April 15: Following Christ into
Radical Surrender demands a Love for the Bible
This week, we are going to continue to talk about
the main characteristics or traits that I hope every one of you graduate out of
FMBC Student Ministries as a fundamental part of your identity as a Christian.
We’ve covered how following Christ into Radical Surrender requires developing a
love and passion for church like Jesus loved the church, having a love and
passion for worship, and loving your friends enough to share Christ with them.
Today, we are going to examine the most practical and life-changing aspect of
following Christ. Because if you are going to fall passionately in love with
your God to the point of Radical Surrender, it is going to demand that you
become passionately in love with His Word.
Matthew
7:24-27 (The wise and foolish builders)
Here’s
the simple truth to life…it’s hard. It’s painful. At times, it’s unbearable.
Some of you have already experienced pain unimaginable. All of you will go
through pain in this life that you cannot even comprehend. And all the while,
we are all in the same place. We are all trying to build our lives into
something meaningful. Something that matters. But as we clumsily construct the
house of our lives, we are fighting against unseen forces and unstable
foundations. Things beyond our control battle against our efforts to make our
lives matter. It’s the same threat to both houses. The difference is in one’s
response to the truth - one’s obedience.
Experience of problems, trials, etc. does not mean you are unsaved or
unspiritual. The same winds blow against both. The issue is your response. Are
you going to collapse or withstand it?
What’s
the Central Truth in this story?
There are two applications - First, the evidence of an authentic relationship with Christ is found in your obedience to His Word. Second, the application of the truth of
God’s Word is foundational to a stable lifestyle.
Application: Just reading the Bible without letting the Bible “read through
me” is incomplete.
We are all going to commit to
spending some time reading Scripture every day for the next 14 days. The
YouVersion Bible App/Website has a 14 day Deep Dive Youth Devotional that I am
challenging all of us to go through together.
Dive deeper. Swim farther. This 14 day reading plan for
teens helps take your spirituality to the next level. You will have the
opportunity to dive into God's Word and be challenged through daily devotionals
along the way.
There are 2 ways we can do this together.
If you have the Bible app on your phone or other devices (demonstrate this as I
explain it), click “Plans” when you open it. Then click “Browse,” then “youth,”
and the top one is called Deep Dive 14. Click on that, and then click “Start
Plan.” Each day, go back into “Plans” and it will be there waiting for you. And
you can even ask it to give you a reminder to read each day, or to e-mail your
daily reading to you.
Or you can just do this with us
directly from the YouVersion.com website. Go to the website, you’ll need to create an account if you don’t have one. The 3rd icon down on the
left says “Reading Plans.” Click that, then “All Plans,” then “Youth,” then
scroll until you find Deep Dive 14, and start your reading plan!
So we are all going to go through
this together. I’ve made a Facebook event for it under the FMBC Student
Ministries page. I want everyone everyday, when you finish reading your daily
reading, to jump on and tell us that you read today, and what you thought about
that day’s reading!
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