Children of the Light #1: Living Without Darkness pt 1

1 Thessalonians 5:5-6

Ephesians 4:17-19

Stop participating with evil.

Ephesians 4:20-24

Throw off the old nature, put on the new.

Ephesians 4:25-32

Practical Advice:

1. Stop telling lies.
2. Don’t let anger control you.
3. Quit stealing. Work hard, give it away.
4. Encourage, don’t tear down.
5. Make the Holy Spirit proud.

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Beginner’s Fast:

Monday - fast one meal.
Wednesday - fast two meals.
Friday - fast until dark
(If you mess any of these up, that’s okay, read the article above, and try again!)

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Deep Dive with Missionary David Romo

Exodus 3:16-17
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob —appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 

Numbers 13:1-2
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

Numbers 13:27-28
27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 

Numbers 13:30
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 

CALEB WAS DIFFERENT! 

 1. YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT SPIRIT 

Numbers 13:31-33
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” 

Numbers 14:6-8
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 

2. YOU ARE GOOD SOIL!!!

Numbers 14:9
9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” 

 3. THE DEVIL’S TIME IS UP!  

Joshua 14:10-13
10 “Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

 Exodus 3:7-8
7 The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey 

 Colossians 2:13-15
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 

 Romans 8:17
17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

As For Me And My House #6: We Will Take Up Our Crosses

Matthew 16:13-26

The extra fences:

• Make us feel constricted & not free, and so we feel beat up by God, not blessed

• Make spiritual abuse much more possible

• Pride rules–self-righteousness (if I can make myself righteous, than I’m better than you)

• Makes us question God’s ACTUAL rules

• Hide the HEART of the Father…so we lose the ability to make our own judgment calls. It's’ hard to “grow up” like that…I try to always tell my kids WHY I make a certain rule, or decision…once in a while it’s necessary to say “because I told you so”...but even still, I always try to swing back around, and let them know the WHY’s.  Because if you know WHY you are more likely to make a better judgment call for your own safety, when it comes time to do that. Aaron & I want them to know our heart and our wisdom behind the calls that we have to make.

Our relationship with Jesus must be founded on the voice of Jesus ALONE.
When we get too addicted to any ONE piece of the character of God, we miss the other pieces.  
Religion can be just as powerful of a false god, as Baal or Ashtoreth.  
If Satan can’t get you off of it, he may try to get you TOO into it!  Too prideful in it.
SO into your hoops and rituals and religions that you miss Jesus completely. 

Jesus used the word ‘dangerous’ here. Peter thought he was being helpful, and encouraging, and supportive…but Jesus called it dangerous.  

This is why we need UNCOMMON sense, not common sense.  We need the wisdom of the Holy Spirit of the God of the universe who made all things and knows all things.  How could we possibly understand his heavenly plans and how we fit into all of them?

1 Corinthians 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Romans 5:3-5 
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

As For Me And My House #5: We Will Trust The Lord

Joshua 2:1-11

Joshua 6:1-7

Jericho:

• looked to their walls for safety

• chose the “wait them out” tactic

• did not repent

Israel:

• represented God well

• persevered through His battle strategy

• surrendered totally to His will

• TRUSTED in the Lord

Rahab:

• not righteous

• saved by faith

The truly baffling part of this story is not that Jericho experienced such extensive judgment and destruction but that Rahab and her family received such extensive mercy and grace.

As For Me And My House #4: We Will Consult The Lord

"As For Me And My House" is a FVChurch Summer 2024 series about how to lead our households toward Jesus in a world full of idolatry. It’s my prayer that we can take up the mantle of leadership in our households, and accept that we are called to live SET APART and obedient (to Jesus) lifestyles, so that our children and our children’s children can enjoy the blessings and freedom of Jesus!

Joshua 9:1-21

vs. 14 “So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord.”

We have to consult the Lord, and we have to teach our children how to consult the Lord!!
Because the deception of this world is wildly effective.

This is a major tactic that the enemy uses here in the western world, he wants you to believe that you have to SEE it, to believe it.  That you need your eyes to SEE the truth, personally. You have to see the SCIENCE, and see the data, etc, but the problem is that the other side has data and science too.  Everyone can back up their opinion to a certain degree.  Some of us better than others, but we all think we’re on the better side. 

Our culture is so FULL of lies right now, and the lies are SO LOUD. And so convincing.  

Disney tells you to follow your heart, the BIBLE tells you your heart is endlessly wicked, who can trust it?!  
Don’t follow your heart, follow His WORD.

Luke 9:24, “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

You can’t know what God WOULD say, if you don’t know what He HAS said. 

The Israelites assumed too much.  It showed their hearts.  Too quick to say yes. 

“The outcry to the Lord against its people is so great that he has sent us to destroy it.” (Gen 19 - Sodom & Gomorrah)

We can trust Him.

We have to learn to listen! Even to the whispers.  We have to learn to QUIET all the other things, and just listen. 

Dallas Willard said, the biggest advice he has for anyone wanting to grow spiritually…is to RUTHLESSLY eliminate hurry from your life.
When we’re in a hurry, we miss things, and we miss people.  The story of the Good Samaritan is an example of this.  He STOPPED.  He put value on a man in a ditch because he stopped for long enough to see him, help him, take care of him.  We have to learn to listen.

One other thing that I think played into their participation with deception here.
I don’t think the Israelites were yet used to being a power. 
They weren’t used to wielding and holding power yet. 

We have a new identity.

Matthew 5:33-37 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ 34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Luke 14:28…who sets out intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it

James 1:5,”If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

As For Me And My House #3: We Will Obey

Joshua 5:2-12

The book of Joshua exists in a time AFTER they wandered in the desert for 40 years.  AFTER they were freed from slavery in Egypt.  They had now entered the promised land, there were THERE, they just hadn’t settled in yet.  

They weren’t circumcised on the way to the promised land, because they were almost always in motion.  There wasn’t time to heal.  God is so merciful…even in the things He asks of us like this…He’s so merciful!  (They also were probably still using Egyptian technology and tools, which is why he also instructed them to make the correct tools, the the smoother, sharper flint knife was an older technology, but a better suited blade for surgery)

We’re called to a higher level of obedience in the promised land.

1 Timothy 3:6 A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall.

Sanctification is a process. We need to allow other people to move through the process without judgment. I didn’t say without correction!! But without judgment. It’s okay to mess up! You DID mess up though. You DO need to repent. We confront each other using the very specific outline laid out in Matthew 18 (see below). When a believer sins against me, I confront it. I don’t go telling everyone else…I talk to THEM. It helps me process forgiveness, but it also holds THEM accountable and helps them move through the sanctification process.

They were reestablishing covenant ceremonies.  To be freed from slavery is one thing. To get to the land of milk and honey is one thing. But to LIVE IN the land of milk and honey is another thing.

Obedience rolls away shame.

God chose Israel to be a model nation and an example to the world, teaching other peoples important lessons. God wanted Israel to be a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6), and to serve as a "covenant for the peoples". Israel was to be a "light to the nations," showing the one true God to those who lived in darkness and drawing them to worship God. God also gave Israel the words of God, and entrusted them to deliver good news to the world for the salvation of all. 

Rolling back shame is something else God does, where he reveals to you just HOW MUCH He loves you, and how much He will provide for you, and even when you are sinful, He loves you, and His mercies are new every morning…and you realize, HIS LOVE is what makes you want to leave the slavery behind.  It’s His LOVE that makes you WANT to obedient.  It’s His LOVE that wipes away shame.

They were entering their “promised land era”. They were eating grains they didn’t sow, and harvesting crops they didn’t plant.  God had given it to them…but also, it wasn’t going to just show up tomorrow.  They wouldn’t be spoon fed anymore in the promised land.  They had been given the land, but now they had to go out and harvest it.  They’d have to plant it next year, and the year after that. 

God gave us the land, now we have to plant the crops.

God gives trees.

We’re called to be productive in the promised land.

So there’s 3 phases we see here…

1. Slavery

2. Wilderness

3. Promised Land

In slavery, we do what our selfish nature tells us too, almost all of the time. We do what we can get away with.  We’re in bondage to our desires.

Once freed, we may enter into a wilderness season for a while.  It’s confusing in the wilderness, because you are so used to letting your selfish nature win and be in charge all of the time.  So you have to figure out how to discipline yourself. 

But then once we’ve learned that…God ushers us into a promised land season.  A place where he’s called us to a new level of obedience, because he not only wants to save US, but save others THROUGH us.

Testimonies from Tanzania

I hope you all leave today feeling inspired!  Inspired to do two things specifically:

1. Go on a missions trip someday, or make it your mission to send others!  GET. READY. NOW.  And I don’t mean pack your bags…I mean get your heart ready now.  Get your spiritual life ready! But I also know that it’s not everyone’s calling (they are extremely physically taxing!), but the rest of us should feel a responsibility to send others as well.

2. See your world as a missions field. Minister to the hurting. Pray for the sick. Bring people into the church–there is hope and healing here!  This place in itself is a house of healing!  So many of you have experienced it…now it’s your turn to share it. It means ordering your life to make church on Sunday a priority.  Serving at church a priority. Inviting people along with you. 

As For Me And My House #2: We Will Tell The Truth

Joshua 7

“so I knew in that moment that his integrity was only worth $5.”
“those who are faithful with a LITTLE, can also be trusted with MUCH.”

“The wicked flee, though no one pursues them, but the Godly are as bold as lions!”

God is the God of nations, AND the God of individuals.

You began to learn that when ONE member of your team is weak, or lazy, or undisciplined, the WHOLE team is weak, lazy, and undisciplined.  We move as a team, we win as a team. 

Matthew 16:18 “…upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (NLT)
Romans. 8:31 “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” (NLT)

We take the gifts that God gives us, and we horde them to ourselves.  

When you take things you did not earn…or weren’t given…how are you gonna use them?

As long as you are still hiding things, you are not repentant yet.
When you are finally ready to CONFESS. To volunteer information about your sin that no one asked for…ALL of it, not hiding anything away…THAT’S a heart God can work with.
The truth will set you free. (John 8) But when you hide it until you are found out, that’s a heart that God cannot work with. A stubborn, deceitful, prideful heart.

BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT. Numbers 32 says

Sin has a way of crying out to the Lord.  (Cain & Abel…“Your brother’s blood cried out to me from the ground.”) It has a way of becoming UNhidden.  Don’t be arrogant enough to believe yours will stay a secret.  Confess it now, be rid of it, live in freedom!

With the truth, comes freedom. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:32

With the truth, comes victory. Because God can work with an honest heart!

With the truth, comes provision. When you take care of His house (and His reputation), He will take care of yours.

1 John 2:16 says, “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.”

As For Me And My House #1: We Will Serve The Lord

1. We're set apart
2. We're called to lead.

Joshua 24:1-24

We HAVE to remember, and teach our children...

Make up your mind.

Deep Dive: Growing Through My Storm (with Eran Holt)

Mark 3:13-15 (NIV)
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send out to preach
15 and to have authority to drive out demons.

Mark 4:35-40 (NIV)
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”
36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

1. Grow in Faith

Mark 3:13-15
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send out to preach
15 and to have authority to drive out demons.

Mark 4:35 - That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”

2. Grow in Obedience

Mark 4:36-38 - Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

3. Grow in Authority

Mark 4:37-41 - A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Gospel Boot Camp #7: Rebuilding Our Spiritual Walls

Rebuilding Our Spiritual Walls by Fulfilling the Great Commission - In the power of the Holy Spirit! (Psalm 11:3) - if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Nehemiah 2:17-18, Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Nehemiah prays to God after being broken in his spirit over the condition of Jerusalem, takes a major risk by asking the King to rebuild, and then returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls after the Babylonian exile.

Spiritual Parallel: Just as Nehemiah led the rebuilding of physical walls, we are called to rebuild the spiritual walls of our communities by fulfilling the Great Commission.

Purpose: To draw connections between Nehemiah's mission and our mission as believers (share the beginning story of Bethany and the same process that God brought her through to start Collision). 

I. Recognizing the Need for Restoration

Nehemiah’s Burden (Nehemiah 2:17):

  - Nehemiah saw the broken walls and rallied the people: “You see the trouble we are in… Come, let us rebuild.”

  - Spiritual Implication: Recognize the brokenness in our lives, churches, and communities - this brokenness especially impacting the next generation.

Application:

  - Acknowledge lostness in our community by intentionally praying and receiving God’s heart for lost souls, the spiritual condition of our community, and the brokenness that has resulted.

  - Understand that restoration begins with seeing the need. 

II. Uniting in the Mission (Nehemiah 2:18)(John 17). 

Collaborative Effort:

  - Nehemiah encouraged the people to work together: “Let us start rebuilding.” They replied, “Let us start rebuilding,” so they began this good work.

  - Connection to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20): Jesus commands us to “go and make disciples of all nations,” a collective mission. 

• Students united in the same great commission effort, the adults doing the same thing, modelling for them, encouraging them, and holding them accountable for their mission field. 

Application:

  - Embrace the call to work together as the body of Christ and take ownership of this community. 

  - Each believer has a role in the mission of evangelism and discipleship in our own homes with our children first and then expanding out to be spiritual mothers and fathers - especially to the younger generation. 

III. Being Ambassadors for Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5:14-21)

Christ’s Love Compels Us:

  - Paul’s message: “For Christ’s love compels us… We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors.”

  - Our Role: As ambassadors, we represent Christ in the world, calling out (like John the Baptist) to our friends, neighbor’s, family, and those who God puts around us to be reconciled through the blood of Jesus.

Application:

  - Live out our faith with the urgency and dedication of an ambassador. Being willing to submit to each other to accomplish the mission! 

  - Commit to share the message of reconciliation (the gospel), embodying Christ’s love and truth in our daily lives. Our Collision challenge of sharing the gospel with 12 and making three disciples. 

Call to Action:

  - Recognize lostness, the spiritual state of our community, and the areas of brokenness among the next gen. 

  - Unite as a community in the mission of restoration through evangelism & discipleship, this is the purpose of the Church! 

  - Live as ambassadors for Christ, fulfilling the Great Commission with passion, purpose, and intentionality. Commit to prayer, care, & share and hold each other accountable to do it. 

Gospel Boot Camp #6: A Good Solider

2 Timothy 2:1-13

Grace means undeserved favor. Just as we are saved by grace [underserved favor], so we must live by grace [undeserved favor]. This means trusting completely in JESUS and his power, not trying to live in our own strength alone.

Can you imagine our soldiers, our US soldiers throughout the world operating on their own strength??  They’d be crushed. There’s probably not enough of them in any given country around the world right now, to overtake an enemy all by themselves.  But they aren't operating by themselves are they??

They have BACK UP.

1. Wear the uniform (the uniform is grace)

2. Endure the training (the training is suffering)

Remember a few weeks ago, when I talked about how we’re always trying to do the LEAST. 

What’s the least amount I can get away with, and still follow Jesus?
What’s the least amount I can give to God, and still be obedient? Do I tithe on my net or on my gross??
What’s the least amount I can like someone, and still love them?
What’s the least amount I can go to church and still show God I am on his team?

What’s the LEAST…

That’s a civilian worry.  

Soldiers don’t get the luxury of asking that question. 

Civilians worry about all kinds of things that don’t matter to a soldier.

I think sometimes we pray away the things that are meant to prepare us.  We COMPLAIN bitterly about things that God is USING to prepare us.

3. Follow our commander (our commander is JESUS!)

The world doesn’t mind a church who is doing nothing.  Taking no ground.  Not fasting, and NOT praying, not preaching the Gospel.

Good soldiers know their mission.  PRAYING and PREACHING.

They wear the uniform, representing their undeserved favor. 
They endure their training, suffering with forgiveness like Jesus.
And they obey their commander’s voice, tuning it with ferocity to the voice of Jesus.

Gospel Boot Camp #5: Disciple Making Groups

Matthew 28:16-20

16 Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The disciples:

1. They said yes. (to following Jesus)

2. They followed. (Jesus in his ministry)

3. They made more disciples. (as they continued to follow Jesus)

After you’ve presented the 3 Circles, 

Your next question is…

• What’s stopping you from leaving brokenness and following Jesus? Are you open to making a decision to follow Jesus today? 

• If yes, they are a GREEN-Reply: Great! Can we pray together? This prayer isn’t what changes you, this is you just making a decision to follow Jesus. 

• Pray the prayer of salvation with them! 

• Ask if you can set up a time to start meeting and read scripture together to learn what it means to follow Jesus. Ask if they have any other friends who might want to join them. Be sure to get their contact info if you don’t already have it. Also, be sure to invite them to go with you to church and/or youth group. 

• If no, move to the next question.

• Are you at least open to learning more about Jesus before making a decision to follow Him? 

• If yes, they are a YELLOW-Ask the following questions: Can we set up a time to start meeting where you will have the opportunity to ask questions, read scripture together and learn more about who Jesus is? Do you have any other friends who might want to join us? Be sure to get their contact info if you don’t already have it. Also, be sure to invite them to church and/or youth group with you. 

These are the ones I want to focus on today.  Greens & yellows

Message Candace if you want to be on a DMG team, but were not in service in person!
717-634-7910

Gospel Boot Camp #4: The 3 Circles

TANZANIA UPDATE - $29,000 still needed ($15,000 to come from the team)
Matthew 17:24-27

Military Boot Camp Includes:
Marching (tactical)
Military knowledge (jargon, acronyms, general orders, rank structure)
Discipline (security & crowd dispersion discipline)
Physical Fitness
Weapons
Survival Skills
Teamwork
Healthy eating
Other skills (rappel, pass a hand grenade, small-team land navigation)

Acts 1:6-11

Be my witnesses.

3 Circles:

STEP 1: Ask the following questions: Has anyone ever shared the 3 circles? Can I share it with you? If they say yes, skip to STEP 3.
STEP 2: Watch the 3 circles video OR share the picture with them and read the script below.

• The first circle represents our broken world: We all live in a broken world. What are some things you see in the world that are broken? 

• The 2nd circle is God’s original design. A world full of love, joy and peace and unity with one another and in relationship with Him.

• Starting with the first person, we decide we don’t want to do things God's ways, this is called sin. Sin can be anything from lying to murder. Sin separates us from God and throws us into brokenness. 

• Since we were created to be in relationship with God, when we are in brokenness, there is a void in our life. We try to fill the void with things like fame, money, and relationships. Or, we try to drown out those bad feelings and struggles with things like drugs, alcohol, food, television, pornography, video games, etc. to try and make us feel good. These things won’t fix the problem and can lead to addiction. If we die in this state of brokenness, that is eternal separation from God, which is eternity in hell.  

• BUT, God loved us so much that He didn’t want to leave us in this place, so He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for us to pay the penalty for our sins and make a way for us to have a relationship with God again. 

• If we turn from our way of doing things, ask for forgiveness, and make Jesus the Lord of our life then He fills us with His Holy Spirit. We are then restored back into a relationship with God again and He starts to renew us from the inside out. We get to experience His love, joy, and peace. 

STEP 3: Ask the following question & respond appropriately based on their answer: What circle do you see yourself in? 

If in brokenness, ask these questions: What’s stopping you from leaving brokenness and following Jesus? Are you open to making a decision to follow Jesus today?

Gospel Boot Camp #3: What's the Difference?

So far in this series we’ve learned:
- Being Born again isn't optional to see the kingdom of God
- You have a story to tell

• But the thing about having a story to tell is, just because you have a story worth telling, doesn’t mean you’re actually gonna tell it. Right?

• Every believer has a story to tell. If you don’t think you do take some time and examine your life. What has God done in your life? How have you changed since coming to know Jesus?

• We shouldn’t be the same as we were. So what's changed? And that's your story.

• And if you're still having a hard time finding a story we have the Gospel! That's our number one story anyways. Isaiah 55:11 says that God’s word always produces fruit. It will accomplish all God wants it to, and it will prosper everywhere he sends it.

• That's not a promise for our testimony, God will obviously use our testimony but this promise it is a promise for the gospel. For the word. 

• So what’s the difference?

• What’s the difference between the type of person who leads people to Jesus by the tens… by the hundreds… maybe by the thousands or tens of thousands even. The type of person to walk up to a stranger in the street and lead them to Jesus. The person who is powerfully used by God, that is clearly living out God’s will for their life proclaiming the gospel…

• And for many of us, ourselves?

• We look up to these people, see them as our spiritual leaders. We think “I could never be like them. I can never do what they do.” Or maybe we don't necessarily think we can’t do what they do, we just have no idea how we get to that point from where we’re at.

• So what’s the difference between those who are powerfully used by God and those of us that wish we were? There are 2 differences.

Continually Renewing the Soul

• The first difference were going to learn about comes from Romans 12:2 (NIV)

  • 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.

• Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This is what we're going to break down.

• Because the first difference is this: People who are consistently being used powerfully by God, who are living out God’s will and proclaiming the Gospel are continually renewing their souls.

• People who are consistently being used powerfully by God, who are living out God’s will and proclaiming the Gospel are continually renewing their souls.

Dying to Self Daily

• Now the second difference comes from Luke 9:23-25 (NLT)

• 23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

• This is Jesus speaking here and he tells those seeking to follow him,  “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

• When Jesus spoke this he was speaking to a 1st century, Roman/Jewish crowd. They had no preconceived notions of mercy, beauty and sacrifice when speaking about a cross like many of us do today.

• There was nothing good or pleasing in the imagery of a cross, it was a device used for capital punishment.

• For us today, think of the electric chair, but instead of it killing you in a matter of seconds, think of an electric chair that has the ability to electrocute you throughout an entire day, all the while you’re still conscious until you finally succumb hours later.

• Horrific

• Now with that imagery in your mind imagine me telling you in order for you to follow me you must submit yourself to that chair every single day.

• how you feel about that is probably not far off from those listening to Jesus here.

• The torture, severe suffering and death conveyed with that statement. And to have to endure that every single day or else we can’t follow him?

• Say you’d want to follow Jesus anyways, how would you suffer and die every single day? You only got one life.

• Obviously if any of this is meant literally not all of it can be taken that way!

• So what are you saying Jesus? How are we to follow you? How can anyone follow you?

• Well let's look at more of the surrounding details of his statement:

• you must give up your own way

• If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

• What Jesus is talking about here is our corrupted bodies! Not necessarily in a literal sense, but our sinful flesh, that desires this, and desires that. That craves the things of the world.

• What Jesus is saying here is that in order to follow him, every single day we have to wake up, pick up our cross and crucify our fleshly desires.

• Wake up and decide, today will not be about myself, today will be about you Jesus. Whatever my plans are, whatever I want to do today… no, my day is yours. Lead me, let your will be done in and through me.

• Galatians 2:20 says: My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

• There is a phrase that christians often use to summarize this idea.

• Die to yourself. And Jesus tells us to do this daily.

• The first difference involves our soul. We must continually renew it.

• The second difference involves our body.

• People who are consistently being used powerfully by God, who are living out God’s will and proclaiming the Gospel are intentionally choosing to die to themselves every day.

Gospel Boot Camp #1: Unless You Are Born Again

Are we going to die in our religion?
Or are we going to die in our devotion?

John 3

Jesus wasn’t sent JUST to teach them. Some people call Jesus just a great teacher.  Muslims, for example, call Jesus a teacher…but he wasn’t JUST a teacher.  He was sent to transform the world, from Kingdom of Evil and selfishness, to a Kingdom of God.  His miraculous signs weren’t just evidence that God was with Him…it was evidence that HE IS GOD. He didn’t do miracles in someone else’s name.

So here’s the first takeaway from Gospel Boot Camp:
1. Being born again isn’t optional, to SEE the Kingdom of God.

2. God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more

Are there areas in your life when you are still doing the bare minimum?

Fear Not #6: The Finishers

1. Your story is still being written. (patience)

Fear attempts to answer things that ONLY God should be answering.  It takes patience to wait for his answer.  It takes patience to stop yourself from fear spiraling.  And see what happens. Watch and wait upon the Lord!

2. Stop wondering IF God has a plan for you (trust)

Bad things are not always bad things. I can usually see that afterward, why can’t I TRUST that it’s true, even when I can’t see it yet??

Reading the Bible will help you build trust with God.  It BUILDS faith.  The Word is like a light unto our path,

3. Let the past be the past (forgiveness)

FORGIVE YOURSELF.  Move forward knowing that you are trying your best, and sometimes you mess up, sure, but the important thing is that you get back up again and try again! 

Proverbs 24:16 The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

2 Timothy 4:1-22

Paul is NEXT LEVEL NOT AFRAID: 

1. He doesn’t need anyone else to declare him faithful….He declares himself FAITHFUL! 

2. He has an eternal perspective. Not only does he see things through the lens of the Word, but also through the lens of ETERNITY.

3. He not only understands that HIS story is still being written, but that other people’s stories are being written = NEXT LEVEL UNAFRAID 

4. He lets the past in the past, even when he’s still dealing with the consequences of THEIR actions = next level UNAFRAID

1. “May it not be counted against them”!!!!

2. Someone asked me last week, “Is it still forgiveness if you still want justice for them…” I think it’s still forgiveness if you want the GOSPEL for them.  That is, acknowledgement of how they’ve hurt people, but ALSO grace. Because if you don’t ultimately want grace for them too, you don’t understand the Gospel for YOU yet. 

5. He’s not only NOT doubting that God HAS a plan...he understands that His plan is GOOD.

1. “Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom.”

6. All of this---it’s not JUST in a sermon.  It’s not JUST in teaching.  This language and attitude is mixed in among everyday things like a coat, and the winter, and “bring my books along too please!” The place Paul has gotten to, near the end of his life...sitting in a prison cell, suffering because of the Gospel...FAITH  just comes out of his mouth! 

Fear Not #5: The Victorious

Judges 10:6-10

Although confession here is a start--finally God is talking back!! that‘s what confession does, because it’s honest--it’s not enough. Acknowledging your faults is ONLY the first step.  It’s not enough to invite the rescue of God.

Judges 10:16

They FINALLY destroyed their foreign gods.  And worshiped ONLY the Lord. God was THEN grieved by their misery. 

NOW--you see this picture of Israel, destroyed and despondent...ready to come back to God with honest hearts FINALLY, and ready to enjoy the favor of the God of Israel again. But when you ask the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for help...you better be ready to receive the help He provides…

ENTER JEPHTHAH.

Good ol’ Jeph was an outcast.  He was born from a prostitute, because Israel was crazy and doing whatever they wanted...and as he grew up, his half-brothers from legitimate mothers, threw him out on the street so that he wouldn’t try to steal their inheritance. The town, the people of Israel must have supported this, because no one took him in, and he ended up living in the land of Tob….

Judges 11:3

What you think disqualifies you--might just be the very thing God uses.

Judges 11:4-12

When God helps, he doesn’t always just snap his fingers and make the army disappear.  He doesn’t make the war go away here…HE JUST SENDS HELP.  And his help is so multi-faceted.  He’s not only helping the Israelites here, but he’s also bringing home and lost son of Israel!! He’s restoring a family!

This is where I think Jeph made his first mistake as King.

• See, remember, Jeph is an outcast.  He’s probably built that into his identity somehow...son of a prostitute, owed nothing, given nothing in life...everything he has he’s earned with his own two hands..and now, now he has a chance to be vindicated!  A chance to show them ALL.  

• A chance to make his brothers come running back and begging for mercy….asking HIM for handouts...all his dreams coming true!

• The thing is, God doesn’t anoint us for our own sakes…our gifts do not exist in a bubble.

WHY did he want the victory?

We have to examine our own motives.  Our hearts are endlessly wicked, the Bible says--we can make excuses for all kinds of behavior...but if we have selfish motives, at some point, it’s possible to want something TOO badly..

Judges 11:29-33

BUT EVEN WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD ON HIM….I think Jeph doubted.  I think he had failed so many times and for so long he saw himself as a failure, that he couldn’t fully bring himself to trust the Lord either…

He couldn’t see himself as a child of God, because he never had.  
He couldn’t see himself as fully VICTORIOUS, because he had built his identity in failure.

God never asks us to be strong IN OUR OWN STRENGTH.
Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”

HOW did he get his victory?

He didn’t say God give US the victory to help your people. His heart wasn’t for the people. It was on vindication for HIMSELF.

Fear Not #4: The Greatest (with Evangelist Tim Bennett)

John 3:16-17 (NLT)
““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

1. The Greatest Passion - For this is how God loved the world

2. The Greatest Present - He gave his one and only Son

3. The Greatest Promise - So that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

4. The Greatest Pardon - God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Fear Not #3: The Spirit of Fear (with Pastor Gerry)

Today is Freedom Valley’s 32nd  birthday! Happy Birthday you-all!

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

1. Fear enslaves the spirit

   • Fear is you letting Satan borrow your mind to generate scenarios of failure.

   • A characteristic of God’s people is- they are bold! The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions. Pro 28:1

   • Pro 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences

   • The fear tendency inside you can be built or dismantled. Avoid things that built the fear response. (scary movies, house of fear, things that make you feel fear)

   • Start addressing fear by confessing anything between you and God because: Lev 26:17 says: I will turn against you, and you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will run even when no one is chasing you!

   • Rev 2:5-6 (for the church in Ephesus)

   1. Look how far you have fallen! (think about what is happening to you)

   2. Turn back to me and (give it to God and get back to what you were) 

   3. do the works you did at first. (start forcing yourself to go back and do what you did before fear took over)

• Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.

• 1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

• I John 4:18 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

2. COURAGE was one of Paul’s concerns for himself:

• Eph 6:19 And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. 20 I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

3. Power & Love & Self Discipline

• Power: This IS the spirit God gave (not fear!)

• Love: Power should ONLY be used when your heart is full of love

1. I Jn 4:18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.

• Self Discipline