Justyn Smith • A Heart For Revival

This trip was not a planned trip at the start of this year. In fact, we weren’t planning on going up to Alaska until Christmas. God had other plans! Here are some pics to recap our July Alaskan adventures: I was honored to renovate Rachel’s Uncle’s kitchen! This is a before and after picture. It was great to stop in and hear Pastor Wes preach at His Servant’s youth camp! We had a great youth event under the tent in Homer, Alaska! Many teens from Homer were present-along with teens from Fairfax Baptist Temple in Virginia. Praise the Lord each of them! Lydia enjoying a trip to the Homer Spit…beautiful! The Smith ladies enjoying an Alaskan lake day! Thank you to everyone who keeps up with our travels and prayers for each event…God bless you!

Wise counsel for Preachers I came across this article advice for preachers some years ago. I typically reference the source in my notes, but I either forgot to reference the author for the article below or it may be from an unknown source. Please note: the below content isn’t original with me, but it’s is helpful , simple and hopefully influential! The year was 1768. A twenty-eight year old preacher by the name of Augustus Toplady, who wrote many of our best hymns, including "Rock of Ages", spent the afternoon in London with Mr. Brewer--an older, veteran Gospel preacher, whom he greatly admired and from whom he learned much. This is what Mr. Brewer said to the young Toplady, as Toplady later recorded in his diary: "I cannot conclude without reminding you, my young brother, of some things that may be of use to you in the course of your ministry: 1. Preach Christ crucified, and dwell chiefly on the blessings resulting from His righteousness, atonement, and intercession. 2.

TEENAGE SUMMER BAGGAGE #9: The Baggage Of Fear   In Genesis 15:1, God speaks to the fears of Abraham, "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." The word magen refers to an object which provides covering and protection to the body during warfare.  It also refers to a prince, as protector of the realm. Psalm 89:18 For the Lord is our defense (shield); and the Holy One of Israel is our king .  Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, And with my song will I praise Hi m. I. Realize you have a shield and defender - Genesis 15:1 NOTE HOW GOD SPEAKS: I AM THY SHIELD... A. From your past choices “After these things” what things? Genesis 14 - war between kings 14:11-12 - Lot is stolen and Abraham gets involved 14:13-16 - A rescue and recovery mission begins and is accomplished. Victory over the e

  TEENAGE SUMMER BAGGAGE #8: The Baggage Of Your Past   In 1 Corinthians 6:11, Paul reminded the Corinthians about the past to encourage them in their present position and purpose in Christ, "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."  Someone once said, My past beats within me like a second heart.  The decisions you make now will form your future. In your future, your present will either be filled with past regrets or joyous memories.  Let's study the Scriptures to find God's victory over our past regrets and move on to present victories! I. Let's realize our past pulling away from Christ A. Your past doesn't refuse you of a home in heaven.  1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankin

  TEENAGE SUMMER BAGGAGE #7: The Baggage Of Being Offended In Luke 17:1, Jesus addresses the reality of and response to offences, "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come, but woe unto him, through whom they come!"  According to  dictionary.com  the word  offence  means:   “an act of stumbling; a cause or occasion of sin : stumbling block ; something that outrages the moral or physical senses.” Offense is an act of stumbling. . .it will cause you to break your focus.  If you stumble you’re no longer concerned about where you’re going. . .but rather, the immediate desire to keep from stumbling. I. The near impossible battle of an offense. Proverbs 18:19 A brother offended  is harder to be won  than a strong city: and  their  contentions  are  like the bars of a castle . II. The devastation of offending the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy,  and  he fought agai

  TEENAGE SUMMER BAGGAGE #6: The Baggage Of An Identity Crisis In Psalm 139:14, David challenges us to respond to God's working in our lives with acceptance and awe, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."  God isn't confused about who He made us to be, and we shouldn't be confused about it either. May we find rest and victory in who God created us to be. Identity: the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. In today's message, we are dealing with a crisis...a situation that has reached a critical phase. We call it a crisis of identity or an identity crisis.  Many children and teens (and even some adults) have become very confused about who they are, where they are headed, and what they are created to do. The Bible has the answers for the questions of life. Let's go to God and ask HIM to help us today! I. Let's talk about Our Identity  Question: how

  TEENAGE SUMMER BAGGAGE #5: The Baggage Of Spiritual Apathy/Carelessness   In Haggai 1:6, the results of spiritual apathy are revealed , "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes."  The exhortation for each of us is, "Consider your ways." I. We can't afford spiritual apathy. Haggai 1:6,9-11 Notice the gain the people had, and then notice the immediate loss or lack of sufficiency. Isn't it amazing how spiritual life really is?  II. We shouldn't avoid spiritual assignments.  Haggai 1:2-4 The people were once so excited to get to work for the glory of God. They were set free from captivity to only set the hammer down once they got more focused on themselves. We avoid spiritual assignments when we set our attention on things below more than on things above. Avoid spiritual a

  TEENAGE SUMMER BAGGAGE #4: The Baggage Of No Self Control In 2 Peter 1:6, the exhortation to, "add to knowledge temperance..." is huge to overcoming lives challenging temptations. Do we even try to reign victorious over temptations, or do we simply fall to them every single time?  Temperance means self-control. It comes from a word that means: strong in a thing (masterful) or self- controlled (as in appetite). When you "give in" every time, you are constantly lending yourself to defeat when we are told we already have victory in Jesus. Please take note of these testimonies of self control from the Bible, and then realize you can react just like them with the help of the Lord! I. Self-control removes blindness. 2 Peter 1:5-9 2 Peter 1:5-9 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; [6] And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; [7] And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brot

  TEENAGE SUMMER BAGGAGE #3: The Baggage Of Secret Sins In 2 Kings 17:9, the people of Israel have gone down in history with sinful baggage weighing them down, "And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God..."  Secret sins slow the soul’s peace, joy and prosperity. We cannot afford to let these secret sins live in our lives any longer. We can have rest from the effects of sin and victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! I. SECRET SINS AFTER BLESSED SITUATIONS 2 Kings 17:7-9 Just because we have been blessed to see or know the God of a miracle doesn't mean we will  choose to stay faithful. We must purpose to remain pure even after the "high" times of the Christian life! II. SECRET SINS MAY SLIDE INTO BLATANT SINS 2 Kings 17:10-12 If we choose to enter into deceitful secret sins and if those sins remain a source of pleasure, we will slide into blatant rebellion before God. We must understand the repercussions of