As ya'll know our church decided to participate in this amazing teaching series ONE PRAYER. In fact we started the series last Sunday. We had an amazing service! You can actually listen to the message at our website http://www.dahlonegaag.com/. I entitled my message "Lord, please make us DETERMINED!" Ever since Easter we have been trying to birth vision, mission, and purpose into our 31 year old church and only because of God's grace and favor we have seen some amazing steps forward. The reality is that the only way that we will fulfill our vision, mission, purpose in Dahlonega Georgia is we must have a DETERMINED mind set.
I believe this is where most Pastors and churches drop the ball. You see, we always start off with the best intentions. We dream the big dreams, teach and preach vision to our churches, we get everyone to the point that they believe nothing is impossible for Jesus and then suddenly "everything hits the fan." Some of the charter members don't agree with the new direction, to many changes, there's not enough money in the budget, you're pushing people to serve too much, the dream is too BIG, and every body's favorite, "we've never done that before." The list can go on and on but my point is that there will always be some kind of excuse or setback and the only way to overcome every one of them is with a DETERMINED mind set.
On Sunday I spoke about the DETERMINATION of "some men" in Luke 5:18-20. These guys carried a full grown paralyzed man on a mat to see Jesus. The bible never says that these men knew or didn't know the man but that they "CAME" carrying him. First of all, what kind of people carry a grown man on a mat to go see another grown man? DETERMINED PEOPLE! Now here's the kicker...when the men got to the place where Jesus was they tried to get the man on the mat next to Jesus but the crowd was to large. So in other words this would have been a perfect excuse for them to tell the guy on the mat, "sorry bubba but there are too many people here, but at least we tried." But remember these guys were DETERMINED "close enough" isn't good enough! Getting "close enough" was not an option. So what did these crazy guys do...they carried the paralyzed man onto the roof, tore a hole in the roof and lowered the paralyzed man right in front of Jesus. WHAT!!! What kind of people tear holes in other people's roof...DETERMINED PEOPLE! These guys knew that if they could get this guy on the mat in front of Jesus that his world would be changed forever.
The DETERMINATION that these men displayed to see ONE life changed gave Jesus a platform to not only change ONE life but an entire community.
Luke 5:24-26
24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
I believe with all of my heart that God is looking for churches and Pastors that are DETERMINED to do whatever it takes to see ONE LIFE CHANGED. Churches that are willing to look crazy, churches that are willing to think outside the box, churches that are willing to tear holes in roofs!
What would the church of Jesus Christ look like if we all prayed "Lord, please make us determined?"
On a personal note, I am DETERMINED to see our church fulfill it's purpose in Dahlonega Georgia. I am DETERMINED to see every person in Lumpkin County reached with the message of Jesus Christ. I am DETERMINED to do everything up to sin to reach every person in our community! I am DETERMINED to see a healthy and thriving church in Dahlonega. DAGer's I pray that this is your prayer for our church because if it's not it's going to get really uncomfortable for you.
I believe this is where most Pastors and churches drop the ball. You see, we always start off with the best intentions. We dream the big dreams, teach and preach vision to our churches, we get everyone to the point that they believe nothing is impossible for Jesus and then suddenly "everything hits the fan." Some of the charter members don't agree with the new direction, to many changes, there's not enough money in the budget, you're pushing people to serve too much, the dream is too BIG, and every body's favorite, "we've never done that before." The list can go on and on but my point is that there will always be some kind of excuse or setback and the only way to overcome every one of them is with a DETERMINED mind set.
On Sunday I spoke about the DETERMINATION of "some men" in Luke 5:18-20. These guys carried a full grown paralyzed man on a mat to see Jesus. The bible never says that these men knew or didn't know the man but that they "CAME" carrying him. First of all, what kind of people carry a grown man on a mat to go see another grown man? DETERMINED PEOPLE! Now here's the kicker...when the men got to the place where Jesus was they tried to get the man on the mat next to Jesus but the crowd was to large. So in other words this would have been a perfect excuse for them to tell the guy on the mat, "sorry bubba but there are too many people here, but at least we tried." But remember these guys were DETERMINED "close enough" isn't good enough! Getting "close enough" was not an option. So what did these crazy guys do...they carried the paralyzed man onto the roof, tore a hole in the roof and lowered the paralyzed man right in front of Jesus. WHAT!!! What kind of people tear holes in other people's roof...DETERMINED PEOPLE! These guys knew that if they could get this guy on the mat in front of Jesus that his world would be changed forever.
The DETERMINATION that these men displayed to see ONE life changed gave Jesus a platform to not only change ONE life but an entire community.
Luke 5:24-26
24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”
I believe with all of my heart that God is looking for churches and Pastors that are DETERMINED to do whatever it takes to see ONE LIFE CHANGED. Churches that are willing to look crazy, churches that are willing to think outside the box, churches that are willing to tear holes in roofs!
What would the church of Jesus Christ look like if we all prayed "Lord, please make us determined?"
On a personal note, I am DETERMINED to see our church fulfill it's purpose in Dahlonega Georgia. I am DETERMINED to see every person in Lumpkin County reached with the message of Jesus Christ. I am DETERMINED to do everything up to sin to reach every person in our community! I am DETERMINED to see a healthy and thriving church in Dahlonega. DAGer's I pray that this is your prayer for our church because if it's not it's going to get really uncomfortable for you.
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