Equipped 2024 - Teen: "Living a Life of Faith Right Now" by Chris McCurley

April 20, 2024 - Saturday 3:30PM Tent Speaker

 

Speaker: Chris McCurley

 

“Living a Life of Faith Right Now”

 

“If today was the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” 

– Steve Jobs

 

Is the life you are currently living going to get you to heaven?

 

Would you change anything about your schedule if you knew today was going to be your last day on earth?

 

John 15:1-11

 

The secret to life - Abide in Christ.  Get this right.  It will always be worth it if you abide in Christ.  Put God first.  Often we think if we are good/do good, then we can earn God’s favor and He will bless us in this life and let us into heaven.  But we shouldn’t have a performance-based mindset on life.  In reality, we can never do enough and it’s not all about that anyway.  

 

Everything in our society is about productivity.

Work hard – more money – more valuable to society.

School – work hard – get good grades.

As a church, it’s not all about productivity.  We cannot work our way to heaven.  Don’t be a performance-based Christian.  Have faith in God, not faith in religion.  In John 15, Jesus is not speaking about productivity, but instead connectivity.  Christianity is not as much about rules as it is relationship.  

 

“Fruit production or lack thereof is simply a manifestation of our attachment to the vine.”

 

The Bible is not a rule book, but a story of redemption.

 

John 15:12-17

 

Abide in Me and I will abide in you.  This is Jesus’ invitation.  Matthew 7:21-23.

 

John 14:15.  Plenty of people are moral, but not necessarily Christians.  Rules modify behavior.  A relationship with Jesus gives our lives and our deeds meaning.

 

Put God first, please Him by doing good and following rules.  Don’t focus so heavily on the rules that you forget the relationship.

 

Good connection – Leads to good fruit.

 

What puts your soul in jeopardy is not a lack of productivity but a lack of relationship.

 

When you are connected to the source (God), you will grow and produce fruit, which is a byproduct of being attached to the vine.

 

The worst part of hell is not weeping and gnashing of teeth; it’s that God is not there.

The best part of heaven is that God is there.

 

You’d have to step over the cross of Christ to get to hell; you have to refuse Him.

 

John 15:9

 

A life on the vine is the best life, full of love and joy.  It’s so much more than a list of rules to check off.  Start with the relationship.  

 

We need to allow our relationship with Jesus to drive everything in our lives:  Work, school, family, church.

 

Is what I do the result of who I am with?

 

We often read the Bible with appreciation and for information, but need to ask ourselves, how does this apply to me?

 

Is the way I am currently living going to get me to heaven?  – a question to ask ourselves often.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-6Qe9-BrqU

 

Duration 34:59