real men | Gods Word

one of our favorite things to do here on stint is listen to sermons.. its something that i think makes life feel very normal, or at least more normal.. and our choice every sunday is really between attending a spanish speaking church here in town, or listen to a podcast of a pastor from the states.. call it a cop out if you wish, ill own it.. i just know that for me, church is a place where i go expecting to be fed and refreshed, and charged up to go back out into the world for the rest of the week.. at this stage in the game, a two hour sermon in spanish is a total drain; we tried it when we first got here for several weeks, and it was just really tough.. so now.. podcast sermons!

also popular on our team is one particular pastor that some of you may recognize.. his name is francis chan, and he is a pastor at cornerstone community in simi valley.. i heard francis speak a few times during high school, when he would come speak at grace baptist, and i was always just amazed at how real this guy was.. he spoke with passion and authority, but without a hint of pride or self glorification.. he speaks with this kind of conviction and passion because he is a man who humbly recognizes that he is broken, and is willing to live his life in front of the world, fully exposed, so that God might be glorified through him.. he reminds me so much of paul from the Scriptures..

ive been listening to a short five part series he did a while back called, the end of the world.. i honestly started listening to it because i just wanted to hear about the prophecies and the end times and that sort of thing, but its totally not how it has played out.. he has been focusing on 2 timothy 3, which starts with the verse, 'but understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty..' the series has not been centered on the prophecies and the wild things the Bible says will happen.. besides, when paul says 'the last days,' it includes everything from Jesus' death on the cross until Jesus returns.. no, the core of the study is the question of whether or not we are prepared, whether we are living our lives to stake a stand for Christ in the face of all the evil the world throws at us every day..

todays sermon, part four in the series, was about two things: leaving a rich heritage, and living by Scripture.. from 2 tim. 3.13-14 says that people will continue to go from bad to worse as history draws to a close.. paul, the author, encourages timothy, the recipient, to continue in the things he had learned, always keeping in his mind who had taught him.. francis explained that no matter what is going on around us, we have been laid with the charge to raise men and women of God who are committed to His Kingdom at all costs.. i want to be able to look my kids in the eye one day and confidently tell them, 'i have lived my life before you.. you have seen that i would do anything for Jesus.. now go do the same..' i want to be one of those solid, unwavering, absolutely real men who people can point to and say, i watched his life, and he is the real thing..

the second part was really just a total encouragement to me.. he just talked about the power of the Bible, that it is completely sufficient for salvation.. it was humbling to be reminded of the fact that there are no words that i could ever say that would be powerful enough to save someones soul.. the Word of God is even more powerful than any physical miracle that God could perform.. the Bible is simply more convincing.. its an incredible and bewildering and startling truth, but it is true nonetheless.. there is just so much power in the Word of God.. its comforting to know that as i am down here, surrounded by people who speak another language, often stumbling over words and feeling insecure or uncertain about what to say.. i know what to say.. i speak Gods Word, nothing more or less.. and i trust that God will do the work in the persons heart.. 'the Word of God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...' its funny, it doesnt mention anything in the Bible about the Word of Trevor, and how powerful it is.. its nice to know i dont have to rely on myself for people to meet Christ..