The Great Experiment - Day 10

Sunday, March 10, 2019 - final day of The Great Experiment, March 1-10, 2019! Here's today's video (4:31), with transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT

Have you ever met somebody, and they told you they were an athlete, and then as you talked with them and got to know them, your view about how true that was began to change? Because you noticed that they didn't seem like they're in particularly good shape and then the way they ate wasn't healthy at all? And then you found out they barely exercised or went to the gym or participated in their sport. They may have called themself an athlete, but they maybe didn't understand what an athlete was, or maybe they liked being thought of that way, but didn't want to put in the effort or work.

How does this apply to Day 10 of The Great Experiment? And this is the last day of our ten-day Great Experiment. Thank you for everyone doing this with us. But it relates because The Great Experiment is all about seeking God, and we've had a very focused time during these ten days of really pressing in to the Lord. It says in Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all your heart." And “with all your heart” doesn't just mean how intensely you feel it--yeah, you’ve got to feel it--but that's not enough. There also has to be specific behaviors that go along with that.

And this is not known or practiced very much in the Western Church. It used to be, during times of great revival in the United States, and it is in the global church, and it has been in the New Testament church, but not in American or European church, which has caused us a lot of spiritual problems. There is not much power to see communities change, people coming to faith or whatever else. And Christians feel kind of this constant onslaught of the culture. It's because and for so many reasons related to Christians not seeking the Lord wholeheartedly.

And a lot of folks don't even know how or what that looks like. And The Great Experiment has been an experience where we could raise our level to see how much of this we can make part of our regular lives. And I challenge you the different aspects of The Great Experiment. How should your normal walk with God be changed because of it? Because devotions morning and evening...That should be something that Christians do every day. They have for centuries, they certainly did in the first century. They actually had devotionals two to four times per day.

Also fasting. It was common in the first century church to fast every Wednesday and Friday until dinner, and also in the historic church and around the world, that's normal. Of course, repent of your sins, of course, respond to the Holy Spirit. These are all things that are normal Christianity for Christians who are seeking the Lord with their whole heart.

So I challenge you here on day 10 to seek God about what should be changed about your regular devotional relationship or regular walk with God, so that you have the strength and faith to be used of God in some amazing ways. It begins with us, us as Christians, and we want to see our communities, our families change. We've got to be strong in the Lord, and being strong means seeking him wholeheartedly. And that doesn't mean just having a feeling, but doing the things that bring us strength. Which is repenting of our sins and devotions morning and evening, and all these other things that are part of the Great Experiment.

So seek the Lord. You know my favorite things as we've been getting feedback, and thank you for sending feedback in about what God is doing, is hearing the stories about how people are emboldened because of their increased time to the Lord to step out and to witness and to do different things. Those have been encouraging stories to hear, and the acts of love and things that people have done has been really encouraging and wonderful to read about.

And it's because the Spirit of Lord is flowing through us more powerfully. We're having fresh fillings of the Holy Spirit as we're seeking Him more diligently. So, we plan to do this again, probably June 1 to 10, but we'll let you know on our website. It will be another time for us to really come together as a community, press in, and see God change. Between now and then though, please seek God, make changes in your life, gather with friends, be strong in the Lord, and there's a lot of resources at our website at dayandnight.org.

So thank you for doing this with me and with so many others. I hope and pray that you've been blessed. We'll send out an e-mail with some more testimonies. God bless.

Thank you.

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Here is today’s guide for the “Five Rs” of The Great Experiment, March 1-10, 2019.

1. Read and Pray
Matthew 16:24 - “Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’”

Read Matthew 16:5-28 for more context.

Today’s Prayer Points

• Spend time worshiping the Lord for His salvation.
• Ask for a fresh filling of His Spirit so that you can follow Him with all of your life.
• Ask the Lord what He wants you to do tomorrow, after The Great Experiment has ended.

2. Repent.
What sins do I need to repent of today? What hindrances to my devotion to Christ can I remove today?

3. Respond to the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, what is the one thing you most want me to do today? (Write it down, and do it today).

4. Represent Christ. 
How will I bear witness to Christ today? With whom shall I share the Gospel today?

5. Raise Your Faith.
God, give me the strength and courage to complete my Joshua Faith Challenge.