Fish, bread and a relationship?

There is an old adage…give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

 

It is not just an old adage it is a mindset that we can have toward God if we are not careful

 

John 6:22-26

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone— 23 however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks— 24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

 

The 30K had eaten they knew Jesus didn’t go with the disciples but they knew he was there and they were confused.

 

Jesus begins to try to help them have bigger thoughts and bigger dreams…he saying yes, I fed you but did you miss how I fed you it was a genuine miracle and all you are worried about is my meeting your physical need, your materialistic need and you tried to solve your political need by trying to make me King…what I am about is so much bigger than that

 

John 6:27,28

27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

 

Once again Jesus is trying to get them to think bigger.  If all you are looking for is food, that will get you by for a day or two but what I have to give you is the key to everything for eternity. Jesus had already established this when being tempted by Satan in the wilderness…Matthew 4:4

 

“But He answered and said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

 

Let me ask you today, what is it that you need? As you look at your life, your family, your future? What are you seeing that you need?

 

Hebrews tells us Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So as we read His word, we see the stories we can count on Jesus being able to do the same things for us. We get caught in the same trap as they did…lets read the next verse to see what I mean

 

John 6:28

28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

 

What should we do, what acts of righteousness should we do to see this stuff happen for us, how good do we have to be….just tell us Jesus and we will do it!

 

We want to work to make God love us. We bargain with him to gain His favor, Jesus if you do this for me I’ll never do that again or if you do this for me I’ll do this for you all the time…yes we bargain or we work really hard or we try to be really, really good.

 

But here is what Jesus said John 6:29

 

29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

 

Jesus is saying it is not about the work, it is about relationship!

 

We are always striving to please God and God is always just loving us.

 

Jesus fed the 30K people not because he was simply trying to make people happy he did it because of His relationship with His Father and His love and compassion on the people.

 

He is telling all of these people he just fed, please don’t think so small as to just get your needs met, meeting your needs is easy for me, but if you have relationship with me you will be blessed forever and have all of your needs met in the process.

 

Still, they are looking for the works, Here is what Moses did for us, what will you do for us?

 

John 6:30,31

They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

 

Think with me for a minute…what kind of relationship would you have with your child if all they did was want from you…if their expectation was always “What do you have for me?” rather than Mom, Dad I just love you and love all you have done for me

 

They are saying Moses gave us bread from heaven what will you do….when in fact they got it wrong Exodus 16:4 says that it was God who gave them bread from heaven

 

John 6:32,33

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

 

The children of Israel ate bread in the wilderness and all of them died.

 

Jesus is saying stop worrying about all the stuff of life, what you should eat what you should drink…I’ve got this if you will trust me, build relationship with me…I’ll make it happen

 

When we think about how our lives are so very short, the things we are so very worried about the things we think are important aren’t really in the scope of eternity but remember what Jesus did here, He empathized with the people….He said I know you are hungry so I’ll feed you but don’t belittle our relationship into me just performing for you….life is very short and eternity is forever so look a little higher, think a little deeper, don’t you think if I can perform miracles like feeding 30K I can take care of your needs but don’t you want more than just you belly filled, I want to have a loving relationship with you that takes away all fear, worry, doubt and that helps you never fear again. I want to give you true life in every sense of the word if you will just trust me….

 

Their response….very sad John 6:34

Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”

Once again they are missing it….the one who has all that they need is standing right in front of them. The one who will bring peace, love, joy, and so much more to them if they are willing is standing right in front of them. The one who will never leave them or turn his back on them for all eternity is standing right in front of them, the one who can push back every enemy, give them strength, life hope and they are settling for crumbs. Jesus gently replies

John 6:35 -37

35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 37 However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.

 

Jesus is telling them and us, whatever you need, if you trust me, if you build relationship with me, I’ll be there for you.

 

Something else that hurts us sometimes in our trusting the Lord is that we feel if we blow it that we have to work back to get that relationship….real love says you are always loved, real relationships says you are always welcomed home.

 

Jesus is saying while you may have done some things that have hurt our relationship know that I am always still here waiting for you to come back….once you have relationship with the Lord you need to come to an understanding that He always loves you….it is His desire that as you grow to understand that, that you would want to do the things that please Him like caring for others, being kind, sharing the love and truth of God with others, choosing to want to draw closer to him and get further away from sin.

 

Our pettiness, jealousy, envy, fear, all fade away as we are growing ever deeper in our relationship with Him…he will meet all of our needs if we will but choose relationship with Him over trusting in our own abilities or the world.

 

On a different occasion, Jesus said this

 

Matthew 6:25-33

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you

 

So what is this mystical relationship I’m talking about?

 

Just like any other relationship it is an investment in time and vulnerability

 

You can’t trust someone if you don’t know them so how can we know God? Three ways

 

  • Read your Bible – God’s love letter for you it reveals his heart
  • Pray – talking with someone, engaging in conversation always enables you to get to know them better
  • Spend time with people that reflect Jesus

 

To some of you, these might seem like pretty basic stuff and it is but here is my question for you

 

How much time are you spending reading, listening, or engaging in conversations every day that are not Christ-centered or Christ uplifting or simply building you up?

 

We will all have a tendency to throw up those emergency prayers, we all have a tendency to panic, worry, take things into our own hands, try to control them if our relationship is not where it needs to be.

 

God desires for us peace, love, joy, prosperity, blessing and so much more…relationship makes that happen.

 

Can I challenge you to take a deep look at your life and think about how much peace you really have, how much joy you really have, how much blessing is really in your life…Jesus wants you never to be hungry spiritually (or physically) and lacking what I have just described shows a hunger that is going unsatisfied.

 

Allow the Lord to refresh your relationship with Him today

 

Can you imagine going into every meeting with peace, handling every difficulty in your life with joy, watching God’s blessings on your life all of the time? It is not about your circumstances it is always about your relationship

 

 

What is it that you really need?

What is it that you really need?

 

The people followed Jesus because of all the signs and wonders he performed, they wanted all the power that he was willing to do for them…but what was sad was they missed who Jesus really was because they didn’t really want what He was offering them they wanted their own way….is that the way we are?

 

 

John 6: 1- 15

 

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

 

The resurrection and this story are the only two stories in all for Gospels, that must mean that this is a very important story…. let’s take a look to see why.

 

Jesus is making quite a stir, this is nearing the second Passover that he is celebrating in ministry. Which means it is only a year until he will be crucified

 

The people are seeing the miracles but missing the message…we’ll talk about that later

 

Notice just like we talked about with the marriage feast in Cana, God cares about what is important to us, Jesus saw the people were hungry and wanted to feed them.

 

Philip was from the city of Bethsaida the nearest city to where they were so Philip would have known what shops were nearby, how many loaves of bread they could probably get from the local bakers but Jesus is teaching an important lesson.

 

Faith according to the writer of Hebrews is this… Chapter 11:1-3

 

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

 

You have probably heard verse one, hundreds of times…faith requires us to move even if we can’t see or fully understand but we know God’s voice and we move knowing he will meet us each step of the way.

 

Verses 3 challenges us to believe that every word God says is true and he will always come through and it is trusting that by His hands if he is speaking to us, things are going to happen, it doesn’t matter if it looks possible or not, when we choose to trust him He can take nothing, as he did with the universe and create something out of it.

 

  • So the first thing we really need is the faith to believe God at His word above what may even seem impossible because nothing really is impossible with Him!

 

Philip knew there was no way in his home village that enough bread or fish would be there to feed 5000 men (which could mean up to 30K people)

 

It was very practical, Bethsaida was not that large of a village that there would even be a need for that much bread. Bread was not preserved the way ours is so it would go bad quickly so bakers only made enough to sell that day

 

Second, we see Philip responding with another practical response…BTW faith is rarely practical

 

John 6:7

Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

 

This is two hundred days wages. Some scholars believe they had this much in their treasury which if you think about it was not very much when Jesus is physically caring for twelve men, and their families needs but whether it was an amount of money that they had in the treasury or not Philip is saying we don’t have enough money to feed 30K people.

 

How many times have you felt like the Lord was asking you to do something and you gave him a million excuses as to why you couldn’t.  I am sure most of them are legitimate reasons. We must always realize if God is asking us to do something he has miracles on his mind, the miracle of fulfilling our destiny, the miracle of impacting the world around us, the miracle of teaching us the fruit of the spirit in action and many others….we all have dreams and the Lord challenges us, stretches us, even pushes us because he wants us to draw closer to His heart and understand His dreams for us.

 

How do we know this? John gives us a commentary that explains this..

 

John 6:6

But this He (Jesus) said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

 

Before I discuss this, we need to understand point two of what we really need

 

  • What we really need is… to understand that when God asks us to do something he has the fulfillment of our dreams and impacting our world on His mind….I know it is scary but we can’t accomplish great things for God in our comfort zone and we will not fulfill our purpose by just living daily life Daniel put it this way11:32b

 

“the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.”

 

So John is saying Jesus is testing Philip. God doesn’t ever tempt us but he will certainly test us and our faith

 

1 Peter 1:7

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

 

Don’t be mistaken, God knows exactly what you will do, but He allows our faith to be tested so we know who we are, so we will end up giving more glory as we grow in faith doing even greater things.

 

In this case, Jesus wanted to show them what He could do with anything brought to Him. Andrew brought the young boys 5 loaves and 2 fish to Jesus

 

Think about the faith it took to even think to yourself well it’s not much but who knows what Jesus could do with it…he turned water into wine

 

-I don’t know if that is what Andrew thought, but it is always important in going deeper with the Lord to remember what He has done for us in the past….that helps build faith.

 

What did Jesus do to further help them grow?

 

John 6:11

11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

 

First, he gave thanks it is important if you are going to do anything serious for God to have an attitude of gratitude, it causes you to remember who is really in control of your life and who loves you the most

 

Notice what happened the disciples took the loaves and fish Jesus gave them then they took them and through their hands 30K+ people were fed

 

  • What we really need is… to be faithful to God’s challenge for us and just begin to walk it out and He will blow us away with what he can do through us

 

This was all preparation the steps of building their faith. See we don’t change the world all of a sudden, God looks for people he can trust with little things and then he can trust them with bigger

 

Matthew 25:21

His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

 

God wants the church to change the world, not just endure until he returns, he sent his son to die on the cross for everyone and we are who He wants to use like the disciples to see the miracles at our hands

 

But we get caught up in wanting the wrong things, we miss the message….Israel saw this man who performed miracles, fed the masses solved their horrible problems of social injustice and they wanted a king

 

John 6: 14, 15

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15 Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

 

You might ask now how could they do that but we often misinterpret Jesus ourselves….we want him to make us powerful in government, rich in finances, popular among people, great at everything so people will love us….none of that is wrong if that is truly what God wants but the purpose of those things must be to fulfill our purpose in loving God with everything we have and are, our skills, talents, personalities, minds, drive, and loving all people the same way so they can either come to Jesus or grow to become more like Jesus.

What they really needed was the power and love that enables them to fulfill the Father’s heartbeat.

 

God wants you to change your world by learning to love God with everything within us, and loving people so they don’t wind up in hell and grow to be who God has called them to be!

 

What do you really want? What God really wants is for you is…

 

The faith to believe God at his word so you will always be confident and never fear

 

Trust Him that if he asks you to do something that you will do it knowing that God wants to fulfill your destiny, your dreams, your purpose and it comes by believing Him at his word…willing to leave your comfort zone?

 

Take the steps of faith that when he asks us to do something if we are willing to take the steps, he will blow us away with what he will do through us

 

 

 

 

Miracles can happen and are waiting for you, if you are all in!

Miracles can happen and are waiting for you….if you are all in!

John 5:1-9

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

Jesus is coming back into Jerusalem to celebrate another feast. The sheep gate is the gate closest to the Temple because it is the gate that all of the animals came through that were going to be sacrificed.

Beside this gate is a pool of water known as Bethesda or (House of Mercy)

For years people would gather at this pool waiting for some kind of stirring of the waters.

There were 5 separate roofed areas where people would pack in by the pool. A multitude meant at least hundreds of blind, lame, paralyzed broken in every way were there waiting for a stirring of the waters.

We still do this today….for the most part we aren’t standing by some magical pool looking for a miracle but we do things like

Read our horoscopes
Consult psychics
Do other risky things with our lives, health, and finances
Things we hope will bring the answer to our life problems, things that make us feel like we are in control

All in the hope of getting ahead by some magic.

The danger is we become so focused on trying to make things happen in our own strength, with our own wisdom, by our own abilities, when the Lord speaks, gives some kind of wisdom, or understanding to bring us to freedom we can miss it because we are looking for what we want rather than God.
There is no doubt in my mind that people were healed getting into the water. If some hadn’t the multitudes would not have gathered but is that the way God wants to do things

There is no doubt that coincidences happen with a horoscope or a Psychic or people can twist events to make it look like the horoscope or Psychic were correct….there is no doubt some people win placing bets but the reason casinos, racetracks and others are in business is because they win far more often than they lose…but even if you do win is that the way God wants to supply for you

God’s heart is that we always will grow deeper in our relationship with Him and that all of our needs, our security, even our life comes in and through Him.

With Him, we win every time, with him we are never lost, never alone. He is always with us! Building relationship with Him gives us confidence, hope, and freedom always…other things can lead us to bondage and will lead us there.

Here, by the pool, Hundreds of people are in need of a miracle. Hundreds are wanting to get healed, delivered, brought to freedom but the sad part is that only one will trust the Lord….

How do I know….

John 5:19

So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.

The Father responds to faith so he had Jesus going to the person He knew had faith in Him rather than the stirring of the water.

This is one of the keys to seeing the miracles in our lives, it is about our faith in God not in ourselves, our jobs, bosses, others in our lives but God.

When we come to the realization that it is God who created us, knows us the best, loves us the most and has a tremendous plan for our lives.

God is more than willing to move mountains for us because it is faith that moves God…but He wants to know if we are willing to believe
Abraham took his only son up the mountain and even though God had asked him to sacrifice his son, by faith He believed God was not after the death of his only son but would provide a ram. (Genesis 22)

It is not a matter of proving to God that we believe but instead proving to ourselves that we believe…God knows that we have the heart to believe we need to come to the truth that we believe…let’s look at what Jesus said

John 5:6

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?”

Now that seems like a crazy question to ask someone who has been sitting by a miracle pool for up to 38 years. What is he really asking?

1) Are you tired of being in the condition you are in? We don’t change until we are in enough pain, God always want to move in our lives but we have to choose to decide we want to be free
2) Do you recognize that I can heal you? Often we think God will meet the needs of other people but will He meet ours. Jesus is challenging him to consider that God knows, understands and wants to do something about his condition….we need to remember God knows us better than we know ourselves, He always wants us to recognize that we are important to Him, important enough to meet our needs
3) Do you see yourself as something more than sitting here? Many begin to so identify with their condition, sickness, mental, social, economic, spiritual limitations then God pushes us to admit that we want to change

All of this was posed in the question and Jesus is still posing it to us now

If you are tired of the condition you are in….bring it Jesus and if you are willing He will change it

Do you recognize that He can heal you and that you are important enough to him that He wants to?

Can you see yourself apart from the limitation that has been placed on you? Can you see yourself no longer a victim? No longer considered stupid or untalented or impoverished, or a nobody or any of the other labels that have been placed on you by others that you have believed all of this time. We must never allow other people’s limited perception of us to define us….God says we are amazing, worthy of love, His princes and princesses but we must choose to believe it!

Hear the limitations of the man’s thinking

John 5:7

The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”

Jesus didn’t ask the man if he was going to get into the water, he asked if he wanted to be healed.

Too often we look at a problem and say, “I need this to solve my problem and if God has another means of meeting that need we may miss it.

You may be praying for finances to meet a particular need and God sends a different answer…a better job, an additional job, a new thing to replace what you through you needed money for…the man needed a healing not dunked in the water

I remember having a job I hated and asking the Lord to get me out of the job, and praying basically begging God to get me a better job, finally at the end of my begging God was able to get through and said why don’t you pray that I bless you in this job and I complained again but God I want out of this job…eventually God got through and I asked for his blessing in the job and he did, I was blessed with more money than I could imagine but the real thing was there were two guys that I was able to lead to the Lord that both died within two years after I left there and would not have come to Christ if I selfishly demanded my own way.

God’s plans are for your good…I know many of you have read this scripture multiple times but it is worth remembering when we are in need of a miracle

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

God is always looking for those who will trust Him and believe Him at his word….this man didn’t know it but he was such a man, God knew he was a man of faith and stretched him

When God sees we have miracle working faith, when He sees we have a blessing waiting, even though we don’t see it yet he will challenge us to use it

John 5:8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”

God saw the man able to walk…the man didn’t know for sure that he could walk and Jesus challenged him to walk

How does he see you?

Does he see skills and talents in you that either you are afraid to use, or don’t know you have…He is asking you to use them because he has a blessing on His mind for you

Does he have a promotion waiting for you, a call to higher responsibility that you may be afraid of? He made this promotion for you…it will stretch you but you will love it if you will just trust Him

Is he challenging you to begin tithing? (giving at least 10% of your income)…it is not because he wants to hurt you but he has a blessing on His mind for you of being debt free, never being afraid of a lack of finances, He has a financial harvest on his mind for you

Is he asking you to commit everything to Him. To challenge you to completely lay down your agenda for Him? If so, he has an incredible life and adventure planned for you that will not always be easy but I guarantee will be worth it!

That is what happens when you begin to respond to the Lord and trust him…Here is what happened to the lame man

9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

God is stretching us as a church…God is challenging the church to step up and change our culture to bring hope, life, freedom, joy…

the question is are you willing to respond to him?

Are you willing to believe God has something better for you? Are you willing to believe Him and take the leap of faith you need?

Today is your day….today is the day he is calling you to take the leap to say “I’m all in!” I’m surrendering my attitudes, my desires, my dreams, my gifts, my finances, all that I am because I want what He has for me

How is your joy

In our world today joy is missing in so many….the news robs us, the pressures of life rob us, attacks on our health, family, finances, jobs all rob us…if you add to that, many in the church are so austere that they can enjoy creation and the life Christ has for us.

 

Revelation 4:11 (KJV updated)

 

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for your pleasure, they and we are and were created.

 

God enjoys us, not like a puppeteer enjoys his puppets, but like a loving parent enjoys their children. He enjoys spending time with us in quiet and solitude and in laughter and fun

 

God created laughter, He created joy, happiness, love

 

I think we forget that sometimes.

 

Jesus is God with us, God in the flesh and where do we see him perform his first miracle at a celebration!

 

John 2:1-11

 

The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. 3 The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.”

4 “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

 

Jesus shows up at the party and brings six additional guests with him

 

The disciples with him at the time were Peter, Andrew, Nathanael, Philip, James, and John

 

This wedding was either a family member of Jesus’ or a very close friend of His mother, Mary.

 

We begin by seeing that three days after Jesus had called Nathanael, the come to the wedding and Mary is already there.

 

The traditional wedding feast lasted 7 days…let me stop there for a minute….with every wedding they took 7 full days off from their labors to celebrate, feast, dance and enjoy each others company plus they had 22 holidays per year mostly of a celebration of family and thankfulness to God for His provision in one way or another. Joy was very much part of the culture.

 

We must remember Joy is part of the fruit of the Spirit part of the Holy Spirit, part of God.

 

As Jesus and his disciples were there celebrating Mary came to Jesus with a problem…we are out of wine

 

Once again this was probably family and Mary is coming to her eldest son; Joseph has passed so if this is family she comes to her eldest to solve a family problem.

 

John 2:4

 

“Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”

 

 

Jesus and his friends had been celebrating and he is making it clear to Mary out of respect…while this may be a family issue, I have the Kingdom on my mind….his tone here is one of utmost respect for Mary but he needs to make it clear to her that while I am your son, I am not here to do your bidding, I’m here to do my Father’s bidding

 

Jesus was a loving son and he also understood the ramifications of running out of wine at a wedding feast.

 

Running out of wine would be like running out of food at a dinner party or a church picnic yet in the community it would have been worse than here because the whole community would have been invited and it would have been something that would never have been forgotten.

 

Jesus didn’t need to care…he could have just said “oh well, guys lets move on this feast is over these people should have prepared better, they should have done better, they knew what would happen if they didn’t have enough wine and they choose to be ill-prepared” he could have left and been perfectly right….but he didn’t

 

That is not the way God is….God understands the human heart, emotions, our brokenness the way we condemn ourselves

 

How many of you have ever said to yourself…”I’m so stupid!” or I should have done better or should have known better?” I don’t want to see hands but if we are all be honest I will bet most of us have done that at some point.

 

How important is wine in the scheme of all creation? How important is this one wedding in the scheme of all creation? This story is showing us that what you do, what you are concerned about while you may not think it is important to God because of starving children, or war…you need to realize you are important to God and he is big enough to handle all of the starving children and every war and the little things that concern you…Remember this?

 

Psalm 139:1-3

 

O Lord, you have examined my heart

and know everything about me.

2 You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.

3 You see me when I travel

and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

 

Jesus had no need to do anything for this wedding but he knew their hearts, what they were feeling, everything about them and he knew this would remind them of God’s great love….I need to add this… getting drunk was not an option in a Jesus culture so this was not about drunkenness in any way

 

John 2:5-8

 

5 But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. 7 Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, 8 he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

 

I don’t think Mary quite understood what Jesus was saying just yet but she submitted to Jesus and instructed the servants to just do what Jesus wanted

 

The six jars–

 

These were the wash pots, they had water in them to keep cleaning off the tables they were used as part of the Jewish purification rites in other words they were common things.

 

Most of us feel common, we don’t necessarily feel like we are special or unique…we go about our business day after day and hope to just get by…but if we are willing Jesus takes that which is common and makes it into something special.

 

If anyone had known this “wine” had come from these common pots they would have rejected it without even trying it…if they would have rejected it they would have missed out not just on good wine but the best.

 

I think the Lord wants us to begin to think about ourselves that way, we are called of God to change the world…if we allow our lowly beginnings or our view of ourselves to hinder our being used of God so many will miss out on the best wine….we can not view ourselves anything less than the light of the world the salt of the world because Jesus does not lie and that is what He has called us. Just in case you don’t know these verses

 

Matthew 5:13-16

 

“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

 

Here is what happened next

 

9 When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. 10 “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”

 

When we allow the Lord to bring the light through us we are not only good at what we do, we can be the best….don’t be ashamed or afraid of God living inside of you…Don’t be ashamed or afraid sharing the truth that you know. You sharing His word and living your life as an example to others is sweet and refreshing to those in need…

 

Psalm 119: 103-105

 

How sweet your words taste to me;

they are sweeter than honey.

104 Your commandments give me understanding;

no wonder I hate every false way of life.

105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path.

 

What we have come to understand of real life in Jesus, we must take and share it to bring hope and to bring joy.

 

Jesus chose wine because it was what the culture dictated but it also always brings joy and Jesus did it in the best way to bring the greatest joy.

 

 

He knew what the people needed that was important to them

 

– what is important in your life that you don’t think Jesus would care about? Know that He does because you are important! Let him bring you joy by lifting this burden, meeting that need

 

– whatever view you have of yourself it is probably nothing compared to the way the Lord values you!Stop limiting what God will do in you and through you…just like the pots who were the most inconsequential of things and Jesus made the bearers of the best…he will do the same for you

 

– Recognize just like Jesus did at the wedding, He wants to bring you joy…what is robbing your joy today? He cares for you, he loves you let Him bring you Joy not because of what you have done or who you are but just because He loves you!

 

Why does Jesus want you to know and have joy? John 2:11 tells us why

 

11 This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

 

Your joy will awaken others to see Jesus, it will cause them to believe, it will heal them.  What will you choose today? Some here have been hurting and miserable for a long time. I’m not saying you aren’t saved I’m just saying the stuff of life, your past, your self-condemnation, your judgmental nature have robbed you of real joy…Let the Lord give it to your today

 

If you don’t know Jesus if you don’t have a relationship with him, today is your day…you can know what it is to have real joy he will heal you, forgive you, bring you freedom all today if you are willing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things that prepare you for all God has for you!

Things that prepare you for all God has for you.

 

God has confirmed our call as a church with Charlie being here, there was not really anything he said that we did not already know…some of the things he said to some of you may have felt new but you know in your heart of hearts, He had already been speaking it to you…

 

For example our worship teams want a new sound, I had already talked to them about being a multigenerational worship team, as we are but now they will press in and bring the excitement and life as well as the awe inspiring sound to our worship in an even greater way than we have ever seen before…why because their hearts are right, second they have the desire and agree with the desire God placed in their hearts…so it will happen…but even for them there are some basic keys we must have to prepare for God’s call

 

I don’t want us to miss out on anything God has for us so I want to challenge you this morning to revisit some of the basics so we are able to run our race with endurance to win! Losing is not an option

 

It is not rocket science or brain surgery to flow in the gifts of the Spirit it is the Father’s heart that each one of us do…in fact you may not know this but you are already equipped with a gift

 

Romans 12:1-2

 

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn toknow God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.(NLT)

 

God calls us to sell out to Him in all we do to be willing to change our attitudes, behaviors (to start thinking and acting like Jesus) we need to no longer look at things the way the world does but know the Father’s heart well enough that we change the world rather than the world changing us….we fight, have divisions, arguments, all because we don’t have His heart and mind yet, thinking like Him

 

He has equipped us already to do this…let’s jump down

 

Romans 12:3–8

 

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 Foras we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

This is a list of some of the gifts God the Father pours out onto his kids…notice God through his grace has poured these gifts out on us…we have not earned them….we have not worked to make them happen…God has just given them to us to impact our world…

 

You have them, you might just not know it yet because you have not been in a position to hear and understand what God wants to do through you….

 

Someone could give you a router, a pressure cooker, air hammer, hot pepper corer but if you don’t know what they are or how to use them properly without either reading the manual or having others teach you…you could try to use them and hurt yourself or others or destroy what was meant to be a blessing…so it is with the gifts

 

We make it harder than what it is but we have the tools in our tool box to understand and flow in every and any gift all of the time if we are just willing

 

 

 

1) Prayer

 

Jesus is God and yet he would take time to pray either to deal with an issue, like raising Lazarus from the dead or going off by himself to pray, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, John 17just to give three examples

 

Prayer is effective to moving mountains

 

James 5:16

 

“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

 

Simply, for Christ-followers prayer is the best way to communicate with God.

 

– Prayer is the vehicle for daily dialog with the One who created us. The importance of daily communication through prayer cannot be overestimated.

 

– It is mentioned over 250 times in Scripture.

 

Value of daily prayer

 

-Daily prayer gives us an opportunity to share all aspects of our lives with God.

 

-Daily prayer gives us the chance to express our gratitude for the things He provides.

 

-Daily prayer provides the platform for confessing our sin and asking for help in overcoming that sin.

 

-Daily prayer is an act of worship and obedience.

 

-Daily prayer is a way to acknowledge who is really in control of our lives.

 

 

2) Word

 

God’s word is life so much so that I would challenge you that if you are listening to any teaching or reading any books by anyone who has not read the whole Bible through…in my opinion they do not understand the whole message of Christ and can easily lead others into error.

 

Let me remind you of one little passage Jesus said about the word…while being tempted by Satan he said this…

 

Matthew 4:3,4

 

During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

 

It is God’s word that brings life, health, freedom, and apart from it we will have none….

 

If you read the entire story of the temptation of Jesus defeated Satan not with crazy gyrations or what I like to call Christian incantations but by the word…to defeat the enemy in your life and move in power it is by the word.

 

– One of our most powerful weapons is the “sword of the Spirit” which is the “word of God” according to Ephesians 6:17

 

What does this sword do? Hebrews 4:12answers that question

 

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

 

It is a living word which means it can have one meaning right now to meet a situation I am in at this moment and a year or ten years from now the same verse may bring out something totally different that is life to me then…

 

– Apart from God’s word we are direction-less

 

Psalm 119:105

 

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet

and a light for my path.

 

As we study the word and listen to quality teaching from those in the 5 fold ministries listed in Ephesians 4 we can stand safe and secure

 

2 Timothy 3:16

 

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

 

2 Timothy 2:15

 

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.

 

3) Fasting – is separating yourself from food for a period of time to focus on prayer, the study of the word, and the presence of God…Jesus made the assumption that this would be a normal part of every Christ followers life

 

Matthew 6:16

 

And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. 17 But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.

 

Practice your gift –God expects us to walk by faith in fact it is impossible to please God apart from faith so we must assess our gifts, begin to use what we know we have for the kingdom and begin to investigate and ask the Lord if there aren’t other gifts that we have like those listed in Romans 12 earlier and learn to develop them, study, talk to one of the Pastors about them and develop them to advance the Kingdom of God

 

Ephesians 2:10

 

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

 

God gave you gifts because he has good things planned for you and for others if you will but choose to use them for Him you will be fulfilled and change the world

 

I know some of you read the verses and say, “I don’t see anything I am gifted in there” two things first you may have some gift and because you have never explored it you don’t know you have it or second, God has so many different gifts, that we can’t even count them. In many cases the very things you love to do are part of the giftings God has given you to impact the lives of others!

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-7

 

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

 

Notice varieties of gifts, ministries, effects…look to develop what God has placed within you to change the world!

 

1 Peter 4:10,11

 

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

Then this last verse you hear me quote often

 

Matthew 5:16

 

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

 

Ladies and Gentlemen please don’t misunderstand me these are not works, these are acts of love….you should want to spend time with the Lord every day in prayer, you should want to read his love letter to draw closer to his heart, you should want to fast to separate your self from everything else…this is how we grow in intimacy and intimacy causes a relationship to be strong

 

God desires for us to flow in every gift powerfully but they must be guided by knowledge of who he is, if we don’t know his heart we will say and do anything that comes to mind, the enemy can easily trick us into believing things that are against God’s word, he can get us into a works mentality that will exhaust us rather than bring us to freedom so we can free others…intimacy does that

 

Then by faith, we begin to put to practice what we know and healing, deliverance, prophetic, freedom, love, joy, peace, all flow from us freely

 

God wants to give you everything and intimacy with Him causes a trust to be built that allows Him to give you everything in power.

 

Will you covenant with Him today to grow in intimacy with Him…pray, study His word, fast, and then practice the gifts he has given you?

 

NEXT WEEK IF YOU ARE READY FOR IT….PART OF THE VISION

Integrity?

Integrity?

A story is told of some young men who were late to class.

Four high school boys were late to their morning classes one day. They entered the classroom and solemnly told their teacher they were detained due to a flat tire. The sympathetic teacher smiled and told them it was too bad they were late because they had missed a test that morning. But she was willing to let them make it up. She gave them each a piece of paper and a pencil and sent them to four corners of the room. Then she told them they would pass if they could answer just one question:

Which tire was flat???

Talk about the lack of integrity in the country.

Integrity Uprightness of Character, honesty.

Looking for people of integrity in our generation perhaps could be compared to searching for a needle in a haystack. Indeed it may be easier to identify a grain of salt in a snowstorm.

What we are seeing in the Catholic church right now is a scramble for integrity. Everyone is talking about it and everyone is disgusted by what has gone on. I hear questions and comments nearly every day of how could this have happened?

Obviously, there were some very disturbed people in the clergy and some have covered it up…we will not know the total fallout for years

When this happened in the 80’s with Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, Robert Tilton, and Larry Lea

Then others later Ted Haggard, Eddie Long, Marcus Lamb

Galatians 6:1

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

How could something like this happen? Very easily I’m afraid

Jim Bakker stopped praying stopped being in the word 3 years earlier

We have seen the gifts of God, whatever they are, or the blessings of God whatever they are, on us still even though there is a little sin here or there. It doesn’t take long for that sin to overwhelm us and watch our integrity fail.

Let me explain what I mean

True men and women of integrity or rare indeed.

Are you one of them?Is your life characterized by integrity? The Bible clearly indicates that our lives should be. In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us that we should be as good as our word. Are you as good as your word?

We used to teach our children that our reputation was extremely important. Parents would exhort children by telling them that they had worked hard to create a good name for themselves and that the children should work hard to maintain it.

Abraham Lincoln said “For a man to train up a child in the way he/she should go, he must walk that way himself.”

Have you ever wondered what people associate with your name? Do people say that you can be trusted, that you are reliable, that you can be counted on, that you are a man or woman of integrity? These things should be important to us because our lives speak volumes to those around us.

Matthew 5:33-37

 “You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ 34 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. 35 And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. 36 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. 37 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Leviticus 19:12 ’You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. Explain that they took this to mean that they could with other things.

Jesus is saying that for our righteousness to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, our word must be good enough.

Jesus is not prohibiting oaths taken in a court of justice or oaths taken in the name of God on solemn religious occasions. Romans 9:1, Gal 1:20, 1 Cor 15:31, Paul swears oaths through Christ, Hebrews 6:13-14, God swears an oath to Abraham

Jesus is saying that we are not to swear as the religious leaders had been doing.

Matthew 23:16-18

“Blind guides! What sorrow awaits you! For you say that it means nothing to swear ‘by God’s Temple,’ but that it is binding to swear ‘by the gold in the Temple.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is more important—the gold or the Temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And you say that to swear ‘by the altar’ is not binding, but to swear ‘by the gifts on the altar’ is binding. 19 How blind! For which is more important—the gift on the altar or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 When you swear ‘by the altar,’ you are swearing by it and by everything on it. 21 And when you swear ‘by the Temple,’ you are swearing by it and by God, who lives in it. 22 And when you swear ‘by heaven,’ you are swearing by the throne of God and by God, who sits on the throne.

I know this is one of the hard verses in the Bible but hear me out, please.

Jesus is saying, on one hand, you give your word, you make a promise with no intent to keep it “swearing by the altar of God” (God’s very presence) and then you make promises on things less valuable, “the gift on the altar” (the gold or other sacrifices) but on things that don’t really matter, are not eternal you swear making it possible for you to even change your mind and think you are maintaining your integrity.

As Christians, as people whose citizenship is in heaven, we must show integrity in our words and deeds. The keeping of our word depends on the actions that we take.

Integrity with words

Matthew 5:37

 Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

James 5:12 

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

1 Timothy 4:12 

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

Integrity with your actions

– Toward people

At the age of twenty-four, Abraham Lincoln served as the postmaster of New Salem, Illinois, for which he was paid an annual salary of $55.70. Even then, twenty-four years before he entered the White House, the rail splitter was showing the character that earned him the title of “Honest Abe.” The New Salem post office was closed in 1836, but it was several years before an agent arrived from Shington to settle accounts with ex-postmaster Lincoln, who was a struggling lawyer not doing very well. The agent informed him that $17 was due the government. Lincoln crossed the room, opened an old trunk and took out a yellow cotton rag, bound with a string. Untying it, he spread out the cloth and there was the $17. He had been holding it untouched for all these years. “I never use any man’s money but my own,” he said.

It is not what we profess, but what we practice that makes us Christians.

People will judge our God and are doing so today, by the way, we act toward others. We must be people of integrity when we deal with all people. Jesus should affect how we conduct ourselves. When we say we are going to do something, it is as good as done!

Proverbs 20:7 

A righteous man who walks in his integrity How blessed are his sons after him.

– Toward God

Matthew 5:33

“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’

Deuteronomy 23:23 

“You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised.

In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira lied to God and that is why they were killed. They volunteered to give the proceeds of the sale of their land to God, but then they withheld part of it.

When we tell God that we are going to commit our lives to Him, we must fulfill that vow to Him. When we say that we love God, then we will keep His commandments.

Horace Greeley, newspaper publisher, and abolitionist had a quote that Harry Truman used to like: “Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, only one thing endures — character.”

Side note – character is revealed by the fruit of the Spirit active in every way in our lives

I know I started talking about the scandal in the Catholic church, you know I find it appalling and anti-Christ but I also must, as we talked about several weeks ago about judging,…challenge each one of us to live lives of integrity and to show by our actions toward each other and God that we are not like that…we must show the world what a true Christ-follower looks like and at the same time pray for those who are victims and for those who were the predators

If we can walk in the love of God and his grace toward this that not only scandalizes these children who many are adults now but even more so scandalizes the name of Christ the one who loves us the most then, we are true people of faith.

The Catholic church is going to have to deal with its issues but even more so we must live lives that reflect Integrity in all that we say and do….we can not sit in judgment if we have a lack of integrity in our lives

So this is a wake-up call to the church and all Christians everywhere that the Lord is depending on us to be a true reflection of Him in all we say and do! I am in no way excusing their lack of integrity but I am challenging each of us in ours!

What promises have you made to the Lord? your family? your boss? Your employees, your neighbors, can you be counted on to be a person of your word and the Word….does your life reflect the Word of God and Christ-likeness always?

I end with one of my favorite verses Matthew 5:16

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

 

 

 

Real Truth/Hard Truth Part 3

Real truth hard truth Part 3

 

The first week we talked about, while it is hard we must stand for truth but we must do it by first making sure our hearts are right full love and humility

 

Last week we talked about surrendering our whole heart and being to Christ…he is standing at the door knocking and he is wanting to pour out blessing on our lives but only if we will trust Him with everything

 

Today I want to share with you challenge in our growth and why so many struggle in their faith

 

Once we make the commitment to allow the Lord complete control we have one heart with him and one heart with each other and God can move powerfully in that environment

 

Psalm 133:1, 3b

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brethren to dwell together in unity!

….For there the Lord commanded the blessing

 

That doesn’t mean stuff doesn’t happen bear with me as we very quickly look at a passage I need us to understand

 

Matthew 7:24-27

24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

 

Before I get into the main teaching today I need us to see something in this passage

 

Jesus said those who honor his teaching and those who don’t will all go through the same things….rain, floodwaters, and hurricane winds

 

But the one who honors his teaching, stands on His word will never fail no matter how hard everything comes after them they will always stand

 

But those who hear it and reject it will never be able to stand strong

 

We can’t take God’s word lightly, well we can but the outcome will always be destructive if we do…loving God and loving people requires us to continue to grow in him and not stagnateso lets get to the meat of the teaching today

 

Luke 8:4-8,

One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: 5 “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still, other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

 

We don’t understand the full impact of this story because we don’t live in an agrarian culture anymore but if a crop failed in Israel at this time it meant financial disaster, poverty, potential enslavement and/or starvation. Jesus was stressing that seed not growing is a very dangerous life-changing situation

 

Luke 8: 11-15

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

We need to realize God’s word is all around us…let me explain my process…I am praying for weeks asking the Lord what he wants me to bring to you…when I get the idea…I pray more specifically and begin my research….I generally spend 30-40 hours researching studying praying and then writing the sermon so I know what I am bringing to you is to the best of my ability what the Lord wants and the way he wants it.

 

On top of that, you will have teachers on Wednesday night doing a similar thing

 

You have a Bible in your hand you should be reading every day.

 

You have my thought for the day when originally written would take a couple of hours each day

 

Christian radio, TV, book, and magazines all there planting seed in your life.

 

The seeds are being sown all around us very few have any excuse for not hearing but we know according to this story that even though God loves everyone some will choose not to live a life of freedom, hope, love but instead will choose slavery to the world and the world system

 

This story also warns us to be aware of the things that will try to entrap us or trip us up

 

Luke 8:13

13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.

 

How does this happen? First, everyone can be tempted, the temptation is not a sin it is giving in to this temptation that we have to deal with.

 

Our roots are not deep because we don’t know the word, the Bible, the scriptures, God’s love letter and heart for us

 

Here is what God spoke to Jeremiah 17:8,9

 

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord

and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.

8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,

with roots that reach deep into the water.

Such trees are not bothered by the heat

or worried by long months of drought.

Their leaves stay green,

and they never stop producing fruit.

 

Our hope and confidence builds to trust because we are daily in the word and prayer without this we are shallow and little heat, any little temptation and we go back to or former life without hope

 

Think about when difficulties come your way, temptation comes your way….. are scripture verses and/or the Lord’s heart the first thing that comes to mind…or even what would Pastor Tim do or any other Christian who is maturing

 

We spend our lives fighting bad attitudes, addictions, overcoming wounds, rejections we know the floods, winds, and rain will come but do we run to God? Is His word deeply embedded in our hearts so at a moment’s when the temptation comes to revert to our old self or new battles…without a daily deepening relationship through knowing God’s word and time in prayer, many have been taken out this way. Not knowing the word is not the only thing to trip us up

 

Luke 8:14

14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

 

What are the cares of this world?

 

Most of them are good things but if they take priority over Christ then they steal your future and blessing from you and fear and wounds take over

 

Finances – God wants you to be a good steward of your finances but everything you have came from him and if you know and are living by God’s financial principles you will never worry about finances again

 

Children – we want the best for them but we must remember that the best for them is God first…we must teach them to pray, be in the word, bring them to church, be the example of a Christian man or woman make their relationship with Christ the priority then everything else secondary…sports, dance, cheerleading, band, will come and go with their interest and age but Christ and a Christ-filled life will guide them and be with them forever

 

Health– John tells us that we will prosper and be in health even as our souls prosper….in other words worrying about our health and the things of this life doesn’t help us it only hinders but if we trust in the Lord seek Him first then we will have what we need

 

Future – Everything is in God’s hands Remember the scripture from Jeremiah? If we put him first and keep him first it doesn’t matter what goes on around us even if there is drought everywhere…if we learn to lean on God’s word get to know him better each day through prayer and the word then we will always be taken care of

 

This leads me to the last verse

 

Luke 8:15

15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

 

Want God’s blessing?

 

It is not a matter of allowing Him in to have complete control but daily choosing to read God’s word, know God’s word, and live God’s word…it doesn’t happen all at one time…Jesus is telling us with patience we will be overly blessed

 

Paul said he would “die daily” meaning he would surrender to God’s will every day

 

Jesus told us we must “take up our cross daily” same thing choosing every day to be in the Word, put God first and trust him by being in the word and prayer

 

If you want God’s blessing the key is consistency through the daily disciplines of Reading and applying God’s word, prayer, and choosing to live it out

 

God brings the harvest so there is no fear, anxiety, worry, hurt, but love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, kindness, and self-control

Are you willing to commit to this for the success of your life?

 

Selling out to God like we talked about last week, requires our choosing to live this life daily….that is the hard truth, it is not politically correct but once you know God’s word you have a standard to live by and prayer makes the relationship real and current

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Real Truth/Hard Truth Part 2 Guess whose knocking?

Real Truth Part 2

 

Guess who is knocking?

 

Revelation 3:20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

 

Written to the church not to the unsaved, why?

 

Jesus is saying that he is standing outside of the church outside of the Christian’s life as they go about their daily routine and He is saying wont you let me in?

 

If the bible tells us….

 

Galatians 2:20

 

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

 

Is your flesh rising up, being offended, are you feeling condemned then the grace of God is not alive in you and Christ is not really welcome to his fullest in your life

 

Ephesians 3:17-19

 

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

 

If you, even after all the teaching in the past weeks, aren’t feeling the fullness of the love of Christ in its depths, height, width and every way perhaps Christ is not totally living in you yet…if you are still being defeated over and over again then welcome Him in completely into every area of your life then you will know the fullness of His power

 

You can’t beat alcohol, drugs, pornography, or really any other sin by saying I’m going to stop this! You must pursue Him and welcome Him in more

 

1 John 3:24

 

Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

 

If you are seeing a limit of the fruit of the Spirit and the power of God in your life perhaps Jesus is not fully welcome in you.

 

OK now that I made you feel guilty and terrible and some even condemned….

 

Allowing the Lord total access to our lives and hearts is a process called sanctification.

 

We invite Jesus into the areas that we feel most comfortable or vulnerable at first. But Jesus wants it all, he wants total welcoming into every aspect of our lives

 

Jesus and house story***

 

Sometimes we don’t realize that we have not allowed him totally in until something bad happens, some struggle overwhelms us, some fear, bitterness, anger, lust, greed, takes hold then the enemy makes us feel condemned and rather than running to the Lord to surrender to him we run the other way away from him and the brokenness just get worse

 

What happens when Jesus is allowed in?

 

Luke 19:1-10

 

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

 

 

What happens to us when we allow Jesus in?

 

1) Overwhelmed by his presence

 

Luke 19:6

 

…Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.

 

2 Corinthians 3:17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (liberty).

 

Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 

Why live in depression, feeling wounded, rejected, feeling like you don’t fit in

 

Why feel like you are surrounded always by enemies instead of friends.

 

Why live life without joy, freedom, peace love overwhelming you

 

Jesus is standing at the door, knocking and wanting in to every part of you

 

 

 

2) Repent of wrongs, heal relationships, brokenness, wounds; reputations made right…

 

Luke 19:7

 

But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

 

James 4:1 “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?”

 

Because of his job, his height, and his attitude there was prejudice against him he was wounded, his relationship in the community broken but being totally open to Jesus brought him to forgiveness and healing

 

Allowing Jesus in didn’t necessarily change the way others looked at Him but it changed Him so the way others saw him no longer mattered, he knew who he was! When we begin to see ourselves the way the Father sees us, we change

 

3) Giving happens – time, talent, and treasure

 

The nature of the Father’s heart is giving

 

Matthew 7:11

 

So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

 

James 1:17

 

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

 

John 3:16,17

 

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

 

Generosity is a sign that you have become completely open to the Lord….you are trusting that the more you give of your time your talent, and your treasure the Lord will pour back into you and you recognize after all that everything you have “every good and perfect gift” came from God in the first place and you are only a steward of all you have and God is the owner

 

 

4) Transformation takes place we become and live as we are new

 

Saulwas a murder of Christians and a religious zealot – greatest defender of the faith author of the majority of the New Testament

Peter, Andrew– mere fishermen who become fishers of men

Matthewa tax collector also hated by the people

Nathaniela good guy who became a great guy and changed the world

120 common ordinary folks in the upper roomwho changed the world

 

5) We become His true, powerful sons and daughters of Christ

 

John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,

 

1 John 3:1

 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

 

As a child of God we are given all the rights and privileges of a child of the King…nothing shall be impossible

 

 

Here is the real truth….many become too easily satisfied with crumbs from the table. We become satisfied believing whatever condition we find ourselves is the best we can be.

 

If we take the leap of faith to daily surrender to the Lord allowing him more and more control ..in essence we become who were were meant to be and live a life of abundance in the Kingdom

 

Another very powerful thing happens unity…one heart, we have his heart and each others

 

Psalm 133:1, 3b

 

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brethren to dwell together in unity!

….For there the Lord commanded the blessing

 

Real Truth/Hard Truth Part 1

Real Truth/Hard Truth – a non-politically corrected series but a one that will bring hope, life and real love to people everywhere

 

She is just so judgey….

 

The church is so judgey….

 

It is my choice, people need to stay out of my face

 

Why don’t they stay out of my bedroom, choices, or whatever after all isn’t it my truth

 

If you respond to that with, there is a universal truth…some you will get the statement back…”there is no universal truth” the irony about that is the statement “There is no universal truth” it in itself is making a universal truth!

 

 

Think about that for a moment

 

Our cultural mores, standards are always shifting. Some things must shift because life really does change and as truth is applied some things that we held as cultural strongholds are proven to be false

 

Things like slavery, segregation, woman’s rights these three glaring examples are truths the Bible upheld that the culture was backward on long before any abolitionist the Bible said we are all equal in the sight of God and there is no differentiation between people of differing races.

 

Women like Deborah, Esther, In the new testament Lydia, Nympha Priscilla, were teachers and leaders in the church, the four daughters of Philip who were prophets, Euodia, Syntyche, Phoebe all were evangelist who worked alongside of Paul and there were others. This was all done in a culture were women were 2ndclass citizens their witness in a court of law was worth less than ½ of a man’s witness

 

Rather than the Bible being judgey or archaic, it has been ahead of the culture in these areas of truth and in most cases, it is Bible-believing Christians who brought this truth first to our culture

 

Real Truth does not change, however often it needs to be discovered

 

What is the truth about judging people?

 

On one hand, we are a judgment-free zone and we will always be but real love and real truth require judgment…let me show you what I mean

 

Matthew 7:1-5

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.

 

 

This is the scripture most people think about when they talk about as Christians we should not judge….let’s take a closer look today

 

I have spoken about God’s love for us and I hope by now we all are getting it

 

I have spoken about knowing God’s heartbeat for us and my hope is that as you continue to think about that, even go back and re-listen to the sermons to really get it into your spirit that you become secure in the knowledge of God’s view of you and his love for you

 

These are the things that if we grasp them…makes us secure enough, confident enough in who we are and what we believe that we can speak truth to others that brings them to freedom

 

If someone is doing something that is against God’s principles God can’t bless them

 

1 Peter 5:5,6

Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility, for

“God resists the proud,

But gives grace to the humble.”

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

 

God can’t bless us when we do things that violate His plan purpose and general principles for the way He has created us.

 

Everyone wants blessed…right?

 

Do you want to always live in God’s blessings?

 

I thought so…what about everyone that you know? Think about some of the struggles your friends and family are having…if you had the answer to helping them overcome and end their suffering would you share it with them?

 

Let’s make it more severe…if you understand the Father’s heart and you know that certain attitudes, certain actions, certain sins were going to cause your friends or family to spend eternity feeling hopeless, abandoned, utterly alone, suffering, living in fear, never feeling love, joy, peace, hope again?

 

Is it judging if someone keeps getting tickets or wrecking their cars for you to tell them to slow down, drive more carefully or to encourage them to take driving lessons..

 

The problem is much of the church has violated what Peter’s word was we have not shown love in bringing truth to people so we come across as speaking judgment

 

How does that apply to this scripture? I’m glad you asked

 

Let’s really look at what Jesus is saying

 

Matthew 7:1-5

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 is saying and let’s pay attention to this….stop take a look at your own life first…it is easy for anyone to see a problem in someone else’s life but before we do that Jesus is saying to allow the Lord to teach you compassion, humility, and remind you of His heart and love for you

 

Paul challenges us always with this challenge

 

2 Corinthians 13:5

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. 6 But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.

 

Once we have done this once we have been able to make sure our hearts are pure, once we know the Father’s heartbeat and the have His love….and we have developed the “love your neighbor as yourself” attitude then listen what Jesus says…

 

Matthew 7:5

“…First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

 

You see it is not being judgey if you know someone is doing something that is harming them or going to harm them physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually

 

If you love your neighbor as yourself, out of a genuine heart of love, grace and compassion you will speak the truth to help bring them to freedom.

 

It is not loving to say…I don’t want to hurt their feelings, or who am I to judge whether what they are doing is wrong for them?  Yes some things are gray areas but when we either see it in God’s word that it is going to bring some kind of harm to them or at worse they will spend eternity in hell if they keep doing what they are doing….is that really loving to not be judgey, to not speak the truth to someone

 

How much do you have to hate someone to know what they are doing is causing them or going to cause them great if not irreparable harm perhaps even eternal harm and not talk with them about it?

 

But who is to say what is right and wrong….God….if we are talking about eternity

 

The devil and our culture have played a great mind game

 

The devil loves no one he just hates the things that God loves and his job is to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10)….if he can convince us that silence is loving and a person either comes to some kind of harm and curses God or dies without relationship with Jesus, then He feels he has won because he has destroyed someone God loves

 

That is what we must remember, God loves everyone what does he want for them

 

– plans for good and for a future and hope

– prosper and be in health even as their soul prospers

– have life and have it abundantly

– we know love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control

– we would overcome

– be more than conquerors

 

 

These things and many more are what God has planned for us but we need people around us who are willing to speak truth into our lives to help us grow and protect us from; bad decisions, the enemy’s traps, and ourselves

 

We must love enough to examine our hearts daily and then be willing to speak into the lives of others to so they might not fall as well…if that is being judgey and be judgey but to me that is what I call love

 

Ezekiel 33 

 

There is no real altar call today along this line unless you are willing to say, “God I need to repent of not really loving enough…allowing my political correct line of thinking allows harm to come to others.

 

OR

 

God, help me to see from this point of view, so I will not be afraid or insecure to speak the truth but to be able to speak the truth based on a genuine love for people and seeing them through Jesus’ eyes

 

 

Knowing God’s heartbeat for you Part 6

Knowing the heartbeat of God for you Part 6

 

Do you know that God has seen you your entire life?

 

Jeremiah 1:4,5

The Lord gave me this message: 5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

 

You had heard me share many times from one of my favorite scripture passages Psalm 139:1-18that God knows the number of hairs on our heads, he sees and hears everything we do and say, he knows that day he choose us to be born and the day he has chosen for us to go be with Him. He is always thinking about us…Reread it if you have forgotten…

 

Today I want us to look at a passage of scripture that is not so common but is important for us to understand God’s heartbeat for us.

 

John 1:43-50

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown. 45 Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”46 “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. 47 As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” 48 “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” 49 Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.”

 

Philip and Nathanael were both friends of Peter and Andrew.  All four men were seekers of the truth…they either learned of Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks from their teachings in the synagogue or John the Baptist, but all were expecting the Messiah….Nathanael was meditating under a fig tree something that deep thinkers were known to do in Israel at this time.

 

He probably saw his Dad doing this, his uncles, the other men in the village it was something that was a tradition, a common element of life growing up

 

I heard a country singer, I don’t know the singer nor the song but he was singing about being a little by and remembering growing up on Grandma’s front porch. It was a tradition for him, a common element of his life growing up

 

What are some of your memories that are etched into your mind either good or bad growing up?

 

As I was thinking about the country western singers story I was thinking how different life is for people…one of the reasons for the intense differences in this nation is our experiences is or as psychologist put it our frame of reference growing up

 

A child raised in the suburbs even in a wealthy family but whose parents are never home will have one frame of reference one outlook on life that will be different from sitting on Grandma’s porch

 

A child raised in the inner-city without a Dad and violence all around will have a different frame of reference than either of these two.

 

A child raised in a home where they are brought to church and the parents are holy and religious there but at home there is swearing, negativity, criticism, judgmentalism and a lack of godly living. This will give a child another frame of reference, this is the main reason children don’t walk with Christ after high school.

 

A child raised in a Christian home where the parents aren’t perfect but are trying to do their best. The child sees Christ at the center of every decision and the way they are treated by their parents or parent. They have a different frame of reference than all the others

 

These things are at the root of our cultures arrogance, fear, anger, need for entitlement.

 

Nathanael being raised in his environment set him up to be a man of pure heart, seeking the Christ, thinking about scripture always as Jesus reference a verse or two later about angels ascending and descending into heaven, these must have been Nathanael’s thoughts

Jesus saw his integrity and called him to follow!

 

In our culture, it is quite easy to use our parents, our environment, the lack of love, the way we were raised to be a crutch for our present failure, fears, bad attitudes, anxiety, limitations and I get all of that

 

I understand how being raised in a neglected environment, how feeling like you are always at the short end of the stick, how you were not loved as you believe you should how others were privileged in the way they were raised and you were not would be an easy thing to blame for your present condition.

 

I also know the enemy would like you to live there and repeat the same disastrous patterns and continue the limitations to the next generation and the next!

 

Jesus saw exactly where Nathanael was…we also read today that God knew Jeremiah while he was being formed in his mother’s womb!

 

Do you think God knows the good, the bad and the ugly about your childhood?

 

Jesus said this in John 10:14

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,”

 

He knows his own this phrase stress his intimacy in knowing us as is different from those who have rejected him and that he in his knowledge of us has complete oversight over our lives from beginning to end

 

Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 8:3

“But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.”

 

And 1 Peter 1:1,2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

 

Both of these verses tell us that God saw us, as he saw Nathanael, He saw all of our lives all we have gone through.

 

Some in this room were raised in horrible conditions, abuse, neglect, molestation, rejection and patterns of destruction…yes I know you don’t think so but we have those in the church who look and act perfect because God has now made them this way because they choose to trust God over their pain and put Him first in all things.

 

Romans 8:28

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

 

What does this mean for us today?

 

I want you to think about how things in your life have molded you and shaped you for both good and evil.

 

How growing up caused you to learn to dislike people because of the color of their skin, their accent, their financial position, their level of education or any number of things

 

I want you to think about how events in your life have caused you to fear heights, certain types of people, dogs, rejection, risks.

 

How certain events in your life have caused you to now feel insecure, fearful, or angry. How you want to judge and reject people before they can do the same to you.

 

How certain events in your life have caused you to distrust people and or God. How you feel as if God has let you down. How tragedies have caused you to be stuck at that moment and everything in your life revolves around that loss, wound, hurt, rejection, or failure.

 

God’s heartbeat for you today is that you know that He knows! Remember Psalm 139 1-18? He knows it all, he did not cause it to happen but he knows.

 

We all have a choice to make, we can continue to allow the tragedy or tragic events of our lives continue to control us or we can realize God knows!

 

Does that make God out to be some kind of mean unloving Ogre?

 

No, somewhere along the line, He was able to get through to you to bring you the greatest message of all, the message of hope, joy, love and freedom and you accepted it….

 

As we grow in Christ there is a process of maturity that is called sanctification and in this we are taught to…

 

2 Corinthians 10:5

 

“casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

 

This includes the thoughts of our past!

 

We are not to walk blindly as if nothing has happened but even before you knew the Lord He knew you and saw what was going on…the choice is like Nathanael

 

Nathanael’s choice was to be arrogant allow his past, his customs, his attitude to control him and he could have gotten stuck on “can anything good come from Nazareth?” but instead he chose to not allow his past, his attitude to dictate his future

 

Nathanael went on to impact India and Armenia for the Gospel. Millions have been saved because of him because he gave his past to God and allowed him to use it.

 

Yes, some of your pasts are bad at the least and horribly tragic at the worst but given to God today, he will turn it around to bring life to others

 

You need to evaluate and ask the Lord if your past is limiting you as a man or woman of God, a parent, a friend and limiting the fulfillment of your destiny

 

Bring those thoughts from your past into captivity bring them to Christ…allow him to free you from the limitations…His heartbeat for you today is that your frame of reference does not limit you but you use it to bring life and hope to others…but you have to come to freedom before you can use your frame of reference to bring freedom to others

 

Come today…give your past to the Lord to stop it from limiting you and use it to bring others to freedom