What Does Jesus Say About GUIDANCE? 

Matthew 9:9 Jesus says:  Follow Me!

Belle February 5, 2012am

FOLLOW ME!  The call of Matthew.    Matthew 9:9

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.

“Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Tax-collectors were rich, so I wonder what it cost Matthew to follow Jesus? 

Follow Me?   MOST of us want MORE than just a general call of “Follow Me”! 

All of us want GUIDANCE from God and that is what this sermon is about.  How DO I follow Jesus?  What principles should I follow to find His direction?  How do I know Jesus’ will for me?

We ALL get frustrated at times and ASK:

Does God Hear Me When I Pray??

Why is God Silent So Often?

When Will God Act in My Behalf?

A Baseball Hint to the Answer to these Questions:

##In the old days, Bobby Richardson was the second baseman on the Yankees. 

Though the Yankees lost the Series, Bobby Richardson was voted the 1960 World Series MVP that included a .367 batting average, 8runs scored and 12 runs batted in. Six of his runs batted in came during the first inning of Game 3, when he collected a two-run single and socked a grand slam in a 10-0 win over Pittsburgh. 

He is a wonderful Christian!   Bobby Richardson’s life prayer is

“God, your will, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.  Amen.”

 

The Good News about God and His Guidance for you!

1. His Holy Spirit is at work in Christ followers creating the Desire to Discover His will!

He has instilled in you a still small voice…the blessed Holy Spirit that has sealed you as you profess Christ as Savior!

Ephesians 1:13-14  -  “And you were also included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.  Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory”

1. Our concern to know His will is because He has chosen and called us to follow!

John 15:16  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.  Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.

THEN!

When we Bear FRUIT.  THEN we begin to see greater results in PRAYER! 

THEN the Father will give you whatever you ask in MY NAME.

Back to the Baseball Hint.  Remember?  “God, your will, nothing more, nothing ____ (lessJ), nothing ____?  (else).  Amen”    

HOW DO YOU FIND ULTIMATE GUIDANCE FROM GOD?! 

Submit your life as a Journey with Jesus

1. OBEY the WRITTEN will of God FIRST.

We want the easiest answers to life’s hardest questions…

We want a “doctorate” in prayer but we don’t always want to crack the BOOK! J

We want a “roadmap” to God’s way, but we don’t always want to follow the road signs or the speed limits.

 Build Trust by doing what you know to do

It is impossible to find the UN-written will of God until you DO the written will of God.

## A Couple in Trouble.  They fought all the time.  Tension was thick between them at parties.  They were yelling at each other in the home.   People were uncomfortable around them in public and in private.

Everyone said “LEAVE”.  Split up!  Their friends and family all had the same advice. 

They went to the pastor for advice.    He pointed to what was WRITTEN because they knew what was RIGHT.

So they announced WE WILL DO WHAT IS RIGHT!   To their unbelieving friends and family.  They stuck it out.  They worked it out.  The relationship was Hard work.  They learned to surrender to each other’s needs.  They learned to put the other first.  They prayed together, slowly at first.  Shallowly at first.  Yet they slogged ahead, as if through mud.  They plowed ahead.  They planted nice words, because it is written that they should love in word and deed.  They changed the way they communicate.  They began to do little nice things for each other…

And folks, they have a successful marriage today!  Because they DID what they KNEW was RIGHT. 

If full surrender can happen in a bad marriage, it can happen in our relationship with Christ!  

1. Fall in LOVE with Jesus and you will FOLLOW HIM in full surrender!

We have a fear of putting God first in everything, for we trust ourselves too much!

The Church of the Nazarene calls this full surrender of our lives and our total selves ENTIRE Sanctification!  It is a Bible Concept that most churches teach in one way or another with different wording for a deeper life… people long for a deeper love of God in their lives…

Sanctification is putting Jesus’ teachings and principles FIRST in every area.

To be sanctified is loving Jesus so much that you WANT to do whatever He asks you to do.

When you love Jesus deeply… when you live in a gratitude that goes deep… you don’t mind following the commands of Christ:

Jesus says: “My command is this, love each other as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command…”   John 15:12-14

This is at the heart of the teachings of Jesus.

  You want Great Guidance?    Seek a GREAT LOVE first!

Seek the promise to Jesus’ disciples in the immediate verses following His command to love! 

Love God first.  Love Christ’s followers second. 

THEN we receive an almost unbelievable Guidance!!

John 15:15 – I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. 

Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Some cannot seem to surrender their finances…they neglect the full surrender of their money, and yet expect full blessings of obedience!  Full surrender STARTS with the Tithe, THEN God opens up the windows of heaven… Malachi 3.

Some cannot seem to surrender their pride… they always have to be right…and heaven help those around them they see as wrong! J   Just as important as obeying God in tithing is having a holy, surrendered, sweet testimony.

Some cannot seem to surrender their time… they cannot serve in a ministry to others (does not always have to be in the church, can be serving a sick family member)… their time is their own and no one else can demand of it.  When God may be simply asking us to go to an elderly neighbor right next door in need.

The will of God is a relationship with Him in which He discloses His purpose, power, and plan for our lives…in that order! 

-- Former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Rev. John Ogilvie

To find Ultimate Guidance from God??

DO NOT GIVE UP! 

GIVE IN!

SURRENDER  TO  WIN! 

SEEK SANCTIFICATION.  God wills it for your life.  To be consistent in your character.  To be consistent in your choices.  To be consistent in your COMPANIONSHIP…with Jesus Christ. 

THEN you will find the will of God for your life!  Then God will be less often silent!  Then you will see the purpose and plan of your life coming together instead of in frustration falling apart!

Leads us to…

THE REWARDS OF FOLLOWING JESUS

A Fulfilled Life – feeling of satisfaction at the end of life, not longing for something better, no regrets from past wanderings off the path.

A Favored Life – With God.  With significant Others!

Your vision is brightened. 

Your perception of possibilities enlarged.

Your insight and spiritual strength increased!

The Lord has the power to open doors with new solutions that we never dream possible…when we surrender our lives totally to Him!  GIVE IN!

 Don’t Worry about the Plan or the Place God has for you in the Future as long as you 

Trust!   And Obey for Today! 

Trust and Obey, the Hymn we will close with… a minute.

So what does GOD want when we ask for direction?? 

WHY is He sometimes SILENT?

What God wants is CONSISTENT COMPANIONSHIP FIRST.

He wants FULL SURRENDER. 

God wants us to consecrate our lives, giving the situations of life fully to Him, surrendering our money, our time, our choices, our attitudes.

Christian, you can have the peace of Christ in your life with a ONE TIME Surrender:   Give up and Give over All.  And seek the Fullness of His Holy Spirit!

That OPENS UP your life to a GUIDANCE where God is over all and in all… of your situations and circumstances.  Holiness is a faithful surrender.

Think about closeness of Jesus to the Father.  Who was closer to the Father God than Jesus Himself?  Yet He still knelt and cried out to Father God in His deepest moment of Seeking Guidance!

Matthew 26:38 “…My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with me.”

V39 Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Altar Call HYMN:  Yes, Lord, Yes to Your Will and to Your Way.

Closing Hymn:  Trust and Obey!  Sing it Joyfully!

~

What Does Jesus Say About…HEAVEN?

Discipleship Series Belle

John 14:1-5  and  Revelation 21, 22

The Journey…

The man walked in the parched and dry valley barefoot.  The hot sand burned his feet with every step.  He was thirsty, very thirsty.  The sin scorched his forehead and his arms…he felt the burn on the skin without even looking.

Parched, dry, he looked for a cool stream but found none.  He had brought food and water for this journey but they were long gone, his stomach told him so… His gut felt like it was shriveled up for life and he was almost not hungry since he had been hungry so long.  Yet he knew how faint he felt so he missed the food…and the water.  His tongue felt thick and dry.

He had brought his whole family out on this journey.  He remembered what he had promised them around the early campfires… luxurious palm trees, cool pools of water to swim and play, grass and trees and green mountains.  He had promised them much!  A GARDEN with fruit so luscious that the juice dripped down your chin on the first bite!

And his family believed him and followed him.  Through the little narrow gate, down the long path that became more and more barren of trees and grass until at last, one by one, they dropped by the side of the road…pursuing a fading dream…hungry & thirsty…tired.  They forgot the promise.  They no longer remembered the stories.  They fought going on, decided not to push ahead.  Only he remained… walking in the wilderness.

His feet hurt, blistered.  His mind played and replayed the promise he had been given:  follow the path and find a place of beauty!  Journey.  Walk.  Daily.  Seek and you will find!

And so he walked the path.  Tiredness made every bone ache.  His mind was troubled with worry and fear.  Will he make it?  Will it be worth it?  Were the stories true?  Was the promise only a fantasy?  Worry and doubt clouded his mind for the 100^th time as he peered into the haze ahead.  The heat waves danced on the desert and he was not sure…yet it looked like a dark green patch was getting larger on the horizon.  A stand of trees in the wilderness?  A place for WATER?  Food?  He could hardly stand it and kept stumbling ahead.

Maybe the worry was all for nothing.  Maybe the doubt would be silenced in his head.  Maybe, just maybe he would find refuge…..

READ John 14:1-5   “How can we know the Way?”

Most important – the road map!   Like the man in the desert we wonder when we will arrive in the kingdom of God.  We wonder as we wander…

We wander in the difficulties of life.  Through tough times.  Through cancer and heart attacks.  We wonder where the meaning in life has gone? 

Is the meaning of life at the end of the journey?  Or on the way?

JESUS says the meaning of life is found in BOTH the beginning of our journey and at the end…

John 14: 6  I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

HERE Is the Beginning…

John 14:2  In My Father’s House are many rooms (mansions – KJV)

THERE is the Ending…

Max Lucado said – For those who trust God…We don’t have to worry since Death is simply a stepping into Heaven where we keep on living… forever.

FUNNY IDEAS about Heaven:

~One long church service!  Most of us are not that crazy about that ideaJ.

~One man says “I can’t be happy unless I’m golfing; heaven is supposed to make me perfectly happy; therefore there must be golf in heaven.”  Another man says, with tongue in cheek, since there will be no lying, no cheating, and no cursing in heaven…how could there be golf in heaven?? J

~Hollywood’s view of heaven is puffy clouds and harps playing all the time for all eternity…a lack of imagination.  C.S. Lewis says if this is your only view of heaven… you are a child who cannot understand books written for grownupsJ.  And you should not speak about ultimate reality at all… since harps, and gold, and crowns are all symbols of an even GREATER reality.  Symbols God gives us in an attempt to express the inexpressible.

IF you wish to read what Heaven is really like… read the end of the BOOK!!  The Bible!  Revelation 21 & 22.  The end of the Story Jesus spoke about to His disciples in John 14.

Rev. 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

John Ortberg writes:  God never created something in order to destroy it; and if it goes wrong, He intends to redeem it.

God has every intention to restore and redeem the earth to newness!! 

Romans 8:22 says …the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time…

          We limit God by thinking SALVATION is just for ME personally, to save my soul!  God is bigger.  It’s not just “about me”.  God looks at a whole KINGDOM.

          The whole earth itself is longing to be redeemed…to be changed… to be made new as in the book of Revelation…

Can we grasp that idea?  The earth was not made to be destroyed at the end of time, but to be redeemed!  I know you Revelation fans are thinking plague and fire and judgment… and you are RIGHT!  But Not to Destroy, but to PURGE and PURIFY for the newness to come.

The Big Challenge for us is to be the Purified People of God, waiting in faith and hope for the Big Change.  We have to BE CHANGED in order to SEE the Change = WE need to be a NEW people, in order to SEE the NEW Heavens and the NEW Earth!!

Revelation is about REDEEMING the earth, but first about REDEEMING God’s People!! 

WE need to be made right again before God.   That's why Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon the Cross, nailing them there so that we could be justified before God!  We put our faith in His Sacrifice and our minds are transformed by His Grace!  His resurrection power takes the warp out of our minds and souls and gives us peace and joy and satisfaction!

## Story of young adult who gave his life to Christ in my ministry at a Chinese Restaurant.... Problem with repetitive thoughts and after praying simply said "Does it always happen that fast?" and was delivered from sinful thoughts that minute he trusted in Christ!!

If Christ can do that right NOW... what will he do for us the moment we step into His presence fully???

## John Ortberg gives a great illustration in his book Everybody’s Normal Until You Get to Know Them…

He says if he were to ask ANYONE what the first 5 minutes of life was like, it would be the most exciting!  Think about it.  We all were warm and safe in our mommy’s tummy and it was dark and you slept when you want, eating was automatic, and it was comfortable.  Totally alone except for your mom’s heartbeat.

But then a bright light!  And doctors and nurses (and somebody smacks you) and you cry and scream.  From quiet darkness you go to a whole new world and it is BIG…full of colors!  And Tastes!  And Sounds!  And People everywhere!  Your life will never be the same! 

You have entered into a place beyond your wildest imagination!

Those 1^st  five minutes for everyone, if we could remember them, are dynamic and life changing.

The first 5 minutes after death is the next greatest time in our lives!

Think about it!  If we have given our sins to God and asked Him to take away the punishment for sins by His Son’s death on the cross…  If we have lived in the power of the resurrection and loved our brothers and sisters without grudges or bitterness… If we have followed Jesus in full surrender and full obedience… the FIRST 5 MINUTES after death will be one of indescribable JOY.

I say IF because we have a choice to follow Jesus… IF we have chosen NOT to follow Jesus… our 1^st 5 minutes will be of unspeakable LOSS.

Let’s say you have followed Christ faithfully and obeyed Christ joyfully… then the 1^st 5 minutes will be only a foretaste of ALL of Eternity! 

A Bright Light!  Forget about the beauty of the old earth, JESUS has prepared a sparkling place!  Jewels and Gold are mere symbols of the beauty that awaits us. 

Revelation 21:19-21  The Holy City

Of course, Heaven is only Heaven if we SEE JESUS

Revelation 21:22-23 

Jesus is the LIGHT of Heaven!  Heaven is all about JESUS.

Heaven is about Healing.   Revelation 22:1-5   

The Tree of Life – Leaves of Healing for the Nations!

          No more common colds.  No more uncommon cancer. 

No 2^nd class citizens, everyone will be important to Christ.

No more poverty and hungry children, heaven will have plenty!

Prisoners and Slaves from all over the world will be set FREE.

No more backstabbing, character assassinations… no one will lift even a finger to harm another.

We will all be at peace with one another and everyone will be themselves… you will have a perfect personality! 

Anybody interested in that kind of HEAVEN??  Raise your hands!

Anyone not sure you are going there??  Bow your knees!

Altar Call:  WE BOW DOWN  

Sermon on the Mount Series – Matthew 8 Fulfillment of the Law

Belle 1/23/2012 pm

The Teachings of Jesus Christ and the LOVE of Jesus Christ reveal the Heart of God as nothing else ever has, including the OT LAW (as good as it was, it was incomplete).

Matthew 8  LISTEN as Jesus tells us what the father wants us to show…

Matthew DVD – show Chapter 8 of DVD  then we will focus on the LAW and LOVE of Christ.

The Sermon on the Mount Chapter 5:17-20 Teachings

 “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Jesus came to bring meaning to a long set of documents called “the Law”.

 ¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 

¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 

¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

LAW says “You have to”  LOVE says “I want to”  Big Difference.

Of course the 10 Commandments were the heart of the LAW.

The first 5 books were “The Law” Genesis, Exodus, Lev., Num, Deut.

Summed up in words we rarely hear:  REVERENCE   or  RESPECT.

What are we to respect or reverence according to the 10 commandments?

          Reverence for God Himself.

          Respect for God’s Day – the Sabbath.

          Respect for our Parents = because they are God’s Representatives on earth.

          Reverence for Life itself – not to be taken lightly, but to be VALUED… Down Syndrome Children are precious in God’s sight, not to be aborted or abused. 

          Respect for Property – Keep your hands on your own stuff!  Stealing wrong, even if it is a pencil from the office – Tain’t Yours.  Put it Back.

          Respect for People – Love your wife.  Invest yourself in her.  Your husband needs respect, craves it in fact.  Tell him alone your feelings.  This alone could affair proof your marriage.

          Respect for Truth – Don’t Lie.  Don’t Fudge on your Income Tax in 2012.  Don’t ruin your reputation or OTHER’S reputation with sensationalistic untruths on Facebook or email.  God loves Facebook when it is used to uplift Him, His Church, and His People… don’t shade the truth to make yourself look better than others (sensitive hearts know this truth)

          Respect for Yourself so that you don’t become overwhelmed with wrong desires – Coveting means wanting what is not and should not be yours.   Wanting more than we can actually afford, what is beyond our means. 

It is a wrongful desire IF it burdens us with stress and worry and fear...

JESUS CAME TO FULFILL THE REVERENCE AND RESPECT FOR GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY…and to show us how to Love one another!

Since we cannot fulfill this Law on our own, Jesus will fulfill the law through us in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Hard time loving the LEPER in your life?  Matthew 8:1

          INCLUSION a big miracle of Jesus’ life; when all around him people were Excluded: Gentiles, unclean Jews, lepers, prostitutes, sinners, tax collectors…. And the list goes on.

          Jesus made it His practice to Include people into the Father’s Love.

## A little girl had just moved from California to Chicago and felt like she didn’t fit in.  7 years old she was being tucked into bed by her daddy and she broke down into tears:  DAD. It’s so hard living here! Nobody knows me.  I go to a new school, a new church; everybody already seems to have friends.  I don’t belong.

I don’t have anybody that I can really talk to; I don’t have people who want to have lunch with me or choose me for their team at recess.  I just try to get through my day.

I FEEL LIKE A LITTLE MOUSE THAT DOESN’T HAVE A HOLE TO GO TO.

-Every society has people that feel connected, and many that feel disconnected. 

CS Lewis says we live to be a part of ‘the inner ring’.  To belong to a group of people who love us and care for us.  To be excluded is terrifying.

DANGER in the church:  “the inner ring” – inside jokes that outsiders don’t get because we need to explain.  Even when we are serving at church, to try to be IN-clusive in letting people help. 

*I tried to get a young person to open the doors for the elderly today in worship…more concerned about him feeling a part of the church…

We don’t do it deliberately, but we need to be aware… and try to change it.

## First class passengers on a flight with a lavatory for 10.  Pilot reminds the 100 other passengers NOT to use the 1^st class lavatory but to use the ONE in the rear of the plane (even though 10 children all drank Mountain Dew before the flight)… only one bathroom?!

We just need to be open.  Prayerfully open.  Willing to do His will of love.

MAN made God’s Law into petty rules and regulations (like the Pharisees).

JESUS showed us the heart of the Law = LOVE of God and People.

          The Heart of Law is Not in Rituals but in Righteousness!

          The Heart of the Law is Not in Legalism but in Love!

          The Heart of God is IN-clusive not EX-clusive as God tries to provide a way for us to approach His Holiness.   

The Heart of God Himself wants to share His Love within us to mold our Heart us to His Heart.  To shape our Life to Christ’s Life.  To transform our very being into the image of God in Christ!

That is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about, shaping Christians … Christ-followers into the image of God by the POWER and LOVE of God in Christ!

     The Cross is our Forgiveness to Clean us up from our Dirty Past of Sin.

 The Resurrection is our Transforming Power to live as the Law said to live.

          The Holy Spirit is our Teacher to Show us the Way to the New Level in Christ…

Transition:  Brings us to Matthew 5:14-15 The Light of the World.

 ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven

LIGHT of the World =

SHOWING GOD’S LOVE WHILE LIVING GOD’S LAW = Jesus Christ!

Matthew 8:1-4  READ     =  Law says “Don’t get near a leper”  Definitely don’t touch one!  JESUS reached out his hand and touched the man.

Leprosy immediately left him!  Jesus did not defy the law, Jesus FULFILLED the Law!    

Centurion of the Roman Guard came to Jesus in Matthew 8:6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering.”

A leader who had a compassionate heart (we need those in America!).  He felt compassion for his servant who lay suffering in pain and agony. 

Matthew 8: 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you coe under my roof.  But just say the word, and my servant will be healed…”

Jesus was thrilled!  Finally, someone who went beyond the Law’s stiff rules and regulations into FAITH.   V10 read

Perhaps the man had read more than the LAW but had heard of the PROPHETS of the Old Testament.  The miracle of Elijah bringing the boy back from death… (tell story briefly of Shummanite)

Anyone can follow the Law, to a degree.  The Pharisees were good at trying.  But only Jesus can speak a Word from a Distance and Healing take place:  “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would” 8:13.

And we have to wonder if our faith needs to be stronger…as much as a pagan centurion who sensed his spiritual lack “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof...”  Begs the question, Does Humility bring Faith!?

TO FULFILL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS…

Matthew 8:17  “He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases”  quoting Isaiah 53:4 as the prophecy of the  Cross… includes our healing power…

The Prophet Isaiah must have seen or sensed the suffering of the Christ would bring out deliverance!

Even demons are helpless before this fulfillment of God the Father Matthew8:16.

Then again in Matthew 8:28-34 DEMONS leave the presence of the HOLY ONE.

The people’s response!?   Save our Pigs!  Leave us Alone!  Matthew 8:34.

FINAL CALL:

Watch for People who feel LEFT OUT this week.  Watch for ways to include them in the church, in your home, in your life.  Ask God to give you the LOVE of Christ for this!

Sermon on the Mount Series  - Who are You Related To?  Belle 1/15/12pm

Summary of Matthew 7 - Focus on Matthew 7:7-8 Ask, Seek, Knock
"Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find;  Knock and the door will be open to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Theme:  Spiritual weakness of the Beatitudes contrasted with God’s Power to Provide Strength in Our Weakness!

Purpose: To encourage the weak in faith and stimulate us all to ASK with best of motives.

##The young lady was on a dinner date with the young man.  The young lady had a frown upon her face.  She spoke icily:  “That is the FOURTH time you have gone back for ice cream and cake, Albert.  Doesn’t it embarrass you at all??” 

“Why should it?” says Albert with a shrug, “I keep telling them it is for you!”

Part of Jesus’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT deals with how we relate to each other.  

AND how we relate to GOD HIMSELF.

Much of the Sermon on the Mount is about RELATIONSHIPS.

That’s why we GO TO CHURCH… I hopeJ! 

We Go to Church to enrich our relationship with GOD… and so enrich our relationships with others…

Sometimes we can go to church for the WRONG reasons!

##The Wife:  Did you see that strange hat Mrs. Jones wore to Church? 

Husband: NO.

The Wife:  Did you see that ugly blue dress Mrs. Smith had on?  Husband: NO.

The Wife:  A lot of good it does you to GO TO CHURCH!

 

Matthew 7:7-8 Key Verse on Prayer tonight. 

++++Watch all of Chapter 7 in MATTHEW DVD here… listen for relationships….

Jesus is all about your Relationships!

Do not Judge the HEARTS of others!  7:1

            Don’t say “I know you were thinking this”  “I know you are angry!”

            You show your stupidity, Jesus says.  You have “plank eye”– a log in your eye.

Yet 7:20 Yet WATCH to know the Fruit of their ACTIONS!

Matthew 7:20  – Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.  NLT

How do I know a person’s character without judging their heart?

Watch their actions, look for fruit – Facebook, email, over coffee, on the phone:

            OLD SAYING

Small minds discuss persons.

            Big minds discuss events.

                        Great minds discuss ideas.

The Fruit is obvious, Jesus says! 

We are not necessarily called to be “fruit inspectors” J, there is a danger in that attitude as well…yet we need to watch in order to know whom to advance into leadership in the church;  we need to watch carefully to know whom to ask to marry usJ, etc.

Another Relationship Principle of Jesus {your mother quoted it to you as child}

The Golden Rule: 

Matthew 7:12 – Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. 

This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.  NLT

            Don’t just do for others and say “Well, you owe me a favor now!” WRONG.

            Do it, because Jesus said to do it, and expect Jesus to bless you spiritually!

RELATIONSHIP Principles with God Himself:

~Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.    Matthew 7:21b NLT

You can talk the talk & walk the walk, but your walk always speaks LOUDER Than your talk!

~Matthew 7:13-14 You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.  The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way.  But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.   NLT

ALL OF THIS SERMON IS EASY TO HEAR, TOUGH TO DO.  At least to do well.  To do at the level of pleasing God.  That is why we need the POWER of God in our hearts to do it.  The only way to keep our Relationship this CLOSE, this Tight, this Pleasing… is to pray deeper prayers.  To ASK, To KNOCK,  to SEEK…until you find!

FORTUNATELY, God loves to hear us when we are desperate to pray…

##Does anyone else here hate it when you call someplace and you get one of those computer-generated answering devices?

Imagine if God operated the same way: As we begin to pray we hear...
Thank you for calling your Heavenly Father’s house. Your call may be monitored for quality assurance.
Please select one of the following options:
Press 1 for prayer requests
Press 2 for prayers of thanksgiving
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PLEASE HOLD THE LINE…

We would not pray very often if we received this kind of answer!

GOOD NEWS FOR US – God does not put us on HOLD in prayer.  

Matthew 7:7-8 is in the PRESENT TENSE:  ask, seek, knock.

This means BE PERSISTENT.  Do it now!  Don’t wait in your life! 

Don’t live with Don’ts:

I don’t have enough time.

I don’t have enough energy.

I don’t think my children want to pray.

I don’t believe prayer works.

I don’t think God understands me.

Our Don’ts kill the Holy Spirit in Prayer!

BEFORE THE CROSS, Jesus prayed in the Garden, for His RELATIONSHIP – with God and with us!!  For God’s KINGDOM TO COME FOR HIS WILL TO BE DONE!!  Hardest prayer of Jesus Christ’ life as He surrenders himself fully to the suffering of Calvary.

If Jesus can pray a life of full surrender, you can…because of Jesus.  Because of the Cross… On Wednesday Nights 6:30 we have a lay led prayer time - in a concern for the full surrender of the church.  We will be praying for God to Sanctify our Church holy!

ON THE CROSS, Jesus prayed for others.  “Father forgive them”.  If Jesus can pray a prayer of loving forgiveness, YOU CAN…because of Jesus.  Because of His love IN you!

~This is our biggest problem of prayer, recognizing that it is NOT EASY!

Prayer is actually difficult.  Prayer is hard work. That’s why Jesus cautioned his disciples to “pray and faint not.” In the Garden, he asked them to pray with him. Instead they slept. “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” the Savior observed. So it is with anyone who gets serious about developing a life of prayer.

##A little boy and his father walked along a country road laughing and talking, just having a good old time. They came across a large stone sitting at the edge of the road. The boy looked at the stone and thought for a moment. Then he asked his father, "Do you think I can move that rock?" The father didn’t hesitate. “I’m sure you can—if you use all your strength!”

That was all the boy needed. He ran to the rock. He pushed and he pushed. He grunted and groaned. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. But the rock didn’t move. Not an inch, not half an inch! Finally, the boy slumped to the ground, defeat written all over his face. "I can’t do it."

His father put his hand on his son’s shoulder. "I still think you can do it," he said. "You just didn’t use all your strength.” The boy looked up with raised eyebrow.

The Father smiled and said:  “You didn’t ask me to help."

ASK – SEEK – KNOCK

Prayer Needs MET at the Altar of Prayer

Altar Call – Learning to Lean Chorus   then into Chorus His Name is Wonderful

Prayer Quotes:

Peter Marshall: “Forgive us for thinking that prayer is a waste of time and help us to see that without prayer our work is a waste of time.”

A.C. Dixon: “When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do… but when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do.”

~

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How Can We Be a People of Praise 

in Times of Trouble?!      

2 Chronicles 20 NIV

Read once, then read again with the questions at the end in mind…

King Jehoshaphat Defeats the Enemy with PRAISE to a GREAT and MIGHTY GOD

 1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.  2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said:

   “LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

 10 “But now…12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

 14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel…as he stood in the assembly. 15He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’”

 18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

 20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out,Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem!Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the LORD,  for his love endures forever.”

 22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

 24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

 27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lyres and trumpets.

 29 The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

 

 

GUIDANCE OF THIS WORD OF GOD FOR YOUR REVIVED LIFE

1.  Pray the Principles you find here into your life by your faith in the Almighty

a.   Ask God to sensitize your heart to His Power & Purity each day

b.   Believe that God wishes to move mightily in your life for His sake, for His glory

c.   Confess any wrong doing in your attitudes or actions that hinder His holy presence from working and moving in the situation around you

                                                                                                     

2.  Receive God’s Specific Direction as Jehoshaphat did from the Spirit of the Lord

a.   Listen carefully -- to God’s Word through His Prophet/Preacher in your life

b.   Obey specifically – develop a listening heart to His Spirit Who directs

c.   Trust completely – follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance to the letter

            

3.  Praise the Lord no matter what the situation

a.    Praise God in the position of your body

i.    Bow Down – literally if you are able, kneel! 

ii.    Humble yourself before God like Jehoshaphat

b.   Praise God in the focus of your mind

i.    Look Up -- even when the odds are overwhelming, stay focused

ii.    Praise the Lord like all the people of Judah and Jerusalem

c.   Believe with all your heart -- “For the battle is not yours, but God’s”!

i.    Sing like you mean it

1.   Ponder praise choruses in the morning

2.   Hum hymns through the day

ii.    Watch for “the plunder” as your God moves and works

1.   Not always in YOUR planning or timing

2.   But always for your ultimate good

3.   And always for His ultimate glory

 

4.  Our Faith is developed in REVIVAL

a.   By an expectation of God’s power and might

b.   By an experience of God’s love and mercy

c.   By an encounter of God’s purity and filling

Outline by Rev. Mark Green 

~

BELLE

 SHEPHERD SERIES:

STILL WATERS or DO THE DEW

Revelation has a surreal heavenly scene with the Shepherd: 

Revelation7:9 - end

 9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,

who sits on the throne,

and to the Lamb.”

 

 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,

12 saying:

“Amen!

Praise and glory

and wisdom and thanks and honor

and power and strength

be to our God for ever and ever.

Amen!”

 

13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”

 

14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”

And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Therefore,

“they are before the throne of God

and serve him day and night in his temple;

and he who sits on the throne

will shelter them with his presence.

 

16 ‘Never again will they hunger;

   never again will they thirst.

The sun will not beat down on them,’

   nor any scorching heat.

17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne

   will be their shepherd;

‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’

   ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

 

Now I like that!  The Lamb is the Shepherd!

The Lamb who DIED for me, rose again to be my Shepherd! 

Have you ever thought about it?

The Perfect Lamb Sacrifice becomes the Perfect Leader of the Lambs = the good Shepherd!

AND even better here, Jesus Christ promises the Martyrs of the Church…

          V14b  “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

          Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd promises LIVING WATER coming up out of the Earth in SPRINGS!

 

Now in a Middle Eastern Culture like the New Testament, this was HUGE.

Remember the promise of the OLD Testament Psalm 23: 1 – 3

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

 ²He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 ³He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

 

Perhaps the most difficult resource to tame was WATER in the Middle East.

Dry.  Sun bleached ground.  (photo)  Barren of plant life!  Many plants survive just on the dew each day.

The clouds seem to forget their assignment and leave just a few stingy drops over the Judean countryside.

In the Arabian peninsula in 1950’s and 1960’s there was an EIGHT year drought!   As thousands of sheep died of thirst their Shepherds looked on helplessly.  The Shepherds means of income dried up with the lifeless lumps of wool in the desert.

We said water is hard to TAME.

That’s because when it does rain hard… you know what happens when it rains quickly on soil that is baked hard from the sun?  Does it absorb?

NO, it runs off quickly… it turns into a FLOOD.

The Psalmist in 69:1-3 is expressing this thought exactly when he cries:

Save me, O God, for the WATERS have come up to my neck. 

I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.

I have come into the DEEP WATERS; the FLOODS engulf me.

 

A Shepherd might pray for rain upon the parched, dry earth… only to have his flock washed away in a devastating flood.

Ironically, flood is feared as much as drought.

 

THAT is why Psalm 23 proclaims QUIET WATERS.

Still Waters – KJV says. 

Read Psalm 23:2 - 3

There, by the quiet, still waters, Jesus restores our Soul!

 

In the quiet of Morning Devotions, Christ restores our souls.

Biography after Biography of the great men and women of faith see them seeking God in the morning! 

JESUS arose to speak to Father God “before it was light”.

In fact, sheep rise to eat before dawn. 

The reason is that the DEW hangs heavy on the leaves of grass and plants.  If they eat the grass while the moisture is on it, they are REFRESHED and RENEWED for the day!

What better picture for us than to have our refreshment BEFORE the day begins to wind up tight!  Our busy schedules keep us rushing and pushing and clawing ahead.  But our hearts long for a deeper stillness.  For quiet waters.  For restoration of soul!

What does the Shepherd crave? What does Jesus desire?

That is the BEST Question:

He loves to see his sheep quiet and contented.  At rest and relaxed.  This is the mark of a Christian of faith.  A sanctified believer who knows WHO is in Charge!  We trust the Shepherd!

WAYS TO FEED ON THE DEW OF THE MORNING:

1.   MUSIC

2.   BIBLE

3.   DEVOTIONAL GUIDE

4.   MEMORIZATION

5.   STILLNESS

6.   NATURE VIEW

7.   PRAYER WALK

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DO NOT “DO THE DEW”?  J

Without refreshing Water of the Spirit the Christian gets anxious, panting...   

Thirsty, anxious Sheep have a deep craving of the soul, yearning for water, but drinking from the hoof prints and puddles of the world’s dirty pools.

Jeremiah 2:13 is plain about God’s People going off on their own trying to find “other water” :

“My people have committed two sins: 

They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

At best Cisterns in the ground yielded STAGNANT WATER. 

        *Old Water stagnates in our lives

        *Old Water deadens our spirits

 

God’s People need the NEW… LIVING WATER.

Only the Holy Spirit of JESUS Christ will satisfy our souls!

Jesus audaciously promises that the Parched Person, the Empty Life, would be FILLED with new water!  Refreshing the very soul!

“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.  Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  John 7:37-38

We have heard this verse over and over again, but I daresay you have NEVER heard this:

Jesus standing and shouting at the Celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast was held for 7 days to celebrate that when Israel wandered in the wilderness, they still had food and water provided by God.

SO, every day for 7 days the priests would march in procession from the Temple mount down to the Pool of Siloam, from which they drew lots of fresh water.

THEN they would walk in procession again to the Temple and pour the FRESH WATER upon the Altar as an OFFERING before the LORD!

They would say Isaiah 12:3

ALL TOGETHER:

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

In other words, a PRAISE, that GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES in the Desert!  God always comes through in our wilderness wanderings,

WITH JOY

AS WE HAVE FAITH IN HIM!!

JESUS makes all the difference!

Ready for Something NEW?   QUIET WATERS of your soul?

ALTAR or Hymn

 

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Psalm 100 NIV   Sunday Evenings
The Good Shepherd Series 
WE ARE HIS

 

The Psalms are arranged in a pattern that many do not know.

Psalm 93 – 100 is a cluster of Psalms that lift up the KINGSHIP of the Lord God! 

If King David wrote Psalm 100, it is the King of Israel giving THANKS to THE King…

READ Psalm 100

This set of Psalms are a Celebration of the Righteous Rule of Almighty God! 

A Celebration Theme of praise and thanksgiving marks each psalm.

READERS

Psalm 92:1-8

Psalm 93: 1 – 5

Psalm 95: 1 – 8  We are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care…

Psalm 96: 1 – 10

Psalm 97 all

GOD IS GOOD!  ALL THE TIME!!

                PSALM 100 TELLS US WHAT TO DO TO HONOR THE SHEPHERD KING:

1.        SHOUT FOR JOY v1 

2.       WORSHIP the LORD with gladness v2

a.       Come before Him – church worship

b.      Joyful songs – praise from our souls unite to His Presence

 

3.       KNOW that the LORD is God  v3

a.       HE Made us – every hair on our head is numbered – Jesus says in Matthew 6    

b.      WE ARE HIS PEOPLE (come back to that in a minute)

 

4.       WORSHIP TOGETHER v4

a.       Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with Praise

b.      A COMMUNITY emphasis here!  No “Lone Ranger Christianity” 

                                                            A.      In Heaven we rejoice TOGETHER

                                                            B.      On Earth we need the PRACTICE

 

5.       GOD COVENANTS with us together as a People v5.

a.       A culmination of Psalm 93 – 100!

b.      The Covenant PROMISE for all of God’s people!!

                                                            A.      CHOSEN – Israel God’s flock

                                                            B.      New Israel – those who believe in Jesus Christ

1.       The Shepherd who lays down His life for the Sheep – John 10

2.       The faithful One who knows His sheep by NAME…

WE ARE HIS PEOPLE, the sheep of His pasture v3

6.        Jesus is the SHEPHERD KING

                                                            A.      We are Chosen according to John 15 – Called out of the world of sin and death.

                                                            B.      Redeemed or Bought with a Price of Blood - We are HIS

                                                            C.      Named – every sheep had a name in the flock according to

1.       His birthplace - like “Hebron” the Sheep

2.       His birthing – “Difficult”

3.       His markings – “Patches”

The Lord is our God, our Shepherd King

WE ARE HIS as we put our faith in the Divine Lamb of Calvary.    

*Many years ago at a small party function, one of England’s leading actors was asked to recite for the pleasure of his fellow guests. He consented and asked if there was anything special that his audience would like to hear.

After a moment’s pause, an old clergyman present said:

"Could you, sir, recite to us the Twenty-third Psalm?"

 A strange look passed over the actor’s face; he paused for a moment, and then said: "I can, and I will, upon one condition; and that is that after I have recited it, you, my friend, will do the same."

"I," said the clergyman, in surprise. "But I am not an elocutionist (grand speaker).  However, you wish it, I will do so."

Impressively, the great actor began the psalm. His voice and his intonation were perfect. He held his audience spellbound; and as he finished, a great burst of applause broke from the guests. Then, as it died away, the old clergyman arose and began the psalm. His voice was not remarkable; his intonation was not faultless.

When he had finished, no sound of applause broke the silence, but there was not a dry eye in the room, and many heads were bowed. Then the actor rose to his feet again. His voice shook as he laid his hand upon the shoulder of the old clergyman and said:

"I reached your eyes and ears, my friends; he reached your hearts.

The difference is just this: I know the Twenty-third Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd."

from "The War Cry" of the Salvation Army

 

No Greater Honor we have than to be Named and Called by the Shepherd KING!

                It is said that the Bedouin Shepherds call each sheep by name out of hundreds!

                They literally love their animals and care for them like… well, like a shepherd.

*One man studying shepherds said he observed a Bedouin at night picking up lambs in the pitch blackness and checking them for cuts, scrapes, and bruises.  JUST BY TOUCH, by moving his hands over their contour and shape, HE CALLED THEM BY NAME! 

If you are going through a pitch black time in your life… ask the Shepherd to carry you!

*Patricia Lockard and I focused on the Shepherd theme in the last year of her life.

My most meaningful moment was the first time I saw her after open heart surgery in the ICU with tubes and machines beeping.

Going in to surgery I read Isaiah’s passage of the Caring Shepherd to her:  ISAIAH  40:11

“HE TENDS HIS FLOCK LIKE A SHEPHERD:

HE GATHERS THE LAMBS IN HIS ARMS

AND CARRIES THEM CLOSE TO HIS HEART;…”

As soon as she realized it was me in the ICU she started saying “He carries me, He carries me!”  In her pain, in the dark days after surgery, the Shepherd King carried Patricia.  Let us believe His love.

We are HIS people, the sheep of His pasture!

He is the Shepherd King!

 

Closing with a lighter story to show God’s love for us:

*One man went to Israel to study Shepherds and their lives.  His interviews are interesting.

One elderly man had been a shepherd for many years and had many flocks.

His sons were more of the modern age and he was complaining to the professor / interviewer:

“What really matters is that you have to have the heart for it.”   MEANING – you have to love the Sheep!

The Older Shepherd would go on to pay the highest compliment to the professor’s son after they had been together all day and the son obviously liked to play with the sheep.

13 years old, Jesse, had played in the Shepherd’s tents and talked with the Shepherd’s family.

Then an Amazing Offer!

“Your son has the heart for animals.  I can see it.  You tell him that he can come stay with me.  I’ll give him 200 sheep, a wife, and a good Jordanian education in any school he wants.”

Wow.   The Shepherd saw the heart of the young boy who  loved sheep!  (Jesse declined the wife at 13 )

Point:  Jesus Christ has a Shepherd’s Heart for YOU and for ME.

WE are HIS PEOPLE, the SHEEP of HIS Pasture!

Let us SHOUT for Joy to the LORD...

Let us WORSHIP the LORD with gladness; come before Him with JOYFUL songs.

Let us KNOW that the LORD is God.  It is HE who made us!

WE ARE His; we are His people, the sheep of His Pasture.

Let us enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!

Let us give thanks to Him and praise His name!

For the LORD IS GOOD and His love endures forever;

His faithfulness continues through all generations!

Amen and Amen.

Sermon by Pastor Mark Green

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