VISION IS EVERYTHING

Are You ALL IN?

2012-02-28T04:47:00.010-08:00

Good Morning Movement Church!

As I sit in an airport awaiting a flight, I am recapping the last 4 weeks of our ALL IN Series! This Series has been a personal favorite for me. Below I am going to briefly cover the main points of each week, and I am hoping that you use this as a tool to revisit when you may feel ready to throw in the towel. As always, you can listen online by clicking here.

Mark 12:30(NIV)
30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

We learned that Jesus is a bottom line kind of guy, and he sums up all 613 commandments in the Old Testament with one: That we would go ALL IN in our pursuit of Christ!

1. ALL IN HEART: Growing in Christ doesn't just "happen." It is intentional, not accidental. Pursuing Jesus with all our hearts means to do so as an act of the will (intentionally).

2. ALL IN MIND: Humans hear approximately 50,000 words per day, which is the equivalent of an average sized book! That means that something is capitalizing our minds daily, and if we are not intentional in our pursuit of Jesus with our minds, we can easily be overcome by all the other conflicting messages battling for our mind space! Read, pray, journal at least 3 days per week, and watch God perform miracles in your life!

3. ALL IN SOUL: If a person begins to connect with another person at the deepest part of himself (the soul), then he will begin to become like the other person overtime (married couples for example). If we are increasingly becoming more and more like Jesus then we will begin to care about what he cares about, which are LOST people (Lk.19:10).

4. ALL IN STRENGTH: This means to literally pursue him with "all the strength of us," or to leave EVERYTHING on the field and hold nothing back. You can't ever get comfortable in your pursuit of Christ, because at that point you stop moving toward him and therefore, you stop maturing. All of us have a Next Step to take in our pursuit Jesus! It could be trusting him with our salvation, or trusting him with our finances. It may be different for all of us, but we all have a next step to take!

To conclude this post, I leave you with a quote and a thought:

"If Christianity is false, then it is of no importance. If Christianity is true, then it is of infinite importance. However, what it cannot be is moderately important" (C.S. Lewis).

If Christianity is true, then the only biblical option is that we obey Jesus' commandment to go ALL IN! That's the only option. Anything else is TOO risky!

I love you all!

Cheers!

Pastor Jeremy

Capturing Big Foot

2012-02-01T12:05:00.000-08:00

Weightloss. Tackling it is like capturing the Chupacabra, Loch Ness, and Big Foot all in one afternoon. Why do we struggle with it so much? There's NOTHING easy about it, however, I believe the answer is simple: idolatry.

Of course, we don't see it as idolatry. It disguises itself as recreation and leisure, comfort and entertainment! According to one statistic, there are approximately 891,170 restaurants in the U.S. That averages out to roughly 18,000 restaurants per state, which means that Americans love to eat! According to the CDC, over 1/3 of Americans are seriously obese. It strikes me that the # 1 leading cause of death in the U.S. is Heart Disease, which is largely due to obesity.
Romans 1:25(NIV1984)
25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Bottom Line: Rather than looking to Jesus in times of rejoicing or pain, we turn to food to save us. We exchange God's glory for something that we think will satisfy us. More times than not, thin people do not worship food; thus they eat to live. However, people who struggle with their weight do not eat to live, they live to eat.

What to do?

1. Turn to Jesus and not food in times of need, through his Word and/or prayer.

2. Fast (keep from eating for 8-24 hours). Every moment your belly grumbles, allow it to remind you that Jesus is your greatest need, not McDonalds.

3. Bring glory to God through your diet (1 Cor. 10:31), cutting your portion sizes way down and only eating enough to survive.

4. Be consistent. Weight Loss is not a sprint, it is an ultra-marathon.

Put Me In Coach, I'm Ready To Play!

2012-01-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

Matthew 25:35-36
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

5 Things I Want Movement Church To Be About in 2012

1. We are a church that serves up Jesus as the main course every Sunday (35)

John 6:35
35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

We have what this world is starving and dehydrated for, and that is a relationship with Jesus Christ. How are we serving up the Bread of Life? Is it compelling? Is it appealing? Is it practical? Is it excellent?

How will this happen? Great service never happens on accident. It is intentional. It takes MVP's (Volunteers) to ensure that guests feel at home in our house, so that we do not hinder the work of the Holy Spirit! MVP's are the backbone of Movement Church. Become an MVP!

2. We are more concerned with the outsider than the insider (35)

The moment you give your life to Christ, you enlist into God's Army, and you are a soldier now. Movement Church exists to see people who are far from God become close, and the moment we forget that, strangers become VERY STRANGE, and the mission of the church ceases to exist. You should be asking, Where can I serve? How can I make a difference? Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!

3. We help establish new identity in Christ (36)

We must remember that the value of something is determined by the price we are willing to pay for it. Christ literally purchased us with his blood (1 Cor. 6:20), which means that we are valuable to God. Guests need to understand that truth from the moment they are greeted at the doors.

4. We are patient with people as they develop and heal spiritually (36)

We can never expect a young girl to be saved one week and become a fully developed follower of Christ the next. Especially if she was molested by her Uncle the first 14 years of her life! CHURCH IS MESSY! We must be patient and allow God to work, not play the role of the Holy Spirit!

5. We boldly make it our mission to proclaim freedom and life in Christ (36)

If a young child were caught in a house fire, and it were a life or death situation, we would not argue over whether or not she deserved to be saved, or if she was dirty or clean. All we would care about would be GETTING HER OUT! We MUST have the same mentality in our church! People are dying in our city and headed straight to hell because of their sin. We have the solution, and we can stop at nothing to rescue them with the gospel! The moment we forget this mindset is the moment we cease to grow and even be biblical. The next step is to argue over the color of the carpet!

My Biggest Sin Issue

2012-01-16T08:14:00.001-08:00

Last week, I was visiting with a friend, and we were discussing some of the things he is struggling with spiritually. At one point, he looked at me and said, "What about you? What are you struggling with?"

Oddly, my mind began to file through possible struggles that I am currently facing. I thought to myself: Drugs and alcohol? No. Sexual sin (lust)? No. Hidden sins? No.

Then, all of the sudden it struck me. I struggle with food. My greatest spiritual struggle is over-eating.

I know this may sound like no big deal, but I assure you that it is. The bible recognizes it as a sin and calls it gluttony:

Proverbs 23:20-21

Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Philippians 3:19

Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame..."

Chances are, if you are over-eating, you are worshiping the god of your stomach rather than the God of the Universe. This is a serious issue, because it relates directly to idolatry.

Here are 5 ways you can tell if your god is your stomach:

1. Do you run to food when you feel sad, angry, or like you want to celebrate?

2. Do you find yourself eating when you feel bored and not necessarily hungry?

3. Do you spend a large amount of money on fast food during the week, just to feed yourself?

4. Do you feel real anxiety if you don't finish all the fries in your McDonald's # 2 Combo Meal?

5. Is your definition of "satisfied" when your stomach hurts because of over consumption of food?

If you answered "yes" to most of these questions, chances are you struggle with this sin as well. It may be helpful to understand that food should be used as a means to glorify God, not satisfy your cravings. When Jesus was tempted with food worship by Satan in Matt. 4:4, he responded with, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

BREAKING FOOD ADDICTION:
1. Recognize that over-eating is a sin/idol issue (See Romans 1).

2. Repent and beg Jesus for freedom from this vice through prayer.

3. Resolve to fast at least one meal for dinner once per week. I believe that fasting breaks spiritual addictions, and particularly food addiction. When your belly grumbles for food, allow that to take your heart and mind to Matt. 4:4, and watch how God liberates you!

When your hunger for God begins to out-weigh your hunger for food, you are well on your way to having a healthy relationship with food. Food is not the enemy, eating too much of it is.

Vision Loss

2012-01-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 29:18a

Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.

Recently, my Grandpa has had increasing problems with his vision. When he was young, vision wasn't an issue, but now that he getting older, he is beginning to understand the value of being able to see clearly.

As we age, vision loss increases rapidly. Just as this becomes problematic from a physical stand-point, the same is also true spiritually. Over time, Christians tend to lose sight of what we believe God has called us to step out on faith and do.

I want to take a moment and encourage you to dare to dream big in God! I don't know where you are spiritually, but I know that God has big plans for your life (Jer. 29:11). He created you to accomplish things that he already prepared in advance for you to do (Eph. 2:10).

5 TRUTHS about VISION:

1. Vision, calling, direction, and purpose are all words that mean the same thing. Do you feel a natural pull toward some specific direction? For me, it is reaching people who are far from God and bringing them close. For you it could be business, arts, music, sports, or simply being a Stay-at-Home Mom (which is by far the most difficult, yet rewarding of all).

2. Vision is much bigger than YOU. If you CAN accomplish what you feel God might be calling you to do apart from a deep devotion, surrender, and commitment to Jesus, then you don't have a vision, you have an idea.

3. Vision drives you to your knees. People with great vision are often looked at as being arrogant, when in reality, they are very aware of their limitations, and they continually beg God to use them despite their inability.

4. Vision brings laser focus to your life. One reason why teenagers are so wild is because they lack vision, direction, and purpose - so they foolishly go in any direction the wind blows. Vision restrains you to accomplish that which God has called you to do.

5. Vision enacts your faith. You cannot believe God wants you to do something great, and then sit on your hands and wait for it to magically happen. Step up and step out in faith! Act on what you feel God is calling you to do. Make that phone call; invite that person to church; start that business; begin those classes; seek restoration in your marriage; AND BEG GOD!

Don't let people who have lost their vision try to rob you of yours! Love Jesus, commit to finding his purpose for your life, go for it and never turn back! Your purpose depends on it!

Can I Really Lose Weight?

2012-01-11T09:41:00.000-08:00

New Years comes with a lot of broken promises and forfeited ideals we'd hoped to change about ourselves in the new year. Weight loss usually ranks right up there in the top 3.

Before we can actually lose the unwanted pounds, though, we must come to a place where we decide to refuse to settle physically, even when we get hungry an hour later.

I tend to look at weight loss and healthy living as an issue of stewardship and honor. My body is property of Jesus, and I am called to 'honor God' with it.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV1984)

¹⁹ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

I refuse to settle for the status quo physically. I didn't want to be the next candidate for The Biggest Loser, and I was willing to make small adjustments to my daily routine to ensure my success.

Here are some adjustments I have made to my daily routine that have allowed me to lose over 75lbs.

1. Eat 4-6 small meals per day, never being hungry and never being stuffed (There's food science behind this that I will explain more clearly in another post.).

2. MAXIMIZE protein and MINIMIZE carbs. I have never met an overweight person who hated carbs. Why? Simply know that unused carbs turn to sugar, and store as fat. Try to stay under 100-140 carbs per day.

3. Learn to look at the Nutritional Facts on your foods. Pay attention to grams of protein vs. grams of carbs. The more protein the better. If the food you want to eat doesn't have nutritional facts (eggs, potatoes), Google it.

4. Just because something says "Fat Free" doesn't mean it is! Example: Soda is "Fat Free," but before you slam another Mountain Dew, take a look at the number of carbs there are IN ONE 12 fl oz CAN!

5. Exercise. Plain and simple. I recommend exercising 30 mins. per day, everyday. There is no secret pill, tummy tuck, or gastric bypass surgery that can beat simply eating healthy and exercising daily.

Bottom line: YOU CAN lose weight if you want to, but you've got to WANT TO. If you implement these 5 basic things into your daily routine today, AND DO NOT CHEAT, you will lose 3-5 lbs in one week.

I will be praying for God to give you the desire to not settle physically starting NOW!