This got to be pretty big...

In church we sang this song and one part repeats this:

You ask me who do I
say that You are
and I
say that You are the Christ
Son of the Living God

This comes from scripture, when Jesus asks the disciples who men say he is, and then turns to them and asks them "Who do YOU say I am?" But when we sang this it hit me that I am not living out the fact that HE IS THE CHRIST. Of course I know that Jesus is the Savior and son of God, etc. But when we say that He is the Christ and son of the living God, it means so much more than just the definition of what He did and what He's done in our lives. To me this morning, I felt that God was really asking me "If you say that I am who I am, then why arent you believing and living out my promises?" It really just cut me to the heart--I'm not living and taking hold of His promises like I should. Ya see, we so easily forget that God wants to heal you, bring victory to your life, bless you in all your ways, bring happiness and joy, help you grow more, use you to save souls and change lives and culture, bring you out of despair, put you in a high place, use you to fulfill an amazing plan, etc. The list goes on and on. If we arent truly believing for God's promises that we see in the Word, we arent truly believing that Jesus was the Christ.

At Campus Harvest, on pastor was preaching--Steve Hollander (dude is anointed, I love hearing him preach). But he told this story, which most of us know i think, about a group of believers in China. These police came to arrest them and threw the Bible down and told these people to spit on God's Word and renounce it or else they will be executed on the spot. The first two men spit on it and walked out (I think to go to jail). But the last person, this girl, she kneeled down and with deep tenderness wiped the Bible clean and, still kneeling with her head bowed, clutched it to her chest with both arms. They shot her right there. Steve Hollander did not tell this story for the reason most of us do--that is, to show that we need to be willing to die for God. But he told this story because the Holy Spirit showed him one day that if we are not actively living out and actively believing for God's promises (such as seeing our friends saved or allowing Him to heal pains in your life), then it's just as if we are SPITTING ON HIS WORD.

I think Steve Hollander is dead on--when we are not allowing ourselves to live to our full potential of who we are in Christ, it's as if we aren't really saying that He is the Christ, who can do all things and heal all hurts, and it's as if we are spitting on God's Word. It's as if Jesus was speaking to me with that song this morning and saying, "So you really say that I am the Christ? Then Why wont you let me heal your hurts? Why wont you let me speak to you more when you spend time with me? Why wont you let me witness through you and save your friends? Why wont you stop being weak? Why wont you stand in victory over things in your life?"

We gotta quit walking around in defeat and walking aorund in less than who God wants us to be. We are not meant to be timid and afraid of sharing our faith--He as all authority over heaven and earth and is with us to the end of th days (the Great Commission). We are not meant to be ruled by sin--for we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who bbelieve and are saved (Hebrews 10:39). We are not meant to be lazy or do poorly at our work--for He has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of love, power, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7). We are not meant to quit growing in Christ--for he will bring the good work he began in us to completion (somewhere in the New Testament...not exact wording). The Bible is FUUUULLLLL of promises just like these. We gotta quite acting like the world and start acting like who God promises we are through the Word. If we really believe He is the Christ, these promises will come true in our very lives.

Geez, this is amazing stuff guys. I dont know if how I've written this post has done justice to what God has shown me, but I hope He can personally show you all what I have just described. If I didnt do such a good job of communicating it now, I know we'll eventually all understand this, and to an even deeper extent. The thing that I want to see most in each of your lives and the thing that will bring me the greatest joy is this--for me to be able to see you all as "oaks of righteousness" as you grow in God. God is going to radically change thousands, maybe even millions, of lives through the group of people on this website. I hope that we will always keep up with eachother, at least somewhat, as we grow older so I can see God's great works in you and rejoice over them with you.

I love you all and am amazed at who you are in Christ and who I know you will become,
Luke