Sign of life

Conversations show commitment. Avoidance is a sign of disloyalty.

I love conversations. I enjoy getting to know people and being able to understand them better. I believe that we would live in a very different world if we were open to have conversations with others.

But isn’t it ironic that we spend so much time communicating with others and yet many of our conversations are meaningless, mundane, not life-giving?

Why do we fear personal conversations?

Fear to have our faith challenged: Nurture your relationship with Christ

Fear of not knowing what to say: You cannot represent someone you don’t know (example of a misrepresenting friend, example of a sorority girl who didn’t know what her group stood for. She had all the right gear, t-shirt, and excitement to belong. But she didn’t clearly understand what she had signed up for.

Fear of losing friends: Example of Mike Ekman’s friend. Mike invited his friend out for lunch. They prayed and his friend apologized to him for not sharing the gospel with him. “You were in the list of my top 5 friends in college and I never shared my faith with you because I was more afraid of losing your friendship than letting you go to hell.”

Would you be willing to lose your friends on this side of eternity knowing that you gave them a change to have a place in the other side of eternity? Some people believe that following the way of Jesus means having loyalty to two masters. Still Jesus said: You cannot serve two masters. You will love one and fail the other. For some of you your relationships are your masters.

For some others, the fear is that they have less than perfect lives. If you’re struggling with sin, join a Discipleship Group and invite them to know you for who you are. Others are completely performance driven and they think that their friends will not listen to them because they struggle. But let me tell you, people are not interested in following perfect people. Perfect people are too hard to keep up. Your friends want to follow someone who is authentic with then. So maybe your need to change your perspective and realize that you need to work at being authentic not prefect.

Jesus gets real: conversation about Jesus identity

In

Matthew 16:13–20 NASB95

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.

Matthew 14:13–20 NIV

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Bring them here to me,” he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

This is a great conversation between Jesus and his followers. I believe that Jesus is till having this conversation with some of you who are trying to figure out who Jesus is. This was a necessary conversation because they were relatively new to getting to know who Jesus was. The disciples didn’t have a copy of the New Testament. Some of us read this passage and we think, man, these people are so dense! They just don’t get it! Next thing we hear Jesus saying is, I must go and die for people so they can find eternal life. Peter tries to discourage Jesus from doing his Father’s will to come and save the world. But you cannot move the heart of someone who loves. Because when you have set your heart on someone, you set the trajectory of your destiny. And nothing will be able to change the direction of your destiny.

Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.

Isn’t this the most stupid thing you’ve heard in the whole day? When was the last time you heard someone say, hey grab a branding iron and burn my arm.

You will not let harm happen to you unless the cost of pain and discomfort makes it worth it. This is not something you step out of. Branding someone is not something you can take back. Can you imagine the kind of love this guy had? And yet, Jesus set his love on us. When Jesus came to rescue the world, he did it with complete love of the Father.

Hebrews 12:2 NIV

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Worth the cost

He was willing to be branded or you and for me. He experienced for the first time in his life physical pain, violence, and separation from the Father (something he had never experienced)! Yet he considered all that pain and suffering worth the cost. Jesus saw the cost of it and he considered it a joy to step up to the cross even when the price of his suffering was too great.

Irreversible

Do you feel the same for him? True love is willing to step up to challenges that are irreversible.

People want to tattoo themselves to tell the story. But everyone knows that you shouldn’t tattoo someone’s name on you. That’s stupid. We expect people to disappoint us.

When love burns on you, it hurts. It causes you to do something stupid.

When you set your love on someone, you are willing to face whatever the consequences it may bring. You become senseless for the one you love. You become a fool and love becomes insanity to others.

Jesus was branded on his hands, feet and side. Not a glamorous tattoo. Jesus wasn’t going for the aesthetic look, but he was willing to join you and me in our brokenness as he was pierced by our iniquities and brokenness.

When Jesus appeared to Thomas he couldn’t believe he was standing before him. They thought he was a ghost. But he said to him: Touch my hands and side. Put your hands in my wounds. This is me. Look at the visible signs of my love for you. Even thought Jesus has a perfect body today after his resurrection, he has not given up his scars for you. Jesus chose to be branded for eternity because love is stronger than death.

One of the saddest moments in ministry is when you hear Jesus going over and over again through that question with someone who already beleives in him “Who do you say I am?” It’s like the church suffers from amnesia. If we believe Jesus is who he claims to be, why aren’t our lives surredered to his lordship. Why do we say, I believe you’re the sone of God, but we’re afraid of sharing that with others?

We must remember that Jesus is alive! He is back from the death. The post resurrection Jesus gives us a command: Go and make disciples.

Second, our goal is to grow in commitment and obedience to the Great Commission.  Five times in the New Testament (, , , , ), Jesus echoed the words most often quoted from : “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -Chuck Lawless, 3.

Are you convinced of who Jesus is? Who is Jesus in your life?

EKG

Last week I ended up going to immediate care. They did an EKG. I wasn’t feeling well that day. The result dehydration. Today God wants to do a heart check so that we can be healthy. This is not about you leaving feeling guilty -if you do, you have missed the whole point!

Spiritually healthy people are

1. Unashamed of the Gospel:

Romans

A spiritually healthy person has commited to live for the One love of their lives. Gratitude and a real life transformation story mark the life of a true believer.

“Am I so amazed by Jesus that I can’t help but tell others about him?”

Lawless, Chuck. Nobodies for Jesus: 14 Days Toward a Great Commission Lifestyle (p. 3). Rainer Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Lawless, Chuck. Nobodies for Jesus: 14 Days Toward a Great Commission Lifestyle (p. 8). Rainer Publishing. Kindle Edition.

2. Unmasked:

They have given up their pretensions so people can see that God is able to change the lives of regular, broken people.

It’s nearly impossible to trust dishonest people. Become the king of fools so others can see the wisdom of God in you.

3. Unsettled about their unbelieving friends

Hurt when they see the sin of the world. When was the last time you cried for the brokenness of your unbelieving friends? Some of you may not even know what I’m talking about because you only have believing friends. So you play it safe while the world falls apart.

Unsettled because they are not willing to let meaningful, life-changing conversations to slip out of their hands.

Commit to meet with one unbelieving friend this week to listen to him and to speak to him of the love of your life. The world is falling apart while we’re unwilling to mature spiritually and make excuses not to share our faith with others.

Steps:

On Mondays at 4 pm, I’m meeting with Pastor Tim at the SAC to go and pray for for people.

Tuesdays from 11-1 pm, a group of us are meeting to eat lunch and hang out. Bring your friends.

On Tuesdays 1-2 pm, Gabe Gibitz and I will meet at the SAC to walk around campus to pray for people and share the gospel with them. Is this scary, you bet, but we rather have a few minutes of discomfort than letting people live under the grip of pain and disappointment, and helplessness in their lives.

Here are two reasons why we don’t share our faith:

We have forsaken our first love. Go to

Revelation 2:1–5 NIV

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

We have chosen to live in disobedience.

The mission of the church was very clear to the early believers. We are called to love others by sharing our most important love to others.

We make a stand

Tonight we make a stand for campus. We unmask lack of love for the one who loved us.

We come against comfort, fear and apathy.

We step into the battle for the sake of others.

Why do we fear conversations:

We are spiritually sick.

Some of us are living in a lie.

dialogue and conversations

When was the last time you had a real, meaningful with someone? and