Tough Guy - Week 1 Tough Words Part A

Culture loves to define things for us, to take the created things of God and reshape them. What God has created and given to us for our enjoyment and His glory, sinful man loves to take, redefine and re-image not into God's image but into man's own image, it is what Romans refers to as "suppressing the truth". The changing climate towards marriage, sexuality, and gender roles are just a few examples.

Mustaches, Machismo, Muscles, Muscle Cars, being tough, these are a few of the measuring sticks the world uses to define what a "real man" is and what a man's man looks like.

If you want to find and example of what a real man is then look no further than the internet and behold the mighty works of Chuck Norris and Mr. T who have become internet legends and icons.

5 quick facts you may not have known about Chuck Norris - taken from chucknorrisfacts.com

• When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
• Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

5 quick facts you may not have know about Mr. T - taken from Mr. T Facts

• Mr. T never learned to read. Letters learned to accommodate Mr. T’s mind.
• Richard Simmons is Vin Diesel, after being pitied by Mr. T.
• If you could calculate the amount of pity generated by Mr. T every second, you could make infinity feel ashamed of being ridiculously small.
• Mr. T was actually raised by a tribe of wookies living high in the Sierra mountains. They blessed him with the ability to pity fools and taught him their sacred language of Jibba Jabba.
• Guns don’t kill people, Mr. T kills people.

According to the marketing agencies being a man today means little more than having a six pack in the fridge, a six pack under the shirt - which physically won't work as there is no such thing as “beer abs” see "beer gut" - a couple of hot babes on the side, and a flat screen in the den. This is where we get sayings like - "He who dies with the most toys wins...." No, he who dies with the most toys still dies.

1 John 2:15-17 refers to this as "lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and pride in possessions" and if this is you and if this is your view of what it is and what it takes to be a man not only are you wrong but you are not of God, you are anti-Christ, and satanic.

And while the world likes to pigeon hole masculinity into mustaches, machismo, and possessions I would submit to you that there has never been anyone who has roamed this earth, not Chuck Norris, Mr. T, Bruce Lee, not Samuel Jackson who was or is tougher and more of a man than Jesus.

Jesus never went to college, never traveled far from His home, never ran or held political office, never wrote a book, or owned a Nintendo 64. For the first 30 years of His life He lived in obscurity, working a job and after 30 years He began His earthly ministry and it is at this point that His life was marked with tough words (the things He stated and commanded) tough works (the things He did), and tough love (His death on the cross).

Jesus wasn't afraid to tell the truth, shoot straight, be open, honest, to be direct even when it might cost him friendships, bring Him persecution, even death.

#1 Jesus spoke tough words concerning Himself.

When asked who Jesus is many people will say that He was a good man or a good teacher but will deny that He is God. Mormons teach that Jesus was a man who became God. Islam teaches that Jesus was a great prophet. Others will say things like, "Jesus never said he was God, you just made that up. Jesus was a good man but he never said he was God."

It is important to know that Jesus stated clearly, emphatically, unapologetically stated many times that He was indeed God which caused many to hate Him and drove some to seek Him murdered.

1. Jesus said He was God - Mark 14:61-64, John 8:58-59, John 10:30-33

In these three examples Jesus states that He is God, that He and God are equal and one, and that He has always existed before Moses, before Abraham. In each of these examples upon proclaiming Himself God the immediate reaction of the people was to kill Jesus for blaspheme.

2. Jesus said His purposes in coming were to: Preach the good news - Luke 4:16-21, to seek and to save - Luke 19:10 and to serve - Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45.

Jesus picks up the scroll, turns to the book of Isaiah and tells the crowd in His own hometown that the prophecy which He just read has been fulfilled in Him. He is the messiah, the promised redeemer. How can anyone state that they are the fulfillment of scripture unless they are a lunatic, satanic, or really God?

3. Jesus said He was sinless - John 8:46 and that He forgives sin - Mark 2:5-7

These are astonishing claims! If any of us were to proclaim we were sinless scores of people would come out of the woodworks to confront us, friends, co-workers, and family would line up to testify against us. Not only did Jesus say he was without sin but that He could forgive sins.

As, perfect, sinless, God, Jesus establishes His authority to do the things He does - tough works and to say and command the things He says - tough words not only does Jesus say tough things about Himself but He also talks about Heaven, those who hear Him and heckle Him, and Hell.

#2. Jesus spoke tough words concerning Heaven.

1. Jesus said that heaven is a real place – John 14:2 – “In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.” Jesus resurrected in a physical body and ascended in His physical body and resides in heaven and will return in a physical body.

2. Jesus said the names of those who believe in Him are written in heaven – Luke 10:20

Our treasure is in heaven – Matthew 19:21

3. Jesus said that no one has ever gone into heaven except Himself - John 3:13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven - the Son of Man.

4. Jesus said Heaven is His home - John 6:38, 41-42. 60, 66

No other religion or religious leaders make this claim. There are others who claim to have glimpsed into heaven for a brief moment or to have visited heaven for a day but no one other than Jesus makes the claim that they are from heaven and that heaven is their home. These words caused many to leave Jesus and it began the talks among the religious people on how to capture and kill Jesus for blaspheme.

5. Jesus said the way to heaven is narrow – Matthew 7:13-14.

6. Jesus said not everyone will enter into heaven – Matthew 7:21.

7. Jesus claimed that He alone is the only way to heaven John 14:6

Jesus is essentially saying that you can't get to heaven through works, through religion, through being a good person, no, "I am the way, the truth, and the life..." everything else leads to a dead end, is a bunch of lies, and ultimately leads to death.

It’s interesting that statistically speaking an overwhelming majority of people state that they believe in heaven and that they are going to heaven. These same people also state that they believe everyone else is going to hell.

#3 Jesus said tough things about those who followed Him at a distance, the hecklers and the hearers.

These were the people who followed Jesus at a distance, they heard Him teach, heard His words, saw His miracles, yet never got close, never had a relationship with Jesus, would sometimes heckle Him, try to trick Him with their questions but never fully submitted to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

1. Jesus said that lukewarm believers make Him throw up – Revelation 3:16

2. Jesus said religious people who don’t believe in Him are bastard children of the devil - John 8:42-47

⁴²Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. ⁴³Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? ⁴⁷He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

#4 Jesus said tough things about Hell.

1. Jesus said there is fire in Hell – Matthew 5:22

2. Jesus said Hell is a place of torment – Luke 16:23

3. Jesus said Hell is a place of torment – Luke 16:23

4. Jesus said Hell is a place where God destroys the body and the soul – Matthew 10:28

5. Jesus said Hell is a place where religious people go – Matthew 23:33

6. Jesus said that He alone holds the keys to death and hell – Revelation 1:18

Jesus said He was God, perfect and without sin, that heaven is His home, that the way to heaven is narrow and that He is the only way to heaven. Jesus said if you are a lukewarm believer you make Him want to vomit and if you are religious then your mom shagged the devil and you are a bastard child of Satan. Jesus said religious people would not be able to escape being condemned to hell and that hell is a place of fire, torment, and that He alone holds the keys to death and hell.

C.S. Lewis said of Jesus - "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us."

What is your relationship with Jesus today?

World's Fair Park - This Saturday!

Please pray for great weather on Saturday because we are headed to the World's Fair Park!

What: ONE Fellowship Event
When: Saturday, June 20 11:00 a.m. til ??
Where: World's Fair Park interactive fountain/splashpad (parking for the WFP can be found next to Fort Kid across from the Museum of Art, also near the Foundry and the L&N Station).

What To Bring: Swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, picnic lunch, drinks, lawn chairs and/or blanket.

In case of rain, we will cancel the fellowship.

If canceled, you will receive an email.

Hope to see everyone on Saturday!!!!!!

Tough Guy - Video Preview

This Sunday we begin a new, four week study, on the tough words, tough works, and tough love of Jesus.

Here is a sneak peak video just for you.



See you Sunday.

We are all Witnesses

Acts 1:1-9

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

⁶So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

⁷He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

⁹After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

We are all witnesses and our lives witness to someone or something that we glorify and worship.

We witness to the world who our God is with where we spend our money, our time, were we focus our energy and our resources. Our actions, attitudes, motivations, and yes our words point to who rules and reigns in our hearts.

Most of the time we share in small, one on one settings at the table, with a friend or co-worker, over a cup of coffee and sometimes we are afforded the opportunity to share in a group setting.

Join us this Sunday as one of our own shares his testimony and how Jesus has saved his life.

Marriage and Men

What does it mean for a man to be the head of the home? How are we to lead? What are our responsibilities? What does it mean to be a man and where do we get true masculinity from?

Yesterday we watched the following sermon, Marriage and Men.

Here is the video in it's entirety.



Please feel free to share this with others.

Marriage and Women

What does the Bible say about marriage and women? Marriage and men?

Do we share the same roles and responsibilities or are we each created with different roles and responsibilities when it comes to marriage?

Yesterday we watched Marriage and Women.

Here is the video in it's entirety.

Please note: there is a question and answer session at the end of the sermon we did not get to.



Please feel free to share this with others.

This Sunday we will focus in on Marriage and Men.

Galatians Wrap Up

If I could encapsulate the message of Galatians, compress in into two minutes, throw some war paint on it, with a Scottish accent it would look like this (please note that this clip contains the Scottish word "arse" in it.



What will you do without freedom?

Will you fight or will you die?

They may take our lives but they will never take our freedom!

Come this Sunday as we wrap up this great study and who knows....you just may get some donuts or something.

Why are so many men bored with church? Part 2 - Real men don't read

Why are so many men bored with church? This is the question I asked in my previous article [link]. Here are several reasons I listed noting that this is not an exhaustive list but a list I believe covers some if not most of the reasons why the church is missing manly men who love their Bibles, love to humbly serve, and love the church of Jesus.

1. They have a distorted view of God.
2. They have a distorted view of the church.
3. They have a secret sin or secret sins in their life.
4. They don't enjoy reading.
5. They don't communicate and operate naturally in large settings.
6. They like action over words.
7. They aren't saved.
8. Some churches no longer rightly preach God's word connecting everything back to Jesus.

When I wrote the last article I put together the above list in no particular order but want to address these points in what would make logical sense so it should look like this...

Here are several reasons why I believe many men are either bored with church or who don't see any value in attending church.

1. Most men don't read or don't enjoy reading.
2. Their Theology is whack....they have a distorted view of God.
3. Their Ecclesiology is whack....they have a distorted view of the church.
4. Their Christology is whack....some churches no longer rightly preach God's word connecting everything back to Jesus.
5. They aren't saved.
6. They have a secret sin or secret sins in their life.
7. Men are mono syllabic....we don't naturally communicate and operate well in group settings.
8. Men like action over words.

Let's deal with number 1 first....Most men don't read or don't enjoy reading.

Let's face it...men our lives are hectic. We get up early, we go to work, we deal with complex issues during the day, we are taxed with responsibilities of job, family, and bills and when we get home most of the time all we want to do is to turn on sports center and quietly slip into a comma and or "vegg out".

Generally speaking vegging out does not include large books with lots of words and no pictures. The goal for most men each day is to make it through the day, go completely mind numb at the end of the day so as to achieve some amount of peace and relaxation before going to bed and having to get up in the morning and do it all over again.

To be completely honest and blunt most men want to disengage from the thinking process not kick it up a notch by reading.

Most guys I know will say that the last book they read was in high school 10, 20 plus years ago and if pressed hard enough they will eventually admit that even then they did not read the book but instead watched the video.
So what? Who cares? Why does this matter at all?

The problem with this is that most men do not read books which includes the greatest book of all...the Bible.

If we aren't grounded daily in the word of God then where will we get our information about God? How to live our lives? How to be a good husband? How to overcome temptation? How to handle our finances? How to be a good dad? How to be a good employee? How to obtain salvation?

Right now some of you reading this are thinking...."this is weak...I don't need anyone or anything telling me any of this...I know how to do all of these things and my life is just fine..."

Really? How is that working out for you?

If we do not get our information from the Bible, God's words, then we will get our information from the examples around us, from our dads, from other men, from the culture...which is scary because I am not sure I want to be getting any advice from Paris Hilton or Bradd Pitt on how to raise my family.

The reality is that each of us are created to worship and we will either worship God in truth and spirit taken from the reading of God's word or we will worship someone or something in place of God based on being spoon fed lies by the culture which is not worship but is in fact idolatry and false worship.

The very fact that few men read their Bibles at all has given birth to an entire generation of men who don't know the truth, don't know how to handle complex questions about morality, ethics, and religion, don't have a right view of who God is, what God's church is, who Jesus is, how to overcome secret sin, and for some how to be saved.

How do approach this?

This is a challenge for all Christian men who love their Bibles, love Jesus, and love His church. We have to be in the word daily, we need to be accountable to each other, and we need to encourage each other to be diligent students of God's word. We need to be leaders and teachers of God's word in our homes, and we need to be bold in our witness about both in word and lifestyle so that the truth of God's word can be testified to glorifying God and drawing men to Him.

We need to put aside any notion that reading is somehow anti-man, we have to realize that we have been born into a world at war against us, against our families, and against God.

We we need to man up and not be afraid to pick up the sword of of the Spirit to do battle (Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17) for the sake of our hearts and minds and the hearts and minds of our loved ones.

Practical helps

1. Don't like to read? Purchase an audio Bible on CD to listen to on your way to work or better yet download a free version on iTunes and put it on your iPod. Don't have an iPod? Repent, go buy one and sin no more.

2. Can't understand what you are reading? Purchase a translation of the Bible you can read, enjoy, and understand. I like the ESV, NIV, and the NKJV. The Message is a great translation for general reading as well.

3. Pray - Ask God to give you a hunger for His word. Ask God to help you understand His word.

4. Just do it! Make time, schedule time, and do it. It won't happen if you don't.

A weak knowledge of the Bible leads to distorted views of who God is, what the church is, and who Jesus is which we will look at in part 3.

Why are so many men bored with church? Part 1

Why are so many men bored with church?

Is it me or is our culture seriously lacking manly men who love Jesus, love their Bibles, and love God's church? Why is it that most men are dragged to church as little boys, abandon the church as young men either to never return or to be reluctantly dragged back by a nagging wife?

There seems to be a disconnect between those men who profess Jesus as Lord and savior with their mouths and their lives which bear little to any witness to following Christ, reading His word, and loving His church.

There is quite a bit of data available backing this up. For example, read the following statistics taken from an article written by David Marrow at CBN.com

"More than 90 percent of American men believe in God, and five out of six call themselves Christians. But only two out of six attend church on a given Sunday. The average man accepts the reality of Jesus Christ, but fails to see any value in going to church."

It is not just my imagination leading me to believe that there is a lack of passion in men when it comes to church attendance, love of the church, and participation in God's church, the bride of Christ. I have had the privilege of being in several volunteer ministry positions over the years and have noticed the following patterns:

1. Men are less consistent in their church attendance than their wives.
2. Men are less likely to serve in the church than their wives.
3. Men are less likely to volunteer to lead a small group or facilitate a discussion than their wives.
4. Some men attend only to appease their wives and to stop the nagging.

Here are some staggering numbers to think about.

• The typical U.S. Congregation draws an adult crowd that’s 61% female, 39% male. This gender gap shows up in all age categories. • On any given Sunday there are 13 million more adult women than men in America’s churches. • This Sunday almost 25 percent of married, churchgoing women will worship without their husbands. • Midweek activities often draw 70 to 80 percent female participants. • The majority of church employees are women (except for ordained clergy, who are overwhelmingly male). • Over 70 percent of the boys who are being raised in church will abandon it during their teens and twenties. Many of these boys will never return. • More than 90 percent of American men believe in God, and five out of six call themselves Christians. But only two out of six attend church on a given Sunday. The average man accepts the reality of Jesus Christ, but fails to see any value in going to church. • Churches overseas report gender gaps of up to 9 women for every adult man in attendance. • Christian universities are becoming convents. The typical Christian college in the U.S. enrolls almost 2 women for every 1 man. • Fewer than 10% of U.S. churches are able to establish or maintain a vibrant men’s ministry.

information cited from www.churchformen.com

While we love women who love Jesus and we love women who love the church my question is....where are all the men and why are they so bored and disconnected from the church of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?

Aren't men suppose to be the head of their households (Ephesians 5:23)? The pastor dads in their homes? The spiritual leaders for their wives and children (Deuteronomy 11:18-19)?

Won't we men stand before Jesus on the last day and give an account for all that was given to us as men to care for on behalf of God to include our money, time, possessions, and the people God surrounded us with including the spiritual health and welfare of our family (Romans 14:11-12)?

Here are several reasons why I believe many men are either bored with church or who don't see any value in attending church.

1. They have a distorted view of God.
2. They have a distorted view of the church.
3. They have a secret sin or secret sins in their life.
4. They don't enjoy reading.
5. They don't communicate and operate naturally in large settings.
6. They like action over words.
7. They aren't saved.
8. Some churches no longer rightly preach God's word connecting everything back to Jesus.

Over the next few articles I will address each of these points as we look together at why most men are bored with the church.

Please note that the above list is by no means an exhaustive list as there are many more contributing reasons as to why men are bored with the church...

Galatians - Week 9 Has the Church gone too far?

In your opinion has the church gone too far into the culture trying to reach people?

If so, how?

"Be ye in the world but not of the world."

Most of us are familiar with this scripture and the church has struggled with this for two-thousand years asking questions like:

"How far can we go into the culture?"
"What can and can't we do?"
"What is and isn't permissible?"

In and effort to remain pure, untainted, and separate from the world and culture in general we have withdrawn, removed ourselves, and it manifests itself in the following ways:

"I don't go to those places, watch those movies, listen to that music, wear those clothes, live in that location, or play in that area..."

In our efforts to set ourselves apart to be "salt and light" we not only remove ourselves from culture but end up isolating ourselves from culture. We now have whole groups of people buying up large tracts of land, churning their own butter, and who doesn't like home churned butter?, home schooling their 15 kids, and stocking up on ammo and ramen noodles waiting for the rapture.

This isn't just isolation any longer as it moves more to marginalization as Christians become less and less of an influential power that creates and makes culture with a Biblical, gospel centered world view and what once was a desire to remain in the world but not of the world becomes total avoidance with the culture, certain people, certain technology. In our retreat, in our absence this void is filled with a godless, unbiblical, demonic, self-centered, world view and the church, the gospel, and Christians are all marginalized and seen as just another fanatical group....at best to be tolerated and at word to be harassed, arrested, tortured, and executed.

The problem with the command..."Be ye in the world but not of the world" is that it is not a command! You will not find this in scripture, in fact we find just the opposite and I could give many examples (In the gospel of John alone Jesus tells us at least thirty-nine times that He was “sent” by the Father) but will give one directly from Jesus.

Mark 16:15 "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

Galatians 4:12

Paul was masterful at getting into the culture, connecting with people right where they were and sharing the gospel with them. 1 Corinthians 9:22 "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some." Galatians 4:12 Paul says, "I beg you to become like me as I became like you." Please put away your "I'm holy" attitude, your self imposed separation, your "I don't go there, do that, associate with those types" mentality.

In doing so we ourselves become stumbling blocks for those who would otherwise come to Christ. Our outward attempts at holiness can lead us and others to believe that they must meet some moral code or checklist before coming to church, before hanging out with us, and before coming to Christ.

#1 - You and I are to use every means within the context of the culture in which we live to share the gospel.

Foreign missions would not be successful if they did not learn the language, dress, and work themselves into the culture and if they did not connect with people right where they are. Missions exist because worship and knowledge of Jesus do not and each of us live within the context of our own cultures within which there are many sub-cultures, each with their own language and dress.

1. Be informed about the culture in which you live.
2. Work yourself into that culture.
3. Connect with people right where they are to then connect them to Jesus.
4. Use the arts, media, and technology all to advance the gospel.

Example: 24 - watch an episode - redeem 24 for Jesus (Jack Bauer is a messiah figure, one man who alone can save the entire world)
Technology, blogs, facebook, twitter, MySpace, the Internet, texting, all can be used to advance the gospel.

Galatians 4:12 "Become like me....I became like you."
Don't be an obstacle, don't be self-righteous, and don’t force others to some "higher level of morality" before coming to Jesus. Instead use every means within the context of the culture in which you live to share the gospel.

Galatians 4:13-14
The funny thing is that Paul was not planning on stopping in Galatia, wasn't planning on preaching to these people or planting churches in Galatia. Yet because of a "bodily ailment" Paul was forced to stop.

Have you ever asked the question? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?

Here was Paul who had given his life to Jesus, denounced his old life, left his old ways, was preaching, teaching, planting churches and it is clear that God's hand was upon him. Paul was certainly filled with God's Holy Spirit as he wrote a majority of our New Testament Bible. You would think that out of all people Paul would have had some extra protection right? Yet time and time again Paul's life was struck with illness, near death, trials, persecution, hardships...why?

Wasn't Paul good? Why did God allow bad things to happen to Paul? Better yet...why does God allow bad things to happen to you? To me?

There are two ways we can look at God.
1. Through a microscope
2. Through a telescope

Both of these magnify but both in very different ways.

The microscope takes teeny tiny things and blows them up making them look bigger than they actually are where as the telescope takes large things very far away and brings them into focus so we can see them.

If you and I magnify God in a microscope we will see our life as the most important, see our problems as the most important and always ask the question....why me?

If you and I magnify God through a telescope we will see God and His glory as the most important, see our problems as they are, but instead of asking why me? You and I will ask for what purpose God?

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
There is no perfect time to share the gospel. In God's great sovereignty and in His mighty plans He allows things to happen, illness, tragedy, hurt, pain, suffering, even death that in the microscopic level grieve us and Him greatly. Yet in the scheme of eternity bring about His good will and glory.

How can you say this? How can you write this? I will give you just one example...Jesus.

Jesus, God's only son, perfect in every way, without sin...arrested, beaten, falsely accused, mocked, spit upon, the flesh ripped from His back as He was beaten, crucified, His blood poured out on a disgusting Roman cross, taking upon Himself our sins, dying in our place.

Don't you think that at that moment and at that time that all of heaven was horrified at what they saw? That God was grieved? That Jesus was desperate and alone? He cried out...Father, Abba, Daddy! Why have you forsaken me?"

Yet in the telescope this was not a mistake, not an accident, not an isolated event, but part of God's plan, a plan to redeem man to God, a plan to lift the curse off all creation, a plan to conquer sin, hell, and death for all eternity, and a plan to glorify God!

Romans 8:28 "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..."

#2 We are to utilize every event in our lives, the good, the bad, and the ugly as a means to share the gospel and to glorify God.

Galatians 4:15-18 Paul says being zealous is a good thing as long as it is for the right purpose and it is true. The problem is that there were some in the church who are worse than someone who just started a new diet (Galatians 4:17). Have you ever known someone who just started a new diet? Don't you just hate those people? The very night before they were partying like it was 1999, just chowing down at the Chinese buffet trying to eat their body weight in egg noodles and now? They are the Dr. Gupta of nutrition. You go to lunch with them and they kindly begin to point out to you how many calories/carbs/fat grams are in each bite you take while they happily munch on air and water.

They aren't concerned about your health! They want someone to suffer with them, to validate their decision and they want others to follow them...they really want control.

Paul is saying "These guys don't love you...aren't' concerned about you...they don't care where you spend eternity...if you know, worship, and serve God...all they care about is the here and now. These guys are fundamentalist which is a lie because they are no fun at all! All they want from you is for you to be religious, miserable, and to serve them. The truth be known they can't stand it that you have freedom in Jesus while they are still stuck in their religious prisons!"

Galatians 4:18-20

#3 Understand bringing someone to Christ often requires an investment of our lives.

Paul compares this to childbirth. Anyone ever witness the miracle of childbirth live or watch a video in health class? I would call it more like the "bloody, messy, fluid filled, screaming at your husband childbirth." The real miracle is that the wife ever wants to have more children and that the husband lives to see another day.

Paul says..."I have loved you from the day I heard about you, cared about you for months, worried over you, protected you, prayed over you, put your welfare above my own, put you above myself, your needs before my needs, undergone terrible pain, discomfort, hardships for you just to see you born into the kingdom of God."

Paul is comparing what the Galatians are doing to a pregnant mother, carrying her baby for nine months, undergoing all the pains of childbirth, without an epidural, delivering, getting to see the baby for a brief moment and then being told by the doctor she will have to begin the process all over again.

You and I must understand that our relationships are an investment and very often can take months, even years before seeing any real life change for both believers and unbelievers.

God has placed us in this place at this time for His purposes.

1. Use every means with the context of the culture of which you live to share the gospel.
2. Utilize every event in your life as a means to share the gospel and to glorify God.
3. Understand that very often bringing someone to Christ requires an investment of our lives.