Can God really use our suffering to bring others closer to Him?

So recently there has been some stretching and pulling from God that has been going around in my life and my friend's lives as well.

Each of us have been experiencing growth, at different times, and at different levels. In fact for most of us, there is always a hard trial that God leads us through, before we (humans) see the work that God is doing and see the impact it has in other people's lives.

Like Christ, our sufferings have the potential to lead others to God. Our sufferings have the ability to show others just how much we need Christ, and just how good God is, even when the bottom falls out. We can show others the hope that we have in Christ.

Now, I know this is not all oooey gooey...Life is hard, and it really sucks at times.
When our everyday rituals get shredded, we tend to loose focus, get frustrated, and head off course.

This past Sunday Pastor Steven used the story about when Lazarus died, and when Jesus raised him from the dead, to teach how to deal with the times when it seems as if God is not showing up in our lives in times of crisis.

Pastor Perry Noble also preached on what do to when it life gets harder and the bottom falls out. When we run so hard after Jesus, and when we are faced with life changing, faith altering circumstances that leave us frustrated, scared, and ready to throw in the towel.

I challenge you guys to watch both sermons in order that you may better understand how "God can take our greatest pain, and turn into our greatest gain"
Elevation Sermon: "I Am The Resurrection"
NewSpring Sermon: "It's Midnight"
Sermon starts around 11:30 if you wanted to skip the worship.

For me, and you can ask my mom, and those who know me very well... when I get out of my normal ritual, especially my workout ritual...I get very very cranky. I get stressed out, and I have all this energy that I need to get out.
I am already an impatient person, and I become even more impatient. And the reason why I do not get to work out is because I have so much school work to do, and ministry work.
My intimate time with God also goes out the window, so I am tempted to sin, to get angry with others, to doubt my self, and to become static.

Sometimes after that, I get the fear of never getting back to the place where I was before, or moving forward. I feel as if I am worhtless.
BUT, God does deliver me, every time, whether it is in the way I want it to, or not. and that gets me pumped up. God is so great.

Point: I am not perfect, I am human like the rest of us. Others believe that life is always great for me, that I do not struggle with insecurities, that I do not get stressed out, maxed out. But I do, and I need Christ just as much as the next person. Sometimes I feel I need Christ more because I become such a wreck.
Main Point: God will use our sufferings, just as He used Christ's to lead others to Him, and He will always deliver us, ALWAYS. He is God, He is just soo good.

What will you do? How will you give your suffering to Christ so that He can use it to bring others closer to Him? How will you let God deliver you?

Notes from UNLEASH 08 @ NewSpring Church pt 1

So this past Thursday was an awesome experience as I believe over 130 fellow Elevators and my self were packed into three charter buses and rolled down to NewSpring Church in Anderson SC for the UNLEASH 08 Conference. Pastor Perry Noble is the senior Pastor of New Spring and it is an amazing Church. God is really doing great things in and through NewSpring.

Here are some of the notes from the first Session that really spoke to my heart.

The Scripture lesson was taken from Luke 15 the Story of the Prodigal Son. But the angle that Pastor Perry Noble is coming from is the one of the older brother.

1) What is it that God wants to do in my Church?

He wants to Glorify Himself and spread the good news of the Gospel.
He wants to use Elevation Church to raise up an army of Believers who are unashamed of the Gospel, and who are passionate about seeing people come to Christ.
"So that People Far From God will have LIFE in CHRIST," as our mission statement states.

A) But the Older son was more worried about the work in the fields, and not the heart of the Father. If he did know the heart of the father then he would have been joyful in the return of his brother. Or he would have helped in finding his lost brother. But he became angry instead. (vs 25-30)
i) Sometimes the church gets more worried about the "work," and not the heart of God. We get to busy doing stuff to re-focus on the Heart of Christ, and why we are doing the work. Then we become frustrated because our labor is in vain.

ii) We are doing the work for God, not for ourselves. The reason that we exist is to glorify Christ, and not ourselves. Or else we fail, and we fail hard.

B) So what will it take in order to passionately follow the heart of the Father?

a) TIME-passionate intimate interrupted time with the Father. That means that we have to read our Bibles for direction. Most Bible's these days have commentary that help us to process all of the information so that we can understand what the Bible says.

i) We need to ask God, and search for that "White Hot Vision" as Pastor Noble says. That also means that we need to spend intimate time praying to God and laying all our burdens at the foot of the cross.
ii) "Revelation not inspiration." When we get an idea from another church or from someone, pray about it before you decide to do it. If it is not from God, then it will not work. Only when God gives us revelation about an idea, and how to use it for His Glory, then will it work.

Remember that by spending TIME with God we will be able to "Do what God wants us to do, and be who God wants us to be."

I will write more hopefully tomrrow.
Please Check out Pastor Perry's Church and his blog along with Elevation Church and Pastor Steven Furtick's Blog.

Thank You