Message Outlines
II Corinthians 5:16, 17
One of the biggest impacts that Christianity had on the culture of its day
was how it challenged how members in society viewed each other. In first
century Rome people were placed in certain classes and the classes didn’t
mix.
According to the Gospel, there was to be no distinction between slave or free, rich or poor. Once a person became a Christian they were not to be looked upon according to their social or economic status. Only in Christianity could a slave ever imagine that they could be free.
Galatians 3:26-28
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you
who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is
neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
II Corinthians 5:16, 17
Therefore, from now on we recognize no one according to their past or present
position, or how they are viewed in society. Therefore, if any one is in
Christ, they are a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold,
new things have come.
God looks on the inside, not on the outside of people. God is not easily impressed, and neither should we be. We shouldn’t treat people any better than someone else based on social status. In today’s society we gauge a person’s worth according to how much they make, or what they do.
As believers, no matter what our status is or was in this life we are all
“royalty and
holy priests.”
I Peter 2:5
You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for
a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.
I Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for
God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who
has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
James 2:1-5
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with
an attitude of personal favoritism. For if someone comes into your assembly
with expensive jewelry and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes
in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one
who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, "You sit here in a good place,"
and you say to the poor man, "You stand over there, or sit down by
my footstool,"
James 2:1-5
have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with
evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of
this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised
to those who love Him?
All people are on a level playing field with God. No one gets ahead of
the line because of status or reputation. God is no respecter of persons,
so neither should we be.
Those who think that they should be first may be last
(Mat.19:30).
I Corinthians 1:26-31
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and
God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are
strong, and the base things of the world and the despised. God has chosen
those of lesser reputation over the popular.
Matthew 23:11, 12
But the greatest among you shall be the servant.
And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself
shall be exalted.
“Speak, Lord, for Your Servant is Listening.”
How has God Spoken to humanity?
(Hebrews 1:1, 2) God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us through and in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also He made the world.
If God is speaking are we taking the time to listen?
We must learn HOW to
listen to God.
Do we honestly want to hear what God is saying to us?
Who are you talking to when you pray?
Jesus said when you pray,
pray in His name
(John 14:13)
"And when you pray in My name, that will I do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son.”
Jesus is seated at the right hand side of the Father interceding on our behalf as our High Priest and all who come to the Father must come through Jesus.
(Hebrews 3:1)
Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus,
who is our intercessor and the High Priest of our prayers.
(Romans 8:26, 27)
in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how
to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings
too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of
the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will
of God.
On many issues God has already spoken. How does God
speak today?
The Methodist Church uses what is called the Quadrilateral: Scripture, Tradition,
Reason and Experience.
The Catholic Church follows: Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the living Magisterium.
God speaks through
His Son,
the Holy Spirit,
His Word,
Church Leadership,
Prayer,
Church History,
and the Body of Christ.
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth
(John 16:13)
"But when the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of truth, comes,
He will guide you into
all truth.”
To hear from God in prayer
you have to:
1. Believe that God exists
(Hebrews 11:6) without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those
who earnestly seek Him.
2. Believe that God loves you.
3. Believe that God knows all things and knows what is best for you.
4. NOT be double minded.
(James 1:6-8)
“Ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like
the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that person
expect that they will receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded,
and unstable in all their ways.”
(Hebrews 4:7)
"Today if you hear God’s voice, do not harden
your hearts."
What is God saying to you today?
Are you open to hear
His voice?
Are you willing to say
“Speak, Lord, for Your Servant is Listening?”
Intimacy With God
Adam and Eve had the kind of intimacy
with God where they would walk with God and converse with Him.
After they sinned and broke communion with God, they experienced a separation
or lack of intimacy with God and each other.
In fact, they felt like they had
to hide from God and cover themselves because they felt exposed (Gen.3:7-10).
As children of Adam and Eve our ability to be totally intimate and honest
with God and each other has been affected.
Throughout the Bible, those who
are in a covenant relationship with God are said to be “married”
to God.
When Israel would worship other gods, God would accuse them of being unfaithful
and committing adultery.
(Ephesians 5:23-32)
Jesus is called the bridegroom of the Church Marriage is to reflect the
kind of relationship Christ has with the Church.
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
“Love the Lord your God with all of our heart, soul and might.”
It is a totally committed relationship.
What does it mean to know the heart
of God?
King David was a
“man after God’s own heart”.
At the core of his being he wanted to do the will of God and please Him.
You could see his heart in the Psalms he wrote.
We are able to please God much more than David was able to do because of Jesus and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
Intimacy is based on truth.
It exposes us to the truth.
You cannot have true intimacy
without being honest and open.
You will never truly have intimacy
with God without first knowing what the Bible says about God; otherwise
you will have a relationship based on misinformation,
or half truths.
You will always be hindered if you
are unaware of the truths of the Bible.
You cannot have true intimacy with God without rules and guidelines,
but rules without a relationship lead to rebellion.
It may seem obvious, but you cannot
have intimacy without a relationship.
Some are under the misconception that having an intimate relationship with
God is somehow to be developed “outside of the institutional Church.”
There is no true intimacy outside of a relationship with the Body of Christ.
Having a personal relationship with Jesus is more than just saying the sinner’s prayer.
Intimacy develops out of interaction
with fellow believers.
We must be able to speak the truth in love (Eph.4:15).
The word fellowship in the Bible
can also be defined as intimacy.
The Greek word for fellowship in the N.T. is the word “Koinonia.”
(Acts 2:42)
And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching
and to fellowship/intimacy, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
(1 John 1:7)
But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship/intimacy
with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
(2 Corinthians 6:14)
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership has righteousness
and lawlessness, or what fellowship/intimacy has light with darkness?
You can’t have intimacy with God without talking to Him every day and not just when you’re in trouble.
So how can we experience God’s
presence and have
intimacy with God?
Through studying
and meditating on God’s word,
prayer,
worship,
service,
and fellowship.
Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt.
(Rev.2:4)
“You have left your first love.”
For believers, the Bible is a love
letter from God to us.
Have you ever felt like you were reading someone else’s mail?
Many people are looking to experience and fill a kind of intimacy that can only be filled by having a relationship with Jesus.
Success,
materialism and money,
drugs,
pornography,
sex,
or other people,
cannot replace the kind of intimacy that only
God can satisfy.
The act of prayer is much more than just reciting words of a prayer, mentioning a need, or someone’s name, it connects us to those we are interceding for and to. It connects us to God and the hosts of heaven! While we are meditating in prayer we are getting into a “flow” or connecting to a “stream of consciousness” greater than ourselves.
With God, time and space are meaningless.
Distance and time do not exist in God’s presence. When we pray we
are literally standing before the throne of God where Jesus is seated at
the right hand side of the Father and is interceding as our High Priest.
He is the High Priest of our intercessions. One of the main themes of the
Book of Hebrews is the topic of Jesus as our
Heavenly High Priest.
(Hebrews 12:1)
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let
us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles
us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
When someone dies we call them “separated loved ones.” But God is a God of the living not the dead. We are never truly separated from those who die.
The term “communion of saints”
is defined as not just fellowshipping with members here on earth. It’s
the idea that we are always a part of all the saints both here and in heaven.
You are never truly alone.
We intercede on behalf of people here, so why wouldn’t that intercession continue in heaven? We see in the Book of Revelation the hosts of heaven in an act of worship and interceding before the throne of God on behalf of believers.
(I Cor.12:12-26)
Paul said that we are interconnected like a human body and when one part
hurts the whole body is affected.
Does that end when we go to be with the Lord?
Memories are powerful.
They are more than just a recording of events or ideas,
they connect us. All you need to do is picture and imagine an event or someone
and it’s as if you are connected.
What about memories of when God
answered a prayer?
God uses our memories to connect us to Him.
So how can we experience God’s presence and stay connected?
Studying and meditating on God’s
Word,
prayer,
worship,
acts of sacrifice,
Christian fellowship.
Today we define love as some passing
emotion that we fall in and out of, or a feeling, or even a physical act.
But if what the scripture says is true in (1 John 4:16) God is love, and
the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. Then love
is much more! It connects us to God!
It says in (Rom. 8:38, 39)
“nothing can disconnect us from the love of God… not even death!”
Love is much more than an emotion, true love is
God’s love.
The love of God that we share with
others keeps us connected to those whom we love and nothing can separate
us from them.
The love of God is the glue that connects us and
binds us all together.
If God is eternal,
then God’s love is eternal
and we as believers
are eternally connected.
God is the cure for our loneliness.
Jesus said that He through the Holy Spirit would be with us always, even
until the ends of the earth.
We are NEVER truly alone!
OUCH!
Hebrews 12:5-11
While God does forgive our sin, it would be unloving for Him to not have us work on that sin.
Hebrews 12:5-11
5 Have you forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as children?
"My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose heart
when you are corrected by Him; 6 for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
and He disciplines every child whom He receives." 7 It is for the sake
of discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with children; for
what child is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are
without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate
children.
9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected
them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and
live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them,
but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. 11
All discipline at the time does not seem to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet
to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful
fruit of righteousness.
We think that real love is that we should be free to do whatever whenever we want, that produces spoiled and undisciplined children.
We have falsely interpreted God’s love and patience as permissiveness, or lack of judgment, and since God is love we have falsely interpreted who God is!
The Church has been given the responsibility
of raising children.
Is the church in danger of raising immature spoiled kids who never reach
full maturity?
The church is a place of love revealed through instruction and correction, as well as grace and mercy.
We all have to learn how to deal with correction and disappointments in life, but we seem to think that the church and our relationship with God should be without conflicts.
Do we imagine heaven as being like some kind of eternal playground, or a place where we get to do what we want without restraint? The lessons of earth continue in heaven.
When it is said that sin is sin, we are not saying that all sins have the same consequences, or for instance murder is the same as lying. We are not throwing up our hands and resigning ourselves and saying my sin is the same as yours and we shouldn’t make distinctions. Otherwise, we will find ourselves condoning, excusing, or minimizing various sins.
Jesus said
to repent
of all sin
and be reconciled!
When Jesus forgives us of our sins, He is not saying that our sin was okay.
One of the ways that a good shepherd will teach a sheep not to wander is to break one of its legs, set and bind the leg and carry the sheep on its shoulder until it is healed.
Jesus is our good shepherd.
He will allow our spiritual leg to be broken in order for us to learn how
to follow Him.
The real issue is whether or not we will learn from it.
We are a divine work of art that God is not finished with yet, like the potter and the clay, but the clay must still be pounded, shaped and heated in order to be conformed to the image of what the potter had intended.
Many today want to give up on the image God has created for humanity, or try to redefine and reshape the intended design.
Many times we fight the trials and tribulations in our life, only to discover that God has placed them there to shape us into His image.
1 Peter 1:6, 7
Greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have
been distressed by various trials, 7 know that the proof of your faith,
is more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire,
you may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the appearance
of Jesus.
God’s love never gives up
on His creation.
God never gave up on the Children of Israel even though at times they were
not faithful to Him. God allowed them to go through intense trials.
It is not the absence of conflict
in our lives that reveals God’s presence, but rather the presence
of it.
If God leaves us to ourselves it would be an unloving act.
Are you working to be conformed
to God’s image, or have you given up and resigned yourself?
God never leaves us
where He finds us!
Many times I’m sure we wish
that God would just leave us alone and have us stay as we are, but that
would not be love.
God so loved the world that He will not leave it to itself and its own design.
It is correct to say that God loves
sinners, but it is the love of God that corrects sinners.
To leave a sinner a sinner is an unloving act. If we are God’s children
He will never abandon us.
Some Responses
Charles Templeton
“Farewell to God”
Bart Ehrman
“God’s Problem”
The Bible’s Response
The Bible gives no excuses, or apologies, for suffering in the world,
even though God exists. It gives many different answers.
Jesus did not come to address the issue of suffering, or to take it away, but to pay for the penalty of sin.
The fact remains, that Jesus, being
God, even suffered!
Bad things do happen to good people!
The miracles of Jesus did not eliminate that person’s suffering forever, but allowed them to be in right relationship with God.
(2 Timothy 3:12)
All who desire to live Godly in Christ Jesus will suffer.
(Colossians 1:24)
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share
on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is
lacking in Christ's afflictions.
Our response
What do you believe? We have the unspoken expectation that if we believe in God that somehow we will be spared suffering in this life. We have absolutely no biblical support for that idea, yet we continue to look in the Bible for references that will emancipate us.
We always seem surprised and even offended when the innocent suffer, or when someone dies, or if we experience personal suffering, because we want to be able to control the events of life.
When God made humanity and gave us free will, He never took away our responsibility for the suffering in this world, or said that we would be spared.
We should not be asking the question why does God allow suffering, but rather why do we, and what are we doing about it.
But not all suffering is the result of free will. When natural disasters occur we call them “acts of God.” Why? Because they are unexplainable, unpredictable, uncontrollable and only God knows when and why they happen.
Natural disasters will come regardless, because according to the Bible the earth along with ourselves are going through birth pains (Romans 8:22).
The acts of God are what follow
the natural disaster
when God’s people become “God’s language.”
When people become agnostics they are saying that the Bible, God, and His ways don’t seem to make sense to them. The irony is they are right!
We assume that we will understand and agree with, or like the answer. So instead of turning to God and trusting Him, even though we don’t understand, some turn away from God, or look to other belief systems that makes more sense to them, such as atheism and agnosticism.
God is very concerned about the human condition and participated in it through Jesus, but suffering is a part of the human condition that cannot be removed to its fullest extent while on this earth for reasons that God only knows.
Our goal should be to seek and
to do God’s will even if it requires our own suffering.
Suffering can be redemptive for the human condition.
It’s not as simple as good things come from God and bad things from the devil. God is God because He is able to use even suffering, not just take it away.
There are many reasons why people suffer and we are all able to learn from suffering. If this is all there is then going through suffering holds no hope.
What will be your response to suffering?
We can either allow those that suffer to be used as examples we can learn from and honor their sacrifice, or let their suffering be in vain.
It is not a question of where does
suffering come from and why God allows it, but rather where does it lead.
It’s all in how we respond to it.
We are the “living testimony”
of God’s Word. We must actually live out the Gospel. We must embody
the Gospel.
We are the continuation of the Bible.
The Book of Acts is still being written
through our lives.
(Hebrews 4:12)
“The Word of God
is living.”
It’s not some book
you put on a shelf
that collects dust!
So what is being written
in your book?
Maybe you need to
dust yourself off
and get back in the game?
2. Living Sacrifice
(Rom.12:1)
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Israel was reminded many times by God that He took no pleasure in the sacrifice of animals, but that it was a “symbol” of their own life that was to be offered up as a pleasing sacrifice.
3. Living Temple
(I Cor.3:16, 17)
Do you not know that you are a living temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
(I Cor.6:19, 20)
Do you not know that your body is a living temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
(II Cor.6:16)
For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
(II Cor.5:1)
We are a spiritual house not made with human hands, but heavenly.
4. Living Stones
(I Pet.2:5)
You are living stones, and are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Whenever God would do something special in a certain place, a stone was erected to commemorate that event, so when people would look upon it they would be reminded of what God had done in memorial.
We are not to be just some stones planted in a spot, but we are to be living stones that continue to give testimony of what God has done in our lives and in the lives of others.
I’ve heard it said…
that if we don’t have a testimony about what God has done in our lives recently, that maybe we are in need of a confession.
The Bible is a
“living testimony”
of what God has done, but you also are to be a
“living testimony”
of what God has done.
We are to live our lives
as an open book.
(James 1:2-8)
Is the definition of a belief and
faith mean that we trust in something that
doesn’t exist?
What do we believe Jesus
was like?
Many times we
distort that picture
and create a Jesus
that does not exist.
What do we believe
about ourselves?
What we believe about ourselves
and what we can and should do
as believers must be grounded in scripture.
The Bible is a
“mirror of the soul,”
(II Cor.3:18).
Are you willing to look into the mirror of scripture and test what you believe in?
The apostles were willing to die for what they believed in.
(James 1:2-4)
says to rejoice in times of “testing of your faith” because
of what it is able to reveal.
There are a lot of
“theoretical Christians.”
Unless your belief is
“testable and verifiable”
it isn’t faith at all,
it’s just a theory.
To say that we believe in Christ is just the beginning; it’s what we do with that belief and how we act on it that distinguishes us as Jesus’ disciples.
An action tests
a theory
and brings a belief
into reality!
That action is
powered by faith!
Are we so confident
in the fact that
we “believe” in Jesus?
Even demons
believe in God
(James.2:19).
(James 2:20)
Faith
without action
is useless!
What is faith?
(Hebrews 11:1)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen.
It is saying that what
we are hoping for
does exist,
but is just
not seen now.
If you can have faith to believe
that Jesus saved you and you’re going to heaven,
why can’t you have faith to believe God for other things?
Faith is NOT a blind step in the
dark!
It is based on reality and testing!
It is verifiable!
Faith doesn’t cease being faith if it is seen.
Our faith in Christ and what the Bible says is true is not a blind faith in something that doesn’t exist, or is a matter of one’s own opinion, but it is a verifiable faith.
The apostles testified of that which
they had
“seen and touched,”
(I John 1:1)
and they had great faith.
Peter was being asked by Jesus to test and see if what he believed in was true when He asked him to come walking on the water to Him.
A disciple
is always
expected to do
what His
Rabbi does.
All of us go though faith lessons
to test and see what we are made of,
but if we never step out of the boat we will never know, grow, and learn.
We are not
“testing or tempting God” when we step out in faith
and do what Jesus said we could and should already be doing through the
power and guidance of the
Holy Spirit.
(James 1:5-8)
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously
and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
1:6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts
is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
1:7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
1:8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The Bible assumes
that you will be doing
what Jesus did.
What do you believe
is possible?
Seeing is not believing,
believing is seeing!
Faith and action
go hand in hand!
(Mark 9:23)
“All things
are possible
to him
who believes.”
Go show
the world
what you
believe!
“Doing What Jesus Did!”
(I John 2:6)
What did Jesus do?
1. healed the sick
in body and mind
2. fed the hungry
3. taught scripture
4. made disciples
5. confronted injustice
and corruption
6. called people to repentance
7. came to serve
8. spoke the truth
9. suffered persecution
10. baptized
What did Jesus do
that only He could do?
Died for our sins
What did Jesus do that He expected
His disciples
to do?
People knew that the disciples had
been with Jesus,
because they did and said the things Jesus did and said.
“People will know you are my disciples, when you have love for each other.”
(Mat. 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-18)
The Great commission
“Go into all the world and
preach the Gospel.”
“These signs shall follow
those who believe.”
What did Jesus
and the disciples do
that we are expected
to do today?
(John 14:12)
"Truly, truly, I say to you,
he who believes in Me,
the works that I do
shall he do also;
and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go to the Father”.
Was there anything
that the disciples did
that we are not
expected to do today?
Write scripture.
Doing the things that Jesus did
is dangerous and involves risk!
Part of the reason we have the particular
challenges to Christianity that we have today is because we were ashamed
of the Gospel and didn’t do the things
Jesus did.
Are you willing to do
whatever it takes,
to do the things
Jesus did?
How can we do the things
Jesus and His disciples did,
after all, He was God?
Where God leads
He empowers.
Only through the
power and guidance
of the Holy Spirit.
Paul gave lists of various gifts
of the Spirit that would
be at our disposal
for the purpose of
equipping the saints
for the work of the ministry
(I Cor.12, Eph.4: 11-13).
If all you’re going to do
is keep the car parked
in the driveway
you don’t need to fill
the gas tank.
Are you being
Faithful,
Available
Teachable?
What are you willing
to step out and trust God for?
When was the last time
you did what Jesus did?
When you do the things
Jesus did miracles can happen!
Being a disciple is defined
as being a “follower of Jesus,”
and as a “walk.”
(I John 2:6)
“Whoever is in Christ
must walk as Jesus walked.”
Being a Christian
is to do what Jesus did.
(Romans 1:16)
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation
to everyone who believes!”
D o
W hat
J esus
D id
Today’s
Message January 20th…
“Follow Me!”
Matthew 16:24
How did someone become a disciple?
In the time of Jesus, a disciple, or student, would follow and learn from the Rabbi of a local synagogue. If they showed talent the Rabbi would allow them to follow him in order to be like him. They would take upon themselves the “yoke of the Rabbi.” To be a disciple of a Rabbi means to be like the Rabbi and to do the things the Rabbi did and to walk like him.
How did Jesus choose disciples?
Jesus chose His disciples, they didn’t choose Him.
(Mat 4:18-20) “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
(Mat.16:24) “Take up your cross and follow Me.”
Jesus didn’t choose the
cream of the crop.
If they really wanted to be a disciple they dropped everything!
In the early church you had to go through classes for a year to become a Christian and then be baptized on Easter.
What does it mean to be a disciple
today?
(I John 2:6)
“Whoever is in Christ
must walk as Jesus walked.”
We must do the things
that the Rabbi did.
(Matthew 20:28)
Following Jesus means
becoming a servant.
“I did not come to be served, but to serve.”
Are we to suffer
like Jesus?
(Romans 8:17)
“We are to endure hardships as He did.”
(Colossians 1:24)
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions.
What does that mean?
We may not be suffering individually, but when one of our fellow believers
in the body of Christ suffers, we all suffer.
Are we willing to be persecuted as others have been?
Will we be hated and persecuted like Jesus was?
Jesus epitomized God’s love
and He was hated.
Being a disciple of Jesus is Dangerous!
Are we just dabbling
in discipleship?
Have we confused church membership and attendance with discipleship?
People knew when someone had been
with Rabbi Jesus.
They did and said the things Jesus did and said.
God uses people who are passionate
about following Him.
Passion isn’t taught
it’s caught!
The disciples sat under Jesus’
tutelage.
Where are you being taught?
(Matthew 28:19)
“Go and make disciples of Jesus!”
Be replicated and
go replicate!
Go do what Jesus did!
What’s stopping you?
What are you afraid of?
What do you have to drop
to be a disciple?
Are you too tangled up?
Jesus chose us and believes in us!
(Matthew 11:29)
"Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest
for your souls.”
In order to
meet the challenges
we face today
you must be a disciple,
there is no substitute!
What are the requirements
in order to be a disciple?
Be Faithful,
Available,
and Teachable,
not perfect.
(I John 2:6)
“Whoever is in Christ
must walk
as Jesus walked.”
You Are Dangerous!
January 13th…
“The End of Christianity?”
Pastor Brian
(II Timothy 4:3, 4)
For the time will come when people will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth.
What are some of the challenges
to today’s Christianity?
Challenges
1. Ongoing legal battles to remove any reference to the Judeo / Christian
faith from public display
2. Atheism and Revisionism in America
3. Scientific community
4. Apathy
5. Lack of Education
6. Secularization
7. Marginalization
8. Lack of Outreach
9. Institutionalization
10. Islam
Is today’s Christianity the changing force and presence in our world
as it started out as, or is it changing?
(1 Peter 4:17)
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it
begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey
the gospel of God?
The Church will never come to an
end
because Jesus said that the “gates of hell
would NOT prevail against it.”
"What Child Is This?"
(Isaiah 9:6, 7)
For to us a child will be born and a son will be given; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government, or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore.
There seems to be a secular, atheistic, and revisionist movement in America that is trying to take Christianity and any reference to God out of our society, culture and politics?
Christianity has always struggled
with being secularized.
5 Challenges
1. Ongoing legal battles to take God out of the pledge of allegiance and
off the currency.
2. Various attempts to remove displays
of the Christmas nativity and the Ten Commandments from public display.
3. Atheism and Revisionism.
4. Atheistic curriculum in our schools.
5. Political pressure.
So what does all this have to do
with a child
that was born 2,000 years ago?
Does Christianity continue to create political, cultural, and religious change, or are we changing our theology so as to not make waves in our attempt to just get along?
What does it mean to have a
personal, or private relationship
with God?
Matthew 10:34
He did not come to bring peace,
but a sword.
The Apostles
were not ashamed
of the Gospel,
are we?
November 25th
“Is Anything Sacred?”
( Romans 12:1, 2)
The Bible defines the word “sacred” as the same word for “holy
and sanctified.”
It means to be set apart, and separated for
a single purpose.
God defines
what is holy,
because
God is holy.
The Bible gives examples of what
is to be holy:
God’s Name
People
Relationships
Actions
God’s Temple
(2 Corinthians 6:17)
"Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,
says the Lord.”
(I Pet.1:15, 16)
“Be holy as I am holy.”
(Genesis 1:26, 27)
We are made in the Image of God.
(Which is “holy.”)
(I Cor.3:16, 17, 6:19, 20)
“You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
You have been purchased; therefore, you are not to “desecrate the
temple.”
To commit “sacrilege” means to make common, secularize, defile, disrespect, profane, blaspheme, be irreverent and desecrate.
Marriage, the family, and the body, become empty and cheapened of its design when they are taken out of the context of the sacred.
God’s love and design is not correctly expressed in other forms, or expressions, of sexuality, other than that which is expressed in Godly love and marriage between a man and a woman.
(Hebrews 13:4)
Let marriage be held in sacred trust among all, and let the marriage bed
be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
(Ephesians 5:23-32)
Marriage is supposed to reflect the kind of relationship Christ has with
the Church, His bride.
Human relationships are supposed
to be sacred.
Society has cheapened them and made them
secular instead of sacred
recreational instead of reverential.
Sex outside of marriage is not God’s design. Everything we do with this body is considered to be sacred and an “act of worship.”
(Romans 12:1)
I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship.
Human beings are created by God, therefore, God defines what constitutes a marriage and the family, not the government, or the state.
We have interpreted free will, free choice, and free speech, as a license to do and say what we please and redefine as we please.
Should we tolerate the redefining of what God calls sacred, or take a stand and reclaim it?
So if the family, marriage, and
the human body, are not considered sacred in our society, are we called
to be “counter cultural,”
or to reflect our society’s norms and mores?
(I Peter 2:9)
As Christians we are a called out people!
(James 4:4)
“Friendship with the world’s values is to be an enemy of God.”
(I Jh.2:15)
“We are not to love the world.”
Will you recommit yourself to be sacred?
September 2nd...
What Would it Take?
(Philippians 1:21)
Do you remember the last time you made a promise you later didn’t keep?
The things we do in life have various
consequences.
It’s one of the reasons we place worth and value
on something.
What are
you willing
to sacrifice
your life for?
What we value the most forms our
priorities.
What would it take for you to change your priorities?
Is what you are doing
have eternal worth?
Are you storing up heavenly treasure?
How seriously
do we take
our faith?
Ever heard the term “cheap
grace”?
It’s the idea that the grace and forgiveness of God carries with it
little cost, responsibility and gratitude on the part of the believer.
There is nothing cheap
or free
about the grace of God,
it costs dearly.
(Phil.1:21)
“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
(Gal.2:20)
“It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.”
Have we forgotten that our “citizenship
is in heaven” right now?
(Phil.3:20)
What would it take…?
1. To make a change in your relationship with God?
2. To make a change in your relationship with your loved ones?
3. To make a change in your attitude about worship and learning more of
God’s word?
The Bible declares that in order
to be fit for the Kingdom of God that
we “must change.”
August 19th…
“Dealing With Disappointments”
James 1:2-8
Some areas of disappointment
relationships
physical
financial
occupation
the church
or God?
Should we just lower our expectations
so we are not disappointed?
Are our expectations realistic?
How does the Bible use the word
disappointment?
“to be put to shame,
or humiliated”.
It states that we need
not be disappointed,
or let down,
if we have hope.
(Rom.5:5, 9:33, 10:11)
hope is not disappointed.
(Psalm 22:5).
Trusting in God never leads to disappointment.
James 1:2-8
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing
that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have
its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men
generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him
ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf
of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that
he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable
in all his ways.
1 Peter 1:7
the result of the testing of your faith, is more precious than gold which
is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise
and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Is it possible to
“consider it all joy”
when disappointed?
Is it even possible to have a positive attitude when you are disappointed?
How did people
in the Bible
deal with
dis-appointments?
(Acts 16:25)
Paul sang hymns to God
in the midst of trials.
Paul never became
a victim of his circumstances.
Is there a personal and eternal purpose, or lesson to learn, even if there seems to be no benefit?
It is only beneficial if we see
things through God’s eyes.
We fail to see the bigger picture.
If this is all there is, then no, things don’t make sense and life is filled with random and purposeless disappointing events.
When I think about those who have
gone before me that are waiting for me and cheering me on, life has purpose.
When I think about those here on earth that depend on me,
life has purpose.
When I think about all that Christ went through for me,
life has purpose
Do we need an attitude adjustment
today?
Do we truly trust that God is looking out for our welfare?
Nothing takes God by surprise,
with Him there are no dis-appointments,
only
“Godly appointments.”
Repeat after me:
I will not be a victim of my circumstances.
I will not allow disappointments in my life to rule me.
I will trust in God’s faithfulness, no matter what comes my way.
July 29th...
"A House of Cards!"
The scripture compares
us to a House and a Temple
(1 Peter 2:5) you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual
house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ.
(1 Corinthians 3:16) Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Jesus is over our
house
(Hebrews 3:6)
but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house whose house we are, if we
hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
What is your house
built upon?
Is the foundation that you are building on stable, or just a house of cards?
Are you one card away from collapse?
Is Christ your foundation, or just an accessory?
What is your faith
built upon?
What would it take for your faith in God and the Church to collapse?
A moral failure?
A tragedy?
Disappointments?
Important Foundations
1. Prayer
2. Study
3. Worship
4. Service
What are your relationships
and family structure built upon?
Important Foundations
1. Communication
2. Honesty
3. Love
4. Commitment
How do I stop building a house of cards and start building a house that will stand?
Building a house
that will stand and endure the storms of life.
(Matthew 7:24-27)
"Everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be
compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. 25 "And
the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against
that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
26 "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon
them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. 27
"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
(Matthew 12:25)
a house divided
against itself
shall not stand.
What are you doing to make and keep your house unshakeable and impenetrable?
Maybe it’s time for some spiritual spring cleaning in order to get our house in order.
(Joshua 24:15)
As for me
and my house,
we will serve
the LORD.
What are Catholicism’s
5 teachings
on Mary?
To learn more click on this link Mary
We must understand "Typology"
1. Mother of God
/ God bearer.
“Theotokos”
While Mary was pregnant
she was greeted by Elizabeth in (Lk.1:43)
“the mother of my Lord.”
“new Ark of the Covenant,” (II Sam.6:9, 11)
housing the Word of God
(2 tablets)
bread of life
(manna)
and the new high priesthood
(Aaron’s rod).
2. The Perpetual
Virginity of Mary
remained a virgin
before,
during, and
after
the birth of Jesus.
“Spouse of
the Holy Spirit”
“the Woman and New Eve”
of (Gen.3:15).
She is also called the
“Mother of the Church.”
Jesus being the bridegroom
3. The Immaculate
Conception
Mary was conceived
without the stain
of original sin
“Full of Prevenient Grace”
(Lk.1:28, Eph.1:6) means to be
perfected in grace.
This does NOT mean that she never sinned, or that she was not in need of salvation.
4. The Assumption
of Mary
did not “ascend” into heaven
like Jesus did.
She is considered to be a type or foreshadowing of an “assumption”
or “catching up” that all believers will experience (I Thes.4:17).
Similiar to that of Enoch and Elijah.
5. Mediatrix /
Co-advocate / Co-redemptrix
since Christ is our Mediator and Advocate, Mary as His mother, and as a
Christian, participates in these aspects.
Mary as co-redemptrix does not mean she is also our redeemer, but as a result of her birthing the redeemer, she participated in humanity’s redemption
Do Catholics “pray to” Mary for her intercession rather than Jesus?
They believe in
the
“communion of saints,”
and that all believers in heaven are in constant intercession for believers
here on earth.
Mary is NOT supposed
to be worshipped,
Only revered.
Mary is the
“Queen of Heaven”
Givarah
(I Kings 2:13-19)
Since Jesus is still King, Mary as his mother would still be Queen
What did the
Reformers believe?
Luther
Calvin
Wesley
They believed in the first 3 dogmas
To honor the mother of Jesus is to honor Jesus, there isn’t a competition.
The doctrines of
Christ
are supported by the doctrines of Mary
July 1st…
“The Inconvenient Truth”
(John 8:32)
Are we living out the truths of
the Gospel, or what is convenient?
How many things do we believe and actually do out of convenience, rather
than out of conviction, commitment and study?
An unexamined life
is not
worth living.”
Do we measure
our success in life
by how
convenient things
are?
Is telling
the truth
ever
convenient?
It’s easy for us
to believe a lie
as truth
through our own rationalizations and denial; it’s convenient.
There are things
that we believe and do
that are not totally honest,
many times as a result
of fear of what others
may think about us.
I wonder how many
of the bad things that have happened throughout history are based upon believing
a lie, or dishonesty.
Sometimes telling the truth won’t
bring about the result we want in others, but maybe it’s meant to
bring about the right result in us.
Give God a chance to do a work in you.
Are you living a lie?
How about in
your relationships?
We tend to hide the truth
and hide from the truth.
Sometimes knowing the truth is painful,
but isn’t believing and living a lie
more destructive?
Truth brings about change,
and change makes our lives “inconvenient,”
thus truth makes our lives “inconvenient.”
Jesus said that He was the Truth
(John 14:6).
Jesus also said that the truth
would set us free
(John 8:32).
Speaking and living the truth
can be risky, but yet we are still
called to live lives of integrity.
Telling the truth is not easy, but we are still called to “speak the Truth in love,” (Eph.4:15).
We are to confront
and be confronted
with the truth,
no matter how it inconveniences us.
Truth is eternal and the goal of eternal life is the search and discovery of the truth.
Heaven will be the most truthful place, so let’s start being truthful now, even though it may be inconvenient.
“I Stand at the Door!”
Revelation 3:20
In the Bible, a “door” is a metaphor for a way or opening to the soul and it was a place where decisions were made.
James 5:9 The judge stands
at the door
John 10:1, 2, 7, 9 “I am the door / gate,”
Rev. 3:20 “Behold I stand at the door
and knock.”
Rev.3:8 “Behold I open a door that no one can shut”.
Luke 13:24, 25 A closed door represents lost opportunity.
What doors of your life
are open
or closed
to God?
Doors of your life
Financial
Relationships
Thoughts
Temptations
(Genesis 4:7)
Sin is knocking
at your door…
but you must
“master it.”
What sin
knocks
at your door?
(Hebrews 12:1)
“lay aside the sin
that so easily
entangles you.”
What you feed
grows
and what you starve
dies.
What are you feeding?
Job said
that he had
“made a covenant
with his eyes,”
so that he might
not sin
against God”.
Are you striving
against sin,
or submitting
and in slavery
to it?
Open the door
to Christ and
close the door
to sin.
Admit you need help,
confess your sins,
become accountable
and renew the covenant
with God
to help you watch the
doors of your life.
March 4th…
“The American Dream?”
What is the American dream?
Is America truly
one nation
under God?
Is America in a
Covenant relationship
with God and a
“Christian Nation?”
Are we living up
to our dream,
or has it become a
nightmare?
The separation of church and state does not mean infringing on the free expression of religious speech, thought, worship and dialogue in our society.
As Christians, we believe that human beings have the freedom “to” worship God, not the freedom “from” the worship of God.
Many in the Bible were guided by
God through their dreams and visions:
Jacob and his son Joseph,
ungodly rulers,
Gideon, Solomon, Daniel,
Joseph and the Magi,
Peter and Paul.
(Joel 2:28)
“your old men will dream dreams and your young
men will see visions.”
(Prov.29:18)
Without a vision or dream the people will perish
What are your dreams?
What are your nightmares?
Does God still use dreams today?
February 18th
God’s Message
to the Church
Part 4
Revelation 3:14
To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. 'So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.
Because you say, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent. 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Laodicea: the Luke warm church Was a very rich area known for its wealth (gold), medicinal eye salve and healing waters. Cold and hot springs were near the area, but by the time it got there it was lukewarm water.
What is God saying to the Church?
Being “lukewarm” means to be apathetic, or neutral. Be either cold, or hot, and good for something. Being lukewarm is good for nothing.
Being “gold refined by fire” means focusing on things that really matter and are of eternal worth, not just financial. It follows in line with the phrase “those whom God loves as children He disciplines” (Heb.12:5-11). In order for God to get the impurities out of our live we have to go through the refining fire.
“I will dine with them”. In the Middle East, to sit down and eat with someone was a sign of friendship and acceptance. You would never refuse to accommodate someone who knocks on your door, even at night, even to this day.
“Sit down with Me on My Father’s throne”. The place of authority was represented by the king’s throne. To be able to sit with the king was a great honor that very few if any shared.
Revelation 4:1
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things."
Is the Church here after chapter 3?
What is the Rapture?
A secret and invisable catching away of the church to meet the Lord in the clouds either before, during or after the Tribulation.
What is the second coming of Christ?
A physical return of Jesus with the saints to the earth after the Tribulation which ushers in the Millennium.
So what have we learned about the messages to the 7 churches?
Ephesus – knowledge of Christ does not necessarily lead to a relationship with Christ. We must not leave our first love.
Smyrna – we must be willing to give up our comfort zones for Christ. True riches are stored in heaven.
Pergamum and Thyatira – do not tolerate false doctrine and immorality in yourself and in the Church.
Sardis – do not rely on past experiences with God and become complacent in well doing.
Philadelphia – God will open up doors that no one can shut if we are obedient.
Laodicea – God will not tolerate
neutrality, or lukewarmness.
January 21st…
God’s Message to the Church
Part II.
Revelation chapter 2
Revelation 2:12
"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has
the sharp two-edged sword says this: 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's
throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith, even in
the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you,
where Satan dwells.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality. 'Thus you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
'Repent therefore; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'
There were many fertility cults. Where Satan dwells – there was a temple dedicated to the god Asclepius the healing god and son of Apollo whose symbol was the serpent. The serpent has always been a symbol of fertility.
Doctrine of Balaam 2:14 He tried to curse the people of God and allure them away from God.
Doctrine of Nicolaitans
2:15 a false teaching that promoted sensuality.
White stone and a name on it was given as a pass or acquittal as
opposed to a black stone.
Revelation 2:18
"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God,
who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze,
says this: 'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance,
and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.
'But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray, so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 'And I gave her time to repent; and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 'Behold, I will cast her upon a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation,
unless they repent of her deeds. 'And I will kill her children with pestilence; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 'But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them-- I place no other burden on you. 'Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.
'And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. 'He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'
Tolerate Jezebel symbolically refers to what the OT false prophetess Jezebel did to the nation of Israel and led them into idolatry and eventually exile.
What is God
saying to the Church?
Both Churches were tolerating immoral behavior;
“I have this against you;
you tolerate Balaam,
Jezebel
and the
Nicolaitans.”
What are we tolerating in ourselves that we shouldn’t? What are we participating in that we shouldn’t? The cure is always repentance!
“God’s Message to
the Church”
Part 1
Jesus is revealing what He wants these churches to know.
How are we to interpret the Book
of Revelation?
4 Views
Historicist
Futurist
Spiritual
Preterist
Is the picture of Jesus that is painted in the Gospels different then in the Book of Revelation?
The Churches are represented by the menorah, a 7 branched oil / candle stand, which was in Solomon’s temple in the Holy Place and what is before the throne of heaven
Revelation 2:1
"To the angel of the Church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lamp stands, says this: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. 'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 'Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lamp stand out of its place-- unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of my God.”
What is God saying to the Church?
Sometimes you can get so caught up with pursuing knowledge of Christ, that you miss the point of a relationship with Christ. Knowledge does not necessarily lead to a relationship.
Revelation 2:8
"And to the angel of the Church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.'
What is God saying to the Church?
They were willing to give up their comfort of financial riches through imprisonment in order to gain eternal riches. They were storing up their treasure in heaven by their willingness to suffer for the Faith.
What does it mean today?
What Jesus was saying to these Churches that existed in the first century still holds true for us today. We can forget that one of major things in life is our relationship with Christ. Rules without a relationship leads to rebellion. We can get all the points right, but still miss the bigger point. We must be willing to give up everything for Christ, even our comforts.
December 31st
“It’s a Wonderful Life!”
A movie clip from the movie "It's A Wonderful Life."
How has Jesus Christ influenced our world?
1. If we remove the birth of Christ, we also must remove all reference to a coming of a Messiah throughout the Bible.
2. We then have to remove the very
idea of a messiah, or savior, in Judaism throughout the prophetic books.
How has Jesus Christ influenced our world?
3. We must remove the parts in Genesis about a savior coming after the fall
of man to redeem mankind from sin.
4. Judaism as a religion would have to drastically change.
5. We then must remove the entire
New Testament and the influences that Jesus’ birth had on the Nation
of Israel and the lives it touched.
How has Jesus Christ influenced our world?
6. There would be no Gospel, or apostles, to spread the Gospel to the known
world.
7. There would be no influence of Christianity on Europe as we know it today.
8. The judicial system would drastically
be affected because much of it was based on the Judeo-Christian influence.
How has Jesus Christ influenced our world?
9. There would be no churches throughout the world, or Christian organizations
to help those in need; from schools, to helping the poor and feeding the
hungry.
10. All of our ancestors whose lives
were changed as a result of the Church would be affected.
How has Jesus Christ influenced our world?
11. America would not have been discovered by Columbus because it was financed
by the Church.
12. If you were born in the U.S. you would not have been born because the U.S. would not have existed.
13. Even the very building you are sitting in and the relationships that you have would not exist.
So do we really need Christ in Christmas and in our lives?
The Bible says that all things came into being through Christ, and that Jesus was the incarnate Word before the foundations of the world (Jh.1:1-3).
So, in the final analysis, the world
would not even exist.
So, how do you like a world without Christ?
Is Christ
just a
preference?
Do we owe anything to Christ?
Our very
Existence!
“Are You Peculiar?”
(I Peter 2:9)
(Deuteronomy 14:2)
For you are a
holy people unto the LORD your God,
and the LORD has chosen you
to be a peculiar people unto Himself,
above all the nations
that are upon the earth.
(Exodus 19:6)
and you will be to Me a kingdom of priests
and a holy nation.
(1 Peter 2:9)
But ye are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
a peculiar (purchased) people;
that you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness
into his marvelous light.
(II Cor.6:17)
Church / Ecclesia =
called out
“Come out from
among them.”
Our morality
and conduct
should reflect
our distinctiveness
as believers.
Does peculiar
mean
weird?
Can we
be effective
without
being affected,
or infected?
So how
can we
make a
difference?
One person,
One church,
One family
and
One community
at a time
“all it takes for evil to prosper, is for good people to do nothing.” Edmund Burke
(John 17:21)
… May they all be one;
even as You, Father, are one with Me, and I am one with You,
may they also may be in one in Us; so that the world
may believe that You have sent Me.
We are called
to bring a light
into the darkness!
Christians are called to be peculiar and distinctive and not allow social pressure to shape our doctrines and morality.
So go out there and be Peculiar!
"What Did
You Expect?"
What’s the difference between
having
realistic expectations
and
lowered expectations?
Are there such things
as
Godly
expectations?
You can expect to have
times of success
and times of failure,
times of joy and
times of sorrow,
times of new birth
and times of passing.
(Phil.4:11-13)
For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know
how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity;
in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled
and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do
all things in him who strengthens me.
How long
do you expect
to live?
Do you view life
from the viewpoint
of eternity?
God does not promise long life, but he does promise eternal life in His Kingdom for all those who believe in His Son.
God does not promise that you will not be sick, or to heal every sickness, but He does promise to strengthen us and give us a new body in the resurrection.
God does not promise financial wealth, but He does promise that He will
supply all of your needs as you supply the needs of others.
God does not promise that evil will never touch us, but He does promise that He will judge those who are evil and ultimately justice will prevail.
What do you expect
from
the Church?
Do you expect
people
in the church
to be perfect?
What Does the Church Expect From You?
Your
Time,
Spiritual Gifts,
Sacrificial Giving,
Presence in Worship
What does God expect from us?
(Micah 6:8)
God has told you, O man,
what is good;
and what does the LORD
expect (Ask / Require) of you?
But to do justice, to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
“The Hardest Thing To Change!”
“You can have change without
growth,
but you can’t have growth
without change.”
Does the Bible record people who
have changed for the good?
Jacob
Peter
Paul
What will it take to change you?
A tragedy or crisis of some sort?
or
A realization, illumination
or revelation?
(II Cor.5:17)
“if anyone is In Christ, they are a new creation; the old has passed
away and the new has come.”
The believer is in a state of constant change.
(I Cor.15:51)
even our mortal bodies will be “changed”.
So how do we stay open to change?
1. Realize and resign yourself to the fact that life is all about change.
2. Be open to the Holy Spirit.
We all have a tendency
to get set in our ways,
but God cannot bring us to the next level of spiritual maturity
if we will not be open to change.
God never
leaves you
where He
finds you.
July 23rd…
“What is Eternal?”
1. God
(Rom.16:26)
The Bible refers to God
as being eternal.
2. Humans (soul
/ body)
(Gen.1:26-28, 2:7)
God breathed into them life and they became a living soul, who were also
made in God’s likeness
(I Cor.15:51-55)
The body will be resurrected
and changed
for eternity.
3. Life
(Jh.3:15, 16)
The term “eternal life” is mentioned 42 times in the NT. The
Gospel of John speaks of eternal life the most out of all the Gospels; 15
times
4. Love
(Rom.8:38, 39)
“Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus…
not even death
5. Truth / Word
of God
(Mat.24:35)
“Heaven and earth may pass away, but God’s word is eternal”
6. Worship / Prayer
The Book of Revelation presents the idea that out role
as worshipper and intercessor
goes beyond our life
here on earth.
7. Relationships
The Church is called the body of Christ and therefore we will be with each
other for all of eternity.
8. Kingdom of God
(Rev.11:15)
Christ’s reign and kingdom will never come to an end
9. Covenant
God made an everlasting covenant with the earth, Abraham, Israel, David
and through the New Covenant.
10. Judgment
(II Cor.5:10)
God has record of our actions while on
this earth of
both good and bad
deeds
(Rev.20:11-15)
The Bible teaches that God’s final judgment
is eternal
All life returns to God
as its source of being!
We must remember that everything
that is on earth
is a type, pattern or shadow of what exists in heaven.
(Heb.8:5, 9:23)
Moses’ tabernacle and worship was based on
what he was shown by God that exists in heaven,
but it was merely a type, pattern or shadow.
When God did away with the earthly Temple, Jerusalem and worship, the heavenly Temple, Jerusalem and worship remained.
What does the place where God is
(the temple)
look like?
Unfortunately, we think that
Revelation is just a book about the future,
but it is actually a book
about what is going on in heaven right now.
Revelation 4:2-6
Reveals a worship service before the throne of God.
Who is before the throne right now?
The 24 Elders,
the 4 living creatures,
and a myriad of
saints and angels
(Rev.4:4-6, 5:11, 7:9, 15).
(Rev. 21, 22)
describes the heavenly Temple, Jerusalem and garden.
(Phil.3:20, Heb.11:16, 12:22)
Heaven is a city
and a
kingdom
with citizens
(Jh.18:36)
Jesus said that
“His Kingdom was not
of this world.”
Jesus is our High Priest (Heb. 2:17, 3:1, 4:14, 5:10, 6:20, 7:26, 8:1, 9:11)
Mediator and Advocate (I Tim.2:5, Heb. 8:6, 9:15, 12:24).
(I Peter 2:9, Rev.5:10)
There is only One Mediator or High Priest of the New Covenant, but there
are many intercessors.
We are all called to be “priests”
or intercessors.
(Rev.5:8, 8:4)
When we pray,
our prayers
are stored in heaven
and offered
before God.
The menorah in the Temple represents
the Church (Rev.1:12, 13).
The Ark of the Covenant is also before the throne (Rev.11:19)
(I Cor.15:49, II Cor.5:1-10)
Even our bodies
will have a
heavenly form.
(Mat.22:32)
God is a God
of the living
not the dead!
(Heb.12:1)
So what is the
Communion of Saints?
A living community of all believers past, present
and future.
How often does heaven pray?
Priests offered prayers
at least 3 times a day
and during certain
holy days.
Is heaven
detached
from
human history?
Our worship should be patterned
after what is going on in heaven
right now.
Prayer is more than speaking…
it’s also listening.
Heaven is speaking…
Are you listening?
"Being Like God"
Genesis 1:27, 2:7
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky
and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth."
While it is true that we are measured against God’s holiness, it is
also true that we are able to share in God’s holiness.
(Gal.2:20)
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”
“I am the Temple of the Holy
Spirit”
(I Cor.3:16).
(I Cor.12:27)
We are called the “Body of Christ”
If God didn’t expect us to be like Him; why or how could He judge
us for not living up to His standards?
(I Pet.1:16)
“be holy as God is holy”
(Mat.5:48)
Jesus coming to this earth as a man showed the possibilities of a human being who is made in the image of God.
Jesus came to restore the image of God that was marred through original sin.
If we see ourselves as sinners and
define ourselves as sinners;
then what will we act like?
We need to start seeing ourselves as God sees us; as those who have been made in His image and redeemed by His Son!
What is your reflection, or image,
you are seeing and reflecting?
Who is it of?
God, or yourself?
To be like God is to be
Godly
and to not be like God is to be
ungodly
“Know Your Enemy”
Realize that Satan is a liar, a deceiver, a false accuser and co-conspirator and a defeated foe who has no power over you. He only creeps through the door we open; it’s our own sinful desires that make us take steps over the threshold.
Luke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
1 Peter 5:8, 9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walks about, seeking whom he may devour: resist him, steadfast in faith,
knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same
sufferings.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the
spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 4:27
don’t allow opportunities
and footholds!
“All it takes for evil to
triumph
is for good people
to do nothing!”
Genesis 4:7
“sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you
must master it."
1 Timothy 5:14
do not give the enemy an occasion for the potential for sin or accusation.
How can we be liberated from our
enemy?
Know the “tactics” of the enemy.
“Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.”
Remember this…
1. Sin does things in secret and in the dark where there is no accountability.
2. Know your limitations and don’t place yourself in possible compromising situations (footholds).
3. Work on making your weaknesses your strengths and pray for God’s wisdom.
4. Stop making excuses or blaming and realize that sin no longer has power over us because of Jesus.
5. Submit yourself to God and stop believing the lies. Learn the truth and immerse yourself in it.
Hebrews 12:1, 2
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let
us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles
us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking
to Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.
"Things you need to know" Part 4
Things you need to know Part IV.
The Holy Spirit and End Times
I. Who is the Holy Spirit?
What are the Four Views of end time events:
1. Futurist / Dispensational 2. Preterist 3. Historicist 4. Allegorical
3. The Resurrection / Glorification of the Body / Eternal Life (I Cor.15:51, 52).
4. The “Millennium” “New Jerusalem” “New Heavens and Earth” (Rev.20,21, 22).
5. Christ returns all things to the Father (I Cor.15:24).
6. Believers are judged (I Cor.3:12-16, II Cor.5:6-10, Rom.14:10-12).
7. Final Judgment / Great White
Throne Room (Rev.20:11-13).
a. Armageddon / Final battle between good and evil / Marriage Supper of
the Lamb (Rev.16:16, Chapters 19, 20).
b. Heaven / Paradise (Lk.23:43,
II Cor.12:4, Rev.2:7, 22).
c. Hell / Hades / Gehenna (Rev.20:14). The Lake of Fire / Second Death (Rev.20:14).
Angels Judged (Rev.20:10).
Who or what is Satan? (Rev.12:10, Gen.3:14, 15). Anti-Christ (I John 2:18, 22, 4:3, II John 1:7). False Prophet (Rev. 16:13, 19:20, 20:10). Beast (Dan. 7:6, 11, Rev. 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20). Mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:16, 17).
Things You Need To Know - Pt. III.
Jesus, Salvation and the Church
I.
What is a Messiah or Christ? The word “Messiah” is Hebrew for “anointed one.” The Greek word equivalence is the word “Christ,” mentioned 532 times in the NT.
What did the Messiah represent and why did we need one? It represented a person who would reign as king and bring about God’s rule on the earth. Israel was promised and longed for someone who would bring them to prominence and restore God’s rule among the nations through the Nation of Israel.
Was the Messiah to be a man or God? The messiah was to be a man from the tribe of Judah as well as from the kingly line of David. He also represented a “Suffering Servant,”(Isa.53). But throughout the OT, the prophecies seem to indicate and symbolize that this man would be much more than just a man. His birth would be miraculous and represent God’s very presence among His people, and He would be called the “Son of God;” representing God Himself (Isa.7:14, 9:6, 7).
How would this be accomplished? The means and purpose of His birth was announced from the very beginning in (Gen.3:15) “Protoevangelium”. This was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ birth through his mother Mary. The process of God becoming a man is called the “Incarnation,” (Phil.2:7, Col.2:9), also called the “hypostatic union.” “The fullness of the deity dwells in bodily form.”
Why do we say that Jesus was the Messiah? Jesus’ name means “salvation;” used almost 1000 times in the NT. His birth and life fulfilled every biblical prophecy about who the Messiah would be and what He would accomplish.
What was the Messiah going to do? Literally, He would “save His people from their sin,” (Mat.1:21).
How would God accomplish this? Many had preconceived ideas on how God would accomplish this. So the NT clearly states that salvation and a “New Covenant” would be accomplished through the birth, death, resurrection and exaltation of the Messiah.
What does it mean to be saved? It means to be reconciled and redeemed by God, through the substitutionary death of God’s Son for all of humanity (II Cor.5:21, Rom.3:25, 5:11). By accepting this atonement, or propitiation; one can be forgiven, justified, declared righteous before God and adopted as sons of God.
II.
What is the “Church?” The word “church” is a Celtic word based on the Greek word Ecclesia; which means; a “called out assembly of people.” It is mentioned 115 times in the NT. The word “church” also represents the “universal / catholic and mystical Body of Christ.”
What does it mean to be called the “Body of Christ?” Mentioned in (Rom.12:5, I Cor.12:12, 27, Eph.4:4-13). The Church represents the presence of Jesus on this Earth. It also represents the fact that “In Christ” we have become a “new creation” (II Cor.5:17). Jesus is the “second Adam and the last man,” (I Cor.15:45-49) and so through Him we have a new identity.
What does it mean to be called the “Bride of Christ?” Mentioned in (Eph.5:23-33, II Cor.11:2). In the Gospels Jesus was called the “bridegroom,” (Mat.9:15). This represents the OT idea that God and the Nation of Israel were considered to be in a type of “marriage” with God. So too, the Church as the “Bride” are in a type of marriage relationship with God through His Son.
What are the Church’s responsibilities?
(I Tim.3:15) The Church, as the “pillar and ground of truth,”
is to carry out the “ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor.5:18)
on this Earth. The Church is the sole authority on this Earth that is capable
and commissioned to; proclaim and teach the Gospel to all nations, commission
ministers and administer the sacraments.
Things You Need To Know Part II.
Ourselves and Sin
1. We have an Adamic nature. We all have a common heritage from the same original parents Adam and Eve (Gen.1:26, 27). Therefore we have a shared nature. The woman proceeded from the man (Gen.2:21, 22). The Hebrew word for Man and Woman are ish = man / isha = woman. The word for Woman means “bride.” This is to be a type or foreshadowing of the Godhead's relationship with humanity, one of bride and groom (Eph.5:23-32).
2. We are made in the “Image of God” (Imago Dei) (Gen.1:26, 27, I Cor.3:16, 6:19). What does it mean to have been created in the image of God? We share with God certain moral attributes, but not non-moral attributes. We also share a physical bond with God, we are able to create new life. Our body is a living theology.
3. We are Moral and have a Conscience (Rom.2:15). It is universal that humanity is able to make “moral choices.” The Bible speaks of the idea that each person has a conscience and that ones conscience can be severed or darkened. Therefore, the conscience is something innate in a human that must be educated.
4. We are body and spirit - Trichotomy. The Scriptures teach that (Gen.2:7) God formed the body of man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. According to this account, man consists of two distinct principles, a body and a soul / spirit: the one material, the other immaterial; the one corporeal, the other spiritual
5. We have a Sinful nature (Rom.3:23, I Cor.15:22, 45). “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” We are in a fallen condition as a result of our parents Adam and Eve and so we are in need of salvation. We have a great capacity for doing good and evil, but our tendency is to choose evil. We suffer the effects of what is called “original Sin.”
6. We are Accountable because of our Free Will (Rom.14:11,12, II Cor.5:10). The Bible presents the idea that humans are “judged” based on “their choices.” If we are born sinners, can we not help from sinning? Are we Morally Depraved, Distorted, or Wounded? Calvinism teaches the “total depravity” of humanity as a result of original sin as part of the 5 tenants (TULIP). Other theologies teach that humanity has become distorted or wounded as a result of sin and that we are in need of being “spiritually healed” (Isa.53:3-5). Each of us must struggle against our sinful nature, not excuse it.
7. Because of sin we can feel Condemnation and Guilt. (Rom. 8:1-2) "in Christ there is therefore now no condemnation. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death”. We are in need of reconciliation (Rom. 5:6-11).
8. We also can be Tempted and Tested because of our carnal nature (James 1:13-15, I Pet. 1:7). But the Lord is capable of delivering us (2 Pet. 2:9, I Cor.10:13).
9. The Heart of Man is considered to be the seat of decision making (Gen.6:5, Romans 10:9, 10, I Cor.2:9). It also can be deceitful and hardened.
10. God Convicts us through the work of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26, 16:7-13). Conviction of the Holy Spirit brings an awareness of sin and results in confession and cleansing the conscience. Conviction of our sins brings us to the cross and shows us our need for forgiveness and salvation.
11. We have an Eternal Soul. The Church has always taught that the Bible teaches that humans are eternal beings and that they can NOT be annihilated, but live eternally in or out of God’s presence (Rev. 20:11-15).
Things You Need To Know Part I.
God and the Bible
The Bible assumes God’s existence, it does not defend it; (Gen.1:1) “In the beginning, God…” Even concerning the existence of God and the existence of suffering, which is called “Theodicy.”
So what are some of the arguments for the existence of God?
1. Ontological God is a being of which no greater exists or can be thought of. Therefore, since we can conceive of God as the greatest of all beings, or things that exist, then God must exist.
2. Cosmological appealing to the principle that all things have causes. There cannot be an infinite regress of causes; therefore, there must be an uncaused cause: God. God is the prime mover.
3. Teleological based upon the premise that the universe is designed and therefore needs a designer: God.
4. Intelligent Design the universe and things in it exhibit attributes of design. A design must have a designer. Since the Universe appears designed, it had to have someone who designed it. A watch needs a watchmaker.
5. Moral / Anthropological
since we are made in God’s own image; everyone has within themselves
the same irresistible evidence that God is a personal Being; that He is
intelligent, voluntary, and moral; that He knows; that He has the right
to command; and that He can punish and can save.
(Others: Aesthetic, Historical, Probability, Religious, Rational / Intuition)
Why should we believe what the Bible says about God?
The Bible was written by over 40 different authors over a period of 1,500 years of human history, all in agreement when speaking about the same God. It is not a collection of opposing or contradictory views. The Bible claims to record the very words of God within real human history. It claims “inspiration and infallibility” (II Tim.3:16, II Pet.1:20, 21) concerning who God is and it is not just the opinion of a single person. How is it different from other religious records? The Bible is actual history, not mythology, and written within the lifetime of the author. It is placed within an historical and culturally verifiable context. Most religions and their texts cannot be confirmed through archaeology. Even the many prophecies and miracles of the Bible were confirmed by witnesses.
What does the Bible say about what God is like?
God is...
1. Spirit (Jh.4:24). 2. One (Deut.6:4) (“composite unity”) yet exists in a Trinity (Father / Son / H.S.) 3. Eternal (Ex.3:14, Ps.90:2) 4. Holy (I Pet.1:16) “Be holy for I am holy.” 5. Unchanging (Mal.3:6, Hb.13:8) 6. Omnipotent (Deut.32:39) 7. Omnipresent (Prov.15:3) 8. Omniscience (I Jh.3:20) 9. Sovereign & Providential (Luke 12:7) 10. Transcendent yet Immanent (Isa.55:8) 11. Righteous & Just (Ps.111:3) 12. Merciful (Lk.6:36) 13. Longsuffering (Ex.34:6) 14. Jealous (Ex.20:5) 15. Divine / Perfect (II Pet.1:3, Mat.5:48) 16. Trustworthy / Truthful (Jh.14:6, Titus 1:2) 17. Good (Rom.2:4) 18. Love (1 John 4:19. Rom.8:39).
"Children of God"
The
absence of correction
is the absence of love.
Hebrews 12:5-11
you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My
son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you
are reproved by Him; For
those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom
He receives." It is for discipline that you
endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his
father does not discipline? But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate
children and not sons. Besides this, we have had
our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not
(then) submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He
disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness, eternally.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful,
but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields
the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
What does it mean to be a child of God?
You cannot be a child of God if you do not have the
“Spirit of Adoption.”
(Rom.8:14-17).
(John 14:16-18).
Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans.
It is the role of the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of Adoption, to convict and correct us and it is His presence in our lives that reminds us that we are God’s children.
We can resist, and even quench the Holy Spirit’s work in our life as the great teacher and disciplinarian.
What are some signs that we are in need
of Godly correction?
1. A guilty conscience, conviction rather than condemnation.
2. Prayers hindered. The lines of communication will be affected.
3. Reoccurring issues or opportunities (lost opportunities for growth).
4. Trials, tests and temptations.
5. Spiritual stagnation
(slow or no growth).
We are being developed for eternity!
Hebrews 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for
the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
“Whom the Lord loves, He corrects”.
“Birth Pains!”
“Why do we have
to go through suffering
in life?”
The Bible speaks of Godly change
as
“birth pains.”
Matthew 24:8
“Birth pains
of the
Messiah”
Godly change
is always preceded by some form of suffering, but it always leads to something
great.
“Coming of the Lord”
&
“Day of the Lord”
Romans 8:18-21
For I consider that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to
be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious
longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason
of him who has subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself will
also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty
of the children of God.
Romans 8:22,23
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth
together.
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the
Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our
adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
Romans 8:26
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know
how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with
groanings too deep for words.
II Corinthians. 5:1, 2, 4
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our body or house is torn
down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal
in the heavens. For indeed in this house we suffer the pains of child birth,
longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven. For we that are in
this tabernacle do groan, being burdened:
I Corinthians 15:53, 54
For this corruptible nature must put on incorruption, and this mortal nature
must put on immortality. So when this has occurred…, then shall come
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
What will be birthed, or the final product?
A new child!
“The revelation of the
sons God”
(Rom. 8:19).
Romans 8:18
“the suffering of today
is nothing compared
with the glory later.”
Romans 8:28
“all things work together for the good to them that love God, for
those who are called according to God’s purpose.”
Romans 8:35-39
Nothing can separate from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus”.
Neither tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword. neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature.
What are some of the birth pains we experience?
1. Sickness, pain and suffering
2. Natural disasters
3. Death
4. Political / Religious unrest
Christianity at its very core is
about childbirth.
We celebrate the birth
of the Son of God
and as believers
we experience
new birth.
Who and what we are
and what creation will be
is yet to be seen.
Jesus is the foreshadowing of what
occurs to us as Christians
Because He is the
Second Adam and
Last Man, and we are
in Him.”
Through Christ…
a whole new generation is getting ready to be birthed.
“He is bringing
many sons to glory.”
Hebrews 2:10
God has NOT given us everything
now.
We have only received a portion or “earnest”
of the Spirit, more is yet to come.
What will we think the next time
you or others experience suffering, death, or natural disasters?
Will you blame
or bless God?
“Everyone Loves A Hero!”
A Hero is someone who Saves,
or one who is a
Savior
Our desire for a hero is a God given desire.
Isaiah 53:3-5
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we
esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are
healed.
2 Corinthians 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become
the righteousness of God
in Him.
These scriptures speak of a hero who was to come who through his suffering would save his people; the suffering servant.
The struggle between good and evil is as old as humanity itself
Many times the hero shows up when things are at their worst, just in the nick of time !
When Christ returns, He will not return as a lamb, but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will come at just the right time, or in the fullness of time, we cannot usher in or force his intervention.
Revelation 19:11
Even Jesus is portrayed as a rider on a white horse who comes to save the
day!
Our heroes still experience death, but Christ has overcome death and the grave, never to die again!
We all have a desire to be Invincible,
Incorruptible,
and
Immortal
1 Corinthians 15:42- 54
We too will experience incorruptibility! There will come a time when this
corruptible and mortal body will take on incorruptibility and immortality
Do you want to be saved and rescued? Do you want to know the Savior?
The path to salvation is paved with
suffering.
It is not a detachment from suffering or the human condition, but an embrace
of it.
What is a definition
of what is a
true hero?
One who is touched with our frailties,
yet who is able to
save us.
There is only one true hero,
His name is
Jesus!
“A Message about Nothing!”
God created everything from nothing.
(Genesis 1:1)
(John 1:3)
states that all things were made through Christ,
(as the Word / Logos)
and apart from Christ nothing came into being that has come into
being.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
that which has been, is that which will be, and that which has been done,
is that which will be done.
So, there is
nothing new under the sun.
Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how
will it be made salty again?
It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled
under foot by men.
John 15:5
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him,
he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do
nothing.
Mark 7:15
there is nothing outside of a man which going into him can defile
him; but the things which proceed out of a man are what defile the man.
Luke 1:37
With God nothing is impossible.
What did the disciples find when they came to the tomb on the third day? Nothing!
Matthew 25:42
for I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you
gave Me nothing to drink.
1 Timothy 6:7
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything
out of it either.
I Corinthians 13:2, 3
If I have not love, I have nothing.
Romans 8:35-39
Nothing can separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ
Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ,
and Him crucified.
Philippians 4:6
Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
After being forgiven of sin by God, what does He
remember?
“Nothing”
Hebrews 10:17
Psalm 103:12
James 1:4
And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.
Nothing can lead to something.
In fact,
nothing
is something.
God specializes in taking nothings
and making them into something’s.
“Touching God”
Through...
1. His Son
(John 14:9)
“if you have seen me
you have seen the Father”
(Col.2:9, Heb.1:3)
“Jesus is the exact representation of God in bodily form”
2. Scripture
(II Tim.3:16, II Pet.1:21)
It is the very
“words of God”
3. Suffering
(Phil.3:10, Col.1:24)
We are co-participants in
suffering with Christ
(James 1:2, 3, 12)
“Count it all joy when you encounter trials”
4. Giving
(Mat.25:40)
“When you have done it unto the least… you’ve done it
to / for me”
5. Loving
(I John 4:8)
“For God is Love”
6. Marriage
(Eph.5:31, 32)
The two becoming one flesh represents
Christ and the Church
7. Communion & Prayer
(Mat.26:26).
“This is my body…”
(Heb.4:16).
Through prayer we enter the very throne room and
Mercy seat of God
8. Worship
(John 4:24)
“God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and
in truth”
(Ps.22:3)
“God inhabits the praises of His people”
9. Body of Christ / Church
(I Cor.12:27, Eph.1:23).
“We are His body”….
(Mat.18:20).
“Where two or more are gathered in my name… I am there”
(I Tim.3:15).
The Church is…
“the pillar and ground of Truth”
10. Holy Spirit
(John 14:16, 16:7).
is our “advocate” and
is always with us
10. Holy Spirit
(I Cor.2:12)
“God has given us the earnest of His Spirit,
so that we might know
what has been freely
given to us”
II Peter 1:3
“God has given to us all things pertaining to life and Godliness”
“Speak the Truth in Love”Audio
Genesis 3:10
At the very root of
Sin is dishonesty
and believing lies
Death through the First Adam came as a result of
believing a Lie;
Life through the Second Adam / Jesus came as a result of believing the Truth.
(Rom.5:12-, I Cor.15:45, 47)
“You Can’t Handle
The Truth!”
Our society promotes falsehood through our desire
to be
“Tolerant,” “Inclusive”
and “PC”
We withhold the truth because we are afraid of
being rejected.
James 5:16
Honesty Precedes
Healing.
How Does the Church Resolve Conflict?
Fear of conflict
leads you away
from the presence
of God.
The Church is in danger of loosing its credibility
in the areas of
Trust and Truth!
Sin
Is believing a lie
and acting on it.
Sin
It is an attempt to hide something;
namely the Truth.
Ephesians 4:27
“Do not give the Devil
a Foothold!”
Hebrew
Truth = Amat
Death = Mat
Remove any part of the Truth and it leads to Death!
Repentance
It is the ongoing process of allowing God’s Truth to confront us about
ourselves and learning.
John 8:32
“The Truth will set you Free”
John 14:6
“I Am the Way, the Truth and
the Life”
Jesus Personifies Truth
He is NOT
a Way,
a Truth
and a Lifestyle
I John 5:12
To have the Son is to
Know the Way,
Know the Truth,
and to
Have Life!
I John 4:18
“Perfect Love
Casts Out
All Fear”
The Church is…
A Place where ungodly
and imperfect people
come to work on
becoming Godly,
and thus
becoming Perfect.
The Enemy wants to
Hide the Truth,
not Confront it.
John 8:44
From the very beginning Satan was a liar and the father of lies.
What’s the Solution?
Ephesians 4:15
“Speak the Truth in Love”
Confront without Condemning or Condoning.
We are all
“Wounded Healers”
Our Final Goal in Life…
Is the Search for the
Truth,
and His Name is
Jesus
Heaven will be
the most
Honest place!
In the mean time…
Keep a short list of;
Lies,
Regrets,
and
Resentments.
Proverbs 10:12
“Love Covers a Multitude of Wrongs”
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Matthew 22:37- 39
You shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the
second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
1 John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 3:18
Let us not love in word alone, but also with our actions.
1 John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that
loves is born of God, and knows God. He that loves not knows not God; for
God is love.
1 John 4:20
If a person says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for if
he cannot love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he
hath not seen?
So What is Love?
Greek
Philios – brotherly love
Eros – physical love
Agape – Godly love
Hebrew
Love = AHAV
Action = HAV
Love is an action! The word love means to Give!
The word for sacrifice is Hav Hav. It's more than just giving!
There is only one kind of love;
Godly love
If we distort what true love is we mar the very image of God.
Love is the very reflection of God!
Love is a person;
God.
I Cor.13:4-7, 13
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not boast it
is not arrogant, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it
is not quick-tempered,
I Cor.13:4-7, 13
it does not brood over injury, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but
rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. Love never fails. But now abide in faith, hope,
love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
What is True Love?
Our search for true love must ultimately lead us to Christ!
Every loving act must truly reflect and
mirror Godly love which is;
Free - unreserved with no strings attached,
Full - not 50 / 50 but 100%, not selfish,
Faithful – committed,
Fruitful – open to self replicating and new life.
Life and Love outside of Christ is just mere Existence and Emotion.
What is the opposite of Love?
Lust!
Where does it lead?
Love Lust
Gives Takes
Honest Hides
Builds Up Tears Down
Selfless Selfish
Obedient Sinful
Love Lust
Humble Arrogant
Truthful Lies (distorts)
Patient Impetuous
Committed Indifferent
Faithful Fickle
Love Lust
Brings Freedom Brings Bondage
Eternal Life Spiritual Death
Leads to God Leads to the Enemy
1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and
a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world.
John 10:10
The thief comes to steal, kill, lie and destroy. Jesus came that you might
have abundant life and love.
Are you looking for love in all the wrong places and faces?
Why is there an epidemic of STD’s, immorality and adultery, even among Christians?
Because we have bought into how our society defines love, it encourages sexual immorality by distorting what true love is.
God is not keeping any good thing from us!
He’s not a kill-joy!
He is keeping us from harm!
Truth is love.
John 14:6
Jesus is the way the truth and the life that leads to true love.
I John 4:16
God is love,
NOT God is loving,
but God IS Love!
John 8:32
You shall know the truth about life and love and the truth will set you
free!
I John 4:18
Perfect love
casts out all fear!
James 1:13-15
lust leads to spiritual death because it isn’t the truth and it is
does not lead to love, or God!
James 4:7
Submit yourself to God, resist the Devil and he will flee!
God is the only one that defines WHAT is love and truth and what is good and bad, we decide what we will do.
Jesus expressed his love by acting on his
love and giving his life for us.
We are all called to do the same.
The end of our exploration known as death
is not peace or comfort but Truth.
Death is the “Undiscovered Country.”
Death as…
“Enemy”
1 Corinthians 15:26
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
God has placed “eternity in our hearts”
Death as…
“Stranger”
Christianity without the Resurrection
treats death as a Stranger
Death as…
“Friend”
Psalm 90:12
“Teach us to
number our days”
Death as…
“Mother”
The function of death as a mother is to wean us from this life
and to birth us into a whole other world.
Death as…
“Lover”
I Corinthians 13:8
“Love Never Ends”
“Love is Stronger
than Death”
“Death Ushers Us into the Arms of
God Who is the
Lover of our Soul”
“So Why Not Just Wish to have this Life End?”
Death is Not Good
in itself but is an Enemy
God Uses Death by Nature as our Friend
By Resurrection as our Mother
By Meeting as our
Lover
Prayer is a Rehearsal
For Death.
“No One Can See
God’s Face and Live”
“Who is it that Wears These Faces?”
God!
The Last Face of Death
(Lover)
Is the First Face of God
Theology of the Body”
Our body can only truly be understood in a Theological way.
In the beginning when God created man and woman who together were
to be a
“reflection of God.”
The purpose of our body leads us to Christ!
Jesus came to restore and redeem the image that was distorted through sin
and to give us abundant Life!
The Scripture states…
We are made in the “Image of God” (Gen.1:27).
We are called the “Temple of the Holy Spirit”
(I Cor.3:16).
We are “Partakers of the divine nature”
(II Peter 1:4).
As the Church we are called…
the “Body of Christ” (I Cor.12:27) and the
“Bride of Christ” (Eph.5:32).
So how are we to view marriage and the family?
The human body makes no sense outside of union between a man and a woman.
The Family is defined as those who together have the potential of procreation
between themselves.
God defines what marriage and family is to be, not society.
If we are co-creators together with God, then Abortion is more than just a choice; it is a sin against the body. God is a creator not a destroyer!
The passion that we experience in marriage ultimately is a desire and attempt to be united with God and only fully understood and experienced in a committed marital / nuptial covenant relationship.
This is why Marriage ceases in heaven, because it will be truly fully realized when we are united together with God.
All forms of immorality are a…
“Sin against the Body”.
Read (I Cor.3:16, 17, 6:18-20). Because it ultimately devalues and distorts
the Image of God and humanity and hinders us from becoming who we were meant
to become.
1 Corinthians 3:16,17
Do you not know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that the
Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy
that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Flee immorality and fornication. Every sin that a person does is outside
of the body; but he that commits fornication “sins against his own
body”.
What? Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you
have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's.
What is the “nuptial meaning of the body”?
It is the kind of union that Christ as the bridegroom has with the Church
his bride which is only exhibited in Christian marriage.
Read (Eph.5:21-33).
Ephesians 5:21- 33
Submit one to the other out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church: and he is the savior of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be subject
to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her; That he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, That he might present her to himself as a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that she should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.
He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hated his
own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church:
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the
church.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as
himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
The husband and wife union “Reflects” the kind of relationship
that Christ has with the Church. It will be a ...
“Mystery Revealed” in eternity!
Redefining what marriage is and was intended to be by God will distort and devalue everything! As marriage and the family goes, so goes our society!
Marriage is presented today as just another institution that is meant to make me happy, when it was originally designed by God to make us more like God; Holy.
Marriage also reflects the very persons and relationship of the
Godhead, ONE.
“The two shall become ONE flesh.”
Human sexuality has been promoted in our society as forms of “entertainment, recreation and experimentation.” It has become distorted, exploited and devalued!
Rights without
Responsibility
leads to Ruin!
We are NOT called to curse the darkness, but to turn on a light!
We are NOT called to just take away the garbage can, but to feed the hunger with the truth!
God’s love is a “Nuptial Gift” that can only
be truly understood, realized and cherished within the covenant of marriage!
Every loving act must truly reflect and mirror God’s love which is;
Free,
Full,
Faithful,
Fruitful.
This is why when expressed within marriage it is called good (moral) and outside of marriage is it called a sin (immoral).
What will you choose to believe?
God is NOT keeping any good thing from us!
We must begin to reclaim that which the enemy has stolen.
August 6th…
“The Hardest Thing To Change!”
“You can have change without
growth,
but you can’t have growth
without change.”
Does the Bible record people who
have changed for the good?
Jacob
Peter
Paul
What will it take to change you?
A tragedy or crisis of some sort?
or
A realization, illumination
or revelation?
(II Cor.5:17)
“if anyone is In Christ, they are a new creation; the old has passed
away and the new has come.”
The believer is in a state of constant change.
(I Cor.15:51)
even our mortal bodies will be “changed”.
So how do we stay open to change?
1. Realize and resign yourself to the fact that life is all about change.
2. Be open to the Holy Spirit.
We all have a tendency
to get set in our ways,
but God cannot bring us to the next level of spiritual maturity
if we will not be open to change.
God never
leaves you
where He
finds you.
July 23rd…
“What is Eternal?”
1. God
(Rom.16:26)
The Bible refers to God
as being eternal.
2. Humans (soul /
body)
(Gen.1:26-28, 2:7)
God breathed into them life and they became a living soul, who were also made
in God’s likeness
(I Cor.15:51-55)
The body will be resurrected
and changed
for eternity.
3. Life
(Jh.3:15, 16)
The term “eternal life” is mentioned 42 times in the NT. The Gospel
of John speaks of eternal life the most out of all the Gospels; 15 times
4. Love
(Rom.8:38, 39)
“Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus…
not even death
5. Truth / Word of
God
(Mat.24:35)
“Heaven and earth may pass away, but God’s word is eternal”
6. Worship / Prayer
The Book of Revelation presents the idea that out role
as worshipper and intercessor
goes beyond our life
here on earth.
7. Relationships
The Church is called the body of Christ and therefore we will be with each
other for all of eternity.
8. Kingdom of God
(Rev.11:15)
Christ’s reign and kingdom will never come to an end
9. Covenant
God made an everlasting covenant with the earth, Abraham, Israel, David and
through the New Covenant.
10. Judgment
(II Cor.5:10)
God has record of our actions while on
this earth of
both good and bad
deeds
(Rev.20:11-15)
The Bible teaches that God’s final judgment
is eternal
All life returns to God
as its source of being!
We must remember that everything
that is on earth
is a type, pattern or shadow of what exists in heaven.
(Heb.8:5, 9:23)
Moses’ tabernacle and worship was based on
what he was shown by God that exists in heaven,
but it was merely a type, pattern or shadow.
When God did away with the earthly Temple, Jerusalem and worship, the heavenly Temple, Jerusalem and worship remained.
What does the place where God is
(the temple)
look like?
Unfortunately, we think that
Revelation is just a book about the future,
but it is actually a book
about what is going on in heaven right now.
Revelation 4:2-6
Reveals a worship service before the throne of God.
Who is before the throne right now?
The 24 Elders,
the 4 living creatures,
and a myriad of
saints and angels
(Rev.4:4-6, 5:11, 7:9, 15).
(Rev. 21, 22)
describes the heavenly Temple, Jerusalem and garden.
(Phil.3:20, Heb.11:16, 12:22)
Heaven is a city
and a
kingdom
with citizens
(Jh.18:36)
Jesus said that
“His Kingdom was not
of this world.”
Jesus is our High Priest (Heb. 2:17, 3:1, 4:14, 5:10, 6:20, 7:26, 8:1, 9:11)
Mediator and Advocate (I Tim.2:5, Heb. 8:6, 9:15, 12:24).
(I Peter 2:9, Rev.5:10)
There is only One Mediator or High Priest of the New Covenant, but there are
many intercessors.
We are all called to be “priests”
or intercessors.
(Rev.5:8, 8:4)
When we pray,
our prayers
are stored in heaven
and offered
before God.
The menorah in the Temple represents
the Church (Rev.1:12, 13).
The Ark of the Covenant is also before the throne (Rev.11:19)
(I Cor.15:49, II Cor.5:1-10)
Even our bodies
will have a
heavenly form.
(Mat.22:32)
God is a God
of the living
not the dead!
(Heb.12:1)
So what is the
Communion of Saints?
A living community of all believers past, present
and future.
How often does heaven pray?
Priests offered prayers
at least 3 times a day
and during certain
holy days.
Is heaven
detached
from
human history?
Our worship should be patterned after
what is going on in heaven
right now.
Prayer is more than speaking…
it’s also listening.
Heaven is speaking…
Are you listening?
"Being Like God"
Genesis 1:27, 2:7
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and
over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth."
While it is true that we are measured against God’s holiness, it is
also true that we are able to share in God’s holiness.
(Gal.2:20)
“It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”
“I am the Temple of the Holy
Spirit”
(I Cor.3:16).
(I Cor.12:27)
We are called the “Body of Christ”
If God didn’t expect us to be like Him; why or how could He judge us
for not living up to His standards?
(I Pet.1:16)
“be holy as God is holy”
(Mat.5:48)
Jesus coming to this earth as a man showed the possibilities of a human being who is made in the image of God.
Jesus came to restore the image of God that was marred through original sin.
If we see ourselves as sinners and
define ourselves as sinners;
then what will we act like?
We need to start seeing ourselves as God sees us; as those who have been made in His image and redeemed by His Son!
What is your reflection, or image,
you are seeing and reflecting?
Who is it of?
God, or yourself?
To be like God is to be
Godly
and to not be like God is to be
ungodly
“Know Your Enemy”
Realize that Satan is a liar, a deceiver, a false accuser and co-conspirator and a defeated foe who has no power over you. He only creeps through the door we open; it’s our own sinful desires that make us take steps over the threshold.
Luke 10:19
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
1 Peter 5:8, 9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,
walks about, seeking whom he may devour: resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing
that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual
forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 4:27
don’t allow opportunities
and footholds!
“All it takes for evil to triumph
is for good people
to do nothing!”
Genesis 4:7
“sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must
master it."
1 Timothy 5:14
do not give the enemy an occasion for the potential for sin or accusation.
How can we be liberated from our
enemy?
Know the “tactics” of the enemy.
“Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.”
Remember this…
1. Sin does things in secret and in the dark where there is no accountability.
2. Know your limitations and don’t place yourself in possible compromising situations (footholds).
3. Work on making your weaknesses your strengths and pray for God’s wisdom.
4. Stop making excuses or blaming and realize that sin no longer has power over us because of Jesus.
5. Submit yourself to God and stop believing the lies. Learn the truth and immerse yourself in it.
Hebrews 12:1, 2
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let
us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles
us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking
to Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.
"Things you need to know" Part 4
The Holy Spirit and End Times
Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 of these messages can be further studied on the following link Doctrine
What are the Four Views of end time events:
1. Futurist / Dispensational 2. Preterist 3. Historicist 4. Allegorical
3. The Resurrection / Glorification of the Body / Eternal Life (I Cor.15:51, 52).
4. The “Millennium” “New Jerusalem” “New Heavens and Earth” (Rev.20,21, 22).
5. Christ returns all things to the Father (I Cor.15:24).
6. Believers are judged (I Cor.3:12-16, II Cor.5:6-10, Rom.14:10-12).
7. Final Judgment / Great White
Throne Room (Rev.20:11-13).
a. Armageddon / Final battle between good and evil / Marriage Supper of the
Lamb (Rev.16:16, Chapters 19, 20).
b. Heaven / Paradise (Lk.23:43,
II Cor.12:4, Rev.2:7, 22).
c. Hell / Hades / Gehenna (Rev.20:14). The Lake of Fire / Second Death (Rev.20:14).
Angels Judged (Rev.20:10).
Who or what is Satan? (Rev.12:10,
Gen.3:14, 15). Anti-Christ (I John 2:18, 22, 4:3, II John 1:7). False
Prophet (Rev. 16:13, 19:20, 20:10). Beast (Dan. 7:6, 11, Rev. 11,
13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20). Mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:16, 17).
Play/Pause
Things You Need To Know - Pt. III.
Jesus, Salvation and the Church
I.
What is a Messiah or Christ? The word “Messiah” is Hebrew for “anointed one.” The Greek word equivalence is the word “Christ,” mentioned 532 times in the NT.
What did the Messiah represent and why did we need one? It represented a person who would reign as king and bring about God’s rule on the earth. Israel was promised and longed for someone who would bring them to prominence and restore God’s rule among the nations through the Nation of Israel.
Was the Messiah to be a man or God? The messiah was to be a man from the tribe of Judah as well as from the kingly line of David. He also represented a “Suffering Servant,”(Isa.53). But throughout the OT, the prophecies seem to indicate and symbolize that this man would be much more than just a man. His birth would be miraculous and represent God’s very presence among His people, and He would be called the “Son of God;” representing God Himself (Isa.7:14, 9:6, 7).
How would this be accomplished? The means and purpose of His birth was announced from the very beginning in (Gen.3:15) “Protoevangelium”. This was a foreshadowing of Jesus’ birth through his mother Mary. The process of God becoming a man is called the “Incarnation,” (Phil.2:7, Col.2:9), also called the “hypostatic union.” “The fullness of the deity dwells in bodily form.”
Why do we say that Jesus was the Messiah? Jesus’ name means “salvation;” used almost 1000 times in the NT. His birth and life fulfilled every biblical prophecy about who the Messiah would be and what He would accomplish.
What was the Messiah going to do? Literally, He would “save His people from their sin,” (Mat.1:21).
How would God accomplish this? Many had preconceived ideas on how God would accomplish this. So the NT clearly states that salvation and a “New Covenant” would be accomplished through the birth, death, resurrection and exaltation of the Messiah.
What does it mean to be saved? It means to be reconciled and redeemed by God, through the substitutionary death of God’s Son for all of humanity (II Cor.5:21, Rom.3:25, 5:11). By accepting this atonement, or propitiation; one can be forgiven, justified, declared righteous before God and adopted as sons of God.
II.
What is the “Church?” The word “church” is a Celtic word based on the Greek word Ecclesia; which means; a “called out assembly of people.” It is mentioned 115 times in the NT. The word “church” also represents the “universal / catholic and mystical Body of Christ.”
What does it mean to be called the “Body of Christ?” Mentioned in (Rom.12:5, I Cor.12:12, 27, Eph.4:4-13). The Church represents the presence of Jesus on this Earth. It also represents the fact that “In Christ” we have become a “new creation” (II Cor.5:17). Jesus is the “second Adam and the last man,” (I Cor.15:45-49) and so through Him we have a new identity.
What does it mean to be called the “Bride of Christ?” Mentioned in (Eph.5:23-33, II Cor.11:2). In the Gospels Jesus was called the “bridegroom,” (Mat.9:15). This represents the OT idea that God and the Nation of Israel were considered to be in a type of “marriage” with God. So too, the Church as the “Bride” are in a type of marriage relationship with God through His Son.
What are the Church’s responsibilities?
(I Tim.3:15) The Church, as the “pillar and ground of truth,”
is to carry out the “ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor.5:18)
on this Earth. The Church is the sole authority on this Earth that is capable
and commissioned to; proclaim and teach the Gospel to all nations, commission
ministers and administer the sacraments.
Things You Need To Know Part II.
Ourselves and Sin
1. We have an Adamic nature. We all have a common heritage from the same original parents Adam and Eve (Gen.1:26, 27). Therefore we have a shared nature. The woman proceeded from the man (Gen.2:21, 22). The Hebrew word for Man and Woman are ish = man / isha = woman. The word for Woman means “bride.” This is to be a type or foreshadowing of the Godhead's relationship with humanity, one of bride and groom (Eph.5:23-32).
2. We are made in the “Image of God” (Imago Dei) (Gen.1:26, 27, I Cor.3:16, 6:19). What does it mean to have been created in the image of God? We share with God certain moral attributes, but not non-moral attributes. We also share a physical bond with God, we are able to create new life. Our body is a living theology.
3. We are Moral and have a Conscience (Rom.2:15). It is universal that humanity is able to make “moral choices.” The Bible speaks of the idea that each person has a conscience and that ones conscience can be severed or darkened. Therefore, the conscience is something innate in a human that must be educated.
4. We are body and spirit - Trichotomy. The Scriptures teach that (Gen.2:7) God formed the body of man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. According to this account, man consists of two distinct principles, a body and a soul / spirit: the one material, the other immaterial; the one corporeal, the other spiritual
5. We have a Sinful nature (Rom.3:23, I Cor.15:22, 45). “For all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.” We are in a fallen condition as a result of our parents Adam and Eve and so we are in need of salvation. We have a great capacity for doing good and evil, but our tendency is to choose evil. We suffer the effects of what is called “original Sin.”
6. We are Accountable because of our Free Will (Rom.14:11,12, II Cor.5:10). The Bible presents the idea that humans are “judged” based on “their choices.” If we are born sinners, can we not help from sinning? Are we Morally Depraved, Distorted, or Wounded? Calvinism teaches the “total depravity” of humanity as a result of original sin as part of the 5 tenants (TULIP). Other theologies teach that humanity has become distorted or wounded as a result of sin and that we are in need of being “spiritually healed” (Isa.53:3-5). Each of us must struggle against our sinful nature, not excuse it.
7. Because of sin we can feel Condemnation and Guilt. (Rom. 8:1-2) "in Christ there is therefore now no condemnation. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death”. We are in need of reconciliation (Rom. 5:6-11).
8. We also can be Tempted and Tested because of our carnal nature (James 1:13-15, I Pet. 1:7). But the Lord is capable of delivering us (2 Pet. 2:9, I Cor.10:13).
9. The Heart of Man is considered to be the seat of decision making (Gen.6:5, Romans 10:9, 10, I Cor.2:9). It also can be deceitful and hardened.
10. God Convicts us through the work of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26, 16:7-13). Conviction of the Holy Spirit brings an awareness of sin and results in confession and cleansing the conscience. Conviction of our sins brings us to the cross and shows us our need for forgiveness and salvation.
11. We have an Eternal Soul. The Church has always taught that the Bible teaches that humans are eternal beings and that they can NOT be annihilated, but live eternally in or out of God’s presence (Rev. 20:11-15).
Things You Need To Know Part I.
God and the Bible
The Bible assumes God’s existence, it does not defend it; (Gen.1:1) “In the beginning, God…” Even concerning the existence of God and the existence of suffering, which is called “Theodicy.”
So what are some of the arguments for the existence of God?
1. Ontological God is a being of which no greater exists or can be thought of. Therefore, since we can conceive of God as the greatest of all beings, or things that exist, then God must exist.
2. Cosmological appealing to the principle that all things have causes. There cannot be an infinite regress of causes; therefore, there must be an uncaused cause: God. God is the prime mover.
3. Teleological based upon the premise that the universe is designed and therefore needs a designer: God.
4. Intelligent Design the universe and things in it exhibit attributes of design. A design must have a designer. Since the Universe appears designed, it had to have someone who designed it. A watch needs a watchmaker.
5. Moral / Anthropological
since we are made in God’s own image; everyone has within themselves
the same irresistible evidence that God is a personal Being; that He is intelligent,
voluntary, and moral; that He knows; that He has the right to command; and
that He can punish and can save.
(Others: Aesthetic, Historical, Probability, Religious, Rational / Intuition)
Why should we believe what the Bible says about God?
The Bible was written by over 40 different authors over a period of 1,500 years of human history, all in agreement when speaking about the same God. It is not a collection of opposing or contradictory views. The Bible claims to record the very words of God within real human history. It claims “inspiration and infallibility” (II Tim.3:16, II Pet.1:20, 21) concerning who God is and it is not just the opinion of a single person. How is it different from other religious records? The Bible is actual history, not mythology, and written within the lifetime of the author. It is placed within an historical and culturally verifiable context. Most religions and their texts cannot be confirmed through archaeology. Even the many prophecies and miracles of the Bible were confirmed by witnesses.
What does the Bible say about what God is like?
God is...
1. Spirit (Jh.4:24). 2. One (Deut.6:4) (“composite unity”) yet exists in a Trinity (Father / Son / H.S.) 3. Eternal (Ex.3:14, Ps.90:2) 4. Holy (I Pet.1:16) “Be holy for I am holy.” 5. Unchanging (Mal.3:6, Hb.13:8) 6. Omnipotent (Deut.32:39) 7. Omnipresent (Prov.15:3) 8. Omniscience (I Jh.3:20) 9. Sovereign & Providential (Luke 12:7) 10. Transcendent yet Immanent (Isa.55:8) 11. Righteous & Just (Ps.111:3) 12. Merciful (Lk.6:36) 13. Longsuffering (Ex.34:6) 14. Jealous (Ex.20:5) 15. Divine / Perfect (II Pet.1:3, Mat.5:48) 16. Trustworthy / Truthful (Jh.14:6, Titus 1:2) 17. Good (Rom.2:4) 18. Love (1 John 4:19. Rom.8:39).
"Children of God"
The
absence of correction
is the absence of love.
Hebrews
12:5-11
you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "My
son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you
are reproved by Him; For those
whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives."
It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for
what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then
you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides
this, we have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them.
Should we not (then) submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines
us for our good, that we may share His holiness, eternally.
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to
those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit
of righteousness.
What does it mean to be a child of God?
You cannot be a child of God if you do not have the
“Spirit of Adoption.”
(Rom.8:14-17).
(John 14:16-18).
Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans.
It is the role of the Holy Spirit, as the Spirit of Adoption, to convict and correct us and it is His presence in our lives that reminds us that we are God’s children.
We can resist, and even quench the Holy Spirit’s work in our life as the great teacher and disciplinarian.
What are some signs that we are in need of
Godly correction?
1. A guilty conscience, conviction rather than condemnation.
2. Prayers hindered. The lines of communication will be affected.
3. Reoccurring issues or opportunities (lost opportunities for growth).
4. Trials, tests and temptations.
5. Spiritual stagnation
(slow or no growth).
We are being developed for eternity!
Hebrews 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the
joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
“Whom the Lord loves, He corrects”.
“Birth Pains!”
“Why do we have
to go through suffering
in life?”
The Bible speaks of Godly change as
“birth pains.”
Matthew 24:8
“Birth pains
of the
Messiah”
Godly change
is always preceded by some form of suffering, but it always leads to something
great.
“Coming of the Lord”
&
“Day of the Lord”
Romans 8:18-21
For I consider that the sufferings of this present age are not worthy to be
compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing
of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the
creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who
has subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself will also be delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of
God.
Romans 8:22,23
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth
together.
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption
as sons, the redemption of our body.
Romans 8:26
And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know
how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings
too deep for words.
II Corinthians. 5:1, 2, 4
For we know that if the earthly tent which is our body or house is torn down,
we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
For indeed in this house we suffer the pains of child birth, longing to be
clothed with our dwelling from heaven. For we that are in this tabernacle
do groan, being burdened:
I Corinthians 15:53, 54
For this corruptible nature must put on incorruption, and this mortal nature
must put on immortality. So when this has occurred…, then shall come
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
What will be birthed, or the final product?
A new child!
“The revelation of the
sons God”
(Rom. 8:19).
Romans 8:18
“the suffering of today
is nothing compared
with the glory later.”
Romans 8:28
“all things work together for the good to them that love God, for those
who are called according to God’s purpose.”
Romans 8:35-39
Nothing can separate from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus”.
Neither tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword. neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature.
What are some of the birth pains we experience?
1. Sickness, pain and suffering
2. Natural disasters
3. Death
4. Political / Religious unrest
Christianity at its very core is
about childbirth.
We celebrate the birth
of the Son of God
and as believers
we experience
new birth.
Who and what we are
and what creation will be
is yet to be seen.
Jesus is the foreshadowing of what
occurs to us as Christians
Because He is the
Second Adam and
Last Man, and we are
in Him.”
Through Christ…
a whole new generation is getting ready to be birthed.
“He is bringing
many sons to glory.”
Hebrews 2:10
God has NOT given us everything now.
We have only received a portion or “earnest”
of the Spirit, more is yet to come.
What will we think the next time you
or others experience suffering, death, or natural disasters?
Will you blame
or bless God?
“Everyone Loves A Hero!”
A Hero is someone who Saves,
or one who is a
Savior
Our desire for a hero is a God given desire.
Isaiah 53:3-5
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed
him not. Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.
2 Corinthians 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the
righteousness of God
in Him.
These scriptures speak of a hero who was to come who through his suffering would save his people; the suffering servant.
The struggle between good and evil is as old as humanity itself
Many times the hero shows up when things are at their worst, just in the nick of time !
When Christ returns, He will not return as a lamb, but as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will come at just the right time, or in the fullness of time, we cannot usher in or force his intervention.
Revelation 19:11
Even Jesus is portrayed as a rider on a white horse who comes to save the
day!
Our heroes still experience death, but Christ has overcome death and the grave, never to die again!
We all have a desire to be Invincible,
Incorruptible,
and
Immortal
1 Corinthians 15:42- 54
We too will experience incorruptibility! There will come a time when this
corruptible and mortal body will take on incorruptibility and immortality
Do you want to be saved and rescued? Do you want to know the Savior?
The path to salvation is paved with
suffering.
It is not a detachment from suffering or the human condition, but an embrace
of it.
What is a definition
of what is a
true hero?
One who is touched with our frailties,
yet who is able to
save us.
There is only one true hero,
His name is
Jesus!
“A Message about Nothing!”
God created everything from nothing.
(Genesis 1:1)
(John 1:3)
states that all things were made through Christ,
(as the Word / Logos)
and apart from Christ nothing came into being that has come into
being.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
that which has been, is that which will be, and that which has been done,
is that which will be done.
So, there is
nothing new under the sun.
Matthew 5:13
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will
it be made salty again?
It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled
under foot by men.
John 15:5
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he
bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do
nothing.
Mark 7:15
there is nothing outside of a man which going into him can defile
him; but the things which proceed out of a man are what defile the man.
Luke 1:37
With God nothing is impossible.
What did the disciples find when they came to the tomb on the third day? Nothing!
Matthew 25:42
for I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave
Me nothing to drink.
1 Timothy 6:7
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything
out of it either.
I Corinthians 13:2, 3
If I have not love, I have nothing.
Romans 8:35-39
Nothing can separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined to know nothing among you, except Jesus Christ,
and Him crucified.
Philippians 4:6
Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
After being forgiven of sin by God, what does He
remember?
“Nothing”
Hebrews 10:17
Psalm 103:12
James 1:4
And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.
Nothing can lead to something.
In fact,
nothing
is something.
God specializes in taking nothings
and making them into something’s.
“Touching God”
Through...
1. His Son
(John 14:9)
“if you have seen me
you have seen the Father”
(Col.2:9, Heb.1:3)
“Jesus is the exact representation of God in bodily form”
2. Scripture
(II Tim.3:16, II Pet.1:21)
It is the very
“words of God”
3. Suffering
(Phil.3:10, Col.1:24)
We are co-participants in
suffering with Christ
(James 1:2, 3, 12)
“Count it all joy when you encounter trials”
4. Giving
(Mat.25:40)
“When you have done it unto the least… you’ve done it
to / for me”
5. Loving
(I John 4:8)
“For God is Love”
6. Marriage
(Eph.5:31, 32)
The two becoming one flesh represents
Christ and the Church
7. Communion & Prayer
(Mat.26:26).
“This is my body…”
(Heb.4:16).
Through prayer we enter the very throne room and
Mercy seat of God
8. Worship
(John 4:24)
“God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and
in truth”
(Ps.22:3)
“God inhabits the praises of His people”
9. Body of Christ / Church
(I Cor.12:27, Eph.1:23).
“We are His body”….
(Mat.18:20).
“Where two or more are gathered in my name… I am there”
(I Tim.3:15).
The Church is…
“the pillar and ground of Truth”
10. Holy Spirit
(John 14:16, 16:7).
is our “advocate” and
is always with us
10. Holy Spirit
(I Cor.2:12)
“God has given us the earnest of His Spirit,
so that we might know
what has been freely
given to us”
II Peter 1:3
“God has given to us all things pertaining to life and Godliness”
“Speak the Truth in Love”Audio
Genesis 3:10
At the very root of
Sin is dishonesty
and believing lies
Death through the First Adam came as a result of
believing a Lie;
Life through the Second Adam / Jesus came as a result of believing the Truth.
(Rom.5:12-, I Cor.15:45, 47)
“You Can’t Handle
The Truth!”
Our society promotes falsehood through our desire
to be
“Tolerant,” “Inclusive”
and “PC”
We withhold the truth because we are afraid of being
rejected.
James 5:16
Honesty Precedes
Healing.
How Does the Church Resolve Conflict?
Fear of conflict
leads you away
from the presence
of God.
The Church is in danger of loosing its credibility
in the areas of
Trust and Truth!
Sin
Is believing a lie
and acting on it.
Sin
It is an attempt to hide something;
namely the Truth.
Ephesians 4:27
“Do not give the Devil
a Foothold!”
Hebrew
Truth = Amat
Death = Mat
Remove any part of the Truth and it leads to Death!
Repentance
It is the ongoing process of allowing God’s Truth to confront us about
ourselves and learning.
John 8:32
“The Truth will set you Free”
John 14:6
“I Am the Way, the Truth and
the Life”
Jesus Personifies Truth
He is NOT
a Way,
a Truth
and a Lifestyle
I John 5:12
To have the Son is to
Know the Way,
Know the Truth,
and to
Have Life!
I John 4:18
“Perfect Love
Casts Out
All Fear”
The Church is…
A Place where ungodly
and imperfect people
come to work on
becoming Godly,
and thus
becoming Perfect.
The Enemy wants to
Hide the Truth,
not Confront it.
John 8:44
From the very beginning Satan was a liar and the father of lies.
What’s the Solution?
Ephesians 4:15
“Speak the Truth in Love”
Confront without Condemning or Condoning.
We are all
“Wounded Healers”
Our Final Goal in Life…
Is the Search for the
Truth,
and His Name is
Jesus
Heaven will be
the most
Honest place!
In the mean time…
Keep a short list of;
Lies,
Regrets,
and
Resentments.
Proverbs 10:12
“Love Covers a Multitude of Wrongs”
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Matthew 22:37- 39
You shall love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and with all your soul,
and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second
is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
1 John 2:15
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 3:18
Let us not love in word alone, but also with our actions.
1 John 4:7
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves
is born of God, and knows God. He that loves not knows not God; for God is
love.
1 John 4:20
If a person says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for if
he cannot love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he hath
not seen?
So What is Love?
Greek
Philios – brotherly love
Eros – physical love
Agape – Godly love
Hebrew
Love = AHAV
Action = HAV
Love is an action! The word love means to Give!
The word for sacrifice is Hav Hav. It's more than just giving!
There is only one kind of love;
Godly love
If we distort what true love is we mar the very image of God.
Love is the very reflection of God!
Love is a person;
God.
I Cor.13:4-7, 13
Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not boast it is
not arrogant, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not
quick-tempered,
I Cor.13:4-7, 13
it does not brood over injury, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices
with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things. Love never fails. But now abide in faith, hope, love, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
What is True Love?
Our search for true love must ultimately lead us to Christ!
Every loving act must truly reflect and mirror
Godly love which is;
Free - unreserved with no strings attached,
Full - not 50 / 50 but 100%, not selfish,
Faithful – committed,
Fruitful – open to self replicating and new life.
Life and Love outside of Christ is just mere Existence and Emotion.
What is the opposite of Love?
Lust!
Where does it lead?
Love Lust
Gives Takes
Honest Hides
Builds Up Tears Down
Selfless Selfish
Obedient Sinful
Love Lust
Humble Arrogant
Truthful Lies (distorts)
Patient Impetuous
Committed Indifferent
Faithful Fickle
Love Lust
Brings Freedom Brings Bondage
Eternal Life Spiritual Death
Leads to God Leads to the Enemy
1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a
pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world.
John 10:10
The thief comes to steal, kill, lie and destroy. Jesus came that you might
have abundant life and love.
Are you looking for love in all the wrong places and faces?
Why is there an epidemic of STD’s, immorality and adultery, even among Christians?
Because we have bought into how our society defines love, it encourages sexual immorality by distorting what true love is.
God is not keeping any good thing from us!
He’s not a kill-joy!
He is keeping us from harm!
Truth is love.
John 14:6
Jesus is the way the truth and the life that leads to true love.
I John 4:16
God is love,
NOT God is loving,
but God IS Love!
John 8:32
You shall know the truth about life and love and the truth will set you free!
I John 4:18
Perfect love
casts out all fear!
James 1:13-15
lust leads to spiritual death because it isn’t the truth and it is does
not lead to love, or God!
James 4:7
Submit yourself to God, resist the Devil and he will flee!
God is the only one that defines WHAT is love and truth and what is good and bad, we decide what we will do.
Jesus expressed his love by acting on his
love and giving his life for us.
We are all called to do the same.
The end of our exploration known as death
is not peace or comfort but Truth.
Death is the “Undiscovered Country.”
Death as…
“Enemy”
1 Corinthians 15:26
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
God has placed “eternity in our hearts”
Death as…
“Stranger”
Christianity without the Resurrection
treats death as a Stranger
Death as…
“Friend”
Psalm 90:12
“Teach us to
number our days”
Death as…
“Mother”
The function of death as a mother is to wean us from this life
and to birth us into a whole other world.
Death as…
“Lover”
I Corinthians 13:8
“Love Never Ends”
“Love is Stronger
than Death”
“Death Ushers Us into the Arms of God
Who is the
Lover of our Soul”
“So Why Not Just Wish to have this Life End?”
Death is Not Good
in itself but is an Enemy
God Uses Death by Nature as our Friend
By Resurrection as our Mother
By Meeting as our
Lover
Prayer is a Rehearsal
For Death.
“No One Can See
God’s Face and Live”
“Who is it that Wears These Faces?”
God!
The Last Face of Death
(Lover)
Is the First Face of God
Theology of the Body”
Our body can only truly be understood in a Theological way.
In the beginning when God created man and woman who together were
to be a
“reflection of God.”
The purpose of our body leads us to Christ!
Jesus came to restore and redeem the image that was distorted through sin
and to give us abundant Life!
The Scripture states…
We are made in the “Image of God” (Gen.1:27).
We are called the “Temple of the Holy Spirit”
(I Cor.3:16).
We are “Partakers of the divine nature”
(II Peter 1:4).
As the Church we are called…
the “Body of Christ” (I Cor.12:27) and the
“Bride of Christ” (Eph.5:32).
So how are we to view marriage and the family?
The human body makes no sense outside of union between a man and a woman.
The Family is defined as those who together have the potential of procreation
between themselves.
God defines what marriage and family is to be, not society.
If we are co-creators together with God, then Abortion is more than just a choice; it is a sin against the body. God is a creator not a destroyer!
The passion that we experience in marriage ultimately is a desire and attempt to be united with God and only fully understood and experienced in a committed marital / nuptial covenant relationship.
This is why Marriage ceases in heaven, because it will be truly fully realized when we are united together with God.
All forms of immorality are a…
“Sin against the Body”.
Read (I Cor.3:16, 17, 6:18-20). Because it ultimately devalues and distorts
the Image of God and humanity and hinders us from becoming who we were meant
to become.
1 Corinthians 3:16,17
Do you not know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that the Spirit
of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that
person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Flee immorality and fornication. Every sin that a person does is outside of
the body; but he that commits fornication “sins against his own body”.
What? Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit
which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you
have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's.
What is the “nuptial meaning of the body”?
It is the kind of union that Christ as the bridegroom has with the Church
his bride which is only exhibited in Christian marriage.
Read (Eph.5:21-33).
Ephesians 5:21- 33
Submit one to the other out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church: and he is the savior of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be subject
to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her; That he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, That he might present her to himself as a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that she should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.
He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever hated his own
flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church: For we
are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined
unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself;
and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
The husband and wife union “Reflects” the kind of relationship
that Christ has with the Church. It will be a ...
“Mystery Revealed” in eternity!
Redefining what marriage is and was intended to be by God will distort and devalue everything! As marriage and the family goes, so goes our society!
Marriage is presented today as just another institution that is meant to make me happy, when it was originally designed by God to make us more like God; Holy.
Marriage also reflects the very persons and relationship of the Godhead,
ONE.
“The two shall become ONE flesh.”
Human sexuality has been promoted in our society as forms of “entertainment, recreation and experimentation.” It has become distorted, exploited and devalued!
Rights without
Responsibility
leads to Ruin!
We are NOT called to curse the darkness, but to turn on a light!
We are NOT called to just take away the garbage can, but to feed the hunger with the truth!
God’s love is a “Nuptial Gift” that can only be
truly understood, realized and cherished within the covenant of marriage!
Every loving act must truly reflect and mirror God’s love which is;
Free,
Full,
Faithful,
Fruitful.
This is why when expressed within marriage it is called good (moral) and outside of marriage is it called a sin (immoral).
What will you choose to believe?
God is NOT keeping any good thing from us!
We must begin to reclaim that which the enemy has stolen.
I Have A Question PT. I
1. How do I know that Christianity is the one true religion for me?
Is this the only religion that truly promises me eternity with my loved ones who have died?
Do other religions promise the same eternity as Christianity?
Is it the correct religion because the majority believes it is?
How can I be sure that this is the path I should be taking?
What will death and Heaven be like?
2. Can you explain the idea of the Trinity
The term “Trinity” first came into use around the 3rd century through a man named Tertullian.
How are we to interpret (Deut.6:4) “The Lord is One”
against (Gen.1:26, 27) “Let Us make man in Our Image.”
What does the word ONE mean?
“Composite Unity”
Man and Woman became “One Flesh”
(Gen.2:24)
“the Father and I are One”
(Jh.10:30, 17:22)
Other Old Testament Terms
Theophanies
(Gen.18)
(Gen. 32:30)
“The Lord said to my Lord”
(Psalm 110)
The New Testament develops the idea of One God
and three persons of the Godhead.
(John 1:1-3,14)
“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God from the beginning
and was God… and co-creator of all things,”
(Hebrews 1:3, 8)
Identifies Jesus as being the expressed
“Image of God”
(Eph.3:9)
Reaffirms that all things were created through Christ.
(Col.2:9)
Jesus was fully God and fully man and “in Him the
fullness of the Godhead dwelled in bodily form”
(Matthew 28:19)
We are to “Baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”
Throughout the book of Acts the Holy Spirit is spoken of being a person and God, not as a thing or a force, as most cults teach.
(Matthew 18:16)
Out of the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses shall all things be confirmed.
Truth is not based on whether I believe it is true, or not, in order
for it to be true, my believing doesn’t make it true.
I Have a Question, Part II
1. Where do you think the Church his heading in regards to issues of morality, political correctness and biblical authority?
In order to predict the future of the church we must learn from the lessons of the past, in the area of church history.
Orthodoxy…
Literally means correct Teaching or Thinking.
Those that hold to the original standards of Christianity.
Does the Bible predict what the future of the church is concerning issues of morality, politics and biblical authority?
The Bible specifies that where there is moral, social and spiritual failure, God always raises up a people who will hold up His standard in the world.
Pluralism…
The belief that there are many different, opposing and contradicting truths
that are still true depending on ones viewpoint.
(I Pet. 4:17).
“Judgment first begins with the house of God”
So is there a standard being raised today?
People are looking for consistent biblical and ecclesiastical authority.
2 Timothy 4:3
“For the time will come when believers will not listen to sound doctrine;
but will gather teachers to themselves who will teach them what they want
to hear.”
Our relationship with God is Personal, NOT Private!
We must make a difference in our society, not just in the privacy of our church
walls.
What does the Bible mean when it talks about
“the sins of the fathers being passed down to the children,” and
is there an age of accountability?
Exodus 20:5
“You shall not bow down to idols, or serve them: for I the LORD your
God am a jealous God, visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children unto
the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 20:6 And showing mercy
to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
What does this mean within its context?
“they did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord and served other gods.”
How does this apply to today?
Is there some kind of “generational curse” that we have to deal with after becoming Christians?
God always is able to raise up a generation of people who are called by His name to take a stand and be the light and the truth for future generations.
We must break the cycle now!
Does the Bible teach about an “age of accountability?”
What’s the Answer?
One of the answers is to nurture our children in the fear and admonition of
the Lord and to be parents that try our very best to model that relationship.
Rules without a Relationship lead to Rebellion.
Children won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
We must take back that which the enemy has stolen from our society
and our families!
“A Series Of Unfortunate Events”
A Review of the Movie
Biblical Unfortunate Events
Adam and Eve
Job
Joseph
Crucifixion
Do You Find Yourself Judging Others?
“Who sinned Lord?”
(John 9:1-3)
How Do You Deal With
A Series Of Unfortunate Events In Your Life?
James 1:2-4
“Consider it all joy, when you encounter various trials, knowing that
the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance mature
you, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing”.
Hebrews 5:8
We Are Able To Mature When We Encounter Suffering.
What Is God’s Response?
(Romans 8:28)
“We know that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to his purpose”.
What Will You Choose To Conclude About The Series
Of Unfortunate Events In Your Life?
“Confession is Good for the Soul”
Forgiveness is based Upon…
Repentance
which requires
Confession
(James 5:13-16)
(I John 1:9, 5:16)
James 5:13-16
Are there any among you who are suffering? They should pray. Any joyful? They
should sing praises. Any one sick among you? Let them call for the elders
of the church; and let them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the
name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise them up; and if they have committed sins, they will be forgiven.
Confess your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be
restored / healed.
I John 1:9, 5:16
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
5:16 If anyone sees his brother / sister sin a sin which is not unto death
(mortal), they should pray for them, and they will be forgiven…
Forgiveness is based Upon…
Restitution
We must make Right any Wrongs that we are able to Rectify.
Matthew 5:23, 24
Therefore, if while coming before the Lord in prayer and worship, you remember
that your brother / sister has an issue against you or you them; stop what
you are doing, and go and first be reconciled to your brother / sister, and
then come and offer your prayers and worship.
Are all sins considered Equal?
Mortal – leads to spiritual death.
Venial – can be forgiven, but can lead to mortal sin.
Omission – when we sin by what we ignore and fail to do.
Comission – when we sin with full knowledge.
Forgiveness is based Upon…
Reciprocity
“Forgive us our sins / debts / trespasses, as we forgive others who
sin against us”
(Matthew 6:12)
Forgiveness is based Upon…
Remittance
“Whosoever sins you Remit / Forgive / Loose will be forgiven and whosoever
sins you Retain / Bind will not be forgiven”
(John 20:23)
Matthew 18:15-18
Moreover, if a fellow believer sins against you, go and tell them privately:
if they listen, you have repaired the relationship.
But if they will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in
the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Matthew 18:15-18
And if they refuse to hear them, bring it before the church: but if they refuse
to hear the church, let them be to you as an unbeliever. Truly I say to you,
Whosoever sins you shall retain / bind on earth shall be retained / bound
in heaven: and whosoever sins you shall forgive / loose on earth shall be
forgiven / loosed in heaven.
Are we Bent, Broken, Depraved, or Wounded?
Sin is terminal, but not incurable.
Sin is able to wound us.
Confession takes the thorn out of the wound and allows the healing process to begin.
How do today’s churches handle
confession of sin?
When was the last time you
confessed your sins to anyone?
What did it mean for Jesus to die?
It made it possible for us to be truly
forgiven and cleansed from all
unrighteousness and the stain of
original sin, but it did not
remove our accountability.