What does it mean to be an authentic servant of our living God, transformed by Christ, led by the Spirit? How does that look different from the church at Sardis that Christ says in Revelation he wants to spit them out because they are lukewarm? Below is the beginning of Francis Chan's talk. Chan discusses his own struggles to stay alive in Christ, and presents a short summary of his life in Christian ministry. Powerful talk!
God I thank you for this evening, I thank you for the things you have revealed to me in the last hour God, would you please move in this room tonight in these people because I don't know anyone in this room.
I don't know who is for real. I don't know who passionately loves you still, I don't know who is discouraged, I don't know who is before you on their faces everyday just adoring you, and those who are in major sin right now hiding it, thinking they are helping the church.
God you know all things-- you know all the ones who know you and love you, and God, I cant even stand up here and guess. I just want your word and I ask for the power of your spirit to move, to realise the lies in our lives that are making us sick. Your word is the joy of our salvation, that we could truly be a light into the world, abiding in you, so there would be so much fruit. We worship you, spirit of the living God, fall a fresh on us in Jesus name, I pray amen.
It's been an interesting night already for me its so good to worship with you um even tonight God has been reminding me of what I do up here and how I don't ever want to be casual about this. I do this every week speak at a conference every week and it can become, ok I am going to go an do my thing, or whatever, and its like Lord I don't want to do that. I was talking to a gentlemen just an hour ago and he just blew my mind, sharing with me how 2 years ago he was ready to take his life, had it all planned out, had to just do it and then someone handed him my book. And he had such a terrible attitude toward it and was like I am going to just disprove everything in here, and ends up falling on his face and giving his life to Jesu,s and is on fire for the Lord right now.
And you know you listen to that and you go this isn't just a message, this isn't just a thing we do because its our duty or whatever else, like lives are in the balance, like what would have happened if God didn't come in and change that situation, and even tonight I don't want to just assume we are all leaders in here, we are all pastors, you know its like that church in Sardis where God says in Revelation 3, you have a reputation of being alive but you are dead because you all have reputations.
We all have reputations in this room, we are all pastors leaders, so we have a reputation of being alive, we have the reputation of being spiritual leaders, people who are close to the Lord and yet Jesus is saying this is what everyone sees of you but this is what I see.
And I take that passage seriously because even all the kind words you say, there is this reputation that you assume things of me and because of our position people will not question us. They won't question your walk with the Lord because they assume its there, you have the reputation of being a spiritual man or woman of God because you have that word pastor before your name or reverend before your name.
No one questions my walk with the Lord. I'm Francis Chan. I wrote crazy Love. Who is going to question him? And yet the Lord says I see everything, I see when it has become a routine for you, I see when you are getting up there and you are just going lets get through this. You are more excited to go surfing or play golf or whatever else, and yet He reminded me, Francis, this is why you are on the earth, this is your spiritual gift.
And its like man, I don't know if you get this, and you are teaching and you feel closer to God sometimes when I am preaching than when I am praying to Him on a mountain top by myself, because there is something about the spiritual gift when you really use it as a vessel, with the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in you.
