Camp Lessons Part 1

Hello Everyone!  I'm back from an amazing week of training at the Wilds!  There was so much to learn in such a small space of time, but God used the time He gave me in amazing ways!

Mark Kittrell was the speaker for the week and he had some very convicting sermons that I thought I would share with you first thing.

night 1:
The first night he spoke from Psalm 10.  His message was about how dangerous it is to live like God is not watching and that our actions, words and thoughts display what course we are pursuing. -  A God filled and centered life or a self-centered, world focused life.

His four points in the sermon were:
1. God is watching us and He catches it all; our motives, thoughts, words and actions. To live as if He isn't watching is so incredibly dangerous.
2. God is stronger than us.  If we think that God can do nothing to us we had better watch out.  Our sin does have a consequence and God knows how to humble us.  He is All Powerful.
3. God is King.  We can be a willing subject now or a forced servant later. Either way we will bow the knee on the day of judgement.
4. God will vindicate those who have been persecuted.  We do not want to face God's wrath.

The first service of the week was supposed to really catch the kids attention and make them think about why they were there at camp. 

At first I felt this message was more for those people who literally stand there with their arms crossed thinking, "You can't tell me what to do...I want to live the way I want to with no interference from ANYONE- especially God." However, as I listened to Mark speak, I realized that even though I am not actively trying to stand against God and live my own way, when I sin I make that decision to rebell and stand against Him.  God sees all my motives and thoughts even when others don't.  I may be rebelling inside and no one outside would ever know, but God knows and I need to see my sin as the rebellion it is.  All sin is equal in God's eyes and my sin of fustration or anger is just as bad as the sins of  murder or stealing.

night 2:
The second night he preached on some verses in 2 Chronicles 14 &16.  He talked about how "The eye's of the Lord run to and fro" and that they are looking for a heart that is perfect toward Him.....a perfect heart.... 

He moved to different passages and I couldn't write them all down, however he ended up using Asa, the King of Judah, as the example of a man whose heart was fixed on God during a specific time in his life.  Asa's first battle was the "Battle of Numbers."  He was outnumbered and knew that there was no way he was going to win the battle through man's own strength. His heart was pointed in the right direction though, and he called out to God even though the odds were against him.  He knew who was ulitmately in control and who he should go to.

2 Chronicles 14:8-11 "Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows.  All these were brave fighting men.
Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army and three hundred chariots,....Asa went out to meet him,...Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, 'Lord there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty.  Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army.  O Lord you are our God; do not let man prevail against you."

Asa was definitley in the minority when it came to that battle and yet he was willing to follow God's leading into battle even with odds against him.  His heart was fixed on God.  God's eyes found a heart that was perfect toward him.

The point of this message was to ask ourselves several questions.
Are our hearts fixed on Christ? If not, where are they pointed and where should they be?
Are we willing to be in the minority when we decide to be different for Christ?
Do I care more about what my friends & family think of me then what God thinks of me?

night 3:
Wednesday night the service was directly after dinner, so when the kitchen staff finished we moved immediatly into the service. I hadn't noticed how short the time would be between cleaning up after dinner and then entering the service, so I had forgotten to bring my Bible and notebook....I wasn't able to take notes and therefore can not remember what it was about. :[  Sorry about that..


Well, this was the first part of my notes from Mark Kittrell's messages.

May God Bless You All!  Praying that God will use these notes to encourage you in your walk with Him.