Words that change our hearts and the world! Part 2

Words that change our hearts and the world! Part 2

Prayer is simply having a conversation with not only your loving heavenly Father but also with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the ruler of all time and space, He is the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present God, and He among other titles is the Almighty God.

I mentioned last week, “seven days without prayer makes one weak”

Exodus 33:15

Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.

He stands in the gap for the whole nation and one man is able through standing the gap to save the nation.

Prayer is a constant reminder that God is with us!

1) Get to a quiet, undistracted place

Moses went into the tabernacle to talk with God Exodus 33:8

Jesus would go away alone Mark 1:35

Jacob met Him in the wilderness Genesis 28

We need to give Him our undivided attention so we are able to hear him clearly

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.

 

2) Know who you are talking to

He is the God who loves you with an everlasting love Jeremiah 31:3

He is the God Almighty Exodus 6:22

He will never leave you nor forsake you Deuteronomy 31:6

When you are praying you are talking to the one who loves you the most, is almighty, and will always be with you!

 

3) Schedule a time to pray…

Psalm 5:3

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.

We schedule whatever is a priority to us and talking with God needs to be a priority

 

4) Create a prayer list

1Timothy 2:1

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,

Use your phone or a pad or something to keep a list to keep focused and  organized.

5) Pray specifically

Matthew 6:8

“Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him”

It is also an acknowledgment on our part that we are truly care about specific individuals and things revealing that our heart is growing to be like the Father’s heart.

6) It is best many times to pray out loud

Psalm 142:1,2

I cry out to the Lord; I plead for the Lord’s mercy. I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.

And a very obvious verse from Romans 10:9

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

when you pray out loud it forces you to focus on what you are saying sometimes when we pray silently it is easy for our minds to wander

7) Prayer is about listening to God as well, part of conversation is not just talking but listening as well

Jesus said in John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

God spoke to Jeremiah and said

Jeremiah 7:13

And now, because you have done all these works,” says the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer,

Proverbs warns us

18:13 “Spouting off before listening to the facts is both shameful and foolish.”

Please remember prayer is simply conversation with God

– He wants to spend time with you,

– He wants you to know Him better,

– He wants you to be at peace

Prayer times for our nation beginning October 17th at 6PM

We are always open to praying for you

 

Addition notes so you know God as you speak with him

Names of God 

ELOHIM” (or Elohay) is the first name for God found in the Bible, and it’s used throughout the Old Testament over 2,300 times. Elohim comes from the Hebrew root meaning “strength” or “power”, and has the unusual characteristic of being plural in form. In Genesis 1:1, we read, “In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth.” Right from the start, this plural form for the name of God is used to describe the One God, a mystery that is uncovered throughout the rest of the Bible. Throughout scripture, Elohim is combined with other words to describe certain characteristics of God. Some examples:

– Elohay Kedem – God of the Beginning: (Deuteronomy 33:27).

– Elohay Mishpat – God Of Justice: (Isaiah 30:18).

– Elohay Selichot – God Of Forgiveness: (Nehemiah 9:17).

– Elohay Marom – God Of Heights: (Micah 6:6).

– Elohay Mikarov – God Who Is Near: (Jeremiah 23:23).

– Elohay Mauzi – God Of My Strength: (Psalm 43:2).

– Elohay Tehilati – God Of My Praise: (Psalm 109:1).

– Elohay Yishi – God Of My Salvation: (Psalm 18:46).

– Elohim Kedoshim – Holy God: (Leviticus 19:2, Joshua 24:19).

– Elohim Chaiyim – Living God: (Jeremiah 10:10).

– Elohay Elohim – God Of Gods: (Deuteronomy 10:17).

“EL” is another name used for God in the Bible, showing up about 200 times in the Old Testament. El is the simple form arising from Elohim, and is often combined with other words for descriptive emphasis. Some examples:

– El HaNe’eman – The Faithful God: (Deuteronomy 7:9).

– El HaGadol – The Great God: (Deuteronomy 10:17).

– El HaKadosh – The Holy God: (Isaiah 5:16).

– El Yisrael – The God Of Israel: (Psalm 68:35).

– El HaShamayim – The God Of The Heavens: (Psalm 136:26).

– El De’ot – The God Of Knowledge: (1 Samuel 2:3).

– El Emet – The God Of Truth: (Psalm 31:6).

– El Yeshuati – The God Of My Salvation: (Isaiah 12:2).

– El Elyon – The Most High God: (Genesis 14:18).

– Immanu El – God Is With Us: (Isaiah 7:14).

– El Olam – The God Of Eternity (Genesis 21:33).

– El Echad – The One God: (Malachi 2:10).

“ELAH” is another name for God, used about 70 times in the Old Testament. Again, when combined with other words, we see different attributes of God. Some examples:

– Elah Yerush’lem – God of Jerusalem: (Ezra 7:19).

– Elah Yisrael – God of Israel: (Ezra 5:1).

– Elah Sh’maya – God of Heaven: (Ezra 7:23).

– Elah Sh’maya V’Arah – God of Heaven and Earth: (Ezra 5:11).

“YHWH” is the Hebrew word that translates as “LORD”. Found more often in the Old Testament than any other name for God (approximately 7,000 times), the title is also referred to as the “Tetragrammaton,” meaning the “The Four Letters”. YHWH comes from the Hebrew verb “to be” and is the special name that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM; and He said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you… this is My eternal name, and this is how I am to be recalled for all generations'” (Exodus 3:14-15).

Therefore, YHWH declares God’s absolute being – the source of everything, without beginning and without end. Although some pronounce YHWH as “Yaweh,” scholars really don’t know the proper pronunciation. The Jews stopped pronouncing this name by about 200 A.D., out of fear of breaking the commandment “You shall not take the name of YHWH your God in vain” (Exodus 20:7). (Today’s rabbis typically use “Adonai” in place of YHWH.)

Here are some examples of YHWH used in scripture:

– YHWH Elohim – LORD God: (Genesis 2:4).

– YHWH M’kadesh – The LORD Who Makes Holy: (Ezekiel 37:28).

–YHWH Yireh – The LORD Who Sees/provides: (Genesis 22:14).

– YHWH Nissi – The LORD My Banner: (Exodus 17:15).

– YHWH Shalom – The LORD Of Peace: (Judges 6:24).

– YHWH Tzidkaynu – The LORD Our Righteousness: (Jeremiah 33:16).

– YHWH O’saynu – The LORD our Maker: (Psalm 95:6).

Names of God: The Lord Revealed in YHWH is the Lord Revealed in Jesus

The LORD who revealed Himself as YHWH in the Old Testament is revealed as Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus shares the same attributes as YHWH and clearly claims to be YHWH.

– In John 8:56-59, Jesus presents himself as the “I AM.” When challenged by some Jewish leaders regarding His claim of seeing Abraham (who lived some 2000 years earlier), Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” Those Jewish leaders understood that Jesus was claiming to be YHWH. This is clearly established when they tried to stone Him to death for what they considered blasphemy under Jewish Law.

– In Romans 10:9, Paul declares, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as LORD… you shall be saved.”

– Immediately, in Romans 10:13, Paul backs up this declaration by quoting the Old Testament, “Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD (YHWH) will be saved” (Joel 2:32).

– Calling on Jesus as Lord is the same as calling Him YHWH, because Jesus is YHWH (LORD), the Messiah foretold throughout the entire Old Testament.

This is a light list of the names of God. The Bible gives us various names of God that reveal His nature and character to us so we might have a better understanding who he is!

Words that change our hearts and the world Part 1

Words that change our hearts and the world! Part 1

Everyone knows we should pray but the idea of prayer to many is boring or only used in a crisis or perhaps frustrating because we have prayed and our prayers seem to have gone unanswered.

I had shared this on facebook last week Daniel’s habit in prayer

“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” Daniel 6:10

He prayed 3 times per day everyday. As you read about each of the great men and women of God we find them in prayer often.

Very quickly today I want to share with you what the Bible says about prayer

1) How often should we pray?

Daniel prayed three times per day as I mentioned earlier is that what we should do?

Paul said in his first letter to the Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Pray without ceasing what is that about?

As a Christian you have the “ear” of the almighty God, the one with the power of all creation. We simply get frustrated with the learning process, the process of knowing his heart and reacting to his heart

Prayer builds that relationship just like talking and spending time with a friend or spouse builds that relationship as well.

Don’t know how you could pray all of the time?

2) Prayer is not negotiable it is a command of God

Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Matthew 6:9 “Pray then like this. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.”

Matthew 9:38 “Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Luke 18:1 “And He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.” (woman and unjust judge and Pharisee and tax collector)

Mark 14:38 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

God would not ask us to pray if our prayers did not change things

3) Prayer has power

Here is one very powerful example 1 Kings 18:36-39

At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. 37 O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” 38 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”

Elijah could pray this prayer because he knew God,

Psalm 103:7 says this

He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

Here is my challenge for you this week.

– 15 minutes a day in prayer

but also….

– every time you begin to worry stop and pray,

– every time you begin to get angry stop and pray

– every time you begin to feel out of control stop and pray.

Pray for Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Gary Johnson that they might come into a real encounter with the Lord

Believe as you pray that there is power in your prayers to change the world!

Soon return of Jesus? (What are the real signs of Jesus return)

Soon return of Jesus?

I have talked about loving God with all of our heart mind soul and strength.

I have shared with you that according to Peter we are always to be ready to give a defense of the Gospel with gentleness and humility

I have talked with you about the various ways we can and should worship the Lord.

If you need a review of these things they are all on our website at www.christiancenter.us

All of these things and many more are about the establishing of God’s Kingdom on earth, in all our hearts,  prior to Christ return.

You have heard me say many times

2 Peter 3:9

The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be lost, but wants everyone to repent.

Verse 10 says this

But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

I have heard for my entire life that things are so bad surely it is time for the Lord to return…

Jesus taught us to pray…

“Your Kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10

God’s Kingdom must be established in the hearts of people all over the world. They must hear the Gospel message everywhere before Christ will return.

Matthew 24:14

And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.

I have established that with you many times. We also know that the Holy Spirit is already about the business of drawing people to God

The disciples were grieving and confused because Jesus was telling them He was going to leave them

John 16:7-11

7 But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate, the Helper, the Holy Spirit won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

The Holy Spirit’s job to the.. “not–yet believer” is to convict them of their sins, to show them how far away they are from God’s righteousness, and to reveal to them that apart from Christ they are condemned.

The Holy Spirit is already at work and it is obvious that the Gospel of the Kingdom being spread is to be our job, however all of this is contingent on God’s waiting on one thing….our maturity

Mark 4:26-29

Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”

As in so many of Jesus’ parables we are the grain that the Good News has sprouted in our heart.

Here it is tomato season already but we will not pick the tomatoes until they are ready. The Father, the farmer in this parable, is waiting for the grain also to mature before He comes to harvest it.

The New American standard translation puts it this way

“But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The original Greek word here is “paradidomi” which means as soon that the crop itself determines it is ripe

In other words, you and I are the hold up for Christ return. He is waiting for us to mature before He will come and take up the harvest.

You see the Holy Spirit is already doing the job of convicting as I had mentioned earlier but we must be in a mature place.

What are the signs of a mature believer?

1) It is attitude – not age, it is not “extensity” of years but “intensity” of years and what we learn in the process. All people age, but not everyone matures. Our life experiences either cause us to grow and mature or fail and become embittered but it is our choices that determine whether we mature or not. 

Paul explains it this way to the church at Colossae

Colossians 1:24-28

I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man mature in Christ Jesus.

Paul talks about his suffering his struggles and difficulties not as problems but as things to advance the kingdom and cause others to come to maturity. These by the way are also the things that lead him to understanding, wisdom and insight into all the things God has promised.

Our attitude is one of I trust God even if I don’t understand what I’m going through or I am in a suffering or difficult place because I know He has me regardless of what is happening

2) Spiritual maturity takes time. It is not instantaneous nor is it automatic.

Hebrews 6:1 says

“So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.”

The phrase “let us go on instead and become mature” is most diligently translated “Let’s keep progressively moving toward maturity”

Growth toward spiritual maturity will, of necessity, involve moral effort, discipline, renunciation, and perseverance in pursuit of the goal. There are no shortcuts.

3) Spiritual gifts can be a sign of Spiritual maturity but not always.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 we have a list of how the Corinthian church is moving in all of the gifts. They flowed amazingly in the gifts but Paul says this about them.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life. 2 I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, 3 for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world?

The same church that was flowing powerfully in all of the gifts was still a childish church lusting, quarreling, not listening to leadership, jealous, because they lack one of the true signs of a mature church…found in 1 Corinthians 14..

4 Maturity is truly being a reflection of Christ in all we say and do being “Christ-like”

Ephesians 4:11- 13

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Paul is saying here that maturity comes through submission, learning, growing, tearing down walls, building one another up, and we will see it reflected in ourselves because we are truly a reflection of Christ.

The supreme goal of God is not evangelism, as important as that ministry is but as Paul writes

Colossians 1:28

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete, mature in Christ.

God’s purpose is to produce disciples who reflect the perfect humanity of His Son so the whole world might easily see Jesus!

Why? Because as I started this teaching with the parable from Mark 4, He is waiting for the harvest to mature and then He will take it in

Once again I am pushing you all to maturity, as I am pushing myself everyday.

As long as we allow and I use the word “allow” because that is what we do, it is not the devil we need to worry about as much as it is our choices. As long as we allow sin, bad attitudes, past failures, unforgiveness, prejudice, fear to control us we will stifle our maturity.

Are you trusting that the Lord has your life in His hands and that everything coming your way…good or bad is simply and opportunity to grow?

Are you maturing everyday?

Are you allowing “love” to be the overarching control in your life?

Are you being a reflection of Christ in all you do?

If you are taking time to rest you should be starting on this journey.

Let’s work together to make it so Jesus might come soon but maturing, being ready for the harvest.

 

 

 

 

You need to take a break!

You need to take a break

Psalm 127:2

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Isaiah 26:3

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

The problem is, we think we are doing better or at least OK when the truth is we are not

Martin Luther one of the Fathers of the reformation is quoted as saying

“I have so much to do today I have to spend twice as much time in prayer”

 

1) First is to stop and breathe

As we read earlier we do not rest as a culture Psalm 127:2

It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Rest is trusting in the Lord, putting Him first, and keeping our eyes on Him rather than everything else

70% of people do not get enough rest

People who are not rested are more irritable, have lower self-esteem,  those who are not rested have a mind-set often accompanied by decreases in willingness to think and act proactively, control impulses, feel positive about yourself, empathize with others, and generally use emotional intelligence*

*“The Secret World of Sleep: The Surprising Science of the Mind at Rest” Penelope Lewis

 

2) Set your focus on the right things

Going back to the second verse we talked about Isaiah 26:3

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Acts 12:6

The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate.

Learning to keep your thoughts fixed on Him turns that around.

The science behind it.

In 2011 a Harvard study lead by Sara Lazar found that the type of focus like study in the word and regular daily prayer called “Mindfulness based stress reduction

In other words, setting your focus on the right things improves your ability to handle everything with peace and grace and gives you a general sense of wellness

 

3) Take time every day to get alone with God

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Mark 1:35

But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. Luke 5:16

We are under so much pressure by so many demands in our

In the book, “The power of the lonely” the author quotes a Harvard study

“a certain amount of solitude can make a person more capable of empathy towards others. And while no one would dispute that too much isolation early in life can be unhealthy, a certain amount of solitude has been shown to help teenagers improve their moods and earn good grades in school.”

Send your kids to their rooms if you love them….

Everything I have shared today can really be wrapped up in this simple verse

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33

Practically

Take time everyday to shut yourself away with the Lord, even if it is only 15 minutes, please develop that habit.

If you have your mind in the right place the result will be Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Chances are you will need less stress relief and maybe even less meds, become a more proactive person rather than reactive because you have taken control of you life and put God in charge.

Defending your Faith Part 2

Defending our faith part 2

 

1 Peter 3:15,16

 

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

 

 

1) Can we trust the Gospels to be accurate?

 

The book of Acts was most likely written around AD 61 to 64

 

within 30 years of the resurrection of Christ. How do we know this?

 

Several key events that would naturally have been included in the Book of Acts were left out

 

James death AD 61

Paul’s death in AD 64

Peter’s death in AD 65

Jewish war against the Romans AD 66

Destruction of the temple in AD 70

 

In fact J.P. Moreland of Talbot school of theology writes in his book, “scaling the secular city” on page 154 that “the Gospels style of writing and the synchronicity all point to an authorship between 12 and 29 years after Jesus resurrection.”

 

The new testament also includes Paul’s letters some of which date to AD 49

 

Galatians 2:1,2

 

“Then fourteen years later I went back to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas; and Titus came along, too. 2 I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing.”

 

 

1 Corinthians 15:3-9

 

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

 

 

 

2) Have there been revisions and changes to the New Testament record over the years?

 

Revelation 22:18,19

 

And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. 19 And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

 

 

To date archeologist have found over 5000 Greek manuscripts. If we add to that the number of Latin, Coptic and other manuscripts we have over 24,000 manuscripts of the New Testament as proof to the continuity of the New Testament.

 

Compare that to there are less than 650 manuscripts of Homers Iliad the ancient manuscript with the next highest level of authenticating works.

 

Compare that to the less than a dozen manuscripts for our Constitution yet we believe it to be authentic.

 

Apart from actual manuscript evidence 95% of the New testament is found in the writing of the early church Fathers

 

Sir Fredrick Kenyon former director of the British Museum and other of Palaeography and Greek Papyri,……. “The last foundation for any doubt that the scriptures have come down to us substantially as they were written, has now been removed.”

 

 

3) Did Jesus claim to be God?

 

1) Jesus most common name for himself was “son of man”, not what others called him but instead what he called himself.

 

This was in reference to Daniel 7:13,14

 

“As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would serve and worship him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.”

 

 

2) He claimed to be “I am” John 8:58,59

 

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!” 59 At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

 

 

 

3) Jesus forgave sins

 

Mark 2: 5-7

 

Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” 6 But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, 7 “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

 

4) Others recognized Him as God and he did not deny it.

 

Thomas after Christ resurrection having seen Him, he now believes and makes the exclamation John 20:28

My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed.29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

 

Peter when challenged about who Jesus really is…

 

Matthew 16: 15-17

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.

 

5) What Jesus said about himself

 

John 8:24

“That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins.”

 

Luke 12:8,9

“I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels. 9 But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels.

 

It doesn’t get any clearer than this John 10:30-33

 

The Father and I are one.” 31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

 

 

Two weeks ago I shared with you in part one of defending your faith that

1) Even science proves there was a beginning if a beginning then a Creator

2) The Bible is God’s Word,

3) There can only be one universal truth and not all truth is truth.

Today

 

4) We can trust the Gospels to be accurate,

5) The Bible has not been changed over the years

6) Jesus did claim to be God.

 

Let’s love unconditionally, pursue relentlessly and change the world continuously.

 

If you need prayer….

 

Defending your faith! Part 1

 

1 Peter 3:15,16

 

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

 

  1. Is there a beginning?

 

Genesis 1:1

 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

 

Nothing can not create something

 

 

This is an observable fact that the galaxies are moving at a steady rate of speed from a point of origin

 

‘Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

 

There are several problems with this statement first off it is not scientific in essence science is based on observable facts. There is not observable evidence to prove the dogmatic “can” and “can not” statements. The statement should say “As much as we have observed the amount of energy in the cosmos remains constant” this does not contradict the creation of the universe because we could say the amount of energy since the creation of the universe remains constant.

 

The second problem about an eternal universe is with the second law of thermo dynamics.

 

This law states that the universe is running out of usable energy

 

Science proves the first law of thermodynamics as I have stated it and proves the second law both are observable. Both of these theories only further the idea of a creation and thus a creator.

 

The idea of a creation is then proven scientifically sound and reasonable and if the idea of a creation is sound and reasonable then so must a Creator be sound and reasonable.

 

1800’s scientist were convinced chlamydia, the plague, and cholera were caused by “bad air”

 

Until the early 20th century science was sure the continents did not move until continental drift was proven

Until the 1980’s peptic ulcers were the result of stress

 

No current scientific model can account for the origin of life from non-life

 

 

  1. II) The Bible is God’s Word

 

– Unlike other holy books, the Bible alone has been supernaturally confirmed to be the Word of God. For only the Scriptures were written by prophets who were supernaturally confirmed by signs and wonders.

1)“When Moses questioned how his message would be accepted, God performed miracles through him “that [the Israelites] may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you” (Exodus 4:5).

 

2) Later, when Korah rose up to challenge Moses, God again miraculously intervened to vindicate his prophet (see Numbers 16)—

 

3) Elijah was confirmed to be a prophet of God by supernatural intervention on Mount Carmel (see 1 Kings 18).

 

4) In the Gospels, the Jewish teacher Nicodemus said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2 see Luke 7:22). Peter declared, “Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him” (Acts 2:22).

 

5) The writer of Hebrews affirms that “God also testified to [salvation through Jesus Christ] by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will” (Hebrews 2:4).

 

6) And the apostle Paul proved his apostleship by affirming, “The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance” (2 Corinthians 12:12).

 

 

– No other book can claim the accurate prediction that the Bible does there are over 200 predictions hundreds of years before the birth of Christ about him, here is a sampling..

 

– of a woman Genesis 3:15.

– of the line of Abraham Genesis 12:1–3; 22:18.

– through the tribe of Judah Genesis 49:10.

– as a son of David 2 Samuel 7:12–13.

– in the city of Bethlehem Micah 5:2.

– of a virgin Isaiah 7:14.

– suffer and die for our sins Isaiah 53

– at about A.D. 33 Daniel 9:24–26

– rise from the dead Psalm 16:11 see Psalm 2:7–8.

 

  • Truth is truth

 

Jesus said in John 14:6

 

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

In our world today you will here the statement made “there is no universal truth?”

 

In itself that statement is a dichotomy because stating that, “there is no universal truth”…. is in itself a universal truth

 

 

Was Jesus a good man?

 

Statistics tell us that those that know the name well of 80% believe that He was good.

 

Did Jesus raise from the dead?

 

Then the question of truth comes to morality

 

.Do you believe? If not I have given you proof to consider today

 

 

Additional notes

 

The Five Possibilities of Who Jesus Was/Is

 

Based upon these claims of Jesus, there are only 5 logical possibilities for who Jesus, in actuality, was/is: Lunatic, Liar, Myth, Guru, or Lord.

 

  • Lunatic (Jesus was crazy)

 

  • Actually, this was a charge in Jesus own day (Mk 3:21-22), in the same way as it was for St. Paul (Acts 26:24)
    • But actual lunatics don’t refute the charge (Mk 3:23-30 for Jesus; Acts 26:25-26 for Paul)
  • Lunatics are generally not believable and/or intellectually threatening.
  • Jesus did not act like a mad man.
  • Even atheists and non-Christians believe Jesus to be a “great moral teacher”.
  • Lunatics are not moral teachers (see Hitler).
  • Jesus had the wrong psychological profile.
  • No (monotheistic, non-idolatrous) Jew could seriously think Jesus was God if He wasn’t.

 

  • Liar (Jesus (or the Apostles) made it all up)

 

  • Liars lie for personal motives/gain.  Jesus got the cross; the Apostles got martyrdom.  Nobody dies for a lie.
  • Jesus backed up His claims with visible miracles, most notably the Resurrection.
  • Lies die with the death of the liar.  Jesus’ words live on, just as He promised (Lk 21:33).
  • “Great moral teachers” are not liars.
  • “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 55-56).

 

  • Myth (Jesus never actually existed; He was made up by the Apostles)

 

  • By far the most popularly accepted answer to the question of who Jesus is by secularists today.
  • Jesus as a historical figure has far more support from ancient texts than any other figure from antiquity.
    • Not only in the Gospels, but extra-biblical writings from Tacitus, Suetonius, Josephus.
    • “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ, and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.” (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities3.3, c. 90 AD)
  • No motive for the Apostles to perpetuate the myth: they were tortured and martyred.
  • Not enough time for a myth to develop.  There were eyewitnesses.
  • The Apostles portrayed themselves as idiots.  Not the best tactic for gaining adherents. (See the Gospel of Mark.)
  • No one in the history of Christianity has ever said that they made up the Jesus story.
  • The Gospels are not written in the same literary genre as other myths.  Did the Apostles invent “historical fiction”?
  • Many people witnessed Jesus’ preaching and deeds.  The Apostles could not get away with perpetuating a myth if there were eyewitnesses to contradict them.
  • The St. Paul problem.  Something dramatic happened to St. Paul to make him the best Christian evangelist ever and to lose his life for the faith.  The easiest/most logical explanation is that he had an encounter with the risen Christ.
  • The existence of the Church problem.  There are no made-up founders of religions.

 

  • Guru (Jesus was actually a guru, having incorporated the pantheism of eastern religions into His teachings)

 

  • Jesus was as Jewish as they come. (Mt 5:17-20)
  • Jesus did not promote the “losing of the self” but rather that “those who lose their lives for my sake will save them” (Mt 16:25).  He claimed to be the center of existence.  The emptying of oneself led not to nothingness, but rather to communion with Christ.
  • There is nothing but straw-grasping to suggest that Jesus ever traveled to the east to learn eastern mysticism.  On the contrary, people who heard Jesus spoke as though they’ve known Him from youth and would have known if He had gone somewhere to study (Mk 6:1-4).
  • Lord (Jesus was/is God, exactly who He said He was/is)

 

  • If none of the other possibilities are rational/logical or fit the evidence we have, then this is what we are left with: Jesus is God.
  • Is there anything Jesus said or did that invalidates His claim?  No.
  • Still requires a “leap of faith”, but not an irrational one.

One Final Objection: Jesus as portrayed in the Gospels is not the actual “historical Jesus”

 

  • That the “real” Jesus did not claim divinity, did not perform miracles, and basically didn’t say or do 99% of what is contained within the Gospels (Jesus Seminar).
  • But the Gospels (and Acts) are very detail-oriented, and contain many distinct features, people, places, and events that could only have been related by eyewitnesses:
    • Jesus writing in the sand (Jn 8:6)
    • Healing of the woman with the hemorrhage (Mk 5:25-34)
    • The alabaster jar (Mk 14:3-9)
    • Mary’s Magnificat (Lk 1:46-55)
    • “And His mother kept all these things in her heart” (Lk 2:19, 2:51)
    • Street called Straight (Acts 9:10-11)
    • Luke 3:1-4
    • John’s claim (Jn 21:24-25)

Peter’s claim (2 Pt 1:16-18)

 

 

 

 

 

Are you wearing your big boy/girl pants? Part 2

Are you wearing your big boy/girl pants? Part 2

 

It is interesting in our spiritual lives, growth is somewhat the opposite of our natural growth.

 

Paul wrote this to the church at Ephesus

 

Ephesians 4:15,16

“…we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

 

BTW Ephesians 4:11-16 is part of our Vision statement as a church.

 

The writer of Hebrews challenges us with this

Hebrews 5:11-13

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

So what does it look like to be spiritually mature? What does it mean to be a healthy growing Christian?

 

We are called to grow up together to look more and more like Christ what does that look like?

 

6) You Find Yourself Wanting to Obey God

 

In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

 

One of the natural expectations of a growing Christian is faithfulness and obedience to the commands of God. Not out of duty, but out of love for Him.

Our obedience results from what Jesus has done for us and of our love for Him.

7) You’re Growing as a Person

The apostle Paul, in Colossians 1:10, talks about bearing fruit.

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

In Galatians 5:22-23, he lays out the fruit of the Spirit:

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self- control. There is no law against these things

One of the best ways to measure growth is by looking at this fruit in our lives. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 7:16-20

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions

All of this fruit should be visible not just in our own self-assessment. Impartial outsiders should be able to observe this fruit growing in our lives. If other people don’t see evidence of this fruit in our lives, then perhaps our fruit is not growing as much as we think it is.

8) You’re Less Worried About Personal Preferences and More Concerned about Unity

Paul, in Ephesians 4:11-15, notes that unity of the faith and knowledge of Jesus are measures of fullness in Christ.

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church

The war of personal preferences…. We have to learn to define the difference between personal preference and/or style and what God is doing.

9) You’re Willing to Speak the Truth in Love

Paul teaches us, in Ephesians 4:15-16, to speak the truth in love and to grow in Christ—which makes the whole body grow in love.

“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

As you grow spiritually, you’ll learn not to avoid hard topics, but to speak into the lives of other believers—always with loving humility and grace.

 

10) You’re Engaged in Community

 

The writer of Hebrews encourages us to continue meeting together. In a culture moving further and further from regular church involvement, the Bible teaches that growing, mature Christians will continually and consistently meet together. We are created for community.

In review today’s ten signs of our maturing faith are

 

  • Always learning more about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
  • Going in deeper with the Word
  • Not waiting for others to feed you
  • Learning and teaching others
  • Grow in grace
  • You find yourself wanting to obey God
  • You are growing as a person
  • You are less worried about personal preference and more worried about unity
  • You’re willing to speak the truth in love
  • You’re engaged in community

 

Where are you today? If you are doing this, rejoice, you are growing! If not take it as a challenge to see these signs of growth in your life.

 

 

 

Are you wearing your big boy/girl pants? Part 1

Are you wearing your big boy/girl pants?

 

In human terms, as we mature we are striving to take what our parents did for us as a launching pad for our lives that we might surpass who they are and what they have accomplished because we started with a leg up because of their growth and sacrifice. We grow to become healthy mature adults by growing in independent.

It is interesting in our spiritual lives, that is somewhat the opposite. We start out in rebellion to God, at war with His plan for our lives and then we spend our lives focusing in on becoming more like Him more and more dependent on Him.

Paul wrote this to the church at Ephesus

 

Ephesians 4:15,16

“…we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

 

The writer of Hebrews challenges us with this

 

Hebrews 5:11-13

There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

So what does it look like to be spiritually mature? What does it mean to be a healthy growing Christian?

 

 

  • You are learning more about the one you love

 

John 14:23

Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them

 

 

Love is based on relationship and if the relationship is not growing it shows dysfunction

 

  • You are digging into the deeper things of God

 

We read earlier in Hebrews 5:13,14

13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

 

 

  • You are not waiting for others to feed you

 

Maturity is shown but the disciple of being in the word being hungry for more practical experiences being “Jesus” to the world

 

Philippians 1:9,10

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return”

 

Which leads me to our last qualifier of maturity for today

 

  • Constantly learning and teaching

 

2 Timothy 2:1

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

 

All of us are called to share what we know with others so they might find the hope we have.

 

  • You’re Growing in Grace

 

2 Peter 3:18

“…you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, all glory to him, both now and forever! Amen”

 

Our default response should not be anger or bitterness but forgiveness and grace, even when people don’t deserve it. That’s what grace is.

 

 

In review today’s five signs of our maturing faith are

 

  • Always learning more about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
  • Going in deeper with the Word
  • Not waiting for others to feed you
  • Learning and teaching others
  • Grow in grace

 

Where are you today? If you are doing this rejoice, you are growing if not take it as a challenge to see these signs of growth in your life.

 

Next week I have five more challenges for you