What is Greatness?

I recall a meme I saw online, it had a picture of a janitorial supply cart and it said, "Called to ministry? This will be your first pulpit." Truer words were never spoken. My first five years in ministry I mopped a lot of floors, and believe me, I expect more floors in the future. 

Ministry is much more than faith. It's action. If we are Christians, if we have been washed in the blood of Jesus, and our sins have been forgiven, then we will believe certain truths about who God is. We will want to attend church, and learn more and more about Jesus. We will want to seek healing for past hurts and traumas. We will learn to walk by faith, not by sight. We will learn what it means to be redeemed. We will also begin to walk in holiness, and see sins defeated in our lives.

Now, a lot of this is internal isn’t it? What’s going on inside of me? Healing, Redemption, Sin, Faith, etc. Now, we take it from internal to external.

Catherine Booth co-founder of The Salvation Army said, “A salvation that does not lead to service is no salvation at all.”

When we became Christians, we were in essence giving ourselves to God. Saying God I’m yours. We decided to follow Jesus. We made a commitment to obey Him and do His will. That’s all part of the package of being a Christian.

So we’re talking about where the rubber meets the road. Are you serving Christ in your daily life? Are you about your Father’s business? Or are you just living life for yourself, with a Christian sticker slapped on the outside of the bus?

God knows the difference. In fact, it says in the word that not everyone who says to me “Lord, Lord’ will inherit the kingdom of God, but only those who do the will of my Father in heaven.

Are you one of those "Sunday only" Christians? You come to church but that’s about it? We are called to more than that. We are called to be about our Father’s business. Did you know, everyone you see around you, at the store, in traffic, at work, at home, on the internet, they all need Jesus Christ as their savior? And without Jesus they are in great danger. Time is short. 

Jesus came to serve. That’s the example he set. In Matthew 20, we see Jesus explaining to his disciples why he came.

“17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!” -Matthew 20:17-19

You might read that and think who would sign up for that job? Jesus would, for the sake of us.

It must’ve been really hard though to know it was coming. Have you ever had something really stressful on the horizon, and you just kept thinking about it and worrying about it? It's so hard. But Jesus signed up for that. We’ve also signed up for difficult service. But it’s so worth it.

Because Jesus also says, three days later I’ll rise to life again. There’s something better waiting on the other side.

Jesus lived with a deep concern for the people around him, for all people in fact. We’re called to something similar.

I think we like to help others. We do. Most of us do. We like to help. We do it if we feel like it. And it feels good.

But the real challenge comes when we don’t feel like it. Will you still serve then? That’s the challenge.

 Can we take it from, I like to serve, to, it is the focus of my life to serve?

So we saw the power of that explanation by Jesus of his radical service. Let’s see what happens next. Starting in verse 20…

"Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

“What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” -Matthew 20:20-21

What is it you want? Jesus brilliantly asks. I often scroll social media, and see people at points in their lives that they are proud of, at a wedding in a tuxedo, in a graduation gown from high school or college, on a stage for some reason, receiving some award or recognition.

What do we want? As humans, we want to be recognized. We want to be wealthy. We want to show how important we are. We want to be the greatest.

I admit at times that’s my focus, how can I become great? How can I be really special, show that I’m different, meaningful, useful, helpful, mighty?

I used to think well, if I write books then I’ll be important. Or maybe if I do good in sports. Or if I make lots of money. Or if I got elected for a public office, then my life will matter.

Then once we become a Christian we wonder, how can I be important in the Christian world, how can I influence people and innovate and make a difference?

What do you want? That’s the key question. Look at your motivations. What are you seeking in life? Nothing will satisfy but God himself. Anything else will fall short.

I used to think that getting married would make my life meaningful, that somehow true love would really change my whole life and make it good and right. Marriage is a blessing, but, it’s not the answer. Neither is fun adventures, parties, family, wealth, none of those things truly satisfy. Only Jesus Christ can fulfill our greatest longings.

Let’s see what Jesus does next.

Verses 22-23, “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

Jesus says you're missing the mark here. You don’t understand greatness correctly. Jesus later affirms that greatness is a good thing to seek. If you want to be great, if you want to make a difference, if you want to live a life of significance, that’s a good instinct.

But Jesus is going to help us adjust our aim. We want to be great, but we’re missing the correct target. We’re pointed at the wrong target.

We see how greatness is exercised in the world system, it’s exercised through power, wealth, and extravagance. The powerful parade around in fancy clothes, indulge every luxury imaginable, and they exercise control over our institutions, economies, and power structures. They act as “lords” over the “little” people like you and me.

Next, in verses 24-25: “When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.”

If you can understand this, you’re going to avoid a lot of pain in targeting things in life that don’t matter.

People have wasted their entire lives chasing things that don’t matter. It reminds me of something the famous actor Jim Carrey said. According to a source, he has a net worth of about 180 million dollars. 

He said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.” ―Jim Carrey

Gentiles, that’s the whole world, non-Jews, it’s all about power. People lord it over each other. They exercise authority over the masses. They seek to control people. We seek money, power, authority, influence, celebrity, and then when it doesn’t satisfy us, we are shocked.

What’s in your heart? Are you focused on money, marriage, family, education, pleasure? Whatever it might be, change it over to God. Only God can satisfy. 

But God feels far away. Then get closer! Draw nearer. Get into the tent with Him. Go deeper. Seek His face with all your heart. And you’ll know true meaning.

Next, Jesus says to his disciples:

Verses 26-27, “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—"

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, "Stop trying to be great! Just be a loser!" Nope. Jesus doesn’t say that. He says, Ok, awesome, you want to be great, that’s a good desire, now let’s talk about what real greatness is.

If you want to see greatness friends, stop by the food pantry and see Martha and Barbara serving bread and frozen meat to people in need.

If you want to see greatness, watch Sean carry out food pantry boxes and help old ladies load groceries into their cars.

If you want to see greatness, go visit the corps I served at last, and watch people like Julie, serving people baked good and produce from the free tables.

Jesus teaches us what true greatness is, and yes, it’s real. And the world will sometimes recognize this level of greatness, not always, but sometimes.

The world does recognize people like Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr, St Francis Assissi, and others as truly great people. But it’s rare.

Do you want to be great? Then become the servant of those around you who are in need.

The word for servant there is diakonos in the Greek, which gives the idea of someone who runs errands for someone else. The KJV renders it "minister." 

Do you want to be the greatest, as Jesus says, the first, then become the slave of all. The word slave there is doulos in the Greek, one who gives himself up for another, a slave or servant.

That will determine your status in heaven, in the next life, will you be the least or the greatest in heaven?

How well did you serve others? Those who made themselves servers to others will be great in the next life. They already are great today. But they will be rewarded greatly.

In the highest of heaven, the greatest heroes of the faith, in the next life, will be those who made themselves the lowly servant of all.

Lastly, Jesus says, “...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (v.28).

Look to the example of Jesus himself. What did Jesus do in His life? Did he seek power and money and authority? No he didn’t. Was he famous? Yes he was. But it wasn’t because he was seeking that. He simply did God’s will. And God brought the people to minister to.

Jesus our God came to serve. And even to die, to give his life as a ransom for many! To die for us, to empty himself of divine power and authority and serve those in need. That is true greatness.

So it’s time to set a new target in life. Let’s make our target greatness in service. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we admit we’ve targeted the wrong things in life. We’ve wanted money, we’ve wanted romance, we’ve wanted greatness in power but instead we repent and choose to desire greatness through humble service. Help us in this new endeavor, in Jesus name, amen.

Lastly, I want to talk applications. It’s all well and good to say we want to serve others. But how exactly do we go about doing that?

Let’s look at four examples quickly, of how to service others practically.

First, sharing your faith with others. The gospel, that all have sinned, all need a savior. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.

We’ve got to do that. Get creative. Use social media. Use tracts, we have tracts in the lobby area you can use, just hand someone a tract. Offer to pray with someone. Share your testimony, what God did for you.

Second, pay for someone at the restaurant. Buy someone lunch. Grab someone some bread. Many come to the food pantry and they pick up food for someone else. Meet needs. That’s the second thing. Pay for someone’s groceries. Buy someone food or clothing or a hotel room, there are so many ways we can meet needs. If you don’t have a lot of money, get some food from the food bank or clothing from a charity, and share some of it with a neighbor. That’s giving too!

Third, volunteer at your local church. Step up and take a position of leadership. Volunteer at the local food pantry. Bell ring for The Salvation Army. Mentor a child at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Sponsor a child on Compassion International. Start a new ministry at your church. Lead a bible study. Start a small group. If God is tugging at your heart now, follow His lead. 

Fourth, find something unique to your skill set. It might be out of the box. I remember a friend of mine would minister to people on Xbox live. Others have started podcasts. I recently came across a guy who does Christian artwork. He uses his gift for God. I myself write a Christian blog online. Others have started homeless shelters, my wife started a women’s group, find what God has called you to, and then do it. It might be out of the box, but trust in God and do it!

A word of warning though, don't start something outside the will of God. Sometimes we get so excited we forget to check with God to see if it's His will. Make sure you pray first, and let God guide your ministry pathway. 

What will your reward be in heaven? It will depend on how well you make it your mission in life to serve others.

And in the end, it’s time to take another step closer to who God wants us to be. It’s kind of nerve wracking. It’s kind of scary. It makes us nervous to step out into the unknown. We try to explain away why we couldn’t go further to serve others. But instead of arguing with it, and trying to fight it, or argue with God, what if we just boldly said, “Ok God, I trust you, and I’m taking another step out into the unknown of radically serving others.”

Make a plan. Pray and ask God's help. What can you do today to bless someone? Small steps lead to bigger steps. Start small. Bless someone. Do it again. And pretty soon, you’ll go further than you thought possible. And you’ll be excited. Because God’s got all of you.

Putting to Death the Sins of the Flesh

We’ve been building a structure, and it’s based around what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We’ve talked about the fact that a Christian walks by faith, trusting in God and following God’s leading even when it seems odd or strange.

We’ve talked about how a follower of Jesus seeks and experiences healing from past hurts and sins that once troubled us.

We talked about how God has redeemed us, made us new, and given us a new identity in Him. And we work from that place of safety in Him.

Now we bring those concepts of faith, healing and redemption together with a fourth concept called holiness.

We’ve learned to walk by faith, we’ve learned to find healing and we’ve learned our identity in redemption, now, we need to discover how to live our live in response to these truths.

How does this work exactly? We’ve received Jesus Christ as our savior. His blood has atoned for our sins. Our sins went to Jesus on the cross, they are deleted. Christ’s righteousness has been placed upon us as our robe to wear.

What’s next?

Well, we find ourselves in this situation that is constantly discussed in the New Testament. We are redeemed which means our sins are ransomed and removed. We are also clothed in Christ, which means we wear Christ’s righteousness as our own.

We also have been given the Holy Spirit who lives within us and directs our choices. But at the same time, we still have the sinful nature.

What is the sinful nature? The sinful nature is what we were born with. It’s the reason we struggle with making bad choices. It’s an inheritance of the line of Adam and Eve, which we’re all part of. It’s part of the curse and punishment for the sin of Adam and Eve.

One might assume, well when I become a Christian the sinful nature must be removed right? Wrong.

Our sins are forgiven. We are changed and made new. We are born again. However, we still have the sinful nature. Which means we continue to have a tendency to want to sin.

So, we made the choice at some point in our lives to give our lives to Jesus Christ. The sinful nature remaining in us, along with the Holy Spirit, you could say is a test.

The test is, after you’ve been saved, will you continue to say "yes" tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

Or will you begin to say "no" to God, and "yes" to sin? The choice remains with you, into the future. Of course there will be consequences to the choices we make.

Will you be controlled by your sinful nature? Or by the Holy Spirit within you?

That is holiness, when we say yes to God and no to sin. Here is the definition for holiness. From the 1828 Dictionary: HO'LINESS, noun [from holy.] “The state of being holy; purity or integrity of moral character; freedom from sin; sanctity.”

This issue is discussed in detail in Romans chapter 8. Let’s take a look at verse 9. Paul has just been writing about the sinful nature. And what it does. Next he says...

It says this: “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)”

If you have the Holy Spirit, you belong to God, if you don’t then you don’t belong to Him at all. And the goal is, that the Holy Spirit would control our lives.

Next it says in verses 10-11, “And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”

The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead two thousand years ago lives inside of you, today.

So one might also think, well, once we’re a Christian, we should never die then, because God made us new. Also not true, we will still physically die, again because of the curse of death placed over the line of Eve. However, we get a picture of our future with Jesus.

Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, but three days later Jesus rose again from the dead. The same thing happens for the Christian. When we die, we can expect we will also rise from the dead after death, and find eternal life beyond the grave.

Because the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead literally lives inside you…

“Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.”

We have no reason to say that we are caught in sin, because we don’t have to. That’s what it says. We are under no obligation to agree with the sinful nature when it wants to do something bad. Instead, the Spirit makes us free.

Verses 13-14 go deeper into what this means… “For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Remember this passage is speaking to Christians, brothers and sisters it says. And it says if you, Christian, live in accordance with the dictates of the sinful nature within you, you will die.

We still have a choice right now, am I going to obey the Spirit or the flesh? And if we make a practice of obeying the flesh, we begin moving away from God and toward sin. We begin to fall away from God.

But it says, if through the power of the Spirit. Through God. Through God’s Spirit, not in yourself. But through the power of the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the sinful nature, you will live.

So what do we need? We need power. We can’t put to death the misdeeds of the flesh by our own strength. Flesh can’t overcome flesh. But, the Spirit of God within us is mighty and powerful. We need power. Power from God. Through the Spirit, we can find victory over the flesh.

That’s a process I’ve seen so many Christians slowly walk through, at least the real ones. They are a new believer. They have received Jesus as savior. But they’ve got all these sins in their lives, lust, pride, theft, drinking, manipulation, gossip, slander, unforgiveness, hatred.

And I’ll watch God take them from one sin to the next, and they repent of it, they turn away from it, and they begin living a new way. Stronghold to stronghold they march surrounding the walls and besieging the strongholds and one by one the fortresses of sin fall tumbling down and come to nothing. 

And one by one, they are gone. The theft is gone, they practice integrity. Then the gossip is gone, they stop talking about others behind their backs. The unforgiveness is gone, they forgive their enemies. The hatred turns to love. And what you’re seeing in that Christian’s life is Romans 8:13 in action, they are, through the Spirit, putting to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature.

As those things are dealt with, those past sins, they go from being dominant in the life of the person, to being dormant. They are broken and defeated. They are gone. But I’ve also seen them come back, if the believer isn’t careful.

Sometimes as Christians we get too confident and say, "Oh that drinking is gone!" It's not a danger anymore. And then we go hang out at the bar. And pretty soon we’re drunk again, and saying, what went wrong? You’ve repented of it, great, it’s defeated, but keep your guard up, so it doesn’t come back.

All who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. That’s what it says. Do you really believe that you can be practically led by God’s Holy Spirit each day? It’s true, you can be.

For me it happens very naturally, as long as I’m praying in the morning, doing my devotions, reading the word, and thinking about God and His will throughout the day, I’m nudged by God during the day, and he helps me do His will.

What is His will? It’s little things. It’s praying for someone who comes to mind. It’s stopping to minister to someone who is having a hard day. It’s seeing an old friend and going and talking to them at the store. It’s calling up a family member and praying with them. It’s buying a Bible for your neighbor whose in the hospital and bringing it to them. It’s little things that are actually big things.

I remember I was at camp and God nudged me to give a little cross I had in my pocket to one of the kids in my cabin. I said Lord that child has been one of the worst kids! Why would I give him the cross? So I said no. God said it again. I said no again. God said it again a half hour later, God will just repeat stuff to you, believe me. And finally I understand God wanted me to call out the good in him. So I did, I called him over, and told him I felt God had called me to give him the cross, and he cherished that cross. He held it in his hand the rest of the day. God used it to touch his heart. 

Similarly, it’s rejecting temptations when they pop up. When you see that beautiful woman jogging, you look a different direction. You see that handsome guy at work, you decide to not even look that way. It’s refusing to gossip about someone you’re mad at. It’s saying no to the drama in the break room. It’s not cheating on your taxes. Simple things that are big things.

Now, you may be thinking, "Oh my, I have to put to death the misdeeds of the sinful nature. If I don’t I’m in trouble. If I live in sin, I’m in danger!" You're tempted to feel fearful and concerned. 

I think it’s good to be concerned, to care enough to take action, to want to be free from sins in your life. But, at the same time, we aren’t to be fearful slaves. We are God’s children.

Romans 8:15 says, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

We are not fearful slaves terrified of God. We do have a healthy fear of the Lord, don’t get me wrong. I do tremble at my heavenly Father’s might and power, but no, instead, we are adopted as God’s children. So we call God “Heavenly Father.”

Don’t be afraid. God is helping you every step of the way to be free from sins, to live holy. He desires your holiness. Through the Spirit he helps us to live it. And we do not tremble as slaves, instead, we stand with dignity as children.

Verse 16, “For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” We can know in our hearts that we belong to God, because the Holy Spirit inside us, will join with our spirit, and confirm you are a child of God!

And lastly, verse 17-18 “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

This is just astonishing what is said here. You are His heirs. Do you understand what this is saying? God is your Father, you are his daughter, his son, which means you will inherit his kingdom. What that means exactly, we don’t know, it’s huge, bigger than we could imagine!

So is it worth it, to put to death the flesh? Yes it is. We will inherit God’s kingdom. Together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory.

But, if we share His glory, we must also share in Christ’s sufferings. I know you all understand what that means, as Christians we do suffer. And it’s tough, it’s really tough at times. But it’s worth it. Because what we suffer now, is nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed later. In the next life, you’ll know, and say, wow, it really was so worth it. That suffering was nothing compared to this!

The goal then is that one day our lives would end and we could say, I’ve finished my race, the Holy Spirit really did lead me, the sinful nature was defeated, kept in check, and we can say, victory! The glory of God is my inheritance. Hallelujah!

In conclusion, maybe you’re wondering, why does it matter? Sure, I steal a bit here and there, no big deal. Yeah I fudge the numbers on my taxes, no big deal. Yeah, I look at the woman, yeah I cat around with the guys, why does sin matter so much?

Because there is no sin in the next life. In heaven there is no sin. There’s no place for sin there. So this life is our time to learn to walk free from sin. And we have the Holy Spirit within us, so we have the power we need through the Spirit to be free from sin. We won’t do it perfectly. But we can be free from sin. We will always make mistakes. But when we make mistakes we repent quickly, as soon as it happens, we turn to God and request forgiveness afresh. Despite that, we can learn to not sin, and live holy as God is holy. Jesus Christ has made the way, and given us the Spirit, and the word says we have no obligation to the flesh. It doesn’t control us, the Spirit does. So yes, we can be free.

Review of Main Points
1. Our battle is against the Sinful nature within us

2. The Holy Spirit lives within us & should guide us

3. We have no obligation to obey the sinful nature

4. The Spirit gives us the power to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh

5. The Spirit leads us in a process of victories over the sinful nature (holiness)

6. This doesn’t make us fearful slaves, instead we stand as children of God

7. If we practice holiness in the Spirit, we will inherit God’s kingdom (through sufferings)

And God won’t allow sin into heaven. You have to understand that. I worry many of us think, well I’m going to sneak into heaven with my sin. But that isn’t the case. If you try to bring your sin into heaven, by refusing to repent on the Earth, you will not be allowed into heaven. I firmly believe that. If we show up in heaven will all sorts of sins on our record that we never repented of, we’ll be shown the door. Don’t forget that saints. Repent today, the Holy Spirit will help, and you will be free.

God will Redeem your Broken Situation

I spent the last week at camp with my wife. We were tasked to serve as cabin counselors during the week, Monday through Friday. Let’s just say we had a very interesting week. 

The experience was so brutal and difficult that we both left feeling defeated and upset. Chelsey and I aren’t parents, we aren’t terribly gifted with children, though we’re learning. Neither of us had ever been counselors before. 

But God was present at the camp. He was with us. But there were many challenges. There was so much pressure. And we were so new. I became so overwhelmed with the experience that I actually had a mental breakdown, and had to leave the cabin.

And I was no longer a counselor for the rest of the week. I failed. I missed the mark. I did not complete something I had been assigned to. That was shockingly difficult for me.

It was late at night, and there had just been a thunderstorm, it was pitch black and I was carrying my suitcase, my bag and my bedding through the dark night, the rain and the mud, toward the lodge. And I stopped under a street light in the middle of the camp.

And I just looked up. And thought to myself: What went wrong? I don’t quit things. I don’t get overwhelmed and give up.

But I came to the lodge. And I came into my room there. And on the wall it said, “redeemed.” I didn’t sense any conviction from the Holy Spirit that I had done something wrong. I simply sensed God’s mercy and love toward me.

For the rest of the week I had to sit around the tables and deal with the glances of those who now saw me as the officer who couldn’t handle it. The guilt and shame was intense. But in the end, we finished out the week, and then we came back.

And I knew God was calling me to speak today about what it means to be redeemed. And in particular, when we confront failure in our lives. When we fail in our eyes, in the eyes of others even, God doesn’t see failure. He sees redemption.

First point today, God redeems broken situations.

It reminds me of a scripture from 2nd Cor 1:8-10 which says, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,”

Have you ever been in a situation in your life when you were under such intense pressure you despaired of life itself?

I’ll tell you this, Paul learned through his pressure, to rely on God, not on himself. Believe me, in those moments at camp, I had to rely on God completely. Sometimes we feel so locked into difficult circumstances that we feel it’s like a death sentence. It feels that way at the time, have you been there in life?

But, God raises the dead. He takes that situation that seems like a death sentence, and he brings you back to life through it.

God delivered Paul, and so God also delivered me, not from the situation, but through the situation.

We human beings naturally want to rely on ourselves. We want to do things our own way. We want to access our own strength and use that strength. That’s why this world is so messed up, because we refuse to rely on God.

That’s why we don’t pray in the morning before we leave the house. That’s why we forget to read our Bible, that’s why we don’t pray at night. That’s why we don’t ask God the next right thing to do throughout the day. We try to run our own lives. And then things don’t go right.

That’s our second point today, require yourself to rely on God. Pray when you don’t feel like it. Simply remind yourself, “No I need this!” I argue with myself you guys, when I’m tempted to roll over and go to bed, I’m tired. I stop myself and say "Justin, you get over there and get on your knees right now. You know what happens in your life when you don’t. Let’s go, now!"

Command yourself to pray. Command yourself to read the word. You say to yourself, self, in the name of Jesus, keep God first. Command your soul to turn to Jesus. Your soul is going to want to do it’s own thing. But you take over and say no, I know what to do, I need to pray.

But don’t you worry, because God will also help you to rely on Him. And He does that through tough situations that require us to rely on God, because we’re totally overwhelmed.

In those situations we need to rely on God’s strength, but also, on God’s wisdom. Paul writes to the church in Corinth and says we didn’t rely on human wisdom, but we relied on God’s wisdom.

When you feel a sense of failure, of shame, of guilt, you have to turn to God and verify that. Lord is that from you?

Sometimes God will convict us, if we sin. He will very much convict our hearts and say that wasn’t right, you must repent of that. And we do. We weep. We ask Jesus to forgive us anew, and we repent of that sin, we turn away from that sin. And we feel his forgiveness rush in.

But what about what seems like failure? But it really isn’t failure. It’s God’s mercy. It’s God goodness.

Point three, trust God’s wisdom over your own. You have to remind yourself: I’m redeemed. It doesn’t matter what other people are saying, what matters is what God is saying. It doesn’t matter what my own mind is saying, with those condemning thoughts of guilt and shame, what matters is what God is saying.

God is saying, you’re redeemed.

What does that word redeemed mean exactly? For that let’s turn to the 1828 dictionary. Noah Webster was a man two hundred years ago who felt God had called him to create a dictionary. And I believe that’s true so I’ll look back to that 1828 dictionary and see what it says.

It says this, “Ransomed; delivered from bondage, distress, penalty, liability, or from the possession of another, by paying an equivalent.”

It gives the picture of the fact that we were once held in ransom by the devil, because of our sin. Our sins meant Satan had authority over us. We were condemned under the power of sin, doomed to hell.

But, God sent his son Jesus Christ to pay off our debt, to become a ransom sacrifice by dying on the cross.

It pictures a ransom that was paid to set you free. You were held as a captive, and God paid the ransom payment and you were set free.

Your liability for your own sins, which was complete, is now eliminated. You once owed a massive debt for the sins you committed and it’s just penalty was hell. But now, Jesus took those sins and said, "I’m going to pay the amount. I’m going to do it by dying in their place."

Do you understand that what happened to Jesus on the cross was that he was actively taking the penalty you deserved? That’s what Jesus did on that cross. He paid your penalty, the cost for your sins, in His own blood. A ransom sacrifice, meaning you are set free.

You are redeemed. That’s our fourth point today, you are redeemed by the ransom sacrifice. You are set free. That happened at the moment you first truly believed the gospel and were born again. And it’s current to this moment in time as well. It keeps running into the future as you continue to believe on the Lord Jesus.

The message is not yes and no. It’s not off one day on one day, it’s consistent, it’s ongoing, it’s a journey together with the Lord. And the Lord has not left you. Maybe you walked away from Him, but He doesn’t leave you. He’s here. It’s not yes and no, it’s yes.

As it says in 2nd Corinthians 1:18-22: “But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas[c] and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

Fifth point today, every promise God has made in scripture is “yes” in Christ.

What does it mean to be redeemed? It includes forgiveness, your ransom paid. However, it’s more than that. Forgiveness is one thing, my sins are forgiven, which is wonderful, but I’m also adopted. I’m now considered a brother to Jesus Christ, where we will share in his power and authority in the next life. I’ve been gifted the righteousness of Jesus. I’m royalty right now, though still in exile, until heaven.

God’s promises, a new Earth, yes in Christ. Sins forgiven, yes in Christ. Adopted as a son of the Lord, yes in Christ. Empowered for service, yes in Christ. Spiritual gifts given, yes, in Christ. The Holy Spirit within, yes in Christ. It’s all yes in Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to earn some of it, or work toward the promise, the promise is already yes right now.

Yet we have a response to make, and that is through Jesus we declare, “Amen!” What does that mean exactly? It’s faith.

Point number six, your part is to believe it. We believe that its really true that every promise of God is yes in Christ. God helps you to believe. But we must believe it. Otherwise we’re calling God a liar.

It’s crucial that you believe that every promise of God is yes in Christ. And it continues in verse 21 saying that it is God who causes us to stand firm in Christ. That looks into the future and expects that God will sustain us forward into the future as well.

We’re told three things that prove this reality of yes in Christ, first, he’s anointed us. Second, he’s set his seal of ownership upon us, and third he’s given us the deposit of the Holy Spirit in our heart.

To be anointed is to establish someone for service to God, oil would be poured upon the head of the person being set apart for service.

To be marked is to be established as someone who is owned by God. A mark on the skin in times past would indicate ownership. God marks us as his own.

To be given the Holy Spirit in the heart is to be in holy relationship with God. God guides our life daily by His Spirit within us. He directs what we do each day through this deposit of the Spirit.

Point number seven today is that you’ve been anointed, marked, and plugged into God by the Holy Spirit. And this proves your inheritance is true and real.

If I ever wonder or worry if I’m really a child of God, I ask the Holy Spirit within, Lord please testify if I’m a child of God. We worry like that don’t we? And God is so very often quick to reply to me, you are truly a child of God Justin. And I love you.

Or, the Holy Spirit will say, I love you, but something is off, you have a sin in your life that needs to be dealt with. And I’ll begin to pray and repent before the Lord of whatever the issue might be. But in all my ups and downs over the last 10+ years God has never left me for a moment. He’s not forsaken me. And he hasn’t forsaken you. He’s with us. And he’s speaking to us.

In conclusion today, remember in the moments like I experienced last week, underneath the street light in the dark rain, wondering what went wrong, God has not left you. You are still His. He will redeem your situation. And though I felt so alone in that moment, I wasn’t alone.

He sent out an army to find me. And lead me to safety. His angels surrounded me. And though the pain was tough in those days, he walked me through it. And he’ll see you through too. Trust in Him. Even when you’re totally overwhelmed and you despair of life itself, cry out to Him. He hears you. Even when you don’t feel he’s here, He’s here.

Let’s review our main points today:
1. God redeems broken situations

2. Require your “self” to rely on God

3. Trust God’s wisdom over your own ideas

4. You are redeemed by the ransom sacrifice

5. Every promise of God is “yes” in Christ

6. Your part is to believe it’s true “Say Amen!”

7. The Holy Spirit within proves your inheritance is real

Healing from Past Heartaches

There is a broken path in life. A road many of us here have walked. It’s the road of perdition. It’s the road of destruction. But it doesn’t feel that way when we walk it, not at first at least.

The road begins with a surrender. It’s a surrender that occurred in my heart when I had had too much. I had been broken. I was overwhelmed by life, and as a child, we don’t have enough to stand against it all.

So at some point, this child gives up.

There’s a fascinating bible verse that tells us what this means. It says in Colossians 3:21, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”

So that’s what it means to lose heart. I’ve read that phrase so many times in the scripture, to “lose heart” but I never understood what it meant.

Losing heart must be a lot like giving up.

Proverbs 18:14 ESV “A man's spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?”

When I was 16 or 17 so many things were coming at me, my parents were splitting up, I was experimenting with drugs and drinking, I was being bullied relentlessly in school, and I felt this pressure to perform, to be a sports star. I was depressed, I was in sin, and I was broken.

And finally something snapped in me and I decided, I’m not going to try anymore. I rebelled. I surrendered to a dark path.

Can you relate? Have you been there?

We’re talking about healing today. And I think to understand healing, we have to understand what it means to lose heart. To lose heart is to be so pressured by life’s problems that we give up inside. Without Jesus, there’s little we can do, we lose heart. But we Jesus, we can find it again, and find hope.

Jesus changes everything. The ultimate source of healing is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the doorway, God the Father is the architect & guide of the plan, and the Spirit is the indwelling healing presence.

Jesus Christ does the mighty work within us. But it isn’t finished there. We still need to heal and grow. There is work to be done.

But many of you walked that broken road. That broken road, of having given up on life, leads to many dark places. It leads to numbing of the pain with drinking and drugs, or relationships, and romance. It can lead to workaholism, working working working never stopping. It can lead to overeating. It can lead to all sorts of addictions, and sins, and shortcomings.

And like a snowball rolling down hill you just keep accumulating traumatic events. Broken relationships. Bitter memories. Resentments. People you hate. Anger at the system. Depression. Suicidal thoughts. Negative thoughts.

I know, I walked that broken road. The road got darker and darker. But along the way we encountered Jesus. We encountered God. Someone ministered to us. Someone shared God’s love with us.

Hope came back into our lives, after being gone for so many years.

Still we didn’t want to give up. We didn’t want to surrender to Him. We resisted letting God have our lives. But then finally we decided, it’s worth it, and we said Jesus, take it all. I’m yours.


Jesus accepted this request, and changed us. We were born again. We started a new adventure, a new journey took root.

Many of you are there today. God has changed your life. You’re a new creation. You’re washed in the blood of Jesus.

And yet there is still a cloud over your life. You don’t experience the sunlight of the spirit. You struggle with difficult memories. You battle secret sins.

Why? What’s the problem?

Healing is needed.

Jesus really did forgive our sins. He really did die for us on the cross. We really are changed and new.

But we still have trauma from the past that is affecting us. And we can’t walk in victory until we deal with those pains, bring them to the surface, and invite Jesus to heal the damage.

We’re going to pause and pray: “Lord, Father, if there are things that need to come up to the surface right now, we boldly ask you to bring them up to the surface, bring them to mind, and help us to offer them to you, for you to heal, in Jesus name, amen.”

What is the ancient pain you carry? What is the painful memory that keeps bothering you? What is the unforgiveness? What is the hatred?

Jesus has a title, and it’s the great physician. He is able and willing to heal us.

Our part, is to do something difficult. Which is to face it head on.

So now we’re on the new road. The pilgrimage road. The road of faith, like we talked about last week.

The Christian road is accepting difficult things, things like healing. And we naturally resist.

First thing is simple, we have to want to be healed. Is that an odd question? Do you want to get well? That’s the question Jesus asked the man at the well. He’d been there paralyzed for 38 years. Jesus asked him, “do you want to get well?”

Many who are broken, many who are hurt, many who are addicted, they don’t want to get well. They are so used to their chains, they can’t imagine being free.

What about you today? Do you want to be free? If we can say yes, then we can move forward on this road.

Second thing is this, it’s crazy simple, but incredibly profound. We have to believe that God really can take it away and heal us.

Don’t all Christians believe that? Yes I suppose you could say that. But, how often do we struggle with doubt and unbelief when it comes to us?

We know what God says about us, yet we are so cruel to ourselves in our own minds.

Begin to believe that Jesus really can take it away and heal you. He can. He wants to. He will.

He is able.

Thirdly, we want to organize the emotion, the thought, the pain, whatever it might be. We want to write it down on paper. We want to think about it and consider what happened.

The instinct is often to hide it away. Ignore it. Refuse to think about it. But the only way out is through.

Face it boldly. Let God bring it to the surface.

When we go through hard times sometimes we don’t really heal afterward and things build up within as anxiety or depression. When we write things down and learn about the inner workings of our mind, those traumas get cleared out, making way for the light of God’s presence.

I’m convinced many of us don’t experience the fullness of God’s presence because we have too much wreckage from our pasts built up within. But when we clear out those past struggles, we make room for the Spirit of God to fully consume us.

Or as it says in James 5:16 “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

If you'd like a more detailed inventory guide Google search "fourth step inventory guide." You'll find quite a few documents that you can print out to guide your inventory process.

For things that go deeper, you may need to meet with your pastor, or with a good Christian counselor, or trusted friend.

Fourthly, we offer it up to Him.

Review:

1. You’re honestly willing to be healed.

2. You really believe God can heal you and take it away.

3. You’ve organized the issue, the emotion, the pain/trauma so you can see it clearly.

4. Offer it to Jesus, put it entirely in God’s hands

Now you offer it to Him.

What did God bring to mind? Are you ready to give to Him?

Let’s Pray: Lord Jesus Christ, our great physician, you are able, to take this ancient hurt from us. Lord Jesus, we can see it, in our hands, that memory, that pain, that thing we did, or that thing that was done to us, it’s ugly, its evil, and Lord Jesus we take it, and lift it up. We place it in your hands. We ask you Lord Jesus, to heal it. Healing Jesus, thank you Jesus, we give it to you forever, in Jesus name, amen!

Remember that sequence, when you have something that needs to be healed, willingness, believe God can and will, organize it clearly, and then offer it to Him.

Next, we feel it. We let Jesus walk us through the hard emotions. He’s taken it away, he’s brought healing, but that healing is a journey. It’ll take tears. Reflecting on what happened. Wrestling through the anger and hurt. Cry and cry. Let yourself feel it. And one day you’ll find a place of resolution, and you can say, I’m past that now.

Yet these things did lasting damage in how we think of ourselves. We got negative and down on ourselves.

Next, we need to begin to practice a different way of thinking in the future.

Our attitude is often default negative. We have to let God adjust that in us. Begin to practice the opposite. Practice positivity. Think about good things. Think about purity. Think about beauty.

Philippians 4:8-9 (ESV)“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Speak those things outloud: Wow, what a beautiful day. That’s really awesome that they did that. Let’s pray for them. God will help them through this. Speak positivity. Speak life. Speak what is good. And soon your whole attitude will change because what is coming out of your mouth is changing.

The tongue can turn the entire ship in a new direction, like the rudder of a giant ship. Says so in book of James.

This one is difficult, I know, I’m prone to reflect on negativity. I’m prone to be cynical and doubtful and pessimistic. But time and again God proves me wrong. See a future where God is there, and you’ll see a bright future, which is true.

And as we focus on the good, we build toward the good. And it rubs off on others. Project goodness in Christ.



It’s about practicing the opposite of what I used to do on the broken road. If I used to brag and talk, I quiet myself and focus on the Lord. If I used to be selfish, I begin to practice thinking about others first. If I was prideful I begin to practice humility. If I was rude, I practice being polite. If I was lazy, I get to work volunteering, if I was a workaholic, I slow myself down.

And as we heal from the past, walk in the strength of the Lord, speak life, and believe our identity in Christ, we begin to experience the presence of God. We walk in the sunlight of the Spirit.

Old sins that used to be hold us captive, well, they disappear, we repent of them, and since we’ve found real healing, we no longer have to lean on those sins for the little pleasure they provide, instead, we find real liberty in Christ.

And then we go from wounded to healers ourselves. We take what we’ve learned and we share it with others.

As it says in 2nd Cor 1: “3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.”

There is this holy boldness, where we know Daddy God is with us, and therefore we can do anything. We’re safe in Christ. And so we can strike out from a position of strength. We know Jesus has deleted our sins by paying the price for them, so we know that with God anything is possible. And from there we begin working with others.

We’re so excited at what God has done in saving us and healing us, that we realize, everyone needs this! So we start sharing what God did for us with others, and we help them find freedom and healing as well.

We’ve found the answer in Jesus Christ. This is cause for celebration and amazement, all day everyday, like the word says, Rejoice at all times, and I say again, rejoice!

The cool thing about our savior Jesus Christ is that he takes people like you and me, and heals us over time, and then compels us to go out and help those with the struggles we have gone through. As someone who has recovered from addiction issues, I can relate to and reach those with the same problems in a way others simply can not. So let me challenge you, if you’d been through some stuff, think about how God can use that to bless others who are hurting.

In conclusion, Pray, pray, and keep praying! God will work the hurts out. But guard against sin. Sin wants to drag you back onto that broken road, and repeat all the hurts again. But in Christ, we have all we need to be free from that empty path, to walk in righteousness, and serve our true King Jesus Christ.

It’s our story brothers and sisters, of what God has done, fallen humanity ran from the Lord, and chased after sin, and we ended up face down in the pig sty, face down in the mud, and we came home to Jesus and Jesus ran to us, made us clean, and threw a party to celebrate our arrival home.

Main Points Review:
1. Pray for willingness to be healed. (Choose healing)

2. Choose to really believe God can heal you and take it away.

3. Organize the issue, the emotion, the pain/trauma so you can see it clearly.

4. Offer it to Jesus, put it entirely in God’s hands

5. Feel the pain, cry the tears, walk through the memories bravely (hand in hand with Jesus)

6. Speak life, speak the word of God, take it to heart as your identity

7. Practice the opposite of old broken patterns & attitudes

8. As we walk in the sunlight of the Spirit, old sins pass away

9. Boldly share your testimony, what God has done with others

10. As you continue to grow in Christ’s power, keep your guard against sin

A Great Cloud of Witnesses: Faith-Living vs. Me Centered Life

Faith is a mystery to the world. It seems crazy. It seems stupid. But I’ll tell ya what’s stupid. I’ll ya what’s dumb. What’s dumb is trying to control my own life and manipulate events to make things I want happen.

It just doesn’t work. And even if it does work, I’m not happy. I get exactly what I wanted, and it’s just twice as bad because I realize it didn’t make me happy.

There are only two ways to live in this world, by faith, or by me.

Living by faith is kind of like following a GPS, but here’s the twist, you don’t know where it’s taking you.

You trust that God is moving you in the right direction. Make a left here, go straight, now make a right, one more right, now go straight for a long time. And I like to get in there and tell God where I need to turn next. God, I’m pretty sure this is the road. God says that isn’t the road, keep going. But we’ve been going straight for like 2 hours we gotta turn.

How in the world am I going to get to where God wants me if I keep trying to change the route?

Faith is like following that GPS each day. What does God want me to do? What does God have next? What is His plan and purpose?

Now if it were my uncle calling and telling me where to turn, well I’m not gonna trust it, how does he know where I’m supposed to go?

But this is God. And faith is trusting that God is giving me the right path to take. Even when it seems odd or even crazy.

We’ve all been at that point of decision: You know God is telling you to leave this job and take a new one. You know God is telling you to move there. You know God is telling you to do something that is risky.

Many times it’s just God saying go talk to that person about my son Jesus.

And I’ve gone both ways at times. Sometimes I draw back, well no God I’m not gonna do that. And I move on. And I miss the blessing. I miss something special.

How do I know that?

Because there have been so many times when God called me to step out and by a miracle I did step out, and my goodness, it was exactly right. I couldn’t tell before. But I could tell after.

Let me say that again, we can’t tell before we jump in, but we find out after. We find a blessing we didn’t expect.

I have these supernatural stories, where I was just doing something boring, going to the store or whatever, and God interrupts me, and then I make a friend, I get to pray with someone, I get to see God do something. And it’s amazing.

The miracle of faith is when we say yes to the crazy thing God calls us to do.



So I want to tell you about some people who did the crazy thing, and it opened up a portal, to a God-moment that changed their lives forever.

You can sense it in the moment, the portal is open in front of you, will you jump in? These people of faith stepped forward boldly into the unknown.

It says in Hebrews 11:8-12, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”

The land that Abraham was walking on was his inheritance. As he walked those hills and valleys, do you think he ever dreamed that his people would inherit it?

God called Abraham to step out in faith, leave the land you are in and come to a place you’ve never heard of. Live your life in tents. Leave it all behind. And he does.

Abraham was looking forward. We too have to learn to look forward. Human beings we focus on the next paycheck, the next party, the next movie, but we’ve got to look beyond all that, to beyond the grave. What comes next? A New City of God.

Set your life around that hope. It sounds crazy. But it’s true.

Yet here’s the thing, it seemed impossible. God does that. It can’t be done. Abraham’s and Sarah have no child. They are too old to have a child. It can’t be done.

God does that time and again. He does the impossible to show us His glory. The hard part is to have faith that God can and will do it.

What is God calling you right now to stay in faith about?

It is a family member or child who is lost in addiction? Is it an unsaved parent or grandparent? Is it a sickness you’ve had for many years? Is it tough finances? Is it not giving up in times of depression? God is faithful.

But God will test you. He will test you and make you wait on the promise.

Are you really going to trust Him?

From a man and woman who were near 100 years old, came a miracle child, and from that, untold descendants, an entire nation.

That’s walking by faith, which is very practical, day by day, trusting God, living different, denying the flesh, refusing sin, loving our enemies, praying for people who persecute us, that is faith living. And it’s radically different from the world.

What about a me-centered life? I used to live that life, for many years before Jesus changed my life.

It’s doing the next thing that I want to do. It’s indulging the flesh. It’s getting high. It’s trashing someone’s on social media. It’s cheating on that girlfriend or boyfriend just to be bad. It’s cheating on that test. It’s waging a quiet war against a coworker whose job you want. It’s cheating on your taxes. It’s spending all my money on me, me, me. It’s building my life around getting what I want.

Can you get away with it? Sure. Can you survive that way? I suppose you could. But you’re gonna be empty. And each day living like that, inside you’re gonna die a little bit more.

If you’re stuck there today, or maybe you’re living a double-life, acting one way in church and another way the rest of the week, talk to God right now, close your eyes, pray and ask God’s forgiveness.

Lord, I’m sorry, I’ve been living a double life. Lord, I’m tired of it. Lord, set me free, make me whole again, I crucify the flesh, get behind me Satan!

No secret sin is too powerful. The enemy has been lying to you saying oh God took away this and that but he can’t touch that porn issue, he can’t do anything with the pride. He can’t deal with the lying or backbiting. Wrong, that devil is a liar, and you can be free!

Start to believe. But stop fighting it. Stop pulling at those chains. You can’t break them. Instead surrender. God I give up. I can’t fight it. Lord, you’ve got to take it away. Take it away today!

Walk by Faith. Trust His promises.

That isn’t easy friends. Leaving my last appointment after five years wasn’t easy. But I knew it was God’s will. It was hard to pack everything up and move to a town where I’ve never been. But I knew it was God’s will. And if God said tomorrow, pack up again and go to the moon, well… I better start packing. God is trustworthy.

We are surrounded saints, by a great cloud of witnesses. Millions and millions of people across human history who have chosen to live by faith. Well, I could never be like them, wrong! You make the choice. I’m going to live by faith. You chase prayer, you chase God, you chase the word, and slowly but surely, you find faith, you grow in faith, and your life more and more becomes defined by faith.

It’s a journey, you get it?

By faith, Abraham was told to kill his own son. Offer him up. Abraham didn’t refuse. He so completely trusted God, he thought to himself, well, if God tells me to sacrifice Isaac, God can raise Isaac from the dead. Wow!

It didn’t make sense, it seemed crazy, but he simply did what God said. And Later he realized, wow, good thing I listened to God on that one.

Remember that friends, do what God says even when it seems odd. Even when I’d much rather chase that relationship, God says it isn’t right. Save yourself some heartache and just say no.

I remember when I came to Owosso my last appointment and the DC said we got this thing called dinner church. I didn’t get it. But God confirmed it and we did it. And it ended up being one of the most blessed ministries I’ve seen. But it meant going against what I thought was best, and trusting what God was doing.

How do I do this? How do I live by faith? You learn to think in way that is connected with God. You hedge every big decision in prayer. I better pray about this one before I take an action here. I better open up my Bible and see what God is going to say about this.

As you do that, you’ll find God’s power surrounds the problem. I’m not kidding you will feel it. As you seek God, as you pray, as you page through the word, as you listen to sermons and podcasts, God begins to reveal the next step on the path ahead.

In this you learn to live a supernatural life. You go from a debased, pleasure-based, empty life, to a supernatural journey, a God-driven adventure.

It says in Hebrews 11:32-38, “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.”

They went from weakness to strength, because they had trusted in their God. You are part of this great adventure. You are part of this faithful family from all history, if you really walk by faith. If you really let God supernaturally lead your life. Then you will see weakness turn to strength. You’ll also face difficulties, challenges, even death itself, on this journey of faith with Christ. But it’s so worth it!

Lastly, Hebrews 12:1-3, “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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Let’s bring it all together now, what hallmarks are part of a real walk of faith?

First, we throw off everything that hinders our walk with Jesus, and the sin that easily entangles. I used to comfort myself that well they are gossiping, so it’s ok for me, they are in lust, so I guess Jesus must be ok with lust, wrong, wrong wrong. Don’t mimic the world around you, even those in the church who live double-lives, instead, look to Jesus himself.

Second, its running with perseverance the race God has for you. It’s different for each of us, what has God called you to? For me its being a corps officer. And that means going here and there, and wherever Jesus wants me. What is the race before you? You know what it is. It’s in front of you. Walk in it.

A Real Christian is known by these two factors:

1, they are radical about dealing with sin in their life. 2, they are radical about following God’s path for their life.

Finally, how do we do all that? By fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, remember what Jesus did? He went to the cross anyway, even though in the garden he had prayed, Father if its possible take this cup away from me. He followed the path anyway. If Jesus was willing to do that, then I can be willing to follow His path too. Fix your eyes on Jesus.

Consider Jesus who endured such opposition, and didn’t give up. Then you won’t be tempted to grow weary and lose heart.

7 Things I Learned in the Last 5 Years

God has every person who is honestly seeking Him, on the planet on a spiritual journey. He is teaching you something right now. And he’s taught us at this church so many things over the last 5 years. So we’re going to look at the top 7 things that I’ve seen God say to us over this period, and we’ll look at how it changed and transformed this body of believers for the better.

We start at the beginning.

I remember coming here in 2019 and being so afraid. I had never in my life experienced the kind of fear I had when I first came here. I was terrified. I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t know how to manage a staff or administrate or anything.

But God gave me courage, and taught me courage through that initial battle.

It reminds me of what God said to Jeremiah when he called him, “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.” -Jeremiah 1:17

If I could give advice to any pastor or officer stepping into a new role, it would be this: Don't give up in those first few months. When you're afraid and it seems impossible, keep going. If you can push through that initial phase you'll be alright. It gets better. You'll feel faith and courage begin to replace fear and doubt.

I remember we started dinner church back in 2019 and suddenly we went from just a handful of people to about 30 people coming regularly. It was amazing. I was shocked. And we hadn’t really done that much. Sure we spread the work, talked to people during the week, handed out fliers, did posts on social media, but in the end God simply brought a family together.

If you don’t give up, you find your courage. God builds it in you as you refuse to stop. As you cling to His promises, as you keep showing up, the courage slowly forms.

I saw it in all our people, they slowly learned courage, from hiding their faith to speaking it boldly to the people around them. God taught us courage and it was amazing. We became a body of believers who wasn’t afraid to speak up for Jesus, and try different things, events, groups, and activities outside the box and the norm.

Second, God taught us the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 1:7 ESV, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

There was this gift I found as a I studied the word, testimonies, near death experiences, the prophets, and as I studied about hell and what it is, I began to fear the Lord. And this changed my whole approach to everything I do in ministry.

I used to treat God’s commands as optional. Do it if you want to. Don’t commit adultery, nice suggestion. Don’t steal, nice suggestion. Isn’t that nice? And it shook me up, the fear of the Lord, to realize our God is a consuming fire, he’s not playing around, he is purifying us for heaven, because he loves us.

If you can accept it, embrace the fear of God, tremble at God, it helped me so much to find freedom.

It drew my wife to me, honestly, she knew many men who were “Christian” but it was all very casual, sort of something on the side, along with the porn and the selfish life, the gossip and the empty life. But Chelsey knew when she met me, that’s a guy who honestly fears and regards God and has a deep sense of, “I need to do what God wants me to do.” It’s not just some option near the bottom of a list, it’s the only thing.

What if you embraced that? What if you feared the God who can send you to hell for sin? How would that change your life?

I fear God. And that has been the greatest gift. Because when a temptation to sin comes into my mind, and they do for all of us, I fear God enough, to say no. Part of the love of God is the fear of God. It helps me stay on the right path when temptations attack. No, I fear the Lord, I know His power and that he’s not messing around.

Things that were going on in the background, in my heart, as a pastor, that didn’t belong there, things with lust, things to do with pride, things to do with showing off my own abilities, one by one they disappeared in the face of the fear of God.

Our church members began to take God’s commands seriously, they began to fear God and repent of sins in their lives. Gossip died down. Addictions faded away. God began delivering us from evils of the flesh. And it has been powerful.

If I could give everyone a gift in the room, it would be that.

Thirdly,

1 Peter 5:6 ESV, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you”

God taught us humility. As we rallied to relaunch the Owosso salvation army I became very excited. I wanted to show how great I was. How much I could do. How valuable I was as an officer.

It was selfish ambition. It wasn’t really about God. And God knew that. And he got to work on humbling me.

It’s common in The Salvation Army, to try to show off how well we can do. That’s for any young pastor I think, show off how dynamic we are, how great a preacher we are, and how hard working we can be, and it can be toxic.

I became very sick for a good two years. Severe stomach problems. But in all this God humbled me.

I could no longer work in my own strength. My wife experienced something very similar to this, she and I both loved to work from our own strength, pushing and pushing in the flesh. Well, when you get so sick you can barely stand for weeks, for my wife, months, well, you can’t work in the flesh anymore. And I learned, I know she did as well, to work from the Spirit. To put God first, instead of second.

I used to drag God behind my efforts. I didn’t ask Him first. I didn’t work from His strength. Now he’s King and I’m not.

It’s not about me anymore. It’s about Him, and giving Him glory.

Now it’s easy to say that. But it’s amazing and perfect when it’s really true. And it’s really true in me. God did that. I didn’t.

I’ve seen the body of believers embrace humility. Serving each other. Treating the homeless with dignity and respect. Returning love after an insult or slander. That’s holy humility.

Fourthly, holiness.

In the combination of courageousness, which God had taught me, and the fear of God which taught me to hate my own sin, and humility which taught me to reverence God and honestly keep God first, out of this came something called holiness.

1st Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

I became set apart. Really all in for God. A utensil made for special use. A friend of God.

Old sins passed away. I gave them over to Him. I surrendered things to Him that I’d never surrendered. And that’s an ongoing process, it’s not done right now.

In Fact all these areas are on going.

I’ve seen that happen with so many of our people who attend the church, Randy, Shannon, Danny, Brett, Amber, Destinee, myself, Chelsey, we honestly confess our sins to God, express sorrow at whatever the issue is, and we repent before Him, and turn away from it, and God does a miracle, he takes it away. And then it’s gone. Our part is simply to keep it in check, guard against it. Wear that armor of God each day.

Fifthly, real love.

Out of these things, building on each other, from holiness, came a sincere love for God and my people.

I began to learn to honestly love you. To really care about my people. To love more and more deeply.

1 John 3:18 ESV, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Romans 12:9 says, “Let love be genuine…”

This comes very naturally to my wife she honestly and genuinely loves people. And it’s very beautiful, when you feel loved, it changes everything.

God has slowly given me a genuine love for my people. I loved to teach, to speak truth, but here I learned to love people deeply.

That’s rare. I challenge you today, love people genuinely. That is a feeling but it’s matched with action.

When we’ve been hurt deeply it’s harder to give love and receive love. But if we ask God he can heal our broken hearts, so we can learn to give love and receive it.

Churches learn to honestly love each other by doing things like talking on the phone with each other during the week, meeting up for lunch, praying with each other, serving and volunteering together, and visiting each other in the hospital. Our people here do that, and it’s beautiful to see.

Sixth, the presence of God.

Psalm 16:11 ESV You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Exodus 33:14 ESV And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

All of it builds on itself, and more and more this love drew me toward God. I wanted more of God. More and more of God. I grew in my relationship with Him. Grew and grew. And I began to learn to practice the presence of God, really sense God near me, and enjoy God, and know God really is right here with me, in power. The presence of God began to be very clearly with me.

We at The Salvation Army began to pray over our buildings, pray over our homes, pray over each other. We prayed together weekly during kettle seasons. And we began to sense God’s presence with us.

One of my favorite memories over the last five years was hosting the national day of prayer event at Fayette square and at that event we dedicated the city of Owosso to God almighty.

And we felt it ever since, whenever we drove by that God had done something big there.

We had many people come into the facility and simply say, “I felt the Holy Spirit here whenever we came.”

You can experience the presence of God. You can honestly feel God near you. God’s presence isn’t a myth, it’s throughout the whole Bible.

God can be sensed, God can be experienced, God can be felt.

We’ve become so rigid and doctrinal in the body of Christ, we forget the most amazing parts of being a Christian, spiritual gifts, deep prayer, sensing God’s presence, dreams and visions, our faith is supernatural!

It’s as simple as continuously turning our attention toward God in the room with us, over and over, and eventually it becomes a constant throughout the day.

Seventh, in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

Romans 12:2, “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.”

And in all these things building on each other I began to learn to walk in step with the Holy Spirit.

I knew God was with me. I sensed his presence. And I began to realize, I really can hear the voice of God. I can quiet myself, shut up my own inner voice, and learn to hear from God. And that began small, as hearing from God in prayer or through the word.

But more and more it manifested into a lifestyle, where God will nudge me to do something, to talk to someone, to minister to someone, to go pray, to watch a movie, to take a nap, and slowly but surely, I’ve been learning to practically live my life by the leading of God. And yes that’s real, its true, and it’s actual. It’s testing and discerning God’s will (romans 12:1-2), it’s walking in step with the Spirit, and it’s being led by the Spirit, and it’s following the will of God for your life on a daily basis. It’s amazing!

In the church we began to change how we thought. Instead of thinking, “I’d like to start this ministry, or we should do it this way.” We started to ask, “What ministry is God calling us to start?” “How would God want it done?” It feels like such a slight adjustment, but when we let God lead, he will guide us in the right direction.

I got tired of bumping my head up against failure. Let’s let God set the agenda and see what He wants us to do. And that has yielded fruit.

In conclusion, God has done great things at The Salvation Army and he will continue to do great things in the future.

Review of Main Points:
1. Courage
2. The Fear of the Lord
3. Humility
4. Holiness
5. Sincere Love for my people
6. Practicing the Presence of God
7. Being led by the Spirit



We celebrate what God has done.

We give Him all the glory.

We are excited for what God is going to do in the future.

We pray for the leaders who are coming to take over.

We pray for myself and Chelsey as we move to our next appointment.

We love you all. And we know that the seeds God has planted, will continue to grow and flourish, as you continue to seek the Lord. I charge you to continue to walk purely before Him, refusing to allow any open doors to sin in your life. I charge you to continue to spread the word in this community that Jesus is alive, and all may find salvation in Him.

God bless you, and may God bless The Salvation Army in Shiawassee county.