CCECYOUTH.COM

By Tim Baldwin

It all starts in your heart

I love a good revolution – big groups of people full of passion and purpose.

Have you heard about any of the crazy youth movements that have happened over the years? There was a Jesus movement that started in the 70’s in America where thousands of young people turned to Jesus and started up new churches all over the country. It got on the front cover of Time magazine which showed thousands of youth going down to the river at a festival to be baptised.

I’ve always wanted to be part of a Jesus revolution that starts with a small group of young people but grows to impact a whole city. How insane would it be to see so many people turning to Jesus on the coast that our churches had to meet at Blue Tongue stadium every-week just to fit everyone in.

Bring it on I say!

But how could we start a revolution like this?

Guess what – It starts with you!
First you need to let Jesus start the revolution in your heart.
But don’t worry he’s had some experience.
God said to his people back in the olden days “I will give you a new heart” (Ez 36:26) His plan was to change them by taking out their old, cold, stoney hearts and replacing them with hearts that went after him.
God is still in the business of changing hearts – he loves a good heart transplant!
I’m old enough to remember the first person to ever have a heart transplant that worked. She was a 14yr old girl named Fiona Coote and my Dad explained to me how it all worked.
“well son…they basically just rip your chest open – take your heart out and put someone else’s heart back in”.

I remember thinking – “gee – radical operation – you’d wanna make sure you really needed it hey”.

Likewise – God wouldn’t be offering us a spiritual heart transplant if we didn’t really need one. But the truth is – all our hearts are diseased and cold towards God – we were born like this and the disease is called sin. These sinful hearts of ours will drag us all the way to hell if we don’t have them removed and replaced with new hearts – the spirit of Jesus.

This transplant is a very costly process for God – Jesus had to go to the cross and die to allow this heart exchange to happen. But it’s gotta be the best deal you’ll ever hear about – we get to exchange our sinful, cold, hard, diseased hearts for perfectly righteous, warm, healthy hearts – free of charge.
Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? – there must be fine print somewhere!
No fine print – just a radical new life!

Here’s what to expect if you get a Jesus heart transplant;
It totally changes the way you see everything!

You’ll see God differently
No longer will you see God as a grumpy old man in the sky with a beard and a long white dress who spends all his time trying to stop us having fun.
No, instead you’ll see he’s the God who knows us a loves us enough to get off his throne and come to us in the person the son – becoming the fearless man Jesus to live, die and rise and give us a way back to him with brand new hearts.

You’ll see the central coast differently
No longer will you see a cool place full of cool people living cool lives partying hard.
No, instead you’ll see hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, despritely bored and searching for more meaning in their lives. There are so many different forms of spiritually, sports and social clubs but what people really need is Jesus. The truth is – there are only two types of people on the central coast – those who have new hearts and those who don’t – and it makes all the difference where you spend eternity.

You’ll see yourself differently
No longer will you think that world revolves around you. You will realise that you are not the centre of the universe and that your dreams, your desires and your happiness are not what makes the world go round.
No, instead you’ll see that this world revolves around Jesus. He is at the centre of the universe and rules over the whole world and everything in it – including the central coast and YOU!
It’s all about Jesus  – he made you, he sustains you and you exist for him and his fame alone.

Live for Jesus today – let him start a revolution in your heart!

Cheers
Tim Baldwin

Tim spoke at our wild and wet COASTYOUTH REVOLUTION during term 2. Go listen to the POCAST of his talk at: cyREVOLUTION.com

Tim has just started a fresh style of church with CCEC. Pray for him and his family and their new community. Check them at www.saturdayEV.com