The journey (The incredible life of a soul winner)

If we are going to make a difference in this world, in the journey of our lives, and if we are going to be extraordinary Christians then we have to come to grips with the fact that:

God is not a secret to be hid in our lives. The crucifixion is not a secret in my life but a tragedy turned into a victory that gives all freedom and I celebrate that every moment.
Jesus Christ is not just a part of who I am but He exists in every fiber and every being of my life.

Not just at church. Not just during religious holidays.
Not just at work. Not just with words.
Not just around Christian people but around all people everywhere.

“You are never closer in your relationship (your personal everyday, every moment relationship) with Christ than when you are sharing Christ in your relationships.”

God Himself has designed that everything in the church be done by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
We are a Spirit filled church.
We are a supernatural church.
We need more than great music, good dramas, incredible video clips, jump houses, pizza parties and ice cream socials.
We need the all powerful, all knowing, always in attendance, supernatural power of the Holy Spirit!

Acts 1:8 challenges us to “Go and BE my witnesses.”
It does not say, “Go and DO witnessing.”

Sharing Christ is not a project, or a weekend retreat, it is a lifestyle!!!
We in the church have got to understand that REAL MINISTRY is not so much about doing as it is about BEING.

God called us to be witnesses.
But some of us have entered the “Witness Protection Program” and we are waiting for the perfect opportune time to share our testimony.

Proverbs 11:30 “The godly are like trees that bear life-giving fruit, and those who save lives are wise.”

FACT #1
The godly are like trees that bear life-giving fruit.
My life is an authentication, a proof of, a demonstration of, evidence if you will, of the working change that Jesus Christ has made in my life!
I am a living, breathing, walking, talking, testimony of the Life Giving, Life changing power of Christ!

FACT #2
“Those who save lives are wise.”
Which means:
“You are never wiser in your life than when you are winning souls.” (WHEN--DENOTES A SPECIFIC MOMENT IN TIME)
Want to get closer to God? Introduce them to Him!
When I begin to stop bearing life-giving fruit I begin to become ungodly and unstable. As if I was double-minded. I used to believe that Christ could change lives but I’ve not seen anything recently to confirm that ability. “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

The three commitments of a soul winner are...

1. A soul winner is committed to God and His ways regardless of the consequences.

Proverbs 24:11,12 “Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don't stand back and let them die. 12Don't try to avoid responsibility by saying you didn't know about it. For God knows all hearts, and he sees you. He keeps watch over your soul, and he knows you knew! And he will judge all people according to what they have done.”

2 Timothy 3:12 “Yes and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

2. A soul winner is committed to seeing the lost won at any cost.

Illustrate here:
24 hours in a day 7 days in a week 168 hours in a week 168 feet of string-2 sheets of paper
So this means that if the Church-the Pastors-the Youth Pastors have you only 2 hours of those 168 hours in that week.
That’s only 1.2% of Spiritual influence.
And that’s 98.8% of Outside influencers-Parental Influences-School-Work-Sports

3. A soul winner uses his/her resources, his/her time, and his/her life to win others to Christ.

I like what Paul says in 1 Cor 9:19 “I made myself a servant unto all, that I might gain the more."

Didn’t Jesus say, "From henceforth thou shall catch men"?
Who ever told you to stop or to never try?

Resources-income-possessions-wealth-property-assets
Time-my most valuable commodity
Life -I only have one. Existence-being-living-days-years

Andrew brought Simon- just one. But that was many, for under God, Simon brought three thousand souls in one day!

It has been estimated that close to 95% of church members have never lead anyone to Christ.
1. We fear rejection.
1 in 25 creates a relationship with Jesus Christ and believes.
It takes 24 NO’s to get a YES but all 25 are important and we shouldn’t take it personally.

The question is: are we increasing spiritually and numerically if not how can we increase spiritually and numerically?

He has designed us, designated us, and He desires us to increase.

The Spirit of God has given us good news to share with the world and He has put up barriers.

He put up the cross, He’s put up the blood, He’s put up the Holy Spirit and He said don’t go to hell, don’t blaspheme the Holy Spirit, don’t resist my Holy Spirit.

“Jesus said if I be lifted up I will draw all men, women, and children unto myself.”
Lift Him up. Live the Christian life with all you’ve got.
Live it like you were the last Christian on earth.
Live it bearing the fruits of the Spirit.
Love God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

How did they increase the church in the bible?

You know what they did they arrested Paul and Silas, they beat them, they stripped them, they chained them and they threw them in prison but at midnight the scripture said, “At midnight they prayed and sang praises.”

Acts.16:25 “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”

I was reading this story over and over and the Lord said every now and again the devil makes a mistake. He said if you’ll read that I’ll show you Satan’s worst mistake in this whole story.
I read it, he beat them, he stripped them, he chained them, threw them in the prison over and over and over and then one day I saw it.
The devil made a mistake not when he beat them, not when he attacked them, not when he stripped them, not when he chained them, but he put Paul and Silas in the same cell!

Because Jesus had already said, “If any two of them get together and begin to lift me up there is no prison house strong enough to hold them.”
We have got to come together as a team unified in the work of Jesus Christ!
What if he’d had put Paul in the same cell as sister drama that just wants to criticize and find fault with everybody?
I don’t think they’d of had a miracle.
But you know you got a problem when you open your mouth and say “Halle” and the person beside you says “lujah.” And you say “Thank ya” and they say “Jesus!”

Then here’s what sealed the deal for me the scripture said, Acts.16:26 “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.”

Just two of them in that prison were praising while the rest of them were all bound up. But when two of them started praising everyone’s bands got loosed.
If we praise Him then the rest of the world will get loose.

“When you grieve the Holy Spirit it is something that you do to Him, when you quench the Spirit it is something that you do to yourself.”

4 stop signs to growing in God

1. Lack of Knowledge
Acts 18: 24-28
Apollos Instructed at Ephesus

24 “Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had just arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. 25He had been taught the way of the Lord and talked to others with great enthusiasm and accuracy about Jesus. However, he knew only about John's baptism. 26When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately. 27Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him in this. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God's grace, had believed. 28He refuted all the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them, "The Messiah you are looking for is Jesus."

Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

The prerequisite to being filled is to hunger and thirst.
You must hunger and thirst after righteousness before you can be filled.
I choose to apply this to my life.
I desire to be starved to death.
I desire to thirst to the point of dehydration.
Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of teachable spirit.

2. Carnality
Aka: Bottle Feeding Babies
You lack faith

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [6] “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

You lack a foundation
1 Corinthians 3:1 “Dear brothers and sisters,* when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger. And you still aren't ready, 3for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn't that prove you are controlled by your own desires? You are acting like people who don't belong to the Lord.”

You throw in all religions, all gods, all important books, all religious groups and assume that they are the foundation you are to live upon.

Exodus 20:3"Do not worship any other gods besides me. 4"Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. 5You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations. 6But I lavish my love on those who love me and obey my commands, even for a thousand generations.”

Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Acts.4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, Not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of Spirit man vs. Carnal man. Put him to rest!

3. Instability
Ephesians 4:11 “He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, 13until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ."

Instability sounds too much like insane-such unsoundness of mind or lack of understanding as prevents one from having the mental capacity required by law to enter into a particular relationship, status, or transaction or as removes one from criminal or civil responsibility.

You lack substance.

Eph.4:14,15 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; [15] But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: Grow up in the fullness of God!

Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, Not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of faithfulness.

4. Dullness

Hebrews 5:
A Call to Spiritual Growth
11There is so much more we would like to say about this. But you don't seem to listen, so it's hard to make you understand. 12You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures.* You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food. 13And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right. 14Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right."

You never do anything to sharpen your relationship with God.

Ecclesiastes 10:10 “Since a dull ax requires great strength, sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.”

Sharing your faith with an unbeliever is the greatest way to sharpen your relationship in Christ!

We got people more excited about their job promotions, more keyed up about their retirement plans, more thrilled about their children’s accomplishments, more animated about their own accomplishments, more wound up about the new flavor of the month at Baskin Robbins, than we do about God.

Evangelism takes a plan.
Evangelism takes a strategy.
Evangelism- : the winning or revival of personal commitments to Christ. militant or crusading zeal

Reaching the world cannot be done just by throwing together an idea and setting a date.

Careful detailed structure of every moment is vital to reaching people. Timing is everything.

Problems: Not an adequate amount of prayer, not an adequate amount of reading of the Word of God, Not an adequate amount of stirring up the gift of the Holy Spirit. Not an adequate amount of sharing your faith.

Protect your investment!-God, family, ministry, relationships, church, and my witness.
Affect those around you!
Infect those around you!

In your social circles you should be the most influential person in your group. Why?
Because you are made in the image of God this makes you important and makes you unique.

But Pastor Mike I’m not around any people…then this, my friend is a problem.

You need to seek and be around those that are lost.

But Pastor Mike the people I’m around, you just don’t understand what they do to me or how they make me feel.
Shouldn’t that be the way that the lost should feel around us? They should be saying, “What’s happening to me? What is it about (place your name here) that changes me? Why do I feel different around this individual in my life?”

“I can’t save the lost but I can tell the lost how to be saved.”

Mission of Jesus Christ.

Luke.19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

John 3:16"For 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. 17God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. 18"There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God. 19Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. 21But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."

With us 2 lead us

Exodus 33:12 “Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with me.'  13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people." 14 The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

1.  What is the presence of God worth to you?

a.  What are you willing to give up too get it?

b.  I love that in vs. 15 Moses expresses the great value that he had for the presence of God. When God said vs. 14 “My presence will go with you”, he caught with the purpose of, as that which he could not live and/or move without. 

15 Then Moses said to him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”

c.   Then speaks here as one that dreaded the thought of going forward without God’s presence, knowing that their marches could not be safe, nor their encampments easy, if God had not been with them.

d.  Knowing they will not get to God’s desired location for them.

Now we skip back to vs. 11 “Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.”

e.  Joshua stays behind while the presence of the Lord was there I believe because he was hungry for more of His presence.

                                                           i.      Are you willing to lag behind hoping for one…more…encounter?

                                                        ii.      Are you willing to holdup/delay hoping to hear God’s next step for you.

f.     These men of God modeled for the church how to get things done.

                                                           i.      On your face before God.

                                                        ii.      Following this model is our struggle.

                                                     iii.      We look for programs, conferences, the right speaker, the right theme, the right worship team, when in fact our sole reliance should be on Him.

Illustrate here: God’s presence is always in attendance the only thing that ever changes is our awareness and our conscience ness of it.

2.  I will not take no for an answer.

a.  I can’t.

b.  Observe how intense Moses is in this matter, he begs as one who would take no denial.

c.   Pay the price of getting into the presence of God or more importantly getting it into you.

                                                           i.      I believe our intentions are right but our injections are wrong.

1.  It’s like we worship God out of a fear that we’ll miss His blessings or receive His punishment instead of worshipping Him because He loves us and died for us.

2.  This is not what He envisioned when it comes to relationship with us.

John 3:30 “He must increase, I must decrease.”

d.  There is no steroid for spirituality.

                                                           i.      There is no steroid shot for my relationship with God.

                                                        ii.      There is no steroid shot for the presence, passion, or purpose of God.

                                                     iii.      The real injections come through discipleship, bible reading, worship, attending His house, fasting, and praying.

e.  We have to say God I will not move until I’m guided by you to do so. I refuse.

3.  Set apart.

Exodus 33:16 “If you don’t go with us, how will anyone ever know that your people and I have found favor with you? How else will they know we are special and distinct from all other people on the earth?”

a.  He knew of a distinction.

b.  Some things can only be accomplished in the supernatural.

c.   What sets you apart?

                                                           i.      I believe God’s people still do the impossible.

                                                        ii.      I believe God’s people are still holy, consecrated, live right, and I believe God’s people stand out.

                                                     iii.      There is a distinction that I believe lives in and through men and women of God.

d.  I don’t want to stand and declare to the world that I am different, that I am highly favored, that I am blessed, that I am set apart yet I’m actually on the same level as the rest.

                                                           i.      Moses basically says God you led us here and we’ll be lost if you leave us.

                                                        ii.      He is “with us to lead us” and I don’t want to move forward in my life or ministry without Him. I won’t. I can’t.

Isaiah 42:5 “God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, 6"I, the LORD, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. 7 You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.”

4.  You have to position God first place in your life.

a.  In the first steps/days of my Christian experience I had enthusiasm/passion without knowledge but do I now have knowledge with no enthusiasm/passion?

Exodus 34:14 “You must worship no other gods, but only the Lord, for He is a God who is passionate about His relationship with you.”

b.  God told the Israelites not to join in religious rites with the sinful people around them, but to give their absolute loyalty and exclusive devotion to Him.

c.   Pagan worship simply cannot be mixed with the worship of the Holy God.

As Jesus pointed out, “No one can serve two masters…You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13

d.  Love of money is the god of this age, and many Christians attempt to make a treaty with this enslaving god.

                                                           i.      Making deals with God, “God if you’ll just make me famous, rich, influential, inventive, then I’ll do great things for you.”

1.  Are you trying to worship two gods at once?

2.  Where is your first allegiance?

Illustrate here: Boards (sheets of foam or plywood to represent-sin) that come between us and God show us the practical ways that sin will destroy our relationship with God.

e.  When this happens it creates distance between us and God.

f.     The human race can not continue to create distance we need to know the ways that draw us closer and immediately respond.

g.  I hate to be away from my wife and sons.

                                                           i.      I loathe, hate, and can’t bear being away from them.

                                                        ii.      They are fun, they are encouraging, they are lovable, they are funny, and they are my favorite people in the whole world to be around.

                                                     iii.      Separation from them is punishment.

                                                     iv.      Take away anything, you can have anything but you will not, can not, better not try to take them away from me.

h.  God’s love for you is much, much more passionate and personal than mine could ever dream of being.

i.     God’s love for mankind is much more protective than mine.

j.     God’s love is eternal, and infinite.

k.  Eternal separation from God and His presence is the real punishment of hell.

                                                           i.      When this happens it creates hearing problems between us and God.

                                                        ii.      When you stack up all the sin, all of the disobedience, all of the disrespect, you can’t hear God’s voice clearly.

                                                     iii.      His voice becomes clouded, distant, soft that it makes you feel isolated and cut off from heaven.

                                                     iv.      You say I want to know God’s plan for my life and He’s speaking to you, you just can’t hear and recognize that it’s Him.

l.     He’s trying to get your attention and you are ignoring the Creator of the Universe cause your hearing is stopped up like a dirty toilet.

                                                           i.      No clarity of His guidance, no clarity of His direction, no sign of Him speaking to you at all.

5.  When this happens it creates visual problems between us and God. 

a.  God wants you to see His plan for your life.

b.  God wants you to see His mission for your life.

c.   When we stack up all the barriers between Him and us how in the world can we see where He wants us to go or what He wants us to do.

6.  Finally when we say God be with us so you can lead us it means in every aspect of our lives.

a.  I believe God’s people are led in their job placement, in their relationships, in their school work and activities, in the places they go, the things they watch, listen to or speak, and in the way they live life every day.

God is “with us to lead us.” 

Psalm 91:1 "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home.”

What is the presence of God worth to you? 

Go ahead join the conversation...

5 things every teenager needs

1. Vision.


Vision-the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom.


A vision is a picture of the future created in the imagination that motivates people into action.


Acts 16:9-10 (NLT)
"That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" [10] So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there."

• Spiritual, supernatural vision comes from God.
• Not from others, not from conference, not from Youthrock, not from summer camp, not from the next series my buddy is doing but from God.
• A vision from God will sustain you.

Proverbs 29:18 (NLT)
"When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful."


Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)
"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

• I don't need addictions, I don't need to do what everyone else is doing I have a plan from God a plan from heaven itself to guide me into my future.
• I refuse to run wild, crazy, undisciplined into nothing I will run into my vision.
• Get pure, get praying, get worshipping and God will give you a vision.
• Having a plan, sticking to the plan because it's right, honorable, truthful, spiritual, and God breathed.
• I don't need sin, I don't need this, I don't need that I have a vision from God about my life, my family, my future, and the ministry He has called me to.
• I have something so much greater than "that" I have a vision.

2. Faith


Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."


Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek Him."

• You need to stop telling yourself how big your mountains are and begin to let your mountains know how big your God is!
• The way you talk, think, and react are in direct relation to what you truly believe.
• If you believe for the best I believe you will have a jump start for the best. If you believe for the worst I believe you can achieve it. 
• Jesus was a master and was able to quantify at different levels where people's faith was.
• He looked to one and said, "Oh ye of little faith."
• Why don't you connect to something greater?
• He said to some, "Be it done according to your faith."
• Whatsoever they were believing for they got.
• Believe little get little believe big get big.
• And to one "Wow I have not see greater faith than this."
• "This faith is amazing, this faith is monumental, I have not seen faith this great in all of Israel."

• A young man or woman of God should have a solidarity about his/her faith.
• Graduate in levels of our faith.
• Graduate in my faith and confidence of God.

Don't run around confused about what you think or believe, read the word of God and it will declare to you what belief is.


3. Friends.


1 Samuel 23:14-17 (NLT)
"David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn't let Saul find him. [15] One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. [16] Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. [17] "Don't be afraid," Jonathan reassured him. "My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware."

• Faithful are the wounds of a friend.
• You think conferences, services, camps are powerful in your life, you need a friend that will come and encourage you when you are hiding in the cave and you'll experience life altering friendship.
• Stop hiding in the cave of fear, rejection, disappointment, hurt, discouragement, and lack.
• If you want a covenant friendship be a covenant friend.

He who wants friends must show himself friendly.


4. You need an appointment with God.


In our lives busyness we need to make an appointment with God and make our appointments.
Set an appointment with God that you will refuse to miss.


Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. [39] Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what he taught. [40] But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me." [41] But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! [42] There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."

• Martha was worried about many things.
• In my schedule everyday I need to make an appointment with God.
• I don't need to concern myself with what God is saying to others I need to concern myself with what He is saying to me.
• God desires to guide me, direct me, correct me, and empower me. Am I going to Him for that inspiration?
• As teenagers we are generally troubled, stressed, and concerned about good things. Not the problem.

Luke 10 But Mary has discovered it and it will not be taken away from her.

What had she discovered?

Jesus!

• There are 4 types of decisions, Poor, Good, Better, Best.
• The definition of the best decision is-superior to all others.

As a Pastor I get paid first and foremost to "Preach and to Pray."

• Have a hunger and a craving to be alone with God.
• When does that appointment with God happen? Where? What time?

Never miss appointments with Him. Guard with all you've got.


5. Know the season.


1 Chronicles 12:32 (NLT)
"From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take."

• A man/woman of God must know what season he/she is in and what he/she is to do.
• You can't be satisfied with just knowing the season but you have to know what it is you are to do and plan for.
• A young man/woman of God doesn't just know what action to take he/she takes and does it. James wrote:

James 4:17 (NLT) "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."

• In knowing what season it is you will not be able to do what used to work for you.
• Because what used to work for you will now work against you.
• Cause you did not do what you were supposed to do in this season.
• God still rewards the secret things.
• God still rewards what is done in secret that's why fasting, giving, serving, praying, bible reading and worshipping is so important.

It's a secret discipline, private discipline that brings public reward.


Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)
"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."


The Kingdom of God advances through Mighty Men/Women, aggressive men/women, not passivity.


Exodus 15:3"The Lord is a warrior A warrior is His name."

GEAR UP AND GET BOLD FOR GOD!