1. The number one reason people come to church for the first time is because someone personally took the time to invite them. We met a couple last night for the first time who came because a member of our church had been inviting them. They were so excited to be here! I love seeing people get ENERGIZED about His Kindgom!
2. Shook hands with a young couple last night who were married this past Saturday! They've been attending our Marriage On The Rock class and even went to the Marriage Conference on Sunday (the day after their wedding!) Hats off to this young couple!
3. Church in REVERSE...seemed to go exceptionally well...minus a few glitches. We've gotten so much positive feedback. WOW! It's fun to see how people get excited when we mix things up. I remember 13 years ago...we started with 22 people and didn't have any ruts to avoid. In fact, it was refreshing to say, "we're going to just mix things up and see what works." We're still mixing things up!
4. Punctuality is the courtesy of princes! Suppose you're the big cheese - King, CEO or guest of honor. If someone else comes late to dinner, his dinner is cold. But the dinner can't start without you, so if you come late to dinner, everyone else's dinner is cold too. Lack of punctuality by the prince imposes a cost on everyone else. Showing up on time is courteous to others...and it actually is a way of showing that the welfare of other people...matters to you.
5. The spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Believers in Jesus have learned to overcome seducers of the flesh, because greater is the Spirit of Christ that is in us than the spirit of antichrist that is in the world. Anyone that attempts to convince you to live your life according to the flesh...is definitely not the voice you should be listening to. In fact, all you have to do is watch their life and listen to what they're saying and you'll hear the language of the world resonating out of them. 1 John 4:5-6 "They are of the world; therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of TRUTH, and the spirit of ERROR."
6. The story in John 4 messes me up! Jesus goes through Samaria and stops at a well. His disciples go into town to get some food. He winds up having a conversation with a Samaritan woman.
- That's huge! Not only did Jews not associate with Samaritans...but men didn't associate (publicly) with women either...so right off the bat Jesus breaks two man made rules in even striking up a conversation with her.
- We also find out that this lady...well...let's just say....she has a colorful past. (She's had five husbands...and is living with another man)
- What gets me about this story is the way the disciples acted when they came back from town and saw Jesus talking with this woman. They were SHOCKED (John 4:27)
- Jesus didn't just SHOCK the religious leaders by demolishing their ridiculous man made rules...but He shocked those who thought they knew Him best by...
- #1 Going to where no one else was willing to go! Everyone ignored Samaria...Jesus went right into the middle of it! If we are going to honor God with our lives we've GOT to be willing to go where others are not willing to go! AND we KNOW we are becoming more like Jesus when even those closest to us say, "Whoa, hold up...I didn't see that coming!"
- #2 Loving those no one else loved! Jesus went to Samaria to reach this lady that society had pretty much written off as trash. They looked at her and saw a prostitute...Jesus looked at her and saw POTENTIAL...and the Scripture says in John 4:28-30 that because of her testimony that people came out to see Jesus!
- If we are going to get out of a safe mode as a church we HAVE to begin to reach out to people who are different than us... meaning...
- A different color
- A different political background
- A different view on life
- Christians, for far too long, have retreated to their holy cocoon and loved those who were just like them...which is the most blatant form of idolatry there has ever been. We've GOT to reach this world for Christ!
- #3 Having an "I don't care" attitude about what others thought. Seriously...the Scriptures are full of illustration where Jesus INTENTIONALLY healed someone on the Sabbath! He didn't HAVE to do it then...He could have don it on a Tuesday or something. But NO...He wanted to clearly communicate to the religious professionals, "I am not here to win your approval!"
- Not only were the religious leaders...but even the disciples were shocked!
7. The more time a leader spends with Jesus...and the more of His fire that gets in their belly...from time to time, he or she will cast a vision that is so bold that everyone in the room becomes UNCOMFORTABLY EXCITED!
8. I don't want to live an INACTIVE life - I want to live an AUDACIOUS one! I want my generation and those coming behind me to say, "I can't believe Russell had the audacity to do that on our watch!" Nothing is far more risky than being audacious. What I have found out over the years is that my desire to accomplish something great will always be left wanting if it is not exceeded by a desire to PREPARE to do something great.
