Summer Camp 2009 - Monday Night
Tom Shrader delivers a closing session at summer camp, summarizing the week's teaching on how sin separates people from God, how faith in Christ restores that relationship, and how believers are called to live radically different lives shaped by love. Drawing from Romans 12, James 1, Colossians 3, and 1 Corinthians 13, he walks students through the full arc of the week's message — from a transformed heart and informed mind to a life characterized by the fruit of the Spirit. He closes with a pastoral warning that the mountaintop feeling of camp will be tested the moment students return home, and he urges them to find one or two trusted friends who will walk with them honestly through the struggles ahead.
“If God has done something or is doing something in your life this week, right now, I guarantee you the enemy is coming at you — but you're going to have the creator God of the universe, whose Son Jesus died on the cross for you, and you're going to have in you the power of the Holy Spirit.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Summer Camp
Recorded: 2009 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 25 min
Themes: sin, salvation, love, transformation, faith, accountability, fruit of the spirit, returning home, teenager, new believer, student at camp, struggling with temptation, returning from retreat, seeking community, young adult, searching for purpose
Scripture: John 3:16, Romans 8:35-39, James 1:14-15, Colossians 3:2, Romans 12:1-2, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Isaiah 6
Theological Themes: sanctification, becoming holy, soteriology, sin and separation, justification, repentance, fruit of the spirit, biblical discipleship
Full Transcript
Introduction and Summary
That is the perfect ending — and a little bit of an understatement. Here is all I have got: I have the Creator God of the universe who loves me so much that He sent His Son to die so that I can have eternal life. Whether it was Steven or Whitney or Lucy or Garrett or Brad, the circumstances were different, the stories were different, but they were all the same: I was lost and now I'm found. It is a work of God in my life.
I want to do a quick summary of what we talked about, and then I want us to respond. I am going to give you a couple of quiet minutes to sit at the end, and then the band is going to come and close our time together.
Before we get into that, let me also tell you what we are going to do on Sunday night. Some of you are East Valley kids and you hear this all the time; some of you are not. Most of you know that the band that plays here also leads worship on Sunday night. When we teach this Sunday night, it will be like a summer camp recap. We will have a little bit of the video, and my assumption is I will sit down with Tim and we will pick the songs — the songs I like, which at least has to include a happy song, because I am a happy guy. Some of you have parents who do not normally come to East Valley Bible Church, or they are not around much, and they are going to see something different in you. Give them an opportunity to come and hear what you heard. What you heard in seven sessions, they are going to hear in half an hour. Take advantage of that at the four o'clock and the six o'clock services.
Transformed Heart, Informed Mind, Radical Life
We started the first night by saying that we want to have a transformed heart and an informed mind, and that we want to live a radical life. That theme has worked its way all the way through everything we have discussed.
The key that most people never grasp is the effect of sin. Sin comes into our lives and does all those things we talked about, but the central thing it does is separate us from God. You heard that in all the testimonies — I was separated from God, and I knew there was something more. God uses something like *Braveheart* to do that — it is incredible. God has put in you a yearning, a desire to be part of something bigger. That something bigger is His story, which He is working out in the world, and you can be part of it.
The remedy to that separation is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life." All of a sudden, there is real life. What now controls me is not my sin — though I still sin — but I am no longer a slave to sin. I am now controlled by the love of Christ.
We also said that this relationship, this union with God, means that if you are truly God's child, there is nothing that can separate you from the love He has for you. What can separate us from the love of Christ? The answer is absolutely nothing.
Studying God's Word
Part of having an informed mind means studying God's Word. Several of you have asked what that looks like. There are many tools available now — you can find incredible resources online to help you study God's Word, though you have to be careful there. Perhaps we need to talk more in student ministries, and even on Sunday, about how to actually study Scripture.
Here is what we know, and this is key: do not for a second think that because you are now God's children, everything is going to be smooth. You are going to have trials, difficulties, and challenges. And one of the things that will come into your life is sin.
The Pattern of Sin
We looked at James chapter one, verses 14 and 15, which tells us what happens: there is something inside of us, even as followers of Christ, that is attracted to something outside. The biblical word used is *lust* — and that does not just mean sexual desire, though that can be part of it. It is any desire, any place we are looking to find our comfort, our security, and our satisfaction — the thing we want most. If we do not clip that lust right away, it gives way to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. It separates me from God — not in terms of my union with Him, but in terms of my fellowship with Him.
Some of you know exactly what this feels like. Some of you came to this campus as followers of Christ and yet you are bone dry, because sin has crept into your life. I have to deal with that. I am forgiven — God has forgiven me, and there is no condemnation. But now I come to Him and ask, how do I get right? I confess my sin. I go back to His Word. I pray. I do all the things I know are important.
Setting Your Mind
Most of all, what Paul tells us in Colossians chapter three is that we need to set our minds. Verse two: "Set your mind on the things above." When we talk about sin, we most often talk about an action. The reality is that the action plays itself out in our minds long before we ever get to the act itself.
I gave you that little phrase — and if you are wondering, that is me on the screen right there. I live in this world, and if you asked me right now what the biggest thing I am spiritually working on is, that is it. Do not let your mind go there. You know when it starts. You know when it begins.
A Transformed Heart and Informed Mind
The faster I can stop a wrong thought, the faster I can put something else in there. Paul said, set your mind on the things above. The faster I can think about God's love or mercy, as I begin to contemplate whatever this is that is pulling me away from Him, the faster I can go and think, "No — it's His forgiveness. It's His grace. God died for that. I'm forgiven." I know that. But does that please Jesus? If indeed He is the Lord, the master, the king — and I get the privilege of standing over there and watching you worship, hands raised, and I absolutely believe for so many of you that is the condition of your heart — there is still that struggle. If He is really my king, if He is really the Lord, if He is really the master, then in my mind I have to ask: is this going to be pleasing to Him?
So I have a transformed heart and an informed mind, and now I am living a radical life. Romans chapter 12, verses one and two — this is from The Message, the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases it. He said, "Here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life — everything that you do, the sleeping, the eating, the going to work, the walking around — place it before God. Embrace what God does for you as the best thing you can do for Him." And then comes the challenge in verse two: "Don't become so well adjusted to the culture you live in that you look like everybody else, act like everybody else, and think like everybody else. Instead, fix your attention on God and you'll be changed" — just exactly like the song we sang the first night — from the inside out.
Replacing, Not Just Removing
God changes my heart, not merely my actions. We will get to those actions and what they ought to be, but before we ever get there, God changes my inside, changes my heart, changes my desires. It is not enough to simply say, "I am not going to do this." I have to replace it with something. There is a love of the world, a love of the flesh, the desires of life and all the things that go with them, and they need to be replaced with something else. It is not enough to just have them and then say, "Now that goes away." It has to be replaced.
It is not enough to say, "I love these things — I will now replace them with the love of God," unless I am genuinely asking God to create in me a new heart. It is exactly what the psalmist says: give me a new heart, give me a new desire, because my desire has been all about me — what about me, how does it work for me — and now that needs to be replaced. I have used this illustration before, but it is the way Susan deals with the kids so much better than me. If Braden is playing with something and I do not want him to play with it, I will just say no, no, no — and it does not help at all. She will go over, take away what he is playing with, and give him something else. God takes your heart, takes away that desire, and replaces it with something else.
Here I Am, Send Me
Now I begin to live this radical life. It is like Isaiah in Isaiah chapter six. He saw God. He saw himself. God forgave him. And God said, "We have something to do." It is what Brett was talking about — inside of you, you get a sense that something big is going on. God says, "We are ready to go," and you say, "Here I am, send me."
This morning when we concluded, I tried to do something a little different — rather than talk about an action, talk about an attitude. I have become convinced again that the Christian life is epitomized when we truly are people driven by love. That is First Corinthians chapter 13, verses four through seven. Now in my relationships, now in my friendships, I bear all things. I cover you. I do not expose you to ridicule. I do not become cynical. I hope even when there appears to be no reason to be hopeful — I hope and I endure. That is what it means to have a transformed heart, an informed mind, and to live a radical life.
Expanding Our Definition of Sin
It means there is a difference. There is a study of God's Word that takes place, and there is prayer. There is a desire that says, "I want to be with God's people." There is a desire that says, "I know these things are good for me and these things are not good for me."
When we think about sin, my fear is that we think: I am not having sex outside of marriage, I am not taking drugs — I guess I am okay. Can I expand that list a little? Are you anywhere in here? How about pride? Selfishness. Judging. Lust. Anxiety. Greed. I suspect that when we get to that second group, we catch a whole lot of us. Not being thankful. Not forgiving one another. Holding a grudge.
Lucy touched me so deeply yesterday when she talked about her relationship with her dad — the judgment that was in there, the anger, the bitterness, and how he was to blame, he was to blame, he was to blame. But you heard her say: no, it was about me. God changed her heart, and now it is up to her dad to deal with God. Now she forgives all of that. That is pretty remarkable.
A lack of prayer. Wanting what somebody else has. I like that definition of jealousy: I want what you have, or even worse, I just do not want you to have it. It is not even that I want it — I simply do not want any good to happen to you. Self-control. Inconsistency. How about this next list? Impatient. Frustrated. Angry. Gossip. Discontent. These are all sins. Did we tell you that? These are all sins. I really do think sometimes we settle on three or four things and say, "I am not doing that — I am good." But the list is much longer than that.
The Reality of What God Has Done
Failure to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul — I have never done that for one second in my life. Loved Him with everything. Failure to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said, "I am going to give you one commandment: love Me with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself." A failure to trust God — that is what it is all about.
Let me give you a really solemn warning. I have done twelve of these summer camps. I am not kidding you. I have done hundreds of marriage retreats, men's retreats, and Bible study camps. And in every one of them, there is a moment like the one you are in right now.
Susan and I are going at the end of July to Cannon Beach, Oregon for a week. It is a beautiful place — it will be around 70 degrees, away for a solid week, with the same group of people. I will teach fourteen times. We will have this same kind of moment you can see happening at camp right now.
The first night, everyone is a little nervous. Then people get settled, we get into a routine, everyone starts to come together, and God starts to do some work. And then we will reach the same point you are at right now — time to pack, time to load the car, time to go home.
The Enemy Is Coming
This is a key moment. It is pretty easy to pull off the Jesus thing at summer camp. It is not so easy the minute you get home. There is an enemy — Satan — who despises you. He hates you. He is a liar, a murderer, a thief. He has demons. And there is a world system that is out to destroy you.
If God has done something, or is doing something, in your life this week, I guarantee you the enemy is coming at you. He will attack you. If God is pleased with where you are at this moment, Satan is not. All of a sudden, life is going to come crashing around you.
I guarantee you that this mountaintop camp experience — if you legitimately came to Christ in repentance and faith — it is real. That feeling may change. It may shift. It may happen by tomorrow night that you are wondering, "Is that real or not?" But if you are sincere in your relationship with Christ, if you are sincere about coming to Him in repentance and faith, the trials will come, the challenges will come — and this is still real.
I do not want you to go home and say, "Well, I tried the Jesus thing and it didn't work." No. If you came to Him, it is real. That does not mean you are not going to have challenges and difficulties and hardship. It does not mean that if you have all sorts of junk at home, it will not still be there when you return.
The Power You Now Carry
What it does mean is that you are going to have the power to deal with it. You are going to have the Creator God of the universe — whose Son Jesus died on the cross for you — and you are going to have in you the power of the Holy Spirit.
The power to do extraordinary things. The evidence that He is in your life, that your heart is transformed, your mind has been informed, and your life becomes radical, is that all of a sudden there will be love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness and faithfulness and self-control in your life like you have never had before. Not the end of a struggle — but there will be success in the midst of the struggle.
You Cannot Go It Alone
Let me give you one more thing, and I am telling you, you need this desperately. You need to surround yourself — girls, with other girls; guys, with other guys. You need to find one or two people where you share your faith, share your struggle, and talk openly and honestly about what God is doing in your life. Not only are you going to find great freedom, you are going to find amazing strength.
There is nothing more powerful, humanly speaking, than having a true friend. And a friend does not just mean somebody you hang around with. It means somebody who loves you with those loving characteristics we talked about. You were designed with a need for that human touch.
Just as Brett said, there is something in us that says, "I want to be part of something big." What that is, is God's story. He created this world, He started and continues to work in it, He is moving, and He has a story — and you can be part of that storyline. You can join Him in the most significant work going on on the face of the earth. You can be part of that.
But there is no way you can go it alone. Some of you that I have met came here without really any friends, and God started to do something in your life. I am telling you, if you go right back and go at it alone, you are going to be in real trouble all over again. You have to put yourself in the right set of circumstances, which means having the right set of people around you.
A Moment of Quiet Before God
I want us to just sit quietly. The band is going to come and you are going to have a great time of worship. But right now, put everything away. Let's get all the noise out of the way and sit quietly for just a couple of minutes. Let's ask God to do a work in our hearts — whatever He has done, whatever work He began, let's ask Him to continue it.
For some of you, that means God saved you this week. We have heard stories all week about God literally touching student hearts for the very first time. Maybe that is you. Maybe you are in the midst of a real struggle right now, and it is time for you to surrender, to come to Him and repent.
Take just a minute and thank Him. Even if you are one of those students who is still struggling right now, will you thank Him? Thank Him that He allowed you to be here. And then I want you to take a minute and pray for your parents. I know that for some of you that is going to be really hard — all sorts of different situations. Will you pray?
A Prayer for the Road Ahead
Will you pray right now, even without fully understanding all of what it means that God's Spirit would fill you? Prepare your mind right now for the inevitable struggles. There is joy to be sure, but the struggles will come. And knowing that even when the feelings come, and maybe even some of the suspicion comes, you can trust God's Word. You know God didn't lie to you. Jesus died for sinners like us. And whatever the story is — whether it's Stephen's, or Whitney's, or Lucy's, or Garrett's, or Brett's, or yours — it's real.
Father, I thank You for the privilege of being here. God, I confess there's a whole bunch in me that doesn't want to go home. I don't want to go where it's hot. I know there's a whole bunch of work to do. I know that on my aggravation list, all of it's sitting right back there waiting for me.
But God, You didn't create us to stay here on this mountaintop, on this ocean, in this beautiful place. We'll be there one day. We'll be in heaven. We sang about it — no suffering, no pain, no sorrow. But until then, God, there's something in us that yearns for that, but we live here.
God, will You prepare our hearts now? Will You strengthen us? Let us be ready for the trials and the challenges, and also the joy and the victories that we'll experience. God, for those that are here that don't have a friend, I pray You give them a friend — somebody who knows them and loves them, someone they can share anything with. And even then, God, they'll fail us, and You won't.
Thank You that You know everything there is to know about us. You know even at this moment the condition of our heart, and You love us anyway. God, You are our King. We thank You for Jesus. We pray to You in His name. Amen.