Water Series

-we’ve done earth, we’ve done air, we’ve done fire. There’s only one left. Water.

-here’s the funny thing about water, it is necessary for life. This is why we hear so much about finding life out in space. Really, we have found nothing. There is no life. We haven’t even found an amoeba. What we have found is water.

-[POUR WATER] See, water is necessary for life. There is absolutely nothing on this planet that moves or breaths (including plants) that does not have water. Elements that are necessary for life cannot mix without water as a base to do that.

-and the amazing part is it cannot be created or destroyed, yet at the same time it is everywhere. Our planet is 70% water, water is on Mars, on Saturn’s moon, sometimes water falls into our atmosphere as ice and burns up and becomes steam (which will eventually cool and fall as rain).

-water is necessary for life. That’s part of our theme verse that’s in the newsletter every month. Who knows it? It’s from Jesus talking to the woman at the well.

**John 4:14 -> 14But whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never become thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (ISV)

-so we need to be drinking God’s living water.

-and how we do that is by living out God’s living water.

-this is why we’ve put everywhere in our ministry five things we think everyone should be doing. Five things that help you grow spiritually. I know you’ve heard them a billion times, but it’s good to have them in your head.

1. WORSHIPPING

-we should be living a life of worship.

-the most basic way to do this, live your life for God.

-that means that no matter what you do, be thinking about you doing it for God. If you’re asked to clean up, you’re cleaning for God. How would you do it? Your homework, if you were handing it in to God, how hard would you work on it? Too often we make living for God about big things like mission trips. It’s not. It’s the small things.

-I have this verse taped to my computer at work

**Col. 3:17 -> 17And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (NLT)

-you want the basic way to worship God, live your life in all you do like you’re doing it for God.

-that’s part of why I don’t take anything half-way. There are lots of times where I hear people say something like “not many people will show up so why work so hard?” like less people means we should do a bad job. If two people showed up, but one was Jesus, would you still do a bad job?

-this is part of the reason for worship, back in the days of sacrifices, we were commanded to give our best. It wasn’t a matter of just give something to God, it was our first-fruits, it was a lamb without defect.

-and we can still give those sacrifices today. We can sacrifice our money, our tithe, we can sacrifice our time, serving, helping, we can sacrifice ourselves, putting someone ahead of us and living the way Jesus asked us to.

-because that is true worship, putting God ahead of us, ahead of what we want, ahead of our desires. That is how we honor God, but living in a way that exalts Him above us.

**Ps. 29:1-2 -> 1Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings; honor the Lord for His glory and strength. 2Honor the Lord for the glory of His Name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His Holiness. (NLT)

-we should be living our lives in a way that honor and worship God. As much as I’m thankful for grace, I think we in America have swung too far the one way and just go “I have grace” and don’t live lives that honor God. Why bother, we are forgiven anyway, right?

-we should be living lives that honor and worship God.

2. ALLYING

-funny story, an adult in the church saw our signs in the youth room and got mad because I made that word up.

-sad part is, I didn't make it up. It’s a real world. It’s a military word. It means you are taking someone’s side, you are forming a team with them.

-a perfect example of this is World War II. England is getting the snot bombed out of them. They need help. America was England’s friend, and did nothing. Canada was England’s ally, and they were there the next day with troops.