SETTING APART OUR BODIES, SOULS AND SPIRITS FOR GOD
This last month at FacePlant Ministries, we looked at what it means to be holy or completely set apart for God. There are many common misconceptions about what it means to be holy: From televangelists to Nacho Libre and from the holy pope to holy poop. I think we got a grasp on what being holy is really all about.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, "Now may the God of peace Himself set you apart completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (NKJV)
There is a difference between a simple acknowlegment of belief in Christ and actually becoming a follower of Christ. So many times we find out that God has a plan for our lives, yet His plan looks different than our plan. We often find that following Jesus or setting ourselves apart for Jesus interferes with our agenda.
SETTING APART OUR BODIES FOR GOD
As we look at the latest magazines and tabloids with all of the "Hollywood hotties" in our faces, we can really come away with a shallow understanding and unhealthy emphasis on the body. Guess what? When we add 65 years to our lives, whether a plain jane from Vancouver or an american icon from the silver screen, we all look like wrinkled old prunes. What a waste of effort and energy to focus too much on externals. There has to be a healthy balance.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price. So use your bodies for God's glory." (TEV)
There are obviuos wrongs that we can do to our bodies such as drugs, smoking and self-mutilation. But there are things that need balance that effect our bodies: Over-eating vs. under-eating, over-exercising vs. under-exercising, sex outside of marraige vs. sex within marraige. And then there is just plain taking care of our bodies: showering daily, brushing and flossing your teeth, combing your hair, etc.
SETTING APART OUR SOULS FOR GOD
The classic definition of the soul is the mind, will and emotions. I believe our souls are eternal, but will be glorified or changed along with our bodies at the end of our lives because our souls have also been tainted by sinful nature. How can we set apart our mind, will and emotions for God?
Romans 12:1-2, "So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God - what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect." (TEV)
The problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar. We need to reckon our sinful natures as dead, as crucified with Christ. What are the standars of this world? They are not very high. "If it feels good, do it." How does the world sell us its' standards? Through television, movies, music, internet adds, etc. How do we conform to the standards of this world? By buying into what the world is selling us. We can't change ourselves. But God can change us from the inside out. The challenge went out to fast for one week from what the world is trying to sell us and replace it with what God is wanting to offer us through reading the Bible, praying, worshipping Him and hanging out with other Christians. Let's see if this doesn't help us in setting apart our souls for God.
SETTING APART OUR SPIRITS FOR GOD
The spirit of an individual is the unchanging, eternal portion of our human make-up. We are created with an empty spirit that is filled with the Spirit of God when we are "born again" or confess and repent of our sins and put our trust in Christ. The only way we can truly set apart our spirits for God is by surrendering ourselves to God.
Galations 5:22-23, "But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. There is no law against such things as these." (TEV)
Each of the students were handed fridge magnets that were one of the fruits mentioned above. They were encouraged to take one, two or three of these fruits that they saw were lacking in their lives. Then they prayed aloud and in front of their peers that God would produce more of that fruit in their lives. Hopefully they brought them home, put them on their fridge, and are reminded to pray for God to produce more of that fruit in their lives every time they grab a bite to eat.
MIDDLE SCHOOLERS RECEIVE A TOUCH FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT
As a result of looking further into the types of things that the Spirit of God produces in our lives, a group of about fifteen Middle Schoolers were prompted to have me pray over them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit...or in other words, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and gifts of the Spirit, or maybe even just a special touch from God. Every one of them experienced a physical manifestation of the Holy Spirit as we prayed...something like electricity from their heads to their feet, a supernatural warmth, their hands being lifted up, some even started speaking in a language they had not learned. THEN, they testified about these experiences in front of their peers at SkateChurch later that evening! I'm proud of you, guys.
HIGH SCHOOL WORSHIP NIGHT AND WINTER CAMP
A similar experience took place in our High School youth group at our worship night that we have once a month. During our time of worship and intercession, High Schoolers received prayer in many cases, supernatural healing in other cases and many tears were shed as the Holy Spirit touched every student attending. We also had our High School Winter Camp at Molalla Retreat in Oregon. We went to Mt. Hood for some inner-tubing and snowboarding. We had experiential learning exercises. We spent time in prayer, worship and learning more about what it means to be holy. A lot of commitments to God were made. We had A LOT of fun.
FACEPLANT SKATECHURCH
At FacePlant SkateChurch we have seen twenty first time decisions to receive Jesus Christ since the beginning of January 2007. I know the angels in heaven are rejoicing over them. A Whipple Creek church member, Jerry Morris, made a new launch ramp, box and rail for the youth to skate on. Also wanted to inform you that our SkateChurch times will be changing slightly along with the addition of a small fee to skate the park on Thursdays. I'll keep you updated. Coming up in the month of March I will also be announcing the new sponsored skaters for our A-Team and B-Team. I'm working on scheduling another skate competition for March as well. Fund raising efforts are on their way to build our own indoor skate park adjacent to the church building. LOTS OF GREAT STUFF HAPPENING! DON'T MISS OUT! SEE YOU THERE!
Christian Jung
Youth Pastor
