9/22/13   DESIGN FOR LIFE - Jesus IS The Answer

QUESTIONS

    People ask questions.  Some are silly.  There are also great questions in life.  Great questions help us to learn.  We also need to ask questions of people who can give us good answers.
    What are some of the great questions of life? Let’s look.
Young Atheists Respect Christian Conviction
    The Christian scholar Larry Taunton interviewed students who belong to atheistic campus groups. He and his team heard a consistent theme from these young unbelievers: they often expected but didn’t find more spiritual depth from their Christian neighbors. Larry writes:
    Some [of these young atheists] had gone to church hoping to find answers to [tough questions about faith]. Others hoped to find answers to questions of personal significance, purpose, and ethics. Serious-minded, they often concluded that church services were largely shallow, harmless, and ultimately irrelevant. As Ben, an engineering major at the University of Texas, so bluntly put it: “I really started to get bored with church.”
    In contrast, these young atheists expressed their respect for those ministers who took the Bible seriously. Larry writes,
    Without fail, our former church-attending students expressed [positive] feelings for those Christians who unashamedly embraced biblical teaching. Michael, a political science major at Dartmouth, told us, “I really can’t consider a Christian a good, moral person if he isn’t trying to convert me …. Christianity is something that if you really believed it, it would change your life and you would want to change [the lives] of others. I haven’t seen too much  of that.”
Larry Alex Taunton, “Listening to Young Atheists: Lessons for a Stronger Christianity,” The Atlantic (6-6-13)
    That is a very challenging statement.
    Another story:
Actors Distance Themselves from Christian Upbringing
    Both Brad Pitt and Hugh Jackman grew up in Christian homes and both have since distanced themselves from their faith. Here’s how Brad Pitt described his spiritual journey:
    I found [my Christian upbringing] very stifling. I always had a lot of questions about the world, even in kindergarten. A big question to me was fairness. If I’d grown up in some other religion, would I get the same shot at heaven as a Christian has? When I got untethered from the comfort of religion, it wasn’t a loss of faith for me; it was a discovery of self. I had faith that I’m capable enough to handle any situation. There’s peace in understanding that I have only one life, here and now, and I’m responsible.
    Hugh Jackman grew up in “a deeply religious family, his parents having been converted . . . by Billy Graham.” In a 2013 interview: “I was involved with so many things in the church. It was my social group. It was where I met girls. It was sort of my life out of school. Then around 16 or 17, I started questioning. ‘How come all these nonbelievers are going to hell?’”
    “Today, [Jackman] is not particularly religious and says he never prays, though he believes in some form of God and afterlife and meditates twice daily for 30 minutes.” Jackman said, “It is about quieting that part of the brain and just seeing and being.”
Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; sources: Fox 411 Entertainment Blog, “Brad Pitt says Christian upbringing was ‘stifling,’” (5-17-11); Stephen Galloway, “Hugh Jackman on His Surprising Hollywood BFF’'s and His Mother’s Abandonment,” The Hollywood Reporter (2-13-13)
    There are many great questions.  Sadly, when people don’t get good answers, they often go the complete opposite of believing God and His Word.  The same questions are asked by many different people.  They get proud and think they can solve all of life’s issues by themselves.
    Remember one of the things we talked about last week: people need the Lord.  That is still true.  We see an illustration of that in this passage.
    One night, many years ago, a very learned man went to a teacher to ask what he felt was life’s most important question.
John 3:1-3 NKJV
1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
    Having observed Jesus’ life and teachings, Nicodemus went to Jesus to ask for help in life.  I believe that he basically came to Jesus and said: Jesus, what is it that I need most in life?  What am I missing?  What will make my life complete?
    In His response, Jesus covered one of the foundational teachings and principles of the Christian faith: regeneration. Without being born again a person cannot become part of God’s family. People need spiritual renewal to be saved and have God’s gift of eternal life that Jesus bought and paid for on the cross.
    Let’s look at this term: Regeneration.
--Regeneration: new birth.  This is God’s work in the heart of a person who believes in Jesus, making Him their Lord and Savior.
The work of the Holy Spirit in the soul of a person, formerly dead in trespasses and sin, is created new in Jesus unto righteousness.
--A new creation
--Made alive to a life of holiness
    Picture the new life that comes in the spring time when all, that seemed dead, is brought back to new life.  This is the work of God to make us new.  We were made in the image of God, His highest creation, and sin destroyed that life and we walked in sin and death.
Titus 3:3-7 NKJV
3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
    Jesus told Nicodemus that to have eternal life in God’s kingdom, he must be born again.  The Bible clearly teaches that people must undergo a spiritual re-creation, new birth, to have a personal relationship with God or have eternal life.
    This thought of being born again is echoed in I Peter.  It tells us we have purified our souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.  Then we learn:
1 Peter 1:23 NKJV
23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
    Our new life came through God’s gift. And, that is what we must be living and experiencing -- new life.
    What are we now?
Ephesians 2:1 NKJV
1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,
    We were dead.  Now we really know what life is.  Obviously Paul did not mean physical death but instead  referred to our spiritual condition. Sin has left the human race spiritually dead, incapable of responding to God. Nevertheless, regeneration resurrects our spiritual capacity so that we can enter in to a relationship with God.
    The spiritual birth Jesus shared with Nicodemus is essential because all, apart from Jesus, are sinful by nature.  They are separated from and opposing God.  With our own efforts, we are not able to have a personal relationship with God.  We require the life-transforming power of the Holy Spirit.  We have no human power to obey and please God.  Some verses:
Psalm 51:1-5 NKJV
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Romans 8:7-8 NKJV
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
    Salvation, being born again, involves a complete change from our old lifestyle of sin in rebellion against God to a new life of obedience.
II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Ephesians 4:23-24 NKJV
23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Colossians 3:10 NKJV
10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Documentary Asks, What Is Truth?
    The Nature of Existence is a documentary that asks and attempts to answer some of life’s biggest questions. One  segment is on truth. One scene begins with the word truth on the screen and a drawing of a man with his fingers crossed behind his back as if he is concealing something. The narrator asks questions:
    Narrator: Can you define the word truth?
    Unnamed man: No, I think it’s like pornography. You know it when you see it.
    Hindu cleric:  By worshiping God you can find the truth.
Tao cleric: Anything that runs counter to Tao will not be truth.
    Narrator: What is truth?
    Bobby Gaylor, musician: What people don’t want to hear.
    Alan F. Segal, professor of religion, Columbia University: When somebody claims to know the truth, and claims to be able to tell it to you, the first thing you should do is check to see if you still have your watch, because that’s the prelude to getting taken.
    Jim Murphy, champion drag racer: I’ve had a pretty messed up childhood, and God gave me the faith of a small child. I totally believe. It’s all in my heart. I know my knower knows there’s a God, and he’s in charge of everything. I just know that. To me that’s faith.
    Julia Sweeney, author, Letting Go of God: In science, you don’t use words like truth. You say, “Closer to truth.”
    Irvin Kershner, director, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: Only art comes close to trying to answer truth.
The Nature of Existence, DVD, directed by Roger Nygard, 2010, chapter 23: “Truth,” 33:44 - 36:11
    When Nicodemus brought his questions to Jesus, he got the right answers.
Discussion -- LIFE APPLICATION: The Next Step
DESIGN FOR LIFE
What questions are people asking about life?
What are the key points of this message?
How can we apply this message?

9/29/13 Design For Life

MISSIONS - GOD’S HEART

    A question to start: where is your heart?  What really gets your attention?
Your family?  Children?  Grandchildren?   ?????
    Think about where your heart is.  God’s heart is reaching unbelievers.
    A passage to look at for some foundation today:
Matthew 15:18-20 NKJV
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.
    Jesus taught that the heart is the critical center of life and decision.  What goes into the heart comes out.  This is an answer to the question asked so often of how someone can “do something like that”.
    It is with this principle in mind that we can understand the difference between an apology and a confession.
    In the wake of numerous public confessions by fallen politicians, sports figures, and business executives, in her book The Art of the Public Grovel, Susan Wise Bauer offers a helpful distinction: “An apology is an expression of regret: I am sorry. A confession is an admission of fault: I am sorry because I did wrong. I sinned.”
    Apology addresses an audience. Confession implies an inner change … that will be manifested in outward action.
Paul Wilkes, The Art of Confession (Workman Publishing, 2012), pp. 4-5
    There is a big difference between “I’m sorry I got caught” and “I’m sorry I did it”.  It is what is in the heart.
    So, we must stay alert to God and what His Word says.
    Paul “Bear” Bryant is considered to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. Bryant’s record in 38 years includes 323 wins. He took 29 teams to bowl games and led 15 of his teams to conference championships. In the 1960s and 1970s, no school won more games than Alabama (193-32-5).
    John Croyle, All-American defensive end on the ‘73 national championship team, played for the Bear, and was deeply impacted by him. John told about one of Coach Bryant’s pregame speeches.
    In this game, there are going to be four or five plays that will determine the outcome of this contest. Four or five plays that will swing the momentum toward us, or away from us. I don’t know which plays these will be. You don’t know which plays these will be. All you can do is go out there and give all that you have on each and every play. If you are doing that on one of those crucial plays, and you catch your opponent giving less, that play will swing things in our direction. And if we rise to the occasion like that, on those four or five plays, we are gonna leave here today a winner.
Dave Bolin, Gadsden, Alabama
    Where our focus is makes the difference.  We don’t know when an opportunity for the Lord will come in life.  We must be ready because we can influence the eternal destiny of a person if we keep our focus on the Lord and be alert to opportunities.
    The heart of God is eternal souls. This is why missions is on the heart of God.  God’s design for the lives of believers is to be used by Him to accomplish His plan to bring people to Him.  Again remember, missions starts here where we are.
    In reading the Prophet, Jesus said:
Luke 4:18-19, 21 NKJV
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The purpose of Jesus’ ministry on earth was to preach the Gospel to those in need, the hurting who desperately need God’s help in their lives.  Doing anything apart from God’s ways, even achieving success in the world’s eyes, only leads to failure and bitter disappointment.  Jesus came to heal the injured and oppressed.  He came to bring real freedom to all who will hear and respond.  Jesus revealed His divinity, God in the flesh to bring all people to Him.
II Peter 3:9 NKJV
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
    Emphasis: God’s desire is that all should come to repentance.  It is not the will of God that one soul would be punished eternally. God wants all to have the opportunity to hear and repent.  Each person is responsible to receive God’s gift of forgiveness.  Missions is God’s heart - bringing people to Jesus.
Many Bible verses show that reaching the lost is the heart of God.
Mark 16:15 NKJV
15 And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Ezekiel 33:11 NKJV
11 Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’
Jonah 3:10 NKJV
10 Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
    Get this clearly: God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He does not delight in judging.  His righteous nature demands it.  God is not happy with the prospect of judging spiritually rebellious people.  He desires everyone to repent and receive salvation to have eternal life.  Believers today must live God’s hope for people to repent and turn from their wicked ways.
    God does not desire to bring destruction on people.  In the story of Jonah, because the people humbled themselves, repented and looked to God for mercy, God did not destroy them in judgment.  God will show compassion when people make the choice to do things God’s way.
Acts 16:31 NKJV
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
    The salvation of a soul is a miracle.  God functions in the supernatural, the miraculous.  He has all power and nothing is too hard.  So, we must believe that and live in that as well.  We must expect that the solution for anyone starts with salvation.  Then they are in a position to hear from God and see what He will do in their lives.  We must live in and expect the supernatural.
    This is a challenge I have been sensing more and more lately in my life.  I know I believe in the supernatural intervention of God in lives.  The question is: Do I live it?  Do I expect it? With the tough battle we face, living in God’s supernatural power is the only way we will see victory.
    I want you to ask yourself a question - you can answer privately.
Do you really believe that anyone who really calls on the name of the Lord will be saved?
Do you really believe you can say to someone “the day you call on the name of the Lord, you will be saved”?
Do you live in the supernatural?
    The heart of God is to reach the lost.
    Jesus is alive today, the testimony of Danny Velasco. From the book “The Breakthrough Prayer” by Jim Cymbala, Senior Pastor, Brooklyn Tabernacle.
    In a street in the Bronx at three A.M., a  44 year old man lies in the gutter waiting for a hospital to open.  He is waiting not to get well, but to die.  Danny Velasco is living in pitiful and hopeless condition.  He is a homeless heroin addict ready to die.
    Danny’s life started as a normal, well-adjusted kid with a brother and two step sisters, who knew he had a talent for something.  His talent was for styling hair.
    At was 17, he was hired by Berdorf Goodman’s, an exclusive store, the youngest hairdresser and make-up artist in the store’s history.  Soon he styled the hair of a model who was photographed by SEVENTEEN magazine. From then on, he was determined to have his artistry seen on the most beautiful women, captured on film by the most gifted photographers.  That way his talent could be exposed  to the whole world.
    When he was 21, he was traveling the country conducting seminars when he had a panic-attack.  He saw  a doctor who prescribed valium. He discovered that valium went down best with large doses of vodka.  Soon he was drunk nightly but somehow able to function during the day.
    By his late twenties, his career stagnated. Feeling restless, he moved to Paris. Although he arrived with no prospective employers, doors opened and opportunities  exploded almost overnight.  His work appeared on the covers of dozens of fashion magazines.  He had a gorgeous apartment and was earning tons of money.  He reached the pinnacle of his profession.
    Four years later, he returned to New York in tremendous demand.  Having earned his ticket to stardom, he made $3,000 a day working on beautiful models.  He rented a 5,000 square foot loft.  What no one knew was that he brought back something else from Paris – an addition to heroin.
    In New York, he was a successful hairdresser and make-up artist by day, but a drug fiend by night.
According to his own words,
    “Most nights I would dress ‘down’, roaming the streets, and it wasn’t long before arrests and missing work became a problem. I was two people:  enjoying euphoric highs and suffering devastating lows, traveling with celebrities on private jets and staying in plush hotels. But the artificial bubble ended every time I returned home.”
    One day, a beautiful red headed model on a photo shoot began to talk to him about God.  She asked him to do some work on the side, cutting hair for her and some friends, and she also invited Danny to her church. Her name is Wanda, a choir member of the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
    Later Danny went to the Wanda’s apartment and styled her and her room mate’s hair.  Wanda asked if they could pray for him.  She said to him, “Danny, the day you call on the name of the Lord, you will be set free.”
    Danny Velasco confessed,  “Whatever she meant,  I knew it would never happen to me.  I had already been in and out of nine detox programs and nothing worked. No way any of this ‘miracle stuff’ could change me. Once a dope fiend, always a dope fiend, I reasoned. If that’s the way you lived, then that’s the way you died. My life was hopeless and I knew it. I saw Wanda regularly in the workplace and she kept telling me about Jesus. She was sweet but a real fanatic.”
    On a photo shoot in the Carribean, things got totally out of control. Danny overdosed on a boat and the Coast Guard had to come to evacuate him.  Because of this incident, Danny’s career nose-dived straight into the ground.  He went from making thousands of dollars a day to nothing.
    One day, Danny could not take it no longer. He took his driver’s license, passport, credit cards and other ID’s and cut them into pieces.  Then he walked out of his apartment and began to live in the street.
    “At that point I had no friends and did not even have a quarter to my name. Each morning I would awake sick, having one question: where would I get my drugs that day and what would I have to do to get the money to buy them? That’s how I lived for the next three years.”
    One day Danny called his agent and she told him that someone named Wanda was trying to reach him. He called Wanda.  She asked if he could come over to cut hair for her and a few friends. Danny agreed but he asked for advance payment. Wanda wanted to help and said he would have to meet her at her church. Dirty he was, Danny showed up and Wanda handed him the money inside a Bible. He bought drugs and sold the Bible within an hour.
    “When I arrived at Wanda’s place the next day, she had five other fanatical Christians waiting to have their hair done. I realize now that it was a Holy Ghost ambush. Before I left, they circled around me, praying so hard it made me think, They really believe in this stuff!  And there’s five of them on me now. I did not believe in whatever nonsense they were into, so I left as soon as I could and returned to the street.”
    After that, Danny’s phobias got worse and he began suffering from anxiety.  Then the voices started.  Before long they were screaming at him incessantly.  He became like an animal, muttering or yelling out a stream of profanities as people passed by. By then Danny Velasco looked like a skeleton covered with sores.  He had hepatitis A, B and C and could not even stand up straight.
    That particular hospital closed down during the night. Danny only hoped the staff would let him in to die a decent death, because he did not want to die in the street.
    “Finally the door opened, and I was admitted and someone gave me an injection that knocked me out. When I woke, I found myself in bed covered in my own vomit. Suddenly the voices in my head started screaming, creating total chaos within.  I was so disoriented, I wanted to die. But I could not jump out of the window because they were barred.
    “Then in the midst of all my pain, someone whispered words I had heard before, ‘The day you call on the Lord, he will set you free’.  Other voices tried to drown it out, but they couldn’t!  The words came through clearly:  ‘The day you call on the Lord, he will set you free’.  In absolute desperation I screamed from my bed, ‘Jesus help me! O God, help me with everything!  You’re my only hope, so please help, Jesus! I did not understand anything about prayer, so I even used ‘personal references’ as I cried out: ‘Jesus, Wanda said that when I called on your name, you would deliver me. So help me now, O God.’”
    At that moment Almighty God swept over me and around me. I knew He was real because the voices in my head suddenly stopped their hellish screaming and the ball of fear that had been weighing on me lifted.  I knew everything changed even though nothing outwardly had. I was still lying in my vomit in a hospital bed. But I was a million miles  from where I had been before I said that prayer. The day I called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he did set me free.”
    Danny went from the hospital to a three-month rehab program. He gained thirty-five pounds and he began to heal.  Then he went to a Christian program and he devoured the Word of God like a man filled with spiritual hunger.
    In the years after his conversion, Danny’s spiritual growth was strong and steady. He gained a compassion for people who are hurting.  Truly Danny’s testimony is living proof that Jesus is alive today and will continue to work miracles and will continue to set people free.
Discussion
God’s heart is missions - winning the lost.
God’s power is alive and well today.
What do these statements say to you?  What effect do they have on you?
Do you believe that salvation and the supernatural intervention of God is the only solution to the problems of the world?
How do we apply these truths to daily life and let them impact us?

9/15/13 Design For Life - So All Can Hear

People Need The Lord

Broken Dreams

Football Player Can’t Forget the Ball He Dropped
    Noble Doss dropped the ball. One ball. One pass. One mistake. In 1941, he let one fall. And it’s haunted him ever since. “I cost us a national championship,” he says.
    The University of Texas football team was ranked number one in the nation. Hoping for an undefeated season and a berth in the Rose Bowl, they played conference rival Baylor University. With a 7-0 lead in the third quarter, the Longhorn quarterback launched a deep pass to a wide-open Doss.
    “The only thing I had between me and the goal,” he recalls, “was twenty yards of grass.”
    The throw was on target. Longhorn fans rose to their feet. The sure-handed Doss spotted the ball and reached out, but it slipped through.
    Baylor rallied and tied the score with seconds to play. Texas lost their top ranking and, consequently, their chance at the Rose Bowl.
    “I think about that play every day,” Doss admits.
    Not that he lacks other memories. Happily married for more than six decades. A father. Grandfather. He served in the navy during World War II. He appeared on the cover of Life magazine with his Texas teammates. He intercepted seventeen passes during his collegiate career, a university record. He won two NFL titles with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Texas High School Hall of Fame and the Longhorn Hall of Honor include his name.
    Most fans remember the plays Doss made and the passes he caught. Doss remembers the one he missed. Once, upon meeting a new Longhorn head coach, Doss told him about the bobbled ball. It had been fifty years since the game, but he wept as he spoke.
Max Lucado, Fearless (Thomas Nelson, 2009), pp. 31-32
    Life is filled with broken dreams, hurts, heartaches.  I doubt there is one person alive who hasn’t had some kind of hurt.  What can do we about them?  What can we do to overcome?  Life is filled with problems and struggles.  What is the answer?
    A song written by Steve Green gives us the answer.  It is not only for us, but tells us how we can help those around us who are looking for that missing piece in life.
Everyday they pass me by,
I can see it in their eye.
Empty people filled with care,
Headed who knows where?
On they go through private pain,
Living fear to fear.
Laughter hides their silent cries,
Only Jesus hears.
    People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
    At the end of broken dreams, He’s the open door.
    People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
    When will we realize --people need the Lord?
We are called to take His light
To a world where wrong seems right.
What would be too great a cost
For sharing life with one who’s lost?
Through His love our hearts can feel
All the grief they bear.
They must hear the words of life
Only we can share.
    People need the Lord, people need the Lord
    At the end of broken dreams, He’s the open door.
    People need the Lord, people need the Lord.
    When will we realize that we must give our lives,
    For people need the Lord.
    People need the Lord.
Luke 4:4 NKJV
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”

Deuteronomy 8:1-3 NKJV
1 Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.
    Yes, people need the Lord.  Jesus really IS the answer.  That is the prime reason why Cornerstone exists.  I often find myself talking with someone and thinking, if you would really give your life to Jesus, He would help you turn things around.
    Missions.  Missions Convention.  We talk about these themes often.  We have an annual Missions Convention.  Why?  Because people need the Lord.  Because the answer to the problems in the world, the answer to the violence and destruction we see all around is Jesus.  I’m not talking about some kind of religious routine, but a real personal relationship with the Creator of all, the Lord Who died on the cross and rose from the grave.  When a person has Jesus resident in their life, things change.
    Missions is not just across the ocean.  It starts as we walk out the front door.  It is us, as well as those we support to go to another place.  We are God’s missionaries to western Wisconsin.
    A challenge for everyone right now: think (and I hope believe) -- God really wants to use ME.
    Our Missions Convention theme for this year: So all can hear.  It is amazing how many people who live right around us have not heard a clear message of Who Jesus is and what He has done and will do in their lives.  They either have heard nothing, or have heard confusing religious words that don’t mean anything.
    We read from Luke 4.
    Jesus was tempted by the devil.  He was tempted to use His divine power to serve his own self-interest.  Being selfish is something we all deal with.  Jesus was not sidetracked, He stayed focused on what He came to do.
    He was tempted to gain glory and power for Himself instead of accepting the humility and suffering that he faced on the cross. Jesus took no short cuts to what He came to do.
    Satan still tempts people today.  He tempts Christian leaders to use their spiritual authority and position for their own personal gain and self-interest.  Jesus refused the temptation because He refused to surrender to his control.  Christians today must not compromise and surrender to temptation.
    The victory Jesus had was in quoting the scriptures.  This is still a great victory.  This is why we must learn what the bible says and use it regularly.  “The Bible says . . .” is still a good answer.
    In response to the temptation, Jesus replied Man does not live on bread alone. Satan tempted Jesus’ physical desire after He had fasted for 40 days.  Jesus never used His power for selfish reasons. Jesus resisted the temptation by stating clearly that He lived by God’s Word.
    Jesus emphasized that we must seek God’s kingdom, God’s ways above anything and everything else.  When do, God promises to take care of us and provide the necessary things for life.
    Yes, we will face tests in life. Some of them very difficult.  He wants us to learn that life does not consist only on the physical level.  Our well-being depends on a close personal relationship with Jesus and consistent obedience to his Word.
    One day in the synagogue, Jesus read from the prophet.
Luke 4:18-19 NKJV
18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
    Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit, enabled to do the work of service He came to earth for.
    What was the purpose of His ministry?  Some answers:
    He came to preach the gospel—the good news of forgiveness and salvation.  Jesus came to reach those whom the world overlooks and rejects.  The ones people mock and laugh at.  Jesus wants “those” people.
    Jesus came to bring real freedom.  Sin makes people slaves and they can’t find deliverance.  People are trapped by the troubles and evil in the world.  Jesus is the freedom from addictions.
    Jesus is also the healer.  His healing covers both physical and spiritual needs. He opens the spiritual eyes blinded by the world and Satan so that they can see the truth of God’s good news.  This brings true freedom from Satan’s power and from sin, fear and guilt.
    It is through Jesus that we can proclaim God’s provision of every human need.  WE are charged by God to continue and proclaim what Jesus taught.  We can and must bring hope to a messed up world.  People are enslaved to evil, brokenhearted, spiritually blind and distressed.  The answer really IS Jesus.
    How did we start out today?  Our theme?
Design For Life - So All Can Hear
People Need The Lord
    God has a design, a plan for your life.  It includes being used by Him in this massive task of bringing people to know Him personally.  We are responsible to help people receive God’s gift of eternal life.
    ALL need to hear.  This hearing starts in New Richmond and spreads around the world.  So, each one must ask God how He wants to use us.
    This theme must burn in our hearts.  What people REALLY need is Jesus.  Built on that foundation, they can see changes in life and solutions begin to  come.  This is founded on the ultimate solution, eternity with Jesus.

Discussion
Unique and creative ways to let people know about Jesus.
Think, identify, write your faith story.  How can you use it?
Can you quickly tell a story of where Jesus was THE answer for someone?
When we really believe Jesus is the only way, what impact should that have on our lives regarding people who are lost in sin?

9/1/13  KINGDOM LIVING - Hear and DO

    Judging others, one of the favorite pastimes of many people.  They look at someone and immediately put them in a category and “know” all about them.  Let me give you two stories.
Seattle Group Believes Alcoholics Can’t Change
    Can alcoholics overcome their addiction? Seattle’s Downtown Emergency Services Center doesn’t seem to think so. It’s spending $11 million on permanent housing for homeless alcoholics.
    Some in Seattle were fed up with spending $50,000 per alcoholic, every year, on recovery programs, prison, and emergency room visits. Their solution is a housing complex that accommodates 75 alcoholics. The residents are allowed to drink all they want, and they don’t have to be in a recovery program, as long as they’re off the streets.
    Bill Hobson, the program’s executive director, believes most alcoholics can’t change. “Once you’re an alcoholic, you’re always an alcoholic,” he says, citing the example of an alcoholic who got drunk 10 minutes after leaving a detox facility he had been in for two months. [So one failure means all are failures.] Hobson and his group reject the transforming power of Jesus Christ and believe some people are beyond hope and help.
Chuck Colson, “Bottoms Up: Is Change Possible?” Breakpoint newsletter (12-15-06)
    Judging these people and leaving them with no hope.  They are doomed, let them go.  That’s their attitude.
    Bank Snubs Millionaire Based on Appearance
    To John Barrier, it wasn’t the 60 cents, it was the principle. Barrier walked into his bank to cash a $100 check and then asked the receptionist to validate his parking ticket. Even after mentioning that he was a “substantial depositor”, Barrier’s request was refused. The receptionist explained that validation was only given for transactions involving a deposit.
    Barrier felt his appearance, dirty construction clothes, contributed to his treatment. He thought the bank manager looked at him like he’d “crawled out from under a rock”. Barrier contacted bank headquarters with his complaint. When no one returned his call, he started emptying his account, $1 million at a time.
    According to Barrier, “If you have $100 in a bank or $1 million, I think they owe you the courtesy of stamping your parking ticket.”
Elisa Tinsley, “Bank gets $2M Lesson,” USA TODAY (2-21-89, p. 1A)
    I wonder if he had come in with a suit on and identified himself, if they would have treated him differently.  Just a thought.
    As we conclude our Kingdom Living series, we look at a few more points Jesus made in His teaching.
Matthew 7:1-5 NKJV
1 Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
    Jesus taught against the practice of criticizing others without looking at our own shortcomings. It is so easy to always put someone else down.  We need to submit to God’s righteous standards of the Bible before trying to appraise and determine the actions of others.  Judging in an unjust way includes condemning or rejecting someone who is sinning without earnestly wanting to help the person repent and receive forgiveness.
    Many misapply this passage.  “Oh, we’re not supposed to judge.”  They allow anyone to do anything because “we’re not supposed to judge”.  That is not what it is saying.  It is speaking against a condemning judgement.
    These verses are often taken out of context to defend sinful actions.  Jesus is not saying we should not exercise discernment or make value judgments when others sin.  There are times when we have to speak out against sinful behavior that defies God and corrupts society.  We must not compromise and allow sin to become accepted in the church.  Some say that if you really love as Christ loves, then you accept everyone just as they are.  Again, this is missing the point.  Jesus came to change people.
    Jesus expects believers to study how a person’s character compares with the standards of God’s truth.
John 7:24 NKJV
24 Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
    There is a right and proper judgement.  It must be according to God’s standards.  God is totally for righteousness and totally against sin.  Too many people, and even Christians, don’t understand that any more.
Galatians 1:8-9 NKJV
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
    God’s truth will never change.  Righteousness is righteousness, no matter the time or location. Trying to change that brings God’s judgement.
    God expect us to never tolerate consistent sin in our own lives or believers.  It will destroy the move of the Holy Spirit’s work in and through a local church.
    Verse 12 is what we commonly call the Golden Rule.  An amazing guideline for how we treat others.
Matthew 7:12 NKJV
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
    Just think about the concept that if the whole world would apply this one truth, what a different world it would be.
    Question for discussion: How would the world be different if everyone practiced the Golden Rule?
    We have been calling these chapters the Constitution of the Church.  This is the declaration of the Sovereign ruler.
    The wrap up of this series on KINGDOM LIVING.  Hear and DO.  It is never a matter of just having a series or a sermon, but a matter of taking what we hear and APPLYING IT to daily life.
Matthew 7:24-29 NKJV
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
    Doing righteousness.  That must be a description of our lives.  This is the outgrowth of what we are.  And, because we ARE believers, we DO right.
Hear Jesus.
Apply what He says to our lives.
Do what He says.
The people were astonished at His teaching,
    When people really hear Jesus, they are amazed.  Jesus is above anything or anyone else we can hear.  Jesus impacted their lives.  We can have the same impact when we:
Are/Become a real believer
Apply the Bible in our lives
Live and share with God’s anointing/empowering
Then:  We make an impact that changes lives through God’s power.
    Discussion/Review
What stands out from this Kingdom Living series?  (Include Sunday School and the Beatitudes)
What changes have your seen or expect to result?

8/18/13   KINGDOM LIVING   

The Blessings of Generosity

    What is your approach to life?
***Me, myself and I
***Jesus, Others, You (what a wonderful way to spell joy)
Kids Collect Pennies to Purchase New Fire Truck
    Shortly after the tragedy of 9/11 came a wonderful story of giving. It came from a school in Columbia, South Carolina.
    First, the historical perspective. Two years after the Civil War, with much of Columbia still in ruins, some of the bitterness over the conflict was put aside by a single gesture: New York firefighters set out to collect pennies to buy Columbia a firetruck.
    On February 17, 1865, a devastating blaze devoured about one-third of the city. Columbia had lost most of its firefighting equipment during the Civil War and desperately used bucket brigades in their attempt to douse flames.
    Not long after, New York City firemen, many of them former Union soldiers, raised $5,000—mostly in pennies—and put a hose-reel wagon on a steamship bound for Columbia, South Carolina. On the way, the ship sank, but instead of giving up, they took up another collection and sent a second hose-reel wagon.
    So overwhelmed was former Confederate Colonel Samuel Melton that he made a promise on behalf of South Carolina’s capital city to return the kindness “should misfortune ever befall the Empire City.”
    After 9/11, White Knoll principal Nancy Turner and her teachers were trying to find some tangible way their students could respond to the attacks. Eventually the decision was made to collect money to buy a fire truck.
    Then Turner stumbled on records of New York’s gift. It was easy to get city leaders and the governor, Jim Hodges, to join in. Columbia’s fire chief was a New York native. The effort was named “South Carolina Remembers”. After 134 years, the day to remember came and the children of Columbia took it on themselves to honor that pledge.
    They collected pennies at football games, held bake sales, and sold T-shirts in a drive to raise the $350,000 needed to replace one of the dozens of New York fire trucks destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.
    The idea began from a lesson in giving. Donations poured in. One donor wrote: “When I was growing up in Columbia, Mama always said you need to return a kindness. I know she’d be as glad as I am to be part of this wonderful thank-you gesture.”
    One of the most unforgettable donations came from Russell Siller of Rockville Centre, New York. Siller’s brother, Stephen, was part of the elite firefighter force Squad 1. He died that terrible day. Siller wrote: “At a time like this, when the whole nation is still mourning its loss, what a powerful and poetic message your efforts send to all of us. I am proud that New York’s bravest sent you a fire truck in your city’s time of need. … To think that you would honor a pledge made so many years ago! The new fire truck will become a symbol for your love for your country, and for New York’s bravest.”
Condensed from Building Adult Ministries, Christianity Today International. “A Kindness Returned-134 Years Later,” Building Adult Ministries (3-31-08); taken from an Associated Press story by Page Ivey
    The blessings of generosity.  It is not just an emotional response to a heart wrenching appeal.  This is one of the most powerful principles God wants all to learn.  I am reminded of:
II Corinthians 9:7 NLT
7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
    In His sermon expressing the foundation of His Kingdom, the constitution of the church, Jesus taught about something we all deal with - generosity and the temptation to be in love with stuff.
    I want to challenge you with the blessings of generosity.  What we allow to flow through our hands, what we keep, and how we look at caring for others  will set the pace for where we go in life.
    Jesus taught:
Matthew 6:1-34 NLT
1 Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 2 When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. 3 But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.
    Learn the blessings of generosity, just don’t make a big deal about it.  This goes to motivation.  Why do you do what you do?  Is it so others will be impressed?  Is it to make people think you are a wonderful person?
    God says to be generous and let Him take care of any rewards.  God sees what you do. He will reward you in ways you couldn’t think of.  Just be kind and forget it.
    Generous is something we all can be.  It may be with money, it may be with something we already own, it may be with time and talents.  Many think “When I get rich, then I’ll do great things”.  Don’t wait for that time, it probably won’t come.  Use what you have now.
    Generosity includes this simple concept: find a need, then heal it.  Not every need is large and you can do something about it.
19 Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
    Termites Eat Millions of Indian Rupees
    It was an all-you-can-eat buffet at the bank. An army of termites munched through 10 million rupees ($222,000) in currency notes stored in a steel chest at a bank in Barabanki, said police in northern India. The bank manager discovered the damage when he opened the reinforced room in an old bank building.
    Police officer Navneet Rana told The Associated Press, “It’s a matter of investigation how termites attacked bundles of currency notes stacked in a steel chest.” The money was put in the chest in January, 2011. In the past, termites had damaged bank furniture and documents. The police have registered a case of negligence against the bank officials.
Associated Press, “Termites eat millions of Indian rupees in bank” (4-22-11)
    Some treasure lasts and gains value.  Some simply fades away.  People have lost billions of dollars in investments that were worthless.  Things that seemed so valuable have lost their appeal.
    Let’s come up with a list of things that had value at one time:
8 track, cassette tapes
dial telephones
vacuum tubes (radio, TV)
floppy disks for computers
?????
    These things were all valuable and looked like a great investment.  Now, they just sit and collect dust.
    Store up treasure that will last, that won’t lose value.  Eternity is the place to invest.
What will bring people to Jesus?
What will show God’s love and compassion for people?
What will bring honor to God?
    This is where we want to invest.  So many things people work so hard to collect fade away.  Let me illustrate it with this golf club.  I got it used for $5.  I probably could have gotten it for less.  New, it cost hundreds.  Some time ago someone was all excited as they got this beautiful new club.  Now, it’s considered worthless.  Look at so many other toys people have to have that are now filling up storage sheds or landfills.
24 No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
25 That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
28 And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? 31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
    ***No one can serve two masters.
    Money, things – the master of many people.  This is why people say the church shouldn’t talk about money.  “That’s my money and I’m going to do whatever I want with it.”  Money becomes the master and controls people.  Jesus said we will either serve God or money.  That is an amazingly accurate statement.
    People place a high value on things.  They place their trust and faith in it and look to it for security and happiness.  If you have enough money, your future is guaranteed.  They forget these words from the Bible.  Luke 12:15, 20 NKJV
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
    Accumulating wealth takes over a person’s mind so they forget about doing things for God’s glory.
    Let’s review 19-34.
Questions for discussion.
What does the Bible say about money, material possessions?
God owns it all.
Psalm 50:10-12 NKJV
10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. 11 I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. 12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you; For the world is Mine, and all its fullness.”
    We are to manage what God gives us, use it for God’s purposes.
1 Corinthians 4:2 NKJV
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

How do we recognize His ownership?
Acknowledging His ownership.  The tithe is the acknowledgment that it all belongs to God.
Malachi 3:10-11 NKJV
10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the LORD of hosts;
    The tithe is God’s revealed way to support the local church.

What does God’s ownership imply?
    He owns everything.  He gave it to us to use, to manage for Him, to receive benefit of having what we need in life.
    God blesses generosity, generous living.  Being a faithful steward builds up treasures in heaven.  Nothing can take those away.  It relieves us from the worry about things.
The Application
What am I going to do about things, money, generosity?
What am I going to do about the tithe?

8/11/13  KINGDOM LIVING

Purity – God’s Best Option

    In his book Glorious Mess, Mike Howerton tells a story about a childhood experience playing “mud football”. After a huge downpour, he and his buddies found a gully filled with two inches of standing water. He describes what happened next:
    We had a blast. Every tackle would send you sliding for yards and yards. The ball was like a greased pig, which meant tons of fumbles and gang tackles and laughter.
    I remember tackling one of [my friends] and watching him skim across the surface of the water for something like four miles and thinking, “I might be in heaven.” When he got up, I noticed something stuck on his shoulder. I peered closer, wondering, “What is that?” Now, there was a huge, concrete sewage runoff drain right next to the gully. And apparently during heavy rains, all sorts of things got backed up, and I don’t know if the apartment complex immediately next to the school burst a pipe or what, but I do know we didn’t really pay attention to the flotsam in the gully until I noticed that something on Craig’s shoulder. I peered closer and suddenly realized it was a soaking piece of toilet paper. In that same instant I realized the smell surrounding me was a bit more pungent than a typical mud football game ought to smell. I yelled out, “We’re playing in POOP WATER!” and we bolted for home as fast as we could.
    Talk about an instant of mental transformation.  Sometimes in life we need our thinking transformed. Sometimes we think we’re having fun until we realize we’re rolling around in sewage.
Mike Howerton, Glorious Mess (Baker, 2012), pp. 101-102
    God has given us something awesome, and, as usual, the enemy is making it something awful.  God has given us the beauty of personal relationships and a beautiful thing called marriage with all its benefits, and they enemy gets it all twisted up.  What appears to be beautiful and extremely fulfilling becomes a source of destruction and desperation when we break God’s ways.
    KINGDOM LIVING -- Purity, God’s best option
Matthew 5:27-32 NKJV
27 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
31 Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
    In His sermon expressing the foundation of His Kingdom, the constitution of the church, Jesus taught about something we all deal with - desires of the heart.
    I want to challenge you with the blessings of obeying God’s laws.  What we allow into our hearts, what we dwell on, will set the pace for where we go in life.
    This message today is built on the foundation of one of the beatitudes. 
Matthew 5:8 NKJV
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
    The pure in heart have dedicated themselves to the Lord and are free from sin’s power.  They live to please God.  Pleasing God loves what God loves and hates what God hates.  This is living in tune with God.
    God is looking for purity in His followers.
1 Samuel 13:13-14 NKJV
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”
    God blesses pure hearts who love righteousness.
Hebrews 1:9 NKJV
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
    Jesus taught about our thoughts and desires.  We must make them pure according to HIS standards of holiness.
28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
    As you read the Bible you see many references to this topic of adultery.  There is physical as well as spiritual adultery.  What is the big deal?  Why is the Bible so strongly against it?
    God gave the most special human relationship to a man and woman in marriage.  It is like no other.  You can be friends, business acquaintances, neighbors, meet people at social gatherings, friends at church -- and nothing comes close to the special relationship found in marriage.
    God used marriage as a picture of the relationship believers (the church) have with the Lord.
    This very special and awesome relationship found only in marriage is the foundation for society.  It is the foundation for an orderly society.  It is the way that truth, righteousness and godliness are to be passed from generation to generation.  The strong desires a man has towards his wife are counterfeited by sin and lead to the destruction of the home, the lives involved and eventually society.  These strong desires in marriage are good and come from God.
    This is why Jesus said that a look of uncontrolled passion is just as destructive as physical adultery.  What starts out as a thought often leads to an action.
    I have never heard someone say “I’m sorry I was faithful to my wife for all these decades.  I wish I’d had an affair.”
    Men, let’s be honest about what is all around us. Entertainment is filled with everything destructive.  Let’s be honest, pornography is destructive to your life.  The research confirms what the Bible teaches – men who consume porn enter into many destructive behaviors.  It is central is countless breakups of families.  It treats women like play toys to be discarded.
    A request to women: please be careful how you dress.  Make an effort to understand modesty.  Be careful what and how much you show in how you dress.  Yes, it really makes a difference.
    It is not just porn that pollutes the mind.  My observation is that the majority of entertainment today is based on a world-view that mocks God’s moral standards.  Don’t waste your time watching the stupid programs, but do some research to the story lines and settings of the TV programs coming out these days. As a Christian, you should be shocked and disgusted.  And you have to be even more careful with movies.  What are the laugh lines?  Often they are about things the Bible calls sin.
    I recently saw an ad for a frozen dinner.  The implication of the ad was that the woman promoting this product was naked.  I wonder, is their product that bad that they have to try to trick people into buying it? What kind of a perverted mind would conceptualize that ad?  And what kind of pervert would approve it to represent the company?
    Again, the Sermon on the Mount:  Jesus isn’t calling for physical abuse, but note these verses and see the over illustration of what should be done to prevent sin from destroying a person.
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
    Hell is no joking matter.  Those who participate in immoral behavior face horrible destruction and torment in hell.
    The things we are talking about today are God’s laws.  Many are sick or even dead because they have ignored God’s moral laws and have fallen prey to the lies of the “fun” of sexual sin.  You can’t break God’s laws without paying the price.
    This year there was a plane crash in Michigan.  Our son, Matthew, called us about it.  He had flown the plane that went down and four people died.  There was nothing wrong with it.  A young pilot took some family members for a ride and overloaded the plane. Even though there were four seats in the plane, it couldn’t handle that much weight.  The plane never got more than 100 feet in the air.  It crashed and all died.  Matthew’s insightful comment:  you can’t break the laws of physics.
    You can break human laws.  You can never break God’s laws.  Whenever someone tries, they will crash and burn.
    One of the beautiful and special features about marriage is that God uses a Divine super-glue to bring the husband and wife together.  This is why it hurts so much when it breaks.  Jesus said in Matthew 19:6 that God does the joining in marriage.
31 Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’
    Jesus was talking about religious teachers making it easy to divorce for any reason.  The prophet, Malachi, wrote that God hates divorce. He hates it because of the pain it brings.  Especially among believers there must be a way to work things out.
    I have tied together verses about God’s moral law with His statement about the narrow way to heaven.
Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV
13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
    Two opposites here: life and destruction.  We are either heading towards one or the other.
    Narrow and wide.  Is it more important to be popular and be considered “in” than to obey God?  The popular way these days is basically immoral.  The younger generation thinks boyfriend/girlfriend living together is just the normal thing.  Even some who call themselves Christians are doing it and thinking nothing of it.  Why?  Because that is what everyone else is doing.  And, our culture lives for instant gratification.  Don’t wait, I want my fun now.
    God’s ways are always the best.  It is easy to get negative on moral topics and make it seem as if Christians/the Bible are against everything.  That is not so.  God is FOR us and gives us the way to be most successful.  I love a statement I heard on a radio program once:
Once you throw away God’s best, all of the options stink.
QUESTIONS
What are the moral principles God wants us to understand and obey?
What do you say to someone who says Christianity is narrow?
Is “narrow” really an insult?
What is modesty?
What is the world not understanding about God’s design for marriage and physical intimacy?
APPLICATION
Ask God to speak to your heart to help you see how you can live a life that receives the blessings of Biblical morality.

8/4/13 KINGDOM LIVING

Anger and retaliation.  How do you treat your enemies?

    It is very easy to get extremely angry at someone and have a strong desire to retaliate.  It would feel great to rearrange their face.  We need to be honest that we have all felt these desires and emotions from time to time.
    In His sermon expressing the foundation of His Kingdom, the constitution of the church, Jesus taught about something we all deal with - anger and retaliation, revenge.  We know that from time to time we will be treated poorly and unfairly in life.  What do we do with it?
    Let me share a true story about the destruction and insanity of holding on to anger.  This is what can happen when we ignore Jesus’ advice we will read about today.
    In June of 2012, Carl Ericsson, a 73-year-old South Dakota man, was sentenced to life in prison after admitting to the murder of a former high school classmate. Friends and family members were shocked that the once-successful insurance salesman seemed to snap. Ericsson had been married to his wife for over 44 years.
    But after the murder, Ericsson’s secret finally came out. For over 50 years he had simmered with a grudge: He was still mad at a classmate who had once pulled a high school prank. Norman Johnson, the classmate and murder victim, was a star athlete. Ericsson was a student sports manager. According to Ericsson’s confession, on one occasion Johnson pulled a prank, humiliating him and planting the seed of resentment that would continue to grow for over half a century. Throughout their lives, Norman Johnson continued to outshine Ericsson. Johnson had played college football, earned a degree, and then taught and coached at his alma mater for more than three decades.
    After holding a grudge for over 50 years, Carl Ericsson rang Johnson’s doorbell and shot him dead. Ericsson told a judge, “I guess it was from something that happened over 50 years ago. It was apparently in my subconscious.” During his sentencing, Ericsson turned to Johnson’s widow and apologized, saying, “I just wish I could turn the calendar back.”
Cameron Smith, Bizarre S.D. murder caused by resentment over 50-year-old locker room jockstrap prank," Yahoo Sports Prep Rally blog (6-18-12)
    Can you imagine living your whole life consumed by anger and resentment over one silly thing done in high school?  I wonder how many times this caused Carl Ericsson to seethe with anger and resentment.  I wonder how many times he dreamed with delight at the thought of getting revenge and making Norman Johnson shrink in humiliation and suffering.
    Jesus knew the controlling destruction of anger, which is why we have His teaching we will look at today.
    Let’s read some of Jesus’ teachings on this topic.
Matthew 5:21-26 NKJV
21 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Matthew 5:43-48 NKJV
43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
    Having read these verses, let me back up to read a foundational verse.
Matthew 5:17 NKJV
17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
    There were people who thought that believing and applying the Law God gave through Moses was no longer necessary.  But, Jesus was taking spiritual things to a higher level.  He wasn’t only calling for obedience to the letter of the law because you have to, but obedience that comes from the heart.  Don’t just go through religious motions, but really love God.
    There is a teaching called antinomianism.  This says that faith and grace releases a Christian from the obligation of following any moral law.  Jesus was dealing with this.
    This is a belief that there are no moral laws God expects Christians to obey.  Biblically, we are not required to observe the law as a means of salvation.  On the cross, Jesus fulfilled the law.  Antinomianism comes to the unbiblical conclusion that because of God’s grace and Jesus death on the cross, there is no moral law God expects Christians to obey.  We can do whatever we want.
    Paul settled this in:
Romans 6:1-2 NKJV
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
    People can say, “If I am saved by grace and my sin is forgiven, why not sin all I want?”  However, someone really saved has a strong desire to obey God out of love for Him.  We are not looking for excuses or permission to sin.  We want to get close to Jesus.
    Again:
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
    Jesus is not speaking of a justified, righteous anger at those who are wicked and cruel.  Instead, He is condemning the vindictive anger that desires to harm or kill another person. “Raca” is a term of hatred and contempt, calling a person an “empty-headed fool.”  Jesus spoke against these kinds of insults.
    Murder starts with anger.  If anger is not dealt with, it will lead the violence, murder and destructive acts.  Often anger starts with insults.  Jesus said that these insults will lead to judgement, and many problems.
    The citizens of an early settlement in a place known as Qumran (the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found), had a strong expectation of Godly behavior.  Blasphemous speech could result in having one’s food ration reduced for a year.  The extreme punishment could be banishment from the settlement.
    Jesus said these kinds of offenses can lead to punishment in hell.
    The principle Jesus taught was to get things settled quickly so that strife doesn’t continue to escalate.  Even if you have to leave your sacrifice at the altar to go and get it settled, do it right away.
    Settle things. Forgive.  Give up the need for revenge.  This does not imply that people can sin and get away with it.  God is the ultimate judge.  But, get things settled.  Recognize the destructive force of anger.  Don’t let it ruin your life.  Make an active effort at reconciliation.

Again:
Matthew 5:43-48 NKJV
43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
    Jesus is not teaching about letting evil people get away with sinful acts or resisting proper justice to those who are wicked.  Jesus is concerned about loving and expressing kindness to our enemies.  When someone does something against us, we are not to respond in hatred.  Instead, show a Christlike character. Our responses toward unkind people can cause them to consider what Jesus is like.  This example can lead them to receive Jesus as their Savior.
    The concept of hating your enemies: some people wrongly believe that they SHOULD hate their enemies.  But, the Law never used the words hate your enemy.  Rather, it taught kindness even toward an enemy’s animals. The law commanded love not only for one’s neighbor but also for strangers.
    Loving an enemy really throws him into confusion.  It is a tool to reach him for Jesus.  He doesn’t understand why you don’t want revenge, for that is what he would want.
Romans 12:18-21 NKJV
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
    Coals of fire - that sounds painful.  The concept is not attempting to call down Divine judgement, but it speaks of the natural result of showing kindness to someone who we think doesn’t deserve it.  The effect of being kind to an enemy will produce pain resulting from shame and remorse.  The goal is that it will lead to repentance.
    How unreasonable, absurd and nonsensical anger can be.  It grabs hold of a person and controls them.  An observer can often see the folly of it, but the person consumed by anger can’t. Anger can even control a person when the issue isn’t real.
Woman Lays Down a 30-Year Grudge
    From 1974-1981 the actress Alison Arngrim played Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. Nellie, as fans of the show will remember, was a horrible child who continually tortured Laura Ingalls. Alison is still acting, but Nellie Oleson is never too far in the background.
    Alison was at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds a few years ago, signing autographs with other former child stars. In the midst of a long day of meeting and greeting, a woman in her forties made it to the front of Alison’s line. Alison looked up, smiled, and reached for something to sign. The woman had nothing to sign. She merely stood in front of the table and turned different shades of red and purple. She was shaking, closing her eyes, and swallowing as she tried to compose herself.
    Allison and her husband grew increasingly uncomfortable, and were close to calling for security, when the angry woman broke the silence with three labored words: “I … forgive … you.” And, just like that, she exhaled, turned, and exited the tent.
    Alison says that this kind of thing happens fairly often. She had never met this woman. They had never exchanged a single word before meeting at the fair that day. But this angry stranger at the LA County Fair had carried a seething, consuming grudge against a character on a TV show that had not aired in 30 years. Nellie had never bullied her and never lived in her neighborhood. Nellie never even existed. But after 30 long years of carrying the burden of this hatred, she needed to lay it down and walk away.
Alison Arngrim, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch (HarperCollins Publishing, 2010), pp. ix-x
    This is amazing. A woman was upset for 30 years over something that wasn’t even real.  This is a good illustration of the destruction of anger and the importance of dealing with it.
    One of the most important events in my life came in a family camp service at Spencer Lake.  The teaching was on getting along.  Then the teaching went to forgiveness.  The question was: why is it so hard to forgive?
Four thoughts:
Often, the offender isn’t sorry.
We feel our rights have been violated.
We are left with a loss.
We feel the offender is getting by free.

Question:
Is it easy to forgive?
Why would God ask us to do something so hard?
Personal reflection:
Is there someone you need to forgive?
Is there someone you need to contact and restore a relationship?
Do you have any grudges you need to release?