John 4:31-38
“Tonight’s Menu is…”
Background about this text. Jesus just got finished talking with the Samaritan Women at the well. He told her the truth about salvation and that He was the Messiah, the savior. She believed and went and told others
Back track to verses 7-9 Jesus was thirsty and obviously hungry because His disciples went into the city to buy food. So what happened? They came back
Verse 31-34 Jesus’ disciples had a desire to take care of Jesus and His needs so they wanted to bring Him food. They were confused they though someone else brought Him food.
Jesus then taught them a deep spiritual truth, where does you satisfaction come from? What is on the menu of your life? Something the disciples needed to learn and we today need to learn is where true satisfaction comes from. What type of life do you want to order. As a believer in Jesus you will not be satisfied living for only your self.
Verse 34 Jesus here is getting more specific about what this food is, it is spreading the good news of God’s love and salvation to sinners.
Food brings us energy, strength, rejuvenation and satisfaction, Jesus is telling us here that what He was just doing brings energy, strength, rejuvenation and satisfaction spiritually.
Kingman Brewster said, "There is a tremendous satisfaction in losing your own identity in something that is much more important than you are."
Verses 35-38 Jesus then makes an application of farming like He does much of the time to use the media of His day to teach the people.
Verses 35 Look at the fields they are white which was a reference to corn ready to be harvested. You wait until the time of harvest and then you reap the harvest or gather the corn, you would not put if off because you will lose the crop and it is something that you have been waiting for. And it is something of value and you would live off of. They picked the corn.
In the same way there are always people around us that are of value need to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and experience the love of God through us. and we should not put that off, when we put that first it is satisfying. It is urgent, pressing and necessary. Like food is necessary for us to live, spreading the Word and sharing God’s Love is necessary for others to have eternal life.
Verses 36 It is profitable, obviously farming and harvesting the crop is profitable for a farmer, to make money and eat.
We profit from spreading the Word, as we talked about a few weeks ago there is reward for the works we do, especially for preaching the Gospel.
What is the Gospel??
Verses 37-38 Jesus was saying a few things here…One is that we all have different functions and play a different role in spreading the Gospel of Jesus. Some are gifted with speaking, some with behind the scenes work, some with arts and music, some with praying with people, some with being there in a time of trouble but all are striving toward a common goal spreading God’s love.
The “others” He is talking about are the OT prophets set the ground work for people to come to faith in Christ. Verse 25 The women knew the Messiah was coming.
Jesus was telling His followers this is something that people know about.
When I was in New York a Jewish guy came up to me and asked me why Jesus was called the Lamb of God. So when I connected that to Exodus and the Passover he understood why John the Baptist called Him the Lamb of God.
Living in a biblically illiterate society, what is the ground work set before us? The bible talks about how the creation of this world and everything in it displays the works of God Romans 1:20 also Psalm 19 that was read.
That is why teaching kids that the world was not created is actually a sneak attack on the Christian faith and undermines the Word of God. The fact of the creation is what we call general revelation from God, that means that everyone can realize it and see there is a creator.
Where are all the Christians? When we go to work or school, out into the community spending time with family and friends, what are you thinking about, are you praying that God will give you opportunities to share His love and message with them? Col 4:2-6 says to pray for opportunities
Howard Hendricks
In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering.
Which reminds me that Wednesday May 7th we are starting or Doctrine, Theology and Apologetics class. In this class you will learn the main doctrines of the Bible and we will have a class one Wednesday night a month.
It is important for us to know what we believe and why
As many of you know last week I was away with a team from our high school group in NYC doing mission work, I want to tell you what happened with the sole purpose of encouraging you.
We worked with Larry Stamm with Jew for Jesus and passed out 7,500 tracts
Fed 477 less fortunate people breakfast in lower Manhattan with Fathers Heart Ministry
Sorted clothes that partners with 180 ministries in the city with the World Vision Store House. Brand new women’s clothes donated by the Dress Barn so many poor less fortunate moms can have some dignity restored for Mothers Day
Went out with two relief busses that give out soup and connect people with resources so they can clean their lives up.
I would say each bus met the needs of 50-100 people each in Newark NJ and Elizabeth NJ.
So just a few days of work for 30 people impacted roughly 9,000 people, divided by 30 people is 300 people each divided by 3 days is 100 people per-day. Image having an impact for Jesus Christ on 100 per day?
I have to say I was so proud of the high school students and the leaders because they were doing all the work and everyone served a different function and helped in different ways for the greater purpose of spreading the Word
It is nearly impossible for us in everyday life to impact 100 lives a day but I would like to encourage us to have an impact on one person a day. Maybe you will not share the Good news about Jesus with them but maybe you can just be an example of God’s love to them. It can be the same person everyday.
Just imagine if we asked the Lord everyday to bring one person in our paths to share with or help in the name of Jesus. If 100 us even impacted one person a week that would be 52 people a year each which would probably every unbeliever that you know.
Luke 10:1-3 Ask the Lord for the workers so they are filled. And Jesus warns them you are among wolves it will not be easy but it will be satisfying.
The challenge for each believer is what is on the menu of your daily life. What are you doing to promote the greater cause of bringing people into a saving relationship with Jesus.
If we put working for the Lord specifically having an impact on other people for Jesus on that menu it will bring satisfaction, purpose and rewards for doing so.
This Week’s Menu
List all the things that you have to do this week.
Are there any things on your menu that promote the Good News about Jesus?
What are some things on your menu that you can use as opportunities to promote the Good News of Jesus?
What are things you should add to your menu?
Pray that God would use you to spread the Good News
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
"Lets Get Physical" Desire Series
Lets get physical
The number one desire that people have is good health, obviously health is not something we can guarantee even if you do everything right. People eat right exercise and still die of heart attacks, people injury themselves and become handicap and we all get old and slowly our bodies start to tell us that we can’t do the things we used to do.
Can we control these things? No. Something that we need to remember is that the deterioration of our bodies are a constant reminder that we live in a sinful world and there must be something more then this life we are living.
2 Cor 4:16
Paul encourages the Corinthian church by reminding them that even though you are physically wasting away God can be and is willing to Spiritually renew you everyday if you enter into a relationship wit Jesus Christ.
But…is there a call for us to take care of ourselves while we are here in the flesh?
1 Cor. 6:18-20
This is God’s House, don’t curse you are in God’s house, don’t run and play games, you are in God’s house. Guess what the Bible says that you are God’s house if you trust in Christ.
For the 5 Yes this building is a resource given to us by God to use for ministry and we should take care of it. By the way you may have noticed all the work that was done in the foyer, that was done by many people who care to see this resource taken care of and looking better.
Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit the Bible teaches there is call to be a good steward with it, God wants us to take care of the body He has given us and lives in.
You may be thinking here we go this is going to be some encouragement to eat right or something. Eat your Bible bar made from ingredients found in the book of Deuteronomy, wash it down with some Jesus juice and clean up your breath with testaments.
No, today we are going to talk about self control if you are looking for “health” physical, spiritual and emotion health, God’s Word teaches we have to exercise self control.
Galatians 5:22-23 says the fruit of the spirit is self control
Eph 2:3 the fruit of the flesh is no control
Romans 8:8 Says “So those who live by the flesh cannot please God.
2 Peter 2:18-19 This verse is saying the world that we live in appeals to our flesh. The result of giving in is slavery to those things. Think about it we live in a fast food, sex saturated society where everyone’s own opinion counts except the truth of God’s Word
Galatians 6:7-8 Principle, reap what we sow. This passage teaches us that when we live for the desires of our flesh there is no benefit, actually it leads to corruption.
Remember Proverbs 13:12 when we get distracted from what we need to do it makes our hearts sick.
A study of Cardiac Risk Factors Heart disease. Obviously things such as smoking, overeating and eating unhealthy foods and a lack of physical exercise cause heart disease are controllable things that cause heart disease but studies also say that stress and behavior attribute to heart disease as well.
Can our health be a spiritual problem? Many times we look at things and put them in compartments, we say, the way I eat has nothing to do with my spiritual life.
The fact that I don’t exercise does not have anything to do with my spiritual life. 1 Timothy 4:7-8
What is this saying if you are so concerned about your body because you want to impress a member of the opposite sex, those are the types of attitudes that God condemns. If that is you maybe you have self control issues in areas of purity.
The things that cause stress, the way I spend my money has nothing to do with my spiritual life. The fact that I lose my cool at work is just the way I deal with things. The fact that I am consistently late or don’t take my responsibilities seriously has nothing to do with my spiritual life. These things cause us stress and get us out of focus and make our hearts physically sick.
So how do we exercise self control in all areas of our lives, especially those we struggle in? Discipline, what is the root word of discipline? Disciple
In order to have self control we need to put the practices of being a disciple of Jesus into practice. We have to make the spiritual disciplines a habit the more we discipline ourselves the more self control we will develope
During his term as President of the U.S., Lyndon Johnson was somewhat overweight. One day his wife challenged him with this blunt assertion: "You can't run the country if you can't run yourself." Respecting Mrs. Johnson's wise observation, the President lost 23 pounds.
What are the disciplines of a Disciple of Jesus?
A person that is displaying self control
Prays daily, Luke 22:44-46 If we spend time in prayer we are less likely to fall into temptation. We can’t make it on our own, we need help from the Lord. If you are struggling with self control in some area you have to give that up to the Lord daily in prayer
We have to have self control to make prayer a daily habit. DL Moody said one day “I have far to much to do today I must spend an extra hour in prayer” That takes discipline to not just start working on the tasks and spend extra time in prayer and it will produce self control
Right Attitude- resolved to do the right thing, Daniel and the choice food. This was about not eating something sacrificed to other gods. With the right attitude we can victory over many areas, food, smoking, alcohol, sexual purity and what we say. It said Daniel “purposed in his heart”
Complaining Philippians 2:14”do all things without complaining”
Mark Twain said
Don't complain and talk about all your problems--80 percent of people don't care; the other 20 percent will think you deserve them.
I am not sure if that is true but it makes you think, maybe others don’t want to hear it.
It takes discipline to have a good positive attitude and purpose in your heart not to sin but it will produce self control
Read and Obey the Word- what is the truth?
-What does the Bible say about gossip? We have to control our tongue
-What does the Bible say about drunkenness? It says not to be
-What doe that Bible say about over indulgence in food? Says don’t be a glutton.
Pro23:21 says drunk and glutton leads to poverty
-What does the Bible say about being angry? In your anger do no sin.
-What does the Bible say about sexual purity and lust? It says that sex is right in the confines of marriage.
The idea here is the Bible is the standard and we have to exercise self control to get ourselves in line with that standard. Psalm 119:133 says “Direct my steps by Your Word and let sin have no control over me”.
It takes discipline to read and obey the Word and it will produce self control
1 Peter 2:11-12 It is another way that you can be effective in telling others about the Lord
Do you want to be healthy? God says that we need to make self control a habit in our lives.
The number one desire that people have is good health, obviously health is not something we can guarantee even if you do everything right. People eat right exercise and still die of heart attacks, people injury themselves and become handicap and we all get old and slowly our bodies start to tell us that we can’t do the things we used to do.
Can we control these things? No. Something that we need to remember is that the deterioration of our bodies are a constant reminder that we live in a sinful world and there must be something more then this life we are living.
2 Cor 4:16
Paul encourages the Corinthian church by reminding them that even though you are physically wasting away God can be and is willing to Spiritually renew you everyday if you enter into a relationship wit Jesus Christ.
But…is there a call for us to take care of ourselves while we are here in the flesh?
1 Cor. 6:18-20
This is God’s House, don’t curse you are in God’s house, don’t run and play games, you are in God’s house. Guess what the Bible says that you are God’s house if you trust in Christ.
For the 5 Yes this building is a resource given to us by God to use for ministry and we should take care of it. By the way you may have noticed all the work that was done in the foyer, that was done by many people who care to see this resource taken care of and looking better.
Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit the Bible teaches there is call to be a good steward with it, God wants us to take care of the body He has given us and lives in.
You may be thinking here we go this is going to be some encouragement to eat right or something. Eat your Bible bar made from ingredients found in the book of Deuteronomy, wash it down with some Jesus juice and clean up your breath with testaments.
No, today we are going to talk about self control if you are looking for “health” physical, spiritual and emotion health, God’s Word teaches we have to exercise self control.
Galatians 5:22-23 says the fruit of the spirit is self control
Eph 2:3 the fruit of the flesh is no control
Romans 8:8 Says “So those who live by the flesh cannot please God.
2 Peter 2:18-19 This verse is saying the world that we live in appeals to our flesh. The result of giving in is slavery to those things. Think about it we live in a fast food, sex saturated society where everyone’s own opinion counts except the truth of God’s Word
Galatians 6:7-8 Principle, reap what we sow. This passage teaches us that when we live for the desires of our flesh there is no benefit, actually it leads to corruption.
Remember Proverbs 13:12 when we get distracted from what we need to do it makes our hearts sick.
A study of Cardiac Risk Factors Heart disease. Obviously things such as smoking, overeating and eating unhealthy foods and a lack of physical exercise cause heart disease are controllable things that cause heart disease but studies also say that stress and behavior attribute to heart disease as well.
Can our health be a spiritual problem? Many times we look at things and put them in compartments, we say, the way I eat has nothing to do with my spiritual life.
The fact that I don’t exercise does not have anything to do with my spiritual life. 1 Timothy 4:7-8
What is this saying if you are so concerned about your body because you want to impress a member of the opposite sex, those are the types of attitudes that God condemns. If that is you maybe you have self control issues in areas of purity.
The things that cause stress, the way I spend my money has nothing to do with my spiritual life. The fact that I lose my cool at work is just the way I deal with things. The fact that I am consistently late or don’t take my responsibilities seriously has nothing to do with my spiritual life. These things cause us stress and get us out of focus and make our hearts physically sick.
So how do we exercise self control in all areas of our lives, especially those we struggle in? Discipline, what is the root word of discipline? Disciple
In order to have self control we need to put the practices of being a disciple of Jesus into practice. We have to make the spiritual disciplines a habit the more we discipline ourselves the more self control we will develope
During his term as President of the U.S., Lyndon Johnson was somewhat overweight. One day his wife challenged him with this blunt assertion: "You can't run the country if you can't run yourself." Respecting Mrs. Johnson's wise observation, the President lost 23 pounds.
What are the disciplines of a Disciple of Jesus?
A person that is displaying self control
Prays daily, Luke 22:44-46 If we spend time in prayer we are less likely to fall into temptation. We can’t make it on our own, we need help from the Lord. If you are struggling with self control in some area you have to give that up to the Lord daily in prayer
We have to have self control to make prayer a daily habit. DL Moody said one day “I have far to much to do today I must spend an extra hour in prayer” That takes discipline to not just start working on the tasks and spend extra time in prayer and it will produce self control
Right Attitude- resolved to do the right thing, Daniel and the choice food. This was about not eating something sacrificed to other gods. With the right attitude we can victory over many areas, food, smoking, alcohol, sexual purity and what we say. It said Daniel “purposed in his heart”
Complaining Philippians 2:14”do all things without complaining”
Mark Twain said
Don't complain and talk about all your problems--80 percent of people don't care; the other 20 percent will think you deserve them.
I am not sure if that is true but it makes you think, maybe others don’t want to hear it.
It takes discipline to have a good positive attitude and purpose in your heart not to sin but it will produce self control
Read and Obey the Word- what is the truth?
-What does the Bible say about gossip? We have to control our tongue
-What does the Bible say about drunkenness? It says not to be
-What doe that Bible say about over indulgence in food? Says don’t be a glutton.
Pro23:21 says drunk and glutton leads to poverty
-What does the Bible say about being angry? In your anger do no sin.
-What does the Bible say about sexual purity and lust? It says that sex is right in the confines of marriage.
The idea here is the Bible is the standard and we have to exercise self control to get ourselves in line with that standard. Psalm 119:133 says “Direct my steps by Your Word and let sin have no control over me”.
It takes discipline to read and obey the Word and it will produce self control
1 Peter 2:11-12 It is another way that you can be effective in telling others about the Lord
Do you want to be healthy? God says that we need to make self control a habit in our lives.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
"Its not you its me" Desire Series
“Its not you its me” the cop out breakup phrase when a person wants to end a relationship and does not want to hurt the other person they often say “its not you its me” or they use this line because they don’t want the other person to beg and plead and promise to change. “its not you its me”. But most of the time the person that says that phrase really means “It is you and I just think it is easier to say its me”
Relationships no matter what type dating, marriage, sibling, parent, child, co-worker, boss, student, teacher and friend all have issues that need to be worked through.
Unfortunately most of the time we look at the actions and words of the other person or people and react to what they have done to us, how they have wronged us.
These things bother us and often times we don’t know how to handle them. We desire to have solid meaningful relationships and the older we get realize many relationships can be a series of let downs. We continue to be reactive instead of being proactive. We do unto others what they have done to us.
Lets look back to where this all started and then look at what God has to say about how we need to be proactive and change ourselves.
Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for man to be alone” God created us with the intention of us having relationship with Him and relationships with other people. He is a relational God and we talked about how our relationship to Him gives us purpose and how the more we follow and obey Him He will bless us with riches in eternity.
If He says that “it is not good for people to be alone”
Why is it so hard to deal with other people?
A defense mechanism when we can’t get along with others we isolate ourselves. Check this clip out about a man who was isolated from people and society for 4 years
Cast Away Video Clip Chuck from the movie had no choice but to be isolated from others but the clip shows what can happen to person that spends almost 4 years isolated from other people.
Proverbs 18:1 isolation is not good because we are being selfish and not working out the problems we have with others.
I would be pretty discouraged if my son came home from school and I asked him who he played with at recess and he showed me a ball. People don’t like me, I can’t get along with them, I would rather play by myself, this is my friend. There has been countless studies on the mental state of people when they are isolated from others.
Dean Ornish, in Love and Survival said
“Anything that promotes a sense of isolation often leads to illness and suffering. Anything that promotes a sense of love and intimacy, connection and community, is healing."
This sounds like a God’s intention for the Church… love, connection and community. Spiritual healing
Isolation and cut off relationships because you can’t work out problems leads to a sick heart with selfish desires and no hope.
The last part of the clip, after sobbing over the loss of a volley-ball named Wilson the main character lets the paddle float away. A loss of hope
If a main desire of our lives is to have meaningful relationships, how do we deal with all the relationships in this life? We have to become the person that God wants us to be, we don’t work on the “you”, other people, we work on the “me” ourselves.
Turn to the person next to you and say “Its not you its me”
God’s Word is a handbook about who you should be and if we follow it our success rate in relationships will increase. It will not be perfect.. Why
1. You will still mess up. 2. You are dealing with other people who will mess up as well, or may not be working on what they need to work on.
Romans 12:18 You are responsible for yourself
Philippians 2:1-4 Gives us a short outline not a comprehensive list of how we need to act to be the right “me” in all of our relationships.
A little background on this passage: Paul wrote this from jail, he was jailed for preaching about Jesus. And he was writing this letter to the Philippians and basically saying thanks for being who you are in Jesus. Thanks for being the “me” you are supposed to be. They were upset that he was in jail and Paul was encouraging them.
Vrs 1 If the truths of the Bible are real, That Jesus is love, if He binds believers together through the Holy Spirit living in our lives, and if He cares so deeply for us that He is willing to lay down His life for us, then this is how we should respond….
Vrs 2 Be committed to seeing your problems through, your focus needs to be on reconciling differences.
Vrs 3a becoming selfless, the main idea here is in any relationship we have in life there needs to be a sense of compromise. If everything has to be your way, you have some issues and you will not be able to have healthy relationships. Selfish people also want all the attention on themselves and they are not willing to go unnoticed.
Vrs 3b-4
Humility
Samuel Clemens better known by his pen name Mark Twain said, "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I was twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years."
Humility is coming to the point in which we realize I am not always right, I don’t always have the best ideas, other people are just as important as I am, I am not the center of the universe. No offense to Jr. High kids but that is what they are known for, being narcissistic. And that is to be expected when you are 13 or 14 not if you are 18, 30 or 45
Another step in selflessness and humility is putting the needs and interests of others before our own. When you are working on the “me” putting your desires second will help in working out difficult issues in relationships. Imagine a disagreement between you and another person and both of you are putting the other person before yourself. Instead of claiming to be right admitting wrong.
This is a radical change in perspective,
Looking at how I can work on the “me” is what Jesus modeled Phil 2:5-8
In order for us to have a relationship with Him He was willing to be crucified for our sins to make us right with Him. He said to us you are the ones who sin and I am going to put them on “Me”. It is you but I but I am making it Me”
We have to see people the way Jesus sees them, as people who need love, belonging, hope and a purpose and we have received all of that from God so we are called to communicate that to others. How can we do that if you are mad at them, holding a grudge, worrying about what they did wrong to us and isolating ourselves from them.
Phil 2:9-11 The result is the Father lifted Christ up in all authority.
The reward in this life is.. God will work those difficult relationships out if you work on the “me”
The first step to working on the “me” is getting your relationship with Jesus Christ right. First you have to trust Him
If you already do trust Him communion is a good time for a believer to remember what He did for you and get anything right with Him that is wrong.
The Bible says that Communion is a time to examine our own lives and the sin that we are holding onto, if we have a broken relationship with a person we need to take this time to give it to the Lord.
Relationships no matter what type dating, marriage, sibling, parent, child, co-worker, boss, student, teacher and friend all have issues that need to be worked through.
Unfortunately most of the time we look at the actions and words of the other person or people and react to what they have done to us, how they have wronged us.
These things bother us and often times we don’t know how to handle them. We desire to have solid meaningful relationships and the older we get realize many relationships can be a series of let downs. We continue to be reactive instead of being proactive. We do unto others what they have done to us.
Lets look back to where this all started and then look at what God has to say about how we need to be proactive and change ourselves.
Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for man to be alone” God created us with the intention of us having relationship with Him and relationships with other people. He is a relational God and we talked about how our relationship to Him gives us purpose and how the more we follow and obey Him He will bless us with riches in eternity.
If He says that “it is not good for people to be alone”
Why is it so hard to deal with other people?
A defense mechanism when we can’t get along with others we isolate ourselves. Check this clip out about a man who was isolated from people and society for 4 years
Cast Away Video Clip Chuck from the movie had no choice but to be isolated from others but the clip shows what can happen to person that spends almost 4 years isolated from other people.
Proverbs 18:1 isolation is not good because we are being selfish and not working out the problems we have with others.
I would be pretty discouraged if my son came home from school and I asked him who he played with at recess and he showed me a ball. People don’t like me, I can’t get along with them, I would rather play by myself, this is my friend. There has been countless studies on the mental state of people when they are isolated from others.
Dean Ornish, in Love and Survival said
“Anything that promotes a sense of isolation often leads to illness and suffering. Anything that promotes a sense of love and intimacy, connection and community, is healing."
This sounds like a God’s intention for the Church… love, connection and community. Spiritual healing
Isolation and cut off relationships because you can’t work out problems leads to a sick heart with selfish desires and no hope.
The last part of the clip, after sobbing over the loss of a volley-ball named Wilson the main character lets the paddle float away. A loss of hope
If a main desire of our lives is to have meaningful relationships, how do we deal with all the relationships in this life? We have to become the person that God wants us to be, we don’t work on the “you”, other people, we work on the “me” ourselves.
Turn to the person next to you and say “Its not you its me”
God’s Word is a handbook about who you should be and if we follow it our success rate in relationships will increase. It will not be perfect.. Why
1. You will still mess up. 2. You are dealing with other people who will mess up as well, or may not be working on what they need to work on.
Romans 12:18 You are responsible for yourself
Philippians 2:1-4 Gives us a short outline not a comprehensive list of how we need to act to be the right “me” in all of our relationships.
A little background on this passage: Paul wrote this from jail, he was jailed for preaching about Jesus. And he was writing this letter to the Philippians and basically saying thanks for being who you are in Jesus. Thanks for being the “me” you are supposed to be. They were upset that he was in jail and Paul was encouraging them.
Vrs 1 If the truths of the Bible are real, That Jesus is love, if He binds believers together through the Holy Spirit living in our lives, and if He cares so deeply for us that He is willing to lay down His life for us, then this is how we should respond….
Vrs 2 Be committed to seeing your problems through, your focus needs to be on reconciling differences.
Vrs 3a becoming selfless, the main idea here is in any relationship we have in life there needs to be a sense of compromise. If everything has to be your way, you have some issues and you will not be able to have healthy relationships. Selfish people also want all the attention on themselves and they are not willing to go unnoticed.
Vrs 3b-4
Humility
Samuel Clemens better known by his pen name Mark Twain said, "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I was twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years."
Humility is coming to the point in which we realize I am not always right, I don’t always have the best ideas, other people are just as important as I am, I am not the center of the universe. No offense to Jr. High kids but that is what they are known for, being narcissistic. And that is to be expected when you are 13 or 14 not if you are 18, 30 or 45
Another step in selflessness and humility is putting the needs and interests of others before our own. When you are working on the “me” putting your desires second will help in working out difficult issues in relationships. Imagine a disagreement between you and another person and both of you are putting the other person before yourself. Instead of claiming to be right admitting wrong.
This is a radical change in perspective,
Looking at how I can work on the “me” is what Jesus modeled Phil 2:5-8
In order for us to have a relationship with Him He was willing to be crucified for our sins to make us right with Him. He said to us you are the ones who sin and I am going to put them on “Me”. It is you but I but I am making it Me”
We have to see people the way Jesus sees them, as people who need love, belonging, hope and a purpose and we have received all of that from God so we are called to communicate that to others. How can we do that if you are mad at them, holding a grudge, worrying about what they did wrong to us and isolating ourselves from them.
Phil 2:9-11 The result is the Father lifted Christ up in all authority.
The reward in this life is.. God will work those difficult relationships out if you work on the “me”
The first step to working on the “me” is getting your relationship with Jesus Christ right. First you have to trust Him
If you already do trust Him communion is a good time for a believer to remember what He did for you and get anything right with Him that is wrong.
The Bible says that Communion is a time to examine our own lives and the sin that we are holding onto, if we have a broken relationship with a person we need to take this time to give it to the Lord.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
"How to Get Rich" Desire Series
How to get rich?
Proverbs 13:12 When our hope is distracted we start to desire things that are not going to fill the void in our lives. Augustine “our hearts are restless until they find rest in God” When “desire comes it is a tree of life” living life’s purpose
One of the top desires that we have is wealth, maybe you do not desire to wealthy but you would like to be financially taken care of with a little extra to play with.
Our series “with my mind on money” really seemed to have an impact on all of us, so I realize money is something we all think about.
What does the Bible say about the desire to be rich? Matthew 6:19-21
Clear up any misconceptions this verse is not condemning having material possessions, saving for retirement or future planning. It is stating what your first priority should be.
The first thing we have to look at is why we should not focus too much energy on storing up treasures on earth.
Because it will not last, there is no guarantee that it will be there and most importantly it can be a huge distraction.
Mark 4:18-19 thorns of riches choke out their effectiveness for the Lord
1 Timothy 6:9 desire to be rich we fall into trouble
Eccles 2:9-11 the wealth leaves us lacking “Vanity chasing the wind”, “there was no profit under the sun”
I want to take a look at story from the Bible about a meeting a rich young ruler had with Jesus.
Luke 18:18-23 The assumption this man was under was Jesus was just a man
-No one is good only God is, so in order to have eternal life you would have to be perfect. So in reply Jesus said that the rich man was lacking from the perfect standard.
-Jesus says if the man sold everything and gave to the poor there would be “treasure in heaven” not you will go to heaven.
Then He said follow me
Luke 18:24-29
V26 The disciples were taken back because Jewish people at that time believed someone with great wealth must be blessed by God and the poor are cursed. Another thing that perplexed them was that wealth can keep people out of heaven.
When we compare Scripture with Scripture we see Zacchaeus in Luke 19 a rich man who trusts in Jesus and displays it by giving half of his possessions away. Jesus says “today salvation has come to this house”
V27 Then Jesus puts the emphasis on that people cannot save themselves only God can. God does offer Salvation to all and it is not by works it is through faith in Jesus.
Vrs 28-29 Peter reminds Jesus of their commitment and Jesus responds with two things
You will be blessed here in this “present age” and the “age to come”
Let me make a statement about being blessed in this “present age” God will bless you if you are seeking after Him.
What I really want to focus in on are these “treasures” or “blessings” in the age to come because that is truly the core of becoming rich.
First lets look at a key passage 1 Cor. 3:11-15 the foundation of what we do needs to be Jesus, that means we are doing “good works” in view of Him.
“Day” = Judgment seat of Christ 2 Cor 5:10 The time in which this will happen will be after the church is raptured, and it will take place before the “Millienial Riegn” If you are a little confused you can go to the5church.com and listen to the end times series that I taught in December.
Let me illustrate for you by sharing a reward system we have in our house with our children.
The Jewel Jars
So what are we as believers evaluated on? What are our Investments so to speak?
1. Following the Word of God
Mathew 5:19 Obeys commands and teaches them
Matthew 6:1-4 we are rewarded for helping the less fortunate
Matt 10:41-42 Acts of Kindness
Matt 16:27 Rewarded for our works
Luke 6:34-36 loving enemies
2. Being a faithful steward of what you are entrusted with. Luke 19:11-27 Faithful in little given much.
1 Cor. 3:5-8 Being a good steward in evangelism/discipleship
1 Cor. 4:2,5 Faithfulness, receive praise from God
Luke 6:22-24 rewarded for remaining faithful in persecution.
3. Our motives 1 Cor. 4:5 reveals the heart
If you are involved in a ministry or you are doing something “in the name of the Lord” for someone and deep down inside you want others to say look at how great that person is. You lost the reward that you would have gotten.
Jesus constantly rebuked the Pharisees for that.
Bottom line is anything done for the Lord is rewarded
So what is the deal with “Suffering loss”
3 ways we can understand that,
1. we know there are rewards to be had and when we are at the judgment seat we realize they are not ours.
2. we wasted time and had bad motives for doing what we did.
3. Feel shame 1 John 2:28 says And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
Another question arises, will we not be envious of others because they received more rewards? At the time of your judgment maybe if you can see the judgment of others but not in eternity because there is no sin.
Should a motivation for following the Lord be the rewards? The Bible says yes 1 Corinthains 9:24 “run in such a way that you my obtain the prize”
C.S. Lewis "...If we consider...the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures...like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the beach. We are far too easily pleased."
What are the rewards? And when are they enjoyed?
Primarily the rewards will be used and enjoyed in the 1000 year reign of Christ where believers will reign with Him.
Matt 25:19-23 & Luke 19:11-27 help us understand these rewards are. This parable that was repeated in Matthew and Luke speaks of a master that leaves his servants in charge while he is away establishing a kingdom elsewhere, when he comes back he finds 2 servants double the money he gave them and one hides it. To the two that double it he rewards to the one that does not he and he takes his money or responsibility from him.
1. Commendation, well done.
2. Joy and a closer fellowship
3. Greater responsibility and service in the 1000 year reign of Christ. 10 cities
The Bible also speaks of 5 different crowns for Christians that go over and above in there obedience to Christ.
Some suggest that the crowns thrown down in worship. The 24 elders in Revelation 4 is where this teaching comes from and scholars don’t agree that this is what we do with them.
So do you want to be rich? It is hard to imagine and our society conditions us to have things instantly and this is something delayed.
But God’s word encourages us to press on and not grow weary.
Galatians 6:9 “let us not grow weary in doing good because in due season we shall reap”
Jewels in the Jar.
Every time you act in obedience to the Word,
Every Time you Act in faithfulness especially in the small stuff and
Everything thing done with the proper and pure motive God will make you rich and you are guaranteed that treasure in heaven.
Proverbs 13:12 When our hope is distracted we start to desire things that are not going to fill the void in our lives. Augustine “our hearts are restless until they find rest in God” When “desire comes it is a tree of life” living life’s purpose
One of the top desires that we have is wealth, maybe you do not desire to wealthy but you would like to be financially taken care of with a little extra to play with.
Our series “with my mind on money” really seemed to have an impact on all of us, so I realize money is something we all think about.
What does the Bible say about the desire to be rich? Matthew 6:19-21
Clear up any misconceptions this verse is not condemning having material possessions, saving for retirement or future planning. It is stating what your first priority should be.
The first thing we have to look at is why we should not focus too much energy on storing up treasures on earth.
Because it will not last, there is no guarantee that it will be there and most importantly it can be a huge distraction.
Mark 4:18-19 thorns of riches choke out their effectiveness for the Lord
1 Timothy 6:9 desire to be rich we fall into trouble
Eccles 2:9-11 the wealth leaves us lacking “Vanity chasing the wind”, “there was no profit under the sun”
I want to take a look at story from the Bible about a meeting a rich young ruler had with Jesus.
Luke 18:18-23 The assumption this man was under was Jesus was just a man
-No one is good only God is, so in order to have eternal life you would have to be perfect. So in reply Jesus said that the rich man was lacking from the perfect standard.
-Jesus says if the man sold everything and gave to the poor there would be “treasure in heaven” not you will go to heaven.
Then He said follow me
Luke 18:24-29
V26 The disciples were taken back because Jewish people at that time believed someone with great wealth must be blessed by God and the poor are cursed. Another thing that perplexed them was that wealth can keep people out of heaven.
When we compare Scripture with Scripture we see Zacchaeus in Luke 19 a rich man who trusts in Jesus and displays it by giving half of his possessions away. Jesus says “today salvation has come to this house”
V27 Then Jesus puts the emphasis on that people cannot save themselves only God can. God does offer Salvation to all and it is not by works it is through faith in Jesus.
Vrs 28-29 Peter reminds Jesus of their commitment and Jesus responds with two things
You will be blessed here in this “present age” and the “age to come”
Let me make a statement about being blessed in this “present age” God will bless you if you are seeking after Him.
What I really want to focus in on are these “treasures” or “blessings” in the age to come because that is truly the core of becoming rich.
First lets look at a key passage 1 Cor. 3:11-15 the foundation of what we do needs to be Jesus, that means we are doing “good works” in view of Him.
“Day” = Judgment seat of Christ 2 Cor 5:10 The time in which this will happen will be after the church is raptured, and it will take place before the “Millienial Riegn” If you are a little confused you can go to the5church.com and listen to the end times series that I taught in December.
Let me illustrate for you by sharing a reward system we have in our house with our children.
The Jewel Jars
So what are we as believers evaluated on? What are our Investments so to speak?
1. Following the Word of God
Mathew 5:19 Obeys commands and teaches them
Matthew 6:1-4 we are rewarded for helping the less fortunate
Matt 10:41-42 Acts of Kindness
Matt 16:27 Rewarded for our works
Luke 6:34-36 loving enemies
2. Being a faithful steward of what you are entrusted with. Luke 19:11-27 Faithful in little given much.
1 Cor. 3:5-8 Being a good steward in evangelism/discipleship
1 Cor. 4:2,5 Faithfulness, receive praise from God
Luke 6:22-24 rewarded for remaining faithful in persecution.
3. Our motives 1 Cor. 4:5 reveals the heart
If you are involved in a ministry or you are doing something “in the name of the Lord” for someone and deep down inside you want others to say look at how great that person is. You lost the reward that you would have gotten.
Jesus constantly rebuked the Pharisees for that.
Bottom line is anything done for the Lord is rewarded
So what is the deal with “Suffering loss”
3 ways we can understand that,
1. we know there are rewards to be had and when we are at the judgment seat we realize they are not ours.
2. we wasted time and had bad motives for doing what we did.
3. Feel shame 1 John 2:28 says And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.
Another question arises, will we not be envious of others because they received more rewards? At the time of your judgment maybe if you can see the judgment of others but not in eternity because there is no sin.
Should a motivation for following the Lord be the rewards? The Bible says yes 1 Corinthains 9:24 “run in such a way that you my obtain the prize”
C.S. Lewis "...If we consider...the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures...like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the beach. We are far too easily pleased."
What are the rewards? And when are they enjoyed?
Primarily the rewards will be used and enjoyed in the 1000 year reign of Christ where believers will reign with Him.
Matt 25:19-23 & Luke 19:11-27 help us understand these rewards are. This parable that was repeated in Matthew and Luke speaks of a master that leaves his servants in charge while he is away establishing a kingdom elsewhere, when he comes back he finds 2 servants double the money he gave them and one hides it. To the two that double it he rewards to the one that does not he and he takes his money or responsibility from him.
1. Commendation, well done.
2. Joy and a closer fellowship
3. Greater responsibility and service in the 1000 year reign of Christ. 10 cities
The Bible also speaks of 5 different crowns for Christians that go over and above in there obedience to Christ.
Some suggest that the crowns thrown down in worship. The 24 elders in Revelation 4 is where this teaching comes from and scholars don’t agree that this is what we do with them.
So do you want to be rich? It is hard to imagine and our society conditions us to have things instantly and this is something delayed.
But God’s word encourages us to press on and not grow weary.
Galatians 6:9 “let us not grow weary in doing good because in due season we shall reap”
Jewels in the Jar.
Every time you act in obedience to the Word,
Every Time you Act in faithfulness especially in the small stuff and
Everything thing done with the proper and pure motive God will make you rich and you are guaranteed that treasure in heaven.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
"Meant to Live" Desire Series
“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.
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)