Feb 29, 2012
Leap Day
Consuming Fire
(shifJV's message from last week)
Segment 1:
To me there are few things more wonderful in life than sitting in front of a roaring fire. Whether it’s in the fireplace in my home or out on a starry night while camping out, I really enjoy a fire. The warmth, the light, the dancing flames, it’s all part of an incredible experience.
Can you imagine life without fire? You may think for a moment, yes, but the reality is that it is one of the primary essentials for existence. Fire is necessary for life just like oxygen and water. If we did not have the perfect amount of warmth, half the world’s population would freeze to death. Without fire there would be no cooking (gasp), no gold or silver jewelry (double gasp), really, no hewn tools of any kind, no glass, no sunlight, no manufacturing. We’d never enjoy a s’more over a campfire or feel the warmth of the sunshine on a cool winter day.
Fire is essential for life.
The Bible tells us in Hebrews 12:29 that our God is a consuming fire. In the Old Testament, in the temple where God’s presence dwelt there was altar that had fire buring on it. God gave the Israelites these instructions; “Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.”
We remember that when Jesus came He fulfilled the Old Testament and tore the veil from the Holy of Holies. Meaning that we no longer have to have a priest work on our behalf. And when Jesus went to heaven, He promised the helper, the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit we have the very presence of God in us. And it’s our job now, just like the priests in the Old Testament, to never allow the fire of God in our hearts to go out.
If you have ever tended a fire, you understand it’s tendency to go out. In order to keep it burning, you have to pay close attention to it. Add wood, push the coals together.
The same is true with us. We need to fuel our relationship with God with our bible reading and prayer and worship. Like pushing the hot coals together, we need to stay close to other Christians to stay passionate and on fire for God.
When you put a hot coal near something, what happens? It sets it on fire, right? The zeal, and the passion is contagious. God wants to use you to light the fire in others. I love what John Wesley (the founder of the Methodist church and a spirit-filled man; “God sets me on fire and men come and watch me burn.”
Just like the campfire, we need to regularly have encounters with God to keep our hearts on fire for Him.
Segment 2:
So we have a fire in our hearts. We need to keep it burning. One of the ways we do that is by throwing another log on the fire. Let me give you an example.
I have a little story for you. There was a lumberjack contest. Two lumberjacks, one from Alaska and one from Canada were participating in an all day championship competition. They both were to cut wood from 8am to 5pm. Whoever cut the most wood at the end of the day won the competition. The starting bell sounds, and they start sawing. An hour in the lumberjack from Alaska stops what he’s doing, and disappears for about ten minutes. The Canadian wonders if the Alaskan lumberjack has a nervous stomach. After ten minutes, the Alaskan returns to sawing. At 10am, the Alaskan leaves again for another ten minutes. This continues throughout the day. The Canadian is confident in his ability. By the end of the day, the Alaskan has taken 90 minutes worth of breaks. The Canadian is sure that he has won and is planning his victory speech when the bell rings to signal the end of the contest. The Canadian is just giddy as they are counting the pieces of wood, absolutely confident that he will be declared the new world champion lumberjack. He is astounded when they determine, that the Alaskan has in fact, won by a considerable amount. The Canadian is furious, demanding to know how that could be when the Alaskan was so lazy, taking a break every hour on the hour. The Alaskan replied, “I wasn’t resting on my break, I was sharpening the saw.”
This story serves to show us that we are always more effective when we’ve spent time preparing for the work before us. As Christians, we sharpen the saw by reading God’s word daily. It is crucial that you are familiar, and eventually fully knowledgeable of the Bible. You need to hide it in your heart so that you are prepared for whatever comes your way. Deuteronomy 11:18 “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds”
Reading God’s word has so many incredible benefits. One of them is that when we read the Bible, it produces humility. You get a sense of who you are in the grand scheme of things, and what you can do to honor God and serve Him within your world.
The Bible also clearly dictates right from wrong.
Deuteronomy 30:14 the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
As you spend time in the Word, you will get a clear sense of God’s leading in your life. You will know in your heart when you have sinned and fallen short, and you’ll feel the thrill of victory when succeed over temptation.
Another benefit of reading the Bible is that it empowers us to resist the devil. We’ve talked many times about how the devil is a devourer, a destroyer, a thief and a liar. Reading the Bible gives you strategies and power to overcome Him. It aligns your heart with Jesus, who has already promised us victory!
Temptation may come as a surprise, but sin is no accident. Satan is laying carefully placed traps for you. There is a way to find passage safely, but you will only find it in the Bible. It’s like a GPS. Let’s say that stands for that God’s Positioning Service. The thing is, you can have the GPS in your car but it’s no good to you if you never turn the thing on, or if you ignore it’s turn by turn directions.
Your Bible left sitting in your room is the same way. If it’s collecting dust on a shelf, one day soon you are going to find yourself somewhere you never intended to be. Just like every step in the directions to a destination is crucial for your GPS unit, so are the steps, ordered by the Lord in your Bible. The only difference is that your life destination is of far greater value than any place you might plug into your GPS.
Segment 3:
Remember our campfire example. When is a fire the hottest? When you first light it and it’s blazing and jumping with all the pretty colors?
No, it’s when the coals are stoked together. There is intensity when we burn together. There are other people in your world who know Jesus. Spend time with them. The Word tells us, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20
This is Jesus’ way of saying – the coals get hotter when you get together. Get to work. Remember our commissioning and get in there and get after it. Jesus told us that with the Holy Spirit’s empowering, we would do even greater things. Greater things than what? Healing cripples? Restoring sight? Casting out demons? Walking on water?
God has great things in store for His church. Common vision, unity and spirit-filled seeking will impact our world. And we know that affecting our world is our purpose.
Fire is contagious. A piece of burning log will set another log on fire. The truth is, on fire people set others on fire. We are to passionately engage in the work that Jesus calls us to. We know our mission, to “make disciples of all nations.” We have a clear directive.
The word tells us “The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentence.” That all would know the saving work of Jesus. That all would reach heaven.
Jesus cares about the eternity of your friends and family just as much as He cares about your eternity.
So how do we burn in a manner that sets the world on fire? James tells us “God opposes the proud but favors the humble. So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come close to God and God will come close to you.”
We talked earlier about how the Bible will humble you. It’s a good thing too, because this verse tells us that God opposes the prideful. Pride was the sin that first took Satan, and then Adam and Eve. God doesn’t have a lot of tolerance for pride.
Jesus was the perfect example of humility. We just need to follow His lead. Reading about Jesus in the Bible is the best way to follow Him. Remember, the Bible is our GPS. God’s going to use the Bible to move you step by step, turn by turn.
The next step in burning is resisting the devil. We can kick him to the curb. We can say no to temptation and sin. I understand that this is tough stuff, but again, let the Bible be your guide. Romans 8:37 tells us we are more than conquerors. Overcomers!
The final step in this verse tells us to come close to God. This verse promises us His reaction.. He will in turn, come close to us. What an awesome promise from an awesome God! Yep, the guy who hung the stars in the heavens and set the continents in place, He, wants to get close to you? It’s a pretty exciting concept.
So tonight, I’m inviting you guys to burn for Jesus. Decide that living lukewarm is not for you. Normal is not enough. Like John Wesley, you want to burn for God so that men might see. If this is your heart, remember these steps.
1) Set your heart aflame for God. Commit to relationship with Him here and now. If you already know Him, throw another log on the fire tonight. Allow Him to kindle what may have grown cold in your heart. Commit to reading your Bible, praying and worshipping Him.
2) Spend time with other believers building your faith. Remember that coals stacked together burn hotter.
3) Humble your heart. Consider Jesus your example. Use the Bible as your GPS.
4) Resist the devil and draw close to God.
If any one of these areas touched your life tonight, I want you to come forward. Altar experiences are the perfect opportunity to grow the fire in your heart.
Feb 16, 2012
Seize the Day
What is courage? ( maybe a cat with a pack of dogs, crossing a tiny rope bridge, rescuing a child from a burning building, standing up to do what is right when everyone else is doing what is wrong)
One of the most courageous people I have ever heard of is Corrie Ten Boom. She was a survivor in a Nazi concentration camp during the second world war. She was a beacon of peace and joy and light in a time that there was no peace or light or joy. She was a single woman who still lived with her father and worked in his watch shop. She helped Jewish people escape from the Nazi regime through an underground network. She was not Jewish herself, but could not stand aside and watch what was happening to these people. She smuggled dozens and dozens of people through her home to safety. She took a stand against evil in a world that where evil was in charge.
Years after her concentration camp experience, after losing her entire family to Nazi brutality, Corrie Ten Boom had an interaction with a guard who had treated her so cruelly. When face to face with her torturer, she battled emotionally with a decision to spew hatred or extend grace. In the end, she shook his hand. This is what she wrote about that experience.
"For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then."
To me, Corrie Ten Boom had to have courage smuggle people through her home. She had courage to survive the Nazi concentration camp. She had courage to continue to believe in a loving God when her world was filled with pain and sorrow and loss and hunger and cold. But in my opinion, reaching for that former prison guard’s hand was the decision that took the most courage.
Tonight we are talking about having courage. Courage to do the great things that God has called you to do, but also courage to do the small things, the personal things that cost a lot. Courage to surrender.
Jesus was a man of incredible courage. He came in a courageous time and in a courageous manner. Even being born to a poor girl, He was brave in knowing that Mary would tend to Him. Imagine, the King of Kings taking an infant form and depending his very life to a teenager.
Jesus’ courage didn’t stop there. He lived a brave life. He was moral, good. He never sinned. That takes courage, doesn’t it? I’d imagine He was called the Hebraic equivalent of a “brown noser” or “goody two shoes” many times. He never fought back. He never held hatred in His heart. The Word tells us that He was sinless. He lived a life of unparalleled moral and spiritual integrity. And yet, He was constantly criticized for this, documented from the time He was twelve, preaching in the temple, all the way up to His death on the cross.
How did Jesus succeed at this life of character? He lived focused on His cause. Do you remember what His cause was? I’ll give you a hint, we discussed it a few weeks back. It’s found in Matthew 28:19.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
A few weeks back we discussed these verses. They have name, right? The Great Commission. Remember that the Great Commission needs to be our highest priority in life – because it’s God’s highest priority.
To Jesus, sharing the love of God was so important that He was willing to lay down His life for the opportunity for you and I to restore relationship with our Creator. Jesus seized the day, He showed courage to love the unloved, to put the welfare and eternity of others in front of His own needs and desires.
Tonight, how important is the Great Commission to you? Are you willing to seize the day? Or do obstacles, like your own attitudes and hurts and feelings or the comments or criticism of others stand in your way. The reality is that as much you have a God-given priority to the Great Commission, when you received Jesus and that priority, you put a target on your back.
(video, in the trenches)
It’s important to realize that we have a spiritual enemy that is bent on keeping our friends and family in darkness. The enemy of your soul is fighting your commissioning with everything he has. The Word tells us:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
The enemy has come to rob, kill and destroy. We cannot forget that is his highest priority. You and are commissioned to fight to reach the lost with God’s love. In order to fight we must be bold, strong and courageous like Jesus. We must seize the day!
When God first spoke to my heart at camp about my calling I thought maybe He’d confused me with Rob. I mean, we were both in the tabernacle that night, we’re one flesh, He could have got His wires crossed, right?
Then I remembered God doesn’t make mistakes. It falls under that “infallible” quality of His. Incapable of mistakes. He really was calling me, Anna.
Since then I’ve had a very personal lesson in that God really doesn’t care so much about your ability as much as He cares about your availability.
Being available is key to seizing the day. Being available is the A in FAT that we always talk about. Remember, we want to be FAT Christians; Faithful, Available and Teachable?
Being available is more important to God than being able. God will make you able. You just have to make yourself available. One of the easiest, and simultaneously most difficult choices you can make in your walk with God is that of surrender. Surrender is simply saying “God, I’m available, use me.”
I say that surrender is easy because it’s kind of like putting a boat on auto-pilot – just push a button and let the computer take over. You are telling God, “hey, this is your boat, have at it!” Surrender is also incredibly difficult because like the boat on auto-pilot, you are constantly fighting the urge to take control of the ship again. Surrender is a daily, moment by moment decision. You need to remind yourself over and over again that God’s will and purpose for your life is greater than your will and purpose for your life.
Jesus set the example of surrender when He surrendered Himself to God, and then again when He gave Himself sacrificially for others. Jesus valued God’s will far above His own. We see this in John 4:34.
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.”
Jesus valued God’s plan more than His own well-being. He committed to a life of total surrender.
What about you? Have you made yourself available to God? Or have you decided that your abilities are too inconsequential that God would have use for you?
(video: it starts with one)
Jesus’s single minded devotion and commitment to the will of the Father was the result of surrender in His will and life to the Father’s agenda. This was an answer to Jesus’ prayer in the garden the night before His crucifixion. He prayed “Not my will, but your will be done.”
Before we can seize the day and influence our family and friends, we have to yield our hearts completely to God’s will. We pray “Send me where the need is, send me where you want me to go.” Taking a stand against the devil starts with laying our will down to God.
The incredible thing is that when we lay down our will to God, we stand up with Christ. And we know that in Christ, the enemy is defeated. See, when we go with God, we go with His full authority. God has the final say and Satan will fall. He has no authority over us. We can speak life and truth to our friends and our family when we speak the gospel, the good news. When we go and tell.
Tonight I want to give you three practical steps to seize the day.
First up, you guys know this one, witness. Like a witness at a crime scene, you just share your side of the story. What did Jesus do in your life? The word of God assures us that there is power in our testimony!! Remember, God is looking for your availability here, not your ability.
Secondly, you can pray and intercede. Set aside some time each day to pray. You can get up early and spend time with God, or you can find a time that you aren’t using to it’s fullest. Like for me, I pray while I wake up in the morning in those first few moments where I am conscious, but not quite ready for my feet to hit the floor. I pray in the shower and while I do my hair (especially blowdrying). And I pray in the car on the way to work. This way I feel fully prepared to rely on God throughout the day, because I’ve already been talking to Him all morning!
James 5:16 says “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” That means prayers of people walking with God get it done!
Charles Spurgeon said “”Groaning which cannot be uttered are often prayers which cannot be refused.” Praying in the spirit is your lifeline to God. It’s like the red phone on the president’s desk. You have an immediate connection with the Creator when you use your prayer language.
Prayer changes things. “Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers.” J. Sidlow Baxter said that.
I read an email from someone this week about a man who refused prayer. I just laughed, because refusing prayer is like refusing mail or refusing air. It just can’t be done. You can pray for anyone, no matter how much they hate God or you.
The last step in seizing the day is perhaps the most important one. It’s being willing to lay your life down. Spend time and energy lovingly serving the people around you. Your love will send a much louder message than even your testimony.
So these three things will empower you to seize the day; witness, pray and lay down your life. I’m going to give you an opportunity now to start from here. Take a few moments and spend some time in surrender here at the altar.
Feb 14, 2012
Garden For Two
Annual Valentine's Photo
Been taking this photo yearly for 7 years now. Can't believe how my kids have grown! We are so blessed. I have a few surprises for them this evening. :)
Feb 8, 2012
Run With the End In Mind
The goal of Christian life is to cross the finish line and win the crown of life. It is simply not enough to begin walking in the light of God, we must continue walking in the light until the end of our life or the Rapture.
Sadly, we see the salvation decision as a final faith destination for so many students. They’ve been invited to church, they hang out a shift a few weeks or months, and when they come to that crucial decision point, they decide to receive Jesus. Then there they sit, just saved enough to miss hell, but having entirely escaped the concept of lordship.
Preaching as hard as we may, it’s a difficult thing to inspire a student to live a Christian life long beyond their youth group experience. Pastor Rob and I have, at most, three hours a week with your student. In those three hours we pour as much Jesus into them as we possibly can. Our highest priority is to touch each student’s life with the love of Christ, and to inspire them to live sold out for Him.
We have three hours a week to impress this message on their hearts. How many hours a week do you have?
A life long Christian walk needs to be modeled daily. My prayer is that you have not set the decision to follow Christ as a destination, but rather the starting blocks on a lifelong journey with and for Him. Let your student see your faith grow. Allow them to catch you reading your Bible. Invite them to pray with you about their problems, and yours. Pause to give praise to God when a prayer is answered.
Above all, share with your student the importance of finishing strong. This is not a race we run merely to cross the finish line. No, we are running as if to capture the prize. Give God a hundred percent, and express your hope in your teenager to do the same.
“…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
Still Running – Anna Thoreson
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Jan 26, 2012
God's Plan
(last week's message in our Knowing God series)
Have you ever spent a bunch of time with someone special, maybe family or friends that live far away, and it gets time for you to leave, and you just hate to go?
This happens to Pastor Rob and I every time we go up North. In fact, we are planning for our vacation time this summer, we are going to make the long trek to Iowa, stopping to see all our friends and family along the way there and back. And as much as I am looking forward to seeing everyone, there’s a little part of me that’s dreading the ‘goodbye’ process. It’s hard to hug someone and walk out the door knowing you may not see them for another 3-5 years. We usually linger over goodbyes.
And man, when I was a kid and someone would leave, we’d stand out in the driveway, waving wholeheartedly until their car was a teensy speck on the horizon, then rounded a corner and we’d see them the next time. In fact, my favorite aunt still does that. She stands in her yard, a big smile on her face, waving until you can’t see her anymore, sending all the love she possibly can with you on your way. And you feel her love right down to your toes. I mean, who does that, standing in the yard waving like a goober? She must really love me!
Soon, you’re a mile or two down the road and suddenly you realize you forgot to tell them something, something really important. Something you want to make sure you say face to face. What do you do then? You swing into the nearest parking lot, pull a u-ey and head back to your loved one, right?? This message is important!
Jesus did the same thing with his disciples. He’d walked with them for three years and poured out His life into theirs, even to the point of death on the cross. Death. He was gone, the car had disappeared on the horizon and his disciples had stopped waving in the driveway.
And yet, there was something crucial he still needed to say.
We pick up in Matthew 28:19-20; the very last scriptures in the first gospel. This is after Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. He tells His disciples this one last very important thing, sort of a honey-do list while He’s away preparing a place for them.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very ends of the earth.”
We all know this scripture as the Great Commission. Let’s dissect that term a little bit. If you’ve grown up in church you’ve probably heard it so often that you don’t even ‘hear’ it any more. What does it mean to be great?
Well, let’s start by remembering that words used in the Bible are truer than words we commonly use today. Point in case, I love the word awesome. I’ve been using it since I was a teenager. In fact, at my first ‘real’ job, my boss always teased me about how often I used the word awesome. He’d be like, “hey Anna, how was your weekend, was it awesome?” Back then, and even a little now, everything was awesome. My friends were awesome, Dr Pepper was awesome, the last movie I had seen was awesome, and of course, Rob was AWESOME. I can even remember how delighted I was when I realized that the word ‘awesome’ was in the Bible, I just knew it was a God word!
You get the idea, I probably wasn’t using ‘awesome’ in the fullness of it’s ‘awesomeness’. When we throw around a word too often, and it begins to lose it’s meaning.
A perfect example of that in the Bible is the word ‘good’. You and I say ‘good’ when someone asks “How’s the pizza?” or “What did you think of last night’s Sing Off?” Good is just above mediocre and a far cry below excellent.
But when you see the word ‘good’ in the Bible, it must mean something different, something more pure and holy. Because the Word tells us that God made the world in six days and at the end of each day He said that it was ‘good.’
Hmmm. God whipped up the world in six days and said that it was good? Um, I think I’d use a more fantastic descriptive word, don’t you? I mean, Bob Ross, the painter would paint a tree and call it ‘happy’. God creates all the trees and all the plants and all the vegetation in one measly day and He calls it ‘good?’ I’d call it AWESOME!!
But God says ‘good.’ I think that’s a pretty healthy indicator that His definition of ‘good’ is more profound than mine. And since He’s God, I’m going to go with His standard.
Another Biblical example of ‘good’ is the fact that God is described as good.
In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 19:17 “There is only One who is good.” Referring to God the Father. God reveals His goodness to us in His love for us, His care of us, His mercy on us, and His grace to us.
Psalm 100:5 says “The Lord is good and His love endures forever.” The words good and love are interchangeable. God is good, in all things and in all ways. A good that you and I can’t describe, let along truly comprehend.
So I think we can all agree that when a word is used in the Bible it has a truer meaning than if it’s used at the lunch table or in a thread on Facebook.
So Matthew 28:19-20 is the Great Commission. Great meaning unusually large in size or dimension. Yep, that’s pretty accurate. ‘Go and make disciples of all nations.’ That’s a pretty large scope, isn’t it? Can you get much bigger than all nations?
Great also means unusual in degree, power or dimension. This commission requires a considerable amount of inertia. How can we reach the whole world?? We need supernatural power to even begin to achieve this goal! Thank God that He provided the Holy Spirit to empower our efforts. This task would seem utterly unattainable without the power of the Holy Spirit.
Great means wonderful, first rate, very good. The Great Commission is a noble task. It’s simply a good idea. Of course, that’s because it was God’s idea from the very beginning.
You may remember from the shiftAM Fundamental Truths classes last summer. Truth #4, the Fall of Man, when Adam and Eve take that first bite of forbidden fruit in Genesis, God mentions Satan’s head being crushed. It has always been God’s plan to reach all people with the love of Christ. He has always intended to pursue our hearts with the primary objective of a love relationship with us. What a GREAT idea, truly first rate.
So if we have biblically defined great, and perhaps rocked your world a bit, the next natural question is, what does it mean to be commissioned?
Commissioning is usually done when someone extremely important gives a task to a subordinate or inferior (little guy). It’s also a sign of power being given to the subordinate, like a knight being commissioned into service from a king, the knight now swears loyalty unto death to the king and his mission. The knight’s power comes directly from the king’s sovereign power. It’s an honor to be called into service of the king. Wow, now compare that Jesus’ great commission to His disciples. We are honored to be called to His service.
We are honored because you and I, by our own merit are not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandal or to wash His feet. Our sin and prideful heart should limit any contact with Jesus. Yet through His sacrifice on the cross, we are allowed into His presence. Considered sons and daughters with Him. We are honored to to be called into His service.
Another way to think about commissioning is to picture a warship being commissioned. When a warship is commissioned no longer just a ship, it’s been placed in active military duty, it’s now part of a navy that symbolizes the strength of a nation.
Christ commissioned us.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!”
He’s pulled us out of ordinary day-to-day service into the highest calling – serving our Lord in ministry. We are on active duty, engaging in a real war with a real enemy. And there will be casualties in this war. The casualties will have names and faces. They are your lost friends and family. They are the unsaved masses filling the halls at Madison and Judson and O’Connor and Wood and Harris. They are the starving children in Africa and Haiti. They are the drug runners in Juarez. They are the politicians in Washington DC.
We need to start seeing the people around us as prisoners of war. Satan has them bound in their sin and their self-absorption and their ignorance of the truth. We have been commissioned to share our story, and with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, they can make the choice to be set free. Just like you and I made that choice.
There is a verse in Revelation that haunts me. It’s found in Chapter 12, verse 11 and it says “They overcame him, by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.” It’s referring to Satan. And the fact that we can overcome, we can defeat him by the blood of the lamb, which is a Bible way to say Jesus’ sacrifice and the word of our testimony. Meaning that the war on sin is surmountable. We WILL overcome with the knowledge of what Jesus did for us and the strength of our story of finding Him.
We simply need to be willing to believe in the power of the cross. To have faith that Christ’s blood was enough to cover our sins, to wash us white as snow. And to have the courage to share our story with others.
That is the Great Commission. Sharing the goodness of God with all the world. It will be difficult. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be the ‘Great’ Commission, now would it? But we know we will overcome, we will triumph. Another incredible verse reminding us of our certain triumph over sin is Romans 8:37 “In all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us deeply.”
We are going to win this thing. And if we put the effort in with our friends and family and the people in the halls of our schools, we’ll see miracles happen and lives changed. And when we give money to Speed the Light we equip missionaries to reach the lost in Africa and Haiti and Juarez and Washington DC and every other place the gospel needs to be heard.
You and I have been commissioned. And we’ve been empowered by the Holy Spirit. God wants each and every one of us in this room to participate in His plan. You personally have opportunities to touch lives that I will never come in contact with. And that’s true for each of you, just as I have opportunities that you’ll never have. You can see why it’s so important to take this seriously. God has called each of us to be used for His kingdom development in a specific way. We need to realize the greatness of this commission and make it our highest daily priority.
We need to understand the honor and the responsibility of being commissioned with God’s plan. I thought this clip from the first Narnia movie would paint a better picture in your mind. Peter has just saved his sisters from certain death, proving his commitment to goodness and Aslan. Aslan is about to call Peter into his service.
(video of a Peter being knighted)
Just like Peter, we have been commissioned by the King. But let’s not forget the end of today’s scripture, there’s a very important condition of this commissioning. Jesus tells us in verse 20 “and surely I am with you always, to the very ends of the earth.”
You do not have to fulfill this great commission on your own. Yes, we should each do our part, but Jesus is with us through this process. When you accepted Christ as your savior, you were sealed with His Holy Spirit. He is with you, even to the end.
So tonight, I feel like God is asking, who will accept His Great Commission? Who is willing to lay aside their stuff to go about God’s work? Who accepts His goodness and grace and receives His plan for their lives? The reality is, when you truly realize who God is and what He has done for your life, the natural reaction is serve Him. We have such an incredible debt of gratitude to our Lord and King.
If you are willing to accept Christ’s Commissioning this evening, I’d like you to come forward and kneel at the altar.
(wait a few moments – with Michael W. Smith’s ‘FREEDOM’ playing softly in the background)
Like Peter received his knighthood from Aslan, picture Jesus standing before you in your mind. Receive His plan and embrace it fully.
He says to you:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very ends of the earth.”
Lord, inspire these students to receive your Great Commission. Engrave Your mission in their hearts that they would be forever changed to see the world with Your eyes. Empower them with your Holy Spirit. Give them boldness and authority to speak truth into the lives of their friends, their family, and the people they come in contact with each day. Inspire them to give to missions and pray for the lost to receive You. Keep them in Your service until You return to establish Your kingdom. In Your precious name we pray. Amen.
Jan 14, 2012
Surprise for Janet
Jan 13, 2012
A Scrapload of Pages
Jan 5, 2012
Holiday Highlights
Dec 27, 2011
On the Job
My sweet friend, Jen, helped me with wedding a few weekends back. While we were working, she shot this photo of me doing my photog thing. I love it! :) Thanks, girl!
Dec 11, 2011
Our Two Shepherds
These two kiddos did a fantastic job in the church play tonight. So much enthusiasm. Reminds me that apples don't fall far from trees. :) So excited to see the people they become. I love them sooooo much!!
Dec 9, 2011
Thanksgiving and Root Canal
Well, we didn't spend Thanksgiving as we planned. I wound up having an emergency root canal that Monday. But we did really enjoy each other's company. And took this photo before we went to Golden Corral for dinner. (never again)
Dec 7, 2011
Styrofoam Cup Theology
(tonight's message - inspired greatly by Jeanne Mayo)
Styrofoam Cup Theology
Part One
What is it that you are holding in your hand? These are cups, disposable cups. Can you use these again? Can they say, go in the dishwasher? Will they hold up over time? No, these are only good for temporary use, right?
Hmmm. You could kind of say that about you and me, couldn’t you? When you consider that time has stretched out for at least 4000 years already and you and I only last about 70 or 80 typically. Our bodies weren’t crafted for the long haul, were they??
Tonight we are talking about Styrofoam Cup Theology. Everybody say it.
1 Corinthians 4:5-7 tells us that we are like these cups. “We do not tell people of ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as servants for God who said, ‘Let there be light out of darkness’ made light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory. But we have this treasure inside of us like throwaway cups and like jars that can be broken.”
The treasure is God’s glory and light. We contain Christ.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27
We are these weak, disposable cups. The Bible refers to us as earthen vessels, jars of clay, tents, grass that withers, flowers that fade, but a vapor. We are nothing on our own. What can we do?
We can contain Jesus. That’s right, Christ in you, the hope of glory.
It’s pretty ridiculously awesome that Christ’s Spirit dwells in us. Honestly, we have it even better than the disciples. Sure, they got to walk with Jesus. They ate with Him, hung out with Him. But Jesus was human and still needed to sleep, to spend alone time or down time. In His human form He was limited to being only one place at a time.
But now, because Jesus is IN us in spirit form, He is not held back by human limitations. He’s with you from the moment you open your sleep crusty eyes in the morning to when you lay your head on the pillow at night. You literally can walk every step, every day with Him. We all can. What’s more is that the Bible tells us the Holy Spirit is a deposit, guaranteeing our future in heaven. The Holy Spirit is a constant reminder of our future destination.
Because Christ is IN US - we can pour Jesus out to the world around us. I think you will find that as Christ pours His Spirit into us we can’t possibly contain it anyway! The natural reaction to ‘too much’ is to pour out.
So this evening we are going to talk about that pouring. We’ll start in 1 Samuel, talking about David and Jonathon. You all remember David, right? Rockstar shepherd boy who took out Goliath with five smooth stones?
Well, really that was just the beginning of his awesome rise to fame in Israel. And what often happens with rockstars, a few haters come to the surface. For instance, Justin Beiber is a modern day example. How many of you like Justin? Come on, we can all admit he’s talented, right? The kid is 17, and could sing circles around me and probably every person in this room. But a few folks just can’t stand him. My daughter, Sarah, is one of those people. She can’t stand the sight of his floppy hair and pretends to punch him every time she sees a cardboard cutout of the boy.
Well, back to our story. David had a hater as well. And unfortunately, he was a hater with a lot of power and influence. King Saul couldn’t stand to see David coming, and he wanted to do a lot more damage to David than punching a cardboard cutout! King Saul was determined to kill David.
But God had David’s back and brought him a smart and powerful friend; Jonathon. Jonathon’s main source of influence was the fact that he was Saul’s son. Did you catch that? Jonathon, David’s best friend, was the son of King Saul, the man who was out to kill David. Sounds like a soap opera, right? Not the Bible.. I’m telling you, you should read this book, there’s all kinds of fantastic stories in there.
Here’s a verse that tells you what kind of friends David and Jonathon were.
1 Samuel 18:1, 3- 4
After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
God gave David a soul-knitting relationship with Jonathon. 1 Samuel 1:8 “And the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” God knew that David needed a Jonathon if he was to survive King Saul’s attempts to murder him.
What does soul-knitting mean? Well, let’s start with what is your soul? Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. All of these ingredients combine to make your soul. Soul knitting is a combination of God’s supernatural plan with your day to day choices. It’s when your will lines up with God’s will and you act in accordance with His word and plan for your life.
Jonathon chose to daily care about David, even when it cost him dearly. I can’t imagine Jonathon had too great of relationship with his dad, King Saul, after he started hanging out with David.
You and I need to look for opportunities to develop soul-knitting relationships. There are people hurting all around us; at school, in your neighborhood, as you are walking down the street. I have started praying, “God give me eyes to see your souls.” as I drive or walk or go to the grocery store.
See, sometimes we are guilty of seeing people just as people. Sometimes worse than that, we see them as obstacles, in the way of what we want. It’s easy to do, there are so many of them. But God sees them as souls. He sees lost and hurting souls, in desperate need of a relationship with Him. And we have an opportunity to be the conduit (the link) between Jesus and people. God can use you and I to pour Jesus into people’s life through deep relationship.
But we need to be on the look out for opportunities to develop those relationships. And there are opportunities everywhere. My best friend, the one that I’ve been friends with for fifteen years now, well we met during the most boring sociology class of all time. Why? Because we took the opportunity to develop a soul-knitting relationship.
Part Two
So how do we develop a soul-knitting relationship with another? Is it magical? Does it just happen instantly? Is it like ‘imprinting’ in the Twilight books where you have no choice as to who or when?
Nope. You have to look for opportunities. Then you need to make unselfish covenant choices. Meaning, consistently choosing their best interests over yours.
We read on in 1 Samuel 18:3 “Then David and Jonathon made a covenant, because Jonathan loved David like his own soul.”
Jonathon and David made a commitment to place the other’s best interests first. They decided to love each other unselfishly. Did you hear me? Love is a decision before and after it is an emotion. Deciding to love someone daily is what builds a long term friendship, or one day a marriage. Deciding to love someone is what allows you to overcome the little irritants of the every day.
It’s a dangerous thing to pray “Brand me with unselfish covenant choices.” But that is what God wants for our lives. In fact, it’s exactly what Jesus modeled for us by coming to the earth as a baby and dying on the cross as a sinless man.
Our society says, “Love is an emotion. When you fell a certain way, than you act unselfishly.” This is a problem for sure, because as soon as that feeling starts to fade, you stop acting in the other person’s best interests. What happens next? The relationship starts to fail.
This is what happens in over 50% of all marriages. The couple starts out feeling like they adore each other, and when the feelings fade or the honeymoon wears off, they stop making unselfish covenant choices and suddenly the marriage ends.
I used marriage as an example but what about friendships? I’m sure the statistics on friendships are even higher, but that’s not something that anyone has tracked. Because unfortunately, I would guess the rate of failed friendships is even higher than the rate of failed marriages in this country. How many of you have had a friend that is no longer your friend? And how many of you have been married and no longer are married? See, point proven. Friendships die all the time, because you and I are are unwilling to make unselfish covenant choices.
Styrofoam Cup Theology tells us instead that right choices will eventually bring right emotions. See, when we are constantly pouring Jesus into our life (by reading the word, and praying, worshipping) we are compelled to do right things. Even when we don’t feel like it. When you start doing right things, eventually you will start to feel really good about those right choices.
I remember when I first rededicated my life to Jesus. I was sixteen. My dad and I had a way bad relationship. It pretty much consisted of yelling at each other. After I rededicated my heart, I knew it was wrong to yell at my dad. So I stopped. Cold turkey. It was really hard, especially since my dad didn’t stop yelling at me. In fact, he was annoyed that I didn’t fight back and so he yelled even louder. Those first few months of being yelled at were really hard, I had to fight my emotions not to yell back every day. But eventually, my heart got in the right place and I had no desire to yell back. I just felt really bad for my dad that he was hurting so much that he felt he needed to yell in order to release it.
Right choices will eventually bring right emotions. The only way to learn to consistently make right choices is by spending time with Jesus and allowing Him to teach you right ways.
Part Three
Jonathon was willing to lay down his life for David. We find this in verse 4. “Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.”
At that time, when you gave someone your robe you were saying “I give you myself.” But when you gave someone your weapons, you were saying, “You have conquered me. I will serve you.”
Styrofoam Cup Theology teaches us to be willing to genuinely lay down our life for others. To give them our robe and our weapons. In our stewardship series last month we talked about how everything we have is God’s and we need to be willing to give it away. Being generous is vital. But the higher standard is laying down your life for them. Considering their needs above your own.
Does this sound at all familiar? John 15:13 “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Jesus set this perfect example for us, didn’t he?
What if you look around and think, there’s no one here worth laying my life down for. Well, Jesus probably could have thought that about us, too, right?
Sometimes we need to be a friend rather than to have a friend.
Pastor Rob knew this kid in high school. His name was Nate Hanlon. He was a little slow. You know, kind of talked funny.
“I don’t know what you be talking about. I talk just fine.”
He tried to be a tough guy, wearing his leather jacket and all. He was kind of mean. But Rob noticed that Nate got picked on a lot. In fact, one day some bigger high schoolers were picking on Nate and Rob happened to be nearby. And because Rob was walking with Jesus, he had a swell of confidence and stepped in – asking the guys to leave Nate alone. Nate started hanging out with Rob. Rob invited him to the bible study he led on campus. Then Rob invited him to youth group. Nate gave his heart to Christ not long after that. And Rob and Nate made many great memories together in those years.
Often times our friendship can be a help up to a person around us. Just the fact that you have Jesus and are extending that to the people around you – you have something awesome to offer. You can be a good listener. You can genuinely care. You can be an encourager. You can just be there consistently. You can be honest. All of those things are qualities that people look for in a friend.
In fact, best selling author, Carol Ladd composed a list of seven qualities that people look for in a friend. They are as follows.
1) Genuine interest in others.
2) A giver, not a taker.
3) Loyalty.
4) Positivity.
5) Ability to appreciate differences.
6) Common interests.
7) Honesty and openness.
Wow, six of those seven qualities are built into the Christian life. And the one that’s not, ‘common interests’ can easily be resolved by making the other person your common interest. People are always interested in talking about themselves, it’s the subject they know the most about!
If you want to be like Jesus.. as we practice this Styrofoam Cup Theology.. we need to pour our lives out into others. Your friend will be the one whose need you can meet.. Not the one who meets your needs.
Altar/Prayer
God, tonight, place people in our hearts and minds. Help us to see the people around us as souls that are precious to you. Give us a deep appreciation for each one, as well as a burden for their salvation. God help us to see the individuals around us as Your masterpieces, objects of your affection. God we know that you loved each of us enough to die on a cross to restore relationship with them. God give us that love for the people around us. Allow us to be your hands and feet. Let us pour out our lives for the people in our world. God, give us opportunities for soul-knitting friendships. Help us to make covenant choices for the people in our lives. Keep us from abandoning relationships, but allow us to serve the needs of the people around us. Help us to be willing to lay down our lives for our friends as Your Word says. Help us to be good friends that continually point others to You.
Stewardship Series: Financial Responsibility
Turn the Key.
Tonight we are starting a new series on Stewardship. Stewardship is kind of one of those ‘church’ words that we don’t use outside this building too much. Anyone know what it means?
I like definitions. Webster’s says stewardship is “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care”
God’s Word challenges us to be good stewards. Everything we have is ours at the blessing of God. That may be a new thought for you, but God literally has placed every good thing in your life. Your home, your family, your finances, your friends, your school, even your body are all gifts on loan from God. You need to treat them as such.
Considering that all you have is at the grace of God keeps perspective in your life, lends you towards thanksgiving, and stewardship. You realize that you need to be responsible with these gifts that God has given you.
Tonight we’ll be unpacking a great set of scriptures, taken from Psalm 37:21-26
21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
but those he curses will be destroyed.
23 The LORD makes firm the steps
of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be a blessing.
So what can we learn about stewardship from these verses?
First off, the wicked borrow and do not repay. Borrowing and not repaying is not a trait of the godly. It’s important to repay whatever you owe. Really, it’s best if you just never borrow to begin with, you’ll save yourself a lot of heart ache and stress. Pastor Rob and I have tried to live by this because we didn’t early in our marriage and it was PAINFUL! Since we started living by the principle of not borrowing, it has been a very big blessing to us. It’s also an awesome opportunity for God to show Himself faithful in our lives when we refuse to use credit to solve our own financial responsibilities.
A cool example of that was last summer. I was having some tooth pain and went to the dentist and found out I needed two crowns, like immediately. Crowns are extremely expensive; about $1400 a piece by the time they are seated an all. We did not have that kind of extra money. I told the appointment lady that I needed to go home, talk to Rob about it and pray with him about it. She handed me a credit application and encouraged me to fill it out. I stood my ground, said I’d call back with an answer in a week.
The week passed. Rob and I prayed and believed and asked you guys to pray to. By the time came that I needed to make the appointment, God had provided all the money we needed, without borrowing a penny. We paid cash for the crowns, and got a discount because of it. See, God is faithful! We depended on Him to provide, rather than rushing to solve it on our own. And He did, and now I have this cool sermon illustration and two shiny, paid-for crowns!
The opposite of borrowing and not paying back is what the righteous do, giving generously! God has really been challenging Pastor Rob and I in this area of our life. So much so that I have found myself looking for opportunities to bless others. It’s fun!
One time, when we were first married, we had some friends that were really struggling financially. They were in Bible college, had three kids, and had just hit a hard time. We decided to buy them some groceries. So we went to the store and picked out kid friendly foods and then snuck down the back alley behind their house, quick unloaded the groceries on the back porch, rang the bell and drove off as fast as we could. To this day they have no idea where those groceries came from. It was such a fun thing to do! Way better than tp-ing or forking someone’s yard! Although, that is fun too!
The scripture goes on to say that the Lord makes firm the steps of those who delight in Him. This has been our experience as well. As we grow in our walk with God, the firmer our steps are. The closer we live to His biblical principles for our life and especially finances, the less frightening our finances have been. We still depend on Him completely, but there’s no fear. We have a legacy of His provision in our lives, meaning we can look back over the past almost 14 years and see all the ways He has taken care of us. Trust is firmly planted because He has been faithful all those years.
The next portion of that verse says “though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him in His right hand.” This is so true. Rob and I have tripped up in our finances. Lots of times. We’ve messed up, we’ve stumbled. But God is faithful, and He is our restorer. He has allowed us to learn from our mistakes and to learn to trust Him more and more. And He’s even gone so far as to allow us to teach others from our experiences, which is so much how the Lord works. He’ll allow you to go through things to grow your character, and to enable you for the ministry of others.
The last part of this verse describes how the writer is a very old man, but has never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging for bread. Instead the righteous give freely, and their children are a blessing.
God provides. Miraculously and faithfully. And we can give to others out of the trust that God is going to continue to provide. Remember how I said PR and I were really working on this area of giving more freely? Since we’ve been doing that, God has blessed us both so incredibly. I seriously could write a list of all the ways He has rained down physical blessing in our life in the past few years, but what would be harder to articulate is all the ways that He has emotionally, relationally and spiritually blessed us. Meaning, He’s healed hurts, given us vision and favor, allowed us relationship with people, provided understanding and wisdom.. All of these things that we aren’t capable of on our own, He has poured out on our lives. We are truly blessed in ways I don’t even know how to express, but I know it’s a direct result of being generous.
I know Pastor Rob says it all the time on Sunday mornings when he receives the offering, but you cannot outgive God. It is the one thing in scripture that God tells us to ‘test Him’ in. Malachi 3:11
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
When we are faithful to God to give our tithe (ten percent of our income) He will bless you. Not just financial blessing, but every kind of blessing you can imagine. Giving unlocks God’s blessing in your life. This verse talks about floodgates. If you aren’t familiar with floodgates, they are giant door-type walls that control water in a river, specifically to maintain a specific flow or water stage. When you ‘open the floodgate’ all the pent up water comes rushing out. I see giving, specifically tithing, as the key that turns the lock on the floodgate, allowing it to rush God’s blessing all over your life. So much that you ‘won’t have room enough to store it’.
What do you do when you run out of room to store things?
It’s an opportunity to start giving things away. So picture this with me. God has all this blessing, literally just ready to pour out all over your life, so much so that you won’t be able to help and give it away to others. He’s just waiting for you to tithe, to give, so that He can respond by opening the flood gates. It’s a pretty awesome image, isn’t it?
The other aspect of giving is that giving allows the church to move forward in it’s mission. We all understand that we are part of the Great Commission; going and telling all the world about Jesus. And hopefully, each of you are doing your part in the going and telling in your school and home, with your family and friends. But Jesus called us to tell all the world. Now how can you and I in San Antonio obey that call? If you can’t physically go, you can SEND. Giving is one of the ways we send. By giving, we empower the church to do the work. By giving to missionaries, they can tell the world. And our church, ct|church, supports 33 international missionaries, as well as about 15 home (or United States) missionaries or missionary organizations. See, you may not be able to go to Africa or Cambodia or Thailand to tell someone that Jesus died for them, but your dollar can go to fund the missionary who will.
The truth is giving is how church works. Realistically, it’s a reflection of how God works. He loved us so much that He ‘GAVE’ His one and only son to us. When you love, you give. You and I are called to love and called to give.
You know in your heart if you are being faithful to give to God, and to others. You know what you are supposed to do. Lately God has been pressing on my heart, asking me, is there anything I have that I’m not willing to give? God has given me everything that I have. There should be nothing that you are unwilling to part with for His glory. Because the truth is, it’s just stuff. It’s just money. You can’t take it with you. We talked about death last week. None of this temporal stuff goes with you to the next phase. We need to remember that as we deal with money and things. We worship God, not money or things. Let’s remember that our relationship with God and others are the only things worth hanging on to in this life. Loosen your grip on the other things and let God bless you for your trust and faithfulness in him. Start giving generously, start tithing. Turn the key to open that floodgate in your life, and then stand back and enjoy the outpouring.
(lay the keys on the altar, have students come up and take a key and pray as a symbol of being willing to give whatever they have to God)
