As I said in the last post, I would post about the program we attended- "Set Apart"
God's holiness goes beyond being separate; it's beyond ordinary limits, surpassing, exceeding. the more God is our focus, the more everything else fades away. apart from god nothing is holy in itself. For objects or people to be holy, God must make them holy. God's touch transforms people from the commonplace into something special, different, and set apart.
God begins to make us holy-set apart- in his sight. He calls us to spend the remainder of our lives allowing the holiness we possess in him to be transferred into the reality of our thoughts, words, and deeds.. Our thoughts, words, and deeds reveal the depth of all we are and have in Jesus Christ.
As we stand our ground on this truth and fight to be set apart, we will be prepared to win the battle for personal holiness. You see, the more God's holiness captures our heart at a conscious level, the more eagerly we will also fight for the hearts of others.
Being set apart does not remove us from contact with the world, it separates us from sin, so we can more effectively win the world for Jesus Christ
The first Session was titled "Set Apart for God"- To be set apart for God means we are serious about living totally committed, pure lives for God in a world that wants to shut him up and out. He's promised to help us succeed in living to please him. Living a life free of addiction and entrapment of sin is possible. While sin is all around us, the Holy Spirit of God is available at all times to help us all say no to sin and yes to right living.
The second session was titled "Set Apart for Purity"- The speaker encouraged the students to remain pure. He explained that purity is more about what we say yes to than about what we say no to. He explained that they did not have to be perfect to be pure. Purity is simply paying more attention to the condition our our hearts than the condition of our bodies. It is when our spiritual lives infiltrate our activities and actions. God is more concerned with who we are than what we can do. Who you are is an overflow of what in in your heart.
Purity brings freedom from the things that clutter our life but we must search our hearts, lifestyles, TV habits, bookshelves, ipods, computer hard drives to see if there is any area of compromise that God wants us to face. -Psalms 129:23-24
The 3rd session was titled "Set apart for the World"- The speaker spoke on being a shining light to the world
We have been set apart to shine intensely, to emit steady light, to be radiant full of passion and emotion. Often times we find ourselves hiding in the dark. We should desire for our lives to stand out, to be seen in the light and to shine so that others will notice us. When we shine we become a light for others to follow. Joel 3:14- Everyday thousands of people are seeking and making decisions in an effort to fill their lives with meaning. Your world is a neighbor, friend, and schoolmate.
The words of Jesus welcome everyone with a love that's unconditional and free of attachments. it offers a place of refuge and security to the tired seeker. Being set apart for the world is not only seeing others as God sees them but allowing God to use you to live radiant and passionate lives in a dark and dim world
The 4th session was titled "Set Apart for God' Purpose"- It is easy to get lost in the world. However, God did not create us to get lost in the shuffle of life. He has a plan for our lives. We are somebody. We were created for a reason that can only be truly found in Christ Jesus.
John 10:10 tells us that Jesus came so that we would have an abundant life. Trust Jesus- He has the ultimate plan for our lives- Jeremiah 29:11.
Their were hundreds and hundreds of young people that made commitments this past weekend. It was so awesome to be a part of it. During one session they had pizza boxes on tables and those who wanted to make a commitment were asked to walk forward pick up a pizza box, sign there name and what commitment they were committing to and then take the box to the front stage. Look at what I saw.
There were 6 tables sitting around with empty boxes- The pic below shows one table with empty boxes
These are what were at the front of the stage-
This was totally awesome, they just kept coming. Their were over 6000 students at the convention. I am thankful that I got to be a part of all of this. God was really working in the lives of those there.
There were some awesome bands there too- Check out there websites
If you are a christian, God has called you to be set apart. The hope is not that you will become more spiritual or be more holy by your own efforts. It means accepting the presence of Jesus and his ways of compassion that would influence every part of your life. God calls us to spend the remainder of our lives allowing the holiness we possess in him to be transferred into the reality of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
1 comment:
Very cool message.
I might have to share this with Daryl and he could modify it for a youth group study.
AWESOME! I especially like the pizza box idea.
I am glad ya'll had a great time!
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