Archive for Vision
Ten Things I Want NewSpring Church To Know August 30, 2010
As I sit and think about what happened at our church yesterday I am in awe of the God that we serve…that He would allow our church to have such a small part in what He’s been doing for over 2,000 years…reconciling the world to Himself through Christ! (See II Corinthians 5:17-21)
I wanted to say several things to each one of you…
#1 – Thank you to everyone who invited someone to church yesterday! I am SO proud of you guys…every time we issue a challenge to invite people to a church service you guys step up and BLOW IT OUT OF THE WATER! We saw over 500 salvations yesterday because so many of you were willing to step out of your comfort zones and bring someone to church.
#2 – Thank you to everyone who prayed for yesterday! We must NEVER underestimate the importance of the power of prayer. We’ve been praying for this date in particular since May (when I first shared the vision for this series with the staff) and yesterday we saw the result of what happens when God’s people BEG HIM to do something only HE can do.
#3 – Thank you to everyone who served in a volunteer role yesterday! It wasn’t my preaching that “brought them in,” but rather it was all of us serving together, using the gifts and talents that He’s given us in the context of HIS local church, and, as a result, seeing peoples lives be eternally transformed.
#4 – This coming Sunday we will conclude the series with a message that REALLY focuses on how we can continue to walk with and grow in Christ once we surrender our lives to Him! SO…if you brought someone with you yesterday then bring them back next week!!!
#5 – For those who invited someone to church and they did not receive Christ…DON’T GIVE UP ON THEM! (The guy who invited me to church was SO persistant…and I am SO glad that he was!) Keep asking God for opportunities and making yourself available to them.
#6 – If you are unsure as to how to share Christ with someone you can go here and watch the evangelism seminar we did several weeks back, OR you can go to the NewSpring Church podcast on itunes and download it for free!
#7 – For those wondering what we “did with those people” who received Christ yesterday…well…we simply believe that the same Holy Spirit who drew them to Himself in the first place is able to continue to do that same supernatural work in and around them. So…what do we “do” for them? WE DO CHURCH…and pray that as they continue to attend and hear HIS Word that they will continue to take their next steps of obedience as He leads them!
#8 – Let’s keep praying, keep inviting, keep sharing Christ and keep believing for GREATER THINGS!
#9 – God isn’t just doing this in our church…I’m hearing of things like this happening in SO many places…I honestly believe that our country is on the verge of another Great Awakening!
#10 – Cannot WAIT to begin our next series entitled, “The Blessed Life” on September 12 as we begin to explore how we can all live a life that is beyond our imagination!
BONUS – I LOVE MY CHURCH! I love you guys…can’t believe we get to do this…praying Acts 2:42-47 over us and believing God for it!
What Is Holding You Back? August 26, 2010
I don’t think people fall short of what God has for them because He isn’t revealing Himself…I think many do so because He does reveal Himself, but in Him doing so we are forced to face several things that MUST be overcame if we are going to achieve what He has for us…such as…
#1 – Fear
If you don’t say “oh crap” when God reveals what He wants for your life…then you probably didn’t hear from God!
We will never become who God has called us to be and do what He has called us to do if we do not face our fears.
- David faced his fear and stepped out to face Goliath.
- Moses faced his fear of not being able to speak and went before Pharoah.
- Noah faced his fear of not knowing how to build a boat
People that accomplish great things for God MUST fight through their fears because reality is than God has never asked anyone to do anything that was easy (other than receiving Christ!)
#2 – People
When you want to do something great for God there will always be LOTS of people who try to tell you why you can’t do what HE said you can do! My advice…never listen to anyone who is not doing anything tell you that you cannot do anything. OR…in other words, NEVER take dance instructions from a person who just stands against the wall and does nothing but criticize those who are trying to stay in rhythm.
#3 – The Procrastination Lie
I know so many people who swear that “one day” they are going to do what they “know” God has called them to do…but…”one day” for most people NEVER comes…because in their minds “one day” is when everything is in place and doing what God has called them to do does not require any step of faith at all.
“I will do it one day” is a lie that we tell ourselves in order to justify our disobedience. God doesn’t speak to hear Himself talk…His word is not to be considered but to be obeyed.
#4 – Underestimation of Him Working Through You!
If God has called you then He has also equipped you and will sustain you. Of course the task at hand is large and seems “impossible,” that is why Zechariah 4:6 says it is by HIS Spirit and II Corinthians 12:9 says that HIS power is made perfect in our weakness!!! He didn’t call us because we are “able,” we are nothing more than common jars of clay (see II Corinthians 4:7) that He wants to use for HIS glory…and He has a history of taking ordinary people (Acts 4:13) and doing extraordinary things through them!
13 Things I Believe About You August 18, 2010
#1 – I believe there is more God given potential in you than you realize. (See Ephesians 2:10)
#2 – I believe He has a plan for your life…one that He is revealing in steps because IF He revealed it all at one our minds would explode. (See I Corinthians 2:9)
#3 – I believe in order to achieve what God really wants for you then you will have to embrace both the uncomfortable and the unknown. (See Luke 9:23)
#4 – I believe God is after your heart, not just your behavior…and quite possible the reason He’s not taking you to the next step is because your current step is for you to let go of the idol that He has been exposing in your life. (See Ezekiel 14:1-5)
#5 – I believe whenever God asks us to give something up it is because He wants to replace it with something better.
#6 – I believe that God’s plan for your life IS going to include an “oh crap” moment, one where you finally realize that implications of Hebrews 11:6.
#7 – I believe that you can do exactly what God has equipped and empowered you to do. (See Philippians 4:13)
#8 – I believe that if you are faithful with the little things He will entrust you with many. (See Luke 12:48)
#9 – I believe you should ask yourself the question over and over again, “what would I be willing to attempt for God if I knew I could not fail” and allow Him to develop a holy discontent in your life. (See Romans 4:17)
#10 – I believe God uses ordinary people to accomplish extrordinary things. (See Acts 4:13)
#11 – I believe that as your view of God increase…so will our level of obedience. (See Isaiah 6:1-8)
#12 – I believe that true desperation for God will bring revelation from Him…that He wants us to know more than we actually want to know.
#13 – I believe when God sets your heart on fire with a desire that is from Him…you should not leave Him alone until you see that desire accomplished. (See Isaiah 62:6-7)
Ten Reasons I Believe God Is About To Do Something Great In Your Church! August 4, 2010
#1 – Jesus said that HE would build His church…that is a promise and it is true of YOUR CHURCH! (Matthew 16:18)
#2 – Jesus said that HIS Word would not fail to produce a harvest…so if you are faithful in declaring HIS Word then something GREAT is taking place, even if you can’t see it yet! (See Isaiah 55:8-13)
#3 – You are meeting resistance…which means the enemy is pissed! Stay focused on Christ…you KNEW this would happen (Ephesians 6:12, I Peter 5:8)…entrust yourself to Jesus (I Peter 2:21-25) and believe that Isaiah 54:17 is true!
#4 – God is raising up leaders around you, ones that comprehend the meaning of Ephesians 4:11-16, who want to OWN the ministry and be participators rather than spectators.
#5 – God started your church…and He will bring it to completion…HE’S NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET! (Philippians 1:6)
#6 – The church is STILL His plan, He has NOT changed His mind…and He loves your church just as much as He loves any church!
#7 – He is leading you towards greater steps of faith…which means you are becoming more desperate for Him…and when THIS happens He shows up in amazing ways and does the unexplainable and the undeniable! (Hebrews 11:6)
#8 – Though you may feel discouraged and disheartened…you STILL believe in WHO HE IS and WHAT HE HAS CALLED YOU TO DO! You may have suffered some setbacks lately…but there is something inside of you telling you to not give up on the God who has never given up on you! You’ve STILL got a fire (Jeremiah 20:9) and a hope!
#9 – God has given you a vision…one that is HUGE…one that keeps you up at night. And the fear of NOT doing what HE has told you to do is beginning to trump the fear of man!
#10 – His church is coming together like never before to begin completing each other instead of competing against each other!!! When we all cheer each other on and work together…it speaks VOLUMES to a world that is desperate for Jesus!
Why I Believe You Can Do Exactly What God Has Called You To Do! July 28, 2010
I believe you can do exactly what God has called you to do!
We serve a God who is a MASTER at calling those who are not “qualified” to do things that seem “impossible!”
I believe that when a person becomes obsessed with the character of God by reading the Word of God and then gets empowered by the Spirit of God…that person is unstoppable and his/her potential is unlimited as long as they will dare to continually follow Jesus and refuse to play it safe! (See Zechariah 4:6-7)
(A quick note on this…you’ve GOT to make sure you’ve heard from God and are not simply getting ready to do something and then begging Him to work!)
I believe God puts dreams and visions in our hearts that are so HUGE that it causes great desperation for HIM and HIS power…thus leading to the world seeing what HE can do through us rather than what we can do “for Him!” (The bigger the revelation the greater the desperation!)
I believe we are all GIFTED to make an impact on the world and NOT simply sit and watch it pass us by.
I believe we are ALL EMPOWERED to make a difference…that fear and timidity does not come from Him, but the power and discipline to execute what He has called us to does. (II Timothy 1:7)
I believe that YOU are NOT an accident…that He created you with a divine design in mind…that His plans for your life are GREATER than you could imagine, and that by surrendering to HIS plans is the GREATEST freedom on the planet.
I believe that they KEY to discovering what it is that God wants for us is found in Proverbs 3:5-6, that we’ve got to trust Him with EVERYTHING…and if we “hold out on Him” we are actually holding out on ourselves.
I believe God’s plan for your life will not always be easy…but He will always be with you. (Isaiah 43:1-3)
So…what is it that God is calling you to do? OR…put another way, “What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you could not fail?” (I blogged about that here!)
Life is short…we should get to the end of it with NO REGRETS…so…GO FOR IT!!!
HE IS AWESOME…HIS CHURCH SHOULD BE AS WELL! May 5, 2010
From time to time in reading the Bible a verse or particular passage of Scripture will LEAP off the page at me and consume my mind…
Recently it has been II Chronicles 2:5 -
Solomon had a vision…it was to build someone to show the world that his God was different, that He was greater and more powerful than any other “god” on the planet.
Honestly, I believe church leaders should have THAT SAME PASSION…to work as hard as we can to build a work that SCREAMS to the world that our God is different…that He is GREATER than all other “gods.”
With that in mind I am specifically praying for 15 things for the church…
#1 – That our church services would be a reflection of the fact that Jesus is alive, not dead!
#2 – That leaders would take what we do seriously and not EVER allow things to slip into cruise control.
#3 – That we will understand that the creative potential in HIS CHURCH is greater than the creative potential in the world! Disney created a mouse…GOD created the Grand Canyon…HE HAS THE TRUMP CARD!
#4 – That we would have a heart for the same things that God has a heart for!
#5 – That we would meet people where they are and actually answer questions that rhey are asking rather than thinking they actually want to know more about where the Hittites came from!
#6 – That we would challenge people with God’s truth instead of worrying about how many people MAY get offended.
#7 – That our view of God will INCREASE…because the GREATER we see that He is the GREATER things we will attempt in His name. (People who have small vision often have a small view of God.)
#8 – That we will STOP doing church for the already convinced and begin doing it for those who are far away from God.
#9 – That we would embrace an Acts 15:19 mindset by NOT giving people a list of rules but rather teach them how to have an active, vibrant relationship with a HOLY GOD!
#10 – That the church would actually begin to minister to “one another” rather than depending on “paid professionals” to do it all.
#11 – That our agenda would be Jesus and HIS KINGDOM and not a particular political party.
#12 – That we would model John 13:34-35 to a world that is ALWAYS changed when they see these verses in action!
#13 – That we would reject the notion that God deserves “just enough” and instead we would offer Him the very best we’ve got!
#14 – That we would STOP looking for a formula but rather seek God and HIS agenda for our church!
#15 – That we would spend LESS time declaring what we’re against and more time living out WHO we are for!
He is a GREAT GOD…far greater than ANYONE or ANYTHING on this planet. And we as the church are called to point other people to that greatness…and I think our church services are a great place to begin displaying that truth to the world. (Yes, it DOES go beyond the doors of the church…but it has to start somewhere!!!)
Dear Pastor…Sunday’s Coming… December 18, 2009
Hey pastor…
Sunday’s coming…
It will be here in less than 48 hours!!!
Are you ready?
This week will be someone’s first week in your church!
Your church is a powder keg WAITING to explode!!!
God wants to do things in your church that would absolutely blow you away if He were to download it all on you at once.
Sunday’s coming…
People will be in your church that are one heartbeat away from hell…
Will you share the GOSPEL?
Will you call for commitment?
Sunday’s coming…
You have been called, equipped and empowered by God to do what you do!
He knows where you are!
He knows what you are going through!
He has NOT forgotten you!!!
Have you BEGGED God to do something unexplainable and undeniable?
Have you allowed something to distract you this week?
Have you become obsessed with anything or anyone other than Jesus and the vision He has poured into you?
Sunday’s coming…
The next Billy Graham, Bill Hybels or Rick Warren COULD be sitting in your church this Sunday…heck, they MIGHT not even be saved yet…
There is UNLIMITED potential within the people in your church who know Christ.
People want hope!
People want to change!
People want to LIVE!
They need to hear YOU tell them about CHRIST!
Sunday’s coming…
Let’s put on our game faces…
This could be the last message that you ever get to preach…EVER!!!
SO…SAY IT, bring the FREAKIN HEAT!!!
Sunday is NOT a burden…it’s a gift…GO FOR IT!!!