We’re going to look at Using Your Weaknesses. Every one of us has weaknesses. You have physical weaknesses, emotional weaknesses, relational weaknesses, financial weaknesses, intellectual weaknesses. There are things your body can’t do. (How many of you can roll our tongue? Under?) Some of us have fashion weaknesses. We have all different kinds.
The real issues is, What are you going to do with your
weaknesses?
What we normally do is deny them, we defend them, we excuse them, we resent them and most of all we hide them – we don’t want anybody to see our weaknesses. Then God comes along and in the Bible, He says, “You know what I want to do with your weaknesses? I want to use them.” “That doesn’t make sense,” we say, “Use my strengths not my weaknesses.” We think God wants to use our strengths: “I can do this. How come I’m always setting on the shelf here. Use my strengths.”
God does use your strengths obviously. But in the book of Isaiah 55, God says, “My ways are not your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” I’m smarter than you. He says, “The way you think I should work is often the exact opposite of the way I really work in life” God says, “I don’t want to work around your weaknesses. I don’t want to work in spite of your weaknesses. I want to work through them – through your weaknesses.”
1 Corinthians 1:27 “God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to put wise men to shame and what the world considers weak, in order to put powerful men to shame.” Underline “God purposely chose” and circle “weak”. It’s not by accident. The weaknesses you have in your life, God purposely chose them and God works through weak people. Why? It demonstrates His power.
When I was a kid, I used to think that Samson was this giant, muscle bound hunk – kind of a Jewish Rambo. Bulging biceps. The truth is that Samson was a very ordinary looking guy. The Bible says that when the enemies looked at him they couldn’t figure out why the guy’s so strong. From all appearance, he just looked normal. He was not some beefcake. The Bible tells us that his strength laid not in his muscles but in the Spirit of the Lord. He probably looked more like Conan O’Brien than he did Schwarzenegger. They couldn’t figure out his secret. It wasn’t muscles.
God is not impressed with might. We are, we’re really impressed with strength and might. But the Bible says in Zachariah 4:6 “`It is not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord.” God says, “I like to choose and use weak ordinary people because that’s when My glory, My grace, My strength, My power shine through the most effectively.”
That’s good news, really good news, because most of us are not extraordinary people. We don’t have bodies like the models. We don’t have extraordinary intellect. We’re just normal, ordinary, average people. God says that’s ok, because I don’t choose to work through natural strength. I choose to work through natural weakness and then My power shines through.”
So this week and in the second half of this message, we’re going to look at how do you not avoid your weaknesses, excuse or resent them, but how does God want to use them in our lives
When I talk about weakness, I’m not talking about sins, character flaws you can change (like overeating, impatience, greed, laziness.) I’m not talking about things you can change.
Weakness is any limitation in my life that I inherited or I cannot change.
There are all kinds of limitations like that.
There are circumstantial limitations that you were born with, that you don’t have any control over that you can’t change – disadvantages, problems, external pressures that you can’t control.
There are financial limitations when you don’t have enough money. Have you ever had unexpected expenses that weren’t your fault? Sure.
There are relational limitations. Some in this world really have a heart for God but their spouse is spiritually apathetic. They don’t care about the Lord. Maybe they’re not even a believer and that’s a limitation in your life. Or you have a difficult child or difficult children or a rebellious child. Or you have a handicapped parent. Something in your life that you either inherited or you cannot control that causes pain in your life.
There are emotional limitations. Some of us have a tendency, a predisposition, to get depressed. It’s in your nature. That’s no sin, just your nature. Some of us have a tendency, a predisposition, to worry about everything. Some of us have a tendency, or predisposition, to lose our temper and get angry. Or to be fearful. It is the natural inclination. When we make bad choices, we give in to that.
We have talent limitations. There are some things you just cannot do and you never will be able to do. Jesus said there are one talent people, and five talent people and ten talent people.
And of course, we have physical limitations. You have a certain amount of energy and no matter how much you work out you’re never going to have more energy than that, given your physique, your make-up. Maybe you deal with a
handicap or bad back, or some other kind of physical limitation in your life.
All of these things, God says, He purposely chose. Why? 2 Corinthians 4:7 “We have this treasure from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows the great power is from God not from us.” God says, “I put my treasure of wisdom and joy and salvation in you, in your body, but your body is just a clay pot,” and a lot of our bodies are just cracked pots. The thing about clay pots is they break easily. If you drop a clay pot, it breaks. It’s not indestructible. Every clay pot has inherited design faults and flaws in it. It is weak, it is not indestructible. Paul was saying, “Yes, I’m a Christian and God’s in my life but I’m not indestructible. I’m a human being. My body is a clay pot so I have weaknesses in it.” It says that God chooses to do this because it shows the great power in our lives is from God and not from ourselves. God puts His greatest gifts in ordinary containers – like you, like me. Some think, “God could never use me in a great way. I’m just an ordinary person.” You’re the kind of person God uses. He puts His greatest gifts in ordinary containers. He takes ordinary, weak people and uses them in extraordinary ways.
We’re going to look at how can I use my weaknesses?
The Bible says there are three steps. (2 this week)
1. ADMIT MY WEAKNESSES
(vid) That’s obviously the starting point. That means I stop pretending I’ve got it all together. Because I don’t. Nobody has it all together. It means that I stop hoping that my weaknesses will go away if I just ignore them. Out of sight, out of mind. If I pretend they’re not there, maybe they’ll go away. They won’t. It means I stop making excuses for my weaknesses. It means I stop blaming other people for my weaknesses. It means I stop denying that I’ve got them and stop defending them. I just admit I have weaknesses. Nobody has it altogether!
You may be an entrepreneur – small business owners or large corporation owners. This is really the secret of building any effective organization. You first sit down and figure out, What am I good at? What are my strengths? And you start building on your strengths. But you also look at - What are my weaknesses? What am I not good at? What am I really bad at? Then you start hiring people who compensate for your weaknesses. That’s how you build a great team.
That’s what we’re doing here @ FOCUS* I have tried to gather people on our staff who are smarter than me in different areas. Together we compensate for our weaknesses. We don’t all try to be the same kind of person.
Warning: Because God wants you to admit your weaknesses, sometimes He has to bring something into our lives to get us to admit them. That is called a crisis. A crisis is a weakness identifier. When you go through a crisis it says, “Here’s the fault in my life, the failure in my life, the lack, the weakness, the weak spot.” My advice is: Don’t wait. It’s far less painful to identify your weaknesses and admit them up front than having to go through crisis after crisis for God to get you to admit, “I’m not God. You are and I’m not.”
Once you have admitted your weakness you go to step two.
2. I MUST BE GRATEFUL FOR MY WEAKNESSES
You say, “You’ve got to be kidding! I want to come to church and I want you to tell me how to take a magic pill to get rid of all my weaknesses. I don’t want you to tell me to be grateful for them. I want to know how to be freed from them all.” God says, “I want you to learn to be grateful for your weaknesses.” 2 Cor. 12:9 “I have cheerfully made up my mind to be proud of my weaknesses.” I love that phrase, “cheerfully made up my mind.” He says, “… because they mean a deeper experience of the power of Christ.”
Paul’s saying, instead of wasting your time posturing yourself constantly like you’ve got it all together, I am confident, I am composed, and most important I want everybody to think I am in control. He says, since everybody knows that’s not true anyway, instead of posturing yourself and wearing a mask, why don’t you just stop, admit your weaknesses and start focusing on God’s power and realize a deeper
experience of the power of Christ.
I’ve been a Christian for many years. I’ve been around alot of believers and I would say most Christians have never experienced a deeper experience of the power of Christ. Why? Because they haven’t admitted their weaknesses and they haven’t grasped a grateful attitude for them.
I love this verse in the Living Bible, “I’m glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power instead of showing off my own power and abilities.” Paul says instead of resenting my weaknesses I’m glad and I’m grateful for them. Why in the world would anybody do that? There are many benefits. You don’t realize it but the weaknesses, the limitations that you inherited and can’t control are actually blessing in disguise.
Four benefits:
1. It guarantees God’s help.
When I have weaknesses in my life, that guarantees God’s help. This next week, when you attempt to face any challenge or solve any problem on your own power, God says, “I’ll step back and watch. Be My guest. Go ahead and do it. If you think you can handle this on your own, great. If you think you can solve that problem at work, if you think you can make that marriage hang together, if you think you can turn that kid around on your own power, be My guest.” And He stands back and watches. “If you think you can pull yourself out of that financial low, go right ahead.” But the moment you come to God and say, “God, I’m weak. I don’t have what it takes for all the pressures that are on in my life, I don’t have what it takes. God, I need You.” God says, “I knew that. I just wanted you to realize it.” Then He plugs you into His power and you realize a deeper experience of God’s power and find power you would never have on your own to make it, to not only survive but to thrive in life.
2 Corinthians 12:10, God says “I am with you. That’s all you need.” We could stop right here and go home because that’s all you need to hear this week. God says, “No matter what you go through this next week, I’m going to be with you and I’m all you need.” You may have a major happenings going on this week - Some of you have a problem you have to solve this week. You have a conflict maybe at home, at work, at school. You need to resolve it this week. You’ve got a difficulty that seems insurmountable. All you need to know is two things. God says, “I’m with you. And that’s all you need.” We don’t usually realize that God is all we need until God is all we’ve got. What happens is, God intentionally allows everything else to fall apart. All those props and gimmicks and all those things that give you safety and all those relationships you think you need to prop you up, all of a sudden go by the wayside. And God is all you have. When God is all you have, you turn to him and realize He’s all you needed in the first place. One plus God equals a majority. If God’s on my side, who can be against me.
God says, “I want to teach you this week that I’m with you and that’s all you need.” Paul says “So when I am weak, then I am strong. In fact, the less I have, the more I depend on Him.” This is a lesson that I have to learn over and over and over. And so do you. We have short-term memory when it comes to this. We’re in a tight financial situation and God comes through with flying colors and bales us out and helps us through it and then the next day we’re acting like an atheist again. We forget how many times He’s worked in our lives. He’s been there. He’s helped us. He’s made it through the situation. We forget. We have to learn this lesson over and over. We naturally resent our limitations.
When there’s something in my life that I’ve inherited and I can’t control it but it causes pain in my life (emotionally, physically, spiritually – any other way) my reaction is “Why me, God? I’m a good guy. I’m trying to live for You. Why did You allow this?”
God says “My power shows up best in weak people.” If that’s true, why should God take away your weaknesses? You know the thing you’ve been praying about – “God, please take this away!” and He hasn’t done it, it’s probably a weakness. God’s saying, “My power shows up best in your weakness. Why in the world would I take it away?” If you didn’t have any weaknesses in your life, if you could solve every problem and meet any need instantly, how much would you depend on God? Zip! Not at all. You’d think you were God. If you could meet every need and solve every problem, you’d think you were God. “I’m invincible! I’m the master of my faith” God says, “No, you’re not. You’re a human being. I made you and I love you and I created you and in your weakness, that’s where My power shows up strongest.”
2. It prevents arrogance.
2 Cor. 12:7 “To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassing great revelations, it was given to me a thorn in my flesh.” What is a thorn? He said, “I have a thorn in my flesh to keep me from getting arrogant.” God blessed his life so much. He’d learned so many things. He’d had so many great revelations from God. (He got to write most of the New Testament.) God gave him a thorn.
What is a thorn? It is a weakness. It is a limitation I’ve inherited or cannot change that causes me pain and limits my ministry. He says this was given to him as a reminder. If Paul could have changed it, he would have. In fact, the Bible says he prayed three times, “God, take this away.” And God said, “I’m not going to do it because My grace is sufficient for you.” That thing you’ve been praying, “God take this away in my life,” and He hasn’t, it may be a thorn.
It may be your thorn.
Thorns are given by God so they’re not sins. God doesn’t give sin. If thorns were sin and you prayed, “God, take it away,”
He would. Because God always removes sin. So we’re not talking about some sin in your life.
Some thorns are temporary in our lives. Some thorns are removed gradually. Some you have for a lifetime, as with Paul.
What does a thorn do in my life? It’s that persistent perplexity that causes me pain, that gets my attention, keeps me dependent upon God, keeps me humble before Him. It acts as a governor on my life. It guides and directs me and it
motivates me.
It’s my thorn. (migraines; cant talk, cant breath) I’ve asked God to take it away but He hasn’t. But the greatest pain in my life has also been the greatest blessing in my life because it’s kept me dependent upon God. It’s kept me close to Him.
If God is ever going to use you in a great way, expect a thorn. He will do it to get your attention.
It may not be a physical thing like mine. It may be a relational, emotional, some other kind of thorn. But it will come because it prevents arrogance and it guarantees God’s help.
3. It causes me to value others.
One of the dangers of strength is that it breeds an independent spirit. If I don’t have any weaknesses in my life, I tend to think, “I don’t need anybody!” I don’t need to be in a small group. I don’t need any close relationships. I don’t need you. I’ve got it all together.” But God made us to value each other. He wants us to value each other. So nobody gets all the gifts. Nobody gets all the pieces of the puzzle. You need other people to complete the puzzle in your life.
One of the biggest lies in our society is that significance is the same thing as prominence but it’s not. Significance is not prominence. In our society, we tend to think if you’re well known then what you have to say is very important. But you can be a celebrity and be living a totally trivial life. Just because you’re well known or prominent does not mean you’re important in the whole scheme of life. A celebrity is not necessarily a hero. Too often we confuse that in our society. We think if you’re well known then you’re a hero. No you’re not.
You may have some very prominent features physically (eyes, great smile, cute nose) But they’re not very significant. You could lose your nose and live the rest of your life it may prominent; but it’s not significant. On the other hand, there’s some things like a spleen, a liver, both kidneys. They’re not seen, not prominent at all, but they’re far more significant. We can’t live without those things.
The Bible says, “Some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary.” That’s true in the body of Christ. God allows each of us to have weaknesses, so that all the parts will recognize their need for each other. “The hand can’t say to the foot, `I don’t need you.’ And the eye can’t say to the ear, `I don’t need you.’” We need each other. God allows us to have weaknesses so we see the value of other people.
You make a strong rope, not by making one solid cord. That breaks pretty easy. You make a strong rope by putting a lot of strands together – a lot of strands of weak cords. When you take a lot of weak cords and put them all together, you’ve got a pretty strong rope.
You’re pretty weak and I’m pretty weak, but together we can do stuff that nobody thinks is possible otherwise. That’s the value of unity. That’s the value of church family. A person without a church family is a weakling. You don’t have any other support. All you have is your part of the puzzle. You don’t have all the other pieces. I’m not talking about just coming to church, listening to the sermon and going on out. I’m talking about getting involved, developing relationships, getting in a community group, so that when a crisis hits your life there’s somebody there to support you. And you’re there to help others when they go through crisis. Because it’s inevitable.
4. It gives me a ministry.
God puts you on earth, not just to live for yourself, but to help other people. Your greatest ministry will flow out of your weaknesses. The greatest life message, the message that God wants to say to the world through you (what He put you here on earth for), your greatest life message, may come out of your deepest hurt. The very thing that causes you the most grief and pain, God can use in the ministry and can use it as a message for other people to encourage them. The thing you’re most embarrassed about, the thing you’re most ashamed of, the thing you don’t want anybody else to know about, you want to hide it, put in a closet, forget it, push it out of your mind – God wants to use that to encourage other people. Pain makes us more sensitive to the hurts of others.
If you want to have a Christ-like ministry, that means sometimes other people are going to be helped, encouraged and even healed by the wounds in your life. Jesus Christ, received a bunch of wounds in His body and we all benefited from it. You will go through some pains in your life that, if you will admit them, be grateful for them, learn to share them with others (the lessons you’ve learned), others will be benefited by it. It becomes a ministry.
2 Corinthians 1:4 “God comforts us in our troubles so that we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received.” Most people have pain. God comforts us in our problems.
And we can turn around and comfort others with the same comfort we’ve been given. Who could better help somebody who’s going through a divorce, than somebody who’s had a husband or wife walk out on them and leave them for somebody else? They know that sting of rejection. Who could better help somebody who’s just been devastated by unemployment than somebody who’s went through that? Who after 20-30 years of faithful service was canned? Who could better help somebody come out of a gay lifestyle than somebody who was stuck in a gay lifestyle and found freedom? Who could better help somebody with a Down Syndrome child than somebody who had a Down Syndrome child? Who could better minister to a family who’s had a teenage son or daughter go off the deep end, get into drugs, have a teen pregnancy than somebody who went through that very experience themselves?
God never wastes a hurt. God will use the thing in your life that you are most ashamed of, most embarrassed by, most heartbroken over to encourage other people if you’ll learn to admit it, see what God wants to do in it, be healed yourself through it and begin to share it with others.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Raising the Bar - Connecting Out-of-Network
Review - turn to Luke 17
Draw a triangle on your outline - at the top write the word God, next to God write the word up - Imagine our lives as a triangle, God created us in life to be connected upward - true meaning in life always comes from being connected to God -
That is where balance of life comes from, if we’re always doing stuff for other people and ourselves life will be out of balance
- we need to be connected to God to for real balance in life. On left side of triangle write ‘IN’ - God not only created us to connect upward, He also created us to connect Inward - meaning we all value relationships, not one of us at the core of our selves does not want to be loved and accepted.
He created us to be connected inward, He created us to be in community, to do life with other people w/in small
communities, small pockets of people that we begin to connect inward to enjoy life with, do life with in network.
On right side of triangle write the word ‘OUT” - with an arrow pointing away - He never created us, the church to just be connected in-network, just us alone w/in these walls - never God’s intention for us to take on this mentality of ‘Us 4 and no more’ - He also created us so we could connect outward, to connect out-of-network, b/c we live in a world of people, that unless they hear it from you or me, they will never ever know. We can never assume that someone else is going to share that love, we can never make that assumption that, “well someone else is going to take care of it” (rom.10)
God created a balanced journey with Him to be a life connected up, connected w/in, connected outward.
Luke 17:11
Jesus is on His final steps towards Jerusalem, here’s what He knows that the cross is coming and the cross is coming soon, we need to know that here, b/c if you and I were on our last journey of life, those things that we chose to teach, the things we chose to do would probably be or something we considered pretty important - if you were on your last weeks of life, how many of you would waste time?
Jesus is thinking, I’m gonna leave behind these few guys who are going to carry on my work, the mission, so... here are the things I want them to know. read v.11
Samaria is a place where a good Jew wouldn’t even let the dust on his sandals get near, they wouldn't even travel thru Samaria b/c they didn’t want the dust of Samaria on their shoes. Samaritans at that time were considered half-breeds, these mixed races that no one wanted anything to do with.
It’s interesting how often you find Christ telling good stories about Samaritans or traveling through Samaria.
In His journey now there’s this interesting exchange about to happen - v.12a
To have leprosy during this time, is not like having a bad case of acne, this is bad stuff, this stuff will kill you, there’s no cure, there’s no treatment - when you contracted leprosy, no matter what race you were you became an outcast (you may want to write in the margin of your bible to remind you, ‘outcast’) So it didn’t matter who you knew or how much you knew, you never associated with a leper, ever, you did not do it - it was commonly thought they will share the disease with you and so when you approached a lepers presence, they yelled, ‘Unclean, Unclean - then they would remove themselves and keep themselves at a distance -
they were outcasts.
As Jesus is traveling here, it says He comes upon a village and He meets these 10 guys w/ leprosy - circle 10, gona come to that - So here is Jesus, the Son of God, on His way to the cross, busy, has a lot to cram into a small amount of time - He really doesn’t need 10 outcasts disturbing the journey, you know what I mean? But Christ often goes against what we think would be the natural route - v.12b-13
They say something here, Jesus, Master have pity on us or compassion on us, it’s interesting they didn’t call Him Rabbi, but Master. You know what Master meant: the one we know that can meet our needs. Umm - they have yelled to others no doubt, but Jesus, this guy they’ve heard of, they know He heals, He gives sight to the blind, enables cripple to walk, has raised people from the dead, there’s hope - ‘pity on us’
v.14, ‘when He saw them’ ahh, big difference here, not with these eyes (eyes) but with these eyes (heart) - there’s a
difference between seeing and Seeing - there’s a difference between knowing there’s a need, and Seeing there’s a need
(Ex. Makeover: see with your heart and it is broken and cries out for them in their plight)
When Jesus saw them, timeout, busy, lot of places to be, lot of things to do - but He saw them w/ the eyes of His heart and then He said this - v. 14 - healed, but not on the spot, as they were on their journey back to see the priest they were healed - read v.15-16 and he was a what?, a Samaritan, the one that really didn’t fit in - we believe all the others were Jews, all healed, no strings attached, all touched with nothing in return. One said thank you, listen, I don’t want you to miss this, but the 9 to Him were worth it. B/c they now knew what their Heavenly Father thought of them, whether they understood it or not. read v.17-19
Meaning he was set free now on the inside - interesting story
I have taught on this passage a few times, always referencing the one who came back - but this story, He healed all ten didn’t He? With no strings attached - I’d like you to write down that little phrase, “With No Strings Attached” -
there’s a message in it for all of us.
(Cathleen and I moved here in ‘96 for ministry purposes and we believed someday we’d Pastor. We came with a
message LAF, we gotta LAF - Love, Accept, Forgive - listen, ‘with no strings attached -
it’s not about the one who comes back, we’re about all 10)
Jesus modeled this for us and He left us with the commission to go into all the world and tell the good news, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Sprit. B/c God is all about others. He wants us too, to be all about others
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything” Matthew 5:13
Jesus said, ‘If a seasoning has no flavor, it has no value. - So if we... Christ followers make no effort to affect the world around us, well... It is our job, our call to be the salt.
To affect those in our realm of influence the way Jesus did -
THE S.A.L.T. APPROACH
SEE COMPASSIONATELY
So that we can see with these eyes(heart), not these eyes (head) - here’s the deal, we’ve talked about partnering w/ YWAM in Montrose and helping all those people, up to 150 a week, now how many of them have ever returned to say, ‘thank you’? - So should we quit?
They don’t line up outside of the Y each Sunday yearning to come in here and grab a seat - so why do we go?
B/c God has taught us to see compassionately, to see w/ the eyes of our heart.
When we see w/ the eyes of our hearts we say, “they have no hope unless we go” We want to make a difference for the Kingdom of God, it’s not about our church, it’s about THE Church and we can’t make the assumption that someone else will do it.
When he saw them, ( here’s the difference - when we see someone hurting or who needs help from here [head] we say, “ahh, that’s too bad” but when we see it from here [heart] it tears us up, keeps you up at night - you see people wandering around at night and they’re hopeless, no future, no direction - we are called to be a people who see
compassionately- not for what we get in return, that is not the issue, we do what God has called us to do - does that make sense?) he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. Luke 17:14
ACCEPT FREELY
The lepers had the social stigma of the day - they were the outcasts, no one wanted anything to do w/ them -
and the guy from Samaria had a doubly bad time
God has called us to be there for people who don’t even want anything to do with God, much less Christianity. “Ahh those people are a bunch of hypocrites, they only want your money” or whatever...
Until you walk into their lives and love them w/ no strings attached, you love them until they say why?
Why in the world would you care about me, care for me?
You know the answer? B/c that’s what my Savior did for me.
Did any of you have anything to offer God? I didn’t - It’s kinda like a gag gift - we get Heaven, streets of gold, eternal feasting and so forth... God gets us
He accepts freely - the down and out, the broken-hearted, the broken dreams, and He’ll help you put the pieces back together again
God did not call us to get up on our soap box and call out everything everyone is doing wrong, does it mean we
condone sin? NO, but they may not know any better or even care about it right now, but it doesn’t matter, that’s not our job! We have been called to accept freely. W/out judgement, w/out condemning, "Why haven’t you been at church? What’s wrong w/ you?" - not our job, just accept freely.
(photos - accept?)
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him… He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:12+16
LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY
We are called to love others. That’s what God wants, “love you neighbor as yourself.” In living a balanced life we
connect up, and w/in and out-of-network.
However it’s not always that easy to love others is it?
We don’t always feel up to the challenge do we? There are some freaky, weird, wacked-out people out there, and I’m not just talking about your extended family.
Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Luke 17:17-18
All were healed, Jesus didn’t hold anything back, He did not withhold His love for the others, b/c oh by the way, Jesus knew, He knew they were not going to return, but He did it anyway, He loved them all the same.
On our cell phone packages that we pay monthly, it always cost more to connect out of network, right? I mean we pay our monthly fee, it includes a certain amount of minutes and in-network is free! But to connect out of network, you’re gona pay for that.
Isn’t that true in life, it may cost us more to reach out to the unlovable, the unwanted, those who may not give anything in return, but you never know the day you walk into their life may have been the day they were considering walking out on life, ending it all, giving up completely. That’s what God has called us to do, and that’s what He has modeled for us to do. Not to be a church that says, hey everybody come here, but He called us to GO - be salt to those who need LAF, be salt to those in your realm of influence.
TOUCH PRACTICALLY
You know one of the things I love about Jesus’ life is that when He gave He meet physical needs, nothing in return.
Hey when we love this way, our lives will change and others will notice - is this the way our world loves? No, we love w/ strings don’t we? I’ll love you if you love me, ever do break-up in H.S. we’ll still be friends, no you won’t, you’ll never speak again - you begin to love w/out strings, the world will notice and be careful what it may do to you
Can you imagine what would happen if all of us started to LAF to Love, Accept, Forgive others unconditionally, what do you think would happen? Oh WOW, the world would wonder where you came from, “yer not from ‘round here is yas?”
…they were cleansed. Luke 17:14b
We are called to be salt of the earth, to See
Compassionately, Accept Freely, Love Unconditionally,
and Touch Practically.
Draw a triangle on your outline - at the top write the word God, next to God write the word up - Imagine our lives as a triangle, God created us in life to be connected upward - true meaning in life always comes from being connected to God -
That is where balance of life comes from, if we’re always doing stuff for other people and ourselves life will be out of balance
- we need to be connected to God to for real balance in life. On left side of triangle write ‘IN’ - God not only created us to connect upward, He also created us to connect Inward - meaning we all value relationships, not one of us at the core of our selves does not want to be loved and accepted.
He created us to be connected inward, He created us to be in community, to do life with other people w/in small
communities, small pockets of people that we begin to connect inward to enjoy life with, do life with in network.
On right side of triangle write the word ‘OUT” - with an arrow pointing away - He never created us, the church to just be connected in-network, just us alone w/in these walls - never God’s intention for us to take on this mentality of ‘Us 4 and no more’ - He also created us so we could connect outward, to connect out-of-network, b/c we live in a world of people, that unless they hear it from you or me, they will never ever know. We can never assume that someone else is going to share that love, we can never make that assumption that, “well someone else is going to take care of it” (rom.10)
God created a balanced journey with Him to be a life connected up, connected w/in, connected outward.
Luke 17:11
Jesus is on His final steps towards Jerusalem, here’s what He knows that the cross is coming and the cross is coming soon, we need to know that here, b/c if you and I were on our last journey of life, those things that we chose to teach, the things we chose to do would probably be or something we considered pretty important - if you were on your last weeks of life, how many of you would waste time?
Jesus is thinking, I’m gonna leave behind these few guys who are going to carry on my work, the mission, so... here are the things I want them to know. read v.11
Samaria is a place where a good Jew wouldn’t even let the dust on his sandals get near, they wouldn't even travel thru Samaria b/c they didn’t want the dust of Samaria on their shoes. Samaritans at that time were considered half-breeds, these mixed races that no one wanted anything to do with.
It’s interesting how often you find Christ telling good stories about Samaritans or traveling through Samaria.
In His journey now there’s this interesting exchange about to happen - v.12a
To have leprosy during this time, is not like having a bad case of acne, this is bad stuff, this stuff will kill you, there’s no cure, there’s no treatment - when you contracted leprosy, no matter what race you were you became an outcast (you may want to write in the margin of your bible to remind you, ‘outcast’) So it didn’t matter who you knew or how much you knew, you never associated with a leper, ever, you did not do it - it was commonly thought they will share the disease with you and so when you approached a lepers presence, they yelled, ‘Unclean, Unclean - then they would remove themselves and keep themselves at a distance -
they were outcasts.
As Jesus is traveling here, it says He comes upon a village and He meets these 10 guys w/ leprosy - circle 10, gona come to that - So here is Jesus, the Son of God, on His way to the cross, busy, has a lot to cram into a small amount of time - He really doesn’t need 10 outcasts disturbing the journey, you know what I mean? But Christ often goes against what we think would be the natural route - v.12b-13
They say something here, Jesus, Master have pity on us or compassion on us, it’s interesting they didn’t call Him Rabbi, but Master. You know what Master meant: the one we know that can meet our needs. Umm - they have yelled to others no doubt, but Jesus, this guy they’ve heard of, they know He heals, He gives sight to the blind, enables cripple to walk, has raised people from the dead, there’s hope - ‘pity on us’
v.14, ‘when He saw them’ ahh, big difference here, not with these eyes (eyes) but with these eyes (heart) - there’s a
difference between seeing and Seeing - there’s a difference between knowing there’s a need, and Seeing there’s a need
(Ex. Makeover: see with your heart and it is broken and cries out for them in their plight)
When Jesus saw them, timeout, busy, lot of places to be, lot of things to do - but He saw them w/ the eyes of His heart and then He said this - v. 14 - healed, but not on the spot, as they were on their journey back to see the priest they were healed - read v.15-16 and he was a what?, a Samaritan, the one that really didn’t fit in - we believe all the others were Jews, all healed, no strings attached, all touched with nothing in return. One said thank you, listen, I don’t want you to miss this, but the 9 to Him were worth it. B/c they now knew what their Heavenly Father thought of them, whether they understood it or not. read v.17-19
Meaning he was set free now on the inside - interesting story
I have taught on this passage a few times, always referencing the one who came back - but this story, He healed all ten didn’t He? With no strings attached - I’d like you to write down that little phrase, “With No Strings Attached” -
there’s a message in it for all of us.
(Cathleen and I moved here in ‘96 for ministry purposes and we believed someday we’d Pastor. We came with a
message LAF, we gotta LAF - Love, Accept, Forgive - listen, ‘with no strings attached -
it’s not about the one who comes back, we’re about all 10)
Jesus modeled this for us and He left us with the commission to go into all the world and tell the good news, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Sprit. B/c God is all about others. He wants us too, to be all about others
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything” Matthew 5:13
Jesus said, ‘If a seasoning has no flavor, it has no value. - So if we... Christ followers make no effort to affect the world around us, well... It is our job, our call to be the salt.
To affect those in our realm of influence the way Jesus did -
THE S.A.L.T. APPROACH
SEE COMPASSIONATELY
So that we can see with these eyes(heart), not these eyes (head) - here’s the deal, we’ve talked about partnering w/ YWAM in Montrose and helping all those people, up to 150 a week, now how many of them have ever returned to say, ‘thank you’? - So should we quit?
They don’t line up outside of the Y each Sunday yearning to come in here and grab a seat - so why do we go?
B/c God has taught us to see compassionately, to see w/ the eyes of our heart.
When we see w/ the eyes of our hearts we say, “they have no hope unless we go” We want to make a difference for the Kingdom of God, it’s not about our church, it’s about THE Church and we can’t make the assumption that someone else will do it.
When he saw them, ( here’s the difference - when we see someone hurting or who needs help from here [head] we say, “ahh, that’s too bad” but when we see it from here [heart] it tears us up, keeps you up at night - you see people wandering around at night and they’re hopeless, no future, no direction - we are called to be a people who see
compassionately- not for what we get in return, that is not the issue, we do what God has called us to do - does that make sense?) he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. Luke 17:14
ACCEPT FREELY
The lepers had the social stigma of the day - they were the outcasts, no one wanted anything to do w/ them -
and the guy from Samaria had a doubly bad time
God has called us to be there for people who don’t even want anything to do with God, much less Christianity. “Ahh those people are a bunch of hypocrites, they only want your money” or whatever...
Until you walk into their lives and love them w/ no strings attached, you love them until they say why?
Why in the world would you care about me, care for me?
You know the answer? B/c that’s what my Savior did for me.
Did any of you have anything to offer God? I didn’t - It’s kinda like a gag gift - we get Heaven, streets of gold, eternal feasting and so forth... God gets us
He accepts freely - the down and out, the broken-hearted, the broken dreams, and He’ll help you put the pieces back together again
God did not call us to get up on our soap box and call out everything everyone is doing wrong, does it mean we
condone sin? NO, but they may not know any better or even care about it right now, but it doesn’t matter, that’s not our job! We have been called to accept freely. W/out judgement, w/out condemning, "Why haven’t you been at church? What’s wrong w/ you?" - not our job, just accept freely.
(photos - accept?)
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him… He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Luke 17:12+16
LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY
We are called to love others. That’s what God wants, “love you neighbor as yourself.” In living a balanced life we
connect up, and w/in and out-of-network.
However it’s not always that easy to love others is it?
We don’t always feel up to the challenge do we? There are some freaky, weird, wacked-out people out there, and I’m not just talking about your extended family.
Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Luke 17:17-18
All were healed, Jesus didn’t hold anything back, He did not withhold His love for the others, b/c oh by the way, Jesus knew, He knew they were not going to return, but He did it anyway, He loved them all the same.
On our cell phone packages that we pay monthly, it always cost more to connect out of network, right? I mean we pay our monthly fee, it includes a certain amount of minutes and in-network is free! But to connect out of network, you’re gona pay for that.
Isn’t that true in life, it may cost us more to reach out to the unlovable, the unwanted, those who may not give anything in return, but you never know the day you walk into their life may have been the day they were considering walking out on life, ending it all, giving up completely. That’s what God has called us to do, and that’s what He has modeled for us to do. Not to be a church that says, hey everybody come here, but He called us to GO - be salt to those who need LAF, be salt to those in your realm of influence.
TOUCH PRACTICALLY
You know one of the things I love about Jesus’ life is that when He gave He meet physical needs, nothing in return.
Hey when we love this way, our lives will change and others will notice - is this the way our world loves? No, we love w/ strings don’t we? I’ll love you if you love me, ever do break-up in H.S. we’ll still be friends, no you won’t, you’ll never speak again - you begin to love w/out strings, the world will notice and be careful what it may do to you
Can you imagine what would happen if all of us started to LAF to Love, Accept, Forgive others unconditionally, what do you think would happen? Oh WOW, the world would wonder where you came from, “yer not from ‘round here is yas?”
…they were cleansed. Luke 17:14b
We are called to be salt of the earth, to See
Compassionately, Accept Freely, Love Unconditionally,
and Touch Practically.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Raising the Bar - Connecting In-Network
Last week we talked about what it means to be connected to the Tower - on any cell phone there’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to hold a connection, nothing more frustrating than losing that call, losing that connection - not being able to connect with the Tower. When you cant connect with the tower it shuts down communication, so even though you may want to call out you’re unable to - have you ever needed to make an important phone call and were unable to call out - it’s very frustrating.
Last week we talked about how that Tower represents our relationship w/ God and how many times in our journey we’ve hit dead spots, we hit dead zones where we just don’t connect w/ the Tower like we used to or should and we go weeks at a time w/ out connecting to the Tower.
We learned that the Tower never moves, it’s set, but we move in a million different directions. So the issue is never the Tower, it’s always us.
In our lives God is always there, Heb. 13:5 - there are times in our lives we just don’t connect w/ God for a # of reasons.
How do we develop a strong and lasting connection? Through Intimacy, developing intimacy w/ Father God.
Luke 22 - Time, Trust, and Transparency
Well as we continue in this I could boil today down to this one statement, ‘God did not create us to be alone’
God did not create you to live alone - God created a community for you to do life with, we were not created to live life alone, God has created a network for you and I to identify with - turn to Hebrews 10
All through the New Testament from the book Acts, after Gospels completed, Jesus had ascended back to heaven
within the Word of God, the word brother or brothers and sisters which refers to the family of God that God created for the church is mentioned over 147 times b/c God considers the Church as a family important.
Look at outline you see that ? that says, Is this true of me?
I want you to answer this question, “I live life around many people, but I experience life deeply with none.”
You know it was George Gallop who said, “Americans are among the loneliest people in the world.”
The most advanced society, the most technologically driven people ever created, yet we feel all the time, that we’re in this thing alone, doing life by ourselves.
Although we work in offices and people are around us all the time, we drive into our neighborhoods full of houses, our head can hit the pillow at night and we feel like we’re all alone. Ever felt that way?
How many of you would agree life is confusing at times - raise hands? how about difficult at times?
Then why in the world would we want to try to figure it all alone - why try and do this journey by ourselves? So often in life we think, I’ll just go at it alone and that is not how God created it to be.
God created this network w/in the church to help us do life.
We believe here at FOCUS* that the church must grow larger and smaller at the same time. (Always reaching out to others growing the church and at the same time doing life together in a multitude of small community groups)
Explain Heb. 10 start reading v.22 - circle every time you hear ‘Let us’ - read 22,
back then they had the High Priest and before they went into the Temple they would do this ceremonial cleansing, cleaned there hands and so on.. they could not be defiled in any way - what the writer of Hebrews is saying, we should never lose that focus, that intentionality when we go before God, we go in with clean hands and a pure heart.
We should draw near to Him w/ a sincere heart, the “cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” is approaching God humbly, saying I’m bringing all of me to all of You - that’s what he’s saying.
v.23 - I love the imagery there, “hold unswervingly to the hope” meaning we hold onto what we believe with all we’ve got!
Ever find yourself doing that, b/c everything in this world tells you not to, but you know you have to - everything in the world tells you, “you don’t need God, you can do it w/out Him’ - almost like you’re out there by yourself sometimes and you hold unswervingly to the hope - v.24
All of sudden he moves from more of a personal talk to more of a corporate talk - this group of people you’re doing life with, let’s consider how we can encourage one another to spur on, meaning to urge and admonish one another on
toward love and good deeds - v.25
It had sort of become customary during this time that you have a relationship w/ God and all’s been done on your part so really you don’t need to gather together anymore, you don’ t need to gather in groups, you can just do it yourselves and what he says in Heb. 10:25 is let’s not give up meeting together, not only corporately but together from house to house in small groups (Acts 5:42)
I’m not real sure how you walked in here felling this morning and when I mentioned Gallop said Americans are some of the loneliest people it may have resonated with you or maybe you have thought I have a lot of friends but the
relationships are about this deep.
Ladies and gentlemen God did not create you to live alone - He created you to do life with other people
What’s the big deal about connecting in network - we all have needs:
1. I NEED OTHERS TO KNOW ME.
Beyond the superficial, I need others to know me - not know who I am, I want others to know me. (it has been one of the frustrating things to deal with in moving here to Houston - left tight knit group of back in Cali.) I want that deep relationship, not just business, not just let’s go play hoops once a month, someone to know me. And there’s not 1 of us in this room that does not have this desire w/in us to be known.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing… Hebrews 10:25a
It’s interesting that the writer continues to make this a plural assumption, ‘Let US not’ - God created us for community - for others to know us. Doing life with others is God’s answer to loneliness
Community is God’s answer to … LONELINESS.
2. I NEED OTHERS TO WALK WITH ME.
I need to know I’m not doing this journey by myself.
What a shame, when we hit difficult spots in life and wish we had someone around to tell us what’s next - God put this process in place, this network called community w/in the church for us to do life with to know were not alone.
Maybe parenting issues arise, were not sure how to handle something, “I wish we had some others in our lives to help”
Maybe a job/career change, “I sure would like some input from a close friend” We feel like we’re in it all alone.
Community is God’s answer to …
SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY.
Do you know what we learn from others in our lives that we cant get from a seminar or a book, real life experiences, been there done that. Some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in life didn’t come from a book or seminar, they came from another persons life b/c they help grow you up.
Ever hit that phase in life where it's all about you - it’s all about me, my stuff, my life and in that
there are times I need others to walk w/ me so I can grow up.
3. I NEED OTHERS TO CARE FOR ME.
Let us consider (think about)how we may spur (encourage, urge) one another on toward love…Hebrews 10:24
Let’s just talk, there’s just times when we get down, isn’t there? Isn’t there times when you just hit a wall -
you just need someone to come along a put their hand on your back and say keep your head up, keep going, you’re gonna make it - do you ever get that? Do you need that? I know I do, even recently
But you know what, we cant get it just coming here for an hour on Sunday - not even if you do lunch occasionally
We all hit a crisis, there are times where there’s just no answers and life is not easy - those days are comin’ and when they do we are going to want someone in our lives walking w/ us and caring for us.
Listen folks, no one will just walk in if we haven’t cultivated that relationship - it happens spending time together -
the best way is to get hooked up in-network, get plugged in to a community group (guys thur, girls tue.)
You see the enemy knows, if he can keep you isolated he can keep you down - look at God’s answer
Community is God’s answer to … DESPAIR.
From feeling like you’re going down and there’s nobody there to help you - there’s just something about being there with other people - Christianity, this journey is not meant to be done alone, it’s a team game.
We could have an amazing time together on Sundays, great worship, God’s Word may pulsate within you, I’m talking you walk out of here different - which is incredible and only by God’s Holy Spirit, but that alone is not enough, that is not how God created us. God created us for community.
4. I NEED OTHERS TO SERVE WITH ME.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward … good deeds. Hebrews 10:24
B/c we are selfish-driven people our lives tend to focus only on our needs, our wants, our desires so I need other people around me to remind me that it’s not all about MUAH!
We are to serve others
It’s one of the reasons we’re involved in the Montrose Street Church -
we just give, we just serve... together
Community is God’s answer to … SELFISH LIVING.
It’s His answer to ‘it’s all about us’
5. I NEED OTHERS TO WATCH OUT FOR ME.
…but let us encourage one another… Hebrews 10:25b
Community is God’s answer to … SPIRITUAL ATTACKS.
If you were going out to war and the battle is looming, one of the 1st things we want to know is, “who’s got my back?”
Would you agree?
The Bible tells us in Ephesians we are in a war, and the battle is not on the ground, it’s in the spiritual realm.
We need others to have our backs, to pray for us, lift us up, keep us in mind.
Here’s the deal guys, I know that you know God, I know that you have Christ, I know you have your bible... you need someone with skin on who can talk about your value & the significance of your place, your person, somebody who understands how you’d love to pinch the heads off your kids, somebody who understands what it feels like to work for that pushy boss - life can be hard, it can be a battle, we need others who will be there for us -
you’ll find them in-network... get plugged in, don’t pull out, stay connected,
Make it a PRIORITY.
A sign of growth in the world of nature is change - change in the dimensions of a tree, fruit appearing on the vine, flowers blooming - in a similar way, change for us means new levels of maturity, of understanding, of the way we relate to family and friends in-network - But what does it take for change to occur?
GET CONNECTED
Last week we talked about how that Tower represents our relationship w/ God and how many times in our journey we’ve hit dead spots, we hit dead zones where we just don’t connect w/ the Tower like we used to or should and we go weeks at a time w/ out connecting to the Tower.
We learned that the Tower never moves, it’s set, but we move in a million different directions. So the issue is never the Tower, it’s always us.
In our lives God is always there, Heb. 13:5 - there are times in our lives we just don’t connect w/ God for a # of reasons.
How do we develop a strong and lasting connection? Through Intimacy, developing intimacy w/ Father God.
Luke 22 - Time, Trust, and Transparency
Well as we continue in this I could boil today down to this one statement, ‘God did not create us to be alone’
God did not create you to live alone - God created a community for you to do life with, we were not created to live life alone, God has created a network for you and I to identify with - turn to Hebrews 10
All through the New Testament from the book Acts, after Gospels completed, Jesus had ascended back to heaven
within the Word of God, the word brother or brothers and sisters which refers to the family of God that God created for the church is mentioned over 147 times b/c God considers the Church as a family important.
Look at outline you see that ? that says, Is this true of me?
I want you to answer this question, “I live life around many people, but I experience life deeply with none.”
You know it was George Gallop who said, “Americans are among the loneliest people in the world.”
The most advanced society, the most technologically driven people ever created, yet we feel all the time, that we’re in this thing alone, doing life by ourselves.
Although we work in offices and people are around us all the time, we drive into our neighborhoods full of houses, our head can hit the pillow at night and we feel like we’re all alone. Ever felt that way?
How many of you would agree life is confusing at times - raise hands? how about difficult at times?
Then why in the world would we want to try to figure it all alone - why try and do this journey by ourselves? So often in life we think, I’ll just go at it alone and that is not how God created it to be.
God created this network w/in the church to help us do life.
We believe here at FOCUS* that the church must grow larger and smaller at the same time. (Always reaching out to others growing the church and at the same time doing life together in a multitude of small community groups)
Explain Heb. 10 start reading v.22 - circle every time you hear ‘Let us’ - read 22,
back then they had the High Priest and before they went into the Temple they would do this ceremonial cleansing, cleaned there hands and so on.. they could not be defiled in any way - what the writer of Hebrews is saying, we should never lose that focus, that intentionality when we go before God, we go in with clean hands and a pure heart.
We should draw near to Him w/ a sincere heart, the “cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” is approaching God humbly, saying I’m bringing all of me to all of You - that’s what he’s saying.
v.23 - I love the imagery there, “hold unswervingly to the hope” meaning we hold onto what we believe with all we’ve got!
Ever find yourself doing that, b/c everything in this world tells you not to, but you know you have to - everything in the world tells you, “you don’t need God, you can do it w/out Him’ - almost like you’re out there by yourself sometimes and you hold unswervingly to the hope - v.24
All of sudden he moves from more of a personal talk to more of a corporate talk - this group of people you’re doing life with, let’s consider how we can encourage one another to spur on, meaning to urge and admonish one another on
toward love and good deeds - v.25
It had sort of become customary during this time that you have a relationship w/ God and all’s been done on your part so really you don’t need to gather together anymore, you don’ t need to gather in groups, you can just do it yourselves and what he says in Heb. 10:25 is let’s not give up meeting together, not only corporately but together from house to house in small groups (Acts 5:42)
I’m not real sure how you walked in here felling this morning and when I mentioned Gallop said Americans are some of the loneliest people it may have resonated with you or maybe you have thought I have a lot of friends but the
relationships are about this deep.
Ladies and gentlemen God did not create you to live alone - He created you to do life with other people
What’s the big deal about connecting in network - we all have needs:
1. I NEED OTHERS TO KNOW ME.
Beyond the superficial, I need others to know me - not know who I am, I want others to know me. (it has been one of the frustrating things to deal with in moving here to Houston - left tight knit group of back in Cali.) I want that deep relationship, not just business, not just let’s go play hoops once a month, someone to know me. And there’s not 1 of us in this room that does not have this desire w/in us to be known.
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing… Hebrews 10:25a
It’s interesting that the writer continues to make this a plural assumption, ‘Let US not’ - God created us for community - for others to know us. Doing life with others is God’s answer to loneliness
Community is God’s answer to … LONELINESS.
2. I NEED OTHERS TO WALK WITH ME.
I need to know I’m not doing this journey by myself.
What a shame, when we hit difficult spots in life and wish we had someone around to tell us what’s next - God put this process in place, this network called community w/in the church for us to do life with to know were not alone.
Maybe parenting issues arise, were not sure how to handle something, “I wish we had some others in our lives to help”
Maybe a job/career change, “I sure would like some input from a close friend” We feel like we’re in it all alone.
Community is God’s answer to …
SPIRITUAL IMMATURITY.
Do you know what we learn from others in our lives that we cant get from a seminar or a book, real life experiences, been there done that. Some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in life didn’t come from a book or seminar, they came from another persons life b/c they help grow you up.
Ever hit that phase in life where it's all about you - it’s all about me, my stuff, my life and in that
there are times I need others to walk w/ me so I can grow up.
3. I NEED OTHERS TO CARE FOR ME.
Let us consider (think about)how we may spur (encourage, urge) one another on toward love…Hebrews 10:24
Let’s just talk, there’s just times when we get down, isn’t there? Isn’t there times when you just hit a wall -
you just need someone to come along a put their hand on your back and say keep your head up, keep going, you’re gonna make it - do you ever get that? Do you need that? I know I do, even recently
But you know what, we cant get it just coming here for an hour on Sunday - not even if you do lunch occasionally
We all hit a crisis, there are times where there’s just no answers and life is not easy - those days are comin’ and when they do we are going to want someone in our lives walking w/ us and caring for us.
Listen folks, no one will just walk in if we haven’t cultivated that relationship - it happens spending time together -
the best way is to get hooked up in-network, get plugged in to a community group (guys thur, girls tue.)
You see the enemy knows, if he can keep you isolated he can keep you down - look at God’s answer
Community is God’s answer to … DESPAIR.
From feeling like you’re going down and there’s nobody there to help you - there’s just something about being there with other people - Christianity, this journey is not meant to be done alone, it’s a team game.
We could have an amazing time together on Sundays, great worship, God’s Word may pulsate within you, I’m talking you walk out of here different - which is incredible and only by God’s Holy Spirit, but that alone is not enough, that is not how God created us. God created us for community.
4. I NEED OTHERS TO SERVE WITH ME.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward … good deeds. Hebrews 10:24
B/c we are selfish-driven people our lives tend to focus only on our needs, our wants, our desires so I need other people around me to remind me that it’s not all about MUAH!
We are to serve others
It’s one of the reasons we’re involved in the Montrose Street Church -
we just give, we just serve... together
Community is God’s answer to … SELFISH LIVING.
It’s His answer to ‘it’s all about us’
5. I NEED OTHERS TO WATCH OUT FOR ME.
…but let us encourage one another… Hebrews 10:25b
Community is God’s answer to … SPIRITUAL ATTACKS.
If you were going out to war and the battle is looming, one of the 1st things we want to know is, “who’s got my back?”
Would you agree?
The Bible tells us in Ephesians we are in a war, and the battle is not on the ground, it’s in the spiritual realm.
We need others to have our backs, to pray for us, lift us up, keep us in mind.
Here’s the deal guys, I know that you know God, I know that you have Christ, I know you have your bible... you need someone with skin on who can talk about your value & the significance of your place, your person, somebody who understands how you’d love to pinch the heads off your kids, somebody who understands what it feels like to work for that pushy boss - life can be hard, it can be a battle, we need others who will be there for us -
you’ll find them in-network... get plugged in, don’t pull out, stay connected,
Make it a PRIORITY.
A sign of growth in the world of nature is change - change in the dimensions of a tree, fruit appearing on the vine, flowers blooming - in a similar way, change for us means new levels of maturity, of understanding, of the way we relate to family and friends in-network - But what does it take for change to occur?
GET CONNECTED
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Raising the Bar - Connecting to the Tower
Is there anything more frustrating than when were on a call losing that phone call - or it’s just breaking up constantly?
Has that ever happened to you before?
You’ve had that connection then all of a sudden you hit a dead spot and you lose that connection - they think you’re still in conversation, but you’ve hung up, you’re trying to re-dial but you can’t get them b/c they’re still talking.
There’s nothing like establishing good connection and then keeping that connection.
You see the issue is never the tower - the issue is us.
The tower is set, the tower is in place, the issue is our phone -
and we all know living in Houston where some of the dead spots are - here’s the thing
we have dead spots in our lives too, we have those spots that we hit we can’t keep a connection w/ the Tower.
We can’t keep a connection w/ God, we want to, we try to but we hit those spots where we lose that connection and there’s no bars showing and there’s nothing more frustrating than when you feel like you’ve lost that connection.
Turn to Luke 22
How in the world do we keep a better connection w/ God?
(on your outline draw a line, 1 on left, 10 on right
a 1 means there’s absolutely no connection, maybe every no and then you come out of a cell and you connect with God but only for a few seconds - 10 means you are intimately connected - I mean you and God are hummin, smokin’ right together
all’s good, all’s well God’s right there by your side all the time. On that chart from 1 - 10 I want you to write where you think you are right now, this is just for you, do not cheat, do not look on the person next to you. On a scale from 1-10 where are you? this is just for you - it’s between you and the Lord, I’m not gonna ask you, and don’t ask me either.
How many of you would say, as i look at this I really would like my connection to be a 10, raise hand -
we all want it to be a 10 - what keeps it from being that? What happens to us that this connection that we want, that we desire, we know the Tower is there, we know it’s been established, and yet why do we keep hitting dead spots, why do we go month’s at a time where’s there’s no connection with God?)
What are some things that hinder your relationship with God? write them down on your outline, it may be work,
but you gotta work, it may be family, or hobbies. Basically wherever you are and that space to 10 you could write the word LIFE which would incorporate all those things wouldn’t it?
I know I’ve thought in the past that whenever I finished school or got a job promotion that life was gonna get easier - ever thought that? Who sold us that bill of goods?
We lose our connection with God for whatever reason, and really it’s us who were hurting the most - God is hurt that we are not hanging out with Him, but He doesn’t need it -
WE DO
God desires a connection with you
If you don’t know that, if you don’t think that’s the case, then you’ll never seek it or yearn for it, but God does -
He desires a connection with you and even more than we desire a connection with Him.
Now we can’t do anything about life can we, I can’t do anything about your job, I can’t do anything about your family,
and all those things, but we can establish some connections to help us remain strong with the Lord.
Luke 22 - Jesus knows the Cross is emanate, He knows it’s just around the corner. v. 39 circle ‘as usual’ it was normal for the Son of God to connect with His Father, it was the norm, it wasn’t an aberration, it was not something that happened every once and a while, it was the norm that He had a time that He connected w/ His Father. Jesus went out as usual, it could be said for us, Cole went to Starbuck’s as usual, Josh went to Kolache Factory as usual, Julie drank her Dt. Dr Pepper as usual, it’s a part of everyday life, it’s a pattern.
Jesus went out as usual, so what’s the big deal? Here’s this God-Man, who knows everything that’s to come, yet He understands and models for us how important it is to connect w/ Father God - it was a pattern in His life,
maybe there's something to it
read v.39-41, underline knelt and prayed
Remember we’re talking about the Son of God who scripture says could have called down 10,000 angels to whisk Him away yet He took time to connect w/ His Father, I think that’s a big deal.
Somehow we are more sophisticated and modern and we just don’t need to do that anymore - you and I have become so independent and strong and so all-knowing we don’t need that connection w/ our Father, do we? U better believe we do
See for all of us, life can be hard - get up early, scurry off to work, a full schedule, get home get dinner, take care of kids and their homework and showers and baths and bedtime - LIFE happens - read v.41-43
Jesus had something that you and I want, we all want a 10 - we want our relationship to be as strong as it can possibly be
we want it to be a 10, for that to happen there has to a word that sort of describes our relationship w/ God and that word is INTIMACY
We have to become intimate with our Heavenly Father -
here’s what it means:
Intimacy is to know fully & be fully known.
(15 yrs. ago Cathleen and I said, I DO - we thought we knew each other -
thank God there were no photos of here’s what this guy looks like in 15yrs.
but what we had at the altar 15yrs. ago - Who we are today and how we know each other pales in comparison)
Intimacy is to know fully & be fully known
It’s when you really know someone, you know everything about them, and you like ‘em anyways
But here we are 15 yrs. in and intimacy doesn’t just happen, it takes work - the 1st 4 yrs. no kids - then we had a kid - and now 2 - look at schedule now with the kids activities
and if you don’t work at intimacy you lose it -
just because you have a relationship does not mean you have intimacy
just because you have a relationship doesn't mean there's a spark there.
You know Joe, I’ve got this relationship with God, but no spark - I know that I know God,
but there’s just not that passion, I want that - I want it to be a 10
How do we do that - here’s some mile markers for us
The Road to Intimacy…
Mile Marker #1: TIME
there’s nothing that can develop intimacy greater that time.
it doesn’t happen in the home if hi, bye at the door
Intimacy is only developed thru time - if it’s that way here on earth, you can bet it’s that way our Heavenly Father.
How can we do that? I mean we give Him an hour or 2 on Sunday, but during the week I’m busy, I can’t give Him much.
Intimacy is developed thru time. scrip. 41 there was
· ONE-ON-ONE communication
He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed... Luke 22:41
Jesus w/ His Heavenly Father - we will never establish a healthy connection w/ God if we don’t put in time w/ Father God -
1 on 1, not sitting in a group, you and God together
to connect - there’s no magic pill, there’s no magic potion
It is only in developing the habit or pattern of TIME spent together.
We stop connecting w/ God when we stop spending time w/ God -
The Tower never moves, God never moves, us on the other, in a million different directions
Be still, and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10
how long has it been since you were still before God?
We have to find time to remind ourselves that the God of all creation wants to be with us.
You know what ‘Be Still’ means, to let go and ease up.
I’ve had to do that - how about you?
· Communication in the DAILY FLOW of life
it’s developing the habit daily - purposely spending time, scheduling time, what gets scheduled gets done -
how important is this to you? Do you want a 10?
We’ve talked about in the past giving God our 1st and best time
What to do? talk to God, read bible, find some sort of devotional to help guide you along - in dev. habit,
then when something happens crucial in our lives, God is the 1st one that comes to mind
‘Daily Flow’ is just what’s happening during the day (Cathleen and I didn’t dev. intimacy by just schedule time and talk only then - we talk all day, little bits here and there) - I want that w/ my Creator, don’t you?
…making the most of every opportunity, Ephesians 5:16
Mile Marker #2: TRUST
Time is important in dev. intimacy then time dev. trust.
“When we stop connecting we stop trusting”
Aren’t you stretching it a bit Joe, I mean I still trust God even if I don’t connect w/ Him on a reg. basis - well let’s think about this for a moment - when I don’t spend time going to God to help me make decisions and depending on his wisdom, who am I depending on? ME
So in reality, when we don’t connect w/ God and stop going to Him in all things we stop trusting in Him and banking on ourselves. The only problem with that is I don’t know what tomorrow holds, do you? But I have a Heavenly Father who knows the beginning, the end, and everything in between
that wants me/ you to trust Him.
… not my (Jesus) will, but yours (Heavenly Father) be done. Luke 22:42b
This is a faith thing, which is what, obedience.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (why? cant see tomorrow)
in all your ways acknowledge him, (here’s what He’ll do) and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
(He will give a light for your next step)
Cathleen and I have developed a great trust in one another, why? b/c we have spent 15yrs. in developing intimacy
Mile Marker #3: TRANSPARENCY
Transparency is when you see thru to the inside - it’s when we acknowledge who we really are.
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me… Luke 22:42a (most of us are just not that intimate with God are we?)
We tell God, or better yet, if we tell God anything, we say, It’s all good, I’m fine - but quite often we tell our friends just how rough we got it. We just are not that transparent with God -
“God I’m really struggling in this area, I need some help”
“God this really ticks me off - why is this happening?”
You do know that He already knows how you feel - He loves you anyway.
God desires for us to take those masks off - not so He can see who we really are, but so that WE can see who we really are -
Intimacy is developed when we take off our masks and say God this is who I am, this is what I feel, this is what I think and God says, good, now we got something to work with.
We will never keep a strong connection with God w/out developing Intimacy through Time, Trust, and Transparency
(Tower has never moved)
God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5
Those things that hinder, that stand between us and that 10, they sure rob us of a whole lot.
God desires to connect with you
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6
Has that ever happened to you before?
You’ve had that connection then all of a sudden you hit a dead spot and you lose that connection - they think you’re still in conversation, but you’ve hung up, you’re trying to re-dial but you can’t get them b/c they’re still talking.
There’s nothing like establishing good connection and then keeping that connection.
You see the issue is never the tower - the issue is us.
The tower is set, the tower is in place, the issue is our phone -
and we all know living in Houston where some of the dead spots are - here’s the thing
we have dead spots in our lives too, we have those spots that we hit we can’t keep a connection w/ the Tower.
We can’t keep a connection w/ God, we want to, we try to but we hit those spots where we lose that connection and there’s no bars showing and there’s nothing more frustrating than when you feel like you’ve lost that connection.
Turn to Luke 22
How in the world do we keep a better connection w/ God?
(on your outline draw a line, 1 on left, 10 on right
a 1 means there’s absolutely no connection, maybe every no and then you come out of a cell and you connect with God but only for a few seconds - 10 means you are intimately connected - I mean you and God are hummin, smokin’ right together
all’s good, all’s well God’s right there by your side all the time. On that chart from 1 - 10 I want you to write where you think you are right now, this is just for you, do not cheat, do not look on the person next to you. On a scale from 1-10 where are you? this is just for you - it’s between you and the Lord, I’m not gonna ask you, and don’t ask me either.
How many of you would say, as i look at this I really would like my connection to be a 10, raise hand -
we all want it to be a 10 - what keeps it from being that? What happens to us that this connection that we want, that we desire, we know the Tower is there, we know it’s been established, and yet why do we keep hitting dead spots, why do we go month’s at a time where’s there’s no connection with God?)
What are some things that hinder your relationship with God? write them down on your outline, it may be work,
but you gotta work, it may be family, or hobbies. Basically wherever you are and that space to 10 you could write the word LIFE which would incorporate all those things wouldn’t it?
I know I’ve thought in the past that whenever I finished school or got a job promotion that life was gonna get easier - ever thought that? Who sold us that bill of goods?
We lose our connection with God for whatever reason, and really it’s us who were hurting the most - God is hurt that we are not hanging out with Him, but He doesn’t need it -
WE DO
God desires a connection with you
If you don’t know that, if you don’t think that’s the case, then you’ll never seek it or yearn for it, but God does -
He desires a connection with you and even more than we desire a connection with Him.
Now we can’t do anything about life can we, I can’t do anything about your job, I can’t do anything about your family,
and all those things, but we can establish some connections to help us remain strong with the Lord.
Luke 22 - Jesus knows the Cross is emanate, He knows it’s just around the corner. v. 39 circle ‘as usual’ it was normal for the Son of God to connect with His Father, it was the norm, it wasn’t an aberration, it was not something that happened every once and a while, it was the norm that He had a time that He connected w/ His Father. Jesus went out as usual, it could be said for us, Cole went to Starbuck’s as usual, Josh went to Kolache Factory as usual, Julie drank her Dt. Dr Pepper as usual, it’s a part of everyday life, it’s a pattern.
Jesus went out as usual, so what’s the big deal? Here’s this God-Man, who knows everything that’s to come, yet He understands and models for us how important it is to connect w/ Father God - it was a pattern in His life,
maybe there's something to it
read v.39-41, underline knelt and prayed
Remember we’re talking about the Son of God who scripture says could have called down 10,000 angels to whisk Him away yet He took time to connect w/ His Father, I think that’s a big deal.
Somehow we are more sophisticated and modern and we just don’t need to do that anymore - you and I have become so independent and strong and so all-knowing we don’t need that connection w/ our Father, do we? U better believe we do
See for all of us, life can be hard - get up early, scurry off to work, a full schedule, get home get dinner, take care of kids and their homework and showers and baths and bedtime - LIFE happens - read v.41-43
Jesus had something that you and I want, we all want a 10 - we want our relationship to be as strong as it can possibly be
we want it to be a 10, for that to happen there has to a word that sort of describes our relationship w/ God and that word is INTIMACY
We have to become intimate with our Heavenly Father -
here’s what it means:
Intimacy is to know fully & be fully known.
(15 yrs. ago Cathleen and I said, I DO - we thought we knew each other -
thank God there were no photos of here’s what this guy looks like in 15yrs.
but what we had at the altar 15yrs. ago - Who we are today and how we know each other pales in comparison)
Intimacy is to know fully & be fully known
It’s when you really know someone, you know everything about them, and you like ‘em anyways
But here we are 15 yrs. in and intimacy doesn’t just happen, it takes work - the 1st 4 yrs. no kids - then we had a kid - and now 2 - look at schedule now with the kids activities
and if you don’t work at intimacy you lose it -
just because you have a relationship does not mean you have intimacy
just because you have a relationship doesn't mean there's a spark there.
You know Joe, I’ve got this relationship with God, but no spark - I know that I know God,
but there’s just not that passion, I want that - I want it to be a 10
How do we do that - here’s some mile markers for us
The Road to Intimacy…
Mile Marker #1: TIME
there’s nothing that can develop intimacy greater that time.
it doesn’t happen in the home if hi, bye at the door
Intimacy is only developed thru time - if it’s that way here on earth, you can bet it’s that way our Heavenly Father.
How can we do that? I mean we give Him an hour or 2 on Sunday, but during the week I’m busy, I can’t give Him much.
Intimacy is developed thru time. scrip. 41 there was
· ONE-ON-ONE communication
He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed... Luke 22:41
Jesus w/ His Heavenly Father - we will never establish a healthy connection w/ God if we don’t put in time w/ Father God -
1 on 1, not sitting in a group, you and God together
to connect - there’s no magic pill, there’s no magic potion
It is only in developing the habit or pattern of TIME spent together.
We stop connecting w/ God when we stop spending time w/ God -
The Tower never moves, God never moves, us on the other, in a million different directions
Be still, and know that I am God… Psalm 46:10
how long has it been since you were still before God?
We have to find time to remind ourselves that the God of all creation wants to be with us.
You know what ‘Be Still’ means, to let go and ease up.
I’ve had to do that - how about you?
· Communication in the DAILY FLOW of life
it’s developing the habit daily - purposely spending time, scheduling time, what gets scheduled gets done -
how important is this to you? Do you want a 10?
We’ve talked about in the past giving God our 1st and best time
What to do? talk to God, read bible, find some sort of devotional to help guide you along - in dev. habit,
then when something happens crucial in our lives, God is the 1st one that comes to mind
‘Daily Flow’ is just what’s happening during the day (Cathleen and I didn’t dev. intimacy by just schedule time and talk only then - we talk all day, little bits here and there) - I want that w/ my Creator, don’t you?
…making the most of every opportunity, Ephesians 5:16
Mile Marker #2: TRUST
Time is important in dev. intimacy then time dev. trust.
“When we stop connecting we stop trusting”
Aren’t you stretching it a bit Joe, I mean I still trust God even if I don’t connect w/ Him on a reg. basis - well let’s think about this for a moment - when I don’t spend time going to God to help me make decisions and depending on his wisdom, who am I depending on? ME
So in reality, when we don’t connect w/ God and stop going to Him in all things we stop trusting in Him and banking on ourselves. The only problem with that is I don’t know what tomorrow holds, do you? But I have a Heavenly Father who knows the beginning, the end, and everything in between
that wants me/ you to trust Him.
… not my (Jesus) will, but yours (Heavenly Father) be done. Luke 22:42b
This is a faith thing, which is what, obedience.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (why? cant see tomorrow)
in all your ways acknowledge him, (here’s what He’ll do) and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
(He will give a light for your next step)
Cathleen and I have developed a great trust in one another, why? b/c we have spent 15yrs. in developing intimacy
Mile Marker #3: TRANSPARENCY
Transparency is when you see thru to the inside - it’s when we acknowledge who we really are.
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me… Luke 22:42a (most of us are just not that intimate with God are we?)
We tell God, or better yet, if we tell God anything, we say, It’s all good, I’m fine - but quite often we tell our friends just how rough we got it. We just are not that transparent with God -
“God I’m really struggling in this area, I need some help”
“God this really ticks me off - why is this happening?”
You do know that He already knows how you feel - He loves you anyway.
God desires for us to take those masks off - not so He can see who we really are, but so that WE can see who we really are -
Intimacy is developed when we take off our masks and say God this is who I am, this is what I feel, this is what I think and God says, good, now we got something to work with.
We will never keep a strong connection with God w/out developing Intimacy through Time, Trust, and Transparency
(Tower has never moved)
God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5
Those things that hinder, that stand between us and that 10, they sure rob us of a whole lot.
God desires to connect with you
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." James 4:6
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Desperate Households - Desperate Finances
George Gallop took a poll and found the #1 reason for arguments in the home is finances/money -
65% of marriages argue about finances - in fact it’s the leading cause of divorce in America today -
54% of all divorces are are related to money issues - maybe we should change the vows to ‘til debt do us part’ -
Would you agree if you don’t manage your money, your money’s gonna manage you?
Today we’re gonna take a look a one of the wisest and wealthiest men to ever live - Solomon
He gave us 2 books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes - and w/in these 2 books there is a wealth knowledge for us to take in.
So ofcourse he speaks of money and finances - did you know the Bible speaks more about money, and finances, and giving and treasures than any other subject? I think it’s b/c God knew we were going to need some help
I. How we get into trouble
Human desires are like the world of the dead—there is always room for more. Proverbs 27:20
Someone once asked Howard Hughes,
(wealthy man - ‘Aviator’), “How much does it take to make a man happy? He said, ‘Just a little bit more’
Why is it we feel like more will make us happier?
What we hope having more will bring:
- More Satisfaction
We think more will bring satisfaction - all advertisement tells us that, “If you get more you’ll be happier” Americans are known for Life, Liberty, and the PURCHASE of happiness.
The problem is our Yearning will always exceed our Earnings
“If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Why? b/c the desire to acquire is always growing.
- More Significance
Somehow we’ve bought into the lie that more stuff equates with importance and prestige and significance, but the Bible tells us otherwise.
“...your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be." Luke 12:15
Your net worth is not the same as your self worth.
We must never confuse our valuables with our Value.
? - Is there a problem with acquiring wealth? in having alot of things? - I believe the answer lies in our motivation
Where’s your heart? To show off, or no - there’s absolutely nothing wrong with possessions as long as they don’t
possess us. I would have to ask myself, “Is my desire to get more stuff more important than my relationship w/ Cathleen, with my girls, or my walk w/ God” - that’s what we have to ask ourselves, is it the focus of our lives, are the truly
important people and matters suffering in my pursuit of CASH?
More stuff does not equate w/ significance.
- More Security
How big of a pile do we need to feel secure?
We can never really have enough, b/c we can lose it all overnight in a million different ways. (MSN Money:
"Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be," says Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer.
William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security.) AND
the same goes for huge corp. Enron/ Kmart
“Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.” Proverbs 23:5
Right here in God’s Word - our money can be gone in a flash!
What Having More Really Brings Us:
- More Expenses
The more we make, the more we spend - the more our income increases, the more our expenses increase.
It always cost more to have more - we look over at the ‘Jones’ and think the grass is greener over there, yeah and the water bill is higher too!
“The more money you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income.” Ecclesiastes 5:11
We can relate to that.
- More Worries
“A working man... can get a good night's sleep. The rich, however, have so much that they stay awake worrying.
Ecclesiastes 5:12
We worry how are we going to save it, how are we going to protect, can I get a good return on it, how to insure it, how to avoid paying taxes on it - worry, worry, worry
- More Pain if Lost
“...risky investments that turn sour, everything is lost...
and everything will be swept away....Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud – frustrated, discouraged, and angry.”
Ecclesiastes 5:14-17
Notice it says, if I have a whole lot and lose it, 4 pains are comin’ my way - 1st off I’m gonna be gloomy, “living under a cloud”, feeling distressed b/c I lost what i had - then frustrated, how many would agree that our finances can become quite frustrating? About the time you catch up with the Jones’, they re-finance - then discourages, huge
disappointment - finally comes anger, which is what? bitterness -
(Chiro. put wallet in front pocket - the bigger the wallet, the more pressure it puts on you - how true)
Always wanting more is the cause of many problems, we just looked at 4, not only that it can be immense pressure on our marriages - Money is not a bad thing, it's heart issue, is God in control?
II. Financial Freedom
1. Keep Good Records - principal of accounting
You know where your money is going, you keep track of it.
“Riches can disappear fast... so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks.” Prov. 27:23-24
Have you ever used the phrase, “I just don’t know where my money is going” or something like that?
That’s a troubled statement by the way, The Bible says, “watch you business interests closely”,
in other words, keep good records.
Many of the financial problems we have is due to the fact that one of the partners in marriage does not know what’s going on financially, they’re in the dark, they need to know. When you don’t know where your money is going, you’re headed for trouble.
In keeping track of our finances, here’s 4 things we need to know:
What I own
What I owe
What we earn
Where it goes
2. Plan Your Spending - principal of budgeting
Set some financial goals and stick with them.
We can’t do money by the seat of our pants, it only leads to misery - we need to budget.
“Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough.” Proverbs 21:5
Solomon says, Financial freedom is not based on how much you earn, it’s how spend what you earn.
Studies show that the average american spends 6 hours a week in spending related activities -
some of us may be way above average.
“act too quickly” - impulse buying/shopping - unplanned expenditures, “i have to have that, right now!”
All advertising is geared to get us to buy impulsively - the pizza hot out of the oven, the chocolate dripping down the side of the ice cream, the Aber/Fitch model that makes you think, “I can look like that too with those clothes” -
commercials are all based to stir us emotionally, if they can stir us emotionally, they’ll get us financially.
(videos - McDLT w/ Jason Alexander - VaPooRize w/ Jack Black from "ENVY")
Ofcourse there is one word ad agencies and retailers use more than anything else to entice us to buy impulsively,
what is it? SALE.
We become like magnets, “but honey we saved so much money by spending right now, this deal is not available next month - we’d be foolish not to get it” REALLY?
The Bible says we need to plan our spending,
“Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it” Proverbs 13:11 (JB)
This is God’s IQ Test - God says, “You’re not very bright if you spend your money as fast as you get it”
(Weekend rich)
I’ve been known to do that a few times in my life too, I guess that’s one of the reasons people call me a Big Dummy!
Spending impulsively can become very addictive - just as addictive as drugs or alcohol or eating disorders and the like.
Then with the invention of plastic money, instant credit, it becomes a whole lot easier to buy impulsively.
The average consumer carries 7 credit cards into the mall and the average balance of each card is $2347 -
in 1980 the ave. bal. of c.c was $533, in 1990, $1833
I like the thoughts of Dave Ramsey, money and business guru, “Kill the Cards” - pay cash!
How do you spell relief? B-U-D-G-E-T
A Budget is telling your money where to go, rather than wondering where it’s went -
if you want to control spending, you gotta nip it in the BUDGET.
Each family should develop a budget, see how much is
coming in, figure out how much is going out, stay within those parameters. ‘Financial Peace Univ.’
3. Save for the Future - principal of saving
“The wise man saves for the future, but fools spend whatever they get.” Proverbs 21:20
The average Japanese family saves 25% of their income, the average eroupean family saves 18% of their income,
The average american family saves less than 5% - why? b/c we gotta have right now!
MTV generation
We have to put away for the future, and not be consumed in keeping up with the ‘Jones’
If we base our lives on what everybody else has, we will never save a dime.
“...whoever gathers little by little will increase it” Proverbs 13:11
What does this say, put away a little each week, or month,
put a little away in savings.
4. Tithe Back to God - principal of tithing
It’s giving the 1st 10% of everything I make back to God.
Why do you think God asked for 10%? Does God need our money? No, God is Almighty, all powerful, He has everything - if He didn’t have it, He’d create it. So why does God ask for 10% - He wants what it represents - it represents your heart,
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6:21
3 reasons why to Tithe
1. Gratitude/worship - it’s saying God I know You’re the One who gives me all things. You’ve given me my hands, my mind, my abilities, my opportunity to work, God, I’m giving back to You b/c You’ve been so good to me and I’m grateful.
2. Priority/worship - God I’m putting You 1st in my life, and I’m gonna put my money where my mouth is -
For us to say we’ve put God 1st in our lives and not Tithe, we’re kidding ourselves.
In essence, We’re saying we don’t trust God, if we don’t Tithe. It’s an issue of trust, saying God I believe
You will take of me and my family on the 90%
3. Faith/worship - It’s an act of Faith, believing God will take of us.
We talked about faith last week, we said faith is obedience.
Doing what God has said - how do we know what He said?
In His Word.
Tithing is an act of Worship, we display that we love God
“The entire tithe... a tenth... belongs to the Lord” Leviticus 27:32
Honor the LORD by giving Him the first part of all your income. Then he will fill your barns... to overflow.
Proverbs 3:9-10
Here’s the thing, we can’t out give God - There are more promises from God about our giving than anything else.
God says, “Test me in this” - I won’t let you down, I will take of you, and give you more than you could ever imagine.
“To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of”
Ephesians 3:20
This principal goes far beyond money, it applies to every part of our lives. If you want God to bless your life, give Him the 1st part of it, If you want God to bless your family, give God your family, if you want God to bless your career, give God your career. If you want God to bless you finances, give God the 1st part of your finances, that’s the tithe in every area of life.
Some say that this is an Old Testament principal and that it’s not for today, however there’s few flaws in that thinking and one of those is that Jesus taught this principal:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Put God 1st in every area of your life, every area, family, career, finances, put God 1st and everything else will fall into place.
(Rockafeller way to wealth - 10:10:80)
If we have found ourselves in a desperate situation in our finances, God says, Tithe your way out.
5. Enjoy What You have - princ. of contentment
“It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.” Ecclesiastes 6:9
Isn’t it true we can get so pre-occupied in pursuing more that we don’t enjoy what we already have.
There’s this syndrome we can get caught up in that goes in 4 phases: 1st phase - Yearning exceeds Earning
2nd phase - Over-extended Financially, we buy, buy, buy and become indebted over our heads, now we’re in trouble.
phase 3 - Hustle constantly - rush through life, working 3 jobs to make ends meet
phase 4 - Family life begins to deteriorate
All of a sudden everybody’s angry, everybody’s irritable, b/c we’re working so hard just to make it - pretty soon you have absentee parents who are trying to buy their children stuff and things and toys, instead of spending time with them.
Parents listen, your kids don’t need more toys, they may be beggin, but what they truly desire is more of you. If given the choice at 1st they may say, I’d love all the toys and little
parents, but it wouldn’t take long before they’d give everything up to be with you.
“If God gives us wealth and property..., we should be grateful and enjoy what we have worked for. It is a gift from God.” Ecclesiastes 5:19
This is God’s message: Learn to be content. Enjoy what you have, we already have more than 90% of the rest of the world, so we need to enjoy and be grateful for what we have.
We live in a desperate world where desperate people do desperate things - for many it’s a prison of desperate
finances - God has given us the foundational truths in His Word for financial freedom.
"Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?... it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.”
Job 31:24,28
65% of marriages argue about finances - in fact it’s the leading cause of divorce in America today -
54% of all divorces are are related to money issues - maybe we should change the vows to ‘til debt do us part’ -
Would you agree if you don’t manage your money, your money’s gonna manage you?
Today we’re gonna take a look a one of the wisest and wealthiest men to ever live - Solomon
He gave us 2 books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes - and w/in these 2 books there is a wealth knowledge for us to take in.
So ofcourse he speaks of money and finances - did you know the Bible speaks more about money, and finances, and giving and treasures than any other subject? I think it’s b/c God knew we were going to need some help
I. How we get into trouble
Human desires are like the world of the dead—there is always room for more. Proverbs 27:20
Someone once asked Howard Hughes,
(wealthy man - ‘Aviator’), “How much does it take to make a man happy? He said, ‘Just a little bit more’
Why is it we feel like more will make us happier?
What we hope having more will bring:
- More Satisfaction
We think more will bring satisfaction - all advertisement tells us that, “If you get more you’ll be happier” Americans are known for Life, Liberty, and the PURCHASE of happiness.
The problem is our Yearning will always exceed our Earnings
“If you love money, you will never be satisfied; if you long to be rich, you will never get all you want. It is useless.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Why? b/c the desire to acquire is always growing.
- More Significance
Somehow we’ve bought into the lie that more stuff equates with importance and prestige and significance, but the Bible tells us otherwise.
“...your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be." Luke 12:15
Your net worth is not the same as your self worth.
We must never confuse our valuables with our Value.
? - Is there a problem with acquiring wealth? in having alot of things? - I believe the answer lies in our motivation
Where’s your heart? To show off, or no - there’s absolutely nothing wrong with possessions as long as they don’t
possess us. I would have to ask myself, “Is my desire to get more stuff more important than my relationship w/ Cathleen, with my girls, or my walk w/ God” - that’s what we have to ask ourselves, is it the focus of our lives, are the truly
important people and matters suffering in my pursuit of CASH?
More stuff does not equate w/ significance.
- More Security
How big of a pile do we need to feel secure?
We can never really have enough, b/c we can lose it all overnight in a million different ways. (MSN Money:
"Winning the lottery isn't always what it's cracked up to be," says Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer.
William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security.) AND
the same goes for huge corp. Enron/ Kmart
“Your money can be gone in a flash, as if it had grown wings and flown away like an eagle.” Proverbs 23:5
Right here in God’s Word - our money can be gone in a flash!
What Having More Really Brings Us:
- More Expenses
The more we make, the more we spend - the more our income increases, the more our expenses increase.
It always cost more to have more - we look over at the ‘Jones’ and think the grass is greener over there, yeah and the water bill is higher too!
“The more money you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income.” Ecclesiastes 5:11
We can relate to that.
- More Worries
“A working man... can get a good night's sleep. The rich, however, have so much that they stay awake worrying.
Ecclesiastes 5:12
We worry how are we going to save it, how are we going to protect, can I get a good return on it, how to insure it, how to avoid paying taxes on it - worry, worry, worry
- More Pain if Lost
“...risky investments that turn sour, everything is lost...
and everything will be swept away....Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud – frustrated, discouraged, and angry.”
Ecclesiastes 5:14-17
Notice it says, if I have a whole lot and lose it, 4 pains are comin’ my way - 1st off I’m gonna be gloomy, “living under a cloud”, feeling distressed b/c I lost what i had - then frustrated, how many would agree that our finances can become quite frustrating? About the time you catch up with the Jones’, they re-finance - then discourages, huge
disappointment - finally comes anger, which is what? bitterness -
(Chiro. put wallet in front pocket - the bigger the wallet, the more pressure it puts on you - how true)
Always wanting more is the cause of many problems, we just looked at 4, not only that it can be immense pressure on our marriages - Money is not a bad thing, it's heart issue, is God in control?
II. Financial Freedom
1. Keep Good Records - principal of accounting
You know where your money is going, you keep track of it.
“Riches can disappear fast... so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks.” Prov. 27:23-24
Have you ever used the phrase, “I just don’t know where my money is going” or something like that?
That’s a troubled statement by the way, The Bible says, “watch you business interests closely”,
in other words, keep good records.
Many of the financial problems we have is due to the fact that one of the partners in marriage does not know what’s going on financially, they’re in the dark, they need to know. When you don’t know where your money is going, you’re headed for trouble.
In keeping track of our finances, here’s 4 things we need to know:
What I own
What I owe
What we earn
Where it goes
2. Plan Your Spending - principal of budgeting
Set some financial goals and stick with them.
We can’t do money by the seat of our pants, it only leads to misery - we need to budget.
“Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough.” Proverbs 21:5
Solomon says, Financial freedom is not based on how much you earn, it’s how spend what you earn.
Studies show that the average american spends 6 hours a week in spending related activities -
some of us may be way above average.
“act too quickly” - impulse buying/shopping - unplanned expenditures, “i have to have that, right now!”
All advertising is geared to get us to buy impulsively - the pizza hot out of the oven, the chocolate dripping down the side of the ice cream, the Aber/Fitch model that makes you think, “I can look like that too with those clothes” -
commercials are all based to stir us emotionally, if they can stir us emotionally, they’ll get us financially.
(videos - McDLT w/ Jason Alexander - VaPooRize w/ Jack Black from "ENVY")
Ofcourse there is one word ad agencies and retailers use more than anything else to entice us to buy impulsively,
what is it? SALE.
We become like magnets, “but honey we saved so much money by spending right now, this deal is not available next month - we’d be foolish not to get it” REALLY?
The Bible says we need to plan our spending,
“Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it” Proverbs 13:11 (JB)
This is God’s IQ Test - God says, “You’re not very bright if you spend your money as fast as you get it”
(Weekend rich)
I’ve been known to do that a few times in my life too, I guess that’s one of the reasons people call me a Big Dummy!
Spending impulsively can become very addictive - just as addictive as drugs or alcohol or eating disorders and the like.
Then with the invention of plastic money, instant credit, it becomes a whole lot easier to buy impulsively.
The average consumer carries 7 credit cards into the mall and the average balance of each card is $2347 -
in 1980 the ave. bal. of c.c was $533, in 1990, $1833
I like the thoughts of Dave Ramsey, money and business guru, “Kill the Cards” - pay cash!
How do you spell relief? B-U-D-G-E-T
A Budget is telling your money where to go, rather than wondering where it’s went -
if you want to control spending, you gotta nip it in the BUDGET.
Each family should develop a budget, see how much is
coming in, figure out how much is going out, stay within those parameters. ‘Financial Peace Univ.’
3. Save for the Future - principal of saving
“The wise man saves for the future, but fools spend whatever they get.” Proverbs 21:20
The average Japanese family saves 25% of their income, the average eroupean family saves 18% of their income,
The average american family saves less than 5% - why? b/c we gotta have right now!
MTV generation
We have to put away for the future, and not be consumed in keeping up with the ‘Jones’
If we base our lives on what everybody else has, we will never save a dime.
“...whoever gathers little by little will increase it” Proverbs 13:11
What does this say, put away a little each week, or month,
put a little away in savings.
4. Tithe Back to God - principal of tithing
It’s giving the 1st 10% of everything I make back to God.
Why do you think God asked for 10%? Does God need our money? No, God is Almighty, all powerful, He has everything - if He didn’t have it, He’d create it. So why does God ask for 10% - He wants what it represents - it represents your heart,
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6:21
3 reasons why to Tithe
1. Gratitude/worship - it’s saying God I know You’re the One who gives me all things. You’ve given me my hands, my mind, my abilities, my opportunity to work, God, I’m giving back to You b/c You’ve been so good to me and I’m grateful.
2. Priority/worship - God I’m putting You 1st in my life, and I’m gonna put my money where my mouth is -
For us to say we’ve put God 1st in our lives and not Tithe, we’re kidding ourselves.
In essence, We’re saying we don’t trust God, if we don’t Tithe. It’s an issue of trust, saying God I believe
You will take of me and my family on the 90%
3. Faith/worship - It’s an act of Faith, believing God will take of us.
We talked about faith last week, we said faith is obedience.
Doing what God has said - how do we know what He said?
In His Word.
Tithing is an act of Worship, we display that we love God
“The entire tithe... a tenth... belongs to the Lord” Leviticus 27:32
Honor the LORD by giving Him the first part of all your income. Then he will fill your barns... to overflow.
Proverbs 3:9-10
Here’s the thing, we can’t out give God - There are more promises from God about our giving than anything else.
God says, “Test me in this” - I won’t let you down, I will take of you, and give you more than you could ever imagine.
“To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of”
Ephesians 3:20
This principal goes far beyond money, it applies to every part of our lives. If you want God to bless your life, give Him the 1st part of it, If you want God to bless your family, give God your family, if you want God to bless your career, give God your career. If you want God to bless you finances, give God the 1st part of your finances, that’s the tithe in every area of life.
Some say that this is an Old Testament principal and that it’s not for today, however there’s few flaws in that thinking and one of those is that Jesus taught this principal:
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
Put God 1st in every area of your life, every area, family, career, finances, put God 1st and everything else will fall into place.
(Rockafeller way to wealth - 10:10:80)
If we have found ourselves in a desperate situation in our finances, God says, Tithe your way out.
5. Enjoy What You have - princ. of contentment
“It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else.” Ecclesiastes 6:9
Isn’t it true we can get so pre-occupied in pursuing more that we don’t enjoy what we already have.
There’s this syndrome we can get caught up in that goes in 4 phases: 1st phase - Yearning exceeds Earning
2nd phase - Over-extended Financially, we buy, buy, buy and become indebted over our heads, now we’re in trouble.
phase 3 - Hustle constantly - rush through life, working 3 jobs to make ends meet
phase 4 - Family life begins to deteriorate
All of a sudden everybody’s angry, everybody’s irritable, b/c we’re working so hard just to make it - pretty soon you have absentee parents who are trying to buy their children stuff and things and toys, instead of spending time with them.
Parents listen, your kids don’t need more toys, they may be beggin, but what they truly desire is more of you. If given the choice at 1st they may say, I’d love all the toys and little
parents, but it wouldn’t take long before they’d give everything up to be with you.
“If God gives us wealth and property..., we should be grateful and enjoy what we have worked for. It is a gift from God.” Ecclesiastes 5:19
This is God’s message: Learn to be content. Enjoy what you have, we already have more than 90% of the rest of the world, so we need to enjoy and be grateful for what we have.
We live in a desperate world where desperate people do desperate things - for many it’s a prison of desperate
finances - God has given us the foundational truths in His Word for financial freedom.
"Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold?... it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.”
Job 31:24,28
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Super Sunday - End Zone Theology
text: 1 Samuel 17
Super Bowl Sunday, plenty of hype surrounding S.S. esp. since they moved it to 2 week waiting period.
Since the Nielson Ratings of the early 70's (polling the most watched Tv shows and events)
The Super Bowl is in the top 10 of the most watched TV shows or events 4 times!
- it’s HUGE - usually the most watched event of the year.
It is an epic battle between the 2 best football has to offer.
Today I want to talk about a few epic battles, the Seatle Seahwks v. the Pittsburgh Steelers, The Israelites vs. the Philistines, and you and me vs. the daily grind.
So often we live our lives in this very comfortable zone, where most things are pretty predictable, and somewhat
ho-hum. Which is not bad in itself, It's relaxing actually.
The only problem that comes from this is we may tend to get STUCK
and not move forward in life and what God has specifically designed for us individually. This happens in a # of areas of our lives but one in particular, our spiritual life.
This is an area where we can really find ourselves not
advancing, not genuinely chasing after God
(football field analogy - between the 20’s)
We may need to move out of our Comfort Zone and into the End Zone!
Another epic battle we can learn from can be found in
1 Samuel 17 - give background
I. Causes for Living in the Comfort Zone
1. Lack of Hunger (v.16)
They just sat there, none of them eager - if we sit in our comfort zone for a while even realizing that something needs to be done, if we stay, not do something about it - eventually we’ll let it be.
And we find ourselves stuck.
Where would you say you’re lacking?
2. Unwillingness to Pay the Price (v.16)
(slide - running out to avoid hit and extra yrds)
We may know what needs to happen or that something must be done, we may even want to do it, but in our comfort zone we’re unwilling to pay the price - to step out of that
predictability. Or we know and want to but were so
comfortable that it would would create some initial
uneasiness, some temporary difficulty in life - dont wanna pay the price
We just do not like to change. As a matter of fact, the only time we really like change is when it’s our idea.
more on that later
3. Lack of Confidence (v. 24; 45-47) read 20-24
Fear is a HUGE factor in getting stuck in our comfort zone.
It holds us back from ever trying or
We may have attempted some thing before and failed miserably, fell flat on our face. Or maybe it wasn’t that severe - maybe we didn’t accomplish what we set out to, it didn’t turn out the way we planned. So now we lack the confidence to try again or to try something new.
v. 45-47 - it is the LORD! We must understand that - our strength, our confidence is not in us, it is in GOD - never
forget that!
4. They are Struggling with Personal Issues (v.25-28)
David’s brother was jealous - He had already seen David be anointed as the next King of Israel (which Dave was the youngest and traditionally that is NOT who should be in line for the throne) - Eliab got some deeper issues
If that is the case for us, we will get stuck, never moving into the end zone.
5. They Put Their Personal Agenda above the Team
(slide - pic says it all) Those who are selfish, self-centered and even talented will always be considered losers - b/c it’s all about them - What’s the value of a team player - there are a # (T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More)
6. They Have a Negative Attitude (v. 33)
Talk about a Bad attitude - you cant do - talk about someone stuck in their comfort zone. (T.O. - all the talent in the world,
people don’t want to be around him b/c of such a neg. att. - vid.) A neg. att. will hold us back
Chuck Swindoll - ‘Attitude’
Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced
I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.
I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes
or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.
Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right; there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.
7. They are Unwilling to Change (v. 38-39)
Often times for us to move forward, some things need to change don’t they? (slide - old photos)We get caught up in our comfort zone and we say, and maybe not aloud, but we think it, or it’s just in the way we present ourselves - “This is how I’ve always done it - it’s worked for me in the past, it’ll work now” buzzer - WRONG! You see, the times, they be a changin’ What has worked in the past does not mean it will work now - most likely it won’t. So we need to be willing to move out of our comfort zone and that usually means CHANGE.
II. How Do You Develop an End Zone Mind-Set?
Shaun Alexander was the MVP of the NFL. He led the NFL in rushing yards with 1880 (that’s alot) He’s a stud, but you know what’s really valuable about Shaun Alexander - He gets in the End Zone - He scores touchdowns! More than anyone else this year - not only that, he broke the single season record for the most rushing touchdowns in a season 28. Shaun Alexander gets in the End Zone - How do we?
1. Have a Game Plan
In order to Win - to get out of the comfort zone and into the End Zone - we must PLAN (v. 38-40)
David was prepared, he gathered what was needed to win
To prosper we must prepare - develop a game plan - we need to gather what we will need in order to win.
2. Continually Communicate
Throughout the story of this epic battle we see David continually communicating with different individuals, his Father, his brothers and other soldiers, with King Saul, and Goliath.
For us to be successful in life, to move out of our CZ and into the EZ we must continually communicate what is important to us. (talked about this in “Desp. Comm.” - say it often, say it clearly, say it every way you can - good listener)
3. Be Willing to Take a Risk (v. 48)
We need to be risk takers - how was David a risk taker - he took on a task much bigger that he was - why? He believed God would deliver! For David and for us to be a risk taker is to Live by Faith. What is Faith? one word: Obedience
Simply doing what God has said to do - it’s that simple.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
4. Score and Then Celebrate (v. 49-51)
David scored and celebrated - (Napolean Dynamite dance vid)
When we plan and prepare, cont. comm. what is important, and live by Faith - we will score - we will get into the end zone - that is God’s plan - His word says in Jer. 29:11, ‘plans for us to prosper’ in John 10:10 Jesus said, ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’
We’re to celebrate life - it’s a Party Theology (last week)
It is not God’s will that we get stuck in our CZ, but to Score - get into the end zone
Be a WINNER - Go for the END-ZONE!
Super Bowl Sunday, plenty of hype surrounding S.S. esp. since they moved it to 2 week waiting period.
Since the Nielson Ratings of the early 70's (polling the most watched Tv shows and events)
The Super Bowl is in the top 10 of the most watched TV shows or events 4 times!
- it’s HUGE - usually the most watched event of the year.
It is an epic battle between the 2 best football has to offer.
Today I want to talk about a few epic battles, the Seatle Seahwks v. the Pittsburgh Steelers, The Israelites vs. the Philistines, and you and me vs. the daily grind.
So often we live our lives in this very comfortable zone, where most things are pretty predictable, and somewhat
ho-hum. Which is not bad in itself, It's relaxing actually.
The only problem that comes from this is we may tend to get STUCK
and not move forward in life and what God has specifically designed for us individually. This happens in a # of areas of our lives but one in particular, our spiritual life.
This is an area where we can really find ourselves not
advancing, not genuinely chasing after God
(football field analogy - between the 20’s)
We may need to move out of our Comfort Zone and into the End Zone!
Another epic battle we can learn from can be found in
1 Samuel 17 - give background
I. Causes for Living in the Comfort Zone
1. Lack of Hunger (v.16)
They just sat there, none of them eager - if we sit in our comfort zone for a while even realizing that something needs to be done, if we stay, not do something about it - eventually we’ll let it be.
And we find ourselves stuck.
Where would you say you’re lacking?
2. Unwillingness to Pay the Price (v.16)
(slide - running out to avoid hit and extra yrds)
We may know what needs to happen or that something must be done, we may even want to do it, but in our comfort zone we’re unwilling to pay the price - to step out of that
predictability. Or we know and want to but were so
comfortable that it would would create some initial
uneasiness, some temporary difficulty in life - dont wanna pay the price
We just do not like to change. As a matter of fact, the only time we really like change is when it’s our idea.
more on that later
3. Lack of Confidence (v. 24; 45-47) read 20-24
Fear is a HUGE factor in getting stuck in our comfort zone.
It holds us back from ever trying or
We may have attempted some thing before and failed miserably, fell flat on our face. Or maybe it wasn’t that severe - maybe we didn’t accomplish what we set out to, it didn’t turn out the way we planned. So now we lack the confidence to try again or to try something new.
v. 45-47 - it is the LORD! We must understand that - our strength, our confidence is not in us, it is in GOD - never
forget that!
4. They are Struggling with Personal Issues (v.25-28)
David’s brother was jealous - He had already seen David be anointed as the next King of Israel (which Dave was the youngest and traditionally that is NOT who should be in line for the throne) - Eliab got some deeper issues
If that is the case for us, we will get stuck, never moving into the end zone.
5. They Put Their Personal Agenda above the Team
(slide - pic says it all) Those who are selfish, self-centered and even talented will always be considered losers - b/c it’s all about them - What’s the value of a team player - there are a # (T.E.A.M. - Together Everyone Achieves More)
6. They Have a Negative Attitude (v. 33)
Talk about a Bad attitude - you cant do - talk about someone stuck in their comfort zone. (T.O. - all the talent in the world,
people don’t want to be around him b/c of such a neg. att. - vid.) A neg. att. will hold us back
Chuck Swindoll - ‘Attitude’
Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live the more convinced
I become that life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we respond to it.
I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes
or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.
Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right; there’s no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.
7. They are Unwilling to Change (v. 38-39)
Often times for us to move forward, some things need to change don’t they? (slide - old photos)We get caught up in our comfort zone and we say, and maybe not aloud, but we think it, or it’s just in the way we present ourselves - “This is how I’ve always done it - it’s worked for me in the past, it’ll work now” buzzer - WRONG! You see, the times, they be a changin’ What has worked in the past does not mean it will work now - most likely it won’t. So we need to be willing to move out of our comfort zone and that usually means CHANGE.
II. How Do You Develop an End Zone Mind-Set?
Shaun Alexander was the MVP of the NFL. He led the NFL in rushing yards with 1880 (that’s alot) He’s a stud, but you know what’s really valuable about Shaun Alexander - He gets in the End Zone - He scores touchdowns! More than anyone else this year - not only that, he broke the single season record for the most rushing touchdowns in a season 28. Shaun Alexander gets in the End Zone - How do we?
1. Have a Game Plan
In order to Win - to get out of the comfort zone and into the End Zone - we must PLAN (v. 38-40)
David was prepared, he gathered what was needed to win
To prosper we must prepare - develop a game plan - we need to gather what we will need in order to win.
2. Continually Communicate
Throughout the story of this epic battle we see David continually communicating with different individuals, his Father, his brothers and other soldiers, with King Saul, and Goliath.
For us to be successful in life, to move out of our CZ and into the EZ we must continually communicate what is important to us. (talked about this in “Desp. Comm.” - say it often, say it clearly, say it every way you can - good listener)
3. Be Willing to Take a Risk (v. 48)
We need to be risk takers - how was David a risk taker - he took on a task much bigger that he was - why? He believed God would deliver! For David and for us to be a risk taker is to Live by Faith. What is Faith? one word: Obedience
Simply doing what God has said to do - it’s that simple.
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
4. Score and Then Celebrate (v. 49-51)
David scored and celebrated - (Napolean Dynamite dance vid)
When we plan and prepare, cont. comm. what is important, and live by Faith - we will score - we will get into the end zone - that is God’s plan - His word says in Jer. 29:11, ‘plans for us to prosper’ in John 10:10 Jesus said, ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full’
We’re to celebrate life - it’s a Party Theology (last week)
It is not God’s will that we get stuck in our CZ, but to Score - get into the end zone
Be a WINNER - Go for the END-ZONE!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Super Sunday - Party Theology
Luke 5:27 - 32
I love this passage of scripture for a few reasons, but mainly b/c it’s a party. You’ve got this guy, Levi (Matthew) who was a tax collector, which by the way everyone hates. Over the years we’ve had these different professions that everyone despises, like politicians, and for a while it was lawyers and attorneys, I think now maybe it’s Insurance companies, maybe the gas and oil guys. In Levi’s case, the tax collector - They worked for the Roman Empire and they knew everyone in the community and they figured out they could make a bunch of money by taxing extra for themselves on top of what Rome expected.
People hated them - Levi was one of those tax col. - Then Jesus sees him and calls him out, which is one of those great things about Jesus, call to Himself the most unexpected of people. If you were to pick potential candidates of a top 12 for Jesus to work with, Levi wouldn’t have been on the list.
But Jesus does call him, and he responds, which I think is a wonderful reminder that we should never under estimate who is open to God.
Most of us, if we knew Levi, knew his life, his job, his crowd, we’d think, this guy would never be open to God, much less
give up his occupation, his career, his income and follow
Jesus Christ and all that He offers.
So as soon as Levi becomes a follower of Christ he does just the wrong the thing and he hosts a Huge party with all his wicked, vile friends and invites Jesus, and we all know we shouldn’t mix God in with corrupt people. But Levi doesn’t know any better, so he invites all his godless tax-collector friends and also invites the savior of the world.
Holy and unholy in the same room at the same time.
You see here, Levi seems to connect with what’s really on God’s heart -
that God wants us to celebrate what He’s done in our lives and invite everybody.
(Hence, Party Theology)
I think alot of us know God theology, Theology of the 2nd Coming, all these other theologies,
but we really have this under-developed party theology.
We’ve forgotten how to enjoy life, how to enjoy people, and how to create an environment where people who are
searching for God can find the God that’s searching for them.
People who really connect to God understand that the heart of God for all of us is to not be consumed by what’s going on all around us in the world, but not to run from it either, but to create environments where people who are searching for God can find the God that’s searching for them.
I think here with Levi he had engaged in a relationship with God that made a difference to him, something was going on inside of him and he was compelled to do something about it. Do you think that sometimes the reason people do not
engage others about a relationship with God is b/c their own relationship with God is lacking, it doesn’t appear to be doing anything for us, to us, we don’t see the power of God in our lives?
The truth of the matter is we cannot move into a Party
Theology until we are fully alive - we have to begin to enjoy our lives, a life that God and us enjoy together that’s filled with pleasure and astonishment and wonder and beauty and laughter -
Start enjoying you life
Do whatever you have to do -
If you need to make some changes in order to really enjoy the life God has given you here on this earth, then make some changes. If you need to change your career, change your career, if there has to be some dramatic changes do something pro-active, if your married and your miserable - don’t change your spouse - get some help, check out our
series, ‘Desperate Households”
We’re not supposed to live our lives miserable that we’re are alive.
No matter how much you know about God, no matter how much you know about the bible, if you’re not living a life that’s fully alive, you have really nothing to offer a person without God.
Levi found something worth sharing, worth inviting his friends into, and the only friends he had were corrupt, wicked, sinful people and he was very fortunate to discover that Jesus loves people just like that.
To have a Party Theology begins when you have a life
compelling enough that other people want to be around you.
How - we are only alive in Christ - it’s only when we focus on developing a relationship w/ Christ that we can fully enjoy life.
I want to challenge today to start enjoying your life and
creating environments where people can be a part of that life with you.
Then there’s a place in Luke 14 were Jesus begins to talk to them about a Party Theology - he paints a picture of how to relate in these party environments that honors God and affects people in a positive way.
Luke 14:7-11
Work party - people brown-nosing to get in good around the influential people.
There’s something inside us like this radar for hypocrisy - although we like the idea of people brown-nosing us for like this sense of power - in the end when it comes down to it those are not the people we are going to listen to in important matters, decisions...
What Jesus was saying was that you need to earn the right to be heard - A part of the way we begin to have influence and affect people’s lives for the good is you don’t want to push your way into this place where people are forced to
listen to you, but you actually want to live the kind of life that people invite you into a conversation with them.
I think this is where some really well meaning sincere christians have messed up - I understand the reasoning,
“Well I have the truth and I have an obligation to declare that truth to everyone, so I don’t care if people don’t want to
listen, they’re gonna hear it, it’s my job to cram it down their throats.” (guy comes up to us at work - do you know christ as savior?) (kids veggies - something inside of us that rejects what were being forced to eat, or consume, to partake of, yet at the same time we’ll eat garbage if we think it’s against the rules.)
Ironically what I think we’ve done is we’ve taken this amazingly beautiful gift of Jesus and made it like vegetables.
This is why Jesus used very harsh phrase when He said, “don’t cast a pearl among swine”
which is not a real positive image - but what He was saying was don’t try to shove this wonderful thing down
someone’s throat. Just offer food to those who are hungry.
Don’t force it, just be available for those who are searching.
So Jesus says, don’t be like this, don’t take the position where you have to be pushed down and away and
humiliated, take the lowliest position, just serve people, just love people, just be available. Then watch them pull you into conversation and pull you in closer.
(tickets at a game - better seats in a lower section)
What happens in the more important issues of life, if you don’t earn the right to be heard, but just demand to step in the other person’s space, that person will just cut you off and when they need someone in their life - they wont turn to you.
We need to earn the right to be heard.
Be a person of humility,take the lowest place and be invited into someone’s life - don’t just try and crash the party.
vs.12-14
Jesus said if want a proper Party Theology, to throw a party where God will really thrive in - you need to make friends with people who need friends.
He’s not saying not to enjoy your family and those friends you already have, but if all we ever do is throw parties for those that can throw parties for us, then were missing it.
As a follower of Jesus Christ then our lives have to be open to those we may not otherwise even care about.
The reason people are attractive and have many friends friends is b/c their relationships are not about themselves - who really wants to build a friendship w/ someone that’s just a taker. So look to those who really need to be loved, and cared about, and embraced (Montrose Street Reach).
Enjoy life - live the life that’s compelling so others want to be a part of it -
Earn the right to speak into their lives - earn the right to speak this life-changing message of Jesus Christ from your mouth to their heart.
How many people have invited you to share your life with them?
I think we get caught up spending all of our free and extra time with other christians we claim, “I’d like to be a part of non-believers lives and share the message, but I just don’t have the time or room in my schedule.”
It’s like we’re all in this spiritual jacuzzi - you know?
I’m comfortable with these people -
Think about it - Hotel jac. - people in it - you dont want to join in with strangers - your family of 4 waits for it to empty out - but as soon as it does another group of people jump in, b/c they’re thinking the same thing - you never get in by yourself and say, ‘I want 7 strangers to jump in with me” - don’t do that!
I think what happens alot of times is we live our lives in the jac. of relationships. We have a group of people we enjoy, they enjoy us, were comfortable - so we don’t have room in the jac. for other people.
We get caught up in only be inviting to parties that they know they’ll get invited back -
so when someone outside that circle invites - GO -
don’t use being a christian as an excuse to not spend meaningful time with people who don’t know God.
Then don’t go there and tell them everything they’re doing is wrong - your role isn’t to be the minor prophet -
your role is just to be a loving, caring friend. And friendship is what
invites deep intimacy and opportunity for life change.
Then Jesus continued in vs.
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Which means happy is the person who is invited to the party of God. read on vs. 16-21
What Jesus is really pressing against us is, we need to let people say NO for themselves.
A lot of times what happens is we know we’ve got something really important to give away and we know there are people who really need God, but we say NO for them in our brains - have you ever done that?
I know in the past I’ve done just that - there’s no way so-n-so would even give me the time of day..
But really we have no clue, no clue... how many times they drove by a church and wondered if God was real... how many times they have screamed out into space, “God are You out there?”... and we say NO for them.
We invite folks to the party of God and everyone’s got the same excuses, this stuff is not new, ‘I have places to go, things to do, people to see’.
Right, they said, bought a field, got to go see it - got 5 oxen, have things to do - just got married, have people to see.
I do like for those that are single, the 1st 2 said ‘please
excuse, please excuse, but the 3rd said, I just got married, I’m not allowed!’
Who is it in your life right now you’ve already said NO for?
For whatever reason, their life is too good, their life is too bad, they’re very immoral, not smart enough, too smart, Who is it in your life you’ve already said NO for and in your brain you’ve already had the conversation but you never let them get involved.
Don’t say No for them
There was study done and they said the #1 reason people came and attended a church is b/c they were invited...
There are other reasons, but #1 by far - invited.
This is what Levi did - this is what Jesus is talking about here in ch. 14 and the big party
vs.21-24
I love the fact that the servants did all this yet there were compelled to tell the master. “there’s still a lot more room”
The master said, “go beat the bushes” and what He’s telling us is to never under-estimate the generosity of God.
1st they invited all the people that thought should be invited,
and those people said NO - and they went outside and thought, well.. I guess if Jesus wants a lot of people at His party we’re going to have to invite these people - then they came back and said there’s still more room and He said, no you haven’t gone far enough out. We must not under-estimate the generosity of God.
The person we don’t love, God does - the person we’re not interested in, God’s interested in that person - the person who seems the farthest away, God may be speaking more profoundly to them that we’d ever know.
Listen, we must be open and available to hear God.
To be led by the Holy Spirit.
( I pray this all the time - it goes with the prayer of I want to walk in the Spirit, not under Joe’s control, but God’s control -
so I also add that God would lead me to speak to those who I may THINK are far from being open to God, but really, I don’t know... so I ask God to direct me to the right street people asking for money or some sort of charity on the side of the road or walking down the street or any situation)
- tell story of Stephanie
I’m reminded that in life, God is always more generous than me - So I don’t want to under-estimate what God is going to do, I just can’t allow myself do that.
So I’m going to love and care for as many people He leads my way - We are just to Love them til they say WHY?
then we tell them it’s Jesus.
Success is not in results, it’s in obedience.
Write down names of 2 people/couples/families that do not Jesus Christ and pray for them until they do.
I love this passage of scripture for a few reasons, but mainly b/c it’s a party. You’ve got this guy, Levi (Matthew) who was a tax collector, which by the way everyone hates. Over the years we’ve had these different professions that everyone despises, like politicians, and for a while it was lawyers and attorneys, I think now maybe it’s Insurance companies, maybe the gas and oil guys. In Levi’s case, the tax collector - They worked for the Roman Empire and they knew everyone in the community and they figured out they could make a bunch of money by taxing extra for themselves on top of what Rome expected.
People hated them - Levi was one of those tax col. - Then Jesus sees him and calls him out, which is one of those great things about Jesus, call to Himself the most unexpected of people. If you were to pick potential candidates of a top 12 for Jesus to work with, Levi wouldn’t have been on the list.
But Jesus does call him, and he responds, which I think is a wonderful reminder that we should never under estimate who is open to God.
Most of us, if we knew Levi, knew his life, his job, his crowd, we’d think, this guy would never be open to God, much less
give up his occupation, his career, his income and follow
Jesus Christ and all that He offers.
So as soon as Levi becomes a follower of Christ he does just the wrong the thing and he hosts a Huge party with all his wicked, vile friends and invites Jesus, and we all know we shouldn’t mix God in with corrupt people. But Levi doesn’t know any better, so he invites all his godless tax-collector friends and also invites the savior of the world.
Holy and unholy in the same room at the same time.
You see here, Levi seems to connect with what’s really on God’s heart -
that God wants us to celebrate what He’s done in our lives and invite everybody.
(Hence, Party Theology)
I think alot of us know God theology, Theology of the 2nd Coming, all these other theologies,
but we really have this under-developed party theology.
We’ve forgotten how to enjoy life, how to enjoy people, and how to create an environment where people who are
searching for God can find the God that’s searching for them.
People who really connect to God understand that the heart of God for all of us is to not be consumed by what’s going on all around us in the world, but not to run from it either, but to create environments where people who are searching for God can find the God that’s searching for them.
I think here with Levi he had engaged in a relationship with God that made a difference to him, something was going on inside of him and he was compelled to do something about it. Do you think that sometimes the reason people do not
engage others about a relationship with God is b/c their own relationship with God is lacking, it doesn’t appear to be doing anything for us, to us, we don’t see the power of God in our lives?
The truth of the matter is we cannot move into a Party
Theology until we are fully alive - we have to begin to enjoy our lives, a life that God and us enjoy together that’s filled with pleasure and astonishment and wonder and beauty and laughter -
Start enjoying you life
Do whatever you have to do -
If you need to make some changes in order to really enjoy the life God has given you here on this earth, then make some changes. If you need to change your career, change your career, if there has to be some dramatic changes do something pro-active, if your married and your miserable - don’t change your spouse - get some help, check out our
series, ‘Desperate Households”
We’re not supposed to live our lives miserable that we’re are alive.
No matter how much you know about God, no matter how much you know about the bible, if you’re not living a life that’s fully alive, you have really nothing to offer a person without God.
Levi found something worth sharing, worth inviting his friends into, and the only friends he had were corrupt, wicked, sinful people and he was very fortunate to discover that Jesus loves people just like that.
To have a Party Theology begins when you have a life
compelling enough that other people want to be around you.
How - we are only alive in Christ - it’s only when we focus on developing a relationship w/ Christ that we can fully enjoy life.
I want to challenge today to start enjoying your life and
creating environments where people can be a part of that life with you.
Then there’s a place in Luke 14 were Jesus begins to talk to them about a Party Theology - he paints a picture of how to relate in these party environments that honors God and affects people in a positive way.
Luke 14:7-11
Work party - people brown-nosing to get in good around the influential people.
There’s something inside us like this radar for hypocrisy - although we like the idea of people brown-nosing us for like this sense of power - in the end when it comes down to it those are not the people we are going to listen to in important matters, decisions...
What Jesus was saying was that you need to earn the right to be heard - A part of the way we begin to have influence and affect people’s lives for the good is you don’t want to push your way into this place where people are forced to
listen to you, but you actually want to live the kind of life that people invite you into a conversation with them.
I think this is where some really well meaning sincere christians have messed up - I understand the reasoning,
“Well I have the truth and I have an obligation to declare that truth to everyone, so I don’t care if people don’t want to
listen, they’re gonna hear it, it’s my job to cram it down their throats.” (guy comes up to us at work - do you know christ as savior?) (kids veggies - something inside of us that rejects what were being forced to eat, or consume, to partake of, yet at the same time we’ll eat garbage if we think it’s against the rules.)
Ironically what I think we’ve done is we’ve taken this amazingly beautiful gift of Jesus and made it like vegetables.
This is why Jesus used very harsh phrase when He said, “don’t cast a pearl among swine”
which is not a real positive image - but what He was saying was don’t try to shove this wonderful thing down
someone’s throat. Just offer food to those who are hungry.
Don’t force it, just be available for those who are searching.
So Jesus says, don’t be like this, don’t take the position where you have to be pushed down and away and
humiliated, take the lowliest position, just serve people, just love people, just be available. Then watch them pull you into conversation and pull you in closer.
(tickets at a game - better seats in a lower section)
What happens in the more important issues of life, if you don’t earn the right to be heard, but just demand to step in the other person’s space, that person will just cut you off and when they need someone in their life - they wont turn to you.
We need to earn the right to be heard.
Be a person of humility,take the lowest place and be invited into someone’s life - don’t just try and crash the party.
vs.12-14
Jesus said if want a proper Party Theology, to throw a party where God will really thrive in - you need to make friends with people who need friends.
He’s not saying not to enjoy your family and those friends you already have, but if all we ever do is throw parties for those that can throw parties for us, then were missing it.
As a follower of Jesus Christ then our lives have to be open to those we may not otherwise even care about.
The reason people are attractive and have many friends friends is b/c their relationships are not about themselves - who really wants to build a friendship w/ someone that’s just a taker. So look to those who really need to be loved, and cared about, and embraced (Montrose Street Reach).
Enjoy life - live the life that’s compelling so others want to be a part of it -
Earn the right to speak into their lives - earn the right to speak this life-changing message of Jesus Christ from your mouth to their heart.
How many people have invited you to share your life with them?
I think we get caught up spending all of our free and extra time with other christians we claim, “I’d like to be a part of non-believers lives and share the message, but I just don’t have the time or room in my schedule.”
It’s like we’re all in this spiritual jacuzzi - you know?
I’m comfortable with these people -
Think about it - Hotel jac. - people in it - you dont want to join in with strangers - your family of 4 waits for it to empty out - but as soon as it does another group of people jump in, b/c they’re thinking the same thing - you never get in by yourself and say, ‘I want 7 strangers to jump in with me” - don’t do that!
I think what happens alot of times is we live our lives in the jac. of relationships. We have a group of people we enjoy, they enjoy us, were comfortable - so we don’t have room in the jac. for other people.
We get caught up in only be inviting to parties that they know they’ll get invited back -
so when someone outside that circle invites - GO -
don’t use being a christian as an excuse to not spend meaningful time with people who don’t know God.
Then don’t go there and tell them everything they’re doing is wrong - your role isn’t to be the minor prophet -
your role is just to be a loving, caring friend. And friendship is what
invites deep intimacy and opportunity for life change.
Then Jesus continued in vs.
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Which means happy is the person who is invited to the party of God. read on vs. 16-21
What Jesus is really pressing against us is, we need to let people say NO for themselves.
A lot of times what happens is we know we’ve got something really important to give away and we know there are people who really need God, but we say NO for them in our brains - have you ever done that?
I know in the past I’ve done just that - there’s no way so-n-so would even give me the time of day..
But really we have no clue, no clue... how many times they drove by a church and wondered if God was real... how many times they have screamed out into space, “God are You out there?”... and we say NO for them.
We invite folks to the party of God and everyone’s got the same excuses, this stuff is not new, ‘I have places to go, things to do, people to see’.
Right, they said, bought a field, got to go see it - got 5 oxen, have things to do - just got married, have people to see.
I do like for those that are single, the 1st 2 said ‘please
excuse, please excuse, but the 3rd said, I just got married, I’m not allowed!’
Who is it in your life right now you’ve already said NO for?
For whatever reason, their life is too good, their life is too bad, they’re very immoral, not smart enough, too smart, Who is it in your life you’ve already said NO for and in your brain you’ve already had the conversation but you never let them get involved.
Don’t say No for them
There was study done and they said the #1 reason people came and attended a church is b/c they were invited...
There are other reasons, but #1 by far - invited.
This is what Levi did - this is what Jesus is talking about here in ch. 14 and the big party
vs.21-24
I love the fact that the servants did all this yet there were compelled to tell the master. “there’s still a lot more room”
The master said, “go beat the bushes” and what He’s telling us is to never under-estimate the generosity of God.
1st they invited all the people that thought should be invited,
and those people said NO - and they went outside and thought, well.. I guess if Jesus wants a lot of people at His party we’re going to have to invite these people - then they came back and said there’s still more room and He said, no you haven’t gone far enough out. We must not under-estimate the generosity of God.
The person we don’t love, God does - the person we’re not interested in, God’s interested in that person - the person who seems the farthest away, God may be speaking more profoundly to them that we’d ever know.
Listen, we must be open and available to hear God.
To be led by the Holy Spirit.
( I pray this all the time - it goes with the prayer of I want to walk in the Spirit, not under Joe’s control, but God’s control -
so I also add that God would lead me to speak to those who I may THINK are far from being open to God, but really, I don’t know... so I ask God to direct me to the right street people asking for money or some sort of charity on the side of the road or walking down the street or any situation)
- tell story of Stephanie
I’m reminded that in life, God is always more generous than me - So I don’t want to under-estimate what God is going to do, I just can’t allow myself do that.
So I’m going to love and care for as many people He leads my way - We are just to Love them til they say WHY?
then we tell them it’s Jesus.
Success is not in results, it’s in obedience.
Write down names of 2 people/couples/families that do not Jesus Christ and pray for them until they do.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Desperate Households - Desperate Parenting by Cathleen Parks
Desperately Surviving the Kids
Transition video (I work with Monkeys commercial) - new job
Well........we are in our third week of desperate households. This week is Desperate Parenting.
I e-mailed a friend in California this week and mentioned that I was teaching on this subject this weekend.
i said this should be easy - all just give examples of everything stupid I did just this week and I’ll have the message - done.
Parenting. It is a daunting task. Our toughest job.
Our most satisfying job.
Our scariest job.
There is nothing more intimidating that looking into the eyes of a little person and realizing that his/her well-being is totally on your shoulders. Not only the simple stuff (food, clothes, a bed to sleep in) that’s easy. It’s the less simple stuff that gets you. What kind of person will she be? Will she see the good in others or enjoy the sport of locker room gossip where anybody is a target? Will he settle his arguments with patience and integrity or be quick to raise his voice or use his fists?
So what makes the difference between raising a child that makes your heart swell or breaks your heart?
Is it all up in the air or do you actually influence the outcome? Prov. 22:6 has this to say ‘Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.’
That sure indicates to me that we have a whole lot to do with the type of adults our kids become. So, what is the first step to raising adults. Expand (Not children, adults)
The very first and very hard step is to see your children realistically. This is very hard. Something happens to us when they are born. It’s like these parent eyes are implanted over our regular eyes and all of a sudden we see things about our children very differently than we thought we would before we had children. Do you remember before you had children and you would watch other people (at a restaurant, family, at the grocery store) with their children and you use to say..............& you did this, we all did.........’I would never.....’ Do you remember the first day that you realized you just did one of your I will nevers? And unless your paying attention, it may slip under your radar, until you do it the second or tenth time!
Parents, let’s face it - we really are blind. We just don’t see when these perfect, wonderful little darlings are playing us like a finely tuned instrument! I work at a private school and it is my job to enroll new students. But we have a selective enrollment process and one of the criteria would be that incoming students have grades of a certain standard or higher. Expand on parents handing report cards or telling of no discipline issues while you are on the phone with the other school. -
Parent eyes
Off the hook - born little boogers
Expand with looking at the ‘we corrupt them point of view’.
Proof that you get to get off the hook.
Genesis 8:21b every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood
1. See your kids realistically.
Realize that when your little sweet darling is batting her eyes at you she is not being sweet and cute she is manipulating you and your falling for it! Realize that those funny little white lies turn into big ugly ones.
Remember that if we aren’t realistic about where our kids are we cannot be a support to them.
2. Discipline accordingly
Let your discipline be appropriate. Evaluate the issue - where was the heart? Was this an honest mistake moment, a I made a mistake and then thought I would get in big trouble and tried to cover it up moment, or an I did it - I knew I did it and I was hoping like heck to not get get caught or to get away with it moment?
Proverbs 29:17
17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul
Discipline, when done right, is not only good, it is expected. The Bible has a lot to say about disciplining our children and it is very clear that God expect us to do so. If fact Proverbs 13:24 says, ‘A refusal to correct is a refusal to love;
Never discipline in anger - tell story
3. See yourself realistically
Surround yourself with people whose opinion you value and trust. Allow them to speak truth into your life.
Explain spanking video w/ Brie and
How many of us would chose to never speak to that person again?
4. Listen with humility
Eph 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
You have to allow others to speak the truth in love to you. The issue is ‘how are they speaking’?
Ideas of where, building real relationship
Allow God to speak to you through others
Mark 2:2-4 A crowd gathered, jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out. He was teaching the Word. 3They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. 4When they weren't able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher.
5. Allow others to take you to Jesus, be available to be carried
6. Be a stretcher bearer
With the friends we just spoke of &with your kids.
Take your kids to the feet of Jesus. Explain biblical principal to them. Remember the scripture we looked at earlier?
Pr. 22:6 ‘Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.’
This is part of that training.
Tell story of fruit.
She needed to be lead to Jesus. That is my primary job as a parent - to lead my kids to Jesus.
Transition video (I work with Monkeys commercial) - new job
Well........we are in our third week of desperate households. This week is Desperate Parenting.
I e-mailed a friend in California this week and mentioned that I was teaching on this subject this weekend.
i said this should be easy - all just give examples of everything stupid I did just this week and I’ll have the message - done.
Parenting. It is a daunting task. Our toughest job.
Our most satisfying job.
Our scariest job.
There is nothing more intimidating that looking into the eyes of a little person and realizing that his/her well-being is totally on your shoulders. Not only the simple stuff (food, clothes, a bed to sleep in) that’s easy. It’s the less simple stuff that gets you. What kind of person will she be? Will she see the good in others or enjoy the sport of locker room gossip where anybody is a target? Will he settle his arguments with patience and integrity or be quick to raise his voice or use his fists?
So what makes the difference between raising a child that makes your heart swell or breaks your heart?
Is it all up in the air or do you actually influence the outcome? Prov. 22:6 has this to say ‘Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.’
That sure indicates to me that we have a whole lot to do with the type of adults our kids become. So, what is the first step to raising adults. Expand (Not children, adults)
The very first and very hard step is to see your children realistically. This is very hard. Something happens to us when they are born. It’s like these parent eyes are implanted over our regular eyes and all of a sudden we see things about our children very differently than we thought we would before we had children. Do you remember before you had children and you would watch other people (at a restaurant, family, at the grocery store) with their children and you use to say..............& you did this, we all did.........’I would never.....’ Do you remember the first day that you realized you just did one of your I will nevers? And unless your paying attention, it may slip under your radar, until you do it the second or tenth time!
Parents, let’s face it - we really are blind. We just don’t see when these perfect, wonderful little darlings are playing us like a finely tuned instrument! I work at a private school and it is my job to enroll new students. But we have a selective enrollment process and one of the criteria would be that incoming students have grades of a certain standard or higher. Expand on parents handing report cards or telling of no discipline issues while you are on the phone with the other school. -
Parent eyes
Off the hook - born little boogers
Expand with looking at the ‘we corrupt them point of view’.
Proof that you get to get off the hook.
Genesis 8:21b every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood
1. See your kids realistically.
Realize that when your little sweet darling is batting her eyes at you she is not being sweet and cute she is manipulating you and your falling for it! Realize that those funny little white lies turn into big ugly ones.
Remember that if we aren’t realistic about where our kids are we cannot be a support to them.
2. Discipline accordingly
Let your discipline be appropriate. Evaluate the issue - where was the heart? Was this an honest mistake moment, a I made a mistake and then thought I would get in big trouble and tried to cover it up moment, or an I did it - I knew I did it and I was hoping like heck to not get get caught or to get away with it moment?
Proverbs 29:17
17 Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul
Discipline, when done right, is not only good, it is expected. The Bible has a lot to say about disciplining our children and it is very clear that God expect us to do so. If fact Proverbs 13:24 says, ‘A refusal to correct is a refusal to love;
Never discipline in anger - tell story
3. See yourself realistically
Surround yourself with people whose opinion you value and trust. Allow them to speak truth into your life.
Explain spanking video w/ Brie and
How many of us would chose to never speak to that person again?
4. Listen with humility
Eph 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
You have to allow others to speak the truth in love to you. The issue is ‘how are they speaking’?
Ideas of where, building real relationship
Allow God to speak to you through others
Mark 2:2-4 A crowd gathered, jamming the entrance so no one could get in or out. He was teaching the Word. 3They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. 4When they weren't able to get in because of the crowd, they removed part of the roof and lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher.
5. Allow others to take you to Jesus, be available to be carried
6. Be a stretcher bearer
With the friends we just spoke of &with your kids.
Take your kids to the feet of Jesus. Explain biblical principal to them. Remember the scripture we looked at earlier?
Pr. 22:6 ‘Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.’
This is part of that training.
Tell story of fruit.
She needed to be lead to Jesus. That is my primary job as a parent - to lead my kids to Jesus.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Desperate Households - Desperate For Intimacy by Cathleen Parks
Series: Desperate Households - Desperate bedrooms - desperate 4 intimacy
(basic outline)
8 steps to intimacy
The look
The flirt
The handhold
The hug
The kiss
The make out
The Touch
SEX
Where will you draw the line?
Bible says sex reserved for marriage
Thess. 4:3-4 "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable"
Wanting line drawn for you = how far can I go & still be pure?
Wanting to go right to the line, take it to the edge
such as,
- Speed limit
- Taxes - loophole
Sex like taxes - how much can I get out of this without going too far? Is there a loophole? Is there a way to get around the rules?
It’s not just sex, but many areas of our lives.
Bible calls this our sinful nature - Gal. 5:16-17 "If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should."
Gal. 5:19-21 "People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom."
Old Testament - people wanted lines drawn for them
God made it simple - He gave the 10 Commandments
Define a sabbath = define sex
Pharisees came up with literally 100’s of rules just concerning the sabbath. 1000’s of rules of how to live overall
God never intended us to live by a rule book but instead by a heart that desires to honor Him, and in that desire, to seek purity
Stop taking all of the Galatians issues and playing with the lines. Instead consider the moments. In this moment of conversation - with my words - in handling my anger - in my relationships - in my finances - with my body -
am I honoring God?
In all of these areas, you must decide where your line is. Especially regarding sex.
**Establish your line ahead of time!
Heat of the moments, heart racing, brain shuts down - sexual autopilot
Your line is your manual override switch
Single - figure out where your line is - establish it ahead of time
Married - your line is at the look
What is someone tries to go past the line? Look at Joseph - RUN!
8 steps for single people - but 4 steps that married people need to be keenly aware of
Talk
Time
Trust
Touch
Expand
Story of Pastor having affair with another woman - it was too late before sex ever happened. Married people - RUN -
stay away
So what do you do if you think it’s too late? Single or married - you look at your steps and you think ‘It’s too late.
I know where I am or where I’ve been and it’s too late.’
Know that it’s never too late.
We serve a God of great mercy. Mercies are new every morning.
Our God did not come to condemn us but to save us.
How are we saved from our sin? Repentance. Turn and go the other way.
Repentance leads to maturity. God’s will for each of us is maturity in Him
What if you had a baby that refused to eat? (Allison)
Nature course of maturity
(CONFESSION VIDEO - Desperate Housewives)
1 Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation"
Today - God is calling you.
Calling you to stop being desperate for intimacy as we’ve evaluated it. But start being desperate for intimacy with Him.
Intimacy with God comes as you drink of His pure spiritual milk. Seeking purity, ingesting into your spirit that with is pure.
If you wish to grow up in your salvation - drink of His purity. Put aside your spiritual junk food. Christ didn’t come to condone our sin - He came to die for it. He died for it. That’s why His mercies are new every morning. Because He so desperately wants you to repent - go the other way and in that become intimate with Jesus.
(basic outline)
8 steps to intimacy
The look
The flirt
The handhold
The hug
The kiss
The make out
The Touch
SEX
Where will you draw the line?
Bible says sex reserved for marriage
Thess. 4:3-4 "It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable"
Wanting line drawn for you = how far can I go & still be pure?
Wanting to go right to the line, take it to the edge
such as,
- Speed limit
- Taxes - loophole
Sex like taxes - how much can I get out of this without going too far? Is there a loophole? Is there a way to get around the rules?
It’s not just sex, but many areas of our lives.
Bible calls this our sinful nature - Gal. 5:16-17 "If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires. The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should."
Gal. 5:19-21 "People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom."
Old Testament - people wanted lines drawn for them
God made it simple - He gave the 10 Commandments
Define a sabbath = define sex
Pharisees came up with literally 100’s of rules just concerning the sabbath. 1000’s of rules of how to live overall
God never intended us to live by a rule book but instead by a heart that desires to honor Him, and in that desire, to seek purity
Stop taking all of the Galatians issues and playing with the lines. Instead consider the moments. In this moment of conversation - with my words - in handling my anger - in my relationships - in my finances - with my body -
am I honoring God?
In all of these areas, you must decide where your line is. Especially regarding sex.
**Establish your line ahead of time!
Heat of the moments, heart racing, brain shuts down - sexual autopilot
Your line is your manual override switch
Single - figure out where your line is - establish it ahead of time
Married - your line is at the look
What is someone tries to go past the line? Look at Joseph - RUN!
8 steps for single people - but 4 steps that married people need to be keenly aware of
Talk
Time
Trust
Touch
Expand
Story of Pastor having affair with another woman - it was too late before sex ever happened. Married people - RUN -
stay away
So what do you do if you think it’s too late? Single or married - you look at your steps and you think ‘It’s too late.
I know where I am or where I’ve been and it’s too late.’
Know that it’s never too late.
We serve a God of great mercy. Mercies are new every morning.
Our God did not come to condemn us but to save us.
How are we saved from our sin? Repentance. Turn and go the other way.
Repentance leads to maturity. God’s will for each of us is maturity in Him
What if you had a baby that refused to eat? (Allison)
Nature course of maturity
(CONFESSION VIDEO - Desperate Housewives)
1 Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation"
Today - God is calling you.
Calling you to stop being desperate for intimacy as we’ve evaluated it. But start being desperate for intimacy with Him.
Intimacy with God comes as you drink of His pure spiritual milk. Seeking purity, ingesting into your spirit that with is pure.
If you wish to grow up in your salvation - drink of His purity. Put aside your spiritual junk food. Christ didn’t come to condone our sin - He came to die for it. He died for it. That’s why His mercies are new every morning. Because He so desperately wants you to repent - go the other way and in that become intimate with Jesus.
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