Chosen for Change | Week 3 - Chosen

yay god oh my goodness i was so so proud of our church for your generosity to be able to help this ministry it's a ministry that we've partnered with for a long time it used to be new york city relief it's just called steady relief now but we've we've sent teams out there we've been involved with them and and many of you have been in those dorms which you saw had two foot of water just totally underwater destroyed so much they were so discouraged and uh because of your generosity we were able to go in there and to help them and that story i hope you caught it that literally they were needed to make a decision they lost that thirty thousand dollar piece of equipment that they made soup in and it was destroyed by the flood and they needed they found one and they had to make a decision that very day they had no idea i was there in town no idea that i was coming they needed to make a decision that day handed him a check for fifty thousand dollars he excused himself and went over on the phone and called and ordered that piece of equipment now that my friends is god that is god [Applause] it's like i don't know what it did for his faith but it sure did a lot for my faith just hearing stories like that if god knew that we would be there on that particular day the day that they needed it and so it's just so so very cool so guys thank you so much for your generosity as you heard at all the campuses we're doing one on each service so we're doing a different one uh at nine o'clock tomorrow and then one at 11 o'clock and all of our campuses at each one of their services were blessing somebody and again it's because of you guys it's because of your generosity that we've been able to do that i love it well welcome northview it's good to have you here if you're a guest today northview's one church in several locations and we'd be honored to have you come if you don't have a church home and be a part of all that god is doing here we have a micro site we call our north putt campus could we just do a great big shout out to our north putt campus yes and guys it really doesn't stop there i mean i you know i tell the staff all the time in our meetings i said you know there are so many things that are going on in so many different ways that we're blessing so many different people and i don't feel like we're able to come and share everything with you for instance jeremy miller is a person that attends our church here at the carmel campus and he can he contacted us and talked about the and i know you've seen it on the news 6 600 afghan refugees are here in indiana at camp attebury well they arrived basically with the clothes they had on their back i mean they were they were pulled out of there again you watched it all on the news they were pulled out of afghanistan with nothing more than the clothes on their back there's so many supply channels that are trying to get to them stuff but there's so much red tape i don't know what else to say and so because of it they haven't been able to get them anything and so he let our team know that there was an immediate need and so we went to our missions and out of our missions we were able to provide baby food diapers sweatshirts hygiene items a coloring book for the kids some sporting things that they could keep busy uh and many many more things and that again that's out of our missions not dollar club but again that's all you that's all your generosity so thank you for that i think you saw some of the pictures up there that are going on some of you may want to do more because i know a lot of people have been concerned about that a lot of people have been asking us about that and if you would like to get involved in doing more for them just text next to 85379 and follow the links and we'll show you how to how we can come alongside and we can do even more for the afghans as they're here it's so cool so very very cool thank you martha you pray with me if you would father i just thank you and i praise you for your faithfulness you're an amazing god and lord i know that you must uh just smile when you see us reach out to the poor when you see us reach out to the hurting god that's your heart's desire for your church and i know god we're never more like the church than we're reaching out and helping the hurting when we're reaching out and helping the poor thank you jesus for that god i just i'm so grateful for what you're doing at northview church but i'm also thankful for the way that your blessing churches all throughout central indiana and i pray you just continue to do so and god today i want to pray specifically for the creek i thank you for that incredible congregation and the way that you're using them i want to pray specifically for their pastor daniel hamill and pray god that we could link arms together to make a difference throughout central indiana thanks god we just love you and praise you just ask now that as we get into this message tonight this talk tonight that you would use it to challenge all of us we love you and we praise you we just ask it in the name of jesus amen well guys i don't know about you but i'm always amazed by how much things change over the years i mean 20 years ago we had no grandchildren today we have seven grandchildren and the oldest is 17. 15 years ago we had one campus the carmel campus today we have 12. 10 years ago if you wanted to rent a movie you would go to a store to do so today we do it on television ten years ago i had a flip top phone that i could make phone calls on and oh man it was fancy you could take pictures today i have a smartphone that is smarter than i am it literally gives me access to the entire church database i feel like i can take my entire office with me wherever i go it'll give me directions when i'm lost let's saved my marriage i'm just telling you that plus i have the entire bible on my phone that i can look up a passage anytime i want and oh yeah by the way it also has a phone i rarely use it but it does have a phone on it and yet there are a few things guys that have not changed for instance 20 years ago i was bald still bald 10 years ago my seven grandchildren were absolutely the cutest kid you'll ever find in the world not changed 46 years ago i fell in love with my wife not changed 50 years ago i fell in love with god who forgave me of all of my sin and loves me more than i could ever begin to imagine or comprehend and i'm telling you my friends that has not changed well guys today we are in week three of a spiritual growth campaign called chosen and we're talking about some of the fundamentals of christianity if you've been here the last couple of weeks you know that's the case talking about the the simple truths that we build a spiritual foundation upon we're talking about how special it is to be chosen by god and again if you can be here for the rest of this series i hope you will because this is going to unfold even more so over the next few weeks we've been talking about what it means to have our identity in christ in week one we talked about that i'm chosen by god but god's not stuck with us my friends he chose us we're no longer our own but the scripture says we've been bought with a price last week if you were here i talked about that that we are chosen for freedom jesus paid a very high price so that we could be set free from sin's grip on us before you're a believer before you're a christian sin had a hold on you it had a grip on you once you stepped across the line of faith god gave you the power to say no to sin so yes god loves us he chose us and he has set us free paul said in scripture several places it talks about that it was for freedom's sake that god has set us free now today today i want you to see that we also have been chosen for change god wants to transform us into his image listen guys you and i have been chosen for change god doesn't want us to stay the same he has a wonderful plan for our life he knew you before you were ever in your mother's womb and he chose you and he loves you and he wants to take he wants us to take on the nature of christ he wants us to take on his characteristics his attributes this next verse has kind of been our theme verse throughout this series in first peter it says but you are that's important you are why is that important because it's identifying who you are as a believer and who i am as a believer and peter says you are a chosen people royal priests a holy nation a people for god's own possession you were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of god you realize that guys that is your calling that is your role that is your responsibility you were chosen to talk about the wonderful acts of god who called you out of darkness in to his wonderful light peter says you are you are a chosen people you are a holy nation what does that even mean you are a holy nation it means that you are a holy people what does holy mean holy means to be set apart peter's saying that once you chose to follow jesus once you chose to follow christ you have been set apart from the things of this world that you are no longer the same person that you used to be you've been chosen by god and changed by his spirit guys we really do need to hear this i cannot tell you again some people say well that's just such basic stuff it's so basic that oftentimes we overlook it and miss it we need to hear it it's important and it's why peter is reminding us here he says who are you you are a holy child of god you are set apart for god and you have been changed by god and the transformation all starts it all begins when you step across that line of faith and start or begin that relationship with jesus and the more you fall in love with him the more you begin to change and the more friends listen to me and the more you will start to take on the characteristics of christ your words your actions your thoughts your desires your priorities and your attitude towards other people your relationships and your life as a whole once you're a believer it should all start to change and that my friends is what god wants to happen in your life and what he wants to happen in my life now some of you might push back and say now wait a minute steve i thought you said that god loved us just the way we are he does he loves you and he wants he wants you to come to him as you are but he doesn't want you to stay as you are did you catch that he absolutely loves you and he wants you to come to him as you are but he doesn't want you to stay as you are he wants you to become more like christ we are to exemplify jesus to exemplify christ you know the the best example i can think of is that i've loved my kids my two kids at every age at every stage of life at every age i loved them just the way they were i loved them when they were two years old but i didn't want them to stay at two years old i loved them as ten-year-olds but i didn't want them to stay there i loved them as teenagers and for goodness sakes i didn't want them to stay there seriously guys i have loved and i've enjoyed every stage of their life i loved them as adults but i wanted them to continue to grow i wanted them to continue to mature and become the person that god wanted them to be so yes god loves you and he loves you at every stage along the way every stage along the path of life but he wants you to continue to grow and become more like christ in ephesians chapter 4 it says this work this work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge of the son of god we must become like a mature person did you get that we must become like a mature person growing until we become like christ and have his perfection so paul's saying once you've stepped across the line and you've invited christ into your life he doesn't want you to stay there we're on a journey he wants you to keep moving and growing he wants you to grow up in christ paul also writes over in second corinthians he says therefore if anyone is in christ who would that be that would be every one of you that profess to be a believer so if anyone is in christ the new creation has come the old is gone the new is here the old is gone the new is here and all this change happens when we are in a relationship with christ listen guys when you connect with god it should change you i mean if you've been a believer now for five years and still no one that you work with none of your co-workers can tell a difference something's wrong you say but i attend church every week it's not about attending church it's about the spiritual journey that you're on it's about the relationship you you have with jesus and if the people in your world they've known you from the time you accepted christ and they can't see any difference and they can't tell that anything's ever changed for you then something's wrong you know guys if you grab the hold of an electric wire would something happen to you yeah it'd knock you on your keister well in the same way to come into a relationship with a living god it should be life-changing it should open up your eyes it should change your attitude and your wants and your desires throughout the scripture we see so many stories where people came into contact with jesus whether we're talking about the old testament or the new testament we see it in both places where people came in contact with jesus and their life was dramatically changed i mean think about the old testament story of jacob wrestling with the angel of the lord now the angel of the lord and i've talked to you about this before many times most believe that whenever in the old testament it refers to the angel of the lord that it's a theophany or in other words it's an appearance of jesus in physical form so basically jacob was wrestling with jesus jake jacob came listen jacob came away with a permanent limp and a new name but he also came away a changed man goodbye to jacob the shyster hello to israel the man which literally means the man who prevails with god or what about the new testament on saul saul was out to destroy christians and then what happened he had an encounter with jesus on the road to damascus that literally knocked him off his high horse it blinded him he came away from that experience guys a changed person it changed man goodbye to saul the terrorists he literally was a terrorist putting christians to death hello to paul the apostle or guys we could go on and on but what about your story did your life change when you were confronted with the living god i can tell you mine certainly did in fact that's that's what baptism symbolizes that's what it's all about in romans chapter 6 it says we were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that listen in order that go back in order that just as christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the father we too may live a new life so the word baptize literally means to immerse it means to dip or to plunge or to saturate when we baptize somebody what are we doing we are immersing them in water we put them all the way under and of course the symbolism is our old self has died with christ and now we've been buried with christ and now we're being raised to newness of life with christ we're being raised to newness of life with christ a new life a new beginning all of our sins are forgiven all of our sins are gone this is our opportunity to start this is our this is our mulligan this is our chance to begin again a brand new you is raised to life in christ friends if you haven't been baptized let me just say this here if you've accepted christ in your life and you haven't been baptized yet i would encourage you to take that next step it's an important step because it symbolizes the change and if you you know if you've just if you've just accepted christ so that you can get your bus ticket to heaven if you've just accepted to christ so that you can know that when i die i'll go to heaven man you're missing out on what jesus has for you you're missing out on the entire point and that's why i would encourage you to take every step what's your next step and just take every step in your spiritual growth and the change that christ wants to bring and so once you've accepted christ the next step is baptism if you haven't done that i would encourage you to do so the next baptism is less than a month away october the 23rd and the 24th i would encourage you to sign up just again text to 8537 text next to 85379 and follow the links and sign up for baptism guys life is a journey and we need to keep taking those steps forward and that's why you continue to hear me say you'll continue to hear all the campus pastors say what's your next text next you hear us talking about it all the time now that's intentional obviously we're doing that because we want that to be a part of your thinking we want that to be a part of your subconscious when you're coming to church you're always thinking about next what's your next what is the next step you're taking to grow spiritually what is the next step you're taking so that you're moving your spiritual journey down the road you've got to be intentional about creating spiritual disciplines you've got to be intentional about creating healthy habits in your life it's not just going to happen because it's not just going to happen because you said i do to christ for instance maybe you were baptized and you're next you said well stephen i accepted christ and i've been baptized and so your next maybe is to start a daily quiet time with god maybe you don't have a daily devotion and maybe it's just only going to be 10 minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes but you decide okay starting this week i'm just going to take 15 minutes every morning and i'm just going to be by myself and god i'm going to open up the scriptures i'm going to read i'm going to spend some time in prayer just it's a place to start every morning spending time with god or maybe your nexus to find a place to serve god using the spiritual gifts and talents that god has given you every one of you as christians as believers has been given gifts and talents by god he's entrusted those to you and therefore since he's entrusted those gifts to you you have a responsibility you have an obligation to use those for the kingdom of god and and therefore when you start serving you start growing i've said this to you many times before i virtually believe if we don't serve i don't believe we can grow i have a strong conviction about that some of you may argue it and push back but i have a very strong conviction that if a person is not utilizing the gifts and talents that god has given him if they're not serving god they cannot grow spiritually but steve i read the bible every day i memorize scripture every day that's a good thing but it's you know it's that analogy that if that uh i can read all about fishing all day long but if i never cast a line am i really a fisherman you know in the same way if i never really serve or utilize the gifts that god has given me am i ever going to grow spiritually and i don't believe that you will maybe you want to be a better husband maybe you want to be a better wife maybe you want to be a more generous person or or get your finances in order whatever it may be just decide okay this is an area that i'm struggling with and so this is my next this is the area i'm going to work on this is the next step i'm going to take so that i can exemplify christ so that i can be more like jesus decide what you're going to do to grow decide what you're going to do to get there fact guys i'll just tell you this too in your life groups this would be a great discussion in your life groups and i would encourage you your next life crew meeting ask this question what's your next what's your next go around the room and talk about it you know what have you decided is going to be the next step you're going to take spiritually we actually think this is so important that we've created a class that we call the next experience you've heard us talk about that it doesn't matter if you're new to northview or if you've been around for years i really do believe the next experience guys will help you discover your next steps listen we want you to know what your next steps are because we want you to grow which is why we offer the class every single weekend it meets for four weeks you've heard your campus pastor talk about it it meets for four weeks and then it's repeated over and over four weeks and then the next four weeks in the next four weeks that way you can go in any weekend and just go for four weeks and you'll catch every class guys i'm just telling you you got to make an intentional decision that i'm going to grow that i'm going to take my next step it's not going to happen by osmosis it's not going to have you know you can stick your bible under your pillow every night and think that when you wake up in the morning you're going to be this mature christian it just doesn't work that way you've got to take steps to move forward you can't follow jesus and stay where you are following jesus following jesus in itself will create change it'll create maturity which is why it's so important to keep figuring out the next step so you can create these healthy habits in your life that will then help you to grow i read a story about rich stearns many of you know that name some of you don't but rich stearns was the president of world vision and he and his not he and his wife renee uh tell the story that they were in a village in malawi and as they stopped in malawi their car was immediately surrounded by children and so they got out and they were greeting the kids including this group of boys that had been off in a field and they were playing soccer and so all these boys ran over to the car and one of the boys was carrying the soccer ball and the soccer ball was basically a bundle of old plastic bags tied up together with a string that's that was what they were using as a soccer ball because they didn't have a soccer ball and so renee says to the boy can we trade and she reaches in the car and pulls out a soccer ball and says can we trade will you give me yours if i give you this well the boy thought about it for a few seconds and then he realized this meant giving up his ball and so he runs to his buddies to discuss the offer and then he comes back a few minutes later to make the trade now to us we hear a story like that and it just seems absolutely like a no-brainer you know trade a homemade soccer ball made of plastic and a string for a real one but this boy or all these boys were familiar with that homemade ball it was comfortable to him it was his and it was hard to give up and i would just say that there are people today that often feel the same way about their lives change is hard the old is familiar and it's comfortable while the new well it's new it's different it's scary maybe the idea of change intimidates you there are some of you in this room i'm confident that i'm speaking to right now there's some of you that are at any one of our campuses that i'm confident i'm speaking to you right now because you're comfortable where you are and here we're talking about change and we're talking about growing spiritually and if you were honest you'd say i don't like change i like comfort i like doing what i'm comfortable doing what i do day in and day out we don't like change but i will assure you that as you change and become more like jesus and take on his characteristics there's obviously benefits that come with that and there's certainly spiritual growth that comes with that and so let me assure you that it's a good thing you're trading in your old ball of rolled up bags for a real ball you're trading your old life for a new one one that's full of promises one that's full of love and peace and joy and god wants to fashion you into the image of his son he wants to make you like jesus john writes in 1st john he says see how very much our father loves us see how very much our father loves us for he calls us his children and that is what we are but the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are god's children because they don't know him dear friends we are already god's children but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when christ appears but we do know that we will be like him we do know that we'll be like him for we will see him as he really is we know that we'll be like him one day we shall see jesus as he is and the scripture says we will be like him that's the whole point it's trying to exemplify christ trying to take on his nature and his character guys do you understand your destiny your destiny is to be like christ so church hear me from this very moment until the day you see him god is at work in your life molding you and shaping you into the image of jesus that's really what it's about people again try they get confused about what's god's plan for my life it's to become like jesus do you understand that everything that god does in our life is to draw us closer to himself and to make us more like christ so what does it mean to look more like jesus do you need to go out and buy some sandals in a robe and grow a beard i hope not because i've never been able to grow a beard i just look like a bum on the street it's a sad thing no it has nothing to do with the way i dress that's nothing to do with the way you dress it's about character it's about virtue it's about taking on the nature of christ in fact paul tells us the very f listen to me on this guys paul tells us that the very evidence of spiritual growth or the very evidence of change is what it's the fruit of the spirit the very evidence of change is the fruit of the spirit that's what he's talking about in galatians chapter five he says the fruit of the spirit is what it is love joy peace forbearance kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control against such things there is no law these are all the character qualities of jesus everyone that i just read there those are all the character qualities of christ and as you change or grow these characteristics are becoming more and more evident in your life they're becoming more and more evident your friends will recognize it they'll see those qualities in your life so how does he do it how does god change you now notice what i said how does god do it how does god change you i didn't say how do you do it i said how does he do it christian the christian walk guys is a partnership the christian walk your your spiritual journey as a partnership your part is to do what it's to be intentional and take next steps to create healthy habits or spiritual disciplines god's part is to bring the change in us listen guys christianity is not a self-help tool you don't go to the bookstore and look in the self-help section the actual change in our life the actual change that takes place in our life is the work of god's holy spirit not ours let me quickly give you four ways if you're taking notes let me quickly give you four ways that'll help make us more like jesus number one is his holy spirit obviously we need his holy spirit when you become a believer when you become a christian the holy spirit moves into your life if you were here last week i talked a little bit about that i said that the holy spirit was god's seal in our life god's seal that you actually belong to him that he resides in you he lives in you and he then goes to work changing us from the inside out god wants to change your heart more than anything else he want more than anything else god is interested in your heart and he begins to change you from the inside out he gives you the power to live the christian life which is why it's so important to be filled with the holy spirit paul writes in ephesians chapter five do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery instead be filled with the spirit this can this can he says instead be filled with the spirit that's a continuous action verb which means keep on being filled with this spirit every single day keep on being filled with the spirit of christ i mean how many of you keep your car filled with gas obviously what happens when you run out of gas well i'm telling you pushing your car is no fun because that's what's going to happen side note i was i was eating in a fast food restaurant last saturday night actually after the service we took our grandkids and took all of them uh out to a fast food restaurant and while i was there they're all talking and i'm looking out the window and the and the uh the drive-through lane is super long and i notice all of a sudden it catches my attention the lane moves up and this guy opens his door and he's pushing his car with his foot true story he's pushing his car with his foot and he moves up they move up one car length and he gets back in shuts the door and i watch that they move up again he opens the car door he pushes the car every single time he's moving that entire lane by pushing his car what was he doing i have no idea can you imagine if you had to do that all the time everything within me wanted to go out there and like what are you doing it would be really hard to get anywhere if we had to push our car everywhere we wanted to go trying to live the christian life without being filled with his spirit is like trying to drive your car without gas guys we need to be filled with his spirit god didn't god didn't want this thing to be difficult god tried to make this christian life as easy as he possibly could he gave us all the tools we need paul writes in second corinthians chapter 3 and we all who with unveiled faces contemplate the lord's glory are being transformed we're being changed into his image with ever increasing glory which comes from the lord who is the spirit so again where does change come from it comes from the holy spirit taking up residence in your life the second component of change is number two spiritual training paul writes in first timothy chapter four he says do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives tales instead train yourself to be godly so paul's saying instead this is what you need to do this is your obligation this is your responsibility train yourself to be godly physical training is good but training for godliness is much better promising benefits in this life and in the life to come you know how many of you work out at home or in a gym you exercise one way or another how many of you would be yeah some of you some of you not so much for those of you that do that's good i do as well physical exercise is good and guys it's important but friends please hear me on this especially for those of you that are really into health and you're really into exercise and taking care of your bodies and i commend you for the for for doing that but i'm just telling you as important as that is it doesn't even compare to how important spiritual training is that's what paul's saying he's saying you have to create these spiritual habits or these disciplines in your life listen all that running and pumping iron might help you today it might help you right now but it'll do nothing for your afterlife while spiritual training is valuable we know it because we need to take care of these temples that we're living in for both the present life and the life to come it's what spiritual training will do physical is just for this life but if we're concerned about what's going to be after we step through into the next uh into heaven then we need to be concerned about our spiritual health so that's why it's important to ask yourself what's next what is my next what step do i need to take to grow spiritually what's next for me friends we've got to train ourselves to be godly because when we practice spiritual disciplines we connect with god and when we connect with god we change the third component of change number three is renewing your mind how you think what you value the stories you tell yourself all of these things make you who you are but many of you have been listening to the wrong stories many of you have been listening to the wrong voices and we need to have a change of mind and renewing of our mind we need to see our story as part of god's upper story i love the passage in romans chapter 12 it says do not conform do not shape yourself around do not conform to the pattern or to the bad habits of this world but instead what are we supposed to do we're supposed to be changed we're supposed to be transformed how by the renewing of your mind then you will be able to test and approve what god's will is his good pleasing and perfect will paul says do not conform to the bad habits of this world instead instead god wants to change your mindset god wants to change the way you think about things god wants to change your paradigm god wants to change the way you look at circumstances or or trials or troubles in life you know there's a lot of cynicism today about god if you talk to your unchurched friends your co-workers if you talk to them there's a lot of cynicism in fact honestly guys i think there's a lot of cynicism even in the church you hear christians they'll say well what's god want from me anyway does god really does god really care whether i serve him or not does god really care about any of this steve i want to help change your mindset today yes he does a thousand times yes absolutely god loves you he has a purpose and a plan for your life and he wants to change your mindset it's not what he want listen let me say it this way it's not what he wants from you but what he wants for you it's not what what god wants from you it's what he wants for you he wants to mold you and shape you into the image of christ to take on his nature and characteristic in john 10 10 he writes and it says the thief satan the devil comes only to steal kill and destroy jesus said i've come that you might have life and have it to the full god wants you to experience life in all of its fullness guys the listen to me the best way to renew your mind is to fill it with scripture seriously when you read the bible you start to see how god thinks you start to begin to understand from god's perspective from god's mindset you start to see what he values and how he wants to change you to become like him the more you read about him the more you know him the more you read about him the more you'll change the more you read about him the more you will renew your mind guys i've read the bible i've read through the bible dozens of times in my adult life in some sections and some parts i read more than others maybe some parts i've read hundreds of times and yet every time i read it every time i read it i see something new i'm reminded of things that i still don't understand yet that i need to understand each day little by little god is renewing our minds if we'll get in the scripture every day i read scripture he's renewing my mind and giving me a god perspective a god mindset and that's why i constantly tell you how important it is people today so i just don't like to read we don't like to read anymore oh my gosh get over it get over it pick up a bible and start to read every day just make a determination today i'm going to read this much and some say well steve i'm not a good reader then get it on audible you can listen you can listen to scripture and so just let somebody else read it to you but get into scripture it's why it's so important that we're in the word of god every day the fourth component of change number four is community christianity guys is a team sport we can't play it alone we need other people in our life god uses other people to encourage us to correct us he uses other people to train us and to challenge us in hebrews chapter 10 it says let us think of ways i love that let us think of ways let's get creative here let us think of ways to motivate one another to motivate one another to acts of love and good works and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do but encourage one another especially now that the day of his return is drawing near let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works i love that are you are you sitting around trying to be creative in that area of your life are you trying to think of how in the world can i motivate people to do acts of love and good works he says let us encourage one another to keep going let us encourage one another to keep pressing on when you have friends that are discouraged and want to give up you need to think of creative ways to help them stay motivated you need to think of creating ways to help them just keep pressing on you know most of you have discovered that it's a whole lot easier to exercise or to run or to study a book or to study the bible if you have an accountability partner if you have somebody that's holding you accountable or you're part of a bible study group and everybody's expected to be there it's like maybe you don't feel like maybe you don't feel like reading the bible today but you've got this group where you study scripture together and you know if you're not there you'll be missed so you feel accountable i think we're all that way it just becomes easier when we have somebody hold us accountable i think we're all that way from to one degree or another you know it if if left to myself i'm just telling you i'm tempted to be a couch potato i need others in my life that are counting on me i lead others in my life to help motivate me to be all that god wants me to be guys that's why church attendance is so important i know you said well you're a pastor of course you think that i absolutely do i absolutely do and i hear you know right now after coming out of covet i'm more concerned than i've ever been before because people have gotten out of the habit and i'm hearing i'm hearing quote unquote church experts that are saying well you know the future of the church is online i'm like oh my gosh i pray to god that's not the case because we will be in trouble spiritually if that's the case we need to gather together we need to gather together you know i can certainly i can go online and i can watch a sermon i can watch a message and i can get just as much out of the sermon there's no question about that but that's not why church is important church is important is because the body of christ needs to gather together to support one another and to encourage one another and guys that's not even to talk about our kids if you've got young kids for goodness sakes you need to have your kids in church it's also why we need christian friends that's why i think life groups are so important and why they're so helpful guys we can't we were never intended to do this thing alone we were never intended to do this thing alone we need one another so guys as i'd close today can i just encourage you you've got to be intentional just right where you're at i know it's easy to hear a message and let all this just fly over your head but i'm just praying right now that you'll make a decision today you'll make a decision today that you're going to take your next step spiritually whatever that may be that you're going to take a step toward god by asking yourself what is my next i don't know what it is for you what is my next and whatever that might be make up your mind guys that you're going to move in that direction this week the more time you spend with jesus the more you'll fall in love with him i promise you and the more he will change you into the image of christ the less confusion you'll have about spiritual things the more you'll begin to understand truth the more you begin to understand how god is moving and working in your life the more you'll fall in love with him i encourage you make that decision this week i'm going to take my next step this is what it'll be for me and i'm going to take my next step well every every month we have what we call miracle prayer we believe in a miracle working god you know that a miracle is basically when god steps into your situation you're at the end of your rope you're about to hit a wall you're discouraged you don't know what to do you cry out to god and he steps into your situation that's a miracle we believe in a miracle-working god he's still working miracles today and so again today we're going to have our miracle prayer time i'm going to ask the campus pastors if you would all come up and lead that at your particular campus if you would

Channel: Northview Church

Views: 288

Rating: 4.3333335 out of 5

Keywords: Northview Church, Northview, Steve Poe, Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Lafayette, Indy North, Indianapolis

Id: tOy6Je77eqI

Length: 42min 52sec (2572 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 27 2021