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
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.
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