As many of you know we’ve started a new outreach at the church purposed to get out in the public and plant seeds of the Gospel and invite people to church and just be available to the people in our community. We’re calling them “Going Public Concerts!” Some of the songs that Sarah, Pete and Lily are singing at these concerts can be viewed below. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNAEfT62UZk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOT4B1w7yNA&feature=related
Stephanie and I have had an ongoing conversation for nearly ten years now. After September 11, 2001 we wondered if the adversity of terrorism would have a purifying impact upon Christians rebooting their priorities and values and to help bring a renewal to the reality that the “Gospel is the power of God to salvation!” We wondered if the church, the hands and feet of Jesus in this generation, would emerge stronger than ever, knowing Christ and making Him known in this generation. A major reason for thinking in this way is that adversity, trial and persecution have proved pro-growth catalysts for Christian’s in history. Paul experienced this saying, “God’s strength is perfected in weakness”. Our conversation really picked up as economic challenges worsened over the last few years.
What I am beginning to wonder is, if such challenges are revealing “Older Brothers”– who saw Christianity as a means to an end. I’m beginning to wonder that a purifying has in fact taken place, but “the crowd is gathering on the outside!?”
Here’s what I mean …
Luke 15:11-32 records the story commonly known as the “Prodigal Son” but the story is not just about one son, it’s about two sons and a father. While the focus is more often on the lil brother who wasted his resources on materialism and sensualness, never finding what he was looking for. In truth, both sons were lost, the core of which was an absence of relationship with their Dad a type of the Heavenly Father. They saw their Dad as merely a means to an end. When the younger brother returned home from his long journey his father ran out to meet him calling for a feast, while “Older Brother” refused to enter the party, remaining on the outside, despite his father’s persistent plea’s.
The “Older brother” was bitter! His expectations were not being met. The “Older Brother” believed that a moral performance(or religious) would result in more favorable realities aligning for him. After all, in his mind, he deserved them! When the lil brother repented and returned home and his father gave him what he did not deserve, to the “Older brother” it was just not fair.
A friend of mine told me of a business partner who was attending church and naming the name of Christ but when the business went sour he remarked, “Why would God do this?” and walked away from his faith. But did he really walk away from genuine Christianity? Christianity is not a means to an end. Jesus didn’t say, “I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes to “Money” or “Materialism” or “Convenience” or “the American Dream” but by me!” No, He said, “…no one comes to the FATHER but by me!”
Has this decade revealed “big brothers?” Has it revealed that many merely saw Christianity or the evangelical church as a “means to an end” (i.e. namely material and circumstantial) and because their expectations have not been met, their on the outside looking in? Has it revealed that they never really had a relationship with the Father?
The “feast” is a metaphor for relationship with the Father through the Son. That’s what Christianity is. Christianity is stepping into the feast of God’s love and grace in Christ. C.S. Lewis put it this way: “Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
The Heavenly Father is pleading for an intimate and beautiful relationship with you! 
Have you ever taken that eye examination where you look through various lenses to find the one that gives you the best vision? Having good vision to read a book or to be able to drive at night or see the face of your loved one is important to all of us.
But when it comes to good vision, there is not a more important vision than a clear view of who God is!
You will discover in life that the majority of your problems can be traced back to an inaccurate or inadequate view of God. On the other side, you will discover that the majority of your victories will be traced back to an accurate view of who God is. But here’s what happens, vision blurs at times. We get bumped with a trial and our vision is not what it needs to be and we need to re-focus. I believe at the heart of Hebrews 11:6 is a call to refocus over and over again. It reads, “Without faith it’s impossible to please God and they that come to Him must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him!” In other words, refocussing and seeking God over and over again is rewarded by God.
VISION! I’m praying that this is a season in our church that godly vision is clearer than ever.
Below are nine realities about our heavenly Father that equip you to “diligently seek Him” and by doing so enjoy the blessing of the Lord rewarding your life.
#1 The Father is tender, intimate, and is affectionate toward you (Romans 8:14-15). The Father has adopted you as His child, He is now, “Abba, Father …”
#2 The Father’s love is PERFECT, primarily interested in your HIGHEST GOOD that you are holy! (Heb 12:6; Rom 8:29; Eph 4:13)
#3 The Father is always ready to help (Lk 11:13)
#4 The Father is perfectly holy (Jn 10:9)
#5 There is nothing that compares to the glory of the Father, OUR FATHER! (Mt 6:9)
#6 The Father has your future prepared exceeding all expectations! (John 14:1-6)
#7 There is not a bigger heart toward all men than your heavenly Father’s (demonstrated in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ!)(Acts 2)
#8 The Father is blessed when you demonstrate compassion in helping the needy, and when you win the war on worldliness (James 1:27)
# 9 The Father never shames, only saves, restores and affirms your identity as His child in Christ (Luke 15:22-24)
When you take into account that God has made us in a way that our thinking has a physiological impact — that repeated thinking actually puts grooves in the brain — how important it is that we’re worshipping God in Truth over and over again.
Mosab Yousef’s visit to our church was simply electrifying with an overflow crowd. It’s estimated that nearly 1,300 people were in attendance and some thirty “New Believer Packets” were taken. Keep Mosab in your prayers! We hope to have him back soon.
(Greg Denham/ Mosab Yousef Sept 4, 2010)
Who is Mosab Yousef?
Aside from being a New York Times best selling author of the book entitled, Son of Hamas-- Mosab Yousef is the firstborn son of one of the leading founders of a terrorist organization committed to the total destruction of the State of Israel. But rather than choose a life of hatred, racism, and murder, Mosab Yousef chose to save both Israeli and Palestinian lives, even thwarting an assassination attempt on the future President of Israel, Shimon Peres!
Given the code name, “The Green Prince”; Green because of the color of the flag of the Palestinian people, and Prince because he was the heir apparent to his father’s role in Hamas, Israel’s security said that, “So many people owe Mosab their life and don’t even know it. The amazing thing is that none of his actions were done for money. He did things he believed in. He wanted to save lives. His grasp of intelligence matters was just as good as ours — the ideas, the insights. One insight of his was worth 1,000 hours of thought by top experts.” Forbes Magazine described Mosab as “a genuine Palestinian freedom fighter” and former CIA director James Woolsey called Mosab a “remarkable young man” who should be commended for “extraordinary heroism and courage.”
But to many in Mosab’s community in the West Bank, he is a traitor and now a marked man. It’s why an Israeli interviewer remarked, “I ask myself — if this is courage, or total craziness.” Yet how refreshing it is that in a day when peer pressure can make a puppet out of man, that a person like Mosab Yousef steps up to the plate, thinks for himself and at risk to his own life — does what is right! We need more like him. Men and women of courage. John Wayne once said, “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” I thank God for Mosab Yousef. A man who amidst great danger to his own life, saddled up anyway. He saddled up to save lives!
I hope you will join us in welcoming this young man to our city. It’s rare to have such a unique hero in our midst. Come and hear the inspiring and courageous story of “The Green Prince” — how he fought terrorism, saved lives and was changed by God’s love. Bring your family. Bring your friends. Bring you neighbors! September 4, 7:00 pm Calvary Chapel Auburn, Ca. Doors open at 6:30pm.
To hundreds of thousands the son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, Mosab Yousef, is a mystery man. For example, while being interviewed by Israeli TV Channel 2 the interviewer remarks “I ask myself — if this is courage, or total craziness!”
The interviewer had been discussing with Mosab how he had worked to fight terror saving both Israeli and Palestinian lives(even thwarting an assassination attempt on the future President of Israel, Shimon Peres) but in the process also provided information that led to the arrest of suicide bombers and others terrorists from his home town and West Bank. In short, such activity makes Mosab a traitor to many in his own community and a marked man. It’s for this reason the interviewer remarked, “I ask myself — if this is courage, or total craziness!” Here’s Mosab’s answer, “Look, you are afraid when you do something wrong. When you believe in what you are doing, you are not afraid!”
What makes Mosab Yousef, tick? Why is he the man he is? Is he crazy or courageous?
Speaking to Christian journalists Mosab remarked, “It is hard to believe that the son of Hamas ends up working for the Israeli and saving Israeli and Palestinian lives. We know the secret. The secret is very simple. It is not difficult for us to understand the love of God. When the love of our Lord is in a man’s heart, this man acts totally different. They don’t want to admit that. If they admit that what changed my life is Jesus Christ this will open lots of questions and they don’t want to go there.”
You will discover that one of the main reasons that people do not turn to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is NOT because of an absence of evidence that He is the Son of God — that He died — that He was buried — and that He rose again –but because of the change that results in following Him. Namely, when a person experiences the love of Jesus Christ in their own life, it transforms their outlook in how they view others! They love. They forgive. They value their fellow man! They want to be a part of the solution in their generation. They want to help people physically, emotionally and spiritually! This is the story of all genuine followers of Jesus. Christians are different because of the God they worship. At the very heart of a Christian’s reality is the belief that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for His enemies, praying for their forgiveness. In addition, at the cross, He conquered sin, death and judgement and three days later bodily rose from the dead. Jesus is alive and He’s able to change a man from the inside out. It is this, new man, that the world needs! It is this, new man, that Mosab embodies!
Timothy Keller, New York Times best selling author offered the following perspective that removes the mystery out of why a Christian is different, why Mosab Yousef is different.
At the end of Mosab’s book entitled, “Son Of Hamas”, Mosab writes, “Truth and forgiveness are the only solution for the Middle East. The challenge, especially between Israelis and Palestinians, is not to find the solution. The challenge is to be the first courageous enough to embrace it.”
I couldn’t agree with Mosab more! Crazy? No way! Mosab Yousef is a godly and courageous man! And I am reminded of what Jesus said recorded in John 8:31-32: “If you continue in my Word, you will be my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free!”
Over the years we have hosted some very special guests at our church but no one like, Mosab Youself! You are simply not going to want to miss Saturday September 4th at 7:00 p.m. Believe me, it’s worth staying home that Labor Day Weekend for the rare opportunity to hear Mosab’s incredible story in person.
In short, Mosab …
– Fought terror.
– Saved lives.
– And, has been changed by the power and love of Jesus Christ! His story is nothing short of extraordinary.
Working undercover for Israel, Mosab had the code name “The Green Prince”: green because of the color of the flag of the Palestinian people, and prince because he was the son of one of the founders of Hamas, the arch-enemy of Israel, and the heir apparent.
Mosab saved many Israeli AND Palestinian lives, as he provided information that helped thwart terror attacks in the Middle East.
Here is a description of him from his book, The Son of Hamas:
Mosab writes …
Get the news out! Bring your friends, family and neighbors. I will be interviewing Mosab, live at Calvary Chapel Auburn September 4th at 7:00 p.m. as we celebrate the power of Jesus Christ to change and heal lives!
Some of you have asked for the prayer that we prayed together as a congregation a few weeks ago. So I decided to post it here on the blog. Enjoy!
“Father, I thank you that you have loved a sinner like me!
Break my heart over what breaks your heart
Renew a hunger and passion for YOU
You are enough
May my life demonstrate mercy
May my life be that of a peacemaker
Help me manage my inner life in purity
To be filled with the Holy Spirit
Under the control of the Holy Spirit
May I decrease that you might increase
Re-salt my life, Lord
Unashamed of the Gospel
Valuing others
Seeing people the way you do
May today mark a new beginning
Of intimacy and relationship with you, Jesus.
AMEN!”
Whenever God wants to do something great in the world, He first stirs his people to pray! This was the case with the early church. It could be argued that the early church began in PRAYER 10 days prior to Pentecost when Peter first preached!
And I think of what took place during the JESUS MOVEMENT of the late 60′s and early 70′s …
Kay Smith, Pastor Chuck Smith’s wife, began praying! She prayed for hippies! Hippies she would see at the beach and around town. One of them happened to be none other than Greg Laurie. She would pray for Greg as he walked home from school.
I also think of the “Revival In Wales “ 1904 …
A young man by the name of Evan Roberts heard one of the men in his church pray, “Lord, bend us …” It resonated with him. He began praying, “Lord bend me” and the Lord did and it changed his outlook. Soon he was praying the Lord would give him 100,000 souls!
On October 31, 1904 Evan brought his four-point message to his home church. #1 “Is there any sin in your past that you have not confessed to God? On your knees at once. Your past must be put away, and yourself cleansed.” #2 Is there anything in your life that is doubtful – anything that you cannot decide whether it is good or evil? Away with it. There must NOT be a cloud between you and God. #3 Do what the Holy Spirit prompts you to do. Obey promptly, implicitly, and with unquestioning submission to God’s Spirit. #4 Publicly profess Christ as your Savior!
His cry became “Bend the church and save the world!”
As matter of public record, the culture in Wales changed! Taverns closed. Gambling went out of business. Prostitution houses shut down. Families were reunited. Friendships restored. Debts paid. Divisions in churches were healed!
Prayer is always the first stage in God’s plan to change the world.
Our series entitled INFLUENCE on Sunday mornings has been fantastic …
So far we’ve learned that Jesus categorized our influence saying, “You are SALT of the earth…” (Matt 5:13) — meaning that we are the preserving influence of the world! Last week we learned what it meant when Jesus said, “You are the LIGHT of the world a city SET on a hill …” (Matt 5:14-16) –that every Christian is strategically positioned where they are to influence by DOING works that help people see what God is doing on earth, and help connect the dots of who the Father is.
Now, Jesus continues to identify the way His followers, Influence. He calls the disciples the “few laborers” in the Harvest with more needed to help! He said that “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Acts 9:31-32)
Will you take a stand and say, “Count me in as one of the few laborers in the Harvest in this generation to your glory!”
Many are the critics. Many are the carnal. Many are the doubters. But few are the laborers! Will you be one of the few?
What is a Laborer?
A laborer is a part of the hands and feet of Jesus in our generation helping people physically, emotionally and spiritually in planting the seed of truth, and helping people come to Christ! And, every Christian is NEEDED in the Harvest field!
How can you help?
This week we’ll be learning …
#1 The laborer Influences by praying to the Lord of the Harvest for more laborers
#2 The laborer Influences by ploughing the field of their generation with good works
#3 The laborer Influences by planting the field with the seed of the Gospel, preaching and teaching
#4 The laborer Influences by pouring into the field by taking an active interest in others with the love of Jesus Christ
#5 The laborer Influences by leading others to Christ in gathering a harvest
#6 The laborer Influences by discipling the harvest that is gathered
“The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is crucial; every generation is strategic. But we cannot be held responsible for the past generation and we cannot bear full responsibility for the next one. However we do have our generation! God will hold us responsible at the judgement seat of Christ for how well we fulfilled our responsibilities and took advantage of our opportunities.” Billy Graham
