Message Notes From One I Never Gave by (kahlich.wordpress.com/)

I had a message planned for Sunday, but I blew out my back and was unable to deliver it.  Still, I feel like the preparation and the content were Holy Spirit driven, so I want to share my notes with you anyways.  Here are the notes for “LIFE HAS A PURPOSE – Grow In Faith.”

Intro

QUESTION TO ASK EACH OTHER:

Do you have a spot in your house (like a door frame) where your parents measure how tall you are? 

When I hit a growth spurt as a kid, I’d want to measure my height almost every day.  Growth is exciting.

When I was a kid I would only eat chicken nuggets.  On our last cruise I tried everything on every menu.  Growth is exciting.

There have been moments in my life when I’d literally *gasp* while reading my Bible.  Growth is exciting.

In KirkYouth, we want you to grow in your faith because it is an exciting journey.  A lot of you have told me how much you like Mid-High because we don’t treat you like little kids – we don’t teach you like little kids.  That’s because as you grow, your faith should grow.

So today, I’m going to unpack our last purpose: GROW IN FAITH

Acts 17:24-28 (NIV; page 772) ²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Talk Notes

Description: “Doesn’t Live In Temples Built By Human Hands” 

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything.

If you want to grow in faith, you can’t box God in or block Him out. 

Illustration:  Not confined to a church building or a church meeting

• JV AWANA – I was a memorizing machine
• School basketball – I was a mouth with legs
• Growth means you understand that Jesus is with you everywhere you go.  (Not just @ Night of Impact, but on the bus back from Night of Impact

Application:  Growth becomes a rhythm.  Daily life

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Description: “Gives Life And Breath And Everything Else” 

²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

If you want to grow in faith, recognize that you can’t do it on your own.

Illustration:  Adam didn’t create the Garden, God gave that to him.

But Adam was given the responsibility to make it grow

Gardening – prep the soil, water, fertilize, prevent pests– and I can do ALL of that and still get no growth.  God is the one that causes all things to grow.

Application:  Faith itself is a gift from God.  When I put seeds in my garden bed, I expect them to grow and produce fruit.  God is the same way.  When he gives you the gift of faith in Him, he wants to see it grow.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Description: “Appointed Times in History” 

²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.  

If you want to grow in faith, understand God’s plan for you. 

Illustration:  God knows where you are and what you’re facing

BUSY - “I don’t have time to read my Bible” – finals – state – family vacation (My excuses – tv shows)

DISTRACTED - Or you say “I don’t know how.”  Maybe you don’t know how because you’re distracted while I’m trying to tell you how.  You don’t need a new high score right at this moment.  Some of you need to put your phones away and use an actual paper bible.

HURT – “You don’t know what’s happening at home.”  Your parents might be getting a divorce – you know a friend that’s being abused – you have a friend who’s moving – it all sucks, and it’s all distracting.

Application:  Growth happens in the struggle.  God put you at this time in history on purpose.  The easy thing is to stay bored, give in to laziness, or let the hurt that we feel consume us.  But we sing all the time about how God lays brokenness aside and makes it beautiful.  Do you really believe that?

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Description: “In Him We Live, And Move, And Have Our Being” 

²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

If you want to grow in faith, make Jesus your one and only source of life. 

Illustration:  The opposite is we die, and stagnate, and have no purpose.

Drinking Rio Grande rain puddles – dead water – took our lives in our hands that day

Application:  Is Jesus one of many things you pursue?  Or is Jesus the one and only thing you pursue?  All of life comes down to our connection to the True Vine.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Description: “Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing” 

John 15:5 ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

If you want to grow in faith, stay connected to Jesus. 

Illustration:  abide/remain – stay connected to grow

Apart –

• Nothing of eternal purpose “Our greatest fear in life should not be of failure but of succeeding at something that doesn’t matter.” – Francis Chan
  • Brock to Pearse after winning a tourney (well…this will be in my attic in a few years)
  • Nothing to save yourself “While we still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” – Romans 5:6 “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8
  • Nothing to experience the fullness of joy: just look at Apple’s production rate:
    • iPhone:
      • Jun ‘07
        • 16GB Feb ’08 (we need a bigger one!)
        • 3G Jul ‘08
        • 3GS Jun ‘09 (16 & 32GB)
          • released an 8GB in Jun ’10 (nope, we need a smaller one!)
        • 4 Jun ‘10
          • and a white one in April ‘11
          • and an 8GB in Oct ‘11
        • 4S 10 days later
        • 5 Sep ‘12
        • then overlay all of that with the iPads…

Application:  If you want to grow in faith, stay connected to Jesus.  Our trinkets won’t matter much when we see Him face to face.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

 [ title slide ] How Do We Respond To This?

Life has a purpose.  And that purpose is to grow in faith.

And if you want to grow in faith, it all comes down to Jesus.  What do you think about Jesus?  How are you spending time with Jesus?  Are you trying to act like Jesus?  Are you around other people who love Jesus?  Are you making disciples who also love Jesus?

Or are you bored?  Or too busy?  Or too content?

Life has a purpose.  And we grow in faith when we honor God in all that we do.

We grow in faith when we make significant connections.

We grow in faith when we reach out to our friends.

Because when we do these things, this puts what you learn in here into practice out there.  It’s the proof.

Wouldn’t it be great to know your life has purpose?  Then let Christ work in your hearts so these things become a rhythm of your life.

Aren’t your curious to know what a life lived on purpose feels like?