Good morning, Ginghamsburg.  It is always a delight, joy and privilege to be sharing in worship celebration. Especially this morning, because we begin our new message series, Change the World, with iwitness – Have you seen him?  Well, the first disciples did see him, and they were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ. They changed the world by their witness.  It started out in the normal way.  Disciples were going about their daily jobs and providing for their families, and then Jesus showed up.  He showed up, and he told them that he was the answer to life challenges – that he was the Son of God.  Then John leaves on record in the Gospel of John, 14:6, Jesus says, “Not only am I the Son of God, but I am the way, the truth, and life, and nobody goes to the Father, except by me.”  He gathered the disciples and basically told them that if you’re going to live a meaningful or purpose-driven life, then you must follow me. Well, the power of God was upon him, so the disciples decided to follow him then. They were in 100%.  But then, Jesus died.  He was nailed to a cross.  This horrific death was an example to anyone who would seek to challenge the status quo – either politically or religiously – and to follow such a person.  So, there the disciples were with their hope, faith and dreams dying with Jesus.  They were confused because if that happened to Jesus, what would happen to them?  They were mad.  They were sad.  And, yes, they were afraid.  We find them behind self-imposed locked doors. Then, just when you thought the story was over, the inconceivable happened.  The body was gone.  Jesus had been raised from the dead. 

In a period of 40 days, over 500 people witnessed the resurrected Christ and went out and changed the world.  On one occasion, as recorded in the book of Acts 4:1, Jesus is there with his disciples.  He had risen from the dead, and he is eating a meal with them.  He tells them, “Go and stay in Jerusalem, until you receive the gift that Father has promised, and that you heard me talk about.”  He continued, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will receive power to be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

In Greek, “witness” means “martyr.”  It comes from the word “martus.”  This word was understood as someone whose thoughts, words and deeds are all aligned.  In other words, a witness is one whose thoughts coincided with his words, and his words showed up in his deeds.  There was a consistent alignment of who they were, even to the point of death.

I had the chance to spend some time with a friend, Mike Cargill, recently.  About two weeks ago, we were in New Orleans with 24 other men on mission.  I asked Mike this question, “As an attorney, how would you describe an effective eyewitness?”  What he told me was that it comes down to three words:  thought, word and deed. 

Mike said, “Brian, effective eyewitnesses must be courageous.  They must have courage because their thoughts will be cross-examined. When it comes to their words, they must tell the truth, and stick to their story.  Along with their thoughts, their words will be cross-examined, and if they don’t know what they’ve seen, and their thoughts aren’t intact, then they’ll be cross-examined.”  He went on to say, “It also takes the deed.  Effective eyewitnesses are people who have witnessed something firsthand; they’ve either seen or heard, and they must give a firsthand account of it.”  Well, Ginghamsburg, 2000 years later, after the resurrection of Christ, 6000 miles away from Jerusalem, right here in Ohio, we have eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ.  This celebration is going to be a little different. I’m going to call on three witnesses.  I’m going to preside, and ask that you listen, and you judge for yourself. 

I call the first witness. 

My name is Candace Brown, and I like to refer to myself as somewhat of a pentagon.  Five persons in one – wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.  While these roles present their share of challenges, the rewards are often immeasurable.  Many of you know that I am Pastor Brian’s wife.  People naturally assume that this is such an honor.   There couldn’t possibly be anything wrong with that situation.  Well, the union of two people that love God, and desire to do his will, is often not enough for what life throws your way.  Keep in mind, there are four dependents who demand my attention every day, two aging parents whom I am extremely close to but live over 500 miles away from, add a recently married brother, who calls to get advice from his big sis, and my dear circle of friends from school, college and our former church.  They all keep my Verizon, Yahoo, and Facebook accounts overactive.  By now, you’re probably wondering, “What type of witness is this?”  It sounds like a bunch of stressful relationships to me. 

Well, these are the people who make me tick – my lifelines.  They are all voices that impact my thoughts. I am a big thinker – always evaluating people and circumstances, and acting on those thoughts.  About 23 months ago, we were living in Virginia and doing quite well.  We had just bought a new home and had plans to be in that area for quite a while.  While Brianna, our 14 year old daughter, and I were in Dayton for her level 9 National gymnastics competition, my cell phone rang. It was Brian. Brian informed me that he had been invited to speak at a church in Ohio.  “That’s ironic,” I thought, and quickly moved on.  The short version of that whole story is that the speaking engagement landed my husband the position of teaching pastor here at Ginghamsburg Church.  As we began to tell everyone about our planned move, their responses caused me to doubt the very voice that had led us to this point.  We told our kids, then our extended family, friends, and lastly, our church family.  The reactions were surprising.  “Are you really going to go through with this?”  “Aren’t you guys happy here?”  “Why would you move that far away from your family?”  “Do you know anybody out there?”  “I would never have moved you and your brother away from your grandparents like that.”  “Where will the next good opportunity take you?  Asia?”  These questions and statements not only surprised me, they really hurt as well. 

“OK God,” I began to ask, “Was that you that we heard from?  Was that really your voice?”  Mixed messages from others were going through my head.  But, this was a sign to me that God was trying to intervene into this confusion.  God gets my attention by entering into my thoughts.  In the midst of this confusion, this scripture from Proverbs came to my thoughts: “Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.” 

I don’t hear the audible voice that others hear from God, but this is how I bear witness to the resurrected Christ.  He gets inside the mind of this thinker, and positively infects my thoughts.  As I struggled with the mixed signals I was receiving, the Holy Spirit revealed another scripture from the book of Isaiah:  “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  I shed many tears for weeks agonizing over the faith step that we were being led to take.  Over and over, the Holy Spirit worked on my thoughts and allowed me to testify to his goodness as others questioned and cursed the decision we made.  Were it not for God entering my thoughts, insanity would have settled in and breakdown would have been inevitable.  Enough said. After almost two years, the blessings are increasing daily.  I miss my family and friends.  I still have doubts and disappointments.  But do I believe that we did the right thing?  Definitely.  Because God doesn’t make mistakes.  The power of prayer continues to allow God to control my thoughts.  This is my eyewitness account.

[Brian] So, let me get this straight.  You bear witness to the risen Savior by the Holy Spirit showing up in your thoughts.  “Yes, I do,” says Candace.  At the same time, you can identify many thoughts other than the Holy Spirit’s.  Candace responds, “That’s correct.”  But, through God’s power you have been able to align your thoughts with the thoughts of the Holy Spirit and respond accordingly.  “Absolutely,” says Candace.  No further questions.  You may step down.

Twenty-first century Christians, witness the power of the Holy Spirit in our thoughts.  Those thoughts allow us to receive God’s thoughts and then respond.  But, I’m going to tell you, as those thoughts come, if we’re going to be effective eyewitnesses, we must be prepared for our thoughts to be cross-examined. To be cross-examined by doubt, fear, enemies, and even loved ones who have not received the same revelation yet.  We’ve got to be prepared for those thoughts. Paul is right in 2 Corinthians 10:5.  He says, “We must demolish arguments and everything that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.”  He goes on to say, ”We must take captive every thought, and make it obedient to Christ.”  There will be times when Christ speaks to us through the power of the Holy Spirit – and I’m here to tell you that God speaks.  If we’re going to hear, we must be prepared for cross-examination, for questions like, “Are you sure that’s what you heard? Does it take all of that? Maybe you’ve been working a little too hard.”  We have to be prepared to witness God in our thoughts – that is what it meant when the power was released – first he would show up in our minds and direct our path, and then we are to respond according to those thoughts.  But it doesn’t stop there.  I call the second witness.

Hi. My name is Curt Tucker.  On February 18, 2009, I had a firs hand encounter with God and gave him full control over my life.  For three years leading up to this date, I struggled to give up control.  My wife and I were at war almost all the time over money and my behavior.  I was an abusive husband who didn’t care about anyone but me.  We ended up losing everything we had.  Too proud to reach out for anyone’s help almost cost me everything that mattered most. Even through the money issues and the abuse, my wife Rachel continued to pray for me and stood by my side.  This was by far the lowest point of my life.  I was ashamed of who I was as a husband, a father, and even ashamed to say that I was a Christian.  I couldn’t take care of myself, much less my family. This whole experience of losing everything I had really humbled me as a person. 

In April of 2008, I took a position selling cars at Dave Arbogast, and having Ross Dillahunt around to talk to was a real blessing.  I began praying to God more than ever, asking what he wanted me to do.  Then one day while talking to Blake Arbogast, we decided to do Purpose-Driven Life in a study group.  I had started this book three years ago but quit after the third day.  This time, I was ready.  Things were different – I was ready to find my purpose.  Blake and I would always talk about how awesome our God was and talk about our faith.  I began to pray even more, asking God to change my mind and allow me to fully let go and trust in him. I came across a scripture in the Bible, and these words caused a profound change in my life.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.”  It was like these words just grabbed hold of me.  It was exactly what I needed.  On day eight of Purpose Driven Life I finally committed to give God 100% control over my life and finances, and I acknowledged that I was weak and powerless without him, but with him in my life, anything was possible.  This was February 18, 2009.

Less than a month later, God opened up a huge door in my life.  My wife and I started our own personal training business with total faith in the Lord.  We named it Faith Driven Fitness because we knew that God was calling us to do something that, without him, would not be possible.  We literally had no income, but we were all in.  I was more focused than I had ever been, and God’s vision and words began to take shape in our lives.  In just over a year, through God, we have been able to build a successful personal training business doing what we love to do, and truly making a difference in others’ lives.  Then, in December, God put in my heart to start a ministry.  After years of excuses of why I didn’t have the time, I finally obeyed and started Men’s Fit Ministry.  I realized that all God wants us to do is use the gifts that he’s already given us and to make ourselves available. He’ll take care of the rest.  I feel honored to be a part of such an amazing place like Ginghamsburg, and I’m so excited about what God is going to do next in my life.  I sit here today feeling so thankful for his love and grace in my life.  On the first page of my journal is a saying:  When God leads you to the cliff, trust him fully and let go. Only one of two things will happen. Either he will catch you when you fall, or he will teach you how to fly.  I’ve been witness to an awesome God. 

[Brian] Curt, just for the record, you bear witness to the risen Savior, by the power of the Holy Spirit showing up in the written word of God.  Curt responds, “Yes, Sir.”  And, there are times you remember that your words and other words were directly different than this word.  “That’s correct,” says Curt.  But, through the power of the Holy Spirit, this word has now become your word.  Curt says, “Absolutely.”  No further questions.  You may step down. 

God shows up in our thoughts, and we have questions we continually ask, like, “God is that really you?”  The Holy Spirit then empowers God’s word to identify, complement and verify those very thoughts.  For Curt, it was in Proverbs 3:5-6 where it just came alive, and he knew that he knew that he knew, this word – those thoughts were in alignment and that God was calling him to bear witness to the fact.  The Bible also tells us how we are to go to God’s word and be empowered by it, to live purpose-driven lives.  In 2 Timothy 2:15, he says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”  When we commit to studying God’s word with others, God’s words become our words.  Timothy warns us, “Learn to avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.”  Words are powerful, and they have the ability to influence, and if we want God to continue to speak loudly in our thoughts, then his words will support those thoughts as we move forward.  We receive God’s thoughts, they become ours.  We study God’s word, and in that word, they come off of the page and become our words.  But it doesn’t stop there.  I call the last witness.

My name is Jay Meyer.  Some of you know my story, but for those who don’t, I was a full-blown alcoholic and drug addict by the time I was 28 years old.  I was bankrupt in all aspects of my life.  It was only through the grace of God that I’m here in front of you today, 22 ½ years sober, as an eyewitness of the transforming and redemptive powers of Jesus Christ.  Early in recovery, I was told there were two keys to staying sober.  First, I needed to surrender my will and my life over to the care of God on a daily basis, and secondly I had to get out of myself and help others.  I began doing these two things many years ago, and I’ve never stopped. Over the years, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to help countless numbers of individuals and families and alcohol and addiction-related problems.  I never thought twice about helping, because I knew I had to, in order to stay sober. 

What I didn’t realize back then, but I do now, is when I help others, I’m actually drawing closer to God.  And this, in turn, not only gives me a peaceful feeling, but also the desire to serve even more. Soon I took this attitude of serving and helping others to all aspects of my life.  My wife and I have been giving at least our first 10% to the church since I got sober, regardless of the fact that we had very little income in the early years.  Over the years, we’ve also made it a habit to help others when they were down on their luck. We had been there ourselves, and knew how good it made us feel when others would extend their love and help to us unconditionally. 

Several years ago, I decided to turn my business over to God every day.  I asked him to give us the ability to provide the best product possible to the patients we served.  I found that if we gave our best to take care of those God had entrusted us with, the blessings would follow.  And, they most certainly did, as this business that started with a little corner drugstore in downtown Covington, Ohio, is now an integral part of a company that provides services to thousands of nursing home residents throughout the East and Midwest regions of the United States. 

Then, a little over five years ago, Ginghamsburg started the Next Step Recovery Celebration, and I was asked to be one of the leaders.  The Next Step was a great way to serve and lead the broken to the transformational powers of Jesus Christ.  The more I worked in the recovery ministry, the more passion burned inside of me to give up my life as a businessman for God, and become a man that was about doing God’s business full time by helping his people in a more direct manner.  After much prayer, meditation, and talks with my wife and others, I experienced God definitely leading me to walk away from my business.  On March 26, 2010, I fired myself.  I did that so I could quench the fire that was burning inside of me.  I’ve started a new Christian consulting business called Eagle Launch, where I will provide life and business coaching services to others who want to achieve their God dreams.  I started writing a book.  I’m also looking forward to helping other churches start recovery ministries, and I plan on speaking to any group willing to listen to my story and how abundant a life can be when it’s fueled by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  When I think about the pain and suffering that Jesus experienced for my sins, in order that I may be forgiven and given a second shot at a life that I totally screwed up the first time, the least I can do is give my life to serving his people.  This is my witness account. 

[Brian] Jay, just for the record, you bear witness to the risen Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit showing up in your actions.  “Yes, I do,” Jay responds.  And, you can identify the difference between Jay-driven actions and the Holy Spirit-driven actions.  Jay answers, “Yes, and so can my wife.”  But, through the power of God, you bear witness to the very power of God showing up in your actions and in your deeds, to where it’s actually God himself showing up in your witness.  “Absolutely,” says Jay.  No further questions.  You may step down.

Twenty-first century Christians, Jesus fulfilled his promise in that he would allow us to receive power to be his witness.  And in being witnesses, we develop and live purpose-driven lives, instead of just going through the motions.  We live according to design.  God shows up in our thoughts, and we recognize those thoughts by how different they are from our other thoughts.  We respond, and this dance takes place.  For me, it took place first in my mind.  When God first said, “Hello” to me, it was right here, and I knew that it was entirely different, but it gave life to everything else.  To others, the dance begins in God’s word.  When you’re led to it, you read something, and you know that God is speaking directly to you, the dance begins.  And for others, the dance begins when we step out and are serving others.  Something transpires to let you know that what you are doing is bigger than you.  Your power to do this is coming from God.  Pastor Mike puts it this way on page 43 of his Change the World book.  He nails the concept. He says, “Disciples model the message.  They replicate the life and mission of Jesus in the world.  Disciples operate out of a sense of calling that is spiritually motivated.  Like the prophets and saints that have gone before them, disciples have heard the voice of God asking, ’Whom shall I send, and who shall go with us?’  They have willingly responded, ’Here am I.  Send me.’” 

Ginghamsburg, the same power that conquered the grave lives in me and it lives in you to bear witness to a risen savior.