"Leading Yourself" - Michael Ensey

praise God you can be seated this morning we're not going to begin with a text as we traditionally do in a message I am and to be a little bit more of a teaching talking sharing mode this morning we will have prayer at the conclusion of this session but just kind of want to share maybe a few more practical things with you today and if you don't have pen and paper maybe on your mobile device or some kind of digital device you can maybe take a few notes today I'm gonna give you a homework assignment you're like man I came here to get away from homework just it's gonna be easy but a few things I'm gonna ask for you to do today to apply what we're going to be talking about to give it a title or topic just sometimes that helps us to place within a context or framework as where we're hearing instruction so if we were gonna give it a title today I would title it this leading yourself leading yourself how many today would consider yourself a leader just raise your hand if you consider yourself a leader okay we got a few got a little ways to go here today because did you know that every single one of you here today you are a leader you're a leader because leadership is not a position it's not a title I think John Maxwell said it the best when he said that leadership is influence if you have ever influenced anybody to do anything you are a leader if you if through words or actions or example if you have ever motivated inspired somebody to do something even if it was your little brother or your little sister to get them to do something crazy they got them in trouble you are a leader if you've ever influenced your peer your friend to do something no let's go here let's eat here let's listen to this let's watch this let's play that let's if you've ever influenced anybody to do anything you are a leader and so if we have this understanding that we are a leader whether we want to be or not then it behooves us to consider what kind of leader we are if if you're a leader because you influence somebody to do something and we all have influence whether we think about it or want to or not you are influencing somebody you're influencing your friends you're influencing your family you are influencing others and so it behooves us to consider what kind of influence are we jesus said in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me Jesus did not say and you are going to witness about me he said you're going to be a witness of me in other words you're a witness whether you want to be or not so it it behooves us to ask the question what kind of witness am I of Jesus Christ the same principle applies you are an influencer you're influencing people now those that are in a position or have a title or God opens doors for greater influence yes there's there's more responsibility and there's more potential impact perhaps but as an individual you are a leader because you have influence and if we're going to be a good leader or a good influencer then it starts with us understanding that we have to lead self first if I'm going to lead others hopefully in a positive way I'm first gonna have to understand the responsibility of leading myself I'm gonna have to lead myself well if I'm gonna lead others well so we're gonna talk about what this means to lead ourselves well so that we can be a greater positive influence for others proverbs chapter 25 verse 28 says this is the ESV version a man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls a man without self-control an individual without the ability to control themselves you ever seen anybody out of control you ever seen you ever seen this person without any self-control without the ability to control their decisions and their emotions and their responses and it's like a city that doesn't have any walls it's like a person without a filter whatever comes into their mind it comes out of their mouth you met that person are you that person I saw some people like yeah that's you no filter no no walls of Defense a person without self control it's like a city broken into and left without walls so if we are going to have that defense mechanism if we're going to be able to control self to lead self how do we accomplish that I'm I'm gonna focus on a particular area today of how to lead ourselves well and I'm gonna I'm gonna talk to you about some keys to making good decisions because if you're gonna lead yourself well you're gonna have to cultivate the art of good decision-making because all of life is just a series of decisions every single day I don't know if there is a more important ability that you could cultivate then this ability to just make good decisions to evaluate past experience to understand the dynamics of your present current situation to understand potential future consequences to take all of that information and to make a good decision sometimes we have days weeks even months or years to make a decision other times we have just a few seconds just in a moment we have to make a split-second decision and it is absolutely critical that we develop this ability to make good decisions to make right decisions now you know some decisions you make are not that eternally critical what what color socks you know that you're gonna wear is not that important I decided to wear red today so just I thought I needed an accent color with the black and white going on so I went with the red socks today but you know this morning the decision to wear red socks or black socks or gray socks or even to mix them up and wear a red and a black that would not have had any impact on my eternity that might have been distracting for a few of you on the front row that had been like at some point wait a second his socks don't match but it wouldn't have really impacted my day too much what we're gonna have for lunch today or you know you there's there certain decisions that you make that in the big scheme of things are not not that important really but there are so many decisions that you make every single day that he takes they they impact your eternity they impact your future they impact the way that God is able to work in your life and Deuteronomy chapter 30 I want to go to this entire passage but Deuteronomy chapter 30 verses 11 to 19 I encourage you to to go back and to look through this this passage of scripture where God is speaking to his people and he talks to them about the choices that they are making he talks to them about their decision-making process and and he says this this commandment that I'm commanding you it's not too hard for you neither is it far off it's not in heaven that you would say we will ascend to heaven and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it neither is it beyond the sea that you would say who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it but the word is very near you it's in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it what God was telling his people is that this command that what I'm asking you to do the commitment that I'm asking you to make it's not too hard for you it's not in the heavens somewhere that it's beyond you it's not on the other side of the sea that it's it's too far from you know what I'm asking you to do you can do it it's very near you he said the word in your ears it's in your heart you can do it what God is asking of you the level of commitment that God is asking from you what your pastor or your parents are youth pastor is asking you to do the lifestyle they're challenging you to live it's not too difficult for you it's not too hard it's not beyond your ability in fact what I've discovered most often are our failure in making good decisions it is not about ability it's about priority we have the ability it's about priority it's about what we really want I mentioned last night our actions are a physical representation of our value system people ultimately do what they want to do you do what you want to do now I know at times mom and dad somebody might enforce rules we we have to do what we have to do at times but ultimately what you want to do people will end up doing what they want to do it's not beyond you it's not too difficult for you so he goes on in the next few verses and he talks about our choice and the options before he said I've set before you life and good death and evil if you obey you're gonna have life you're gonna have good you're gonna have blessings if you disobey my my Commandments you're gonna have death you're gonna have evil you're going to be cursed until he finishes in verse 19 say I call heaven and earth to witness against you today I've set before you life and death blessing and curse therefore choose life that you and your offspring may live you have a choice today there's decisions that you're making even right now as you're listening to me you are making decisions and as you are processing the information that I am sharing with you you are choosing am I going to listen to this guy or not am I gonna believe what he's saying or not am I gonna act on what he's talking about or not am I gonna listen to what the Holy Ghost is telling me or not you have the options that are set before you today and and you have to choose you have to choose there really is no middle ground our challenge is this to develop this to make good decisions and to repeat those good decisions time after time the art of good decision-making does not come naturally it's something that we have to learn that we have to cultivate licen life is comprised of this series of actions and reactions every thought that you have ultimately inspires a decision that you make which determines an action which creates consequences which then influence your thoughts leading to more decisions and more actions and more consequences one decision followed by another one action followed by another your thoughts have consequences the things that you think about they have consequences there are no innocent thoughts there are denote just innocent thoughts well I'm not actually doing something bad and it's just it was just a thought no thoughts have consequences because thoughts ultimately lead to actions our words have consequences the things that we say have consequences you you can speak things into existence good or bad the power of life and death is in the tongue and the things that you say about yourself and the things that you say about others whoever came up with that little saying sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me they were a liar they were a liar our words matter they have consequences anybody ever been there where the words are coming out of your mouth and you're like huh you're like trying to get them back in it's like what am i doing why did I say that but the words that we speak it's like water that's poured into the ground you you can't you can't get that back you you can't take back thank God for the blood thing thank God for mercy and forgiveness and but once those words are spoken you can't get them back our words have consequences our actions have consequences and even in action has consequences to not make a decision is to make a decision you just made a decision to not make a decision and inaction has consequences there are times where we have to act there that there are moments where we have to make a decision until not make a decision is to miss a moment is to miss an opportunity there are there are some prayers that you only you can pray for yourself others can pray with you but only you can pray for you there are some prayers that only you can pray others can't repent for you others can't pray a prayer of commitment for you we can pray with you but there are some prayers that only you can pray and some decisions that only you can make and so there is the series of thought and decision and action and consequence and life is this continuing continuous movement it never stops anybody ever wish you could hit the pause button like whoa can we just stop this thing for a moment just put everything on pause just we just gotta I need to stop and just think about what's happening in process and yet we don't have that luxury life just continues on this continuous movement shaped by those decisions and actions and outside influences and the circumstances we're in and divine intervention as God steps in an inspiration that we experience and it's a movement that's powered by all of these factors and there's a certain momentum to life that good decisions tend to lead to more good decisions and bad decisions tend to lead toward more bad decisions anybody seen it happen or you've been there yourself where you you feel like you're kind of spiraling out of control a little bit like I mean you made one bad decision and then that bad decision led to another failure in judgment and another bad decision it's kind of like the web of lies but we can't wrap ourselves in where it starts with just a little lie but then you got to tell another lie to cover up that lie and before long you don't even know what the truth is it's this continuous movement and momentum and so if we understand that there is this momentum to life and then we should consider the decisions that we are making that they are setting a course in a direction for that momentum Paul said in first Corinthians nine I don't run aimlessly because activity or movement is not progress movement with direction is progress and so just Paul said I don't just run aimlessly you're not just trying to run to run just be active or busy no I'm trying to run with purpose and run with direction because every step that we take sets Direction even the smallest of decisions and they set a direction and the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single little step just a step just a decision and the decisions that we're making today are placing within the hands of God the material with which he is building our future and we're gonna have to live in that future that today's decisions are making for us therefore we've got to consider the decisions that we're making today and the course and the direction that it is setting for us there was a building contractor who was preparing for retirement it worked for this company his whole life good long successful career have been a great employee and he's working on his final project he's building this nice big house but he begins to consider retirement thinks you know I I haven't really prepared for retirement like I should have is it's time to really think about this get serious about this I need to I need to think about my my future and so with a failure of judgment he makes some ill-advised decisions and he starts to cut corners on this building project inferior materials and he kind of skims the money off the top workmanship that was less than what it should have been on this this house and he kind of cuts corners and he saved some money and keeps it back for him instead of putting it into the house like he should have and it gets done the end of this building project the house the facade it looked nice but he knew that it was not built the way that it should have been that that there were some areas where he had cut those corners in it was not the house that it should have been and he had taken that money for himself and so the owner of the company comes down after his final building project and says I want to give you a retirement gift here's the keys to this house that you just built and he had to live in the house that his decisions had built for him right now you're making decisions that are building a future for you that you're gonna have to live in you got to consider the decisions that you're making today CS Lewis said this in mere christianity good and evil both increase at compound interest you know what compound interest is that that savings account that you have that put a hundred dollars in and then you gain the interest on that and and then as that interest compounds with not just the money you put in but the the money that you've gained from the interest and it begins to grow into compound at a greater rate he said good and evil both increase at compound interest that's why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance the smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which a few months later you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of and on the flip side an apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible just the smallest of decisions good and evil increase at compound interest that's why it's so critical that we develop this ability to make good decisions no matter the circumstance no matter what we may be facing the temptation or the trial or the challenge if pastor or youth pastor or parents are not around we have to cultivate the ability to good decisions so here is how we're gonna do this I'm gonna give you three keys to making good decisions number one you have to live on purpose you got to live on purpose you got to wake up every day and say today I'm going to live on purpose if you aim for nothing you'll hit it every single time every time what's the saying a ship that has no port or no destination that every wind is favorable doesn't matter that doesn't matter what happens what what decisions you make it if there's no destination in mind but if you have a destination in mind if you want to be successful in this life and make it to the destination where you want to go in the next life you're gonna have to live on purpose you're gonna have to know what your purpose is if you don't know what the destination is how can you make a good decision in his book made for more brother Brian Kinsey one of our pastors a former general youth president I recommend this book made for more absolutely powerful book on on fulfilling your personal potential in his book he talked about the life of Billy Graham Billy Graham almost a hundred years old over 80 years of ministry now ministered in 185 different countries it's estimated in his lifetime that he has spoken to over 2.2 billion people now I understand today we differ a little bit on theology but it's pretty incredible in a day and age where so many political and religious leaders have all kinds of scandal and controversy and all kinds of things that he has he has lived a very moral life without controversy and scandal and he has impacted for good over 2 billion people that kind of influence and that kind of life doesn't happen by accident but a Kinsey made this statement about Billy Graham's life he's his life on purpose I don't know there could be a greater epitaph on a on a tombstone then for somebody to say this life was lived on purpose that everyday this individual they lived their life on purpose the decisions that they made the things that they did you have to know your why gonna know your why why do you exist why did God create you why did God make you why did he fill you with the Holy Ghost why why are you here today you got to know what your why is if you're going to live your life on purpose if you're gonna make good decisions you have to know your why a few years back I started running do we have any runners here today gave me the runs got a few a couple other crazy people like me the others in the room are like why why do you run what are you running from what is chasing you why would you want to do something that is painful I don't know I got this crazy idea I was in my late 20s and I got this idea I wanted to run a marathon before I turned 30 and so I I started training for marathon actually I heard that Oprah ran a marathon and I thought if Oprah can run a marathon I can run a marathon surely so that inspired me no it's a strange motivation but somehow that inspired me so I started training a marathon is 26.2 miles I don't know what that is in kilometers we have any mathematicians in the room it's a what anybody know to marathon is in kilometers what is that 55 55 so in that range it's a lot of kilometers it's a long way started training for this marathon so in the midst of my training I started doing some reading about runners and I got this book called the ultra marathon man about a guy by the name of Dean Karnazes and Dean Karnazes is he's he's crazy absolutely crazy the guy runs like 300 miles at a time okay so like was 650 kilometers just straight it takes like three days just running and and so when you're running that mud you're consuming an incredible amount of calories and he's on one of these runs and so in his book he talks about he's in one these runs it's the middle of the night and he's running this hundreds of mile long run and and so he he ordered a pizza in the middle of night on a cell phone he's running he calls the pizza delivery place I need a pizza delivered out here on Highway one I'm and there what's your address oh well I don't really have an address I'm running you're running and you're ordering a pizza like well I'm running hundreds of miles I need to eat I need to get some calories I'm burning he'd burn like 50,000 calories a day on these runs you got to consume a lot of calories so the and so the the pizza delivery guy comes out like what are you doing you are crazy why are you running and so he gives the answer to mr. pizza delivery guy and he says this here's your answer I run to see how far I can go I run because it's my way of giving back to the world by doing the one thing it is I do best I run because I've never been much of a car guy I run because if I didn't I'd be sluggish and glum and spend too much time on the couch I run to breathe the fresh air a run to explore I run to escape the ordinary his sister had passed away from a disease and he said there's I run to honor my sister and unite my family I run because it keeps me humble I run for the finish line and to save her the trip along the way I run to help those who can't I run because walking takes too long and I wrecked I'd like to get a few things done in this lifetime I run because long after my footprints fade away maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path hit the trails put one foot in front of the other and come to the same conclusion I did I run because it always takes me where I want to go I run because it always takes me where I want to go you have to know your why you have to know your why the Apostle Paul said there's a race that is set before us so run with patience laying aside every weight in the sin which doth so easily beset us when I when I got inspired to start running I started getting sponsors and raising money for sieves for Christ and in the midst of that I felt like God gave me this little inspirational phrase that I started using that running is optional but the race is not in other words we all have a race that's set before us there is a purpose that we all have to discover the race is not optional the race has been set before us running is optional you have to decide you have to choose am I going to run the race am I going to fulfill the purpose that God has given me so if you're going to make good decisions you have to live on purpose you have to know what your why is because there is something about purpose that is so powerful when you discover your purpose it creates motivation it generates passion it narrows your focus it defines your direction when you discover your purpose and there are no accidental successes nobody's gonna accidentally make it to heaven nobody nobody's gonna back their way into heaven like whoa didn't see that coming how did this happen no you're gonna get to heaven because you live on purpose you're gonna fulfill the will of God in your life in this life and you're gonna be successful whether it's in business and I believe God wants you to be successful in your career if it's in ministry God wants you to be successful in your relationships God wants you to be successful and certainly in the purpose that he has defined for you the only way that you're going to be able to do that is if you live every day on purpose being lost is the predictable outcome of starting a journey without having good detailed directions life is really pretty predictable it really is it's amazing that we can convince ourselves at times that we're gonna be the exception to the rule that everybody else made this decision and their end in their life ended up in shipwreck but we are gonna be the exception we're gonna be the one in a million that's gonna make the same decision and parallel all these other decisions and yet somehow we're gonna end up at a different destination no no no no you're not gonna be the exception life is really pretty predictable God said I've set before you life and death if you obey and you choose life you're gonna be blessed if you disobey and you choose death you're gonna be cursed it that there's no surprises here life is really pretty predictable you sow and you reap what you sow you don't plant an apple seed and get an orange tree it doesn't happen you get what you're so so here's action item number one homework assignment number one are you ready for this I want you to develop a personal purpose statement a personal mission statement I want you to write it down can be this afternoon tonight tomorrow next week but at some point I want you to pray about it I want you to talk to God about it you might talk to others about it I want you to to read the word I want you to think why do you exist why did God fill you with the Holy Ghost why are you here you have a purpose and the sooner you discover that purpose the the sooner you will have the ability to make good decisions because purpose must become the test for every decision that we make you want to know how to overcome temptation discover your purpose because then it becomes the test for dealing with that temptation if if making decision a takes me this direction toward my purpose it gets a green light do that if making decision B takes me this direction away from my purpose then don't do that but how do you know the decisions to make if you truly don't understand your purpose but once you understand your purpose and you know the destination then making a decision becomes a lot easier if this relationship takes me away from God and distracts me from my purpose it's not worth it if this career takes me away so if this career is so consuming that can never go to church and I can never be involved in any kind of ministry you might make billions of dollars but it's not worth if it takes you away from your purpose purpose must become the test for our decisions it's the first step so develop a personal purpose statement why you exist I have a personal purpose statement I have it written out it's next to my bed every day when I wake up I have to see that personal purpose statement as it relates to my relationship with God my relation to my family and my relationship with others develop a personal purpose statement to guide your decisions number two is if you're going to make good decisions you have to eliminate negative influences in your life I talked a little bit last night about those voices speaking into your life and the media that you allow to speak in your life show me your friends and I'll show you your future those that are speaking into your life whether it's media or relationships ultimately are determining your future because they're influencing your thoughts and your thoughts are gonna turn into decisions that are going to turn into actions that will create consequences and so you are gonna have to eliminate negative influence influences in your life first Corinthians 15:33 the ESV says this bad company runs good morals bad company runs good morals you have to make a conscious decision there there are some things that you need to delete off of your mobile device there are some contacts that you need to delete out of your mobile device this is this is action item number two homework item number two you need to say goodbye to some relationships because it's amazing what can happen around an altar the way God can work and move and transform a life and then that individual go right back into the same old environment that they used to live in the same friends and influences and people that are speaking negativity and into their lives and in the wrong direction into their lives and they revert right back to the previous lifestyle in previous bad decisions they were making you have to eliminate those you have to go ahead physically delete some of those contacts delete some of those apps and they'll delete some of the the history the internet history and places that you've been going you are gonna have to make a conscious decision I'm going to eliminate those influences and if you are struggling with whether it's social media pornography any of those kind of things you have to eliminate the ability the option to go there it would be better for you to have a flip phone if you can't control it if you can't control it and and there's there's ways that you can control the internet and there's filters and there's things like covenant eyes that you can put on your mobile devices but there are ways around it and you can put the best defenses in the world but ultimately what I say earlier people will do what people want to do and you'll find a way and in social media today there aren't very many good filters out there for social media and there are ways you'll find the junk if that's what's in your heart you got whatever you have to do to get your heart right and to take away certain temptations and influences do whatever you have to do throw your smartphone in the creek if you have to it's not worth your soul it's not worth your salvation that friend that relationship it's not worth your salvation it's not losing your ministry over by that influence of speaking into your life so homework assignment number two is eliminate some friends some influences get rid of some media in your life that are not leading you on a path of spiritual success you have to eliminate negative influences number three you have to develop a fear of the Lord I touched on this last night we talked a little bit about making right decisions and so this is the the practical way that you do this because the Bible lets us know that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the only way to develop a proper reverence and respect with God is you have to spend time with God you have to spend time in his presence you cannot have a proper reverence and respect of who God is unless you are spending time with you have to know him and the only way to know somebody is you just have to spend time with them you've got to be in the word you've got to be in his presence and just once a week at church or a couple of times a week at church is not enough you have to spend time with God every single day in order to know him there is nothing I will say more important than what I'm saying right now throughout this entire weekend you have to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ if you're going to have a fear of God that is going to shape your your thoughts and ultimately help you to make good right decisions and you have to spend time with God it's a lot more difficult to spend time and prayer in the Word of God and to walk out of that time in prayer into your world and just go and listen to anything and watch anything and make bad decisions you you you have to crawl over that prayer time you just spent with God to get to a bad decision you got to trample on the Word of God that you just read you you got to climb over the word and the spirit that are standing there as defenses in your life in order to get to a bad decision but when you've spent time with God you spent time in his presence and you have that confidence that comes with that when you face temptation you'll have the ability you'll have the confidence to be able to make good decisions the fear of the Lord proverbs 19 23 says the fear of the Lord it leads to life and whoever hasn't rest satisfied he will not be visited by harm one translation says the fear of the Lord tendeth to life you just tend to make good decisions when you have a proper fear the Lord a reverence in a respect of God wisdom is simply the proper application of knowledge with the understanding of future consequences related to that decision throughout the Psalms and the Proverbs repeatedly you'll see three key words that are mentioned there is knowledge and there is wisdom and there is understanding knowledge is what wisdom is how and understanding is and the fear the Lord a proper reverence and respect for God is the beginning of the ability to take information and to apply it properly to make a good decision it's not enough to just have information you could have the entire Bible memorized but if you don't know how to apply it it does you no good but wisdom is able to take what you hear preach from your pastor on Monday morning on Sunday morning and apply it in your life on Monday morning that's wisdom that's the ability to take information properly apply it understanding the consequences you can have information that says fire is hot but wisdom says don't stick your hand in the fire because you have the understanding that there's consequences you'll be burned but how many of you when you see the the sign on the wall that says wet paint you have to walk over and touch the wall you have to there are no other options you have to touch the wall and see it is it real surely maybe they're joking I don't know is it really wet is there really paint on the wall but wisdom says don't do that because there's consequences if you do that there's gonna be a consequence knowledge wisdom and understanding fear the Lord creates wisdom and the ability to make right decisions think before you speak think before you act think before you post think before you reply consider the consequences there's a book by Donald Miller called to own a dragon now Donald Miller he's a religious speaker writer a very interesting guy I don't agree with hardly anything that he believes he has some very strange ideas so I don't recommend much of his material but this book to own a dragon is very interesting he talks about growing up without a positive father figure in his life and the reason this book is titled to own a dragon is because a father was just kind of like a dragon to him it just exist that there was no father figure in his life it wasn't there and so he talks about that positive father figure in his life there there was such a void that was there and so in his teenage years there was an elderly gentleman who befriended him and some other young men who were kind of in the same situation without fathers and this this individual was trying to help them and invest in them he began to teach them the game of chess do we have any chess players here today anybody got a few that like to play chess chess is not checkers for those that are not informed it's a little more complicated than that he began to teach them the game of chess he was trying to train them to act with deliberation to think first enact a second to consider actions and consequences to look further down the road than just the next move to consider that for each action there would be consequences to see how one good move could lead to another because in chess you're not just making isolated moves now you are moving with a thought of how your opponent is going to move and then what your next move is gonna be in your four or five or six moves down the game already considering what is gonna happen down the road he was trying to help them to cultivate the ability to act deliberately with an understanding of future consequences he said the most difficult temptation in chess and in life is the temptation to react but reacting without thinking never ever works and he said I realize I'd spent much of my life just reacting and never acting with intention and deliberation so here is homework item number three I want you to make it a very intentional point every day to spend time with God you've got to spend time with with God in his presence you've got to be intentional about it you've got to be systematic about it and and it helps us if we have some kind of tool so I recommend get a devotional book the you PCI youth ministries has a great devotional book devote 365 anybody have devote 365 anybody we've got a handful awesome devote 365 written by apostolic for apostolic teenager young adults it's a great way get a tool it's a great way to be systematic about everyday spending time in the presence of God it's gonna give you a scripture it's gonna give you a devotional thought and it's gonna give you a prayer it will help you format your prayer time figure out a way to be systematic about spending time in the presence of God do some some study on prayer you can pray the Lord's Prayer you can pray through the tabernacle there are ways that that can help you facilitate your prayer time and you'll discover that just a few minutes is not gonna be enough when you really begin to develop and cultivate that prayer time in that relationship with God so homework item number three develop a daily personal time with God get a journal write down the scriptures that you're reading what God is speaking to you write those things down in order for you to be able to be systematic about that get a devotion but get a journal spend time in the presence of God so assignment number one was what anybody remember develop a personal purpose statement item number two eliminate negative influences number three develop a daily discipline of personal devotion Herald Cohn an author a very unique individual he was a a minister but he was also a naturalist he studied nature and how nature communicated things to us about God he said this in one of his books adventures an insight he said all the great things have their roots in silence and life's most important business is undertaken in quietness the French philosopher physicists and mathematician Blaise Pascal once declared that all of the world's trouble is due to the fact that man cannot sit still in a room he must chatter and flirt and gamble or hunt for something perhaps this is a chief difference between people of inner culture and those without it the man of great inner development does not need to live in a dither of outward activity to distract him from the unpleasantness of his inner emptiness he said a small cup only one-fourth full of water can be shaken until it makes a splash but hold it still and it's near emptiness is revealed is this generations fussy activism think about this he wrote this 75 years ago but think about how it applies today is this generations fussy activism a substitute for awareness of what we are and what we ought to be are we keeping so busy so that we can avoid self-discovery if we want to discover our real inner needs if we want to know what we are really like if we want God's fullness to replace our emptiness we must learn to bring a daily halt to our frenzied activity and to hold still for a while the great matters of life may blossom in activity but they are rooted in silence Wow is this fussy activism of our day just a facade to mask our inner emptiness the great matters of life are rooted in silence it's in those quiet moments in the presence of God that we are filled with purpose in with power and with anointing and with confidence that in the chaos of life out there that we can make good decisions that we can live for God even in this present world that we can live soberly and righteously and godly even in the midst of such incredible ungodly atmosphere that we're in one more quote from Harold Kohn see ultimately to lead ourselves well it really comes down to being led of the Spirit if we're gonna lead ourselves well self-control is really an illusion because we just don't have the ability to control self but if we're going to lead ourselves well and we're going to be a positive influence on others if we're gonna make good decisions it will ultimately be because we are led of the Spirit of God that we are sensitive to the voice of the Spirit we're able to tune in to hear the voice of the Spirit and be to be directed by the spirit self-control is really an illusion and the illusion of self-control is often nothing more than self-deception what we really need is more God control we need more spirit control and Harold Cone said this the supreme business of life is to see that the soul is healthy and controlled by the consciousness of God and that it makes the best uses of the body to advance its high purposes and to fulfill its glorious possibilities then our primal passions become the servants of our souls rather than our masters spirit triumphs over wayward urges of the flesh holiness over sin Trust over fear love over hostility hope over discouragement joy over misery and eternal life becomes victorious over time and death one of life's pivotal decisions come when a soul says to the body let's get this straight you belong to me and not I to you and we both belong to God one of life's pivotal decisions when your soul says to your body let's get this straight you belong to me not I to you and we both belong to God flesh you're not in control flesh you're not gonna win this battle we're we're not just gonna do what feels good we're not just gonna do what my flesh wants to do no flesh you are not in control I'm gonna win this battle every day over my flesh Paul said I die daily every day I have to be intentional about killing this flesh you can't trust your flesh you got to kill your flesh that's one of the most powerful things about fasting is that ability to say no to your flesh say no we're not gonna eat today we're not gonna do that today and not just fasting food to fast whatever you're passionate about if it's sports if it's social media if it's shopping all day whatever it is to say no to your flesh just say I'm in control and ultimately he's in control when you can get to that point that you can say no to your flesh and submit yourself to the Spirit of God to be led by the Spirit of God then you can lead yourself well so that you can lead others well would you to stand with me today I hope you've taken a few notes some homework assignments to go home to be intentional about your decision making process to be intentional about the decisions that you're making the the purpose that God has called you to because I I believe that it is possible for us to have an entire youth group full of positive leaders it's what peer pressure is peer pressure is that tipping point of either positive or negative influence within the culture of a group and sometimes we think of peer pressure in a negative sense but there can be a very positive peer pressure we can create a culture within our youth groups a positive culture of peer pressure that encourages those within that group that if you're going to be a part of this group you're gonna live for God you're gonna do what's right you're gonna prayer you're gonna teach you're gonna teach Bible studies you're gonna you're gonna come to church you're gonna be faithful you're gonna give and support the church we can create that kind of culture and it's absolutely critical because culture always Trump's vision culture Trump's programs culture trumps everything else because ultimately the culture that has been created is going to be the deciding factor in the direction of that group and you can be the catalyst in your group to partner with the vision of your youth pastor in your pastor to begin to create that positive culture a group of leaders that are influencing one another to live for God to do what God is calling you to do I want us to take a moment at at the end of this session today to just be intentional in this moment I know we're not running around the room and hanging from the ceiling and there's not this crazy loud atmosphere but I believe that still small voice of the Spirit can speak some direction to somebody today maybe you've struggled with your decision-making recently but God wants to help you today maybe there's somebody that you haven't really discovered that personal purpose in God God wants to help you today I believe in this this next few moments here in a little bit of a quiet moment that's the will of God for us to do some some some personal inventory take a little personal inventory of where you are where you're living what's going on in your world I believe that God is very interested in what's happening in your world because he has a purpose for you if we're gonna have the revival that that we need to have today to reach our world it's gonna take every single one of us not just to select a few appointed leaders not just a few leaders with a title it's gonna take every one of us to be engaged in the purpose of God to understand what he desires for us to do and to begin to cultivate that ability to make good decisions that are gonna lead us to the fulfillment of that purpose can you just close your eyes with me right now over this room I want you to just begin to talk to the Lord would you would you just open your heart right now to God just open your heart wide to God right now and just begin to take that personal inventory God here here's where I'm living here's where I am today God I need you to search me I need you to know me I need you to walk into my heart right now and God began to explore every area of my life in my heart and and help me to understand where I am and help me to understand where you want me to go where you want me to go what you want me to do what you want me to become God and would you speak into my spirit right now God would you guy me and direct mean I want to be spirit-led God I don't I don't have what it takes in myself to make good decisions and I don't have the ability I'm not strong enough or smart enough to figure it all out but God I need your spirit to direct me I I want you to take the reins of my heart and and I want you to direct me and order my steps and speak into my spirit and God I surrender myself to you God I commit myself today God to to understand and discover my purpose God to eliminate those negative influences God and to spend time in your presence I'm making a commitment today to be intentional about the time that I spend in your presence I want to know you not I want to know you I want to know your word but I want to know your character God I want to know you I want to develop that relationship with you God that's gonna influence my thoughts and my decisions and my actions oh God hallelujah come on somebody right now just reach out to him just reach out to the Holy Ghost right now just reach out to the Spirit of God I believe the Holy Ghost is talking to somebody right now dealing with somebody in the name of Jesus in the name of jeez Sally Lou yeah yeah yeah I see yeah hallelujah in the name of Jesus Lord we need you today God we need you right now Jesus oh yeah I see yeah in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus I I want to open the altar right now just for those that would like to step out as a sign of commitment to God God I I'm I'm gonna follow through and the things that you're speaking to me today I this isn't just gonna be another session I'm gonna forget but I'm gonna go home I'm gonna be intentional about following through on the the challenge that I've received today is there anybody that would just step out and say I accept the challenge of the Spirit today I'm willing to make this step of commitment you say God I'm gonna pursue your purpose I'm gonna pursue you god I no matter what anybody else does no matter what anybody else says god I'm stepping out as the sign of commitment just come on down this altar area I mean I'm gonna give you one more instruction before we pray one final time thank you for your commitment I I don't take this lightly today I hope that you don't take this lightly as this sign of commitment this this is not a commitment to me it's not even a commitment to your pastor or your youth pastor this is a commitment that you're making with God and here's what I want us to do in this next moment of Prayer I want you to make a commitment to God and pray a very specific prayer to God what is gonna be different when you get back home from youth retreat what is gonna be different about your life what change are you going to live out when you get back home if you've been doing some things that you don't need to do I want you to make a very specific intentional commitment okay god this this is gonna change I can't keep doing this and fulfill your purpose I I can't be involved in this or that person I want you to be intentional about that if there are some things that you need to be doing that you're not doing I want you to pray a specific prayer god I'm gonna start praying everyday I'm gonna start reading your word every day I haven't been doing that I'm gonna start doing that maybe God has been leading you to a particular ministry in your church or to teach a Bible study or maybe to invite a friend to church and you've kind of resisted that a you just weren't ready to make that invitation to approach them afraid of their responses but maybe the Spirit is speaking to you right now saying okay it's time it's time for you to take that step to begin to to activate the power of God to fulfill the purpose of God I want you to think about this for a moment all right I want you to be intentional about this because I want you to actually say these words out loud to God God this is what I'm not gonna do god this is what I am going to do when I get back home I want you to lift your hands toward heaven right now I want you to close your eyes open your heart right now I want you to begin to pray this intentional prayer whatever it is whatever the challenge of the Spirit is for you right now god there's some things I'm gonna stop there's some things I'm gonna start doing there's gonna be some changes that I'm gonna make god I am going to live the change that is happening in my life right now I'm gonna live it out and I'm gonna live out the commitment that I'm making in this altar god things are going to be different when I get back home I'm gonna be changed I'm gonna be a different person God I'm going to live a different way I'm not gonna talk the same way I'm not gonna have the same influences in my life god I'm gonna fulfill the purpose and that you have called me to there's gonna be a change and in my life and God is changing you because he is going to use you as a change agent and in the lives of others that are around you God is shaping you and influencing you because he's gonna use your voice in your life to be an influence in your generation live out that change and that's taking place in your spirit right now god I commit myself to live out the change that you've made in me thank you God thank you for what you're doing right now somebody's taking a big step in the spirit right now I know it's it's a big commitment some of you are still counting the cost of that commitment right now I promise you it's going to be worse than the commitment it's going to be worth whatever you have to sacrifice to fulfill the purpose of God in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 5,886

Rating: 4.8400002 out of 5

Keywords: general, youth, president, preaching, preach, sermon, ccc, capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, international, ministries, division, christian, apostolic, leading, yourself

Id: 7yuMRyIRPOc

Length: 59min 19sec (3559 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 17 2017