Please don’t ask me….If God is so good why is there so much suffering and evil?

James 1:19

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

I think this is what James and John were alluding to when we read these passages

James 2:15,16

If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

1 John 3:18,19

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.

When someone is hurting and in lost it is better to hold off on dealing with the words of philosophy and be Jesus to them through love

The problem of evil

Our basic problem with evil is struggling with three things

– If God is good – then why is there evil shouldn’t a good God do the good thing and wipe out evil

– If God is all-powerful – why does he allow evil to exist can’t he simply wipe evil out

– That fact that evil exist at all with an all-powerful all-good God

There are several solutions to this problem

Solution #1

Deny God exist and with it the reality of evil

The idea is this because evil exists then there must not be an all-powerful all-good God!

Quote from serial killer Ted Bundy who raped and murdered over 30 women and girls said this

I learned that all moral judgments are “value judgments,” that all values are subjective, and that none can be proved to be either “right” or “wrong.” . . . I discovered that to become truly free, truly unfettered, I had to become truly uninhibited. And I quickly discovered that the greatest obstacle to my freedom, the greatest block, and limitation to it, consists in the insupportable “value judgment” that I was bound to respect the rights of others. . . . Surely, you would not, in this age of scientific enlightenment, declare that God or nature has marked some pleasures as “moral” or “good” and others as “immoral” or “bad”?

If morality has nothing to do with God then what does it have to do with?

Renowned atheist John Steinrucken in an article entitled what “Secularisms on-going debt to Christianity” is quoted as saying, “I challenge any of my fellow atheist to come up with the “immutable (unchanging) moral laws of secularism”

“Their right is just as right as our right”

CS Lewis quote from Mere Christianity If you haven’t read CS Lewis please do! He is so much more than the Chronicles of Narnia

“My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it?”

“Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist–in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless–I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality–namely my idea of justice–was full of sense. Consequently, atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.”

Ironically the problem that caused CS Lewis to not believe in God is the very thing that brought him to God

If it were not for a loving God that gives us a standard of right and wrong there would be no understanding that anything is evil.

Solution #2 

Make evil part of God

You have heard this more than you know

If everything is part of god rather than the personal God we believe in, then evil and suffering are part of that god too

In other words, God is not good but a mix of good and evil. What kind of schizophrenic god is that?

Solution #3

Diminish God’s power

It is a decision to choose to make God not great. It is saying to God that you are powerful but your power is limited.

The problem is the Bible tells us differently

Exodus 15:6 “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.

Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Ephesians 1:19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

Solution #4

Diminish God’s goodness

On the face of it, most of us would deny believing this but in the midst of pain we say to ourselves, “If God is all powerful and he knows this evil is going on in my life but He just doesn’t care, He must not really love me.”

If evidence of the evil in the world is evidence that God does not exist then perhaps beauty, love, and all the many blessings of our homes, families, jobs should be evidence God does exist.

Philippians 4:6,7

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

We live in a tension to believe that God is good, great, and nevertheless, allows evil in this world for a season for His greater purpose.

These are some of the arguments against God and his being a good loving, Father

It is true that:

God is always good

God is great

evil is real

Next week I am going to share with you a few points of what to say to your friends based on the foundation I have laid today. We will give them and you hope in times of crisis.

If you are here today and are battling God’s goodness or greatness toward you, we can do far more than intellectually and spiritually lay out the arguments we can pray and allow the Lord to meet you here

The Easter story – Opening our eyes once again

Can you imagine seeing Jesus face to face? Jesus main mission was to show us how much God loves us and destroy the power the enemy has over each of us.

More about that later. I love what the character Cleopas said that I’ll never tire of telling people the story

It is fun to imagine what these guys lives might have been like. To put it in perspective let me give you a little background.

Most New Testament scholars believe Cleopas was Jesus Uncle (Joseph’s brother) he was married to the “other Mary” who had been to the cross and went to the tomb. They were also the parents of one of the 12 disciples James the less. He and the “other disciple whomever that was, some believe it was not a man but actually Mary, his wife but whoever it was they were both close enough to Jesus that Jesus felt it important and that they could be trusted with Him appearing to them.

Let’s look at the story the way the Bible shares it…

 

Luke 24:13-35

That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” 19 “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. 22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.” 25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down at the table to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! 32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 33 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34 who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.” Jesus Appears to the Disciples 35 Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

 

Everything in the Bible has significance. Nothing is there just as filler.

 

We see in this story that Jesus appeared to people who loved Him, they were broken, down-hearted but he took the time to meet them in their brokenness and share with them the truth that would lift them up.

 

Many people see God as a vengeful God, angry all the time. Does He get angry? Yes! But not the way you may think!

 

– at sin that destroys us and keeps us away from Him

– at the enemy who lies to us and deceives us about who God really is!

– at our decisions that hurt others or ourselves.

 

We are told in the Bible that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us and that word shows us the way God loves us. It means God comes to us in our brokenness, confusion, loss, and/or pain and feels it with us then, understanding our situation takes us by the hand and shows us the way out…That is the God of John 3:16 the one who loves us so much.

You see it is sin that keeps us from God…God is perfect and can’t have imperfection in His presence but our goodness, our hard work can’t make us perfect.

Do you feel perfect today?

That is why Jesus came, no Old Testament animal sacrifice could make a person perfect no work could do the same only Jesus, God in the flesh, taking our sin, our rebellion on the cross and then our acceptance of that sacrifice obliterates that sin and makes us perfect not by what we do but because of His great love for us.

Jesus was proving that to these disciples.

He lovingly reached out to them in a way they could understand. Showing them in the Bible that they had studied all of their lives what would have to happen.

At the end of the teaching notes, either on the website or the app, I have listed a number of prophecies Jesus fulfilled and two of the arguments people raise against them.*

In verse 30 there is an inference that we can not miss. Luke 24:30

30 As they sat down at the table to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them.

The phrase “at the table” in the near east this is not simply written there because it was a convenient place to eat but the phrase relates to the idea of the table in a Jewish home was a sacred place, considered a “mini-temple” in every home.

Someone in this culture would gladly invite you out for a cup of coffee but… To invite you to eat “at the table” was an invitation to friendship.

This is why there was such an offense raised when Jesus said to the hardened sinner Zacchaeus that he would go eat with Him. He was telling the culture, I believe this man to be a friend and we saw the results.

Once the Lord has taken the time to heal our brokenness He is more than willing, if we are willing, to be our friend. He will gladly sit down with us.

To be honest most people have a hard time knowing Jesus as a friend until our hurts, wounds, anger, fear, frustration or whatever are really healed by Him.

 

The battles in our culture, the mindset of this world, are mostly toward the negative, the hopeless, and futility.

Jesus broke all of that on the cross and then he did something prophetically here and perhaps this is why this story is recorded.

Verse 31 Luke 24:31

Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!

Their eyes were suddenly opened what were they suddenly opened to?

The reality that:

– Jesus was alive

– Jesus was exactly who He said He is

– It meant the promise of heaven, defeating the enemy, victory in our lives was all true

– All that He said was true! God really loves people, knows them, and believes in them, and that hopelessness is broken

 

Let’s quickly look at the scripture that put us all in bondage

 

Genesis 3:6,7

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

 

Adam and Eve had their eyes opened to their sin, bondage, death, and hell, utter hopelessness

 

But now Jesus has opened our eyes to freedom from sin, bondage, death, and hell

 

Today, I hope you sense that freedom or at least you sense you can have that freedom.

 

There is absolutely no reason for you to live in bondage

 

…whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

 

Jesus did not live, die on the cross and rise again to start a religion he did it so you and I could have our eyes open to having a real loving relationship with the one who loves us the most.

 

However, even some who have a relationship with Jesus, have still chosen to live in bondage…some because of the way they were raised, choices you have made, or sin that you battle but you don’t have to stay there today.

 

If you don’t have a relationship with Him you can get totally free today if you want.

 

In a moment, if you want I am going to pray a prayer of freedom and if you will agree with me, I believe Jesus will open your eyes too.

 

If you are starting your relationship with Jesus walking in His freedom today please after we pray do one of two things or both if you want.

 

Stop at the desk in the lobby and someone will gladly give you a copy of How to grow as a “Christ follower” and/or feel free to e-mail me and we will connect you up in a way that you can grow

 

tim@christiancenter.us

 

Please bow your heads While every head is bowed whether you are a Christian or not if your heart s crying out today for freedom from fear, from a negative world view, from your own brokenness and want a renewed sense of hope just all around the room raise your hand as a sign of agreement with me now let’s pray

 

Some of the scriptures Jesus fulfilled (This is what I promised earlier)

 

*What follows is a brief summary of some of the major prophecies relating to His final few days in Jerusalem.

 

1) He will enter Jerusalem riding a donkey (the colt of an ass) (Zechariah 9:9). Fulfillment: Matt. 21:5; Luke 19:32-37.

2) He will be hated for no reason (Psalm 69:4). Fulfillment: John 15:25.

3) He will be betrayed (Psalm 41:9). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10.

4) More specifically, He will be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10; 26:47-48.

5) The price of his betrayal will be thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10.

6) The betrayal money will be cast onto the floor (Zech. 11:13). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:5.

7) More specifically, it will be cast onto the floor of the Temple (Zech. 11:13). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10.

8) The betrayal money will be used to buy a potter’s field (Zech. 11:13). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:6-10.

9) He will not open his mouth to defend himself (Isaiah 53:7). Fulfillment: Matthew 27:12.

10) He will be beaten and spat upon (Isaiah 50:6). Fulfillment: Matthew 26:67; 27:26-30.

11) He will be “numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Fulfillment: Jesus was crucified as a criminal in between two thieves (Mat 27:38).

12) He will be pierced (Zechariah 12:10). Fulfillment: John 19:34

13) His hands and feet will be pierced (Psalm 22:16; cf. Zechariah 12:10; Galatians 3:13). Crucifixion foretold. Psalm 22 graphically prophecies the Messiah’s manner of death. At the time the psalm was written (and long after), the penalty for blasphemy was stoning. Therefore, this prediction of the crucifixion is particularly astonishing.

14) The Jewish Passover sacrifice and Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death coincide exactly. The dates on which Jesus was taken by the Roman authorities, and then slain, also coincided precisely with the Jewish Passover. Jesus became the Passover Lamb, “without blemish.” Just as the angel of death passed by those Israelites who put blood on their doorposts – so Jesus’ sacrificial death also results in freedom from death and hell for those who accept His blood.

15) His bones will not be broken (Psalm 34:20; Exodus 12 states that the Passover Lamb’s bones are not to be broken.). Fulfillment: John 19:33.

16) They will divide his clothing and cast lots for them (Psalm 22:18). Fulfillment: John 19:23-24.

17) He will be given vinegar and gall to drink (Psalm 69:21). Fulfillment: Matthew 27:34, 48.

18) He will say: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1). Fulfillment: Matthew 27:46.

19) He will be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). Fulfillment: Matthew 27.

20) He will not decay (Psalm 16:10). Fulfillment: Acts 2:31

21) He will be resurrected from the dead (Psalm 16:10). Fulfillment: Acts 2:31, etc.

22) He will ascend into heaven (Psalm 68:18). Fulfillment: Acts 1:9.

 

These are a small selection of some of the prophecies relating to the death of Christ.

 

What is the likelihood that these prophecies would be fulfilled in one person unless He were the Messiah?

 

Objection! Such Fulfilled Prophecies are Coincidental.

 

It is frequently argued that it is mere coincidence that these Old Testament scriptures seem to bear a resemblance to the life and death of Christ. After all, it would be possible to find scriptures that seem to relate to the life of anyone.

This, of course, is true. It is perfectly possible that it is coincidental. Possible…..but very unlikely.

 

If you tried hard you may be able to find a handful of prophecies that relate to Barak Obama or Donald Trump. But you certainly could not find in excess of 60 that clearly match certain incidents in his life.

 

The probability of so many prophecies getting fulfilled in one person by chance is hundreds of thousands to one. Professor Stoner, author of “Science Speaks” says that by using probability theory in relation to just 8 of the prophecies related to Jesus “we find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 1017. That is 1 in 100 000 000 000 000 000.”

 

Objection! Jesus Himself tried to fulfill the prophecies.

 

This would seem to be plausible. For example, Jesus’ last words on the cross were of His choosing. He clearly decided what to say so that it would fulfill the prophecies of Psalm 22.

 

True enough. But a great many prophecies were completely beyond His control.

 

For example, Jesus had no say over how much silver was paid to Judas for his betrayal. What about the manner of His death? The reaction of the people? The mocking and the spitting? The casting die for his clothing? The non-tearing of His main robe?

More than 50% of the prophecies fulfilled in Christ were completely outside His power to influence one way or another.

 

 

 

 

Easter Part 2 Light bulb Moments

For us the story of Easter is 2nd nature. We have heard it so many times it just kind of rolls off of the tongue.

But to those closest to Jesus and to many in our culture today as it is explained it becomes a light bulb moment.

Thomas Edison filed a patent for the light bulb in 1879. With that invention, we are able to flip a switch and viola, light

Side note: As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

Side note #2 His teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.”

What you just saw in the video were the disciples having a light bulb moment…a moment in time when they actually got what God was doing and they came from the dark into the light

Have you ever had a light bulb moment?

Luke 24: 1-12

But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. 5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” 8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened. 

Have you ever thought about how in the dark and confused Peter was on the morning?

“However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.”

That word “wondering” means to kind scratch your head and say, “I don’t know what this means” or “I don’t get it?”

The same Greek word is used in many other places

Luke 2:33 Simeon had just prophesied over and about Jesus and Mary and Joseph’s response was…

“Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him.”

When Jesus calmed the sea  Luke 8:25 the disciples

Then he asked them, “Where is your faith?” The disciples were terrified and amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!”

What are you wondering about right now?

Do you have a big life altering decision you are facing? Have you made one and everything is still a bit foggy?

Are you trying to think about taking a new job, where to go to school?

Are you thinking about the next step in your career, your family, your job?

Thinking about putting the house on the market or adding on?

Thinking about what future investments you should make?

Let’s take a look at John’s account 20:3-10

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

“they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead”

Some of the scriptures alluded to here are these ones

Isaiah 53: 3-5

He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,  a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

Isaiah 53: 11,12

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. 12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Psalm 22:14-18

I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; 17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. 18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

Add to this the prophesies Jesus spoke about his own resurrection

John 2:18-21 destroy this temple and in three days

Matthew 12:39,40 Jonah in the well so will the son of man be

Matthew 16:21 Jesus says plainly I have to die and then I will rise again on the third day

The Pharisees had better memories than the disciples Matthew 27: 62-64 They told Pilate to guard the tomb because Jesus said after three days he would rise again

You may be in the dark about who Jesus really is for you or for your situation today

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1

All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. Matthew 28:18

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:16-17

Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. John 8:7

If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. Matthew 19:21

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Mark 8:36

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

That’s a light-bulb moment! He is risen. He is risen, indeed!

Easter Part 1 Newsflash: Jesus is in control!

Newsflash: Jesus is in control!

We are into the Easter season a time when we rejoice and reflect on what Jesus has done for us

We are here because we believe that Jesus died on the cross for us and rose again but do we believe that He is in control?

Let’s look at this story. Lazarus resurrection took place just a few weeks before Easter

 

John 11:1-3

A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Mary and Martha. 2 This is the Mary who later poured the expensive perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair. Her brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3 So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, “Lord, your dear friend is very sick.”

Mary and Martha sent a request (prayer) to Jesus for help

 

John 11:4-6

4 But when Jesus heard about it he said, “Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this.” 5 So although Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, 6 he stayed where he was for the next two days.

 

Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus there are two things I need us to look at here

 

  • Jesus delayed his “answer”
  • Jesus said this sickness was not unto death but Lazarus died.

 

John 11:7-10

7 Finally, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea. 8 But his disciples objected. “Rabbi,” they said, “only a few days ago the people in Judea were trying to stone you. Are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

 

This is a great and wonderful promise from Jesus.

– Jesus is in control of your future if you will walk in the light with Him

-Think about it when you have been praying, being in the word, thinking about the Lord do you mess up? Not very often if you do at all

– BUT when you choose to walk in your own light, which is really no light at all you will constantly stumble

Let that sink in for a minute…

John 11:11-15

11 Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” 12 The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” 13 They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. 14 So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.”

 

Have you ever been confused by something the Lord has told you? What about something the Lord has done or not done?

It is OK to keep asking questions, keep asking until you get some clarity.

He is in control of death, our future, and especially our enemies!

 

John 11:16

16 Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s go, too—and die with Jesus.”

I need to pause here to correct and save the reputation of someone

This is “doubting Thomas” saying this Didymus (meaning twin) in other books.

 

John 11:17- 27

17 When Jesus arrived at Bethany, he was told that Lazarus had already been in his grave for four days. 18 Bethany was only a few miles down the road from Jerusalem, 19 and many of the people had come to console Martha and Mary in their loss. 20 When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.”

 

Martha was in a, “I believe but help my unbelief moment”

Think about how great your fear of death is!

Death does not have control over us Jesus does and as a Christian there are only two reasons for you to leave this world

 

  • You have completed the task the Lord has laid before you
  • God has asked you to do something and you refuse to do what He asked and that was the only thing he had left for you to do

 

John 11:28-39

28 Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.” 29 So Mary immediately went to him. 30 Jesus had stayed outside the village, at the place where Martha met him. 31 When the people who were at the house consoling Mary saw her leave so hastily, they assumed she was going to Lazarus’s grave to weep. So they followed her there. 32 When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?” 38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

 

The scene now changes to Jesus’ response to Mary!

Jesus is angry but what is he angry about?

Then he weeps. Why did he weep?

 

Jesus took control of the power of sin and death when he went to the cross and if we choose to trust him then that power has been broken in our lives as well Romans 6: 1-11 and then Romans 8:2

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

 

John 11:40-43

40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

 

Remember the definition of fear False Expectations Appearing Real.

 

Have you ever wonder why Jesus called Lazarus to come?

 

What more could He do for you?

 

“I’ve got this, he gave us the preview in Lazarus of his power and authority

 

Because He is in control….

 

  • We can trust him that even though your answer may be delayed He loves you and will fulfill it with the biggest plan possible if you will trust him
  • If He has made a promise to you, He will fulfill it
  • You can have questions and he does not get irritated with you asking until you understand, He is secure in being God so questions are a joy for Him to answer
  • He has taken over the power of sin and death
  • Don’t limit either His power or His love for you both are unending!

 

Allow this to be a beginning thought for celebrating an amazing Easter

 

 

IN CHRIST

WE ARE SAVED (NOT LOST)

Matthew 1:21 (NASB)
21 She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.
Matthew 18:11 (NASB)
11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10 (NASB)
10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
John 3:17 (NASB)
17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
John 10:9 (NASB)
9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Acts 4:12 (NIV)
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Romans 5:10 (NIV)

10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Ephesians 2:5 (NIV)
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV)
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
2 Timothy 1:9 (NIV)
9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!

WE ARE SIGNIFICANT (NOT INSIGNIFICANT)
Salt and Light
Matthew 5:13-14 (NIV)
13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Children of God
John 1:12 (NIV)
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…
1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,[awe shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
Branches/Chosen
John 15: 1 (NIV)

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener… (Keep reading…see verse 5)

John 15:5 (NIV)
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
John 15:16 (NIV)
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Witnesses

Acts 1:8 (NIV)
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
God’s Temple/Temple of God
1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?
Body of Christ

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
A New Creation/Reconciled To Christ/Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a the old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
Co-Workers
2 Corinthians 6:1 (NIV)
As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
Holy People/Saints (KJV)/Faithful
Ephesians 1:1 (NIV)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Raised Up/Made To Sit Together In Heavenly Places

Ephesians 2:6 (KJV)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
His Workmanship
Ephesians 2:10 (KJV)
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Our Citizenship Is In Heaven
Philippians 3:20 (NASB)
20 For our [acitizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!

WE ARE SECURE (NOT INSECURE)

John 1:12 (KJV)
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 8:28 (KJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:35-39(KJV)
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1 (KJV)
8 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB)
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Colossians 1:13 (NASB)
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Colossians 3:3 (NASB)
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Hebrews 4:16 (KJV)
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!
WE ARE ACCEPTED (NOT REJECTED)

John 15:15 (NASB)
15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
Romans 5:1 (NASB)
5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Corinthians 6:17 (NASB)
17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
1 Corinthians 6:20 (NASB)
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIV)
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 1:5 (NIV)
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Ephesians 2:18 (NIV)
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19 (NIV)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,
Ephesians 3:12 (NIV)
12 In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Colossians 1:14 (NASB)
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Colossians 2:10 (NASB)
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
THIS IS WHO GOD SAYS WE ARE
IN HIS WORD!!!!!

WE ARE SAVED (NOT LOST)
WE ARE SIGNIFICANT (NOT INSIGNIFICANT)
WE ARE SECURE (NOT INSECURE)
WE ARE ACCEPTED (NOT REJECTED)

Change the world

Changing the world

 

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: 3 Your towns and your fields will be blessed. 4 Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed. 5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.6 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed. 7 “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven! 8 “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do. 10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.11 “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops. 12 The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. 13 If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. 14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.

 

What does this mean?

 

If we live lives that honor God, He will…

Cause the divisions in the nations to see our lives by because of us blessing…

 

Our cities and communities

Our children

Our lively hood

AND

He will chase away every enemy

He cause everyone to see us as blessed

He will make the weather work for us

He will break debt off of us and cause us to prosper

He will make you to be at the top of the pile rather than the bottom

 

I know this sounds unbelievable but it was presented as a promise of God to the nation of Israel that they never fulfilled and now it reaches to us if we will trust in him…not simply for our blessing but so the world might know that our God is God. We live so far below God’s expectation if we will but choose to walk in obedience.

I believe this is all part of our destiny so Jesus can be seen in the world

See Jesus further emphasized this point here

Matt 5:14-16

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.

Why do we need to be this…

We have a world out there that is messed up…some of us in here are messed up and we have to push through to bring our world to freedom

We are not the victims of an anti-God society we are the heroes they are waiting for to bring them to freedom

 

How? There has to be a strategy or you have planned to fail

My personal call to encourage everyone to become all the Lord has called them to be. Teaching them to recognize who they are in Christ and the gifts they have and can acquire to fulfill who their destiny.

I believe as we become who God has called us to be; using every skill, gift, our personalities, our time, talent and treasure. We will begin to change the world.

 

What ways are we going to begin preparing to fulfill our destiny

 

  • Teaching – the public and the private challenge of God’s word through weekend meetings, small group sessions, one on one mentoring every person will begin to recognize the gifts and calling. (Explain)

 

They will also learn to walk in righteousness through encouragement, reproof, and correction

2 Timothy 3:16,17.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

As this scripture states it is by learning the word and walking out the word that we are equipped and prepared for every good work.

The teaching must be a balance between strong theology, apologetics, and an active and accurate understanding of the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

 

Paul warns us that many will fall away if they do not understand the power of God. All of this must also be relevant to our culture and the needs of the community to be able to understand Jesus message.

  • Serving – Jesus said if we want to be the greatest in the Kingdom we must become the servant of all Matthew 23:11. Before we can effectively serve our world and community we must learn to serve each other. (Explain using gifts serving in children church and other areas so others can be blessed)

 

Once we have learned to serve one another we can be more effective serving the world. We are not called to hide behind the doors of the church but to allow the light of the church shine everywhere so all men might come to know and pursue the one that we love because He first loved us.

 

We will focus on strategies to reach our community by meeting their felt needs and in that process showing them Jesus. We must develop and maintain a stellar reputation in the community, (the call Paul gave to all leadership 1 Timothy 3:7 Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.). We will not duplicate the ministry outreaches of others unless there is a proven need for duplication. We will seek the Lord not for good ideas but great ones. There is no end to the need of the poor but we must find what is God-breathed, that will impact our community and encourage our Body.

 

Our impact will go beyond our local community to our state, our nation, and the world. Every dollar, every minute, and every use of talent will be accounted for so as to not waste one of God’s gifts.

 

  • Fellowship – The early church grew stronger and more effective through teaching, prayer, and fellowship with one another Acts 2:42.

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”

If we are going to apply the teaching and begin serving our region, community, state, nation and the world better. We will come into warfare, attacks, as well as blessings, and we will need each other and those relationships for support and encouragement.

Our culture is so busy. We live in a Snapchat, sound bite, Facebook quip, culture but that is not healthy and there is a need in our culture for connection.

Part of this fellowship connection must include, an active mentoring program helping the younger Christians to connect and grow with more mature Christians. Connection groups will also play a part in getting us to the next level

 

  • Worship – Everything that I have just mentioned is worship and add to that singing, prayer, giving and we have pretty much rounded out what worship actually is.

 

Anything we do with God at the center is worship whether it be our work, our singing, our prayers, our serving, our fellowshipping, or our learning. The purpose of worship through prayer and singing is not necessarily to go with the trends but instead to go with those who are truly seeking the Lord in those areas. We have a challenge in singing that there is a need for strategic leadership through example in singing part of worship. All in all, I want to create an environment of worship that our family feels like everything they do here is worship. Each of us connecting in worship with each other and the Lord.

So what does all this mean?

  1. We need to begin to believe that God wants to bless us so that others will see the blessing and want to know the God we serve
  2. We are the light and the only hope the world has and we need to start living like it.
  3. We have to apply a stratgey to impact our world
  4. We must grow and mature we must be willing to serve one another and the world, we must build our relationships with each other and we must learn to worship with every aspect of our lives

These are all the things that are “real” church

The question is are you willing?

 

 

 

 

Who are you? How do you know that? (overcoming our identity crisis in the church)

Who are you? How do you know that? (overcoming our identity crisis in the church)

 

We are defined many ways by many different things or people

We can be know by very quick judgments like who is that fat guy or the skinny lady

By more detail who is the blond or the guy with the beard

 

We can be known by what we do…is that the mechanic, engineer, teacher, nurse

 

Terms of endearment…mom, dad, honey, babe

 

Who we believe we are sets the tone and attitude of our lives. If it is rested on how people define us then people can quickly change their attitude like the wind instead we should define ourselves by the Lord’s definition

 

I would like to challenge your thinking today that you really will define yourself not by who God says that you are but instead who you believe God is

 

Let’s look at a familiar story

 

Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

 

Who Jesus is to us, defines us!

 

If as the disciples were saying, Jesus is merely like one of the prophets of old Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the others or even a revived John the Baptist.

That would mean that we are merely believing in a very good man, a very wise man, a very gifted man which is all well and good until we come to the cross.

If we define Jesus as simply a gifted man then he is nothing more than a miracle worker

 

Matthew 16:1-4

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” And He left them and departed.

 

All they were interested in was a sign they wanted to maintain the status quo and keep their positions and power and relegate Jesus to simply being another prophet miracle worker.

 

There is no need for a change if Jesus is merely a monkey on a chain doing your bidding answering your every whim

 

The best that we can attain to is to be just like Him and flow in that power but to what end?

 

If we are not changed then we can not change others. There is no saving grace in the miracles signs and wonders they are merely drawing cards for the real deal

 

Like the prophets of Old is he merely a guilt tripper here to make us feel guilty about all of our failures.

 

Matthew 16: 5-12

Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6 Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have taken no bread.” 8 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9 Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10 Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11 How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

Because they were looking at Jesus as one of the prophets of old they assumed he was there to condemn them. Because of their point of view of who Jesus was they lived in guilt and waiting for the condemnation because that is what the Pharisee’s did to them

 

We tend to worry about the wrong stuff…we look at ourselves and others through the eyes of judgment because we see Jesus as judge thus condemn ourselves and others very easily

 

We feel shame when in reality he is protecting us. Knowing really who Jesus is sets us free to believe this Romans 8:15-17

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

 

When we begin to realize who Jesus is then we are able to get a revelation of who we are let’s look at the verse we started with to see what I mean.

 

Matthew 16:15-18

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

Did you see what happened here? As soon as Peter got a revelation of who Jesus is, Peter’s identity was made clear

 

Once Peter got a revelation of who Jesus is Peter then got a revelation of who he was

 

When we recognize Jesus as the Christ the son of the living God then all of a sudden we are no longer living under condemnation but freedom no longer living with a chance of hope but instead with real hope

 

When we recognize Jesus as Lord, savior King of the world, then we are given the keys to the kingdom

 

Once we know who Christ is then we get the revelation of who we are and we begin to function in Kingdom authority

 

The gates of hell will not prevail against someone who understands who they are because of who Christ is Jesus was referring to a promise made to the seed of Abraham

 

God promised this to Abraham’s descendants of which we are in Christ. Genesis 22:17

In blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.

 

The word seed here is singular referring directly to the Messiah.

 

Our view of who we are is skewed or enhanced by our understanding of who Jesus is

 

If he is just a good man then what can he really do for us

If he was just a prophet of old then his words no longer have life

If he was just a miracle worker what can he do for us now

If he was just to make us feel guilty and condemned we already feel that way we don’t need help there

 

But if he is the Son of God and we profess that then

 

His teaching is alive because he is alive

His miracles can still happen because He is the son of the living God

He has made us free from sin and death

He said to Peter the gates of hell will not prevail and God promised to us through Abraham that we would possess the gate of our enemies

 

The gates protect, they keep bad things out, they are passage way of commerce but the also keep people captive and in bondage

 

As Peter recognizes who Jesus really is revelation comes alive in him that he no longer needs to be trampled on by the enemy he now has control of what comes into his life.

 

He see Jesus as son of the living God and so himself as a joint heir with Jesus

 

He sees Jesus as conquering King (Revelation 17:14) and so himself as more than a conqueror.

 

He sees Jesus as the almighty one (Revelation 1:8) so he can see himself as never being defeated

 

He sees Jesus has the deliverer (1 Thessalonians 1:10) and he can see himself as always being free.

 

We must see Jesus for who he is or we will never be able to see who we are.

 

How do you see yourself? Your view may be limited by how you see Jesus!

 

50 Names and Titles of Jesus:

 

  1. Almighty One –“…who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev. 1:8

 

  1.  Alpha and Omega – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Rev. 22:13

 

  1.  Advocate – “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” 1 John 2:1
  2. Author and Perfecter of Our Faith – “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb. 12:2
  3.  Authority – “Jesus said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Matt. 28:18
  4.  Bread of Life – “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’” John 6:35
  5.  Beloved Son of God – “And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matt. 3:17
  6.  Bridegroom – “And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Matt. 9:15
  7.  Chief Cornerstone – “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.” Ps. 118:22
  8. Deliverer – “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” 1 Thess.1:10
  9. Faithful and True – “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war.” Rev.19:11
  10. Good Shepherd – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11
  11. Great High Priest – “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” Heb. 4:14
  12. Head of the Church – “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church.” Eph. 1:22
  13. Holy Servant – “…and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:29-30
  14. I Am – “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58
  15. Immanuel – “…She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us.’” Is. 7:14
  16. Indescribable Gift – “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.” 2 Cor. 9:15
  17. Judge – “…he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” Acts 10:42
  18. King of Kings – “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” Rev. 17:14
  19. Lamb of God – “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
  20. Light of the World – “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12
  21. Lion of the Tribe of Judah – “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Rev. 5:5
  22. Lord of All – “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Phil. 2:9-11
  23. Mediator – “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim. 2:5
  24. Messiah – “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).” John 1:41
  25. Mighty One – “Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Is. 60:16
  26. One Who Sets Free – “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  John 8:36
  27. Our Hope – “…Christ Jesus our hope.” 1 Tim. 1:1
  28. Peace – “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,” Eph. 2:14
  29. Prophet – “And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” Mark 6:4
  30. Redeemer – “And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth.” Job 19:25
  31. Risen Lord – “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 1 Cor. 15:3-4
  32. Rock – “For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” 1 Cor. 10:4
  33. Sacrifice for Our Sins – “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10
  34. Savior – “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11
  35. Son of Man – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
  36. Son of the Most High – “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” Luke 1:32
  37. Supreme Creator Over All – “By Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.…” Colossians 1:16-17
  38. Resurrection and the Life – “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11:25
  39. The Door – “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” John 10:9
  40. The Way – “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
  41. The Word – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
  42. True Vine – “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.” John 15:1
  43. Truth – “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
  44. Victorious One – “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Rev. 3:21
  45. – 50. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Is. 9:6

 

 

Power: whether you know it or not you are already plugged in!

I realized this week that as we have been going through Ephesians 6 that I had not shared with you a very important point.

Let’s go there today

Ephesians 6:10

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

I almost used this as a “thought for the day” then realized I needed to teach it because there is too much here to just do a cursory glance.

If we are to impact our world we can not use our wisdom, our strength, our influence alone we must learn to walk and live in His power.

So how do we do that? Is there some magic secret? Secret handshake perhaps some kind of backroom deal we can make with God

I remember being in a tent revival as a kid when the Pastor asked people if they wanted to receive power from on high

Dozens came forward as the evangelist began to pray he would walk behind the people and say if you want it you have to really cry out, beg God for it, plead with Him to pour out this power in your life. Pray louder pray harder if you want it you have to wait.

As a kid watching this it gave me the impression that God was a hard taskmaster like the Baal in the old testament when Elijah told them yell louder maybe Baal is not awake, maybe he is away

The Bible tells us that God knows what we desire before we ask and as I shared last week that it is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. Neither of those things jived with what the evangelist was saying.

Neither does it work with what Paul is saying here in Ephesians 6:10

Let me walk you through something very briefly this morning

Jesus said in Mark 16:17,18

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

How was this going to happen? How will Christ-followers be able to have the power to cast out demons, heal the sick, speak in tongues, drink or eat anything and not have it harm them?

When Jesus was with them they were able to do this easily… he shared the authority he was given, with them. But He was now going away but he was sending the Holy Spirit to take His place

John 16:5-15

“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

 

After Jesus was resurrected He spent 40 days with them talking about the Kingdom of God and explaining what they needed to know.

Now they needed the power to make it all happen, the power he had promised to them as recorded in John so in Acts 1:4-8 we see this

Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” 7 He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

 

They were to wait until the timing was just right then in Acts 2 we see this promise fulfilled. The timing wasn’t abut their needing to wait to be good enough, righteous enough to receive but instead it was about a large celebration where was the Holy Spirit was poured out they would be able to reach the most people with the Gospel

 

The power of the Holy Spirit is to always honor God. Is something that is being done is supposed to be of God but is not honoring Him then it is not God!

Acts 2:1- 4

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

 

So where does that leave us..

 

– Jesus said we would do amazing things

– The disciples did amazing things under Jesus authority

– Jesus said he wanted these amazing things to keep happening even after He went to be with the Father so he would send the Holy Spirit to empower us.

– He told the disciples in order to keep doing the things to impact the world they needed to wait for the Holy Spirit baptism

– Once they were baptized in the Holy Spirit they immediately had the power to do everything they did when Jesus walked with them

 

So where is that power today

Right with you….that takes us back to our opening scripture

Ephesians 6:10

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

“in the Lord” – what Paul is saying here is this supernatural power is Locked up in Jesus

– You can read books about it, hear sermons about it, watch TV or listen to radio about it they can all point you to the power but the only place you can get this power is in the Lord.

This is in the “locative” case, which means it expresses location. Paul is saying here that this power is located in one place in Jesus. If you have the chance read Ephesians 1 within the first 13 verses Paul uses this same phrase and case to describe how we as believers are locked up in Christ. The phrase Paul uses to describe our connection to Christ are “in Him, in Christ, in whom, or in the Beloved”. Paul uses all of this to say as you come to Christ you are placed in Him…your habitat as a believer is no longer in the world but you are now “in Christ”

WE have been securely placed in Him perpetually now why is this important because not only are we “locked up” in Christ but so is the power of the Holy Spirit. Every day since we came to Christ we have been rubbing elbows with this power.

Let me give you this illustration (Alayna I will give you a picture to put up to illustrate this) The fact that we are in Jesus residing with the power of the Holy Spirit can be illustrated this way. If you picture this fishbowl it is filled with water and a goldfish both are of a different substance and in the bowl both reside in the bowl. The bowl is the home for both of them. The fish doesn’t have to release faith to get into the water it is already in the water.

The idea that we are “locked up” inside Christ with the Holy Spirit’s power means we can access a supernatural move of power anytime we want. Just as the fish we have access to the water all the time but with being surrounded by this supernatural power we must simply by faith allow the power of the Holy Spirit to fill us and then embrace that power by faith, being thankful for it

You don’t have to beg or plead for God to fill you all you have to do is want Him to His power is all around you there for the taking…He loves you, wants to give it to you all you have to do is breathe it in!

Question, is do you want it today?

 

 

 

 

Keep talking, quality relationships depend on it

Praying in the Spirit

Last week we talked about the power and impact of the word of God as our sword to destroy the works of the enemy. I am grateful that I heard from many of you this week that you really are applying these teachings in your life.

I know what I am teaching is stretching many of you but I am grateful that you are allowing the Lord to stretch you.

Hebrews 12:5-9

And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline and don’t give up when he corrects you.

6 For the Lord disciplines those he loves,  and he strongly brings correction to each one he accepts as his child.” 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

 

Today we wrap up this series with talking about talking to God something called prayer

 

Ephesians 6:10 – 18 Philips Translation

In conclusion be strong—not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless resource. Put on God’s complete armor so that you can successfully resist all the devil’s methods of attack. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore you must wear the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. Take your stand then with truth as your belt, righteousness your breastplate, the Gospel of peace firmly on your feet, salvation as your helmet and in your hand the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Above all be sure you take faith as your shield, for it can quench every burning missile the enemy hurls at you. Pray at all times with every kind of spiritual prayer, keeping alert and persistent as you pray for all Christ’s men and women.

 

Praying in the spirit is one of our most powerful offensive weapons.

There is a problem with prayer, that is if each of us were totally honest we would admit that we don’t spend much time in prayer.

It really is a reflection of our “can do attitude” as a culture.

See prayer is putting God first in all things, trusting that He is really able to take control of everything in our lives, leading and showing us how to accomplish things easier, more efficiently, more effectively and with greater results.

It is never wrong to read a book, talk to a friend, a pastor, a counselor about our problems but it is wrong to not pray first. Coming to the Lord should always be our first thought.

Our “can do attitude” says I can do it myself. Have you ever been trying to help a three year old put something together, build a puzzle, or such things only to have them take the puzzle piece or block from your hand and say, “let me do it, I can do it myself” this is part of their growth and as a child while it is disrespectful it is somewhat necessary for their independence the problem is we do this with God through our lack of prayer and it shows our lack of dependence on him and will causes us to take so much longer to accomplish our own growth, maturity and effectiveness in the Kingdom.

Praying in the spirit is simply allowing God to direct our prayers so we are not just simply shouting out a bunch of needs and concerns but really waiting on His heart to be revealed that is why many times my prayers literally begin by my praying in tongues, my prayer language because I want to have my heart and spirit align with His spirit then I begin to pray in English because I have aligned my heart with His heart.

If you don’t have a prayer language that doesn’t mean that you can’t pray in the Spirit, because simply put, praying in the Spirit is… God directed prayer, but at least for me it is easier to get to the point of directed prayer because of my prayer language

The Holy Spirit’s job is to lead, guide, give comfort, wisdom and encouragement, it is also to show and prepare us for things to come.

Through my prayer time I can understand better the big dream the Lord has for me our church, and at times many of you it is not spooky or out there it is simply spending time talking with my Father who knows everything and knows what is going to happen it is His good pleasure to let us understand things better

Luke 12:32

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Prayer makes that happen. Paul challenges our understanding of prayer by saying this

1 Thessalonians 5:17

pray without ceasing,

 

What in the world is he saying? How am I supposed to get work done, accomplish and live my life if I take this literally?

What Paul is saying is always be in communication with God, keep your mind focused on Him and on His word. We can do that when we fall in love, have good friends or from the negative have a difficult problem we are facing. In any of those cases we are influenced moment by moment by the people or situation. If we can do that in those cases we can do it with God.

Every relationship we have will be impacted by how much our minds are focused on God. If they are focused on God’s heart

Three things about prayer I need to discuss today

Pray with focus without rote

Pray with persistence

Pray specifically

 

Pray with focus without rote

We as humans are creatures of habit we tend to drive the same path, go to the same places, eat the same foods because it is safe and comfortable while that is not bad it can lead to genuine boredom.

I don’t know if we can bore God but we certainly can bore ourselves if we are constantly praying the same prayers, in the same way.

In Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;”

The translation for keeping alert better lends itself to “stay awake”

If we believe that when we pray we are talking to the one who created everything and knows everything we remember who we are talking to and talk with Him in the confidence that we know He hears us.

Jesus said this Matthew 6:7

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

When you pray keep it fresh and focused on a purpose. Stylistically you can mix it up and still be in line with Scripture

You can, stand, sit, kneel, lay down when you are praying. You can pray quietly, shout, in song, or just in your head.

You can pray in words or phrases of others, your own or scripture

You can pray by yourself or with others.

The other point Paul is making in Colossians about keeping alert as that we need to be aware of what is going on to make sure we to pray for what is happening in our homes, world, church, neighborhood with our leaders and our families.

It is important that we focus and that our prayers do not become so routine, that they lose their power and prayer becomes boring for us

 

Pray with persistence.

James 5:16b

“The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

We used to have to wait until we got to the office or home to make a phone call. We used to have to heat up the oven to reheat a meal. For at least the last 20 years we have been able to make a call anytime, and pop things in the microwave for instant access or instant cooking and we get instant results.

God rarely works that way. He is interested in the long term, in our character, on helping us to move forward not just cover something up.

I mentioned earlier that our prayers are not to be routine but that does not mean that we simply pray for something once and move on. We are to pray until we receive an answer. Persistently seeking God

When we give up on prayer we are giving up on relationship

As we pray God moves and we change and often relationships quickly get healed.

Pray specifically

How many of you are hunters? If you are a hunter you know the difference between a shotgun and a rifle. A shot gun sprays lead pellets over a wide area hitting whatever is in that pattern out to about 100 yards tops. When you’re going after pheasant or quail or even rabbits, a shotgun can be effective. The prey is moving, often erratically, and so you point and shoot. Aiming is often kept to a minimum. You just hope you to hit what you’re pointing at. A shotgun is pretty indiscriminant in what it hits. If you’re in the path, watch out!

A rifle, on the other hand, is used very differently. A rifle is used to take intentional aim at a specific, single target, often hundreds of yards away. A rifle fires just one projectile, one bullet, at that target. And if your aim is accurate, you can drop your target from a great distance.

Both are good for their intend use

Many of our prayers are shotgun prayers

“Dear God, Give me good day today. You know that our church needs some help so please bless it and the pastor. Please take care of those that are sick and need you and please help us to be more effective for you. Amen.”

That is a shotgun prayer pretty common and OK but it doesn’t show real interest. Some of the Biblical prayers are shotguns but the most impactful ones are specific

It is kind of like having surface relationships where you really don’t know someone you simply are happy with nothing deeper. There OK and all of us have them but the real impact and danger come when you become more open and vulnerable

Rather than God give me a good day we pray God help me to be effective in my relationships with my family and Fred in accounting and sally in sales help me to be a blessing to them specifically in today

“God help our church.” No! God, our church needs to reach out to our community better than we do. Help us to discover what the specific needs of our community are and then give us a vision and creativity and workers and the finances to help us meet that need and show me how to be part of the answer.

You get the idea…God know what we need and he needs us to see the need with clarity and he will give us the strategies to meet those needs

We all need and desire to have healthier relationships; relationships that honor God.

God has given us some wonderful and powerful tools; some exercises that we are to use to build a better body of relationships.

We are to put on his strength

We are to ground our relationships in truth and integrity

We are to be right with God so that we can be right with others

We are to advance the Gospel of Christ in our relationships

We are to maintain faith in Christ

We are to align our thoughts with Christ

We are to immerse our lives and our relationships in the Word of God

And we are to be praying for our relationships.

We are to pray in the spirit. We are to pray continually, we are to pray with focus, we are to pray persistently and we are to pray specifically.

As a result, every relationship in our lives will be strong

 

 

 

 

 

A sharp word to keep our relationships strong

Sword of the spirit

Last week we talked about whether you were a thermometer or a thermostat how many of you this week had the opportunity to notice that about yourself or others?

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

Everything so far has been defensive in nature but now Paul talks about the sword of the Spirit. There were several types of swords in the Roman cache. One was a two-handed broad sword designed mainly for practice but if used in battle, mainly wounded the enemy rather than kill. There was a long sword that was used mainly as a weapon to cut at arms and legs. Neither of those are the sword described here by Paul.

This sword was 12” – 18” in length it was meant for close battles. It is an offensive weapon to be used in tight situations.

It was extremely sharp and could be maneuvered easily and appropriately to overcome any enemy

Paul compares the word of God to that sword and how it can work in keeping our relationships strong is amazing.

I need to mention this God’s Word is true

 

1) It makes things clear
2) It purifies
3) It guides

How does it make things clear

Hebrews 4:12

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.

Often in our relationships, there are times when things getting a little confusing we don’t understand why someone is saying something or doing something. We can understand why someone is treating us the way that they are.

His word pierces right to the core of things
It cuts through self-deception
It shows up against hypocrisy

When we know and live God’s word it reveals our hearts

Things like

1 John 4:20

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

Titus 3: 1,2

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

Matthew 6:14,15

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Just these three verses alone can cut through any hypocrisy and self-absorption leaving 31,099 verses to work on other areas of your life.

What would these three verses alone do to enhance, heal and bring life to every relationship

2) God’s Word purifies

Psalm 119:9

How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word.

John 17:17

Sanctify (Purify) them in the truth; your word is truth.

There are so many things that can pollute our minds and our hearts so much on television, on the internet, in conversations at work. The anger, hatred, bitterness, greed, fear that can easily pollute you so can stand firm against if you will allow God’s word to do the work.

Here is a positive challenge of how the Word purifies

Proverbs 7:1-4

My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;
2 keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; 3 bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend,

Wisdom will keep your heart and attitude strong, focused and clear. The Word of God is a book filled with wisdom

Think about it if we use wisdom and keep our heart attitudes pure in every relationship we will solve all kinds of conflicts

When we don’t know where to go or what to do….

4) It guides

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

So many of our relationship become confusing when we don’t know how to treat one another we offend or we get offended.
We are working on a relationship and don’t know how to get there from here

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Ephesians 4:2,3

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Hebrews 10: 24,25

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

If we need guidance as to how to handle any relationship these words alone should help us accomplish amazing things with each other.

Laying down our lives for each other gets pride and rejection out of the way, listening to each other taking on each others burdens to help us carrying them helps draw us to unity not division, and challenging each other to love and get to church always helps us grow.

How do we allow this word to make the difference in us so we can make a difference in all of our relationships

1) Learn it
It can’t really change you until you know it Psalm 119:11 says “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you”

2) Love it
We embrace so many concepts in our daily lives to excel at work and in family but God wants us to embrace His word to excel at life and all of our relationships

Psalm 1: 1,2
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night.

3) Live it
We have got to allow God’s word to be live to us to allow it to go out through our hands and touch the lives of others

James 1:22

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

I hope you can see today how God’s word can keep every relationship strong and healthy