Rocky Mountain Christian Church

The shield of faith is the fourth piece of armor that protects us from the distractions of our enemy. It is described in Ephesians 6:14-16 as a large rectangular shield made of wood, covered in leather and lined with metal, which was used by Roman soldiers in battles. Christians should take up the shield of faith as it is both their protection and badge of honor in their spiritual battle. Faith is not a blind leap into the unknown but a whole-souled response to God, grounded in its object, which is God himself. Faith becomes a shield that protects us from the flaming darts of the evil one, which are meant to distract us and cause us to doubt God's power and engagement. Satan often uses fear as a distraction to make us believe that God is smaller, less powerful, and less engaged.

How you respond to people who disagree with you, who hurt you, who hate you, who say mean things against you, how you respond to those people matters to God. If you are going to be a Peacemaker, then you are going to have to listen to understand how somebody could see it differently than you. Peacemakers have the ability to hold two perspectives in tension and CARE about the other person's viewpoint as much as their own.

What does it take to be a righteous person? It means that they are in right standing with God’s character. What does it mean that God is righteous? God always acts in a way that is consistent with his own character. Do you understand what Jesus did for you? On the cross, Jesus exchanged your sin for His righteousness so that we can one day stand before God as innocent. Have you traded your sin for Jesus’ righteousness?

You need to wrap truth around your waist, because if you have truth right, everything in your life will stabilize no matter how hard the fight is.  When we as Christians don't wear the Belt of Truth, our spiritual lives can become uncomfortable and ineffective. We begin to feel lost, confused, or even deceived.  But when we wear the Belt of Truth, everything falls into place. We're able to stand firm in our faith, resist the devil's lies, and live in the ways of Jesus. 

The reason so many Spiritual Streakers get taken out is because they don’t believe there is an enemy! If we don’t armor up, if we run around spiritually naked, not realizing we have an enemy stalking us, then our marriages, families, reputations, joy, future, even our culture is in danger of getting taken out! Satan wants to take all of this from us and he’s just waiting to blindside us. 

Everything big begins with a conversation: The Resurrection demands a conversation; if it really happened Jesus becomes the only credible answer. Easter gives an answer to something that has no plausible explanation.

Easter is a BIG conversation, and asks asks a BIG question: Did Jesus come back from the dead? The reason why you're here isn’t because Jesus said some cute things. It’s not because Jesus died on a cross. It’s because he came back from the dead, and people SAW it! The reason that we believe Jesus rose from the dead is because of their testimony. They saw Jesus die, and then they had a conversation with him 3 days later.

Standing out as a Christian is not about highlighting differences. Standing out as a Christian is not arguing your faith. Standing out as a Christian is not judging or avoiding people who are different. Standing out as a Christian is posting your political views on social media… Standing out as a Christian is not protesting in front of organizations you disagree with. Standing out as a Christian is not boycotting another organization. Standing out as a Christian is not isolating ourselves or our children from the world. You know what would really stand out in our culture…not highlighting differences but highlighting Jesus.

There is one vine (Jesus) with millions of branches (Followers of Jesus) bearing lots of fruit. Love is our fruit. Jesus passes down the love of God to us, so that we might continue to transmit that love to those around us. If you aren’t abiding in Jesus' love and then abounding in Jesus’ love for other people, you are not fully following Jesus.

God's spirit works in partnership with God's word; you won't understands the way of the spirit any more than you understand the word of God. Without Scripture there is no explanation of who God is and where we come from. Without the Holy Spirit there is no understanding of what scripture says about how we connect with God and love like him.

No matter what, God is good. When you feel like life is falling apart, you can still believe that God is good. God’s not good because of what has or happened in your life. God is good because of Jesus.

How long are you going to be a prisoner of your past? Are you so focused on what someone's done to you that you're missing what Jesus whats to do for you?

If you want healthy relationships, vulnerability is the way forward, and it starts first with vulnerability with God.

Denying our guilt, or excusing our guilt, always empowers it to wreak havoc on our relationships.  Guilt creates a debt/debtor relationship between us and other people.   Christianity is this: I hurt you. I faced my guilt. I ask God to forgive me and he gave me what I don't deserve, so the least I can do is come back to you and give you what you do deserve.

What happened to you is not your fault, but it is now your responsibility to address. Our hearts are highly susceptible to attacks from our past and left unchallenged, has the power to leave our relationships damaged

Jesus finished so that you could start a relationship with God. He loved you enough to finish what he started no matter the cost.    The biggest change you should make in this 52 day challenge is to commit your life fully to Christ. For some of you that will be to place your faith in Jesus and get baptized. If you’ve been putting that decision off, for whatever reason…Let’s do it. Let's make this the year you invest in your relationship with God. Do it and let’s celebrate it!

What do we do when we face opposition? As you begin to see progress and success in your personal and spiritual rebuild projects, there will be people who will be uncomfortable with the direction you are moving; it’s not if critics will show up, but when. Stop listening to the wrong people.

The only reason you can be forgiven and have the hope of heaven is because Jesus chose his hard: he chose a cross as the payment for your sins. He says all who believe in him will be saved from their sins.  You get to choose your hard. You can choose hard work now or hard results later.

Grit is about building the daily habits that allow you to stick to a schedule and overcome challenges and distractions over and over and over again.   Gritty people do something that I think many of us struggle with.  They continue to “Go One More” even when it’s not comfortable.

What are you fed up with? Is there anything in your life that you have had enough of? What should you be so fed up with that you say, “Enough! This has to change!”  That’s the first key to change.  Second key to change is to confess Reality. You name the problem…you acknowledge that some area of your life is not what it should or could be.