This letter from Pastor Scott followed his sermon on September 20, 2015 from the "Lavished" series called "Spirit". Listen to it here.
I know I'm writing to some who were present last Sunday and some who weren't. Since the start of the church in January 2003 I have never seen the moving of God so strong at a Sunday gathering. I do recall Easter of 2009 as very powerful. But this past Sunday was special and I believe the Lord ignited many hearts. To be honest I was not planning on a fiery message. I was planning on a sort of exciting "God wants to pour out His Spirit" type sermon. But the Lord had other plans. I felt deeply compelled to cut straight into the heart and tear away the very thing that holds us back from experiencing the greater measures of the Spirit. Many were broken (in a good way) and tears of repentance flowed. We don't really do "altar calls" at Ren but many came to the front and just hungered and thirsted for more of God. The presence of God was palpable.
My next message is already burning hot and ready to go. The last couple days I penned about 40 pages in my notebook as God unfolded the next wonderful amazing gift He wants to bless us with. This week I'll be talking about "the nearness of God". This is the secret to a deep life of prayer. I know every Christian feels they should pray more and some of us are pretty disciplined about getting up early and all that. But when the nearness of God is established in our lives it sustains us and enables us to pray through busy times, and through troubles, and when others cease to pray and when the excitement of Sunday fades. Nearness transcends circumstances and feelings. It is what will enable us to persist in prayer and go from one degree of glory to the next. It will enable us to pray day and night "until the Spirit is poured out from on high." Without the nearness of God prayer is difficult, the Scriptures are closed to our eyes and we will lack power to display the Gospel to the world around us. Draw us near oh God!
-Pastor Scott A.