REACH OUT July 11, 2010
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort those who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.
1 Thessalonians 2:2-8 With the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, Who tests our hearts. You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed---God is our witness. We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.
Reach out. Please reach out your hand to the person beside you and let’s pray.
If it is uncomfortable to hold the person’s hand in the pew next to you, then imagine how difficult it is to step outside and share your faith with others in our lives. Yet, that is just what God has called us to do. He does not call the qualified, He qualifies those he calls.
6 years ago, I said yes to becoming a Young Life leader to reach out to middle schoolers. I am a special ed teacher at Mountain and work with 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students. While sitting at a banquet and getting ready to write our yearly check, I realized I could continue my relationship with my students and share my faith with them through Young Life.
Yl premises are simple: every kid everywhere for eternity, earn the right to be heard, and never bore kids with Christ.
I read that being a Young Life leader should be so difficult that we don't try to do it without God at the center. Believe me there were plenty of moments that I felt totally unprepared to be in the positions God put me in. The point of course is that we need God to lead us and our ministry with others. I know this is true because I am certainly not equipped to lead others to Him with my qualifications.
Thank God I let go of my stubborn heart and stepped out and trusted His lead.
Honestly,
I have never been one to pray out loud....until as a leader I was privileged to pray for kids by name.
I never spent a lot of time reading my Bible.......until I wanted to share His Good Word with my girls.
I never did a Bible Study as an adult.......until I saw how powerful His word could touch their lives.
I am humbled that He has called me to be a part of the lives of beautiful, amazing, young women in Young Life.
Through this discipleship, my walk with Him has been blessed a million times in a thousand precious moments. These girls have shared their lives with me and trusted me with their stories. We have laughed and cried and learned that Christ is there every step of our lives.
At 1 of our Saturday breakfasts we were having a great talk and God kept putting it on my heart to wash the girl’s feet. As you can imagine, I tried to ignore this call and kept argueing until I finally felt I must do this. As we washed the girl’s feet, 1 girl was clearly in a lot of pain and extremely embarrassed. She admitted after that she cuts herself and the soles of her feet were so cut up. She trusted us with her pain and it brought all the girl’s closer and each was willing to share other hardships they were going through.
Cutting can be very addictive and she and I decided to start writing everyday to avoid her craving for the blades. We started a blog in January that we have tried to write in everyday. This blog has become so important in replacing bad habits with a productive outlet. It is just 1 more blessing God has given me through Reaching Out for Him.
We all need people in our lives that we can confide in. More importantly, we all need people in our lives that we are accountable to. It makes us better people when we have those around us who tell us that a 2nd dessert is not a great idea, or that maybe it is not our husband but us that is a bit unreasonable. Living life with a close friend who is honest, brutally honest, with us makes us better people. Having those people in our lives when we are young leads to having them in our lives as grown ups. Youth groups are key places where kids and teens are with a group of people who provide this support at a young age. Youth groups in churches everywhere provide these relationships and opportunities.
God has blessed me in such uplifting ways since I began being bold and brave and sharing my faith with young people. He has given me countless opportunities to reach out and share my life with. What I hope to convey today with this Reach Out talk is that none of us is ever really qualified to lead others but all of us are able if we are willing to share our lives. Following Christ, laying my life on him is all about having a steady, loving companion and Savior to walk beside me through the highs and lows of life. That is all any of us is called to do for others. Just having a willingness to be there for others through whatever life dishes out, being available to listen or scream or even give advice if it is needed. Becoming more Christ like means becoming more compassionate and understanding not more judgemental and aloof. Christ hung out with the broken spirited and brought them hope. I don't pretend to be able to bring hope except through Him. But I am here and want each of you to know that just by reaching out and taking someone’s hand you can share your strength through Him who strengthens you.
So my heart is telling me that without judging you I need to give you courage to step out in faith and share your faith with anyone and everyone that God puts in your path. There is an urgency to let others hear His good news. We don't know how long anyone has on this earth or what they may need to face in this life. I would not want my worst enemy to have to go through life's speed bumps without Christ by their side. If this is our truth then how can we not reach out to those whose lives pass through ours with this most glorious news.
The rewards that God gives back for having the courage to reach out are numerous. This text from an amazing young friend it just 1 of the heartwarming gifts I have received. Sometimes I am quite shocked by what I hear, but I am fortunate that they trust me with their joys and heartbreaks.
I received this text from 1 of my 9th grade friends. Oh yeah, I am 54 years old and great at texting. Just another perk! If any of you use test messaging, you know, if you get an important text, you lock it so it doesn’t accidentally erased.
'Barb, I was just listening to Ryan's song (What Faith Can Do by Cutlass) and I couldn't help but think of you. You are a hero to me.If you hadn't come into my life I don't know where I would be right now. You taught me to believe in God. And ever since He has been a part of my life. I've gone through times when I just couldn't believe He was here from what I was going through. But when I believe in Him I know I can get through. He has changed me and so have you. I just wanted to thank you for being you. I love you Barb :) You're a great part of me. I'll never forget you.'
I am completely unworthy of her praise. But I am willing to be a part of her life and let God bring her into His loving arms. Having a relationship with others gives us an opportunity to show them that God doesn't want religious people He only wants a close personal relationship with each of us.
Saturday morning breakfasts at our house, selling tickets at football and basketball games, taking kids out to Starbucks or Sonic, listening to them as their lives unfold and they try to figure it all out. These are the ways relationships were formed with my teen friends.
For each of you it wont necessarily be middle schoolers. God wants us to reach out to everyone and show them what he means to our lives. The motto should be everyone everywhere for eternity. You may ask.
When should I start? Now. Don’t wait til your house is in order, you have read enough books in the Bible, you become a better Christian. Those things will fall into place as you share His good news with others.
How will I know I am ready? You are. The shephards in the fields and the fishermen of the seas were men that were not that articulate. They would not have chosen such solitary lines of work if they were. Yet they were among those chosen to tell of Jesus’ life.
Who should I reach out to? All those in your life; the produce guy at Smiths, coworkers, the lady who cuts your hair,
What shall I tell them? Tell them the truth. What does God mean to you and your life. What does it do for you? Why are you motivated to go to church on Sunday to be with fellow believers, why do you take time to pray?
Where can I talk about my faith? Wherever you are. Words are not always necessary. You can share your faith by your actions, by the way you respond to a problem or a success.
How can I make them believe? You don’t have to. If you are willing to share your faith, you become a fisher of men. It is our role to cast the nets, share our faith. God will fill the nets, turn their hearts.
JOY Begin living life in a way that is lived in a Joyful manner. Jesus, Others, then Yourself. In Young Life we try to use the motto of ‘Back to the Stage’ when we are with kids. At dinner we sit with our back to the stage so the middle schoolers get to see the characters in the skits without turning around in their chairs. It is just a way to put them before us. We can crick our necks so they don’t have too. This is a wonderful way to live. Let someone go in front of you in the grocery store or in traffic, give someone else the biggest cookie, realize you can teach someone else how to fix their lawn mower or mow their lawn until theirs is fixed.
The part in 1 Thes. that says I cared enough about you to share not only the good news, but my life with you. Open our homes, open our hearts, open our lives to each others is what this means. Building relationships is key. Our faith is all about our relationship with God and building them with others reveals that they never have to walk through anything in life alone. God’s presence is
Pastor Dave told us once that we could tell what is important in our lives by looking at our checkbook and calendar. Where are we investing our time and money? Are we investing it in making our own lives more comfortable? Or are we living in that Joy filled way reaching out to others with our time, talents and resources to bring them into God’s loving arms.
Young Life is the way this Reach Out philosophy has impacted my life. I am honored to be that person who teens want to go out to talk with. But the boldness God put in me for teens has reached every part of my life. I am bolder about Christ’s impact in my life with all the people in my life. This year for the 1st time ever a group of 6 women from my family from 3 generations went to our 1st ever women’s retreat. In my family, we had never shared our faith, it just wasn’t done. Although we all have faith and believe we didn’t reach out to each other and share our faith.
As some of you know, Ron and I lost our son, Ryan to suicide the day after Easter this year. As heartbreaking as his decision was we were blessed that he had shared his faith with us. There is an urgency to share our God with others, their eternity depends on it. God put each of us here to be fishers of men, to reach out and disciple for him. Again, we don’t have to change their hearts, He will do that.
Being a disciple for Christ should be so difficult that you never try to do it alone, as I said before. Prayerfully consider how you are relating to others and how you can share your relationship with God with them.
Reach out for Joy, reach out for Jesus, reach out for others, reach out for yourself. Your life will be more Joyful. I wish you all the Joy I have found through reaching out.
In Him,
Joyful
i love it
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