Urgent Message

ACTS 20:22-28

22 “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there.23 I do know that it won’t be any picnic, for the Holy Spirit has let me know repeatedly and clearly that there are hard times and imprisonment ahead.24 But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.25 “And so this is good-bye. You’re not going to see me again, nor I you, you whom I have gone among for so long proclaiming the news of God’s inaugurated kingdom.26 I’ve done my best for you, given you my all,27 held back nothing of God’s will for you.28 “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God’s people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.

Now if you accepted the challenge from my previous blog, then you should have answered the "who".... "who is it that God wants me to share His good news with?"  But this post is about the "WHY"?  Why should you share the gospel and invite your friends to church?

1.  Because its URGENT.

Check out verses 22 again.  22 “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem." Paul had a sense of urgency, he had an urgent message that needed to be shared.  Let me give you an stupid example from my life.  My wife, Brittney, will ask me, "Have you paid the water bill yet?  Why don't you go ahead and pay it now?"  And I don't get the sense of urgency and continue playing video games and tell her I'll pay it when I'm finished playing.  But guess what happens?  I forget and in the mail we get a second bill with two months payment plus a late fee.  What happens when you don't get this sense of urgency is you put things off.   We should never put off telling someone about Jesus and the eternal life that He offers.

2.  Because its OUR JOB.

Read verse 24 again: “But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.”

Its our job.  It is what Jesus commanded us in the Great Commission, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." (Matt. 28:19).   I remember growing up with my sisters and always pushing off responsibilities on them.  My mom would ask me to take out the trash so what did I do.... find one of my sisters and say "hey, did mom talk to you yet?  She told me to find you and have you take out the trash."  (yeah... pretty bad).  I'm reminded of Moses in Exodus 3 where he is called by God to deliver His message but due to Moses' insecurities, he pushes them off onto his brother Aaron at first.  God created you therefore He knows what you are capable of... God isn't going to call you to do something and if He didn't know you were capable.  So stop relying on other people to tell your friends about Jesus.  Why?  Because its your job.

3.  Because GOD HIMSELF thought they were worth DYING for.

This is pulled straight out of verse 28:  "God Himself thought they were worth dying for."  Why does God want us to tell other about this "this incredibly extravagant generosity of God".... BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF THOUGHT THEY WERE WORTH DYING FOR!  This isn't some profound scripture that needs explanation... its that simple.  We are to tell everyone since Jesus suffered and died for the sins of everyone.

Remember that friendship challenge from the beginning of the school year?  You were to be praying for five of your friends that you knew didn't weren't christians and tell them about God.  Now let's be honest... how well have you done with this challenge?  How many of them have you actually told about God and shared your testimony with?  How many have you invited to church?

CHALLENGE:  STOP PUTTING IT OFF.  Tell them today.  Invite them to church this week.  You have an urgent message and its your job to share it.. why?  BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF THOUGHT THEY WERE WORTH DYING FOR.

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Confidence Pt. 1

EXODUS 4:10-16

10 But Moses pleaded with the Lord , "O Lord, I'm not very good with words. I never have been, and I'm not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled."11 Then the Lord asked Moses, "Who makes a person's mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord ?12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say."13 But Moses again pleaded, "Lord, please! Send anyone else."14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. "All right," he said. "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you.15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.

Our self-esteem and self-confidence are not derived from what come from within ourselves, but from God.

Take a look at Moses in this passage.  God speaks to Moses to free His people, the Israelites, from Pharaoh's control.  But Moses isn't so eager to take on the task.  The first thing out of Moses' mouth was "I'm not very good with words... I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled."  He immediately began looking at his own imperfections and insecurities.  But I love how God responds to Moses' plea, "Who makes a person's mouth?  Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see?"   God is pointing out the fact that He created Moses' mouth and despite Moses' claims, He knows what Moses is capable of.

Now let's apply this to our lives.  I remember being a teenager and remember my fears and insecurities.  I remember truly wanting to tell my friends about Jesus but I wasn't sure how to even start the conversation.  And then I was afraid that once I even got the conversation going that I'd be asked a question that I didn't know the answer to, and would completely ruin this person forever.  But we can have confidence in God.  We may not have all the answers or even some of them, but we have THE ANSWER and that's in JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR!  God understands our abilities better than we do since He's the very One that created us.

Our self-esteem and self-confidence are not derived from what comes from within ourselves, but from God!  Even Paul shook with fear when he spoke for God, but he didn't let it stop him.  All of us can take pride in what we do when Christ is living in us (Galations 2:20) and working through us (Galations 5:22-24).  Healthy self-esteem, then, doesn't come from thinking highly of ourselves - it comes from thinking rightly of God.

Challenge:  During your quiet time with God, ask Him to put in your heart someone that He wants you to share Christ with or simply invite to church.  This is a simple challenge.  I'm not asking you to go out a beat people upside the head with a Bible, just simply pray and ask God to show you the person.

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Winter Conference - Day 3 cont.

All I can say is Clayton King brought the heat tonight!!!  Here are my notes from his message:

"PROFIT OR LOSS"

Philippians 3:1-11

1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If others think they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;

6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

In verse 1, Paul lays the foundation. In verse 2 Paul gives a warning, a "watch out".  But in verse 3 Paul begins calling out these "dogs" or "pretenders" who were perverting the gospel.  Here his lists 7 of his achievements:

1. Circumcised by the 8th day.


2. Of the People of Israel


3. Tribe of Benjamin


4. Hebrew of Hebrews


5. a Pharisee


6. Persecuting the Church


7. Legalistic Righteousness - Faultless

Everything changes at verse 7. Paul was full of himself till Christ.

1.  There is No Joy in Legalism (verse 2)

• If I had to keep the law to be saved... I'm doomed!


• My joy is in Jesus and Jesus is in me and you can't take it away.


• You can't earn it.  If you did, then it wouldn't be GRACE.

2.  There is No Good in the Flesh (verse 3)

• Your flesh will continue to deteriorate.

3.  There is No Future in Your Past (verse 7)

• Wake Up!!! If you are investing your life in anything other than Jesus Christ then you are going to be disappointed at its dead end.


• The future only goes forward.

4.  There is No Righteousness Apart from Christ (verses 8-9)

• Just because you didn't engage in sin (i.e. sex outside of marriage) doesn't mean you didn't think about it (i.e. lust).


• Righteousness equals Perfect;  Perfect Thoughts and Perfect Motives.


• Paul says, "All I did before Christ is a pile of dung... but now I have Jesus.

All hope lies in Jesus Christ our Savior.  Do you know him?  Is Jesus Lord of your life?

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Winter Conference - Day 3 Pt.1

Here are notes from this morning's message given by fellow friend and youth pastor extraordinaire Jeremy Berger.

"AUTHORITY"

1 Samuel 24:1-7

1 After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.”

2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.
3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.

4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord ’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.”

7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

1 Peter 2:18-20

18 Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.19 For it is commendable if you bear up under the pain of unjust suffering because you are conscious of God.20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

We are in a society that has a lack of respect for authority.

• Example, just make a comparison of television shows over the last 20+ years.  When we watch the 60's television shows like "The Donna Reed Show", "Leave it to Beaver", or "Ozzie and Harriet"... we laugh at how the children talk and act towards their parents.  It almost seems surreal to see so many "yes, sir" and "no, ma'am" but that's exactly how kids spoke to their parents.  Now watch a "family" show today.... (if you can even find one).   The "yes, sir" or "no ma'am" is replace with lots of rolling of the eyes, talking back or stomping off.

Romans 13:1

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

GOD HIMSELF CREATED AND ESTABLISHED AUTHORITY AND THE CONCEPT OF AUTHORITY.

1. Authority is meant to PROVIDE.

• Why do parents "have to" provide but  children don't "have to" respect and honor their authority?


• Children today live with a sense of entitlement.

2. Authority is meant for SAFETY AND PROTECTION

• If my baby girl Presley wanted to play with a knife should I let her?  After all, I use knives all the time and never get hurt and she really wants to play with the knife.  Now, I can admit that there is a small chance that she could have the knife and nothing happen... not hurt.  But I love her SO MUCH that I am not willing to take that chance of her pain.


• Teenagers get mad because they want to go to that "overnight party that everyone is going to" but parents won't let them.  Why?  Because your parents hate you?... NOT EVEN CLOSE.  BECAUSE THEY LOVE YOU SO MUCH THAT THEY AREN'T WILLING TO TAKE THE CHANCE OF YOU BEING HURT OR CAUSING YOU PAIN.

3. Absence of Authority leads to CHAOS

How Should We Respond to Authority?

1. Honor: Exodus 20:12  Romans 13:7  1 Timothy 6:1


2. Submit: Romans 13:1   1 Peter 2:13   Titus 2:9-10


3. Listen: Proverbs 1:8   Proverbs 4:1


4. Obey: Ephesians 6:1   Colossians 3:20   Ephesians 6:5-7   Proverbs 7:1

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Winter Conference - Day 2

We had an unbelievable experience on day 2 of our Winter Conference.  We had 4 of our youth commit there lives to Christ today!!!  Praise God!!!

Here are some of my notes from day 2's message:

'HIDING FROM GOD" - by Matt Orth

Genesis 3:1-12; Psalm 139

You cannot hide from God... but when we do try to hide we become separated from Him and each other.

• Ever played hide and seek with a child and they are terrible "hiders"?  Imagine playing hide and seek with God?


• But that's what Adam and Eve did when they sinned, and its exactly what we try to do.  But "we are bare before His eyes".


• Psalm 32:1-4


• Remember cleaning your bedroom for your mom when you were a small child?  ... stuffing things under the bed or in the closet just to get it off the floor and hidden?


• What are you coving up in your life?

You can't hide from God... and its a good thing.

• Our sins are not hidden but neither are our struggles... God sees them all and its a good thing.


• Hebrews 4:13-16

You can't hide from God... but you CAN HIDE IN HIM

• Colossians 3:1-4


• 2 Corinthians 5:15


• When God looks at a Christian He only sees the righteousness of Christ... so stop hiding behind the fig leaf.

God is always going to call you away from sin and towards love.

• "You are the light of the world.  A city on the hill cannot be hidden."  Matthew 15:4


• Psalm 143:8-10

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Winter Conference- Day 1

This is my notes from Day 1 evening worship of the Crossroads Winter Conference 2010 in Gatlinburg TN. Clayton King was amazing as usual as his message was incredible.  We were able to take 88 of our Youth this year from 7 Hills Church and our kids are excited for what God has in store for this weekend.

Here are some of my notes: "THE HARDEST COMMANDMENT" by Clayton King

Matthew 18:1-6 TNIV

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  2 He called a little child, whom he placed among them.3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.4 Therefore, whoever takes a humble place—becoming like this child—is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were drowned in the depths of the sea.

The key verse in the scripture we focused on was v. 3 "unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven."  This is the Hardest Commandment.

Being "saved" is as easy as saying thank you to Jesus... THE HARD PART IS CHANGE!

1. CHANGE BEGINS WITH HUMILITY (VERSE 4)

• Wonderful thing about children is they don't pretend ... they say what's on their mind... they say what they mean


• Am I practicing humility?

2. CHANGE TAKES TIME

• ROMANS 12:1-3


• You don't see results after one day that the gym.  Change takes time.

3. TRANSFORMATION IS A WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

• EPHESIANS 1:15-18


• You will never change by trying HARDER but by SURRENDERING more.

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Does Your Talk Match Your Walk

James 2:19-24 - 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

24 You see that people are justified by what they do and not by faith alone.

Here’s the question I want you to ask yourself tonight:  “DOES YOUR TALK MATCH YOUR WALK?”

Look at that scripture again... “So you believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that” -  You see James knows that we need something more than just acknowledging we believe in God... OUR TALK MUST MATCH OUR WALK!



Faith and Work are should not be confused for one another, but  neither can they be separated from each other.   Abraham’s faith produced his actions, and his actions completed his faith, meaning they perfected it.

For James, faith alone is the shallow belief in an idea; no commitment or life change is involved.  A person receives salvation by faith, not by works of obedience, but a saved person does works of obedience because of that faith.

We are great at starting things.. just not great at finishing them.  Especially Guys right?  We have home projects left unfinished.  I'm definitely guilty of this.  It took me 9 months to install flooring in my bathroom.  I purchased all the material and let it sit for a couple months. Then took off all the trim in the bathroom and let it sit for a couple months.  Finally removed the toilet and..... let it sit for a couple months.  I think you get the point.  WE ARE TERRIBLE AT FINISHING THINGS.

And we are always looking for the easy way to do things.  We hate putting effort into anything.  The “Easy Button”?  The magic diet pill.  The AB machine that you stick on your stomach and it contracts your muscles while you sit on your couch and watch TV...  supposedly giving you a workout to result in 6 pack abs.  You name it we want the easy way to do it.

Let me make something clear right now:  THERE IS NOTHING EASY ABOUT WALKING FAITHFULLY WITH GOD.

Look at what it cost early followers of Christ:

• Peter was crucified upside down.


• James was beheaded by King Herod according to Acts 12:2.


• Matthew was martyred.


• Thomas was stabbed to death.


• James the Just(the brother of Jesus) was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple (over 100 feet).  When they discovered he survived the fall, his enemies beat him to death with a club!


• Matthias was stoned then beheaded.


• Andrew was crucified, yet he continued to preach the Gospel to his tormentors for 2 days until his death.


• Paul, after surviving a stoning and 3 imprisonments, was killed by Emperor Nero.


• John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John then exiled to the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.

It is not so important how the apostles died. What is important is the fact that they were all willing to die for their faith. If Jesus had not been resurrected, the disciples would have known it. People will not die for something they know to be a lie. The fact that all of the apostles were willing to die horrible deaths, refusing to renounce their faith in Christ, is tremendous evidence that they had truly witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

DOES YOUR TALK MATCH YOUR WALK?

FOUR CHALLENGES WE MUST OVERCOME:

1. CHALLENGE THE NATURAL FLOW OF LIFE TOWARD COMPLACENCY.

• Its easy to live life like “we’ve arrived”, but we haven’t.


• We know what its like the last week of school or work before vacation.  Mentally we are already on vacation.  Its hard to stay focused.  We begin to slack off.  But we CANNOT live our spiritual lives this way.  We can’t be on cruise control.  We have work to do here on earth.  Look again at Andrew:  “Crucified yet preached the gospel for 2 days till his death.”   If anyone had an excuse to be in vacation mode it was Andrew.  His end was definitely near.  But he knew he could just say he believed in Jesus Christ.


• His Talk matched his walk.

Matthew 25:13-27  Parable of the Talents

The master gave each servant gifts equally according to his ability.  Two of the servants went to work immediately with their gifts and doubled the master’s investment.  However the third servant buried it under the ground.  When the master returned he commended the two servants who doubled his investment.  But the third servant wasn’t to lucky:

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?

27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

James 2:19

19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Its easier to give God your final breath than it is to give Him your every breath.



2. RESIST THE CONTINUAL PRESSURE OF THE WORLD TO CONFORMITY.

Judges 16:16 “The Voice of Delilah”

16 She kept at it day after day, nagging and tormenting him. Finally, he was fed up—he couldn’t take another minute of it.

Romans 12:2

2 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.

Refusing to conform to this world’s values must go even deeper than the level of behavior and customs;  it must go to the transforming of the way we think.  Transformation inside out.



We must be informed before we are transformed and thats through God’s Word.

Luke 23 “The Two Criminals”

One criminal chose the crowd, the other chose the cross.







3. OPPOSE THE POWERFUL ATTRACTION OF FLESH TO COMPROMISE.

The greatest temptations we face are not to some great magnificent sin, BUT some insignificant compromise... a little giving in until we realize that our ability to overcome, resist, say “no” has been taken from us as subtly as Samson’s hair was cut.  “HE KNEW NOT HIS STRENGTH WAS GONE.”

And so we are to OPPOSE THE ATTRACTION TO COMPROMISE.

A moment of pleasure is not worth a lifetime of pain.

Psalm 1:1-2

1 Blessed are those
who do not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but who delight in the law of the Lord
and meditate on his law day and night.

4. COMBAT THE INSIDIOUS ABILITY OF SIN TO CONQUER.

We are to combat sin as if its a war.  You must hate sin because you’ll never combat something you don’t hate.



Psalm 119:104 “Hate every wrong path”.

YOU’VE GOT TO LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT GOD TO HATE  EVERYTHING ABOUT SIN.

We’ve got to have the “GIRL BFF” mentality.  If you tick off one girl then you've just ticked off the whole clan.  Why?  Because the "GIRL BFF" mentality says this... "You may not have done anything wrong to me, but you have gone against my friend and I'm not going to stand by it!" Hate everything about sin because you love everything about God.

We can’t get mad at God when we are tempted by sin.

James 1:13-15

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each of you is tempted when you are dragged away by your own evil desire and enticed.

15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Its your desire that caused you to sin.  You may be saying, "But I never planned on getting addicted to drugs.  I never planned on having an affair.  I never planned on losing my marriage.  I never planned on ruining my life."  You may not have planned to ruin it, but you never had a plan not to ruin it.

HOW CAN I COMBAT SIN?

Answer:  Psalm 119:9-11



9 How can those who are young keep their way pure?
By living according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart;
do not let me stray from your commands.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.



Live according to God’s Word.



Fight the Good Fight against sin.

As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7-8

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

If you ever decide to actually finish something for a change, FINISH THE RACE.  What good is it to “almost make it”.  Imagine bragging to your friends:  "I almost caught a fish THIS BIG..."  (Did you catch it... NO!)  "I almost dunked a basketball back in high school..." (Did you dunk it... NO!)   You see, almost is just as good as not doing it at all because the results are the same.

Story of Derek Redmond and Video Link here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nifq3Ke2Q30

Quotes from the Derek's father:

“But whatever happens he had to finish and I was there to help him finish.  I intended to go over the line with him.  We started this together and I think we should finish it together.”

Paul compared life with that of a race.

Hebrews 12:1

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"

Finish the Race. You may be saying, "But I can't".  Maybe you can't on your own, but your Heavenly Father is ready to help you cross the finish line.  He started it together and He wants to finish it together.. WITH YOU.

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