Unmistakable Kingdom Vision (Week #5)

Do you ever feel like there has got to be more?  Do you wonder what your purpose is, or what life is for? 

Nate Berkey addressed these types of questions on Monday night.  The following is the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGXm2WxoOko&feature=youtu.be

Becoming a Christian has implications that reach beyond our own salvation.  When we make the decision to trust in Jesus, we realize that the world does not revolve around us.  Our identity no longer depends on performance, but on who God says we are in Him.  However, when we decide to follow Jesus, we also inherit a problem.  A global problem.  A problem that has life and death consequences.  A problem that we have the ability to correct.  The problem…..people don’t know Jesus. 

Nate defined Kingdom Vision as understanding God’s heart and call for every person on the planet.  He said when we become Christians, it alters every decision we will ever make.  We have the knowledge that can save people from eternal damnation.  We can’t just take that information and stare off into the sky for the rest of our lives.  We are Athletes in ACTION.  We have a mission to fulfill.  That mission is found in Acts 1:8.  Jesus calls us to be witnesses for Him in our communities, in our states, in our nation, and in our world.  We don’t have to do it alone either! Jesus promises in that very same verse that the Holy Spirit will empower us! 

I’m a guy who likes to think in analogies (probably because I’ve watched too many episodes of House).  But, for all the other analogy lovers out there, imagine you had the power to save someone from a burning building.  In that instance, nothing else would matter.  You wouldn’t be thinking about the game winning shot you hit, or about the fast time you achieved.  Nothing would be more important to you than saving that person’s life.  As Christians, we have the ability not to save someone from physical death, but to promise them eternal life. What could possibly be more important? 

Okay, so you have the WHAT.  Now all you need is the HOW.  Stay tuned, we will be talking about that throughout the rest of the semester.

-Brandon

Unmistakable Assurance (Week #3)

When you watch the news, do you encounter people who you feel are unforgiveable?  Jerry Sandusky….Rae Carruth.  People who have inflicted unspeakable pain onto others.  What about when you examine your own life?  Are there things that you have done that you simply cannot forgive yourself for? 

Samba preached the Word on Monday night out of I John 1: 5-10. (The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX7IW6bhgbc&feature=youtu.be&fb_source=message) 

Verses 5-7 make an analogy of light versus darkness where God is the light, and everything without God is darkness.  As Samba’s grandma used to say “When the light comes on, everything comes out.”  Samba also talked about cockroaches.  When you shine a light on a cockroach, it scatters.  In other words, light exposes things!  And, to follow the analogy, there is nothing that has not already been exposed to God.  Nothing we have done is hidden from His sight. 

As you can see, we have a problem.  God knows about all of our sin.  What do we do about that?  In the Old Testament, people used to have to transfer their sins onto a blameless animal, and then slaughter the animal as a sacrifice to pay the penalty for their sin.  However, we have one huge advantage, and His name is JESUS!  Jesus died as our sacrifice, knowing everything that we would do and knowing the full extent of our brokenness.  Jesus allows verse 9 to happen.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  Samba told us that this is the best insurance anyone can ever give you! Fireproof insurance that nothing we can ever do is outside God’s forgiveness.  We say we are unforgiveable, Jesus says His love is UNCONDITIONAL. 

Lastly, Samba talked about the confession we read about it verse 9.  Confession is necessary, because we need God’s power to overcome sin.  It shows that we agree with God, that our sins are truly our sins. It shows we are not hiding from anything.  But, we do not need to be fearful when we confess our sins to God.  When you apologize to another person, there is always a chance that they will not forgive you.  When we confess our sins to God, we have security in the fact that He will always forgive us.  No exceptions.  God’s love is so great, that nothing we could ever do is outside of it.  Confession frees us from the guilt Satan likes to use to hold us down.  It empowers us to stay strong, and encourage one another. 

Stay strong, and encourage one another.  God’s forgiveness is UNMISTAKABLE. 

-Brandon

Unmistakable Assurance (Week #2)

If you died tomorrow, or even in the next 2 hours where would you go? That may sound extreme, but if we are being honest with ourselves we know that a life can end at any moment and we never know when it will. Are you being honest with yourself, or are you unsure where you would end up? I know gambling is popular (we even have a new casino in Cleveland), but do you really want to gamble with eternity? There are times in sports where a team thinks that they have a game in the bag, but the opposing team comes back and wins...as Megan says in the video , "there is no safety until the buzzer sounds." But you don't have to wait until the "buzzer of life" sounds to have that security. This video breaks it down into 3 points, with relatable life examples, on how anyone can have 100% unmistakable assurance.

Follow this link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR-c-gIIPWA&feature=plcp

 

1)      INTELLECTUALLY we know that we are broken and cannot get to God on our own, so we need Jesus to bridge that gap (but knowing Jesus is not enough because even demons intellectually know Jesus).

2)      We need that relationship with Jesus, were we find our identity in Christ and are EMOTIONALLY dependent on Him.

3)      Because we intellectually know Him, and He is the source of our joy we COMMIT our live and will to God through obedience and trust.

 

If we intellectually know Jesus, are emotionally dependent on Jesus and commit our lives to Jesus, He lives in us and we can be secure and safe in that relationship.

 

Scriptures referenced:

- 1 John 5:11-13

^“11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³ I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

- Romans 8:16

“¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
(The Holy Spirit is in a relationship with the Father and Son, however they are 3 separate entities – 3 in 1. The Holy Spirit is what makes you feel that conviction or feeling in your spirit that comes along when you did something that you knew was wrong, but still did it. If you don’t have the Holy Spirit then you can conceivable do whatever you want and not feel bad about it. If you have any more questions about this feel free to contact me at s.kalain@csuohio.edu)

 -          1 John 2:3-6

“³ We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. ⁴ Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

3 indicators that we have freedom and security in a relationship with Christ:

1)      The promise of God’s Word (1 John 5:11-13)

2)      The Holy Spirit testifies to God that we are Children of God

3)      Changed Life

Point number 3 is very important because you can tell everyone that you are a Christian, but your actions will be the true indicator. If you are in relationship with the Lord then you are not going to only talk the talk, but also walk the walk. Think it’s going to cramp your style? If you commit your will to God, obedience looks totally different because it’s done out of a loving relationship. Therefore, we should look differently than our peers that do not know the Lord. Christians should stand out, whether it be on the court, field or track, because we are rooted in Christ and His love should shine through our lifestyle.

-Sarah