18 to 29-year-olds that grew up as Christians
22% are Prodigals
30% are Nomads
38% are Habitual Churchgoers
10% are Resilient Disciples
5 PRACTICES OF RESILIENT DISCIPLES
1. THEY EXPERIENCE INTIMACY WITH JESUS WHICH FORMS A RESILIENT IDENTITY
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. James 4:7-8 NLT
TWO FACTORS THAT HINDER OUR INTIMACY WITH JESUS
1. WE HAVE AN ELECTIVE IDENTITY
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalms 139:13-16 NLT
And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Isaiah 64:8 NOT
“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’” Isaiah 45:9 NLT
2. WE HAVE A SELF-CREATED VERSION OF JESUS
You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Matthew 7:13-14 NLT
If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it. Matthew 10:38-39 NLT
If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine… Matthew 10:37 NLT
HOW DO WE EXPERIENCE INTIMACY WITH JESUS?
1. WE EXPERIENCE JESUS TOGETHER
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47 ESV
2. WE EXPERIENCE JESUS BY SOLELY FOLLOWING HIM
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. John 14:6 NLT
3. WE EXPERIENCE JESUS BY ASKING THE CHALLENGING QUESTIONS OF LIFE
And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. Acts of the Apostles 17:11 NLT
4. WE EXPERIENCE JESUS BY GETTING CLOSE AND STAYING CLOSE
O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. Psalms 63:1 NLT
18 to 29-year-olds that grew up as Christians
22% are Prodigals
30% are Nomads
38% are Habitual Churchgoers
10% are Resilient Disciples
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13 NLT
After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight and served the images of Baal… and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods. Judges 2:10-11; 3:6 NLT
He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn away from doing what was right... Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since. 2 Kings 22:2; 23:25 NLT
So Josiah removed all detestable idols from the entire land of Israel and required everyone to worship the Lord their God. And throughout the rest of his lifetime, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 2 Chronicles 34:33 NLT
“O Israel,” says the Lord, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.” Jeremiah 4:1-2 NLT
I FEAR THE CHURCH TODAY WANTS A KING JOSIAH REFORMATION INSTEAD OF A JEREMIAH RESTORATION
This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams, because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the Lord. This is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. Jeremiah 29:4-13 NLT
I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:23-27 NLT
1. RESILIENT DISCIPLES EXPERIENCE INTIMACY WITH JESUS
2. RESILIENT DISCIPLES ARE DEVELOPING CULTURAL DISCERNMENT
3. RESILIENT DISCIPLES FORGE MEANINGFUL INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
4. RESILIENT DISCIPLES ARE TRAINED FOR VOCATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP
5. RESILIENT DISCIPLES CURB THEIR ENTITLEMENT AND SELF-CENTERED TENDENCIES TO LIVE A LIFE OF MISSION
Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT
“…Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” Romans 12:5 NLT
QUADRANT 4: A CALL TO ACTION
Work brings profit, but mere talk leads to poverty! Proverbs 14:23 NLT
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people. Colossians 3:23 GNT
DREAMS ARE CONCEIVED ON YOUR KNEES AND ACHIEVED ON YOUR FEET.
ADVICE
The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 12:15 NIV
Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers. Proverbs 11:14 NLT
WHAT DO YOU WANT? WHAT IS GETTING IN THE WAY?
WHAT IS GETTING IN THE WAY? WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT?
WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT? WHAT ARE WILLING TO COMMIT TO DO?
STRUCTURE
The prudent give thought to their steps. Proverbs 14:15 NIV
But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. 1 Corinthians 14:40 NIV
CHALLENGE
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. Hebrews 10:24 NLT
DEVELOPMENT
Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle. Psalms 144:1 NLT
CONSISTENCY BUILDS CONFIDENCE AND CONFIDENCE CREATES MOMENTUM
SERVICE
And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”Acts 20:35 NLT