OPENER Activity: "Believe it!"
Choose an odd item for a pre-selected teen to try and convince the crowd that they can’t live without the particular item---you just gotta have it!
After the activity…
What went through your mind as he/she was talking to you?
Was he/she convincing?
What was the biggest distraction?
Explain that this is sometimes how non-believers see Christians when we try to talk with them about God.
What could make people see us like that?
How can we avoid causing people to see you like that?
How can we convince people that Jesus is real and that He died for our sins?
What will really get them thinking?
READ 2Corinthians 5:17
There’s a difference between telling people that you’re different and convincing them you’re different by the way you live.
If you tell someone you’re homeless but you’re dressed just like everybody else, they’re going to have a hard time believing you.
But THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, if you dress, talk, eat, and sleep like a homeless person, then they’ll be convinced.
You can tell people how different you are all you want, but they aren’t going to believe you until they see it.
When you are different, people notice---you will STAND OUT--they will the real you.
Let me illustrate this on how important it is to see the real thing...
You know what you’re getting when you pour something into the glass--but not the Styrofoam -- Use Styrofoam cup vs. Glass cup illustration
1. The key to showing Jesus is sincerity.
Nobody’s going to listen to a word you say about God unless they see you living it out every day.
Your relationship with God isn’t something you need to explain for other people to notice.
They should see it in the life you live every day. Are you going to mess up at times? You bet! But at least people will see you for who you are
2. Being around people who are sincere doesn’t mean they’re always serious
You don’t always have to walk around with a serious look.
Have you ever been around those people that you know have an uncontrollable passion for God?
They might not say much, but you can see a desire for God in everything they do. When people like that talk about God, people are ready to listen because they see them living it.
But remember it’s important to be yourself. Save the masks to spook people at Halloween, don’t wear them everyday. Some show it by laughing and joking with others. Some show it ONLY if you ask them too and they’re very quiet
3. Emotional High’s Only Last A Short Time
Why aren’t more Christians wanting to be “real” by showing Jesus through their lives? What’s holding them back?
Many times people are very excited when they first become a Christian---they get a spiritual high at high impact youth events
But when the emotional excitement doesn’t last, they get discouraged--and often depressed
This is when your faith is really tested when a person’s relationship emotional high with Jesus has worn off
Then their life is no longer noticeable because it becomes just like everyone else’s around them.
4. Being Real With Someone Goes A Long Way
We need strength and endurance from God to live boldly for Him even when the excitement fades. Has it faded in your life?
How hard is it for you to have God as the center of your life--and be sincere (real) with someone?
One reason our church staff get along so well is we all love God, love teens, and are real with eachother
Jesus said that I have come to SAVE the world not condemn it, for he who rejects me is already condemned by what they do. Being real goes a long way if you’re real with Christ and others around you.
5. Being Sincere Isn’t The Most Popular Thing With The Crowd
Living for God isn’t easy. It means that you’ll be noticed. It means that more people are going to know that you’re a Christian, they might not like you because of it.
It also means that you’re going to have to make and be willing to the things in your life that please God.
Once you decide to get real with God--you’ll find that you begin to stop doing those things you used to do that you know does not honor God and hinder your witness to others.
6. Being REAL for Jesus affects every area of your life.
It determines the music you listen to, the clothes you wear, the friends you hang out with and the things you do with them.
It changes the way you act: how you handle getting angry and frustrated, how you react to people when they’re mad at you... and how you can put up with them when they stick it to you…
(blow up two balloons before the lesson. On one of the balloons, put a piece of transparent tape on an area around one the balloons. This will allow you to stick a pin in the balloon without it popping. The other balloon, without the tape, will pop when you stick it with a pin)
The tape represents giving God those areas of our lives in which the old nature wants to take over.
7. A Persons Commitment is noticeable.
What makes a person noticeable is their commitment to the GOD.
Many times these people are called “stuck-up”, “goodie-two-shoes”, “Jesus Freaks”. They’ve decided to sacrifice their life for God and follow Him daily, and every action they take reflects that decision.
They become a billboard for God, but they don’t even need a Christian T-shirt to prove it.
What about you? Do people notice you’re different, or do you just fit in to the crowd?
Do you impress people by handling situations with honor and purity, or has your Christianity one dry?
We’re made to be different from the world. People should see God through the lives we live. But sometimes, rather than focusing on being different for God, we just focus on “being different”.
8. Theres a difference between “being real” and “being different”
“Being Different” draws attention yourself, while “Being Real” focuses on relating to others.
Which are you?
Read Acts 9:3-9.
When these people came in to the presence of God they experienced something incredible! (then known as Saul), he fell to the ground and was blinded by the brightness of God’s light.
Read Isaiah 6:1-5.
Isaiah was so moved by the power of the presence of God in a vision that he was
instantly driven to repent
Exodus 33:18-23.
God wouldn’t even let Moses see His face, because His presence would have simply killed him.
You might be thinking that this type of stuff only happened long ago – just old Bible stories. But it happened even when Jesus was just walking around---not saying anything!
He didn’t have to say anything for those to realize who He was and a power of God inside of Him. The demons even knew he was real!
Mark 5:6-7
Maybe you’re thinking, “That’s all good and well, but what about right here and now?” It can happen right here and now
Teenagers who are still open to God’s radical change. Statistics show that if a person doesn’t receive Christ in their life before the age of 19, then chance drop 60% that they will ever ask him into their life before they die.
When you were saved you became a new creation...a new REAL kind of person that’s totally different from the way you used to be. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17 again
You are now God’s billboard on those lonely stretch of highways that people who need Him can see -- and what’s amusing is the more weirder the billboard is, the more fun they are to read!
When you become a Christian, REAL things become true of your life as God reveals them to you.
This is who you are. This is who God called you and created you to be.
This is who you are. It’s time to stop believing lies and live the truth.
9. It’s time to start being real about who you are and stop trying to make believe you’re someone else.
See how devasting a situation can be by not being real...
SHOW DVD - Galaxy Quest - Chap. 13
Have you been acting out a role that really isn’t you? Have you influenced someone or perhaps manipulated a group of people by something different that who you are?
People can be changed by the life you live and the example you set, not only through the words you say. It’s not just knowing the right answers---but living a life that’s so different than the world, it turns heads.
Are you living a life that makes heads turn, or do you look like everybody around you? Is God living so powerfully in you that your friends are wanting to know what makes you so different?
Or has your Christianity gone dry? or perhaps stuck it in your pocket for a rainy day? If you’re tired of not being who you really are, now is a good time to start.
Take some time now to examine your life.
Have you been real with your friends? Or have you just blended in to be accepted?
Have you been real with your family? Or do you just smile at them and say everything’s OK---while a storm is brewing inside?—like the balloon?
Maybe you’ve had an attitude with your family or you’ve been disrespectful towards your parents.
Maybe you’re in a relationship you know you shouldn’t be in.
Or maybe you’ve been going to parties you know you shouldn’t be at. You know if you said “no”, they would call you a “prude” or “religious nut”.
One thing I do know is this... God made you -- and He wants you to show you off--all of your unique qualities and all. He’s so proud of you that He paid a precious
price to get you back. It cost Him his only son
It’s time to “get real” with God--get to know Him better
Remember: your life is the loudest voice you’ve got. It’s time to live a real life
Set up a daily “quiet time” or “face time” with just you and God. He will reveal to you things that you have hidden within you that are so special and that you didn’t know about it will knock your socks off!
Once you get real with God--He will start sending people your way so they can see Him through you.
It’s time to use it -- so you can say I’m “Sincerely Yours” God.
Powerpoint slides are available upon request.
