Think Differently

This past Sunday was awesome! If you were able to join us at Lakeside Christian Church then you got to participate in a very exciting service as we saw three young men publicly share their testimony and get baptized. (Click Here to watch it on video) At the end of the Service, Pastor Petar challenged the guys with the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego of Daniel 3. Not everyone will be excited and supportive, and some may test you. May your profession stay “strong and sure” when it feels that you are alone and opposed.

I love how God works, because that is the passage for our youth group tonight, Daniel 3. As we continue in our lesson series, Reverse, and learn how to live counter-culturally as we follow Christ, there are many lessons we can learn from Daniel 3.

As followers of Christ, we are called to die to self and think differently then the world does (Romans 12:1-2). We are constantly bombarded by a world system that is anti-God. Sometimes we don’t even realize that they way we think is not consistent with the Bible. This is why it is so necessary for us to get into the Word of God daily, to be faithful to our church and youth groups so we can begin to live and think differently.

Here are some take aways from Daniel 3:

STAY GOD-FOCUSED AND STAND FIRM – trust in God’s goodness and His way is best for you.

TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT SOME WILL BE DISPLEASED because you are standing up for Jesus.

ANTICIPATE BLOWBACK in the form of uncomfortable consequences (rejection, rumors, loss of popularity)

NEVER DOUBT GOD’S PRESENCE WITH YOU! Lean in to your relationship with God and you’ll find He is with you in the midst of your uncomfortable situation.

DEPEND ON GOD AND THEN GIVE HIM THE GLORY! Those watching will see your faith and your God.

You will see STAND in the above acrostic. When we think differently we will live in Reverse by Standing when others Bow. We don’t want to bow down to idols, but worship the one true God. We don’t want to go along with the flow, but live in such a way that points to Jesus. It begins with choosingto have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When you trust Him you will want to please Him with the way you live.

What's in a Dream?

Daniel 2; Colossians 1:25-29

Did you ever wake up from a dream and wonder what your dream meant? It might have been a crazy dream juxtaposing the past with the future, nonsense and reality, and it left you more confused but intrigued? We all have weird dreams from time to time. Some like to try to figure out the meaning, others just shrug it off. And though we may never fully know the whats and whys of dreams, they do fascinate us.

In the Bible there was a teenager who had to deal with some very crazy dreams. His name is Daniel and there is an entire book in the Bible written about his life. He, and his young friends, were escorted out of their home town and nation and taken to the capital of Babylon. Here king Nebuchadnezzar was trying to indoctrinate them into his own culture. Daniel and his buddies refused to compromise their faith in God and God blessed them by giving them great wisdom, to the point that Nebuchadnezzar elevated them into positions with his other wisemen.

Then the Dream Came

Neb had a really wacked dream one night and was thoroughly convinced it had a meaning. He employed wisemen, kind of like psychics, to advise him. However, they often would manipulate him with their counsel. Knowing that they would probably just make something up, Neb decreed that they would have to tell them his dream and their interpretation or all of them were going to die. There was no one among the Babylonians who could tell him the dream and he decreed all of them should be put to death.

God of Dreams

When the came to get Daniel and his friends, Daniel asked for more time to ask the God of dreams to give them the answer. After they prayed, God answered and Daniel knew the dream and the interpretation. Upon sharing with the king, all the wisemen were saved and God glorified.

Revealing Mysteries

Like Daniel, we have been sent from God with a message for those around us. You see, all the people around us have a death sentence on their soul if they do not know Jesus Christ. God has revealed to us the mystery of His love to take to the world! We cannot back down nor should we fear what men might say or do. We need to be like Daniel and take the message of God to those around us.

It is the message of Christ crucified, buried and risen again that sets us free from the bondage of sin and death. Take some time this week to watch www.lifein6words.com and share it with a friend. Ask them what they think about “the Greatest story ever told that’s hardly ever told!”

Front Line Ministry

For most of us, the reality of war is understood through newscasts and headlines. We may be supportive of our troops, disagree with politics and pray for the best, but we do not really understand what it means to be in war. Even with our military, there are some who are stationed far away from the hot zones and feel very little of the pressures of war. There are those who are stateside in well-secured locations, strategizing the next moves, however they are not simply moving chess pieces but human lives.

The men and women who are being moved, the ones with boots on the ground on the front lines, they are the ones who know, feel and breathe what war is all about. The have to live with an earnestness and vigilance that we may never understand. They have to trust their fellow soldiers with their very lives. If they make a mistake, it is literally life and death. The front line defines the soldiers and determines the war.

A Spiritual War

The Bible describes us as being in warfare. As we saw last week, we are not in a physical battle against flesh and blood, but against very real spiritual enemies. We learn about our enemy, Satan, that he is “the prince and power of the air,” “the ruler of this world,” the “god of this age.”

He is described a strong opponent, who is powerful and in charge of this world system, but he is limited by God. When Jesus walked this earth we learn a lot about the nature of the spiritual warfare as we see Him casting out demons. He would often say “the kingdom of God has come” after he cast out demons. The Kingdom of God is more powerful then the enemies kingdom. Yet we live on the front lines of our enemy’s temporary kingdom.

Plundering for Christ

Right after I graduated from High School, I had the privilege of going to Trinidad on a missions trip with Teen Missions International. There are so many stories I could tell you from this trip, but that is for another time. It was on this trip that I was confronted with spiritual warfare in eye opening ways. In that culture, demon possession was common. The missionaries shared story after story with us about our enemy’s tactics and the importance of holding fast to the Word of God, prayer and fellowship.

A couple of us were reading Matthew 12, when one of my teammates, John Beeson, read “we should pray that God binds the strong man so we can be thieves for Christ!” It was on this trip that 33 teenagers led 143 people to the Lord over a period of 8 weeks! Praise God for binding the strong man!

It is this mindset we need to have, the enemy needs to be bound and Christ is the only one who can do that. That was His encouragement to us in Matthew 28:18, when He said “all power is given to Him!” We pray for the Lord to open up doors and He moves mountains!

Inviting In

Last week we saw the importance of having a strong community to retreat to and find safety. This week we are talking about taking the offensive. We need to live on the frontlines and take the battle to our enemy. We must share with others and invite them into our community. One of the clear signs of a healthy group is a group that is inviting others and growing.

Acts 2:42, 44, 46-47

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common… ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 5:12, 14 And they were all together in Solomon's Portico…And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

When I read the these passages I see an excited thriving group. I see a group with new faces and budding faith. I see a group that is hungry for Christ and excited to share Christ. That is what I desire for Loft, and that is what I have been seeing in Loft!

Warnings

When we do not invite others to Christ we stunt our growth and destroy genuine community. You will never fully know the joy of your salvation unless you share it!

An Irish proverb says, “The best thing a friend can do for his friends is to share them!” We learn in Scripture that we are friends with Jesus and we want to connect our friends to Him!

On that same missions trip to Trinidad was the first time I ever led someone to Christ. It changed my entire relationship with Christ and my motivation to live! The joy of leading someone to Christ led me to say “this is what I want to do with the rest of my life!” And that is why I became a youth pastor.

Philemon 6 says “I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” The reality is, there are things about Jesus Christ you will never learn or experience unless you share Him with others!

We also have to be wary of the desire to “protect what we have” but excluding others. It seems logical, but what happens is we become soldiers without a mission. We become directionless and we lose excitement and life. New believers bring joy and excitement.

Marching Orders

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus charges us to make reaching out a part of our daily routine. Wherever we go, what ever we do, we are to invite others to follow Christ and join an vibrant community. Are you following your marching orders?

Engaging the Battle

Have you ever felt like you were under attack? You might not be able to put your finger on it specifically, but you feel attacked? You know, one of those days were everything that could possibly go wrong actually goes wrong. If you didn’t know better you’d have sworn someone was conspiring against you.

Well if you thought that, your not too far off the reality of the situation. The Bible tells us that there is an enemy of our souls that seeks to destroy us. Satan is called the “accuser of the believer.” He has deployed his spiritual forces to attack believers and distract us from what is going on.

The problem is, we think the war is coming from other places. We blame our parents, our friends, the bully at school, our irritable boss, etc. Paul tells us in Ephesians that we are not fighting again flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces. These spiritual forces, Satan and his demons, are trying to destroy you. One way he does this is to get you to ignore his existence and focus on the people around you. When you allow his tactics to work, you begin to be a part of the problem and not a part of the solution.

The enemy is terrified, yes terrified, of Christian unity, love and prayer. He will go to great lengths to destroy the unity of our youth group and our church. How have you seen him destroy, or at least attempt to destroy, the unity of our group?

You belong here, because you need us here. You need the support and encouragement of our group to stand firm in this battle.

In the famous Lord of the Rings trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien tells a story of how the armies of darkness are amassing a sizable army that will destroy all of middle earth. These evil armies are marching and the good guys have very few options left. They decide to find shelter in Helms Deep, a mighty fortress with impenetrable walls. The forces of good run there to defend against the rising armies of evil. There the armies of Rohan and Elves unite to push back and defend. Safe behind the walls for a time, their job was to hold off a few days until help arrived. Just when the battle seemed loss, Gandalf rides in with an army and bright light to save the day.

As I was thinking about this great movie, I began to think about how youth group is like gathering at Helms Deep. We come together to unite around the common cause of overcoming the darkness of sin in our lives and this world. We should seek refuge here as the outpost of light, waiting for our Hero, the true Light of the World, to return one day. The difference is, our Hero has already won and has given us the Holy Spirit to overcome.

Yet the imagery of the church, our youth group, being a picture of a strong fortress to find refuge in, should not be lost on us. There is a real battle waging and we need to be reminded of it. We need to come together, regroup and encourage one another. We should remind each other to not fight against flesh and blood, but to use the Spiritual weapons God has given us to overcome the dark spirit of this world.

When we come together the Light of Christ will shine brightly and drive out the lies of the enemy. The enemy’s forces cannot stand up against unity, love and prayer. However, the more you involve yourself in Christian unity, in prayer, in ministry the more the enemy will try to attack you. The moment you let your guard down, he will attack you or use you to attack another.

How does he use you to attack others? Let’s get real practical for a second. Have you ever started a rumor? Have you ever called someone’s integrity in question? Have you ever tried to sabotage someone because you were jealous of him or her? Have you ever been mad at someone for unknown reasons?

Watch your words and attitudes toward people. Whenever your words are used to cut people down, you are fighting for the enemy. When you choose to build each other up, you are working toward unity. Maybe you are jealous because he is dating the girl you want to date, check yourself because jealousy is fertile ground for the enemy. Maybe she got the position you wanted, and you are trying to undermine her so you can replace her. This treachery comes from the enemy’s playbook.

The list goes on, but the reality is this: the choice is yours. Are you going to acknowledge the battle you are in? Are you going to see that we are fighting every moment of everyday in a spiritual battle? You will either engage the fight and come together for God’s glory or you will disengage and fight for the enemy. That is your options set before you.

What we see in the Scriptures, particularly in Acts, when the believers came together to pray, God did amazing things. So the next time you come to church, to youth group, look at each others as fellow soldiers who need encouragement and safety. Look for ways to build each other and areas to defeat the enemy. Help get each others eyes off of other people and onto Jesus Christ!

You belong here, because you need here. Fight the good fight of faith!