Where Has All The Excitement Gone?

I love roller coasters. The jubilant feelings of waiting in line and the excitement that builds up while I wait. And after riding the roller coaster, I want to tell all my friends about how great it was and how badly I want to ride again. If you’ve ever ridden a roller coaster, you know what I’m talking about. Thousands upon thousands of people flock to amusement parks every year to experience these same feelings and embrace this same excitement.

But, where has this excitement for Jesus and His church gone?

The Bible says in Mark 7:36-37, “Jesus urged them [the people of the town] to keep it quiet, but they talked it up all the more, beside themselves with excitement. ‘He's done it all and done it well. He gives hearing to the deaf, speech to the speechless.’”

In the passage above, Jesus has just performed miracles, healing the deaf and the mute in front of the multitudes. Then something interesting happens, He urges them to shut up! However, the multitudes keep talking about it even more, professing their excitement to anyone and every one around them. They just couldn’t hold back their urge to talk about Jesus and all His goodness because they saw it first hand!

What has stopped us from being as excited for Jesus and His church? The answer lies in where we place our excitement – in what we are excited about and why.

This past summer our youth group Generation Next went to a youth conference in Georgia; it was an amazing, Spirit-filled experience that left our entire youth group and leaders with an excitement for Jesus. Unfortunately, after a month or so that excitement dwindled and the passion for Jesus that was so consuming burned out. As I recall on my own excitement, I noticed that I relied more on a conference to change me than Jesus. My passion was more about going back each summer to rekindle that fire than fanning the flames and increasing it through the year. My point here is that when Jesus becomes the source of your excitement, it well never be exasperated because your faith and hope comes from an everlasting God who continually shows His power and goodness like he did to the multitudes in Mark.

If we implement this knowledge into our everyday lives – if we base our excitement in Jesus and what He has done for us on the cross, our circumstances won’t dictate how much excitement we have for Jesus. No amount of time will diminish our passion because we are connected to an unquenchable source. The enemy will try to do everything he can to steal your joy, believe me! He knows that if we get excited about Jesus circumstances won’t affect our steadfast faith, but he also knows that if we are not rooted in Jesus circumstances lead us to exhaustion and tirelessness.

This leads me too my next point, for most Christians, myself included, church becomes an exhausting ritual and quickly fades. I have seen many Christians come to church like Jesus never died on the cross, never broke the chains of death, and never rose again on the third day. Cheer up! Jesus lives and when we come to church it is a sincere testament that what He did is true. In essence, church should be the happiest place on earth where lives are healed, the lost are found, and the captive are liberated.

Even if you don’t see God’s miracles at this stage in your life or if you are looking at a one-way road down the avenue of disappointment, you can still rejoice knowing that God has everything in position to bless you tremendously, that Jesus already paid every price for us to be alive in Him, and that our sins and inadequacies are wiped away. This should get you excited!

The best feeling in life is not riding a roller coaster, despite how much we love it; the best feeling is when we don’t allow situations in life, big or small, to determine the precious value of our excitement. Walk around knowing that God’s divine, supernatural, and all knowing favor is on you – you have a reason to jump, dance, and shout! We are chosen; let’s act like it!

Why You Slumpin'

Slump - To fall or sink heavily; collapse

What does a slump look like? In baseball, a slump means that you go a certain amount of at bats without hitting the ball, thus keeping you from moving forward to the next base.

Slumps can happen in our walks with Christ too, and they function in a similar fashion. A slump occurs when we Christians go through seasons in life where it seems like we can’t do anything right or like we’re stuck in one place spiritually fighting off the same struggles that we always have been. Well then, how do we maneuver our way out of a slump?

When a coach notices “A player in a slump”, he keeps the player out for a couple of games to better his technique and climb out of the slump.

The Bible says something similar in Matthew 11:28, when Jesus says, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest”. This feeling of being burdened and heavy laden is an even better way of defining the slump. The first three words of this verse are “Come to me.” When we are graveled under burdens and a heavy heart, Jesus instructs us to simply but effectively go to him. If you are experiencing a “slump” you easily slip in to a routine, slump on Saturday, go to Jesus on Sunday, and back to slumpin' on Monday. For the ones who enjoy this routine you can stop here, but for those who don’t – keep reading.

The last step you must take in order to live a slump-free life is preventing the slump. Preventing the slump in my opinion is the toughest part of the process. Preventing “The Slump” means discovering the root of the problem and uprooting it so that its negative influence over you ceases. Unfortunately, people quiver at thought of changing themselves even when it is for the better because, believe it or not, it requires effort. Yes, I said it! Don’t hate me for it, but it’s true! An effective Christian life requires effort! Effort to remove yourself from compromising situations, effort to grow in our knowledge of God, and effort to reject the slump immediately when it comes at our doorstep.

I will be honest; this seems like something tiresome and unchanging. Many of us sometimes, myself included, try to follow similar steps in beating our own slump, but we come up empty handed and frustrated. The problem is many of us go into it thinking that we can change ourselves alone. We don’t acknowledge the power and the necessity of grace in our situation. The definition of grace in essence is getting what we don’t deserve. We didn’t deserve to be saved through Jesus’ death on the cross, but by grace, although we had sinned, God “has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22). In the same way, we can only change ourselves after acknowledging and believing that we need grace. We are only changed when we trust and believe that God is the only one who can change us, and there is freedom in that!

Ultimately, the more we seek a relationship with God, the easier it will be to reject the slump. In the words of worship leader Jeremy Riddle, “sinful choices and attitudes stem from a lack of intimacy with God.” As a result, the more we seek God and develop a relationship with the Father, the more we will want to reject the slump and the more we will walk in His purity and purpose.

Taking The Limits Off

When it comes to God, He can do more in our lives than we could ever imagine. But sometimes we are so preoccupied with our problems that we only see then mediocre. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” This word “according” actually means “to the limit of.” In other words, God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, to the limit of the power that works in us. So what, or who, limits God’s power in us? According to Ephesians, we do.

There are five ways that we can limit God:

1. Sin – Isa. 59:1-2 (CEV) “ The Lord hasn’t lost his powerful strength; He can still hear and answer prayers. You sins are the roadblock between you and your God. That’s why He doesn’t answer prayers or let you see his face.” Sin separates us from God and stops the flow of His blessing in our lives. We got to repent and turn away from sin.

2. Thoughts – Isa. 55:8-9 (CEV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘ As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’.” Our small thinking, reasoning and logic limit the power of God in us.

3. Choices – Deut. 30:19 (AMP) “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curses; Therefore choose life, that you and your Descendants may live.” Out future is determined by all the choices we are making today. Choose life

4. Experiences – Heb. 3 7-8 (NCV) “SO it is as the Holy Spirit says: ‘ TODAY listen to what he says. Do not be stubborn as in the PAST when you turned against God, when you tested God in the dessert’.” We allow past experiences to harden our hearts – both success and failure. Don’t get stuck in the past.

5. Unbelief – Matthew 13:58 “and he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Out ability to believe gives God something to work with – our inability to believe God takes that something away.

God is not limited because He does not have the ability to do what He wants to do, but because He is not given the opportunity to do it. If we allow these barriers to remain and linger in our lives, then God can’t exceed beyond the mediocre to do greater things in our lives. We should not limit God where He has not limited himself; in the words of Martin Luther, we need to “Let God be God!”

Adapted from Pr. Viviane’s

Friday night message.

Don't Let The Secret Out

Facebook. It seems that nowadays everyone has a Facebook page. We spend a big chunk of time going through Facebook, checking notifications, viewing recent pictures, liking interesting posts, catching up with old friends and family, and simply chatting with a friend.

But how much Facebook is too much Facebook? The apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:23 (AMP) that “all things are legitimate [permissible--and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful…constructive [to character] or edifying [to spiritual life].” In other words, through the grace of God, we have the free will to do anything we choose, but the choices we make should be governed by a right standard. When on Facebook, there are things we need to be aware of.

First, Facebook is a time waster. Checking one harmless picture can lead to another picture which leads to a Facebook page which leads to countless hours on Facebook. The Bible in Psalms 90:10 that time “[passes] quickly, and then we are gone.” Time cannot be accumulated or replaced; it is always passing, whether we make the most of it or not. We need to manage time and limit ourselves when on Facebook so that we aren’t couch potatoes on the internet.

Second, Facebook connections can prove to be hurtful. Although Facebook is a great way to stay connected to family and both old and new friends, it also allows us to be connected with some unfriendly “friends.” 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NCV) warns us to “not be fooled: ‘Bad friends will ruin good habits.’” Not everyone on Facebook has pure motives; some just gossip and spread rumors, and many post compromising things on their pages. We need to be careful who we accept as a “friend” because that person could be anything but a friend.

Finally, Facebook is one of the main invaders of our privacy. It is up to us to check our privacy settings to manage who we want viewing our information, but, more importantly, it is up to us to decide what we should share on Facebook. Not everyone needs to know that we “checked in” at “home,” how bad we think parents, bosses, or teachers are, or about that embarrassing moment at the party or in the bathroom.

So, what secrets are you letting out through Facebook? Don’t broadcast every moment of your life – it’s your life. God has called us to live in a way that pleases him: “…live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10).

Based on Pr. Viviane’s Friday night message “Don’t Let The Secret Out.”

DO YOU HAVE A VISION?

God's word says:"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18 
Let me ask you a question where you want to be 2 years from today? What Kind of relationship you want to have with your savior? Do you have a vision to be more for God and His kingdom, or are you satisfied with your relationship with Him right now and don't want to seek anything else? Or you do have a vision for your life and the type of relationship you want to cultivate with Him?


God is a marvelous God and His mercies renew every morning, as a matter of fact God has something new for you every day. He wants your relationship with Him to grow and mature. He expect you to seek Him with all your heart, with all your soul and understanding. He is expecting your to set goals for your life, It is good to set goal and have expectations of what God will do, it is called HOPE! Now faith will bring it to pass...


If you don't have a vision, you will lose your focus and eventually the Hope that something good will happen. You will live life just letting time pass you by. Without a vision (goal) we will perish and not accomplish anything in God. So Today let us aim for a vision to believe in, a goal to run after and a dream that will hold us grounded and focused in Him. A God's purpose driven dream to win the nations for Christ!

KARAOKE NIGHT

Karaoke Night calls for some laughs, and more laughs! No matter if you are a talented singer, or if you won’t even sing in the shower for fear of breaking the mirror in the bathroom- this activity is for YOU! Come together for a night full of singing your heart out (and possibly breaking a few ear drums-depending on who is singing). Don’t be shy, stay positive and sing-a-long! And remember, this is the night to be a STAR! Show what you can do! Sing along to your favorite contemporary 80's & 90's  music! It doesn’t matter what genre it is-- it just matters that you have fun!


April 29th, at 8:00 pm $5.00 per person. 


Come and enjoy! Fundraising for Forward Conference...

FORWARD CONFERENCE

Wow!!!  Forward is gaining on us!  It will be here before we know it!!  Just so you know we are less than 5 months away. Please don't forget to sign up as soon as possible.

This year, can we come prepared to Forward?  Can we bring the evidence of revival to Forward?  Can we experience God in an incredible way before we even step into Gwinnet Arena?   That way when we step onto the campus of the arena even more can take place.

Don’t let Forward be the place where you finally get to know God, experience His power and love, or get pumped to evangelize.  Let’s do those things before we get to Forward this year, so that we can tap into a whole new level that Forward has never been to before!  Waiting till we get to Forward to do these things just hinders us from all that we can be for God TODAY, the goals and plans He has for us TODAY, the amazing opportunities that could face us TODAY if we would only let Him take control NOW!

Prepare yourself by getting closer to the Lord and allowing him be your all in all!

May God take control today!