Ascend Men: Recent Episodes
The C3 Church
Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/527708931330993 or email ascend@thec3.uk to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
It's the first Saturday of the month so it's time for another of our stronghold verses series.
The previous episodes have gone down really well so hopefully you know what these are all about. If not, listen to Mike's explanation at the start of the first episode of Series 5 titled "Stronghold Verse 1".
We've already explored "where your help comes from", how to "guard your heart" and how to "renew your strength". Now it's time to "be transformed" by looking at Romans 12.
Romans 12 v1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.Romans 12:2 is a stronghold for the mind, a place of renewal, transformation and strengthening. It’s a blatantly counter-cultural verse because it starts with the command ‘Do not conform to the pattern of this world”. It’s so easy to do just that, because we’re immersed in this world and surrounded by people and institutions whose worldview is focused on and limited to this world. Most people are living just for this life, for the here and now. The pattern of this world is selfishness, me-centred living and the pursuit of power, possessions, pleasure and prestige. All the time we’re egged on in our selfishness by the consumerism of our culture that saturates every media form and bombards us with material messages until we think that’s all there is.
Paul doesn’t want us to live like that. God doesn’t want us to live like that. We’re to live a different lifestyle and have a different worldview. The counter-cultural lifestyle that Paul envisaged is laid out in verses 9-21: devotion to one another, hospitality, selflessness, restraint, generosity and overcoming evil with good. Similar passages can be found in Ephesians 4:17-5:21 and Galatians 5:13-6-10. The different worldview is one where we’re striving towards our real home in heaven and viewing everything in this world through the lens of service to Jesus – the upside down Kingdom seen in many of Jesus’ parables. As Paul says in Philippians 3:20: “But our citizenship is in heaven.”
But the important thing for now is that this shift in thinking and perspective takes place in the mind. Our mind is the key to transformation: ‘but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’. Note, this isn’t us transforming ourselves because we can’t renew our minds; no this is about letting God transform us and letting God renew our minds. There’s a temptation in Christian circles sometimes to underplay and undervalue the role of our minds in faith, but Romans 12:2 makes clear that it’s a crucial component. Following Jesus doesn’t rely on blind faith where we just switch off our minds, nor does it engage the heart only. No, Jesus appeals to every part of us and wants every part of us to honour Him. That’s why Jesus says in Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Do you ever get the sense that you’re not accessing all that God has for you? Do you want to know more of His will for your life? Do you feel trapped in particular habits, sinful practices or harmful patterns of thinking? Even after coming to faith in Christ it’s easy to feel like that, unable to give ourselves fully to the cause of Jesus and live up to what we feel is expected of us. Sometimes it’s hard to honour God fully and to know what He wants for and from us. This verse shows us that the renewal of our minds is key to breaking these limitations and realising God’s plan for us.
God’s will for our lives is not just good nor even just pleasing, it’s actually perfect. It’s the very best we could hope for, perfectly suited to us and the fulfilment of all our potential, with blessings like we couldn’t even imagine. The end of verse 2 calls us to ‘test and approve’ God’s will, but the words ‘Then you will be able to’ establishes a key sequence and progression: it’s only possible once our minds have been renewed. That has to happen first. It’s also tied to wholehearted, day-in-day-out worship, which is what verse 1 is all about.
If you need transformation, if you want to reset your thinking, if you want to unlock your full potential in Christ, you need to have your mind renewed. Come to this stronghold as often as it takes until that renewal happens. It’s not a one-time thing, we have to be renewed again and again because outside this stronghold the tug of the world is constantly trying to pull us back into bad habits and self-centred thinking. Make this your go-to stronghold, and take refuge in it against all the lies and empty promises of a world that’s going nowhere. Instead focus on the God who offers You eternal life and the privilege of helping others get there too. Forget mindfulness, aim for a Christ-renewed mind instead.
What do we learn here? God is ‘everlasting’. He is both ‘the Creator of the ends of the earth’ and ‘The Lord’ (that is, Yahweh), the covenant God who is passionate about relationship with us. Therefore God is both powerful and present, awesome and accessible. We can know Him, but ‘His understanding no one can fathom’, which means He’s beyond our understanding and infinitely wise. He also doesn’t grow tired, there’s no limit to His power or energy. This is a neat little portrait of God. Like so many other beautiful passages in Scripture it’s just a brief snapshot, which means you have to read the whole Bible and put them all together to get the complete picture of who God is, but it’s reassuring and wonderful all the same.
Written and narrated by Mike Harvey
You can see more of Michael's writing on his website: www.mjhmusings.wordpress.com and www.worldofastrom.com or by following @worldofastrom on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
UPCOMING EVENTS
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WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
We launched the Ascend Men podcast on the 5th November last year with the intention of running a pilot for a couple of months. The plan was to get your feedback in February or March and based on that, decide whether to continue and in what format. And here we are 65 episodes later. Wow, who would have believed that?
I really can't say this strongly enough, please encourage others to listen. I'm staggered how many people still don't know we're doing these and I challenge every one of you to spread the word. If something impacts you one week, don't keep it to yourself. Message a few friends or post something on Facebook.
Remember, together we ARE stronger.
"GET CONNECTED"Today's episode is adapted from a message from Justin Camp of Wired Magazine. And it's narrated by Greg Barber who has been struggling with Covid symptoms as he recorded this.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events here.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
I've yet to encounter anybody who doesn't find Tony Smith a source of inspiration and encouragement. This is short but is uplifting and packed with direction. We can all do more of what Tony suggests.
Recording this in Singapore, Tony is one of our global contributors who has a huge heart for C3 and Ascend Men.
'At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”'
Matthew 18:1 'And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'
Matthew 18:3-5 Please remember to like & comment in your podcast player and share this with somebody who will also benefit from it.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
Luke Franks was born in an Army field hospital in Germany but has lived most of his life in Cambridgeshire, now residing in Haverhill with his lovely wife Shelby and two cute daughters. His first job was a paper-round and he must have done it well because he was soon promoted to be a shop-assistant in the same corner-store.
A couple of football facts - he's a Chelsea supporter (so hasn't had a great year) but once refereed a match involving Fran Kirby who went on to represent England at the 2015 and 2019 Women's World Cups.
This episode refers to Paul Reid speaking on "Jesus passes by in the most unusual places" at C3 on Sunday 6th March 2023. You can hear the whole talk on YouTube.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
It's the first Saturday of the month so it's time for another of our stronghold verses series.
Hopefully you've caught one of our previous episodes and know what these are all about. If not, listen to Mike's explanation of why we all need some of these Stronghold Verses at the start of the first episode of Series 5 titled "Stronghold Verse 1".
We've already explored where your help comes from and how to guard your heart. Now it's time to Renew your strength by looking at Isaiah 40.
Isaiah40v28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.This stronghold is in Isaiah. These are some of my favourite verses in the whole Bible, ones which have stuck with me from a very young age. When I was a new Christian most of the book of Isaiah went right over my head, but here were these verses, highlighted blue in a book that otherwise puzzled me. These verses are so clear and so universally applicable. They contain timeless truths about God and capture the unchanging challenge of being human which we all share.
What do we learn here? God is ‘everlasting’. He is both ‘the Creator of the ends of the earth’ and ‘The Lord’ (that is, Yahweh), the covenant God who is passionate about relationship with us. Therefore God is both powerful and present, awesome and accessible. We can know Him, but ‘His understanding no one can fathom’, which means He’s beyond our understanding and infinitely wise. He also doesn’t grow tired, there’s no limit to His power or energy. This is a neat little portrait of God. Like so many other beautiful passages in Scripture it’s just a brief snapshot, which means you have to read the whole Bible and put them all together to get the complete picture of who God is, but it’s reassuring and wonderful all the same.
Why does Isaiah start it with ‘Do you not know? Have you not heard?’ Because it’s easy to forget these things. Most of us have known them at least in part at one time or another, but we tend to forget, or let it lodge only in our heads, not in our hearts. The relentless pressures of life have a way of driving these truths out of our thinking so that we need to be constantly reminded. Sometimes we act as if God isn’t all-powerful, or as if He isn’t the master of everything, or as if He doesn’t have everything we need. This stronghold reminds us that all those things are true. It grounds us in who God is, which, in turn, unlocks what we need.
And what do we need? We need strength and energy. We need hope and purpose. We are frail, flawed and faulty human beings. We run out of strength rapidly and lose energy quickly. We’re accident-prone, fallible and get knocked down a lot. We all grow weary, we all lose heart, and we all stumble. Tell me that’s not true? Some more than others, true, but Isaiah goes out of his way to show that this is true for all of us. ‘Even youths grow tired’ and even ‘young men stumble’. If the strongest among us grow weak, or the best among us stumble, then we all share this need of rejuvenation. We all need power from God to do what is impossible on our own resources. We all need fresh heart put into us because we all despair and give up at times. We all need limitless grace because we all sin and all make mistakes.
What do you do when life gets tough? What do you do when you get tired, discouraged or beaten? We all have a choice. We can either rely on ourselves, and continue tired, discouraged and beaten, or we can rely on God, and find energy, courage and victory. The key promise is there in verse 31: ‘those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength’. This heavenly resource is only available for those who choose to access it. The faithless and self-centred can forget it. No one is discounted except those who discount themselves by relying on themselves.
Do you want to renew your strength? You have to hope in the Lord. Trust Him. Rely on Him. Turn to Him always. Do you want to be able to run the race of life without giving up? Do you want to walk this road without collapsing? Do you want to ‘soar on wings like eagles’? Then you’ve got to hope in God. When we do so we find everything we need and more. It’s not just a little boost – soaring with eagles means thriving and living life to the max. Who doesn’t want that?
This is a stronghold for recharging your strength. Come here to refresh yourself and pick yourself back up after a knock. Come here and rest for a while when life hits you hard. In this stronghold you remember who God is and realise who you are not. The good news is, the entry is free and the power supply is inexhaustible. Come as often as you need, no matter how fast your batteries seem to drain. God will renew you.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events here.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
This week we are hearing from Liam Rushmer who is the Founder & Fitness Professional, at Fitness Rush Ltd. He was born in Huntingdon, raised in St Ives and now lives in Sutton near Ely. Married in 2016 he's the very proud father of two daughters aged 2 and 5. And with relatives in Orlando, those girls are getting to see plenty of Mickey and Minnie.
Why not come along and meet him and see his mobile gym at the C3 Centre, 2 Brooks Road, Cambridge CB1 3HR. You can find out more on the C3 Wellness area of the fitness rush website.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
In this episode we're talking with Adrian Semerene who started his church leadership as Youth Pastor at Comberton Baptist Church, while completing a BA in Theology at the London School of Theology. In 2016 he followed a call to join Gamlingay Baptist Church where he was Inducted and ordained to be Lead Pastor. Married to Amanda, Adrian has three amazing children and loves coffee, beatboxing and basketball.
In Francis Chan's synopsis of his own book "Until Unity", he writes that "Despite what many in the church say, doctrine is not at the root of most division. The main problem is the shallowness or non-existence of our love for each other, which comes from a shallowness in our understanding of the gospel." Adrian gives a big Amen to this but goes a little further - that we all need a big dose of humility if we are to encourage unity.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
At Ascend Summit 23, back in February, we heard from Nathan Blackaby, CEO of Christian Vision for Men or CVM as it's known. Nathan lives in Essex and attends the C3 Church in Colchester along with his wife Jennie and 3 young children. Nathan is teetotal, loves gaming on his PS5, motorbikes, fast cars and writing.
Nathan's inspiring talk was brought alive through the use of some key photos. I suggest you review these below as you listen to the podcast.
Slide Images - see the whole folder of images by clicking here or choose individual slides from the list below:
"Call and Response" title slide
Lighthouse
Describe yourself in three words
Google images of Jesus
Homeless man 1
Homeless man 2
Homeless man 3
Chilean Miners
Build a gravestone
Brazilian drug addict - it is NOT OVER with Jesus.
UPCOMING ASCEND EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
Dr Terence Ascott was born in London but has lived and worked in the Middle East since the 1970s pioneering the creative use of Christian print and visual media. Terry launched the first Christian magazine to be successfully distributed on newsstands in more than a dozen Arab countries. He soon realised that TV would be the gateway into millions of Middle Eastern and Northern African homes and in 1995 launched SAT-7, the first Arabic-language Christian satellite-TV channel. This has grown from a two-hour a week broadcast, to a network of four 24 hour channels, with 200 employees in offices in Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Cyprus and the UK.
Terry served as the CEO until April 2019 and in 2021 published the incredible story of the highs and lows of this journey through the book "Dare to Believe! Stories from the Middle East". It's an inspiring book - buy a copy!
For more information head to the SAT-7 UK Website or get a great 3.5min intro on Youtube.
UPCOMING ASCEND EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
It's the first Saturday of the month so let's get back to our stronghold verses series, thanks to Mike Harvey.
If you've forgotten what these are all about, jump back to Series 5 Episode 1 titled "Stronghold Verse 1 - Psalm 121.." and the first few minutes of this episode explains why Mike has invested so much time into this series and why we too should ground ourselves in some of these.
This Stronghold Verse is very short but a challenge to all of us.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23
This is a stronghold for protecting your heart. It’s a verse for your heart to camp out in. Our hearts need protecting. There’s a lot of danger out there in this broken world, not danger that will harm you physically – that’s a whole other matter – but danger that will enter into your heart and damage it from the inside. Pride. Envy. Greed. Bitterness. Fear. Loneliness. The list goes on. There’s a lot of things that could come into your heart and corrupt it.
So our hearts need to be guarded. Why? That linking word ‘for’ tells us: because ‘everything you do flows from it’. All our efforts and activities, all our emotions and hopes and dreams and aspirations, all our connections, relationships, responsibilities and projects come from our heart. If our heart’s not in it, we don’t do any of that stuff. You could be going through the motions, but you can’t really do anything effectively if your heart’s not in it. All your energy and effectiveness flows from your heart.
So there’s a lot at stake here. If we let our hearts become proud, we put ourselves at variance with God. If we let our hearts become envious, we’ll no longer work well in team. If we let our hearts become bitter, we lose our life-force and our ability to trust others. If we let our hearts become fearful, we’ll hang back from all the things we could achieve and miss out on so many opportunities. If we let our hearts become cold, we can no longer be warm to others.
We must keep our hearts healthy. Why do we spend so much time thinking and worrying about and monitoring our physical health and pay so little attention to our heart health? If may take time, but the slow build-up of these corrupting attitudes will cripple our hearts in a way that’s far more harmful than ever a major external injury. Our hearts could become ugly, diseased, hardened, cut off from others. We need to regularly inspect our hearts and see if any of this crap is inside. If it is, get rid of it! Do something about it! It’s so much easier to rinse off a little stain than to perform complete heart surgery on an organ gone wholly bad.
How do we guard our hearts? Verse 23 doesn’t tell us, and neither does verse 24. Paying attention to all the good advice in the rest of this chapter, and the whole book of Proverbs for that matter, is a good start. But really we need to read the whole Bible. The answers are scattered throughout it. We need to hang around with Godly people who can keep watch over us in ways we can’t do for ourselves. We need to give generously of our time, treasure and talents, so that we don’t become selfish, acquisitive, inward-focused people. We need to spend regular time with God. We need to allow God to change our perspective on things so that we stop seeing slights where there are none and to be gracious with people who have genuinely wronged us.
Above all else, we need to believe in Jesus, trust Him, and keep our eyes fixed on Him. When we do, Jesus promises to give us ‘a spring of water welling up to eternal life’ (John 4:14). That’s the mark of a healthy heart. Unrestricted flow. Capacity made limitless by being plugged into an inexhaustible divine supply.
Now unlike other strongholds this one is not about hiding behind walls. In fact, that’s the very opposite of what this verse encourages, the worst thing you could do. Very often we respond to setbacks and hurts by retreating into our shells or putting up defences of one kind or another. We build walls around our hearts, thinking that will protect us from getting hurt again. But we couldn’t be more wrong. All that does is shut us down and cut us off. No this stronghold is about reminding us to dare to come out from behind our fortifications and be open and loving with other people. We guard our hearts by keeping them open. How can anything flow from our hearts if we’ve build a ruddy great wall around it? That will block the flow until either it dries up in spiritual death or drowns us in lost potential and might-have-beens.
Of course it’s scary to come out, to leave ourselves open. Vulnerability is something usually avoided, but it’s vital to a healthy heart. It takes enormous courage. You will still get hurt, no way to stop that. But at least if your heart is open the hurts can heal; but a fortified heart under siege will just keep getting battered with no hope of relief. This stronghold is about being strong enough to come out and leave a different kind of stronghold, a human-powered, self-destructive one.
And one last thing. See how this verse starts with ‘Above all else’? Guess what that means? This is more important than anything else. Keeping your heart healthy is vital to everything else you do or hope to do. Everything else gets built on the foundation of a healthy heart, not the other way around. Put your heart last and everything else will suffer. Above all else we need hearts like Jesus. We need a heart for Jesus. We need hearts right with Jesus. A healthy heart means accepting God’s righteousness every day, and then giving it away freely in love for others.
So come to this stronghold daily, read this verse often. Let it remind you to regularly do a spiritual heart check-up, and let it embolden you to break the walls down and come out to live wholeheartedly for God.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events here.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
Today we have the pleasure of welcoming Becky Ingamells, Head of Church Partnerships at Tearfund. With her 3 red-headed children, Becky lives in Fairlight, Hastings where she enjoys walking her dog and can occasionally be found drinking wine and eating ice cream.
According to the "Oxford Languages" dictionary, a definition of "masculinity" is a noun that describes the qualities or attributes regarded as characteristic of men or boys. An example phrase being: "handsome, muscled, and driven, he's a prime example of masculinity".
So how does Becky define masculinity?
What does the Bible say about masculinity?
Is masculinity biological, social, spiritual, cultural?
And what about "toxic masculinity"?
Through our discussion, Becky offers a wonderful mission statement for Ascend Men which is to
"create places and contexts where relationships can authentically be built".
YES to that! That's exactly what we'll be doing next weekend, see below:
ASCEND CAMP 23- ONLY 1 WEEK TO GOFriday 30th June to Saturday 1st July 2023.
Put 100 guys in the middle of a forest with mouth-watering food, a warming bonfire, music, inspiring & informative words and for those who like them - a few easy challenges including a climbing wall.. and it's hardly surprising they come back changed-men. If you want to be sure of getting a place and having a shot at the climbing wall, please sign up asap here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events here.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
Sunday 18th June 2023 is Father's Day here in the UK. We want to honour some of our Dads and encourage ALL men to demonstrate the Father's heart. So we approached a few of our grown-up sons and daughters to talk about how fathers or father-figures inspired them to live lives full of faith.
It was a struggle editing this one because every single contribution moved me. I reckon many of you will have the same reaction.
Whether you have children or not, who wouldn't want to leave a legacy like these?
You may find yourself measuring your fathers against what you hear but please be gracious. Only our Heavenly Father excels at everything.
Just in case you feel this isn’t for you because you’re not a father or you’re hurting because you can’t be a father, wait until I come back with an important message for ALL of you.
My heart for this episode was to have a contribution from a particular young man who doesn’t have a present dad in his life, but who has found a father figure to look up to. I asked him but he declined. Why? Because he hasn’t found one in this community. He’s a fine young man walking in his faith but if this saddens you as it does me..
Maybe you could advocate for the fatherless?
Why not take someone along with you to watch the football or play a game of pool?
Or just find out their name, say hello and take an interest in them.
Let’s aspire that every young person can one day talk about father figures who God has used to inspire them, just like those we’re hearing from here.
Here's what our young adults said their Dads have demonstrated:
- Being quick to forgive & slow to anger
- A servant heart
- The value of worship
- Constancy & prioritisation of faith
- Patience & grace
- Having a heart of generosity
ASCEND CAMP 23Friday 30th June to Saturday 1st July 2023.
Put 100 guys in the middle of a forest with mouth-watering food, a warming bonfire, music, inspiring & informative words and for those who like them - a few easy challenges including a climbing wall.. and it's hardly surprising they come back changed-men. If you want to be sure of getting a place and having a shot at the climbing wall, please sign up asap here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events here.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
This week we have an opportunity to hear Tim Robertson's inspiring talk that was delivered at Ascend Summit 23 in February. We can't recreate the warm atmosphere of 120 men after they've sung their hearts-out, but we can still plumb the depth of Tim's message on Mighty Men.
David’s Mighty Warriors - 2 Samuel 23:8-17
These are the names of David’s mighty warriors:
Josheb-Basshebeth, a Tahkemonite, was chief of the Three; he raised his spear against eight hundred men, whom he killed in one encounter.
Next to him was Eleazar son of Dodai the Ahohite. As one of the three mighty warriors, he was with David when they taunted the Philistines gathered at Pas Dammim for battle. Then the Israelites retreated, but Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The Lord brought about a great victory that day. The troops returned to Eleazar, but only to strip the dead.
Next to him was Shammah son of Agee the Hararite. When the Philistines banded together at a place where there was a field full of lentils, Israel’s troops fled from them. But Shammah took his stand in the middle of the field. He defended it and struck the Philistines down, and the Lord brought about a great victory.
During harvest time, three of the thirty chief warriors came down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. At that time David was in the stronghold, and the Philistine garrison was at Bethlehem. David longed for water and said, “Oh, that someone would get me a drink of water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem!” So the three mighty warriors broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the Lord. “Far be it from me, Lord, to do this!” he said. “Is it not the blood of men who went at the risk of their lives?” And David would not drink it.
Such were the exploits of the three mighty warriors.
Ten Challenges:
- Show Up - Just like Josheb, Eleazar and Shammah, we need to show up and be present with those around us in moments of struggle or difficulty. We need to stand on the front line with them.
- Take Your Stand - In verses 10 and 12, the three mighty men took their stand, they stood their ground in the face of the oncoming Philistines, but also when their own troops were retreating. These three guys stayed, they didn't run away, and God turned their defeat into victory. So, be confident in the king of kings who is in you.
- Turn Your Excuse Into Opportunity - Eleazar persevered despite difficult circumstances. Despite his exhaustion, he stayed and fought, and God brought about victory. What are the situations and limitations that you face that bring about inactivity that you need to persevere through so that God can bring about victory? (Money? Time? Energy? A feeling of inadequacy or being afraid?)
- Be Relational - Josheb, Eleazar and Shammah, all served together. They stood NEXT to each other. They weren't acting independently. They served together not as Lone Rangers but as the Musketeers. In Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, we’re told that “Two are better than one”.
- Be Grace-Filled - Eleazar stayed and defeated the enemy single-handedly, but we see that he was gracious enough to share the spoils of war even with those who fled. We need to not write people off when they fail, but instead, extend a hand of both forgiveness and grace. Just like the story of Jesus and Peter.
- Be Courageous - Shammah took his place boldly in the middle of the field. He wasn’t concerned in the face of the enemy! We're told time and time again to not be afraid and to take courage. This is relational too. When we encourage, we give courage, we speak courage into their life. Call it out and call it out in others.
- Fight For Your Supply Lines - You need to defend what God has given you. Just like Shammah defended his field of lentils, Daniel for prayer, Esther for identity, Paul for grace and freedom, and John for truth. You need to fight against corruption or distortion by the devil in order to maintain a strong faith.
- Honour The Past - Just like the men who brought back water to honour and thank David, we need to honour and thank those who have helped us in our journey.
- Invest In The Future - In verse 33, we read that a man called Jonathan was one of the 30. Jonathan was the son of Shammah. Shammah was already investing in his son. It's not just about our success, but it's about the success of others. So who are you investing in? Who are you calling greatness out of, generationally? Who are you training, mentoring, and building up?
- Live The Mission - Just like David’s men, we have all been called according to His purpose. We've all got different gifts, but we share the mission of total allegiance to King Jesus and to see his kingdom extended right across the world.
ASCEND CAMP 23Friday 30th June to Saturday 1st July 2023.
Put 100 guys in the middle of a forest with mouth-watering food, a warming bonfire, music, inspiring & informative words and for those who like them - a few easy challenges including a climbing wall.. and it's hardly surprising they come back changed-men. If you want to be sure of getting a place and having a shot at the climbing wall, please sign up asap here.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Find out more about our upcoming events here.
To sign-up for our weekly inspiring emails, please complete the form here: http://eepurl.com/gcS00H
WHAT IS ASCEND MEN?Imagine a community of men who are challenged, inspired and equipped to live passionate lives for Jesus. A place where men-care-for-men through a small number of honest personal relationships initiated and supported by regular male-oriented events. Relationships are built shoulder-to-shoulder doing stuff in preference to eye-balling each other!
Ascend Men is that community.
Our podcasts reflect that desire to challenge, inspire and equip our men. Some are light-hearted easy-listens. Some deserve to be digested and pondered. If you love them, tell us - we could do with the encouragement. If you can see ways they could be improved, tell us - feedback is a gift.
Join our Facebook group or email us (ascend@thec3.uk) to hear more about our fantastic breakfasts in Cambridge, Bury and Colchester as well as our annual Summit in February and Camp in July.
Today's Scripture
"Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." Luke 1:1-4
Key takeaway for the day:
What one thing can you do to get to know the Bible better?
And what one person can you share this good news with?
Credits
Thanks to Mike Harvey for writing our daily devotions and for reading this episode.
A shout out to Jamie Davidson for being the "voice of scripture".
From Thursday 1st December until Christmas Day we will be replacing our weekly episodes with a content-rich daily Advent devotion. If you haven't heard it already, check out my conversation "The Ascend Advent Series will start soon" with Greg Barber. Please remember to download the scriptures and key takeaways for our daily series through the Facebook Group or by emailing ascend@thec3.uk.
I'm excited that our Lead Pastor at C3 Church, Steve Campbell, will join us for our last episode of the year to say goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023.
Why do we invest so much effort into this podcast?
Because, at the heart of Ascend is a vision for men to be the best they can be.
And that's across ALL dimensions of their physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual, being.
So we have some great topics in the podcast funnel for next year, including;
- Fitness and nutrition
- Mental Health month
- We'll have a GP telling us when we should really go to see them rather than getting a diagnosis from Google
- How to be content in being single
- And to complement that... What women look for in a man
And we'll hear great stories too;
- from our Ascend Man in Antarctica
- to a bestselling author and speaker who has sold over a Million books and who has spoken to over a Million people at live events around the world.
If there's something you want us to cover or if you know somebody who you think would make a great guest please message me, Alan Colley or email ascend@thec3.uk.
Remember walking 100km in the Ascend Men Peak District Ultra back in 2019? Our steps are still releasing children from poverty. Listen to our update from Decca Riondino and Tim Robertson (Head of Church Development, Compassion UK).
If you were wanting to run a marathon and do so well, I'm sure you'd train for it. You'd prepare yourself for the challenge. The same is true in our spiritual lives. Hear from Zac Pywell, our resident world-class triathlete, who knows how it feels to train and prepare. Thanks to Mark Baldwin-Smith for reading this article and for the Cornerstone Church San Francisco for allowing us to use an audio clip from their YouTube Message Moments video.
In the build-up to Christmas it's easy to get focussed on the wrong things. From 1st December, why not spend a few minutes each day following the Ascend Men Advent series? Each day starts with a short scripture reading, is followed by a brief thought-provoking devotional and closes with a key takeaway for the day. Download a summary of all the scriptures and key takeaways from our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/527708931330993 or email ascend@thec3.uk to request a copy.
Remember to comment on our Facebook group page and share the episode with a mate.
Don't forget that we have our Advent series starting on 1 Dec 2022. Each day will consist of a reading, devotional message and key takeaway. For a copy of all the scriptures and key takeaways, please email ascend@thec3.uk .
Visit here to sign-up for our upcoming events.
Tune in to hear when Gabriel buys his Christmas presents, what he loves to eat, whether he’s “fight or flight” and how he proposed to his wife. All that before he shares the story of his faithful prayer-warrior mother and how he came back from the brink.