Pressing On

K- Seven Staffers

As I was on trail this week recruiting new staff, I was thinking summer 2014 is in our rearview mirror and what a FULLYCHARGED summer it was! Like Paul says in Philippians 3:13-14, “We must forget about what lies behind and reach forward towards what lies ahead. Press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Guys, I’m excited about what God is doing in your lives and on your college campuses. I pray that your living your days as you were at K-Seven and living each day as if it was the last. You are waking up each day being devoted to His word, making disciples and living a life of integrity. I’m excited to run with you and continue to make Christ known as a true “band of brothers” and “sisters” in Christ!

Your Teammate,

Chance

God is a God of Miracles

In this season of life God has truly opened my eyes and given perspective. Karen and I have been in Dallas to help my mom. She is blind, has COPD, anxiety, and is trying to take care of her husband who recently had a stroke. It is not easy nor is it fun, but God has been gracious to give Karen and I great time with family. God has performed miracle after miracle. Just weeks before the stroke my sister moved down the road from my mom. She has been a God send. My sister’s life life has turned around for the Lord, and in the midst of this my brother had a double hip replacement. In spite of all these difficult circumstances God has been at work. When there has been a storm there is also sun light streaming through. My mom has begun to have peace, my sister is walking in the Lord, my brother is walking without pain. My God is an awesome God who is working miracles in my family who I have been praying for over 30 years. If anyone begins to doubt God, just look at the Chancey family and know there is a savior. This reminds me of James 1:2 ” Consider is pure joy my brothers, when you encounter trials of various kinds, knowing the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” My family, even in trials, points to the miracle of Christ’s work in our lives. 

We also  moved Callie to Dallas this week as she begins her new job at Watermark Community Church. ( We made it a memory going skydiving in their indoor skydiving! It was a blast!) And now we are headed to Columbia to watch Cameron start the Mizzou football season off, while the Kanakuk Institute starts in a week.  Life has been busy, but It’s All Good.

THE KEY

What was the greatest question ever asked in Scriptures? Several questions may come to mind; the man who asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” or perhaps Paul asking the question of “If God is for us, who can be against us?” While these and others are valid queries, there is another question that is central to the narrative of salvation that is perhaps the most important question posed in the Bible. 

In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus and his disciples are in Caesarea Philippi and he challenges them by asking, “Who do people say the Son of man is?” They respond with a list of Biblical heroes: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or other prophets. Jesus continues to probe them and asks this central, powerful, and history-altering question, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter then makes the bold declaration in verse 16, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

Christ’s revelation of his identity and relationship to God is the moment in which the hope of the Hebrew people has finally been realized, the Savior has come to do his good work of redemption. In Jesus doing this good work, several components remain central to Christ’s message and process of atonement, they are the KEY to true faith.

THE KEY

(K) The first central element of salvation is the Kost of salvation. After Peter proclaims Christ’s identity as the Son of God, Jesus shares with his disciples the plan of redemption in which his role as a substitutionary sacrifice is crucial. In verse 21, Jesus explains that he will go to Jerusalem where he will suffer many things, be killed, and will be raised on the third day to atone for the sins of the world. Salvation does not come without a sacrifice and Jesus covers the Kost for our sins.   

(E) When the disciples realize what Jesus is saying they insist that Christ’s suffering cannot be God’s true intention. Jesus responds sharply to this challenge saying to Peter in verse 23, “Get behind Me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Peter was not thinking from an Eternal perspective, which is the second key in understanding salvation. There can be no salvation without the suffering and death that came by way of the cross, and to be able to rationalize that pain on Jesus’ behalf, we must maintain an Eternal perspective of the Gospel story.

 (Y) At this point, Jesus has declared who he is, explained that he will be the sacrifice for all men, and challenged his followers to an eternal perspective; the third and final element of the message of faith is a charge to all believers who hear the message to Yield themselves to God. Jesus in verse 24 says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” This is issued as a directive for all followers and future Christians to seek after Christ rather than the things of this world. This requires that we take on the challenges of living up to the higher calling, in the hope of making Christ known. We Yield ourselves to God as an act of obedience to His message and worship to our King.

 The lessons in the Gospels are plenty, but the KEY to our faith lies in the identity of Christ as the one who paid the Kost of our sins, his suffering which requires us to look on his sacrifice with an Eternal perspective, and the life he lived that encourages us to Yield ourselves to the Almighty God. 

I’m Free!

Can you say “Wow!”  In fact, I’ll even say it again…”WOW”!  That’s what comes to mind after just getting back from Israel.  In the months and weeks leading up to us going to Israel, everyone said, “you’re crazy to go…there’s turmoil in the world, and all the missiles are aiming at Israel.”  You know what, that just kind of fuels my fire.  If I’m going to “go,” I might as well go in the Holy Land.  I am so blessed to be a child of God and go to the place where Jesus walked, be among His people, and teach the Word there.

 A huge highlight of our trip was the opportunity to take my daughter.  Callie led worship all throughout Jerusalem, the Mount of Beatitudes, and on a boat at the Sea of Galilee. I also had the privilege of baptizing her in the Jordan River.  You know, it just doesn’t get much better than that —  to see the tears in your daughter’s eyes as she has so desired to be baptized in the Jordan, and to hear her share with me the joy she has in serving the Almighty God.  Her faith is so strong and so vibrant for the Lord.  This truly was a highlight!

People always ask me for my favorite place to teach when I do a tour through the Holy Lands.  I have to tell you that everywhere I teach is my favorite because each place has a different message.  Karen and I have now traveled to the Holy Lands eight times.  For just a moment I want to highlight one of the places we visit that I think will greatly bless you today.

Let’s look at John 5:1-9.  I’ve entitled this talk “I’m Free” for a good reason.  Let me ask you a question. Have you ever felt like your circumstances or a situation have had a tight grip around you and you couldn’t get away?  Have you felt like you were discouraged and somewhat depressed?  Then this message is for you!

In this passage Jesus was teaching at the feast of the Jews in Jerusalem.  He is at a place called the pool of Bethesda.  It is called the “sheep gate”.  It had five porticoes, so it was a place that was easily identifiable to the people coming to it.  This was a place people brought the sick, blind, lame, their family, and their friends.  They would wait for the stirring of the waters, and at the exact moment the waters began to move, an angel of the Lord would heal whoever touched the water first.  This person would be healed of whatever affliction, disease, or condition they were in. 

The Pools of Bethesda:

Now, I don’t know about you, but if something was wrong with me or someone else I knew, and I knew that this was real, I guarantee I would set up a great strategy to get in that pool.  In verse five we read about an ill man who had been there for thirty-eight years.  Jesus saw him lying there and knew he’d been there a long time and asked him, “Do you wish to get well?”  Now, you and I might think this is a crazy question, but I’ve thought about that as I have stood right there and looked around.  I could just visualize seeing 40, 50, even 100 people lying around waiting for the stirring of the waters, and I could only wonder in my mind what kind of strategies, selfishness, or attitudes would have been there that day.  Some of the attitudes might have been, “I’m going to do it…I’m going to beat everybody.”  Another might have been, “I’m going to try, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to…there’s other people that will probably beat me.”  Then there are those people that just say, “You know what, I’m not going to do anything because I can’t do it.”  These types of attitudes aren’t much different than the attitudes I see in many people today: attitudes of discouragement, despair, and possibly even depression.  When Jesus asked this question, he was waiting for an answer.  In verse seven it says the sick man answered and said, “Sir, I have no one to put me in the pool.”  Then he gives an excuse, “When I wanted to get in I couldn’t because someone came and got in front of me.”  Then Jesus does what some would think is the impossible.  He says, “Get up and walk!”  With those powerful words, immediately this man became well and he picked up his pallet and began to walk.

As I taught all throughout Israel, and as I teach today, this message is a great message for all of us to hear.  So many of us are lying paralyzed, bound in shackles of fear, pain, discouragement, and maybe even some major sickness.  The reality of it is that JESUS has asked the question, “Do we wish to get well?”  It’s not necessarily that our “well” is that we’re healed in the sense of being able to do something more physical, but what I really believe that we need to realize as Christians is that we’re being healed to do something very spiritual: to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  There’s a lot of healing that needs to go on for us to be able to say, “I am free.”  I pray today that if you’re struggling through some things in life, that you’d get rid of any “excuse-itis” you may have.  I pray that you’d take great means toward execution of entering into God’s presence and being freed from what has paralyzed you.  I pray that today you feel the stirring of the waters of freedom to live in Christ and to make a difference.  Know you are loved and prayed for.  I hope this encourages you today. 

Your Friend,

Chancey

Joshua 1:8-9

It is Better to Serve…

We have just started out a new year here at the Kanakuk Institute.  We have 50 students, and God has blessed us with amazing hearts, willing to be shaped into the image of Christ.  How thankful I am to know that God has entrusted these students into our care, to be impact players for the cause of Christ.  

Sweet prayer time with the new K-Institute class.    

This last week we started out our year by going to a cemetery and having the students think about what they want their dash (-) in between their birth and death to speak about them.  It was so encouraging to hear these students get so excited about wanting to make their lives count for Christ.  It’s exciting to see the students beginning to gain a perspective of this year, of vision and purpose.  

We followed up this experience by going to Joplin and serving for two days.  We worked with Habitat for Humanity and helped build three homes. The local news team even captured a small glimpse of what we were up to.  You can see it at this link: http://fourstateshomepage.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=321912. This weekend we served at the Ironman held here in Branson.  Our students handed out a ton of water and Gatorade to athletes from all over the country who competed.  We didn’t compete, but we sure encouraged a lot!

I want to challenge you today just to encourage somebody and give them a big smile.  You’ll be surprised how much this helps both you and them.  I hope today that you are thinking about that dash (-) in between your birth and death, and I hope your life fulfills the purpose that God intends for you!  

I can’t think of any greater way to start out a year than to serve for the Kingdom.  It puts things in perspective when hearts are being taught how to think well and live well.  Matthew 20:26-28 says, “It must not be like this among you.  On the contrary, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Now, let’s go serve!

In His Grip,

Chancey

PB & J

Today at lunch, a smile came to my face as I grabbed some PB & J and began to make myself a sandwich.  As I sat down and ate my PB & J, I just thanked God for something to simple that brings me such pleasure.  Today I want to bring you something just this simple that will bring you much pleasure in your life.  It’s called ‘PB & J’. 

The PB& J I’m going to use means Purpose Brings Joy.  I have found in my life, the times I have felt the most disconnected from God, or in a time of discouragement and despair, it has always been that I have lost my Purpose.  When I can readjust my schedule, prioritize my time, and make sure I am accomplishing what I need to accomplish, it Brings me Joy. 

One of my greatest fears in life is that I would be successful in something that would have no eternal significance.  The only reason this would ever happen is if I fail to realize my true Purpose.  As a man who loves Jesus, I know every morning that my greatest desire is to have an appointment with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  I pray and open my Bible, and I begin to study His riches that could bring about change in my life.

I don’t want to be a man that accomplishes what he wants to accomplish.  I want to accomplish what God wants me to accomplish – His Purposes.  As a husband, I want to love my wife as Christ loved the church.  I realize very strongly in 1 Peter 3:7, “if you’re ever out of fellowship with your wife, you’re out of fellowship with God.  Therefore,  your prayers will be hindered.”  I can’t imagine going into a day where my prayers couldn’t be heard by God.  This is how strongly God desires for me to be in right fellowship with my wife.  When I understand my Purpose for my wife, I make sure that I’m accomplishing it well.

Secondly, as a daddy I want to be the father that would help his son and daughter become who they need to be in order to accomplish God’s Purposes for their life.  So what I pray is that I would instill into them the ability to work, to have their own walk with Christ, to treat others with respect, to get along with others, and the ability to have a Purpose greater than themselves.  All of our kids are gifted with many gifts, and it is the responsibility of the parents to help direct those gifts to be used accordingly, to its greatest Purpose.  My mother was the greatest example of this, in that she took this little redheaded freckle faced kid and told him he had the greatest smile in the world.  Because of that, I have never quit smiling.  She totally believed in me when I felt no one else did.  Don’t ever underestimate the power of encouragement and how it pushes us to our greatest Purpose. 

Thirdly, as a friend I want to be the encourager that God wants me to be, but not afraid to come alongside my friends and correct when they’re wrong.  What I have done with my very dear friends is given them permission to confront me when I’m wrong.  I don’t want to live a life on a secluded island where I don’t let people come in and help me to be better.  You see, you don’t get better over time; you only get better over evaluated time.  This is what a real friend does for another friend; he helps his friend understand his Purpose and how he can become the very best he can possibly be. 

Fourthly and lastly, I want to be the greatest employer and employee that I could possibly be.  I want to love others as Christ loved the church.  I want to believe the best in everyone, and I want to equip everyone to make a great Purpose at what they do.  The problem I see in the world today is that we are ill-equipping people to work with ethics and integrity.  The thought of work seems to push people into a state of complaining and confusion. In reality, when you understand that your Purpose is to serve with a joyful heart and do it to the best of your ability, it makes even the simplest task become a Joy.  At this point, you know you’re doing the right thing. 

In conclusion, PB & J – Purpose Brings Joy in the fact that in everything I do, if I understand my Purpose, it will Bring the most ultimate Joy into my life because I’m doing the right thing.  So, enjoy a nice PB & J spiritual sandwich, as you take on the challenges of the world today.  Now, go be a “giant-slayer.” 

Your friend in the Battle,

Keith Chancey

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (According to His ‘PB & J’ )

What’s Your Hunger?

I’m so excited about sharing with you some thoughts I have about a movie that absolutely blew me away!  This movie is The Hunger Games.  Wow! What a movie! 

I hope I’ve captured your attention to see my excitement in telling you about it.  I’m not one that goes to see a movie and runs home to tell others to see it, but this one excited me like never before.  Always when I watch a movie or TV show, I ask God what He wants me to see through it.  When I watched The Hunger Games I was captivated with the reality that I was viewing the world after the rapture.  This is what the world will look like after all believers are gone.  As I sat there and watched, all I could do was rejoice that believers don’t have to join into this.  Because the world has become so vile, it has chosen to kill children for sport.  You find people rooting for kids to get killed.  The very children that God loves become the very sport of man. 

In 2 Timothy 3, Paul cautions us about this. He says “In the last days difficult times will come.”  Verses 2-9 give specifics of what the end times will look like:

“men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these….those captivate weak women..they are learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth…these men oppose truth…their folly has become obvious to all.” 

Wow.  When I read what the end times look like and I see Hunger Games, I realize this is exactly how far the world will have come.  This is a great show for everyone to see and discuss with their children and admit that we have got to change the way we view 2 Timothy 3.  We can’t allow our existence to be all about ourselves.  I’m not saying that we’re close to the end times; however, if the world ends today I would be excited about that.  But, if we get more days to live on earth, I pray we become more focused on making a difference for Christ.  All this movie did was make me want to go back and read Revelation. 

Begin to look to chapters 4 and following.  It helps me realize just how difficult it is going to be when we enter into the 7 years of tribulation.  All I know is I want everyone to know Jesus and fall deeply and intimately in love with the Father.  It is movies like The Hunger Games that make me realize how much I must love Jesus; I can’t let the world influence me, but I must influence the world in the name of Christ. 

I hope this is an encouragement to you to talk to your children, to talk to your friends, and to go see the movie.  Then, have conversations that are completely focused on Jesus.  Have a great day! Love you more than you think.

Your friend,

In His grip,

Chancey

New Creation

As I woke up this morning and looked out my window, I saw trees budding, flowers blooming, and grass growing.  I was reminded of new growth and how beautiful new growth really is.  I got to thinking of all the kampers that have come through kamp and all the students that have come through the Kanakuk Institute.  I thought about the growth that has happened within all of us, and I am thankful for the Holy Spirit.  As we find out from John 16:7-15, Christ paid the price for our sins, and He had to go away in His death.  But, in His life and resurrection, He offered the Holy Spirit to those who believe.   And, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us to convict us and guide us as we surrender ourselves under His authority.  As today is a new day, filled with the beauty of the Lord, my prayer is this:  that we are led by the Spirit to tell others about Jesus, to live more for Christ in obedience, to love others a lot more, to reconcile differences, to see others as more important than ourselves, and to put a smile on their faces.  I hope this is of encouragement to you today; to enjoy the new growth of spring, but more importantly the growth of the Holy Spirit in your life.

John 16:7-15

^“7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

   ¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

ALUMNI Re-Connect

Bear with me for a minute, because this message is for our Kanakuk Institute alumni only…

As you probably know by now, the Kanakuk Institute is having a reunion MARCH 9, 10, & 11 to gather 10 years of classes back together again in Branson, MO.

Thanks for your patience with the official registration, as we re-launched our website. IT IS HERE!!! Please click http://kanakukinstitute.com/index.php/re-connect-registration/ to reserve your spot!!!

The cost per adult is $20 per person, and kids come for free! This fee covers most meals, all activities, and FOR FOUR DAYS ONLY a free Kanakuk Institute 2012 t-shirt. Sign up by midnight on February 16 to take advantage of the t-shirt offer!!

Those registering February 17th or later will have the option to order a t-shirt at the reunion to be shipped later for an additional cost.

To register, you will be asked a few short questions and directed to PayPal to complete your reservation. Once the registration form is submitted,you will receive an email confirmation.

You should have already received previous Reunion info from KI via mass email regarding schedule, lodging, & what we need from you. However, if you have any additional questions, please email Lauren at lauren@kanakukinstitute.com.

Thanks so much!! We cannot wait to have all of you back!
See you there!!!!!!

Kanakuk Institute Staff

P.S. Don’t forget, you MUST register by midnight on Thursday, Feb. 16 to get the free t-shirt. Don’t delay!

 

To everyone else, I’ll post a Chancey life & ministry update soon!  God bless!

 

Bowls & Marathons

Just for fun…Here’s a pic of Cameron at Mizzou’s Independence Bowl.  As I mentioned in my previous post, he’s a red shirt freshman looking forward to the future.  But here he is, dressed & there!!  Proud of you, man!

(He’s the one looking back at the camera).  Go Tigers!

And here’s Callie at the end of her Disney 1/2 Marathon! Way to go Peanut! She’s the one in all black. Couldn’t be a prouder Daddy!!