Make Jesus Lord: Maturity, Surrender, and Outward Mission

Christian maturity is not measured by how much scripture you know. It is measured by how much you resemble Christ. And Christ moved towards the lost. He did not calculate the optics. He did not protect his image. He did not wait for sinners to become respectable. He moved towards the brokenness. [01:11:38] (29 seconds)  #ChristlikeLiving

The enemy is not threatened by how many Christian conferences or courses you have taken. He is not nervous because you know a certain doctrine. The enemy is perfectly content if you absorb scripture, attend studies, collect theology, debate ideas as long as your life stays mostly unchanged, as long as your pride remains intact, as long as your temper remains unchecked, as long as your private life contradicts your public conviction. [01:12:41] (44 seconds)  #ChangeOverKnowledge

But what makes hell pay attention is a life that has been redeemed, a life that has been washed, cleansed, delivered, fully surrendered. A life that is no longer flirting with sin, no longer negotiating obedience, no longer excusing compromise. A life that walks into the room and the atmosphere begins to shift, not because of a person's charisma, but because that person has the very lifeblood of Jesus flowing through their veins, that as soon as they walk into a place, the atmosphere begins to change. [01:13:24] (43 seconds)  #AtmosphereChanger

I did not surrender my life to the call of Jesus Christ to live a comfortable life. I joined the mission of Jesus because he is my Lord and savior, because Jesus saved my life. And when Jesus Christ is Lord, everything changes. Friends, everything changes. Your speech changes. Your habits change. Your priorities change. Your relationships change. Your ambitions change. You see, friends, when Jesus Christ truly becomes Lord of your life, you stop managing appearances, and you start living surrendered. [01:16:41] (41 seconds)  #SurrenderChangesEverything

Salvation is not simply adding Jesus to your existing life. It is surrendering your old life entirely. Here's the blunt truth. If Jesus Christ is lord of your life, your life will change. Not instantly perfected, but progressively transformed. But here's the truth, The longer someone walks with Jesus, the more they should look like Jesus. That's called maturity. [01:20:05] (41 seconds)  #SavedForTransformation

You see, here's the truth. A complaining spirit cancels a credible witness. No one is drawn to a gospel carried by bitterness. If we are harsh, critical, easily offended, argumentative, and yes, that includes online. I I love it when people just hide behind their keyboards. Keyboard warriors, I call them. Whatever that means. What are we modeling? [01:27:16] (37 seconds)  #BitternessBlocksTheGospel

We do not lower the standard to grow faster. We raise it with humility. Matthew five fourteen talks about how we are the light of the world. You cannot influence a world that you are trying to imitate. The world does not need Christians who blend in. It needs Christians who burn bright. [01:33:49] (29 seconds)  #ShineDontBlendIn

Grace is not a wild card to justify staying the same. Grace is power to become different. Jesus does not want to be your coffee buddy. He doesn't want to be somebody that you just call and say, hey Jesus, I just want to hang out with you. Although he loves to hang out with his people, I love hanging out with Jesus. He wants to be your Lord. He wants to be your savior. Salvation, my friends, is free. But lordship, lordship, it costs everything. [01:24:17] (58 seconds)  #GraceTransforms