Last night 8 church student ministries in Katy, Texas came together for “church” like never before. I’m not sure how many people were there since I’m not “Baptist” …..oh wait a minute……I am in a Baptist church…..so……let’s say 400, minus 20% exaggeration…..so about 320 should be pretty accurate…..hehe…..
ANYWAY, 16 year old Nina Grace did an wonderful job of leading us as we sang to God. Then came John Randles……long-haired old guys who repeatedly say “man” & “dude” rule……….…just sayin’. What he did was passionately & scripturally call believers (the church) to Dangerous Change! He spoke of how we live in a rapidly changing world: Within a few years, ¾ of the population will be under 25, 7 of 10 students don’t live with original parents, 15 million in USA are living with grandparents and that there is great spiritual interest in this generation. AND with todays technology, the potential to reach the WORLD with the GOSPEL is possible! But it won’t happen passively, the church (students especially) must step up and live dangerously. The reason Jesus was killed was because of His relationship with His Father. Jesus was dangerous and a relationship with Jesus is dangerous! It begins in the heart and causes us to think differently (Romans 12:1-2). And when we’re dangerous, people listen! (forget EF Hutton…..that was for you old guys)
Then he took us to Acts 2:39-47 and pointed out Marks of a Dangerous Disciple. It takes a spirit of:
- DESPERATION: (39-41) These people got desperate, passionate about something other than themselves. If we are to be desperate disciples, we must get off the unholy trinity of me, myself and I and get focused on Jesus & the Lost!
- DISCIPLINE: (42) Combine this with desperation and look out! Randles hammered us on doiong the “basics” well. He illustrated it by pointing out that the reason it’s hard for sports teams to repeat championships isn’t because of talent, but they relax and get away from the basics. Believers can do the same if we stop spending time with God in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship, etc…SO TRUE!
- EXPECTANCY: (43) Now I’ve read this verse over hundreds of times and never saw it this way! Again, the reason that so often the same teams play in championships is they THINK they belong there – like the Katy Tigers in football (sorry other schools – but it’s true). Disciples, disciplined followers of Jesus, need the same mindset that we CAN Know Jesus deeply and Make Him Known widely!
- UNITY: (44) Don’t confuse unity with uniformity. Students all go to different schools, that’s not gonna’ change, that would be uniformity. BUT desire for God, reaching friends for Jesus, etc… is something we can & must be unified on! And here’s the key – if we lay aside our own desires for the “team” (the church) – we may not get our way, but the whole “team” (the church) wins!
- SACRIFICE: (45) Can’t be a servant leader without this. It will mean not going to some parties, not hanging with certain peeps, etc….I loved his point – In 10 years at your high school reunion, most likely you won’t be friends with even 2 of those you graduated with! Yep. In school, friends are somewhat picked for you, but in life, YOU pick your friends, so be wise!
- SERVICE: (46) This is a biggie – Am I (are you) a giver or a taker? God so loved the world that He GAVE! Be a giver and watch how God uses you (& me) to change the world! Want to know why I know this? READ verse 47!
So, here’s the deal: Want to make a difference in life? Want to impact friends? Want to change the world? It has never happened from just HEARING stuff like this, we must DO something about it! And THAT is DANGEROUS!
Let’s be DANGEROUS for Jesus!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment