This five-part series explores five stages of healing, restoration and freedom in Christ. When we talk about how we BUILD more room for God, so often we refer to the sacrifice and letting go of our good stuff – our time, our energy, our finances. But God doesn’t just want our good stuff. He wants our brokenness too. And sometimes we want to hold onto our brokenness and not give it over. We at CSC are in a journey of sacrifice and BUILDing as we raise funds and expand our physical space to accommodate growth in our discipling ministries to children, youth, young adults, seniors and marginalized communities. But we also want this to be a church-wide journey of spiritual growth and healing.
CSC offers many healing discipleship ministries and courses to help people walk in freedom from the things that are holding us back from living life to the full in Christ (John 10:10). Construction of NW Campus and expansion of Central Campus will allow for the various sized multi-purpose spaces needed to optimize the ministry environment for people walking on journeys of spiritual growth and healing. In the spirit of James 5:16, the new spaces will provide discrete and confidential places for people to work in safe community through spiritual barriers like addiction, deep emotional wounds and trauma.
Part 4: Staying free
In Part 1 we let Jesus past the welcome mat of our homes – we give Him access to all the rooms of our lives. In Part 2 we work with Him to clean and purge unhelpful clutter and destructive things in our lives, so He can do the real work. In Part 3 we fill those rooms with the Holy Spirit – when we clear, we must fill so we can live abundantly in Christ. By this point, a lot of the major heavy lifting for inner healing has been done… but how do we stay healed and stay free?
“A common experience is once people find freedom in Christ, the enemy will try to come back and bring more temptation and more spiritual warfare,” explains Greg Grunau, Pastor of Spiritual Development. “But now, through our healing journey we have developed new tools to use, so even if you fall back into old temptations you can take out the dustbin and deal with them right away.”
Pastor Greg notes how the journey of healing is very much the same thing as the journey of sanctification – the lifelong process of becoming holy, which means nobody ever fully arrives in this life. “But we develop disciplines that help us defeat the enemy regularly,” adds Pastor Greg, “and this is how we learn to live from victory.”
“When we defeat the enemy, he often comes back and surrounds your walls,” says Cam Harris, Pastor of Healing Discipleship. “The enemy sets up camp around your castle trying to find new ways in. Part of discipleship is equipping people with strong defences. We use Scripture to equip each other with tools and techniques that help us rise up in our authority in Christ.”
Take Andrew Fewell for example. Having grown up in a broken home, Andrew lived his life looking for acceptance in all the wrong places. His life had been filled with addiction and abuse. Having dabbled with Ouija boards, palm readings and tarot cards, Andrew had some bad spiritual baggage that had been following him around over the years. After attending the Encounter God weekend, through repentance, prayer and confession to God and another believer, Andrew experienced healing from Jesus.
“Because I am a new creation in Christ and am filled with the Holy Spirit, I’ve been freed from destructive additions that were ruining my life,” says Andrew who today serves with Gideons International in Canada & Shareword Global (Bible distribution organization). “The Holy Spirit speaks truths to me throughout the day, reaffirming who I am as a Child of God. He combats the lies of Satan and this world which help me stand firm as a follower of Christ. The Holy Spirit guides and directs my paths, giving me wisdom and discernment when needed, he renews my mind to the things of God.”
Cam and Greg site the abbreviation, IMAC – Intimacy, Maturity, Authority and Capacity – to illustrate the progress of spiritual maturity through which God brings us. “As I grow in my intimacy with Jesus, He will grow me in my maturity, authority and capacity,” notes Cam.
For Andrew that means abiding in Christ daily. “I read the scriptures and pray throughout the day,” says Andrew. He notes that intimacy with Jesus ultimately came down to understanding his identity as a child of God. “What really transformed my life was receiving God’s love.”
As he grew in his intimacy with Christ, Andrew also grew in his maturity as a Christ follower which was reflected in his lifestyle. Not only does he read the scriptures and pray daily, but he also stays connected to a healthy community. Andrew noticed his relationships with his friends, colleagues, family and wife started to improve. There was less conflict and that he had a lot more love and grace towards people. “There is now more joy in my life, and I spend more time laughing. There’s also more peace and less chaos. God is so good!”
As Andrew continues to walk and rise up in his authority in Christ, God strengthens his capacity to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy. “It’s a daily battle, but Christ has already won it for us,” notes Andrew.
“The enemy is defeated and it’s our job to bring the good news to those who are still trapped in bondage without a relationship with Jesus. Our time is short, we need to make the most of it for His glory!”