Sermon Link
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8d2a90l4yzd30lm/Lakehaven%20Sermon%20Notes.pages
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Poor vision
Poor vision
Philippians 3:7-8 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
In our study of Philippians, this week we came to the verses above that speak volumes to me. Scriptures that are near to my heart, scriptures that Paul writes with words that cannot be penned any better; nothing else matters any more. Paul had a life and a pedigree that would have elevated him in any society, and in the Jewish society he was at the top of his game. The family he was born into, right down to the top-notch education that he received; he was born for greatness. All that he pursued in the name of the church was given to him; the silver spoon as a Pharisee fed all his heart’s desires for worldly pursuits. Paul was successful by all worldly standards; it is hard to imagine the elevated position that Paul would hold today in the world and the church.
When Jesus came to Paul in a blinding light on a dirt road, Paul literally never saw the world the same again. Days later when scales fell from his eyes, he never saw his life or this life the same. In these passages above, Paul considered every single thing in his life before that encounter with Christ rubbish, trash, garbage, to be thrown away in a heap. That statement carries a weight with it that only Christ can place on your heart. That statement carries a love with it that only Christ can give. That statement carries with it a passion that nothing earthly can stir your heart to that level of desire. What matters to you most…………
We live in a society that breeds selfishness and worldly pursuits at a level that I do not know has ever been in history. We are consumed with the latest and greatest; we are driven to impress people that we do no even know; we are constantly driven to work ourselves to the bone to pay for what we cannot afford; we as a society are truly missing what Paul is preaching in this passage. I could go deep into my testimony, but it is not about me; it is about where your heart lies with Christ. We may not get the incredible transformation that Paul did, but if you reflect on what has been happening in your life, Christ has been trying to get your attention without blinding you on a dirt road.
More than religion
More than religion
John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
We have started our Experiencing God study; I had forgotten how good it really is. The opening week just speaks so much about the heart that truly seeks God; seeks to know his Will for our lives and how to know when we have joined Him there. A spine of the study is going against what we as Christians tend to do. We tend to pray and ask God to join us where we need help at in our lives. Then we wonder why we haven’t felt right about our relationship with Him; we wonder why we don’t feel his blessing in what we have been doing. Simply put, we asked God to come join us in our work, when we really should be going and joining Him where He is already at work around us. The way to truly know where he is already at work, is a heart that truly desires Him in daily prayer and his Word (Bible). You are NEVER going to find God, much less God’s Will for your life, in just one day a week.
Christ had stood up and made this proclamation at the Feast of Tabernacles; this feast was a Jewish religious festival that was steep in tradition. It was steep in religiosity that many felt themselves to be close to God because they honored and participated in the festival; it was a part of their Sunday or Sabbath system of religion. Christ was challenging their faith right at the pinnacle of the festival; commentaries speak of how when the water was poured to commemorate when the water flowed from the rock in the desert from God, Christ may have made this proclamation. What He was truly proclaiming to them was the gift of the Holy Spirit that would come to those that believed in Him. 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
You can go to church every Sunday, you can try to read your Bible, you can do many things to feel religious, but you will not find heaven in or through them. You must come to understand that religion is not a key to heaven; only Christ holds that key through a humble repentant heart. Romans 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. When you repent and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, his gift to you is the Holy Spirit that will reside in your heart. It is the Holy Spirit that teaches you the Word of God, and draws you closer to him. It all begins with a heart that seeks God, more than just religion.
In Your name we play
In Your name we play
Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men
It is Springtime, so that means it is baseball time at our house. We changed our boys over to a new league called Stewards of the Game this year. We had heard nothing but good things about it and that they had a Christian theme. We had no idea of their bold statement of faith until we attended the mandatory parent night before meeting the coaches. The leader of the organization spoke repeatedly about his faith in Jesus Christ, and using the game of baseball to glorify Jesus Christ in how the boys handled themselves on the field. Devotions before practices, prayers before and after games, and conduct becoming a Christian at all times. We have been beyond impressed to say the least so far this season.
I also have this scripture on the side of my work truck and it is how I try to run my HVAC business. Everything I try to do to the best of my ability, and know that my CEO is above monitoring my every move at work each day under His name. How you conduct yourself in your every day activities is the largest reflection of who you truly are. Do you think anyone “judges” you because you are at church on Sunday? Do you think they “judge” you because they know you went to church on Sunday, and then acted like that on Monday? When you read this passage in it’s context, you realize Paul is talking about the family dynamic. Paul is talking about who knows us best; knows us at our best, and at our worst, and when our best is an act. Paul also tells of the promise and the warning in the next passage; 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Are there evidences of what you proclaim on Sunday? Are there proofs in your every day life of Jesus Christ? What did you do yesterday, that anyone who met you might think that you were a Christian? James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Would it be too much to ask to proclaim your faith in some way today? It could even be on a baseball field. The Stewards always close their prayer with these words; “It is in Jesus Christ name we pray, it is in Jesus Christ name we play.”
Experience vs Comfort
Experience vs Comfort
Matthew 16:13-16 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.”
Yesterday at church we started the Experiencing God study by Henry & Richard Blackaby. This is a study close to my heart, and to be honest, I am very passionate about. I know that you cannot participate in this study for 13 weeks and your understanding and relationship with God remain the same. This study bends towards the understanding of joining God where he already is at work around you, not pleading for him to come join you at your work. This study opens up the scriptures, and develops the habits of spending daily time in the scriptures in a powerful way. “You will never be satisfied merely to know about God. Knowing God comes through experience as he reveals himself to you.”
Can you imagine being a disciple of Christ in the passage above? Can you imagine how it was to be chosen by God to be an apostle of God? Can you imagine…….the list is endless of their experiences being in the presence of Christ, chosen by God, for those few years. Peter, oh the outspoken Peter; you can almost picture yelling, was clear in his answer; and Christ built his church on the rock He called Peter. 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. Jesus knew that God was opening the mind, heart, body, and soul to the truths found in Christ. Jesus rejoiced at what had been revealed to Peter by God.
If you are living your life in the comfort of Christianity, but have no evidence of your faith, how will you answer for your life on Judgment Day? What will you say when God asks you what you did with the knowledge of the sacrifice of His Son? Are you complacent; are you comfortable; are you feeling good about going to church every Sunday? Wouldn’t that be called comfortable? One of the scariest verses in the Bible is what Christ says in the book of Revelation that he will do with comfortable Christians. Revelation 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. That passage should stir your heart and soul into a daily pursuit of God in his Word and prayer. That is all it will take for the Word of God to stir you into being obedient to what the Holy Spirit reveals to you. You will either be obedient, and begin to experience God, or disobedient, and feel his wrath on that Day. The choice is easy when you realize it.
Up earlier……
Up earlier……
Proverb 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Body clocks struggling to reset; the hearts desire to get out of bed an hour earlier has taken it’s toll. My body still thinks it is 3:30am, but my hearts desire finally overpowers my body to arise and get back early to my quiet time with God. I miss the early morning distraction-less time in God’s Word. In my prayer time this morning the word wisdom was prevalent. The word wisdom and anything surrounding me are far from synonymous; the only wise words to ever come from my mouth or keyboard are by the grace of God. I am far from “edjumicated”; I only seek God with a humble heart for his grace and wisdom to be revealed to me through His Word.
When you come to grasp the humbling realization that God found you, that you did not acquire the knowledge of God, but you responded to the tug He placed on your heart, it is quite overwhelming. John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. You can’t get to God through endless education, you get to God because you said yes when he came to you. You can get the knowledge OF God on many paths of education, but the heart knowledge THROUGH God is found within. A humble heart that responds and then pursues Him is the heart and mind that is opened to the things of him.
God knows your heart and any reasoning behind any surfaces actions. He knows why you are in church, how you pray and read his Word, or if you do any of them. Be honest with him on the surface and he will reveal himself beneath the surface. You will see truths revealed in his Word that you had seemingly read and skimmed over before. Even where the apostle James spoke of the trials of life, God will bring a deeper understanding to life and the relationship of his Word to and through it. James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. All you must do is to find some time, at any time, and get alone with God. Pursue him with a humble pure heart that seeks to know more of him and be prepared for what he may reveal.
Wheat
Wheat
Luke 22:31-32 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
Sometimes the Holy Spirit just really presses a scripture on my heart. I believe from the bottom of my heart for the power of entering God’s Word through prayer. Yesterday, this passage really stood out to me; so much so I could not write, so much so I was back on it this morning, so much so it will be Sunday’s message. What God has planned for this, I do not know; I only seek to abide. Will you join me in the study of this passage? Will you look deeper into the understanding of the Sovereignty of God for your life? Will you look deeper into the trials such as Job? Will you look deeper into the pride and zeal of Peter? Will you look deeper into the security found in God not only allowing it, but Christ praying for you through it?
Sifting is the violent action of separating the good from the bad; separating the useful from the useless; separating that which will produce from that which will not; separating that which will produce a hundred-fold from the singular one. Have you been sifted for God; do you need to be? We all think we may have been, and likely we have been as the beginning of sanctification at the point of salvation. We are to become regenerated; to live a new life; most likely that will not be an easy process for our roots are steep in sin. We need to be shaken violently to begin to remove the sin from our lives.
You can picture Satan and all his evil plans going to God to reek havoc in your life. On the contrary in God’s incomprehensible Sovereignty, he sees the good that will come of it. He may grant Satan a limited reign of testing, all to draw you closer to Him. Satan ALWAYS has to ask permission, always. There is nothing that ever happens in your life that did not pass through the hands of God. God has either by design, or permission, allowed all that you face every day. Rest in that understanding. Draw closer to him in that understanding. In the midst of the violence, there can be an inner calm and peace in the storm.
Sermon Link
Link to today’s message – Leave THE light on
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p3ud9086gheogmr/Philippians%202-13-16.docx
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