Integrity

We've got a big job.   Our call is not church as usual.   We're not a business as usual kind of church.   Our God is not committed to the status quo.    God says, "Grow and go".   God says, occupy until I come.   God says, advance the Kingdom.    As such, our name is Advance.   Hallelujah!   We are not those who live life without passion.   We have an opinion on the issues.   We are not those that sit around waiting for something to do for God.   We advance the Kingdom of God in our homes first, and then in the marketplace.   And we do this based upon a solid foundation of personal integrity.  

Please understand, when God called Advance Church , He did not call us because He needs another big church, in another big city, doing a big job of being isolated from the world.   God does not need another passionless, irrelevant, click of religious folks who are happy with their prosperity, while the rest of the world goes to bed hungry - hungry for truth, hungry for hope, hungry for love.   No, God has called Advance Church to be godly leaders who are passionately engaged in culture with a vision of total domination and a relevant message that points people to Jesus.

Why is this important?   This is important for two reasons.   The first reason is that in our lifetime we have an opportunity to be keepers of the flame.     People of God, the flame is burning brighter and brighter in the hearts of many, but, unfortunately, is growing dimmer in centers of power in our culture - Religion, Media, Entertainment and Sports, Science Technology, Law, Education, Politics,   and Business.   We have an opportunity to stand out in the midst of a cold, dark, and truth-deafening world and be the light.   Can you imagine that?    God has given you the unique privilege to represent his interests in the earth.    We need integrity because of this great mandate upon our lives.

There is another reason why it is important that we be passionately engaged in culture with a vision of total domination and a relevant message that points people to Jesus.   And that is: the generations that follow us will only be able to stand, if we impart the right foundations to them.    They will either be like the house built upon the rock, or the house build upon sand.   On sand, they will not stand.   Oh yes, the future keepers of the flame, are at great risk.   They are being bombarded with moral relativism every day, in every way, through every possible means.   They have to evaluate questions of what is marriage before they get to fifth grade.    They have a wide variety or religious viewpoints at their fingertips, 24 hours a day via the Internet.   We can no longer control who they interact with, because of the pervasive use of cell phones, email, chat rooms, and such like.   They are being taught that it is ok to kill one human life, in order to save another through embryonic stem cell research.    They are learning indirectly that the poor and oppressed do not matter to God, by the world's pursuit of money and the church's indifference.  

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