Incredible talk by my friend and partner Oscar Muriu of NewThingAfrica and NewThingGlobal just now at Exponential. As I watch now many are responding, and I’m here praying ‘Me too, Lord! Make me brave!’ 

If you are resonating and responding to this and interested in planting reproducing churches and starting movements in Europe with NewThingEurope get in touch with me here. 

There is sustaining faith, enough to get by today… and then there is mustard seed faith

What is it?

If your faith is small, you can say to a mountain – move, and it will be done for you.

It’s the faith that moves mountains.

It does not depend on my networks but on God alone.

It begins where my abilities and resources end

This is the faith that puts me in the place where nothing will happen until God moves.

Mustard seed prays prayers so big there is no hope they would ever come to be without God.

The sad thing is, 95% of Christians pray with that prayer.

We ask for too little

We are too easily satisfied.

Too quick to make excuses for no miracles

We have enough faith to pray for a parking space – but he says if we ask him he will give God the nations.

What nations are you asking for?!

We jam heaven’s telephone lines with petty prayers.

There are only two places that say ‘Nothing will be impossible for you.’

At Babel. For the wrong motivations. But the principle was there.

The only other time is Mat 17:20 where Jesus says,

If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, nothing will be impossible for you.

Not ‘faith as big as Moses and Elijah’s’ Mustard seed size.

So, what impossible prayers are you praying now, so as you pray, God begins to sweat?

Every Christian leader should have at least 10 big hairy audacious prayer goals.

Oscar is praying for a million souls in the Africa.

And planting in many cities including London, JoBurg, Manilla…

People ask, ‘How will you do this?’

I don’t know! It’s God’s headache to figure it out!

Isaiah 7:9 says – If you do not stand firm in your faith you will not stand at all.

Jesus says According to your FAITH it will be done to you!

How much faith have you got?  Even God cannot multiply zero faith. Give him a little faith!

We get so filled with anxiety, with our circumstances.

George Muller determine to live differently and believe differently in Bristol. Without asking people, only asking God.

In 1834 at 28 years he founded schools, distributed Bibles and support missionaries and establish orphanages. In 1836 he took 30 orphan girls into his own home. Then more and more.

Over the course of his life he cared for 10,024 orphans through their life and in his lifetime!

He changed the nation’s view on how they were cared for.

Prayed in equivalent of $100m! Translated 250,000 gospel tracts

At 70 he didn’t retire – he moved out to travel as a preacher, visiting 42 countries in the next 17 years, preaching once a day. Reached millions.

In 68 years – never took a salary.

Read the Bible through 200 times. You’ve probably heard so many famous stories of miraculous provision for those orphanages?

How come? He dared to believe God!

Do not shirk back!

If there anything that is killing the movement of God its overabundance of caution!

We want to live safe lives, not brave lives.

‘Do you want to be brave or safe – because you can’t do both.’ Gary Haughan

If it feels safe to follow Jesus – check you are actually following!

Imagine if before Philippians 2 could happen, Jesus asked the Father ‘Before I go, is it safe for me to go?’ The Father would have had to say NO!

From your birth to your painful death, it will not be safe my son. But will you go?

The disciples didn’t play it safe. They never shrunk back.

They never prayed ‘Please remove the persecution!’ They prayed ‘Lord, consider their threats, then give us greater boldness!’

Brave means outside the comfort zone

Into the unknown:

Not knowing what will happen first

Brave means God doesn’t have to ask your permission as he commissions you to a Greater commission

Brave is not the absence of fear. It means God proved himself and his love on the cross – and we believe him.

We say and sing, ‘I have been crucified with Christ’

A dead man doesn’t wince.

A dead man is not afraid.

Many of us did not die, we only fainted, now we wake up afraid to die to self!

The call to church planting is not easy. It’s dying to self.

If you were running away, God has caught you. God has been calling you and tapping on your shoulder. The time has come. To pray bigger prayers for the biggest visions imaginable – and bigger!

(Like I said, if you believe your next step might be that God is calling you to impact Europe with me through NewThingEurope, email info@ivychurch.org and they’ll get us connected – Anthony – only the brave need apply!).