KingdomCome
Don Follis
Urbana 03 was very real…
So let God finish the good work he began…
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Now that Urbana 03 is a month past, I wonder where the 20,000 souls have gone. My onsite team and I have found 50 or so gloves (most without the mate), a few hats, four or five pair of glasses, a half dozen watches and more than 10 cell phone chargers.
But the delegates are gone. Are they working? Going to School? Raising support? Are the thousands who said, “Yes Lord” still going for it? I pray for them. Are they reading from the Urbana 03 Bible? Are they looking for God? … I wonder where all the people are.
I live here in Urbana, Illinois, and a few days ago I saw the inside of the Assembly Hall. There was no stage and no one leading a worship set dedicated to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Instead, there 10 young men running up and down a basketball court and more than 16,000 fans screaming the Orange and Blue on to victory.
Was Urbana 03 really here, I wondered again, as I looked around? I could barely remember how the Assembly Hall looked only a month before. For a moment, I wondered if it really happened at all.
Urbana 03 was real all right! It was as real as the air you’re breathing right now. Not to worry. God, the creator and sustainer of the Universe, spoke his truth and placed his anointing on thousands of precious souls. The move of God’s Spirit on this campus the last week in December was as real as the cereal you ate this morning.
It may go without being said, so let it be said loudly and clearly: It is in fact true, absolutely true, that only eternity will really know the impact of this convention. Angels in heaven are just beginning to rejoice at the advance of God’s Kingdom resulting from decisions made during Urbana 03.
My friends, don’t think for one moment that Urbana 03 was not real. Don’t think for one second that your God-given destiny is a figment of your imagination. It was God Himself who called you, and He will bring to completion that which he began in your life long before you ever heard of Urbana 03.
Let God have his way, brothers and sisters. Fight against your own pride that would have you believe what you said yes to was not real or at least not for this time in your life. Keep pressing in toward God; don’t pull back. Press in, push toward him…
I fear that pride may keep many from going forward. In her book,
“Praying God’s Word,” Beth Moore wrote of pride with these poignant words.
My name is Pride, and I am a cheater
I cheat you out of your God-given destiny
Because you demand your own way
I cheat you out of contentment
Because you “deserve better than this”
I cheat you out of knowledge
Because you already know it all
I cheat you out of healing
Because you’re too full of me to forgive
I cheat you out of holiness
Because you refuse to admit when you’re wrong
I cheat you out of vision
Because you’d rather look in the mirror than out the window
I cheat you out of genuine friendship
Because nobody’s going to ever know the real you
I cheat you out of love
Because real romance demands sacrifice
I cheat you out of greatness in heaven
Because you refuse to wash another’s feet on earth
I cheat you out of God’s glory
Because I convince you to see your own
My name is Pride and I am a cheater
You like me because you think I’m always looking out for you
Untrue … I’m always looking to make a fool of you
God has so much for you, I admit, but don’t worry…
If you stick with me, you’ll never know.
Don’t let your pride win this one, dear saints. Your God-given destiny is real. May God remind you today and tomorrow and next week of the decisions you made at Urbana 03. May he overwhelm you with his goodness and love and anoint you afresh with vision and a perfect knowledge of his will. Nothing is more real than that.
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