Positive Press

I have written some better notes from the Echo Men’s Retreat at Mount Hermon for you. I hope these are uplifting and encouraging, and that they give excellent direction. Most of the below notes are attributed to the pastors on staff and the Holy Bible:

The Friday sessions were great. One was about the right type of vulnerability, with being vulnerable to attack clearly being bad and being open and honest with the right people as being very good.

The teacher said to be humble under God’s authority and to lower yourself in God’s presence. Those two things sounded the same, but I figured that the one means to do what God says and the other means to look to God as infinitely superior to yourself… and that he’d then honor you as a result…

He also said to avoid duality. He said that the inner you and the outer you should be the same. He said that if you knew your weaknesses and confessed and prayed about your temptations that sin would be weaker, (and have less of a hold on you).

He said if alcohol was your weakness to avoid bars and other places where booze is found. I know I have to shun a lot of TV, and other venues where sex is rampant.

The pastor said to not tell everyone everything, to not confess to everyone, but to be honest with all and vulnerable to a select few.

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The second session was about how we become what we pursue. This one really helped me. I am a follower of Christ, but have had strong tendencies towards negativity. I tend towards pride and narcissism and doubt, but this teaching helped me focus on what God has done for me and taught me to look ahead to be ready for what God has for me to do.

This pastor said to give up on looking backwards, and that really helped me as I try to fix things that aren’t happening anymore and to piece them back together, when I need to focus on the moment and to let go of the past. The things I want to fix are worth caring about in the sense I might have erred, but as I don’t have a time machine, it is way better that I do the right thing next time, and not try to keep patching up the past.

This does not mean to not make amends for wrongs or apologize, but it does mean to not dwell on things that I can’t change, some of which were unlikely to have been accurately wrong in the first place, but rather my paranoid misconceptions.

The speaker quoted Philippians 3:13B-14…

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

He then said that discipline prepares you to take evasive action (and I guess if you are ruminating on past mistakes you might miss the opportunity to take correct steps in the present!). I paraphrased one of his related points below in my sermon notes:

“DON’T DRIFT!”

He then put a slide up on the screen that I felt was key:

YOU DON’T BECOME WHAT YOU INTEND, YOU BECOME WHAT YOU PURSUE!

He even said something I’ve heard for years but didn’t understand, “Fake it ‘til you make it.” I used to think that was negative, but I think it is meant to be positive. It is intended to say a thing is true because the Bible says it is, and if you don’t know it yet, to trust in it and that God will validate and reward that.

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My interpretation:

I heard another say:

“Call those things that be not as though they are”

And found it is attributed to the Bible:

Romans 4:17

King James Version

17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

And to explain a bit:

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Abraham and his wife were elderly when God said they would have a son, a natural heir, and that Abraham’s descendants would be more numerous than stars and sand; Abraham believed God even though His words seemed very unrealistic, and God blessed Abraham for his faith, and what God said came to pass!

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The pastor at the retreat said to do the things of faith even when you didn’t feel it. Then, when I was at the retreat, and I felt the power of God, I was blessed, but when I didn’t feel the power of the Spirit, I was determined to still be blessed. My position didn’t decline when my feelings shifted, and then I was ready and able to receive the next outpouring of the spirit or whatever blessing came next.

He went on to say that in 1 Samuel when David faced Goliath, he was filled with confidence, but that his confidence was borne of prior occurrences and attitudes. David’s time as a shepherd, protecting his flock from bears and lions, prepared him to face the Philistine giant. He was not simply anointed in the moment to confront the juggernaut, his life had been a preparation for that moment.

He also said that God prepares us for what we need to do:

The preacher said that discipline is what leads us to victory. Like athletes, we must discipline ourselves to focus on key tasks and attitudes, the same as those in the military do. I would say that musicians and artists are similar. We don’t always feel the art or the poetry, but we continue to play and practice, so that when the golden moment comes, we can perform well.

He taught a pursuit pathway as an acrostic:

P.U.R.S.U.E.

Prioritize God, first and foremost

Unplug from distractions

Root your life in the living water of God’s Word

Seek God in private prayer

Unify your heart and don’t be half-hearted

Enlist a band of brothers who’ve got your back

He said to NOT let your doubt pull you away from your devotion to the Lord!!!

He also reiterated what the first session pastor said when he warned us to not confess to everyone, but to definitely confess all your sins to someone or a select few who were trustworthy.

Here are some final slides from this session: