Indy Christmas Conference 2010. The theme was Unm!stakable. Living unmistakably for Christ. Here are my thoughts and notes from the conference.
Session 1
Indycc 2010. Unmistakable. Tuesday night session. speaker: Ed Uszynski
If you missed indycc this year. I'd really try and make a point to make sure your schedule is open, that you have money saved, and that you actually go. Family and friends can miss you a few days. Plan ahead. God can teach you wonderous things through this conference and maybe help those friends and family you leave behind.
Extraordinary things happen here.
I'm going to write my summaries, my take, my reflection on what was said at each session and what it could mean to you and me.
2000 or so college students and staff or so were at indycc 2010 unmistakable. Why? Because God wanted to say something TO you and through YOU this week. You and I, us Christians, need to be unmistakably different. Our lifestyle, our conversations, and our actions need to be different than the world. The biggest problem Christians (myself not excluded in this statement at times) today have is they have yet to decide to truly follow Jesus.
The verses of the session were John 5:1-9
If you accept Jesus daily, as we ought to, you'll accept His wonderful and glorious grace that we don't deserve but are offered every time we fall. John 5:1-4 speaks of a pool where people go to be healed. Every once in awhile, an angel appeared around the pool, and the first person in the pool would be healed. Verse 5 tells us that there was a man who had been laying there 38 years. 38 YEARS! People back then were lucky to live that long. Needless to say a man who was as far as we could tell, paralyzed, was so fortunate to be alive that long and then experience Jesus.
Can you embrace your own brokenness? Its pretty easy to "celebrate" it. To be okay with it...Are you even aware of your own brokenness? And that you can't fix it on your own?!? In verses 6-7 Jesus asks the man if he'd like to be healed, to which the man promptly says he has no one to carry him into the pool and even if he did, someone always beat him there. THINK ABOUT IT. Do you, in your own life, do you want to get well? You may not want to because you have gotten accustomed to your brokenness and are afraid of life afterwards. Of what that may mean you have to admit. Of what that may mean you have to do.
Do you know what idolatry is? It is putting your trust in something that is set apart from God.
Money. Sex. Drugs. Cars. Fame. Popularity. Grades. Careers. Yourself.
GET THIS! God doesn't want to just help you. He wants to change your life! LORD, Take my life! not just a part, but all of me. AND MAKE ME NEW! In John 5:8-9 Jesus tells the man to get up and walk. and the man did so. Jesus didn't even touch him. He just commanded the man. Get up. Take your mat. and Go. Simple as that. Isn't our God. My God. Your God, Amazing?!?
That Jesus, who reaches down to us, is definitely a Jesus worth orienting our lives around. Don't you think so? What has God been pressing you to do lately? Are you willing to stop what you're doing and surrender to what Jesus asks of you? Whether its to change majors, dorms, schools, forgive someone, change a part of your life. Will you do it?
PEOPLE! We have to stop being afraid to put our trust in Jesus and stop continually putting our trust in the "pools" of our lives.
rely on Christ completely
I'm gonna rocC on, will you?
now step back. Pray. and think about these questions.
- What idols (stuff you hope will make you "well") do you rely on to "fix" your life?
- How would you answer Jesus' question today: "Do you want to get well?"
- "Not really...I'm alright now."
- "Whatever...I don't really believe that's possible."
- "Maybe, if I got this question answered first: _____?"
- "Maybe, but I'm afraid of what that would look like" of what I'd have to do
- "Yes, but I struggle with what that looks like in my life"
- What do you sense Jesus asking you to do that you are resisting or struggling with to obey?
Honestly, these answers may not come quickly.It will take some prayer. and maybe some time. It may take you a week to realize it. you may still be resisting it. It took me until we worshipped in the new year (more on that later) to realize what my brokenness was and that I did in fact want Jesus to fix me.
roCc on people. rocC on!
Session 2
Wednesday morning. session 2. speaker Ed Uszynski. My summary. My take.
You, me, others. We all try to create our own identity. Sports. Careers. Looks. School. Grades. and even Cru. Colossians 3:1-4 tells us we have our real, our true identity in Jesus Christ. We no longer need to put our trust in our flesh. our sin. For Jesus Christ our Lord and our Saviour has died and risen! AMEN Praise the Lord!
Jesus is THE answer. No more. No less. All of Him. Christ should form the basis of our identity. From our words to our actions. From what we do with friends and/or strangers to what we do when we are by ourselves. From the inside out (LORD, consume me from the inside out!!) Christ alone should be our identity.
In the next note is a list of spiritual truths from the conference. Read them. Know they are all true of you and me. Brothers and sisters in Christ. Us believers. No matter how you and I feel, they are true. Praise the Lord. Me, you, broken down sinners who have been saved by the grace and mercy of GOD who died on the cross, sinless, for us!
There is something about knowing God's forgiveness and grace. Something that should make us want to sin less. for sin to be less than desirable. to be despicable. But it oftentimes isn't. Why? We grow complacent and forget to apply it to our lives. Well, this truth of God's forgiveness and grace, is exactly why we need to stay in the Word and fellowship with other Christians. We need to be constantly reminded of the forgiveness and grace, that we don't deserve, that God continually offers us. God continually offers grace and forgiveness to us sinners. Can I get an Amen?
Ed then goes on to tell us a story. He says his brother-in-law is a part of a country club. For simplicity sake, lets call Ed's brother-in-law Jeff. And when Ed visits Jeff, Jeff sometimes invites Ed to the country club. Ed goes there and sees all the people. How "different" they are. How beautiful they are. How much better they seem to be. He starts to think of himself differently when he's there. But also at times he begins to judge the others for how they carry themselves. He thinks he himself is not good enough. One time, Ed was able to go without Jeff. Jeff told him to tell the people at the desk he was with him. When he gets to the desk, the clerk gives a "What are you doing here?" face as she asks how she may help him. He says he's with Jeff. And her whole attitude changes. She lets him in Jeff's world because he was with Jeff and Jeff was an important person. That simple thing of knowing someone made Ed realize something...
You know what Jesus says about you, to you? "Tell 'em you're with me!" Jesus' name is a powerful one. James 2:19 says "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder!" You can do anything when you set your mind upon the Lord. Anything!
Our default mode is to go back and do things our way. By ourselves. without God.
We as believers in Christ need to actively be seeking Christ. Always. Is Christ your life? Your whole life? It is pretty dangerous when you know more about someone you haven't seen in 10 years (or even never have talked to in person), than the grace of God because of facebook and lack of effort of getting to know the Lord. Who offers more in life? Them. or God ?
Try this. Go 3 days. no texting. no facebook (oh my lanta...I'm gonna have trouble with that one). Just have real, concrete Bible time. Maybe for us Indycc folk we should wait a little bit, until we notice that spiritual high to be wearing off. Or maybe we should do it now. Pray about it. Try it.
Remember. God is the LORD of LORDS. King of Kings. Alpha and Omega.
He is all. And nothing else should be your identity.
Consider these questions.
- From "what the Bible Says is True About Me in Christ" sheet, which of these "positional truths are most meaningful to you? Remember: If you have trusted in Christ, they are all true about you whether you feel/experience them or not.
- What obstacles get in the way of you "seeking things above" and "setting your mind on things above"?
- How might you make space in the New Year to read, study, and understand more of God's Word about Himself and His work in the world?
- What do you most look forward to regarding your future with Christ?
this was on the back of the notes sheet. Read the previous note along with this one if you wish.
- I am accepted (Romans 15:7)
- I am God’s child (John 1:12,13)
- I am Christ’s friend (John 15:12-17)
- I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
- I am united with the Lord and one with Him in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17)
- I have been bought with a price; I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)
- I am a member of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27)
- I am a saint (Ephesians 1:1)
- I have been adopted as God’s child (Ephesians 1:5)
- I have direct access to God through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:17,18)
- I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins (Colossians 1:13,14)
- I am complete (colossians 2:9,10)
- I am secure (Proverbs 3:19-26)
- I am free forever from condemnation (Romans 8:1,2)
- I am assured that all things work together for good (Romans 8:28-30)
- I am free from any condemning charges against me (Romans 8:31-34)
- I cannot be separated from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39)
- I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God (2 Corinthians 1:21,22)
- I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)
- I am confident that the good work God has begun in me will be perfect (Philippians 1:6)
- I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20)
- I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)
- I can find grace and mercy in time of need (Hebrews 4:16)
- I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18-20)
- I am significant (1 Corinthians 3:9, 4:1,2)
- I am the salt and light of the earth (Matthew 5:13-16)
- I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of his life (John 15:1-5)
- I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16,17)
- I am a personal witness of Christ’s (Acts 1:8)
- I am God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16,17)
- I am a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)
- I am God’s co-worker (2 Corinthians 6:1,2)
- I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (Ephesians 2:6,7)
- I am God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10)
- I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)
- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:11-13)
(Taken from Neil T. Anderson, Who I Am in Christ)
Session 4
session 4. Ed Uszynski, Colossians 3:12-14
my notes turned to thought.
HEY! STOP thinking what is wrong with everyone else. That ain't your problem. It is between them and God. Instead, figure out what is wrong with yourself. Once you figure it out, don't start complaining. Do something about it!
How do we love one another? Our actions? Our words? Our gifts? A hug? A simple hello?
Colossians 3:12 says "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Ed defined these words for us by saying we need to put on:
Compassion: Really feeling what others feel versus the hardness of heart.
Kindness: Graciousness you extend; lost harshness; acting charitably
Humility: Understanding where we are gifted and where we err (stray)
Gentleness: restraining judgement , wrath, or whatever for the betterment of another; not using your power.
Patience (towards others who are annoying): putting up with those who irritate you.
Those words ; compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; those words are intentionally relational! They are easy to do by yourself...I'm the best Christian ever by myself...But with others, well, thats a different story. When someone does something that ended up hurting them, its can be hard to show compassion. If you think someone is a jerk, how do you show kindness? When you mess up or you are really gifted in an area, can you show humility with that? If someone messes up can you show gentleness and lift them back up? And when that one person is doing that thing that constantly bugs you, can you have patience with them?
These words, these clothing of Christ's character, need relationships to grow and actually affect our own life. They are in no way natural responses to any situation life throws at us. In fact, they are SUPERnatural responses. Meaning the Holy Spirit works in and through us so we are able to "wear" these words, , these pieces of Christ's clothing.
Those words are God's character which need to be infused in us through Christ. It ain't gonna be easy doing that folks. It'll take an effort, a daily effort. But it'll totally be worth it. It'll all be for the glory of God.
Remember when you were little? You probably hated dressing up (or you still do). I know I did. I wanted to put on my comfy clothes, what was natural to me. It takes awhile to get used to the new clothing of Christ. And it takes help from God also. We want to go back to our sinful nature because we may not be comfortable showing these qualities of Christ yet or able to show 'em. And these qualities won't happen over night or without work.
Ed showed this by telling us a story of a christian friend he went and played basketball with...He was a horrible sport on the court. Swearing and complaing all the time. Just a total hot head. Off the court he was a great guy. Eventually he went up to Ed and said he was gonna stop playing basketball because of how he acts. Ed told him he shouldn't do that. In fact, he should do the opposite! Play everyday! Which sounds crazy. But the reason he told him that is he needs to be working on those qualities in real life situations. Not just in prayer or when things are good. but where you struggle...This isn't to say you should go where you know you will struggle and will fall. Its just saying you shouldn't necessarily take yourself out of situations where you can build yourself up. It takes a situation that requires patience to build patience.
It is a choice to put those "clothes" on. A daily choice. It is a reflection of your spiritual maturity.
Colossians 3:13-14 tells us we need to bear with each other and forgive each other. Give each other the gift of setting each other free. Know that God is mad as "Hell" at sin. Like, literally. He HATES sin so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins, so we don't have to. If you step back and realize your blessings, you would be able to forgive each other. Just as Christ continues to forgive us, for all the horrible things we do to Him.
Two greek words we should know
- Charizomai: The gift of forgiveness. The GIFT of forgiveness. It isn't easy for us to forgive someone...sometimes it takes...
- Agape: Undeserved love. Like Christ's love for us. A perfect example is John 3:16. I said it above, but its worth repeating. God loved us so much, us sinners, that He sent His son (who lived a perfect, sinless life) to die for us, so that if we believe in Him, we won't perish and will have eternal life with Him. WOW! How amazing is that?
It may take compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience to really be able to forgive someone But it is so important we do so so we live in peace with one another. If we can't forgive each other, how can we honestly ask for and expect God's forgivness?
Step back a moment. Soak it in. Then ask yourself these questions...provided by Ed.
- Do I need to forgive someone? (does someone need to be set free of my condemnation? ("God, give me the strength and courage to forgive ____ for _____)
- Do I need to ask for forgiveness? (Do I need to call someone right now and make things right?)
- Which of the five relational "accessories" are most lacking in my life right now?
