"The Five"

Snapshot Series: "Useless Traditions"

2012-01-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

Community Group Questions:
Read Mark 7:1-23
1. Have you been taught to follow traditions that are not biblical and are man-made?
2. Was this experience confusing to you?
3. Do you feel that you religious do something that you can’t support biblically?
4. Can man-made tradition make you acceptable to God? Why or why not? Do you feel they actually bring you further from God?
5. In the passage what was the point that Jesus was trying to make?

Snapshot16 Mark 7:1-23

• The problem with following “Mans Traditions”… 7:1-13

-Promotes self righteousness. Vrs 1-5 (I can do it myself)
Vrs 5. The Jewish leaders thought that the disciples’ failure to observe ritual washing was a symptom of a deeper problem. That Jesus was leading them astray. The teacher was blamed for the actions of the followers. Because they were so puffed up and judged one another by how the ones who followed them lived

-Causes hypocrisy Vrs 6-7 hypocrisy -the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.
By teaching the tradition of men they were actually saying “this is how you please God or become Godly” but in reality it made them further from God because is those things they were ignoring His commands.

The Pharisees are hypocrites for two reasons: (1) their actions are merely external and do not come from their hearts, which are far from God
(2) their teachings are not from God but reflect the tradition of men. They had more passion for the man-made traditions then they did for the God-given law.

Not only do man-made rules not “clean” you they actually bring you further from the truth of God.

-Ignores obedience to God. Vrs 8-13
Traditions get in the way of following the Lord…Ill-Like the church the could not figure out what their tradition was regarding standing or sitting during the opening Scripture reading.
So if a son declared his property Corbin he neither promised it to the Temple or prohibited its use to himself but legally excluded his parents from the right of benefit. Then if the son changed his mind and regret he did this the scribes would say that the vow was valid and must be honored
The scribes would then say that the son had to obey Num 30:1 This is why Jesus quoted the Isaiah passage to ensure the Scribes that they miss the point and their hearts were hard.
Corbin illustrates a hard heart toward obeying the law of God and a blinded heart that follows man’s tradition. They really did not care about the law of God or man’s tradition they really only cared about themselves. Religion is selfish “what can I do”, or better yet “look what I can do”

Many religious people want to add to that and make extra Biblical rules, they want to say that church has something to do with our Salvation and they elevate traditions in doing so they elevate people over the Lord Jesus.

There are three things that Christians need to remember. Preferences, Convictions and Absolutes.
Illus. Standing for worship.

The preferences and convictions we cannot put on others but the Biblical Absolutes are for everyone. What Jesus is saying here is that you are ignoring Biblical absolutes because of your traditions. In order to look more Godly you are actually becoming less Godly.

This is our conviction: We trust Jesus and live in accordance to His Word that the Holy Spirit helps us to understand and follow. We don’t follow people but we appreciate people who have dedicated their lives to study the Scriptures so we can have a better understanding. We don’t bog ourselves down with man-made traditions but try to be culturally relevant with Biblical truth

-Does not fix our problem 7:14-15

Vrs 14-15 Nothing outside a man (generic, “person”) by going into him can make him “unclean” (cf. 7:2). Jesus spoke in a moral not a medical sense. A person is not defiled morally by what he eats even if his hands are not ceremonially washed. BKC

• Our problem is a sinful heart 7:16-23
Vrs 16 Some manuscripts “If anyone has ears let him hear”

Vrs 17-19 Jesus explains that ceremonial washings and “defiled” foods don’t actually defile a person morally. The rulers should understand it is the heart. Jer 17:9

Vrs 20-23 The heart being the center of the person is where sin comes from. Jesus rattles off a list and its not comprehensive of every sin but the disciples get the picture. In lists like these every person says “oh He named mine”

All these evils defile a person, and have their source from inside, from one’s heart. So Jesus took the focus of attention away from external rituals and placed it on the need for God to cleanse one’s evil heart Psalm 51

We get callous toward personal sin
If you live in a graveyard too long you stop crying when someone dies. Traditional.
Our hearts become hard and unfortunately sometimes tradition is a small band-aid attempt to make us feel better about our hard heart. (because I did something)
Then how do are hearts become clean? And freed of sin?

-The solution is Jesus.
Gal. 3:24-25 says So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

We come to know truth not only reason, but still more so through our hearts. B. Pascal.
The 19th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard identified two kinds of religion -- Religion A and Religion B. The first is "faith" in name only (2 Tim. 3:5). It's the practice of attending church without genuine faith in the living Lord.
Religion B, on the other hand, is a life-transforming, destiny-changing experience. It's a definite commitment to the crucified and risen Savior, which establishes an ongoing personal relationship between a forgiven sinner and a gracious God. GOSPEL

Conclusion: We have a heart problem that no tradition, religious act or good work can ever fix. Only faith in Jesus can fix .

Read Galatians 2:16-21

Snapshot Series: "The Provision of Jesus"

2012-01-15T18:18:00.001-08:00

Snapshot15 Mark 6:30-56 “Provision of Jesus”

Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever felt that you were so busy that there was not enough time to rest? Explain.
2. Do you find it hard to rest when you know you have a lot of things to do? Why?
3. Have you ever had a situation in which you tried hardest but nothing seemed to work? Explain
4. Did you eventually realize that you had to bring that situation to Jesus? How did it work out?
5. Do you ever feel like what you accomplish depends only on you? Why?
6. When you look at your life what do you fear the most? Do you have any control over that fear happening or not happening?

Tonight I want to look at the narrative and not really investigate the details of the accounts as much as look at the few specific directives that Jesus gives.

Big idea: We should not live in fear because Jesus can provide.

At this point in Mark’s gospel we can see the disciples answered the call of Jesus to go out and do ministry and Jesus knew that they were realizing that this was demanding work.

Vrs 30-32 “come away and rest”
• Jesus provides rest

He calls them only to rest awhile; they must not expect to rest long, only to get breath, and then to go to work again. There is no remaining rest for the people of God till they come to heaven.
Matthew Henry

“Rest: the sweet sauce of labor” The sleep of the labouring man is sweet. Eccl 5:12

Jesus directed them to come with Him for a brief, well-earned rest. This was necessary because so many people were coming and going that they had no time to eat BKC

“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”

As a parent I remember pretty much with all our children when they dropped the nap, we would put them in their crib and all of sudden they were not interested anymore. Of course it was frustrating as a parent because your day is planned around the nap. But I always said to myself “ why would you drop the nap, I wish someone would enforce a nap time on me”

“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest” Ashleigh Brilliant

Jesus does want you to take a rest (the Christian worker) This is a concept that God the Father modeled from creation. 6 labor and 7th rest.

Why we don’t rest…
-We worry and obsess
-Others will not let us Vrs 32 & 33
Vrs 33 interestingly enough the people got there ahead of them. Isn’t that just typical of our lives. There is always someone waiting to take my rest away.

-We depend on our own performance (pride)

Transition: We need not depend only on ourselves to meet the needs that we have. We need to realize that Jesus is willing to provide for us.

• Jesus provides for daily needs

Vrs 34 Jesus has compassion on those who are in need. “sheep without a shepherd” no guidance and no one to meet there needs

Some people don’t believe that God cares or is there. (Atheist Joke)
An atheist was upset and tired of his Christian neighbor praying next door. One day the lady did not have money for groceries and was praying loud for God’s provision. The atheist got so tired of listening to her that went to the supermarket to buy her some groceries. He then left the bags on the steps in front of her house, rang the bell and hide in the bushes. When the lady opened the door and saw the bags, she thanked God for the groceries and the atheist came out and said: I got you!! The lady asked him why he got her and he responded: "God does not exist, he did not buy you anything, I heard you and went and bought you the groceries and left them here".
The lady looked at him and then looked up and said: Thank you God for your provision and for making my enemy pay for it!

Notice the need He met first was to “teach them”
Jesus knew that their spiritual need was their greatest need GOSPEL

Vrs 35-38 The disciples are worried about what everyone will eat.
Jesus answered “give them something to eat”

The disciples ask if they should go out and buy food. They were probably not serious in their offer because it would have been 8 months salary to feed this crowd.

Feeding could be a foretaste of the wedding supper where the Lord continually provides for His people. Did you know that in Heaven it is not an issue of where our food will come from?

Vrs 38 “how many loaves do you have? Go and see” I think that Jesus may have been comparing what they had with what He could provide.
What can you provide? What can Jesus provide?

What may Jesus be asking you to do to help others? When we use what we have to help others it does two things.
1. It helps others.
2. It displays that we trust Jesus that when we use something we have to bless others He will take care of us.

Vrs 39-44 the miracle

Why we don’t trust Jesus’ provision…
-We worry and obsess
-We won’t let others help us. (pride)
-We depend on our own performance (pride)

Transition: So many times we don’t rest and we trust that Jesus provides for our daily needs because we live in fear.

Fear can be very powerful.
Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms.
Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.
Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
Pediophobia- Fear of dolls.
Pedophobia- Fear of children.
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.
Ideophobia- Fear of ideas.
Ecclesiophobia- Fear of church.
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news.
Homilophobia- Fear of sermons.
Geliophobia- Fear of laughter.

Vrs 45-52 A. T. Robertson says “Perhaps Peter was not fond of telling that story.”

Vrs 50 “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid”

• Jesus says “do not be afraid”.
When Jesus is saying “take heart it is I do not be afraid” He saying I got your back.

Question: What are you not letting Jesus take hold of because you are acting in fear? I can’t take a rest from this, I have to do more Jesus will not take care of me.

Vrs 51-52 The disciples were trying to make sense of all this and because they could not and Jesus did not fit their idea of what the Messiah may look like “their hearts were hardened”

When we act in fear we have hard hearts.

Vrs 53-56 And Jesus continues to provide for the people.

• Jesus is willing and able:

If you think He does not care, you are wrong. If you think He can’t handle whatever issue or situation comes into your life, you are wrong. If you continue to act in fear and not trust Him, you are wrong and He will continue to teach you that He is right.

2012-01-09T11:17:00.000-08:00

Community Group Questions
1. Share with the group a time in life when you felt rejected.
2. Have you ever been rejected for your faith?
3. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus was rejected?
4. Have you ever compromised your own moral values in order that others accept you?
5. Of the 3 points from Mark 6:13-17 which is the most helpful and why? (points are at the bottom of notes)

Snapshot14 Mark 6:1-29 “Rejected”

We all have a need to feel accepted. In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need to belong only comes after basic needs and security needs are met. No one wants to be rejected.

The feeling or reality of rejection tends to stick with you.

“A boo is a lot louder than a cheer.” Lance Armstrong

Tonight I want to look at Mark 6 and in it we see people who were rejected and felt rejected including Jesus. Then Jesus gives some directives to His disciples about going out into the world to tell others about the Kingdom knowing they would be and feel rejected.

-Sometimes the feeling of rejection has to do with personal sin. Herodias 6:14-29

Vrs 19 Herodias had a grudge.
Vrs 24-25 Herodias asked for the death of John

Often times people who feel bad, act bad and try to make others feel bad too.

People who tend to stick by their sin as if it is not sin will look for way to make themselves look good or exonerate their name. “I am right and I will go to any extreme to prove that”

With that mindset we actually start to reject those who want to help us. In Herodias’ case it was John

-Sometimes we are rejected because we do what is right. (John the Baptist) Verses 17-18

John was trying to uphold righteousness and was rejected for it. But he was also trying to help because he knew the right way.

Did you ever try to help someone who was so intent in their sin that it just turned into a disaster? They didn’t look at you as trying to help them.

Maybe you rejected someone because you were so intent on your sin and you did not want to hear them out. Proverbs 27:6 “wounds from a friend are better then kisses from an enemy”

-Sometimes rejection is one of our greatest fears. (Herod)Vrs 26-27 Backtrack vrs 21-23 Herod Antipas has some serious acceptance issues.

When have you fallen into the trap of doing the wrong thing because you were afraid people will reject you?

We start to think, “people will not like me, they will make fun of me or will not respect me” James tells us to “confess our sins to one another” admit your faults so you can move on.

-Rejection is a result of spiritual blindness Vrs 6:1-6
How do we know this? People rejected Jesus. Like many prophets before Him Jesus is not honored in His hometown.

Jesus will not force his miracles on a hostile, skeptical audience. It stands in contradiction to the character and will of Jesus.

There was no limitation on His power, but His purpose was to perform miracles in the presence of faith. Only a few here had faith to come to Him for healing.

We know that Jesus was no stranger to rejection.
John 1 talks about Jesus being rejected. “stone that the builder rejected” Mt 21:42

He was despised and rejected1 by men; a man of sorrows,2 and acquainted with3 grief;4and as one from whom men hide their faces5he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isa 53:13
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Lk 9:22

Jesus was willing to be rejected on our behalf to show that HE would go to extreme measure to prove to us that He is willing to accept us if we trust in Him. GOSPEL (sum up what we learned a bit)
In the next passage Jesus commissions His disciples
It seems that Mark may have put these two accounts together because he wanted to remind his readers that there will be rejection from others anytime we are following Jesus. And this section can help us deal with times when…

When you are rejected (or feel rejected). Mark 6:7-13
A. Rely on Jesus’ power. Vrs 7-9

Jesus directs the disciples to rely on Him. Not stuff or even people. Those things have no real power.

We should not let the people who are rejecting us have power over us. They don’t define us… Jesus does. They have no control over us… Jesus does. They don’t love us like… Jesus does.

B. Don’t let it get to you. Vrs 10-11

They should also expect rejection. If any place would not offer hospitality or listen to their message, they were to leave there and to shake the dust off their feet.

Devout Jews did this when they left Gentile (alien) territory to show that they were dissociating themselves from it. This would tell Jewish hearers they were acting like pagans in rejecting the disciples’ message.

When friends or family reject you on the account of the message “shake the dust off, don’t let it get to you.” You are not wrong… it is not you it is Jesus and His message.

C. Keep following Jesus. Vrs 12-13

Don’t let the feelings or reality of rejection in any way, shape or form discourage you from following Jesus. Let it rejuvenate your commitment.

“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” Sylvester Stallone

Jesus said in John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

Snapshot Series: "Our Faith Needs"

2012-01-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

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Community Group Questions

1. Have you ever been in a hopeless situation that you finally realized Jesus was the only one who could do anything about it?
2. What happened and what was the outcome?
3. If negative, did you fall into the trap of feeling like you did not have enough faith for things to turn out differently? Why is that a wrong way to look at the problem?
4. Generally speaking how does your faith in Christ help you daily? Does it force you to live with a different perspective?
5 Think back to when you became a Christian...what made you finally realize you had a need for Jesus?
6 Do you find yourself living in your own power and not relying on the power of Jesus? When & Why?

Snapshot13 “Our Faith Needs” Mark 5:21-43

We all have faith in something and we will hold to that until it fails

Big Idea: We exercise the most faith when we have the greatest need.

In this account we see two people who are at their darkest moments and have nowhere else to turn. So they turn to Jesus. We also see a group of people who are blinded to their own personal darkness.

-A ruling official with a dying daughter. Vrs 21-24a & 35-43
-A hopeless situation
The fact that Jairus … fell at Jesus’ feet demonstrates his real need and his sincerity. He was a ruler who came in humility.

-A women bleeding for 12 years. Vrs 24b-34 (uterine hemorrhaging)
-Was a socio-religious outcast because she was unclean
Lev 15:25-27 By touching Jesus’ garment, she technically renders him ceremonially unclean (cf. Lev. 15:19–23), but Jesus is greater than any purity laws, for he makes her clean by his power instead of becoming unclean himself.
-Went to all the physicians
-Spent all that she had
Jesus wanted to know who touched Him.
not that he might blame her for her presumption, but that he might commend and encourage her faith.
-Jesus was the object of her faith.
BKC states “Faith, confident trust, derives its value not from the one who expresses it, but from the object in which it rests.” (Jesus)

Her faith for physical healing at the same time resulted in her faith for salvation.

-The Mockers These people did not realize there own personal darkness or their need for Jesus.
-Are you laughing? Vrs 40
-Do you think Jesus is too busy to help you, your problems are insignificant to Him. Vrs 35

I think any person who reads these accounts has an itching question of “does God work like this now? Or why doesn’t God work like this now?”
Here is what happens if a physical healing does not happen all the time, for some then it negates the fact that it could ever happen. For others it forces them to explain away that God had another plan or purpose. For the skeptic these answers usually don’t cut it.
Some of you may remember Karl Marx’s comments on religion and faith “religion is the opium of the people” For Marx, the problem lies in the obvious fact that an opiate drug fails to fix a physical injury — it merely helps you forget pain and suffering. Marx is saying that faith only makes you forget the suffering but does not do anything about it.
This is what I think we need to take away…Jesus is the God that is capable and His time spent here on earth displayed that. It also gave us a small glimpse at what living in the eternal kingdom of heaven will be like.
-Jesus the healer. He was willing to act on and help those who expressed faith in Him

Jesus knows our greatest needs and wants us to realize them and express faith in Him to take care of them

So what do we do? What are our greatest needs?
- We have a need to have faith for salvation : Realize there is a problem that needs to be taken care of.

We all have a desperate need for Christ. We were all sick with sin and only Jesus can heal us through faith. We were all dead and only Christ can raise us through faith. This life is constantly showing us that there are problems that need to be fixed. (Gospel).

Francis Schaeffer said in The God Who is There. “The true basis for faith is not faith itself but the work which Christ finished on the cross.”

That is why we look to Revelation 21:1-4

Matthew Henry Said: “Most people do not apply themselves to Christ, till they have tried in vain all other helpers, and find them, physicians of no value. And Jesus will be found a sure refuge, even to those who make him their last refuge”

-We have a need to have faith in Jesus’ power: Live with faith in Jesus knowing that we are powerless and He is powerful.

How does that work? Everyday life. What are you trying to do on your own and not having faith in Christ to accomplish it through you. We all have a problem with only going to Jesus when there is nowhere else to go.

We only exercise faith when it is a last resort. Christians should live with faith in Jesus for everything first. That involves a vibrant prayer life. Here is what happens when you pray…you are inviting God the Holy Spirit to work in and through you.

Today being January 1st many people will start to make resolutions because we want to better ourselves. Before we make any resolutions we have to come to the reality that without the help of the Lord we are destined to fail.

God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing. Martin Luther.
Jesus wants to bring us all to the point in which we rely on Him for everything and in every situation.

The habit of a Christian should be to go to Jesus first because we are really deficient in all areas. We just fool ourselves into thinking we are something when we are not.

-We have a need to persevere in faith: Keep on going. Finish the race Vrs 35-36

Its tough to keep focus living in a sinful world and things do not go the way they should. People laugh and mock and we get discouraged.

But despite this we need to exercise faith daily because we are daily at the point of our greatest need.

Born to Die

2011-12-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

1. What are some areas in which you need to put Jesus first?
2. Why do you think it is difficult to do so in those areas?
3. What are some areas in which you have put Jesus first?
4. How does it feel to have put Him first in those areas? Can you see blessings? Do you feel better about those areas?
5. Are there areas of your life in which you do not put Jesus first and are afraid to so you do not pray about them?

Born to Die Myrrh 12.18.11 Sermon

Sometimes gifts trigger memories (Surfboard and Kenny)

Today we are going to look at the gift of Myrrh and what it should bring to memory when we hear this famous Christmas account.

Matthew 2:11 It is evident that these were more then just gifts but they were symbolic and intended to be reminders of Jesus is.

1. Myrrh is a reminder of Jesus’ death
Because myrrh was used in the embalming or anointing of the dead, it came to represent mortality, suffering, and sorrow. The Israelites used perfumed ointments of myrrh in their funeral preparations to postpone the decay and alleviate the odors of the deceased. Although less than one pound was normally used in Israelite funerary preparations, Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds" to prepare Jesus's body for burial (John 19:39). This was to show his respect for Christ. Other people burned myrrh as incense during cremations.
This gift is a foreshowing of what is to come. Jesus’ death
John 10:14-18 Jesus lays His life down -GOSPEL-

What should our Response be to Christ’s Death?
Non-believer –should believe
Believer- Die to self – Luke 9:23-24 We are called to lay our lives down… the Christian life is about dying to self daily.

How does this work out? The simple answer is… we think of Jesus first in every area of life. QUESTIONS
- Is Jesus first in my relationships with others? Am I at odds with anyone? Dating…am I remaining pure?
- Is Jesus first in the way I use my time? Do I spend time serving? Helping others? Do I spend time in the Bible?
- Is Jesus first in the use of my finances and the resources God has blessed me with? Do I give? Do I use what I have for the benefit of others?
- Is Jesus first in my work place or school?

As a believer it is no longer my life but it should be Christ living through me. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, the life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me ”

T* You might say that is painful to die to self
2. Myrrh is a reminder that Jesus eases the pain.
Until the invention of morphine and other modern painkillers, myrrh was a common painkiller. In ancient times it was often mixed with wine to make the drink more potent. As was the custom among the Jews, Christ was offered "wine mingled with myrrh" to ease the pains of the cross. (Mk 15:23).
It can be difficult to die to self and live for the Lord.
-People will hassle you for not joining in with their sinful ways. -People will mock you for living a different way then they do. -You may face resistance when you are doing what is right.
Mark 15:23 Jesus refused to drink it. I would say He did this to display His reliance on the Father and Holy Spirit to get Him through this terrible experience. He didn’t rely on a painkiller.
When we feel that it is too difficult to live a Christ centered life of dying to self we need think about the how the Father is in control how the Holy Spirit is with us to guide and comfort
and that Jesus said to Paul 2 Cor 12:9 “my grace is sufficient, my power is made perfect in weakness” Jesus says to all in Matthew 11:28-30 “come to me” “my yoke is easy my burden is light” Jesus is also know as the “Great physician” who can ease our pain.
T* You might say…I can’t die to self, I need help. And I would say you are right you need to beckon the Lord daily for help
3. Myrrh is a reminder to pray. When burned as incense, myrrh is a symbol of prayers rising to heaven.
James 5:16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (Who is righteous? Believers)
When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart. ~John Bunyan  Where is your heart?
Many times we don’t go to the Lord in prayer because we really don’t want these things to change, we really don’t want to “die to self” We don’t care. Our heart is hard or cold and we become more concerned with living for ourselves.
CS Lewis in Mere Christianity shares this illustration in his chapter about “Counting the Cost” He talks about not wanting to tell his mom about having a toothache because if he lets the dentist in his mouth he will do work on other teeth and find other problems and want to correct those as well.
It is the same way with the Lord when we start to daily go to Him in prayer He is going to start to troubleshoot in areas that we did not want Him to go to. He will say “ok I took care of this area… now I am going to work on that area with you”
Lewis was saying we don’t go to the Lord because we are afraid of how He will work and what He will put to death in our lives.
Part of dying to self is being open to God’s will
Jesus was prayed before He went to the cross, He prayed because was open to the Will of the Father to lay down His life.
We need to be praying in order to be prepared for daily self death.
Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~Søren Kierkegaard
When we hear or read the account of the Magi giving the gift of Myrrh we should remember that Jesus was born to die for us and we were born to die for Him daily and in that daily death we will truly live.

1.

12.4.11 Community Group Questions

2011-12-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

From Pastor Steve's Message
1. Have you recently had the opportunity to point someone to Jesus? How did it go?

2. What is something you commonly worship/place on the throne of your heart? What are some ways your group can think of to keep Jesus there?

3. How does it make you feel to know that because of Jesus' resurrection - we will one day be resurrected to heaven and we are Justified?

4. Does the picture of Jesus in Revelation 19:11-16 change the way you think about Jesus? Does it help you to do anything in your relationship with him?

Snapshot Series: "The Importance of a Person"

2011-11-29T17:14:00.000-08:00

Snapshot12 Mark 5:1-20 The importance of a person

Questions for Community Groups
1. Do you know any outcasts you can reach out to?
2 Have you ever felt like an outcast? Why?
3 Are you generous with your resources on behalf of other people?
4. Have you ever experienced someone going out of their way for you?
5. Why do you feel compelled to help others?

Vrs 1-2 This is a sad account of man who is possessed by demons

Vrs 3-5 The life of this man was miserable and he was dangerous to others and himself. What a sad existence (this is why I chose not watch evil movies)

The function of demonic possession is to destroy and distort people who were made in the image of God.

Vrs 6-8 Here we have the demons talking to Jesus through the this man and the idea that Jesus “was saying, come out of the man”. Again in Mark we see that demons know who Jesus is, calling Him “Jesus Son of the Most High God”

Vrs 9-10 Jesus asks the demons name and the reply is Legion, which means 6,000, so there is literally an army of demons possessing this man.

Vrs 11-13 The demons had a particular affection for this area and wanted to stay. The presence of the herd of pigs (swine) illustrates the pagan area because swine were unclean. They ask for permission to go into the pigs.

Why does Jesus allow this? William Lane in his commentary on Mark offers to two possible suggestions.
1. The time of total binding of the demons in hell has not yet come.
2. Jesus allows this to illustrate that demons just want to destroy life.

Vrs 14-17 The response of the herdsman. They were upset with their financial loss and want Jesus to leave. What a callous response, here the town demoniac is healed and they care about the herd because of finances.

Vrs 18-20 This man just wanted to be with Jesus, but interestingly enough Jesus had a different plan for him. He wanted him to go and tell others about how Jesus helped him.

Why did Jesus not silence him? This man was a Gentile so Jesus probably did not silence his preaching because Jesus was not welcome to preach in Gentile areas

There are many things that we can take away from this account but what I want to focus in on is the importance of individual people to Jesus and He teaches us that he values people by helping this miserable man. He also helps other miserable people like us.

Jesus will help…

• When you are an outcast. GOSPEL (we are all outcasts)

Do you feel like an outcast? Do you feel like it is hard to have close relationships or that people do not understand you or like you? Do you feel unwelcome?
Maybe you feel like an outcast because of your situation. Rough family, no money, relational status.

JOHN ORTBERG, says “Jesus ... associated with the outcasts; he spoke with them, touched them, ate with them, loved them”.
So if you are feeling like an outcast know that Jesus is there for you, He listens and cares 1 Peter 5:7
• When no one else will.

Do you feel like no one is there for you? You need to talk and no one will listen? The people around just don’t seem to be there when you need them? Do you feel like you can’t share the depths of your heart with anyone because they don’t seem to care?

Maybe like in the account of these people who lost their pigs the people around you feel that their possessions or money is more important then you or your relationship, or your value and worth as human.

This is when we normally come to the conclusion that we need to help ourselves… then we realize we are unable to.

• When you can’t help yourself.

God helps those who help themselves. Benjamin Franklin That is not a biblical concept. As if God is saying…”he gave it shot it is time for me to intervene”

No actually it is very different. God puts us in situations that we can’t possibly do it alone and we realize we need to lean on Him and others.

So when the Lord helps us we have to come to the conclusion He has helped us…

• So you can help others.

-When we see an outcast, how can we help? Are you trying to be an example of Jesus to the outcast? (The demon possessed man was an outcast)

Norman Rice said “Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light”

It is a risk but it is what we are called to do.

-When we see someone in need, do we go out of our way for them?

'Tis not enough to help the feeble up, but to support them after.
William Shakespeare

Do we use our resources for them? Are our resources more important then the people around us?
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. ~Winston Churchill

You may say…I don’t have much to give or help.
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can. ~Sydney Smith

Jesus helped you and validated your importance and He can use you to help and validate the importance of those around you.

Snapshot Series: "Jesus Calms My Storm"

2011-11-21T07:21:00.000-08:00

Snapshot11 Mark 4:35-41

Community Group Questions
1. When you are in a storm situation what is a common way you "freak out"?
2. Have you found it to be beneficial?
3. Are you currently going through a storm? Share that with your group.
4. We learned that Jesus is in control, we have to exercise faith and have a healthy fear of the Lord. Which of these do you struggle with when it comes to the storm you are in?
5. Think about a storm that you went through, how was your perspective changed?

1995 Hurricane Felix sat and turned in the Atlantic and never just on the Jersey shore that storm claimed five lives to drowning’s and the storm never hit here. My bright idea to paddle out, tell the story.

It changed my perspective on what to surf, when to surf and how to judge the conditions and my limitations.

Many times in life a close call, scary situation or a storm puts much into perspective.

I believe in the account of Mark 4:35-41 the disciples had much put into perspective.

Vrs 35-37 Because of the great details Mark recorded an eyewitness report, probably from Peter.

Having details reminds us of times in which we were caught in a storms in life. We remember smells, things that we heard, strange silence as if we are in a movie.

When I say storms I don’t mean a weather event, I am talking about difficult situations that come our way.

There are quick terrible storms that take some time to clean up after, these are tragedies that take us by surprise and we had no idea they were coming. They happen and we deal with carnage

There are storms of long durations of time. These are things that we deal with for a long period of time. Marital problems, health issues, a health issue of a loved one, a disobedient child, being bullied

There are storms that we put ourselves in because of our terrible decisions. Sinful decisions in life can cause severe storms that we need to deal with.

There are so many different types of storms in this life and I can’t possibly begin to tell you the specifics of what to do in each situation. Lets look at how the disciples handled this…
Vrs 38 How they respond in the storm…
• They freak out

Common “freak out” practices
-Cry uncontrollably
-Rage (this is equivalent to a child throwing a temper tantrum)
-Blame (gives the person someone to vent toward) “Jesus don’t you care?”
-Depression or Comatose (never the same again, nothing phases them anymore)
-Self medicate-drugs alcohol (escape)
-Run-Storms of problems that have solutions but we run because they are difficult, such as marital.

• They call out to Jesus

We all need to come to point in which we realize we are in trouble, we are in a storm called sin. In that storm of sin we need to call out. We are all in peril because of sin…GOSPEL

How does Jesus respond?
He gives us perspective changers by what He does and what He says…

Vrs 39 Jesus calms the storm. Regardless of the storm of life we need to understand that Jesus has control of it.
• Jesus is in control
Vrs 40 “Have you still no faith?” Jesus challenges what they have been putting their faith in. When we act in freak out mode, we are acting like a person with no faith. We are acting like a non-Christian, we are acting like a person with no hope.

• Exercise Faith
God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing. Martin Luther.
This is why it is extremely important that we teach and disciple people, so when the storms come we don’t act like people with no hope. Our hope is in Jesus (may list all the promises that we can claim because our hope is in Jesus) Pro 13:12 “Hope deferred makes a heart sick” If we don’t exercise faith we get sick.

• Have Healthy Fear. Vrs 41 They are afraid when He does something about it. The fear that the disciples had of the storm was much different.

As Matthew Henry states on this point “…now they feared the power and grace of the Redeemer in the calm; and it had pleasure and satisfaction in it”
We should be afraid not to trust that Jesus will take care of us. If you are in a storm, realize that He will see you through it, don’t be afraid of the storm because that will keep you from have a healthy fear of the One who is strong enough to bring you through it.

After the storm is over…isn’t the air so much sweeter? Don’t we appreciate the sun so much more? Isn’t there more of a sense of community among the people? Don’t we learn so much more about Jesus, who He is and what He has done for us?

Snapshot Series: "Is It Hidden?"

2011-11-15T16:24:00.000-08:00

Snapshot10 Mark 4:21-34 “Is It Hidden?”

Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever had the opportunity to share the Gospel with a friend? What happened?
2. How does it make you feel to know that God is the one who makes the Gospel take root in a person’s life?
3. Who has helped you grow as a disciple of Jesus?
4. Have you had the opportunity to help another person grow as a disciple of Jesus?
5. Who in your life seemed to be the biggest “miracle”?

• We make the message known. Verses 21-25

Vrs 21 the question (observing everyday life)

Vrs 22 The Gospel brings things to light.

Some people will change when they see the light. Others change only when they feel the heat.

I want to help you feel the heat.

There is a problem with the world and us SIN (describe the crucifixion and how ugly sin is), The light is shed on the problem and we need to respond to the light. GOSPEL

Vrs 23-24a Listen up

Vrs 24b-25 We have a responsibility to make the Gospel known and God rewards those actions

The more you use your gifts the more the Lord will give you gifts to use…why? Because He knows His investment is being well used, you are a faithful steward. Remember the parable of the talents Matt 25:25-30 buried it.

Illustrations about the youth ministry and sharing the light.

Not only did sharing the Gospel benefit their friends it also benefitted them because now they had an entire crew of Christian friends.

I don’t share these things to say look at us look at our church look at the youth ministry. I share them to remind you and myself that this is a work of the Lord, which the next passage teaches us.

• Jesus makes the message take root. V 26-28

What did the guy do? Planted seed and went to sleep.
Vrs 27 It is a mystery how this happens, but it does. This is why we continue to proclaim the message… because we see the fruit of it.

This farmer would not continue to do what he was doing if it never worked. This does not mean what he was doing was not hard work, but in the end he sees fruit.

The same could be said of our efforts. We all have seen friends and family members or people in the community come to Jesus, we are not sure exactly how but we know it works.

Michael Pupin Inventor
Look at those cows and remember that the greatest scientists in the world have never discovered how to make grass into milk.

Vrs 28 The kingdom of God grows steadily even among and adverse environment.

• We are called to disciple.

Vrs 29 Discipleship, for us as Christians part of a church we can understand this point to be what we do with those who do come to know Jesus.

We disciple them!! We harvest the gifts that the Lord blessed them with and help them to understand how to use them, we help them grow by offering opportunities for growth.

DL Moody said it this way…”It is better to train ten people than to do the work of ten people. But it is harder.”
So now we are at the point in which we realize we share the GOSPEL Jesus impacts the hearts of people and makes that seed take root and now we have another job to harvest (disciple). But we have to understand that all this occurring is a miracle.
People we know becoming Christians, growing and learning and changing and being agents of change.
I have to say that the more you see this and are a part of this the more this becomes the norm in your life.
• We see the miracle

Vrs 30-34 and guess what it gets bigger then you can ever imagine or plan. Our problem is we plan and forget about being the light and planting the seed and allowing the Lord to do the work. We fall into the trap of thinking this entire thing depends on us…but it doesn’t

So we see in this parable a summation of what the message will do…it will grow bigger then you can ever imagine and it will be a miracle.

The amazing thing is if we are obedient and don’t hide it we can be a part of it.

"Snapshot Series": Do You Understand?

2011-11-09T13:51:00.000-08:00

Community Group Questions

1. Who do you know that has responded to the Gospel like…the path, the rocky soil, the thorns and the good soil?

2. Think of the last time you were struggling with a sin. When you were exposed to biblical teaching, how did you respond?

Was your heat hard?
Did you seek to understand the teaching and develop roots?
Were you distracted from the sin by the business of life?
Did you apply the teaching and gain victory over the sin?

Snapshot9 Mark 4:1-20 Do You Understand?

Vrs 1-2 Intro
Reasons for parables Nelson Study Notes:
1. Interesting and grabs the listener’s attention.
2. Easy to remember
3. They reveal truth to those who are spiritually ready
4. They conceal truth from those who oppose Christ’s message. (in the climate Jesus was preaching in He was weighing the words He spoke because of the accusations against Him)

Vrs 3-9 Parable

Vrs 10-13 Understanding. Do you understand that spiritual truths can be seen in the physical world

Vrs 12 This statement is not that Jesus is hiding or making it difficult for people to understand but it stating that those who reject the plain message of salvation He offers will not “get” the teachings because He is speaking in parables.

Vrs 14-20 So what should we understand from this parable? Lucky us Jesus explains it. Explanation

When you go out and sow the Word (preaching the Gospel) (The seed is always the same = the Word is always the same) The means in which we get the word out may be different. Remember that is not wrong unless it is by sinful means

Vrs 14-15 The path: These people are hard hearted, stiff necked people (not the blinded as far as ignorant of God’s truth) When you are telling others about the Lord some of them just don’t want to hear it. Anything that may bring up some points of interest are snatched away by Satan.

Vrs 16-17 The rocky soil: Sometimes when you tell others, they love it they are like… yeah I am down with that but unfortunately they don’t develop a root because of the limestone. When troubles come or people are telling them “that is dumb” they fall away because they have no roots.

Vrs 18-19 The thorns: Sometimes when you tell others they hear it and say “that may work” but their conflicting worldview of worldly cares, money and desires choke out what they heard.

There a two commonalities with these three. 1. The seed. 2. No fruit

Vrs 20 Good Soil Accepts and bear fruit.
It’s a heart condition

By observing people and life experience we see these are on target as far as responses to Jesus go, but what about our personal response.

Rather then looking at this from an evangelistic standpoint lets look at if from a discipleship standpoint.

We hear a Biblical teaching or maybe we are confronted with a biblical teaching.

1. Is your heart hard toward it?
2. Are your roots not deep so you find it difficult to understand and it does not matter?
3. Is there too much going on in life that you can’t pay attention?
4. Are you applying it to your life so there is a result.

Snapshot Series: "Am I In God's Will?"

2011-11-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Snapshot8 3:31-35 “Am I In His Will?”

Remember in verse 21 Jesus’ family thought He was out of His mind. Then in verse 22 the scribes said He was possessed by Beelzebub.

Now in verses 31-32 His mother and brothers came to get Him and Jesus has an interesting statement when the crowd beckons Him.

Why do you think His mother and brothers wanted Him? They wanted to stop Him doing what He was doing.

Vrs 33 “Who are my Mother and brothers”? Obviously Jesus was not confused about who was looking for Him.

Vrs 34-35 Then He makes a statement that says my family does “the will of my Father”.

So then we are forced to ask these questions…What is the “will of God”? and am I in (or doing) God’s Will?

You may have asked this question or someone may have asked you this question.

Many times it comes down to questions like, what school should I pick, what career choice, what job to take, should I stay at my current job, who should I marry, how many kids should I have, who should I hang out with, what car should I buy, what house should I buy do I get the extended warranty, what should I eat for dinner….WHAT IS GOD’S WILL????

But then there are the questions like, am I at the right school, did I choose the right career am I at the right job, did I buy the right home or the right car?

What is God’s Will?
Am I in God’s Will?

Biblically there are many answers, but tonight I want to generally answer these two questions in view of what those surrounding Jesus at that time already knew to do from the Gospel of Mark. The people that Jesus is referring to may be saying to themselves “so far I have learned what God wants me to do”

God’s Will

1. Confess sins and believe 1:5
2. Realize “the Law” does not save Jesus does. 2:23-3:6 (Have you trusted in Jesus?)
3. Be obedient 1:6-11 (and baptism) (Are you doing what the Lord has commanded?)
4. Don’t give in to temptation 1:12-13 (Are you falling for the temptation that is before you?)
5. Proclaim the Gospel 1:14-15 (Are you concerned for the lost souls around you?)
6. Follow 1:16-20, 2:13-14, 3:7-12 & 3:13-21 (Are you following Jesus and what He says?)
7. Prayer and fasting 2:18-22 (Do you bring life’s decisions to Jeus in prayer?)

At some points we say… “My life is a mess, what is up?”
Then based upon this knowledge we see times in our lives in which we sit back and say “that was not what God wanted me to do” I bought that car because I wanted it and ignored the advice of others and didn’t pray about it” “When temptation came my way I gave in” “ I don’t really follow Jesus, I just like to hang out with these people”

But sometimes you have all these things in line and in the situation neither option is sin and you get confused. We just need to be sensitive to what God wants and He will let you know

Lets move now back to the passage vrs 31-35
So if we were to answer the question…what is God’s Will we see in this passage that it is… not going against God and now for you to answer Am I in God’s Will? Maybe the more appropriate question you should be asking is “Am I going against God?” If the answer to that is NO, they you are seeking to following His will.

Snapshot Series: "Attributing Evil to God"

2011-10-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

Snapshot7 Mark 3:22-30
Vrs 22 the accusation of Jesus was that He was casting out demons by the power of Satan. (In essence He was on Satan’s side)

Why Beelzebub?

Quick History 2 Kings Ahaziah was reigning in Israel and he became sick so he asked His messengers to “Go ask Baal-zebub god of Ekron if he was going to recover” But an Angel of the Lord went to Elijah and told him to go meet these messengers and ask them and Ahaziah “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you inquire with Baal-zebub?” Baal-zebub is no god in fact he is Satan “Lord of the Flies” And guess what? You will die. And he did.

(I haven’t read this anywhere but I like it) As we go through Mark we will see people say Jesus is Elijah or a Prophet. So I think that these scribes were saying because most people know this account and what happened.

“Jesus is so far being on Elijah’s side that He is on Baal-zebubs side” and what they were actually doing was Attributing evil to the Lord.

Interestingly enough these religious leaders attribute evil to Jesus after He did something good. Normally people attribute evil to God when something bad happens. But people in this case are saying He is evil when He stopped evil. It actually shows how lost they really are.

Vrs 23-27 Jesus’ response is almost like saying you guys are fools…

1. Vr 23 Satan will not leave on his own. How can Satan cast out Satan? The reason He asked this was because He was reminding them when Satan takes residence He sticks around and continues. That is why in our society you see areas in particular in rough city sections where things are dark continue that way for so long. That is why you see darkness and evil continue in some families (abuse and broken relationships). That is why criminals continue in their evil ways. Satan is not going to chase his own away where he has a foothold or leave on his own

2. Vr 24-26 Division will eventually take its toll. We don’t mix Jesus with…anyone else. COEXIST sticker Plotr Mlodozenieic first came up with the design to promote religious tolerance in 2001 Over 100 people have claimed to have invented this design and there has been lawsuits as well.

Yes we are supposed to be tolerant…”they can believe that and I will not rob them of their rights” but my responsibility to the Lord and love for human beings should tell them the truth of where there broken system will bring them in the end. GOSPEL

Another note…Churches will always have issues on how we do things. Remember as long as we agree on the big things…like the Gospel, calling Sin..Sin and following the Bible.

3. Vrs 27 Jesus came to the strong man’s house. That is why He is doing things like casting out demons. (they all realized the power of Satan.) The strong man is Satan and Jesus enters in and through His blood is setting us free. GOSPEL

Vrs 28-30 The unforgivable sin. (attributing God’s work to Satan)
-They knew who Jesus was but still rejected Him. Some people are at the point in which they are so far gone, their view of the Lord is wrong and not only is it wrong they persist and develop arguments against Him, Jesus is not saying it is not possible for these people to ever be forgiven but if they persist down this same road and die in that rejection there is not hope or forgiveness for them.

In some senses we can go back to the account of Ahaziah, It seems he knew who the God of Israel was but he chose Baal-zebub over Him and he physically died, but we realize that he did not go to be with the Lord.

If we dissect this verse further is illustrates that a person who knows the Lord is already forgiven and no matter how we fall, it is covered under the Blood of Jesus but a person who never enters into a relationship with the Lord has committed the eternal sin of rejection.

Back to the issue of attributing evil to God, now in 2011, as Christians are we ever tempted to attribute evil to God.? When evil comes it is not from the Lord (don’t blame Him) Deut 32:4, Gen 18:24, Job 34:10, James 1:13

Maybe you realize that God did not cause the evil but…

Here is the way the argument goes…if God does not stop evil then He is not good.

When evil comes remember. (from this passage)
-Satan hates you, he wants the evil to continue by you having a bad response to it .
-Stick with Jesus. Dabbling in other explanations besides the truth of the Lord will confuse you and get you off focus.
-Jesus loves you and He is stronger and He shows us that through the Gospel.

Snapshot Series: "Why Do You Follow?"

2011-10-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

Snapshot 6 3:7-21 “Why Do You Follow?”

Vrses 7-8 We see that Jesus’ popularity had spread to the surrounding regions
“When the crowd heard all that He was doing they came to Him” This is an interesting statement because we see here that people were following after Jesus because what He had to offer…in this case healing and deliverance from demons.

In this first section these people are following after because there is…
-A possibility of their immediate needs being met.

The question becomes…did these people even understand who they were following and what He really had to offer?

It makes me think of today when people come to Christians or the church for help and assistance. So many people call and ask the church for help with certain things and it is usually followed by statements like “I am going to start coming out on Sundays” or “I would like to help and give back” or “I was thinking of becoming a member” these are probably well intentioned statements but it is not what we or Jesus is looking for.

The church is here to be what Jesus calls the salt and light

Verses 9-10 show us that Jesus is not mad at the fact that their intentions are to have their immediate needs met.

At this point He is concerned for His safety and protection.

Again when we as Christians or the church are approached with need we should not be critical or mad at the peoples intentions but we should make sure that they are not going to harm us. (for the church sometimes we need to evaluate, if someone is taking advantage of us and using up all our resources and making it difficult for us to help other people as well.

Vrs 11 the irony that the demons realize who Jesus was but the people did not, they just thought He was a miracle worker and they wanted a miracle to happen to them.

We are here to help others but it should always be in the Name of the Lord Jesus because He is who they really need. We are not a social service agency. Guess what the demons would love us to have a church with only a message that says we help other people with immediate needs.

So when we do help people it is in the Name of the Lord Jesus and we do our best to spell that out.

Vrs 12 Jesus orders the demon possessed not to make Him know. It seems that He says this because it was evident the demon possessed people were not trustworthy testimonies of who Jesus was. It was bad press to have a demon running around talking about you.

But we see these people are only following after Jesus because of the possible benefit to their immediate needs.

Many people do not realize their real needs so they may follow but it is with wrong intentions or they are uninformed of the real reason to follow Jesus

Reminds me of a picture I say floating around Facebook .

Commentary of our society and what it means to follow, basically is “I check out what you are doing every once in a while and if it benefits my immediate needs I will draw closer”

If we follow because we think that we are going to get something out of it we will not follow when our expectations are not met.

The real need that everyone on the planet has is Salvation and only Jesus can meet that need. GOSPEL

But now we are going to enter into a leg of the Mark’s gospel which really challenges all of us to what true followership is all about. And we will only scratch the surface today.

At this point in the Gospel I don’t think the disciples really understood what it meant to follow Jesus, but this is the beginning for them to understanding that.

The first thing we will see is that…we follow because…
-He seeks us out. Or in this specific case He seeks them out.
Vrs 13-19

Vrs 13 “and He called to Him those whom He desired”
There is a term called “irresistible grace” that we can use here. Attributed to John Calvin’s Theology.

Irresistible Grace Expressed
The Westminster Confession of Faith expresses this doctrine by saying, "All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, he is pleased, in his appointed and accepted time, effectually to call, by his word and Spirit, out of that state of sin and death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ; enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the things of God; taking away their heart of stone, and giving unto them an heart of flesh; renewing their wills, and by his almighty power determining them to that which is good, and effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ; yet so as they come most freely, being made willing by his grace." (Chap. X, Sect. 1)
Vrs 14-15 Notice it is Jesus the one who calls, appoints and give the authority to do His work.

Vrs 16-19 The Twelve

No one is willing to seek after God on their own Romans 3:10-12…it is a drawing of His power

We follow because He calls us to follow.

So…
How do we know we are following?
-We have the tools. Vrs 14-15
-When we realize the cost and keep following.

Verses 20-21 when you are called to follow people just don’t understand.

Matt. 13:55-56 Jesus’ brothers and sisters
In the negation form “Why do you follow?”

Vrs 21 Maybe you feel like this…because you follow Jesus you are the outcast of the family, you get mocked, you are misunderstood. The advice we can take here from Jesus is keep going, don’t be discouraged, they are blind. The comfort that we have is that Jesus was misunderstood and doubted by His own family.

Snapshot Series: "Made For You"

2011-10-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

“Made for You” Mark 2:23-3:6

Tonight we are going to look at two accounts in which Jesus is challenged by the Pharisees for His actions on the Sabbath.

We will also find out what Jesus feels people are more important then the law. He show us this by what He performs on the Sabbath.

Works of necessity: 2:23-28 In this passage we see the Pharisees have a narrow interpretation of the Law and what was permitted.

First of all in Duet. 23:25 it was lawful to pass through another persons field you were allowed to pluck grain that you could carry and eat your fill.

The idea was that God cares about peoples needs so it is evident that if a person was hungry they could eat but the Lord does not want people to take everything their neighbor had.

But then we see that Jesus uses the account of David and his companions, the Lord allowed it because David and his companions had a need.

Jesus’ use of the account of David was communicating to the Pharisees that God cares about people and their needs

Then He reminds them that the real purpose of the Sabbath and it was made to serve us not us to serve it..

Ceremonial law in all its parts is established as a means to an end--the highest good of men. Maclaren, Alexander

In the next passage we see Jesus heal a man with a withered hand.

Works of Mercy 3:1-6 In this account Jesus heals a man with a withered hand.

Vrs 4 The question they would not answer because they knew the could not saw it was ever wrong to do good. But for the Pharisees it was only lawful to help someone if their life was in danger.

The question rests on the principle that good omitted is equivalent to evil committed. If we can save, and do not, the responsibility of loss lies on us. Maclaren, Alexander

Vrs 5 Jesus’ anger over this. The reason for this is that He made the Sabbath to benefit people and they were twisting it and making it a burden rather then a pleasure. “The Lord’s commands are not burdenson” 1 John 5:3

Vrs 6 This is the first place in the Gospel that we see a plot to kill Jesus.

Back to the Sabbath issue.
Sabbath was made for man, what about for today? Isn’t that amazing, the Lord made all days and He wants us to make the best use of them because the “days are evil”. That means we should spend much time in service working for Him but here is saying, This day is on me, rest and recharge enjoy yourself, relax.

Now we celebrate the “Lord’s Day” Sunday because it is the day Jesus Rose from the grave.

What should a Christian be doing on the Lord’s Day?
1. Worship (this is why we did not do the 5 on Saturday as some suggested) One of the things I love about the 5 pm time is that it really caps off the end of the week and weekend. But in our church we have the opportunity to go at 3 different times.
2. Rest: This is not a new concept with the risen Lord or even the Law of Moses, this was something instituted from the creation account. God rested, we all realize that God does not need rest so we have to understand that God was setting an example to us.
3. Family time: In our hectic lives we need to spend time with the ones closest to us. What should that consist of? Fun & recreation. Many times people let their family dictate how their Sunday will be spent and they neglect worship for those who do not believe in the Lord.
4. Prepare: Mentally prepare yourself for the week ahead. This may be spending some time making a list. Who am I going to be around, how can I pray for them, what needs to be done, how am I going to accomplish those things etc.

So does all this mean you can’t work on Sundays if I have a job that demands that? Here is what I would say…
1. Yes… if you are not given any other day off.
2. Yes… if your work times do not allow you to worship at all.
3. Yes… if it means neglect of family time, this is where it gets tricky because if you are a parent and your kids are in school if you a have a schedule that does not allow you to spend quality time with them you are missing valuable opportunities to have an impact on your children.

But here is what I will say as well…it is not just work, if you are involved in something that takes you away from observing the “Lord’s Day” in a healthy way then that would be just as harmful to your walk.

I don’t think a lifestyle without Sabbath type rest will be spiritually, emotionally and physically unhealthy for you.

Jesus cares more about the person then the rule/law and that is why He gave us a means to rest and recharge so we can be more effective for Him.

Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment...Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen." These are the words of Leonardo da Vinci, and no idler he; he excelled as a painter, sculptor, poet, architect, engineer, city planner, scientist, inventor, anatomist, military genius, and philosopher.

Vrs 28 Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, we can take this statement and apply the fact that it communicates Jesus deserves a day and then notice what His day is…it is a day in which we can enjoy Him and everything He has blessed us with.

Snapshot Series: "The New Order"

2011-10-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

Snapshot4 Mark 2:18-22 “The New Order”

Vrs 18 Fasting was part of a grievous time of mourning it was also a time of repentance (change of mind about sin) It was an expression of showing the Lord you were serious about your commitment.

According to the law in Lev. 16:29 the Jews were only required to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement as an act of repentance. The Pharisees as an act of piety promoted voluntary fasts on Mondays and Thursdays. The Pharisees believe that their fasting made them more godly then other people.

So here they question…”Why are you (Jesus) not promoting this or having your followers follow in this tradition or law?

Jesus then gives two answers and both staring with questions back..

1. It is not the right time. Vrs 19-20 When Jesus said this no one really understood what He was talking about…not even the disciples.

Jesus was speaking of Himself and How He was now with them and then He eludes to His death, which is the first mention of this in the Gospel of Mark.

2. There is a new order. Vrs 21-22

What is old? The Law John 1:17 “Law through Moses, Grace and truth through Jesus
The law is a Tudor or school master.” The Law was given to instruct people that they were not going to measure up.

So then that brings us to the question…did God deceive the people and make them chase after something that could never save them? The answer to that is no, the average Law abiding Jew had faith if they followed the law that God would deliver them. They were having faith in His promises. But the Pharisees took the law to a different extreme and added to the law and therefore they were the ones who were deceiving the people.
A healthy view of the law was to realize that they did not measure up and were in desperate need of the Lord.

What is the new? Grace & Truth This is a challenge to what we can “works based salvation” although we don’t have Pharisees today we have people who are deceived into believing if they do the right thing or are “good” God will accept them. GOSPEL

Old & New wine This is why we do not mix Judaism with Christianity. (Werner’s Illustration, eventually they lost sight of Jesus and who He is)

-We cannot combine the newness of the Gospel with the old Jewish traditions
-We cannot combine the newness of the Gospel with trying to be good to earn our way to heaven.
-We cannot combine the newness of the Gospel with other religions and philosophies

So what do we do with this?
Should we fast? Yes we can…Biblically the occasion would be a mourning along with a plea to the Lord about sin in our lives or the suffering of another human.

Fasting possesses great power. If practiced with the right intention, it makes man a friend of God. The demons are aware of that. - Tertullian
Matthew 6:16-18 gives us some parameters. Don’t flaunt it, it is personal

There is a purpose for fasting. By Grudem’s Systematic Theology list
• Increases our sense of humanity and dependence on the Lord.

• Allows us to give more attention to prayer.

• Reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made for us. And this helps us to be reminded of how we should give our entire lives to the Lord

• Exercise in self discipline. We refrain from eating food that we normally desire it strengthens are ability to refrain from sinful behaviors. Along with that if we expose ourselves to small sufferings like hunger we will be better equipped when other sufferings come our way. 1 Peter 4 and Heb. Reminds us that we will suffer for righteousness.

• Takes our focus off the things of this world.

• Communicates our urgency in prayer.

In closing I also want to bring up the fact that fasting can also be abstaining from any desirable activity.

Martin Lloyd-Jones said Fasting, if we conceive of it truly, must not... be confined to the question of food and drink; fasting should really be made to include abstinence from anything which is legitimate in and of itself for the sake of some special spiritual purpose. There are many bodily functions which are right and normal and perfectly legitimate, but which for special peculiar reasons in certain circumstances should be controlled. That is fasting.  

Snapshots Series: "Jesus Came to Forgive"

2011-09-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Questions for Community Groups
1. Do you have any broken relationships because of a lack of forgiveness?
2. Looking back at a time when you failed to forgive, do you see how it hurt you?
3. Have you ever been in a situation in which forgiveness given or taken made the relationship better?
4. Have you had a situation in which you did not want to forgive someone because of what other people would think?
5. Is there anyone in your life that you need to forgive? Why don’t you forgive them?
6. What is the reason that the Bible gives us to forgive others?

Chapter 1 shows Jesus meeting needs and we see a rising popularity and in Chapters 2 & 3 we see a rising opposition against His mission and teaching (Nelson Study notes)
One of the main points of His mission was that “He came to forgive”

People generally do not like forgiveness unless it is coming their way. People generally want to make others pay.

Joke: Like the husband that asked his wife how she keeps calm during their fights. Her reply was “I just work it off by cleaning the toilet.” The husband asked “how does that help?” her reply was “I use your toothbrush”.

There is actually a new TV series out now that is called “Revenge” and the premise of the show is a women returning to hometown and getting revenge on the people that wronged her family 20 plus years earlier. Obviously this makes for a better tv drama then a women coming back to her hometown to forgive all the people that wronged her, but what is Biblical?

In Mark 2:1-17 we see two snapshots that illustrate how Jesus forgives or is willing to. John Mark is very aware of the power of forgiveness because he left Paul as kind of as a failure so forgiveness would be something that he valued. Acts 15:38 & 13:13 & 2 Tim 4:11)

Forgiveness heals: Verses 1-12 The men that lowered the paralytic man down believed that his physical need is great but Jesus’ response is that this man had a deeper spiritual need of forgiveness. Then in order to prove to the doubting Scribes He then meets the physical need.
These men cared enough about their friend to help him get to Jesus. We realize the Lord offers forgiveness so shouldn’t we care enough about the people around us to lead them to Him and His forgiveness.

If forgiveness brings spiritual healing we then have to ask ourselves…are there people in my life that I need to forgive in order to bring healing to our relationship?

Maybe you have someone that hurt you and you are holding onto that, maybe they are sorry and you are still holding this against them, maybe they are not sorry but you are broken everyday because you will not let go of what was done to you.

To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. ~Lewis B. Smedes

Forgiveness breaks down barriers: Verses 13-17 Levi was a tax collector (also called Matthew Mt 9:9 &10:3) Tax collectors were people that no one liked because the sinned against everyone.

Jesus is criticized by the Pharisees because He is eating with sinners and Jesus communicates His mission is to call sinners v17.

Interestingly enough the Scribes and Pharisees were concerned about their reputations “what would people say if they saw us with these people?” Jesus was not concerned with His reputation.

How often do we find ourselves not willing to forgive because we are afraid what people may think of us. “I can’t believe he or she allowed that to happen with no consequence”…”what a doormat” “what a fool”

Like Levi who realized Jesus was someone special and I should listen to Him. We should realize what Jesus has done for us (forgave our sin) and because of that we should listen to and follow Him.

In order to forgive we need to realize…
-we need to be humble. Vrs 17 Not that there are people who are righteous, Jesus is basically saying that He is not here for people who will not humble themselves and realize that they are sinners in need of forgiveness. He came for those who are willing to admit that they are sinners. GOSPEL

-sin is a sickness that everyone has. Forgiveness becomes difficult because people are sick and messed up so our natural response to that is making them pay, take revenge or hold it against them. The Scribes and Pharisees saw how messed up the tax collectors were and they had no interest in even being around them.

Doesn’t that happen with us, someone wrongs us or does wrong things and we are disgusted with them and don’t want to be around them.

But as a believer we need to realize that sin is a sickness and they need prayer and they need forgiveness modeled to them.

-no one is worthy, that is why it is called grace. Another reason why forgiveness can be difficult is because we think people are not worthy of it.
The Scribes and Pharisees whose hearts are hard and they feel that the people Jesus is with are not worthy enough to be with.

The cost of forgiveness can be heart wrenching, look at what Jesus went through to forgive us John 1 “He came to that which was His own”

Forgiveness is the final form of love. --Reinhold Niebuhr

There are benefits…Mayo Clinic Article: Forgiving can lead to…
• Healthier relationships
• Spiritual and psychological well being
• Less stress and hostility
• Lower blood pressure
• Fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and chronic pain
• Lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse

We really have no other option other then to forgive…
Robert Frost Said… If one by one we counted people out for the least sin, it wouldn't take us long to get to a place that we had no one left to live with. For to be social is to be forgiving.
If we do not learn how to practice forgiveness we will live a lonely existence and we would fail to understand the fact that Jesus came to forgive.

Snapshots Series: "Meeting Needs"

2011-09-18T07:42:00.001-07:00

Questions for Community Groups

1. Has anyone ever met a need that you had? Was it physical, emotional or spiritual?
2. What are some ways you can meet the physical needs of the people around you?
3. What are some ways you can meet the emotional needs of the people around you?
4. What are some ways you can meet the spiritual needs of the people around you?
5. What is the greatest need you have in life right now?
6. Have you ever had a time in your life when you feel that God just led you to meet a specific need of another person?
7. Have you ever had a time in which you met a need of another person and Jesus got all the glory

Snapshot2 Mark 1:21-45 “Meeting Needs”

Tonight we see Snapshots of Jesus meeting needs…

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we look around we see people with many different needs. The concept that the Good Samaritan that MLKing pointed out was a concept that originated with Jesus. When on the earth Jesus thought not of Himself but thought about the needs of the people.

In tonight’s passage we see Jesus meet 3 types of needs that all humans have…Physical, emotional and spiritual.

-Physical needs V29-34 & v40-45 In these two passages we see Jesus heal the sick.

V 41-42 Jesus touched the untouchable and cured the incurable. Only in two instances in the OT do we see a leper healed by God.

(this is something to think about when it comes to helping people…because many times the people who need help are not the people we want to be around)

Jesus performed these miracles to authenticate His message. It awakened people to the fact that something special was happening.

But Jesus also realizes that the majority of people only really care about their physical needs.

This is a problem with us and our society… Our lives are sometime dictated by the physical needs. We become consumed with how we feel, how hungry we are, how comfortable we are.

Because of this Jesus told the man not to tell other people v45 illustrates why, because Jesus would not be able to enter into towns.

What the Lord does for us today can be threefold. 1. The Lord meets our daily physical needs. 2. The Lord also heals the sick. 3. We take this one for granted…Jesus keeps everything together.

-Emotional needs V21-22 Sound authoritative teaching meets the emotional needs. Our emotions need to be touched in order for us to accept teaching.

When are you most willing to learn? (normally when you are emotionally connected) “I am broken so I need teaching”
When are you least willing to learn? (normally when you are emotionally connected) “I am upset so I am not willing to accept teaching”

They were “astonished” When teaching is going on it usually touches your emotion. That is why Biblical teaching is so important, no gimmicks or bells and whistles but the preached Word will touch the emotions.

Concepts that originate or point to Biblical truth also touch the emotions.

A group of motion-picture engineers classified the following as the ten most dramatic sounds in the movies: The sound that causes the most emotional response and upheaval than any other, has the power to bring forth almost every human emotion: sadness, envy, regret, sorrow, tears, as well as supreme joy. It is the wedding march. Why? Because it is a picture of Christ and us.
It is like when we see stories of a person laying down their life for their friends always touch the heart GOSPEL
-Spiritual needs v23-27 & v38-39 Jesus casts out demons and preached the life giving message.

V23-24 This exorcism set the pattern for the sustained conflict that Jesus had with demons.

We see here that Jesus has the power of Satan and demons and we also see that His message is spiritual life giving.

Billy Graham said “People have to great spiritual needs, one is for forgiveness and the other is for goodness” The Gospel forgives and the gospel makes us righteous

CS Lewis in Mere Christianity
"The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self—all your wishes and precautions—to Christ."

"[The natural life] knows that if the spiritual life gets hold of it, all its self-centredness and self-will are going to be killed and it is ready to fight tooth and nail to avoid that."
Our physical needs war against our spiritual needs but our spiritual needs are the primary needs we have.

Our call is to meets these three needs…

We can meet needs when we…
-Prayer v35
If you truly want to meet the needs of the people around you, we have to follow the example of the Lord Jesus and pray.
Where does the power to meet these needs come from? The Lord

Prayer not only gives us the power to meet the needs it also gives us the direction to figure out what needs to be met.

-are concerned about the fame of Jesus.
v28 fame, because of what Jesus did His fame spread. When you meet needs of others you will be noticed (your fame will spread). The challenge is to make Jesus’ name famous, not take the glory, not take the credit, not get filled with pride or self importance.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~Nelson Henderson 
We don’t meet needs for personal benefit.

Jesus was here meeting needs for the benefit of others and the kingdom, we should focus on meeting the needs of others for the benefit of Jesus & His kingdom.

Snapshots Series: "Supernatural Order"

2011-09-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

Questions for Community Groups:
1. Share with your group about when you first trusted in Christ.
2. What area of obedience have you consistently struggled with?
3. Talk about a time of temptation in your life that you passed the test and did not give in.
4. How are you working for the Kingdom of God?
5. Who are some people that you are trying to impact with the Gospel?

Tonight we are going to start a study of the Gospel of Mark as tradition holds this Gospel was written by John Mark between 60-70AD. Mark was in Rome with Peter under the persecution of Nero. As we study together I will give you more background information.

I have entitled the Series “Snapshots” because in this Gospel we see quick pictures of Jesus and the disciples. The difference between a snapshot and a portrait is that a snapshot captures real life a portrait is often staged. The Gospel of Mark captures real life, especially with the disciples because at times we see the worst in them.

Ernest Hemmingway said “Every mans life ends in death, it is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another”

In this Gospel we see Jesus the God-man standing out among the rest.

Snapshot1 Mark 1:1-20 “The Supernatural Order” These snapshots of John the Baptist, Jesus and the first disciples give us insight on what the “Supernatural Order” is.

Believe v1-8 V 1 Gospel = good news
Vrs 2-3 When we look at the issue of faith it is something that begins with trusting in the Lord and His promises.

Augustine said "Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that thou may believe, but believe that thou may understand."
The people were looking for the Messiah and his forerunner. This also signifies and open heart to have faith. They already believed the Lord would deliver.

In Isaiah 40:3 the messenger announces the second exodus through the wilderness to the final deliverance prepared for God’s people. This also illustrates to us that salvation is a work of the Lord and not that of personal works.

We see an urgency in the message of John because this is ushering in the final plans of the Lord because technically we have been living in the end times since Jesus came.

Repent = change your mind about your sin.
Vrs 5 is a key passage to believing in the Lord Jesus “confessing sins” a person cannot trust in Christ unless they admit their sin. GOSPEL

Being baptized by John marked a turn to God, it was identifying oneself with the people who were preparing themselves with the coming Messiah. A willingness to be baptized was a public admission that we are disobedient and we want to be obedient.

Vrs 8 John administered the outward sign but Jesus would administer the inward sign, with the Holy Spirit. Put it this way anyone can be baptized with water and not be sincere but only the sincere are baptized with the Holy Spirit.

This belief in Jesus should change your life…

CS Lewis said
You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death. It is easy to say you believe a rope to be strong as long as you are merely using it to cord a box. But suppose you had to hang by that rope over a precipice. Wouldn't you then first discover how much you really trusted it?

If this faith in Christ saves our lives shouldn’t it radically affect our lives?

Obedience v9-11 It is an act of obedience to the Lord to get baptized. But then why did Jesus get baptized by John? John Grassmick in the BKC serves us with three possible answers.
–Showed that Jesus was in full agreement with the will of the Father.
–It was an act of identification with the sinful predicament Israel was in.
–It was an act of self dedication.

Vrs 11 “well pleased” Jesus is the servant in which the Father is pleased with… in contrast to Israel the servant who the Lord is not pleased with. (Isa 42:1-9)

We should aspire to be a servant that the Lord is well pleased with, being obedient is the way that is accomplished.

Many of us are not obedient in areas of our lives because we feel that it is difficult.
Think of obedience another way…

As Dr. B.J. Miller once said, "It is a great deal easier to do that which God gives us to do, no matter how hard it is, than to face the responsibilities of not doing it."

Resolve not to sin v12-13 Tempted or trail…put to the test. Jesus withstood that temptation and He proved He could pass the test. As a Christian many times our faith is put to the test anytime by being tempted to sin. Anytime we sin we are choosing something over our relationship with the Lord. Often times great temptation comes after a spiritual high point. So obviously one of those times would be right after salvation, another time would be after times of obedience.

“wild animals” in the OT the “wilderness” was a place of great danger and a curse. Here we see the presence of wild animals is an illustration of the harsh environment that Jesus was in.

At times we feel that way in our Christian life. We find ourselves in harsh Godless environments that test our faith and temp us to do wrong thing. Maybe it is dishonesty at work because your boss is rough, cheating in school because your workload is difficult, lying to your spouse because the truth will cause problems.

John Piper says that sin "gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier."

In contrast “angels ministering” they supplied Jesus with assurance of the Father’s presence. In our lives we have the Holy Spirit but the Lord also gives us other believers to minister to us in times of difficult temptation.

We need to surround ourselves with people that remind us that we are the happiest when we are following the Lord.

Working for the kingdom vrs 14-20 The initial phase of Jesus’ ministry This section actually extends to chapter 3:6 but tonight we will only look at v14-20 If we look back to John we see that the culmination of his life was to point to Jesus. Vrs 15 the work of the Father is to believe and then spread that message.

When Jesus goes to the fishermen it is interesting to note that normally a student would seek out the Rabbi (teacher) but Jesus goes and seeks these men out.

This also helps us to realize that we don’t find God, He finds us. When He calls us… we should respond in…

Belief, obedience, resolve not to sin and ready to work for the kingdom.

Spiritual Disciplines Series: "Community"

2011-09-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

COMMUNITY: We have been looking at the Spiritual disciplines for the last 5 weeks. This specific discipline of being in community is not necessarily going to church but it is actually taking the next step to get to know people and spend time with people that you meet in church. The springboard passage I have been referring to is Mark 12 about loving the Lord and loving your neighbor. So tonight we are going to look at the Spiritual Discipline of being in community together with other believers.

In order to study this we are going to look at the first church in Acts 2:42-47. I believe this tells us at least 4 things about “how to successfully live in community with other believers”

To successfully live in community we need…

-A redeemed soul: (saved) GOSPEL You cannot live in community with other believers and get the fullness of that community unless you are saved. Only the regenerated souls can really connect with one another. At the end of the day we are not totally going to connect with a person who does not love the Lord. 2 Cor. 6:14 “what fellowship does light have with darkness?”

Ask yourself this question…Are the closest relationships you have with other Christians?

-Willing mind: To learn the “Apostles teaching” which is Scripture. When we are in community with other believers there is always an opportunity to learn from one another. One of the great things that the reformation brought to the church was the understanding that every person has the ability to understand Scriptures, that means when we are in community with others there is always an opportunity to learn. Community Groups are a great place for this to happen, because the concept is that when we come together in community groups we are sharing life and how we have personally applied Scriptures to our lives. How did you deal with that? How did you get through that? What was helpful to you? What would you avoid?

Someone once said “One can acquire everything in solitude except character.”

Ask yourself this question…Who have you learned a great deal from by just spending time with them?
Here is a little pastoral advice for you…go thank them.

-Generous heart: When we love the Lord with all our heart it becomes generous. The example that was set by those early followers of Jesus was marked with generosity. With their belongings and their willingness to open up their homes and use their resources. A generous heart deepens the bond of unity because others display their love for God and others by their willingness to share. We are supposed to be generous Galatians 6:10 tells us to do good “especially to the household of faith”

Ask yourself this question…When was the last time you gave something to help another in your spiritual community?

-Renewed strength: In order to live in close community with other people you will need strength. The closer we get to other people the more problems will occur and you will need the strength of the Lord to work you through it. Many times people want to call it quits, they get sick of problems and issues. They respond in cutting off relationships, many families do this, they have people in the family they don’t talk to.
So what do you do when your community forsakes you?

1. bring it to them.
2. don't hold it against them. forgive
3. don't take revenge (wish ill on them)
4. don't forsake them
5. realize the Lord is with you (that is why He should be first)

Vrs 47 The result of believers living in community with one another are others being “saved”. Some of the best witnessing we can do is rightly relate to one another in community.

Spiritual Disciplines Series: "Resources"

2011-09-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

Spiritual Disciplines week 5 "Resources" Mark 12 Jesus said Love the Lord your God.

Tonight we are talking about the spiritual discipline of using your resources in service of the Lord. Normally in the Christian community we have three categories for the resources we have…we call them the resource of treasure.. which consists of the what we have as far as money and possessions. Time as resource, we have work time, family time friend time, leisure time and so on. And finally our talents this is the resource of skills and abilities God has given us.

What you have been given is not necessarily ours but was given to us to be a good steward of. So that means that there are three things that we need to focus in on.

Our resources should be used to...
-bring glory to God
-to help others.
-for our enjoyment.

How do we do this?
Mark 12 Jesus said Love the Lord your God.

-Letting go of what God has blessed you with demonstrates and attitude of heart praise. Psalm 86:12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,and I will glorify your name forever.

-Change your mind. Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. "my stuff" is not mine.

-Tap into the strength of the Lord. 1 Peter 4:11 whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

-Ask Jesus to guide your soul as you use what He has given you. Psalm 143:8 Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Now lets look at the three areas. I am inviting Steve Dorrick up to share a personal testimony on how the Lord laid on His and his wives hearts that they needed to let go of the "treasures" the Lord blessed them with. 
The next two areas I will briefly touch on

-Using the talents God has blessed you with. These are the skills and abilities you have and the Bible is clear about where they came from. All of us have things that we are good at and in many cases these are things that we enjoy doing. God has called us to be disciplined in using those things for service to Him.

As Christians many times we either get caught up in using our abilities to bring glory to ourselves or we go to the opposite extreme of thinking our abilities are not good enough and we feel inadequate.

SD Gorden said We have nothing to do with how much ability we've got, or how little, but with what we do with what we have. The man with great talent is apt to be puffed up, and the man with little (talent) to belittle the little. Poor fools! God gives it, much or little. Our part is to be faithful, doing the best with every bit and scrap.
-Giving of your time Psalm 39:5 says "You have made my days"

The interesting thing about the resource of time is that we all have the same amount. The true challenge is how we use that time. Many of us are weighed down by responsibilities, many of us waste time, many of us sleep too much. As a Christian the challenge is to be disciplined enough to be using your time in service of Jesus.
Henry David Therou said "As if you could kill time without injuring eternity."
Jesus had an amazing resource and it was the ability to be able to lay down His life for our sins GOSPEL. We are thankful that He did not hold back but used that resource to serve us. Will you use the ones He blessed you with to serve Him?

Spiritual Disciplines Series: "The Battle"

2011-08-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

The spiritual discipline that I want to look at tonight is “service” as a Christian we should serve the local body of believers…that means we should be volunteering for ministries or a ministry on a consistent basis. We should be serving it is a discipline.

What I want to do tonight is give a staunch reminder of the fact that as we “serve” we are actually enlisted in battle and it is a spiritual battle.

Let me just inform you…the Spiritual discipline of serving the Lord is actually going to battle for Him because there are spiritual forces against you.

I think if we start looking at our service to the Lord in the light of the fact that we are battling the spiritual forces of evil we will start to take it more seriously.

As I have done the past three weeks I want to look at the concept of “Battle” through the eyes of what Jesus says the greatest commandment is. Love the Lord you God…

-Our Heart has to be in the right place to do battle. Acts 5:3 Satan “filled” control or influence his heart and not only did they lie but it damaged his service to the Lord. Their lie was to cover up selfishness…many times we do not serve the Lord because we are selfish.

Sometimes because we are selfish we act like what we are doing is serving the Lord but it really serving our own ego.

This become extremely dangerous for those of you that have been in the faith for a while. Psalm 55:20-22 we learn how to say the and do the right things but our heart is waging war.

How? Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"? Only the Lord can make our hearts pure first of all in Salvation GOSPEL.

As a Christian we need to be reading His Word, spend time in prayer and repenting of and confessing sin.

Now as a Christian who’s heart has been made pure and who is practicing the 3 disciplines we discussed in the last three weeks we are ready for Battle.

-We do battle with our mind- 2 Cor 10:3-5 Notice Paul is saying here that we destroy arguments against God by…using our mind to take “every thought captive” This helps us to understand that when you have a doubt you put it to the test. (I don’t know enough to talk to others)

2 Corinthians 2:10-12 “outwitted” The Puritan Thomas Brookes wrote a book based on verse 11 called “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices”
Here is Brookes remedies when “Satan casts in vain thoughts while we are seeking to serve God”
1. The God we serve is great, holy, majestic and glorious.
2. Despite wandering thoughts it is needful to be resolute in service.
3. Vain and useless thoughts that Satan casts in are not sins if they are resisted and disclaimed.
4. Watching against and resisting sinful thoughts are evidences of grace and sincerity of our hearts.
5. We must labor (serve) to be filled with the fullness of God.
6. We must labor (serve) to keep up holy and spiritual affections.
7. We must labor (serve) to avoid worldly cares.

It is about having an understanding what is going on when you serve.
Examples:
-“I am going to feed the homeless”: Realize that the homeless are people that need to hear the good news, they may feel that the Lord has rejected them like society has, they may not realize that there is a spiritual stronghold from Satan and his demons that is keeping them from getting out of their situation.

-“I volunteer for nursery”: Realize that those babies need to be safe and cared for and Satan and his demons want them to be uncomfortable and not want to stay in the nursery, therefore the parents don’t feel comfortable leaving them down there and then they don’t stay for service.

-“I clean the church”: Realize that when you are cleaning you are making the church look good so when new people walk through the doors they don’t feel that they are in a place that no one cares about. Satan and his demons will use that to defame the name of the Lord and His people.

-“I run a Community Group”: Realize how welcoming you are can impact the people that come out. How you keep people on track with what you are doing will assist in a helpful meeting for everyone. Satan and his demons don’t want them coming to your house for spiritual development so he will try to get in the way and cause them to act on their bad attitude or their frustration when the group is not doing just what they think it should.

With our mind we purpose to serve the Lord

-We do battle with our strength Eph 6:10-12 God equips us with the strength
David said in 2 Samuel 22:39-41 that the Lord equipped him with strength for battle.

How? Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

The battle is for souls.
Interestingly enough, as a Christian Satan’s number one battle against us is to lead us into sin. As Brookes tells us he “hides the hook with the bait”

Remedies from Brookes
1. Keep greatest distance from sin and playing with the bait.
2. Understand sin is bitter sweet.
3. Understand sin will usher the greatest and saddest loses.
4. Understand sin is deceitful and bewitching.
5. Understand sin is losing the battle.

1 Peter 5:1-9 sums up our service or battle plan.

Emphasis on verse 8 We battle for the Lord because it is over Souls. The very souls of our friends and family members, the people at work and at school, the person next door, the stranger.

Spiritual Disciplines Series: "The Trash"

2011-08-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

Spiritual Disciplines Series: "Communication"

2011-08-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Mark 12:28-34 Communication Prayer/meditation
As John Grassmick says in the Bible Knowledge Commentary on these verses…”It is a commitment to the Lord that is comprehensive and whole hearted. The heart, as the control center of your life, the soul as your self consciousness, the mind our thought capacity and strength our bodily powers”

And when we learn how to love the Lord like this the result is love for others.

So in this series what I would like to do is help us understand that this type of loving God comes from instituting Spiritual Disciplines in our life.

Tonight we will look at prayer and how it impacts our heart, mind, strength and soul.

When we look at all the people of great faith in Bible…they prayed…Jesus prayed…He went off often early in the morning and prayed and in the account of Luke 11 when he came back from praying one of the disciples said “teach us to pray”, then Jesus taught what we call the Lord’s Prayer, which is an outline for prayer.

Many times we look at prayer as a thing that is on its own. What I would suggest is that you add prayer to your time of reading the Word. This way it becomes more like a conversation. You then start to develop a time each day of silence and solitude. You talk with Jesus and He talks with you.

So then applying last week we read God’s Word, then meditate on God’s Word then pray God’s Word in request to God that we can apply God’s Word.

If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith. Martin Luther
First
• Prayer…calms our heart (Heart love) (control seat)
When our heart is restless and troubled what do we do? Many times we feel good when you are able to get things off your chest, someone to talk to. But it feels much better when you not only are able to talk with someone who will listen, but someone who can actually do something about it.

Philippians 4:4-7 roles to mind
Jesus said “let not your heart be troubled”

• Prayer…is a discipline of the mind (Mind Love)
Be sober minded, for the sake of your prayers 1 Peter 4:7,
Contemplative/meditative 1 Cor 14:14-15
-We use our mind to realize Jesus can use any means He chooses…
crossing the Atlantic on an ocean liner, F.B. Meyer was asked to address the first class passengers. At the captain's request he spoke on "Answered Prayer." An agnostic who was present at the service was asked by his friends, "What did you think of Dr. Meyer's sermon?" He answered, "I didn't believe a word of it." That afternoon Meyer went to speak to the steerage passengers. Many of the listeners at his morning address went along, including the agnostic, who claimed he just wanted to hear "what the babbler had to say."
Before starting for the service, the agnostic put two oranges in his pocket. On his way he passed an elderly woman sitting in her deck chair fast asleep. Her hands were open. In the spirit of fun, the agnostic put the two oranges in her outstretched palms. After the meeting, he saw the old lady happily eating one of the pieces of fruit. "You seem to be enjoying that orange," he remarked with a smile. "Yes, sir," she replied, "My Father is very good to me." "Your father? Surely your father can't be still alive!" "Praise God," she replied, "He is very much alive." "What do you mean?" pressed the agnostic. She explained, "I'll tell you, sir. I have been seasick for days. I was asking God somehow to send me an orange. I suppose I fell asleep while I was praying. When I awoke, I found He had not only sent me one orange but two!" The agnostic was speechless. Later he was converted to Christ. Yes, praying in God's will brings an answer.

-We use our mind to believe Jesus can… Matt 7:7-11

Alexander the Great –Asked by a general if he would pay for his daughters wedding…I have been a faithful general. Fine ask my treasurer to discuss the cost. The general went to the treasurer and asked for a crazy amount of money. The treasurer went to Alexander and said you are not gonna believe this he wants this much money. Alexander smiled and said give it to him…the treasurer said why? Alexander said don’t you realize that by him asking for this crazy amount of money...he believes I am both rich and generous.

We pray in faith that Jesus can change our relationships, change our finances, change our attitudes etc.
We all have to come to the point that Reinhold Niebuhr when He prayed what most of you know as the “Serenity prayer”
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
At some point in life you will have to accept that Jesus can… but He didn’t at this time you need the next point the most.

• Prayer…gives us strength (Strength love) it also takes strength
Luke 21:36 Jesus here is telling us that the most important place to turn when it comes to strength is to be prayed up.

"Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A person is powerful on his knees." Corrie ten Boom
This displays the strength love for God

Another aspect of this strength love in prayer.. is that in order to pray we need to come to the conclusion that we are weak. That is difficult for many of us. Because we want to do everything humanly possible rather then rely on the Lord. Paul said “when I am weak He is strong”

Hudson Taylor said
"The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God's standing challenge, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not!'"

• Prayer…heals our soul. When our soul is healed we are more inclined to love Him with our soul. Psalm 116:4 “Oh Lord deliver my soul” GOSPEL “everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved” Rom 10:13

Spriltual Disciplines Series "The Word"

2011-07-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

Mark 12:28-34

As John Grassmick says in the Bible Knowledge Commentary on these verses…”It is a commitment to the Lord that is comprehensive and whole hearted. The heart, as the control center of your life, the soul as your self consciousness, the mind our thought capacity and strength our bodily powers”

And when we learn how to love the Lord like this the result is love for others.

So in this series what I would like to do is help us understand that this type of loving God comes from instituting Spiritual Disciplines in our life.

7th grade seeing another guy with a “note”
(I will never forget the first note from Amy… I cherished it and the main reason why is because I felt like somebody)

The simple fact that God gave us His Word displays we are important.

But some say…
1. I don’t need God and His Word, I know I am important and I have the answers. (Pride and rejection of the Lord)
2. Or the Christian response sometimes is… “I hear you, I know I am important to God, but I don’t really need to spend time learning more about Him or how I should respond to Him unless something is going wrong”. (Ignorance)

My appeal to you tonight is… I want us all to realize that we have the great privilege of having communication from God to us and that means we need spend time reading, memorizing and studying every aspect of it to develop our love for the Lord Jesus.
The Bible is what we should…
• fill our hearts with. (Heart love) How? Psalm 119:9-16 Meditation and memorization
Many times people are only interested in something when they are dealing with it…but as a student of God’s Word, in order to fill your heart in order to spur your heart on to love the Lord, we should expose ourselves to teaching before you deal with them.
When you hear things you “already know” you will reevaluate your life to make sure you are still practicing them. (Lets look at like this we fill our hearts and minds with information that leads to transformation and we need reminders)
I would go so far as to say if there is a Biblically based teaching and you say you got nothing from it. You have some kind of a problem. –maybe with the person teaching it? –maybe it is convicting you? -maybe you are apathetic? -maybe your heart is hard? –maybe you did not pray before you read or heard the Word?
I was never out of my Bible. John Bunyan
• study and question for ourselves. (Mind Love) (my pastor said so should not be your answer) The Bible is everyone’s book Acts 17:10-12 the Berean’s (George Kuhn)
Never let good books take the place of the Bible. Drink from the Well, not from the streams that flow from the Well. Amy Carmichael.
I am a man of one Book. John Wesley.
• pass down to the next generation (Strength love) .Deut 6:7-10 Teach the Scriptures. This is hard physical work.
Much of it is in the delivery (Tom Allen’s illustration about yelling at your kids)
• learn about who to hope in. (Soul love) In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Jesus’ life fulfilled the scriptures to give us salvation GOSPEL
People do not reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.
Romans 15:4 this is not only true of future hope but it is true of hope in any circumstance we find ourselves in.
Within the covers of one single book, the Bible, are all the answers to all the problems that face us today--if only we would read and believe. Ronald Reagan
When you start to realize that God’s Word has what you need and offers hope you start to develop a love for it and it becomes something you do not want to live without.
Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God. Of a man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Hiss face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had "read" through the entire Bible four times.
Through the Discipline of being in God’s Word we learn to love Him with our heart, soul, mind and strength.

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms": His Name is Jesus

2011-07-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

Community Group Questions
1. Share a time in which your love for another person had to endure a hardship.
2. Share a time in your life that you felt God’s power working through a situation.
3. Do you feel you are known by others as a joyful person?
4. In what area of life do you feel the most needed and useful?
5. How has a broken trust from someone you trusted changed the way you look at Jesus?

This psalm is what is known at Hallel Psalm which is a song of praise about the works of the Lord in the lives of His people.

Most likely the last hymn sung by Jesus with His disciples at the last supper.
Through this Psalm of praise we will learn at least three things.

1. The enduring love of the Lord Vrs 1-4

Enduring love- we should be comforted by the fact His love has staying power and endures even though we do not deserve that love, it is like a pursuing love.

Parent endures under the disobedience of a child. (Prodigal Son)

Why because it is steadfast which means it is firm, pointed with purpose and unwavering.

From the Lord we learn that this is the type of love we need to have for those around us.
As Christians we should endure, when people wrong us. We endure when people don’t follow through with their commitments to us. We endure when things don’t change as quick as we think they should.

Bottom line is we need to emulate the love of the Lord.

Next we will see…
2. What the Lord is capable of giving to you and me. Vrs 5-18

-Salvation Vrs 5 Romans 10:13 “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13-21
-Someone to trust. Vrs 6-9 Is the One we can trust. Trust in the Lord not in man. (You may not be able to trust anyone)

-Power. Vrs 10-13 We get power from the Lord. “I can do all things through Christ”

-Joy. Vrs 14-16 Salvation should result in joy. In this passage we see the psalmist in song.
Because it is valiant (bold, heroic)

-Purpose Vrs 17 The Lord keeps us alive to bring glory to Him while we are here. People want purpose…ask a child what they want to do when they grow up.

When the Lord does something for us it is a great thing to do to make it known.

-Security Vrs 18 The Lord disciplines those He loves (Tim Keller father illustration I really act like a father when I have to discipline)

The final thing we learn is who the Lord is

3. The Lord’s name is Jesus and He is... This is important because this Psalm never says the name of Jesus but these last 11 verses are clearly about Jesus,

-The Gate Vrs 19-21 Jesus is the gate John 10:1

-The Stone Vrs 22-23 The Messianic value Matt 21:42-44
Jesus is the stone
Jewish leaders are the builders of the nation…the kingdom would be taken from them and given to others Matt 21:43

-The Creator Vrs 24 He is creator of the day John 1:9 “World made through Him”

-The Life Giver Vrs 25 He gives success John 10:10

-The One we waited for. Vrs 26 More prophecy John 12:13

-The Light Vrs 27 He is the light of the world John 12:46 and

-The Sacrifice His sacrifice is that light 1 Cor 5:7 “Christ our Passover lamb has become our sacrifice” GOSPEL

In Conclusion Vrs 28-29 we praise Jesus for what He is capable of doing for us and the fact that His love endures.

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms" The Work of Jesus

2011-07-07T06:13:00.000-07:00

Psalm 110 is the only “purely prophetic” meaning it finds its full meaning only in Christ.

From this Psalm we will learn at least 3 things about the work of Jesus. 1. What is the Work of Jesus? 2. Who should be involved in the work of Jesus? & 3. What can we trust about the work of Jesus?

What is the work of Jesus?

Matthew Henry is his commentary states about Psalm 110 “Christ as our Redeemer, executes three roles King (V1,3,5,6)” Prophet (v2), & Priest (v4)

King-a ruler or judge Vrs 1
Prophet-speaks and teaches truth. Vrs 2 proclaiming
Priest-is a go between or a mediator to God Vrs 4

Gen 14:17-24 Melchizedek… King and priest of Salem brought bread and wine as a reminder to Abram after He returned from the defeat of those who were against the Lord, that the Lord was the One who gave Him the victory
Abram’s response was giving a 10th to Melchizedek and total commitment to the Lord

What is our response to the victory we have in Jesus. It should be generosity and commitment.

Who should be involved in the work of Jesus?

-Christians Vrs 3
We should freely offer ourselves in service, we should not be coerced or guilted into working with and for the Lord.

If you are not working for the Lord…
-You will not grow
-You are failing the body of Christ because you are not using your gifts
-You are being disobedient (selfish)
-You will miss out on blessings

“the day of your power in holy garments” Probably a reference to Revelation chapter 19 in which we see all the Christians/saints of all time clothed in “fine linen” at the wedding supper of Jesus after that we then see Jesus riding a white horse out to battle with the saints following Him clothed in “fine linen” riding on white horses do Jesus’ work with Him. (the fine linen “are the righteous deeds of the saints”)

Nelson Study Bible notes say it this way “From the womb of the morning describes the volunteer army in their robust and fresh vigor; they are ready for a holy battle”

We understand through the book of Revelation that at the end of this world there will be a battle and Christ will win…but another question that we must ask is…Is there are battle going on right now that those who are in “holy garments” are in?

The answer is Yes the spiritual battle for souls, the church (us) needs to advancing in battle for the souls of the people in the community. Eph 6

Some of the biggest enemies of the church is the church itself. Parable of Wheat and Weeds
-Laziness (don’t want do anything)
-Comfort (I like the way things are why change it)
-Apathy (I really don’t care)
-Internal struggles (Things have to be my way or there is going to be a problem)

What can we trust in about work of Jesus?

-He does not change His mind.
Vrs 4 this is the way it is…it is only through Jesus.. this is the plan. No matter what culture tells us, no matter how politically incorrect it may sound the Gospel is the Gospel. GOSPEL
We are not going to a get to a certain time in which God says “you know what I am going change that up on you guys”

God in the OT and NT are the same

-He is more powerful. (then anything you can imagine)
Vrs 5

Do you really believe that Jesus is more powerful then anyone or anything? A little test…How do you respond when you are harshly mistreated?
Many times we retaliate and we don’t rest in the fact that God is more powerful and takes care of our enemies.

-He is a just judge. Vrs 6 When Jesus is judging we know that we can trust His judgment. Remember there is no love without righteous judgment.

-He proves to be trustworthy because of His Sacrifice. (humility and exaltation) GOSPEL

Vrs 7Drank from the bitter brook, Romans tells us that “He who did not spare His own son will He not then also graciously give us all things”

We can be sure our salvation is complete through the “Work of Jesus”

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms" Jesus the Conqueror

2011-06-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

Psalm 68 “Jesus the Conqueror” this Psalm is a Victories (King)Messiah over the power of His enemies.

What we will learn is Jesus conquers &…

Some fear and some praise Vrs 1-6
-Enemies fear because they are against Him and His power is greater then theirs.
-Those who trust the Lord find comfort and therefore praise Him for things like…
-Fathers the fatherless
-Protector of the widow
A good king takes care of the downtrodden and those in need
-Leads prisoners out (delivers)
Traditionally when a King would conquer his enemy he would go and retrieve and release the prisoners

Q1. Which side are you on… “fearing” or “praising”? GOSPEL

It reminds us of what He is capable of. Verses 7-18

This would be a reference of how God delivered the Israelites into the promised land. David would be singing this to remind himself and others that God is far more then capable to deliver His people through any difficult time.

It is a staunch reminder that we can have faith in the Lord because He has kept His promises.

We as Christians need to spend time reflecting on what the Lord has done in our lives to be reminded that He is capable of bringing us through whatever we are going through.

Often times we get to where we are in life and forget to praise the Lord for what He did. We feel like we delivered ourselves.

Q2 What has God done in your life that it is evident now that it was only possible because of Him?

____
I want to point out Vrs 18 is where are Messianic value of this psalm hinges.

Vrs 18 “Leading a host of captives in your train”
We were prisoners to sin and now we are delivered and not turn back to prison but to use our gifts in service of the King.

You see we are no able to be effective without Jesus empowering us.

Ephesians 4:8 gives us the reason why God led us out of the slavery of sin…
The chapter talks about how Christians need to be unified and work together and serve one another and the world in the name of Jesus Christ.

To give you a clearer picture it is like we were captured by the enemy and then Jesus came and conquered set us free and then enlisted us into His service and gave us gifts to serve and be His people and His church in the world until He comes back.

Then Ephesians 4 talks about our new life with Jesus, no longer are we slaves to sin but we are children and servants of King Jesus to do His work. This means that we should not fall back into what we used to be…a prisoner.

When we see the work of God’s people the church on this earth it makes us realize that He is capable of using us…sinful people, who were once incapable prisoners… to do His work.

It saves His people Vrs 19-31
-Our personal sin v 19-20 GOSPEL
-Deliverance of His people. Vrs 21-33

For the people of Israel it meant that only their King (the Lord) can save His people.

For us that means that God takes care of His church (gates of hell shall not prevail)

The church in general has suffered many attacks but Jesus still uses His church. But we need to continue to pray for the church globally and locally because we are the representative of Jesus on the earth.

Q3 What would you like to see us as church do better?
Please start praying about how the Lord may use you as an agent of change.

We should respond in praise Vrs 32-35
When I read this it makes me realize a Christian without joy is contradiction in terms.

Our praise should be to the Lord and for others to see how great He is. This is the reason why when a battle is won we have parties and parades, because for so long we were in misery but deliverance has come so we have a good time and praise.

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms" The Glory of King Jesus

2011-06-20T06:49:00.001-07:00

Psalm 45 The Glory of Jesus Glory = greatness and majesty

Relationship with God and His people like a wedding.

-The response to His Glory V1 Psalmist praising the Lord (King)
When we see something amazing we are normally inclined to respond.
J.S. Bach said, "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub."
-Description of His Glory Verses 2-8 (the Groom)
Vrs 2a handsome and gracious speech. The appearance of the Lord in eternity.

V2b Reign is forever
V3 Protector
V4-5 Conqueror

Verese 6-7 Character is excellent Go to Hebrews 1:1-9 (Messianic value)
Righteousness and joy

Verses 8 Possessions are Excellent
Ivory palace

This psalm we see is about an Ordinary man but not ordinary man.

-Impact of His Glory (on His bride…the church) Verses 9-15 Heb 2:10 “many sons to glory” He brings us with Him

The union of Christ with His people We are the bride Our glory is Jesus
Emphasis is her relationship with the king.

***Men we have to remember if we have a bitter wife and unruly children we have to look at ourselves because they will reflect us to some degree. Maybe we are treating them the wrong way and they are responding to that. That does not excuse their actions but it does bring a reminder of the mans responsibility.

V9 at His right hand (We should always be looking at what the Lord wants us to do)

V10 she looks forward to her commitment in marriage (leave and cleave, the Lord is more important then family))

V11 He delights in her (The Lord delights in us)
V11 honors Him as her Lord. Honor the King as your Lord, know “whose” you are.

V 12 Others begin to notice her place of importance (your testimony will dictate how the world outside treats you)

V 13 She is blessed (we are blessed)
F.E. Marsh has pointed out some of God's blessings:
An acceptance that can never be questioned. (Ephesians 1:6).
An inheritance that can never be lost (I Peter 1:3-5).
A deliverance that can never be excelled (2 Corinthians l:10).
A grace that can never be limited (2 Corinthians 12:9).
A hope that can never be disappointed. (Hebrews 6:18, 19).
A bounty that can never be withdrawn. (I Colossians 3:21-23).
A joy that need never be diminished (John 15:11).
A nearness to God that can never be reversed (Ephesians 2:13).
A peace that can never be disturbed (John 14:27).
A righteousness that can never be tarnished (2 Corinthians 5:21).
A salvation that can never be canceled (Hebrews 5:9).
V14 led to Him (the more we pursue purity from sin the closer we get to Jeus James 4:8 Draw near)

V15 Enters His palace. We are able to enter into the Lord’s presence through prayer and when we leave this earth we will go to the house of the Lord.

We are impacted by the Glory of Jesus Its not about us its about Jesus… His Glory shines through us and is passed down.

-His Glory continues. Verses 16-17

Vrs 16 children loyal children are the fruit of this marriage. Christians make more Christians
The bride is the means by which the King brings birth to royal children. A call to evangelism.
It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out. A church without evangelism is a contradiction in terms, just as a fire that does not burn is a contradiction. Christian Theology in Plain Language
What do you do when your child just does not want to be involved? Explain our purpose.

Vrs 17 How you handle your family situations can cause others to recognize who the Lord is.

Closing Rev 19:6-8

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms" Jesus and Karma

2011-06-12T17:49:00.000-07:00

Psalm 41
Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever did something good and reaped a reward?
2. Have you ever did something good and something bad happened to you?
3. Have you ever paid the consequence for a personal sin?
4. Have you ever did something bad and it seems like you got away with it?
5. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus is willing to pay your sin debt?
6. How have you been acting like Jesus to those around you?

Read verse 1. As I read this first I stopped and had this thought…”this sounds like Karma” Many of you have herd of the concept of Karma, you may have herd about it in two different ways…religious as in Buddhism or Hinduism which pretty much states. “The sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.” It is about balance bad needs to be paid for and good is rewarded. And pop culture Karma which pretty much states “what goes around comes around”

Now the problem with the first is that the Bible does not teach reincarnation and the problem with the second is that it does not always work. (Example a person doing good gets injured, a hard working honest person loses their job and good wife or husband fall victim to a cheating spouse and the list goes on). But then it reminds of a Biblical concept of “Reaping what we have sown”. Which then leads us to the question… Do we really reap what we sow? The answer is yes and no. Why? Because we have to look at the temporal life (here and now) and eternal life (eternity)

I read a book this week called “The Karma of Jesus” Do we really reap what we sow? By Mark Herringshaw
In the book he dealt with these issues by sharing a dialogue he had with a skeptical Karma trusting student that raised some questions in one of his lectures.

Tonight we are looking at Psalm 41 and I believe it teaches us at least three things in regards to the concept of “Reaping and sowing”

Verses 1-3 The Lord Rewards good deeds.

Vrs 1 Do good and the Lord rewards

Vrs 2 Matthew Henry says to this passage “The goodwill of God that loves us is sufficient to secure us against the ill will of those who hate us”

We will endure hardships from the doings of others but God will bring us through those suffering and troubled times. As we have seen in our last two Psalms that we studied.

Vrs 3 Sustaining power of the Lord to heal those who are spiritually sick

This passage leads us to a question… Does Jesus reward or give good health to people that “consider the poor”? Is this a hard and fast rule? Galatians 6:6-10 sheds some light on that.

Temporally we can say this does not always work but Galatians 6 tells us that in “due season” when we do good we will reap a eternal reward.

Verses 4-9 Sin has to be paid for.

Verses 4 Prayer of confession and healing for his sinful condition.

Verses 5-8 enemies take advantage of his vulnerable condition and are kicking him when he is down. Could possibly be referring to his personal sin that affected others made enemies for him.

In life we realize that when we sin against others it can get very ugly, relationships are broken. Maybe you have spoken hurtful words to another person. Maybe you let someone down, maybe your lack of concern discouraged someone. The list goes on, but the bottom line is our personal sin can radically affect others.

Verse 9 True of David 2 Sam 16:20-17:3, 23 Ahithophel betrayed David and hung himself.
True of Jesus John 13:18 betrayal by Judas. (Messianic value)
Maybe you have felt betrayed by someone…Maybe you felt betrayed by God because you did good but it seems like only bad is coming in return. Realize this Jesus was betrayed on your behalf.

To be sure in eternity there is reward for good and there is payment for sin and that is exactly the reason why we need Jesus to step in. Grace breaks in and changes the way of things.

Verses 10-13 Grace breaks in

Verse 10 “Be gracious” don’t give me what I deserve and…
Verse 11 show me

Bono “At the heart of every world religion is the idea of Karma, yet along comes this idea of Grace comes in”
“I would be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge…It does not excuse my mistakes, but I am holding out for Grace. I am holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the cross. The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and our sinful nature does not reap obvious death”

Jesus reaped what we have sown.

Herringshaw said in his book. When we start to realize there has to be a payment people respond in different ways.
1. Deny the crisis
2. Attempt a bit of magic (figure out a cover-up)
3. Look for a loophole (a way out)
4. Concede and throw ourselves on the mercy of the judge and ask for grace

On the Cross Jesus said a few phrases one we looked at last week “My God, My God”
2 others were saying…
-Jesus asked the Father to forgive (I am willing to forgive)
-Said to the prisoner today you will be with me in paradise (I have forgiven because you believe I can)

E. Stanly Jones says “Buddhism says that life is suffering: What is wrong. Hinduism says that life is Karma: What is right.
But Jesus says life is exchange: What is, can be made right.”

We reap what we sow…but not entirely because Jesus stepped in and reaped death because we have sown sin.

Vrsw 12 The reward “His presence” in our lives now and forever.

In conclusion… As Christians…If we are rewarded for the good we do and escape payment for the sin…how do we respond?

Someone once said it like this…In Jesus’ ugly death He becomes us, in life we need to become Jesus.

Vrs 13 Doxology closing of book 1

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms": Jesus Delivers in Suffering"

2011-06-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

Psalm 22 “Jesus Delivers in Suffering”

Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever been caught in the rut of just “crying out” during suffering?
2. Have you had an experience in life in which suffering led to a blessing?
3. Have you ever had someone ridicule you because of your faith?
4. Have you ever had a situation in which you felt that the hand of God drastically changed things?
5. Do you take the time and praise Him for what He has done in your life?

Sermon
As a pastor many times I feel very inadequate when people are experiencing suffering because I really have come to the conclusion that I can be there but there is nothing that I can say or do that will stop the suffering the individual is going through. Through the study of this Psalm it has become clear to me that when we observe the suffering of Jesus and the anguish that He went through not only does He know how suffering feels to the fullest extent but this Psalm teaches us that at the end of the day…during suffering all that you really have is the Lord…it really is about your relationship with Him and even at the lowest time when it seems that He has abandoned you…He is ultimately there to provide deliverance but the deliverance may not look the way you think it should.

Written over 1000 years before Christ “Typico-prophetic Messianic Psalm” = Psalmist uses language to describe his personal experience, but the language goes beyond his experience , and becomes historically true only in the Lord. (Dr. Allen Ross)

In many senses this Psalm coupled with Christ’s sufferings on the cross typifies every Christians sufferings.

-We cry out. The common response to suffering

Vrs 1-2 “Why does Jesus say this” because that in a nutshell is what suffering feels like and Jesus felt it because of our sin.
Suffering feels like we have been abandoned, feels like there is no way our, feels like we want to go back in time, feels like we want someone to say it is going to be alright, etc.
Is there a way out of this?
Jesus is appropriating the entire Psalm to Himself. This means He will never abandon us because He abandoned Christ in our place.

-We see how God worked in the past. 3-5 I see what you are capable of. It is an act of trust to say to the Father I believe you have what is best in mind for me. It is important for us as Christians to look at the faith of those before us.
It is a great comfort and help to learn and be encouraged by those that God delivered from certain suffering.

Whether it was suffering due to personal sin like Chuck Colson who was incarcerated in 1974 for covering up the Watergate burglary, then went on to become a Christian and start a worldwide ministry in 113 different nations called Prison Fellowship to help rehabilitate prisoners and lead them to Jesus. Not only that but author over a dozen books and a radio teacher. God used his high profile sinful decision to bring Him to Himself and then go to use Him for His glory.

Or random suffering because we live in sin wrought world and suffering happens like Charlotte Elliot who was confined to bed for 50 years with a debilitating disease the doctors could not figure out. Wrote “Just as I am”

-We are ridiculed for trusting Him. How some will react to us when we trust the Lord in suffering
Verses 6-8 What people say to those who suffer that trust the Lord. As a Christian when you suffer it sometimes becomes and opportunity for the unbelieving to mock your faith. We see that in Job when his wife tells him to curse God. We see that in Jesus’ crucifixion

When we are mocked it makes us angry at those who mock but there is a temptation to be angry with God because He has not delivered.

-We realize He is with us. God is there in the suffering. Verses 9-11 Jesus is the example of that. I know Jesus is with me when I suffer because of this next passage

-We look at Jesus’ suffering. Verses 12-18 Suffering can get ugly. Jesus suffering for sins (ultimately sin separates)
We go it alone with the Lord when we suffer. If your relationship with the Lord is not solid it will not go well. Others can not have faith for you. When sin is present there will always be suffering and that was what Jesus was suffering for.

As ugly as it can get God can use it in your life.
Somerset Maugham, the English writer, once wrote a story about a janitor at St Peter's Church in London. One day a young priest discovered that the janitor was illiterate and fired him. Jobless, the man invested his meager savings in a tiny tobacco shop, where he prospered, bought another, expanded, and ended up with a chain of tobacco stores worth several hundred thousand dollars. One day the man's banker said, "You've done well for an illiterate, but where would you be if you could read and write?" "Well," replied the man, "I'd be janitor of St. Peter's Church in Neville Square."
Helen Keller said "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. How?
-We pray through it. Petition Verses 19-21 (keeping focus) Remember it is all about your relationship with the Lord that will see you through.

-We praise Jesus for deliverance. Allow the situation to result in praise.
The overlying theme of this praise is to make it known to others what the Lord has done. David shared with the congregation what the Lord did for him. Verses 22-31 (Read and comment)

Maybe you have not been delivered from suffering yet and you don’t feel like praising Him. You still have a deliverance to praise Him for and tell others about…salvation the GOSPEL

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms" Preserved by Jesus

2011-05-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

Psalm 16 “Preserved by Jesus”

Intro about self preservation and wanting to insulate ourselves from the problems of this world.

We all have to come to the point in life in which we realize that we cannot preserve our own lives or insulate ourselves from trouble and rely on the Lord to preserve us from and through troubles.

Psalm 16 is entitled Michtam-golden Psalm. The contents are a treasure that should be valued more then Gold. Why? Because what the Lord promises is sure and it is does things that Gold can never do. Provides a refuge for us in life.

Vrs 1 Asking the Lord for preservation. Job 7:20 “The Preserver of men”

How??
• We can only do that when we realize…

Vrs 2 -Life without the Lord is not good (how your life was before and after) What has the Lord pulled you through?

Vrs 3 -It is good to be with other believers. Why people do not want to be with other believers…
1. Conviction of personal sin
2. Christians that are off focus tend to be self righteous. How do you know if you are self righteous? If things always have to be the way you think they should be.
How have God’s people helped you through difficult times?

Vrs 4 -true hope cannot be found apart from Jesus. It is a travesty to pursue something other then the Lord and will increase the pain of life. We should be like David steer clear of being involved in that.
As a Christian what are trusting in that is actually infecting your trust of the Lord?

• When David realized those things his response was…

Vrs 5-6 -Rest in Jesus’
Control – We need to be satisfied that the situations of our life under the care of the God of the universe.
Blessings - David is comparing the Lord with the best inheritance a person can receive. The Lord has given him a wonderfully full life.
What has the Lord blessed you with?

If you doubt His blessings…
He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all will He not also graciously give us all things. Romans 8:32
Remember the GOSPEL

Vrs 7-8 –Go to Jesus’ council. I go to Him and listen to Him and He builds my foundation. David was modeling a life that consisted of devotion or quiet time with the Lord. This should consist of reading His Word and spending time in prayer. Know this is the simplest most difficult thing that you can do.

What is your devotion life like? Ideas DB, DW, M&E,

Vrs 9-10 -Overwhelming joy. It impacts Him physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Vrs 10 Messianic value Acts 2:25-28 (Peter) & Acts 13:35-37 (Paul) Our refuge is proven in the resurrection of Jesus, it shows that God is capable of preserving us. Even if this life is rough…Our future promise of resurrection.

Vrs 11 His promise is eternal and here is the path.

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms": The Majestic Name of Jesus

2011-05-23T07:03:00.000-07:00

Psalm 8 Read verse 1 Majestic-stately grand

Psalm 8 begins and ends with the same verse which gives us the hint that this Psalm is going to answer the question…why God’s Name is Majestic. It tells us three reasons His Name is Majestic…

I. Because He deals with His enemies Vrs 2 - 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 This brings people to the realization that there is no way around God.
(Zane beating me in Chess humiliating) God takes care of business, He does not shrink back. Maybe you do not deal with those who oppose you?

II. Because of His creation Vrs 1b & 3 Vrs 1 “set” God is more glorious then the heavens (when we look out and see creation and are in aw God is more then that) Romans 1 tells us that people without excuse as far as the knowledge of God (General Revelation) also Psalm 19

III. Because He gave us a great responsibility. Vrs 4-8

Missiology-is tracking the culture around you and being influential within that culture. The temptation for churches and communities of faith is to get stuck into doing things the way we have always did them, not wanting to change and making the culture seem evil by only looking at the good old days.

This becomes difficult because culture moves fast due to media and also there are so many sub cultures today that have to do with music, art sports education and age groups. So how do we as individual Christians answer that call and become missionaries to our own people group?

What is man? God gave man dominion Gen 1:26 from the beginning. Man is God’s representation on the earth.

What is our responsibility to the world around us?

Christians should care about…
1. Where we live. Twofold… firs ist Creation in general. Christians should be concerned with the environment and living things that God has made. It is a stewardship issue and in our culture it is a testimony issue.
The ways of nature teach us more about the Lord Vrs 8 “paths of the sea” Us Naval Officer Matthew Fontaine Maury in the 1800’s was very sick and bed ridden, he asked his daughter to read to him from the Bible and she chose Psalm 8 and his response to verse 8 was “Paths of the sea, paths of sea, if God says paths of the sea, then they are there, and if I ever get out of this bed I will find them”

As a sailor, Maury noted that there were numerous lessons that had been learned by ship-masters about the effects of adverse winds and drift currents on the path of a ship. The captains recorded these lessons faithfully in their logbooks, but they were then forgotten. At the Observatory, Maury uncovered an enormous collection of thousands of old ships' logs and charts in storage in trunks dating back to the start of the United States Navy. Maury pored over these documents to collect information on winds, calms, and currents for all seas in all seasons.

Much of the sea charts were developed due to his work because of being inspired by the Word talking about creation.

From nature we learn there is a God (Romans 1) but we also learn that He is purposeful creative and cares about the details of His creation. We should pay attention to that.

The second is the community we live. This is where we need to ask some questions.
-Am I a good neighbor?
-Do I have concern for beauty and health of the community?
-How do I contribute to the community I live in?

2. Who lives around us. The call of the Christian is to love our neighbor. This does not only mean be good to others but it also means we should step in when bad is happening. (there are evil people that plan and promote evil) Christians can’t ignore injustice and oppression of others. That means we do not ignore mistreatment of other people. When we ignore the mistreatment of others it can lead to great consequences Vrba and Wetzel report

Rudolf Kastner By the beginning of May 1944, Kastner and many other Jewish leaders had received the Vrba-Wetzler report and other evidence that Hungary's Jews would be sent to their deaths. The report was released to the leaders of Jewish organizations in the hope that Hungarian Jews would be warned that they were being deported to a death camp and were not being resettled, as they had been led to believe. However, the report was not made public by the Jewish Council in Hungary or by Kastner.[23]
But by then 437,000 Hungarian Jews had been deported to Auschwitz, where the overwhelming majority were murdered on arrival.
It is not always easy to care about where we live and who lives by us, many times we fail because we are selfish.
We see how man has failed and as the writer of Hebrews points out man has failed when he sinned and Jesus comes and makes that right and restores man to his rightful place with Him in which we will reign as well.
This is what makes this a Messianic Psalm

3. Sharing the Gospel- Jesus is the ideal human because He is also divine Hebrews 2:6-10 quotes this Psalm and puts it all together.

God’s Name is not only majestic because He deals with His enemies, because of His creation or because He gives us responsibility. He is because He lays everything down for us.

"Seeing Jesus in the Psalms": Responding to King Jesus

2011-05-16T06:49:00.000-07:00

Psalm 2
Intro to Psalms “Songs” or “praises” in poetic form

Psalm 2 is known as a Royal Psalm written by David during his reign 10th century BC (900-1000years Before Jesus). The Israelites would realize that the blessing from the Lord was tied to the house of David and the Kings that were anointed would come from David’s line. So in this Psalm we see the coronation or the crowning of an earthly King with the duel purpose of looking toward the future King of Kings Jesus Christ. So in this Psalm as pretty much in all the Messianic Psalms we will see something that is true for the day that it was written but we will also see things that are true to Jesus and His ministry.

In particular Psalm 2 deals with how people respond to King Jesus

I. Some respond in rebellion against the Lord. Verses 1-3
Acts 4:24-25 Quotes this Psalm

Vrs 1 Why do people go against the Lord?

Vrs 2 Because their leaders (those they look up to) do and they follow

Vrs 3 Because they do not want to answer to anyone

2 forms of rebellion, 1. unbelief 2. disobedience(Christian)

II. The Lord responds to the rebellious people. Verses 4-6

Verse 4 God laughs, “derision” ridicules them “anthropomorphic” the psalmist describes God’s response in human terms

What are you doing that God is laughing at? When we act as if we are God and we are in control, “no one will tell me what I can or can’t do” (pride)
Did you hear about the clever salesman who closed hundreds of sales with this line: "Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you couldn't afford."
Foolishness of the Lord is wiser then mans wisdom.
Verse 5-6 God Speaks: Here is God’s wrath setting His King in Zion which was Canaanite city that David had conquered (2 Sam 5:7)
He places His King where He chooses.

When God speaks He acts…He does not go back on His promises, sometimes He is mad. Active wrath….& Passive wrath (Romans 1 “Give over”)

What are you doing that makes God mad or upset?
-Maybe you have an inappropriate relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend? -Maybe you have a secret sin? Maybe you are not being fair or honest with your spouse?

III. The Lord responds to “the Son” Verses 7-9
Promises. I am putting this in 3 groups
Vrs 7 David as he was installed as king 2 Sam. 7:14 Sonship brings the right to discipline. 2 Sam 12:9-11 “Sword will not depart
Vrs 8 David’s inheritance is that his line will bring forth Jesus
Vrs 9 David’s reign will be accomplished in Jesus

Vrs 7 Us When a person trusts in Christ they become a child of God.
1 John 3:1 “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the Sons of God” The Lord takes interest in disciplining His children for rebellion

What do you think He would say to you? Because of your sin
Maybe He has already made it clear to you to stop and is doing that through discipline. How are you responding to His discipline?
As a father my discipline on my children immediately becomes lighter when they respond the right way.

Verse 8 Romans 8:16 calls us “Heirs” Our inheritance as sons & daughters is citizenship in heaven Phil 3:20
Verse 9 We become more then conquerors Romans 8:37

Jesus is the ultimate Son, that is who we need to see in this Psalm
Quted in the NT Hebrews 1:5 & 5:5 Acts 13:33
Vrs7 GOSPEL the only begotten that took our sins
Vrs 8 Enemies become His footstool
Vrs 9 Jesus will come back and eventually clean house as the reigning King. Everyone will bow to Jesus, the King is the King whether you say He is or not.

So how should we respond? The King tells us.
IV. The King responds to the rebellious people. Verses 10-12

“Be warned Be wise” Vrs 10 Why does the King call out to the kings and rulers? 3 reasons…-people follow them -pride needs to broken down -Jesus was crucified by the Jewish leaders (Acts 4:25-26 Paul identified them)

Vrs 11 Obedience - Serve the Lord and rejoice. A call to the Christian…live for the Lord not for self. Why live in rebellion?

Vrs 12 Belief - Trust Jesus “Kiss the Son” Only in the Son is there refuge from God’s wrath…because the Son has taken the wrath. People do not like to hear or think that God has wrath but I have grown to love the fact that God has wrath…why? Because through the Son Jesus taking the wrath shows us just how much and how strong His love is for us by taking the wrath on Himself. “Blessed are those who take refuge in the Son”

Mary's Song

2011-05-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

Often times in life when good things or blessing come our way we take them and enjoy them. Many times we get to points in our life in which we expect good things to be the norm, we take them for granted and we start to forget where those good things come from. But James 1:17 tells us that “every good and perfect gift is from the Father above” So how do we respond to those gifts? Our passage of study this evening Luke 1:46-55 records a song sung by Mary the Mother of the Lord Jesus. This song demonstrates that when good things come our way…”God alone should be the center of our praise” There are at least three ways Mary demonstrates this

Before we look at the passage I want to fill you in On what just happened to Mary

I. Mary praises God for who He is. Verses 46-47

Verses 46 “Soul magnifies” “The Magnificat”
Magnify-to increase apparent size or to attribute much importance to.
This actually gives us one of the purposes for praise…so others will see how great God is.
Verses 47 “my spirit rejoices in God MY SAVIOR”
Is God your Savior?
GOSPEL we need to rejoice in our salvation.

T: It is interesting because when we start to praise God for who He is (The Savior) we realize that He is a personal God who is intimately involved in our lives. Which we see with Mary in these next verses because…

II. Mary praises God for His special favor on her. Verses 48-50

“the generations call His servant blessed” Verses 48 Why?

Some misconceptions & false teaching about Mary, that are not backed by Scripture. I don’t want to offend but I want to tell you the truth from the Bible.
These beliefs are based upon man’s tradition
1. Perpetual virgin (We know from the Scriptures that Jesus had half brothers and sisters) Mathew 1:25 tells us “Joseph knew her not until she gave birth top a Son”
2. Assumption of Mary. (Mary’s body did not decay)
3. Was sinless (Immaculate conception) Remember she said God was “Her savior”
4. Should be prayed to (Mary hails Jesus)
5. Mother of God (She was the Mother of the Lord Jesus (John 2:1) as He came in human flesh but God has no Mother) “Just as Christ’s human nature had no father, His divine nature had no mother”

These are not reasons why Mary is called blessed

Here are reasons why we call her blessed

Because He uses His strength and purity to do a great thing in Mary’s life. Verses 49
-She was the mother God the Father chose for His Son. Spent much time with Him (Just think of that special time) (clip at church))

He has mercy on those who fear Him Verses 50
-Mercy-compassion and kindness. God found favor in her because she did “fear” Him (have respect for Him)
-She was part of God’s prophetic plan (Isaiah 7:14)

From this we learn that we need to praise and give glory to God for the things He has specifically done for us.
What are those things in your life? Maybe it is your spouse, Children, your job, your financial situation, friendships

What are the ways He specifically uses you? Ministry, impact on your neighbors. Specifically for moms…He gave you children to impact

When you come to church to worship the Lord one of the things that should be on your mind is all the blessings you have received from the Lord.

T: So we have found that we should like Mary praise God for who He is and praise God for His special favor on us and now we will find that we should praise God for His special favor on His people.

III. Mary praises God for His special favor on His people.

-He takes down those who go against His people, Justice will be served by our Lord for His people. Verses 51-52a Miriam in Ex 15 praise God for taking down the enemies of His people.

-He helps those in need. Verses 52b-54 (Shannon baptism illustration)
Maybe you are need?

-He has a plan to save His people. Verses 55 That blessing promised to Abraham comes through the offer of Salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ and we know that all those who believe have a reason to praise Him because their eternal home is with Him.

Did you know that sometimes it is difficult to rejoice and praise God when others are blessed?

Sometimes jealousy sets in because we feel that we are more deserving or that we never get blessed and that person does.

When I was little my mom and the red ribbon. Did a little research. Italians Malocchio “Evil Eye” believed this protected them from the “evil Eye”

How do you know if this is you? If you are always criticizing… they can’t afford that… they should do this or that. Or you are generally not happy for other people when they are blessed.

Thomas Lindberg said…One sign of jealousy is when it's easier to show sympathy and "weep with those who weep" than it is to exhibit joy and "rejoice with those who rejoice."
This passage helps us because the way we can combat falling to envy and jealousy is praising God for how He has blessed those around us.
…be happy for them, rejoice and celebrate with them.
In conclusion we see that God alone should be the center of our praise. Because of who He is, His special favor on us individually and His special favor on His people.

"Please Save"

2011-04-22T19:36:00.001-07:00

Mark 11:1-10 “Please Save”

Hosanna means “Please Save” Every person that walks the face of the earth needs to come to the realization that only Jesus can save us from our sins. But after that believers need to understand that for most if not all situations in life we need to cry out to Jesus “please save” because in that expression we are showing our reliance on Him for the situation. In this passage we will see a group of disciples that express their reliance on Jesus by their obedience and then we will see another group of people who need to rely on Jesus for their deepest need which is deliverance from sin.

Jesus makes a request to two disciples go and get the colt, the disciples listened to and obeyed Jesus. They believed Him.

Verses 1-7 Fulfills a Prophecy Zech 9:9 tells us the Messiah will ride on a colt/donkey

What does this mean for us today? Well if you are a believer in Jesus that means you should always believe Him.

Often times as Christians we believe Him as our Savior but we do not believe Him when it comes to day to day situations we show that by our disobedience to Him.

What happens is that we become functional Deists = Deist is a person who believes there is a supernatural creator or a god but does not believe that God is concerned with what we do.
When I say functional Deists what I am saying is we are not really Deists in the purist form but we act like them by the way we live.

What are some the situations you have in our lives that we are really not believing Jesus will take care of? We are not crying out “please save”
Many pastors at this point would say “that is why you are still in the situation” You have little faith so you are not getting through the situation. I would not agree with that 100% we do see accounts in the Bible in which Jesus said “your faith has made you well” That would be like God is saying “I can only act if you let me”

As believers there are many things we should believe God for but I want to highlight a few that I think keep surfacing and hinder us from living a productive Christian life.

Reminder of our Salvation GOSPEL-salvation actually proves that God is willing to provide for us (spare His own son) Romans 8:32

Jesus made a request to the disciples but he also makes a request to us…”trust me”
We should be asking Him to “Please Save”…

-my Relationships (people who have been hurt by someone they trusted, or maybe you are single person and desire companionship)

-my Prayer life. (I have been asking for so long and God has not heard me) He has but maybe what he is saying is not what you want to hear. But He is faithful
William Barclay said When we pray, remember:
1. The love of God that wants the best for us.
2. The wisdom of God that knows what is best for us.
3. The power of God that can accomplish it.
-my Suffering (I really just don’t understand this) Romans 5:3, 8:17 & 1 Peter 2:21 comfort (I really just need someone to tell me everything is going be alright) The Lord is close to the broken hearted (look up this verse) (Maybe you are suffering financially)

-me from having no purpose – (what am I supposed to do in life?) Proverbs 4:25-27
Thomas Carlyle said… A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder--a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life, and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you.
-me from Worry- 1 Peter 5:7 We don’t have to waste time worrying about things that God is taking care of. Jesus said you can add time to your life by worrying, what He is saying is there is nothing you can do about it so don’t worry.
Every evening I turn worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway. Mary C. Crowley
-me from disobedience (doing right) this is what it comes down to…God cares.

So why should we believe He can take care of each situation? Because it will change who you are and your perspective on things.

We ask Him for help because we believe He can help us
These things almost force us to keep our focus on Him because we are relying on Him to change things.

The more we focus on Him the more we start to accept the things that He is not going to change and therefore we become changed by Him to be the person that can accept what is going on around us.

When you say “Hosanna” or “Please Save” you are relying on the fact that He can save you in the situation. This does not mean we blindly just forget about the situation but it means we trust His promises for the situation.

Back to the passage…
Verses 8-10 This was a group with a variety of people in it and some may have just been caught up in the Passover feast moment. The Triumphal entry begins at the beginning of the week of Passover which celebrates the Israelites liberation from slavery.

I have often heard Pastors say in “how did it go from everybody praising Jesus to killing Him” that is easy…that didn’t all believe.

The people may have thought that Jesus coming in signified how He was going to deliver them from the oppression of Rome, but what it signified was much more then that…deliverance from sin. But what these people wanted and really needed were two very different things.

They wanted deliverance from the tyranny of harsh rule from Rome and Jesus was offering deliverance from sin. What they needed was the deliverance from sin. What everyone needs is deliverance from sin.

How does this apply to us? Are you caught up in something you think you want or need and missing what you really need?

What tradition are you caught up in that you are not sure what it really means?
Maybe you are just caught up in coming to church because you think it is the right thing to do?
Maybe you were brought up jumping through religious hoops hoping God would accept you.

Martin Lloyd Jones (alter call illustration)
Caught up in the moment but not really sincere about a real decision for Jesus

If you do not know Jesus here is what you need to know…GOSPEL Call out to Him “Please Save” and He will

Entrusted Series: "Remember"

2011-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Remember Titus 3:1-15

It is only fitting to end our study in the Pastoral Epistles with this message, because in every sense we have to remember what we learned. (illustration about guy who said 20 years of sermons made no difference) I trust that our 7 months together has spiritually nourished you, helped you to grow and gave you a grasp on what these books of the Bible teach. Even though you may not remember everything said or taught the passage we are going to look at tonight can serve as a summation for what we studied together because it is an encouragement to remember

Remember who you are supposed to be Verses 1-2
-Submissive to authorities
-Obedient (to the Lord)
-Ready to do good. A Christian should be looking for opportunities to do good, not waiting. “See a need, meet a need”
-Speak evil of no one…why do we speak evil about others?
Thomas Aquinas says “A person speaks of his neighbor things that are evil simply, for such things lead to loss or depreciation of his good name”
In a strange way we think it makes us look better, but in reality it also makes us look worse.
-Avoid a fight- It is easy to retaliate, but we should avoid
-Be gentle
-Show courtesy to ALL- even those who are belligerent

Remember who you were. Verse 3 When we remember who we were before we trusted in Christ, it helps us to understand the state of the hearts of people who are not Christians. If you want to believe that the state of the human heart is good…turn on the news and let the world show you that it is not. Just by the simple fact that if a station only broadcast good news it would be less likely to be watched. And Christians fall into the trap of doing this with personal testimonies “look how bad I was”

In the back of your mind remember how and what you were and that will help you time be more gracious and compassionate on others…not excusing sin but coming to someone with understanding.
-Foolish- the Bible tells us that the “fool says in his heart there is no God”
-Disobedient
-Led astray
-Slaves to sin
-Using our time on sin. Think about what you spend your time on. What do you read, watch, talk about, do? Are they the same things that they were before you trusted in Christ?
-Hated and hating

Remember who changed you. Verses 4-7 In order not to think we are better then anyone else Paul tells Titus to remember it was Jesus who saved you and changed you. We cannot take the credit. GOSPEL
-Good, loving and kind God
-Saved us not based on ourselves
-Based on his mercy
-By the washing and regeneration of the Holy Spirit
-Through Jesus Christ
-Heirs

Remember how you show thanks to Him Verse 8
-Do good, Jesus’ love language is “acts of service”

Remember what/who to avoid Verses 9-11
-Foolishness
-Divisive people Vr10 sometimes people who interrupt focus need to be dealt with, Remember Paul named names…unfortunately there are some people that you have to stay away from for your own spiritual health. And sometime you have to warn others about them.

Remember we are in this together Verses 12-15
-Spend time with one another
-Meet one another’s needs (Aesop’s Fables the Bear and the Traveler)
-Do good together, especially in urgent needs

Remember what you are “Entrusted” with…sharing the Gospel and living the Gospel

Entrusted Series "Godly Influneces Inspire Good Works"

2011-04-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Titus 2:1-15
Many people in this world think that the only people lead people are the ones with a title to lead. But what we are finding in today’s culture is that the younger generations are not following or respecting people because of their titles.

You will often hear older people say when I was a kid, if a teacher said do something… you did it. If an adult told you what to do you did it. But something seemed to happen…the younger generation just does not seem to get that. But what does the Bible tell us about that? I believe that what Paul is teaching Titus and to pass on to the churches in Crete. Every Christian will lead and it will not necessarily be by title but by having a Godly influence and that will inspire others to good works.

It is not necessarily about a title you hold but about the way you act that will influence and inspire the people around you to do “good works”

So this passage talks about three spheres of influencing people to do good works… 2 that can belong to us and one that belongs to God.

(us)Intergenerational Influence Vrs 2-8
(us)Positional Influence Vrs 9-10
Divine Influence Vrs 11-14

Bookends are Vrs 1 & 15 the role of the Godly Pastor

Vrs 1 A Godly Pastor teaches sound doctrine…the Bible does not only give us something to believe in it gives us a model for behavior. Sound Doctrine=orthodoxy and practice of that =orthopraxy

So Titus is to teach the churches about these ways we influence others to do good works.
• Intergenerational Influence Vrs 2-8
-Work on personal testimony Vrs 2-3 & 7-8
-Take an interest in the next generation vrs 4-6
Focus for the women is older women helping younger women be Godly
-Learn from the previous generation (the idea carried in verses 4-6 if the older are to take an interest in the younger…the younger should respond)

App: Seek one another out

• Positional Influence Vrs 9-10
The Bible is not teaching or promoting slavery…God’s desire for us is to do what is right even when people may be doing wrong to us…for instance we say “two wrongs don’t make a right”

“Don’t argue”…do what you are told as long as it is not sin. “Pilfer”=stealing in small quantities, just because you may be treated unfairly you do not do the wrong thing by stealing from your master.

Why? To be a positional testimony which may cause your master to be influenced to trust Christ and do good works.

How does this apply today? Students, employees, children anyone that is in a role that there is an authority over them, that authority can make decisions apart from the people is affects.

Example: School or work making and enforcing new rules w/o discussing with employees or students. What happens in that situation? Many times there is some sort of uprising, The person of God should evaluate their motives and actions and make sure they fit with what the Lord is pleased with.

Here is how you can influence those above you to good works…

- Work for the Lord. “don’t argue & do a good job” whatever you are called to do you should do it unto the Lord.
Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

-Don’t let unfair treatment cause you to sin” “Pilfer” You are called to do good not bad. Hebrews…we have a high priest that can sympathize.

• Divine Influence Vrs 11-14
You may not have any good examples of the first two points in your life…but there is no excuse because ultimately the best example of “good works” comes from Jesus Christ…this should influence the way you live.

-Vrs11 Grace-getting what we do not deserve. Christ did good for us even though we offend Him with our sin GOSPEL
-Vrs12 Nature of the Gospel inspires us to turn from sin and do good.
So even when we feel we have no one to look at for inspiration to do good works we have the Lord Vrs 12b “to live Godly in this present age”
I am more sinful then I ever imagined and God is more gracious then I ever imagined

-Vrs 13 His plan has hope. Guy at skatepark after 9/11/01
He is coming back for us so we do not have to spend eternity without Him
Side note not May 21st
-Vrs 14a He proves it “The Great Exchange” He gave us His Righteousness and took our Sinfulness. He did that by laying His life down for us.
- He made us holy Vrs14b He did that in order that we would do good works for Him Eph 2:8-10

Vrs 15 back to my job…This is what Pastors are called to do…as much as possible make sure people are reminded of this.

"Godly Leaders Inspire Good Works"

2011-03-27T18:18:00.000-07:00

Titus: Letter written by Paul in roughly 63-66 AD sometime before his imprisonment. Was written after Paul and Titus went to help the churches in Crete and then left Titus there. Although Paul’s last words in 2 Timothy were that Titus went to Dalmatia, tradition tells us that after that he went to Crete and spent the rest of his life there ministering with the church in that region.

Probably a lot of work there because there were probably many churches. The Cretan’s were a rough group Epimenides there own prophet said
Vrs 12.
Polybius in Histories said “Almost impossible to find personal conduct more treacherous or public policy more unjust, then in Crete”

Cicero states in Republic “Moral principles are so divergent that the Cretans consider highway robbery honorable”

How do you do good among such a sinful and messed up culture? The first thing is appoint leaders who follow the Lord. Is this possible to find Godly people to lead in such terrible circumstances…Titus would know the answer is yes…cause he knew about Noah, Lot, Moses, Daniel

Theme of letter: “Promoting good works among the people” Obviously a difficult task.

Tonight we will learn that “Godly leaders inspire good works”
We all realize that when there is corruption in leadership and injustice happens people respond in sinful ways.

An example of that was in LA in the early 90’s when Rodney King beaten by police and the police got off the hook. Explain the riots and the story of Rev. Bennie Newton who ran a ministry for troubled young men in LA, turn on the tv as the riots started to break out and realized around the corner from his house Reginald Denny was being beaten by looters. He ran out to find that others saved Reginald by the attackers were now beating a man named Fidel Lopez, Rev. Newton with Bible in hand jumped on Fidel to guard him from the attackers and yelled “If you kill this man you have to kill me first” and the attackers dispersed and Rev. Newton prayed over the man and brought him to the hospital because no ambulance responded.

Our culture and every culture and place need righteous leaders to stand for righteousness.

To identify Godly leaders we look at...
• family life.
• personal purity.
• doctrinal beliefs.
• willingness to do what is right no matter the cost.

What I am going to do is go through the passage in order rather then going through there four points and taking the passage out of order. With these points behind me you will be able see that these points are what we find in the passage.

• Intro Verses 1-4
Vrs 1 Paul starts with the reminder of truth GOSPEL (doctrinal beliefs)
Vrs 2 Even though you are in a culture of liars. In 600BC the Cretans were so much known for being liars that other people came up with the term “Cretanize” which meant you were lying. In sharp contrast Paul states “God is not a liar” His Gospel is true (personal purity)
Vrs 3 Given Word to be preached and “Entrusted” Paul with it. This is what all Christians must understand we are “Entrusted” to bring the Word. (doctrinal beliefs)

• Vrs 5 Here is what I need you to do. Clean up the mess and then appoint those who can take care of the church.
Appoint: who has the right to put people in leadership? Those in leadership, not about yes men but about qualified men.

The character of Godly leaders Vrs 6-8 What qualifies them? these are character traits that all Christians should strive after. When I preached 1 Timothy 3 I did an entire sermon on these traits, so I don’t want to get repetitious.

Paul is saying here is this the measuring stick…Why? Because people need real life people in their church and community to look up to, get Godly advice from and trust. In the culture Titus was in it was a lot easier to select unqualified men to be leaders but Paul is saying “no no” There must be standards for who will have authority in the church.

Vrs 9 these men have to be willing to do the hard things and not shrink back for fear of others. They stick to God’s Word and use it to correct those who violate it and oppose it.

• The character of the ungodly Vrs 10 Paul now describes what characterizes the ungodly. “circumcision party” The false teachers arose form the Jewish Christians (Here is how you will recognize them, they are the ones adding rules)

• What to do about the ungodly 11-14.
-Silence v11 They need to be willing to speak up..
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil...not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

-v12-13a Even the unredeemed know they are sinful (Epimenides)
-Rebuke & correct them v13-14
Need to point out their error and send them on the right way
Myths-belief in untrue or fanciful stories that were deceptive and excused immoral behavior.

• Vrs 15-16 When someone is working on their personal purity their focus becomes on the things of the Lord, when that happens we think on what is pure…that is where our mind goes…did you ever have someone say to you “get your mind out of the gutter”?
The ungodly are deceived their conscience and moral compass is off…The book of Romans talks a lot about this.

-When your mind is deceived the result is sin, false teachers loved to make up and hold people to rules that are not Biblical

Vrs 16 “Unfit” even when they do good it just does not seem good

The result…
Having Godly leaders in place will inspire those they are leading to do good works.

Our Response…
Follow in good works in order to lead others to Jesus.

In effect we all have some role in leading…

"Helpful or Hurtful?"

2011-03-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Helpful people…

-are servants of the Lord
Crescens v10 nothing is known but apparently was dispatched to do the work of the Lord in Galatia
Titus v10 Helpful but we will learn more about him next week.
Tychicus v12 Eph 6:18-21 & Col. 4:2-7 Paul states that “he is a faithful brother and minister” 2x and says he will tell the church at Collosea his affairs…so he was a messenger.
Q=Do you serve the Lord?

Luke v11 The physician wrote Gospel of Luke and Acts. But he is with Paul
-use skills and abilities to serve.
Q=What skills and abilities do you have to serve?

-provide companionship. Luke knew Paul would appreciate company.
Q=Are you available?

-do things for others.
Vrs 13 bring my cloak, books and parchments (OT Scriptures)
Q=Are you willing to do things for others?
Side note: Spurgeon Metropolitan Tabernacle in 1860’s on “The books”
How rebuked are they by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a men to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, "Give thyself unto reading."

Christians, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible. We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying.

Hurtful people…

-let us down
Demas v10 Being in love with the world will leave you Restless. It is amazing to see that when people turn away from the Lord it actually hurts those who are serving Him. (some personal illustrations)
Q=Have your actions and decisions let others down?

-cause us problems
Alexander v14a “Much harm” “guard against/Beware of him” this would carry the idea we have to put up some walls against people who have hurt us. This does not mean we do not forgive, or we should treat them badly. But it does give us the idea that we should enter in with extreme caution.

Do people change?
Sometimes the hurtful become helpful.
Mark v11 Acts 15:36-41 Paul disapproved of Mark because of his departure from them. 46-47AD. God sometimes uses departed situations to further the Kingdom and prove peoples usefulness. Paul did not say “I was wrong about him” he said he is useful almost 20 years later.
So yes people change but they may need time…I would suggest time

You may be saying to yourself…I don’t really have many helpful people in my life…
Vrs 16-18 When we can’t count on anyone…we can count on the Lord.
Jesus is helpful to us even though were hurtful to Him. GOSPEL

How do we treat those who are hurtful?
Vrs 14b (our instinct is to take revenge)
-take comfort that the Lord will repay.

Vrs 16 -pray for mercy for them

- Realize you have hurt others.
Thomas Kempis wrote in the “Imitation of Christ” in the 1400’s
Under the heading “Bearing with faults of others”
“Try to bear patiently with the defects and infirmities of others, whatever they may be, because you also have many a fault” “If you cannot make yourself what you wish to be, how can bend others to your will” “we want them to be perfect and yet we do not correct our own faults”

(Paul would understand that because he did great harm to the faith and then he was saved and people where skeptical and he understood that)

How do we treat those who are helpful?
-encourage them
Vrs 19-21 Greet those co-laborers Paul is being an example of a person that is helpful. His encouraging words to those people. Think about the God of this universe decided to inspire Paul to give “shout outs” to certain people and how encouraging would that be to be one of them.

-Bless them
Vrs 22
The final words Paul penned was a blessing

Entrusted: "The Pastor, the People, the Promise"

2011-03-06T20:19:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 4:1-8 “The Pastor, the People, the Promise”

Vrs 1 We will all meet our Judge 2 Cor 5:10 Paul was motivated by future judgment so therefore he wanted to motivate Timothy that way as well. “I charge you”

Some have suggested that we should not be motivated by reward…but I would suggest that pleasing Christ is a reward that we should all be motivated by. (My kids just love to hear words of approval and affirmation) but in this passage Paul also concludes that there is a heavenly reward for living a life that is pleasing to God…a life of righteousness.

In this passage Paul then is telling Timothy a pastor of pastors, what Christian’s should be reminded of when it comes to righteous living. He speaks to the pastors and the people

Vrs 2 The call of a pastor is to…
-“Preach the Word” Matthew Henry said “It is not their own notions and fancies that they are to preach, but the pure plain word of God; and they must not corrupt it”
Remember the ceter piece of the Word is Jesus
-“Be ready” “instant” Calvin “Overcome the hindrances of being effeminate or slothful, don’t yield to opposition and make excuses for our laziness”
In season-when people want to hear it. Out of season- when they don’t

Use the Scripture for guidance in dealing with the people
-Reprove- conviction (help people realize something is wrong)
-Rebuke (admonish) – disapproval based upon what the word says
-Exhort- Persuade to press on
-“with complete patience and teaching(doctrine)” This should be the attitude of the pastor/preacher. Anytime correction has to happen it should be done in patience and gentleness but rooted in Scripture.

Inevitably if a Pastor is doing this people who persist in sin will be inclined to get angry. And in the next verse Paul speaks about what those people will do

Vrs 3-4
Temptations for the people
-Not to endure sound teaching (I don’t like that / or you have no right)
-Find people who teach what they like to hear (they themselves are the measure of needs to be heard and taught and how things should go) We live in this time and unfortunately democracy has taught us to think like we know what we are talking about.

So the problem is because of our prideful un-teachable spirits we do not want to admit that we are in desperate need of guidance. And true guidance only comes fro the Lord and His Word
-Believing myths or wrong doctrines

A person with a teachable spirit will respond to the preached word. And submit to Godly people when they are sticking with the Scripture

Vrs 5-6 The Pastor and the People
My position as a Pastor is to study God’s Word and have a pulse on the people I minister to so I am able to preach what we all need to hear. The great news for all us is that when we study through books of the Bible or select passages of Scripture to preach through we know it is what God wants us to hear. And then you all will be able to learn how to function as a Christian in your world.

When pastors teach the Word and the people respond
We become able to….
-Think clearly- The only way we can think clearly is if our mind is renewed. Romans 12:2 “do not conform to the world…be transformed”
-Endure suffering- Deal with it and don’t let it stop you
-Tell others about Jesus GOSPEL
-Fulfill what God has given us to do – whatever you feel you are gifted to do and God has enable you to do, keep your focus and do your job
-Live a life of sacrifice

-Unfortunately the trap that Paul is talking about that many Pastors fall into is “fear of man” and they feel they have to bow to what the people want or the people will not come. This I believe comes from low self worth, focusing too much on numerical growth, focusing too much on what every other church is doing and a low view of the power of God’s Word preached

-The trap that people fall into is that they think that church exists for them, so they find a place that speaks to what they want to do or hear.

But the church exists for the Glory of Jesus

Questions we can ask ourselves…
Vrs 7
-“Fought the good fight” Do I do what can to serve Him?
-“Finished the race” If today were the last day did I finish well? (weddings)
-“Kept the faith” Do I keep to sound teaching of the Bible?

Vrs 8
The result for both parties is a promise…a reward for righteous living
The promise

This is why I think it is not only appropriate but Biblical to focus in on the promise…sometimes it is all we have.

Paul was awaiting his death…he could easily say “a life of service and this is what I get… jail time and a death sentence” (your best life now)

Righteous living results in a little something extra in the “goody bag”
Vrs 8 “crown of righteousness” this is a reference to some kind of heavenly reward for those who have lived in righteousness.
Paul reminds in 1 Cor 9:25 that runners in an earthly race run for a prize that does not last but as Christians when we seek after and follow the Lord He rewards us with a crown that will last.

The way we understand that is “those who love His appearing” signify those who live their lives in view of Jesus.

If you are so focused on the Lord you cannot help but live a life of righteousness.

Entrusted Series: "The Necessity of Scripture in the Pursuit of Godliness"

2011-02-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 3:10-17

Big Idea: The necessity of Scripture in the pursuit of Godliness

Godly-conforming to the laws and will of God

In contrast to the false teachers…you Timothy. The progress of a believer in contrast to the unbeliever, they go from bad to worse but we should be going from bad to better. We will only do that if we realize the necessity of Scripture.

Three ways this passage teaches us how to progress into Godliness and they all revolve around the Scriptures

1. Follow those who are Godly Vrs 10-12 (Mentors Message)
-My teaching – The Word
-My conduct – Gospel centered living
-My aim - the concept is precise, Paul knew what he was to do…preach the Gospel
-My faith - trusting the Lord no matter what happens
-My patience – serving the Lord no matter what the result. We talk to people and they are not interested. He talked to people and they beat him
-My love - Love the Lord and love others
-My steadfastness – firm in purpose
-My persecution & suffering – dealing with the bad, many times we only want to follow the path of least resistance rather then dealing with disappointment. Thomas Edison “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”
Vrs 12 If we pursue a Godly life we will encounter obstacles

V12 this is not just for a certain group of select Christians…this is for “ALL” who follow after the Lord…at some time or another there will be difficulty

(Vrs 13) Evil people & imposters bad to worse…deceived and deceive others.

2. Learn from those who are Godly Vrs 14-15a (Mentors message Eunice and Lois) Build on the foundation you received from Godly people.

How do you know they are Godly? First clue is… they use their Bible

Spurgeon “show me a man whose Bible is falling apart from use and I will show you a man who is not”

There is a difference between “us” and “them” and it will be marked by reliance on the Scriptures.

These are casual relationships that you may have in life that you can call upon or ask for advice in certain situations. The Bible says “there is wisdom in many counselors”

Listen Timothy these false teachers did not listen to Godly mentors and they did not listen to their Momma and Grand Momma’s and they don’t listen to the Word of the Lord, that is why they are so messed up….not you…

3. Practice the correct use and view of the Scriptures
Vrs 15b-17
• “wise for salvation” 15b Salvation GOSPEL direct contrast to false teaching which leads to damnation.
All Scripture (means Old and New Testament) The law is a tutor to bring us to Christ
Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. —Jerome, A.D. 340-420
• “Breathed out by God” Vrs 16 God put His breath in the first man Adam God put His breath in the Word, that is why nothing holds a candle to the Word…God blows it out.

• “Profitable”- It is useful because it is from God. If we forget the nature of the Bible it will erode our faith.
We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy.— R.C. Sproul
Average American watches 34 hours a week of tv
You can hear from God as much as you want
The main profit in it is that it is the God of the universe talking to us
Bryan Chapell “Youth Group game”

• Teaching- Exchange of information and gaining knowledge. Doctrine-teaching the ignorant, truths which cannot not otherwise know.
But it is not just Cliff Claven, not just knowledge

• Reproof – conviction – what is amiss
Convicting the erring of their error
(when I was 18 reading the Bible and felt a deep conviction of the sin I living in)

• Correction –setting one right

• Training- How to or how has it worked for you

The Result = Godliness
V17 supports the doctrine of “sufficiency of Scripture” which basically states that Scripture provides what is needed to be Godly.
Complete “Competent” the Word of God Completes us to conform to the law and will of God
An unknown writer said, "This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.

Entrusted Series: "Dealing With Discouragements"

2011-02-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

What to do when you feel discouraged about the spiritual climate around you?
2 Timothy 3:1-9
• It brings discouragement when people have…

Misplaced love (love for idols)
-lovers of self (think of self first)
-lovers of money (greedy)
-lovers of pleasure rather then lovers of God (sin give pleasure)

An unrealistic view of self
-proud & swollen with conceit
-arrogant (glorifying self & thinking I call the shots)
-without self control (I can handle this)
-ungrateful (don’t give praise to Jesus)
-unholy (unlike Jesus)
-unappeasable (nothing makes us happy but we think it will)

Disregard for others
-slanderous (talking about and back stabbing)
-heartless (lack of concern for others)
-brutal
-abusive (mentally, emotionally spiritually & physically)
-disobedient to their parents (that can be discouraging)
-not loving good (rejoicing in sin)
-treacherous & reckless (being in a relationship with this person just takes its toll, volatile)

Confused spiritual beliefs
-appearance of godliness but denying the power (religious)
-lead people that are struggling away from the truth (the are dangerous to the weak)
Vrs 6 there is a danger… “capture” did you know that one of the Mormon’s openers if you say you are a Christian is? “That is true but we have more of that truth” Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

-learning new things but never truth based (is knowledge power?) People like Depock Chopra
-oppose the Godly. In every chapter of this book Paul names at least 2 names Chap 1 Hermongenes & Phygelus Chapter 2 Hymenasus & Philetus Chapter 4 Demas & Alexander. All these people were leading others away from the truth. Every generation will have people who will rise up as teachers that will stray others from the faith. I believe it is paving the way for the Anti-Christ

Vrs 8 Jannes and Jambres looked like they had something going good but they really were against the truth Ex 7 an example of how people will try to mimic Godliness but in their own power they will be unsuccessful, they were trying to things on their own. Staff, blood, frogs Ex 8:19 gnats…”the finger of God”

• To deal with these discouragements…understand this.

1. It is going to happen because we are in the “Last days” Vrs 1 (prepare ourselves, choose to do and say things that have some degree of Gospel importance) Jesus said they hated Him first.

2. Avoid those people if possible Vrs 5 (the concept I want to instill in all of us here is this, don’t let it get you down, if you need to change your situation, maybe that is what God is pressing on you to do, some people think that just because they are sticking it out in a situation it must be God’s will)
Vrs 5b “Avoid such people” How can I avoid them??? They go to church here, they live in my house. Jesus ran off and avoided they crowds at times

3. People will oppose you Vrs 8 (sometimes you try to avoid but they seek you out and oppose you, like when you are kid and people make fun of you…I am just minding my own business but they seem to find me) The religious leaders opposed Jesus

4. They will not get far Vrs 9 (Jesus is the winning team, the beauty of His justice is that He puts an end to those who do not trust Him) Jesus knew what the end result was

5. They will be made known Vrs 9 (Jesus takes care of all situations eventually, exposes) The word “folly” here is also used in Luke 6:11 and it carries the idea of being so enraged that you cannot clearly think about what is going on. The account in Luke 6:11 when Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath started the authorities in the plot to kill Jesus. And interestingly enough we find in 1 Cor 2:8-9 their foolishness brought forth God’s ultimate plan.

Can we “understand this” on our own? No
When you are discouraged think about the beautiful truth of Jesus and what He did and look for solace in Him. In the face of huge discouragement from the very people He mad rebelling against Him He was willing to die for them and us.

We can only deal with our discouragements through Jesus.

Entrusted Series "Whose Am I" Discipleship Part 6

2011-02-14T10:32:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 2:14-26
In this life we all grapple with “who we are” or “who we want to be”. The society and our culture dictate what is acceptable. We all have things that attribute to who we are and many times we define who we are by

-This that we do…
the way we dress, what music we listen too, our choice in hobbies, what profession or career we are in, what college we chose, what we drive, where we work, where we live how many children we have or don’t have.

0r by
-Things that happened to us…
Divorce of parents, personal divorce, death of someone close, victim of abuse, or simply as we find in the warning here of how we have been lied to.

Those things all build into “who we are” and the things we do and the things we say are a response of that environment

What Paul is communicating to Timothy here and what he wants Timothy to communicate to the people is… the things we do and the words we say do not come from “who we are” but “whose we are”.

Who you belong to impacts your life.
You may be saying “I belong to myself so I am all good” I would say what Thomas Brooks the Puritan would say. “You have taken Satan’s bait” and guess what you may not know it but if you do not belong to the Lord you belong to Satan.

Paul in this passage goes on to describe how people who belong to Satan will often act and how people who belong to the Lord should act and actually in this case react.

So the reminder or the lesson we learn here is…what you do and what you say and what you do not do and say you are going to show others
“who” you belong to…Jesus

Vrs 14-19 Remind…of who you belong too and how we should act because of that. GOSEPL = belonging to the Lord
• Don’t (like those who do not belong to the Lord)
-Quarrel about words (ruins the hearer) (Radio preachers defining themselves by what they are against) Vrs 14
-Babble (talk to hear yourself talk) Vrs 16-18 “I am just thinking out loud” (Lead people away) “No inner monologue”
“spread the gangrene” it is like a disease dis-ease. The two men were just causing bad doctrine and theology to spread.

• Do (those who do belong to the Lord)
-Handle the Word rightly Vrs 15 (learn, study, pray)
-Realize you can’t pull one over on the Lord Vrs 19 “He Knows”
-Depart from sin Vrs 19b (Jesus said to the women “Go and sin no more) if you want to be a vessel that is used for righteousness you must flee wickedness

• When we act like the one we belong to we are actually used by our owner
Vrs 20-21 if we are obedient to Him we will be useful to Him. A huge motivation of your Christian life should be “I want to be useful to Jesus”

Back to the Do’s and Don’ts Vrs 22-25a
• Do
-Flee youthful passions Vrs 22 (Act mature) Paul said when I was a child I acted like a child
-Pursue Virtues Vrs 22 (faith, love, peace and pure heart)
-Kind to all Vrs 24 Jesus said pray for those who persecute you.
-Able to teach (formal and informal) Vrs 24 (We all informally teach)
-Patient when wronged Vrs 24 (How do I deal with people when the wrong me) Think of Jesus going to the cross
-Correct with gentleness Vrs 25a
• Don’t
-Get involved in controversies Vrs 23 (Our cause is the Gospel)
-Look for a fight Vrs 24 (attitude…I would knock his head off)

Vrs 25b-26
Notice…It is not just doing right for our own personal benefit as much as it is for the Lord and to win others

…This is what we become useful for…
The Goal is to win those who are lost…notice it is not to prove we are right, to make society better, to promote our personal agenda it is so others come to faith in Christ.
The goal should never be “I told them” or “I got my way” the goal should be bring glory to Jesus and one major way we do that is winning others to Him.

So when we do things as believers we have to ask “How is the promoting Jesus and Gospel centered living among the people.

Vrs 26 sums up why we should be gentle and not quarrelsome with opponents…because they are held captive by Satan. They have not come to their senses and if we deal ruthlessly or bitterly with them we are not being an example of Jesus

Understand this we are in battle…Satan and his demons are owning people and we are trying to focus and follow Christ to such a degree that others can know the steep price that Jesus paid to buy them back. 2 Cor 4:4

So it is not “who you are” it is “whose you are”

Entrusted "A Disciple Lifts Jesus Up" Discipleship Part 5

2011-02-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 8-13
On the heals of “THINK”
Vrs 8 I don’t think that Timothy has forgotten about Jesus. But the challenge here is this…
Remember that what we do is for the glory of Jesus (to lift Him up)

The Westminster Shorter Catechism states..
“A persons chief purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”
GOSPEL 1 Cor 6:20
-Resurrection from the dead
-Seed of David = shows His humanity and that He came from the line in which the OT states the Messiah would come from
-Preached

As John Calvin says in his commentary on this verse “Let no one corrupt or falsify the Gospel”

Vrs. 9 When things get tough, human circumstances do not confine the Word of God. Gamaliel in Acts 5:33-42

God’s Word does the work
In Stavropol Russia in 1930 Stalin ordered a confiscation of Bibles.
After the fall of Communism a group called CoMission was trying to get Bibles into Russia when they found out about a warehouse filled with Bibles from the days of Stalin. So they hired some workers and one was a atheistic college student, who just took the job for the cash. While they were loading the Bibles he wandered off and they found him in the corner weeping over a Bible that had found with his grandmothers name in it and she always prayed for his salvation. (Philip Ryken, Entrusted with the Gospel)

The Word will not be bound.

Vrs 10 We keep our focus on our call. We preach and live the Gospel and pray for those who do not believe and we do not sit back and say “If someone is going to be saved they are going to be saved, I can just go about my business”

Paul is saying remember all these things that a good disciple does…and they do these things so others will be become Christians and the Christians that you are serving will also be reminded of what Jesus did for us.

This is why I get so discouraged when Christians spend so much time bickering and complaining among themselves. They get so involved in what they think should be done or what they think is right or wrong that they get off focus.

I will share something with you and I will be careful on how I do so…I have noticed anytime we see a growth primarily in new people coming out, problems seem to arise from the people that are already here. I know why that is…Satan wants us to focus on ourselves rather then those who are lost and dying in their sins.

When we get caught up we are…
Thwarting the work
-Don’t let it be you who is being used by Satan to thwart the purposes of the Gospel which lead to salvation for many.
Gamaliel “opposing God”
-If you see it happening call it out.
-Restore gently because the person is deceived

If you are doing Gospel work and people are a problem and giving you a pain…don’t let it get you down. Expect it and remember Paul and other suffered greatly for it.

The temptation we have is quit. But don’t give up because your work is for Jesus and the chief purpose is to bring glory to Jesus.

If you are doing Gospel work and things seem to be going well…don’t let it go to your head.

The temptation is to say “I am doing a great job”
What we have to remember it is for the glory of Jesus and without Him doing the work we would be nothing. You will be amazed by His glory
OAC illustration kids sharing testimonies.
Arron-you must feel pretty good?
Me-“I am pretty amazed at what God has done”

But all through that particular trip God impressed upon my heart it was Him who does the work and my responsibility is to tell people the truth about Jesus because that it brings glory to Him.
I am a truth dispenser, the dispenser does a job but no one really marvels over it.

Ill Kids with a gumball machine
What do kids normally do when the dispenser does not work?

Its all for the glory of Jesus and if it is not it will eventually be made known and it will eventually not go well
Ill “Carry this stone for me” “Who are you carrying it for?” (elizabeth Elliot quoted from a Tim Keller Sermon)

Remember the chief purpose “glorify Jesus and enjoy Him” you will not enjoy Jesus if you have competing glory.
How do we glorify Jesus? These verses are probably a hymn that was sung in the early church.
Vrs 11
• Die to self - reward=live for Him and with Him
Switchfoot lyrics say “we were meant to live for so much more”

• Vrs 12 Persevere – Reward is responsibility in His kingdom
When times get tough still endure. Millennial Reign, faithful with little given much, Back to garden Work was a blessing.

• Give Him what is rightfully His
Deny=withhold something from
(your service, attention and resources) (That person loves Jesus so much that they don’t deny Him what is dearest to them)

He will deny us the rewards for not enduring. Lets take Peter for example he denied Christ and he reaped sorrow and remorse,

Each situation we are in has great potential for eternal rewards and also rewards in this life. We are denied those rewards (or get less) when we deny Him

• Vrs 13 Remain faithful – This verses teaches that Jesus’ faithfulness is not based on or a response to ours but to truly glorify Jesus we should be faithful to Him. (expound on this point) Comfort in tragic or tough situations
Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego “even if he does not”
This is a reminder that Christ’s faithfulness to us does not depend on us but it depends on Himself.

“He cannot deny Himself”
Jesus does not withhold from us, we respond to that by bringing Him glory.

Entrusted "A Disciple Thinks" Discipleship Part 4

2011-01-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 2-1-7 “A Disciple Thinks”

We are told what to think by media. Journalists do not just give the reports they also add their own opinion to them, but many times in such a subhuman way as Jack Johnson asks in one of his lyrics “why don’t the newscasters cry when they read about people who die? At least they could be decent enough to put just a tear in their eye”.

We have become a product of a callous world that causes us to be numb to the pain and suffering that is around us or causes us to have a skewed view of what truth is. In this passage we study tonight we find Paul telling Timothy to THINK. Maybe part of the problem we have as a people is that we do not spend enough time THINKING through the things of the Lord.

Start with Vrs 7 “THINK over what I say FOR the Lord will give you understanding in everything”

Read a book this week called “THINK” Based on Verse 7
The basic premise of John Piper’s book is to Lord the Lord your God with your mind requires spending time thinking about what he has told us and when we do that the Lord rewards with understanding.

Christians have fallen into the trap that tells us that people of faith should ignore logical thinking and reasoning and only focus in on divine illumination. What Piper is saying is “we should embrace both divine illumination and human thinking. (Pgs 64-65)

WHY? Is found in Proverbs 2:1-6 Wisdom from the Lord is valuable and He is willing to give it to those who seek Him

Tonight I want to show you how to think by asking yourself questions. Jesus asked questions We will do that by what Paul said to Timothy.

Vrs 1 Rely on Christ. He is the power in us…it is not us it is Him.

-Think about His power and how we can’t do these things on our own.
Q: Have you experienced a time in life in which you witnessed the power of Jesus displayed through you?

Vrs 2 “Heard from me” good doctrine and make sure faithful men are teaching it. Pass that on to the next generation of men…Gospel preaching and Gospel living… we are in serious trouble at FRBC if we don’t bring up the next generation in Good Doctrine. We must always keep in front of us the difference between HOW we do things and WHY we do them.

HOW is the means by which we get the WHY out. What happens many times in churches the HOW we do things becomes more important then WHY we do them.

We will never reach the upcoming generations unless we change the HOW. That means we constantly ask ourselves HOW do we show others that the WHY is relevant to their lives.

Philip Ryken said “one of the most important ways to keep the faith is to pass down the faith”

-Think about what you believe and think about how you can pass it down
Q: How are you passing your faith down to the next generation?

Vrs 3 “A Disciple will Suffer” we talked extensively about this two weeks ago

-Think about what it costs to serve the Lord and think about what it costs Him to serve us.
Q: How have you suffered for following Jesus?

Vrs 4 Don’t get off focus “Good Soldier” focuses on what the chief wants, Semper Fi is short for Semper Fidelis = Always Faithful. As a Christian we need to realize…Jesus is our Chief Shepherd and our Pastor. We need to listen Him.

There are so many voices of other people who feel they know what is best for us, what we should do, how we should feel. They get us off focus

-Think about how I can be faithful to what Jesus wants me to do.
Q: What have you been neglecting that you know Jesus wants you to do?

Vrs 5 Do what is right. Athlete “competes according to the rules” Remember in life the end does not justify the means. A disciple of Jesus should do what is right. Obeying Jesus commands is how we show him that we love him and how others know that it is Him that we follow

-Think about what is right to do in every situation
Q: What sin or sins are you struggling with?

Vrs 6 Work hard “hard working farmer” reaps a reward

-Think about how I can be more effective, (you will reap rewards)
Q: Where have you been lazy when it comes to your spiritual life?

Vrs 7 “THINK over what I say”

The problem…we spend time thinking about sinful, unfruitful or unproductive things. “Every thought should be captive of the Word of God

Examples
-Using thoughts to manipulate. Matt 21:23-27 This is an example of using our minds to not serve the truth…it is using our minds to serve the sin nature. Piper calls this “the seed of relativism” Relativism is “Truth claims are not valid for everyone”

-Desires leading to thoughts that plan sin. Sin starts with a desire and when we start to think in and live in those desires we fall to sin and sin gives birth to death. James 1:14-16

-Sinful thoughts Matt 5…hate, lust etc

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind…As Piper points out the way to glorify and love God with your mind is to think about him and what He has for us to do and what is pure Phil 4:8

Think about on a regular basis

-What you know. Many of you have been here for some time and hopefully you have learned. Spend time thinking about those things
-What you need to know
1. What is the purpose of my life?
2. Do I have clear direction about what I should be doing?
3. Who am I going to listen to…civilians or the Chief?
4. What areas am I lacking

-The Gospel (the basics) Daily think about the Gospel Not “I am a good guy” that is the lie from hell “no one is righteous” GOSPEL
Galatians 3 tells us that whoever breaks God’s law is cursed…but Jesus became the curse for us.

-The promise (gift)…Vrs 7 ”for the Lord will give you understanding in everything”

Challenges
-Before you go to sleep on Sunday nights, shut everything down and get to quiet place and think about what you learned this week in church.
Romans 10:17 “Faith comes by hearing”

-Use what we are learning as springboard for devotion time during the week. Website…notes

-Community Group…one purpose is to think about and discuss what you learned

-Memory Verses in bulletin

“A Disciple thinks and Jesus gives us understanding”

Entrusted "A Disciple is Good Friend" Discipleship Part 3

2011-01-30T18:40:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 1:15-18 A Disciple is a good friend

We all have this desire to have close personal friendships with others, we are all discouraged why people abandon us. Paul was like us he celebrated those who were good friends and was discouraged by the bad ones.

Vrs 15 Phy-gelus & Herm-oo-gen-es Fair weather friends. This verse does not tell us that they turned away from the Lord but that they turned away from Paul.

A bad friend…
-only has time for you when they need you.
Job 19:14 “my close friends have forgotten me”

-is not trustworthy. 3 under this topic The bad=betrayal (Judas), the ignorant (simple, just never learned how to be a good friend) & the lack of self control (some people mean well but they just cant things up or control themselves from hurting you).
George Elliot said…”Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts, nor measure words, but to pour them all out just as they are, chaff and grain together knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness blow the rest away”
-is uncommitted: Like a wet bar of soap, the tighter you grab they get away

-does not live the Gospel toward you (summarize them) Job 6:14 “he who withholds kindness from a friend, forsakes the fear of the Almighty”
NO sacrifice, compassion, forgiveness, mercy or healing

Vrs 16-17 Own-e-seph-orus example of loyalty and a good friend.

A good friend… (This is what the disciple should aim towards)

-helps in a time of need. “refreshed” He met his physical needs…food and drink…also could be an encouragement and a constant reminder of the work of God (saying “Paul…keep your chin up…the Lord has got this)

Something that many people do not realize that a great time of need is when a person is caught up in sin
Someone once said “In our dealings with those caught in sin, mercy is incomplete unless we do as Jesus did; call it sin. We have winked, giggled, made alibis, or ignored sin all too long. A friend in deed is one who says quietly, but firmly, "What you're doing friend is sin. It is harmful to you and to others. It is destructive to God's will for you.”
This echoes Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend ;profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
-sticks with you even in worst moments. “Not ashamed of my chains” That also means that they will not hit the road when your relationship is having problems…they are committed to working things out
A small boy defined a friend as "Someone who knows all about you and likes you just the same."
-persistent in helping. “Searched” Starts with… I needed to reach out to you because I knew you were hurting.
Most of us will help if asked…but how many of us will seek out friends to help out to help.

If you find it difficult to make friends it may be because you are looking for people to meet your needs. “What need do I have?” “How are they meeting it?”

A great way to make friends is to seek out others and meet their needs. Good Samaritan

-is fruitful. “service he rendered” A good friend gives. It is important to realize a good disciple is fruitful, because of that they have the ability to be a great asset as a friend because they guide you into more fruitfulness.

Someone who is a good friend rubs off on you in positive ways. We all remember our parents saying things like “I don’t like how you act when you are around so and so”

But we all realize who is a positive influence on us…faithful servants of the Lord are. A word of clarification just because someone is faithful in service does not mean they are faithful or fruitful servant of the Lord.

Unfortunately I have come across people who are very consistent and committed but by their actions but it often seems that the service they give is very self motivated, we are not to judge but when we see people that are miserable and serving it causes us to wonder if their lack of joy has to do with their wrong motivation. (“I serve because it makes me feel…”

Example: have you ever gone somewhere that you did not want to go? (you did what you were asked…but how did you act)

Paul used Onesiphorus as an example because he knew his heart was in it. How do we know someone’s heart is in it Matthew 12:34-35 (not only are they there but it is how they act when they are there)

-prays for you. Paul continues the example of a good friend by praying for extra mercy for Onesiphorus. This is an example of a prayer of thanks. When we look at the book of Job we see in chapter 42 that Job prayed for his friends that “have not spoken right about the Lord”

So we see a good friend prays for their friends whether they are doing right or wrong. The temptation is…

when they are doing right we just expect that and don’t thank God for them
when they are doing wrong we are so ticked that we find it difficult to pray for them.

We may say “this is tough to be a friend like this” you are right it is that is why we look to Jesus for guidance

Jesus is the best friend, GOSPEL Proverbs 18:24 “a friend who sticks closer then a brother”

We may also say “I don’t have anyone like this in my life” don’t be discouraged no one is going to fit the perfect bill of friendship…but Jesus can fill that void for you. The lack of solid friends just helps you to realize how much more you need the friendship of God.

Entrusted "A Disciple Will Suffer" Discipleship Part 2

2011-01-30T18:39:00.000-08:00

2 Timothy 1:8-14 A Disciple will suffer
3 types of suffering
-Consequence of personal sin
-Suffering because we live in a sinful & fallen world
-Suffering because we are following the Lord The promise = 2 Timothy 3:12

Background…Paul was in prison in Rome and the church was under persecution under Nero. Tacitus wrote about this Great fire of Rome…Nero was accused of it and blamed it on the Christians and started to persecute them.
We suffer because…

• others hate the Gospel, Paul’s imprisonments are an example of that. Vrs 8 Offensive message Christmas Eve

• we are called to suffering, just as we were called to salvation. Just like people have become Christians since the time of Christ, people have suffered since the time of Christ. Vrs 9-12a The nature of the Gospel is suffering, One died for the many. (we must remember there are different seasons in suffering and as we mature suffering we learn to “Count it all joy” because Christ is working through us.

• of the truth of the Gospel (narrow minded) vrs 10

• we follow the Gospel. Vrs 13 The nature of the Gospel is sacrifice…when you sacrifice you suffer because you are giving up something that normally you desire or something that makes life better. The nature of the Gospel is forgiveness, when you forgive someone you suffer because mentally you want them to pay for what they did so you have emotional turmoil because you “let them off the hook” Son of Man has no where to lay His head

• we have something to guard.
Vrs 14 When something or someone is important to us we do what it takes to make it or they are safe. You may have seen in the news just this week in Australia the terrible floods. In one of the accounts a 13 year old boy his 10 year old brother and his mother were stuck in a heavy current flood waters in their car. The rescue workers made their way to them but only could take one at a time the 13 year old yelled to the worker take my brother first. As they got his brother to safety he was yelling come and get my mom. Unfortunately the rescue workers could not get to them in time. The this young boy valued the lives of his brother and mother over his own and was willing to guard them at his own expense. If nothing is important to you, you will have nothing to guard and therefore you will suffer less….id that an option??? Not for a normal people

What we learn from suffering.

• Should not be ashamed Vrs 8a (Paul to Timothy) Vrs 12a (Paul of himself)
-Ashamed when people don’t agree with Gospel work
-Ashamed to share the whole Gospel “testimony of the Lord” (we leave out the sin & wrath part and only focus on God’s love, go on tangent about how God just being loving does not make sense and therefore only focusing in on that will leave people doubting) “I am a loving judge” illustration GOSPEL

• It has less of a blow when we are in it together Vres 8 “share” (Community Groups)

• God has a purpose in it for us Verse 9 (notice verse 8 he states “The Lord’s Prisoner” not Rome’s prisoner because he knows if God wanted out…he would be out Acts 16:25-27) Maybe in your life there is a situation which you want to made different…rest that God has purpose for that situation.

• Jesus has the upper hand in against suffering. “appearing” If we ever complain about suffering we have Jesus to think about. Vrs 10 Hebrew 12:3 Jesus’ suffering brought us life

• The Gospel is worth suffering for. Vrs 11-12
It is not worth living for something if you will not die for it.
John is the only Apostle that did not die in Martyrdom. But he was boiled in oil and escaped and then exiled to the Isle of Patmos. After that I have a book called Foxes book of Martyrs which gives an 1800 year account of people that died or suffered physically for the trust and the guarding of the Gospel…There are two options for these people…they were either really confused and deceived or they really knew that the Gospel was true.

A person will be willing to suffer if something is important to them.

• It will not last forever Vrs 12

• We have protection during our suffering. Vrs 12
-Through the Word Vrs 13
“Follow” Test everything by the Word (am I doing right before the Lord? If not I may be suffering because I strayed)
“Sound Words” Good Theology…When these things happen we don’t question God as much as we look for what we need to learn from the situation
-Through the Spirit Vrs 14 Relying of the Holy Spirit
(Am I just trusting in my own skills and abilities?)

• Jesus paid my deposit. Regardless of how we suffer we have a guarantee in our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus is saying “Come a Disciple of Me will suffer”

Entrusted "Mentors" Discipleship Part 1

2011-01-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

Introduction material Dates as early at 64 AD and as late as 67 AD. It was the last letter that Paul wrote

A disciple is a “follower of Jesus” The key ingredient is RELATIONSHIP, it is not an exchange of information although that is very helpful, it is not a program although programs facilitate relationships it is not something that we accomplish then move on to something else…it is a life endeavor. Discipleship

2 Timothy 1:1-7 A Disciple has people who build into them…Mentor type relationships

Vrs 1 Paul is not just writing as a friend but when he says “an Apostle” he is speaking to Timothy as one who has authority and therefore this authority should also be communicated to those under Timothy. Timothy can clearly say to those under him…”Paul the Apostle told me”

In this situation we see Timothy a disciple of Jesus Christ has Paul to build into him on a “pastoral calling level”

Vrs 2 “my beloved child” this is an important relationship that believers should have…someone they can look to as a spiritual father…maybe your biological father fills this role. But many of you like myself have a father that is not a firm believer in Christ, so we need other spiritual older men to fill that void.

Description of the Mentor/person building into us A Mentor…
Vrs 3
-Practices what they have learned from those they learned from (thanks)
-Prays for then disciple

Vrs 4 -Mentor cares for the disciple. “Tears” This is probably a reference to the last time Paul saw Timothy and they were parting ways 1 Timothy 1:3 “remain at Ephesus”
-Mentor takes pleasure in the work done by the disciple

Vrs 5 A Mentor recognizes the power of the first influence (Parents). A disciple has multiple people that speak into their lives.
When Paul speaks about Lois and Eunice it is a reminder that our first responsibility when it comes to discipleship is those in our family.

A call to parents you have little lives that need to be built into…It is the job of the church to assist that but the responsibility does not rest on the church to disciple your children. The church with its programs should underline what you are currently teaching them.

You on the other hand should be discipled by the church. Here is why, if you know the Word and are consistently pursuing God that will inevitably use what is instilled in you to disciple your children…because discipleship is about the life we live…not a class or program. So the goal here if for you to learn, learn how to apply and be inspired to apply the truths of the Bible.

To some degree your children will love what you love and hate what you hate. UNLESS (with the exception of Jesus who should be before everything and everyone) what you love forces you to neglect them.

Why is this? Because when you love something you develop a passion for whatever that is and when there is passion for something, the people around you sense that and then want to investigate what is fueling that passion.

Our society tells us put our kids in situations in which they can be exposed to things and have experiences but what we need to remember as parents, the best thing we can do for our children at the developmental ages is build into them spiritually. We CANNOT do that if we are not being built into spiritually. You make sacrifices for your children but you do not sacrifice your own spiritual development for them, if you do it will harm them. (My going to school illustration, I need development)

Then you can live a Deut 6:4-9 centered Christian life.

The words of Jesus “A disciple is not above his teacher” your children will reach as high as you are.

Vrs 6 A mentor encourages the disciple to their highest potential. “fan to flame” Remember Rev 3:16 Jesus spits out those that are lukewarm. Do everything you can to be excited about and on fire for the Lord.

“Fan into flame” encourage the work

You can tell if someone has the work of the Lord’s best interest in mind if they encourage others to serve better and excel. Far too many times we see people in leadership roles that only want good things to be accomplished if their name is attached to it.

They don’t have the security to empower others and will not support when others excel. They may tear down and malign what the person is doing in hopes to keep people looking at them.

The people who truly have an impact are the people that are willing to empower and not take credit.

As a person who disciples others, one necessary trait must be humility…
If it was not for the devotion of Annie Sullivan the world would not know the name of Helen Keller
If not for George MacDonald the world may not have known C.S. Lewis

1 Timothy 4:14 Leaders “laying hands” a commissioning for ministry
This act is also saying “we need to empower others for the work”

Vrs 7 A mentor reminds a disciple of the power of God

A disciple needs those that build into them to be the type of people that celebrate with them even when their work becomes more noticeable then the work that they have done.

Vrs 7 a true disciple is empowered by God (more specifically the Holy Spirit). Bottom line is that what matters most is a vibrant relationship with the Lord that is only achieved through the GOSPEL. You can work all you want to be a good disciple (follower of Jesus) but if you do not rely on the Holy Spirit you have failed.

Entrusted "A Call to Action"

2011-01-02T18:02:00.000-08:00

1 Timothy 6:11-21
Call to action These things show our faith Action, Reaction and Protection
Vrs 11-14 Action
• Flee “these things” trusting in false teaching and following them which leads to sin

• Peruse – Christian virtues. Read them in verse 11
Dr. Vernon Grounds says “Godliness is when others look at the quality of my life, and begin to think about God”

• Fight – Vrs 12 Living your faith will come against some resistance in which you will need to fight against.
-Your family and friends will not understand you
-You will have to make decisions at work that are not that popular
-You will not agree with others on certain issues

• Take Hold 12b-13 –Live the gospel “Take hold of eternal life” live like a citizen of heaven This is difficult when we live here on earth with and among other people.

Augustine wrote The City of God after It was written soon after Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410. This event left Romans in a deep state of shock, and many saw it as punishment for abandoning their traditional Roman religion. It was in this atmosphere that Augustine set out to console Christians, writing that, even if the earthly rule of the empire was imperiled, it was the City of God that would ultimately triumph — Augustine's eyes were fixed on Heaven. (Wikipedia “The City of God)

Augustine states about living among non-believing.

“Many of them are so ungrateful to the Redeemer…they forget that they cannot even utter a single word”[without Him].

For us this means we need to “take hold” and try even harder to live out the Gospel because the people around us will not.
So as citizens of the City of God we need to speak the “Good Confession” which is that Jesus is the Truth. Pilate asked Jesus if He was the King and Jesus said yes.

• Vrs 14a Keep Commandment “unstained” – watch your testimony our call is to be a good representative of the Jesus

Thomas Brooks the Puritan writer says “Know that it is not the knowing, nor the talking, nor the reading man-but the doing man, that at last will be found the happiest”

When our Orthodoxy(What we believe) leads to Orthopraxy(What we do) we find ourselves happy.

Vrs 14b The fullness of our Joy will only come when Jesus comes

Vrs 15-16 A confession (what we believe) I think this is strategically placed to remind us that our actions should always be rooted in the GOSPEL
Sometimes Christians get caught up in doing good and being people who take action and forget that the Gospel needs to be the center of that good work…it should not be cause driven Christianity (help the poor, get clean water, do this program etc)

“Has seen” all His fullness, we would die. Ex 33:18-20

15b -16 I can ACT on the things a God like this says

Reaction
Vrs 17-19 A charge for the “haves” (what we believe should effect what we do with what we have)
If you have wealth…your reaction to Jesus with that wealth.
• don’t flaunt it. (haughty) if you are just buying things to impress others (Pimp my ride, cribs are saying…look I have so much money)
• don’t trust it. (Many people think money can bring security and happiness)
Comedian and writer Spike Milligan once said “All I ask is the chance to prove that money can't make me happy”
• realize where it came from. (Its from God and good)
• do good with it.
• be generous with it.
Vrs 19 If your reaction to what you have is in line with what Jesus teaches us then there are benefits…-storing up treasure for the next life and –truly having full life

Protection
Vrs 20-21
• Guard the deposit “ENTRUSTED”. As Christian we need to guard against false teaching, wrong direction or “vision” that is based on personal gain or ego boosting.
• Profess- when we declare openly Biblical teaching we are actually protecting the hearers. We see the false teachers profess their beliefs and it cause people to swerve from the faith.

“Grace be with you” All of Paul’s 13 letters end with this phrase and as

John Piper says “Paul believes that God’s grace is being mediated to the readers by the words, the truth of each letter”.

Without the grace of God we cannot ACT, REACT, or PROTECT

The Grace is Him allowing you, empowering you and entrusting you to do His work and His grace is enough.

"True Contentment" Part 2

2010-12-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

1 Timothy 6:7-10

Acquiring possessions and money
Money Vrs 7-10

The motivation for the false teaching seemed to be personal gain (in this case monetary)

A great topic to talk about during Christmas week, true contentment as far as money and material possessions are concerned.

“True Contentment” can never be achieved by money or possessions

Vrs. 7 you brought nothing in, you can’t take anything with you. Job 1:21 & Eccl 5:15
The implication of this verse is there is no final or eternal benefit to material possessions in the next life. Not only did you not bring anything in or can’t take anything out.
You didn’t care when you were born and you won’t care when you die.

That is exactly why God wants us to use what we have, enjoy it, not be selfish with it, or find false security in it.

Vrs 8 This verse counterbalances verse 7 by saying there are things we need to live in this world such as food and clothing. It seems that the first concept that Paul deals with is that we should be content with God’s basic provisions for us.

The fact that God provides for those needs is evidence to us that He is good. He provides for the sparrow, how much more will he provide for us. Matt 6:25-34 Jesus tells us don’t worry or be anxious. He will take care of those things.

When we are content with what God has given us…then we will be able to fulfill what He has called us to do in Matt 6:19-21 (sermon Desire Series “How to get Rich”)

3 Principles
-Temporal wealth does not last.
-Spiritual wealth is gained by obedience to Jesus and inherited in the next life. This also has benefits for this life as far as fulfillment.
-Focuses our heart on what is important

If we look at having an abundance as necessity it will squelch “true contentment” because we will think we need things that are just wants and those wants let us down.

Vrs 9 The desire to be rich...
If your goal and desire is to always have more you have taken the bait.
The Puritan’s do a good job developing the concept of how Satan uses the good things that God blesses us with as bait to hook us into sin

Thomas Brooks 1600’s the Puritan Writer in “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices” sums up what Paul is saying in verse 9 warns of the bait and hook that Satan puts out when it come to sin.
“By presenting the bait and hiding the hook”
The bait with money is…
money will solve my problems, money will make me happy, if I only had…this or that I would be content.

Brooks says here are the Remedies
1. We ought to keep greatest distance from sin and playing with the bait.
2. Remember sin is often bittersweet (money can solve some problems it also can create problems)
3. Remember sin will usher in the greatest and saddest losses (money and possessions often are not all they are cracked up to be and let us down when we have them and devastate us when we lose them if we trusted and found security in them)
4. Remember sin is deceitful and bewitching (v9 “plunge people into ruin and destruction”)

Is it wrong to be rich or have an abundance of money and material passions?
1 Timothy 6:17 answers no and reminds us of 3 things
-Don’t flaunt it
-Don’t trust it
-It belongs to God

Vrs 10 What love of something other then the Jesus can and will do to you. It will harm you because it is another god that does not want good for you.

Why is money such a powerful vice? Becomes a god. Jesus said you cannot serve God and money.

Thomas Aquinas 1200’s , On Prayer and the Contemplative Life

“My deafness, too, to the inner voice of my Shepherd; and, what is far worse, that I have chosen God for my enemy and my adversary as often as I have chosen sin, and that I have offered Him the grievous insult of refusing to have Him for my God, and choosing instead my belly, or money, or false delights-and called them my God!

When we make something else “god” in our lives we are going to hurt ourselves and offend Jesus. Matt 6:24 “Canst serve two masters”

Blinded by greed (Timothy Keller “no one thinks they are greedy) Not only are we are we blinded by greed we are blinded of or from our greed. Illustration: He was teaching a men’s class on the 7 deadly sins.

Because there is always someone who has more for us to look at and say “They must be greedy because they have more then me”

Greed displays the love of money.

How to avoid the love of money…
1. Don’t make money your motivating factor. Attention younger people. When looking for a career to pursue ask yourself…would I do this if they did not pay me?
2. Hold on with open hands (be generous the best offense against greed)
Phil 4:10-13 Paul speaks of the generosity of the Philippians helped him to understand contentment. He was in need and God’s people helped.
3. Steward wisely- part of the problem many people have with money and why they need and desire more is because they made bad decisions with what they do have. (now they have an abusive love relationship with money)
4. Have a right perspective. (money should not change who I am, how secure I am or solve my sin problem) GOSPEL Jesus is the only one who can change who we are, give us security and solve our sin problem.

Heb 13:5 “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said “I will not leave you or forsake you”.

“True Contentment”
Accepting the Truth
Accepting what God has given you and using it for His glory.”

"True Contentment" Part 1

2010-12-17T14:25:00.000-08:00

1 Timothy 6:3-6 “True Contentment” Part 1

This passage gives us 2 reasons why people lack contentment. Lack of truth and love of money.
This week we are going to talk about truth and we will talk about love of money next week.

What is contentment? Satisfaction…ease of mind
I preached for 20 weeks “Restless Series” on discontentment

In our quest for contentment. We want to explain things…It bothers us not to be able to have an answer for everything. It causes us to be discontent. So we all desire truth so we can have answers

“Thoroughly worldly people never understand even the world; they rely altogether on a few cynical maxims which are not true” GK Chesterton Orthodoxy

The false teachers in Timothy’s day were making up their own truth, don’t eat this, don’t marry, work your way to heaven, give us money.

So we pick up in Vrs 3 A different doctrine
“sound Words of Jesus” are Truth
What does Jesus say about truth? Jesus & Truth
-Grace and truth come through Jesus John 1:17
-I tell you the truth John 8:45
-The truth shall set you free John 8:32
-Set apart in the truth…Your Word is truth John 17:17
-I am the truth John 14:6 GOSPEL

True contentment will never be achieved if you don’t know Jesus…Truth

Notice I did not say “you cannot be content”
I would agree that many things in our lives can bring contentment for periods of time. But w/o a relationship with Jesus you can never feel True Contentment

Specifically for the Christian…

“Teaching that accords with Godliness”
My quote “Good theology gets you through tough times” We have to fill our hearts and minds with solid Biblical teaching. This will lead to Godliness.

Based on the next passage I want to give you another quote that is related to my first.

“Bad theology creates tough times”

Vrs4-5 We can’t be content without the truth and when we try to make up our own truth we cause discontentment in others.

Here are some false teachings we deal with today…
-If there is a God…why is there suffering.
-We are here by chance (evolution)
-The Christian faith does not use reason and logic
-As long as what you do makes you happy
-You can work your way to heaven
-There is more then one way to God

“Instead of his teaching edifying the hearer, it produces spiritual sickness” Donald Norbie

You will never be content if you do not know truth you will be spiritually sick

Paul then goes on to describe the symptoms of Spiritual sickness that is found in the teachers Vrs 4a list

The teachers of “bad theology”
-Puffed up 3 John 1:9-11 Diotrephes “likes to put himself first”
-Understands nothing (your worldview is messed up)
-Unhealthy craving for controversy and quarrels (why we see Atheists going nuts about people celebrating Christmas)

What this results in for people
believing “bad theology” produces Vrs 4b-5a
-Envy - You can have more or be more. Biblical Christianity teaches us to be content in every situation Phil 4:11
-Dissention- Oppose those who claim truth. Biblical Christianity teaches us to live at peace with others
-Slander - Defame those who claim truth or those we do not like. Biblical Christianity teaches us not to use are words to defame others.
-Evil suspicion- Question authority. Biblical Christianity teaches us to trust Jesus
-Constant friction- With inner peace it is nearly impossible to live at peace with others. Biblical Christianity teaches us to be at peace with the help of the Lord through prayer and relationship. Phil 4:6 1 Peter 5:7 Cast cares

Why? Because they are sinners (depraved mind) in need of truth (deprived of truth) The false teachers are not teaching truth so it keeps the believers of bad theology in a unspiritual and unhealthy cycle.

The point here is this Paul is saying unredeemed sinners are not going to be able to effectively work out their problems and fulfill their need for contentment because they do not believe the truth.

Faith in Jesus Christ (Good Theology) is what gives us power to be content and actually see change in our lives

You will not be content if you don’t know the truth…Jesus

The big “what if” question. Based on 5b “godliness is a means of gain.” What if I am a Christian and I am not content?

You may feel like you have no purpose, things are not going well, you feel empty, and a lack of direction, looking for more answers

I know people who have gone through terrible things in life but they content. What is wrong with them? How can they be content?

2 Cor. 12:8-10 Paul spells it out loud and clear, unlike the puffed up false teachers who think they no it all. “True Contentment” is reliance on the Lord.

Vrs 6 A reminder “ There is Gain in Godliness when it accompanied by contentment”

If you are not content in the situations that God allows to come your way you are missing out on His blessings, what He is teaching you, how you can help others and how He wants to shape you to be more like Him

First step to “True Contentment” is..

Accepting the Truth

The truth is that we live in a world wrought with sin and we are sinners and Jesus came to set us free with His death burial and resurrection. Right now we are only experiencing some of that freedom that Jesus brings and we will have that in fullness when we pass to the next life.

Only through accepting the truth can we start to experience contentment.

Entrusted "In and Under Authority"

2010-12-10T06:21:00.000-08:00

1 Timothy 5:17-6:2

Currently there are 4 Atheistic groups taking out ads and billboards to undermine Biblical Christianity.

American Atheists have a billboard by the Lincoln Tunnel that says this…
The Catholic League answered back…but their statement was “the atheists want to get Christians to doubt their faith” I don’t think that is it.

I think that atheists in general have a problem with authority. They want to be the authority and can’t handle that there just may be something greater then their ideas and their concepts.

The main issue is that people do not want to admit Jesus has authority in their lives. If there is an authority and that authority has standards if we don’t keep those standards there is a problem.

All authority is given to Jesus. When we humble ourselves under that authority God raises us up. GOSPEL

Tonight we will look at the concept of authority. How we should respond if we are in an authority position and how we respond being under authority. .

There are many different types of Authority..
-Civil Authority-police, judges
Authority within the workplace- boss, manager
Authority with in the family-parents
Authority within the school- teachers, administration
Spiritual Authority within the church- This passage is going to address the spiritual authority issue and I believe if we have that right the other areas of life will fall into place.

Define Authority-the right to command.

Society sometimes says things like “Question Authority” , “Authority is corrupt” “we are all in Authority, what gives you the right to have authority,

“If you're going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use two feet.”Keith Richards Rolling Stones
Authority is unfair and you will loose

We defined the role of spiritual authority in the church as (1 Tim 2:8-15) – Guarding, upholding and making decisions based on Biblical truth in the local fellowship.

The Bible tells us 1 Peter 2:13-17 The Godly submit to authority &
2 Peter 2:10 tell us the ungodly despise authority.

1 Timothy 5:17-6:2 speaks about 3 issues what to expect when in authority, calling people to authority and

In Authority

Vrs 17-18 - Compensation- for the time that those in authority put in. This is why Pastors get paid

Side not of Christian business owners ethics…take care of your employees (Arthur Guinness)

Vrs 19- Give them the benefit of the doubt - “Innocent until proven guilty” many times because people bristle at authority they are “guilty until proven innocent” and that type thinking damages the reputation of those in leadership and authority roles

Vrs 20- They are held to a higher standard- Public authority bears public consequences. (Hebrews 13:17 tells us that leaders give account for the people they are in charge of)

Vrs 21- Fair - in dealings with the people they are in charge of , There is no special treatment when it comes to sin. Also leads well
Dwight D. Eisenhower Said “You do not lead by hitting people of the head…that’s assault, not leadership”

Calling people to authority positions

-Slowly- Be slow to put people in authority
Vrs 22- Be slow to put people into leadership and quick to take them out. One of the biggest problems in the church in general is that people who are not ready or qualified end up in positions of leadership that they should not be in. It is bad for them and bad for the people they are in charge of.

When the wrong people are in leadership the wrong things happen.

Vrs 23 Wine for stomach. In light of the asceticism of the false teachers Paul may be providing a qualification to the call for purity in clarifying that there would be nothing wrong with Timothy using a little wine, emphasizing here its usefulness for the sake of his health

-Investigate before
Vrs 24-25 The importance in assessing people before they are in leadership roles. The reason for this is simple. It is so much easier to say “no, now is not the time” then to let someone serve and in some cases serve well then have to ask them to step down from that position.

How do you judge if people want to be in or use authority for personal gain or power…the verse tells us to look at their life example.
Living under authority in any situation
Vrs 1 A Testimony issue

Vrs 2 -Hinders the work of Jesus. Hebrews 13:17

In a healthy situation spiritual leaders are praying for guidance on how to lead and what to do with the people entrusted to their flock. So if a leader leads you into the things of the Lord and you do not follow then what you are saying is “that is just his opinion” or “I don’t need that”

On a personal note that is why I am very careful about what I promote from the pulpit and anywhere for that matter.

The Christian should love and thrive under authority of Godly people and cannot expect to have any type of authority unless they can be under authority.

The what if question? Authority asks you to disobey God?
Acts 5:29 Peter and the Apostles are ordered to stop preaching about Jesus and they replied “we must obey God rather then men”

When those in authority are in the wrong it is our first call to follow Jesus.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer the Christian theologian and pastor spoke out against Hitler and Nazism publicly three days after Hitler rose to power and said that Germany was heading toward Idolatry.

He preached for the rights of Jews and Nazi Germany

He was a Christian who went against godless authority April 9, 1945 he was executed by hanging in the Flossenburg concentration camp.

A Christian realizes the Authority of Jesus should rule their lives.

"My Brothers Keeper"

2010-11-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

Entrustedweek11 “My Brothers Keeper”
1 Timothy 5:1-16

A believers responsibility to the family of God should mirror our responsibility to our biological family.

Treat the family of God like your biological family.
This is not the best illustration for us in America because generally speaking family loyalty is not the highest degree, we are a very independent people

Biblically speaking we see a high regard placed on our parents, enough so that obedience to them made #5 of the top 10, with a promise

We see from early on Genesis 4 there is a breakdown in the first sibling relationship Cain and Able (tell account)
“Am I my brothers keeper” the answer is YES

Vrs 1-2 In our dealings with those inside the church. Treat them “like family”

Vrs 3-16 Paul was dealing with specific issues in regards to widows in the churches that Timothy was dealing with, but we can glean principles from these directives in how we relate to the family of God.

You will find as you are in the church there are people that it is a pleasure to help because they work hard, serve well, love others and don’t ask for handouts. When they are in need it is a true blessing to help them. There are others who only show up when they are looking for the handout.

The difference between inside the church and outside the church 1 Cor 5 we judge inside.
If we tax resources on people who do not need we have none for those who do. So what we are going to do is look at the treatment of these widows and use it as a springboard for how we should behave “In the Family”

Vrs 3-5 the Godly widow - * Spiritually disciplined (within the fellowship of believers, you should be an example to the Christians around you) HOW shows Godliness to own household – hope in God – prayer warrior

Vrs 6 -the worldly widow – *Avoid Selfishness -selfish is like walking dead…we should not live only for ourselves

Vrs 7 Command to keep above reproach * Have Accountability

Vrs 8-10 An example of a Godly widow *Care for one another. John 19:26-27
Even unbelievers do that
-Christians should take care of their biological family “worse then” the concept here is that even non-believing know it is right to care for the family. If you as believer don’t care for your own what kind of testimony are sharing with those around you.
It is a testimony to them and to those around you.
GOSPEL

Vrs 11-13 The ungodly widows – *Flee sinful passions- In the heat of passion people say and do things that they regret. Harsh words etc

Vrs 14-15 *Learn from roles in biological family- The role that marriage and child bearing plays is keeping focus on the Lord – Being a part of a family helps you focus your attention on the Lord
(sanctification process)

Vrs 16 Biological family has the first responsibility – *The biological family comes before the church.
They have the first responsibility and they are the first responsibility

-The Godly will be taken care of. I spoke with a Godly individual who is out of work and his reply was “through all this I see that God is good”
-The sentiment in this passage is “take care of the Godly” God’s family is much larger then our biological family. So if you have a pressing need in your biological family be assured that another member of God’s family can take care of the member that is suffering.

Challenge from now until Christmas

1. Is there a person in your biological family that you need to work out a difficulty with?
2. Is there a person in God’s family that you need to work out a difficulty with?

"Jacked For Jesus"

2010-11-27T05:59:00.000-08:00

Godliness/Godly men is the way to fight against the “two nasty “L” words”

Vs 6-7 “These things” “you will be a good servant”
-Trained in Words of Faith
-Trained in good Doctrine
-Does not waste time (irreverent and silly myths)
-Training in Godliness

Paul gives an illustration
Vrs 8 shows us the “physical exercise” only has value here
The concept here is not to speak out against physical exercise as mush as it is to remind us that putting much time into that only benefits this life not the next.

I believe this is very pertinent in our culture. We spend much money and time not only to be healthy but…look good.

The idea here is everyone knows in order to be in top physical shape it takes a lot of training, the same is true for Godliness. The question that Paul answers is, what is more important? The answer is what benefits this life and the next?

The concept of this life and the next life is a recurring theme in the Scriptures.

Vrs 9 “trustworthy” you will not be let down if you pursue Godliness

Vrs 10 It is work to follow the Lord…it hurts sometimes, it is not a cake walk but we focus on Jesus look at what He endured…the cross GOSPEL.

Savior to all men “especially” “Savior of all” To preserve (sotar) Possibly “Common Grace” Rain - Possibly positional in regards to all people.

“Especially those who believe” Special or Saving Grace Result in Salvation Jesus’ offer is open but only some will take hold…like the wedding banquet

Vrs 11 Timothy’s call and our call as well we continue to pass this down to our children. (For Timothy 11-14 Preach the Word)

Vrs 12 don’t get hung up on age. I know old fools and I know young fools. But age does not dictate Godliness.

Vrs 13-15a Godliness The workout program to be “Jacked for Jesus”
-devotion to the Scriptures
-willing to exhort-to urge or advise or caution, (in this case yourself) others (use what the Scriptures say)
-teaches good theology (with your life and words)
-uses spiritual gifts
-practices spiritual disciplines
-immerse (this should be your life)

Vrs 15b It is good for others to notice your progress. You will “glow” of the Lord Pastor Conan ill

It is only a bad thing if we personally take the credit. So he goes onto verse 16

Vrs 16 don’t let it get to your head

“Watch yourself” Pride goes before the fall, also in this context “keep focused”

“persist” Problem is with people in life is they grow and excel they get some encouragement then they say “ok I am good at this let me stop excelling”

Kelly Slater…always pushing to the next level

Vrs 16b If you continue in Godliness your life will be more abundant and you will be effective in the lives of others for the work of the Lord.

Entusted "Two nasty "L" Words"

2010-11-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

Vrs 1 “fall away”
Spirit says Matt 24 and Passages in Revelation

Paul is dealing with the believers in the church that are falling toward asceticism (Religion that is man centered and created)

Preference-I choose not to
Example: Watching shows that are about solving crimes.
But because I feel this way and my preference is that for me based on
Phil 4. I now have the liberty as a pastor to help you think about those things.

Questions: why do I watch this? How does it make me feel? If Jesus came over to hang out would I watch this with Him?

On the other hand if I were to say this is wrong…you should not do this because I do not do this.

Conviction-I feel like this is a sin for me. Romans 14 tells us who have a conviction like that not to pass it to others and those who do not have the conviction not to force those who do into something they feel is sin.

Absolute-This is biblically wrong

Why tell you this??? Because the two nasty “L” words hinge on the abuse of these concepts

The first nasty “L” word is Legalism
-Legalism is not keeping the law it is adding to the law.
The legalist thinks by adding to the law they are being more righteous and God is more pleased, they make preferences and convictions = absolutes
Jesus spoke out against these guys “twice the son of hell”

How to be a legalist…
-take verses out of context
-impose your preferences or convictions on others
-make your rules the ones you part company over
-try to convince others to agree (particularly the leadership of the church) organize a witch hunt (this person is always running around complain about what is wrong with everyone and everything.
-be the extra biblical rules police

*Problem is legalism causes non-Christians to retaliate in attacks considerhumanism.org

The next nasty “L” word is Liberalism
-Free from tradition or authority…no absolutes

This passage does not specifically teach about liberalism but I feel now is an appropriate time to bring this up. To be honest this group here at “The Five” does not struggle with legalism…there are maybe 3 of you who do and guess what you 3 won’t listen anyway because you think your right. I just taught the rest of the people here how to identify you.

Most of you here will struggle with liberalism…why? Because you were brought up in a society that says…abortion is a women’s choice, homosexuality is an alternate lifestyle, living together is a good trial before marriage, don’t trust anyone in authority, love is a feeling not a decision, you can do anything you put your mind to, play games without keeping score so everybody wins, there is no absolute truth, if it feels good do it, as long as it does not hurt anyone, and the list goes on.

And the permeating attitude is…”Who is God to tell me”
I say it to my kids “I am your father”
Romans 9:20 “But who are you O man to answer back to God”?

How to be a liberalist..
-take verses out of context (that does not mean that)
-there are no absolutes
-Part company with people who do have absolutes
-criticize those who believe absolutes
-be the outlaw that brings liberation to the people

What causes these warped views
-demons vrs1
liberalism and legalism they are both demonic and they are both a departure of biblical faith
The pendulum will swing back and forth and have a hard time landing on the truth of the Word because Satan is behind those bad doctrines and interpretations

-seared consciences (seared by lies) vrs 2 Conscience is messed up by the lies of the false teaching.
Liberalist example That is why taking the argument of abortion some can sit back and say “it just does not seem right that a women does not have the right to choose”

Legalist example they personally feel bad about doing something not put forth in the Word by for some odd reason they don’t feel bad in the least about judging others and slandering others for not following what think is correct

-incomplete view of God Vrs 3 God is the giver of good things
Demons are striking at the goodness of God. The created pleasures are designed to point us to God and to thank Him. But taking those things away detracts from praise.

-incomplete view of His creation Vrs 4 Creation is good for us to enjoy
Vrs 4 God’s creation is good but people will always try to use it for sin.

I can have people over and have conversation, eat food and drink wine to the glory of God or I can gossip and slander in conversation be a glutton and get drunk. So do a not have conversation because of gossip and slander do I not have food because of gluttony or have wine because of drunkenness. Is conversation, food and wine evil? No it is the abuse of it that is.

The legalist would say abstain from certain foods or sensual pleasure because it shows we are better.

-ignorance of His Word Vrs 5 Either don’t know His Word or know it but take things out of context.

-No relationship with Jesus (prayer) Vrs 5

This is exactly the reason why you do not recognize the god the legalist and the liberalist worships. That is not the Jesus that I know. 2 Cor. 11:1-7 “another Jesus”

The legalist’s and the liberalist’s god loves death… and our God has conquered death.
Do you hate death? The last few years have validated in my mind that I hate death. That’s why I fight for life the GOSPEL

Entrusted "the gates of hell shall not prevail"

2010-11-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

1 Timothy 3:14-16
Vrs 14-15a (stop at “household of God”) Paul gives directives on the churches structure…bottom line of what we learned in the last few weeks is, the leaders and those who serve should be of Godly Character. Truthfully it does not matter what we do, as much as who we are in Christ.

Vrs 15 “which is the church of the living God”

This begs the question... what is the church?
Start with what the church is not…
-A building
-A social gathering -Hypocrites-the only hypocrites in the church are the ones that say they don’t sin. –Deep relationships- don’t substitute deep relationships with others to fill the void that only Christ can fulfill in your life.
-A place to go to pay your dues. (not works)
-A place to come after you get your act together (one side people become judgmental, on the other people are shamed or scared away its Satan’s lie)

Problem is people try to make what the church should not be…the church corporately loses focus

So what is the church? Matt 16:13-20
Vrs 15 “a pillar and buttress of truth”

The truth of Jesus (GOSPEL) is the foundation and the work of what the local church does is the pillar and buttress. (holds things up and together)

The church is the avenue in which the truth of Jesus is communicated and lived out to the glory of God.
It is the responsibility of the local church to hold up the truth for all to see

Donald Norbie says “The local church holds up the truth in a corporate way the isolated believer cannot”

Here is the foundation…
Vrs 16 “Great Indeed” We serve a God hat is much greater.

Line 1 The incarnation John 1 Jesus always was then came as the God man into human history.
Line 2 “Vindicated” = to uphold or justify or prove. The Holy Spirit proved Jesus was who he claimed to be.
-At His baptism
-At His resurrection Romans 8:11
Line 3 This is to illustrate that this was a spiritual and was observed by spirit beings throughout history.
Angels learn from us
Angels rejoice over one sinner who repents
Line 4 The message of the Gospel is for everyone
Line 5 The avenue of salvation
Line 6 Refers to Jesus’ ascension but also ours as a result of belief, one day we will be taken up.

This is what the church “confesses” and this is “the mystery of Godliness”

Do you want to be Godly? Trust this message. Do you want to be Godly spread this message.
Proof that it is God’s message “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it

Jesus is best served when we as the church of God work together to bring the message to the world around us and live the message to our fellow believers within the local church.

Entrusted "not what we do, but who we are"

2010-11-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

1 Timothy 3:8-13
Talk about the structure of our church ands then the structure of the NT church being built for growth.
-Pastor/Overseer - Slide 2 Pray, teach, spiritually guide and correct
-Deacons Acts 6:1-7 Overseers assistants
Slide 2 assist the overseers and serve in the church.
-Ministry leaders Slide 2 In charge of particular ministries.

Tonight we will talk about this servant role, but not the what the who.
Read 1 Timothy 1:8-13
Deacon = servant- when we speak of a servant we automatically ask or think what are they doing?…how are they serving?…what is the act?

This passages does not answer those questions but it speaks about the Character of the servant.

Ride a bicycle ill. Teach someone how to ride a bike w/o actually telling them how to ride a bike. (the important part of riding a bike is the mechanics of riding the bike)

The important part of being a servant(Deacon) is the character.
What you actually do as deacon(servant) is not as important as your character.

Mechanical = religion- People become religious and do things out of habit with no real inspiration or heart behind it. We do this because we have always done this.

The danger is we look at our Christian life as DO DO DO or I don’t do this, this and this so therefore I am Christian.

But Character = relationship, when we have a real relationship with the Lord, who we are becomes altered and it is not about what we do- but what we do then stems from who we are. We are not trying to prove something “I am this because I do this” but it is “I do this because I am this” Ephesians 2:8-10 sums this up

Last week in “picture of you” we ended with…Read Bible, Repent and Pray is how you work on yourself. This applies here as well

So how do you know you are in the right heart condition while you are serving?

ask these Questions

What is my motive?

-To look good
Jesus and the Pharisees White washed tombs

-To promote self
You can do good and step on others while you are doing it.

Our motive should be to do right by the Lord and for the good of others.

What is my focus?

-Selfish plans ( I want to see this done)
-Out of habit (just what I do)

Focus should be Jesus’ fame, Why should Jesus be famous???
This is what He has done…(list)

Focus Should be Heaven
That is where we belong so we should focus on that day. The charge for a Christina when it comes to looking at the future is Heaven, not plans but heaven.

Verse 13 If you serve well, it is curious to me that he says this but does still does not tell they what the service is, how to do it or what good service looks like..

Result:
1. “Gain a good standing” right Character speaks loudly to the people around you. You can work harder than anyone but if you are just a miserable person to be around, it cancels what you have done out.
2. “Great confidence in the faith” Validates our faith. The more we serve with a pure heart and good character the more we realize what our purpose is in life.

Leave you with these two thoughts
-A Christian that does not serve never realizes purpose

-A Christian that serves with impure motives ruin the purposes that called has called us here for.

Entrusted "a picture of you"

2010-10-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

1 Timothy 3:1-7

This passage tonight gives us the qualifications for a an “overseer” man of God that is called to lead in His church. Not about skills but about character and integrity

What I want to do is make this more applicable to everyone by using this passage as a challenge to all of us. Because in a nutshell a leader needs to be a good Christian. So tonight we are going to learn about being a good Christian.

Vrs 1 The desire to lead…
The task is noble….

There four areas in which these traits are displayed

How you see yourself …
Aspire- You can tell much about yourself by your aspirations and desires
Sober-minded- Picture
Self controlled- are you given to sinful habits that you cannot stop?

If you are just doing the right thing to please yourself you are not doing the right thing.

How others see you…
Above reproach- junk drawer, people have nothing bad to say about you that is true.
Respectable- do you have the reputation of someone to respect, not because of position but because of how you act and react?
Hospitable- how welcoming are you?
Know the Word (Able to teach) Your life is teaching other people. The more Bible you know the more Bible will come out.
Not a drunkard- given to addiction and abuse alcohol.
Not violent- is violence the form of entertainment you chose?
Gentle- went you are dealing with others are you gentle and compassionate with them?
Not quarrelsome- this person is always ready to engage in conflict
Not greedy (lover of money), how generous are you?
Good reputation with outsiders- how do they see you?

If you are just doing the right thing to make yourself look good in front of others you are not doing the right thing.

How your family sees you-
Faithful, takes care of family (how you interact with your family tells much about how you will and do interact with God’s family the church)
Answer this question Are you a good…? Whatever role you play.

If you are just doing the right thing to please your family you are not doing the right thing.

When there is a deficiency in how we view our self or there is a problem with relationships we have it makes us reevaluate or reflect on who we really are.

I call these the defining moments of who you really are.

These defining moments should help us to see how much we need Jesus and how we need to live for Him.

Background of the movie
(Fireproof/The Cross clip)

We have these things hidden in our heart and many times it take a defining moment in life to bring them out, Jesus sees them and we need repent of those things that we are doing. We are broken and only Jesus can fix us.

Jesus- He sees the real picture of you, we can’t hide from what He sees, it is the real us.
Faith -Not a recent convert, GOSPEL
Intention -not prideful

Vrs 6-7 If we don’t fall in line with Jesus and the character He wants us to have, we will ruin things in our live and Satan will have the upper hand.

How do we work on our “picture”?
Bible, Repentance, Prayer,

Entrusted "...from creation"

2010-10-18T05:08:00.000-07:00

1 Tim 2:8- 15
Tonight we are going talk about the role of men and their responsibility and the role of women in regards to the family of God the church.

Vrs 8 on the heals of the preceding verses about prayer we see here Paul telling the men, by design you are to be worshippers of God, praising Him and not fighting with one another.

Vrs 9 In Ephesus these styles may have been associated with what prostitutes were wearing.
Good advice to give any women don’t dress like a prostitute.

Modesty= the idea here is not trying to attract attention to yourself for the way you look.

Vrs 10 what a women should focus in on is her character. This does not mean that more spiritual women are out of style. I think it is wise for men and women alike to keep up with current styles to some degree to be a witness to the world we live in. (Hudson Taylor)

By what Paul teaches later in 1 Timothy we can conclude that some of the false teaching that was going on was aimed at young single women. Don’t get married, dress seductively, don’t listen to men

Vrs 11 “learn” Paul’s charge to them was pay close attention to the Scriptures and the truth they hold for your life. These false teachers are just trying to malign the cause of the GOSPEL and get you off track.

Vrs 12 Teach or have authority Two Resposibilities
Teach – setting doctrine (what the church believes based upon Biblical truth)
Authority – Guarding, upholding and making decisions based on Biblical truth in the local fellowship.

Authority…what is meant here? What we will eventually see (1 Timothy 3) is God’s desire is for Godly men to rise up and take care of the spiritual health and wellbeing of the church.
Ill Police Officer
Elder/overseer has the job, responsibility and authority to keep the church spiritually on track, correct/rebuke people when they are sin, make sure no false teaching is creeping in

Three positions
1. Egalitarian- no distinction
2. Hierarchical –men are in charge
3. Complimentarian- men and women are equal and have different roles that compliment one another. Women can do everything men can do except elder/overseer

-OT Priests were men
-Apostles were men (Jesus could have chosen women and would have if that was intention, Jesus did not bow to the culture)
-Overseers in NT church were men.

Vrs 13 roots it not in culture but in creation. Genesis 2:18, 21-23
One preacher said it like this “The rightful place of a women is by her mans side no out in front or left behind”
Helper God is a helper an ever-present help
Different roles within the trinity.

Does this mean men in general have a degree of authority over women in general? No
This means within a husband and wife’s relationship the man’s responsibility is spiritual support and love of his wife.
Within the church (family of God) Godly men are to spiritually love and support the people in the church.

When this system breaks down…
Vrs 14 “Eve deceived”
Satan takes the Scriptures and uses it against them, like He did to Jesus

Does not mean women are more gullible, it illustrates the result of Adam dropping the ball in spiritual support of his wife and Eve being out on her own without the love and support of her husband. In essence Paul is saying look what happens when we buck the system that God set up.
(I am a little brother, “go try that”)

The result of the system set up by God…
Vrs 15 “Saved in childbearing” The timeless role of women… this shows this passage is trans-cultural, no matter what time or culture you live in the role of women will always contain giving birth.

Is there something that you would deem more important then bringing children into the world? Here is what society says… get that over with so you can really make a difference.

It seems to be then that Paul is arguing that no matter what society around you says, there is a specific call and role on men as well, lead in their households and in the household of God (the church)

This is Paul speaking about the important and special role that women have in every culture and society.

The temptation for some is that because of this the Bible/God and Christians are chauvinistic because the role of women is different.
Let me point out truth from the Bible about how the opposite is actually true.

-Timothy would fully understand the importance of the role of women because of his mother and grandmother brought him up in the faith
-Aquilla and Priscilla- husband and wife team teach Apollos Acts 18
-Phoebe – a servant Romans 16
-The first spectators of the resurrection were women, who in the Jewish culture a testimony of a women would not be regarded.
-Most importantly Jesus’ high regard for women, His ministry to them His empowerment of them, tells us the God of the universe has does not put anyone down due to gender. GOSPEL

There is an attack today as there was in that day on the role of men and women and in essence what happens when we say there is no distinction women actually are in a far worse position.

The Bible should set the culture.

Here is why…men have a responsibility to provide for, guide and lovingly serve their families, like Adam they miss the mark.

Not only do they miss the mark they gladly welcome their wives to take on their role as well. So now you have the wife/mother who can’t in good conscience not fulfill her role as a mother so she takes that role of the husband/father as well.

In essence the man is saying you have your heavy load here take mine too. (you want to bogart off my punishment, more power to ya). I get to do nothing and you get to do everything then I can spend the money on the toys I want.

So in an effort to be liberated women everywhere become enslaved to bear heavy burdens of providing for and raising the family while the husband becomes one of the kids who eventually becomes outshined by in many cases the daughter who becomes the “mommy” when mommy is not home.

Then some would say to this NO NO NO men treat women badly so we have to be independent of men. I would say to that biblically speaking that Jesus does not stand on the side of those men and Christianity and biblical teaching holds women in the highest regard.

This is exactly the reason I teach M4J once a month because we want men to rise up and lovingly serve their wives and children (and if they don’t have them yet, we want them to fully indoctrinated so when they do it goes well)

The first lesson at M4J over a year ago was this Complimentarian view, and guess what.. the feedback I got was from a few different places. “Now I know what I am supposed to do for my family” not …”I am in charge or listen to me” And some women say my husband is a different man.

When men step it up and become the “keepers of the gate” so to speak in the church. It encourages other men to also step it up. Then everyone benefits.

The Bottom line is this. Church leadership in regards to governing authorities is a role that is entrusted to qualified male leadership and Godly women should stand by their side and support the GOSPEL work.

"Entrusted" ...to mediate

2010-10-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

1 Timothy 2:1-7
Vrs 1 Paul’s first line of offence against the false teaching is to urge Timothy to pray. You have been entrusted with a relationship with the Lord and relationships with others so you need to go to the Lord on behalf of them.
He Lists some Synonyms for prayer on behalf of others.

God puts you in relationships to live out an example of Christ. One of the things Christ does on our behalf is mediates (go between to the Father) for us. We can be an example of that mediation by lifting up those who we know in prayer even if they don’t trust in Christ or believe in the power of prayer.

People cannot refute our prayers

Sidlow Baxter “Men my spur our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons…but they are helpless against our prayers”

Vrs 2 For people in charge, if the people in charge live peaceful, quiet, Godly, dignified lives there is extreme benefits.

Many times people struggle with those in authority, they criticize, resent or even hate.
Jesus says “pray for your enemies” Why?

William Law says it this way “There is nothing that makes us love a person so much as prayer for them”

Vrs 3 here is the result.
1. “good” for us. If your boss, teacher, parents, civil leaders, church leaders respond to the call of God to follow Him it makes your life “good”
2. “pleasing” to the Lord

Before we move on in the text I want to pause and give you some helpful tips for prayer. Because John Bunyan said “He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day”
Tips

1. Set aside a specific time or activity (Jesus in the morning)
2. Pray right away (if someone asks you to pray)
3. Journal (gives you the ability to see how God has been working in your life)
4. Change things up if you feel stale
5. Pray relationally to keep on track (circle)

Why pray?
1. Response to our salvation
Vrs 4 the Gospel is a free and universal offer to everyone. One of the false teachings or misconceptions that arose is God only desired to save the Jews not the Gentiles.

“knowledge of the truth”
Keys truths to understand and accept in order to be saved…GOSPEL
-I am a sinner
-Jesus is God
-Jesus paid for my sin with His death burial and resurrection
-I need to trust Him for my salvation

Results of that is…
-I am a new creation (born again as John 3 says)
-I can never lose my salvation (john 10 in His hand, Eph 4 sealed with the Spirit)

2. It gives glory to God
Vrs 5 “There is one God” This is why we don’t pray with people of different faiths. They are not talking to God. We do not pray with…Muslims, Buddhists, Scientologists, etc.
“One mediator” You cannot communicate or have a relationship with God unless it is through Christ.

3. He listens (When we pray by the Spirit through Jesus and to the Father)

4. Following Christ (a mediator)
Vrs 6
“Ransom” purchased our release from sin. High cost
As a Christian there is a cost to lifting others up in prayer…it takes time, effort and finding out their situation and life details. Jesus was willing to go the distance for us. (John 17 records His high priestly prayer)

"Entrusted" Unsinkable Faith

2010-09-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

1 Timothy 1:12-20
Verses 12-17 these verses hold the central truths that Timothy and the church are to hold and teach over the false teachers.

Paul here uses himself as an example of what Jesus has done in regards to salvation in his life then moves on from personal application to general…”this is what Jesus can do in your life”

His purpose here is to inspire Timothy with the power of what Jesus can do in a persons life.

Vrs 12 Thanks in response to what God has done in his life as far as salvation and appointing him to service.

Verse 13 “I was shown mercy” Paul acted in ignorance and actually thought he was doing God a favor. Maybe some of you were like that or are like that you just don’t know what Jesus really did for you.

Verse 14 “grace overflowed” (undeserved favor) with faith and love through Christ. We only have faith because God gave it to us and love because God gave it to us.

Verses 15 Jesus saves sinners GOSPEL

Verse 16 Paul is a part of the bigger picture.
That is why a testimony isn’t a laundry list of sins to glorify your past life. then giving Jesus 10 seconds at the end. “I am here to tell you something…its not about me its about Jesus”
We do not boast about continual sin 1 Cor 5

go on a rant on how it is not us who change ourselves it is Jesus

You may even want to say Jesus saved me because He had work for me to do. Phil 1:6 “began” “complete”

Jesus also shows us that He can save anyone no matter the degree of sin.

Verse 17 The right response to evaluating our salvation should be praise of Jesus

What about your story? The great thing about sharing it with people is they can’t argue with it. (no you didn’t feel that way)

Verses 18 Timothy’s call to special service assisting Paul and the general service of Gospel ministry is in view here. In 1 Tim 4 we will talk more about this issue but for now we are going to focus in on the fact that Timothy was called to ministry and Paul now calls it “warfare”
‘
Verses 19 Active not passive, the Christian life is a life of actively responding to the Word God has done in your life.

It is God’s work and He hold you and you cannot lose it.

Vrs 20
“Handed over to Satan” Put out of the fellowship Church discipline.

Restorative (for the person) (always looking to bring back and restore, not punish or make to pay for.
Protective (for the fellowship)-churches holiness, stop the spread of sin. If the sin is not dealt with it spreads “a little leaven”
Responsive (for His Glory)HE is right, people normally judge Jesus by His people

He did not save you so you can make a mess “shipwreck”

How to shipwreck your faith

-Let your past hold you back
-Desire control of everything, “I am doing the work” “everything should be run through me” (pride goes before the fall)
-Criticize or have a problem with everyone and everything. Watch out for these people they start sentences with “I love so and so but…” This comes especially after “so and so” did something great and is receiving praise for. Also these people are always whispering and always have drama or a problem that need to handled ASAP and required your undivided attention. (Jesus said to Peter. “get behind me Satan”)
-Don’t pray (Talk more about prayer next week)
-Don’t serve (what can the church do for me not what can I do for the church)
-Don’t get into the Word ( I know a Pastor who said he does not get his people deep into the Word because the people he preaches to have not mastered what they already know, that’s bad preaching)
-Don’t get into Community Groups (we have the groups so you can apply Scripture together)
-Let false teaching influence you (Talk about Hymenaeus 2 Tim 2:17-19 swerved from the truth and was teaching the resurrection of the dead already happened, bad doctrine. and Alexander 2 Tim 4:4 “did me great harm)
-Be unrepentant…you are not wrong in fact you are never wrong (Email from LS I have been wrong for 3 years)
-Don’t give praise and thanks to God (complain about what is wrong)
You know what I have bee thankful to the Lord for in regards to our church and in specific what he has done through this 5pm service…
-People coming to know Jesus
-People getting baptized
-People becoming members
-People giving finances to the Lord (up to a little over 1/3 of what the church takes in)
-People willing to serve
-People growing in their faith.

Three practical ideas
1. Alone spend time thanking God for what He done
2. With others
3. As a Church- So we give thanks and praise to Jesus and we ask Him to keep working that way. We are going to give thanks and praise Jesus.

"Entrusted" Truth or Consequence

2010-09-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Vrs 3 Paul was urging Timothy to stay there because there were issues that needed to be taken care of.

The teaching going on needs to stay in line with the Bible not heterodoxy (false doctrine) It was vastly different back then…if someone had a teaching their forum was local gathering places, the society was void of all the media and technology that we have. So they would use public gatherings and also try to convince others to follow their teachings obviously church meetings would be a great venue if you had a teaching.

Vrs 4 The teaching is not described but we know that it was void of truth
The Result(or consequence) = aimlessness and promote speculations.

The goal of teaching is not to cause confusion or argument but to spur people onto love.
Sometimes people will do this in a Bible study or community group…bring up topics to argue.

Vrs 5 The result or the aim of our faith as contrary to placing faith in things that do not produce or will leave us speculating.

Biblical teaching Seeks to form followers of Jesus who love God and love others. Mark 12:28-31
The aim of
-Orthodoxy (right teaching)
-Orthopraxy (right living) is love

We receive love from God and as a Christian it is rooted in the Holy Spirit. “Issues from” Pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith

Christian tolerance is based in verse 5 how we treat the unbeliever and the false teacher.

-Its it loving to stand by silent when people are believing something that is detrimental to their eternal life?
(FIF my evil plan to save the world)
-Is our heart really pure if we don’t have a genuine concern for what people put their trust in?
-Can my conscience be clear knowing that there are people around me that I have not prayed for, helped meet their needs or spoken to for the sake of the Gospel?
-How sincere can our faith be if we think there is more then one way to God then through Christ, and we allow false teaching to cloud the air?

Many people think that Christians are judgmental and close minded and I am not saying that there are not judgmental and close minded Christians but the aim of following Christ is to spread His love to others. Because it is the love you received. (He loved us first)

Vrs 6 when we stray from this truth it confuses us and gets us off focus.

(Hetrodoxy) False Teaching leads to tolerance in an unhealthy way. Because it says anything goes and everything is ok.

When people are teaching or communicating false teachings it is all about them, what they figured out, what they want to promote or how they themselves want to be promoted and their standard is themselves and what they think is right. And God is saying “WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”

But the Christian life is different its all about promoting Jesus. Not our own agenda, not ourselves.

Why? Because it is about life and having a purpose and doing something bigger because it is not you its Jesus.

What is the motivation here?
Vrs 7-“desiring” the idea carried here is wanting to be something more then God has called you to be or wanting to puff yourself up and lack humility. “They make confident assertions”

For the Christian…
If you spend too much time wanting to be something you are not… you are ignoring what you are supposed to be.
How do you keep your focus?
-realize where you are. (where you are is dictated by God Acts 17)
-realize what you need to do while you are there.
-realize God’s timing

Where is false teaching coming from in our generation?
This is the problem in our society… The media elevates and indoctrinates people with their beliefs and are not necessarily qualified to do so.

You must understand whatever an artist, author or actor believe they will inadvertently or overtly promote through their artistic outlets.

How do we know this? Because Christians do the same thing for the cause of Christ. CS LEWIS, JRR TOLKEN, Bands Switchfoot.

Every book you read, Show you watch, movie, song, it is all preaching or teaching you something.

What is the Christian response…should we be scared of culture and the information highway we live in? NO

-Immoral-stay away if possible, if not possible opportunity to expose why it is immoral.
-Appears neutral at first glance- test against the Word and then use it as springboard for conversation as a teaching opportunity for yourself and those around you.
-Neutral- use it for God’s glory

Verses 8-10 The teachers of Paul and Timothy’s day wanted to use the law and teach it for their own benefit. and they did not even realize the purpose of it. Like people in our day want to teach and talk about purpose and philosophy of life and they don’t even know what it is.

So what then is the purpose of the law? The simple answer is to expose sin and what Paul does here is laundry list some examples of the Dec-a-logue (10 Commandments)

The Law prepares the sinner for a Savior by crushing them under the weight of their sin. GOSPEL

But then it brings this whole passage together because the call of and the “aim” as verse 5 states is love and when we evaluate the 10 commandments we see the first 4 have to do with loving God and the last 6 have to do with loving others. Mark 12 So the Christian lives by the law.

Vrs 11 So right teaching is GOSPEL centered, that is why we can call this church.

The Bottom line…
For the unbeliever…If you don’t trust the Truth (Jesus) the Consequence is too much for you to bear, cause it is paying for your own sin.

For the believer…You have been “entrusted” with the Truth and if you don’t use it and promote it you will also suffer the consequences of an unfruitful life.

"Entrusted" Multiplicity

2010-09-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

1 Tim 1:1-2
Intro material Written by Paul in roughly 65AD between Paul’s imprisonments to Timothy who was in Ephesus (ef-a-sus)

Timothy was not actually one of the pastors of a church but was Paul's liaison who implemented Paul's instructions to the churches. This letter is in the category of “Pastoral Epistles”

We understand something very important about Paul and Timothy’s relationship…Paul’s intent was to multiply his life into Timothy

This is a biblical way of living from the beginning
-Genesis 1:28 “Be fruitful and multiply”
-Matthew 28:19 “Go and make disciples”
-Concept of fruit “Reap what you sow”

Matthew 10:24-26 not above those who are above you. This is a sobering thought. Remember what Whitefield said during the great awakening when asked why the churches are dead…”because they have dead men preaching”

Some peoples response to this is….
This is why I do not want anyone under me, I can’t live up to the standard I think I should live up to.
But know this…You are multiplying whether you want to or not. Others are watching and learning from you, your habits will be picked up by those who are close to you.

So if we are influencing others we should ask ourselves some questions…
-Who am I building into?
-What do I believe? (Orthodoxy, right teaching)
-What is my life like? (Orthopraxy, right action)
-What do I not want to multiply?
-What do I want to multiply?

These questions get people thinking about their faith, parents with young children coming to church because they want to be able to pass something down.

So much of what we will see in this letter is what Paul wants to pass to Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:1 Paul

Facts about Paul
-single…the gift no one wants
-a word to the single people enjoy the freedom of not having family responsibilities, serve the Lord in ways that you wont be able to later in life if the Lord brings you spouse and children.
-a word to the married people, take your responsibility and enjoy the fruit of it.

Enjoy the stage of life that God has placed you in. (Proverbs tells us a fool looks back at the former days)
-A former enemy of Jesus and His followers
-A victim of harsh persecution
-A discouraged pastor
-A Faithful servant
-Realized his call to the body “I planted”

Notice verse 1 is Paul’s identity is in Jesus and the call of Jesus. Where do you find your identity?

Paul could have said…a single guy, a former blasphemer, hard working servant, a guy who faced many troubles.

For you it may be a…fill in the blank.

But what Paul does here is state his position as it relates to Jesus…so what are you?

(List)-forgiven, adopted, bought with His blood, a child of God, a co-heir with Christ, a citizen of heaven, sealed with the Spirit till the day of redemption, born again, saved, passed from death to life, more then a conqueror, strong when you are weak, loved, chosen and redeemed

In order to multiply yourself for the cause of Christ you have to know your identity.

Vrs 2a
Facts about Timothy
-A man in his early to mid 30’s
-Most likely converted under Paul’s ministry Acts 16:1-3, 1 Cor 4:15-17 “True child in faith”
-In regards to his upbringing he had a Mom Eunice and Grandma Lois that were believers and taught him the truths of the faith. But his Father was Greek. 2 tim 1:13-14, 2:2 , 3:14
-Faithful worker and consistent helper to Paul and one of his most trustworthy associates
-Good reputation
-His personality was timid and in need of encouragement. (a boy needs his dad)
You have to do what is right regardless of the fact that people will oppose it. If it is right its right.
Most Christians take the path of least resistance, they will not stand against wrong or stand for what is right. And it is more pathetic when it is leaders who will not stand up for what is right.

They see a Jesus who is weak and a door mat and they don’t see Jesus as a strong and standing up for righteousness.

The Good Shepard sometimes had to use the other end of His staff to protect the flock. (David the Shepard boy with a bear and a lion, he did not try to calm them down and reason with them, some false teachers and people with evil intent cannot and will not be reasoned with)

In order to multiply yourself for the cause of Christ you have to find someone who is teachable. Timothy was that for Paul

Vrs 2b Here is what we should multiply.
Grace- God’s ongoing forgiveness and enabling.
Mercy- God’s sympathy and concern
Peace- God’s tranquility and stability.

Which are all encompassed in the GOSPEL

Difficulties Week 7

2010-09-01T09:46:00.000-07:00

Selfishness

Question for Community Groups
1. In what areas do you struggle with being selfish?
2. In what areas have you been taught to be selfless, by who and in what situation?
3. What deeper issues do you deal with?
4. What are some consequences of selfishness have you seen in your life?
5. What application points do you need to put into practice?

Greatest thought is self preservation, no one has to teach you to meet your own needs you just do.

1. Examples of Selfishness-
-Luke 10:29-32 priest and Levite, (Time) Luke 12 (Money Stuff)
-Gen 4:9 Cain (I am not concerned about him) (Lack of Concern)
-1 Tim 5:6 this passage helps us to realize that although people may seem to have a full life because they have so much…they are actually living a life of death. (Emotions)

Things we are selfish with...stuff, money, time and emotions(this one is difficult because we tend to manipulate others with our emotions to get our emotional needs met.
Dr. Robert Anthony “The one who loves the least controls the relationship”

2. The deeper issues-
Romans 2:8 maybe an unbeliever,
Greed (selfishness) is the logical result of the belief that there is no life after death. We grab what we can while we can however we can and then hold on to it hard. Sir Fred Catherwood
2 Tim 3:2 sign of the times. we will increasingly see that this will only get worse, they will love self, worship self and only care about themselves. Think about this…technology has only made us more selfish, because we want things right away and can’t wait. It makes us selfish.
(when is the last time you saw an advertisement that appealed to the fact that you can benefit others?) The slogans appeal to you
James 3:14-16 tapping into the wrong wisdom, from the world rather then God. Christians fall prey to this all the time. The big lie going today is that it is all about you. Whatever you would like to do, however you would like to live, if you are sincere in your beliefs whatever they are it is fine. It also affects Christian theology that some are teaching that your pleasure and happiness is God’s ultimate concern
This philosophy is called Hedonism is a school which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good.
3. Consequences of Selfishness
Matt 23:25 woe, exclamation of grief, (you are on the wrong path and it will leave you wanting) this is what Jesus says
They were Hedonists

James 5:1-6 things will eventually fall apart
In its January 25, l988 issue, TIME provided an insight on selfishness and its corollary, sharing. Speaking about the introduction of the videocassette recorder, the article said, "The company had made a crucial mistake. While at first Sony kept its Beta technology mostly to itself, JVC, the Japanese inventor of the VHS (format), shared its secret with a raft of other firms. As a result, the market was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the VHS machines being produced."
This drastically undercut Sony's market share. The first year, Sony lost 40 percent of the market, and by 1987 it controlled only 10 percent. So now Sony has jumped on the VHS bandwagon. While it still continues to make Beta-format VCRs [interestingly a higher quality technology] Sony's switch to VHS, according to TIME, will likely send Beta machines to "the consumer-electronics graveyard." Even in a cut-throat business, sharing has its rewards.

-Damages the Body The work of the “body” cannot and will not be done if people only think of themselves. 1 Cor. 12:25-26

-Wastes our Time and Focus Luke 12:16-21 Tear down and build new, life may be demanded…when we are selfish with our possessions it is pointless, due to the fact that You do not last on this earth.

When we are selfish it hinders us being able to speak the truth to others. Because we are always thinking of ourselves.
Blaise Pascal “Those who do not hate their own selfishness and regard themselves as more important then the rest of the world are blind and the truth lies elsewhere”
GOSPEL

4. The ideal-The biblical call is selflessness,

-Be #2 Phil 2:3-8 Put others first as Christ put you first.
This is a choice because no one has to teach you to think about yourself but living a selfless life is Jesus’ desire for each one of us.

- We must decrease- John the Baptist John 3:29-30
“The selfishness must be discovered and understood before it can be removed. It is powerless to remove itself, neither will it pass away of itself. Darkness ceases only when light is introduced; so ignorance can only be dispersed by Knowledge; selfishness by Love.” James Allen

When we start to love Jesus more then we love ourselves we will live a less self centered life and more of a Christ centered and others benefiting life at that point we decrease.

-Focus on Jesus- Ps 119:36 “testimonies” what the Lord has done. When we focus in on Jesus and who He is and that what He has done we begin to realize that He is the one who should get the glory and focus and those blessing should flow out and we should benefit others. We then understand we have nothing to be selfish about because it is all from Him and belongs to Him

Difficulties Week 6

2010-08-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

6 Worry & Anxiety “I have a problem with worrying, what do I do?”

Two Types of worry
1. Worry as a benefit…we call it concern. “I am concerned that I may fail a test” the response is study. This is beneficial when you are dealing with a problem that needs and has solutions

2. Worry as a detriment… about things that we cannot control, happened already or may never happen. This is worry about things that have no solution or the solution is long gone.

“Good theology gets you through tough times”

Overcoming Worry

What causes worry?
-Irrational/rational fears: Mark Twain I am an old man and have known great many troubles; but most of them never happened.

Pliny the Younger: Grief has limit, whereas apprehension has none. For we grieve only for what we know happened, but we fear all that possibly may happen.

Heb 13:6 “The Lord is my helper, I will not fear, what can man do to me?”

-Wanting control Matthew 10:19, when we want to control a situation we often ignore the situation we are in.

-Lack of Faith: Romans 14:23 Worry is a lack of faith and it is sin
Don’t confuse people who don’t worry with people who don’t care and don’t lie to your self and say your worry is because you care so much.

-Wrong Focus: Luke 10:41 Martha (service for the wrong reason, worried about getting credit) also note Luke 12:26

-Won’t accept forgiveness Psalm 38:18 worrying about sin causes guilt

What worry does to you…

Wastes your time Matthew 6:25-34
Weighs you down Proverbs 12:25
Physically affects Proverbs 14:30 & 17:22
Martin Luther: Heavy thoughts bring on physical maladies; when the soul is oppressed so in the body.

What to do… SPEW
-Surrender
Hands up…I give up
I can treat myself, my body, my loved ones and God like this.

Mary Crowley: Every evening I turn all my worries to God. He is going to be up all night anyway.

Swindoll “If you can’t handle it why are trying to handle it, if you can’t change it why are you worrying about it”?
1 Peter 5:7

Maybe you have not surrendered your life to Jesus. GOSPEL

-Prayer Phil 4:6
If you are consumed by worries use that time to talk to Jesus

-Educate
The more Bible you know the more you will be equipped not to worry.
Example
-2012, I don’t worry cause I know God’s plan taught in the Word
-When people are opposing me I know they hated Jesus first
-When I am trying to live a life after God I know I will have trouble
-When things are going wrong I know that Jesus works it out for His good which will ultimately be for my own good. Rom 8:28

Important verses to keep you free from worry
Jer 17:7-8, Psalm 55:22, Isaiah 26:3-4

-Worship
Daniel 6

Mary she had some serious things to worry about but she worshipped God for who he is. Rather then her situation. 1:46-49 replace worry with worship

Evidences of God’s Grace: (not power of positive thinking) but actually the reality of what God has done in and around your life.

Difficulties Week 5

2010-08-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

What about psychics and the New Age movement?

1 Sam 28
Vrs 3-6 Samuel dies and Saul put out all the spiritists and mediums.
Vrs 5 Saul was afraid of the Philistines army and Vrs 6 went to the Lord
Saul at this point when he went to the Lord it was faintly and with a cold heart, he was unstable and if he did not hear from the Lord was willing to go to the devil.
Saul’s track record was pretty bad, Hated and persecuted Samuel and David, killed the Lord’s high priests, was he surprised the Lord did not answer him?

At this point if Saul was not sincere in pursuing the Lord why would he put out all the mediums? Some suggest because Saul had a (1 Samuel 16:14) Troubling spirit. Many people become zealous against things they struggle with. A person who abuses alcohol becomes a prohibitionist, they feel that alcohol hurt them so no one should have it. They don’t have a concern for the glory of God as much as a blame and hatred to sin.

Vrs 7-10 Saul goes to a medium. This is directly against Deut 18:9-14

Vrs 11 Saul asks for Samuel
Vrs 12 Women was afraid because she found out it was Saul
Vrs 13-14 Saul perceived that it was Samuel

Why I don’t believe this is Samuel
1. Spirit ascended out of the earth
2. Saul’s perception was that it was Samuel, in distress people believe what they want to believe. 2 Thess 2 let us know that those who don’t love the truth may be given to strong delusions and believe a lie
(Our perception can be skewed if we are not walking in the truth)

Vrs 15
3. There are no rewards for disobedience. If the Lord did not answer Saul in the first place why would he now answer him after he did the wrong thing. (If you are doing wrong and you think the Lord will bless, think again)
Vrs 16-19
4. What the false Samuel’s message is… (Remember Satan wants to kill and destroy)
• V16 God does not care
• V17 reminds him David is going to be king
• Speaks with an air of religion “the Lord spoke through me”
2 Cor 11:13-14 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
Luke 4:34 Demons can speak truth
• V18 Reminds him he is disobedient “you are a loser” (maybe this is what Satan is doing in your life)
• V19 this is the verse that for many seals the deal that it is Samuel because he offers prophecy. I would say no. Satan and his demons realize what will happen when the two forces go to war and when people disobey
5. Vrs 20 The desired result of Satan…defeat, guilt and shame
6. If it were Samuel it would be deceptive for believers today or anytime period to think that this could happen. In moments of weakness and distress any person would cave in and go see a person that they believe could contact their departed loved one.
7. No turning back: David talks of his deceased son and says I can go to him but he cannot come to me, and the story of Lazarus tells us that they cannot go to and fro.
8. There is no message of healing from the false Samuel

The result for Saul 1 Chron 10:13-14 he died

Responding to this as a Christian.

1. Stay away…you are opening the door for Satan
Pastoral advice on what to steer clear of…
Evil movies, O Board, tarot cards, boardwalk psychics, horoscopes, demonic images in cards video games etc.

2. Realize Spiritual interest: People who are interested in this are spiritually searching and may be closer then you think to the truth but Satan is trying to steer them away.

In Articles from Summa Theologica by Aquinas
“The operation of the demon thrusts itself into those divinations which are based on false and vain opinions, in order that man’s mind may be entangled in vanity and falsehood”

3. Pray against: Ephesians 6 “battle against spiritual forces”
CS Lewis says that the two errors that many make about the devil are to have an unhealthy interest and to deny his reality altogether.

4. Share the GOSPEL: you don’t need false promises in your life when you have the truth of the Gospel.

Difficulties Week 4

2010-08-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

“Love Them?”

GK Chesterton
“To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.”

Luke 6:32 The question Jesus has for you…

How do we love the unlovable? Jesus says…’What credit is it for you to love the ones who love you

3 areas of unlovable people I want to focus in on today.

1. Loving your enemies Matt 5:43- Luke 6:35-
Pro 25:21-23 Talk about this passage

When Narvaez, the Spanish patriot, lay dying, his father-confessor asked him whether he had forgiven all his enemies. Narvaez looked astonished and said, "Father, I have no enemies, I have shot them all."
How:
• Apply the Gospel, we were enemies of Jesus and He died for us.
• Understand that they need the Gospel (if a Christian they need to apply the Gospel) Pray
• Don’t seek revenge, or have a vengeful spirit 1 Peter 3:8-10

2. Loving those that are hard to love. annoying, clingy, disobedient, spiteful, needy or what we perceive as a lower class then us.

Tim Keller: It is difficult to love someone who is emotionally a wreck. There is no way to completely love that person and stay emotionally intact yourself.

Remember two weeks ago we talked about how there is a cost to following Jesus. This would be one of those times that it cost a lot to pursue people who are a wreck

I would venture to say the main reason we have a hard time loving these people is because it inconveniences us

How:
• Apply the Gospel, It cost Jesus so much, don’t for a minute think that you are not unlovable…but God still loves you Romans 5:8

• Have compassion Matt9:36 Jesus “moved with compassion”
Most of the time people act in certain ways because they have certain issues that need to be dealt with. As a Christian, Christ is calling us to have compassion on these people. How that looks for each situation will be different.

• Attitude Phil 2:5
(For each one) There is always a deep rooted need. When we are only thinking of ourselves and our own personal comfort we forget that a needy annoying person had a deep rooted need and maybe God has called us to assist in meeting that need.

• Patience Col 3:12 Put on

3. Loving the oppressed

It is very easy for us to turn a blind eye to the fact that there are people hurting in this world and they need love that only Jesus can give but they don’t have anyone to display that love to them.

Zechariah 7:8-10 We need to execute justice and help the oppressed, the consequence is God is displeased.

-Some only care about justice when it affects them.
A socialist once came to see Andrew Carnegie and soon was railing against the injustice of Carnegie having so much money. In his view, wealth was meant to be divided equally. Carnegie asked his secretary for an assessment of everything he owned and at the same time looked up the figures on world population. He did a little arithmetic on a pad and then said to his secretary. "Give this gentleman l6 cents. That's his share of my wealth."
-Many times we become paralyzed because we either think problems are too large or that we cannot make a difference or we don’t know what to do.

What do we need to do? Isaiah 1:17
How do we find these things out?
• Spiritual Community- (-Community Groups When we are in groups like this we get to know what the needs of the people are in our spiritual community (Church) and the local community around us. We designed the Community Group for that reason Community. If Bible study happens great, but they are not necessarily Bible studies they are for you to be in community with one another for prayer discussion and meeting one another’s needs.) Gal 6:10

• Local Community-Being in-tune with the community around you, we don’t just care about our church and spiritual community but the community around us. Because they need the Gospel -Grace Initiatives (Kara Gerisi)
If every Christian in their community did this the Gospel would be more of a presence.

• Worldwide-Resources for Gospel centered ministries world wide. We don’t just meet physical needs we need to meet spiritual as well.

What is out there for you to get involved in? Post things on the 5 site
-Fathers Heart October 9th
-Salvation Army human trafficking
-World vision or Compassion International Sponsor a Child

We don’t do these things because the people will appreciate it. People do appreciate it but don’t be deflated when they don’t. If your motive is for thanks and praise, when you don’t get it you become bitter.

Isaiah 58 Is speaking of those who do everything right as far as worship and praise but ignore justice. God tells us when we help the poor and those who are in need of justice our light goes forth (58:9) and the result of that is beauty.

Our hearts have to be convicted to do it. And then our testimony or light for Jesus will go forth.

Difficulties Week 3

2010-07-26T19:15:00.002-07:00

A few weeks ago I joked because I made my own quote…”Good theology gets you through tough times”
Here is some that got me through this week
-God’s ways are higher then my ways. Isaiah 55
-When I am weak Jesus is strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10
-This world is not my home. Phil 3:20
-The Gospel of Jesus meets every need I have because it gives us hope.

Today I am talking about more good theology “What happens when we die?”

Hebrews 9:27 Judgment issue (Well done)
When God created the heavens and the earth, death was not a part of it, this is why it never goes well with us, and that is why it will eventually will be conquered 1 Cor. 15:26 & Rev. 20:14

Three types of death that the Scriptures teach
1. Spiritual death - what we are before we trust Jesus Eph 2:1, John 3 “Born again”
2. Physical Death - Genesis 35:18-19
3. Eternal death- final permanent separation of non-believers from God Rev 20:14

Start with
The Death of those who do not Trust Christ. Results in Hell, describe

Some may say, that is harsh why would God want that for anyone? The answer is that He does not and He has for us a way of escape. Through Jesus Christ, see God means business 2 Peter 3:9

How to avoid Hell John 5:24 GOSPEL

You have no second chance
1 Peter 3:18-20 This is an interpretation from Augustine. Christ preached through Noah at the time of Noah and they are called the “Spirits in prison” because they were preached to in the past and now in the prison of Hell.

Understand the context of 1st Peter is Peter was writing to the righteous minority surrounded by hostile unbelievers like Noah was.

Luke 16:19-36 Parable (Talk about)
Another issue that always seems to come up is “Can our loved ones see us?” Nowhere in the Bible does it say that our loved ones can see us. I would venture to say based upon the parable they are aware of us but they and we will not posses the same attributes of God…all powerful, all knowing…all seeing.

The Death of a Believer
2 Cor. 5:6-8 Phil 1:23 Intermediate state, not in the new heavens yet. We go to be with Christ Ephesians 1: Acts 7 Stephen

-No soul sleep “fallen asleep is a metaphor for death”
-No purgatory (Catholic Church does not believe this either)
-We do not need to pray for the dead

Quick overview of the grand scheme of things so we have an understanding
1. Rapture 1 Thess 4:16, Dead in Christ
1 Corinthians 15:36-49 Does not matter what happens to the body of a person (Burial vrs Cremation)
Glorified Body Issue Christ’s resurrected body is the prototype
Philippians 3:21 “Transformed in to a glorious body”
2. Tribulation, all believers of all time in heaven Rev 4-19
3. Millennial Reign of Christ Rev 20,
4 Great White Throne Judgment.
5. New Heavens and Earth

Our salvation is not fully complete but at physical death 1 Cor 13:12 We will see things like God sees things

Death will touch you, so how do you cope?

-Time to Mourn, Jesus wept
-Makes us reflect on our lives. Not How much good do I do, but how much good in Jesus’ name do I do. Even the greatest people are forgotten. But Jesus is not
-The imperative nature of Gospel work, Death is not the end for anyone
-Find comfort in the Lord, where you find comfort will determine how comforted you are.
-What do we learn and take away from losing someone.
For me Strength is in Christ

What is next for us here at our church?

35 years ago a small group of people began this Gospel work in our community. A result of the obedience of those people was the salvation of many in this community among them was the one we physically lost this past week

1 Cor 15:58 Don’t lose focus

Difficulties Week 2

2010-07-26T19:15:00.001-07:00

Difficulty: Why did Christ have to go to the cross, what did it accomplish and what were the implications.

How God meets our need then we in turn meet the needs of others.

Need 1:-Forgiveness - we have sin that needs to be forgiven.
Rom 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God”
Rom 6:23 “wages of sin is death”

Forgiveness is bearing the cost of someone else’s sin against you.

When we forgive we are paying the price for the wrong against us.
(example someone defames your character)

The other options are…
Revenge & Bitterness…if we respond like this the evil actually spreads. ---With Revenge we spread evil
-With Bitterness we kill ourselves from inside out.
Karl Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75 percent of them could walk out the next day!
Tim Keller states in his book “Reason For God” Many people have said when we forgive and absorb the debt it can be as painful as death,

This is true but after that experience the only place we have to look is up, for the Christian that means resurrection. Instead of leading a life long death of revenge and bitterness we can be resurrected

Human forgiveness works this way because it points to what our Creator.

Jesus death for our forgiveness resulted in resurrection.

How do we meet the needs of others in this area?
-Forgive as we have been forgiven Matthew 6:12
-we don’t hold grudges
-we absorb the cost
-we turn the other cheek
-we resurrect

How it was accomplished…

Need 2: Redemption: Forgiveness is costly and the price had to be paid. Jesus is our Substitutionary Atonement

That means that death is the payment of sin and Jesus was willing and able to pay the price for us. we call in “Redemption” we have to be bought back into a right relationship to God.

Sin is the slave driver and our master and if we live in un-forgiven sin we will be separated from Jesus for eternity in hell.

Jesus death buys us back Revelation 5:9

Why does there have to be payment for sin? Why can’t God just say…”its all good” God’s justice is at stake.

We inherently understand this:
In C.S. Lewis’ Essay Humanitarian Theory of Punishment he speaks about the conservative view of retribution, “people have to pay”. And then he speaks of the liberal view of “rehabilitation”, “people have to be cured”

The substitution of Jesus Christ does both,
God is the victim in every sin and justice dictates that we pay, Jesus pays for us.
We are broken and need to be cured, when we trust Jesus the Holy Spirit comes and begins the work of sanctification. And in eternity we are fully rehabilitated.

A question that comes up a lot is “Did Christ go to Hell when He paid for our sin?” Based on the Apostles Creed “He descended into Hell” the answer is NO Ephesians 4:8-10

Christ’s Cost
-Philippians 2:5-11 Emptied Himself “Christ emptied Himself of His preincarnate position, yet did not diminish His person” The self emptying permitted the addition of humanity and did not involve the subtraction of Deity or the use of the attributes of His Deity. There was a change in form and not in content” Ryrie Isaiah 53:12 “He poured Himself out to Death”

The main point we want to remember here is that this was a willful decision that Christ made (Phil 2:7) it was not debated but it was God plan before the foundation of the world (Rev 13:8)

I like to think of it as Jesus decided to confine Himself in space and time but was not confined, He stepped down for us.

-Forsaken This is one of the issues that keeps coming up when people hear Jesus say this…what did He mean?

2 Cor. 5:21 Jesus became sin for us, so He felt the loneliness and abandonment that sin always produces, except in this case it was our sin and not His own.

If we have been redeemed by Jesus how do we in-turn redeem others?
Truthfully only Christ can redeem, but there are things that we can do so people see His redemptive work. It costs us everything

-Philippians 2 consider others more important then yourself, doing good to others for the sake of the GOSPEL

-We have to be around other people Niebur “Christ of Culture” This is a huge cost to us because that means we live among this sinful world that rejects the Lord. Our kids go to school, we go to work etc. when we do those things we are no longer insulated in our own bubble. What good can we do if the world around us if we just create our own little safe haven? Paul says we would have to leave this world.

What the motivation was….
Need 3:-Love- We all need Love,
-you may be bouncing around from relationship to relationship.
-maybe you are currently in a relationship and your spouse is not meeting your needs
-maybe you are not receiving the love you need from your parents
-maybe you are not getting love from friends that you need

With my kids I fish for compliments
Silah “Because you loved me first”

The type of love we need is given to us in Jesus
1 John 4:19 - He first loved us
Rom 5:8 - While we were sinners
Gal 2:20 - His love inspires life change
John 15:13 The greatest Love
Romans 8:35-39 Nothing can come in between His love for us.

How does that play out in everyday life? Jesus tells us that it is easy to love those who love you. Jesus’ Love (2 Cor 5:14) Compels us
Eph 5:2 walk in love because Christ loved

Difficulties Week 1

2010-07-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

It has been very obvious by our time together that Christians sin (1 Cor 3), there is no debate there, but the difficulty that comes to our attention is: What about the “Christian” who continues in their sinful ways?

Paul says the root of the difficulty is that we live to the “flesh” and not to the Spirit

Galatians 5:16-26 is a reminder to believers from Paul that they are in the Spirit and should not follow the desires of the “Flesh”

What do we do with the habitually sinning Christian?
Luke 17:1-4, Warn, confront, forgive, GRACE & GOSPEL
They are unrepentant. Extreme cases:
Matt 18:15-20 (going to need to exegete this)
How do you treat unbelievers?
1 Cor 5 (quick explanation then look at verses 9-13)

Why the harsh stance? Because sin is serious business to the Lord Jesus wants us to speak truth in a compassionate way and be involved in the wake up calls of stubborn individuals. & He knows what is good for us and sin is not.

The Local body of believers is a reminder because most people intrenched in sin are not opening their Bible

What if it is you?

When you continue in sin this is what you do to yourself.
The Consequences we will face when we continue in sin.
1. Jer 5:25 Withholds good
2. Heb 12 Discipline Tedd Tripp “Discipline is a rescue mission”
3. 1 Cor 3 hinders spiritual growth (milk)
4. 2 Tim 2:21 limits our service (sin disqualifies)
5. 1 Cor 10&11 Pollutes the fellowship
6. Eph 4:30 Grieves the Spirit
7. 1 Peter 3:10 Hinders prayers (God does not want to hear you)
8. 1 Cor 11:30 & 1 John 5:16 Brings sickness and death

What to do if you are in habitual sin?

Many times we make the mistake of modifying behavior. “I will substitute this word for that word”. “Or instead of doing this I will do that”. Things like that do work for a time but the problem is our heart and its condition.

-Realize it. what are the benefits of this habit? why is it a detriment and what does God say about it? Romans 12 says “Renew our Mind”
-Repent “Godly Sorrow” 2 Cor. 7:9-11 You need to really care about what Jesus thinks about this. (How do you know if someone has Godly sorrow? They confess w/o being caught)
-Stop John 8:10-12 Stop it.

James 4:8 tells us that solution is getting closer to Jesus

How do you do that?

Personally I do not think it is a step by step process of things to do, it is about your theology (what you believe about Jesus and then responding to that) “Good theology gets you through tough times” (my quote)
-Have a right perspective about who you are. Romans 7:14-25 Describes Christian maturity, Paul is realizing that he in his own strength and power cannot live the Christian life.
-Remember your standing in Christ Romans 6
-Romans 8:15-17 Rely on the Spirit “You are weak He is strong”
-Remember the Gospel Rom 8:11 Remember the resurrection
-Matt 13:44 Give Him everything (If Jesus doesn’t get your attention then not much will)

"Restless" A Lifelong Learner

2010-06-22T12:03:00.000-07:00

Questions for Community Groups...
With your group answer the questions from the sermon.

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
What more do we need to learn? The Christian life is a series of lessons that the Lord teaches us. The humbling thought is that we have not arrived.

A lifelong learner-is someone who pursues wisdom and knowledge for personal and spiritual development, then shares that with others

A Lifelong Learner
Vrs 9-10a We can learn from the wisdom of Solomon

1. Teaches-listen to the teachings and therefore teach as well. Put yourself in an environment that challenges you
2. Ponders-learning takes time in thought, this is extremely valuable in decision making
3. Searches-As Christian we need to seek wisdom from God and wisdom from his people. Red flags go up when a person has no counsel from other Godly people.

**side note Proverbs…teach people how to think and direct them to find answers. Experiential learning

Vrs 10 Solomon “sought” out words. If people are coming to you for advice and wisdom, you must spend time seeking out how to help them. That is the value of education
4. Speaks Truth - Our call as Christians is to speak truth. This becomes difficult when the truth is hard to hear or hurts.

What are the benefits of Lifelong Learning?

Vrs 11 “goads” are long pointed sticks used to prod and guide oxen during plowing. = wise counsel guides and prods you to do good
1. Guidance
2. Encouragement

Scholars = masters of assembly, Moreover, the words of the wise provide moral and intellectual stability like nails firmly fixed. Ultimately, such wisdom is given by one Shepherd, God.
3. Stability- One Truth

The point here is this Solomon although the wisest man that ever lived except for Jesus the God man, he was a Lifelong Learner.

The true test of a Lifelong Learner…
Vrs 12a
-Willingness to be admonished. Admonishment test
-Questions to ask when admonished
-What am I doing wrong? Realize the sin
-How can I learn in this situation?
-How can I correct my behavior? What needs to change
-Who do I need to ask forgiveness from? God and others
-How can I thank the person who admonished me? James 5:20

What we use to admonish “These” are teachings of the Bible. Take into account that the Bible has many things to say about your life and you will never master them all. That is why you need to be a Lifelong Learner.

True accurate and wise instruction comes from God.

(Speak to fathers for a moment) if you want to teach your children wisdom and instruct and guide them…go to the Word

Look at what other Lifelong Learners have said about the Bible

Soren Kierkegaard said “When you read God’s Word, you must constantly be saying to yourself, “it is talking to me and about me”

James Mccosh (11th president of Princeton University) “The book to read is not the one that thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that”.

Mark Twain “Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me the most are the ones I do understand.
Charles Dickens “The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world”
Napoleon “The Bible is no mere book, but a Living Creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it”
A.W. Tozer “The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.”
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Jesus is the Word
Vrs 12b
I will suggest books for encouragement, inspiration and the value of learning truth from them (Some books explore God’s truth in a deeper level). But my personal conviction as a pastor is to hold no other book here in the pulpit except the Word of God.

Looking for answers in the wrong places makes you “restless”

Vrs 13 The conclusion…the number one way to not be “restless” in life is…twofold. Fear God and keep His commands.

The root of faith is fear of God (respect for who God is and what He has done for us)GOSPEL and the rule of faith is God’s commands (following because He knows what is best for us and that is what He made us for)

Vrs 14 God’s Economy.
The believer is rewarded for Good Works and escapes the payment for sin.
The unbeliever is not rewarded for good works and pays for their own sin.

Comfort to those who trust. Because we know that God takes care of sin. GOSPEL
But to those who do not trust their eternity will be “Restless”

Augustine said “my heart was restless until it found rest in you”

"Restless" Walk to Remember

2010-06-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 A Walk to Remember

Questions for Community Groups
1. What is your biggest fear about getting old?
2. What is in your life now that when you are old you will look back and be ashamed of?
3. What is in you life now that you will look back and be pleased with?
4. Whne you evaluate all that you learned from the book of Ecclesiastes, what impacted your Christian walk the most?

A major cause of a restless life is forgetting about Jesus when you are young and regretting it when you are old.

Tonight we are going to look at what this passage says the negatives are of getting old, then we will look at how and what we are to remember now when we are young.

As Bob Dylan said “It’s Not dark yet but its getting there”
To the old: The things described here can be very discouraging, but your call as a believer in Christ is to finish well. When you look at your life can you say that it was a “Walk to Remember”. When all the hardships and troubles of old age come if you remembered Jesus when you were young the time you spend as an older person will not be as discouraging.

Lets look at what we are up against…
Vrs 1b-2 I am getting old and life is still going on around me I am not finding much pleasure
So now at Eccl. 12 Solomon is old and he gives a poem about old age.
Vrs 3 KEEPERS OF THE HOUSE TREMBLE: The hands
THE STRONG MEN: The legs
THE GRINDERS: The Teeth
THOSE WHO LOOK OUT THE WINDOWS: The eyes

Vrs 4 THE DOORS: The ears
SOUND OF GRINDING LOW: Because of the lack of teeth, you can only eat soft foods
RISE UP AT THE VOICE OF BIRDS: Rising up early as do the old, not able to sleep late.
DAUGHTERS OF MUSIC BROUGHT LOW: Hard of hearing

Vrs 5 AFRAID OF THAT WHICH IS HIGH & TERRORS: Fear of falling and becoming afraid of things that you were not afraid of before.
ALMOND TREE: White blossoms, the white hair
GRASSHOPPER A BURDEN: To weak to carry a burden
DESIRE SHALL FAIL: Things that you used to find pleasure in no longer appeal to you.

In age when one physical aliment is resolved another comes in. “its always something” you don’t hear 8 year old saying that.

If you are not a believer…those aches and pains should tell you there is a problem…death is coming. Are you prepared? GOSPEL

ETERNAL HOME: Death
Solomon draws these pictures for us to motivate us to realize that we might spend our lifetimes being “Restless” and come to death's door realizing we could have had so much more if we had only depended upon God.

Vrs 6 Two Pictures of Death.
1. A Silver Cord holding a Golden Bowl in a light burns. A lamp in the Ancient world. Some have supposed that this type of lamp was common in Solomon's palace.

The cord breaks, the bowl is shattered, the light goes out. Death occurs.

2. The pitcher which holds the water is shattered, water=life

The wheel by which water is drawn is broken. This could refer to the heart pumping the blood through the body. It no longer works, it is broken, death occurs.

In the final picture of death Solomon goes back to creation.
Vrs 7 Parallel to creation account Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The body returns to the earth from which it was made and the spirit, here the life of man, returns to God who gave it.

Problem of the young: forgetting about Jesus
Vrs 1
Two ways we can look at this …

1. Remember what Solomon and (God your Creator) taught in this book. You won’t be restless if…

-Find Significance in your standing in Jesus rather then the things of this world
-Look up for the answers of life’s questions, rather then looking in, out or away.
-Don’t try to escape the issues and problems of life with substance abuse
-Focus on Building Jesus’ Kingdom and not our own
-Strive to leave a Godly Legacy through, obedience, integrity, wisdom, working for the Lord and prayer.
-Realize that there is season for everything and we have to know What that Time Is and deal with it accordingly.
-find Rest in our mission, faith, obedience and God’s sovereignty (Jesus is in control)
-stand up for the Oppressed and don’t fall into the trap of oppressing others.
-Be the type of Friend (with real benefits) that draws people to youselve.
-have a Teachable spirit
-if we Don’t Trip in corporate worship (going to church) and in life worship (your actions and dealings in everyday life should be pleasing to Jesus)
- realize the (Most) Toys (possessions) that God blesses us with are to enjoy, a reward of work, thank God for them, do good with them and be a good steward of those things.
-Realize that “Being Good” is applying the Gospel to your life situation ---use the name you make for yourself to promote The Growing Name of Jesus
-Understand that Jesus’ Politics was to do good and fight death.
-Remember your Response to Grace, Common and Saving Grace
-live Under the Rock of Jesus and His wisdom
-make wise Investments to prepare for the future of this life and the next.

2. Remember what Jesus did for us. You may say how can I remember my creator when He has forgotten about me? But He has not GOSPEL

When you are old…
Do you want to look back at your life and say many of my accomplishments and good times were based upon sin.

Or “my accomplishments and good times are based on the things that Jesus created me to live for”

Matthew Henry Said “It is the greatest absurdity and ingratitude imaginable to give the cream and the flower of our days to the devil, and reserve the bran and the refuse, the dregs of them for God”

Don’t be “Restless” “Remember now your Creator (Jesus) in the days of your youth”

"Restless" A Christians Investment Plan

2010-06-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 The Christians Investment Plan

Future investments are a big source of restlessness

Before we talk about investment as far as finances are concerned, we cannot forget that first and foremost we need to invest in our personal spiritual lives and into the lives of others.
We can’t get consumed with money and forget those issues

The Bible teaches four principles about our finances
1. Give 2. Provide for needs 3. Do good with 4. Invest

The passage we are in tonight has much to do financial investment.
Your decisions now will determine your future joy

Investment Principles

Vrs 1- Willingness to let go (this is a principle not only with investment but with finances in general)

Vrs 2 – Diversify- Invest wisely in many different places because you do not know what will provide for you.

Solomon is saying diversify, we need to do many different things with our money What should we invest in? This is not a financial seminar but I will say this, invest in things that appreciate in value. (generally speaking) Home, retirement plans and college funds. Also invest in things that you will not lose and will work for you, like education. Wise use of money

Vrs 3 Work with what you have. God gives and we are called to be faithful, not make excuses for why we cannot do things but accept the fact that we cannot or can do certain things. Rather then say “if I had” say “with what I have”

Things happen in life that we have little or no control over, so our response should be deal with the consequences of the risk and understand that God sheds grace on us.

Vrs 4-5 Don’t obsess We spend much time trying to figure out what will happen and in that time we may be missing out on what is happening or needs to happen. This is the person who is so afraid of risk they hang onto everything.
Parable of the talents is a great illustration of this Matt 25:14-30

If you obsess, money becomes an idol, and become like the servant who buried the talent. “I need to protect this” You protect that money to your own detriment

Pitfalls when you obsess…
-Greed - we want to keep all our money for the future
-Pride – you start to feel like you are so wise and smart
-False security - Because you have everything taken care of, you feel a sense of invincibility.
When I was 23 I started a retirement plan

V 5 We don’t always need to understand everything to do what God calls us to do. And let go of the things we have and trust Him with the outcome

Vrs 6-Be diligent to attend to the ventures that you pursue and be patient with bearing the fruit of it. Don’t be deceived by get rich quick schemes

Vrs 7-8 Enjoy but prepare. Good times are good but don’t forget that you need to have some degree of planning for the bad and also you will need to make plans for your future income.

Remember you are going to get old and who will take care of you? “Days of darkness” when you are unable to provide for yourself.

Also remember that death is imminent what are you doing spiritual as a preparation for death GOSPEL Jesus invested in you, what return is He reaping from you?

The return of investments will come in many different forms.
1. Eternal Rewards The Believer’s Payday By Benware

2. Temporal rewards, the fruit of investments
If you invest wisely you can do more good. The good you do will bear fruit.

3. Spiritual rewards… fruit, when we invest in others
You are called to give to the Lord’s Work. Why do you think our church has…children’s programs, youth programs, mops, we expect a return, not in a business sense, that is why we need to wisely invest in what provides the best return

Don’t…miss present opportunities
Vrs 9 Don’t get to the point in which you miss opportunities because you are so consumed with the future. Being a youth leader at MBC

Some of you older people here spend so much time thinking about and preparing for the future that you ignore the present

Vrs 10
-wallowing in a bad decision, or the unexpected happened
-spend time doing evil
Some of you young people here blow off good things or don’t have time for good things because you are spending your time on your own pleasure and in many cases to your own detriment.

-stunt your growth (Paul said “when I was a child”)

"Restless" Under a Rock

2010-06-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Restlessweek17 Under a Rock Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20

“Do you live under a Rock?” Meaning “you don’t get out much” or we say that to people who don’t know much about the world around them or people that follow old fashioned guidelines rules and ways of living.

Watching the series finale of LOST in the final scenes Jack realizes he is dead we see stained glass window behind his dad with all the major world religions and some extras.

This a reflection on our society saying wisdom and salvation can come in many different forms and from different places. This is very unpopular to say but that is a lie. The loud voice of society and the strong and rich are not the best place to find wisdom.

9:13-18 You may be surprised where you will find true wisdom.
Illustration of a person of prominence and an insignificant person.

But look at the irony of just something like the show LOST and its finale “a man Jack dies for his friends” society can’t even shake the fact that that is the ultimate display of love John 15:13 smile on Jacks face when the plane flew over. GOSPEL

And to boot the concept of “letting go” Matthew 11:28 “Come to me”

Point being is even our cultural context screams that there is wisdom and value in the Bible and more specifically Christ and they don’t even realize they are doing so.

So today we will examine that wisdom comes from living “Under THE Rock” 10:1-20 Recommended Wisdom from THE ROCK Through Solomon

Two different groups. . 1. Common people 2. People called to greater responsibility** These groups are not in order so I will make it plane who Solomon is talking to.

-Vrs. 1-3 Protect your reputation you may make many wise decisions but it only takes a few foolish ones to ruin that

-Vrs 4 Remain Faithful Do your duty to the Lord even when you have trouble with those above you. Parent and child illustration. Boss and employee (develop and find some good illustrations for this one)

-Vrs 5-7** Carefully give out responsibility Leaders need to be wise with who the put in positions. This gets very difficult especially in a church setting. Many times people are elevated into a place of leadership that should not be. It falls on the leader who is responsible. Then how do we know who we can trust. 1. Ask the Lord 2. Let the people show desire 3. Communicate the standards they need to adhere to.

Here are two problems that arise when leaders empower the wrong people. 1. The wrong people will be destructive, sometime on purpose by many time by accident. 2. You scare of the right people. Maybe by poor leadership or maybe just for the simple fact they will see the position filled.

A consequence we will face is the wrong person is in leadership and the right person is not because the spot is filled. “Slow to put into leadership and quick to take out”
Then we see the consequences that a leader may face when they put the wrong person in a position Vrs 8-11

-Vrs 8-11 Avoid poor planning Accidental or poor planning consequences. 5P’s of preparation. A fool does not think through what he does

-Vrs12 Speak Grace Wise words are gracious

-Vrs 13-14 Guard your words How do you use your words? What are you saying? Do you gossip, complain, curse, disrespectful to others, critical, give your opinion too much.

-Vrs 15 Don’t be selfish. A fools work is for the world and their selfish pleasures and the result is they are restless

-Vrs 16-17** Treat people with dignity and respect “King is a child” a big baby, things have to go my way, because I said so. It is not a sign strength but of weakness. And the rulers god is his own pleasure. Leaders need to treat people under you with dignity and respect and not be childish in your dealings with them.

How can this play out in modern day? Christ centered living Arthur Guinness…Historical climate he lived in was undrinkable water. The “Gin Craze” “drunk for a penny, drop dead drunk for 2 pence”

Guinness was in church and visiting pastor was John Wesley came to preach. No one is sure what Wesley preached that day but based upon his teaching in other places Guinness probably heard something along the lines of “Earn all you can, save all you can and give all you can” “use your abundance for the good of mankind”
He lived by the motto “my hope is in God”

Noted as the best place to work in Ireland
Here is what he and the Guinness company did for their workers
-Founded the first Sunday School program in Ireland
-Paid 15-20% more than other companies
-Two doctors on staff to take care of workers and their families and make house calls
-Two dentists to do the same
-Two pharmacists and two nurses
-Hospital beds were provided
-Retirees received pensions that they did not contribute to which extended to the widows as well
-Guinness paid for the majority of the funeral if an employee passed
-Savings bank at the company which allowed employees to borrow on mortgage to buy a home
-To make sure quality of life in the homes was well, Guinness would sponsor contests in sewing, cooking, decorating and gardening with cash prizes
-Concerts and lectures were provided for the wives of employees to enrich her as she cared for the home and children during the day
-Sponsored and founded an athletic union for sporting events for the employees to compete in.
-Library and music society on company premises
-“Workmens Rooms” for the workers to read and think and focus his mind on things other then his work
-Paid for people ages 14-30 for education in technical schools in Dublin
-“Excursion Day” 1 day a year all expenses paid for whole family
-On the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, Guinness paid an extra weeks salary
-Two pints of Guinness a day

-Vrs 18 Work Hard A Fool is lazy

-Vrs 19 Be a good steward. food, wine, money Ecclesiastes 5:10 Money does not satisfy. Or answer the questions of the soul. But in this text money is exchangeable and can get you food, wine and the comforts in this life. It does have a degree of power. No wise person says there is no necessity of money.

-Vrs 20 Watch your attitude “in your thoughts” Your attitude will come through (sin starts in the heart) Don’t judge the “Haves” you don’t know why they “have” Let them do as they see fit in the Lord “bird of the air” consequences

What “rock” are you living under?