I am so excited about this weekend. It will be the third year we have done a weekend dedicated to purity. A purity-focused weekend for young adults and singles.
Simply put, PURITY MATTERS TO GOD.
A lot of us remember the sexual revolution of the 60's. We have wrecked, distorted and confused what God has meant to be a pure, clean amazing gift From God.
We value purity in every area of life. If you are in a restaurant and there is an enormous hair in your food, you don't thank the server. You politely cut it away from the rest of the food, or most of us send it back.
How about water? Bottled water always says "pure springs" or something like that. Why? We want purity when it comes to the water we will put in our bodies.
Purity matters to us, except, it seems, in the area of sexual purity. In fact, stated a different way, we really don't accept impure things, except in the area of sexual purity. Check out some of these alarming statistics:
Nationwide, 6.2% of high school students had sexual intercourse for the first time before age 13.
Youth exposed to sexual content on television were more likely to overestimate the frequency of sexual activity among peers and more likely to have more permissive attitudes toward premarital sex.
Nationally, nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant each year. That means close to 2800 teens get pregnant each day.
Approximately 4 in 10 young women in the U.S. become pregnant at least once before turning 20 years old.
Nearly half (46%) of all 15-19-year-olds in the United States have had sex at least once.
Of the 18.9 million new cases of STDs each year, 9.1 million (48%) occur among 15-24-year-olds.
Each year, almost 750,000 women aged 15-19 become pregnant.
Eleven percent of all U.S. births are to teens.
By their 18th birthday, six in 10 teenage women and more than five in 10 teenage men have had sexual intercourse.
Of the approximately 750,000 teen pregnancies that occur each year, 82% are unintended. More than one-quarter end in abortion.
This is one of the highest value things in my life for students. When you have pornography being pushed into cell phones to our 12 and 13 year old kids, it just isn't ok.
I pray you will join me this weekend. Come to all of the services you can, as we talk about a purity revolution.
A revolution by definition is this: "It is a drastic and far-reaching change in ways of thinking and behaving."
Students and single adults have to become courageous. A revolutionary is someone who chooses NOT to follow the crowd, but chooses the narrow path of following Jesus Christ. A revolutionary is someone who stands up and speaks up. They are known to those around them less because of what they say and more by what they do. They commit to a revolt, to radically bring a difference to the way things are.
This revolution has begun in the hearts of hundreds and hundreds of people thus far and this weekend we will pray together, find grace together, and walk in a new way "together".
The devil has stolen far too much in this area. It is time to send sexual immorality back to where it came from. Sorry, preaching now.
Got home late Wednesday night from Phoenix. Lots of meetings yesterday and today and then another weekend.
Learning to live the new life is a journey, not an event.
I wanted to share some personal "thoughts" from my own devotions today and yesterday.
Paul writes (while in prison in Rome) this letter to a church in a city named Colosse to deal with some theological errors which resulted in pratical applications about living the new life in Christ - about the Supremacy and total sufficiency of Jesus Christ.
Living the new life is so much about allowing what is old to die. Nothing changes without first changing how we think. You can't change how you think if you don't know the "new" way.
From chapter three, here are some of the thoughts I want to share:
"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven..." Verse 1
It all begins with different priorities. Seeing and letting Heaven fill your thoughts is about focusing on eternal things more than temporal. Ask the question, "What will matter in 50 years?"
What we wear matters so much. Being in Phoenix, I forgot to check the weather. The climate or environment always dictates what you "ought" to wear, and if you can dial that in before you "travel", then you can travel with less stuff.
Maybe it works spiritually too? As we set our sights on Heaven, we begin to reframe how we think, which little by little changes how we behave. The more I understand the climate, the better prepared I am to dress appropriately.
Paul addresses this church that was dividing, unsatisfied, seeing physical things and forgetting spiritual stuff. It happens to all of us, because life is like that. Climate dictates what we ought to wear...
"...you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience...." Colossians 3:12b
I say we ought to dress appropriately, Paul would say we must dress to reflect the One whose name we bear. I wonder how relationships would be if we dressed like this? If we had higher levels of mercy and lower levels of pride?
If people weren't occasionally mean, I don't think Paul would have had to say to clothe yourselves with.....gentleness and patience.
Because the stakes are so high, it isn't a clothing suggestion, but rather it is an imperative or a command. Interestingly, before he tells us what to wear, he tells us why we ought to wear it.
"Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with..." Colossians 3:12a
Not optional clothing, and the reason is because we were chosen before the world was created to represent in flesh what God looks like. We are salt and light. We are ambassadors. We are the people of God. Followers of Christ.
I wonder sometimes what it will take for certain people to drop the tug of war rope with others, which is ultimately with God.
Maybe you think, "I love God", or "I have no problem with God, but I don't like this person", or "I hate this person", or "I can't forgive my father". Maybe you are wearing clothes you think are "ok" but my guess is it is time to shower and change what you are wearing.
Maybe if we could begin to see spiritually, it would change things relationally? Maybe??
Set your sights on Heaven.....put on things of Heaven, the same clothes Jesus wore, the clothes he lived for and died in.
After Paul talks about what to wear, he puts forgiveness in a separate category. You could add it to the top of the clothing priority list. Check it out
"You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Colossians 3:13
Are you making allowance for people in your life who have failed or who have offended you? No, for real. This is just a blog, but be real. Who are you not forgiving? Who or what is causing bitterness in your life? When will it be enough? When, who and why we forgive is intrinsically and eternally tied to the fact that God forgave us. All our crap. All our bad decisions. All our thoughts that NO ONE but He knows about. All of the ways we will blow it in the future... Done.
You could write this down. AT THE CROSS YOU LOST YOUR EXCUSE TO NOT FORGIVE. Let me say it (type it) again, at the cross you lost your excuse to not forgive. Be done with it. Cancel the debt and let it go. Forgiving (btw) is unnatural and is a journey, not an event, and is not an option. The key word is "MUST". Setting our sights on Heaven is about the things that will matter the most to God.
Next verse:
"And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony." Colossians 3:14
So out of everything we wear, the most important piece of clothing is LOVE. Interesting is the order of Paul's words. Think about Heaven, be merciful, forgive and then love. I guess it is the coat we wear.
I never had a letterman's jacket in high school, because well nevermind that is a different blog. I love seeing students wearing the jacket that displays what school they go to and what matters, or what sport they love. Letters, pins, colors and logos all about displaying on the outside what matters to them so much on the inside. I met a young girl who had so many letters and patches and pins. She was a Scholar/Athlete. Her daddy was next to her and was so proud of his daughter. A moment I won't forget.
My guess is that is the way it is with our Heavenly Daddy. He stands next to us and when we do the hard thing like love or be patient or forgive, we are wearing what matters most. When we love we think it is hard, but it is the reality of setting our sights on Heaven.
"....Love is what binds us together in perfect harmony..." The world sees not what we say, but how we love. That is the ultimate reality of setting our sights on Heaven.
Long blog. Bear with me.
Verse 15 says, "And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful."
The peace we want comes from God alone, as we begin to wear different clothes. I think so often the missing piece in our lives is peace from God for our lives.
The Greek word for "rule" is better translated as umpire. The umpire always has different clothes and can call things out. He (or she) is the one on the field making sure the game is played according to the rules all of the players know ahead of time.
For us, we have Jesus who reigns in our hearts, who knows our deepest pain, who died and earned the right to say, "You must forgive". Please put on love, wear mercy, love justice.
When you do these things, you are worshipping Jesus and making His name famous.
Excited about the weekend. Talking about marriage.
Hey. A few quick updates about the weekend and my week....
On my way to a conference for 2 days in Phoenix. It is called Church Solutions and I am speaking two different times on Wednesday, then will be home that night. Danny and I are going together. Pray if you can. I am simply telling the ONLY GOD Living Hope story.
I really love connecting with leaders and learning from people. I'm excited to spend some time with Larry Osborne (Senior Pastor of Northcoast Church in San Diego) and Jim Tomberlin, who is a multi-site expert, friend and consultant. Larry has written so many great books, but I am reading his first book called the UNITY FACTOR. Church teams, leadership, unity, etc. Really good.
Great weekend. A couple hundred people (good estimate) came to Christ and husbands responded well to a pretty strong talk about the idea of going first in serving our wives.
I was able to visit a campus and see lots of people I love.
Because it was my birthday on Sunday, Pastor Rick had people sing to me. Nice.
Exciting days ahead of us.
I will be talking this weekend about the continuum of Loving and Respecting. It will be a good weekend.
In a couple weeks we are doing our third PURITY REVOLUTION weekend. The stories are so encouraging of students who have decided to stay sexually pure until marriage. Hundreds of stories and so many more yet to be told.
Check out the ministries of Living Hope. Living Free on Tuesday nights is going so good.
Woodland has a permanent facility.
Fisher's Landing will be grand opening on Easter weekend.
So much to talk about. Gotta go and get on a plane.
The word "SUBMIT". That is what I want to spend time talking about this weekend. I am pretty convinced that a marriage that is Christ centered and God honoring will have at the foundation a level of ONLY GOD submission, that is both mutual and life-giving.
The next few weeks I want to spend a little time unpacking what a Christ centered marriage really ought to look like.
This week the message is i-submit.
If you read Ephesians 5, leading up to the passage about marriage, parenting and other relationships, it all begins with submission.
"Submit one to another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians 5:21
The greek word for submit is from a military word and it is hupotasso. It means to come under.
I have been thinking all week about how this fleshes out in a relationship, specifically in my personal marriage.
It is so difficult, but so right to put the needs of Michelle above my needs. I have learned that it is so so easy to get drift in this area of my life.
The One who had the most power and yet never flashed the God card was Jesus. If you read Philippians 2, you get (I think) the best Biblical example of submission. Also, in the garden. "Not my will, but yours be done..."
Submission is a simple thing that has both powerful and eternal consequences.
We will talk about it this weekend, but one thing I know. You cannot give to others what you do not get for yourself. In other words, I love what Jesus has done for me. I think He would say to me love Michelle. She is the only wife you have. Love her the way I love you. Treat her the way I treat you. Give grace to her the way I give grace to you. Serve her the way I would serve you. Be gentle, be kind and be thankful. I think Jesus was such a master at knowing and meeting the needs of those around him.
Funny how so many women have issues with submission to their husbands. I guess really it isn't funny at all, but rather tragically sad that so many husbands misuse a verse that isn't even for them? Weird.
All week I have asked this question. If Jesus were Michelle's husband, would she have any problems submitting to Him? Um, probably not.
I am called to love her the way Jesus loved the church. God has been showing me ways I can do better. Loving is really submitting. Submitting is reflecting Jesus and really more than that being Jesus to those around me.
Good week, very reflective. God is showing me some cool things.
I went to visit a person who has invested in my life, who has spoken truth with love and who has ALWAYS encouraged me. She is the mother of the pastor who led me to Christ 20 years ago. She is a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. She is a friend to hundreds of people and she has been somewhat of a spiritual mom to me. Her name is Sheri Curtiss.
I am getting to the point of the blog. Give me a minute....
Sheri has always followed Jesus, has always spoken truth, has always loved people, and has led countless people to Jesus.
The first sermon I gave, she was there. Spiritually, Sheri has always tried to be "there" for SO many people. Encouraging people. One time she told me "God has uniquely gifted you to share the gospel with the world". (This was when I was a new Christian.) The problem was (good problem) I believed her. I believed that Jesus really did have a plan for my life. I believed her words. I think our potential is directly tied to what others believe in us for......
So today, I sat on a couch next to her special "lift" chair that would help her frail and broken body sit down and stay comfortable. Sheri has cancer. I sat next to her and just watched her cry. Then I cried. Pastor Rick and I spent close to an hour with her and Jim. It was time well spent. Funny how certain things have the power to calibrate our thinking.
Can God heal? Why does He heal? And, not that I have an answer, but really "Why doesn't He....?"
That was what I have been thinking about today.
In Matthew chapter 8, verse 10 it says, "When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd, he said, 'I tell you the truth. I haven't seen faith like this in all of the land of Israel..."
The word "amazed" translated in the greek New Testament is actually better translated "Astonished." It is the only time this word appears in the New Testament.
If you read the story that led Jesus to say those words, you see it is about someone sick, someone helpless (without God's divine intervention), and someone hoping to be healed. It is also about a Roman official (or officer) who pleaded for Jesus to do what He could not do for himself. Ultimately, it is a story of faith. Real faith.
I think when we believe God, we give Him a standing ovation.
Sheri really believes Jesus can heal her. I am asking YOU to pray for that. She also wants and prayed for ONLY GOD's will.
I have to tell you, I want to have faith like that. Think about this, we can have faith that astonishes Jesus. At surface level, that is weird. Faith that astonishes the God that knows everything before it happens?
The Roman centurion had faith like that. Sheri has faith like that. I am determined to have faith like that.....
I want my faith to astonish God.
So.....
What is it? What are you NOT believing God for? Nothing is impossible with God. NOTHING.
Will you believe Him?
Will you have faith that He can heal your marriage? Your finances? Your spiritual life? Your relationships? Will we be about believing God for more than we can imagine?
Believe He can and trust whatever the result is.
Pray for Sheri. Pray for God to supernaturally heal her cancer and her body. Pray for His will. Sheri did. I was so blessed to spend time with her today. Can't wait for our next visit.
I am pretty pumped about our new series "BOY MEETS GIRL".
This weekend a couple of cool things are happening....
First, because I am a few years out of the dating "game", I thought I would have one of our younger pastors who is closer to that stage of life share about DATING. It will be the first time this particular pastor has spoken at our main campus for all services. Don't miss it! For real. He will rock the house as he brings the Word of God to all of us. I will continue the series next week, with a talk about how in marriages we can end up in roommate mode, and the way out!
Secondly. I will be at the main campus for Saturday services.
Third. Is thirdly a word? A few of us are going to hit the road Sunday morning and are going to visit some campuses. We will be at Fisher's first and end at Woodland. See you at Fisher's or Woodland maybe????? Get there! You will love it and all of the campuses will be encouraged.
Fourth. Thanks for your prayers. Still can't believe I said I peed my pants on TV. You can see the broadcast on TBN's website. It even shows Dave's famous split kick, videos of our baptisms, etc. A super cool experience that changed some lives. I have heard from people who came to Christ, who are renewing their faith, etc. It is pretty cool, when God can leverage technology for His glory and purposes.
Fifth. I want to share in a different blog about the power of investment and mentoring. I have recently become friends with Larry Osborne, who really is one of the original pioneers in the multi-site movement. Because I was close and had some time, he invited me to his home. We talked, I mostly listened and took notes. Here is a guy who is willing to hang out with me for a few hours, and later on the way home, I thought how churches are increasingly investing more in each other. I think it says something about this generation (remnant) of church leaders. Anyway, I want to blog about that soon. For whatever it is worth, thanks Larry, Greg, Wayne, Mark, and so many others who have helped me in this journey of trying to lead a church that is bigger than any church I have ever attended.
That's it. A quick and very numerical update.
I am actually on my way right now to see a movie with my kids (had to bribe them). Not speaking this weekend has afforded me some unscripted time to spend with the girls. Hannah, Michelle and I are going to eat sushi. Then off to see Mall Cop, then to church to worship Jesus!!
Just got done speaking at TBN. I was told by them that it is a broadcast shown in 70 countries, translated into11 different languages, and will be seen by over 1 million people.
First let me thank everyone from Living Hope. Without your faith and your willingness to risk, to love people, to serve people, to bring Jesus to people, there would be no story to tell.
Second, I am honored to represent what God has done in your lives to hundreds of thousands of people.
Third, I was nervous like crap, and was almost throwing up, with the worst headache of my whole life.
Thanks to our prayer team (Bruce and Sharon, Heidi, Ann, Marie and so many others) for praying and believing God can heal something as simple as a headache.
I prayed with Heidi (on the phone) right before going on air, and she said to me “your headache will be gone when you walk on the stage”, and weirdly (although it shouldn’t be weird) it was gone.
I prayed for nothing more and nothing less than for the spirit of God to speak to people around the world, and got an unplanned opportunity to lead a prayer of salvation which gave hundreds of thousands of people an opportunity to receive Christ. I am believing that the message of Jesus touched the hearts of thousands of people.
I guess thank you is all I have to say right now. Thanks for being the church you are, thanks for believing there is a God that loves us enough to save us, thanks for watching the program (if you did), thanks for praying that God would move, and believing that He will.
If you haven’t seen it yet and want to, you can catch it on TBN Friday, Feb 6th at 2pm PST.
This morning I got up and went to an airport. Tonight as the day ends I really really feel I was able to do what God asked me to do.
All Jesus wants is what we have. If you doubt that, read the story of David, or the boy with the lunch, or anyone in the Bible who simply brought what they had to God.
Flying home tomorrow. Tired, but excited. I guess I can truly say those two words. ONLY GOD.
Wanted to pause (quickly) to ask for your prayers.
We got invited to speak on TBN internationally six or so months ago. So that day has come.
It is an international broadcast around the world. It is TBN (not sure of the local channel...)
It is on the Praise the Lord program. So I have been thinking.....
Thinking of how much I appreciate the opportunity to talk about Jesus and all that He alone has done in our midst in the last 5 or so years.
Thinking about people who "may" watch the program Thursday. It tapes and airs live. 7:00 - 9:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. (It airs again on Friday from 2:00 - 4:00 PM.)
Thinking about people who will listen to the story and who may come to Jesus. It is really about people.
I love the stories Jesus tells. You learn so much about a person's heart by what they talk about. You learn what matters most to them by what they talk about the most.
Jesus told stories to teach us what matters. He taught about truth. He taught in a way that brought life from death, and priorities from aimless existence.
In all of the teachings of Jesus, there was only one time (that we know of) that He told three parables in a row that were all about the same thing. You know the passage in Luke 15... A lost coin, a lost sheep and a lost son. Three parables, all about something that was lost and mattered to the owner that lost it. I think lost stuff causes both an irritation and an invitation. Irritation because it interrupts us and our plans. Invitation because it is in those moments we can stop what we are doing and do what really matters. Priorities I guess? I think we underestimate A LOT what really matters to the heart of God.
Lost stuff matters. But it will always matter most to the person who owns it.
Last year, traveling from Australia back home, I had the unpleasant experience of learning this principle first hand.
After speaking in Perth for a city-wide church together "gathering" and doing some pastoral training in a different city, I was at an airport in Adelaide, about to leave and come home. Specifically, I was flying from Adelaide, through Sydney, staying the night, flying through Singapore to Los Angeles, and finally to Portland.
2 days of flying, 3 different airlines, 5 different airports, 1 piece of luggage. 1 piece of luggage that mattered a lot to its owner; me.
They assured me at Quantas that it would not be an issue. She said in fact and I quote, "It is what we do..." I wondered, but reluctantly trusted the system, giving my suitcase to a nice person who assured me it would reach its intended destination and be reuinted with me.
After being on different planes close to 30 hours, I would get my suitcase in LAX, go through customs, and get on one last connection to Portland.
Sometimes things really don't work out the way we hope for or plan for....
It was frustrating that I lost my luggage, but even more frustrating was that people didn't seem to care! Can I cry a little more? The people I trusted with what mattered to me not only misplaced, but lost what mattered TO ME. OK, so maybe they "cared" but because it was routine for the people who dealt with it, they probably didn't care as much as I would like. The unsaid feeling was: "We just lose luggage. It is how we roll. Deal with it." Everyone was cordial and professional. At the point of realizing it was a hopeless situation (I watched, hoping, as the empty conveyor belt kept rotating for 45 minutes) I left the security area, luggage-less.
When the TSA person said "Have a good day" and I said "I would have a better day if my luggage wasn't lost", his response was "Join the 100 other passengers who lose their luggage every day". I didn't say anything, but thought alot of things.
"Are you kidding me?", I thought. "Do I honestly care about the other people? What is the exact point of your statement? Is that statement supposed to make me feel better? Maybe we start a group for people who have lost their luggage?" I obviously wasn't ok with it.
The truth is that in the world of travel and luggage it works this way. Make a luggage note: The one who owns the luggage, and loses it, cares the most.
Make an eternal note: What works in airports, I think works for Heaven as well. God has precious possessions, people who He created, people who matter, who have a destiny and whom He has entrusted to us.
While I stood in the airport in L.A., as dumb as it sounds, my frustration that was met with unfulfilled expectation caused me to think. Why do I get so amped up about crap that doesn't matter? AND, why am I not more passionate about what does and will matter for eternity? It wasn't some big God revelation, but it was a reminder for ME that we can get so so so focused on "stuff" or can I say "baggage" that we miss something much more important.
OK. That's it. I just wanted to remind us (me first) to look up before you look around. Look up to God. Get your eternal bearings. Paul says, "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits..." Learn to look up to get the true North, spiritually speaking. Learn to allow your heart to be about eternity. Just learn to see every human interaction as a God-ordained opportunity. It takes a lot to learn to look up.
Secondly, look around. Look and lean into opportunities God allows for YOU. I was tired, ending the 11:00 AM service yesterday, at the door, greeting people. I met a couple of guys (ironically) who both were named Tim. God prompted me to talk to one of them. IN HIS WHOLE LIFE, he had been to church two times. Both Living Hope, both in the last couple weeks. We talked, and I asked where he was at on his spiritual journey. He said he was "lost". I felt God's leading to talk to him and that leading from the Holy Spirit became the day Tim received Christ, and was born again into the Kingdom of God. Tim said he was lost, I told him he is now found.
Lost people matter most to who they are created by. God has numbered every hair on Tim's head. God created him. God allowed him to go through different things to create a perfect opportunity for the Jesus to rescue him. I am glad to be part of a church where it is safe to hear a dangerous, life-changing and eternity-altering message.
Lost stuff matters. Especially to the one who owns it. Lost people matter most to God, so I hope they can matter more to me. I hope we can care a fraction of how God cares. I hope we can never become arrogant or flippant or indifferent. I pray if we get there, we repent and turn in a new direction.
Nothing else matters more to God!
Wanted to share some thoughts, and will share more later.
