Let me describe a beautiful scene for you:

A fourteen year boy stands on the front porch of a house with a big smile on his face and many thoughts going through his mind. His closest buddies have just pushed him to the front of the group becuase it was his time “up to bat”. A man responds to the doorbell and walk to the door of his $500,000 house to see who is there and what do they want. He arrives at the door to see 3 teenage boys there waiting for him to open the door. He opens the door and a man who very likely spends him time getting orders or giving orders to very accomplished businessmen or computer gurus is captivated stands there patiently as the boy speaks. “Hello, sir my name is Adam and these are my friends Seth and Justin. We are part of the youth group of Vision Baptist Church. On saturdays we like to take some time to let people know how much they are loved by Jesus. Here is an invitation to our church.”

I don’t think it gets better then that! My wonderful teenagers knocked on over 130 houses today in just over an hour of time. I think teenagers are the best members of the church family for these type of work. Think about it. A couple of teenagers stand at your door — you are not intimated by them and you are pretty curious to know what they want. You hear a teen do something other then raise money for his school, ask to mow you yard, or apoligize for shooting out your window with a bb gun you are surprised.

The scene I gave at the beginning happened dozens of times today. Today we went on visitation to quite normal size houses for our area. However, most teenagers get to go visit in a place like this. We leave the rich for the professionals or better yet we leave them alone.. becuase we know they don’t think they need God. Next week we will be starting our visitation out by praying in South Forsyth HS parking lot. (We will talk about this more later)

I want my teenagers to experience ministry among the poor, weak, the unattractive, the rich, strong, and the attractive. I want them to become “ultra portable disciple makers”. We have a long way to go, but some day I want them to get to a point where they could parachute into any part of the world and be equiped to minister.

Tomorrow Steph. will be having the ultrasound that will let us know if we will be having a boy or girl. So, as many of you have experienced I keep getting the question, “Do you want a boy or girl?” My answer is normally “yes”. I do want a boy or girl.:) We have went back a forth on the subject and decided as we prayed tonight…we just want him or her to be healthy.

Of course, as a man I have a tendency to be inclined to want a man child. However, I would could never imagine being disappointed about having a little girl.

However, if we are honest we know exactly what we prefer as youth pastors. When I am in my room and I hear so and so is here and they have friend my initial thought is “I hope it is a boy..” As we all know youth ministries and churches seem to attract women. It is often the struggle to get men. Boys just seem to be more fun and have more potential. (in my wrong view of thinking) We do know that God uses men. However, we also know that many men God desires to use are limited by a woman. We also know of men that would not be who they are without a woman.

I want to change my heart from “I hope it is boy” mentality in youth ministry to “I just want to be healthy (spiritually speaking) The Bible does say in Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. With God’s help and with my wife by my side we could invest into some young ladies who will become virtuous women. That is a pretty good investment.

I believe many athletes never go farther then they do becuase they are never around better players. They are the best player that plays at that park. Many people think they are so smart becuase they surround themselves with people who are not so smart.

I am very thankful to have two talented pastors I am very close to. They are both very effective and successful in their own rights I hope to absorb as much as possible while the are still around.

My pastor, Austin Gardner, is the most disiplined, driven man of God I know. He has helped me form my world view and as has opened his life to me and many others to learn from. He is a phenomenal Bible preacher. He makes people move. If you are around him you will either grow or go.

Wayne Cofield, my father in law, has an insatiable love for people and the ministry. He has welcomed me into the family and has treated me with so much respect. His love for his church and ministry is evident everytime I am around him. He is always talking about his next message or doing something to help his people.

I was going to write about a quote I read this morning by quote G.K. Chesterton, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.” If you haven’t been following the Rebelution ministry by two kids just out of high school then let me encourage you to do so. http://www.therebelution.com/

I will talk more about them this week and about the subject of their book “Do hard things”

However, today I just wanted to praise God for what He has done in the ministry of the church I belong to. We are in our second year as a church plant. I believe you will see if have past the planting point to the growing point now!!!

Here is video we threw together to help remind us some of the things God did in 2007!!

I just went over one of the messages that I preached Sunday night at our church with my pastor. He was very encouraging and helped me highlight some of the things I did right. However, he also helped me with constructive criticism. I ask him to do this and he did it slightly reluctantly. Even though I felt the “ouch” I am so glad we did it. More then wanting to feel like I am a good communicator of God’s truth I was to give the “text a voice”.

If I one day get away from this practice, because of pride or just forget the importance of it, I hope this blog will remind me of how helpful it was. If you are not doing this I encourage you to this.

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 Last week as I read over Luke 14 I thought of a conversation my wife and I have quite often. Around 7 pm she will ask me if I am ready for supper. If I answer “yes” she will say what would you like. However, if I say “no” she will come to wherever I am ask and with a grin on her face will say “where did you go to lunch today”. She works as a teacher so doesn’t have the opportunity to go out to eat as often as I do. The lesson of my rambling story is that she knows if I do not need her food to satisfy me it has to be because my appetite has been filled by something else. 

When it comes time for me to spend time with God in His Word and I do not make time for Him — the problem is not a scheduling or reading problem.. but a appetite problem. “If we don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things and there is no room for the great.” (John Piper, A Hunger for God). 

Text: Luke 14:14-18Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

I. WHO gave the invitation?-        

He is a man you should not ignore. Worship-        

Many of us have accepted his first invitation (Salvation)-        

The invitation was to a man and not just to a meal (Ezekiel 45:15,16)Ezekiel 45:15  And one lamb out of the flock, out of two hundred, out of the fat pastures of Israel; for a meat offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make reconciliation for them, saith the Lord GOD.-        

In this man we will find all we need. (Colossians 2:3)Colossians 2:3  In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 

II. WHAT was prepared for them? (v.16)-         What is waiting for us to enjoy. Praise-         All the “hidden riches” (Isaiah 45:3)Isaiah 45:3  And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

IV. Why they did not come? (v. 18,19)-

Three excuses “the care of this world” (v. 18) “the deceitfulness of riches” (v. 19), “the pleasures of this life” (v. 20)Ill. “I do not have any peanut butter!”-        

We are to easily satisfied with the table of the world. (Jer. 2:13).

Jeremiah 2:13  For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.-        

 LOSS of APPETITE

Are you hungry for time with God?Has the world satisfied you appetite?What is replacing your time with God?Would you be able to pray the prayer of Isaiah 26:8, 9?Isa 26:8  Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. Isa 26:9  With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.  

Are You Making Progress? 

2 Chronicles 26:5

And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper.

 
There are times we feel this in our life with the Lord. We’re pulling this way and the Lord pushing that way and there is no progress. We’re putting in tremendous amounts of energy only to find ourselves exhausted at the end of the day. “We are never closer to failure than during our greatest successes! If we fail to recognize God’s part in our achievements, they are no better then failure.” 

Famous king  (made engines)– no accounts of him ever stopping to give thanks to God. Lack of thankfulness.

1. A Leader of Leaders. (v.13)
   1. Provided the resources they need. (v. 14)
   2. Are you enlisting men?

1. Had a Mentor. (v.5)
   1. Sought God during the days of Zechariah.
   2. Borrowed convictions will not last.
   3. Godly mentor does not guarantee success
2. Followed a Godly pattern. (26:4)
   1. He followed after his father.
   2. Follow as far as you can with the Bible in your hand. Go farther when needed.
   3. Uzziah’s dad followed the Lord, did some great things for God, brought godly reforms to the land but he left the high places (2Kings 14:1-4)
3. Went forward with pride. (v.16)
   1. Took a job that was not given to him.
   2. Do not move forward with pride.
   3. You will never merit the right to be missionaries.

When I was sixteen years old, during a high school chapel service, God begin to work in my heart in a very powerful way during the message. I had thought about being a preacher. I had even wanted to be. However, I didn’t think surrendering to that fact was all that important at that age in my life. However, on that Wednesday morning as the chapel speaker preacher all I could think of was that God would not guide me any further until I took the next step he had laid out before me.

After I surrendered to preach that day I was given all kinds of opportunities to preach. I was in a very small church and a quite small Christian school. I preached a great deal but was given very little instruction. I could tell when I preached no adult was listening they were just there smiling and being so happy little Trent was going to be a preacher one day when he grows up. I remember hearing things after I preach like “so you want to be a preacher that great”. I would think to myself “want to be a preacher, what do you think I just did”. As I think back on the messages I preached I am not sure how much of it was Bible, so I am not sure if it was really preaching at all. When I get to heaven I my have to sit a the kids table during the Marriage Supper because of all the crazy things I preached. (Which will work out okay for a little while, it will give me a chance to talk with some of the famous tv preachers today)

I do not know exactly how the story goes, or if this is a figment of my imagination - I once told a man in my church that I was close to that I would rather “preach then eat”. He said that is good because that is the decision you will have to make. He was a wealthy man and thought that a surrender to ministry was equivalent to taking a vow of poverty.

Many times when I do not feel like I am not being successful at what I am given to do I do not ask for more to do. Makes since huh. Since my youth department is not booming as I want, I do not ask for opportunities to preach. Well, you and I have to get past that. My youth department is not booming becuase of gross sin in my life or laziness. It is growing in proportion to the “youth pastors heart” God is growing in me. Doing other things in the ministry I desire to do will not pull me away from this but will be like a stimulus plan for it. The last couple of weeks I have been praying for chances to preach. I am so excited that he have me an opportunity yesterday, twice today, and twice on Sunday. Also, if you read this blog all the way to this point I had to the chance to share my heart with my heart with yet another captivated audience. Thanks. 

During the famine in Somalia, thousands of starving families left their homes and once-productive farms to seek shelter and food at distant refugee centers. Foreign nations and humanitarian agencies sent and distributed food to these starving people. Many received help in time to save their lives. Some, however, waited too long before seeking help. They were so malnourished that when they tried to eat, their bodies rejected food. Their digestive systems had shut down and would no longer process the very thing their bodies needed. Many died because their bodies no longer recognized or accepted life-sustaining nourishment. Their bodies didn’t recognize what they were hungering for.

On Saturday as we were out on SSI (Saturday Student Impact) I had the chance to spend some time with a teenager named Adam. It was freezing outside and we saw more snow then we have seen in GA in five years. As we went door to door he was so excited. As soon as we would get done with one door he wanted to go to the next. As soon as we finished one apartment complex he wanted to go to the next. He was hungry to talk about to people about our church.

When I was his age I hoped no one would come to door and wanted to go home as soon as possible. I went becuase I was convinced by quilt that I had to to be right with God. Adam knows it is an option and he desires to go becuase He is hungry to serve God.

I learned a lesson from the student that day.