One Focus

For those of you who know me well, I wholeheartedly believe that the Word should not stop with you but spread with you.  In other words, when you learn something in the Word you are to share what you learned to someone else.

Passion 2011 taught me so many things that I could write pages and pages about.  In fact, my closest friends have heard about every message I listened to in detail.  Knowing that I do not have enough time to type it all out, the Lord has called me to write about a specific thing I learned at Passion.

The message Beth Moore gave was about the Renewing of Your Mind, using Romans 12:2 as her foundational scripture.
"We think real change is impossible, but that is a lie!" Our minds are something that we can control, but we must renew our minds daily in the Word or our minds will think evil thoughts.  Our evil thoughts will then produce evil actions.  What was so encouraging was that she noted "we are fully capable of living victoriously"
To make a long story short, and what I want you to get out of this, is that there is hope for us.  If we take our evil thoughts and replace them with thoughts of the gospel, things will begin to change.  It is a daily process that will take awhile.  But if we take captive every thought we have and turn it towards Christ, we can defeat our strongholds (addictions).
What is most important for us is that we remove the distractions that our generation faces.  We face more distractions than any other generation has had to go through.  We must daily focus on ONE thing: Christ!

"If you are going to do what He has called you to do, you must FOCUS ON HIM"
"The greatest minds may not ever impact as much as they could because they didn't renew their mind.  Focus always on the ONE THING: CHRIST.  Its never been harder to do one thing, but we must"

If you are a follower of Christ, He has called you to fulfill His will in your life.  Whatever He has called you to do, is more than you can do.  So focus on Christ, cling to Him, and see Him use you in ways that you never could do on your own.

Passion 2011

Charlie Hall Leading 22,000 in worship. Praise God!

Words can't even describe what Passion did for my soul.  I have been constantly telling my friends all that I learned and am going to apply in my daily life.  I feel like there was so much I learned that I can chew on for the next year.  But I know that I must put something specific on this blog.

What really impacted me was the talk Francis Chan gave on the second night of the conference.  He spoke about living your life in a manner worthy of the gospel (Phil 1:27).  He went into great detail on what that looks like in each of our lives.  He illustrated the point by bringing out a balancing scale, and weighing the word of God with your life... They honestly should be balanced, because it is what the Word is calling us to do.  But if we reflect on our lifestyle there are so many things that do not align with the Bible that we do constantly.

So he challenged us: Does your life make sense with the word of God?  If I read this scripture about Hell, and you say you believe it, then why aren't you more urgent with your friends?  Do you believe the word when it says you are to love your enemies? Then why are you treating others so bad?


This has changed the way I read the Word in a dramatic way.  Each time I read a passage, I look at it in the lens of "Am I making sense with what I am reading right now?"  It has given me more opportunities to repent then I ever have before, and I am conciously trying to live my life for Him! In every aspect of my life!

I challenge you to do the same thing.  Read the word, not just for information, but expecting to change.  If you read about having the same attitude of Christ, being humble, then start living like it.  Too often we treat the Bible as our tool to condemn the world, when in reality the person that needs it the most is the one who is reading it first-hand.... you!  and me!


So I encourage you to read the Word of God in this manner.

Evangelism

So the Lord has been hitting me upside the head the past few weeks like crazy on the subject of not getting caught up in numbers.  The Gathering is the area in my life, where I stress most when it comes to people attending.  Yes, I should care about people coming so that they can hear the gospel.  But at the same time, it does not mean if you are successful or not.  The Lord has showed me how its more important to follow God and be biblical than to have a large crowd and having the Gathering become extremely popular.
Jesus was not very popular at times in His ministry.  In fact, He dwindled it down to 12 because of His harsh statements He made about what it means to truly follow Him.
I also look at the apostles and great men of God in our history, and I see a lot of failure when it comes to people increasingly coming.  Adoniram Judson was a missionary who went to an unreached people group and translated the Bible for the Burmese people.  He did not experience a single profession of faith until 6 years into his ministry.  He was obviously fruitful in his work for the Lord before that person came to Christ.
So God has been humbling me to realize that success is based off of preaching the Word for what it is, and doing everything for the glory of God.  If that means a lot of people come, praise God, if a lot of people don't... Praise God!!!


I leave you with a quote that has changed me a lot this past week.

"To evangelize does not mean to win converts... but simply to announce the good news, irrespective of the results" - John Stott

Thankful!

If I have learned anything from being away from my home, is that I should be so much more thankful than I really am!  I really miss my close friends and family back home, and they have done so much for me!

Specifically Jordan: Jordan has been so amazing through this whole thing.  I keep hearing how tough it is to have a long distance relationship, but Jordan and I are doing so great!  Its been such a blessing to get a word of encouragement from her daily, and it is so noticeable how much more she has gotten into the Word.  This being away thing has been the best thing for us.  Its taught me personally, how to be a lot more thankful than I ever was.  I never recognized how much of a servant's heart she had, until I left.  She is willing to do so much for the body of believers, and its such an encouragement to me.  Although I have been a believer longer than her, she continues to teach me so much every day.  This also has created both of us to seek God even more through this trial.  Trials are always used by God for our good, and I can definitely see that evident in our relationship.  We have both grown individually with God through this, as well as a relationship.  Our prayer's every night has really been a huge factor in keeping me positive in this entire experience.
She is so awesome!!! I am very very lucky :)

Encouraged

Okay, so the past week or so I have sat down to type my blog, and I do not even know where to begin.  Instead of trying to figure out how to structure it all, I just decide to do it another day.
Well, I finally want to take this time to write down all of my thoughts.  If I pontificated on every thing that God has done in my life since I have been to CBU, this would be pages long... We all know I am not that captivating at writing, so I am just gonna type it out in short form so you get the gist of it.


- God has taught me about caring for others a whole lot more.  Queen Creek does not have community the way CBU does.  Of course a lot of it has to do with a lot more believers being here, and it automatically evokes encouragement.  But what I have learned a lot here, is that we should care for each and every person.  Don't get me wrong, I believe that I cared for each person while in Queen Creek; but my mentors here have taught me a lot on how to constructively care for someone.
Its as simple as a one on one lunch.  I have been so blessed by doing this, just asking them how their life is, what God has been doing for them.  Its insane to hear their responses, and its even more insane that it encourages both parties SO MUCH!
Its also as simple as a phone call, keeping them accountable with their walk with God in an encouraging way!!




- I was blessed today by sitting in a "Intro to Pastoral Ministry" class (a class I will take my sophomore year).  It was presentation day, and I was blown away by my fellow students and how they dissected God's word.  One group looked at Paul in the book of Acts.  They revealed to the class how effective he was as a pastor, and what we should learn from him. I was encouraged to see how Paul preached publicly, but also from home to home! He did life with everyone!
Paul also had the spirit of humility when it came to the pastor's position.
In other words, we must continually remind ourselves that while we hold ourselves to be above reproach, we must never forget that we are not above anyone.
 As pastors we should live a life that is above reproach, but with a humble attitude knowing that we are sinners just as much as anyone in the crowd.
The second group worked through 1 Timothy.
Key points I gained from the presentation:
1. Pastors should: - preach the Word of God AGGRESSIVELY
                             - Raise up other leaders (at least 2 at a time)
                             - Serve ALL people
                             - Expositional teaching
                             - Be servant of men, and a slave to God
                             - Hold the church accountable. .
                             - Defend the doctrine!


It was so encouraging to hear fellow peers who will be pastors one day, have this so right.


God has been doing amazing things in my life.
I pray that He is impacting yours.




I leave you with a passage to MEDITATE over.


Habakkuk 3:17-19
¹⁷Though the fig tree should not blossom,
   nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
   and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
   and there be no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer’s;
   he makes me tread on my high places.

God's Lessons In My Life

Luke 14:27 "And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple"

Have you ever had those weeks where you know God has His hand completely on you?  Where it seems that every minute, is a lesson God is teaching you something? From July 25, to now, I have been having those weeks!

God recently, has opened my eyes to the gospel in a way I have never fully understood before. And it all started with Luke 14:27.  When we think of the cross, we think of what we put on the rear view mirror of our vehicles, the necklaces we wear, the pictures we put up in our house.  And in a sense, we do love the cross because its what saved us! But because of this, we forget what the cross means in the culture where Jesus spoke these words.  Back then, He was saying pick up your instrument of torture and follow me.  In today's terms, pick up your electric chair, and follow me.  That is radical! And its not the gospel we are parading today.  Today we just ask, "do you want love? Pray this prayer, and your life will be so much better".  We never tell them that the gospel will cost you your life, and because we do so, they never receive life in the first place. 

Because of this I have really looked into the gospels, to present to my Heart Cry family what the gospel is according to America verses what the gospel is according to the Bible.

If I were to have never been around today's church, and all I had was the Bible. I would think the gospel is totally different than what many preach today. So I presented this to Heart Cry on August 1st, and it was amazing to see God speak to the congregation. you can find it here: http://www.messageshare.com/messages/memberID483/Follow%20Me.mp3

But parts of my message was about how do we disciple?  How do we make disciples? And our culture is wrapped up in the idea that the next program is the key to success in making disciples.  But I preach that Jesus laid it out to us clearly in Matthew 28:18-20.

We make disciples by:

1. Share the Word. Going. 

Our strategy is dependent upon the best lights, speaker, band, and building. While God's strategy is dependent upon people!

We are all preachers of the word, not just the pastor twice a week! 

2. Show the Word. Baptizing.

We are baptized to identify ourselves with Christ. But from then on, we show this identity.

Read 1 Cor 10:31-33, Phil 3:17. Phil 4:9.

Paul is exclaiming to follow his walk, and in so doing, you will get closer to the Father. this is great pressure. 

We have become so individualistic, that we do this walk for ourselves. But in fact, its biblical to say that we are to live for others.  In other words, my holiness has a direct effect on others Christianity.  We tell the ones who follow us, to watch us and do what we do. This brings true accountability, causes you to grow, and also causes other to grow.

(Listen to message for this to make complete sense)

3. Teach the Word. Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Does the word stop with you, or spread with you?

Stop listening to messages without a pen and paper. That means you are listening just for your own health.  Rather, take notes for those who aren't listening to the message. so that you may share that word with your neighbor.

Challenge: every time you read something in the word, share it with at least one other person.

4. Serve the world.

Invest in 1 or 2 people, do these 3 steps, and they will begin serving with you. They will impact the world. 

Then you go get 2 others to disciple, and the one you just discipled gets 2 of their own.

This will begin to multiply into strong disciples!

Please take this message, and apply it to your life. For the sake of the gospel!

The other thing God has taught me these past weeks, is through others lives.

I will not mention their names, but I have been radically impacted by 2 guys who have poured their life into me.  They have shared with me their life story, their sins, their punishments of their sin, and the precious gospel that has liberated them. 

Hearing stories about prison, not having much, living in a homeless shelter, is very humbling to say the least.  These man have impacted my life the 2 past weeks, more than a Sunday school teacher ever has.  

Doing life together, sharing experiences, and learning about other people's mistakes is such a blessing. 

I have gone to sleep every night, just so thankful for the gospel.  So refreshed and re-energized knowing that God saves the worst, uses the lowly, and has His hand on His sheep wherever they are. 

Please. Please. Please. Invest your life into someone. Show them what you have learned so far, and look for someone to invest their life into you.  That is what the early church did, we must go back to it. 

I have seen the positive results first hand.

Summer Trips

Wow. What a summer I have had, and it has been so busy that I have had no time to blog whatsoever!
But I would love to use this post, just to catch up with the summer trips I have taken.

Virgina/Tennessee:
In June, my family and I were blessed with the opportunity to go to the "South" and enjoy some family time while celebrating my Papa and Grandma's 50th Anniversary of their marriage. God really worked on my heart the week that we were there.  It was just so refreshing to see churches there, passionate about the gospel of Jesus.  I loved seeing the Tuttle family (my relatives), doing so much for Christ. We rarely ever have the time to connect because they move all around the world for the gospel.
I particularly needed the time I had with my cousin Jace.  It was very encouraging to see his willingness to help me with my church plant in Arizona.  He offered so much of his time to help the Gathering, and it was so apparent to see it was because he is so hooked on the love of Jesus and pursuing Him.

Georgia Team:
Once I left the south, the south came and visited us with a mission team from Georgia. My previous post explains in further detail about their visit, but please keep them in prayer as they present and live the gospel in Lavonia Georgia.

San Francisco:
God richly blessed Heart Cry Church's youth by financially providing our way to San Fran to spread the precious gospel.  Powerplant was the name of the organization that held the mission trip/camp experience. The staffers their were amazing, and it deeply encouraged me to see fellow young people serve the gospel with their entire life!
The best part of the trip, was the mission aspect! We helped a new church plant called, Ministerio Hispana, in Richmond, CA. For those who don't know where that is, its very close to San Fran but also known as the "gangster area".  We were in the hispanic region, with many of them only speaking spanish. But the language barrier did not stop us a bit.
We helped the church by doing a VBS event for the children of the area. I taught the 5th and 6th graders, and they were such a blessing. We had 10 kids consistently for my grades, and they heard about Jesus every single day! 2 of them surrendered to Jesus, through the preaching of the gospel to them.  The others claimed that they were followers, but realized they need to sacrifice more to God.  They probably impacted my life, more than I impacted theirs. It was amazing to see their happy spirits, knowing someone cared for them.  All they need is hope, and thats all any community needs.  And that hope is found in Jesus Christ!
Please pray for Richmond, CA.  They are a desperately wicked community that has fallen into the fascination of gangs and violence.  Pray for certain teenagers at the church, who recently gave their life to Christ and trying to get out of their gang without getting shot!

Through these trips God has humbled me, broadened my horizons, and assured me that there are disciples of God's word out there.  They just need to be reminded, and trained to spread this gospel to others in their community.  I love that God hears every language, I love that God can bless me through a homeless man just as much as a youth pastor can.  It doesn't matter what walk of life, you can still gain wisdom, knowledge, and encouragement from them.