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!!!

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!!!)

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!!!

#1 – The Vision Is Clearer!

Over the past 10 years the vision in regards to what God wants us to do has gotten more and more clearer.  I won’t go into the details now…but we are in the process of completely restructuring our membership class, revamping our discipleship process and getting ready to seriously impact our communities in a way that will SCREAM to everyone where we live “there is a God…and HE cares about you!”

#2 – The Passion Is Deeper!

I’ve heard it said a lot that as we grow older that our wisdom increases and our passion decreases.

NOT TRUE!

While I do believe I know more today than I did when we started in 2000…I can honestly say my passion has NOT decreased!!!  I am more excited about Jesus and His church today than I’ve ever been…and so is the staff!

We CAN NOT look at the past 10 years of ministry and conclude that we’ve arrived!!!  But rather we MUST look at it and say, “if THAT is what God did the first 10 years…what in the world are the next 10 going to look like?”

I believe the first 10 years were actually foundational…and the next 10 years are going to be fruitful!!!

#3 – The Harvest Is STILL Plentiful!

Jesus said in Matthew 9:37 that the harvest is PLENTIFUL.

This was before social networking!  This was before all of the information we possess today.  This was before there were over SIX BILLION people on the planet.  This was BEFORE we had access to the world to the internet.

If He said the harvest was plentiful to a handful of fisherman 2,000 years ago…then what in the world is He saying to us today?

Much has been accomplished…but there is STILL so much more to do!!!

#4 – The Church Is Still His Plan!

He said in Matthew 16:18 that HE would build HIS church.  I believe with all my heart that the church, even though it has its flaws, is STILL God’s plan for reaching the world for Jesus.  I LOVE the church…and when it is working right then it is unstoppable.

#5 – Victory Is Promised!!!

We win!

We’re on the WINNING TEAM!

We are not fighting FOR victory…but rather FROM victory.

Jesus promises that HIS church will prevail.

We are on the winning team…our job ISN’T to try to achieve a win…but to RUN UP THE SCORE!!!

I can’t wait to see what happens next!!!

Last summer we did a series entitled, “You Asked For It” in which we asked the church to submit questions that they wanted the answers to…and the MOST ASKED QUESTIONS by far were ones about the end times.

So…starting THIS Sunday we will begin to look at the question, “Are We Living In The End Times?”

It’s going to be one of the most intense series we’ve ever done here at NewSpring Church…you seriously need to be here this Sunday…and BRING SOMEONE WITH YOU!!!

AND THAT HAS TO STOP!

If God is blessing you and your ministry…you’ve GOT to celebrate!

If people are Kingdom minded they will celebrate with you…unless, of course, they’re obsessed with their own kingdom and not God’s!

You can’t allow jealous, bitter and envious people to control you!

If just ONE person crosses the line of faith, if just ONE prodical comes home, if just ONE person goes public for Jesus, if just ONE person repents of a sin that has held them in bondage forever…YOU’VE GOT TO CELEBRATE!!!

Because…there ARE people in this world that WANT to celebrate with you!

Sure, there ARE people in this world who will question what is happening in your ministry when you begin to celebrate!  (AND…keep in mind that MOST of these people have a blog, not a church!!!)

AND…there are people who will cause others to doubt as to whether or not what is taking place in your church is authentic.  (Such as, “there were a lot of salvations reported there…but did they REALLY receive Christ?)

AND…when you celebrate you will get attacked…

BUT THAT IS NO REASON TO STAY SILENT!!!

God DID NOT BLESS YOU so that you could BE QUIET ABOUT IT!!!

HE DIDN’T WORK AMONG YOU SO THAT YOU COULD TELL NO ONE!!!

Life is too short and hell is too hot for us to live in fear of others who want to criticize what God is doing among us (and then claim to be on the same team!)

When God blesses…you’ve GOT to celebrate!

Sure, celebrate correctly…BOAST IN HIM and WHAT HE HAS DONE…and not in some “great idea” that you had!  (See Jeremiah 9:23-24)

CELEBRATE!!!

Share “good news” when it is happening around you!!!

We do it at football games…when our team is running up the score we don’t sit in the stands and say, “WOW…we are blowing the other team out of the water…but I don’t want to cheer too loud or say anything b/c it might make people who cheer for the other team feel bad.”

NO…we scream…we yell…WE CELEBRATE!!!

AND SO…when Jesus uses us to run up the score on the enemy…a celebration is in order!

SO…what is happening in your church?  Tweet me and let me know…I want to celebrate!!!

I’ve had so many leaders who have HUGE dreams…but back off because it will not work out on paper and they are afraid people will think they are crazy…

I think we need more crazy people…

• People thought Noah was crazy when he built the ark.
• People thought Abraham was crazy when climbed a mountain to sacrifice his son.
• People thought Joseph was crazy when he shared his dreams!
• People thought Moses was crazy when he announced God’s relocation project!
• People thought Joshua was crazy when he announced the battle plan for Jericho!
• People thought Gideon was crazy when the army got reduced to 300.
• People thought David was crazy when he walked out to meet Goliath.
• People thought Elijah was crazy when he faced the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel
• People thought Nehemiah was crazy when he had a dream to build something incredible for the Kingdom.
• People thought John the Baptist was crazy when he preached a radical message.
• People thought the woman who poured out perfume on Jesus’ feet was crazy…and yet He honored her in front of all of them.
• People thought the Apostles were crazy in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit showed up!
• People thought Paul was crazy for planting churches and taking the Gospel to the Gentiles!

Crazy people…insane…but ALL of them were used by God to do GREAT THINGS because they refused to be “normal” when He called them to be something so much more.

I don’t want to be the guy who never attempts anything great and plays if safe…

“Taking up my cross” SCREAMS, “be willing to give up everything…including YOUR REPUTATION!”

The world needs more leaders who will die to the idea of being crazy and live in complete obedience…those are the people who make the difference.

So…we’re adding another service…THIS SUNDAY!!! 4:15 is coming back at the Anderson campus. Do me a favor a take a minute or two to watch this video for details!

• CHANGED LIVES…when dead people are being brought to life a church cannot remain on life support.  Changed lives change a community!
• THE GOSPEL…when the Gospel is THE agenda instead of some ridiculous issue that happens to be the “fad of the year.”
• HIS PRESENCE…when He becomes UNDENIABLE!
• WORSHIP…when the goal isn’t to see how little of the song we can sing but rather to sing with everything we’ve got.
• GIVING…when God is honored because Christians don’t just trust Him with what they can’t see…but are willing to trust Him with what they can see.
• SERVICE…when believers are unleashed to serve Christ by using their spiritual gifts rather than depending on the “paid professionals” to do it all.
• DEDICATION…when people in the church are way more passionate about pursuing Christ daily rather than showing up on Sunday and getting their attendance star on their chart.
• PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY…when people in the church begin to accept responsibility for where they are in their spiritual journey…and then are willing to do something about it.
• LEADERS WHO FEAR GOD, NOT MAN…leaders who know that God called them and will take care of them…and refuse to let the threat of not getting a paycheck stop them from doing what God has called them to do.
• UNITY…when a church can truly celebrate when a church…ANY CHURCH…sees something great happen for the Kingdom.
• BAPTISM…it’s NEVER a bad thing to see hundreds of people go public with their faith.
• SINCERITY…when people show up with hearts ready to hear, repent and be brough near rather that people checking out the fashions of others.
• DESPERATION…for Jesus to show up and make Himself known.
• EXCELLENCE…for people to be willing to give their very best effort to honor the God who saved them.
• TECHNOLOGY…embracing it and using it rather than fighting it.  (Find it funny and sad that there are churches who say that using lights and video is “not in the Bible,” yet those same churches use air conditioner and heaters…which are not in the Bible either!)

Those are just some thoughts I had on it…praying that NewSpring Church is always a church fully alive.

We can’t receive His grace in vain…we cannot pretend that what we do doesn’t matter…because…

NOW is the time of HIS FAVOR!!!  The church has more potential right now than ever before in the history of the world!  God has set the church up for MAJOR success…when you combine the potential of technology WITH THE SUPERNATURAL HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD…DANG!!!  We need to be OBSESSED with this…HIS FAVOR is ON THE CHURCH.  Which leads to…

NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!  TODAY!!!  God wants to save people…to DRAW them TO HIM through the church!  Don’t be afraid to give an invitation…to share the Gospel…to challenge people to respond!

Don’t wait–NOW!!!

• You’ve been putting off that ministry idea…do it NOW!
• You’ve been holding off on that sermon…do it NOW!
• You’ve been too scared to launch that church…do it NOW!
• You’ve been too fearful to confront certain things…do it NOW!

NOW is the time!  Let’s stop the foolishness of saying “one day/some day!”  Life is too short to wish it away!

Favor and Salvation…the time is NOW!  You say you’re “waiting on God,” but is that a cop out…is it the other way around…that God is waiting on you to take a step of faith and trust Him?

II Corinthians 5:7 = the time is now!