I heard this story from one of our student pastors, Olivia, who spoke in a British accent for an entire semester. Listen to how she tells this story, “In my 7th grade year the local theater was going to be putting on a production of the Chronicles of Narnia. You have to understand I was a major theater kid. I became obsessed with landing the role of Lucy. I found out at the beginning of the spring semester that auditions would be held at the end of April. I was determined to get this role. So I started getting ready in the best way I knew how. I started talking in a British accent. At first it was just every once in a while but as month after month went by it became the only way I spoke. At school, at home, out with my friends I was trying to convince everyone that I had a British accent. We would go to the mall and I would talk to cashiers in that accent to try and see if they believed it. Spoiler alert - they didn’t. Think about how annoying that was for a second. I probably drove people insane. I don’t even know how I had friends after that. But I didn’t care. I was so passionate about landing that role that I was going to do whatever I needed to do to make sure I was ready.”
I bet we all do the same thing when we are passionate about something.
We Prepare When We Care
We train. We practice. We study for tests. We plan itineraries for trips we are excited about. We plan our birthday parties months in advance. When we care about something, we don’t just casually show up, and hope it goes well. No, we do everything we can to make sure we are set up for success. That our time is well spent and we get everything that we want to out of whatever it is we are preparing for. You even get ready to go to a concert by listening to all that artist's music to make sure you know all the songs. We prepare for what we care for.The Bible is filled with lessons about being prepared and planning ahead.
Proverbs 21:5 says,Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.
Proverbs 24:27 says,Do your planning and prepare your fields before building your house.
There are even more verses like this. That teaches the principle that you prepare for what you care for. If it matters you should be getting ready for it. Preparation leads to success. It is important.
As you all know Rally is coming up this week. I know not all of you are signed up. It’s not too late to walk up and join the fun but even if you don’t go to Rally this is important for you to hear. In just a couple of days hundreds of students will be taking over the church and we will spend three days playing games, having crazy parties, worshiping and opening up God’s Word together. It’s gonna be a blast.
A lot of the time we just show up to Rally and hope to have a good time. And you will. We have spent a lot of time and effort getting ready to make sure you will have a good time. No matter what, if you come in excited this week will be fun for you.
But what if it could be more than just fun? What if this week is about more than just riding the mechanical bull til you throw up? What if it’s about more than how many cute girls snapchats or numbers you can get? I believe if we do it right, this year's Rally can be more than just a good time, it could change your life.
Over so many students have had stories of Jesus using rally to transform their lives. I have heard of girls and guys coming to Sagebrush for the first time at Rally, getting involved at Remix and eventually giving their lives to Jesus. And it all started because their friend invited them to Rally. I have met students who decided at Rally that they weren’t going to just go through the motions anymore, but they were going to take their faith seriously and start actually living for Jesus. I have watched those students grow so much in their relationship with God since then. I have watched them bring friends to know Jesus. I have watched them be a light in their schools and families. I have watched them find freedom from the sin and habits that were pulling them away from God. And it all started at Rally. I have seen people give their lives to Jesus at Rally. I have seen guys and girls make lifelong friendships through people that they hung out with at Rally.
My point is yes you can have fun at Rally, but you can have so much more than that. If you let Him, God can use this week to change everything in your life. You could find great friends, you could let go of the sin that is killing you, you could finally stop avoiding it and actually dedicate your life to Jesus.
We have spent months working on the worship, messages, and breakouts for Rally. We have prayed and studied and done everything we can to make sure that we are ready for you to learn and grow a ton this week. We are talking about principles from the Bible that have changed our lives and we believe will change yours too. We have done our prep work , now it’s time that you do yours .
If you want to get everything you can out of Rally you have to come prepared. Don’t just show up casually but treat it like you would treat anything else that matters to you and get ready.
Make sure your heart is prepared..
So, how should you prepare? Here’s what you need to do to make sure you are ready for all that God has in store this week.
Don’t just walk into Rally without spending some time praying and asking God to prepare you for what’s in store. Ask God to open your heart to the lessons you can learn this week. Ask Him to use this week to show you the areas in your life that you may need to change. Ask God to help you connect with the right people and make the right friendships. Pray, pray, pray. Commit these next 3 days to God and watch how He answers those prayers. Proverbs 16:3 says Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. So if you want to get a lot out of this week. Pray!
2. Come Open Hearted
In everything we do there is a temptation to decide we are too cool to participate. “I don’t need to worship with my whole heart that’s weird” “I don’t like people enough to make new friends” “I don’t want to admit that I am not perfect so I am not going to ask for prayer.” Or we can be tempted to think that we know better than everyone and we become unwilling to learn. If that is the attitude you have you will completely miss out not only on the fun but on the life change that Rally could be for you. So make a commitment now to fully show up at Rally and do it with an open heart and mind. Even if your friends don’t make that commitment and they spend the week acting too cool. Don’t be like that. Commit to keeping your heart open and letting God work on your heart this week. Be an active listener. Whether it’s in service or during a High School Breakout. Don’t just tune out the message. Actively listen. Take notes. Ask God how you can apply it to your life this week. Commit to having an open heart. When it comes to worship really engage in it. Don't just dance, scream, and goof around with your friends, actually pay attention to what the words are saying and sing with your heart out to God, praising Him.
3. Come to make friends
Don’t be afraid to meet new people this week! That is part of why we do events like this. So you can connect with people your age who are also trying to follow Jesus. You could meet your lifelong best friend this week. Commit to making good connections. Be kind to the people you meet. Put yourself out of your comfort zone. Play a game with someone you don’t know. If you see someone by themselves, invite them to sit with you and your friends. Don’t wait for people to approach you. Don’t just stand around talking about how you “don’t like people” Don’t be miserable and lonely. Commit to approach new people and make new friends this week.
4. Don’t come alone
Like I said before I have seen people come to Rally for the first time, get involved at Remix and become fully devoted followers of Jesus because their friend invited them to Rally. We still have a few walkup spots left. If you have a friend who needs to hear the message that the God of the Universe loves them and wants a relationship with them. Don’t let them miss out. It’s not too late to call that friend and bring them with you. Let this be a week that not only changes your life but changes the life of someone you love. If you already have a friend that you are going with, make sure to pray for them that they will be open to what God has for them as well.
Paul talks about this kind of preparation in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27,25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadow boxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Prepare for Rally like you are training to win a prize. A prize that’s bigger than any trophy or award. Bigger than making the team or getting the part. You are training to experience eternal life change. Don’t miss out on that.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
