BACKSTAGE PASS

Intro

Whats Up Inverted?!

The summer Just started a week ago, you guys finished all your big tests for the year, and now you will be traveling and having free time for so many things

some of you will pick up new hobbies

some will try to find work

try to finish a book

finally beat that video game

travel to a new city

whatever you guys do im almost certain that you guys will be on social media either updating your stories or checking in on your friends and what they’ve been up to this summer.

Some of you guys will choose to follow Jesus more closely and you’ll take that relationship more serious, while others will choose to do the opposite and make excuses to not come to youth or Sunday services.

my hope is that you choose to do the first option

but what wont change is the high possibility that you guys will be on social media or imessage with your friends from school.

I mean, we can even apply this concept to youth and on sundays, not only on our devices.

But i have a question that I just need to ask everyone tonight and i want you guys to keep the answers to yourselves, but i want you to think about it deeply.

What does it look like to be authentically you-in your faith

This generation doesnt value words

facts are treated as fiction

feelings are valued over facts

most people struggle with trust

In scripture, the culture behind words are so important

God made a promise to Abraham

God made a covenant with his people

Its unfortunate that we live nowadays wondering what the truth is

theres only one truth and thats Jesus.

So if all else fails, and one day fades away from you, Jesus always remains. Jesus is the only constant in our lives.

and one of the things i see so many people in your generation struggle with is their identity, but what i want to talk about more specifically today is those of you who call yourselves christians.

I want to speak to those of you who say that you live for Jesus

But i also want those of you that are unsure of Jesus to watch me challenge the “church”

For those of you who dont truly believe and you see constant bad examples of believers, I want you guys to know that accountability needs to be taken series, and those of us who are children of God need to be corrected.

If you believe in Jesus its not because your perfect, we choose to believe and have faith because we know we are so imperfect and its only God that is able to reconcile us back to perfection. but that perfection is in eternity in his presence, not now.

So you may be asking , “David, if being a Christian isn't about being perfect, then what is it about?”

so lets get into it:

we have to be careful with how we are as believers, because if we're not careful, we can hear a message like this and think, "Okay, I just need to look more Christian."

its not:

I need to say the right things.

I need to post the right Bible verse.

I need to raise my hands during worship.

I need to know the answers when somebody asks me a question about God.

that's not what Jesus was after

In fact, some of Jesus' strongest words weren't directed at the people who were openly sinful

They were directed at the people who looked spiritual on the outside while hiding what was really happening on the inside, we talked about this with the pharisees a couple weeks back.

but that's what makes tonight's message so important.

Because every single one of us has a stage.

We have the version of ourselves that everyone gets to see.

But we also have a backstage.

where our real thoughts live.

Our real struggles.

Our real motives.

The things we hope nobody finds out about.

And the question tonight isn't whether you've invited Jesus onto the stage.

The question is: Have you given Jesus a backstage pass?

Because listen guys, authentic faith doesn't start with a better performance.

It starts when we stop performing altogether.

1. Performance

One of the biggest dangers for Christians is when we learn how to look like we're following Jesus without actually letting Him change us.

We can become really good at acting Christian without actually growing closer to Christ.

We can fool our friends.

We can fool our leaders.

We can even fool ourselves.

But we can never fool God.

Matthew 6:1 CSB

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

I feel like this verse really speaks for itself, but we have to understand that the reward we get from putting on a performance of our faith is people’s approval, not God’s

Listen, no one told you to seek the approval of others, in fact the bible gives a strong metaphor for this

in luke it says how we should hate our mother, father, siblings, and even our own lives

that sounds insane but stay with me, this is a metaphor, we know this because in the same context this is what it says in Matthew 10:37-39

Matthew 10:37–39 CSB

The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it.

What Jesus is saying is forget about everyone else, focus on me, and i will give you everything.

Jesus is clear here, our priority should be on God above anything else in this life, and when we live that is when we start to find true freedom.

Listen guys, listen closely:

When your faith becomes performance based you end up setting God aside and you make the people around you your God.

And here's the scary part.

Performance never stays on the stage

Because eventually, if you're focused on looking like a Christian instead of actually following Jesus, you start living two different lives.

You have your church version.

The version that knows the right answers.

that raises their hands during worship.

the one that posts the Bible verses.

And then you have the version that shows up when nobody from church is around.

The version your friends at school see.

you know, the one that you hide from your family so they dont find out what you’re really like.

The version that comes out in your group chats.

The version that exists when no leader, parent, or pastor is watching.

heres the thing guys, hear my heart when i say this;

performance is what happens when you're trying to impress people.

Pretending is what happens when you start believing the act yourself.

And that's exactly where a lot of people get stuck.

and this leads me into my second point.

2. Pretending

Now we’re in the part where youre not just trying to make yourself look good, where youre trying to show everyone that youre a good chrsitian

james 1:22 tells us about this really clearly;

James 1:22 CSB

But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

this is now the point where instead of worrying about performance in front of others, you instead worry about deceiving others.

I need you to understand the weight of this because we cant afford to have believers act like this when we are inviting others to find hope and a home here or in any church

we can easily trick ourselves into thinking that “pretending” to be someone isnt so bad, it doesnt sound that bad right?

but this is where the trap reels you in. this framing becomes a perfume you’re trying to spray on a casket to mask the smell of death.

can i be honest with you on what pretending to be a christian when your around church people actually means?

It means you are ACTIVELY and WILLINGLY living in a lie.

not only living in it, but projecting it

When you pretend to be a believer you’re just choosing to lie to every single person around you.

you become a participant in the culture of lies and deceit. you add on to the trust issues everyone nowadays have, especially when they find out.

listen im not trying to say these things to scare you or make you upset but you have to hear my heart when i say this:

I worry about you.

I worry about your soul.

I worry about your integrity and image to others.

because the last thing i want is for someone to get an excuse to point a finger at one of you guys and paint you to be a liar

but most of all the scary thing about pretending is that you are get close enough to make you think your good with God, when really you’re robbing yourself of the miracles that God wants to do for you.

you barely feel a little bit of wind from the spirit because your surrounding yourself with other believers, but you end up missing out on the healing and opportunities God has for you because you’re actively choosing to be seperate from him when you feel like no one from church is watching

it hurts me especially to know that you have access to that holy spirit and yet you’re unable to be in that presence fully.

Titus 1:16 CSB

They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.

Guys i dont want you to rob yourselves of the wonderful work of God in your lives, I dont want you to miss out on God

this leads me into my third point.

3. Transparency

This one is a scary word to think about.

This is entering “Backstage Pass” territory, and we dont let ANYONE in unless they have that special lanyard on.

all this talk about how so many people only lie nowadays, and so our knee-jerk reaction to the idea of being “transparent” can honestly negative.

I get it, I’ve been there before.

I had a time where a trauma I had on being transparent kept me from being honest about a struggle i Had and because i was so afraid to share, i kept digging myself into a deeper hole of darkness and depression.

It was those that used my transparency as a weapon to throw in my face in any situation that made me lose trust in being transparent.

It was those that punished me for my transparency rather than coming alongside me to lift me up that made me lose trust in being transparent.

I’ve been there where you have been trust me

but the truth is its only when we are transparent when we start finding victory in our lives. Its only when we choose to be transparent when we begin to heal

its only when we open up when we are able to process our past trauma and find freedom.

my advice for anyone feeling like now is this; lets look at some scriptures for guidance first:

1 John 1:7 CSB

If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

All that Jesus wants is for you to open up to him.

Psalm 32:5 CSB

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

Breaking free starts with being honest with God.

He wants nothing more than you give your heart and soul to him.

guys, trust in Jesus when it comes to these issues, and find people who you can trust who are leaders in your life or role models or discipling you and let them pray for you and guide you to Jesus even more.

I need you guys to understand what transperancy really is:

Transparency isn't the destination for your healing, its the doorway to it.

when you Choose to bring your true-authentic selves to God, he doesnt run from you, he doesnt shame you, he recieves you exactly how you are right now. and in his grace he refuses to leave you behind.

Faith becomes alive instead of exhausting when you open yourselves up to God.

The goal was never just to give Jesus access to the backstage. The goal was to let Him renovate it.

But here's what I need you guys to understand:

Transparency by itself doesn't change anybody.

Just because you're honest about your struggles doesn't mean you've been healed from them.

Just because you've confessed your sin doesn't mean you've overcome it.

Just because you've let Jesus backstage doesn't mean He's finished working.

Because transparency was never the destination, its simply the moment you finally stop hiding.

Think about it this way:

If you go to a doctor and tell them exactly what's wrong, awesome, but the goal isn't the diagnosis, the goal is healing.

In the same way, God doesn't ask you to be transparent so He can leave you exactly where you are.

He asks you to be transparent because He wants to transform you.

And this is where so many of us miss it.

Some people stay stuck in performance, or pretending, or even in transparency, where all they ever do is talk about their struggles, but Jesus didn't die so you could just manage your problems.

Jesus died so he could change you.

Because what God reveals, he wants to heal.

And what God heals, He wants to transform.

Which brings me to my final point:

4. Transformation

This is now the result of choosing to be transparent with God, but not only that, you also have to allow him to expose and heal whats left inside of you

Transformation is the part everybody wants. Nobody wants to keep putting on a performance and faking it, its exhausting.

Nobody wants to keep carrying the same guilt, same shame, and same struggles forever.

We all want change.

But here's what I need you to understand:

Transformation is not something you manufacture.

It's something God produces.

A lot of people think Christianity is about trying harder.

"I need more self-control."

"I need more discipline."

"I need to stop messing up."

But Christianity has never been about making a bad person behave better, thats behavior modification not true transformation.

It's about God making a dead person come alive.

The reason so many people stay frustrated in their faith is because they're trying to change themselves without surrendering themselves first.

You can't transform a life you've never handed over to God

That's why we've been talking about the backstage all night.

because Jesus doesn't just want access to the polished version of you, he wants access to the parts you're embarrassed and afraid of

The parts you're hiding.

The parts you don't think anybody could love.

And when you finally let Him in, He starts changing things.

its not overnight

its not all at once

but little by little

choice by choice

day by day.

2 Corinthians 3:18 CSB

We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Notice that it says "being transformed."

It's a process. God isn't asking you to become perfect tonight, he's asking you to surrender tonight

Because transformation begins where surrender begins.

Romans 12:2 says:

"Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

The world says to "Hide it"

Jesus says, "Bring it to Me"

The world says, "Create a better image"

Jesus says, "Become a new creation"

The world says, "Perform"

Jesus says, "Follow Me"

And that's the difference i want you guys to grasp

When Jesus gets a backstage pass to your life, he doesn't come in to condemn you, he comes in to renovate you, and he begins to remove the things that don't belong anymore.

he begins healing wounds that you've carried

Breaking chains that you've lived with.

Changing desires.

Changing priorities.

Changing your heart.

Because God changes what we stop hiding.

And that's authentic faith.

not perfection, no more pretending, and no more worrying about performance

A daily surrender is what will allow Jesus to transform you from the inside out

and so my question for you guys tonight is this;

Will you give Jesus the backstage pass to your life?

*closing prayer and alter call*