Faithwalkers 2009-Day 2, pt. 2

No pictures this time...just a continuation from the last post....

Breakout Session 2: A Hill To Die On; Ben Lennander, Paul Johnson, Nate Meyer, Josh Cramer, and Dan Bovenmeyer

These 5 men each spoke briefly about something on which they would be willing to stake their lives. I actually intend an listening to this one again because I started to lose focus towards the end of the time. Once again, though, it was an amazing message from all of these men of God.

1. A Hill to Die On: That the Word of God is absolute truth. We can go to it for everything in life.
--> 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
--> The Bible is not an ordinary book; it has authority over my life
-->Why is the Bible reliable?
1. Cohesiveness and unity
* 66 books written as 1
* Spans over 1,500 years
* Theme: God's eternal plan for us
2. Power of prophecy and fulfilled prophecy
* The probability of one man fulfilling just eight prophecies, is 1 in 10^17, which, according to the science of probability is impossible. Jesus fulfilled 456.
3. The archaeological evidence
* No evidence that has been found has ever disproven the Bible
--> Testimony of changed lives as a result of God's Word working in them

2. A Hill to Die On: The Gospel
--> The Gospel not only makes us disciples of Christ, but disciple makers
--> The Gospel calls us to the Great Commission
--> We don't do the works of God on our own
God calls us to make disciples: Matt 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
-->The church upholds the sound doctrine of sharing the gospel

3. A Hill to Die On: Every Christian is called by God into full-time ministry; not all are called to receive a paycheck
--> All Christians should be fully engaged with the church body
--> Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
--> Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
--> Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
--> Imitate the faith of your leaders. Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
--> Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

4. A Hill to Die On: Christ's Gospel of Grace
"To know if you're willing to die for something, you have to be willing to live for it."
The world is not impressed with our best effort, our best effort being our good works and our service. Technically, anyone can "serve" somebody in need. The motivations might be different, but our good works in and of themselves don't separate us from the rest of the world.
--> A study done by the Barna Group found that 88% of non-believers view Christians as hypocrites.
--> And why shouldn't they? So many of us go to church on Sunday mornings and we talk the talk, but when it comes down to it, not all of us truly live it out.
--> What we have that the world doesn't is Jesus Christ's gospel of grace.
--> 2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
"The world is waiting for us to admit what it already knows we are: weak. That's where God's grace comes in. Catalog your weaknesses and figure out how to boast in them."
Live your life about grace.

(I know that's only 4 out of the 5, but as I mentioned above, I started losing focus towards the end and my notes for the last main point are really jumbled and don't make a lot of sense. So I'll end there with that session and move on)

Main Session VI: A Heart to See Lives Changed, Rick Whitney

(Yet another smack upside the head....actually, I think several occurred during this message...)

"All believers are to be on a mission"
"A practice of our churches is to equip and train members to effectively share their faith."
~ The Core

Diagrams and tools allow us to share what we know; the issue isn't if we can get equipped to share our faith, it's a matter of the heart.
--> At the moment of salvation, God gave me a heart for the lost. If we don't have compassion, do we truly know Christ?
--> When you're 'bumped' (challenged, etc), what comes out? Do you care? Do I speak for the Lord?
We may know Christ, but we still might not have much compassion for the lost. What deadens your heart?

1. Lack of prayer for the lost
   
2. We play with sin Matthew 24:12 "Because lawlessness in increased, most people's love will grow cold"

--> Sin robs you of your heart vitality
--> If you play with sin, your effectiveness for winning souls is lost
3. We are afraid
"If we're not hated by someone we either don't know enough people or we don't speak enough truth." John Piper
4. We are comfortable
--> We like our "Holy huddles"
--> We don't know what's coming; 2 Corinthians 4:17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
5. We forget our obligation to the Lord
--> Does our Lord's compassion for the lost move us?

3 Questions to ask yourself to really know someone

1. What makes them laugh?
2. What makes them angry?
   
3. What makes them weep

2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 17-20
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised...Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Practical steps to awakening your heart and renewing your compassion for the lost

1. Pray for the lost every day
2. Pray for opportunities to be a witness
3. Pray for courage to speak
4. Look for opportunities to hand out invites to your church

Finally, Rick left us with a challenge (actually, a couple)
First, to go through the Begin With Christ book published by GCM with someone you are reaching out to and then he added that whatever we might do to change the lives of the lost, to do it with someone else.

That's the end of day 2...I'll probably post more on Wednesday...typing all of this out is kind of like hearing it all again; I don't know about you, but my brain is full :-)

Faithwalkers 2009-Day 2

On to Day 2 of Faithwalkers. By this point, I was still trying to process everything from Monday that I had a harder time focusing on what was shared. Nonetheless, God continued to give me several Jethro Gibbs-style smacks upside the head and I found myself challenged even more. You NCIS fans will get the reference :-) During our tie down at the end of the evening, Duane asked us, "How is God speaking to you," to which I replied, "Loudly."













Once again, morning worship was amazing. Steele has such a passion for the Lord! I only wish I could be that fired up that early in the morning :-)






























































What is Jesus Christ this morning?

Ok...so on with the day's teachings....

Main Session IV: Life Changing Love, Bill Young
Bill started off his time by recounting an incident that occurred at a Wal-Mart on Black Friday, 2008. Apparently the crowd was so zealous in their shopping that as soon as the doors opened, they essentially stampeded through the doors and in their fervor trampled one the Wal-Mart workers to death. He lay on the floor, dying, and they just continued to press onward, completely unaware.

"People are dying all around us; are you still shopping?"
We have a command to love people as Christ loved us. But how?
2 Cor 5:14 "For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died."

1) Be concerned about the lost.
*If we love like Jesus, we can't just leave people dying on the floor.
--> Ouch. How many opportunities have I lost because I was too scared of what people would think of me? How many people have I left "dying on the floor"?
A. We need to see people in light of eternity.

• "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Matthew 9:36

Understand that people are going to hell.

B. Selfishness keeps us from loving.
--> Boy, is that true! I have recently found myself so wrapped up in Tiffany that I often don't give my time and attention to those in whom I should be investing. And in turn, I don't love people as I should, unless it's convenient for me.

II. Don't worry about rejection
--> "Then Moses said to God, "If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" Exodus 3:13
--> Then Moses answered, "But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, 'The LORD did not appear to you.'"
* Our fear of sharing the gospel is infectious.
We need to understand two things:
1. It's NOT about me! (1 John 4:18 Perfect love casts out all fear.)
2. It's ALL about God! (Exodus 3:12 He said,"But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.")
When we step out in faith and obedience, God promises to be with us always, even to the very end of the age. Moses doubted. He even tried to get out of it (probably more than once!), but God continued to be faithful and Moses finally answered the Call to lead the Israelites out of slavery.

Conclusion? I need to STOP wasting time and START loving people.





































Breakout Session 1: Want to be a Church-Planting Woman? Cindy Sokoll and Neva Whitney

Oh, how encouraging this talk was for me! As a woman who is part of a church plant in it's infant stages, it was so good to hear from older women who have been doing this for a while now. Cindy and Neva both shared three things each that they have learned from being on church plants and what they had to say really nourished my soul.

1. Our enemy is real.
--> When I step out in faith, Satan takes notice.
--> 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
* Satan is looking for a way to take me out of the game. One of the most effective ways he can do that is to cause disunity among the women in the church. Psalm 133:1 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when [sisters] dwell in unity!"

2. It's a journey.
--> Don't shut God out!
-->Don't listen to the lies
--> Worrying about what people think can stop you from doing great things for God
* If you want to be fit for the Kingdom of God, you can't just let life pass you by.

3. I am not always right
--> 2 Corinthians 3:11 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
--> Sin was brought into the world through Eve.
I read interesting note on this the other day in my study Bible. Genesis 3:16 states "Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you." Obviously being single, this verse doesn't completely apply to me, but I found this interesting:

"Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. These words from the Lord indicate that there will be an ongoing struggle between the woman and the man for leadership in the marriage relationship. The leadership role of the husband and the complementary relationship between husband and wife that were ordained by God before the fall have now been deeply damaged and distorted by sin. This especially takes the form of inordinate desire (on the part of the wife) and domineering rule (on the part of the husband). The Hebrew term here translated “desire” (teshuqah) is rarely found in the OT. But it appears again in 4:7, in a statement that closely parallels 3:16—that is, where the Lord says to Cain, just before Cain's murder of his brother, that sin's “desire is for you” (i.e., to master Cain), and that Cain must “rule over it” ~ Taken from the ESV online Study Bible

--> We, as women, need to give men the opportunity to bear the responsibility, allowing them to step out and lead.

4. You have to give up relationships for the gospel
--> Mark 10:29-30 Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
--> Don't use the "power" of manipulation to get your way if it will stop people from stepping out in faith
--> Don't get your claws so set in this life that your can't do things for God. Open the door for God to work in your life.

5. You have to remember you're on the front lines
--> Don't get comfortable! Be a self-starter! Invite people to everything! Don't rely on others. Be the first to serve and start serving.
--> Oh boy. This one is way out of my comfort zone. Before going on the church plant to Jordan Park, it was so easy to just let other people come up with the great ideas and follow along. Now, it is up to just the few of us to step forward and carry out the things which God has put on our hearts.
--> I am not above anything. I am God's servant.
--> 1 Corinthians 4:1 "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God."

6. It's risky
--> Part of the risk is allowing the men to lead us there, into the unknown.
--> Part of the beauty of God working in men is men being who God created them to be
--> We need to let the men flex their "God-muscles"; let them lead and follow with a cheerful heart.

Faithwalkers 2009-Day 1, pt. 2

I decided to continue to a new post just to break things up in smaller chunks. Things are much easier to digest that way....
































Breakout Session 1: Trials, God's Love & Spiritual Growth, Jay Yousling
"God whispers in our pleasure, but shouts in our pain." C.S. Lewis

• John 15:2 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,"
  

1. You can be a Christian and still bear no fruit
2. In a vineyard, there will be fruit that ends up on the ground, dirty and trampled. Instead of throwing it out, the vine dresser will tie the broken vine to the fence, closer to the other vines in hopes of saving it.
   

• John 15:2 continued "while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
• God is not ignorant of you.
• God is not indifferent of you.
• God is not incapable for you.
• God is in love with you!

• God allows pruning for
  

1. My growth
2. Other's good
3. His glory!

Breakout Session 2: Living in God's Word, Jim Harrington
"If I had to stake my life on one thing, it's that God is real and that He affects change in our lives."

• The Bible reveals that God's dwelling is with us. "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call Him Immanuel (which means, God with us)" Matthew 1:23
• Revelation 1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place"
• --> Jesus Christ is the revelation that is soon to take place. Everything that happens in my life is a revelation of Jesus Christ. When I am truly aware of this, I will become more intentional in how I interact with people if I want to win them to Christ.
• "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18
• --> Am I worried more about changing me or having Christ revealed in me?
• Change happens quickly when we remove the veil (the Law that keeps us from having true fellowship with God). Let God's glory shine on you; stop trying to change!
• There is no sin between me and the Lord.
• Is your reality with the Old Covenant or the New?
• Colossians 2:23 [Such regulations] have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
• -->The more I place restrictions on myself and say, "Don't do this," or "don't do that", the more likely I am to actually do the things I don't want to do.

Main Session III: Good News Changes Lives, Brent Knox
Thought to ponder: Christianity is the only religion that sings. We sing in response to the good news of Jesus Christ.

• Religion: "I obey, therefore I am accepted by God.
• Christianity: "I am accepted, therefore I obey."
• When we are drowning, God isn't sitting in the boat shouting at us to try harder. He dives in to save us!
• My life doesn't change as a result of me trying harder; it changes as a result of Christ working in me.
• The gospel is central to our joy.
• Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he
  whose transgressions are forgiven,
  whose sins are covered.

  ² Blessed is the man
  whose sin the LORD does not count against him
  and in whose spirit is no deceit.

• --> Blessed in the Hebrew translates as a state of happiness.
• God doesn't hold a thing against me, so why do I hold anything against myself?
• Our joy will attract the world to Christ
• The gospel is central to our generosity
• Generous people are the most attractive people in the world
• What separates us from every other religion in the world is our generosity
• God cares about my heart and motivation. He does not consider me generous until both my heart and motivations are generous. The gospel releases our hearts so that our motivations change.
• "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
• --> Generosity fades when the gospel has faded in our lives
• -->He became poor so that we might become rich
• "And your renown when forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you..." Ezekiel 16:14
• --> God is delighting in me right now
• --> God became ugly so that we might become beautiful
• The gospel is essential to successful and vibrant marriages
• The greatest tragedy about Christianity is that the divorce rate in Christian marriages is the same as, if not higher than, that of the secular world. Broken relationships won't attract people to Christ.

Overall theme from Day 1? I need to stop trying to change me and allow God to work in me and through me so He can change my life and use me.


That's all for now. My brain is ready to explode just reviewing all of that, and I've already been through it all once! I will possibly post more tomorrow.... :-)

Faithwalkers 2009-Day 1

The last time I was able to attend a Faithwalkers conference was probably back in 2005; I honestly don't remember...I know it's been a few years though. I arrived at the Qwest Center in Omaha just in time to sing the last worship song before Mark Darling took the stage on Sunday night to kick off the week. And thus began one of the most encouraging and convicting weeks of my life. I have learned so much in the last week, about myself, about God's grace and love, and about trusting Him to work in me instead of trusting in myself. And of course, there was ample opportunity to use the camera and I was able to get a ton of practice taking pictures in low light without using my flash :-)











































































A few key points from the first day at Faithwalkers:

Main Session I: It's All About Changing Lives, Mark Darling

• The gospel is not the single truth of the Bible; it is a foundational truth. What matters is that Truth is being shared
• Truth does not go forth by itself. It needs someone to speak it. It needs my life to live it out.
• God uses the weak. I am full of weakness. (huh. That's convenient :-))

Main Session II: God's Love and Forgiveness, Dennis Clark

• Religion can be spelled with two letters: D-O. Christianity can be spelled with four: D-O-N-E.
• "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21 (emphasis mine)
• Christ took on the sins of the whole world and the judgment of God when he died for us on the cross. I never truly realized how powerful that really is until this week.
  
• *Stop nailing yourself to the cross! When you feel guilty for your sins, you're saying that God didn't take care of your sins. You make God, and His Word, a liar. This one was huge for me. When I sin, I constantly feel guilt for what I have done. And in doing that, I'm essentially telling God that He isn't big enough and that what he did for me on the cross didn't matter. God calls us to repentance, not to guilt.
• We are never told to remember our sins; we are told to remember Him