Is it all about Timing?

I want you to take a few moments to imagine an event in your life where timing was everything. It might be the time you remembered launching out on a word from God or you started a new routine for the sake of your health (you perhaps looked in the mirror and thought… ‘Man! It’s time I did something about that!’).

I remember when I first thought I would like to take Jen out on a date.

Jen and I were setting up for Jobel’s and me being the confident character I am, I told Jen out of the blue that the next date she would be going on would be with me. Thinking this would be a done deal, I waited for her to gush with embarrassment and say yes!

Well… she looked at me, with a gone out look, said nothing walked off and left me standing in the middle of the church hall like a right lemon.  Not only had I thought I’d lost my touch, I was thinking my timing was way off.

Not to be put off, a few weeks later I decided to ask Jen out again. We went out but I wanted to play it cool and not commit to meeting up again so soon.

A couple of days later, Jen then asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner and for some reason I couldn’t make it. Bad timing again. The following week I decided to call Jen to see if she wanted to go out for food. This time she couldn’t make it. In fact she took great pleasure in telling me she was going on a date with another bloke. Talk about the timing being all over the place.

Again, playing it super cool, I said “cool, have a good time” knowing that at some point my charm, good looks and persistence would all pay off. So, that night Jen went off on her date and I carried on doing what I was doing. Then at about 9 o’clock I got a text out of the blue from Jen, saying, “Are we going to go out or what?”

I texted back and said “I thought you were on a date!” She replied saying “I am, he’s gone to the toilet and he’s boring me to death.”

She later told me that she skipped pudding to end the date sooner (for Jen to give up pudding, she must have been bored).

Anyway we went on a couple of dates and then started dating officially. Finally the timing was right.

We all know that there are situations in life that are taken out of our control, timing isn’t down to us. Many of you know that Jen and I are expecting a baby and whether we like it or not, at some point that little/big bundle is going to arrive. We might have very little control over the circumstances and timing of that baby’s arrival but, we have plenty of chances too in life where an opportunity presents itself and the choice is fully ours as to whether we respond to the timing or not.

Winston Churchill said this ‘There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born. That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfil his mission-a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment he finds greatness, it is his finest hour…’

Now, I understand what Winston is trying to get at here but I actually believe that there are moments (more than one) where we have an opportunity to be great or fulfil our mission. Consider for a moment your unique talents and gifts, your personality and character and how they all mesh together to create a ‘you’ that no one could replace. A ‘you’ that, once surrendered, God fully has His hand on to guide and lead you towards fulfilling your purpose on earth for His splendour and ultimate glory.

There is no-one like you and the possibilities that will be open to you might be unlike any other.

There are many examples of the timing principle in the Bible but perhaps the one that might immediately spring to mind for us is Esther.

We all know that very famous verse in the book of Esther 4:14 ‘and who knows whether you have come to the Kingdom for such a time as this?’

Do you ever think about why you’re here now? Why God chose to place you in this point in history and why you would find yourself in Loughborough, even find yourself at New Springs?

Of all the towns, villages and cities you could have lived you could have been called to or wound up anywhere – yet God brought you here. You could have chosen to visit or settle in any church in Loughborough – yet you find yourself at New Springs.

Isn’t that funny!? Do you ever wonder why?

You might have decided you like it because of the friends you’ve made, the style of worship or preaching but whatever the reason you’ve decided to stay and settle you have something to offer the body too. I believe that some of you have giftings that you may not even know about yet, some of you may have gifts that are only just being brought into the light. Can I encourage you to fan into flame the gift of God within you?!(2 Timothy 1:6).

We are entering into a new season as a church. We are going in a new direction that is exciting and challenging. Both spiritually and mentally we are out of our depth, throwing ourselves hook, line and sinker upon the goodness and greatness of God. But, we are all presented with an opportunity, a window of time if you will.

What will you do with this time that you are presented with?

Esther, we know, was on board 100%. Maybe partly because of the challenge from her Uncle but also because of the consequences of what would happen if she did nothing (threat to her people).

We are all being presented with a challenge ‘from the Uncle’. Go on, try something new! Step out in faith, be a part of what God is doing here. What is stopping you? Why not take it to God in prayer, if you haven’t done so already? Ask Him to help you find your place, make your mark – I believe you’ll see something fantastic happen when you follow His lead.

What if you do nothing?

We will fight on without you. But, it would be great if you could catch hold of a vision for your place in it all and fight with us as we all step up to a new level. As Pastor Phil has already mentioned from the front, we bless and pray for the work of the other churches in our town, but if you are called to serve here, why don’t you step up with us as we push through into what God has for us?

The truth is that for us, once we get saved, we are not the same. A life lived for ourselves will always feel like we’re living up to less than we could. Remember, this isn’t about trying to make you more busy either! We simply want you to be all you can be and join us as we press in to this new adventure.

If you’re not sure how you fit into it all, why not have a chat with one of the Leadership team? They’ll be happy to talk with you about what you have on your heart and pray with you about a way forward.