Throughout history mankind has pursued the hope of defining eternity and wondered at the idea of having a relationship with a supernatural God. I hope this helps you as you reach out to the people around you.
"Why would He want to have a relationship with me?"
One simple word: love
God loved you so much that He created you so that you might have a relationship with Him. John 3:16 tells us "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."
"Okay, so God wants to have a relationship with me… if that's the case why do I feel so alone and distance from Him?"
One three letter word: sin
Sin is what separates us from God. It isolates us and puts a wall between us and God. Sin is really rebellion against God. It's something in our very nature that causes us to choose to do our own thing rather than choosing to do things God's way.
The fact is nobody is perfect. Romans 3:23 tells us that, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." In fact sin is responsible for both our physical and spiritual death. Romans 6:23 says, "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."
"If sin separates me from God how do I get reconnected?"
It's all about forgiveness
If sin separates, forgiveness reconnects. The reality is that there's not one of us that could do enough good things to reconnect with God. Remember sin is something that changed the essence of who we are. So in order to reconnect with God it would take something or someone who hasn't sinned to help us reconnect. And that's exactly what Jesus, God's Son, did.
1 Peter 3:18 tells us "Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit."
So how do you reconnect with God? Simple, recognize that Jesus died on a cross so that you could be forgiven for all your sins - past, present and future. There's just one thing you have to do. Ask Jesus to forgive you.
Pray this simple prayer and begin a relationship with God…
"God, I admit that I'm a sinner. I believe that You sent Jesus, who died on the cross and rose from the dead paying the penalty for my sins. I am asking that You forgive me of my sin and I receive Your gift of eternal life. It is in Jesus' name that I ask for this gift. Amen!"
"So I've asked Jesus to forgive me, now what?"
That one simple step is the beginning of a real relationship with God. Now that you've started talking with Him don't stop… tell Him how you're feeling, ask Him for His help, tell Him how you want to get to know Him more.
Asking Jesus to forgive you isn't just a question about avoiding Hell and getting into heaven… it's all about the relationship. Remember where we started, "why would God want to have a relationship with me?" Because He loves you, He wants you to get to know Him; He's got a lot of great things in store. I'll see you on Thursday night!!!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Ingredients of a Champion
On Thursday night we touched on a subject that all Christians need to hear and apply to their lives. I believe that every Christian should be living a life of victory and happiness. I shared the following notes on Thursday night in Hopes that those listening would choose to live the life Christ would want us to live. A lifestyle of overcoming, and victory is a choice. WE must choose this. It's waiting for us: Enjoy!!!
Obstacles and rainy days in your life evidence one thing: that you are breathing and living a normal life. How you react to those things will determine if you will be a victim or a champion.
To make the perfect cake you must use the right ingredients, the right fire, and the right timing. If either of these pieces of the formula are off balance the cake will be a mess. Likewise life; an overcoming life needs the right ingredients, the right fire and the right use of and discerning of time.
What are the ingredients that separate Saul from a Paul, an Abram from an Abraham, a Jacob from an Israel, or a Simon from a Peter??
1. Next Level Prayer- the first ingredient that must begin and be maintained in a person’s life is that of radical prayer.
a. Personal devotion- a deep conviction and passion for personal time with God. This will be transmitted from the leader and his own devotional life and walk.
b. Corporate meetings- powerful, one-hour, settings where there is a renewing, refreshing, and refocus on the vision at hand.
c. Comes by the release of the Holy Spirit and His liberty to pray through us.
2. Next Level Discipleship- This is when you yield your life to the Lordship of Christ and His authority. You submit to the Word of God, the voice of the Holy Spirit, and to your leaders. You are praying, reading and growing on a consistent basis.
3. Faith- in the heart of every disciple must be a revelation and possession of supernatural faith. Faith to move mountains. Faith to prophecy. Faith to see the sick healed and the bound delivered. Faith to do great exploits. This will only happen when you are hearing a message of faith from the Word.
4. Cross- from salvation to sanctification from every problem and issue the Cross is the answer. This understanding must be the driving force to the upward motion of every believer to the place of spiritual maturity.
5. River of life- four branches of the river from Gen. 2:10-14
a. River of Revelation. River of prayer
c. River of fire
d. River of Joy
God’s ideal for His people is that we thrive and not just survive. He gave us Jesus to grant us the confidence, Gave us the Holy Spirit to give us the Power, and He gave us His name to give us authority. He has laid out his whole arsenal before us so that we are without excuse. We have no option but to live at the Next Level
Obstacles and rainy days in your life evidence one thing: that you are breathing and living a normal life. How you react to those things will determine if you will be a victim or a champion.
To make the perfect cake you must use the right ingredients, the right fire, and the right timing. If either of these pieces of the formula are off balance the cake will be a mess. Likewise life; an overcoming life needs the right ingredients, the right fire and the right use of and discerning of time.
What are the ingredients that separate Saul from a Paul, an Abram from an Abraham, a Jacob from an Israel, or a Simon from a Peter??
1. Next Level Prayer- the first ingredient that must begin and be maintained in a person’s life is that of radical prayer.
a. Personal devotion- a deep conviction and passion for personal time with God. This will be transmitted from the leader and his own devotional life and walk.
b. Corporate meetings- powerful, one-hour, settings where there is a renewing, refreshing, and refocus on the vision at hand.
c. Comes by the release of the Holy Spirit and His liberty to pray through us.
2. Next Level Discipleship- This is when you yield your life to the Lordship of Christ and His authority. You submit to the Word of God, the voice of the Holy Spirit, and to your leaders. You are praying, reading and growing on a consistent basis.
3. Faith- in the heart of every disciple must be a revelation and possession of supernatural faith. Faith to move mountains. Faith to prophecy. Faith to see the sick healed and the bound delivered. Faith to do great exploits. This will only happen when you are hearing a message of faith from the Word.
4. Cross- from salvation to sanctification from every problem and issue the Cross is the answer. This understanding must be the driving force to the upward motion of every believer to the place of spiritual maturity.
5. River of life- four branches of the river from Gen. 2:10-14
a. River of Revelation. River of prayer
c. River of fire
d. River of Joy
God’s ideal for His people is that we thrive and not just survive. He gave us Jesus to grant us the confidence, Gave us the Holy Spirit to give us the Power, and He gave us His name to give us authority. He has laid out his whole arsenal before us so that we are without excuse. We have no option but to live at the Next Level
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Vision casting night
We had an awesome night of vision casting at Next Level. Here are some of the notes of that night.
Being a Person of Vision
“Where there is not vision the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18)
The #1 reason people do what they regret doing in life is because they have no idea what they should be doing in life.
When Proverbs speaks about people with no vision it figuratively speaks of a blind man trying to make his way in life with no help.
• Hitting his head
• Always tripping
• Never gets anywhere
• Lives in frustration
God does not want us to live this way because He is not this way and he did not create us to fail in life. He created us to succeed in life.
So to begin today we must find out what success is not:
1. Success is not wealth
2. Success is not power
3. Success is not an achievement
If success were wealth then why weren’t the richest people on earth satisfied? Like:
• Charles Schwab-president of the largest independent steel company-died broke.
• Arthur Cutten-greatest of the wheat speculators-died abroad, insolvent.
• Richard Witney-president of the New York Stock Exchange-died just after release from Sing Sing prison.
• Albert Fall-member of a U.S. president’s cabinet-was pardon from prison so that he could die at home.
• Jess Livermore-greatest “bear” on Wall Street-committed suicide.
• Leon Fraser-president of the Bank of International Settlements-committed suicide.
• Ivar Kreuger-head of the world’s greatest monopoly-committed suicide.
If success were power then Hitler was the most successful man in History.
And if success were achievement then why did Donald Trump say that true success is having what he did not have? Happiness.
Success is a journey. You never quiet get there, but you can experience it everyday.
Success is:
1. knowing your purpose in life
2. growing to reach your maximum potential
3. investing in your other people
To know your purpose you must ask yourself a couple questions:
1. What am I searching for?
2. Why was I created?
3. Do I believe in my potential?
4. When do I start?
In growing to your maximum potential you must live out Hebrews 12
1. Concentrate on one main goal “Fix your eyes on Jesus”
2. Concentrate on continually improving yourself “throw off everything that hinders”
3. Forget the past (The past ended last night!) “throw off the sin that so easily entangles”
4. Focus on the Future. “Run this race with endurance”
Being a Person of Vision
“Where there is not vision the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18)
The #1 reason people do what they regret doing in life is because they have no idea what they should be doing in life.
When Proverbs speaks about people with no vision it figuratively speaks of a blind man trying to make his way in life with no help.
• Hitting his head
• Always tripping
• Never gets anywhere
• Lives in frustration
God does not want us to live this way because He is not this way and he did not create us to fail in life. He created us to succeed in life.
So to begin today we must find out what success is not:
1. Success is not wealth
2. Success is not power
3. Success is not an achievement
If success were wealth then why weren’t the richest people on earth satisfied? Like:
• Charles Schwab-president of the largest independent steel company-died broke.
• Arthur Cutten-greatest of the wheat speculators-died abroad, insolvent.
• Richard Witney-president of the New York Stock Exchange-died just after release from Sing Sing prison.
• Albert Fall-member of a U.S. president’s cabinet-was pardon from prison so that he could die at home.
• Jess Livermore-greatest “bear” on Wall Street-committed suicide.
• Leon Fraser-president of the Bank of International Settlements-committed suicide.
• Ivar Kreuger-head of the world’s greatest monopoly-committed suicide.
If success were power then Hitler was the most successful man in History.
And if success were achievement then why did Donald Trump say that true success is having what he did not have? Happiness.
Success is a journey. You never quiet get there, but you can experience it everyday.
Success is:
1. knowing your purpose in life
2. growing to reach your maximum potential
3. investing in your other people
To know your purpose you must ask yourself a couple questions:
1. What am I searching for?
2. Why was I created?
3. Do I believe in my potential?
4. When do I start?
In growing to your maximum potential you must live out Hebrews 12
1. Concentrate on one main goal “Fix your eyes on Jesus”
2. Concentrate on continually improving yourself “throw off everything that hinders”
3. Forget the past (The past ended last night!) “throw off the sin that so easily entangles”
4. Focus on the Future. “Run this race with endurance”
Friday, June 5, 2009
Bringing Heaven on Earth
The most powerful weapon in the Christian's arsenal is prayer. The most unused weapon in the Christian's arsenal is prayer. God mentioned many times in Scripture, "If my people..." God has been seeking praying people for thousands of years. Sadly though he has not found that many. But the ones who have heard the heart of God to seek His face have seen miracles sings and wonders and have been able to make history in their generations.Why Don't people pray??? They don't understand prayer. They don't really believe th
at prayer really works. They don't find the time to pray. Many are the excuses, but they all boil down to one real reason. If you really believed that prayer was effective and life changing you would just do it. (Nike)
at prayer really works. They don't find the time to pray. Many are the excuses, but they all boil down to one real reason. If you really believed that prayer was effective and life changing you would just do it. (Nike)Prayer 101: When I was a young kid I learned to pray using the following model:
A - Adoration: spend 5 minutes Worshipping God, through song and declaring who He is.
C - Confession: Spend some time confessing your sins to Him (I John 1:9)
T - Thanksgiving: Spend some time thanking Him for all the things you have and thank Him for Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross
S - Supplication: Make your needs known to Him. Pray for your family, loved ones, your neighborhood, your region, state, nations and world.
Use this model to get you started. Spend about 5 minutes on each section and earnestly seek out after God's heart on these matters.
3 things:
Real Belief is the motivation of prayer: If you really believe that God can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think then you WILL pray. You won;t have to be forced to do it. You will want to do it because you really believe that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Passion is the fire of prayer: Your passion for answered prayer will push you to pray determined, desperate prayers. You will press in until you feel a release or breakthrough in your prayers. In Mathew 7:7 Jesus tells us to SEEK, KNOCK, and ASK. The original Greek used in that scripture literally states" seek and keep on seeking, ask and keep on asking, knock and keep on knocking. It speaks of a cry to God and a determination to get what you are praying for.
Desire is the fuel of prayer: Look at I Samuel 1 (Hannah's prayer) Hannah serves as an example of a desperate prayer that moves the Hand of God.
I promise you If you pray and seek God you will get hooked. God is waiting for you to pray!!! The people in your school, job, neighborhood, city, state, nation, and world are waiting for your prayers!!!
" If My people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land." II Chronicles 7:14
Until ALL have heard,
Pastor Oliver
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