tylerramsbey Christian Life, Culture, Ministry, Pastor

No Ordinary Man

The-Story1
Hi everyone! I had the honor of teaching the Bible this past Sunday at The Rescue Church. We are currently going through a series called “The Story” and are taking an adventure through the entire Bible.

I taught on Chapter 24 – No Ordinary Man – and it was one of the favorite messages I have done so I wanted to share it with you!

Below are the notes.

The Story – Part 24
“No Ordinary Man”

  • Jesus is a Teacher. (Mark 4:1)
  • Jesus is a Healer. (Matthew 14:36)
  • Jesus is a Provider. (Matthew 6:25-34; Mark 4:35-40)
  • Jesus is THE Lord. (John 6:29; John 6:66)

 

How does this apply to my life?

Jesus is a Teacher… Are YOU listening?

Jesus is a Healer… Are YOU believing?

Jesus is a Provider… Are YOU trusting?

Jesus is the Lord… Are YOU submitting?

Did you enjoy the message? Be sure to leave a comment and share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!

tylerramsbey Christian Life, Culture

The Key to Humility

keytohumility

What does true humility look like? Is it a person who feels as if he is the scum of the earth and believes everyone else is better than him? Is “humility” just a big theological term for low self-esteem?

I don’t think so.

Brennan Manning, in his book Ruthless Trust, says this about humility, “Humble men and women do not have a low opinion of themselves; they have no opinion of themselves, because they so rarely think about themselves.”

REAL humility begins and ends with self-forgetfulness, not self-pity.

This poses the question: If humble people do not think about themselves, what do they think about? I’m glad you asked!

Instead of trying to explain this in my own words, I want to share once again from Brennan Manning – “The heart of humility lies in undivided attention to God, a fascination with his beauty revealed in creation, a contemplative presence to each person who speaks to us, and a ‘de-selfing’ of our plans, projects, ambitions, and soul.”

How are YOU doing in this area? The key to humility is being so consumed with the character of God that you forget yourself. This is counter-cultural in a world where “selfie” is one of the most popular terms of our day.

I want to encourage you to live out the words of the Apostle Paul –

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” – Philippians 4:8

What do you think are some practical ways to forget ourselves and focus on God? Let me know by leaving a comment; I would love to hear from you!

tylerramsbey Culture, Ministry

God Is Not Angry At You.

Preacher3

God is not angry at you.

Whenever I see Street Preachers screaming at the top of their lungs, proclaiming that every single person around them is going to Hell, I cannot stand it! These “preachers” attempt to scare people into the Kingdom of God. They make God out to be an angry, abusive, and distant Father that is waiting to punish every slight act of disobedience with eternal fire, offering no mercy.

I want to share a powerful verse with you from the Psalms that I read today.

“For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive
rich in faithful love to all who call on You.” – Psalm 86:5

I want to draw three applications from this verse.

1. All of us are sinful and in need of God’s forgiveness.
Don’t get me wrong. When I say that God is not angry at you, I do not mean He will not punish sin. Scripture teaches that Hell is hot and eternity is a LONG time and all those who reject Jesus Christ will suffer for all eternity.

With that being said, God desires ALL to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the Gospel (That’s why Jesus lived a PERFECT life and died a BRUTAL death so you don’t have to!). He does NOT delight in the death of the wicked.

All of us NEED forgiveness – from the pastor to the prostitute; we all stand condemned apart from Jesus.

2. God is ready RIGHT NOW to forgive your sin.
You do not have to wait until you “have your life together” before you ask for forgiveness. We see all throughout Scripture that God stands ready to forgive us of ALL our sin. Our sin can ONLY be forgiven by putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Brennan Manning, in his book Ruthless Trust, helps us understand God’s love:

“With a strong affirmation of our goodness and a gentle understanding of our weakness, God is loving us – you and me – this moment, just as we are and not as we should be. There is nothing any of us can do to increase His love for us and nothing we can do to diminish it.”

3. In order to be forgiven, you need to CALL on God!
There is a condition attached to this verse. Yes, God stands ready to forgive your sin but YOU have to do something. James teaches, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. (James 4:8)”

You absolutely cannot afford to stand distant from God!

He promises if you draw near to Him (regardless of the junk and sin your life) He will draw near to you. Then, if you confess your sin (which means agreeing with God about it) and repent by the power of the Holy Spirit (turning FROM your sin and TO Jesus) you will be forgiven.

I want to invite you today to confess your sin, turn to Jesus, and know that the Father stands READY to forgive you of ALL sin (see 1 John 1:9)!

tylerramsbey Christian Life, Culture, Ministry

I REFUSE!

IREFUSE

I just finished reading Revelation 14. God has convicted me of a truth we often overlook in our evangelical church culture.

God will not overlook sin forever.

Hear me Christian!

I am disgusted by the fact that so many of us are content with keeping quiet about who Jesus is. I have seen many people in the church – who claim the name of Christ – refuse to call people to repentance in an effort to be “tolerant”.

I REFUSE to tolerate millions of people dying apart from Jesus Christ and spending eternity in Hell.

I REFUSE to tolerate sitting idly by while friends, family, and even church members live with a false sense of security.

Christian – Why is it that when you are in the midst of unbelievers you are too much of a COWARD to talk about Jesus? The most UNLOVING thing you can possibly do is be quiet about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Not everyone is going to Heaven.

Matter of fact, the vast majority of people walking on earth today will spend eternity separated from God (see Matthew 7:14). Apart from Jesus Christ, there is absolutely NO way to the Father.

Not Islam. Not Buddhism. Not New-Age. Not Mormonism. Not the Watchtower. Not Hinduism. Not even “being a good person”.

Truth is NOT politically correct.

Every single day, you look into the eyes of fellow human beings who, if they were to die today, will suffer “the wine of God’s wrath, which is mixed full strength in the cup of His anger.” They “will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night.” (Revelation 14:10-11)

Yet… “God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

You can’t afford to be a coward!

Christian – I PLEAD with you to lovingly but BOLDLY proclaim who Jesus is in every area of your life.

REFUSE to be silent.

(DISCLAIMER: I do not advocate self-righteous hatred against those of different religions. But I DO believe that love is shown in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with EVERYONE of EVERY religion. Even if they are offended.)

tylerramsbey Culture, Leadership, Ministry

Peter Pan Syndrome

Never Grow Up

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” – 1 Timothy 4:12

There are times (more than I would like to admit) that I HATE being young. The fact that my age group tends to spend their days getting drunk, having sex with anyone/everyone, and playing HOURS of video games does not help. Unless you have been living under a rock, you have realized that 18 seems to be the new 12. NO ONE wants to grow up… I feel like my generation is in a screwed up version of Peter Pan.

What I love about Scripture is how practical it is. As a young pastor in ministry, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and looked down upon. Paul writes to a young pastor named Timothy and gives him five ways to set an example while he’s young. This applies to you EVEN if you are not a pastor. This is some rock solid advice.

  1. Set an example with your speech.

What are young people known for? Probably NOT speaking with wisdom and intelligence. Unfortunately, the vast majority of young people seem to breath vulgar and disrespectful language.

If you are young, people are EXPECTING you to be like that.

Prove them wrong. Speak life and not death. Be an encourager!

  1. Set an example with your conduct.

Once again, young people are known for getting drunk and being stupid (occasionally on video). DO NOT give into that stereotype. Be the type of person that when people ask your age, they are visibly surprised when you tell them BECAUSE of your maturity and conduct.

Set your eyes on eternity and pursue the joy that is found in Jesus. I can speak from firsthand experience when I say it is FAR BETTER than living for the next high!

  1. Set an example with your love.

If you are married, a great way to do this is by treasuring and cherishing your wife. I got married when I was 19 (which is considered almost crazy in our culture). My goal is to place my wife above EVERYONE except God.

Another way you can set an example in love is by serving people. Unfortunately, our generation is known as being self-centered and lazy. PROVE this wrong!

Put down the controller, get off the coach, and serve someone for FREE.

  1. Set an example with your faith.

This one applies ESPECIALLY to Christian teenagers and young adults. Most of us grew up in youth groups where Jesus nor the Bible were taught. It seemed that the focus was more on drinking soda out of a sock and less on worshiping the Living God. As a result, many people abandon their faith when they graduate high school.

Do NOT be that person. PURSUE the things of God! Yet be careful that you are known NOT by how much you know, but instead by how much you actually live it out.

Knowledge puffs up, love builds up.

Let your faith be the fire that enables you to set an example in speech, conduct, love, and purity.

  1. Set an example with your purity.

This one is completely counter-cultural to popular culture today. We are told to live our lives “young, wild, and free”. Have sex, look at pornography, and fantasize in your mind; everyone is doing it so you should join them.

PLEASE do not give in to the culture on this issue. MAKE WAR against sexual immorality. Every time you are tempted, God WILL provide a way out.

Being young may honestly suck at times but God has called YOU to live out 1 Timothy 4:12. Which one of these do you find the hardest to live out? What are some good resources YOU recommend? Let me know by leaving a comment, I would love to hear from you!