Passion 2010

Say, say! Say you believe it! Sing for the whole world to hear it. We know & we're declare it, Jesus is King. Say, say! Say you believe it! Sing loud, sing like you mean it. We know & we declare it, JESUS IS KING!

This was one of the very first songs we sang in worship & is definitely my favorite. [Also, it's by my musical crush, Mr. Kristian Stanfill.]

I don't even know where to begin. Last time I went to Passion, it was great, but this time...just left me speechless. I don't think I've ever felt as challenged before. I feel like I've still been constantly thinking about some of the messages.

This was the Main Session lineup:
1 - Louie
2 - Beth
3 - Francis Chan
4 - Andy
5 - John Piper
6 - Louie

Just a warning: this is probably going to be the world's longest blog post.

The first night Louie talked about the story of Lazarus & how it all happened for God's GLORY. Glory seemed to be the underlying (though very "in your face"...at least for me) theme. He talked about how when Jesus got to the tomb, by telling them to roll back the stone, it showed that He was not at all offended by humanity. That stone hid a probably gross, smelly, rotting Lazarus. Sick, I know. But that stone hides the parts of me that I'm most ashamed of...& He just shoves it right out of the way. Just as He unwrapped Lazarus, He wants to unwrap us, peeling away the layers to wake us up to Him & to real life. Louie pointed out that it says that many - not ALL - saw & believed (John 11:45). Hard to believe that people could SEE that...& not believe. The sad thing is, it still happens. Over & over again we are confronted with miracles. We may not call them that or recognize them as being so, but they are. And still we have a hard time trusting God so many times. The purpose for studying this passage was to see that Jesus could've been famous without having Lazarus (who I really feel needs a nickname at this point) die, but He was made more famous because of it. In the same way, God could be famous if Jesus had said "no" to the cross, but He is absolutely more famous because Jesus was willing to make that trade. So even when we feel like we're walking through fire, we can be confident that we can come out on the other side knowing that Jesus is made more famous.

The next morning we got to hear my BFF Beth Moore. When she prayed that morning, she said, “God, turn us every way but loose.” I liked it. :) She talked all about how God equips us to do His will. His plan is how He fulfills His will for my life. When you look up the Greek word for equip, you find this definition: prepare, adjust, fit, readjust, supply, mend, & complete. From this definition, Beth went through the ways that God equips us. 1) He equips us by preparing us. I have been well prepared for. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” God not only has a plan for my life, but He set it in motion long before I was even born. Beth said, “By the time He ‘let there be light,’ He knew there’d be a ‘let there be you.’” She emphasized how every detail from my past – good & bad – is a part of my future. Each has a place of equipping me for what I’m called to do. These little details make my ministry. 2) God equips us by adjusting us. He puts us in situations where we feel we don’t fit so that we can be adjusted. The biggest adjustments will be to people – not circumstances. New situations create a new character – one that is conformed to Christ. 3) God equips us by repairing us. Interesting that He prepares & repairs. He calls us to follow, knowing full well that we will screw up, we will make mistakes, but He will repair us. Broken situations allow for God’s restoration & are some of the biggest parts of our equipping. I would not be me without the brokenness in my life. 4) God equips us by filling us. We have to let Him overtake us. In the words of my Beth, “Ain’t no high like the Most High.”

Next was Francis Chan. Now, I love dear Francis, but I didn’t quite understand how everything he was saying really went together. So I’m just going to tell you my favorite parts. If they don’t relate…just know that they didn’t then either. 1) He related our lives to a GPS. We take a wrong turn, we’ll still get there…just have to recalculate. That’s what God does with us. We take turns that He would not have us to take, but He recalculates & gets us back on track. 2) Matthew 17: 1-8. James & John went up on the mountain with Jesus. They heard God & trembled. TREMBLED. Conclusion: I want to be a person who trembles at the sound of God’s voice. 3) 2 Peter 1:3, “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.”

And then there was my friend Andy. I feel like this was a really good time for me to hear what God laid on his heart. It’s a mistake to decide what you want to do before you know who you want to be. This has nothing to do with who you’re going to be with. Doing will always flow from being. This is such a simple statement, but it’s HUGE. I can decide who I want to be. I make myself that person. I can decide to imitate Jesus. I can make a point of conforming to Him. Andy encouraged us to think about our funeral & what we would want people to say. This sounds cliché but it’s very true…”what you want said about you at your funeral is your personal definition of success.” Annnnd…I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Deep breath. Piper. Honestly, I wasn’t really looking forward to hearing Piper. Last time it was so over my head & I’m pretty sure I fell asleep. I still had to really listen this time, but I really got it. Annnddd…it blew my mind. Rocked my world. Piper basically talked about how God is selfish & created everything for His glory. Created us for His glory. Sent Jesus to die for His glory. Our salvation, yes…but mainly for His glory. To me, this is such a HUGE part of the Gospel. And I don’t remember ever hearing it until recently. And when I did, I ignored it. I didn’t even want to entertain the thought that Jesus died for something other than me. I wanted to be the center of it all. So, clearly…God wanted me to learn this since it was brought up again. God is passionate about His glory & is the most God-centered being in the universe. He is selfish. And that’s not a bad thing. We don’t have to choose between God’s glory & our joy because we can have both by delighting in His glory. C.S. Lewis said that, “We delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment.” The absolute best moments in life are when I feel the most insignificant. Looking at the stars presented with His majesty, He just gets bigger & I get smaller & smaller…& I can be thrilled with that. The foundation of my salvation is not based on my value at all, but is based on GOD’s infinite value. Piper described eternity as self-forgetfulness as we behold the beauty of God. Wow. God’s self-exultation is not an act of a needy ego, but an act of infinite giving for our enjoyment. And because of that we won’t be fully happy unless we GIVE GLORY. This is not God’s arrogance or grace. It is not Him being an egomaniac. It’s love. This message seriously made me think more than any other ever has. I feel like I’m looking at everything in a new light. Not that I didn’t understand that all is for God’s glory or that my life is for His glory, but I didn’t get that Jesus came primarily to bring God glory & secondarily to save my life.

Louie ended the week. This last session was mostly about the Do Something Now campaign…that’ll have to be another post. But there was one analogy he made that I really liked. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Time to “move that bus.” And the camera flashes to...not the house but the faces of the family. We know the house is great. Even if we hadn’t seen them fix it up, we’d know it was something to behold by seeing their faces. That is how we should be. People should see in our faces that we are looking at GOD.

Like I said…longest post ever. And if you actually read all of this, you must love me a lot. And this is just the main sessions. I still have more to say. :)