John 14v6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"
A willingness to go, where no one wants to go for the sake of the Kingdom of God. To proclaim good news to all and bring an invitation to a new life.
In this update on life I'll be sharing about the first month of the Trailblazer DTS. A Discipleship Training school with the heart to reach the unreached, a willingness to go where no one wants to go. I'll be releasing multiple news letters in the coming weeks explaining more about what God has been doing here at YWAM Trentino where I currently serve in Italy and in my life personally.
The beginning
The school started on September 24th 2023, with a beautiful welcome dinner for all 15 students, coming from nine different nations!
We started off this DTS with some really good weeks of lectures, the topics being
Nature and Character of God
Jesus and the work of the Cross
The Holy Spirit
We felt as a team to start off our lectures for this school with the foundation of Father, Son & Holy Spirit. It was great!
Some Highlights from these weeks
Nature and Character of God
The illustration of a tapestry was used in example of how we can sometimes see life like the back side of the tapestry. Messy and unorganized, not seeing the full picture. But God sees the beauty of eternity and what the picture is thats being painted. The Bible says we can know God, in knowing Him it's important to have His perspective. Sometimes we just see the backside of the tapestry but God sees the beauty on the other side, we can trust in His process.
Jesus & the work of the cross
I could write soo much about this week! Jesus brought healing, freedom and I think something very impactful for me during this week was seeing the power of what it means to live as someone who's forgiven. We had a time to lay down our sins at the cross and experience the healing power of Jesus a fresh! I'll also leave you with a quote to ponder on from Saint Irenaeus of Lyon
"He became what we are, so that we might become what He is"Â
The Holy Spirit
"The Holy Spirit always calls you higher" our speaker for the week shared with us. A highlight I believe for the whole school were the teachings on how God always calls us higher and sometimes we can get stuck in condemnation. So our speaker shared on the difference between conviction and condemnation.
Conviction
is very specific, its saying that what you're doing right now isn't who you are and there is hope! You have a way out! You have power in the situation. There is hope in all things because Jesus is here.
Condemnation
is saying you dirty, nothing, worthless person. Why are you here? You suck. You should just go home and quit all things. You are bound to hell. This is the voice of Satan. If there is no hope in your thoughts about yourself the devil is speaking to you. If there is no hope for the future or how you see yourself that’s the enemy.Â
This is so KEY for us to know as believers of Jesus.
Personally
I was very excited to start this journey, this is a time of growth for the students of course but also for myself! Something God was teaching me about at the start of this school was about 'Counting the cost' specifically the cost of discipleship. Counting the cost for me wasn't about if I can do it or not, but rather asking God where He is in the work that I have ahead of me. If I'm walking with Him, with my eyes fixed on Him then I know that He is walking along side me. Giving the strength to go on even when things get tough.
I knew this DTS would take lots out of me, I had counted the cost with God and accepted it. I knew that He will give me the grace for all thats needed.
Luke 14v28-30
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
He is always faithful to give us what we need, and writing this afterwards I can really say He was and believe He will always be!
Thanks for reading this part one of the update of the Trailblazer DTS! Chapter Two coming soon.
Blessings, Lucas