In The Midst Of The Movement

We are so blessed at NorthStar to be a part of a Move of God that was started over two thousand years ago. It should not surprise us that the movement is continuing. Jesus said not even hell can stand against the church.  The reality is God is at work in many churches across the world.  It is exciting to know that there are people literally around the world who share the same vision and passion as NSC. While He is working in many places, I rejoice in the fact that He is working here. We are seeing people almost every week come to Christ.  Since I told the church a few weeks ago about the 594 that have come to Christ over the past six years, we have seen even more take this step of faith right here at NorthStar. In fact we baptized another six this past week.

I want to mention a few things we need to be doing in the midst of this Movement:

1.       We need to stay consistent in our walk with Christ. The church will go no farther than the level of spirituality of its leaders and members.

2.       We must continue in discipleship. Growth is a natural thing. Daily we should be digging into His Word, spending time in communion with Him and seeking to become more like Him.

3.       We should consistently attend a worship experience. Often times we get weak, dry, burned out and frustrated.  Absence from worship is one reason this happens. When we omit worship experiences from our schedule we tend to take our eyes off the vision and off of Christ.  There are so many excuses to justify our absence from worship but they are shallow and unfounded. As we come together on a regular basis for worship we are able to focus, be renewed and energized for the task He has called us to do.

4.       We must be diligent in reaching out to those far from God.  How will they hear if we do not tell them? Aren’t you glad someone took the time to tell you?

5.       We must depend on Him and not ourselves. It is on the stage of our weakness that His strength is displayed. The temptation is to just do it ourselves. This is where we mess up.

6.       We need to pray for, support and follow our leaders. They work tirelessly but joyfully to do the awesome task of leading His people.

7.       We need the power of His Spirit filling, guiding, and empowering us. Again, we are not alone. We need His power.

8.       We need to walk by faith, not by sight.  It is our tendency to figure it out and do it ourselves. A faithless Christian is a weak Christian. We must remember He is not intimidated by our long shot request. In fact, He is insulted when we do not exercise audacious faith.

9.       We need to take the risk necessary to be totally obedient to Christ. He never said it was easy.  In fact, He said: ”…take up your cross and follow me.”

10.   We need to lead our families. They need to see our commitment to Christ. This is not an easy task because we are imperfect people. However it is a needed task. Our families need to know the priority God has in our lives.

11.   We need to let other see these character traits in us. The world needs to see the real deal when looking at us. They need to be able to look at us and realize we have been with Jesus.