Pastor Dave Martin                  Cross Creek Community Church                   Nov 26, 2006

The Spirit Filled Life

Part 3 of 3

Making a Difference

God Saved me to Make an Eternal Difference!

Thirty six years ago a group of Chinese students took a little book called The Sayings of Chairman Mao, a little red book. They memorized it and they said they were going to live by the book and die by the book and commit their lives to the book. In what is now known as the Cultural Revolution the largest nation in the world, China, was in total upheaval and even today 1.5 billion people – a quarter of the world –are under the domination of Communism because of the commitment of a few.

·         History teaches over and over that it doesn’t take a lot of people to change the world. It just takes a committed few.

·         Orville Wright, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, D.L. Moody, Charles Wesley, Billy Graham, etc…

2 Chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…

·         Your commitments define your life. You are the sum total of your commitments. Weak people are controlled, dominated and directed by their circumstances. But strong people are directed and determined by their commitments. 

·         God is looking for men & women whose hearts are fully committed to the Lord to make a difference

Generational Look:

G.I. Generation - Born 1901 to 1924 - Members of the G.I. generation are high achievers, fearless but not reckless, patriotic, idealistic, and morally consciences. This generation produced America's first astronauts, Nobel award winners, legendary movie stars, and political leaders. Many members have been labeled heroes for their outstanding accomplishments.  A dollar in 1924 is equal to $9.47 in 1998.  Bob Hope, Babe Ruth, Charlie Chapin, Billy Graham, It’s a Wonderful Life.  The great depression, Pearl Harbor & WWII.  The main source of amusement was the radio. By 1931, 85% of the U.S. population owned a radio.

Silent Generation - Born 1925 to 1942 - Members of the Silent Generation are considered cautious, unadventurous, unimaginative, withdrawn, and silent. The Silents felt they were a generation without a cause. Remembering World War II from their childhood, many Silents were looking for a cause. A dollar in 1942 is equal to $9.96 in 1998. The cold war, the Korean war, the transistor was invented.

Boomer Generation - Born 1943 to 1960 - The Boomer Generation developed under parent's care dedicated to nurturing their children to success. Most families had stay-at-home moms whose primary purpose was to devote themselves to their children's well being whether that be social, economic, or spiritual. Television becomes popular in U.S., in 1969 Woodstock/flower power & spreading drug use (especially in San Francisco) and in 1969 man first walks on the moon, Elvis & the Beetles…

X Generation - Born 1961 to 1981 - Generation "X" or the "13 ER" appear shocking to others on the outside and unknown on the inside. Older generations classify this generation as irresponsible, reckless, uneducated, and violent - the generation only concerned about me. "13 ERs" find this criticism both overblown and very unfair. This generation observed parents and other adults not in control of their own lives or their country. A country totally out of control, while on the home front, families broke apart by skyrocketing divorces creating an unprecedented number of single parent households. The surge of mothers into the workplace created "latchkey" kids left alone to fend for themselves. This is a generation of children without a childhood.  Drug addiction, AIDS, sexual freedom, uncontrollable violence, educational requirements, and environmental and world problems created by past generations. This is the odd generation, born on "Friday the Thirteenth", or the generation "cross-out" with a capital "X", the X Generation.  Star Wars, Michael Jackson, legalized abortion with Roe v Wade, Internet, test tube baby...

Millennial Generation - Born 1982 to 2003 - This new generation is being treated as precious. Politicians and parents are taking an interest in improving conditions today that allows this generation to grow up in a nurturing environment. Parents are making a concerted effort to tell children to stay away from drugs, alcohol, profanity, improper TV, unchaperoned gatherings, aggressive behavior, beware of AIDS, and avoid teen pregnancy. Politicians are taking an interest in the quality education, media affects on children, and the war on drugs so this generation is not a "Lost" generation. Sex education calls for abstinence rather than a neutral approach. This is the generation of hope, hope to correct the errors of their parents. Generation of the Spice Girls, video games, pornography, cloning…

Futuristic Generation - Born after 2003 - Fantastic opportunities are sure to be part of the Futuristic Generations future but deciding which one to pursue and which once to bypass will be a difficult choice. Keeping the world at peace is going to take good leadership and good communication. People are becoming closer and closer world wide because of the advances in technology. The more connected technologically the more disconnected relationally.  The Internet has allowed all kinds of people to communicate their ideas and thoughts about a multitude of topics. World wide web, My Space, video sharing…

Acts 13:22b “…I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”

Acts 13:36a "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep;

Understand…

1.      Your Position in Christ

John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

·         Knowing you’ve been born again by the Spirit of God… knowing you’ve been forgiven of sin

·         Knowing you’re a brand new creation in Jesus Christ, brought into a new relationship with God.

·         Knowing you’ve crossed over from death to life and will someday live eternally with the Lord-heaven

·         Knowing you’ve been called out of darkness into God’s glorious light… a child of God, a saint

·         Possessing the wonderful Holy Spirit actually living within you… God saved you for a purpose!

2.      Your Present God Given S.H.A.P.E.

Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experiences

“F.A.T.” – Faithful, Available, Teachable

Job 10:8a "Your hands shaped me and made me…

Hebrews 6:1a Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…

Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

3.      Your Placement in the Church Body

1 Corinthians 12:18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.

1 Corinthians 12:24b-25 “…God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

I read about when President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr. in March of 1981.  The President was hospitalized for several weeks. Although Reagan was the nation’s chief executive, his hospitalization had little impact on the nation’s activity. Government continued on.

On the other hand, suppose the garbage collectors in this country went on strike, as they did not long ago in Philadelphia. That city was not only in a literal mess, the pile of decaying trash quickly became a health hazard. A three-week nationwide strike would paralyze the country. Who is more important—the President of the United States or the garbage collectors? In the body of Christ, seemingly insignificant members are urgently needed. As Paul reminds us, “The head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable” (I Cor. 12:21-22).

4.      Your Personal Responsibility before God

Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it. Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don’t set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn’t enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. - HGB                                                                                                                      Our Daily Bread, April 21, 1997

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Know and Understand…

Your position in Christ, Your present SHAPE, Your placement in the church, your personal responsibility

THEN, My Spirit Filled Life Enables me to…

Ø      Be the person God Calls me to be!

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Ø      Be Faithful in running the race of life!

Hebrews 12:1-2 ¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Ø      Be making an Eternal Difference in others!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

·         Ann’s song is what it’s all about – “Thank you for giving to the Lord” – I was a life that was changed.

·         Will there be people in heaven because of you?  Are you making a difference?

·         Look around at the people with whom you are in contact regularly. Are they changing as a result of your testimony for Christ?  God SHAPEd you, now get involved in Serving God by serving others!

Rev. 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.

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