Jesus is King!

•  The beginning was perfect both spiritually and physically.
• Then there was the great rebellion and its consequence, the curse.
• Jesus came, and Kingdoms collided.

• • He came as a lamb to offer Himself for our sin—to pay for the decision to sin and rebel.
  • He is a relational King. He came to reveal Himself rightly so we could make an accurate decision.

We must put the spiritual first and the physical second.

John 3:3–5 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.

The battle for believers is spiritual. (Ephesians 6:10–18)

We are in the world but not of it. We have a spiritual Kingdom objective.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

John 17:14–18 14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

Matthew 28:18–20 18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are going into a world that is captured…

2 Timothy 2:25–26 25Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

…much like the Jews going into the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 6:1–19

Taking the land:

1. They lived in a land that was under the authority of a different Kingdom. 

• So are we; our country is not a land belonging to God. It has been captured.
• We must be aware of the issues.

2. We, as parents and leaders, must put our King first in our hearts. 

• We must not forget where we were before God found us.
• We must have the Lord and His Kingdom on our minds and hearts.

3. We must be intentional and alert. 

• We must create environments for our families where the spiritual is primary.
• Our relationships are intentional. We are with our families, but the subject matter is spiritual.
• We have to be consistent in a world that is consistently contrary to the Lords’ way of thinking.

4. We must intentionally and purposefully create a community that works together. 

• It takes a community of believers who fight together.
• We have to be committed to resolving conflict.
• Each of us has to do our part—including grandparents, singles, aunts, and uncles.

5. Our mission is to take the land as a people who win lost people with the Light. We are a city on a hill. 

• This only happens if there is a difference between us and those who are lost.
• We have been losing our kids!

We have been committed to this as a church by… 

• Preaching the word in large group settings.
• Creating places where relationship happens and where we can unpack and apply God’s word to our lives in a practical way.
• Caring for one another.
• Looking for ways to reach people—individually and corporately.

The Next 20 Years: 

• Keep doing what we have been: Weekend Services, Life Groups, youth groups, Children’s, Young Adults, Recovery, Lifelines, Singles, etc…
• When the world changes, we must address it, and it is changing.

• • We are losing our kids to the world.
  • The “4-14 Window”: 80% of Christians give their lives to Christ between the ages of 4 and 14.
  • We are losing most of those kids after age 18.
  • Why? The culture, media, secular education, the influence of their peers…
  • The world is celebrating a different set of beliefs. What you celebrate, people aspire to.

• Our plan: reach the young. We are proactively reaching the world—not waiting for them to come to us.

• • Create bridges to and meet needs in our community through Sports & Outdoors, the Arts, etc.
  •  Align our ministries: Kids, Youth, Young Adults, Apologetics, and peer relationship building.
  •  Offer family, marriage, and parenting classes that help parents and guardians learn how to teach their kids with appropriate methods for their ages (from young families to grand parenting).
  • Men’s Ministry: we have lost what it means to be men. Look at the statistics: 13% of children are Christ followers if they had a woman as a spiritual leader—75% if the man took his rightful role.
  • Women’s ministry: aligning everyone towards the target of recapturing what it means to be a woman.
  •  Develop a Biblical Education certificate program to get our adults ready with answers.
  •  We are asking you to step into your place in the ministry. Give, serve, look joyfully on the numbers—help us be a spiritual army that takes back our community!

Will you join us? Not just for a year, but will you help us fight this fight?

• • There is nothing easy about fighting this fight.
  • The devil will seek to distract us. We will need God and His people to remind us.
  • The devil will seek to divide us. Conflict is inevitable—will you do the hard thing?
  • So many don’t know how to lead—will you learn?
  • So many don’t know how to have a marriage; they were not shown—will you learn?
  • So many have not been taught how to be stewards financially. This will take sacrifice—will you learn?

Discussion questions for home, or Life Group: Choose a passage from the sermon or consider: Matthew 28:16-20 or Acts 1:1-8

1. What stands out to you from what Jesus tells His followers?

2. Jesus is on mission to bring the Good News of the Kingdom of God to people. Where is He asking you to join Him? Think about: personally; as a family or in your home; with the church or in your life group; in the world; and where you work, live, and play.

3. Talk about the sermon and the vision cast for Real Life Ministries and your campus. What got your attention?

4. How can you be a part of what’s happening? What’s your next step to take?