“Meant to live” This is the first week of our new series called “Desire” Today we are going to start with what is probably the most import question that anyone can ask “What is my purpose in life?” I did a google search of the exact phrase “purpose in life” and I found 1.5 million hits, this is a question that most people want answers to. As many of you know a book called “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren has sold 25 million copies world wide. There is nothing new in that book it just echoes what the Bible teaches about why we are here. The point is, the title of that book attracted sales because most people want to know “what is my purpose”.
Ralph Barton, a famous cartoonists, left this note pinned to his pillow before taking his own life: "I have had few difficulties, many friends, great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, from house to house, visited great countries of the world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four hours of the day."
He lacked purpose or a reason to live
If we have the “desire” inside of us to find out what our purpose in life is we must have the realization that there would be no purpose for us if there was not a creator who made us. To look at the intricate and complex design of the human being and say that this is by chance that we here the Bible says is foolish. “The fool says in his heart there is no God” Psalm 14:1
Admitting there is a God and He offers a purpose or a reason why we are here is the first step to understanding why we are here.
Notice Psalm 14:1 says “in his heart” many times we link desires and our heart. What does God have to say about hearts?
Jeremiah 17:9 describes the condition of the unbelieving (sinful) heart: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Solomon reiterates the same concept, “the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live” (Ecclesiastes 9:3).
In almost every culture an afterlife is assumed, believed or hoped for.
Hebrews 11:16 Like the Israelites we desire something better then this life. A life in Heaven
David Ps 27:4 desired to dwell with God
Meant to live lyrics “everything inside screams for second life”
But we learn through the Bible that sin or wickedness can not live in eternity with God so there is a problem if that is what God says of us, that we are sinners.
But how do cure the heart problem of wickedness and evil or better known as sin, which the Bible says separates us from God. Romans 6:23 the wage of sin is death.
The good news is, that God has the cure. He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay the price for our sin our heart condition. The Bible says that if we believe in Christ and His work on the cross for us we will have eternal life. Ps 51:15-17 God wants our brokenness. God wants us to come to the realization that we are sinners who cannot save ourselves
Our desire will become a reality when we pass from this life.
1 Tim 2:4 God desires us to come to faith
John 17:24 Jesus’ desire is you
Ecclesiastes 3:11 refers to God's placing of "eternity in a persons heart.” God made us for His eternal purpose, and nothing in this world can bring us complete satisfaction.
Augustine prayed “You have created us for yourself O Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you” What many have called the God shaped hole.
When searching for purpose in life, knowing where you are headed in the afterlife will make this life have meaning.
Put it this way if you were to run a race and did not know where the finish line was how effective can you be in your race. I once saw an interview on TV about a man who fell off a cruise ship in the middle of the night. No land or lights of any kind in site. He said “I swam but it dawned on me that I did not know which way to swim, I could have been swimming away from land or towards it, then I realized I just need to tread water to stay alive.”
Many times this is what happens to our Christian walk , we are just treading water.
Pro 13:12 our hope our desire gets deferred, we get distracted with things like money, relationships our health which is why I am teaching about those things in the next three weeks. we forget why we are here on this earth, and what does that do to our hearts? It makes us sick, spiritually.
The second part of this verse tells us about having desire to follow the Lord it is a “Tree of life” Brings us back to Eden and the reason why God created us… to love us and us to love Him back. This is going to be our anchor verse for this entire series.
I can guarantee that you will not have fulfillment in life if you do not live out God’s purposes for your life.
What are God’s purposes for us, well simply stated they are in the bulletin every week.
Acts 2:42-47 tells us about the first church and what they practiced. The reasons listed below are what “The Five” revolves around.
Thank God for what he has done in our lives. Worship/Prayer
Learn about what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Grow
Serve others inside and outside the church, because Jesus Christ served us. Service
Love one another as Jesus Christ has loved us. Fellowship
Share about Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him Outreach
But how do we accomplish this in our personal lives?
*****Warning before we procede 2 Tim 3:12 if you desire to live a Godly life you will face persecution. That means it will not be easy, some people will not like it and you may get discouraged. But I guess the question you have to ask yourself is “is it worth it”? I say yes.
*God has a desire for our obedience
John 15:7 The reward for obedience, God is more sensitive to what you ask for, but the more obedient you are the more you will ask according to God’s will.
There are also eternal blessings and rewards for our obedience
Elijah McCoy was born in 1844 to former slaves who had escaped from Kentucky to Ontario via the Underground Railroad. His parents sent him to study in Scotland, where he earned a degree in engineering.
Working for the railroad, McCoy invented a lubricating cup that automatically dripped oil. He patented it, and it was installed on locomotives. His invention greatly increased engine efficiency, and soon everyone wanted one of the "McCoy Cups." So many inferior copies were made that train engineers began to demand "the real McCoy," the genuine article.
When it comes to obedience, who is the "genuine article"? If Christians obey, they're "the real McCoy" in the eyes of others. Obedience is the litmus test of faith (cf. James 1:22-25).
Our life should be a constant process of bringing sinful behaviors into obedience to Jesus
You have a “Desire” to have purpose, God has a “desire” for you to follow. God wants you to have an abundant life on earth and the way to do that is obedience to Him.
*Forsaking our own desires Matt 20:26-28
Putting the needs of others before our own.
Philippians 2 actually says consider others better then yourself
*Making Jesus #1 Luke 14:26
The essence of being a disciple is giving Christ first place over anything else including other people. Jesus does not mean hate as we think of hate but as in “Love more then Jesus” this has other implications, because some families reject their members when they trust Christ. Larry Stamm’s Father. The question is “who is more important Jesus or loved ones?”
John 6:66-69 Peter’s reply “to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life” in other words you are #1
When Jesus is #1 you will always have something to live for.
If you live for other things you will eventually lack purpose. Studies show that a good number of people die 18 months after they retire. If they lived for their job they lack purpose when they retire. In 2005 Johns Hopkins came out with a study that named a medical condition “Broken Heart Condition” when a loved one especially spouse dies the other person passes a short time after. Loved ones are obviously important to us and God, but they need to be 2nd to God if we lose a loved one, to death, distance or maybe a breakup, it should not paralyze us to living for God.
*Don’t hold on too tight Matt 16:24-26 If you want to save your life you have to lose it to God.
Meant to live lyrics “We were meant to live for so much more, have we lost ourselves?”
Everything you have including your life belongs to God and if you hold onto to what is rightfully God’s to tight you will actually lose.
*Galatians 4:8 don’t turn back to your old desires, they way you lived before.
God has a purpose and a plan and He desires you first to come to know Him
Peter T. Forsythe "The first duty of every soul is to find not its freedom but its Master".
Second He desires you to live a life after Him.
The minister and theologian John Wesley said
I desire the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday
For some this is about the kids, finding eggs, getting candy and baskets, seeing the Easter Bunny. For some it is about family, getting together with loved ones or ones we are obligated to see because they are in our families. For some it is about extra days off school and work, maybe going somewhere nice or just kicking back and relaxing at home.
There are a select few that Easter is a reminder 2000 or so years ago a “Man” named Jesus rose from the dead. This claim bothers them so they are known as the skeptic. Unfortunately this type of person is not always comfortable with the fact that many people do believe the claims of the Bible and they want to disprove that it happened and although they can’t they are many times successful in confusing people and casting doubt because they are educated people.
For example this past week The Discovery Channel, History Channel and CNN all ran programs that cast doubt about the Biblical records and dismiss or cast doubt on the resurrection. I want to share portions of a Testimony of a man named Lee Strobel who felt this way about Jesus and the Resurrection.
A journalist and an admitted atheist, his wife became a Christian. Listen to what he said about it.
And so she came to me in the fall of 1973 and said, "Lee, I've made a big decision. I've become a follower of Jesus Christ." I thought this was the worst possible thing that could happen to our marriage. I thought we were going to get divorced. I felt like I'd married one Leslie and now she's changed into something else. I wasn't ready for that. I didn't want that. And I said, "Look, if you can't face life on your own two feet, if you have to put your faith in a book of mythology and bad history and make-believe, then you go ahead and do that. But, number one, don't give them any of our money, because that's what they're after; and, number two, don't try to get me to go because I'm too smart for that."
His wife consistently invited him out to church and he finally went, he enjoyed it and this is what he thought after service.
“ I was twenty-eight years old. I had never heard the word grace explained before in my life. I thought grace was something Christians said before a meal. He explained it. I thought that, number one: I don't believe it, I'm still an atheist; but, number two: if this is true, this has huge implications for my life.”
So he decided to take his legal training and his journalism training and investigate: is there any credibility to Christianity? And especially the resurrection?
After almost two years of research he came to this conclusion
On November 8, 1981 I gave my life to Christ. I thought maybe my wife would be interested in the fact that I just did this; so I thought I'd tell her. So I came out and was walking down the hallway and turned into our kitchen, and my wife was standing there with our daughter who was almost five; and our daughter was standing in front of her reaching up and touching the faucet, for the first time...that's how tall she was. And she said, "Daddy, look I can touch it. I can reach it." And I said, "Oh wow you're getting so big." And I gave her a hug, and she ran off; and I said to my wife, "That's how I feel! I feel for a year and nine months I've been reaching out and reaching out, and I just touched Jesus Christ. It's real and it's true, and I just gave my life to him." She started crying and said, "You hardhearted son-of-a-*&#, I've been telling you this for two years." And it had turned out that she had met some women in her church, and she told them about her husband who is a hard-hearted, hard-headed journalist that she didn't have much hope for, and they said we will pray this verse Ezekiel 36:26 It says more over, "I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit within you. I'll remove your heart of stone, and I will give you a heart of flesh." And she said, "I've been praying that every day for two years."
Because the resurrection of Christ was a big hang up for Lee and other skeptics, based on the Scriptures Lee Strobel came up with The Five E’s to support the resurrection.
Execution - John 19:33 Specifically tells us that when the soldiers came to break Jesus’ legs He was “already dead” so they pierced his side to make sure was dead “blood and water flowed out” if He was alive only blood would have flowed out
Empty Tomb – John 20:1-3 Mary Magdelene and some other women went to the tomb and it was empty. They though someone took his body.
Early Accounts – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 This is a creed that the early church used that is dated as early as 2 years after the actual resurrection.
Eye Witnesses - 1 Corithians15:5-8 states over 500 people saw Jesus after He rose.
Emergence of the church- Acts 2:32 Peter preached to the crowd and stated that Jesus rose from the dead. 3000 people trusted in Jesus for forgiveness of sins. When Peter stated this people did not say “no He did not rise” they realized it was truth because it just happened.
Now that we have the evidence of the resurrection what does the resurrection do for us?
It tells us that Jesus speaks the truth
In Matthew 16:21, Matt 17:22-23 & 20:19 3 x He predicts that He will rise again.
So you can trust whatever we learn from Him.
It illustrates that we can have eternal life Matt 22:32 Jesus tells the Sadducees that “God is the God of the Living” there is a resurrected life for all who believe.
There is power in the resurrection Romans 1:3-4 This passage shows that Jesus has divine power. Jesus was able to declare He was the Son of God
There is hope for the sinner 1 Peter 1:3-4
Jesus can change even the most hopeless case. Share the Gospel
Remember our friend Lee Strobel lets look at what happened in his life.
“everything began to change so much so that my little daughter Alison had only known in her first five years a dad that was angry. I remember...so frustrated from work one day and I kicked the wall and I put my foot right through it, anger over life and frustration...that's all she knew of her dad. I'd come home drunk or I would come home angry and that's all she had known. And then five or six months after I became a Christian, having seen how God changed my attitudes and my life, she came up to my wife and said, "Mommy, I want God to do for me what he did for daddy." She gave her life to Christ at age five and now has graduated from college and is now in the ministry, trying to reach this generation for Christ.
Lee Strobel is now a teaching Pastor at a large Church in California and an apologetic author (defends the faith) and has wrote, The case for Christ, Creator and Faith
If you trust in Christ He can change your life. He has the power to put to death bad attitudes, deceitfulness, anger, gossip, depression, anxiety, dishonesty.
As believers in Christ many of you know this message but sometimes we grow callous to the change that God wants to make in our lives, what does the Bible say about that?
Eph 5:8-13
Vrs 8 Don’t fall back into old patterns and sinful ways in which you used to live.
Vrs 9-10 As a believer you are to search and find out what God desires from your life. It starts with the fruit of the Spirit, which if you come out to “The Five” you may know about our Got Fruit challenge. More info on the web
Vrs 11-12 Maybe you have been spending a little too much time with people who do not encourage your walk with God. Maybe you have been spending too much time watching, thinking about and talking about things that are not pleasing to God.
Vrs 13 Test those things that you are doing by the light of Jesus and His Word, what would He do in the situations that you are in.
Vrs 14 The resurrection is a call to live a life pleasing to God
For some this is about the kids, finding eggs, getting candy and baskets, seeing the Easter Bunny. For some it is about family, getting together with loved ones or ones we are obligated to see because they are in our families. For some it is about extra days off school and work, maybe going somewhere nice or just kicking back and relaxing at home.
There are a select few that Easter is a reminder 2000 or so years ago a “Man” named Jesus rose from the dead. This claim bothers them so they are known as the skeptic. Unfortunately this type of person is not always comfortable with the fact that many people do believe the claims of the Bible and they want to disprove that it happened and although they can’t they are many times successful in confusing people and casting doubt because they are educated people.
For example this past week The Discovery Channel, History Channel and CNN all ran programs that cast doubt about the Biblical records and dismiss or cast doubt on the resurrection. I want to share portions of a Testimony of a man named Lee Strobel who felt this way about Jesus and the Resurrection.
A journalist and an admitted atheist, his wife became a Christian. Listen to what he said about it.
And so she came to me in the fall of 1973 and said, "Lee, I've made a big decision. I've become a follower of Jesus Christ." I thought this was the worst possible thing that could happen to our marriage. I thought we were going to get divorced. I felt like I'd married one Leslie and now she's changed into something else. I wasn't ready for that. I didn't want that. And I said, "Look, if you can't face life on your own two feet, if you have to put your faith in a book of mythology and bad history and make-believe, then you go ahead and do that. But, number one, don't give them any of our money, because that's what they're after; and, number two, don't try to get me to go because I'm too smart for that."
His wife consistently invited him out to church and he finally went, he enjoyed it and this is what he thought after service.
“ I was twenty-eight years old. I had never heard the word grace explained before in my life. I thought grace was something Christians said before a meal. He explained it. I thought that, number one: I don't believe it, I'm still an atheist; but, number two: if this is true, this has huge implications for my life.”
So he decided to take his legal training and his journalism training and investigate: is there any credibility to Christianity? And especially the resurrection?
After almost two years of research he came to this conclusion
On November 8, 1981 I gave my life to Christ. I thought maybe my wife would be interested in the fact that I just did this; so I thought I'd tell her. So I came out and was walking down the hallway and turned into our kitchen, and my wife was standing there with our daughter who was almost five; and our daughter was standing in front of her reaching up and touching the faucet, for the first time...that's how tall she was. And she said, "Daddy, look I can touch it. I can reach it." And I said, "Oh wow you're getting so big." And I gave her a hug, and she ran off; and I said to my wife, "That's how I feel! I feel for a year and nine months I've been reaching out and reaching out, and I just touched Jesus Christ. It's real and it's true, and I just gave my life to him." She started crying and said, "You hardhearted son-of-a-*&#, I've been telling you this for two years." And it had turned out that she had met some women in her church, and she told them about her husband who is a hard-hearted, hard-headed journalist that she didn't have much hope for, and they said we will pray this verse Ezekiel 36:26 It says more over, "I will give you a new heart and I will put a new spirit within you. I'll remove your heart of stone, and I will give you a heart of flesh." And she said, "I've been praying that every day for two years."
Because the resurrection of Christ was a big hang up for Lee and other skeptics, based on the Scriptures Lee Strobel came up with The Five E’s to support the resurrection.
Execution - John 19:33 Specifically tells us that when the soldiers came to break Jesus’ legs He was “already dead” so they pierced his side to make sure was dead “blood and water flowed out” if He was alive only blood would have flowed out
Empty Tomb – John 20:1-3 Mary Magdelene and some other women went to the tomb and it was empty. They though someone took his body.
Early Accounts – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 This is a creed that the early church used that is dated as early as 2 years after the actual resurrection.
Eye Witnesses - 1 Corithians15:5-8 states over 500 people saw Jesus after He rose.
Emergence of the church- Acts 2:32 Peter preached to the crowd and stated that Jesus rose from the dead. 3000 people trusted in Jesus for forgiveness of sins. When Peter stated this people did not say “no He did not rise” they realized it was truth because it just happened.
Now that we have the evidence of the resurrection what does the resurrection do for us?
It tells us that Jesus speaks the truth
In Matthew 16:21, Matt 17:22-23 & 20:19 3 x He predicts that He will rise again.
So you can trust whatever we learn from Him.
It illustrates that we can have eternal life Matt 22:32 Jesus tells the Sadducees that “God is the God of the Living” there is a resurrected life for all who believe.
There is power in the resurrection Romans 1:3-4 This passage shows that Jesus has divine power. Jesus was able to declare He was the Son of God
There is hope for the sinner 1 Peter 1:3-4
Jesus can change even the most hopeless case. Share the Gospel
Remember our friend Lee Strobel lets look at what happened in his life.
“everything began to change so much so that my little daughter Alison had only known in her first five years a dad that was angry. I remember...so frustrated from work one day and I kicked the wall and I put my foot right through it, anger over life and frustration...that's all she knew of her dad. I'd come home drunk or I would come home angry and that's all she had known. And then five or six months after I became a Christian, having seen how God changed my attitudes and my life, she came up to my wife and said, "Mommy, I want God to do for me what he did for daddy." She gave her life to Christ at age five and now has graduated from college and is now in the ministry, trying to reach this generation for Christ.
Lee Strobel is now a teaching Pastor at a large Church in California and an apologetic author (defends the faith) and has wrote, The case for Christ, Creator and Faith
If you trust in Christ He can change your life. He has the power to put to death bad attitudes, deceitfulness, anger, gossip, depression, anxiety, dishonesty.
As believers in Christ many of you know this message but sometimes we grow callous to the change that God wants to make in our lives, what does the Bible say about that?
Eph 5:8-13
Vrs 8 Don’t fall back into old patterns and sinful ways in which you used to live.
Vrs 9-10 As a believer you are to search and find out what God desires from your life. It starts with the fruit of the Spirit, which if you come out to “The Five” you may know about our Got Fruit challenge. More info on the web
Vrs 11-12 Maybe you have been spending a little too much time with people who do not encourage your walk with God. Maybe you have been spending too much time watching, thinking about and talking about things that are not pleasing to God.
Vrs 13 Test those things that you are doing by the light of Jesus and His Word, what would He do in the situations that you are in.
Vrs 14 The resurrection is a call to live a life pleasing to God
Sunday, March 16, 2008
"Nice Ride"
“Nice Ride” Triumphal Entry
Matthew 21:1-11 Luke 19:28-44
This event took place 5 days before Jesus was crucified
Matthew 21:1-6
Colt was a symbol of Peace Zech 9:9-10 Jesus was fulfilling this and also proclaiming Himself as the Messiah. Isaiah 62:11 This is also an answer to critics who say “Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah”. That is such a bad critisism because that is what he got crucified for.
The people would understand this and even the donkey owner would as well, that is why he allowed it to happen. The fact that Jesus “ride” was a donkey displays His humility.
That donkey symbolizes the peace that only Jesus can bring to our lives.
App. Only Jesus could bring peace
U2 line from “Peace on earth”
Heaven on Earth, we need it now I'm sick of all of this hanging around Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain I'm sick of hearing again and again That there's gonna be peace on Earth
Jesus can you take the time To throw a drowning man a line Peace on Earth
Jesus brings peace to our hearts. If you are struggling with something Jesus is the one who can help and bring peace to the situation.
Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.
Duke University did a study on "peace of mind." Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:
1) the absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness. If you can’t trust a person in your life you will not have peace.
2) Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression. No peace if we live with regret.
3) Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it. No peace if you worry.
4) Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress. No peace if you do not have fellowship with others.
5) Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune. No peace if you don’t accept and learn from bad situations.
6) Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty. No peace if you focus on the negative.
7) Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable. No peace if you don’t accept how God has made you.
8) Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness. No peace if you don’t know Jesus.
So what does this event tell us about Jesus
Vrs 7 He is the king
Cloak 2 Kings 9:13 Jehu Jesus is the King A good king will bring peace to His people.
App. We need to have reverence and respect for who God is and what He has done in our lives. The peoples response to Jesus was a proclamation of who He is.
If you have peace your response will be to proclaim Jesus everyday in front of the people that are around you. Do people know that you believe in Jesus? Are you telling others about it? Are you proclaiming who Jesus is?
In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley's execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need.
Another thing about a Good King is that they get the job done. Phil 4:6-7 really shows us that when we bring our problems to the King Jesus He will give us peace
Vrs 8-9 He is the One who can save us
Hosanna Psalm 118:25 save us
Acts 4:12 He is the only way of salvation
Romans 5:1 Peace with God through Jesus
App. We all need salvation
but we as believers who have salvation. Ps 118:25b We need to be saved of our troubles, our temptations and our sinful nature on a daily basis. We can only live a life that is pleasing to the Lord with help from the Lord.
Vrs 10-11 jump to Luke 19:39-40
Beauty and beast ill.
They told Jesus to rebuke His followers and Jesus’ response was that creation would shout His name.
App. Jesus has power over the creation
Creation groans in pain because of the curse of sin it yearns for peace. Romans 8:20-22
Luke 19:41-44 He is the one who cares about us
Jesus values having peace with His people and wants them to know that only He can bring them peace.
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and predicts it’s destruction. This actually happened in AD 70
App. God weeps over our rejection and our disobedience because He realizes there are eternal consequences for rejection of Jesus and what he has done for us
Romans 1:18 suffer the wrath
God also mourns over a believers sinfulness and willful disobedience Eph. 4:30-31 We are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption and Jesus does not want us to let Him down by living a lifestyle that is displeasing to Him.
So lets look at the humility of the King and the Saviour who is able to bring not only eternal peace for our souls but also peace to our lives in the present time and ask Him for forgiveness and help to live today.
Matthew 21:1-11 Luke 19:28-44
This event took place 5 days before Jesus was crucified
Matthew 21:1-6
Colt was a symbol of Peace Zech 9:9-10 Jesus was fulfilling this and also proclaiming Himself as the Messiah. Isaiah 62:11 This is also an answer to critics who say “Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah”. That is such a bad critisism because that is what he got crucified for.
The people would understand this and even the donkey owner would as well, that is why he allowed it to happen. The fact that Jesus “ride” was a donkey displays His humility.
That donkey symbolizes the peace that only Jesus can bring to our lives.
App. Only Jesus could bring peace
U2 line from “Peace on earth”
Heaven on Earth, we need it now I'm sick of all of this hanging around Sick of sorrow, sick of the pain I'm sick of hearing again and again That there's gonna be peace on Earth
Jesus can you take the time To throw a drowning man a line Peace on Earth
Jesus brings peace to our hearts. If you are struggling with something Jesus is the one who can help and bring peace to the situation.
Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.
Duke University did a study on "peace of mind." Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:
1) the absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness. If you can’t trust a person in your life you will not have peace.
2) Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression. No peace if we live with regret.
3) Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it. No peace if you worry.
4) Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress. No peace if you do not have fellowship with others.
5) Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune. No peace if you don’t accept and learn from bad situations.
6) Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues--love, humor, compassion and loyalty. No peace if you focus on the negative.
7) Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable. No peace if you don’t accept how God has made you.
8) Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness. No peace if you don’t know Jesus.
So what does this event tell us about Jesus
Vrs 7 He is the king
Cloak 2 Kings 9:13 Jehu Jesus is the King A good king will bring peace to His people.
App. We need to have reverence and respect for who God is and what He has done in our lives. The peoples response to Jesus was a proclamation of who He is.
If you have peace your response will be to proclaim Jesus everyday in front of the people that are around you. Do people know that you believe in Jesus? Are you telling others about it? Are you proclaiming who Jesus is?
In 1555, Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake because of his witness for Christ. On the night before Ridley's execution, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to be of assistance and comfort. Nicholas declined the offer and replied that he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as ever he did in his life. Because he knew the peace of God, he could rest in the strength of the everlasting arms of his Lord to meet his need.
Another thing about a Good King is that they get the job done. Phil 4:6-7 really shows us that when we bring our problems to the King Jesus He will give us peace
Vrs 8-9 He is the One who can save us
Hosanna Psalm 118:25 save us
Acts 4:12 He is the only way of salvation
Romans 5:1 Peace with God through Jesus
App. We all need salvation
but we as believers who have salvation. Ps 118:25b We need to be saved of our troubles, our temptations and our sinful nature on a daily basis. We can only live a life that is pleasing to the Lord with help from the Lord.
Vrs 10-11 jump to Luke 19:39-40
Beauty and beast ill.
They told Jesus to rebuke His followers and Jesus’ response was that creation would shout His name.
App. Jesus has power over the creation
Creation groans in pain because of the curse of sin it yearns for peace. Romans 8:20-22
Luke 19:41-44 He is the one who cares about us
Jesus values having peace with His people and wants them to know that only He can bring them peace.
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem and predicts it’s destruction. This actually happened in AD 70
App. God weeps over our rejection and our disobedience because He realizes there are eternal consequences for rejection of Jesus and what he has done for us
Romans 1:18 suffer the wrath
God also mourns over a believers sinfulness and willful disobedience Eph. 4:30-31 We are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption and Jesus does not want us to let Him down by living a lifestyle that is displeasing to Him.
So lets look at the humility of the King and the Saviour who is able to bring not only eternal peace for our souls but also peace to our lives in the present time and ask Him for forgiveness and help to live today.
"I Was Blind" This message was not recorded
I Was Blind Mark 10:46-52
Vrs 46-47 Son of David is a messianic title, the irony is a blind man who has spiritual insight while others who see the works of Jesus are spiritually blind.
Blindness can lead to frustration and often times disaster
On November 30, 1991 fierce winds from a freakish dust storm triggered a massive freeway pileup along Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. At least 14 people died and dozens more were injured as topsoil whipped by 50 mile-per-hour winds reduced visibility to zero. The afternoon holocaust left a three-mile trail of twisted and burning vehicles, some stacked on top of one another 100 yards off the side of the freeway. Unable to see their way, dozens of motorists drove blindly ahead into disaster.
Because he was living this life as a blind man he realized he needed someone to heal him.
Vrs 47 He called out “have mercy on me”
Vrs 48 happened a second time
Vrs 49-50 Then Jesus called him then Bartimaus threw aside his garment
The crowd first discourages him then encourages him
Vrs 51 Jesus asked what do you want me to do for you?
Vrs 52 Your faith has healed you
There is a spiritual parallel to all of us here
2 Cor. 3:13-15
Ephesians 4:17-19
Vrs 52 Romans 3:21-23 it is always by faith that God lifts the blinders
I want to tell you about another kind of blind person. When I was in 2nd grade I remember sitting in class and the teacher yelling at me because I could not read the letters on the blackboard. Unfortunately I was not sure what seeing clearly was because I never did, so I didn’t know any better so I didn’t tell anyone. But then the teacher and my mom realized I could not see correctly so I got glasses.
My vision was corrected BUT I was not committed to wearing my glasses, I was afraid of what people would say or think so I left my glasses at home and suffered with blurry vision.
Many of us have a Christian walk that is like that. We accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and because of Him we can see clearly. But then we let other people say or think about us effect our commitment.
Because of this our spiritual life is blurred and inconsistent. A result of living this way will result in un-fullfillment.
So do you fall into this category, are you afraid of what others think of your commitment to Jesus, are you too lazy to be committed or maybe you are just so new in your faith that you don’t even know what commitment looks like.
Tonight we have four people that are taking a set in their commitment to Jesus. One of the first steps that a person who has faith in Jesus Christ can take is being baptized.
Acts 2:41 “those who received the Word were baptized”
The four tonight are displaying their
1. Obedience to Jesus
2. The Bible tells us that baptism symbolizes my old life is put to death and now they have a new life with Christ.
3. Outwardly showing to everyone that they believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for their sins and rose again three days later to prove that he is God and He and only He can forgive us of our sins.
That is what baptism is, it does not get a person into heaven it is an action that we do so others see our commitment to Jesus.
Remember it has always been by faith.
Vrs 46-47 Son of David is a messianic title, the irony is a blind man who has spiritual insight while others who see the works of Jesus are spiritually blind.
Blindness can lead to frustration and often times disaster
On November 30, 1991 fierce winds from a freakish dust storm triggered a massive freeway pileup along Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. At least 14 people died and dozens more were injured as topsoil whipped by 50 mile-per-hour winds reduced visibility to zero. The afternoon holocaust left a three-mile trail of twisted and burning vehicles, some stacked on top of one another 100 yards off the side of the freeway. Unable to see their way, dozens of motorists drove blindly ahead into disaster.
Because he was living this life as a blind man he realized he needed someone to heal him.
Vrs 47 He called out “have mercy on me”
Vrs 48 happened a second time
Vrs 49-50 Then Jesus called him then Bartimaus threw aside his garment
The crowd first discourages him then encourages him
Vrs 51 Jesus asked what do you want me to do for you?
Vrs 52 Your faith has healed you
There is a spiritual parallel to all of us here
2 Cor. 3:13-15
Ephesians 4:17-19
Vrs 52 Romans 3:21-23 it is always by faith that God lifts the blinders
I want to tell you about another kind of blind person. When I was in 2nd grade I remember sitting in class and the teacher yelling at me because I could not read the letters on the blackboard. Unfortunately I was not sure what seeing clearly was because I never did, so I didn’t know any better so I didn’t tell anyone. But then the teacher and my mom realized I could not see correctly so I got glasses.
My vision was corrected BUT I was not committed to wearing my glasses, I was afraid of what people would say or think so I left my glasses at home and suffered with blurry vision.
Many of us have a Christian walk that is like that. We accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and because of Him we can see clearly. But then we let other people say or think about us effect our commitment.
Because of this our spiritual life is blurred and inconsistent. A result of living this way will result in un-fullfillment.
So do you fall into this category, are you afraid of what others think of your commitment to Jesus, are you too lazy to be committed or maybe you are just so new in your faith that you don’t even know what commitment looks like.
Tonight we have four people that are taking a set in their commitment to Jesus. One of the first steps that a person who has faith in Jesus Christ can take is being baptized.
Acts 2:41 “those who received the Word were baptized”
The four tonight are displaying their
1. Obedience to Jesus
2. The Bible tells us that baptism symbolizes my old life is put to death and now they have a new life with Christ.
3. Outwardly showing to everyone that they believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for their sins and rose again three days later to prove that he is God and He and only He can forgive us of our sins.
That is what baptism is, it does not get a person into heaven it is an action that we do so others see our commitment to Jesus.
Remember it has always been by faith.
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