Pastor's Letter January 2012

Dear Friends

Two years ago at this time I preached around Luke 5:4 where Jesus said to Simon Peter “put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch”. I believed very strongly that this was a call from God to us as a church to make a conscious decision to leave the safety of the shore, the place where we feel secure and comfortable, and to put out into deep water, the place where our feet can’t touch the bottom, where we have to trust in God. It is in that place of faith that we will see many brought to Christ. It is in the place that takes us out of our comfort zone and into a place where we need to rely on God.

As 2011 ended and 2012 began I was reminded of this verse on two separate occasions and was clear that God was bringing it back to my attention, and to our attention. The truth is that unless we are consciously and consistently choosing the life of faith then we tend to default to the safer place on the shore. That place can still be a place that demands much in terms of hard work and effort but demands little in terms of faith and is ultimately unrewarding.

I believe that this is a time for harvest, a time for salvation. I know that there is a desire within the family of Liberty Church to reach out to those around us to see lives transformed and people saved. Last year we invested heavily in Impact World Tour and I know that there are many mixed feelings about the effectiveness of these events but it did raise the profile of those around us who need to know Jesus. It focused our attention on the lost and on our call to reach out with the love of God and the Good News of the Gospel. As we move into 2012 I know that this call continues and I know God has put bigger visions in peoples’ hearts. We want our lives to count. We want to be obedient to God. We want to have the joy of impacting the lives of others with a radical life transforming love.

I believe as we move forward that the harvest will be among our families and friends, our neighbours, our fellow students and our work colleagues. It will be among the people we touch through the ministries in which we serve. The harvest is right in front of us but it is in the deep water. It will require faith and obedience and it will require working with others to bring it in. When Simon Peter put out into deep water he was being obedient to Jesus but I don’t suppose he had any idea of the size of the catch he would bring in when he let down his nets. Our God is mighty and able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine and all he asks is our faith and obedience.

I love Liberty Church and I feel immensely blessed to count myself as part of this amazing family. I pray that God would stretch us this year and I pray that each of us would experience the joy of seeing the lives of those we love impacted by the love and power of God.

Be blessed in 2012

Much love

Jon