Not a Fan

This week we embark on a new video series by Kyle Idleman. Not a Fan. I must admit. I am excited but at the same time, I also have to admit that I am a little scared of what will be asked of me. Kyle presented us with some serious questions about our faith. Here are some of the key questions that have stuck with me after seeing the video.   

      1)      Do I just ADMIRE Jesus or am I DEVOTED to him?

      2)      Has following Jesus cost me anything? Anything at all?

      3)      How serious do I take my faith?

We all know John 3:16, it written down and displayed on banners at football games and other sporting events. Athletes even where it under their eyes in that black goo that is supposed to reduce glare. 

 No one, however promotes this verse, as stated by Christ in Luke 9:23: 

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

 

Look at whom Christ was talking to in this verse. Was he talking to church leaders like pastors or others in ministry? 

No. 

Was he talking to just the religious elite or those who already were following Him? 

Nope. 

It reads “he said to them ALL” and when he spoke he addressed what he said to WHOEVER. That’s pretty much everyone right. He says it to you. He says it to me. 

Try it this way. “Steve (insert your name), if you want to be my disciple you must deny yourself (what you think you want in life, what you think you need in life) and take up your cross daily and follow me.”

 

Whoa, really? This won’t be about me anymore. Uh oh. He is talking about making a huge commitment now. This is serious stuff; Jesus doesn’t want just a part of me. He doesn’t just want my time on Sunday or one night a week. He wants all of me, all of the time. No if ands or buts. All of me.

Yes He does. 

Before we get too down and discouraged I do want to let you in on a secret. We may think that by giving everything we are to Jesus means that we won’t fulfill our own desires or have an opportunity to find any fulfillment in our life. That simply isn’t true. Do you know who gave you your desires? God did and He knows what you need and He has promised that He has great plans for us and our future (Jer 29:11). What some Christians may think, is that if they fully commit to Christ they will end up serving somewhere where they will be unfulfilled and empty. Many people I’ve talked with over the years all seem to share an inner fear that, if they committed to Jesus, they would end up in a mud hut, somewhere in the plains of Africa. While that is possible, some of us are called to be missionaries, it is not a legitimate fear!

I don’t know what you will find specifically. We are all called to different tasks. What I can say though, with confidence, is that you will find everything you have been looking for and more when you seek Him with all your heart. You will end up serving in an area that you are passionate about and you will find your life is very much worth living. 

Don’t be mistaken. I don’t’ want to be guilty of sugar coating or of selling you Jesus as discussed in the video so don’t let me mislead you. Being truly committed to Christ does come with a cost and there will be sacrifice on your part. It is inevitable. Consider this CS Lewis quote:

“I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” 

He knew what following Christ looked like. He got it. He still chose Christianity.

No, it will not be easy, but friends, it will be oh so rewarding. Take a good look at yourself and ask yourself these same questions:

      1)      Do YOU just ADMIRE Jesus or are YOU DEVOTED to him?

      2)      Has following Jesus cost YOU anything? Anything at all?

      3)      How serious do YOU take your faith?

I look back on my life and I do see that I admired Jesus. I was not devoted to Him. He was something I chose so my life would be better. I wanted to have a successful life so allowing Christ in my life should of helped me in my marriage and as a father. He was what married people did right? Unfortunately I held onto many different areas of my life for years while I was Christian (money, smoking, anger, for example) and didn’t give him full access. I didn’t want him to interfere and I didn’t want to stop doing it my way. 

Yeah, I went to church, yeah I was in a small group, but I didn’t get it. I was a fan.

Truth be told…. it was nearly 12 years after I first gave my life to Christ that I realized I was trying to do it my way and I was no good at it. It was February 11^th, 2009 at 11:00 AM when I realized that, despite my best efforts to be a "good" Christian I was failing at it. I was failing at it because I had not yielded full control over to Jesus. It was then that I had accepted the fact that I was a sinner and I needed Him to take over my life. My marriage had fallen a part and I was not a very good father. I could no longer survive on my own and needed to know His way. 

Looking back over the past four years, I can honestly say that following Christ has cost me dearly. All of which I can't get into now but it has. Sometimes I am amazed at how I have even survived the pain and agony I have endured since that day. However, I have survived and I am a better man because of it. God's grace was sufficient.

Reading this book and watching the movie has been very enlightening to me. It has really shown me how we must be moving in order to DO ANYTHING FOR CHRIST. We must be willing to walk away from wherever we are in life if we want to follow Him. I hope that this DVD study has you thinking; to be honest you would have to be near unconscious to avoid any impact from this video. It is powerful. 

Thoughts are a good start but that, for us friends, just isn’t going to be enough. We can’t touch and move people for God by simply thinking about this video.

It takes movement. It takes action. Faith is a verb.

We do not believe in a God that is just “good enough” do we? No! We believe in a God that is Mighty to Save and He is calling YOU into action.

How will you respond to His calling?

Opportunities:

Real Life Church is always looking for those who want to serve. Here are a few things happening soon that we need your help with:

1)      We are currently leading the Healthy Kids Day held at the YMCA on April 27^th. We need volunteers to come love on the kids on our community. You can help run some of the game or supervise a bouncy house. We even need people to paint the kids faces. Contact us for more information.

2)      Cookie Drops: If you have been around us at all, you know we love COOKIES! We have been making cookies and delivering them all over to the community spreading the love of Christ to those in need. If you like to bake cookies and talk with people then this is for you. You don’t need a degree or even to know how to bake; you just need a willingness to show up, give someone free cookies, and say hi. Spend a few minutes talking with them and listening to them .They just need to know you care.

3)      Dinner Drops – do you know someone who could use a day off cooking or someone who would benefit from having a meal delivered to their house? We are currently exploring options to reach people in need one plate at a time. Let us know your thoughts and ideas; this could be a great way to make a difference in our community.

4)      How about our Real Life kids? Did you know that some weekends we have more kids on the campus than we have adults? We have dedicated people who volunteer their time leading these kids but we need more leaders to share in their education! If you feel you can help please let us know as we are always looking to expand our leadership base.  

The community in general is in need. 

You can explore other options for volunteering on the following site. Volunteer Southwest Michigan. Volunteering Made Easy.    

http://www.volunteerswmi.org/

You can donate meals to the Redbud Area ministries by calling them at (269) 695-5083 of lookign them on Facebook.
 
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Redbud-Area-Ministries/167516756619873