Have I mentioned lately that GOD ROCKS?!?!?
I have? Oh. Well, just in case you forgot—GOD ROCKS!
Last Sunday, I had the incredible opportunity to preach… yes, for the first time ever. For two services. The attendees at Kincaid UMC and Welda UMC were wonderful! And I am happy to report that God showed up and showed out in some pretty remarkable ways.
As we rejoice in God’s goodness and power today, I wanted to share with you a synopsis of the message that God laid on my heart. The following is an abbreviated version of my notes since it was a 25-minute sermon and that is a bit much for a single blog post. (Forgive the choppiness… That is why they are notes. Although I did try to make them legible for purposes of this post.)
Thanks to all of you who were praying for this experience… God really rocked our socks off and painted a very vivid picture of how to go from Never… to Forever!!
To the Glory of God alone,
SGK
PS: Let me know what you think… leave a comment below! 🙂
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When I was growing up, I had it all figured out. I had a long list of things I was going to do, and a long list of things I was NEVER going to do. For example:
I would NEVER agree to the words in Ephesians of submitting to a man. Now? I am married to a wonderful soldier and couldn’t be happier.
I would NEVER Miss “home.” Now? I think of Kansas everyday from Fort Benning, GA.
I would NEVER work for free. Now? I have answered the call to ministry and work for “Jesus dollars” as ministry apprentice at CCC in Columbus, GA.
I would NEVER be comfortable talking about Jesus. Now? It’s Sunday morning, and I am blessed to share with you my heart for Jesus.
I have been called to tell others about Christ, living in the light of eternity. God took my long list of NEVER… and changed it focusing on His FOREVER.
Think to yourself… About your “nevers.” Has God changed it in ways you could never imagine? Or did He try to change it and you resisted? Are you currently living your life to influence other people’s forever in the name of Christ?
Living our lives with the “Forever” of others in mind must be intentional. It’s not easy. But we can let God do the work. There are three big parts of going from Never to Forever—we have to Know it, Show it and Grow it!
Know it!
Did you know… As few as 5 to 10 percent of people in the average church have shared their faith in the last year? That means that 90 percent of people have chosen the sin of silence.
But it’s not too late—we worship a very loving and forgiving God, so if you are perhaps one of the 90 percent who squirms at the thought of mentioning Jesus over lunch with a friend or is embarrassed about sharing your faith, take heart—It’s never to late for God to use us!
ALL of us have been called to share the gospel… Look at the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
It’s called the Great “Commission” not “The Great suggestion.” Jesus isn’t telling us to share the Good News if we feel like it or if it is convenient. Commission is an authoritative order.
William Faye, author and evangelist says it well: “People do not put their faith in Christ because we force them to believe. They put their faith in Christ because God uses us to point out the truth.”
Show it!
Step 1: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength—without this, we got nothing!
Love neighbor as yourself… As in, everyone is your neighbor.
God will give you the words to say and heart of love to do it—if you are open and receptive to what He is asking you to do
Discuss: Factor of 7 Experience
“Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.” Luke 6:38 MSG
When your flesh or the enemy tries to talk you into chickening out… Remember that WE have already been given the greatest gift. Think back to the Scripture—“give away your life and find life given back.” God’s son Jesus LITERALLY gave away His life, arms stretched on the cross… Shouldn’t we pass the love from that gift onto others, giving them to chance to change their life of minimal hope and thoughts of “never” to “Because of God… I have Forever!”
Grow it!
God has done incredible work in my life, and He can do the same for you as well… All we have to do is love Him and listen
Share: Christ in Cow pasture
God took my “Never” feeling comfortable talking about Jesus and used it to change my Dad’s forever
Let’s take moment to sit in silence and listen to the Holy Spirit… Allow Him to bring to your mind anyone that you know needs to hear to the love of Christ. How will you specifically love on someone in the name of Christ this coming week to be a seed planter? Take a few moments to consider this…
Sharing the Gospel is not a contest to get the most “soul wins” or mark one up on the Jesus scoreboard. It’s not something to check off for a list in heaven. If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, you are already guaranteed a ticket to heaven. If you haven’t, today is a great place to start. Ask Him to take you from never to forever.
If you have already received Christ, we have a promise of heaven. And when we reach that gate, wouldn’t it be awesome to God to scoop us up and say “Well done my good and faithful servant?!”
It doesn’t matter your occupation or the time of year… It is always planting season when we are considering the idea of Christ’s love, the gospel. It’s time to get out there and get our hands dirty… When the Holy Spirit gets involved, we have a privilege to sow the seeds and the possibility of taking a person’s never to God’s forever.
