5 Things You Need To Know About Becoming A Christian

welcome to this week's crowd church service we are a digital Church on a quest to discover how Jesus helps us live a more meaningful life we are a community a space to explore the Christian faith and a place where you can contribute and grow our service will last about an hour and in a few seconds we will start with a time of worship after which you will meet our our hosts for our service who will introduce today's talk after the talk we head into conversation Street where we look at your stories and questions that you've posted in the comments throughout the live stream I want to invite you to connect with us here at crowd church and there are a few ways that you can do just that firstly you can engage with Crow from any device during our live stream and if you're up for a it why not invite a few friends over and experience the service together you see church is all about connecting with God and connecting with others and one of the easiest ways for you to do that is to also Join one of our midweek groups where we meet online together to catch up and discover more about the amazingness of Christ you can also subscribe to our podcast called what's the story where we Deep dive into stories of faith and courage from everyday people more information about all of these things that I've mentioned can be found on our website at www.c crow. church or you can reach us uh on social media at crowd church if you're new to crowd or new to the Christian faith and would like to know what your next steps to take are well why not head over to our website crowd. church sln next for more detail sales and now the moment you've been waiting for is here uh online church service starts right now well good evening seamless seamless camera transition well done yeah I was just about to say good evening welcome to crowd church and I realized you're in the driver's seat yeah I'm sorry you go for it let's just rewind there you go good evening welcome to church for those of you that perhaps clicks on a link from YouTube or Facebook this is not Anna this is in case You' not figured that out um Anna's not very well um she yeah she's not feel good she hoped to feel a little bit better today but she's feeling pretty rough so yeah so do pray F yes so Matt's jumped in at the last minute so it's a mat Fest because Matt's doing the talk and is then going to talk about the talk yeah I'm really sorry a lot of M tonight ladies and gentlemen a lot of mat and I do apologize um but yeah no it's it's good I mean you know I'm sorry for an IT feeling sick but I do like this so it's it's not a hardship to be here so welcome everybody Welcome to the live stream yeah it's good to have you all hi Andy and Matt and oh Matt crew said where's an know well we just we' give that explanation yes yeah yeah we might have to explain it again in a few minutes the com hang on a minute what's going on what's going on so we've given you a bit of a glimpse of what's coming up because Matt is doing the talk yep I am doing the talk on five things I think you need to know about becoming Christian I recorded it two weeks ago I'm really sorry I forgot I've moved on um this yeah this bit the talk isn't live so yeah sorry I should play along Matthew play along like he got he got to a different location quickly uh yeah so now I recorded a few weeks ago um on five things about becoming a Christian it's the teaching is taken from our website so there's a page there's a page on the crowd website called um how do I become a Christian and we wrote that uh a while ago when we built the website and because obviously that was a question people were asking like how do I become a Christian and we took a teaching from the book of Acts oh okay yeah and so um and we use this sermon that we're going to go through tonight that Paul uses when he's talking to the church in uh Athens I was going to say when he's talking to the church in Athenians but that's not right when he's talking to the Athenians in Athens and so um so yeah a while ago we did this uh we did this page on the website um about that and so when we were going through the book of Acts I said to Seda when we get to that scripture I'll do that because I'd already done the teaching on it so I just meant prep was a little bit easy I'm not going to lie uh and so yes that's what we're talking about tonight oh we had um a little chat today with my kids who had little orange orange Church Orange Church Orange church church went for walk so we we told our kids um me and my wife how we became a Christian oh nice yeah did a little story there Fant which was which was good yeah really good to go go through that with them and just tell them how well if you want to find out more listen to some whats of stories because there lots of lots of stories there have you done one yet I haven't no so perhaps I need to I need to get you one yeah sad that's written me in a little book it will happen at some point okay no doubt yeah yeah it's uh there's no doubt then it's going to be at some point you probably should explain what's the story is yes so what's the sport what what's the sport ladies and gentlemen yeah we had lots of sports yesterday if you in the UK we did what's the story is a great podcast um loads and loads out there already AR there 30 over 30 37 38 I think um stories of ordinary people about how their life has been changed by God basically um some well every one of them actually quite extraordinary quite extraordinary and they're just normal people it's not like you know we pick people some people have stories that are excited don't they but then there's just there ordinary fol as where where it's ordinary F yeah normal fol yeah when God just change it changes it's a story so yeah it is and it's amazing really isn't it and so that's why we did the the the what's the story podcast we wanted we wanted to share people's stories because every story is unique every story is different uh some you know just crazy stories like I I really want to get greme Jones on to the what story podcast and you'll hear him talk about how he took shotguns you know to school when he was 12 years old and things like that um and then there's just there's there's people like you came out the womb as a Christian in a lot of way and so um yeah massive range so go check out what's the story podcast if you haven't seen it yeah and if you're going through uh um problems or it maybe howal things or Finance just have a scroll through some of them and and think oh I'll listen to that person there's a lady on a couple of weeks ago it was amazing talk and like in my mind I'm I'm I'm rubbish at remembering what people say I can remember you know the general put that near your mouth orange I can remember microphone technique I can remember the general gist but this lady she said a line she said um I'm one of the both bonuses about getting cancer was you're like okay was not expecting that yeah yeah that's how God had has used her changed her well you need to listen to it because I just wouldn't do itth but Amazing Stories no there are actually I was talking to someone earlier on the WhatsApp and referred them to sadf story what was the story oh yeah need catch up on I know sadf and I'll find out a bit more yeah yeah well sadf was in an abusive relationship ship oh wow yeah really bad in a lot of ways and the the just draw my pen and the her partner was a Christian and so she was in this sort of Christian abusive relationship so she I mean that story is insane so um and just talking to somebody on what's that ear on an abusive relationship here listen to that and so yeah really fascinating uh there's all kinds of stuff in there what's the story do check it I think we've plugged that really well I think we should just get straight on to the talk yeah yeah more Matt um yes more Matt so here's Matt doing the talk and but while the talks are if you got any questions please just put them up and then we'll come back and we will discuss them yes we will and I'm going get in the comments now and I'm going to press a button which is somewhere here there it is oh oh no got an error message come up on the screen maybe about that press the there you go I'm going to do that instead oh no has it been downloaded that's the question okay whilst Dan is fiddling around with the technology trying to make the video work uh let me just say uh warm welcome to you I'm just going to go in the comments put my glasses on yeah I'll see who's in the comments this is why I have my phone I'm not really sorting out my to-do list D I'm on the screen twice now have you done that don't know but I can't get that video you know I don't remember a time when I didn't believe in the existence of God doesn't mean I was always a Christian but I always believe that God existed I kind of knew that there had to be a God but I didn't really know an awful lot about him other than what was taught in the school assembly and even then I would usually zone out so I'm not actually sure how much went in you know what I mean if you sat in those scho scho assemblies now it wasn't until I was 18 that I made the decision to become a Christian which in some ways sounds like a very strange statement statement I appreciate that how on Earth did I get to a place where I made a decision like this and what was that decision well today we are going to look at some of these key ideas and hopefully dispel some of the crazy myths about Christianity like you have to learn secret handshakes you know start wearing sandals that you can't drink alcohol or you know you kind of lose your ability to dance at all uh all without ever laughing or smiling or having fun ever again you know the myth and they're all not true and just you know spoiler alert H to help us do just that we are going to carry on our study in the book of Acts we're we're sort of journeying through the book of Acts which is a book that Chronicles the story of the early church and to give us some kind of context We are following a chat called Paul the Apostle Paul St Paul as he is also known uh through his missionary journey and throughout chapter 17 which is where we're now at Paul and Silas a chat called Silas are in ancient Greece where many people are becoming Christians but there's a group of people the hardliners who weren't that impressed and broke out in a mob against them so Saul and Saul Paul and Silas escape to a place called Berea but then the mob follows them uh it's the ancient version of the ccil culture it seems so the next stop for Paul and Silas is Athens and that's where we're going to pick up the story now the thing about the Athenians was that most of them had never heard about Jesus or the Messiah so Paul is speaking to a relatively uh let's call them fresh audience and he's going to talk in a way which helps them understand not like he's talking to a Jewish audience but like he's talking to an audience that never really heard about Jesus before which is helpful because Paul in this sort of mini sermon that he does Paul's known for his long sermons but to the Athenians oh no he keeps it quite short but he's going to lay out five things in his message uh to them about what it means to become a Christian and it's those five things that I want to draw out in today's passage so if you're thinking uh about becoming a Christian if you're on that Journey wanting to find out more stay tuned cuz this is going to be super super helpful and of course if you are a already this is just always a good fresh reminder of things I really enjoyed this study so let's dig into it number one we're going to learn that to become a Christian means knowing that God created you for a relationship with him okay so Paul starts off his sermon by saying the god who made the world and everything in it this master of sky and land doesn't live in custommade shrines or need the human race to run errands for him as if he couldn't take care of himself he makes the creatures the creatures don't make him starting from scratch he made the entire human race and made the Earth hospitable with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God and not just grow ripe around in the dark but actually find him wow what an introduction it's a very very powerful opening statement which is important when you're doing a talk apparently I should take note uh but in this right he he uses this great phrase I don't know if you picked up on it but he said this he said each life has enough time and space for living so we could seek after God we have enough space for time of sorry enough time and space for living so we can seek after God which is quite extraordinary thinking isn't it because it gives purpose and meaning to life to seek after him in modern Christianity we've used a slightly different phrase we use this idea of being in relationship with God which you may have heard before that Christianity is more than just a religious Duty or a title but it's a relationship that is active and living and Brea breathing and it brings life uh to us authentically and positively yes now we are created then to be in a relationship with God that's the reason for life itself and that's really really important we are here to be in a relationship with God and this verse also helps us deal with that uh deal with the myth that Christianity is anti-intellectual see contrary to popular belief and what a lot of people write in their books today Christianity actually encourages intellectual scrutiny and critical thinking Christianity as Paul says in this little talk here is not groping around in the dark but it is about seeking and discovering the most incredible and impactful truths we could search for it's number one yes number two hope you're taking notes to become a Christian means knowing that God is with you number one God wants me in a relationship with him number two God is with me let's dig into this Paul carries on he says he doesn't play hide and seek with us he's not remote he is near we live and move in him we can't get away from him this is quite stunning language that Paul is using to describe this isn't it you see as much as you want to be a Christian God wants you to be in relationship with him much much more than you could know or think of which tackles a myth that God is distant and aloof and that he is permanently mad at the human race no no no Paul tells us he lives with us he is involved he celebrates the awe and wonder of life with us because he is life itself and notice this isn't just for a select few oh no this is for everyone and the astounding truth of Christianity is that God is interested in you he loves you he actually dare I said quite likes you and you have purpose and meaning and although life may be hard he promises to be involved in it with us which is mindblowing when you think it through the god of the universe interested in little old me enough to come and make his home in me which is what the Bible says so I can say like Paul that in him I live and move and have my being that's pretty awesome that's one heck of a relationship so God the purpose of life to have a relationship with God number two God is in us and he is for us number three to become a Christian means acknowledging that he is God this is all good stuff we've talked about so far but God is God Paul kerodon said this one of your poets said it well we're the God created well if we're the God created it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to Chisel a God out of stone for us does it loving loving loving the rhetorical questions that Paul is using here very very good tactic uh yes I think you see people have a habit of creating gods for themselves as there is something deep inside us that needs to worship and if it's not directed to God himself it will be directed to other things see for the Athenians it was Gods chiseled out of stone don't tend to do that these days for us it can be say hmis headism Hedonism can't even say it uh philosophy maybe or a particular view of science it might be money or success it might be what other people think of us the list goes on you see becoming a Christian is about realizing that God is our God now it sounds like a bit of an odd thing to say that God is God I appreciate that but it is in reality one of the hardest things that we have to get to grips with because having God on the throne in our lives means making some difficult choices do we obey him or do we not and this becomes very difficult because our default I think is to live for ourselves normally the person that we worship the most is ourselves but God is God which leads me nicely onto the next point point number four to become a Christian calls for a radical life change that's what Paul said to the Athenians he said this God overlooks it as long as you don't know know any better but that time is passed the unknown is now known and he's calling for a radical life change that's pretty hard-hitting isn't it he's calling for a radical life change this is important genuinely listen it's really really important entering the Christian Life is as simple as just saying a prayer acknowledging that you need Jesus and asking him to help you walk in his ways but as simple as that is it also requires a lot from us because you are in effect orienting your life around the things of Christ moving forward Christianity is not a title it's a lifestyle which makes it both easy and hard it's a calling to an adventure and I don't think any Adventure worth taking is not going to require anything from you it comes down to an idea that that the Bible calls lordship so who is your king who is your lord who is your god who directs your life for example if someone wrongs you in quite a big way you like most Hollywood hit movies might want to take revenge out on that person you certainly don't want to forgive them but when you're a Christian things might be a little bit differently in Jesus well when he directs your life he might ask you very well to make a different decision the Bible talks a lot about forgiveness you don't feel like it you don't even want to do it so it becomes a question of lordship if Jesus is your lord you forgive because he ask you to do it not because you feel like it you see this is a radical life change and this radical life change doesn't just extend to forgiveness I mean I enough on its own but it opens up to every area of life which is why I say as aot ofs and this is a lifelong journey as you learn what it means for Jesus to be your lord and you submit to that lordship now let me tell you after 30 years of being a Christian I'm still learning what all of this means right becoming a Christian means that you are willing to accept that life will change radically now hear me on this you don't have to get everything sorted out to become a Christian you do not need to be clean or perfect far from it cuz you'll never get there you don't need a radical life change before you become a Christian but by becoming a Christian your life will radically change your life the day after you become a Christian May well look a lot like the life the day before you became a Christian Christian what I can guarantee though is that your life will not look the same in a year as you grow in your knowledge and understanding of him your life will change as you understand his plans and his purposes for your life your life will change as you walk in his uh plan for you that's a radical change right there because it seems like God knows what he's doing even on this whole forgiveness lock there's some very solid thinking behind it now number five what what what else does Paul tell us to become a Christian is to believe in the resurrection of Christ Paul said this he sort of he finalizes his sermon he ends it uh on a high point let's say and this is how he goes he says he God has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right and he has already appointed the judge confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead and at the phrase raising him from the dead sh the listeners split some laughed at him and walked off making jokes others said let's do this again we want to hear more but that was it for the day and Paul left and there were still others it turned out who were convinced there and then and stuck with Paul among them dionysius uh the arop pagate and a woman named dearis hope I got those pronunciations right now God raised Jesus from the dead this is the whole pivot point of Christianity the resurrection you'll notice that here in the crowd Paul was talking to there were three responses to the resurrection of Christ as Paul talked number one they laughed and walked away number two some people wanted to know more and number three some people believed right there and then and that's still the case today you can laugh you can walk away uh as some do uh you might not be totally sure or sold out on it yet and so you want to know more which is if I'm honest where I was for a while but eventually you will come to a place where you accept it with a third group of people so why is the resurrection so important why did Paul bring this up a few years after his chat here with the Athenians uh he put it this way when he was writing to a church in Corinth that he started he said and if Christ has not been raised then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain your faith is futile and you are still in your sins said that in 1 Corinthians 15 really interesting is in other words if there is no Resurrection there is no Christian faith the two things are linked and cannot exist without each other everything about Christianity the idea that we have and can have a relationship with God that we can live life with God that we can experience him as our God and that by becoming a Christian Our Lives will radically change all center around the idea of the Resurrection because without the Resurrection the other stuff simply cannot happen and when you realize this you also quickly realize that this salvation that God offers us through Christ well it's not about you it's not about your good life it's not about your Deeds your act how much you have sinned or how much you haven't sinned or how much praying you have done this week no no no it's not about you it is all about Jesus it is all about his death his burial and his resurrection this is a massive topic let me tell you much more extensive than I think we can cover here but the good news is that we've covered this a lot on Crow church so if you want to dig a bit deeper just head over to the website and search out some of the past services on the resurrection suffice it to say though that the resurrection is a key well is not a key it's the key to Christianity so Five Points lead us all to one very important question that I had to answer when I was 18 how do I become a Christian well you'll be pleased to know that there are no processes to follow no 12 steps no chants no incantations uh you have to make uh sorry to report as I said at the start there's no secret handshake really the answer can be summed up in one word probably uh well one word from probably the most well-known verse in the Bible and it is this John 316 you've just got to believe that's it believe and this is all tied to a simple decision that you make and that is a decision you can make right now like some of the people in the crowd following Paul they were convinced there and then now this is a decision that I need to make right now I don't need my life to be perfect I don't need to all my you know all the planets lined up I'm just going to make a decision right now but that might not be you you might be on a journey you might want to know more everyone is different with a different story for me it was something that I spent over a year looking at and thinking about and studying and trying to get my head around but one day I just made a decision that changed my life I would be a Christian from that point on now if you're ready to make that decision just do what I did say a simple prayer something like this Lord I'm ready I've come to a place where I want to acknowledge that Jesus is my Lord that Jesus came to save me and that he rose from the dead Lord draw near to me as I draw near to you and teach me what it means to live a life as a Christian amen if you've just prayed that prayer or if you're watching this live stream and you've recently become a Christian through other mechanisms uh awesome what happens next well let me just be the first person to say congratulations it's great that I that you have made not I you have made this radical lifechanging decision to follow Jesus I'll leave it in the GU with the guys in conversation Street to talk to you about some of the more practical stuff about what happens next few like you know reading the Bible getting stuck into church and all that sort of stuff hint guys you know conversation Street get ready uh but can I encourage you to get in touch with us and let us know that you have made that decision we would genuinely love to pray for you and help you on with your next steps you can reach us through the website at www.c crow. through social media at crowd church or through email uh you can reach us via WhatsApp the WhatsApp number will come up on the screen cuz I don't actually know what it is uh but it's also available on our website at www.c crow. we honestly would love to hear from you genuinely we would so let me tell you in closing about Jenny Jenny is an absolute Legend uh and Jenny has been uh talking about faith with a friend she was she was not a Christian this is all very recent uh and she was intrigued by the strength of his faith but Christianity honestly did not appeal to her at all but Jenny did start a journey and came across our online Alpha course which is a great course to do if you're exploring Christianity as it goes through some of the key questions you will have you can find it on our website just head over to crowd. church scroll right to the bottom and click the online Alpha course link or just Google crowd Church online Alpha course when I tested it we were number one you just never know right uh but do check out that online Alpha course now many of the websites that Jenny came across talked about in Jenny's word how you must repent of your sins and surrender your uh life uh and live a radically different life which all sounded very very impossible and overwhelming and rules-based so Jenny was wrestling with Christianity and she was struggling with it she was sort of luing but was very cynical and reluctant in her words but her friend kept encouraging her and in Jenna's words something happened during this time where uh and I'm quoting where I physically felt something lift from me and I felt very emotional and a lot of those objections in my head just went away now Jenny I met on WhatsApp she connected with us on WhatsApp just like me encourage you to do with your prayer requests with your questions Jenny asked a few questions and I asked how it was going and we just struck up a conversation which was great Jenny replied with a head blown Emoji which have to be honest with you made me smile here is what Jenny said for those of us who are very new to it it's quite extraordinary to learn how God can work you can read it in books Etc but it's only when you experience it does it blow your mind or at least that was the case for me and to be honest with you Jenny it was also the case for me now whatever I thought I felt believed thought in April uh when all this started is nothing like what happened last Wednesday and what I felt believed thought since I love Jenny's story uh Sharon my wife and I recently watched her getting baptized love the whole video thing and live streaming thing and we got to see Jenny get baptized she started to search for Jesus and found him which is what the Bible actually promises is going to happen and when she found him her life Chang changed not because she started to follow a whole bunch of Ru rules all of a sudden but because Jenny discovered as I have and billion billions of others that we are designed to have a life altering encounter and relationship with Christ and that there is a lot of joy in that so if you're like Jenny and have questions even cynical ones do reach out to us and let us know or if you have become a Christian also reach out to us if you're just starting your walk of faith and need some advice and some support we would love to connect with you of course if you're like me and bit of a dinosaur been around for a while also connect we'd love to connect with you too we would love to pray for you do send in the stuff so that's it from me let's head back I'm going to do this and maybe they can do some funky effect I don't know back to the studio thanks for listening and we are back now you're G have to change the sound thing I don't think they're going to be able to hear us so just with your mouse just change that to the uh doz oh yeah yeah that one no no no you don't want mono okay there we go can you hear us now there apologies hopefully the sound is coming through can you hear us now ladies and gentlemen hopefully that's working just let us know and yes Jenny is in the comments who I was talking about uh so Jenny great story uh and thank you for letting share it yeah amazing it just every time you hear about someone who finds Jesus and it is a head blowing moment every time that yeah head blown Emoji yeah I defin I he made me smile uh it was great it was great and we were at um you weren't I was at front line this morning which is the I want to say the mothership we're part of the Frontline Network um and I was at front line this morning 19 people got baptized I really wanted to go on to see Gary oh yeah Gary got dunked he was awesome uh so another Legend but yeah it was great you know so many people making so many life altering decisions and um and that's the the the I mean when we were talking earlier on weren't we about what's the story it fundamentally there there is one thing which connects all of those stories how they became a Christian is all very different but fundamentally what connects all those stories is they've all had a life altering encounter with God H and they've all gone you know what yeah this is for me I'm in and regardless of how that happened do you know what I mean and uh and that's the that's the amazing thing and that's what Jenny experienced um and that's been great um and I know everybody on the Live Well I say everybody people on the live stream got similar stories right so um yeah it's great it's wonderful isn't it to have that yeah it is and I mean we've got loads of points to go through but one of yeah we have but one of those is that radical life change is afterwards you can't prepare in in a way to become a Christian you can't get to a stage okay I'm good enough now yeah today I didn't do too many bad things let's go let's go for it let's punch the microphone let's punch the microphone um we're a mess we need Jesus whatever stage we're at yeah um it might it might be our worst day it might be our best day um that's so true and I love that we can't we we can't work after we become Christian we can't work into heaven we can't get into God's good books in the top of the list or anything we can't do that no we can't it's it's funny I've talking to a couple of different people today some on text message the WhatsApp some in person I had a few folks around our house all two two people specifically wanting sort of get established in their faith right um uh they're sort of very at the very early stages of their Christian Journey okay so uh I don't know if they've made that decision yet or whether they are in the process of making it or whether they are just postm I didn't really get into the details to be honest with you but we were just chat away and both of them the the comment to both of them I had to say was this thing of you're you think you need to do x y and Zed to have those ducks in a row before you become a Christian like you if you don't do that God's not going to accept you and that's the first Furthest Thing from the gospel right um because I said to them I said well listen well you take those let's say you check those things off your list what's next yeah yeah because that list will just keep going and going and going right and so you're right when it be when it when it comes to becoming a Christian it doesn't matter what's on your list or what you think you have to check off um it's it's not going to help you I think that's in a lot of ways you know that's probably the biggest thing that makes Christianity different from other religions yeah quite possibly yeah isn't it it's it's not a set of rules and it's not something that you're going to find out I wrote it down because I was reading about um uh I think it's part of the Islam faith that you can be forgiven but you don't know that happens until you die oh really yeah oh wow that's why I heard this week I mean someone might correct me but God says no who's going to forgive you now yeah yeah can be of that we don't have to do stuff yeah hoping that we're going to get into heaven hoping they going to we're going to meet God he comes he's done it for us yeah that's it's a it's a certainty yeah it is yeah there's a great phrase that I I heard in I think I might have mentioned this before on the live stream there's a great phrase that I've heard banded around Christianity for a little while and this is aimed at Christians who are who are talking to people who you are not get Christians right and the the phrase is you don't have to clean the fish before you catch it right and if you've been around Church circles for a while you know exactly what this phrase means it basically Christians have had this assumption for a long time there's this sort of head knowledge about Grace well hang on it's all about God's grace but there's this thing which says well if you want to become a Christian you have to do dot dot dot you've got to sort your life out here you've got to you know stop drinking stop doing drugs you've got to stop sleeping around you've got to do dot dot dot and then when you've done those then come to church and you know maybe then we can talk to you about becoming a Christian in other words they're trying to clean the fish before they catch it and it's it's not true now all of that said one of the things I said in the talk was you you don't you don't have to have that radical life change to become a Christian but once you become a change and I do think God asked things of us and from us yeah um I think um you said the unknown is now known so before we were a Christian we lived in that life of not knowing whether almost whether God was real or but we then we made that commitment and the unknown became known and we now have that responsibility well now we know God's real yeah so now let's listen to him and now let's allow him to convict us of things yeah to move us on um and even with that he doesn't do stuff God's a god of love isn't he yeah you talked about being um he's excited to be with us and we're excited to be with him um that it's not it's not um a relationship where you're getting slapped you know to go faster and faster and faster it's a relationship good analogy yeah yeah to to to draw near yeah and learn and move on yeah um and be more be more like Jesus not even just because God wants us to be like him but because he created the world for us that if we are more like them it works more it's funny how that works yeah no totally I I think you're right I think we are designed to I think we are designed in a certain way and and life works when we live according to that standard and to that to that calling and I think life often does doesn't work when we don't do that that Mak sense yeah and so yeah I was talking to a g a guy today about his addictions trying to overcome addiction you try and overcome addiction by yourself and this was a our conversation you try doing that in your own strength and see how far you get and he's like well it's all it's failed every single time yeah and I'm like well and don't get me wrong I'm not an addiction counselor and I just want to preface everything by saying this right and I'm not I'm not in Addiction Counseling any that sort of stuff but trying to get through something like that in your own strength with your own capacity with your own capability um is very very difficult whereas if if you go to Christ and you say Come Into My Life come into my heart change my life give me that radical life change I want to be clean well then there's this wonderful verse in the Bible which says it's not by might it's not by power but it's by my spirit says the Lord in other words God gets involved so Breaking Free from that addiction I've seen people instantly get set free from addictions and I've seen it take a while um every every journey is unique the thing that is common to every journey is God is involved uh and so again all these things that we face all these things that we go through come to Christ first because you can deal with that with him in his strength rather than you trying to have to figure it all out yourself does that make sense um and that's that radical life change yeah yeah absolutely that absolute radical life change yeah um so let's have a look at some of the comments 21 years Matt he's been baptized it's quite a good 21 years yeah I've just got a text message here on the church WhatsApp because it comes through to to this phone at the moment uh uh says Matt you should totally do a radio show I find your voice mesmerizing so I know the whatsapp's working um but yes uh actually one of the things I'm talking to this this person I won't mention their name on it because it's they'll be unfair KN in the comments on YouTube but um one thing you can do now we were talking I talked there that sorry we're skirting around a little bit but one of the things that we talked about at the end was the resurrection and how it's Central Point to Christianity and how for me I spent a lot of time looking at and investigating the claims of Christianity before going yeah sure okay I'll sign onto the do line I always believed in God but you know there is a requirement I think when you become a Christian one of the great tools you now have to help you get your head around that Jenny did a little bit just a person on whatsapp's doing it is Alpha you know doing the AL course whether that's in person at a local church whether that's doing like the online ones like on the crowd Church website um whether it's a hybrid you know um Alpha is such a great tool to find out more about the Christian faith so if you are investigating if you are wondering what's going on um about the resurrection and all that sort of stuff the alpha course is a really good place to start there are other courses available like Christianity explored is another one which is also great um there's a lot of resource out there which you can access um and I thought that was worth mentioning just because of that what's that message that came through yeah definitely because it just helps you just stages doesn't it to learn more about and a lot of the words that you start to hear and even when you're reading um reading the Bible you come across phrases and different ways of different things that are said and it's great just to get a bit of an understanding from that and and to ask questions yeah as you're doing it Alpa is great for that isn't it I have a million questions I'm going to ask you all the awkward questions I can possibly think of and um and I I just love all the awkward questions I'm not going to lie I'm quite fun if I'm honest with you you might not like my answers but you can definitely answer question oh brilliant but no check it out the alpha course and like I said there there's uh more information is available on the crowd Church website just search for the online Alpha whilst you're on there um but yeah or do it like I say an iners one uh in an inperson Church local church that brilliant that's such good good thing yeah yeah really good resource very very very good to meet some more people that's always nice yeah yeah yeah so what else is in your notes you've got plenty I didn't take any then I did the talk oh here look Andy's putting the comments the alpha course is how I found crowd awesome amazing go Andy you're a legend man that's cool yeah I didn't know that actually uh but thank you for letting me know I do know that now yeah I put um I know we've talked a lot about the resurrection but it it's not just for me it wasn't just a one time explanation it was like oh now the resurrection is Central Yeah the more I find out about it the more I realize what Christ did when he died the more that situation and that event grows and you're just like wow yeah that's and because that's grown that's how much you love me he loves me and that's grown yeah and and you see it woven into the Bible it didn't just start and end on that day those three days it started before creation yeah you know and and when you get your head around that that God knew that we were going to fall away from him he's going to create this perfect world and then we just ditch God yeah and he still comes and dies yet he still know knew that before it's just blow your head blow your mind again head emoji yeah we need like one of those sort of AC those clips we can PL just press a button on the screen but no you're totally right Dan and I think this is the thing about the Christian walk isn't it the more you walk with Christ the more you discover the more you discover the stronger you walk with and it becomes like it it is ever increasing Paul said it this way in scripture he said you know what I know in part but I prophesy in part and and what is now known in part will become fully known um talking about eternity uh and I I read that and I go yeah that the the more I do this Christian walk thing the more I realize I just don't know I thought I did but there's so much more to this than I thought and you get into it and it just becomes this Rabbit Hole um and yeah in the fullness of Eternity there are some things that we will find out uh in its fullness but for now you're right and I think what tends to happen is as a Christian the more you walk with Christ the revelation about the resurrection and what that means is the transformative thing so it's good don't get me wrong I I I love the you know for God so loved the world I love the fact that we know that God loves us um and that in itself is powerful but it's in the resurrection that and understanding that that the transformation comes because that's what you understand when you understand the resurrection you start to understand what you've been saved from if that makes sense um so for example we how do I know I've been forgiven of sin right so you talked about that whereas there are certain fa where you just don't know you I don't I don't know I'll find out one one day I suppose but how can I be confident that I've been forgiven of my sin well I know because of the Resurrection do you see what I mean yeah uh and it's that an understanding that gives me that confidence well once you the more you dig into it it's like well how do I know God wants to heal me if I pray for for healing well it's we can we can take it back to the resurrection how do I know that God will provide for me well I can take it there's all these things you can take back to so the longer you walk with Christ the more you realize everything is tied into that sorry I just went off on one then no brilliant here's a a tough question so Matt's put here an alpha sort of question can you lose your salvation oh go on crew just ask a little question can you lose your salvation and here's an alpha type answer Matt yes or no this how I would answer it yes you can and no you can't uh I think uh losing your salvation is such a fascinating question isn't it because there it's not a binary simple answer I don't think when I read scripture I think some people read it as very black and white and I think there are nuances in that like I think there it scripture does talk about people that have committed the sin the unpardonable sin you know the the griev of the Holy Spirit um but to commit that sin the qualifications which you must have yes do you I mean I'm not talking about a degree you know I'm talking about certain things that you have had to have done in your Christian walk which the majority of people haven't yeah the realization yeah I mean you've got to have gone through so much and then at that point go yeah I'm not interested that becomes the unpardonable sin in many ways but let me tell you I don't know and I I know a lot of Christians um over the years I don't know if I can pinpoint a single person that would have fitted all of those criteria and has W walked away from their faith so I think whilst there there are possibilities of it I think it's not actually that straightforward or easy to do um and I know that there are a lot of people that stress about this like oh you know I'm a Christian and I I went out and did something stupid whatever do you mean they've just gone and so they they're like does that mean I'm I'm I I I'm now not forgiven have I committed something which was really you know unforgivable you're like no no trust me no and and if you feel like you have please write to me because I would I would I would love to meet you because if you have you've done all these great things and I've got a lot of questions for you you know and if you feel like you have that's probably one of the um categories that's sort of says well no cuz I realize that I have yeah um come I real you know I still realize that God's there I still realize that conviction um yeah yeah I think you're right I think the way scripture talks about it when you if you do walk away in such a way that you cannot come back you know you definitely have made a very real conscious choice about something um but like I say for for for most of us and I'm including myself in this bracket um I don't think it's something that we have to worry about and I think God's forgiveness is open to all of us um and I think uh you you you will be fine just repent as we like to say in church cires get your heart right before God um change change what you were doing and just keep moving forward yeah that's it is change what you're doing yeah definitely yeah like Jes said to the woman at the well just don't do it anymore yeah okay I know what you've been doing don't do it anymore okay and the thing is it's not for us um I'm glad we're not the judges you know God is the judge that's an interesting point actually there's some scripture which you might you might uh read and go well maybe we are going to be the judge at some point I don't know um but right now here at this point yeah I'm definitely not but God sees us right from the does from the end to the beginning yeah um and he sees our hearts and he sees yeah yeah and it doesn't mean you're not going to do something stupid doesn't mean there's a lasso around you that protects you um from doing something that is against God's yeah will we still have that we still that free will yeah we do don't we yeah and and and it and God doesn't promise to protect you from him from yourself um which is a is a very good point yeah yeah totally um so yeah hopefully that's answered that question yes or no Matt is answer but thanks for asking that you little what else is in your notes s so what else we got um I think we've covered pretty much all of it actually oh look at the time um did not but I do like that that um there's lots of Point points put down that he is God he can't be sculpted he's not um yeah this is a really important point in the modern world that actually God's God and you can't form him to your truth this you know you live your truth you find out your truth it's all isn't it amazing that God said I am the way the truth and the life we've come to this this world of our own truths and 2,000 years ago Jesus said you have to be really careful really careful with that kind of thing God fundamentally as a Christian God is God and as soon as you try and get God as soon as you try and act as God as and you start to dictate what's going on it is all kinds are wrong and you go well I'm living my truth I'm living authentic to me you're kind of like no you're trying to be the god of your own life you're trying to do a role which you're not designed to do um let God be God he knows what he's doing he's been doing it a while yeah he's he's got the best interests for you and me at heart so let him be God and don't try and usurp that um I do hear a lot of this type of talk at the moment you know I'm I'm deconstructing my Christian faith I'm going to live my truth I'm going to live authentic to me and it's like no fundamentally and hear me on this I'm not I'm just aware of time and I haven't got time to go into it fully but fundamentally you are trying to be your own God you are trying to be the God in your life and that's not a role you can do let God be God stop telling God how to be God let him be God I think this a lesson for all of us really in yes um and Life Will Go much better and this is what Paul was trying to get across to the Athenians it's like it's not you um it's not about what you carve in stone let God be God that means let the Creator be the Creator yeah we're the created yeah yeah let's do that let's do that uh yes H and on that note I'm reading what Cruz put here what's happening next week other than the clocks changing yes so we're on at the same time but a different time astronomically speaking Yeah the clock's changed don't they next next weekend and who is on who's on the live stream next week um it's a very good question let me look did you have you got it okay is it's you Matt I'm on I figured I would be with your lovely wife and Dave connley is talking oh fantastic the legend that is Dave so that's G to be a good one yeah yeah for those of you who don't know who Dave is do come join us Dave is one of the founding pastors of the church that I started going to 30 years ago um he is just an awesome guy I've known him for 30 I can't believe it's 31 32 years now um him and his wife Julie some of the most adorable lovely people on the the planet and so um whenever Dave talks I'm always listening because you know he's brilant we we met didn't we this week is it Friday yeah we met on Friday didn't we and um yeah and haven't seen Dave for a while it was so nice yeah good to see him good to see him they've been brilliant yes do come and join us for that yeah so make sure you hit the like button on the Subscribe button if you haven't done so already you'll get notified when we are live if you haven't done so also if you got a button head over to the website www. crowd. church you can sign up to the newsletter uh which is getting a bit more established now uh in the sense that we're doing it properly um and Matt crew is spellchecking it so it's Matt crew superpower yes is his ability to spot the most in incredible stuff anyway that's why on countdown that's why he's on c yeah yeah you can see my and the zoom as well so zoom on Wednesday yeah so if you're interested in that get in contact yeah yeah let us know reach out to us VI the website grab the WhatsApp number send me a message it will come through to my phone today so uh do come and say how's it on the WhatsApp be great to hear from you um and yeah if you want to come join the zoom be great to see you in there and I think probably the best way to end this is just to say listen if you we've talked a lot today about becoming a Christian um which we don't I mean we do on a few Zoom uh few zooms on a few of the live streams we don't do it every week but on this one we focus specifically on this topic because of what was mentioned in acts so if that is you watching on the catchup um and you want to get in touch we would love to hear from you so do reach out to us if you've got any questions no question is a stupid question I've yet to find a stupid question uh that I've been asked because I think most of them come from a genuine Place some of them some people maybe not so in the YouTube comments but most of the time it comes from a genuine place would love to get involved in any genuine conversation so do reach out to us we would love to hear from you indeed indeed we would yeah cool man brilliant have an amazing week and um we'll see you next week we will thanks for joining us have a great week thank you so much for joining us here on crowd church now if you are watching on YouTube make sure you hit the Subscribe Button as well as that little tiny bell notification to get notified the next time we are live and of course if you are listening to the podcast uh the live stream podcast make sure you also hit the follow button Now by Smashing the like button on YouTube or writing a review on your podcast platform it helps us reach more people with the message that Jesus really does help us live a more meaningful and purposeful life so if you haven't done so already be sure to check out our website www.c crow. church where you can learn more about us as a church more about the Christian faith and also how to connect into our church Community it has been awesome to connect with you and you are awesome it's just a burden you have to bear and hopefully we'll see you next time that's it from us God bless you bye for