My First Message as CEO... Celebrate 2015
As I prepare for my second Celebrate as President/CEO I wanted to post last year's message...
Kris McFadden
Teen Challenge Training Center
July 25, 2015
Celebrate: Called & Committed
Intro
It’s truly an honor to be here with all of you this evening sharing from the Word of God. It was last year that I was given the honor of sharing the work of God in my life with you. I can remember it like it was yesterday…He is so, so good to us. As the incoming President/Executive Director, I want to thank all of you who have played a role in my development as a leader…but more importantly than that…thank you for your role in helping develop me as a Christian man. It’s a humbling experience to know that I will be the 1st President of the Teen Challenge Training Center to be graduated from this Program in its 50 plus year history.
I want all of you currently in the Program to know that I am one of you and that I’ve been through your struggles and I know what it’s like. I know what it’s like when your muscles & bones feel like they’re gonna burst from the inside/out because of opiate addiction. I know what it feels like. And I want to encourage you. August 30, 2006 was the last time I had to go through that pain. Please listen to me…yield yourself to the mercy and grace of God. Come to him with open arms and admit your wrongs. Take responsibility for what you’ve done to yourself. Please…this is a life & death situation and I plead with you…choose life! The Lord can change your heart & desires. He wants to make you new in Him. But you have to be in Him to be made new. Another way to say it is…you cannot be made new if you are outside of Christ…period. So I’ll say it one more time. You have to be in Him to be made new and you cannot be made new if you are outside of Christ.
Tonight I want to talk briefly about being Called and Committed and I’ll be working through a few chapters in the book of Nehemiah.
Let’s Pray!
Let’s talk briefly about Nehemiah…
He was a man called & committed to the purpose of God with great zeal for the law of God. He’s even known as a “Jewish patriot” in scholarly circles. One day he received word from some of the exiles that stayed in the land. They told him about the destruction in Jerusalem, how this holy place had been destroyed by fire. He was distraught…he was heart-broken…he was upset. The text reads in Nehemiah 1:4, “As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
Now, a little history to tie this together…the Babylonian captivity occurred a number of years before this time…in fact a century or more. The Babylonian King came in with his military forces and removed the Jews from their land. He did this in waves. This is why Nehemiah was with King Artaxerxes. But you see…Nehemiah didn’t let that deter him from his dedication to Jerusalem, his people, and Yahweh, his God. He was the king’s cup bearer which was a dangerous job…but in the midst of all that… he sensed his calling as an overseer and he cared deeply for his people. He prayed to God, reminding Him of his steadfast love and faithfulness, he confessed sin on behalf of the people, he even appeared before God with repentance for the people, and he loved and delighted in the person of God for his redeeming work among them. He is someone we can give the title of God-fearing & God-centered to. His entire sense of reality was shaped and filtered through the lens of the God of Israel, Yahweh.
So at this point in the story we see Nehemiah’s heart but we also see the city was laid waste in ruins, the gates were destroyed, and the city was a mess. He felt called to a great kingdom endeavor.
Do any of you…sitting there this evening…feel called to a great kingdom endeavor? Do any of you see the vision and mission of Teen Challenge as a great kingdom endeavor? I do!
Now let’s briefly describe this idea of calling.
Calling
There are two types of calling. One we might call the internal calling and the other we might call the external calling…or we might even call it...external confirmation of what we feel called to. Both are absolutely essential and Nehemiah shows us this all important pattern.
Internal Calling:
I briefly shared some views on the idea of “calling” with our staff & students a month or two ago. I want to define these things for you because it’s something I have seen severely neglected over the past 9 years.
First, there’s what’s called the “Internal calling” and I’m describing this as that inner tug toward something God-honoring. It almost feels like a gravitational pull. Some of you come into this program and once you become a Christian, you start to see that God is for you and you get excited for the future…you start to find out things about yourself that you never knew existed before… For some of you…you start to be tugged towards full-time vocational ministry…for others you are being tugged toward other God-honoring endeavors…some of you are gifted electricians, plumbers, mechanics, teachers, administrators…you name it! All God-honoring work is sacred!
This is similar to what we see in Nehemiah…We read this in Nehemiah 1:3. We also begin to see Nehemiah’s heart when he first inspected the gate. Nehemiah 1:11-12, “So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem.” We see he felt the gravitational pull to rebuild that which had been destroyed and it was a God-given gift. However, and you need to hear me when I say, “however.” This wasn’t something Nehemiah arbitrarily decided he would do. He sought confirmation and permission from the king.
Now we will talk briefly concerning External calling and confirmation:
God’s good hand was upon Nehemiah in this great kingdom endeavor but he made sure he was thinking correctly because the last thing Nehemiah wanted to do was make a decision that could negatively impact himself or his people. This applies to you too.
Follow along with me in Nehemiah 2: 1-8, “In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.
Friends…it is absolutely essential you begin to get the Lord’s sense of direction while you’re here in Teen Challenge. You have so many opportunities to explore these things while you’re here. Take advantage of them. However, and let me be clear. You want to be very cautious making decisions that no other, more mature person in your life thinks is a good idea for your growth as a young Christian. If Nehemiah didn’t do it…you shouldn’t do it. Follow this pattern because the Lord has great things in store for you IF you are willing to wait for what he has in store for you. Remember…I am a graduate of this place…I know what it’s like to think about wanting what I want and when I want it…and that time used to be that I needed everything yesterday. That’s the wrong way to live your life. The Lord is calling you to something…be willing to walk with him. Look at the end of Nehemiah 2:8. The verse reads, “And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.”
Being internally tugged toward something God-honoring; Being externally confirmed by other, more mature Christians…internal/external calling.
Friends, that’s what it’s all about! The Lord is calling…are you listening? Will you answer His call in your life? Will you commit yourself to the call? Will you commit yourself even in the face of adversity and opposition? Remember…it’s about being called and committed to God and his purposes in your life.
Nehemiah was a man, called internally and externally confirmed, but he was a man of resolve. He was fully committed! There was nothing that was going to stop him from rebuilding the wall that was destroyed by fire. Not even the opposition coming his way. He was a man on a mission because God had called him to this great kingdom task.
Read with me in Nehemiah 2:17-20, “17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision. 18 And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. And verse 20 reads, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build…”
Nehemiah displayed the kind of commitment we should all be resolved to display. You see…this was a man called and committed to what God had desired from him. This is a lesson all of us need to take into account. Are you…am I…called and committed to fulfilling God’s purposes in our lives?
What about when times get tough? What about in the face of opposition and adversity? Nehemiah had plenty of that too.
Opposition
Nehemiah was a man familiar with opposition. This was no new concept to him. It seems like every time he turned around, someone was opposing his kingdom work.
For example: Sanballat and Tobiah were displeased with what was going on and the we read in chapter 2, verse 10, “it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.”
However, even in the midst of this, he didn’t sway back and forth. He wasn’t like “children, tossed to and fro by the waves…” (Ephesians 4:14). He was 100% committed to the calling the Lord had on his life and nothing was going to stop him…because God called him to a GREAT kingdom endeavor (Nehemiah 2:12).
Friends, students, graduate students, staff…are you called? Are you committed? The Lord desires all of our being. This life is a 24/7, 365 calling.
Strength & Providential Blessing
Let us cry out with Nehemiah, God “strengthen our hands”!
What does this look like for TCTC? What work am I talking about (i.e., Vision)?
God inspires vision
But there’s always opposition to kingdom work as seen in Nehemiah
Perseverance and strength is what the Lord requires and it is modeled in Nehemiah’s resolve to not get caught in peripheral issues. His focus was on the main thing! Ours needs to be too!
Where are our repairers of the wall? The entire third chapter highlights the actual rebuilding process.
This was a team effort. Nehemiah wasn’t alone. There were godly people dedicated to this kingdom vision! However, there were those in that group that weren’t dedicated to the kingdom vision. They were the folks that dwelt in the midst of the people and as long as they were comfortable, they were onboard. However, as soon as they were taken out of their comfort zone…as soon as they were asked to serve in a different capacity…as soon as they were asked to go the extra mile…as soon as they didn’t like something…they were like those mentioned in Nehemiah 3:5, “And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.” Let me say it again. As soon as they were asked to serve in a different capacity…as soon as they didn’t like something…they were like those mentioned in Nehemiah 3:5, “And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.” We need wallbuilders! Not just any wallbuilders, we need the best wallbuilders.
That’s were Holistic Restoration comes into play - “God strengthen our hands to produce holistic restoration in our students…help us to provide them with opportunities to bring about a consistent Christian worldview so they are prepared to re-enter society as kingdom minded people!” Question: What do I mean by holistic restoration? Our goal is to restore every sphere of your life…we want wholeness….the shalom of God to be experienced here, touching every aspect of life. The five distinctives I WILL focus on are these: God, Family, Work, Church, and Community.
God – We believe a personal Relationship w/ Jesus Christ is at the apex…it is the highest point of our program. We firmly believe in The Jesus Factor and it’s his work that transforms the life of a sinner, addicted to drugs, alcohol and any other sinful pattern in life. Drugs and alcohol are symptoms of the real problem….sin. The Gospel breaks chains and frees captives through the super-natural working of the Holy Spirit that raises us and continually fills us!
Family – Addiction is an individual issue for sure…but that’s not all as my dear brother Joel Jakubowski has taught me…addiction is a family issue…and the family, including the addict, need restoration and wholeness…our renewed emphasis on holistic restoration in the family IS the future of this ministry! Let me say that again, our renewed emphasis on holistic restoration in the family IS the future of this ministry! We want life, health, and vitality to reign supreme in every home where one of our students dwells!
Work – Many of our students have never given thought to what they are called to in life. Our emphasis on healthy worldview studies along with finding your calling or vocation in the world is also something we place a tremendous amount of value in. The Lord is calling. Will you answer the call to productivity in the community through God-honoring work?
Church – Teen Challenge is a para-church ministry which means we exist to come alongside and provide expertise in the field of addiction to the local church. This also means that once a student is graduated from our program, they need to be re-integrated into the local church. It is here that you will find a spiritual family, accountability and fellowship all aimed toward further developing you into the man or woman that God wants you to be. Immerse yourself in the local church! As Bill Hybels says, “the local church is the hope of the world.”
Community – Fifth, as a redemptive community of believers it is our job to bring renewal to our broken communities. Friends, the Lord has been so good to you. Bring that same goodness to the next person that needs you. Be a culture impactor. Display the love of God in Christ to your local communities. This is your duty and it will be your joy.
_Please listen…because this is an Urgent call!
It’s The time & This This Place: The time is now because life and death are in the balances
We, here at TCTC believe that we are the foremost solution to the drug epidemic that sweeping through our towns and cities, taking our friends, loved ones, and communities by storm…and nobody is exempt.
It’s This People & This Gospel!, sitting here with us tonight, you are the people specifically called to serve in this kingdom endeavor. Where are our wallbuilders? Where are those willing to serve the Lord in this capacity? I want to share a brief story about my past. It was about 7 years ago as I sat in the court room awaiting sentencing. I was given a “deal” by the District Attorney, which my lawyer thought was very reasonable and wanted me to be ready for. It included a few years in the state penitentiary and I was afraid I would lose my life again after all the time and work that went into making me a productive human being. Dr. Batluck, our Executive Director, who will begin serving as the President of TCUSA was there with me…on my behalf. You see, I stood there a guilty criminal…the only thing I was able to ask for was mercy. As the judge gave me opportunity to speak and my mother opportunity to speak…it wasn’t until he permitted Dr. Batluck to speak that anything happened. Dr. Batluck introduced himself as a retired Army colonel, told the court about Teen Challenge and made a plea for my release back to Teen Challenge…where I would continue my growth as a renewed man in Christ. The DA wasn’t impressed and asked the judge to throw me in jail. I will never forget these words and I need you to listen closely…. The judge affirmed the opinion and correct judgment of the DA. He told me I deserved what they were asking for and much, much worse. Then he said these words, “but I’m going to give the colonel a shot with this kid.” Do you see the gospel here? He sent me out of the courtroom that day because of someone else standing there…on my behalf. Friends, it wasn’t me….it surely wasn’t me….I was as guilty as any of you sitting here this evening….but God, rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, when we were dead in our sin…he died for the ungodly. Yes, that is a God-story, however, when I walked out of the courtroom that day…it didn’t take but a few feet from the front door for Dr. Batluck to stop me…put his finger in my chest…and say these words that I will also never forget… “To whom much is given, much will be required”… “To whom much is given, much will be required.” This is an entirely new way of life. This isn’t a Sunday morning commitment. This is an everyday of the week/365 days a year/24 hours a day commitment. So I say to you… “To whom much is given, much will be required”…”To whom much is given, much will be required.”
Once the Lord grips your heart and turns it back to himself there’s nothing stopping him from transforming your entire being. He is jealous for his glory and he is jealous for his bride. Who is he you ask?
He is our Savior,
Our Redeemer
Our Justifier
Our Reconciler & Our Peace
Our Restorer
Our Glorifier
Our Great High Priest
Our Propitiator
Our Expiator
He is the One who forgives our sin
He is the One who adopts us as a family member of the household of God!
He is the One who makes us alive!
He is our Righteousness
He is our Hope
We are sons and daughters…His children, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ…”
If you find yourself trusting in the finished work of Jesus this evening…know this…he is FOR YOU! He is relentless in his pursuit for you and wants to reign in your heart! Blessed be the Lord Almighty.
If you find yourself outside of him this evening….he is calling…even now…he is calling you to trust in Jesus! You are a sinner and you are in need of a Savior. Yield yourself to him…even now…cry out that you are in desperate need of grace…life is a mess…your sin has caught up with you and overtaken you…ask him to forgive you and make you new in Christ!
We must not forget, it’s the person and work of Jesus Christ that brings freedom from bondage to abundant life in Christ through the Gospel! He did the work. He accomplished our salvation. He satisfied the wrath of God. He purchased us when we were in chains. It was the Spirit of God that supernaturally raised us to life when we were dead and the Spirit of God that continually fills us! It’s all about God and what he has accomplished! It’s the Gospel message! Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved!
And Lastly, It’s This Legacy. As we move into the next generation at TCTC, let us remember our past. I still remember the powerful story of David Wilkerson walking up on top of that hill, looking over the fields in every direction, sensing the powerful presence of the Spirit of God, kneeling with his brothers and claiming the ground for the work of God! Now…50+ years later we still look on top of that hill and 1) thank the Lord for that vision because many of us would not be alive without it and 2) we must recognize the powerful history and legacy of this ministry and these men and model the same spirit of excellence and innovation as we move forward in 2015! Brothers, Sisters, Friends…we need wallbuilders…we need men and women that are willing to serve the Lord by fighting the drug epidemic because it’s powerful and killing to many. Who will stand with us and fight this battle! Who will take a stand and yield their life to the Lord Jesus and bow the knee! Who?
Worship Team back on Stage:
Let me share my heart with you……
Where are all of my Teen Challenge students & graduates? Would you please stand.
I’m one of you. Graduated from this program in 2007. This is my 9th Celebrate.
I know and I hope you do too…that when David Wilkerson stood on that hill over a ½ century ago…they kneeled and prayed for the Lord’s blessing…they sensed and believed great things were in store.
Remember….we, ½ century later….we enjoy the benefits of this place.
Brothers, sisters, friends, the Lord called us here at this very moment in history. Take advantage of the opportunity set forth for you today! It’s truly a matter of life and death.
Let us continue to build a legacy that will push forward for many more generations.
Let me close with this and I’d like to ask everyone to stand…in the face of opposition…Nehemiah was dedicated with kingdom-minded resolve…He continued to work with tremendous passion. Failure was not an option for Nehemiah and it isn’t for us either. But let us never forget where he found his strength to continue. His opposition was trying to set him up and kill him by bringing false accusations against him to get him to stop working. But his response in chapter 6:8-9 say it all, “Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” Verse 9, “For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” And here it is…let this be our response to anything that slows us from pursuing our call... “But now, O God, strengthen my hands.” Let this be our cry…let this be response to any and all things that get in the way of our mission. “But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”
