Intro Romans 12 from Ashley Broadhurst on Vimeo.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 ~ Keynote #1 ~
9:30-10:45
DECLARING YOUR MAJOR
Romans
12:1-2
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your
everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and
walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God
does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so
well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.
Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the
culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God
brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
Philippians
3:4-14
The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to
work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ's praise as we do it.
We couldn't carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it - even though we
can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my
pedigree: a legitimate birth; circumcised on the 8th day; an Israelite from the
elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict & devout adherent to God's law; a fiery
defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the
church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book. The
very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm
tearing up and throwing in the trash. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all
things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the
high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I
once thought I had going for me is insignificant. I've dumped it all in the
trash so that I could embrace Christ & be embraced by Him. I didn't want
some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of
rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ. I gave
up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his
resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him
to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the
dead, I wanted to do it.
I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have
made it. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously
reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself
an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is
beckoning us onward - to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
************
Preach it Paul! :)
I have one question for you today. Have you declared your
major? Have you made the intentional decision to major in God? Are you a
follower? A follower of the One? A follower of the One who created the heavens
and the earth? A follower of the One who carved a path through pounding waves?
A follower of the One who healed the blind? A follower of the One who turned
water into wine? He is the One. We are not called to stand on the sidelines and
cheer Him on. He, who custom made each of us, wants us to follow Him.
And that's what it's all about, Friends. As children of God
whom He custom made, we are invited to become His follower and to know Him
personally. So let me ask you again - are you a follower of Jesus? We have said
the word "follower" many times now. Perhaps you heard the question
and moved on to your next thought. Perhaps someone else has asked you the
question before? It's so familiar there is a tendency to dismiss the question.
Not because it makes you uncomfortable. Not because it is especially convicting.
The question is dismissed because it feels redundant and unnecessary.
Chances are, because you are here today, you fall into one
of two groups:
Let's call the first group the "of course I am a
follower" group. If you are a member of this group, you are serious enough
about your faith to go to church every Sunday. So, when I ask, "are you a
follower of Jesus," it seems like a rhetorical question. You recognize it
is an important question, but why am I asking you?
Being a follower of Jesus does NOT simply mean answering yes
to the following questions:
Do you go to church?
Are your parents & grandparents Christians?
Did you once raise your hand to accept Christ at the end of
a sermon?
Did you repeat a prayer after a preacher?
Do you own three or more Bibles?
Do you know all of the songs in the hymn book?
Is your radio dial always turned to the Christian station?
Yes, many of us can answer "yes" to all of those
questions. As Paul said to the Philippians, we may have great credentials. But
none of that means anything if we do not have a personal relationship - if we
are not a follower of Him.
One of the saddest passages of Scripture tells of a day when
many who consider themselves to be followers of Jesus will be shocked and
stunned to find out He does not recognize them. In the Gospel of Matthew
chapter 7, Jesus tells of the day where everyone who has ever lived will stand
before God. On that day, many who call themselves Christians, and identify
themselves as followers, will stand confidently in front of Jesus only to hear
Him say, "I never knew you."
It may seem there are many followers of Jesus, when in
reality if they were to examine their relationship, "follower" may
not be the accurate term. They are not followers of Jesus - they are fans of
Jesus. They are enthusiastic admirers. They would be excited to see Him come to
town, but go on with life as usual the next day. Just as with Lebron James or Peyton
Manning, we would cheer and cheer for Him. We would admire what they do, their
skills and their charm, but we don't actually know them. There is no personal
relationship -- just admiration from afar.
We can sit every Sunday in church and listen to great sermon,
but until we know Jesus Christ as our Master firsthand, until we personally
experience His grace and forgiveness, until we become partners in His
suffering, until we feel His unconditional love, we are simply a fan, an
admirer, perhaps a friend of Christ, but we are not followers.
If the first group here today is the group called the
"of course I am a follower" crowd, the second group is the "well,
I had nothing better to do" group. Perhaps you came to Mo Ranch because
you knew a cute girl would be here, or maybe a friend invited you. Maybe when I
asked "are you a follower", you were gazing out the window wondering
what you are going to do this afternoon. You're not offended by the question,
but it does not seem relevant to you. It's not that you've already answered the
question; it is simply that the question does not seem worth answering. You
mean no offense. You're just not into it. It doesn't bother you that some
people choose to follow Jesus. That's cool - but it's just not your thing.
But... what if... Pause for a moment and ask yourself this -- what if all of
life comes down to this one question? What if there really is a heaven and a
hell, and where you spend eternity comes down to this one question? Are you a
follower of Jesus? When you come to the gates of Heaven to meet with Jesus,
will you greet Him with a running hug as a best friend you know deeply and
spent your life following? Or will He say, "I never knew you?"
So where do you start in determining if you really are a
follower of Jesus? At some point in every relationship, the two people must sit
down to determine the level of commitment. You want to see where things stand
and find out if what you two have is real. I’ve got three letters for you… D.
T. R. Anyone know what they stand for? It is the "Defining the
Relationship" talk. Many of you young fellas, and some of you girls, try
to run and hide from the D.T.R. talk. You are scared of commitment and scared
to become personally attached. But at some point in any relationship, you need
to intentionally evaluate the state of your relationship and your level of
commitment.
I would like to ask you to do something. Close your eyes.
Picture yourself outside sitting in the river rapids. You're sitting there like
any normal day, talking to your friends about your summer plans and adventures.
Now imagine Jesus walks by and sits down next to you. You know it's Him because
of the white robes and blue sash. You don't know what to say. You try to break
the awkward silence by offering Him sunscreen or a cold Coke, but He looks at
you with the same look He used to give Peter. You talk about the weather, but
then realize He made the sun, the moon, and the stars. Before it can get any
more awkward, Jesus takes your hand, looks you in the eyes, and says,
"It's time to define the relationship."
Open your eyes. He wants to know how you feel about Him. Is
your relationship exclusive? What is your level of commitment?
Whether you've called yourself a Christian since childhood
or all of this is new to you, Jesus is ready for you...all of you. He wants
you. He wants you to follow Him. Jesus is not interested in fans or someone who
just wants to minor in God. He died on a cross to save each of us from eternal
lives of misery. He is interested in followers.
The Apostle Paul begged the Philippians to understand this.
Paul gave it up - gave up a great job with good pay, gave up his worldly
inferior things, and took up the cross to follow Christ and know Him
personally. No, he did not have it all together. No, he was not perfect. But he
made the intentional decision to be a follower of Christ. Paul declared his
major. Paul defined the relationship. It doesn't matter who you are, where
you've been, or where you are now. God, the One who carved the path out of the
ocean, the One who made water into wine, the One who healed the blind and loved
the sinners -- He wants to know you personally. He wants you to follow Him.
So, who do you want to be? Will you be a fan? Will you see
God as your minor subject, enjoy Him from the sidelines but not fully commit?
Or are you ready to be transformed? Are you ready make the commitment, to be a
follower and major in God?
