Have Hope you are Precious

Have Hope your Personality is Precious

1 Peter 1.6-7

Consider this fact: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29.11 (NIV)

A large part of God’s plan for our lives is our personal development. Therefore, we can see a purpose to the troubles we face in a fallen sinful world. The Lord is strong enough to use our trials to strengthen us.

GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH HE HAS ASSURED THAT…

Our trials will meet personal needs (v 6 – if need be)

AP: God is so intimately aware of our nature, character, tendencies, strengths, & weaknesses, that he tailors our troubles.

Trials are needed for Discipline

When we disobey God’s will

Psalm 119.67 ­- Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word.

Proverbs 3:10 My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction;

Pr 10:17 People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray. (NLT)

Proverbs 15:10 - Harsh discipline [is] for him who forsakes the way, [And] he who hates correction will die.

Hab 1:12 - O LORD my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O LORD, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins. (NLT)

We must have discipline in our life when we disobey God’s will – teaching us to OWN sins, mistakes, and fumbles.

Discipline is also punitive!

Discipline is not just after the fact it is a preventative!

Discipline is also a progress!

When we Grow in God’s will

1 Timothy 4. 7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers…. 16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

Chuck Swindoll – “I find in my own life it’s in the crucible, in the valley, in the times of failure, pain, misery and heartache, that I grow strong and deep. Those times of suffering build us and mold us more and more into conformity to Jesus Christ.”

Trials are needed for Dependence (on God) (Mark 4.35-41)

Where is your dependency today? Is it in yourself? Family? A Friend?

GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH HE HAS ASSURED THAT…

Our trials will meet personal needs

This is personal!

How will you respond to this personal time in your life?

Invest Life

We exist to ignite passion for God, inspire life, and invest life because Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

What does this look like?

Invest Life

The key to INVEST is SERVICE

·         Serving the church body through encouragement, care, and compassion. 

John 13:1b – “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”

o   Starts with an attitude of service

o   A maturing follower of Jesus must express his gifts through serving in the church.

o   Each follower has a spiritual gift that is given in order to build up other followers

o   We must discover our spiritual gift combined with our personality and personal life experiences and then make these available to Jesus for his use in the church

o   Each follower is to experience the joy of using their gifts in the church – we become alive to the things of Jesus through the expression of our gifts to others.

·         Serving the community through projects, bridge events, volunteering, and involvement

o   Investing a life means we recognize that we are to make a difference in our local community for Jesus.

o   Invest in projects that will improve the local community – volunteer time to mentor children in public schools; serve meals in a shelter; visit the elderly in a care facility; the list of opportunities is endless

o   Invest in bridge events that invite and encourage the un-church to try out Jesus – public concerts; hosting walk up movie-nights; community block parties; and VBS for children; again the list of opportunities is only as short as our imaginations

·         Serving the world through mission projects, trips, and gifts

o   Investing in mission causes around the world through financial gifts; participating in national and international mission trips (Building improvement projects, VBS in a struggling area, sports camps, minister in an orphanage, prayer walking and scripture distribution, etc.)

o   Investing in church planting – the goal of our ministry is to plant daughter churches with the same passion and vision for Jesus. We need new churches to be born in order to reach people for Jesus that may not come to an existing church or ministry.

Ignite – Inspire – Invest

Inspire Life Transformation

We exist to ignite passion for God, inspire life, and invest life because Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

 What does this look like?

Inspire Life Transformation

·         Bible study through small groups

o   Small Group Bible study is the means through which our lives our transformed by Jesus

o   Followers of Jesus are grown in groups not in isolation

§  We need encouragement

§  We need accountability

§  We need challenge

§  We need care and compassion

o   SG can be accomplished through the use of two strategies traditional Sunday school and Home Groups

§  Traditional Sunday School is an effective tool to connect, care, and cover biblical material – the drawback is that time is limited and real life issues are limited in discussion

§  Traditional Sunday School is effective because we have become comfortable with how to use this ministry in an age graded approach to Bible study

§  Home Groups is an effective tool toward real long lasting spiritual transformation for connecting with relaxed environment (living rooms), digging into real life issues for a biblical perspective, and the freedom of time and availability of days of the week  

§  Home Groups is effective as a bridge to the un-churched who may more readily attend a Bible study in the home of a friend or neighbor before they will come to church – it also offers the opportunity for a serious in depth questioning and examination of Christianity by the un-churched

§  Both strategies need to have qualified teachers/facilitators, leadership/support, and communication with the Leadership of the church concerning all aspects of the Class/HG

 

·         Mentoring Relationships

o   MR are valuable in encouraging followers of Jesus in a one on one setting

o   MR offers the opportunity to question, challenge, wrestle, and discover key aspects of the practical ways to implement Christianity in our lives.

o   MR needs a seasoned Follower of Jesus to be available to a less seasoned Follower

o   MR offers a way to grow in Jesus through personal guided relationship

o   MR is a great strategy of growth that is flexible depending on the personal schedule of the partnership

·         Meaningful Fellowship

o   Followers of Jesus need fellowship that stems from friendships

o   Fellowship is more than meeting and eating together – it is a purposeful way for followers to discover natural friendship in the church

o   Fellowship will stem from TSS and HG as a natural outgrowth of people walking together through triumphs, tragedies, and even the humdrum of life. Through every season of life we need fellowship of other followers to encourage, challenge, and love us.

John 13: 34-35 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Lives will not change without sincerity – fake never made a transformation – we desire to make more than an impact we are called for transformation. 

Ignite a Passion for God

We exist to ignite passion for God, inspire life, and invest life because Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

What does this look like?

Ignite Passion for God

·         Worship – surrendered heart presenting love and affection to the Lord.

o   Worship is an act of adoration from the heart of the worshipper toward the Lord.

o   Corporate worship is a vitally important focus of the church ministry

§  CW must be engaging in the sense of sight, sound, and energy – this is the place for creativity. Staying fresh in worship through creativity expression, song, testimony, use of technology

§  CW must be encouraging in order to elevate the spirit to sense and respond to the presence of the Lord – this is the place for anticipation of the “God Moment” in worship when we invite God to speak to us.

o   Private worship is an essential aspect for the Follower of Jesus.

§  PW must be a daily practice that seeks to connect with God through Prayer, Reading the Bible, and mediation (or thinking about) God expressing himself through our lives

§  PW must be a fresh response to the current conditions of our life regardless of the position we find ourselves in whether on top of the world or in the valley

§  PW must be a fresh renewal of our walk and way with Jesus everyday

·         Life style evangelism – spreading the excitement of Jesus to everyone we come in contact.  

o   LSE is an outgrowth of our passion for the Lord.

§  People talk about what and who they are passionate – this is the place that we must deliberately season our conversations, contacts, and comments with Jesus

§  Personally pray for those around us that are not engage with a church ministry and with the Lord Jesus – this is the place that we utilize the ministry if the Holy Spirit to impact the lives of people around us

§  Personally make ourselves available to the Lord for whatever he chooses in our day – this is the place we stay close to the Lord in order for him to cause us to be a blessing to those around us, for him to use us to meet needs around us, and for him to flow through our lives to meet needs

o   LSE is an outgrowth of the personal relationship we have with the Lord

§  Igniting a passion for God starts within us but like any fire once ignited has the potential energy to spread to other people

§  Ignition impacts followers of Jesus and interests nominal followers

§  Once ignited with a passion for God we invest & invite people to Jesus naturally

Ignite...Inspire...Invest

I wish to define and describe the ministry that the Lord has called us. These simple statements drive us to become the people of God that can and will make a difference in our community for Christ.

We exist to ignite passion for God, inspire life, and invest life because Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

Ignite Passion for God

• Worship – surrendered heart presenting love and affection to the Lord.
• Life style evangelism – spreading the excitement of Jesus to everyone we come in contact.  

               

Inspire Life Transformation

• Bible study through small groups
• Mentoring relationships
• Meaningful fellowship

John 13: 34-35 - A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Lives will not change without sincerity – fake never made a transformation – we desire to make more than an impact we are called for transformation. 

Invest Life

• Serving the church body through encouragement, care, and compassion. John 13:1b – “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.”
• Serving the community through projects, bridge events, volunteering, and involvement
• Serving the world through mission projects, trips, and gifts

“Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." 

Mark 10:43-45 

 It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage."  Mark 10:43-45 The Message