Refuse To Be Conformed | Becoming | Online Weekend Experience

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hey everybody welcome to valley creek online we're so glad that you are with us today my name is jason and i'm so glad that you've joined us and chosen to spend time with valet creek valley creek is a movement of hope for the city and beyond and at valley creek we really believe that hope is here everyone is welcome and jesus changes everything at valley creek we're a jesus focused spirit-filled and life-giving church and we're so glad that you are with us valley creek is just one church that meets in multiple campuses and we carry the hope of jesus to thousands of locations we're so glad to have you on the online campus and if this is your campus we want you to let us know about it so if you can take a look at the link below if you could click on that let us know that this is your campus we'd love to hear from you well today we've gathered together the spirit is with us and so right now holy spirit we invite you in will you come and move among us [Music] mountains are still being moved strongholds are still being loosed and god we believe it and yes we can see that wonders are still what you do and bodies are still being raised my giants are still being slain cause god we believe it and yes we can see that wonders are still what you do sing this with me we are here for you [Applause] we are here for you come and do what you do set our hearts on you come and do what you do to move and bodies are still being raised [Music] cause we are here for you [Applause] cause we need to [Music] [Music] healing is coming in this room we know miracles happen when you move heaviness when you move healing is coming to this room and miracles happen when you move healing is coming in this miracles happen when you move heaven is coming we are here for you and do what you do we are here for you come and do what you do cause we need oh we need to move [Music] we are here for you come and do what you do we are here for you [Music] come and do what only you can do within our hearts on you men do what you do cause we need we need jesus all we want is your presence your move here in this place today so we fix our eyes we fix our hearts on you alone and we ask that you would come in an extra measure in extra power today as we continue to sing [Music] calm down [Music] [Applause] [Music] me [Music] [Applause] open up the gates [Music] i'm here you're here [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh so calm down when you feel the room you're here when you feel [Applause] me on us [Music] you [Music] oh we need jesus [Music] you're everything to me you're everything to me you're everything to me you're everything to me you're everything to me [Music] you're all we want so holy [Music] holy spirit [Music] here come on he's all that we want he's all that we need he's the only thing that satisfies us the only thing that brings life in joy is being in the presence of jesus it's because we were created for it we were created for moments like this where we get to be in the presence of jesus and just enjoy him that's all the worship is it's just enjoying god and valuing him for who he is and so today that's all i want us to do i just want us to enjoy jesus we did this last week can we just take 90 seconds to just enjoy jesus we're going to put it on the screen 90 seconds just to enjoy and remind ourselves how good he is how faithful he is and that he's here and that he is resting on us right now [Music] and if you're here and you're like i don't even know if i can enjoy god or or how to enjoy okay when was the last time you took a moment to just say man god enjoys being with me man god enjoys being with you right here right now you don't have to sing another lyric you don't have to do anything else god enjoys being here in this moment with you [Music] so 90 seconds can we just do this together pick one of those two and let's just enjoy god together today [Music] [Music] [Music] please oh [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] this is your place this holy ground is your sacred space when glory falls down and this is your temple and this is your heart forever where your fire falls [Music] this is your house this is your house [Music] this is your house and this is your house [Music] for you to come this is your place this holy grail is your sacred space where glory falls down [Applause] [Music] [Music] this is your house [Music] down this is your house this is your house [Music] so calm and dwell with [Music] in the us we make room for you [Music] you're what we want but you are in the room we make room for you [Music] all we want is you god you are in the [Music] you are in the room show us your glory just [Music] glory is [Music] this is [Applause] [Music] this [Music] this is show us your glory show us your glory show us your glory show us your glory show us your glory god [Music] for only you satisfied only you satisfied show us your glory show us your we power space for you we make room for you so heaven come down [Music] [Applause] we make room for you and we make space for you so heaven come down oh heaven come make down for you and we make space for you so heaven come down so heaven come down would [Music] would you would you do it again [Music] come on would you do it [Music] would you do it again why'd you do it again [Music] [Music] so come change the atmosphere [Music] [Music] is and come rest your presence here right here and now you can't change the atmosphere and come rest your presence right here one more time come change the atmosphere and come rest your presence here come on one more time let's just sing that bridge again make it a prayer for your life for your heart for this room for this church that he would do it again that he would do a new thing that he would come even closer just one more time together would you would you do it again like a roaring of heaven send a fresh mighty way come and blow through the whole room would you do it again [Music] come awake in my heart send your fire again come and shake up the whole room [Music] come on jesus that's our prayer that your fire that your spirit would come into our lives come into this room and shake us from the inside out all we want is you and be in relationship with you and who you are jesus we love you we give you this time we give you the glory and we just want to respond to you coming close to us you resting your spirit on us today we feel it we know it and we see it thank you jesus for being here today we love you this is all in your name we respond and say amen amen thank you jesus all right i'm so glad you're here today valley creek come on would you go in just take a moment find your seat settle in as we continue through our services all right hey everybody welcome to valley creek wherever you are i am so glad that you are here with us today hope is here everyone is welcome jesus changes everything and i am so grateful for what god is doing in our church right now you can sense it you can feel it god is moving people are getting healed people are getting saved there are stories of life change and breakthroughs momentum a fresh wind a fresh breath and so wherever you are and whatever is going on in your life can i just encourage you now is the time to jump in like when god is moving you don't want to miss it you want to put your stuff on the back burner to get in the game when god is moving and god is moving so get in a circle go to serve the city take a next step move forward you need some spiritual momentum in your life right now and god is generating it hope is on the move and you want to move when hope begins to flow and that's what's happening in this season and so i'm incredibly grateful for that and we're in this series called becoming life as a disciple and we're taking a couple weeks to just talk about what does it actually mean to be a disciple what does it mean to really follow jesus and we're asking ourselves this really simple question just like like who am i becoming which is a really significant question because who you are is more important than what you do who you're becoming is more important than what you're doing and this is probably the most important year in your spiritual life so it's a great question to ask and so the question again that i just posed to you is like who are you becoming are you growing are you changing are you maturing are you becoming freer and healthier are you growing in faith hope and love righteousness peace and joy are you quicker to repent quicker to apologize quicker to forgive like are you becoming more like jesus in fact when jesus invites us to follow him he says come follow me and i will make you fishers of men when jesus invites us to follow him what he's inviting us is to become a disciple a learner a follower a student one who becomes like the one that they're following and as we begin to follow him position ourself as a disciple he begins to make us to shape us form us mold us change us into his image and his likeness you see discipleship is not about sin management or behavior modification it is not about changing all the external realities of your life being a disciple is about learning to live free as a beloved son or daughter it's about learning to live in the superior realities of the kingdom in the midst of the inferior realities of this world being a disciple is living a life of change and transformation submitting and surrendering ourselves to the lordship of jesus in fact i would say it to you like this a disciple is simply someone who is becoming who they already are in jesus remember the moment you put your faith in jesus you become a new creation the bible says you're now the righteousness of god he's made you holy set you apart and now we are learning to live according to that new identity or reality because if we're honest we don't always live righteously we don't always live holy we don't always live free so a disciple is simply the the delta in a sense between who you are in jesus and how you're currently living your life and it's bringing those two things into alignment with each other and so to say it in another way a disciple is someone who is simply learning about god's heart a disciple is someone who is allowing god to shape or mold his heart within them that's the cyborg a student a learner you want to learn to carry the heart of the one you're following in fact proverbs 4 23 he says above all else guard your say with me heart for it is the wellspring of life in other words whatever is in your heart it's like a river and it flows out into every other area of your life so whatever is in your heart is going to flow into your relationships and your finances and your work and how you do the rest of your life and so one of the greatest ways you can guard your heart is by allowing jesus to form his heart within you because when we learn to simply carry jesus's heart that like a river begins to flow into our relationships and our finances and our work and our behavior and our life and all of a sudden we start to talk like think like act like believe like live like jesus why because when we learn to carry his heart we start to live like jesus did in a sense discipleship is about allowing jesus to just become your life hero think about it like that it's just about saying like jesus you're just you're just my hero you're my idol if you're will you're the one that i want to be like see we let jesus be our hero for salvation but why don't you want jesus to be your hero in all of life why don't i want to be like him in every area of our life in fact jesus says i tell you the truth anyone who has faith in me will do what i have been doing how will we do the things that jesus has been doing when we start allowing him to shape and form his heart within us so in a sense what i would say to you is a disciple is someone who lives a jesus focused life okay that's a disciple someone who lives a jesus focused life because you can't become like someone you aren't focused on and if you think of the word focus for a moment with me focus simply means to intentionally take your attention off of distractions and place it on that which matters most so focus means right to intentionally take your attention off of the distractions and place it on that which matters most like have you ever been at home and whoever you're living with in your family and they say hey hey hey focus for a second what are they saying they're saying put the phone down look at me and think about what i'm saying right okay come on students have you ever been in class and your teacher is saying focus focus focus what are they saying they're saying get off the tech and get back into the lesson that i'm trying to teach you have you ever been in a business meeting and your boss or the manager the leader of the meeting is like come on guys let's focus what are they saying they're saying hey stop daydreaming about all the other stuff that you got to do and start looking and thinking about what we're actually talking about are you with me on that come on is why sometimes i sit here and do that all that means is stop drifting into all the places that you've gone and come back focus that's a disciple a disciple is someone who is intentionally taking their attention off of the distractions of life and putting it back on what matters most jesus and if you've been a part of our church you hear us say all the time we're a jesus focused spirit-filled life-giving church in fact this is what our logo means i know some of you just think man they got a killer logo over at that valley creek church i wonder what it means here's what it means jesus focused spirit-filled life-giving we believe jesus is the narrow gate that leads to an ever-widening life in fact that's why jesus says wide is the road and broad is the gate that leads to destruction and many are on it but narrow is the road and small is the gate that leads to life and only a few find it what he is saying is there are a whole lot of disciples of this world and only a few people who really want to be a disciple of jesus but we do and so we want to be life-giving we're on mission to receive and release the life of god wherever we go we want to be spirit-filled we want to walk in the character and in the power of jesus and we want to be jesus focused which i think is probably the most important and significant thing of our church which literally means we want to focus more on what jesus has done for us than on what we have to do for him and this is the difference between religion and grace religion is about what you gotta do for god grace is all about what jesus has done for you listen to me it's not about what you got to do for god it's about what jesus has done for you and when you start to focus on what jesus has done for you you naturally start to change and transform and become more like him in fact this is why first john 4 19 says we love because he first loved us in other words when i focus on god's love for me it starts to create in my heart love back for him the problem is a lot of us think it's about our love for god so i got to try harder do better behave more oh come on love god love god love god love god how well does that work for you how about god loves me god loves me god loves me it's amazing how when you start focusing on god's commitment to you you start becoming more committed to him when you start focusing on god's love for you it gives you all of a sudden love for him when you focus on how god has served you it makes you want to serve him it's not about what you do for god hear me some of you this is all brand new for you religion is all about what you have to do for god jesus has come to do everything for you in fact i love this verse in exodus when they come out of egypt to slavery a picture of salvation look at what it says i do this because of what the lord did for me when i came out of egypt in other words when we are focused on what the lord has done for us salvation grace kindness it starts to change how we live this is so important and you have to hear it ten thousand times because the world has told you otherwise i mean do you remember at the end of jesus's life and he tells the disciples he's going to the cross and peter steps forward and and he and he and jesus tells them they're all going to deny him and peter steps forward and he says not me lord he says i'll even die with you i'm never going to deny you jesus and jesus looks at peter and he says oh bro he said you just made the classic mistake you just made it about what you're gonna do for me and not what i'm gonna do for you and so this very night you're actually gonna deny me you see peter did the classic thing that we do that we think discipleship is all about what we need to do for god see peter shouldn't have stepped forward and said jesus i will never disown you jesus peter sort of stepped forward and said jesus i don't know what's going to happen tonight but i know you will never disown me and i think if he would have done that i don't think he would have fallen that's discipleship it's not behavior it's not sin management it's not doing better it's not all the stuff out here it's about looking at jesus and who he is and what he has done and it starts to form and shape what's going on in here so here's my question for you are you living a jesus focused life are you living a jesus focused life and before you're quick to answer that question here's how you know just listen to the words that you say because your your mouth betrays your heart like do you spend most of your time talking about what you have done that's a self-focused life full of pride do you spend most of your time talking about what you have to do that's a religion focused life that's all about striving and earning and performing do you spend most of your time talking about what the world has done to you that's a victim-focused life do you spend most of your time talking about what other people are doing that's a judgmental or an insecure focused life or do you talk about what jesus has done for you it's your words if all you ever do is talk about all the things that you've done just so you understand that's like self-righteousness that's that's you believing that you have done all of these great things if all you ever talk about is all the things you have to do that's religion let's try harder do it better behave more if all you talk about is what the world has done to you how hard it is how bad it is the circumstances the situation that's a victim-focused life and if all you ever talk about is what other people are doing where they're going what they're doing what they posted on social media how did they get this why did they get this can you believe they did that that's a judgment or an insecure focused life but that's not the life of a disciple the life of a disciple is so focused on who jesus is and what he has done and it changes how we begin to live come on and if jesus is hope and love and grace and truth and freedom then the more i focus on him i'm actually focusing on hope and grace and truth and love and freedom in jesus name come on check check out these verses with me look at this but we all with unveiled faces beholding as in a mirror the glory of the lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory you know what that means that means you will become like whatever you behold you will be formed into whatever you're focused on and so if we behold or focus on jesus we get transformed into his image and likeness from glory to glory and strength to strength and victory to victory that's god's heart for us you were made to live in glory all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god which means you were created to live in glory well what is glory it's the character and the power of jesus being shaped and formed into his image and his likeness and to give attention to something it's really two things it's your eyes and your mind this is focus this is tension this is beholding it's your eyes this is why jesus says your eyes are the gateway to your soul if your eyes are good your whole body will be good but if your eyes are bad your whole body will be filled with darkness so whatever i'm looking at with my eyes is filling my life up this is why it matters what you watch what you stare at what you're looking at because it literally is starting to form and shape you and then your mind this is why jesus's main message is repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand change your mind change your thinking whatever is lovely and noble and true and praiseworthy and admirable think on these things whatever we're looking at and thinking about that's what we're focused on and that's who we're becoming are you with me on that let me give you another one look at this so we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen for what is seen as temporary and what is unseen is eternal in other words we don't want to fix our eyes on what is seen and temporary the situation circumstances trials of life we want to fix our eyes on what is unseen and eternal jesus the everlasting one one more let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us let us fix our eyes on jesus the author and perfecter of our faith let us fix our eyes let us focus on jesus the faithful one and as we focus on the faithful one he is the one that begins to grow faith within us don't ever try to focus on your faith as a way to grow your faith you will only fall fall short and get disappointed and have self-condemnation in your life focus on jesus the faithful one and he is the author of your faith he begins to grow it and develop it before you even realize it and it says let us run with perseverance like come on you're in a race and when you're running a race where do you look ahead if you look down what's going to happen you're going to trip and fall so when it says let us throw off the sin and the sin that the things that so easily entangles we don't look at the sin or the things that we're entangled by we look at jesus and as we begin to run towards jesus those things naturally and effortlessly begin to get removed from our life because we're so fixated on him and who he is and what he has done that it begins to change what has even entangled us along the way come on come on you remember when peter walks on water that's what this is talking about jesus and the disciple or the disciples are in a boat and there's a big storm and jesus comes walking on water and peter says lord if it's you tell me to come jesus says come on pete he gets out of the boat and he's looking to jesus and he starts walking on water and we get so like wow that's amazing well jesus says the things i've been doing you will do these things so shouldn't it be normative for us to do the things that jesus did if we're focused on jesus it is and as long as he was focused on jesus he was walking on the wind and the waves and the water it says that when he saw the wind and the waves he began to sink when his attention went off of what mattered most to the distractions of life he began to sink and as he went down and cried out for help jesus came over and helped him up and he said you of little faith see i think that's our journey in so many ways we get so focused on the wind and the waves and we begin to sink when all the while god has empowered us for a life of victory over the struggle and the sin the brokenness and the pain and the patterns and the habits but we will never find victory over those things by looking at them we have to look at him and as we look at him we start to walk in victory and have authority over that stuff when we begin to sink he says you of little faith what's faith faith is being sure of what i hope for certain of what i do not see so faith is taking my attention off of the distractions of life and intentionally placing it on that which matters most jesus faith is choosing to look at the superior realities of the kingdom in the midst of the inferior realities of this world are you with me on that so then the question is this based on that definition would you say you've been living as a disciple over this last season based on everything i said the last 15 minutes or so if that's the definition of being a disciple jesus focused would you say have you been living as a disciple in this past season because see if we're honest i think this has been a season where there's been so many winds and so many waves and so much storm that we've been distracted by so many things that if we're honest we've probably been sinking more than we've been walking be with me on that so so let me kind of show you something that this really helped me a while ago that might help you in terms of thinking how do we actually focus on jesus and not get lost in the periphery okay so focus with me think about theology for a second think about your belief in god what we actually believe about god and how do we not get distracted but stay focused on that which matters most and if you think about your theology you can break things up into this category there are absolutes there are interpretations there are deductions and then there are opinions preferences passions and experiences okay if you just think about theology what you believe about god what we get focused on this is really how you could break it up and this has really helped me over the years the most important thing in your life is the absolutes these are the things that are absolutely true these are the things that you would die for these are the things that you're so fixated and focused on that there is no question whether or not they're true these are things like the bible is the inerrant word of god these are things like the trinity this is like the death burial and resurrection of jesus that jesus is the only way to salvation that we have been saved by grace through faith that the holy spirit has been poured out these are the absolutes of life the absolutes of scripture they are true no matter what is happening in the world around us and then there's interpretations an interpretation is you read a passage in the bible and you interpret it you try to understand what god meant what the author was meaning and if you ever wondered where we get different denominations from it's right about here it's two people can read the same passage and interpret it differently one person might read a passage about baptism and think it means full immersion and another person might read that same passage and say no i actually think it means we can be sprinkled it doesn't matter the theology the point is this is where we start to interpret things that we may not see exactly the same and then you get further out and you've got deductions a deduction is a plus b equals c a deduction is two interpretations that you add together and create a deduction or a conclusion this would be like you read a passage in daniel and read a passage in revelation you make two interpretations you add them together to make a deduction or a conclusion about the end times or the return of jesus in some way shape or form you with me on that yeah that's where it gets dangerous because here's the absolute jesus is coming back cool you can make all the deductions you want jesus is coming back cool then you get beyond that and your opinions this is your opinion your perspective how you view the world then you've got preferences this is what you prefer what you desire this is a lot of times around methods the way that you like it like i only like singing one song or i like singing five songs that would be preferences then you got passions this is like burdens uh concern areas that are heavy on your heart and then you've got experiences what you've experienced or the tradition that you grew up in in life are you with me on that okay here's the problem the problem is is when we take all of this stuff and try to put it here this is the problem when we try to get so focused on all of this stuff out here and we try to make it an absolute when jesus is supposed to be our absolute okay now take a big breath let it out focus in okay ready this is the problem in the last season so many of us have taken all of these things like politics and tried to make them absolutes are politics absolute no there are kingdom principles that we want to learn and study and live our life by but politics are not an absolute education is education and absolute no there are kingdom principles that we want to learn about god's design for raising up the next generation but but a worldly educational system there are not absolutes that we want to yank into this space healthcare are there absolutes for healthcare masks vaccines quarantines all that stuff are they absolute no the problem is is we want to take all those things and we want to bring them in here and we want to be so focused on those things and honestly almost completely forget jesus this is the problem we're not disciples of politics of education or health care we're disciples of jesus so we're supposed to be focused on him now here's what happens when we take these things and we want to bring them into the absolutes we then show up on a sunday or are part of the online campus and we expect that to be the main message that's delivered on sunday okay but let me try to help you understand it my job is not to preach about your opinions preferences passions and experiences my job exodus 18 and acts chapter 6 if you don't believe me you can look it up is to teach the word to pray for you and develop leaders now you might have come from a different experience a tradition that you grew up in and that's not what was modeled to you that's okay doesn't mean anything it just means that i'm not going to do what you grew up seeing i'm going to do what god has asked us to do which is what preach about jesus and his kingdom because as we talk about jesus and his kingdom guess what happens you start becoming empowered to be a kingdom solution oriented person in those places now what happens is we have these passions like we're super into politics we're super into healthcare we're super into education all that's great that's why we try to train you to teach you to be a hope carrier the problem is is you want us to preach on that every single week but look look around or if you're online think how many people are tuning in if we preached on everybody's passions every single week we would never talk about jesus but you're like but my passion exactly and so if you're into politics that's great be a hope carrier in jesus name get involved run for office go help other people that are kingdom people attain elected roles if you're interested in education don't just complain about it get involved run for the school board uh adopt students into your life mentor them encourage teachers if you're super into health care great get involved in the lives of sick people and pray for them and help them find healing listen this is what we do as a church we didn't preach about politics what did we do we talked about the kingdom that we're supposed to honor those that are in authority over our life and we went around and served all of the local governments in our area what did we do about education we didn't sit here and rail on the education system and all this stuff we just got involved we're raising up the next generation and we try to bless and minister to every school district in our entire region what do we do with healthcare we didn't make it about vaccines and masks and quarantines and all this stuff what did we do we preached the absolute which is love your neighbor as yourself remember that have you been here some of you are over here you think it's a big deal some of you over here you think it's not a big deal what was the thing that we preached you got to figure out how to love you and you got to figure out how to love you that's the absolute are you with me on this come on this so matters this so matters this is how jesus did it do you realize that they came to try to trick jesus and they said hey jesus what's your exact word opinion should we pay taxes to caesar oh you just teed jesus up to say everything he's ever wanted to say about the government and he just looks at him and he says whose face is on the coin i said caesar then he says give to caesar what caesar and give to god what's god's in other words yeah honor the government but give your focus and your attention to god in his kingdom come on education jesus didn't just walk around and bash the education system he got people in his life and he started to train them and raise them and teach them kingdom thinking health care jesus didn't just complain about the lack of health care in the roman world you know what he did he walked into the lives of sick people and helped them find healing in jesus name are you with me on this see the problem is a lot of us want to take these things and pull them in here and we want to try to get a kingdom reality in a worldly way and we think the end justifies the means hear me in the kingdom of god the end never justifies the means the means matter just as much as the end how you do what you do is just as important as why you do it and a lot of us get so frustrated with the lost lonely and broken people and their views on life what do you expect from them they're lost lonely and broken stop expecting faith hope and love out of a lost and dying world that's our job to be hope carriers in jesus name to rise up and live from the inside out not the outside in are you with me on this come on we're not the only ones when jesus told the disciples he was about to go to the cross peter tried to stop him look at jesus turned and said to peter get behind me satan whoo you are a stumbling block to me you do not have in mind the things of god but the things of man catch this he says worldly thinking is agreement with the demonic the things of men you have in mind the things of men which means human thinking is agreement with the kingdom of darkness he's saying pete you're focused on the wrong things and what was peter trying to do peter had an opinion a preference a passion that he wanted to make absolute and it was jesus can't go to the cross but what jesus was saying to peter is peter i i must go to the cross and you need to think from the kingdom perspective at the worldly lens see if we learn to focus on jesus and his kingdom we start living an inside out reality we start carrying his heart above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life and when we turn our attention to jesus and who he is and what he has done we start having kingdom interpretations kingdom deductions kingdom opinions kingdom preferences kingdom passions and kingdom experiences in jesus name instead of trying to take all these worldly things and pull them into the absolute center of our life come on think of how much damage was done over the last year by making not absolutes absolute get behind me satan you are thinking like the world which is agreement with darkness think like the kingdom there are so many relationships and lives and destinies that got destroyed because we made the wrong things the absolutes and broke over them are you with me on this that's why we want to talk about jesus in fact if you say well where do you get that from this is the last verse in the book of acts this is paul and here's what it says boldly and without hindrance paul preached the kingdom of god and taught about the lord jesus christ that's us that's a disciple we want to talk about the kingdom and we want to talk about jesus and i want to talk about the kingdom and jesus in such a way that you rise up to be a hope carrier in whatever passion and space that god has placed you in and actually get involved and not just want to talk about it but actually get involved in serving and bringing the kingdom of god into that space how do we do that not by railing on the passion points every single week and all these things no no we get there by talking about the kingdom and jesus come on like our church is incredibly a generous church if you're here we don't talk about giving a lot our church is an incredibly servant-hearted church we don't talk a lot about serving our church is incredibly kind i don't tell you to be kind every week do we what do we talk about the kingdom and jesus and that starts to change us from the inside out come on look at this romans 12 do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world make no mistake about it the world wants to conform you mold you press you shape you into its thinking process the world wants you to be its disciple stay with me the world wants you to be its disciple to be a student a learner focused on it and if we're honest some of us are more disciples of fox news disciples of cnn disciples of facebook disciples of hollywood disciples of the world's definition of sexuality and gender disciples of the cancel culture we're not supposed to be learners of that we're supposed to be students learners followers learning the heart of jesus listen to me you are a disciple of whatever you're the most focused on so what then there are you a disciple of it's really hard to say you're a disciple of jesus if all you ever do is consume the news because you're a learner a student you're becoming like that what you're looking at and thinking about don't be conformed shaped molded into this world in fact if anything i've even said today is like you're like you're you're finding yourself getting offended in it that's worldly thinking man because all we're talking about is jesus how can we get upset when we talk about jesus because jesus's truth offends us and sometimes he has to offend us so he can free us because we don't even realize how conformed into the pattern of this world we are let me pull this all together one day jesus went into the synagogue and there was a woman who was crippled and bent over she had been shaped broken molded by the brokenness of this world a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for 18 years she has been so pressed down shaped into this broken mold she was bent over and could not straighten up at all when jesus saw her he called her forward and said to her woman you are set free from your infirmity then he put his hands on her and immediately she straightened up and praised god killer story of healing better story about discipleship the woman is so formed into the mold of darkness and yet when jesus shows up and puts his hands on her like the potter and clay he takes the broken bends of her life and he straightens her up in jesus name we get so bent into the world thinking living talking acting realities but there is no broken bending beyond what jesus can restore as a disciple listen you start where you are but you can't stay where you are he moves us forward and starts straightening us up straightening us into the image and likeness of god not the mold of this world last verse for i made the decision to know nothing that is to forgo philosophical or theological discussions regarding inconsequential things and opinions while among you except jesus christ and him crucified bam you know what that says it's paul probably the greatest disciple that ever lived he says i just decided i was going to live a jesus focused life he said i've got opinions i've got preferences i've got experiences and passions but i'm not going to let those things override that which matters most in his name is jesus so what if you started to live a jesus focused life what if the next time you felt lonely instead of focusing on that loneliness you focused on the fact that he is with you and will never leave you nor forsake you what if the next time you're tempted to sin instead of focusing on that temptation looking at the wind and the waves and trying to convince yourself that you're not going to do it what if you took your eyes off that and looked to jesus and realized that his divine power has given you everything you need for life and godliness what about the next time you actually do cave into that temptation and you do begin to sin instead of focusing on that and yourself and how bad you are and all the self-condemnation what if in that moment you just looked up at jesus and said even though i just fell in this moment i still am the righteousness of god in christ jesus what if the next time your opinions preference perspective your passion button started to rise up so much that it was about to break relationship with you and other people you just stopped and looked at jesus and said jesus i want to look to you i want to look at this issue that's a really big deal to me through you i don't want to look at it and miss you come on you're with me on this who you becoming who you becoming have you become someone that's focused on what they have done are you becoming someone that's focused on what they have to do are you becoming someone who's focused on what the world has done to them are you becoming someone who's focused on what other people have done or you becoming someone whose life is getting filled with who jesus is and what he has done that is freedom and life and discipleship in jesus name so close your eyes so jesus we want you to be the absolute center of our life lord would you help us take our focus our attention off of the distractions and place it back on you lord would you help the things that have maybe moved into the center that aren't supposed to be there would by your grace and by your spirit would you begin to move them out back to where they belong so that our eyes and our mind and our heart would be more fixated on you i would encourage you this week to spend some time with the lord and maybe draw that little graph out in a journal and just ask the lord what are your absolutes where are things that maybe you can't find fully and clearly in scripture and those things maybe that have moved into the center ask the lord and let him move them out jesus i pray that we as individuals and as a family on mission would live a jesus focused life because as we look to you as we follow you you change us and make us thank you jesus that we can spend our lives focusing on what you have done for us not on what we have to do for you in your name we pray amen come on that's so good may we be jesus focus disciples i want to invite you if you want to give giving is just a response to the goodness of god so you can give online here at valleycreek.org remember if this is your campus we'd love to hear from you so you can click on the link below and just let us know you want to be a part of this online campus but as you go this week as you go as a jesus focused disciple may you go knowing that god is good jesus has forgiven you you are loved and everything is possible may you go this week as a hope carrier [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Valley Creek Church

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Length: 78min 0sec (4680 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 25 2021