Expected and Unexpected

So the topic for this year's Next conference was Jesus Christ (are you thinking, well, duh Melissa, it's a bunch of Christians getting together, shouldn't it be about Jesus Christ?), I agree "should" being the operative word. How often do we go through our day and never once think of the Cross...of what Christ did for us? I was very excited for this conference because I was more than ready to have my world rocked by learning truth, rediscovering truth I already knew, but it was covered with the cobwebs of everyday life, and being convicted of areas where I need to focus on Him more. All of that happened...but what also happened is that He assured me and affirmed certain choices and decisions I have had to make in the recent past- tough choices, that shouldn't have been tough, since it was choosing between Him and the world, but they were...tough (I'll stick with that word, since other adjectives may lead you to believe that I am being melodramatic...although I assure you, I would not be!). So that was an unexpected sweetness to the conference. The messages are all available for free download here. I highly recommend you listen to them.

Rather than describe each message that was given, I will just list some key phrases that the speakers said that really made me think.

Josh Harris' message was based around Luke 6:46-49 (Jesus speaking to the people)-

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord', and not do what I tell you. Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like, he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, when the stream broke against it, immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great."

I never realized that this passage was being spoken to believers. I always thought that the people who built their house on the rock were believers and the ones who didn't were unbelievers, but Jesus is addressing believers in this entire passage- that means some of us are building our foundations on rock (ie Him) and some of us aren't. (ooh, conviction, or as Dustin would say, "the Sovereign slap" :)).

Josh said (paraphrased) "When was the last time that Jesus, that something you read in Scripture, changed the path you were on."- oh yeah, I had an answer for that one. Thanks for the affirmation Lord.

DA Carson- "God's love for the world is not awesome because the world is so big, but because the world is so bad".

DA Carson- "You must see more of the glory of God to become stabilized in your Christian life"

Kevin DeYoung- Speaking about feeling condemnation for something you have done: "saying 'I can't forgive myself' is just more sin. Of course you can't forgive yourself, only God can".

Kevin DeYoung- "You will never be a Christian until you stop believing in yourself". (ie only God can sustain you, if we try to sustain ourselves we will fail, maybe not immediately, but we will eventually fail).

So that ends my Next blog. The conference was...expected and unexpected.