Friends, I'm not here tonight to impress you with a polished speech
or claim that I have superior knowledge or wisdom.
I'll keep it simple. And real.
It's not about me. It's not about you.
It's about Jesus Christ and what He did.
For you. For me. And for us.
I come to you weakness, unsure of my words,
but sure of His. And I pray this message is His,
by the power of His Spirit.
(Inspired by Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 2)
FRESH Focus
God doesn't want our sacrifices.
He doesn't want out magical Chinese prayers.
He doesn't want us to drop forks at an amusement park, because
1. the five second rule should never apply in an amusement park.
2. He has called us to be unashamed of Him and not consumed by what others think
There's this amazing man in my life. He's been pretty busy lately with Football camp.
His day starts 6:15 AM and ends around 10 PM. After that he'll ask me, can I come say goodnight?
And I say yeah, even those few minutes mean a lot. I often make the disclaimer: But only come if you want to.
It's obligation-free, so when he comes to my doorstep, I know it's because he wants to be there. He chose to come.
And we have a choice when we come into God's presence.
God doesn't want us to go to Vespers or Chapel or church
- because we feel obligated
- or so we don't feel guilty
- or to earn chapel credits
But rather because we chose to be there.
God is a relational God who wants our hearts.
You are always welcome into His presence.
No matter how far or close you feel to God.
And if you feel far away, guess who moved.
Will you read Matthew 12: 7 & Hosea 6:6 with me? They say the exact same thing…
"For I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
In the message, it reads, "I'm after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings."
God is not interested in religion or rituals.
See He's not impressed by our spirituality.
He does not hold us to a point system.
His love cannot be earned by...
fasting
tithing
missions trips
lengthy prayers
campus crusades
attending a private school
perfect Vespers attendance
These things are important for growth.
But they cannot earn for you the love already given.
God loves you unconditionally.
This love cannot be changed by...
pride
pills taken
lines snorted
bottles drunk
porn viewed
meals skipped
lies told
secrets kept
illegal acts
and even murder
Because the opposite of sin is grace, not virtue.
His grace has no limit.
So when the focus is Religion:
- Prideful heart
- The focus is on me
- List of do's and don'ts
- The Guilt piles on
- Rules we'll never live up to
But when the focus if on a Relationship with God"
- Peaceful heart
- The focus is on Christ
- Freedom has come by the
- Grace we've been given
FRESH Friendships
Will you read Proverbs 13:20 with me? I'll read the white and you read the green.
"He who walks with the wise, grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm."
We are all entering a fresh season and semester.
Time to be intentional about who you spend it with.
You are surrounded by potential friendships.
Within this room, there's hundreds.
On campus, there's over a thousand.
And in this community, there's thousands.
Here at Greenville, we come from all over the country and globe,
And God has brought us all to this place, at this time, for a reason.
What if we were a community that didn't reinforce worldly divides?
What if we didn't choose our friends based upon…
- clothing
- hairstyles
- stereotypes
- academics
- gender
- race
There's a quote I remember finding in high school that said,
"Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color."
I've lived by that quote and gained two things…awesome friendships & sweet socks!
In a Philosophy course here at Greenville, you have already or will learn about Aristotle's categories of friends:
1st is a Friendship of utility - two people have a friendship based on what they can get from the other.
Examples of this may be to gain popularity, money or in Greenville, transportation.
Just a fair warning for those of you who have cars on campus.
2nd is a friendship of pleasure - two people have a friendship based on feelings.
It's all about the physical satisfaction they can get. That one's self-explanatory.
3rd is a friendship of goodness - two people have a friendship base on trust and respect.
In this type of friendship you mutually care about want what is best for the other person.
A classic example of a friendship of goodness was demonstrated when Jonathan put his life on the line for David.
Let's read 1 Samuel 23:15.
"While David was at Horesh in the Desert of Ziph, he learned that Saul had come out to take his life.
And Saul's son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God."
FRESH friendships help you find strength in God.
FRESH Start
Insanity - doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Insanity is the total opposite of living FRESH.
I experienced insanity this summer and what I mean by that is that
I struggled with the same sin and did it over and over again.
And yet my story doesn't stop there,
Because over and over again I encountered God's grace.
God reminded me of that …
There is nothing you can do that would make me love you less Beky. (so stop thinking you can run from or escape it)
There is nothing you can do that will make me love you more Beky. (so stoping trying to earn or deserve it)
I was reminded that...
I'm not better than you.
I don't belong up here.
The ground at the foot of the cross is level.
It doesn't matter how low you've been.
And it doesn't matter how high you've been.
At at the foot of the cross, You are forgiven.
Recently, my roommate pointed me to 1 Corinthians 10:23,
"Everything is permissible - but not everything is beneficial.
Everything is permissible - but not everything is constructive.
No one should seek his own good, but the good of others."
In other words, You could say, "Anything goes!
God's grace will cover me and it will be all good."
But the point isn't to just get by.
It's to have a FRESH focus on Him
and to live selflessly, putting others before yourself."
Isn't that why we're here? Why we live?
Because Jesus put our lives before His?
You see while we were still sinners,
stuck in our sin and insanity,
He died for us because He loves us,
get this, exactly the way we are,
But He loves us way too much
to let us stay that way.
May you have a FRESH focus on Him,
surrounded by FRESH friendships
who will help you find strength in Him,
and enjoy the freedom of a FRESH start.
Let's read these together,
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! "
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
"I am making everything new! Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
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