakness. I have endured so much self-caused pain because of the power I have granted to pride to dictate my decision to overcome my weakness with more self-effort. It is a vicious cycle of bondage that can only be broken at the point of weakness before pride kicks in again.

The fear I am experiencing is such a point of weakness, and I embrace it. Satan would like me to fear it from my flesh and allow my strength to attempt to conquer the day. The temptation to do more in my own strength to prepare is strong, but I am resolved to let go of the wheel and trust completely the power and purpose of Jesus Christ. It is His day, not mine. It is His vision, not mine. It will be His provision, not mine. It will be for His glory, not mine.

Today I choose the truth of Proverbs 3:5-6. I will trust in the Lord with all my heart, and not lean on my own understanding. I will acknowledge Him in all my ways, and He will direct my paths. Today and every day, I will set my mind and my heart on seeking the Lord my God. And on Sunday, we will arise together and begin to build the sanctuary of the Lord God.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, August 06, 2012

Today’s Topic: Let Go

Today’s Text:  Proverbs 1:32-33 (ESV) ³² For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; ³³ but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

He woke up early in the morning with a question burning in his heart. Could I ever convince anyone that God is real? He thought back to the many experiences of his life, and was convinced that He had never heard God’s voice, and most certainly had never seen God’s face. Yet he believed.

As he got into his pickup that morning and drove away from the farm that was home to over a dozen horses, he began to talk out loud to his heavenly Father. He asked why God had never spoken audibly like he had read about in Scripture. He wondered what he would ever tell someone who wanted proof of the existence of God. He looked at the seat next to him currently occupied by a pack of necessities and accessories for his day and stated, “God, I know you are as real as this black bag, and that you occupy this seat with me. But I want to see you like I can see it.” As he related the story to me I thought to myself, “Be careful what you pray for.”

Later that night, after a hard day of work and an evening visit with a friend, he got back into the pickup and headed for home. He was in a hurry – too much of a hurry. Excessively exceeding the speed limit on a rural North Dakota road, he was within a half mile of home when he came over a small hill. As the truck leveled off at the bottom of the hill and the headlights raised to illuminate the path ahead he saw a frightening sight. There on the side of the road was one of his horses – the same horse that had been returned to him the night before after escaping through a hole in the fence that he had planned to fix early that morning.

Instantly his mind went into high gear. Isn’t the brain that God created for us amazing? The speeds at which it can process information is incredible, even though it’s not until well after the event that we realize how much information was processed. Options came to his mind. Decisions had to be made. I can maintain control and try to go around the horse, but he will likely be spooked and jump into me and end up coming through the windshield. Which way would he jump? Which side of the road do I choose? I’d better slow down.

He slammed on the brakes. As the information processed he chose an option that was in his own words totally stupid – he jerked the steering wheel hard to the left and sent the truck into a spin and headed for the ditch. Later he would make this statement – God’s grace covers stupid. That was lesson number one, but not the most important lesson of the night.

As the truck skidded sideways and backwards down the highway, he began thinking of more options. He knew from years of experience that the outcome of this decision was going to be tragic. He knew that as soon as the truck went off the road and down into the ditch that the wheels would catch in the dirt and the truck would flip and roll uncontrollably. At that moment a he says a peace came over him that he cannot explain and that he had never felt before. At the moment of impact with the ditch he knew from the depths of his heart and soul that he should let go of the steering wheel and sit back and relax. That’s exactly what he did – he totally let go.

As I stood where this happened, I saw the spot that the truck hit the ditch backwards and the back bumper dug into the ground and carved out a mini ravine.  That contact caused the truck to flip end to end and roll side to side. I stood on the glass-covered spot twenty feet away where the roof over the driver’s seat hit the ground and was crushed to within inches of the steering wheel. Anyone sitting in that position would have been killed. I walked up the hill where the truck had flipped again, clearing a barbed wire fence and rolled several more times up the hill.

Somewhere during the first flip, before the roof was crushed, the driver was extracted from the truck through the passenger door window and catapulted sixty feet through the air into the ditch, suffering multiple rib fractures, a punctured lung, hip and leg injuries which required surgery, and multiple bumps and bruises. When he regained consciousness, he tried to make a call to a friend for help. In a nightmarish moment his phone battery died. But the black bag in the truck contained an extra battery. It was his only hope for life.

As he pushed himself up to his feet he was amazed at the power of adrenaline. He felt no pain, and was able to walk slowly to the barbed wire fence. Have you ever tried to cross a barbed wire fence going uphill with a smashed knee? Somehow he was able to hoist each leg high enough to get over the fence and make his way up the hill to the truck. In the dark as he circled the truck he saw the shadowy image of the black bag in the pasture grass. After replacing the phone battery he made seven calls before he finally got someone to answer. By now he barely had any breath left as a result of the punctured lung and the pain was beginning to overpower the adrenaline. Weakly he asked for help and was barely able to say, “I’m south of the farm.”

As he shared the story with me and took me to the place where it all happened, he declared several eternal truths:

• I never fully experienced God because I had never totally let go.
• Our control of our lives limits God’s presence and power.
• God is revealed only in our weakness, not in our strength.
• God became as real as the black bag and my only hope for life is in Him. I may only see shadows of His presence, but He is there, and in Him is found the rescue for human sin and for human stupid.

Be careful what you pray for – but be assured of this – God hears you, and will reveal Himself to you according to the level of your surrender. Let go, and know God!

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, August 03, 2012

Today’s Topic: Accept Correction

Today’s Text:  Proverbs 1:23 (ESV) If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Within each of us is a terrifying enemy of God. Not terrifying to God, but to us. Unfortunately, we have embraced this enemy and signed what we think is a lasting peace treaty with it. In reality, this treaty is a lie, and sooner or later we all discover that the enemy has deceived us and brought us to destruction.

The enemy I refer to is Pride. God hates pride.

• Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure. Psalm 101:5
• The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. Proverbs 8:13
• Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished. Proverbs 16:5

Pride manifests itself in a variety of ways in our lives. If time and space permitted I would tell you all the ways it comes gushing forth from me. I was made very aware of it on my recent trip to see friends as there were several instances where my desires and wishes tended to dominate the decisions that were being made. I was embarrassed and ashamed, and repented both to them and to the Lord.

But the single most prominent way that pride reveals itself as both the enemy of God and the enemy of my life is this – I reject correction. When confronted with a wrong and a challenge to change there is an immediate rise in my pride pressure, and just like an exaggerated rise in blood pressure, my heart is at risk when it happens.

Pride seeks to protect when in reality it is causing harm. We are deceived into believing that we are guarding our hearts – our value system and our image – when actually we are moving quickly towards the destruction of our spiritual hearts. Just as high blood pressure is an indicator of hardened or constricted arteries, so high pride pressure is an indicator of a hardened heart.

King Solomon makes it very clear that pride is conquered only when we respond humbly to the reproof of God when He lovingly disciplines us for our sin. How we respond to God’s correction reveals the nature and extent of pride in our hearts.

Those who embrace the perceived benefits of pride’s self-protective responses will find themselves alone, abandoned, and absorbed with awful consequences.  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. (Proverbs 1:29-31) But those who in humility seek the Lord and embrace His correction comes the abiding Presence of God in the Person of His Holy Spirit, and a constant understanding of God’s Word – His purpose for our lives and the power and provision to accomplish it.

What a contrast. The choice is ours. Pride resulting in only what we can do for ourselves, or correction resulting in what God can and will do in us. Today, and every day from here forward, while I know I am weak and pride is strong, I choose to read God’s Word not for knowledge, but for transformation, calling out for God’s reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

How about you? How do you respond when someone tries to correct you? What does that say about the enemy of God in you? What will you do about it?

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, August 02, 2012

Dear friends, my heart is very heavy. The burden is very great and difficult to bear. I cry in anguish for the hurting, helpless and hopeless people that seem to surround me. Discouragement seeks to rule my thoughts. Temptations to satisfy the longings of the flesh abound as the Enemy of my souls seeks to disqualify me from accomplishing God’s perfect purpose. The view of the finish line is being obscured by a cloud of conflict. Yet in all of this, I am not defeated. In fact, I can rejoice, and I will, for this is the testing of my faith that perfects me.

Not what you expected from your Pastor the first day after his return from a ten day vacation, is it? But I’ll venture a guess that the trials you are experiencing in your life right now are not what you expected from God either. They never are. In the flesh we have this entitlement mentality that expresses itself in a false belief that God owes us a storm-free existence with constant smooth sailing, favorable winds, and safe arrivals at our destinations. When storms do arise, we feel neglected, rejected, and abandoned by God, when in reality it is God doing His greatest work in our lives to produce the character of Jesus.

I know the reality of trials and tests. I am experiencing the overwhelming weight of life’s burdens. I live every day with the pain of other people’s problems. I know the fear that comes from feeling powerless to overthrow the influence of pride in my heart. I am tempted with the sin of self-sufficiency that is easily influenced by rising gas and grocery prices or lost income. I become disgruntled, discouraged, and disheartened when I choose – that’s right it’s my choice and I’m responsible – to be overwhelmed at the needs of the present rather than overjoyed at the grace of the Lord that is sufficient for every need.

I thank the Lord that He has filled my heart with faith in the midst of extremely dark times. He has given me three passages of Scripture to trust in completely because they are His promises to me – and to you as well.

• Deuteronomy 7:17-19 (ESV) ¹⁷ “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations (problems) are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ ¹⁸ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, ¹⁹ the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples (problems) of whom you are afraid.
• James 1:2-4 (ESV)
  ² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
• 1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV)
  ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷ so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, ⁹ obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This last passage is my favorite because it challenges my perspective. I can rejoice in the trial because I have been, once and for all eternity, born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and my life is being guarded by God’s power. God’s power! Not mine, but God’s! Trials are NEVER designed by God nor allowed by God for the purpose of hindering, minimizing, or destroying faith, but rather for the eternal and glorious purpose of strengthening faith in the power and love of God to save our souls.

So no matter what today brings, I say bring it on. God has designed it to test my faith because He wants it to be genuine. When I allow the trial to trap me in a worldly mindset, I am not living by faith. When I embrace the trial as a test that proves and improves me, then I am living by faith. When I live by faith, I can clearly see the finish line again. So whatever the issue, whatever the problem, whatever the pain – I know God is faithful so there is nothing to fear, for He is God of the storm.

Pastor John