June 29 AM - Travis Holownia

Travis Holownia is a speaker, evangelist, and founder of Resurgence Initiatives, a movement launched in 2008 with a vision to reach people, revive churches, and release leaders across Canada and the nations. 

https://quiz.liveresurgence.com/sela

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, good morning. Are we awake this morning? Well, it is an incredible honor of my life to be here with you this week. I have never been to German camp. Um I know that's the name it used to be. Um, and I've been growing up knowing about German camp. And so uh I'm half German, so I qualify, um, and I'm half Polish. So um thank you for those claps, two people. Um but I uh was born and raised in Edmonton, uh attended a church growing up, Central Pentecostal Tabernacle. Some of you might know of the pyramid downtown, now North Point, uh married to Jess. She's gonna be joining us on uh Tuesday night, and uh she'll be here for the rest of the week. And uh we have a son, Elijah. Uh we've got one on the way, due in September. Uh my wife is a pediatric dentist, so she is working today and gonna join us uh tomorrow. But um, you know, in 2008, I was uh actually before 2008, I studied to be an engineer. And so my story was I grew up at Central, studied to be an engineer, and in 2004 or five, I'll share a little bit about this story. But I left engineering and uh went and served a ministry called Extreme Dream Ministries under Mike Love. Uh some of you know YC, YC Alberta, and for eight years served that ministry. Uh, and then during that uh season, God put this burden on my heart for young adults, and they weren't encountering the Lord. And I just said, there needs to be an encounter. You know, we have people that have grown up in church, 23, 24 years old, that are leaving and they're leaving religion, but they've never encountered Jesus. And so I was so burdened. So we rented a theater in downtown Emmonton, the old Paramount Theater, and we put some posters up and I said, God, what do we call it? And he gave us this word resurgence, and I've never heard of the word. I'm like, resurgence? What's that mean? And it means arising again, renewal, restoration of use. And he led me in the Bible to Ezekiel 37, where Ezekiel's in a valley of dry bones, and it seemed impossible. And he spoke life, and an army came and arose, and breath came into them. And so we just put posters up. I remember we had a prayer meeting. There were 10 of us in this prayer meeting, and uh I just felt God speak to me and said, This isn't about a night, but how do you call a generation to live a spirit-filled life every day? What happens at 6 a.m. when the alarm goes off on Monday morning? How are you different? Because you can have a service, you can have a camp service, but what happens Monday morning? How do you live this out? And I knew that was the Lord, and he says, This is a movement. And I'm like, there's only 10 people, God. How can this be a movement? And um, you know, we held some meetings, 300 people came, we did that uh six times, and then in 2009, we start meeting monthly, and for the next 15 years, we had a monthly service in churches all across the city of Edmonton. Baptists, Alliance, Presbyterians, Salvation Army. We met in I think I think 55 different churches in the city of Edmonton. And God began to stir young adults to go. We we said, we're not a church, we're just we're just helping the local church raise up leaders, raise the water level up, and believe that there's a resurgence. And you know, I remember hearing reports at the project where someone gave their life to Jesus at resurgence and then he's getting baptized at churches in our city, and that was the goal of it all. And um, our mandate is to reach people, revive churches, and release leaders. And and since that time, God has just opened up doors. In 2013, I went full-time, and uh, and God has opened doors to go into our northern part of Canada. I've been in Baffin Island many times, uh, in some of our northern communities and our First Nations communities, uh, trying to end the suicide pandemic that is up there, believing that Jesus changes everything. And um, and God has opened doors from Africa. Uh, we're just in Thailand. This year is probably our greatest year in ministry. We did an open-air gospel festival in a least reached, unreached part of Thailand. I'm gonna share a little bit about that this week, about what God did. And um, you know, it's just incredible. So I I serve some uh boards nationally, helping the POC raise evangelists, raise evangelism. Uh, just so it is an honor to be here. It's an honor, and I believe God's got some big things in store for us this week. Um, one thing I'll mention, you know, over years of traveling, I feel like God wants to raise spirit-empowered leaders, spirit-empowered believers, spirit-empowered churches. We are Pentecostal by nature. But what does it actually mean to be Pentecostal? What does it mean to live that spirit-empowered life every day? And I feel like as we pray, God has given us a blueprint. Go, Travis, how does that how does that look? Me as an engineer, I need to figure out how it looks. And God said it's being wholehearted, it's being spirit-led, it's being relational, it's being kingdom-minded, and it's also bearing fruit. And those are five things that I live my life going. God, am I doing those things today? Am I living that out today? And I it's a framework that God has given us, and we actually created an assessment, a free assessment tool that goes, okay, how am I doing in those areas? And so this is just a free resource we created for ourselves, but I wanted to share it with you that you go, hey, I want to do an assessment, kind of like a strength finder, kind of like that assessment tool to go, hey, am I wholehearted? Am I am I living spirit-led? And this is just a tool, you answer the questions and it emails you a PDF breakdown. Oh, you're you're high in this area, you're maybe a little low in this area. And would love you to check that out, scan the QR code if that's if that can be a resource, because I just believe God wants to raise up us to be healthy, spirit-empowered leaders. Amen? Well, as I prayed for us today, the God gave me this phrase, the empowered life. And over the next five mornings, I want to dive into what the empowered life looks like. And I want to look at the life of Peter. Peter was a fisherman, Peter was a disciple, he also had a failure. He was a leader, he was a witness, and he ultimately became a mature follower of Jesus. And we'll watch how God takes an ordinary man who's a fisherman and forms into someone who actually changes the world. Um, Peter's story is not just his story. I believe Peter's story can be our story. Because the same Jesus who called Peter also calls each one of us in this room. We'll watch how God takes this person and molds them into what he's called him to be. You know, this week, here's what's gonna happen. I'm going to share from God's word. And I believe engage our minds. There's gonna be some points. I'll say, write this down. For those that take notes, you'll write it down. That's amazing. But Christianity is not just merely information, it's not simply gathering knowledge about God, it's pursuing a relationship with God. And as I prayed for us, I believe that God wants us to encounter us afresh this week. I just sensed last night, I've never been to this camp before. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, there is a fresh marking of his presence for every single person in this place. So as I share, I just believe God's gonna encounter you afresh. That's my prayer. His Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is in this room, amen. And so I just want you to be open to what the Holy Spirit would do as it's as the Holy Spirit strengthens you, heals you, transforms us. Because that's what I've come expecting. Not just to lead us, but to encounter him afresh myself. See, he's in this place, and I just appreciate Aaron and the team. Thank you for leading us. You can feel the presence of God in this place today. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 5. It's gonna be on the screen, but I want to start with a story in Luke chapter 5, verse 1. One day as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gernasset, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water's edge two boats. Everybody say two, left there by fishermen who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put it out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he'd finished speaking, he said to Simon, Put it into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Simon answered, Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets. When they had done so, they caught such large number of fish that their nets began to break, so they signaled their partners in the other boats to come and help them, and they came, and they filled both boats so full they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, Go away from me, Lord, I'm a sinful man. For he and his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken. And so were James, John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners, and Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid, from now on you'll fish for people. So they pulled their boats up on the shore, left everything, and followed him. You know, as I as I prayed about this camp, I couldn't um I found myself thinking about the pioneers that started this camp. They built this place. Many years ago, somebody prayed, somebody sacrificed, somebody gave, somebody served. Uh, over the generations, somebody believed God could do something in this very place, in this very tabernacle, on these very campgrounds. They didn't have what we have today. They didn't have the facilities, they didn't have the history, they didn't know what God would do in the future generations. All they said had was a yes. And they said yes to God. Every move of God starts with ordinary people saying yes to an extraordinary God. Every yeah, every move of God begins with ordinary people saying yes to an extraordinary God. And that's where Peter's story begins, doesn't it? It wasn't in preaching, it wasn't in leading, it wasn't in performing miracles. Peter's story starts on a boat. Ordinary, tired, discouraged. And Jesus steps into this world. Of all the days for Jesus to step into Peter's world, it was on his worst day. But I found that's where God works his best. And as I mentioned, we're gonna talk about Peter's journey and we're gonna start with Peter's calling with a yes. See, the call of God is for everyone. If you're taking notes, the call of God is for everyone. Peter's not a pastor. Peter did not work at Eaglemont or Bethel or Southside or Hope City. Peter's not a priest, he didn't attend Vanguard, he's not a rabbi, he's a fisherman. He's at work, he's doing his job, and Jesus walks right into his workplace. I love that. That Jesus didn't find Peter in a church, Jesus found Peter on a shoreline. Because the call of God isn't reserved for special few people, the call of God is for every believer. You need to hear that today. The call of God is for every believer. Some hear messages like this and go, well, um, you know, that's for the missionaries. That's for Pastor Kevin, that's for the pastors, that's for evangelists. It might be, it might be for them too, but it's also for you too. It's also for all of us. See, we miss something when we say it's for them. Every believer has a calling. It's different assignments, it's different seasons, it's different gifts, but every believer has a calling. You know, what is calling? I grew up in church and they're like, what is your calling? And I'm like, I don't know. You know, what I and I often think there's this peculiar thing of the call of God. You know, what is it? And you know, what does calling mean? Calling has a few meanings in scripture. The first is simple. We understand calling someone. I call you on the cell phone, you know, that that's a calling. There's a calling. You call out to each other, you call out to God. But calling in the Bible actually means to name something. When God names someone or something, he isn't just giving it a label, he's actually calling the future promise and purpose and a prophetic act of what that person's gonna step into. Abram was this guy, and God, before he ever held Isaac, God called him Abraham, father of many nations. Didn't really make sense because he never had Isaac yet. But God spoke over his future long before Abraham could see it. God often speaks into what we're becoming. In the New Testament, you know, a calling is connected to salvation. Jesus called people to himself. He walked on a shore and said, Follow me. He wasn't simply inviting them into a new career, he was inviting them into relationship. The Greek word for church actually is ecclesia, which means the called out ones. And Christians, before they were known as Christians, would be actually followers of the way. So people who responded to the call of Jesus. From the very beginning, God has been calling people to himself. I think, can I say this? This is our primary calling. Before you are called to a vocation, before you are called to a job, before you are called to anything else, you are called to Jesus. I am called to Jesus. The greatest calling you can ever have is a relationship with Jesus. That is our primary calling. And then once we have the primary calling, there's a secondary calling. That's the unique assignment. That's the thing inside of you that makes you tick, the thing that lights you up, the thing that you go, only I can do this. I'm excited about this. That's a secondary calling. But it only matters if you have the primary calling intact, if you know Jesus and have that relationship. See, some are called to ministry, but others to business, to education, to engineering, to law, to raising a family, to health care. Can I say this? Every single one of us are called to ministry. Ministry is following Jesus and scattering and demonstrating the kingdom. End of story. That's our primary calling. We are not called all to be vocational ministers. I get that. But every profession is a ministry. It isn't a lesser call to be a teacher, a mom, a restaurant server, a janitor, an engineer than it is to be a pastor, preacher, evangelist, missionary. You need to hear this today. God has a purpose for every single one in this room. I grew up at Central, as I as I mentioned, I was the guy that did sound at the back of the room. I never had a desire to ever speak on a stage. I was like, I will run the microphone. And if I don't like the speaker, I can shut it off. I was nervous. I was like, I'm never gonna speak. I'm not public speaker, I'm not doing this. And I remember one night at my youth group, I was doing sound and God was moving. And there was a moment I discovered that the stories I read on the scripture weren't just stories, but they were a call to experience him from here to here. And I just remember running to the altar one night and I laid down in the corner. I said, God, if you're real, I want all that you have. Listen, I grew up in church. I knew all the stories, but there was a moment that I encountered him. And that changed my life. I remember going to a camp a few years later, my youth pastor was speaking at this camp, people were getting healed, and God was filling people with his spirit, and I was at the back watching, and I moved to the front row where Pastor Tim is, and I sat there and I just said, God, I want to do this all the days of my life. I just want to watch what you're doing in a young generation. That was my call to ministry. That was my call. But I didn't know what that looked like. I didn't know what I was gonna do. I said, God, what should I do with my life? And he led me into going to a computer engineering degree. I did five years of a computer engineering degree at the U of A. During that time, I was serving in my church and young adult ministry. I was I was taking all my holidays to go do ministry trips. And when I graduated, I didn't know what I was gonna do. And I went and got a job at an oil company at 23 years old, became, was en route to become management of this oil company as a vice president in acquisitions. I had a staff of about five under me. I was in charge of Western Canada. I was like, I'm gonna fund the kingdom. Like, I don't need to preach, I can fund the kingdom, amen? And have a couple toys as well. But then I heard God's voice. And you know, sometimes what does God's voice sound like? Is it God's voice? Is it the devil? Or is it the pepperoni meat lovers pizza I ate the night before? And I was like, God, what does your voice sound like? And through a series of events, I ended up quitting my job. I went to my boss, I handed in the company truck, I handed in my career track, everything that I was in. He goes, You're an idiot. And I said, I know, but I'm I think I'm following Jesus. See, sometimes the call of God calls us to do crazy things. Can I tell you that was the best choice I ever made? And I went and served. I called up Mike Love, who was doing YC, and said, Is there any chance that you have something available? He goes, Well, do you want to intern? And for the next year for free, I interned. I went from managing to licking stamps on envelopes and setting up chairs for a year. It was humbling. But God was developing something in my story. I look back on that and I sense God had been calling me, and I realize sometimes God's call begins quietly. It's a nudge, it's a burden, it's a conviction, it's a still small voice. I don't know about you, but I expected Morgan Freeman to be in my head. I am God and I am calling you. You know, that's a bad Morgan Freeman interpretation. I can't do it, I won't try. But the call of God is not for a few people, it's for every believer. Can I also say this this morning on behalf of church leaders, on behalf of pastors? I'm sorry for those in this place that you feel like you are second class or have a second class calling because you're not in full-time ministry. I believe that is an error in the church. Listen, every one of us are called. And I just want to say, sometimes as ministry leaders, we can elevate certain people and say, well, this person's going on YWAM for nine months, and we send them on a YWAM trip, and we're like, oh man, let's pray over them, bless them. But what are we saying to the teacher that works nine months with our kids that stays? We're saying that's a little lesser call because you're not going away. We're not laying hands on you and praying for you. What are we saying to the nurse that is staying and caring for patients and doing ministry every day? So I just want to apologize. If you have ever felt second class, listen to the business owners, you're not just to make money for the kingdom. You're in ministry, transforming lives every day. You're not just a check to the church. And I'm sorry if you've ever felt that, if you've ever felt transactional, because that's not the heart of God. We are all called to ministry. Write this down the call of God is for every believer. Second, the call of God begins with availability. You know, Peter, Jesus gets into Peter's boat. Before Peter preaches, before Peter leads, before Peter's filled with Holy Spirit, Jesus simply asks for his boat. Put it out a little from shore. Such a small request. Jesus didn't go, Peter, will you change the world? No. Can I have your boat? Oh. Sometimes we want God to reveal the entire plan. And God simply says, I just want the next step. The next yes. The next act of obedience. Luke 2.52 says, and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. You know that one verse in the Bible characterizes 18 years of Jesus' growth. There was no platform, there was no Instagram followers, there was no public miracles, there was nothing. Jesus grew in that season. Listen, let's not underestimate the seasons and the secret place and the hidden place where you're growing. We want the shingles and we want the siding and we want the outside, but God wants to deal with the foundation first. He wants to deal with the plumbing first. He wants to have character in our lives that can sustain what he wants to do through you. Sometimes we miss that. You know, we we live in a culture obsessed with bigger and better. When I was growing up in youth group, we played this game, and I don't know if some of you ever played this game called Bigger or Better. And our youth pastor gave us a paper clip and said, okay, you got two hours, go see what you can get from this paperclip. Whoever gets the bigger and better thing wins. So we were like, we're gonna go to the richest neighborhood in Emmonton. We went to Glenora. And we're like, because they got bigger and better junk than everybody else. And so we'd go door to door. And I remember this guy was so nice, he had the biggest house. And he and he came out and he goes, Hey, how can I help you guys? And he explained it, and he goes, Ah, I got an old barbecue in the backyard. You want it? Because I'm trying to haul it to the junk the dump, but it actually still works. So we hauled this thing on a truck. We won because we got bigger or better. But isn't how life is? It's this it's this race for the bigger and for the better, for bigger opportunities, bigger influence, bigger platforms, bigger career, bigger promotion, bigger houses, bigger plans. But God's kingdom actually works very differently. Peter saw a boat, Jesus saw a disciple. Peter saw something ordinary. And Jesus saw something eternal. Never despise what God calls significant simply because it appears small. You know, Zechariah 4.10 says, Do not despise the small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. You know, the pioneers that built this camp, they never knew what it could look like today. They just had a simple obedience to what God had called them in that day. And sometimes we don't, we look back and go, oh, well, look at this camp now. But then they didn't know what it could be. They just had this idea and they felt the stirring of the Lord to do something and have a place that you could draw nigh to God and he will dry nigh to you. And look the life change that happened at this camp for generations because of it. We never know. See, God often uses what we make available to him. I want to ask you, do you want to experience more of him this week? Then I found that I need to give him more of me. If I want more of God, I gotta go, I gotta give more of my time. I gotta give more of my heart. Sometimes we pray big prayers, but we're not available when God asks us to do something. God often uses what we make available. Point number three this morning is the call requires staying. The call requires staying. Pastor Tim said it faith to endure. Luke, the writer, tells us they'd fished all night and caught nothing. Nothing. No fish, no success, no breakthrough. And now Peter's washing his nets. He's finished. He's tired. He's disappointed. Yet he stays. Many people quit in this moment. Many people leave in this moment. Many people become discouraged in this moment. But Peter stays. Faithfulness is not built in. Faithfulness is often built, I found, in disappointing seasons. Not successful seasons. Not the easy seasons. The disappointing ones. See, I've learned that one of the greatest tests of calling is staying. Staying when prayers aren't answered. Staying when results don't come. Staying when you don't understand. Staying when you're tired. See the pioneers who built this camp, they stayed. Pastors stay. Parents stay. Grandparents stay. Business owners stay. Why? Because faithfulness matters. God often does his deepest work in people who simply stay, who are faithful. You know, it's easy to switch churches. It's easy to switch marriages. It's easy to switch cities. It's easy to switch jobs. It's easy to let your hurt and frustration move you from here to there. And it's not easy to stay. It's easy to run. We have a culture right now where it's easy to run from the pain than actually address the pain. It's easy to run from the church hurt than actually deal with the church hurt. It's easy to run and numb ourselves than actually go, what is going on and how do I heal it? The problem isn't someone else. The problem might be me. And God, how can you heal me? Here's what I discovered frustration seasons will either draw you away from God or closer to God. It's a choice. How we respond makes a difference. See, faithfulness and disappointment prepares us for God's next assignment. My fourth point today is the call requires obedience and humility. Jesus says, put into deep water. Peter's the fishing expert. Jesus is the carpenter. This makes no sense. I don't know about if any of you ever gone fishing. I've gone fishing a fair bit. I mean, I've gone boating, let's just say boating, because I didn't catch a lot of fish. But you ever go to a fishing store and you meet these people and they're the expert. If you buy the banjo minnow, it'll it's genetically modified to catch more fish. If you buy this hook, oh, you go to the other side of the lake and they're as big as your head. You'll get the biggest fish ever. And you hear these stories, and then you go over there and you're like, what am I doing wrong? You know? They're not biting. And here Jesus comes to the fisherman and is giving him advice. Yeah, you go over there, what? We fished all night, Jesus. This doesn't make sense. You don't have, you're not the expert I am, thank you very much. You're a carpenter. What do you know about fishing? But Peter says this, because you say so. Those must, those might be the most important words of this whole story. Not I understand, not I figured out in my mind, not that I agree, not that this makes sense. Simply because you say so. One version says, at your word. See, you're you're that's faith. Faith is not understanding everything. Faith is trusting Jesus. Faith is stepping when you don't see it all. That's that's trusting his word. If we want to see revival, can I say this? If we want to see a move of God, well then we need to be a people that treasure this book above any other book. Listen, what what does revival look like? A people that treasure the word of God. That at your word, because you say so, I bank my life on this word. That's what revival looks like. A people that stay to this word because Jesus was the word that was made flesh. Amen? See, because you say so, and what happens? The nets fill, the boats fill, the miracle comes. But here's what I love. Peter doesn't celebrate. Peter falls to the knees of Jesus. Go away from Lord. I'm a sinful man. It's humility. Peter realizes that this moment is bigger than fish, it's about Jesus. See, the miracle wasn't the fish. The miracle was what Jesus was doing inside Peter. The fish were temporary. Peter's transformation was eternal. Something happened in Peter. See, the goal was never the fish, the goal was Peter. The goal was never success, the goal was surrender. Sometimes we get distracted with success, and God uses success to bring us to surrender. The goal was never accomplishment, the goal was formation. Jesus was preparing in Peter for a bigger purpose than Peter ever knew or could imagine. In 2013, after leading resurgence, and I was working with Extreme Dream Ministries, I had felt God's leading, and through a series of events, go, I feel like I'm supposed to go full-time leading resurgence. I didn't know what that looked like. I remember I met with a few executive pastors in our city, some of the biggest churches in our city, and I met with one guy and I said, I feel like God's calling me to go full time, and I don't know how I'm gonna fund it. I don't know, I just feel this prompting. And he says, You're like kind of the old school itinerant evangelist. And um, I don't think they're around anymore. I said, Yeah, I'm pretty young. And he and I said, I yeah, I said, Do you think your church should support? No, we don't support that. I'm like, okay. So I went home, I'm like God saying, Do you trust me? I said, I do, but show me the money. I have a mortgage, like God. And you know, that song Oceans, where my trust has no borders. I'm like, my trust has a lot of borders. God, how's this gonna work? We made a budget of a hundred grand, 50 for doing for 50 for doing 50 for myself. I'm like, I'm like, God, how's this? I met with my leadership team, they're like, we can see how we can raise 50, but the other 50, I don't think so. I'm like, oh, thanks. I'm gonna starve. And I said, Well, God, you're calling me to do this. There'll be some speaking opportunities. That summer I had not one camp, not one speaking, not one, everything, nothing. And I'm thinking, God, you're calling me to do this. And I felt them say, Is man calling you or is God calling you? I said, I sense it's you. And he goes, if I'm calling you, I will make a way. So I trusted. I remember August 1st, 2020, 2013, I laid on my bed and I said, God, I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but here's what I feel I'm supposed to go full-time and I don't know how to do it, but I just trust you. That was 2013. That year, 100,000 didn't come in, 144,000 came in. God started taking us to the far north, opportunities opened that I never knew. People called, I never like it was incredible. And God has, you know, just just this year, God put on a business guy that ghosted me for two years, calls me up and said, God gave me a dream, I'm supposed to give you an office. So we have an office just off white av. This is 10 years later, 13 years later. God is, we have a staff, we have a team, we've seen this year more people come to Jesus than any other year in our ministry. We're seeing people come in least rich parts of the world come to Jesus. Why? Because saying yes to the call of God. See, you never know. God will provide. It's it's not men that calls us, it's God that calls us. Write this down. God forms humble people before he entrusts them with greater purpose. See, Peter was humble. Peter was just a fisherman. And he says, Well, can I use your boat? Peter says, Yeah, you can use my boat. Peter didn't know that that conversation would start the trajectory of a journey with Jesus that would change his life. And he'd be one that starts the church as we know it today. I want to invite the worship team to come. As we close this morning, I want to bring us back to Peter's boat. When Peter woke up that morning, I think he thought it'd be an ordinary day. I think he thought he had no idea that one encounter with Jesus would change a course of his life. What changed everything? It wasn't the fish. That's a cool story, but it wasn't the fish. It wasn't the miracle, it wasn't even the calling. I think what changed that story and changed Peter's life was a simple yes. A simple yes. Peter made his vote available. He stayed when he could have left. He obeyed when it didn't make sense. He humbled himself before Jesus. And I want and I wonder if there are people in this room this morning that you know God is speaking to you. Maybe not about ministry, maybe not about a career change, maybe not about a massive life decision. Maybe God is simply just asking for your next yes. For some of you, that's yes in your family. That's yes in your marriage. It's