Imitate Christ -- Patience

Series: Imitate Christ Topic: Patience Scripture: Genesis 50:15-21

Today, we are talking about Patience.

That is a need that we see daily. We see it in others, and in ourselves. We all wish, and would be better served to see more patience on our highways for example.
Have you ever been driving, or even just trying to park somewhere. And all the sudden you hear the blare of a horn and a person goes by waving angrily... As that person goes by, don’t you wish they had more patience with you.... I do. Of course, its worse if you are the person who is driving by making the disruption. In either case, more patience was needed.

Today we are going to look at patience as I said, but in a specific way. We are going to look at examples of how to demonstrate patience with people who have wronged you in some way.

Last week we talked about Peace. And one of the stories we talked about came from the Bible. The story is found in the book of Genesis, and it is about a man named Joseph.

Joseph had 10 older brothers, and 1 younger, but he was his Fathers favorite. The 10 older brothers resented him for that so they cought him away from home one day, and sold him as a slave to a caravan on it’s way to Egypt.

The brothers told the Father, that Joseph was killed by a wild animal and devoured. But in the mean time, Joseph was busy in Egypt succeeding in his new masters house, only to be betrayed again and thrown into prison on false charges. In the Prison, he succeeded to such a degree that they made him the manager of the very institution that imprissioned him. But even then, when he successfully interprited a positive dream for the cupbearer of the Pharoah, he was forgotten for another two years.

But after that time, Joseph was remembered and he was called to interprate a dream of the Pharoah himself. He interprited the dream that God was revealing to Pharaoh that the land would have 7 years of plentyful harvest, and 7 years of famine. Pharaoh was so impressed with Joseph, that he made him Prime Minister of the land, and gave him the task of preparing the land for the upcoming famine. Which Joseph handled masterfully.

But that did not change the pain that Joseph had endured. He had still been sold into slavery by his own brothers.

And that is what leads to the lesson of today. This story is often used as a lesson on forgiveness, and rightly so. But today, I think we can learn alot about having patience with those who have wronged us.

We all can learn to be more patient with those who have harmed us by following the examples that Joseph lives out.

Envision with me --- There sits Joseph, managing the sales of the grain to the foreigners. When who should appear before the counter, but 10 brothers from the land of Canaan, Joseph’s childhood home. It is the same 10 men who had sold him into slavery years before. They are his brothers. But, where as Joseph recognizes them, they do not recognize him.

How would you or I have handled this? How would the average person handle this? I think we would handle it very harshly. I think we would say, oh - I have you now. But that is not what happens. Joseph does mess with them a bit, holding one brother in prison until they return. But he also returned the money that the brothers had paid for the grain.

Over time, Joseph reviels himself to his brothers, recieves and accepts them. They go back to Canann and tell their father of what they had done years ago to Joseph. Then the entire family moves to Egypt under the care of Joseph.

Joseph endured much sorrow and much pain, yet he had pateince, and faith, and exhibited forgiveness toward those who had hurt him. But even with that, when the day came that their father passed away, the brothers who betrayed Joseph were pretty worried.

Read Genesis 50:15-21

So, remember, what we are looking at is how Joseph responded to those who had hurth him. Hopefully we can learn and grow from his example.

Joseph responded to those who had hurth him with Humility.
v. 19b, “Am I in the place of God?”

We often want to be the one in the place of the decision maker. We want to be in control. Just the other day, I walked in and saw a cartoon on TV. And the cartoon character was talking about how he liked being in control. Our control is an illusion. We like to think we are in control, but in mear moments, we can totally loose every assemalence of it we ever had. Either through anger, or an accident, or any number of situations. The only one who can be in control is God. He allows us to make our own decisions, but we know that whatever we decide to do, he still has control to work if for his good, and ours.
Desiring to be in the place of God is the original sin. (Isaiah 14:12-15) (note, Morning Star = Lucifer) Lucifer is Satan. He fell not because of anything that Hollywood relates to the idea of original sin, he fell becaus he desired to be equal with God. Remember, anything that Satan does, is something we need to aviod.

In Philippians 2:5-7 we read. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality whith God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

Jesus took on the roal of Humility.

Joseph accepted this principle in his life, not desiring to be in control, or even to take out his frustration on those who hurt him. But he took up the position of humility and not only recieved those who had hurt him, but cared for and provided for them and their families. Joseph Responded to those who had hurt him with Faith.

v.20, “You intended to harm me, but God inteneded it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

This is the final statement of Joseph taking what God gives by faith. He just accepts that God had a plan and he worked it out for the good of all, even with many people in the mix trying to put an end to it. Do we live by that faith?

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Joseph understands that God is in control, even when we feel that we are lost and forgotten by God and the world around us. We continually seek that comfort of approval from others and from God. God shows his acceptance and love of us through the Cross, his love was displayed as Jesus died for our sins. Joseph had faith that God knew what he was doing, that he had a plan, and that he had not abandon Him. Do you ever wonder if God is really interested in your life? That is what the message of the Cross of Jesus is all about. God loves you and cares for you. And he asks that you have faith in him through Jesus his son.

Joseph had faith in God throughout his life, and many were saved through it. Joseph also responded to those who had hurt him with encouragment.

v. 21, “So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.”

The point there is that Joseph found a way to encourage even those who had betrayed him.

Hebrews 3:13 says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Notice in that verse, we are told not only to encourage one another, but we are told what will happen if we do not. We will be hardended by sin’s deceifulness.

To be hardened by sin will leave us more and more susseptible to sin, and therefor leave us walking further and further from the will of God. Lack of encouragment, both coming and going, is a dangerous thing. The example Joseph sets for us is that we are to not only forgive those who hurt us, but care for and encourage them as well.

Do you live that way? Remember, it is easy to care for and encourage our favorite people. But not so those who are not our favorites. The oposite is also true. Human nature is to love to correct those who see things different than us. But those we like, it is often difficult to find a way to offer that constructive criticism. But Joseph shows us that we are to help even those who have hurt us. Seek those opportunities. Don’t just wait for God to back you in a corner. Rather proactively look for a way to do good to whomever may need it, regardless of any past you may have.

These responses of humility, faith and encouragment, are how Joseph demonstrated patience toward his advesaries.

Now, if you are sitting there, and saying, yes pastor, that is right, they do need to have more patience with me.... Then you probably are missing the point. If you feel like others owe you more patience, than in truth you probably owe them some kind words, some smiles, some grace, happiness, and encouragment. If you feel others need to be more patient with you, what that means is that you need to be more patient with them.
Remember, Jesus himself, in Matthew 7:12 was the first to teach the idea, “Do to others, what you would have them do to you.”

Jesus taught it, then he modeled it. He said, I love you so much, that I can not let you live forever seperated from me unless you choose to. So I give myself for you, asking you to simply ask for forgiveness for what you’ve done wrong, and believe in me and I will bring you to live with me, and save you from the pain of life apart from God.

He set the example with his life and death. And now we are called to believe in him and follow him. And show patience toward others in our lives. Just like Joseph modeled, and just like Jesus shows us.

What about you? Will you have patience with those around you, and encourage them regardless of how you feel in the moment? And will you follow Jesus and live the life he calls you to, doing to others as you would have them do to you.

The truth is that it all starts with Jesus. He is the creator, he is the savior. To live the way he calls us to, we have to have faith that he is with us, and he’s working with and around us.

Peace. draft.

A gentleman I heard once was talking about getting upset in general in life... he says his normal habbit is to buy a tub of ice cream and some snickers and nuke’s it up into a homemade blizzard. He sits and eats it with his fat boy britches on. You know the ones, the ones that do not allarm you that you are overloading. He says that is his normal practice when he is upset over something in his life.

Does anyone else have a pattern of what they do when they get upset. Most of us do. I hole up. I get quiet. But that is not the kind of Life that Jesus calls us to live. He wants us free from anxiety and worry.

Now, as we beging talking about peace in our lives, and the anxiety we sometimes feel, I want to be clear. There are moments that we will be anxious. Jesus himself experianced a couple different types of anxiety. Some might say that he was feeling a bit of anxiety as he cleared the temple of Jerusalem of the cheeting moneychangers. But one time we can be sure he was anxious was in the garden of Gathsemeny as he sweat great drops of blood before his arrest and execution. So we will have moments of anxiety, but it is not supposed to be a continual way of life.

John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (NIV)

We can all live in the peace that Jesus intends for us to live in by accepting his authority over our lives and this world, and believing the lessons we find in this passage.

Romans 5:1-11 (read it)

We can have the peace of Jesus through the events of our lives. (vv. 3-5)
These verses start with suffering and take us through the steps that we undergo when we suffer and at the same time allow Christ to be Lord of our lives. We go from suffering to perseverance, to character, to hope.

Do you want to be know as a person of character? Yes, we all do. but to get there, we must persevere through suffering. And it says that character leads to hope. So if we continue to grow in character, our hope will also begin and then grow.

How important is hope? If a person is ill, or in a highly stressfull financial situation and looses hope. The experiance of the world has shown us that all to often they give up. Whether a person has faith or not, we all cling to some hope that things will get better in times of hardship.
Sometimes we feel that we are in a spot where there really isn’t any hope of it getting better. We’ve looked at the situation. We’ve evaluated it from every angle. And nope, there is just no way for this one to get better. You pray, but you know deep down, there is no way for this one to get better. It’s just unrealistic to even expect it to get fixed. My life is stuck.... Right???? No, not according to the Bible.

There was once a man named Joseph....
Joseph was hated by his brothers so much that they caught him out away from home and sold him as a slave. As a slave he succedded in managing his masters estate. But then a temptation came into his life. And Joseph was no fool. He realized that this temptation could ruin everything he had worked so hard to accomplish. So he ran from it. Got as far away from it as he could while still trying to fulfill his responsibilities.

The woman who was tempting him was his Masters wife, and she didn’t like being turned down. So she lied about Joseph and had him thrown in prison. In prison, Joseph again worked his hardest and God blessed him, as he was put into a position of managment in the jail that he himself was imprisoned in. Most of us would loose heart there. (most would have lost heart before there...) We’d turn cinical. Develop a what hope do I have kind of attitude. Not Joseph.

Joseph had multiple gifts, and he used one to encourage a fellow prisoner. A cupbearer to the Pharoah of Egypt. When the cupbearer was restored to his job, Joseph asked him to remember him and to plead his case before Pharoah. But the man did not... Until 2 years later when Pharoah had a dreem and no one could interprate it. But the cupbearer knew that Joseph could so it was then that he approached the Pharoah on Josephs behalf. Through the corse of events, Pharoah was so impressed with Joseph, and so pleased to have his wisdom, althought the true wisdome had come from God, that he made Joseph second in command only to Himself.

Now the question. When Joseph was in the cage on the way to Egypt. When Joseph was imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and when Joseph was forgotten for 2 years by the cupbearer of the king... What do you think was going through his mind?

We must guard against sell pity even in times of suffering. If Joseph had given into self pity, he would have failed. We can have the peace of Jesus through the events of our life, but trusting that our character will grow, and hope will begin....

We can have the peace of Jesus through the salvation the Lord gives (vv. 6-8, and vv. 1-2)
Many times we sit through a sermon on salvation or the security we have through our faith in Jesus. But we just miss what it really means to be secure in Christ.

In other faiths, you spend your life working to attain a certain level of ‘goodness.’ Not in Christianity. Notice here in our passage, ‘while we were STILL sinners Christ died for us.’ That is so signifigant. It shows that Jesus came to us. He did the work, not us. We don’t get our lives straight and then come to God, rather we come to God and he starts helping us step by step in our life.

Eph 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV)

i.e. It’s not about what you have done, but what he has done. He saved you, He did all the work.

I have a friend, a very successfull Pastor. He told me of a time where the church was allowing people to get up and give their testemonies after being Baptised. One gentleman got up to share, and he made the statement that anyone who will accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and follow the ten commandments will be saved. Now the pastor saw the problem with that statement immediatly. Do we? That is not the formula to Salvation.

The ten commandments are good, and it is wise to follow them. But obediance to the ten commandments can not and will not save you, or anyone else for that matter.

Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.” (NIV)

Now, if you want to you can pick up your Bible and read the verses that precede or follow that, but you will find nothing that says that there is anything that saves you other than your faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died on the Cross for your sins, and rose again to eternal life.

Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the father, but by me.”
So when you question if you have been saved, and I do believe that is a good question to ask. Go back to the Bible. Have you really surrendered to Jesus, and believe in him with all your heart? Is he your Lord and Savior? or do you base your salvation experiance on how well you behave compared to those around you? The Bible says that even their, or your, good deads, are but filthy rags.

The only thing that saves us is Jesus. So we can have peace in Jesus throught the knowledge of the Salvation he alone provides. We can have the peace of Jesus through the knowledge that the Lord has a purpose in for lives. (vv. 9-11) This is the combination of our suffering leading to perseverance, character and hope, WITH the salvation we have in Christ. It shows there is a purpose in life, and we are not just another life form floating through space. When God brings the good and allows the bad, and he sends his Son to save us, then we see already, that he is more invovled and interested in our world than some would accept.

Some folks, even those who believe in God, would assert that God made the world and spun it off and watched it go, but he has nothing else to do with it after that. That is far from the truth.

A well know verse from Romans 8, verse 28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” That says plainly that God is involved, and that he has a purpose for our lives. J.R.R. Tolkein, author of The Lord of the Rings, was often known to take biblical principles and intertwine them in his stories. At one point in the story, two of the main charachters, Gandalf and Frodo are talking. Frodo, realizing what a tremendous burden the ring is to bear, makes the comment that he wishes the ring had never come to him. To which Gandalf replies, ‘so do all who live to see such times, but that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us.”

Now that is a huge lesson. We spend so much time thinking about the what if’s. Asking God to consider changing our circumstances, or altering something around us. But God works all things for the good of those who have been called according to his purpose. So what we see is that our world around us is not for us to decide. We must decide what to do with the time give to us.
When you sit in those seets, or you go home, and the worries of life creep in around you. And you are tempted to endulge in some self pity and a tub of Ice cream... Perhapse we can stop and remember, that we can have peace.

The Lord Jesus Christ has allowed it. He said that in this world you will have trouble, but he also said to take heart, I have overcome the world. He is the victor over all trouble.

Everything I do... 9-4-8 draft

I Corinthians 10:31-33

We can all learn to balance our lives for God by living out these actions.

Everything we do is for God.
We have talked before about the dangers of compartmentalizing your life.
That is to say my home life is this way, my work life is this way, my social life is this way, my church life is... and you can continue to break it down into lots of little boxes.
Now that doesn’t sound to bad, but the danger is that you will try to leave God out of one or more of the boxes. To do that is to be inconsistent with our faith.
God can and will healp with everything, so be sure to include him in every action and decision we make. To illustrate this, I have a few verses from Colossians that bring it to a simple understanding of how God is to be involved in one of those boxes. The Work box....
Colossians 3:23-24. (read them)
So in everything we do, we do it for God. No matter where we are or what we are doing.
That makes us consistant in our faith, home, work, and all other aspects of life.
We all seek to be an honerable person who is consistantly admired. The Best way to do that is to obey the scripture and put God in his proper place.... That is everywhere to help us with every situation. Everything we do is to build up others.

The passage says we are not to cause anyone to stumble. It is similar to a do not offend message. This does not mean ‘do not offend’ for we will do that enough just staying true to Christ. But we don’t have to seek out the oportunity to offend someone else. Also, offend here is used in the context of the verse meaning to cause a problem. In other words we are not to teach incorrect information for our own self serving ideas.

This has been seen in history through the Crusades of the Middle Ages. The Bible was written in Latin, which only a priest had enough eductation to read. In the intrest of wealth, the priest or King would direct the people to retake lands where Christ had walked or the early church had been. The motivation was that this was the will of God. But nowhere in scripture is that stated. Hence many Christian soldiers killed and were killed believing that they were following the will of God because someone had taught them something that was not in the scripture.
We have a great responsibility to stay true to the Word of God.

Everything we do is to reach out to those around us. That is to be our motivation. If we say, I like for it to be 79 in the sanctuary, that way I don’t get cold, but that makes those around you sweat like it’s 102, then you probably need to start bringing a sweater.

Please remember it is a church, you can always put more clothes on, but we frown on taking to many clothes off.... In a serious observation, Paul says that we are to seek to please everybody, and he’s talking about reaching people who don’t know Jesus. (We’ll talk about how we know that in a moment.) That means that we have to band together and work to reach those who don’t know Jesus.

If you have not read the book “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren, I encourage you to pick up a copy, turn to chapter one. Skip the first quotation he offers and read the first sentance that the author himself writes. When I first picked up that book, I was skeptical, until I read the first sentance. “It’s not about you.” That brings us full circle, that everything we do, is for the glory of God.

Lastly, Everything we do is so that they may be saved. This last statement refers to all that we have been reading. And it is ment to share with us the goal of our efforts. It is easy to ask the question, why, when we are saved, doesn’t God just take us home to be with him right then.

The answer is because once we have been saved through our faith in Jesus Christ and his sacrificial death on the cross, that is when the real work begins. Because from then on, we live not for our own desires and goal, but for his goals, for his kingdom. And to love of other people by helping them in any way we can.

The biggest part of that is to share the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

The short version is as follows, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

We work for the Glory of God, We work to encourage and build up and better the world around us. Everything we do is an effort to reach out to those around us. And we do it all so that the people of this world will be saved.

Those are the ideas I see come out in this passage. Remeber, we are to conform our lives to aling with what the Bible teaches, not just take what is convenient for us at the time.
So I encourage you to take this and learn from it, and seek the will of God in all you do.

sermon notes (rough draft) for 8-17-08

Series: Immitate Christ Topic: Joy Scripture: Philippians 4:10-19

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “...the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Do you have that Joy today? That’s what we are going to be seeking.

We can all experience the Joy of God in a greater way if we will apply these models to our lives.

This morning, I would like to share with you all a passage that really took hold of me when I was about 14 years old, and it never let go.

Philippians 4:11b – 13 “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

(#1) Paul here is a model of what it is to rely on God for his strength. How many of us can relate to what he says here. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty.

I do. I’m 33 years old. I don’t remember the 70’s more that an image here or there. But I do remember the 80’s. In 1982, I was 7 years old. My Daddy was a farmer in a little town called North Middletown, KY. We lived in a great big house. And my family had a lot of money. At that point in life the only reason to do without, was because my Mom didn’t want to drive into town to get whatever it was. But it was that same year that all that changed. I remember the conversations and the tension that went on. But I didn’t know what it ment that the Bank was calling the note due, nor did I know what Bankrupsy was. But they kept telling me we would have to move. That was ok w/ me. Just a different location I thought. To settle all that out took about 3 years. And in 1985, we moved to Winchester. Oh wow, we were going to live in the city. COOL!. Friends, stores, paved roads. Just awesome. But I was a heafty little boy. I mean, I could eat. We went from having a wide aray of food on that big farm opperation to having Brown beans every night. Now, I like brown beans as much as any contry boy would. But when the idea of daily variety consisted of “Son, would you like white bread, or crackers with your beans tonight?” It did get a bit worn out.

-But I was learning a lesson at that point. I was learning what it meant to live in plenty and in want.
-The model that Paul sets here says that he had edured hard times, and enjoyed some good times. But thru it all, the secret to that happiness has been Jesus.
-His faith in Christ has enabled him to edure.
-His faith in Christ has enabled him to stay focussed.
-His faith in Christ has enabled him to enjoy the life set before him through all the experiances life throws his way.
-Paul exhibits the true understanding of faith in God. That we do not exhit our faith by getting from God what we want. But rather our faith is exhibited by accepting from God what he gives.

Examine your own life. Are you content whatever the circumstances? It is a hard thing. I struggle with it even to this day, even with the experiances that God has allowed to come my way.
You can not experience joy without contentment. But you will experiance the joy of the Lord by accepting whatever God gives through faith that he will use it for the good in every situation.

Well, Bob, you may say, this speaks of contentment, but you said we’d have the model for joy in our lives. Where is the rest. Well, lets keep reading in our passage here and see what we find. Continuing on in Philippians 4, this time vv. 14-19.

(#2) Here is the another model that we have to pay attention to. Paul was encouraging the Philippians. Where was Paul when he was writing this letter? He was in prison in Rome.
-Paul was spending his time encouraging others, while his own circumstances were miserable.
-Paul took joy in the fact that he was also counted worthy to suffer on account of his faith in Jesus and he took joy in watching God work through his own situation as well as that of the Philippians.
-In other words Paul found his Joy in the workings of God through him and thouse around him.
-Two points that we can learn from there.
-The first, Do we put effort into really encouraging others at every chance we get? That doesn’t mean that we refuse to tell them the truth if they are messing up.
-But it does mean that if you see someone struggling with something, -- do you offer an encouraging hand, or an encouraging word, or do you just look at them and say, well what’s wrong with you? You should be able to handle that.

Those aren’t the kinds of comments that help. They are destructive.

Here in his letter to the Philippians, Paul, in jail, took the time to encourage those who were meeting at teh church in Philipi.

Do you encourage others, even when you are in a difficult circumstance. The model we see here says we should.

The second lesson here, Do we enjoy seeing God work through us and arround us?

You know, first things first. you can not see God at work in your life, or anywhere else if you aren’t looking. If you close your eyes to the movement of God, then I promise you, you won’t see it.

But if you would open those spiritual eyes and look at what we see here, a man relishing the success and glory that God is recieving and pouring out, then you will be full of the Joy of the Lord because you’ll begin to see God work in, around and thru you in a supernatural way.

So we can experiance the joy of the Lord by encouraging others and watching God at work.

(#3) The final model that we are going to look at here springs from the final verse that we read. v. 19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
-That is Pauls faith coming through even in prison.
-We have been looking for joy in this passage.
-In real life, when would we say something like this. We may say it when we are down and trying to encourage someone else. But I think that most of us, myself included, would be more likely to say this in a moment of excitement, in a moment of joy.
-Paul is wrapping up his letter to the Philippians, and he is trying to convey how happy he is with what the Philippians are doing.
-The statement here may sound like a promise of provision, possibly given to a people who were struggling financially. But I doubt that because Paul usually paid his own way. He was a tentmaker, and usually did not accept gifts. But he does from this church. So that tells me that Paul evaluated the situation and determined that the Philippians could bear the burden to help finance the ministry accross Israel, Asia, and Europe.
-So that leads us to conclude that this statement is a word spoken out of exuberance, and confidence that regaurdless of what the Philippians would ever give, they could not out give God.
-And so we see the model come into modern terms... We can not out give God in any way, be it time, money, property, or posession. Regardless of what we give, God can give more, and will meet every need we have. The question for us is will we trust him.

To conclude here, I’d like to tell you the story of a man who gave to God what he could out of his joy for the Lord.

I told you at the begining of the service that this passage took hold of me when I was 14. A young man at the church I was going to took an intrest in me. I was 14 and he was about 20, long curly blond hair, had his own car, and a girlfriend... I thought he was cool.

He was always kind to me, but I thought he was just bing nice, after all, he was my sunday school teacher. I thought it was his job to act like he liked me.

But he had a passion for God. He wanted us boys to know God and to love God and to trust God. He knew that Jesus Christ had died on the cross to save him and all of us. And he wanted to convey that to us.
Oh he had such passion. He had the joy of the Lord. And that was his strength. He was my teacher for one year. And in that year, I can’t tell you what the sunday school lessons were. But I can tell you that his passion for God made a tremendous impression on me.

Then the end of the year came, and he told us that he would not be remaining as our teacher. I was dissapointed, as were the others. We asked why, and all he would say was that he was just going to have to give it up.

The last Sunday he was there, it was in August, when Sunday School graduation was taking place, he came to me with a gift. He said that he had forgotten to get me a Christmas present, and that I had meant alot to him. I really to this day don’t know what I did for him. But I opened up the gift. And in it was a Bible. And on the inside cover, he had written a note, and he had signed it.... Then there was a note which simply read, Philippians 4:13.
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. That is what he wanted me to remember when he gave me this Bible. It has been with me eversince.

Do we live like we believe this?
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.....

Or do we allow the distractions and circumstances of life to convince us that we can do nothing about our situation or about advancing the cause of Jesus Christ.

Do we think, wow, there are people out there who need help. But what can I do? I don’t have the ability to help them.

That is a form of disbelief and rebelion. We are called to trust him. Paul, from prison would write letters to the churches to encourage them. WOW! He would wrestle with the Roman prison system for years before finally being executed for his faith in Jesus Christ. And we think we can’t do anything because of the obstacles we have.

All Paul did was write letters. Some of them are inerrently inspired by God and considered worthy of scriputre.

My point is this. I don’t know what God has laid on your heart. But I do know that as long as you are still hear on this earth, that he has a purpose for you. And if he has a purpose for you, then we can be sure that he will equip us for it.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strenght. Act and live in faith, that is your charge.

sermon notes (rough draft) for 8-10-08

Series: Immitate Christ Topic: Love Scripture: John 13:34-35

I have been reading a book lately called “Unchristian”. I really didn’t like the book at first, but now that I am getting into it, I am taken by the observations of the writers. The purpose of the book is not to promote an unchristian point of view, quite the contrary. The point of the book is infact to better equip the church with information about how the poeple in the world who are not church goers view those of us who do go to church. Sometimes the observations are almost offensive, but I have to remind myself that if the comments I am reading accuratly portray what the average person outside of the church thinks, then we have to be aware of that and we have some things to address.

-- sight statistics from book... (I don't have permission to republish these, so you'll just have to email me with questions, or get a copy of the book and see, but in short, we as church people are often viewed as hypocrytical and judgmental amoung young people.)

--Pray, Oh God, help up us to see the truth, and to act accordingly. We know that we often don’t live according to how you would have us to. Change our hearts and our minds and give us the wisdom to know what we need to do. Give us the eyes to honestly see ourselves and to recognize the parts of us that do not reflect who you are. Help us to change, and Become more like your Son, Jesus. We pray in his name, Amen.

What can we garner from this data? I can see many things that we need to address just from this, and the research goes much deeper than just what I have sared with you. But if we are going to be relevant in this changing world, we have to actually build from the ground up, and start adjusting our behaviors to more closely come in line to that of Jesus.
If you are sitting there thinking, well this is a waist, I already have my foundation. I’m a mature Christian, I’ve been at this long enough to know. Then, you may very well be part of the problem. I advise you to do what Peter says, and work out your salvation with fear and trembling. In this case it means, be careful that you have built on the truth. You can label your life in anyway that you want, but we have to be sure to evaluate ourselves in a truthful manner, in other words we don’t want to lie to ourselves.

Now with all that said, I want us to honestly evaluate the question, Do we truely try to immulate Christ? Over the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at some of his virtues. Today, we are looking at the baseline. Love.

We have sang of his love today, and many of us have verses that speak of his Love memorized. (John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him will not parish, but have everlasting life.)

Our verse that we will focus on today is another verse on his love. But it also speaks of our love.
Lets read it. John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The Goal here today is to learn to show that Love that Jesus commands us to have. Or at least recognize what areas we need to work on to better represent God in our lives, and have peace in our hearts when we lay down at night.

I think we can all learn how to better show the love of Christ by watching for some of these habbits in our life and working to overcome them.

Listen closely, because some of these hurt, I know they did me....

Habbit #1. We say, “I’ll forgive them, but I won’t forget.”
-- Is that the kind of forgiveness we want from our Lord and savior. (Imagine, one day we’ve been in heaven for a couple thousand years one afternoon, and Jesus looks over and said, remember that time that you stole that money from that guy? -or- A person walks by on one of the streets of gold, and the Lord says, hey, remember that time you were lusting after that person back on earth....) That is not the kind of forgiveness that we are seeking, nor is it the kind that we are asked to give.
-In Psalm 103, we see the explanation that God removes our sins from us as far as the East is from the West.
n The problem is that we actually think that that is how we should deel with one another. -- We tell people that we forgive them, then we take action against them. That is not forgiveness. That is the very reason we have the reputation of hypocrisy.
n If we are to truely love and forgive people, we must unconditionally forgive them. (and sometimes that calls for a painful or sacrificial act on our part.)

Habbit #2. We say, “It’s not personal, It’s business.”
n We often use this line as a way to sperate our feelings or morality with what we are actually going to do. If this line creeps into your vocabulary, then watch out. What is happening, is you are compartmentalizing your life. And you are basically saying that there are parts of your life that God is not in. Specifically the business part.
o The story of Joseph, found in the book of Genesis, tells us how He included God in every area of his life. And God continually blessed his life and protected him. That did not stop bad things from happening to Joseph, but he was blessed beyond measure in this life.
§ So, that is not a story of name it and claim it, but it is an example how a man can live in a right way and still be successfull in the business world, even in a land that rejects your faith.

Habbit #3. The attitude, “Well he started it.”
This last one, we think is restricted to small children. Nothing could be further from the truth. We don’t come out and say it so much anymore. But this attitude is one of the most prevelent among all people of all age groups.

I have not done much marriage counsilling. Probably about 4 or 5 couples total. But one thing I noticed in the cases where the two just could not get along was this attitude. Now it sounded more mature when it was presented. But what it came down to was the wife wasn’t going to start talking nicely to the husband until he appologized for all these years of making fun of her. Or all the times he’s dismissed her in conversation. But when you turn around and talk to the husband, he denies viamently that he needs to appologize, but rather feels that she should appologize for her dismissals of his ideas, and what he percieves as her ignoring him.
So you see, neither is willing to appologize until the other does, because deep down they feel it is the other ones, fault. i.e “HE/SHE started it.” And it goes on for years.

n What do you think? Do you ever find yourself in those positions?
n Do you even remember what first started those feelings of resentment, or anger? Most people can not even trace it back to the true begining. They just can’t remember it.
o Now if you can, ok, but that doesn’t change the goal. Whether you remember it spacifically or not, the trick is not remembering how it got started, but rather committing to how we are going to end it.

Back in our passage we are focussing on today, John 13:34. In it Jesus says, as I have loved you, so you must love one another.

--How are you doing with that so far?
--Truth is that I had a hard time thru those habbits that we talked about, and that list is far from exaustive. They are just a few examples of how we word things and justifiy our actions to act one way, and believe something different about ourselves.

Jesus charges us to love each other as He loved us. That is a tall order.
He left heaven for us.
He gave up a crown of Gold for the crown of thorns.
He left the praises of angels for the curses of men.
He left the thrown for the cross.

Tell me, the last person you got upset with, did you stop to consider that you are called to love them the same way Jesus loves them. Or were you to occupied with getting even, or making sure your voice was heard?

Some may say, yeah, but even Jesus confronted folks. You know who he confronted? He confronted the religious people of the day. Jesus confronted peopel for Hypocrisy. You can read all the stories of Jesus and his confrontations, and in each case, the bottom line is he was confronting the misuse of scripture, position, or power. He was confronting Hyporcrisy. And in many ways, he was confronting people like us.

What hope do we have to truely overcome this reputation, and for that matter, what hope do we have to truely overcome the actions that leed us there?

The answer is Love. We have to truely develope the love of Jesus inside each of us. It’s hard to pretend to love someone. Impossible really for any length of time. But if we can allow God to work in our lives to grow the love that Jesus charges us to have, then we have a hope.

I recomend writing down this scripture reference and working on memorizing it. It is another passage on love, but it will help us to live what we have claimed.

I John 4:10-12 “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”

You see, it is God’s grace that enables us to forgive people who have hurt us. It is Gods grace that enables us to rejoice when good things happen to other people instead of us. It is God’s grace that enables us to give up what we want for the sake of others.

That is what we want to do. In our love for others, we want to forgive unconditionally. We want to celebrate for other people when good things happen to them, regardless of what the circumstances in our life bring. And we want to have the grace to choose to give of ourselves for the well being of others.

This is the kind of love that Jesus gives us. Romans 5:8 says that. it says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

What that means is before we came to him to appologize for what we had done wrong, he took the steps to forgive us, and to show us that he loves us.

He’s not like that couple who kept waiting for the other one to appologize before they would change their behavior toward one another. No, he took the step toward you, and is reaching out his hand asking you to come to him as well. And asking us to do the same toward one another.

Will you come? Will you live like that?

A personal way of understanding John 3:16, God loved YOU so much that he gave Jesus, his only son, that if YOU will believe in him, YOU will not die, but have eternal life.

Will you do that today?

If you would like to establish that relationship with Jesus, and know that you will live with him through all eternity, then here in a min, you come forward while we sing this last song. If you have already done that and you want to follow the Lord in baptism, you come forward as we sing, and we’ll lead you down that road as far as you want to go.

I know that sometimes, people wonder, what kind of prayer is it that people pray to accept Jesus, is it a secret until you go see the preacher.... No, there are no secrets. The prayer is simple, it goes something like this. You pray it with me if you want....
Oh God, I know that I am a sinner. That I have done wrong things in my life. I ask you to forgive me of what I have done wrong. And I recieve your Son, Jesus Christ as my savior. I believe he lived and died to pay for my wrongs, and that he rose again. I want to live my life for Him. I pray this in Jesus name, amen.

The Wise Men... Matthew 2:1-15

Matthew 2:1-15 The visit of the Wise Men.

First, read these 12 verses in your Bible. Or go to www.biblegateway.com and read them online in your favorite translation.

I have four observations that we can learn from in this passage.

#1. People are looking for a Savior.

The wise men were looking for the time of the coming of the Messiah. I think in our society we suffer from one of two things. Either we presume that everyone has already heard of Jesus and has made their decision, or we presume that no one wants to hear about Jesus because they have their own priorities.

There are people who fall into both categories. But the truth is that far more people that I talk to want to know about what Jesus really said and did. People have heard all kinds of rumors and cliché's about what Jesus taught, but very very few have actually read the Gospels. This goes for Agnostics, Pagans (by their own words, not mine), Protestants, Catholics, and others who just considered themselves indifferent until our conversation.

People really want to know about the Savior. They may not know him AS savior. But I am yet to talk to someone who was truly uninterested in knowing what Jesus really taught and what the bible actually says. (Remember, most people think the line "cleanliness is next to Godliness" is in the Bible. But in reality it is not.)

The problem comes when we think of sharing our faith, we envision some awkward moment where we blurt something out that is completely out of context with the rest of the conversation. Jesus didn't do that. Neither did Paul. Why should we? Paul said, I have become all things to all men so that by all means, I might save some.... If we are to apply that to real life, then we are to talk about our relationship with God in a relaxed manner; like its part of our everyday, every moment life. The thing is, we have to live that way to talk and act that way. Otherwise, it is an awkward moment asserted at an inopportune time because we are out of tune with God.

#2. Others are trying to subdue the Savior.

Herod acted interested in learning about Jesus. But in truth, he wanted to get rid of Jesus. Jesus was viewed as a threat to Herod's sovereignty. The truth is that Jesus is a threat to every man's sovereignty. We want to be king of our own world. People talk about original sin as though it was something sexual. The original sin was pride. Satan wanted to be God. But he couldn't. He wanted to be worshiped, but he was not worthy. Herod saw Jesus as an encroachment on his kingdom. The thing was thought that Jesus was not interested in Herod's thrown, but in the eternal thrown. Jesus was come to offer peace between God and mankind.

Many of us are like Herod. We want to be king of our own little worlds. The problem is we stick our heads in the sand and act like our lives and everything we touch is all that exists. That is not the case. We are all eternal. We will all exist somewhere after this. But God is a gentleman; He will not force himself on those who do not choose him. Herod directly chose to be rid of Jesus, he failed to destroy Jesus, but he would not come and acknowledge him as the great and sovereign king of the universe.

The question for us is: Who is our king? Who sits on our thrown? Do we, or do we let Christ have the seat that was intended for him?

#3. We can celebrate the Savior.

The Wise men found Jesus, and when they did, the "rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." (NASB)

We can and should celebrate the savior. He is the creator of all things according to the book Colossians. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords according to Revelation. He is the Son of God, the Savior, One with God, and Shepherd of all according to the whole Bible.

We often like to think of him as Savior. But we often forget the other titles he has (and really I haven't come close above to listing them all). But the King has called and chosen us. He died for us, and rose to give us the promise of eternal life. (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-11, I Corinthians 15:3-8) We have a reason to celebrate. That Jesus is alive.

My favorite line I learned at an evangelism conference a few years ago, "I have best news in the world for you, the tomb is empty and the thrown is occupied."

#4. We will be lead by God when we seek the Savior.

God told Jeremiah "you will seek me and you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart." (Jer. 29:13, NIV)

These wise men sought Jesus intently until they found him. It is a great story of their commitment and very symbolic of our search for Christ today. But a lesson we can learn is that once we find Jesus, we can trust God to guide our steps if we will listen and pay attention to the signs he gives us.

In this case God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. Now I think in our world we are so anxious to put meaning on all our dreams we overshoot the goal. So please do not think because you had a dream where you did something terrible that God is telling you to do that. Remember, Satan also has power, and you still have an imagination. So be discerning. Use the Bible and prayer to clarify anything you think you are being told to do from God. You can be certain that God will not contradict what he states he desires of us in the Bible. So be sure you read and pray continually.

God will guide you when you seek Jesus. Have faith in that and seek him earnestly.

Honduras

I have returned from Honduras. We worked in a village called Horconcitos. It was a village of about 500 as best I could tell. The village seemed to mostly be a middle class neighborhood by the Honduran villages I have seen between my trip in 2005 and this year. I am working on writing details about the trip. But wanted to go ahead and post something to allow those who went on the same trip the ability to go ahead and add some comments of their own. If you would like to submit something as a stand alone post, email it to me at bsharp@esharp.net. I'll put as much up here as I can.

Thanks,

Bob

Matthew 1:18-25

Below are some notes on why this passage is important.

Read Matthew 1:18-25

--Why Joseph?

He was a righteous man. I would also have to believe that God chose Joseph because he was in the genealogical line that was needed, and Joseph was obviously open to God’s direction and His ability to do anything.

--Why Mary?

She was favored by the Lord. You can learn more about the birth of Jesus by reading Luke 1 and 2. She was a virgin, and faithful. Like Joseph, she was obviously open to God’s direction and His ability to do anything.

--What does it mean to “be with child through the Holy Spirit?”

It means Mary was pregnant, and Joseph didn’t do it. The thing is, no other human did either. We see in verse 19 evidence that Joseph presumed that she had been with another man. But that was not the case. The Holy Spirit of God made her pregnant. This does not mean that God had sex with Mary as some assert. Rather, it is an example of how God can cause life to begin. God made Adam and Eve. When we read Genesis 1 and 2, we see that God created life from the dirt in the ground and a bone from a man. If God can make Man and Woman out of dirt and a rib, then He can make a life in the womb of a woman.

--What was Jesus purpose in coming to Earth?

The last statement in v.21 is the answer.

--Why is prophesy so important?

Because is gives credibility to God and his plan. V. 23 refers to Isaiah 7:14, a Jewish scripture that speaks of the coming Messiah. It was written approximately 700 to 900 years before Jesus was born. You see the fulfillment of prophesy throughout the Gospels.

--Why is it important that Mary was a virgin?

It is important because it shows that Jesus was not born from the result of sin, but rather from the will of God. Notice also that in v. 25 it says that Joseph had no union with her UNTIL she gave birth to a son. Some people hold that Mary remained a virgin her entire life. This is not the case. See also Matthew 12:46-50, Matthew 13:55 and John 7:1-10 and you will see references to biological brothers and sisters of Jesus.

--What does this mean to me and the way I live my life?

It means that Jesus came to save you. It means that the Holy Spirit of God was active even then. And it means that God had a plan to save us, even before we were born.

Matthew chapter 1:1-17

Below are some notes on why the genealogy of Jesus is noteworthy in the Bible. i.e. why did it get included, who cares?

Read Matthew 1:1-17

--Why is Jesus’ genealogy important?

The book of Matthew was written primarily to Jews. And a true Jew would understand that the Messiah (=Christ, the anointed one) would have to be a descendant of Abraham and of David. (Scripture support) This genealogical line supports that Jesus really is the Messiah.

For Non-Jewish people we can still learn a lot from this list. For example, look at verse 3 and you will see the name Tamar. Tamar is know for pretending to be a harlot and intentionally getting impregnated by her father-in-law. Yet, she was used by God. She is mentioned in the birth record of the Son of God, the savior. This is a high honor. Yet we would all agree that what she did was manipulative. God has shown her mercy and used her actions for the good.

--The first three people in the genealogical line are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Who are they?

These three are called the patriarchs of the Jewish people. Abraham was known as God’s friend, Isaac was his promised son, and Jacob was the son through whom the 12 tribes of Israel originated. Jacob was renamed “Israel” when he realized his sin in Genesis. He had 12 sons, and the descendants of these sons became the 12 tribes. (Genesis chapters 15, 21, 27 and 32)

--Who is Judah, and is that important?

In Genesis 37, it is Judah who speaks and saves his brothers life. Although he did agree to sell Joseph, his brother, into slavery, he also becomes the patriarch of the largest of the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus is known in Revelation 5:5 as the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

--Who is David and why is he important?

David is the greatest king of Israel. He represents the glory of their kingdom. He is also known as a man after Gods own heart. (1st and 2nd Samuel)

--Who is the wife of Uriah and why is she important enough to list?

Bathsheba is her name. David called on her while her husband was away at war and she became pregnant. That first child died. But after her husband was dead, David and her were married, and she bore Solomon.

--Who is Solomon and why is he important?

He would become the richest king ever. God promised Solomon anything he asked. Solomon was already king, so he asked for wisdom to rule and lead the kingdom of Israel. This pleased God that Solomon would ask for wisdom over riches and the like, so he blessed Solomon with financial wealth as well as wisdom.

--Who is Uzziah, and why is he important?

Uzziah had led the kingdom back to righteousness after his father had led them away from God. One of the most famous passages of this king is Isaiah 53, it marks the death of King Uzziah, but the prophesy of the coming of Christ.

The Life we Face:

Matthew 13:1-9 and vv.18-23 (NIV)


1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."


18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." (NIV)

Every person can grow in their faith by avoiding these pitfalls.

Pitfall #1. Lack of understanding. Usually the result of hard heartedness or unwillingness to change. V. 19
In life we often make excuses so that our daily lives and responsibilities go the way we desire.
When I was a boy, my father told me that we were to never sing ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic.’ Whether that was more a southern thing, or a political thing, I don’t know. But one thing I do know what that his resistance to sing that song had nothing to do with his faith. It was about “northern aggression” or “the Republicans.” Now, I have read the words to the song, and I found something amazing. It doesn’t say anything about the U.S., our government, or even our land. Rather it is a song about God and his relationship to mankind, regardless of who may use it along the way. The point in sharing this with you is that for years, I lacked understanding of what this song really was about. And I was unwilling to learn the truth.
Many of us are unwilling to learn, because usually learning means change. We have learned overtime that if an automobile accident occurs, the people involved are much more likely to survive that accident if they are wearing a seatbelt. Hence the change was made to require all motorists to wear a seatbelt. Even with this knowledge, some of us do not want to comply. We do not like change.
But in our relationship to God, change in needed. We have to change our attitude, our heart toward God. That is what it is to repent. But our own hardness tries to prevent that change.

Pitfall #2. Shallow life. Usually the result of a restless and/or unsettled life. Vv.20 and 21
In many ways this is very similar to the hardness we see above. But it is a bit different.
For example, I know a young man who is willing to work hard. He knows the he needs to work in order to succeed. But he has a problem ‘sticking to it.’ He changes jobs often, and knows what he wants to do. But he will not do what is needed to be successful at what his heart desires. Because of this lack of discipline, he finds himself often in turmoil in his life. One frustrating event after another. All of these frustrating events finding their source in the fact that he knows what he wants to do, what he should be doing, but is unwilling to do what he must to find success where his heart desires.
When we slow down and allow roots to develop in our relationships with our family, friends, and with God, the rocky soil that is referred to in scripture begins to clear out. We find fewer rocky places, and more deep good soil to work with.
In our relationship to God we have to be willing to slow down and trust him. He will lead us. But sometimes, we are in a bigger hurry than He. (Psalm 46:10 – “Be still, and know that I am God….”)

Pitfall #3. Worldly perspective. Usually the result of a overdeveloped sense of commitment to one’s career or possessions. V.22.
Many people think that the biggest threat to Christianity in the world today is the emergence of the well spoken atheists, agnostics, and evolutionists. Many of them are very smart people. But they are not the threat that some perceive them to be. The bigger threat is found inside each of us. Our own desires for power, recognition, possession, money. We want our lives to be about us. Only problem is, our lives are not about us, they are about God and those around us. (Matthew 22:36-29, read it.)
The example here will come from the Bible. In Matthew 19:21, Jesus instructs a rich young man to sell all he has, give it all to the poor and come follow him. But the young man then turned and walked away. He could not, or would not let go of his wealth.
We often fall into that trap of the young man. We say we want to follow God and be obedient. But when the Bible tells us to give the first 10% of all we have to him, to his church, we justify our decision not to do that by saying, the church is full of flawed men and women who can not be trusted. They may take it for themselves. I’ll keep this money and use it for something good instead. But there are two problems there. First, God didn’t instruct you to evaluate his servants in the church. He can and will judge them appropriately. There level of obedience should never stand between you and your obedience to the word of God. Second, you rarely actually take your 10% and do a good deed with it. And even if you did, it goes contrary to the Bible. In Malachi 3:10 we are told directly to bring our tithe to the storehouse. In these, the days of the church of Jesus, we call that storehouse, the church.
Jesus talks more about money than any other topic. But why? Is he after your money? Is he after your stuff? NO! He’s not trying to get your stuff, He is trying to keep your stuff from getting you! (Andy Stanley said something like that in a sermon I heard him give.) The principle is made clear in a line from the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 6:21, Jesus says “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (NIV) So if you put treasure your wealth, or money, or position, more than you treasure your relationship with Christ, your heart will then be in those things, rather than in Christ, your savior. When that happens, our priorities are out of order, and we are guilty of sin.
In our relationship with God we have to be willing to put Christ first and our brother second and the things of this world third.

Success: Success comes when these pitfalls are avoided. And we take hold of the whole message, we listen, understand, apply it day in and day out and we put Christ in his proper place, number 1.
A truly successful life of faith comes when we know what God would have us do and we do it.
Many examples of that exist, from people who have had to leave the teaching of the culture they grew up in to obey Jesus. Others have gone into ministry’s such as mission work, prison ministries, working with the poor, or volunteering to help those in need. Whatever way you find to serve Christ, just remember to put him first. There are many statistics that say that one of the biggest observations about Christians by those who are not, is that they can not tell the difference in a Christian and anyone else. Their behaviors are the same. That is not the goal.
We must not only have faith and be saved, but also obey his teachings. That is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. It doesn’t mean to ignore the world, or to even withdraw. But it means to stand by the principles found in the Bible at all times, regardless of the situation.
In our relationship with God we have to walk with Christ. Day by day, we carry our cross (our burden) and we do what Jesus has commanded along the way. The end result is not only our salvation, but better lives for us, and all those around us.

REPENTANCE

Repentance is an often misunderstood subject. Strangely enough I think we often confuse repentance with belief. They are two different things. They go hand in hand, but they are two things.

Repentance is the starting point of Salvation. I say that simply because is it where and how Jesus began his public ministry. We see it in Matthew 4:17; “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (NASB)

Repent: Repent means more than regret. It means regret plus a sincere change of heart toward God. To break that down a little bit, lets look at the two steps.

• Regret is when we have done something wrong that we with we had not done. Many times in our day to day life we say that we regret something, when in truth, we really just regret getting caught at that something. Sin (the violation of the laws of God, and thereby the person of God) is something all of us are guilty of (see Romans 3:23). We often regret sin, but all to often the problem is that we regret that we now have to face the penalty for that sin, rather than regretting the actual transgression of the person of God. That is where the second part of true repentance comes in.
• A sincere change of heart toward God is the second part of true repentance. For that to occur, this idea by its very nature implies an acceptance that God is real, and that he has authority over you. But it also says that where as before this moment of repentance that we were living in a way of life that is contrary to what God desires of us and for us. Some may say, no, I do not live contrary to God, rather I live in apathy to God. Those who live this way, are mistaken because to do second is to do the first. (Matthew 12:30)
• To better understand the differences between repentance and regret, we will look at the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. (Read it)
• -The story, told by Jesus, features three people prominently; the Father, the eldest son, and the younger son. In Jewish culture, the eldest son would be entitled to two shares of the inheritance; where as the younger son would receive only one share. We see in the story that the younger son get in a hurry and asks his father for his share of the inheritance early. When he receives what he has asked for, he goes and spends his wealth on ‘loose’ living. Later, after all the money is gone, he finds himself feeding pigs, and longing to eat the very food he is throwing to them. Remember, pigs are unclean animals to a Jew, and therefore this was considered a very demeaning job. What we see here is that the young man got to such a point while working this job, that he was nearly starving himself.
  
  -What causes a man to do that to himself? Why didn’t he return home as soon as he realized he could not support himself any longer? Because he suffered from the same issue that many of us suffer from; PRIDE. He was too proud to go home. I feel safe in saying at this point, this younger son, was filled with regret. But his actions remained the same.
  
  -Later, the bible tells us that that young man ‘came to his senses.’ He came out of the pit that pride and arrogance can put us in. And he realized that his Father might be willing to receive him back. Not as a son of course, but as a hired servant. He would at least have enough then to eat. (And chances were slim that he’d have to feed hogs.) From there, he went back to his fathers house and was received, not as a hired man, but as a son. WHY?
  
  -He was received back as a son, and not a hired man because of his change of heart toward his Father. Now, we do not have time to discuss the actions of the Father, but what we do see here is that the son’s regret, combined with his change of heart toward his father, leads him home. Away from his ‘loose’ living, away from his suffering, but toward and into his fathers house. That change of heart is what Repentance is. That is the same kind of change that we are called to exhibit toward God the Father in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of Heaven: Notice Jesus statement, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven….” In this statement, he makes no effort to apologize for the kingdom. (To apologize in this sense is to offer a rational explanation.) He just asserts that the kingdom is real and exists.

• The evidence for and about the Kingdom. First, what is the Kingdom of heaven? Is it just heaven? No, it has to be more, otherwise it is just a place. Rather for the kingdom of heaven to exist, heaven must exist, but also the King there of must also exist. So in other words, the statement is self apologizing. The assertion itself explains itself. But if that is not enough:
  
  - When Moses asked God for his name, the answer is “I AM” (Exodus 3:14)
  - When Jesus was being questioned by some of the local Jews, he told them plainly, “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58)
  -In both these verses, the assertion itself is the witness to the validity that God is real, and that Jesus is divine.
• But what does that mean for us? For the answer we will look at Romans 1:18-20. (Read it)
  
  -In this passage we see that Men (Humanity) are without excuse. The Bible says that the creation itself is a testimony to the creator. But humanity chooses to disregard Him. We look for every other excuse we can find. (Example: Matter + Chance + Time = Life)
  
  -I have spoken to many people who think, “if God would only show himself, I would believe.” “If he cares so much, why doesn’t he come down here and help?” “Why not just come?” What we forget, is that that is an age old question, and the answer to the question is - He did. God showed himself to us through Christ. He became Human, and lived and walked with us. He showed us miracle after miracle attesting to who he was. But even with his presence and his miracles, we (humanity) did not recognize him. (John 1:10) So when the presence of God on earth combined with sinful men came to an impasse, the creator (Jesus) would not hurt the children that had been created (humanity), and the created crucified the creator. So he, Jesus, gave us one last miracle. This time, the miracle would be the one that would shake the world from that day on. Three days after Jesus’ death by crucifixion he rose to life. He physically got up out of the grave and walked out. He was and is alive.
  
  -So the point here is if we are ever temped to say, God if you would just show yourself, I would believe… we need to remember, that is exactly what he did in Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand: In this last part of Jesus’ call to repentance, we see one last assertion. It’s ‘at hand’ or ‘near.’ In Jesus day, people were still awaiting the messiah, let alone the end of time, and the rapture was not even a thought in their minds. But Jesus’ assertion is that not only should we be looking for all of this, but the time is ‘at hand.’

• As followers of Christ, we can see plainly through the reading of the New Testament that we are to live in full expectation of his imminent return. (Example: I Thessalonians 4:14-17)
  
• The world (all of humanity, regardless of belief) awaits the day when the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (That doesn’t mean that all the world accepts that, or even knows it. But the entire world will know it when it happens.)
  
• For that we look at Revelation 19:11-21. (Read it)
  -Another question that people ask about God is if he is all powerful, why doesn’t he just exterminate evil? Well, the victory was won at the cross. That was Satan’s defeat. But the vanquishing has not yet occurred. The passage we just read shows that the victorious king is coming, and when he does, all evil will be done away with.
  
  -These are the words to what we know as the ‘Battle hymn of the Republic’ by Julia Ward Howe. Most of us hear it as a patriotic tune. But this time, read these words as a statement of the coming Christ.
  
  Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
  He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
  He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
  His truth is marching on.
  
  I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
  They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
  I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
  His day is marching on.
  
  I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
  "As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
  Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with His heel,
  Since God is marching on."
  
  He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
  He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
  Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
  Our God is marching on.
  
  In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
  With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
  As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free,
  While God is marching on.
  
  He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
  He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is honor to the brave,
  So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of wrong His slave,
  Our God is marching on.

Jesus is coming back: We all need to know that. And it is 100% irresponsible to talk about the return of Christ without talking about how to be saved. We make it so hard, so often. But it really is simple.

• Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
• That is a very short statement. But it is simple and straight forward. Will you believe? Will you do what Jesus first called us to do? Hear him now, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
  
  -Will do as Jesus says? I hope so.

Simple Christian Growth

I was talking to a good friend tonight it brought to mind something very important. How do we maintain our relationship with God?

The great commission says to make disciples. That is more than the number of baptisms in a given time. The number of people who walk the isle and say a prayer, maybe even get baptized, is far greater than those who truly become active participants in advancing the Kingdom of God. We work hard to get people to the profession of faith, but we don’t worry too much if they grow. At least we don’t emphasize it enough in my opinion.

So, what can you do to maintain that relationship with God and grow in your faith?

Three things plus one:

#1. Read your Bible 15 min per day. God talks to you. Be smart; don’t just pick random passages, read book by book.

#2. Pray for 15 min per day. You talk to God. Pray according to the pattern in the Lords prayer. Praise, submission, needs, forgiveness, guidance, and praise again.

#3. Share your Faith for 15 min per day. You and the Holy Spirit talk to another person. This doesn’t mean you have to run down a stranger and hold onto them while you tell them everything you ever learned about God. What it means is talk with your friends about your faith, about why you believe or about what blessings God has sent your way. Maybe even what you learned while reading the Bible.

Plus 1. Get a friend that shares the faith and wants to share with you. This can be an accountability partner, a trusted person whom you can share your weaknesses with. It can also be a mentor, someone who can guide you in understanding the faith. Either way, you need a friend to talk to about your faith. Find one. They can be found at most bible believing churches.

For Such a Time as This.

One of my all time favorite verses is found in the Old Testament book of Esther. If you want to know the whole story, you'll have to read it. It is a short book. But we find a situation where the King, Esther's husband has fallen into a trap, and has been convinced that all his problems are from the Jews in the kingdom. Hence he has issued a decree that all the Jews in the kingdom were to be killed on a certain date. The catch here is that his wife Esther is a Jew. Esther's Uncle Mordecai is charging her with going before the King on behalf or her family and people. She initially resists her Uncle's petition, but we find here one of the finest verses in the Bible about standing your ground in this secular world. Mordecai is speaking to Esther when we see this verse. -Esther 4:14- "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" (NIV)

This verse I find as an enormous encouragement. Even in times of question and difficulty at my regular job. There comes a time to do the right thing, just because it is the right thing. (Now, I know in this day and age, 'the right thing' can be considered subjective. 'The right thing' is not subjective, it is sometimes difficult to discern, but there is usually a right and wrong. But that is for another day.) I really didn't think that doing the right thing was ever a real question. But self centeredness and self preservation often seem to rule. That can be a discouraging thought.

But we need to remember that we belong to the King of Kings. Some may have power, some may have money, some may have possessions. But no matter what your adversary may have, you belong to the King, and he owns the earth and all that is in it. (Psalm 24:1) Your adversary may own 1000 oil wells, but you serve the one who owns the earth that the oil wells are in. We must remember that regardless of the obstacles in our life, we will be victorious over it. It was Jesus who said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (NIV) Our victory is in him. He can handle all things.

Many times we see wrongs and injustices go by and we say and do nothing. There have been times in my life where I have truly felt that God has led me to do something, but by my own rationalization, I have dismissed it. Those have been errors. Jesus called us the salt of the earth and the light of the world. To live up to these callings, we have to be willing to stand for the truth. We have to stand for what is right. No more appeasing others just because we don't like confrontation. Our Lord was a confrontational man. (Just read the Gospels.)

We often think of confrontation in a negative light. But when we read Ester, we see that she had to confront the King under penalty of death for it was illegal to go before the King un-summoned in that time. And her actions are valiant and courageous. I hope to have her courage. Do you?

Each of us holds a unique position. The Bible calls Esther's position ‘Royal’ and it is. But what position do you hold. Do you have influence in the lives of others? Chances are you do, even if you don't recognize it. We have to pay attention to our roles as followers of Christ. In those roles, God will use us. (We are the light of the world) So when we see wrongs, injustice, pain, suffering, we don't need to turn a blind eye and justify it away. Instead we need to remember what Mordecai said to Esther, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews [or Gods people] will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Easter Weekend

This is it. The greatest celebration we as Christ followers experience is marked this weekend. Christ arose from the dead. But before that he died for my sin on the cross. He loves me that much. But he loves you that much too. We can all be saved if we accept the free gift of eternal life. The only thing you have to do to use a gift is to accept it. So I encourage you now to accept the gift of God. Accept Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and resurrection and believe and be saved.

Do you believe the above? I do. But how? How can a thinking person believe this? We will be looking at that this week.

We will be looking at intense questions and assertions. Those who would have us deny Jesus, and who reject him themselves, they make these assertions and ask these questions.

-Was Jesus body thrown into a mass grave?
-Were the women who followed Jesus simply confused and went to the wrong tomb?
-Did Jesus survive the crucifixion and go on to live a life undocumented?

These questions are real. We will discuss these answers this week at Providence. I will also attempt to answer these assertions on this blog.

If you have additional questions concerning the resurrection of Jesus, post them here, and let us discuss them openly.

Honoring God

Yesterday at 11am Service, we were asked to raise our hands if we will commit to doing at least one thing this week with the intent being to honor God. I too raised my hand at this charge. For those who committed to this charge yesterday, the vast majority of the church, I have prayed that God would give you the chance to honor your commitment to him and that He would give you the wisdom to know what to do to honor Him.

We are all called to honor him, but the choice to do so is left up to us. The opportunity will come, but will you be willing to take the step of faith and trust that God can handle all situations?

Read Matthew 19:16 - 30 and Philippians 4:13.

The rich man that Jesus spoke with had not been being honest with himself. He was looking for justification for himself. He had been telling himself that to treasure his wealth was acceptable, providing he did not do a few select things. The problem was that even though he had followed those rules, he had forgotten to honestly give. He had no mercy or love. At least not that was evident. And Jesus called him on it. Causing the man to be sad, not because Jesus rejected him, (Jesus told him what to do to be accepted) but because he knew his guilt, and his unwillingness to change.

What about you? Will you honestly look at yourself and pray that God would show you the path that you can follow to honor God? Write a short description of what happened when you had the opportunity to honor God in the comments to this post.

"Let the Lord Handle it."

This morning I had a short conversation with a man who was struggling with some personal matters. As the conversation ended, he said, "I'm just going to have to struggle through today, and trust the Lord to handle it."

That statement sounds like good faith doesn't it. But there is a problem. I have had more in depth conversations with this man than that. He doesn't come to church. He doesn't make time to read his Bible. And he doesn't pray regularly. So his comment may sound like he is a man of faith, but he does not make his relationship with God a priority in his life. If he won't come to God regularly, how can he expect to hear from God regularly? How can he expect to hear or receive comfort from God if he will not go to God and condition himself, or allow himself to be conditioned by God to hear from the Holy Spirit?

In John 15:1-8 we read that He is the vine and we are the branches. The very imagery of this passage shows that we are reliant upon him. The branch can not attach itself in times of need and not in times of peace. Notice verse 2. (NIV) "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit." People wonder where pain comes from and why it exists. Some of it comes from Satan. Some of it comes from our own sinful, selfish actions. But often we forget to consider that it may be the pruning of God. We are meant to learn and grow in Him. How can we do that without being connected to the true vine at all times? We can't.

Our relationship with God through Jesus must be paramount. No exceptions. While at work, or school, or wherever as we go throughout our day, we are to "pray continually" and look for what God is doing in EVERY situation we come across. He is at work around you right now. Are you watching enough to know when he is opening a door for you?

What does God want us to do?

In John 6:29, Jesus says "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." So, ask your selves, In everything I do, everyday, do I act as though I believe that Jesus is the one and only Son of God. That he is the creator and that by him all things hold together. Do I act like he is the reason to live.

The Hymn says, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, He holds the future. [My] life is worth the living, just because he lives." DO WE ACT LIKE WE BELIEVE THIS?

If so, then why aren't we obeying Christ? Why aren't we able to tell others about Jesus' love and sacrifice? Why can't we bring other people on board to do the same thing once they surrender to live for Christ? (at least we say we'll live for Christ.)

If you say, I live for Christ. OK, who was the last hungry person you fed? the last homeless person you provided a place to sleep for? The last inmate you visited in Prison? (Matthew 25:31-46) WHO was the last person that God allowed you to lead to Christ? (Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8)

Most people are now thinking or saying how they have never had the chance. I say that they never walked close enough to Jesus to see the opportunity when it arrived.

John 15:1-8 in the NIV say "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

Are you walking with Jesus today? If so, good. If not, you can. Either way, pray and ask him to guide you. And ask for an opportunity to serve someone or lead someone to Jesus. And whatever you do, do it for the Glory of God. (Not our own short lived glory.)

What Every Christian Ought to Know by A. Rogers

Under this title put any questions, comments and/or needed info for our group as we read this book. The author says this is for new believers, and that is true. But I recommend having a Bible handy as you read it so that you can look up the scriptures he references.

Reason and Heart

Our understanding of faith in Christ has suffered a great loss. We have lost the ability to tie our intellect together with our experiences. i.e. We have a divorce of mind and heart. The two rarely communicate anymore.

Our reasoning abilities have accepted the lessons taught to us in science class, but our hearts have accepted the message of the cross of Jesus. The problem here is that along the way, we have been taught that somehow reason and God don't mix. -This is a lie.

There is nothing in the natural world that disproves God, Jesus, or anything in the Bible. When reason and the heart begin talking, and study begins to occur, we really begin reading and learning. And the lessons that we learn show things like an ancient world wide flood. The walls of a city called Jericho falling into heaps of rubble with no explanation. We the see the writings of Josephus, an ancient Jewish historian (Jews are usually consider the message of Christ to be blasphemy), tell of a men named John the baptizer and Jesus of Nazareth.

We think that our faith must remain private because there is nothing to back it up. Quite the opposite is true.

We need to look at the Samaritans of John 4:39-42.

"And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”" NKJV of the Bible.

In this passage some people believed because of the testimony of one woman. But many more believed because they went and found out for themselves.

When we think critically and then realize how true the message of the Bible is we are strengthened in our own faith and when sharing that faith with others. We are much better equipped to serve Christ when we include both, reason and heart, not just one or the other.

Bob
II Timothy 2:15

Are you growing Spiritually?

If you are, how? If not, then why not, or what would help you to grow do you think?

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