What a weekend…what a series! This past weekend was one of the most evangelistically fruitful weekends in Quest’s history. The ground literally felt slanted toward the cross. So many people came home. In service after service, people just kept responding to the whisper of God…coming to the cross, laying down religion and entering into a relationship with Jesus.

• God’s appeal is so clear. For all the things we’ve been told God wants for us or from us over the years, the simple truth is this: God’s desire is to KNOW US. His will for our lives…His plan for us is to be in a right relationship with Him. For every single one of us, this gap is the key to bridging every other gap in our lives.

• Still, a conspiracy has persisted through every age proclaiming, “You can do this on your own. You can construct your own path to God. You don’t need to rely on Christ….you can know Him thru means other than the Cross.” This conspiracy (that the Church has too often been an accomplice in perpetuating) seeks to lull us into settling for less than real relationship.

• Many of us have met God…we’ve had a conversation, or shared an experience, but we don’t know Him. Dr. J & I had a conversation in Vegas. We do not have a relationship. We’ve met, but we don’t know each other!

• When you’re in the GAP, instead of knowing Him intimately…you find yourself settling for Intimacy Imposters.
• Works – Things we do for God as if being busy for Him ever pleased Him or gained us His love.

• Information – Rather than know Him, this imposter compels us to fill our heads our intellect, with His stats, laws, history, theology, teachings until we have more info than we can use. A full head won’t cover for an empty heart. 

• Experience  -  So many of us have cried out to God for forgiveness when we really messed up, hope when things were dark, for healing, guidance, provision…for HELP! But when the storms blew through and the sirens stopped & the sun came out again…the emotions moved on too.

• God never designed you to live on Intimacy Imposters! He wants a RELATIONSHIP with you! He doesn’t want a conversation or a one-night stand, He wants your heart!

• Intimacy impostors are at the heart of religion, but religion doesn’t love you. Why would you give your life to it one more day?

• As I walked the room at the end of each service, I looked into so many of your eyes and you were so ready to say YES to Jesus. And you WENT FOR IT!!! I loved seeing you stream toward the cross – humbly and honestly – stepping into the relationship you were made for!

What we witnessed this weekend felt like it was out of the pages of the book of Acts. What happened once can happen again. All glory to God.  I am out of my MIND thrilled for so many of you who divorced “religion” and stepped into a real relationship with Jesus this weekend. It was breathtaking! This is just the beginning…

How about these words to mark your life at the conclusion of this remarkable series? “I Believe in God, AND…I KNOW HIM!!!”

“I Believe in God, But…” is such a formative series. God is in the business of tearing down walls and narrowing the hypocrisy gaps in so many areas of our lives. This weekend we tackled the grudges we hold that are keeping grace out of our lives, and what God was doing was spectacular. Here are just a few highlights:

1. Somebody I care a lot about decided to give their lives to Christ and live in His grace! Seeing her face was a highlight of my year so far! I couldn’t be more thrilled for my friend. And…the same weekend at Quest Frankfort, our 300th person, Noah Bates, came to Christ at that great campus!

2. People who have misunderstood God’s heart to forgive – thinking He’s just waiting to bring down the gavel and judge them – were undone at His heart to love them and give them grace. We expect retribution, judgment and payback, when all the while He’s dying for us to receive His remarkable grace, forgiveness and love.

3. So many of us have underestimated our overwhelming debt. Not one of us is innocent. We are all expert sinners in need of  God’s scandalous grace. For many of us, this weekend helped us recognize the fundamental attribution error in our lives – that we judge others based on their actions and we judge ourselves based on our intentions. I’m thankful so many were ready to take an honest look in the mirror to see themselves as they really are.

4. So many of us have failed to see that we don’t want fair…we want forgiveness. News Flash: We have ALL been treated unfairly. Jesus’ work on the cross for us was the ultimate miscarriage of justice! In His grace, mercy, kindness and overwhelming love and pursuit, NO ONE who runs to Him gets what they deserve.

5. When we build walls of self-protection and unforgiveness, no grace gets in…and no grace gets out. The wrongs done to us were painful and tragic. But what was a tragedy once doesn’t have to become a tragic life.

6. We were challenged to live out the prayer so many of us have prayed hundreds and hundred of times…”Forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” The “No Trespassing” signs in our lives are working against that very prayer.

7. People understood and believed the reality that the sins committed against us didn’t build the walls in our lives – our unforgiveness did. And they took action!

8. At the conclusion of every worship experience, walls were coming down for people all over the room as they did work with Jesus letting people and offenses go. I loved seeing people at the altars, working with the sand boxes and meeting Jesus at the cross. You were doing real work with Him and it was breathtaking.

9. So proud of Questers taking advancing steps and putting their beliefs in ACTION – bringing their orthodoxy and orthopraxy into alignment so the hypocrisy gaps in our lives are demolished. Your steps honor God and the great work He’s doing in your lives.

10. Jesus’ voice echoed in our hearts and eternities this weekend with these words: “Father, forgive them…” and “It is finished.” He paid our debt in full. The account has been settled. You can be FREE!

Continue to step into freedom, Questers…in every area of your lives. I’m seeing it birth life in you like never before! Congratulations. Keep following hard after Jesus, letting Him demolish the walls in your lives, letting Him narrow the hypocrisy gaps and letting Him win your heart. You are the child He always wanted and He sees a remarkable future out in front of you!

This past weekend we tackled one of the single most off-limits areas of our lives. Normally we plaster this area with every Keep Out Sign, Do Not Disturb Sign and Private Property Sign we can get our hands on. But for all the topics that impact our spiritual growth, the truth is…nothing stands greater chance of ambushing our year and detouring our walk with God like money.

There is simply no other topic that ambushes us like this one…because if we’re not trusting with our money, we’re not trusting Him with our hearts. (If that touches a nerve or you’re already feeling a little defensive…let it be a warning light on your dash!)

The overwhelming reality is that God loves us. He’s head over heels for us and He wants to bless our lives in ways we’ve never imagined. We’re His kids and He knows that trusting Him with our resources is a pivotal key to begin living in His blessing. It’s the only area He dares us to test Him in. He can’t WAIT to show Himself strong in our lives as we take action to close the hypocrisy gap and trust Him to be our provider!

Need a reminder of what we talked about this weekend?

• Your Heart and Your Money are Connected (Matthew 6:21)
• We strive 2 trust God with our future, our marriages, our kids, our health – and even our sin and our eternities, but when we shield our money from Him, we shield our hearts from Him.
• What we’re financially committed to, we are emotionally connected to!
• 9 simple words remind us of God’s heart and His investment in us…”For God so loved the world that He gave…” (UNREAL!!)
• Generosity Prospers (Prov. 11:24-25)
• If you wait until you have ENOUGH to begin obeying God and trusting Him with the resources He’s provided for you, that day will never come. Enough is the most indefinable word in the English language.
• Generosity never just happens. It’s never convenient.
• Generosity is antidote to scarcity and greed.
• God Will Bless You with More than You Can Contain (Mal. 3:8-10)
• If a blood stained cross & empty tomb don’t convince u to trust Him…a windfall won’t either. You’ll never experience God’s supernatural provision until you trust Him and give Him the chance to bless you and supply your needs.
• You don’t have to choose to rob God and prevent His blessing in your life! You can live in financial freedom.
• MAKE A PLAN and act on it today. Make this a non-negotiable. Start today and begin living in financial freedom! (You can DO this, Questers!)
• God can’t wait to bless you. He dares us to trust Him in this…and be free! Remember: He doesn’t want anything from you. He wants blessing and freedom for you!

God doesn’t want your money…He wants your heart, but knows He won’t fully have it until He has your money.

Thanks to all of you who’ve led the way in this for years…in case you missed it yesterday, here’s a reminder of the fruit of your investments:

Numbers from Quest Community Church on Vimeo.

I was in my office a week ago today and the arts team surprised me with something that blew my mind. I haven’t been able to hold it together one time watching it since then.

As we step out and trust God ACTIVELY in every area of our lives…from our sex lives to sharing our faith to our money…THIS is what’s at stake. THIS is the fruit of the work of God in a place where people believe Him and put their faith into action.

Questers…I wanted you to have the chance to see this again. And Uprising pastors and leaders, I wanted to give you a sneak peak of what you’ll see and experience at The Uprising on April 19th with me, Clayton King (teaching pastor at NewSpring Church and campus pastor at Liberty University) and Derwin Gray (the Evangelism linebacker and founding pastor of Transformation Church) and other Uprising faculty.

This is the WHY behind everything we do at Quest Community Church:

Happy Valentine’s Day! (How about THAT for a picture of what real love does in the lives of real people!)

The series we’re in the middle of at Quest, “I Believe in God, But…” is wreaking havoc on the hypocrisy gaps in our lives. This weekend Transformation Pastor Helen Musick hit the hypocrisy gap head on in one of THE single most important areas we face…sharing our faith. Jesus entrusted His mission to YOU and ME! We are His eyewitnesses. When we tell the world about Him, hope spills out onto everyone we meet. If you have been rescued,  you want to rescue everyone around you. Tell someone! Get help learning to share your story. You are His evidence! Your story, the story of a broken, rescued person received, forgiven and made new by a loving, gracious God will help them see Jesus for who He really is, and when people see Jesus for who He really is, they tend to want Him! You can DO this, Questers!

Here are some highlights from Helen’s teaching this weekend, along with a few more of her thoughts. She had great practical steps for us. Take them!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When you love someone, what they care about, you care about and what matters to them, matters to you.  Simply put, God cares about people far from Him.  At some point you want to ask yourself, “Does my life reflect love for God by the way I care about what matters to His heart?”

• Am I implying that our love for God can be seen in the way we love people?  I am.
• If we don’t care about lost people, am I implying it’s a reflection of our love for God?  I am.

It’s the great commission not the great suggestion.  The sad thing is for years I lived as if the Great Commission was optional. Are you?

One of the enemies greatest tactics today is to get up to keep our faith to ourselves.  Since he can’t take our salvation away, he’ll do everything he can to keep the impact of our salvation from influencing anyone around us.  He wants us to stay silent.

An unlikely evangelist…that’s what Craig Grosheil calls her.  The woman at the well is what I’ve always known her as.  I guess Jesus knew he made a great move to reveal to her His identity as the Messiah.  She did want we are to do – not keep the good news to ourselves. 

Ask Him for the one, trust Him for the many.  Who is the one person that you want to ask God to use your life to help come to know and trust Jesus as the forgiver of their sin and leader of their life?  Ask Him.  

When 75 of us gathered in Springs Inn we said yes to not keeping our faith a private and personal thing. Instead we committed to take God’s mission personally.  Seventy five became 3000.  What can God do if 3000 rise up and say yes, too?

I wouldn’t have had a message to preach this weekend if it had not been for the reality of Pastor Pete’s vision and investment in my life and the gift of being apart of this church.   Because of those things, I remembered what God called me to when I was 12 years old.  That what I had just encountered in Him when I gave my heart to Him was meant to be shared.

Somewhere along the way I forgot that.  Thank you, Pastor.  Thank you for all the investment you made in me to “fan into flame the gift” God placed in my heart years ago.  Thank you for allowing Jesus to use you to give us a place where people care enough about lost people that they will give their life, their time, their finances, their best hours to this mission.  – Helen

This series has been phenomenal! Every weekend has challenged “checkmark belief” and led us into transformational encounters with God that have decreased the gap between what we believe and how we live — and this weekend was no exception! Our sex lives are one of the primary “Keep Out” areas in our relationship with God, but this weekend, we got a crystal clear picture of the blessing and leadership God wants to offer us, especially in our bedrooms.

Thanks to Assistant Pastor Justin McCarty for bringing such a great message! Here are a few of Justin’s reflections on the weekend:

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I loved that our church is a place where we can talk about sex frankly and openly. If not the church, where else are people actually going to get God’s perspective and leadership as it relates to sex? This weekend proved to be another important week for hundreds of Questers. I’ve heard stories of so many people, especially married couples, that have had long overdue conversations about the state of their sex lives and are taking steps to follow God in what means to surrender and submit to his leadership about sex. I know there’s a general buzz around the topic of sex (especially when you say some of the words that I said in church today!) but there was more too it — God showed up in a powerful way in the 4th week of this seismic series.

Here are a few key lines and ringing thoughts that seem like invaluable takeaways:

- The Bible is unabashed in its celebration of sex! Sex was intended as a good gift from the God who created us. He is not squeamish or judgmental about our desire for sex. He created us that way and knows how sex works best!

- Sex is like gasoline. Outside its proper context, it’s explosively dangerous and volatile. But in its proper context (the commitment of marriage), it’s high octane fuel in the engine of our relationship.

- When we gave our lives to Christ, we surrendered “doing what is right in our own eyes.” No matter how good it feels, no matter how right it may seem to us – if it’s not right in God’s eyes, it’s not best for us.

- The picture of my little boy Wyatt crying at the gate of his bedroom proved to be a stunningly accurate picture of how we tend to relate to God’s leadership of our sex lives. We perceive punishment when He is actually protecting us from dangers that we don’t understand.

- One of my favorite lines from the whole talk: “No matter what you’ve done or how far you’ve gone, you are not disqualified from wholeness.” The cross of Jesus Christ offers us redemption and healing for our guilt and shame – we can trust Him to make all things new, even in our sex lives!

- I loved getting to point people to our freedom and recovery ministry, The Mat, that meets every Friday night. Just this past week, 471 people turned out for the annual Mat Chili Cook Off! If you need help, you are not alone! Hundreds are experiencing the freedom that God designed them for — if you need help, humble yourself and be there this Friday night! Find out more at questcommunity.com/ministries/the-mat

- Concluding the service with a clear word to married couples was another highlight: “A boring sex life does not honor God!” He designed us to serve and satisfy our spouse sexually – and it’s a good thing! Just in case you missed it, here was the key action step for husbands and wives:

Husbands: Create an environment where your wife can’t keep her hands off you by loving her singularly, romancing her and pursuing her!

Wives: Create an environment where sex is like a buffet – lots of variety and plenty of return trips!

I love our church! And I love that God is eager for us to experience the wholeness, healing and vitality that is meant to be a part of our sex lives. Here’s to all you married folks out there – enjoy the gift and live out an orthopraxy that’s beyond belief!!

I just got to spend several days with some of the leading pastors of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, and it spurred me on to hear the stories of what God is doing in their midst. I’m so thankful we get the chance to partner together to reach people for Christ and build cultures of redemption.

Here’s a confession: I never knew it was possible. I came to Christ in a culture where churches were NOT advancing, where no one was finding hope in Christ and the idea that the capital “C” Church could be a redemptive force never crossed my mind. I just never knew it was possible. But then…thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and the influence of one of my mentors, I fell in love with the Acts 2 Church.

The revolution that happened through the local church 2,000 years ago is still possible today! It’s not only possible…it is actually happening. The picture of the Church we read about in the first pages of the book of Acts can come to life here and now. We CAN create loving cultures of redemption… It happened once. It’s happening again.

I cannot believe the church I get to be a part of…a church where the lonely are enfolded, the broken find hope, addicts find freedom, marriages are healed, and real people discover Jesus for who He really is. It is beautiful and messy and unbelievably breathtaking. The stories literally bring me to my knees. Doctors and homeless people serve side by side. Stay at home moms and those in the adult entertainment find healing at the foot of the cross together. Those who have been rescued, who find hope in Christ, become rescuers themselves. I just never knew His bride could be this beautiful.

When we launched as a church we would read the pages of Acts over and over again, camping out in the description of the church in Acts 2. I would read the last line of that chapter, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved,” and beg Jesus to make it so here. Now we live in that reality.

What God can do through really ordinary men and women is beyond anything we could hope or ask or imagine. 2,000 years ago Jesus launched something remarkable through a small, unimpressive group of people. They weren’t the smartest, the strongest or the most-educated…but they were people who had been with Jesus who lived with His heart beating in their chests.

God used them to launch a revolution. And He longs to do the same through us…in our churches, our communities, our world. He sends us out with the same mission today that He sent the disciples out with thousands of years ago…a simple, singular mission that captures His heart…to seek and save the lost.

The revolution that started 2,000 years ago is still alive today. Join me Thursday, April 19th in Lexington, KY for The Uprising. Come be reminded why you went into ministry in the first place. I can’t wait to partner with you!

• Register now for Super Early Bird rate: $59 (Only now through Feb 1st!)
• Church Planters: $59, Senior Pastor’s Spouse: FREE, Groups of 5 get 1 Ticket FREE!
• Speakers/Presenters include: Derwin Gray (“Evangelism Linebacker”, Transformation Church) and Dr. Gary Benedict (C&MA President)

Aren’t you loving this series, “I Believe in God, But…?” This week, Don’t Cross Me hit a nerve for many: an unedited, un-tempered look at the indisputable fact that God wants an All-Access Pass to our lives. He wants it all…our hearts, our minds, our hobbies, our marriages, our kids…our money. When we try to welcome Him into some areas of our lives and block Him from others, we become divided and unstable, and we often don’t know why.

Many of us look at our lives and see a lack of power, fruit, passion, victory…so we pray for God to do something, to fix the problem. This weekend was a reality check: breakthrough and blessing will come when submission and surrender take place. When Christ-followers give Jesus access, He transforms us in ways we could never have dreamed possible!

Here are three critical questions we studied this weekend. Spend great time fleshing these out with Jesus:

Three Critical Questions:

1. Why does God want total access to my life?

• A. You are designed for it. God made u to love you, to be near Him. He wants to bless you, guide you, comfort you, and the way that works is for us to receive His love and grow in intimacy. That only happens if our lives are in proper order. Put simply: when we live recognizing that there is One God and One Lord, and We’re not Him. He doesn’t want to just be the Lord of all. He wants to be YOUR Lord.

• B. It’s best for you. You were made to rest in the leadership of another. Not only did God design us to follow Him, He crafted us so that in doing so we would be at our best by resting in His leadership and worshipping Him alone!  What that means is that when He’s at the center of your life with complete access and total freedom to lead, He has the power to move in and transform every area of your life! It’s acknowledging that He’s God, He knows what is best for you and you do not!

2. Why wouldn’t I want Him to have total access to my life?

• A. Pride – On some level most of us think we can handle life on our own, maybe in some ways even do a better job than God. From the earliest pages of the Bible and the story Adam until now, we nurture pride, we esteem self-reliance and independence. “I’ve got this…I can handle my life. I believe in God, sure…and I’ll take His help, but I’m good.” In the OT there is an indicting little phrase that was used to describe the tragic lives of those who worshipped pride and not God. It says they “Did what was right in their own eyes.” That doesn’t have to be you!

• B. Protection – We’ve been hurt, and in our pain we’ve learn patterns of protecting ourselves from pain, from people and from God. So, without ever saying it perhaps, we begin to pick and chose the areas we’ll place under the Lordship of Jesus. And in the others, we tell God KEEP OUT. But that leaves us trying to share the throne with God…with a divided, torn heart. We want God to hear and answer our prayers…and He longs to heal us, provide for us, protect us, bless us… but as C.S. Lewis once said, “He cannot bless us unless he has us. When we try to keep within us an area that is our own, we try to keep an area of death…There’s no bargaining with Him.” He always wants what’s best for you!

3. So How Can I be Whole Again?

• A.   Admit - Just like the 1^st step in AA, admit that you are powerless and your life has become unmanageable with you as your own lord. Admit that you need His help if you’re ever going to be whole again.
• B.   Humble yourself - Ask God to forgive you for rejecting His leadership in your life…for treating as common that which is priceless.
• C.   Surrender and submit to Him - DAILY. When you humble yourself, He doesn’t shame you, He embraces you…healing begins & breakthrough starts.

Last night 321 leaders and emerging leaders of Quest Community Church got to gather together to pray for Code Orange Revival. I loved seeing our leaders pray and cheer on what God is doing in Charlotte, NC through Pastor Steven Furtick and the phenomenal team at Elevation. (If you haven’t gotten to take part in Code Orange Revival yet, there’s still time…the 12 night revival is broadcast live on the web every night and there are still 5 nights to go!)

My good friend, Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC, got to speak at the revival last night and spur Elevation on, honoring God and the work He’s doing through Pastor Steven and their great church. It was a rare moment. In the Bride of Christ, we’re called to spur each other on to good works, but all too often churches finds themselves fighting against each other instead. We should be THE most honoring, encouraging people on the planet!

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. – Hebrews 10:24

Uprising pastors and leaders…when was the last time you spurred on what God was doing in another pastor, church or ministry? Go for it! Send them a text, tweet about them, write them a letter to cheer on God’s work in their life and community, commit to pray for an event on their behalf…invite them to The Uprising this April. It’s the whole reason we launched The Uprising to begin with…to spur on pastors and leaders, to help them accomplish all God is calling them to do in their communities!

You’re invited to join us Thursday, April 19 in Lexington for The Uprising. Bring your team (you won’t believe what it does in your church to have them with you!) Invite a pastor from another church. In fact…buy them a ticket. Invest in their ministry in a tangible way. Let God do a new thing in you as you invest in His Bride. (Tickets are available NOW for just two more weeks at our Super-Early Bird rate of just $59.)

It’s an honor to serve Jesus together in their great cause. Let’s spur each other on in new ways this week!