Moraine Valley Church

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God Filling My Hunger for Righteousness
Matthew 5:6 and various passages February 25, 2024

Introduction:
1. Kim and I were looking for a church to call home while we lived down in Dallas, Texas. At the church we visited the pastor preached a sermon about “the attitudes of the Pharisees.”
  1. Much to my surprise God spoke to my heart that I was a modern day Pharisee!
  2. I was so convicted that I literally could not speak for three hours after the service.
  3. I remember going to breakfast afterwards with Kim and with my head hanging in disbelief and conviction. I would lift up my head about every five minutes and saying, “I can’t believe it, I’m a Pharisee!”
2. I share that with you this morning because as you turn to Matthew 5:6 we need to remember that the group of people Jesus was talking to, their only knowledge of spiritual things, like: how to enter God’s kingdom, how to walk with God, what was righteousness, was shaped by their Jewish spiritual leaders and teachers of that day. The Pharisees were one of the strongest and leading groups among the Jewish spiritual leaders of that day.
  1. The Pharisees’ emphasis was “external behaviors”
  2. Listen to how Jesus described them in Matthew 23:27-28
3. This is important to understand because Jesus is bringing a new radical view of spiritual things to them, as he makes a huge shift from the external “behavior modification” of the Pharisees to a focus upon the inward disposition of the heart!
4. In the beatitudes, Jesus is bringing to them a new picture of what a follower of Jesus, a member of God’s kingdom, looks like. What the good life really looks like!
  1. Today we are going to look at a heart that hungers for, longs for righteousness.
5. The beatitudes have a simple structure to them
  1. Declaration of blessing - the good life
  2. A virtue of the heart
  3. The reason that virtue is blessed
6. In this particular passage, we see that people are blessed when they have a heart that is longing for righteousness and the reason they are blessed is that that desire will be filled! Read 5:6
7. So today I want to answer three questions
  1. What is righteousness?
  2. How is this hunger satisfied?
  3. How is your hunger for righteousness?
First
What is this righteousness we are to hunger for?
1. Both the Greek and the Hebrew dictionary state two primary meaning of righteousness
  1. Being in a right relationship with God
  2. Living in conformity with the standard God has set up.
2. Righteousness is a very generic/general term that captures all beatitudes like poor in spirit, mourn, meekness, etc. and even the rest of the Sermon on the Mount and literally the rest of the Bible
  1. Warren Weirsbee says the entire Sermon on the Mount is about righteousness
    1. Ch 6 – picture of righteousness,
    2. Ch 7 – practicing righteousness.
    3. Ch 8 proof of righteousness.
  2. Look at verse 20
  3. Then in v 21-47 Jesus contrasts what the Pharisees were saying about the law with God’s true intent of the law that goes all the way to the heart!
  4. Then listen to this read v48 – bottom line, the standard of righteousness we are to live up to is God himself – he is the standard!
3. The way I define: righteousness is walking in alignment with who God is and what he requires of us as revealed in the Bible.
  1. Two synonyms might be godly or Christ-like!
  2. Listen to these two verses:
    1. Psalm 11:7 – God is righteous! The Bible is clear that God is righteous in all that he is, all that he does and all that he says!
    2. Psalm 119:123 not only God is righteous, but also his word is righteous.
  3. God’s Word is the level that we put up against our hearts and activities to see if we are righteous as God defines it!
    1. The righteous words of Scripture will never contradict the righteous God who authored these words! A righteous God will never contradict the righteous words of Scripture! Repeat
Now that we know what this righteous is,,,
How is this hunger for righteousness satisfied?
1. The reason they are blessed is because they will be filled!
  1. Reread 5:6
  2. Filled simply means this desire will be satisfied
2. The Greek helps us see something that is not very obvious in the English. The word filled is in the passive voice. The voice tells us who is performing the action here, the action of being filled!
  1. Explain the Greek
    1. Active voice – the subject of the sentence performs the action
    2. Middle voice – the subject acts upon him/herself
    3. Passive voice – the subject is being acted upon!
  2. Illustrate
    1. Active voice – Pat hit Pastor Don – of course, Don being built like a brick house and me like the Pillsbury doughboy – Don would just laugh it off.
    2. Middle voice – the doughboy is hitting himself!
    3. Passive voice – means that the doughboy was hit by the brick house – and does that ever hurt.
  3. So Jesus is not saying if you hunger and thirst enough, it will motivate you to work hard at being righteous; so be encouraged because you will get there, you will fill yourself up. (that would be middle voice)
  4. What Jesus is saying is that those who hunger and thirst for righteous God will act upon them and satisfy that desire. (that is the passive voice)
3. So how does God satisfy that desire to be righteous, to be godly, to be Christlike, that desire for God himself, to live in conformity with God and his word? How do we get a righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees, a righteousness that is as perfect as God? Three ways
  1. Imputed righteousness - the Father credits the righteousness of Christ to those not members of his kingdom who put their trust in Jesus (salvation – declared righteous by God)
  2. Imparted righteousness – the Holy Spirit infuses Christ’s righteousness into the members of God’s kingdom as they trust him moment by moment (sanctification – personally, practically and progressively we are made more righteous day by day)
  3. Imperial righteousness – when Jesus, the righteous one, reigns as king in a future kingdom that will be characterized by righteousness!
Therefore, God will fulfill that desire for righteousness for us! That leaves us with one question…
How is your hunger for righteousness?
1. How is your hunger today?
2. If you are here today and not a member of God’s kingdom, do you long to be a part of his kingdom? Do you recognize you can never be as righteous as God (i.e., poor in spirit) and are not in a right relationship with him
  1. If that is you that is a great thing because that is evidence, that God is working in your heart.
  2. Listen to these verses
    1. Romans 3:10-11 no one righteous... seeks
    2. John 6:44
  3. If God put that desire in your heart, he is drawing you to Jesus! Do not put it off or resist it
    1. God wants to fulfill it by imputing, crediting to you the very righteousness of Christ so that in God’s eyes he will consider you as righteous as Jesus so you can be in a right relationship with God
    2. Listen to Philippians 3:9
  4. Today, turn from all your own efforts to be religious, moral or doing good deeds, which will never be righteous enough, and turn to Jesus and trust his death and his resurrection to pay for your sins and to credit Jesus’ righteousness to you as a gift.
3. If you are a member of God’s kingdom - how is your desire to become more righteous, more godly, more like Jesus Christ, more of God himself – the righteous one? It is God who puts that desire in our hearts and he imparts to us Jesus’ righteous to become more and more godly day by day!
  1. Read Philippians 2:12-13
    1. Obey – live in conformity with God’s righteous standards as revealed in his Word!
    2. The desire to obey and the ability to obey come from God!
  2. If you have that desire, that hunger to walk rightly with God, then rely upon the Holy Spirit to work Christ’s righteousness into your life as you are seeking to obey his Word.
  3. If you are a believer and your desire for godliness or Christ-likeness is not there or is like a dim fire ready to do out. Then
    1. Possibly you have grieved the Holy Spirit of God in your life as some sin has taken center stage in your life
      1. Sins like - bitterness, anger, slander, unforgiveness, greed, lying, lust or things like these.
        
        Or it could even be putting a good thing in your life as the center of your life rather than Jesus. Things like – your family, your children’s activities, an orderly house, your to do list or bucket list, working out, education, your job, sports, etc.
      2. Or possibly you have quenched the Spirit by not doing things that feed the fire of the Holy Spirit in our lives, things like – prayer, getting into his Word, not practicing gratitude in all things and things like that
  4. In either case, you must confess this to God, reopen your heart where you have shut out the Spirit and invite him to both reignite that desire within you and impart the practical and personal righteousness of Jesus in your life day by day.
4. Finally, some of you are longing for a world where righteousness and justice will prevail as we live in a world now and even in portions of the church that calls evil good and good evil and in place of justice and righteousness there is wickedness and partiality.
  1. The good news for us is God will fulfill that hunger through the imperial righteousness, where Jesus, the righteous king, will reign over a kingdom characterized by righteousness. Read Isaiah 9:6-7
  2. Is that your hope? Is this your desire? God will fulfill it!

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I Love My Adopting Church
Passage October 15, 2023

Introduction:
1. In 2017 an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” was declared the US surgeon general. And the health implications of loneliness have become clearer over time.
  1. The link between loneliness and physical & mental health is well established, as it can lead to dementia, heart disease, stroke and even premature death along with changes in our brain that impact the way we relate with people!
2. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic amplified the problem with increased social isolation and decreased social support.
  1. The average American’s daily time spent with people dropped by one hour and screen time increased by one hour.
  2. That means the average American traded over 300 hours of in-person time for over 300 hours of social media, TV, and internet reading.
3. Let me add a few more things that contribute to this epidemic of loneliness and isolation
  1. Think of the community life of those who lived in the city as they spent time on their front porch relating to neighbors, to the isolation of a move to the suburbs where people spend their time on the back porch and with fences to keep everyone out.
  2. Add to that a divided culture where people do not accept friends and community unless they are in total agreement with their social, political, and theological views.
  3. We can add to that our parenting, family commitments and work demands,
4. All of this isolation, dividedness, and busyness is separating us from the relationships we need the most, relationships in the body of Christ.
  1. Brothers and sisters in Christ to do life with, speak truth to one another - both the truth that comforts and convicts, and helps us regain our bearing in the midst of an isolated, divided, busy world.
5. Don opened up this whole series I love my church by showing us that at the core MVC is not an institution or an organization but it is a family made up of brothers and sisters in Christ, children of god, mothers and fathers in the faith.
  1. A family of close-knit relationships of people who genuinely care for one another.
6. Today we are going to talk about loving my adopting church.
  1. As an adopting church, we realize that being adopted by God into his family and our union with Christ brings with it a profound supernatural union with one another.
  2. That in the body of Christ we are hardwired to connect deeply with one another just as my arm is with my wrist, my wrist is with my hand and my hand is with my fingers in regards to my human body
But here is the challenge, everything in our culture fights against this kind of connection and impacts the quality of our relationships. This morning I want to address two biblical instructions that can help us excel still the more as an adopting church. First is to be a …
Welcoming church
1. To be a welcoming church it will require two separate but closely related biblical instructions: greeting and hospitality.
2. Let’s start with greeting - six times in the New Testament we are commanded to greet one another.
  1. Five of those six times it says we are to accompany that greeting with a holy kiss
    1. I am going to deal with the greeting aspect this morning, I will let Don deal with the holy kiss part.
    2. Simply this a warm genuine greeting that would make someone feel that you are genuinely glad to see them and glad they are here.
  2. 1 Thessalonians 5:26 says essentially the same thing but adds an extra thought to the six commands read - “all’’
    1. Not just friend to friend, same age to same age, or same gender to same gender, same color to same color, not just those in your small group or the ministry you serve in together but “all” and not just new people but also everyone
    2. Often we leave the greeting up to those who have that ministry at the front door, but in a church family every person we cross paths with God calls me to warmly and genuinely welcome them.
3. The second aspect of a welcoming church we find in Hebrews 13:1-2.
  1. Read Hebrews 13:1-2 Hospitality
    1. V1 let love continue. Keep on loving one another
    2. But in v2, he makes a transition from brothers to strangers, and from something that we are doing to something we should not forget to do.
    3. A stranger is simply someone who we do not know personally. The word hospitality in the Greek literally means “a lover of strangers.”
    4. Hospitality goes way beyond just greeting those you do not know, and it is much more different than entertaining our friends, but hospitality also providing for any of their unique needs.
    5. For many in a church one of their first needs in a group like this is to be greeted, feel like they are really wanted here, feel loved, accepted, like they belong and like people actually care about their needs!
4. A welcoming church just like when a family adopts a child, they not only warmly greet them when they first come into the home, they not only learn each other’s names and make them feel at home, but they go as far as to take responsibility for their wellbeing.
That leads us into the second important biblical instruction for being an adopting church. To be a
Welfare church
1. I am not talking about a social program but like an adoptive family, like our God who adopted us, as an adopting church we should take on the welfare of each other personally and spiritually.
  1. We are our brothers’ keepers and we are responsible for one another’s spiritual welfare
2. Turn to 1 Thessalonians 2. Here we see the kind tender care and concern that Paul and his associates had for the welfare of church in Thessalonica both personally and spiritually
  1. As I read this note two things
    1. The family language and attitudes that are used
    2. The purpose for all this kind of care
  2. Read 2:7-12
  3. The reason for this motherly and fatherly kind of care is so that they would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls them into his own kingdom and glory!
3. We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers and we are to care for them personally. as the New Testament “one another” passages, that is passages that speak to us about the mutual responsibilities we have with each other, we see things like: encourage, devoted to, build up, admonish, serve, have same care for, comfort, stimulate to love and good deeds, confess your sins to, pray for.
  1. All things that relate to our responsibility to watch out for the spiritual welfare of each other.
4. A number of months ago I went to a discipleship conference with Don and Mike Locke. They put up a chart that really connected with me as I told Don this is one of the biggest areas MVC needs to grow in.
  1. Put up chart
  2. For many of us our thoughts about growing is that we always keep moving to the right on this chart and we get involved in more activities and studies to help us get there.
  3. But a key activity to keep on growing at this stage it means you need to give and not just get.
  4. Keep looking to your left, I know that is hard for any hard core Republicans here today, but we need to be looking for who we can help grow in their relationship with Christ.
  5. That is what makes a healthy church, that is what makes a church an adopting church. That’s the kind of stuff that makes me love my church.
Where do I …?
Start
1. Being a welcoming and welfare church is essential and foundational to all the other “one another’s” in Scripture and our relationships with each other
  1. If we do not even know one another there is no way that we can enter into one another’s lives and certainly do not have the right to intrude deeply into someone’s life whom we really do not know or understand.
  2. Because the deeper the relationships we have in someone’s life, the deeper the ministry we can have!
2. You cannot take care of and know everyone at MVC so I would encourage you to begin with your own neighborhood.
  1. What is your neighborhood at MVC – the section you are sitting in. – look around for a moment at your neighbors.
  2. Start there on the block you sit in – consider row you sit in
  3. How about your neighbors – those who sit in front of or behind you and those next to you.
  4. Crazy idea – for those of you who get here early and grab the end seats on your row – what if you saw someone looking to find a seat and rather than pretending as if you do not see them, you invite them into your row and welcome them as they come in.
3. Let’s close by actually practicing five minutes of welcoming and welfare – find someone you not know (neighborhood). Get to know name, a bit about each other and one thing you could be praying for one another this week. (maybe even pray right then if led)

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Abiding and Fruit

John 15 July 16, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. How many of you have ever snorkeled or scuba dived by a coral

reef?

Picture of coral reef
They are loaded with many different beautiful views and unique

beautiful fish swimming there.

That is the way I feel about the metaphor in John 15 of the vine

and the branches, which helps us understand our relationship

with Jesus.

a. I have thought about, studied, and read about this passage for

decades and I am still overwhelmed by the beauty of the

truths and the new things I keep finding!

b. That is my way of saying it is worth your time, to jump into

this passage and swim around in it over and over again!

B. Since Don did such a great job of preaching through this passage

about two months ago, I am going focus on two key aspects of it

this morning. What abiding means and what is the fruit in this

passage!

C. Let me remind you quickly of the big picture of this passage as Don

presented it to us that morning:

God’s pruning goes before God’s produce
God will work in you to produce fruit through you
God promises to answer our prayers

D. The heart of the truth of this passage can be summarized in verses 4

and 5.

V 4 presents it negatively, while v5 presents it positively!
Read v4-5
Simply stated: apart from Jesus we cannot bear fruit, abide in

Jesus to bear fruit!

Another way to say it is: it is impossible to bear fruit for God

unless you abide in Jesus.

a. Note “cannot” speaks to our inability

b. “Bear” speaks of the bringing something forth, producing

something, giving birth to something!

c. “Of itself” speaks to the fact that we are not the source of

fruit, we are not the ones who bring about or produce

fruit! All by ourselves, we cannot do it!

Fruit bearing is something that can only happens when the life

of the vine (Jesus) flows into and through the branches (the

believer) to produce the fruit!

• Let me start by looking at John 15 to see

II. What is the fruit?

A. Fruit is simply an internal invisible power or life working within a

plant, tree, a vine, a person to produce an external visible

expression.

B. Fruit is the main driver and theme of this passage as bearing fruit is

talked about six times in this passage as we see a movement from –

no fruit, to fruit, to more fruit, too much fruit!

Fruit is the means by which the Father is glorified. Read v8

C. So the question I want to answer today is what is that fruit that is

borne by us when Jesus life is operating in us?

Many with the gift of evangelism or a strong bent for the

mission Jesus gave us interpret fruit here as people who are

saved!

a. While people being saved is one expression of the fruit, I do

not think the context nor the rest of the New Testament

supports it as the only kind of fruit in this passage.

Listen to these other expressions of fruit in the New Testament

a. Winning others to Christ – Romans 1:13, John 4:35-38

b. Holiness – Romans 6:22

c. Giving of your finances – Romans 15:28; Philippians 4:17

d. Fruit of the Spirit (character of Jesus within and through us)–

Galatians 5:22-23

e. Righteousness Philippians 1:11; Hebrews 12:11; James 3:18

f. Giving thanks Hebrews 13:15

g. Goodness, righteousness, truth - Ephesians 5:9

h. Various forms of ministry - Romans 1:11-13

D. So whenever you are displaying the internal character of Jesus you

are displaying the fruit of the indwelling Jesus within you. When

you are ministering to saved or lost people, especially in the areas

of your giftedness the outcomes of that upon other people are

evidences of fruit of Jesus working through you.

So when someone encourages someone who is discouraged the

fruit is when God actually encourages that person through you

So when someone helps someone else in need the fruit of that is

that God meets a need in that person’s life

So when someone with the gift of mercy feels with and gently

cares for the person who is hurting the fruit is that they feel

comforted, understood and seen.

E. My best definition of fruit is John 15. Fruit is any expression of

Jesus’ character in that person, or any expression of Jesus through

their unique make up and giftedness that impacts others.

F. As you answer the following question I think you will see why I

believe that

What kind of fruit does an apple tree produce? apples
What kind of fruit does a peach tree produce? peach
What kind of fruit does an orange tree produce? orange
What kind of fruit does a grape vine produce? grape
What kind of fruit does a Jesus vine produce? Jesus

G. It is the unique expression of Jesus’ life through you in light of the

way he uniquely designed, gifted and called you!

H. I remember being in seminary and working for a man who grew up

as a farmer and had a large garden in his back yard!

He had a peach tree in his garden which I loved eating tree

ripened peaches off.

One day he told me that in the past, he had grafted a branch

from a pear tree into a peach tree, and then he asked me “what

kind of fruit do you think that branch bore?”

a. I guessed pear – he said no! I said peach – he said no

b. He told me it was a completely different kind of fruit that

had characteristics and taste of both a pear and peach mixed

together as one!

I. I believe that is what fruit looks like through each individual

uniquely made and gifted believer/branch that is plugged into the

vine Jesus.

Jesus expressing himself in and through branch Pat is going to

look very different from Jesus expressing himself in and

through branch Kim.

Jesus expressing himself in and through branch Pat Peglow is

going to look very different from Jesus expressing himself in

and through branch Don Kauffman.

Etc etc. etc.

• All of this fruit is dependent upon

III. Abiding in Jesus!

A. So what does it mean to abide in Jesus?

I think to understand this passage we need to understand that the

word abiding has two aspects to its meaning and two aspects to

its application!

The two aspects of its meaning – one aspect has to do with time

and the other with place

a. Time – to remain, stay or continue in some state or place

b. Place – the word is also used to indicate a dwelling place, an

abode, someone’s residence or home.

Read John 14:2 – dwelling places
Read John 14:23 – abode – our residence, our home

c. So the PBP definition is simply continue to be at home with

Jesus! It is that ongoing close and intimate relationship with

Jesus.

The two aspects of its application have to do with our union and

our communion with Jesus

a. Union – has to do with our position in Christ as being in

Christ or our one with or our mutual indwelling with Christ

where Jesus is in us and us in Jesus –

Read John 14:20 – you in me and I in you
Read John 14:10 – when Jesus speaks of this mutually

indwelling relationship between him and his Father, he

talks about the Father abiding in him

In Paul’s language he calls it being “in Christ”

b. Communion – has to do with our practice or walk with

Christ.

B. While we see in John 14 that we are in union with Jesus. In John

15:4 and following, he is talking about our communion with

Jesus.

But verse 4 is a command, an imperative! A decisive decision

and action Jesus is calling them and us to (those who are already

in union with Jesus) where we continually remain at home with

Jesus!

That is where Jesus would be comfortable with my life and I am

comfortable with Jesus’ life. We are at home with one another

day in day out, moment by moment.

C. Thus, who I am in the deepest part of my being is consistent with

the way I live my life. My position in Christ is one with my walk

with Christ.

When I am walking in intimate fellowship with Jesus – praying,

meeting him through his Word, obeying him, living for him,

trusting him, a life filled by and controlled by the Spirit then his

life is expressing the fruit of Jesus life in and through me

When we do not fellowship with Jesus – not praying, not

meeting with him and feeding on his Word, disobeying him,

living for yourself, not trusting him but living by your own

strength no fruit is expressed in or through us.

D. I believe the greatest expression of abiding is a continued reliance,

dependence, trust and faith in the indwelling Jesus to live his life

through us.

Paul says it like this – Galatians 2:20

III. Closing application

E. Do you see the fruit of the character of Jesus growing and

developing within you?

• Do you see Jesus working through you to bless others in a

way that has no explanation except for God himself?

If you do, it is evidence that you are abiding in Jesus and

bearing fruit for him

If you do not, then there needs to be some things addressed in

your relationship with Jesus

B. Is your lifestyle one where Jesus would be comfortable going along

with you every place you go, would he be at home in your mind,

your desires, with your tongue, with your relationships, your habits,

your entertainment, etc.?

• Are you comfortable with and delight in going along with

Jesus’ thoughts and desires as expressed in his Word and

shaping your whole life around his Word?

If you do, it is evidence that you are abiding in Jesus and

bearing fruit for him

If you do not, then there needs to be some things addressed in

your relationship with Jesus

V. Response

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The Holy Spirt, the Helper, the Comforter,

John 14:16-20, etc. July 2, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. When we are job hunting, often we are so focused on what the salary will be

that we overlook the benefit package that makes the offer much better than we

realize.

Many people see salvation much the same way.

a) They focus on the main salary of forgiveness now and heaven later, but

they are not plugging into all the benefits that come with it.

b) In Ephesians 3 Paul summarizes the benefit package of salvation as

being blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ

Jesus.

This morning I want to talk about one of those benefits, one of those

spiritual blessings

a) In my experience, this benefit has become one of the most precious and

valuable gifts to me in my relationship with Jesus Christ.

b) The indwelling Holy Spirit of God!

B. If you remember, the upper room discourse is about the truths that were

essential for Jesus’ followers and us to know during the time between when he

returned to his Father in heaven and when he comes back for us.

C. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit two times earlier in the book but in the few

chapters of the upper room discourse, Jesus spoke about this gift six different

times.

We first heard about the Spirit when in chapter three Jesus was talking

with Nicodemus about salvation and letting him know that being born

again was a miracle of the Holy Spirit.

Then again in chapter 7 at the great feast when Jesus cried out in 7:37c-39

a) Here Jesus says the Holy Spirit is going to quench the deepest thirsts in

our life and he will dwell in our deepest part of our beings flowing like

a river of water.

b) John tells us Jesus was speaking of the Spirit whom they had not

received yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified by ascending back

to the Father.

• Now in the upper room discourse we see Jesus repeatedly coming back to and

emphasizing this precious gift as one of the essentials truths they must not forget

after he leaves them

II. Holy Spirit

A. As I read note that Jesus is basically telling his followers that while he is gone

they will not be left as orphans but Jesus will actually come and dwell within

them by means of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is going to bring the presence, power and help of the Jesus into

their lives

Watch for this as I read John 14:16-20
Jesus is telling them that the Holy Spirit will not only be with them but in

them, dwelling within them bringing to them the very life, power and

presence of Jesus.

B. Helper is a word that is very broad and covers a bunch of different areas.

It means one who helps by comforting, encouraging or mediating in behalf

of someone.

He is the one that comes along side us to help us with whatever we need to

do God’s will in our lives

C. Note that he was with them but in the very near future, he would be in them.

Point out v17

That is what Jesus means when he will not leave them as orphans when he

returns to the Father but the Holy Spirit will be indwelling them, living

right in them, to be there to help them and us.

D. Note in v19 he speaks of his death and resurrection but in v20 he says it will

be in that time period after his resurrection and ascension that they will

understand that he is in the Father, they will be in Jesus and Jesus will be in

them, obviously by means of the Holy Spirit. Reread v20 and cross reference

with v17 “in” you

E. I want you to note the context both before and after this. Read v 15, 21

Both before and after it is talking about obedience.

Now at the start of v16 the great majority, but not all of translations have

the word “and” to start the verse. This is there in the Greek and is a

connective that links the obedience of v15 with the coming of the Helper

in verse 16.

I think the primary way the Holy Spirit helps us is by enabling us to obey

what Jesus wants us to do.

Is that not why the Holy Spirit was originally promised in Ezekiel 36 –

Israel’s disobedience got them in big trouble and God promised them in

new covenant the following: Read Ezekiel 36:26-27

a) God by means of his Spirit would cause them, enable them to walk in

obedience to him and even create in their hearts a carefulness,

attentiveness, a vigilance to obey God’s Word.

F. The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Jesus Christ living in

them/us to help us with whatever we need to live for Jesus in these days.

• There are some other references to the Holy Spirit that come up in this discourse

that I will briefly take you to, because most of them we will come back to in

future messages in this series.

III. Other references to the Holy Spirit in upper room

A. Read 14:26 –

Remember there were many things in the book of John that Jesus taught

the disciples that they did not understand. The promise is the Holy Spirit

will remind them of these things and help them understand the significance

The Holy Spirit will be sent in Jesus’ name – that means the Holy Spirit is

coming to officially represent Jesus to us!

B. Read 15:26, 27 - the Holy Spirit will be working right along with us

witnessing about Jesus to the world as we witness to them.

C. Read 16:7 – the Holy Spirit coming to them and living in them, as their helper

is actually an advantage to them over having Jesus’ physical presence with

them.

D. John 16:8-11 – in these verses it speaks about how the Holy Spirit will

convict/convince people regarding sin – righteousness and judgment. We will

give a complete message to this

E. Read 16:12-13 – here Jesus promises the future inspiration of the rest of the

New Testament. we will give a complete message about this

IV. Ministries of the Holy Spirit in other portions of the New Testament

A. Regeneration – makes us a new creation and puts the new life within us

B. Sealing – locks us in and guarantees our salvation until Jesus returns to

receive us to himself

C. Teaches us – he gives us the ability to understand the meaning and

significance of God’s Word

D. Leads and guides us

E. Baptizes us into Jesus – he is the one who puts us into Jesus just like we saw a

few minutes ago where you are in me and I am in you

F. Fills us – makes his presence and power known in every area of our life so

that we are living under his influence rather than the influence of our best

efforts

G. Assures us deep within that we are children of God

H. Prays for the believer

I. Gifts us supernaturally with various different gifts as expression of Jesus in

and through us to bless others

J. Sanctifies us – that means that he breaks down the control of the flesh in our

lives and fills us with more and more of the resurrected life of Jesus. That is

how we are made more like Jesus!

• I think now you can see why I think the Holy Spirit is one of the most precious

and valuable gifts Jesus has given to us in these days!

V.Application

A. Now that we know some of the ways that the Holy Spirit helps us in these

days; how do we plug into this benefit?

B. I want to say there are three ways the first is prayer

Hebrews 13:20-21- this is a prayer of benediction, a prayer for blessing.

Read

Blank check here regarding whatever we need to do God’s will!
Note it is the indwelling Christ who equips us with this

a) Cross reference Philippians 2:12-13

C. The second way is faith

Turn and read Galatians 2:20
It is not I who is living my life now but Christ in me – remember – you in

me and me in you!

The life we live right now is a life of faith in the one who lives in me to

supernaturally express his life through me!

Illustrate: Jesus calls me to obey him in some specific way (not be angry or

anxious or to be forgiving and pure, etc.) we have one of two options to go

about it.

a) First, we can trust ourselves by trying very hard, setting up

accountability systems, following certain steps, being real sincere and

committed this time

b) Or we can put no trust in ourselves and rely upon the one who lives in

us to do a miracle in and through me enabling me by his life living

through me.

Turn and read Galatians 4:19
The Christian life is more about the life of Jesus being incarnated within us

than us becoming better imitators of what Jesus did.

D. The third way is to walk with the Holy Spirit in obedience. Let him lead you!

You cannot walk with the Spirit unless you are going in the same direction

he is going.

Is the Holy Spirit speaking to you about:

a) If he says, “this is the way walk in it” – then go that way!

b) If he says you are going in the wrong direction – then stop and say no

to that

c) If he says release something – then let go of it

d) If he says be still – then wait

e) If he says go – then go

E. So when Jesus went to be with his Father, he sent the Holy Spirit to live

within us forever to help us live the life God wants us to live!

VI. Response

A. As we sing this last song, I’m going to ask you to actually pray it to the Lord

as you sing and respond as the Holy Spirit would lead you.

View Details

Praying in Jesus’ Name

John 14:13-14 June 25, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. Prayer has been a gift that God has given man since the beginning of time.

But in the upper room discourse Jesus introduces a dimension, an element to

prayer, that is essential for his people to navigate life between the time Jesus

returned to his Father and when Jesus comes back to receive us to himself.

It is a dimension of prayer that many of us do mindlessly as we repeat

words that we really do not understand what they mean.

It is a dimension of prayer that explains for us why so many of our prayers

go unanswered, but if we begin to practice it, we will see many more

answers to our prayers.

B. Please turn to John 14 where this new dimension to prayer is found.

We learned last week that the backdrop and driver to the discussion in the

upper room discourse is Jesus’ announcement that he is going to return to

the Father and later come back for them.

a) In this discourse are the essential things they needed to know while he

was gone and they were apart from him

Then we come to the next section of this chapter where Jesus talks to them

regarding his oneness with the Father.

a) We are not going to cover this section this morning because a few

weeks back when I introduced the book of John to us I had a complete

message about Jesus’ relationship with the Father as seen in the book of

John.

b) We learned that Jesus and the Father not only were close to one another

but that Jesus was fully equal with and one with the Father. We see the

same thing here again.

c) If you were not here, I would encourage you to go to YouTube to view

that. Even more importantly, this is not only a passage to reread but

also one to memorize and meditate on!

C. However, I am going to read this whole section this morning as a reminder to

some of the important things we learned that morning and because right at the

end of it, Jesus speaks about this promise in prayer that we want to look at this

morning!

Read v4-14.

a) Note in v11-12 he speaks about if you do not believe me about what I

am saying about my oneness with the Father and that Jesus dwells in

the Father and the Father dwells in Jesus, then at least believe on

account of the works you have seen me do.

b) Then in v13-14, we see this prayer promise in this context.

D. Overview of our key passage this morning is simply this:

V13 is the promise; v14 restates it in summary form.
In v13 we see three things:

a) The content of our prayers

b) How these prayers are answered

c) And the motive to our prayers

• This morning I want to break down this promise phrase by phrase because these

twenty words are packed with millions upon millions of words worth of

meaning, application and testimonies of its truthfulness for us! Let’s start with

the …

II. Content to our prayers

A. Reread v13a – emphasizing “whatever”

B. This is an amazing promise – “whatever you ask!” Wow!

But to be honest with you there are many things I have asked God for that

were never answered!

Can any of you relate to that?
If Jesus said that, then why is that the case?

C. The next phrase explains for us why so many of our prayers are not answered.

Read 13a – emphasizing “in Jesus’ name”

For most of us, we add on “in Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayers as

magical words that if we add them to our prayers then we will get what we

want.

But here is the reality – “in Jesus’ name” is the qualifier for whatever, it

both limits the ” whatever” and enhances what “whatever” means.

D. A name represents all of who someone is, along with their character, all they

have, their rights, privileges and authority and even their reputation.

To do something in someone’s name means you are doing something in

behalf of that person as their official representative.

E. Now when I connect along with limit and enhance the meaning of “whatever”

with Jesus’ name that means that I would be asking for the things that Jesus

would ask for in this situation. They are things that are in line with his

character and his agenda.

F. Let me build on that a bit more by the context and a few other places this

promise is repeated.

We already have seen in this passage that the context to this promise is

doing the works of Jesus.

a) So the first thing I would ask about my prayers is, are they not only

consistent with what Jesus would ask but is it to further his work and

kingdom or my own welfare?

Look at John 15:7 – read

a) So here, we see that the “whatever” is in the context of those whose

lives are filled with and controlled by God’s Word.

b) So I must ask are my prayers consistent with God’s Word or even are

my prayers driven by and full of God’s Word

Read John 15:16

a) So here, we see that the “whatever” is in the context of bearing fruit for

God, fruit that remains.

b) So I must ask, are my prayers consistent with the things that bear fruit

for God?

c) In a few weeks, we will spend a big portion of the message seeing what

bearing fruit for God means.

John also wrote the book of 1 John and he addresses this same topic in 1

John 5:14-15. Read

a) Here the anything and “whatever” is limited by God’s will

So to be able to apply this promise and actually see answers to our prayers

we must ask things that are in accordance with the character of Jesus, the

work of Jesus, God’s Word, bearing fruit for Jesus and according to God’s

will rather than just whatever we want!

G. This has big implications for how we pray about the sick and about troubles

both our own and the troubles of those we love.

Have you ever considered what we ask God for at those times? – usually it

is for health and deliverance and God fixing things

How often have you considered how Jesus would pray for that situation – a

great practice to do before you even pray?

a) When we need healing, delivering or fixing Jesus might pray that:

(1) He might even pray that our sickness or dying would bring glory to

God rather than God would heal us.

(2) We would endure these times in faith and gratitude before God.

(3) Use these things and times to

(a) Open doors to bring the gospel to the lost or model for the

believer how Jesus would walk in these times

(b) Make them more like Jesus

H. Praying in Jesus name is more about praying for what Jesus wants than

praying for what we want! It is praying as a representative of Jesus! It is

asking what Jesus would ask for. It’s prayers consistent with his heart for the

things that he cares about. It is praying Jesus’ heart for Jesus’ work!

• The second we see in this passage is …

III. How these prayers are answered

A. I am going to deal with the two other aspects of this verse much more quickly

than the first. Reread v13b

B. Note here how the prayer is answered. Jesus says “and I will do it” –

Jesus is the one who answers our prayers; he does what we are asking for!
Seems so simple, clear and we say of course. But I believe that in most of

our minds and practice we

a) See our prayers as a means of God seasoning our efforts with his

blessing as we go about what we are doing rather than expecting Jesus

to do a miracle here.

b) Like our prayers result in God pouring out of a saltshaker of blessing

upon what we do.

• The final part of this verse speaks about

IV. The motive in our prayers

A. Read v13c

B. It is when the motives of our prayers are that God would be glorified that we

see this promise go into operation.

Remember what James 4:2-3 says
Two reasons we are not experiencing the presence and power of God in

our lives are because we are not asking God for things and secondly we are

asking for things for our own benefit rather than God’s glory

C. Finally, in this part of the verse we get some insight into how God is glorified.

Many people think God is glorified by us doing things excellently. We

should give our best of what we do out of our worship of God

But what brings God glory is when Jesus does something for and through

us rather than what we do for God!

Note how 13b and c flow together.

V. Conclusion

A. So when you put your prayer life up against this passage how does it look?

Are you praying for what Jesus would want or what you would want?
Are you looking for Jesus to actually intervene in your life and do

something or are you just hoping he will add his blessing to what you are

doing?

Finally, are you asking God to do these things so he would be glorified or

so your life would be more comfortable and happy?

B. I would ask you in closing to consider something you have been praying about

for a while that is just seems God is not answering it.

Consider what Jesus would pray about this situation in light of his

character, his purposes, his work, his word, his will and his glory.

Start praying about it in that way and expect Jesus to show up and do

things that only he can do.

View Details

Returning to the Father John 13-16 June 11, 2023

Introduction:
1. Have you ever had a very serious conversation with someone because you knew that very soon things were going to change in a big way? You want to make sure you cover the right things, the most important things and you measure those words carefully.
  1. Kim and I had one of those conversations with each one of our daughters just about a week before they got married. For us the most important area we wanted to cover was to see if there were any unresolved hurts between them and us that we could address before they got married so they could start this new relationship fresh and free from any baggage from us.
  2. Well things are about to change with me and MVC in a big way, and in my last series I wanted to make sure I covered the right things, the most important things –
    1. Literally, for the last few years, I have been thinking about what I would say and I came up with all kinds of ideas.

I am already thinking and making notes on what I would say in my very last message to this precious church family Kim and I love so much.

Well where I landed for this final series is the upper room discourse because these were Jesus’ words to his closest followers and friends right before things were going to change in a very big way.
1. I have always operated under the conviction that what God has to say in his word is always better and more powerful than my best ideas.
2. So I put aside all my ideas and decided to focus upon the areas that Jesus thought were most important for his followers to hear before things were going to change with them in a big way.
Turn to John 13 in your Bibles and let me set a little context
1. Literally, Jesus knew that within fifteen hours, he would be hanging on the cross and not long after that, he would be going back to his Father. He was having his last meal, the Passover meal, with his followers and friends, the twelve disciples.
2. Read John 13:1-4
3. During this meal in chapter 13 we see three key things
  1. Judas leaving the meal to set up his betrayal of Jesus
  2. Jesus washing the feet of his disciples as an example of humble service to one another for them to follow
  3. Finally, we see Jesus giving them the new commandment of loving one another
All of this brings me to theme of my message this morning, which was the backdrop and underlying theme of the upper room discourse, a theme that Jesus kept going back to during this time, one which the disciples did not fully understand and kept questioning Jesus about that evening.
It is simply this
Jesus is returning to the Father
1. We already saw in verses one and three in chapter 13 that Jesus knew he was about to go back to the Father. Now he tells his followers this. Look at v33
  1. As I read this note that, the theme we rightly spend a lot of time on, loving one another as Jesus loved us, flew right over their heads and they had little concern regarding it in light of the news that Jesus was leaving them.
  2. Read v33-38
    1. V33- Jesus had told the Jews the same thing before and they reasoned that either he was going to flee to the dispersion among the Greeks or he is going to kill himself
  3. In v36 Peter wanted to know where he was going – Jesus’ response was “Where I am going you cannot follow me now but you will later!”
  4. V37 why can’t I follow you right now– I will even die for you if I have to – then Jesus predicted that even with all the love and commitment he would still deny him – a lesson we need to humbly consider for ourselves.
2. He moves on in chapter 14 to tell them where he is going
  1. Read v1-4
  2. Simply, Jesus is going to his Father’s house to prepare a place for them and that he is going to come back again and receive them to himself so that where Jesus is, they can be with him also
  3. Let me quickly cross-reference Jesus final reference to this in this discourse where he makes it very clear, as to where he is going!
    1. Read John 16:28
    2. We see in this verse both the incarnation and the ascension of Jesus – Jesus coming into the world and Jesus leaving the world to be with the father.
  4. Turn back to John 14:3 - I believe this is referring to the rapture.
  5. That is the exact purpose and a great summary of the events of the rapture of the church. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
  6. We will see later in this discourse that the purpose of the giving us the Holy Spirit is to be with us. The purpose of verses 2 & 3 is for us to be with him, which is the rapture, so that we might be with him where he is!
3. But Jesus keeps coming back to this theme repeatedly. Let me show you a few other places.
  1. Read John 14:18
    1. We will see in weeks to come that the great promise of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus. indwelling us comes out of the back drop of Jesus leaving but not leaving them alone like an orphan without any help
  2. Read John 14:28
    1. Bottom line, if their greatest concern was for Jesus rather than themselves then they would be rejoicing for him because he is going back to the Father
  3. Read John 16:5-6
    1. We see that this information filled their hearts with sorrow
  4. Read John 16:7
    1. Jesus said there is an advantage to him going away – he will be sending the Holy Spirit to them.
  5. Read 16:17-22
    1. They still do not get it
    2. Jesus explains that his death will bring weeping, lament, grief and anguish
    3. But his resurrection will bring them joy and rejoicing
  6. Read 16:28 – where we see Jesus’ final reference to this in the discourse
    1. Again, we see Jesus’ incarnation into this world and his ascension out of this world.
4. The whole purpose of the upper room discourse is that Jesus is giving them final instructions before he leaves to go back to the Father.
  1. These instructions are essential things for them to know while they live here on earth until Jesus returns for them
  2. So this series is not just about Pat giving final words he wants to say before he leaves but rather words that are essential for each one of us because we are living in that time between Jesus’ ascension to heaven and his return for us.
Communion
1. It was during the Passover meal that Jesus instituted the practice we still do today, communion, a time to remember his death for us.
2. Turn to Luke 22:14
  1. In Luke we see this same story of the last supper in the upper room from another perspective with some added details
  2. Read v14-18
3. Want to note in particular that Jesus said he would not eat and drink the cup with them again until the kingdom of God.
  1. This is a practice, an ordinance that Jesus wants his followers to practice with each other at this time until he returns
  2. Then it will be done again with Jesus and his followers when the future kingdom comes.
4. This forms our great and ultimate hope. Paul called it the blessed hope, the time when Jesus returns.
  1. A person who has God’s grace in operation in their heart deep within is looking forward to this time when Jesus returns.
  2. Titus 2:13 teaches us that looking forward to Jesus’ return is one of the graces that God works in our hearts!
5. As we take communion would you remember what Jesus did for you.
  1. Search your heart if you are eagerly looking forward to the return of Jesus.
  2. If not ask God to show you what is blocking that within you and ask him to unleash his grace within you to produce it!
6. Pass the elements

View Details

Believing That You May Have Life in His Name
John 20:31 May 7, 2023 – Communion

Introduction:
1. This is the fourth week of our big bus tour in the book of John. We are going to jump off one more time at John 20:31 to look at believing so that you might have life in Jesus’ name!
  1. This is the desired result of writing this book and recording Jesus’ miracles so that we would believe in Jesus the Christ, the Son of God so we could have life! Read 20:30-31
  2. Let us just see one of many examples of this in the book of John. Turn to John 6:40 Read.
    1. Beholds the Son and believes in him the result is eternal life and will be raised from the dead in the future resurrection!
    2. Not say – beholds the church and goes regularly but says who beholds Jesus and believes in him
    3. Not say – beholds a particular denomination and follows their rites but says who beholds Jesus and believes in him
    4. Not say – beholds God’s laws and tries to keep all of them but says who beholds Jesus and believes in him
    5. Not say – beholds Jesus and tries to follow his example by living a good life but says who beholds Jesus and believes in him
2. Now this would be an easy time for many of you to check out on this message because you will say to yourself – “I have heard this a million times, yeah, yeah, yeah we need to believe in Jesus to be saved.”
  1. You will hear it for the million and first time today because I want to clarify our understanding just a little bit that could make a big difference in our lives!
  2. Because when we pay close attention to the entire New Testament we learn that the gospel, the good news about Jesus, is not only the means by which we are saved at one point in the past, but it is also the means by which we are to walk every day with Jesus!
    1. Simply to be saved I have to admit/confess that I do not have enough to be pleasing to God so I have to turn from myself to Jesus (repentance) and trust in Jesus for my salvation.
    2. That process is the heart of the entire Christian life, remember we learned just a few weeks ago that the entire Christian life takes a miracle as it is not just hard to do and be what Jesus called us to, it is impossible
      1. So on a daily, moment-by-moment basis I must admit/confess that I do not have enough to do and be what God has called me to do and be; so I must turn from trying hard to Jesus (repentance) and trust Jesus to work a miracle in me!
  3. Another way to say that is like this - the same way in the past that we put faith in the crucified Jesus to save us from the penalty of our sins, in the present we must put faith in the resurrected Jesus to save us from the power of sin!
    1. Worth a repeat and a camera shot for those who do things like that!
  4. Often my prayer is as simple as the prayer I learned from a friend of mine “Jesus I can’t, you must.”
  5. Bottom line – the gospel we are saved by, is the gospel we live by! And believing is the way we respond to the gospel!
    1. The gospel is both simple and deep at the same time!
    2. It is always worth learning it even better. Jack Swider is teaching a class second hour in 102 where you can learn more about the gospel. I encourage you to go and learn.
So let’s start with
What does believing mean
1. Biblical believing is more than a mental or theological agreement and acceptance of something. Believing is a two sided coin
  1. Yes, on one side, there is a mental or theological agreement and acceptance of some truth.
  2. But on the other side, you must believe that to the point that you depend and rely upon what you know to be true.
2. So here is the PBP definition of believing
  1. Being persuaded and accepting the truthfulness/reality of whom Jesus is and what he says, and what he has done/does, to the point that I rely/depend upon him and obey him for those truths I am persuaded and accepting!
  2. This is what biblical belief and believing is, this is what biblical trust and trusting is, this is what biblical faith is!
How that definition applies to us
1. I want to say this morning that believing in Jesus is the way a lost person gets life and believing in Jesus is the way a believer experiences that life on a daily and practical basis!
2. And that definition is true for someone who is lost who needs to be saved from the penalty of sin and for the believer who needs to be saved from the power of sin.
  1. I hear many Christians who are struggling often– yeah, yeah I know that truth from the Bible already, but they continue to struggle saying “it does not work!”
  2. This often is the problem they have; while they know the truth – the one side of belief, they are not depending upon, relying upon and obeying what they know in that moment!
  3. I love what Pastor Johnson used to say, “It does not work but he does!
3. Listen to the kind of faith that Abraham had, the father of all who believe. He was nearly 100 years old, his wife in her 90’s, yet barren all her life (barren does not mean she did not have any children but she was not able to have any children) yet on the other hand God promised him that he would be a father of a multitude of children.
  1. Read 4:19-20
  2. An important fine tuning to our believing – it is not just a matter of believing the promises but we must also believe in the person who made the promises
  3. Believing takes the promise or the truth and relies upon the person of God who made the promise or declared the truth, to do for you exactly what God said he would do!
Let’s look at an illustration of this that I have done before but worth repeating here.
Illustration
1. Illustrate believe, faith, trust, rely for the lost using the wall over here using John 3:16
  1. Standing on my two legs relying upon my own ability to hold myself up
    1. Left leg - who I am – my personhood (good, moral, religious)
    2. Right leg what I do – my performance (good deeds, religious activities, even religious rites like baptism)
  2. Now this wall represents Jesus Christ, who he is and what he has done at the cross and in the resurrection!
  3. Saying faith - now believing the facts of John 3:16– (restate fact that God so loved the world that ….) but I am still standing/relying on my own two legs - believing but not relying.
  4. Saving faith - now I am going to shift, transfer all my trust to this wall. If this wall falls, I fall because I am no longer trusting in anything that my legs can do to hold me up! All my trust is in this wall and its ability to hold me up (all my trust is in Jesus and his death on the cross to pay for my sins and that I will not perish but have eternal life)
2. Illustrate believe, faith, trust, rely for the believer using the wall over here using Galatians 2:20
  1. Standing on my two legs relying upon my own ability to hold myself up
    1. Left leg - who I am – my personhood (good, moral, religious)
    2. Right leg what I can do , my trying– my own abilities that come out of my humanity and human resources, systems and contacts
  2. Now this wall represents Jesus Christ, who he is and what he can do in and through me right now, as I trust him!
  3. Saying faith - now believing the facts of Galatians 2:20– (restate fact that this wall represents Jesus lives in me and when I now live by faith in him, he will miraculously live his life out through me) but I am still standing/relying on my own two legs - believing but not relying upon Jesus to work that miracle through me.
    1. Instead I am trusting what I can do, my trying– my own abilities that come out of my humanity and human resources, systems and contacts
  4. Sanctifying faith - now I am going to shift, transfer all my trust to this wall. If this wall falls, I fall because I am no longer trusting in anything that my legs can do to hold me up! All my trust is in this wall and Jesus’ ability that now as I live by faith in him, that he will miraculously live his life out through me!
As we go to
Communion
1. Consider whether you are someone who does not know Jesus or if you do is your faith characterized more as saying faith or a saving/sanctifying faith
  1. Then consider what adjustments you may need to make to your faith.
  2. Then finally thank Jesus for not only dying for you in the past but for living for you in the present!
2. Elements

View Details

Son of God

Various passages April 30, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. C.S. Lewis said in his classic book, Mere Christianity, “I am trying

here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people

often say about him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral

teacher, but I do not accept his claim to be God. That is the one

thing we must not say. 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 lunatic 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 none of us come away with

any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human

teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

B. For many when they hear that Jesus was the Son of God it conjures

up thoughts in their minds that are not accurate about who Jesus is.

For some it indicates that Jesus was a special man of God, like a

great prophet/teacher and moral man, but not God.

For some it indicates that Jesus was at some point not in

existence and he came into existence from God the Father as the

first one ever created thus he is not God

For others it indicates that Jesus was a god but an inferior god to

the Father

C. We have already seen that in John 20:31 that John indicated that he

wrote the Gospel of John so that by the miracles Jesus did people

would believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

Let me rephrase that in the PBP translation – if you are newer to

MVC the PBP translation is the Patrick Bernard Peglow

translation.

So you would believe that Jesus was the promised coming

Messiah (King and Savior), God himself!

D. This morning I want to show you that Jesus as the Son of God

means that he is actually God, fully God and fully equal with God

the Father!

Now I trust you are reading through the Gospel of John on your

own and watching for statements and proofs in John about Jesus

as the Son of God.

As you do that, you will see references to this repeatedly in

different ways!

And as you see these references, your view and value of Jesus

can only rise and cause you to bow down and worship him as

fully God!

E. So this morning I do not want to just start at the beginning of the

book, take you to every reference in the book, and show them to

you. Instead, I want to lay out some key ideas to help us

understand what the Son of God actually means!

• Let’s start by ….

II. What the Jews understood the Son of God to be!

A. When Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, we need to understand

what that meant in the Jewish culture and language of that time to

understand what it means to be the Son of God.

Once that is accomplished, we will understand why the religious

leaders were so angry and wanted to kill him when he claimed

to be the Son of God.

B. The Jewish religious leaders knew that Jesus claiming to be the Son

of God was a claim to be God himself. He is not an inferior or

lesser god but fully equal with God the Father.

Read John 5:17-18 – the Jews understood that when Jesus was

calling God his own father – thus his son, the Jews understood

he was making himself equal with God

Read John 10:30-33, 36-38

a. Note in v36 that Jesus is equating them saying he is

blaspheming in v33 by making himself out to be God with

Jesus quoting them as saying he is blaspheming because he

is the Son of God

b. Simply being God and being the Son of God are

synonymous

II. Being the Christ is equated with being God

C. In John 20:30 and another key passage we will look at in a moment

we will see that grammatically, Christ and the Son of God are

connected ideas and not separate ideas.

Look back at John 20:30 - it does not say believe he is the

Christ and the Son of God, but rather Christ, the Son of God.

If and was between them it would indicate they are two different

things we are to believe – that Jesus was the Christ and that he

was the Son of God.

But when it is just a comma, we see that the Son of God is

further describing or explaining whom the Christ/Messiah is.

So he is saying here that the Christ is the Son of God.

a. I believe that this close connection is because the Messiah or

the Christ or God’s King was foretold in the Old Testament

to be God himself.

b. Read - Zechariah 9:9-10, 14:9,16

c. Various other passages teach this as well.

d. I asked an 87 year old Jewish man who grew up going to

Hebrew School and studying the Jewish religion (who came

to Christ here at MVC – Albert Richmond – some of you

remember him) if he was taught that the Messiah Israel is

waiting for was going to be God. He said, “Absolutely!”

D. Do you remember the scene when Jesus stood on trial in front of

the whole Jewish council of teachers, elders, scribes and

priests? Turn to it in your Bibles, Matthew 26

Get the feel for who was there – best Bible students and

teachers in all of Israel.

They were seeking to find some kind of false testimony against

Jesus so they could put him to death. Jesus did not speak a

word to defend himself.

Finally, the high priest, Caiaphas cut through the entire chase

and got to the heart of the matter as he asked Jesus to tell him

under oath if he is the Christ, the Son of God. Listen as I read

v63-67

Right in front of these Bible scholars Jesus quoted two OT

passages that they were very familiar with that referred to the

Messiah not only as the King but also as God.

a. “Sitting at the right hand of power” – read Psalm 110:1-

Just a few days before Jesus had confounded some of

these same leaders by powerfully proving with this very

passage that the Messiah was God’s Son.

Read Matthew 22:41-46 shows that as the Son of God he

was God himself

b. “Coming on the clouds of heaven” – listen as I read Daniel 7

where this reference comes from and get a feel for what

made them so angry.

Read Daniel 7:9-10, - sitting on throne aflamed =

indestructible and river of fire coming out from before

him.

Read Daniel 7:13-14. – Jesus walked right up through

that river of fire = indestructible and received from the

Father what only God has.

You can see now why these men were so angry. They knew

exactly what Jesus was saying when he claimed to be the Son of

God. Yes, I am the Messiah, God himself.

• As you read through John you will see many

IV. Other proofs in John that Jesus was fully God

A. The signs John speaks of miracles that showed that Jesus had

supernatural power that only God has

B. His existence before creation

C. Special relationship he had with the Father -

D. He had attributes that only God has.

He went as far as to say if you have seen me you have seen the

Father

E. His claim to be one with God

F. He claimed to do everything that God did and he did it in the exact

same way God does it!

G. The great I am statement about his existence before Abraham.

A claim that made them pick up stones and seek to kill him

IV. How about you!

H. Not know Jesus – read Romans 10:9

Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord
Lord is the title for God that indicates that he exercises ultimate

and supernatural authority over everything!

Where do you stand today? – either you believe he is a lunatic, a

liar or Lord

As C.S. Lewis said, those are the only three options you can

choose from, no other is available

Listen as I read v11-13 from Bible
Would you call upon God himself – Jesus to save you right now

…

I. Do know Jesus - listen to Philippians 2:6-7, 9-11

Would you today bow your knee and confess that about Jesus

not only over everything but more importantly over your life?

And would you walk out these doors this morning living

consistently with the confession you made about Jesus as the

one who has ultimate and supernatural authority over every are

and decision in your life?

View Details

Signs

Various passages April 23, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. Last week we began our red bus tour of the book of John. We took one

complete trip around the book with a map/chart in hand and a narrator/me

pointing out key areas to us!

Today we want to get off at our first point of interest that we want to

explore a bit more closely.

That is the area of signs.

B. Turn to John 20:30-31

We learned last week that John’s purpose in writing this book was very

clear – read v30-31

a) First, that we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God

b) Second, in believing we might have life through Jesus

But he also shows us in these verses the vehicle/means he uses to get us to

believe.

a) Look back again and read 30-31a - signs/these

b) It was signs that Jesus had performed.

C. So what is a sign?

If I am driving on an expressway and I see a sign that says Chicago this

way and Detroit that way, that sign points me in a specific direction.

a) The sign is not Chicago or Detroit, but the sign points me to Chicago

and Detroit

Turn to John 2 so we can see how John defines a sign. This is the section

where at the wedding Jesus does the miracle of turning the water into

wine. Read v2:11 –

a) John is clearly equating Jesus’ miracles with being a sign.

b) Just l as we saw in John 20:30-31 this sign did what it was supposed to

do, it manifested Jesus’ glory and resulted in his disciples believing in

him. Read 2:23

• The miracle is the supernatural act itself. John, in this book, is using those

miracles as

II. Signs to prove who Jesus is

A. We learn in John 20:30-31 that John is using these miracles to point us to,

certify, convince, prove, validate, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

B. In John 3:2 Nicodemus confirms that the signs are doing exactly what they are

supposed to do –

Read John 3:1-2
Nicodemus said these signs confirm that God is with him.

C. Even Peter stated in his sermon on Pentecost that Jesus’ miracles were

designed to show and prove who he was. Read Acts 2:22

Attesting means to show that something is true, to prove it.
Peter says God was using the miracles to prove to them/us who Jesus was.

D. It is interesting to note the even when the apostles and their close associates

performed miracles it was to validate them as God’s messengers and the

message they were bringing.

Read 2 Corinthians 12:12 – it was a proof as to who the true apostles of

Jesus Christ were. So just like the miracles validate Jesus as the Messiah,

the miracles validated the apostles as messengers sent by God.

God also used the miracles as proof that their messages was from God read

Hebrews 2:1-4.

a) Jesus spoke a very important message, eternally significant message

from God. Those who heard Jesus speak it, the apostles took his

message to others

b) God was working right alongside the apostles as they delivered that

message testifying, that is validate confirming, endorsing and bearing

witness about their message by miracles.

• So John used Jesus’ miracles to validate/prove who Jesus was and that his

message was “from” God. These miracles were signs to

III. Prove Jesus was the Christ the Son of God!

A. Jesus’ miracles were signs, proofs that he was who he said he was! We see

this repeatedly in the book of John.

In John 4, after Jesus supernaturally told the Samaritan woman at the well

all about her life without having met her beforehand. Listen to what she

told her friends. Read 4:29

In John 5, we saw on Easter after Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath who

had been lame for 38 years that Jews accused Jesus of making himself

equal with God by claiming God as his Father!

a) Jesus said it is true he is equal to God and stated that he does nothing

but what God does, he does everything God does and does it in the

same way.

b) Then he goes on to give others who give testimony to who he is. He

starts with John the Baptist

(1) Then he says this in 5:36 – read

(2) The works/miracles that he does testify about who he is.

After Jesus fed over 5000 people with just a few fish and loaves listen to

what the people said - read John 6:14

a) Shortly after this, Jesus goes into a long discourse using this miracle to

talk about himself as the true bread of God that has come down from

heaven to give life and many departed from him because his words

were hard to accept. Read 6:67-69

Listen to the crowd’s response when he was teaching at the Feast of

Booths. Read John 7:31

Chapter 10 where Jesus claims his oneness with the Father – essentially a

claim to be God!

(1) Read 10:30-33

(2) In response to this, Jesus claims to be the Son of God and it is his

works miracles as proof that he is God the Son and is one with the

Father. Read 10:36-39

(3) We see the same idea that his miracles are a witness or proof that

he is God.

Listen to chapter 11 with the raising of Lazarus from the dead

a) Mary had sent word to Jesus that her brother Lazarus was dead. Listen

to what Jesus said to his disciples after hearing this. Read 11:14-15;

b) Listen to the response of the people after Jesus did raise Lazarus from

the dead! Read 11:41-45,

B. While Jesus’ miracles were designed to be proof of who he was so that they

would believe at the same time, it drove those who opposed him into deeper

unbelief and resistance against him.

Note the response of the Jewish leaders – read 11:47-48; 53,57; 12:10-11,

12: 37-38

C. The key reason why these miracles prove that Jesus is the Christ is because

the miracles that Jesus did were samplings of the miracles that will take place

in the Messiah’s future kingdom….

Turn to Matthew 11:2. Read v2-6

a) Are you the expected one? The Messiah? The Christ?

b) Jesus answered not by saying go tell him that I am but rather by an

even stronger argument than words, tell him about the miracles I have

done.

(1) Heard of show and tell? This is the show portion of that.

c) This is why Jesus answered that way. Turn and read Isaiah 35:3-4

(1) V4 is that time in the future when Jesus will come and judge the

nations and then set up his earthly kingdom!

d) Now listen to v5-6

(1) Jesus was saying tell him that I am doing, the very miracles that

Isaiah said the Messiah would do.

Turn to Matthew 12:22-23, the crowds of common folk associated the

miracles Jesus did with the Messiah who is also called the “Son of David”

D. Jesus’ miracles, the supernatural acts that God did through him, were meant to

be signs to prove to them that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God so that they

could believe in him and have eternal life!

If you read through the gospel of John with this in mind you will see it

popping out repeatedly in the book and will deepen your conviction

regarding who Jesus is and how a person receives his life!

• You cannot talk about miracles today without raising in people’s minds the

question

IV. Do miracles still happen today?

A. My answer is yes but you need to walk with discernment because not all

miracles come from God

When you study miracles, you will see that people who did not know

Jesus, false prophets, the antichrist, the false prophet of the antichrist, and

even demons did miracles.

Read Matthew 24:24.
Revelation tells us that miracles are what the false prophet will use as signs

to deceive people into following the antichrist. Read Revelation 19:20

Therefore, we need discernment when it comes to miracles in our day.

B. God still does miracles today. Read Galatians 3:5

C. When we read the rest of the New Testament after getting through the

historical books of the gospels and Acts, we learn that the emphasis of the

miracles is on miracles of the heart!

The miracle of salvation, the miracle of a transformed life, and the miracle

of the Spirit of Christ living his life through us moment by moment - day

by day producing in us a life that has no explanation except God.

D. Actually, if you properly understand the Christian life you know that it is not

a difficult life to live, rather it is impossible. The whole Christian life is a

miracle. Every moment of the Christian life is designed to be supernatural

and life changing but not necessarily “externally spectacular.”

E. However, God does not just do internal miracles. Let me tell you about two

different woman here at MVC, who had verified cancer by medical testing.

Sandy – one came and asked the elders to anoint her with oil and pray that

God would heal her. The next time she went back to doctors, they

validated through medical testing that her cancer was gone.

Rose – another woman had the same story but it was during a worship

portion of our service as she was worshipping God that she had a strange

sensation come over her. Next time to the doctor, the cancer was gone.

F. I cannot think of a better way to close than to thank God for the great miracles

he does for us out of his lovingkindness! Read Psalm 136:3-4

View Details

Discipline of Solitude and Silence

March 19, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. I will never forget the first time that I experienced solitude and

silence at the same time. It was before I knew Jesus Christ.

I was about 18 years old. It was not an intentional time to be

alone and in quiet but a time that came because of a broken

radio.

a. There were many times before this that I was alone but I

always had some kind of noise around me, the radio, TV,

some kind of music.

b. However, one day I had to drive up to Michigan, which was

about a three and a half hour trip. When I got into the car,

my radio did not work. I remember that about the time I

crossed the Michigan border on interstate 94, for the first

time I recognized that while my car was quiet at the same

time there was much noise going on in my head, and for the

first time in my life I came face to face with my own

thoughts.

c. It was frightening to me because my thoughts were shocking

to me. It became a very disturbing and uncomfortable trip!

To be honest with you, until that day I was totally out of touch

with my heart and I did not know the truth about what was

going on deep within my heart because it was always buried

under busyness and noise! And it was not pretty!

B. I love the passage in Psalm 51:6 that God desires truth in the

innermost being.

This is a psalm where David is confessing his sin. Read psalm

51:5-8

We will never find joy and gladness only with external

conformity but must have a clean heart filled with and

controlled by truth!

Many have the truths of this book in their heads but there is a

big disconnect between what is in their heads and what is in

their hearts.

C. I remember many years ago that I was deeply troubled about some

lies that were spreading around about me that could destroy my

reputation as a pastor.

A group of leaders got together to pray for me and I remember

Pastor Bill Mills prayer as it was clearly from the Lord for

me. He said this “God, I am not so concerned about the lies

going around about Pat, I am more concerned about the lies in

his heart that he is believing”

Wow – did he hit it. The guy with a degree from Moody Bible

Institute, Dallas Seminary and preaching every week where

truth was filling my mind and coming out of my mouth but in

my heart there was a bundle of lies about myself and God that

were not consistent with God or his word.

I love what Psalm 15:1-2. Read

D. Frankly, this is my concern. I think that there are many good

biblical Christians here today whose lives are so busy, so full of

demands and responsibilities, so full of noise that they have never

come face to face with their own hearts before God.

• I want to speak to you today about two practices that can help us get

in touch with our hearts and ultimately with the Lord at a deeper level

than we have ever known before. The practices are called

II. Solitude and silence

A. Solitude simply means being alone and silence means quiet.

B. They can each be done individually by themselves but are best

done and most powerful when done together

Often they can become watershed moments where there is a

turning point in the course of our whole lives!

That happened to me a number of years ago when I was leaving

for work and I slipped on some black ice – did a 180 degree and

came straight down on my back. That hurt!

a. I was home laid up in my bed for a week and I prayed, “God,

if I have to go through all this pain please use it somehow.”

b. I decided that week to read while in bed – “Hudson Taylor’s

Spiritual Secret” and God met me powerfully and changed

my life from that time on!

He showed me for the first time not just in my head but

to see it with the eyes of my heart that Jesus lives in me

and is my life. And that the Christian life is not about me

living for Jesus but rather Jesus living in and through and

for me!

Trust me it is life changing when the truth of Christ

living in you moves from your head to your heart and

you realize that the resurrected and powerful God, the

spirit of Jesus is living inside of you to be with you every

step of your life!

C. We see some examples of life changing times like this in the

Scripture:

Hagar alone at a spring in the wilderness when God met her and

gave her direction for her future and spoke to her about the

future of her unborn son Ishmael (Genesis 16:6-16)

Jacob alone wrestling all night with God where God gave him a

new name and blessed him. (Genesis 32:24ff)

Moses at the burning bush where God gave Moses the mission

of bringing God’s people out of Egypt and promised to be with

him in that mission. (Exodus 3:1ff)

Elijah in the cave when he heard the voice of God speaking to

him in the sound of the gentle blowing (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Jonah watching Nineveh from afar and God confronting him

about his sin (Jonah 4)

Paul spent 3 years alone in Arabia after he was saved where

God personally taught him about the gospel and the implications

of Jesus Christ.

D. Definitions

• in solitude – seeking aloneness, in a place free of distractions

for the sake of reflection and communion with God along

with personal refreshment

• in silence – creating an atmosphere of quiet in a place free of

noise and the constant barrage of stimulation in order to

listen to God and reflect on spiritual matters and your life

E. Some of their values:

To break in our hearts and life the stronghold of busyness and

the need to achieve;

To gain a better perspective as to how the world and man’s

opinions has gripped your heart

To get in touch with the deepest needs and thoughts of one’s

own heart

To be alone with God to get in touch with God and hear the

prompting of the Spirit.

E. Here is a quote that inspires me that this practice is well worth the

time and effort:

• “Slowing down to hear God as you make decisions, will keep

you from spending years of your life painfully repairing the

damage of mistakes.” Jimmy Evans

III. Interview with Ava Perry

A. Ava, you have been trying to practice solitude and silence

recently.

Could you each tell us what your time of solitude and silence

looks like and how it contrasts with your normal life?

When you first enter this time how did your heart respond and

how long was it before your heart settled down?

What was the biggest benefit you received from this

experience?

What would you tell others who have never done this before?

III. Application

B. This can be as simple as taking your lunch break to taking a whole

afternoon away at a place like Lake Kathrine to be alone with God

to talk to him in prayer and meditate on his word and just reflect

about your heart and life!

C. John 10:10 says this

Jesus came to give us an abundant life, a life that was

overflowing and fulfilling.

Solitude and silence is a great practice by which we can shake

off the effects of all that the world and other people put on us

and take hold of the eternal abundant life from Jesus, which is

life indeed.

View Details

The Shepherd

Ephesians 4:11 March 12, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. Many of you do not know that Gary and I go way back and have

followed each other around for years.

I first met Gary here at MVC years ago as we both just attended

here, Gary was a newly married man working at the steel mills

and I was a single who started attending here after the military

While going to Moody I became the custodian here at

MVC. When I left for seminary, Gary took my place as

custodian as he was going to Moody.

As Gary worked here, they recognized in Gary pastoral gifts and

invited him onto the staff of MVC.

About the time, I graduated from seminary Gary was feeling led

to take on a senior pastorate out in Montana and moved out

there. I was invited to come back and take Gary’s position as a

pastor at MVC

When Pastor Bill retired from being the senior pastor at MVC,

he recommended me as his replacement and my first move was

to bring Gary Olson on the staff to take over my position, which

was his original position as the shepherding pastor.

Now Gary is retiring and I will be following him in that!

B. Gary has had an office next door to mine for literally decades here

at MVC. Because I know him so well and have seen him in action

I have had a nickname for him that I have called him for years – it

is “parexcelant”

Parexcelant is a use in Greek grammar of the definite article

“the”. It stands for a special class where they stand alone, a

one of a kind of thing or person!

Well, Gary is the pastor par excellent – as a pastor he stands

alone in a class of his own, a one of a kind of pastor!

Pastor Gary stands at the door every Sunday looking for new

people or someone who looks like they are in need and asks,

“How is life in your world today?”

Actually he does that all week with staff members, people who

come into the church and people within the congregation who

are hurting in some way or have been gone for a while whom

Gary contacts and pours out the love of Jesus upon them in

various different ways.

• Now that we know what par excellent means

II. What does pastor mean?

A. Actually, the English word pastor only shows up one time in

Scripture and that is in Ephesians 4:11. Turn and read 11

This is a group of special leaders that God has given to the

church, pastor-teacher

According to this passage, this will be hard for you to accept

Gary but I think the rest of us see it.

a. Listen – read v8, 11 – he gave

b. Gary you have been a gift to MVC and me from Jesus Christ

in the way you have pastored us!

B. This same Greek word is used in other portions of Scripture and

gives us a different window to understand the work of a pastor.

Turn to John 10:11 – this is the exact same Greek word as

Ephesians 4:11 – read

Could be read like this, “I am the good pastor/shepherd, the

good pastor/shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Jesus is not only a pastor/shepherd parexcelant – he is the

parexcelant shepherd/pastor in a class of his own, a one of a

kind of shepherd/pastor! Read

C. The word pastor and shepherd are the same word in the Greek!

Shepherd is a figure of speech that is an image taken from the

world of caring for sheep to communicate a similar truth in the

world of God’s people, God’s flock!

When we look at the work of a shepherd as revealed in

Scripture we understand the work of a pastor!

I could take you to many many verses but let me summarize

some of what the Scripture says about a shepherd.

a. They seek out and bring back the sheep who have wandered

away

b. They tend to the needs of the flock, especially the hurting

and weak

c. They feed the flock so they will stay healthy

d. They lead the flock, especially with God’s word and God’s

heart

e. They protect and deliver the flock from danger.

I could tell you story after story of the way that Gary has done

each of these at MVC for the people of MVC.

D. So now that we know what a pastor is the big question is how do

we move on without pastor/shepherd/care-taker who has gently

cared for and led the people at MVC?

You can have the best preaching, best worship, the best vision –

mission and strategy and the best programs, but if you do not

feel like someone cares for you, you will eventually be gone.

As the old saying goes – people do not care how much you

know, until they know how much you care.”

• So …. I want to suggest three ways

III. How does MVC replace someone like Gary Olson

A. While we cannot replace the person of Gary, we can replace the

work Gary did as a shepherd by caring for one another.

B. First, by the elders along with the staff, because staff have many of

the same responsibilities and duties as elders,– living out the

following passages:

Passages - read 1 Peter 5:1-4
It is one of those times, you do not replace what one person

does with another person but you need to get a number of

people to do it.

Elders and staff – that is a responsibility that God has given us

in his Word.

C. One anothers –

That phrase that the New Testament uses to teach us the

responsibilities that we have towards one another in the body of

Christ. When you study it, you find that the bulk of it has to do

with shepherding and caring for one another.

a. Things like: being devoted to, subject to, teaching,

encouraging, admonishing, greeting, being hospitable

(loving strangers not entertaining our friends), accepting,

stimulating to good deeds, bearing with, serving, loving and

confessing your sins to.

b. These are all ways we are to relate to one another and if we

took on these responsibilities seriously, we would be well

shepherded as a body.

One of the best ways that can be done is by joining small groups

where we get to know others and have opportunities to care for

one another like that.

But not only small groups – if we are only friends loving friends

then we will fall short of what the Scripture is calling us

to! Each one of us needs to take on the responsibility of seeing

someone we do not know or who looks like they are hurting and

say, “How is life in your world today?”

D. Finally, every one of us needs to learn to rely upon the Chief

Shepherd to guard and shepherd our own souls!

Read 1 Peter 2:25
The spirit of Jesus works deep within us watching over our

souls, which are prone to wander and guarding us in deep war

within where our flesh desires war within our souls.

E. When a church’s leaders pastor/shepherd/care for their people like

that, and the people pastor/shepherd/care for one another like that,

and all of us learn to let Jesus pastor/shepherd/care for us in the

deepest core of our being then even people like Pastor Gary say I

want to be pastored/shepherded/cared for by a church like that!

View Details

Devotional Life/Quiet Time

Various passages March 5, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. What I am going to talk about today is a practice that Jesus did that

I think is the one practice of Jesus that most of us already do!

So my goal today is not to teach something that is new to you

but hopefully be able to add some new dimension or tweak it

just a little bit so you can excel still the more at it

Simply raising water temperature a single degree means the

difference between just having hot water and creating energy.

At 211 degrees, water is hot. At 212 degrees, it boils and you

can generate enough force to power a train, a ship or a large

machine.

Thus I have made one of my life values this “to excel still the

more” to take something I already have and make it even better

B. So today I want to talk about our devotional lives, many call it our

quiet time, where we set apart time on a daily or regular basis to

spend time with God.

My hope is to maybe help you find that one-degree

improvement or a new and different aspect of it that can move it

from being something good to something that boils and

produces the energy of the Holy Spirit in your life.

C. For years, I had time set aside to do my quiet time with God where,

if I was honest, it fell way short of what I believe God desires of us

and what we learned last week is the purpose of these practices!

Remember last week we learned that the purpose of these

spiritual disciplines is an intentional wholehearted seeking after

God where we connect with him resulting in a transformation

that makes us more godly!

That is not what happened with me.

a. Instead, I spent time studying God’s word, getting to know

the text better and more accurately but never coming a bit

closer to God or meeting God through his word.

b. Instead of talking to God through prayer, I said my list of

prayers for others, the church and myself.

c. Instead of worshipping God, I was singing or listening to

Christian songs without my heart engaging and my mindelevating

God, telling him how true those words are about

him!

So it is possible to have a quiet time where I get the text right,

say my prayers and sing or listen to Christian music and never

connect with God in a way that I am transformed in the core of

my being by his glory and his Spirit!

D. We learned last week that Sabbath is a day or a few hours a week

where we stop everything, we are doing to connect with God and

ourselves in a way that we can reorient our entire life around

God.

That is a major gift that God has given to us to address the

stronghold that busyness and hurry has on our lives.

In the same way, a quiet time is a daily time where we stop to

connect with God to reorient our upcoming day around him and

to be recharged by his Holy Spirit.

• So to start we need to know that this was a practice that Jesus did that

would be to our benefit to imitate.

II. Jesus’ quiet time

A. Turn to Mark 1

Context –

a. Jesus had just finished a very full day of ministry – he taught

in the synagogue in the morning, after church, so to say, he

cast a demon out of a man. As a result of this, immediately

news about Jesus was spreading everywhere around there

b. Then he went to Simon’s house for lunch, he healed Simon’s

mother in law of a severe fever.

c. When evening came, they described it as the whole city had

gathered at his door bringing those who were sick and

demon possessed. Jesus healed many of the sick and cast

out many of the demons.

Now we come to the passage I want to read – Read v35-38

a. Now the way I would have responded is look at the golden

opportunity God had given us with everyone looking for

me. Revival has broken out; we need to take advantage of

this while God is moving. Or they would have found me

still asleep in my bed from being so tired from a long day of

ministry the day before

b. But Jesus – reread v35.

B. Turn to Luke 5:15-16

Context – this is another time where Jesus had healed a leper

and news was spreading about him.

Read v15-16
As demands and opportunities grew, Jesus’ response was often

to slip away into the wilderness to pray.

C. We even see in Israel a similar pattern

Read Exodus 33:7
Slip away from the busyness and hurry of everyday life to be

alone with God!

D. Four foundational principles to a devotional life

Often or regularly
Busyness, hurry, opportunities and things to do should not stop

us from doing this!

A place that is secluded (free of distractions) from others and

the busyness and hurry of life.

Do it to seek God.

• So with the time I have left I want to share with you

III. How I do and recommend others quiet times!

A. The goal: to enter the presence of God without any agenda except

to build my relationship with him and enjoy him. I want to listen to him,

seek after his agenda for my life, share my heart with him and worship

him

B. The method is one that Martin Luther, the great reformer,

used. We learn of his method in a letter that he wrote to his barber

when his barber asked him how he prayed. His prayer life was built

around praying through the Scripture. I call his method WAR

C. So the first thing Martin would do is capture the heart of the

text. Before you pray through a passage, you need to know what it

is saying.

So here is the process I recommend you do before you war through

the passage.

Capture the heart/big idea of this passage

a. Open with prayer – Psalm 119:18

b. Read and reread the passage.

c. Watch for key turns points in passages with conjunctions

d. Ask these two key questions

• what is he talking about – subject

• what is he saying about what he is talking about –

complement

e. Summarize the heart/big idea of the passage in your own

words.

Anything your heart is drawn to in this passage.
What is God speaking to you about your life from this

passage?

What are you going to do about what God is speaking to you

about?

D. Next WAR/pray through the passage

Worship, praise, and thank God from things in the text about

him and what he has done.

Admit/confess sin in your life that is inconsistent with the text.
Request/petition/ask God to do things for you in light of the

text.

IV. Communion

A. Communion is all about remembering Jesus and his death for us.

In preparation for communion today, I want you to turn to

Romans 5:6-9.

Listen as I read this.

B. What I want you to do to prepare for communion today is to WAR

through this passage. So in light of this passage

Worship, praise and thank God
Admit/confess sin in your life (ways of thinking, attitudes, and

actions, inconsistent with God’s love for you)

Request/petition/ask God to do (in your life in light of his

amazing love for you)

View Details

How to Attain the Unhurried Life

Passage February 26, 2023 1189, 1330, 1735, 2210

I. Introduction:

A. As many of you know, I am a very slow walker because of a

physical limitation that I have. My wife Kimberly, on the other

hand, is a much faster walker than I am.

When we walk together almost every time, we start enjoying

being together and talking but as time goes on Kim gets further

and further ahead of me because her natural walking pace is

about double mine.

a. Often she does not even recognize the distance between us

so I holler out to Kim, “If you want to walk with me Baby,

you need to slow down.”

You need to know that God is a slow walker! No one has ever

referred to our relationship with God as running or speed

walking with God but walking with God. If we want to walk

with God then we need to walk at his pace.

B. But we live in a culture and have been squeezed into its mold

where we are driven by busyness and hurry. We have thousands of

voices and ideas coming at us every day so, our interior life, our

soul, it not only runs out of control but also it is very noisy on the

inside.

As we learned a few weeks ago - in that condition, it is very

very hard for us to hear and discern the still small voice of God,

a God who walks slowly and speaks softly.

C. Sabbath is one way that God has given to us by which we can learn

to slow down to walk with God at his pace by stopping from all our

work, resting, delighting and worshipping him. But it is not the

only way.

One of the premises of this series is that we not only learn and

experience God by learning and following his teachings; but

also by learning and following his lifestyle, his walk. Doing

the things Jesus did, practicing the things Jesus practiced,

making habits in our life of the things of which Jesus made

habits. Many people call these spiritual disciplines.

In our small groups we are learning about and practicing one of

them, Sabbath.

In this series, we want to give that some larger context and learn

a few other key practices that will help us live an unhurried life!

• So today, I simply want to answer two questions: what is a spiritual

discipline/spiritual practice and why do we do them. First…

II. What is a spiritual discipline

A. Turn to 1 Timothy 4:7. Read.

The word discipline in the Greek is an “active present verb.” –

a. The “active voice” of this verb indicates that this is an action

that we actually do ourselves

b. The “present tense” indicates that the action we do is to

happen continuously or repeatedly so as to become a habit.

The word discipline simply means to train, which means to

make oneself prepared for something by repeated exercise or

practice.

B. There is a big difference between trying to do something and

training to do something.

How many of you, who have never trained for a marathon,

believe that you can get up tomorrow morning and run a

marathon?

a. I could “try” tomorrow, but I clearly will either fail or die

trying because I am in no way prepared to run a marathon

because I have not been training for it.

b. However, if we were to take the next year with a plan and

making space in our lives to train for a marathon, our

chances would be much greater.

Dallas Willard said, “Training has to do with arranging my life

around those activities that will enable me to do what I cannot

now do by direct effort.”

My very first Greek class my professor, John Best said this.

“That which you wish to do with ease you must first do with

diligence.”

C. So this is my definition of a “spiritual” discipline –

PBP - arranging my life around practices that allow me to

connect with God in order to experience God’s transforming

grace by his Spirit. Repeat

• So that answers our first question – what is a spiritual discipline. The

second question is

III. Why do we do them?

A. Look at what he says right here in 1 Timothy 4:7b-8. Read

Discipline yourself for “godliness” or another way to say it is

repeatedly practice disciplines that will make you godly.

Many of us will invest all kinds of time and energy into

disciplining ourselves for our physical lives, but little to none in

our spiritual lives.

a. Bodily discipline is only of a little profit but disciplining

ourselves for godliness is profitable for all things since it

holds a promise for both this life and the one to come.

B. Daniel pictures for us the goal of every discipline. Listen to Daniel

9:3

So disciplines are ultimately a way to seek after God with all of

our hearts!

Listen to what God promises to those who do so

a. Read Jeremiah 29:13

b. He promises we will find him when we seek after him in that

way!

As we saw a few weeks ago that when we find him and behold

the glory of God we are transformed by his Spirit more and

more into his image from one degree of glory to the next!

C. When we connect with God through these practices and disciplines

that help us pull away from hurry and busyness – things like - a

quiet time on a regular basis, or a Sabbath day once a week, or a

time of solitude or silence, etc. it is ultimately so we can reorient

our entire lives around him and live the rest of our lives in light of

that.

The Bible is very clear that God’s desire for our lives is not to

have special times carved out in our schedules for him but rather

wants to be at the center of our entire lives, all the time, in all

we do.

D. We think of the Christian life like a pie rather than a hub.

We cut a pie up into eight different pieces, which do not touch

or impact the other pieces. – so we give Jesus a slice of time in

the morning for a quiet time but it does not impact the rest of

the day, or we give him a day a week in Sabbath, but it does not

impact the rest of the week. Image

But a hub, like the hub at the center of a bike tire, is at the

center of everything, impacts everything else and holds it all

together. If that hub is removed for just a moment, the entire

wheel falls apart. Image

E. Mark Buchanan wrote a wonderful book on the Sabbath called The

Rest of God – Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath. I want

to read just a few things he says about this as it has been very

helpful to give me perspective

Most of us live afraid that we're almost out of time. We are not

short of days; we just need to number them a right.

Sabbath keeping is more than time management. It is a fresh

orientation to time, where we think with holy imagination about

how the arc of our moments and hours and days intersect with

eternity.

The Swahili word for white man is mazungu. It literally means

one who spins around.

a. That's how east Africans see westerners - turning ourselves

dizzy; a great amount of motion without direction; we are

people going round and round aimlessly –

b. Sabbath time invites us to stop turning round and round. It

invites us to remember who we really are. It is the necessary

groundwork for reflecting well our lives

F. This last fall, as Kim and I met with a man named Doug Slaybaugh

to talk about our future one thing he talked about were things that

refresh and renew us. We were talking about Sabbath when he

asked to me “When do you plan to start that?”

This is what I said, “I do not have time to do Sabbath right now,

my plan is to start when I retire.”

a. My thoughts were I will just drag on with this deep tiredness

and out of control heart until I have more time and energy to

do something about it

b. As the words were coming out of my mouth I felt the

foolishness of what I was saying as the Holy Spirit

whispered into my heart “the very reason I created Sabbath

was to be a gift of rest and refreshment in the midst of your

work”

G. The very first week back, on Friday I have begun to do

Sabbath. Put my phone away, do no church or sermon work and

not even work projects around the house. Rather a time to refresh,

renew, delight, workout, and reconnect with the Lord.

This has been the effect on me after four months. My schedule

and demands have not changed, actually in many ways they

have grown.

But, I can honestly say that in the midst of my demands and

busyness I do not feel as tired, I do not feel like my heart is

spinning out of control, I do not feel overwhelmed but instead I

have a deeply composed and joyful singing heart.

H. Let me ask you – are you too busy and have too many things to do

that you cannot take advantage of the gift that God gave to his

people – the gift of Sabbath a time to stop and rest, refocus and

reconnect, and delight!

A gift that not only impacts one day of your week but a gift the

transforms the way you live your live 24/7, 365!

No, it is not a command, it is not a law for us – it is just a gift

that God created for his people. As Jesus said, “the Sabbath was

created for man and not man for the Sabbath”

It’s a matter of wisdom! It is a matter of composure! It is a

matter of joy! It is a first step toward reorienting your entire life

around Jesus as the hub or your life rather than just as the one

who gets a slice of your life!

View Details

The Benefit of an Unhurried Life

2 Corinthians 3:12-18 February 12, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. Have you ever been in a hurry? Have you ever been busy? Hurry

and busyness go hand in hand. The busier we are the more our

heart spins out of control.

We know the internal feeling that goes with that as our insides

feel they are on steroids and it is hard to slow it down even

when our external activities stop.

This hurry and busyness becomes our “go to” excuse for not

meeting with the Lord or when we do meet with him, it is the

reason for a distracted time with him.

At times like that we are playing right into the hand of Satan.

Listen to 2 Corinthians 11:3

B. Today begins a series that is going hand and hand with the Sabbath

small groups we are doing as a church. We are calling it the

unhurried life as we attempt as a church and people to get back to

the simple and pure devotion to Jesus Christ!

Sabbath is all about stopping and resting from all the hurry and

busyness in our lives to refocus our hearts upon God and

reorient our lives around God!

The goal of this series is to break the addiction to hurry and

busyness and reconnect in a significant way with Jesus Christ –

our source from whom comes real life, abundant life, life

indeed!

Sabbath is only one practice for connecting with God that as we

will talk about a few others during this series!

C. Hurry and busyness have been hard wired into the world system we

live in. Listen to what a few others have said about it!

Alan Fadling, in his book An Unhurried Life, said “hurry is not

a disordered schedule but a disordered heart.” and “to walk with

God you must go at a walking pace…when I am most hurried, I

run past much of what God wants to show me, give me and lead

me into”

John Mark Comer, in his book The Ruthless Elimination of

Hurry, said, “hurry and love are incompatible … love is

painfully time consuming”

Corrie ten Boom said, “If the Devil can't make you sin, he'll

make you busy because both sin and business have the exact

same effect -- they cut you off from your connection to God, to

other people, and even to your own soul.”

John Ortberg said, “For many of us the great danger is not that

we will renounce our faith, but it is that we will become so

distracted, rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a

mediocre version of it.”

Let me add another danger that I have been guilty of. It is this

– equating busyness with significance.

a. I have to be busy and let others know how busy I am so that

both they and myself will think that I am important and

making an impact on the world!

b. I have especially wrestled with that as I face retirement.

c. For me I have seen the need for significance through

busyness as a sickness of my soul that God needs to deliver

me from!

• There are many benefits that come from slowing down our activities

and hearts but one of the greatest benefits is transformation at the core

of our being, a change that comes from the Spirit of God and last

forever! Turn to

II. 2 Corinthians 3

A. Let’s set up the context quickly

In 2 Corinthians 3, after talking about God having made us

adequate as servants of the new covenant, then he draws a

contrast between the glory of the old covenant and the glory of

the new covenant.

a. He teaches them that the glory of the new covenant “far

surpasses” the glory of the old covenant, the Law of Moses.

Then he moves to the story of God showing Moses his glory up

on the mountain but when Moses came down his face shone

because he was speaking with God.

a. So in a sense Moses beholding the glory of the Lord caused

him to get a tan on his face made by the radiance of the glory

of God.

b. But Moses put a veil over his face so the people would not

see the fading of glory of God on his face.

c. Then when he went back into the presence of God, his face

again would be tanned by the radiance of the glory!

Then in verses 14 -17 he says Israel still has a veil, which

prevents them from seeing and understanding, the glory of God

as revealed in his word.

Read v16-17

B. Now “we” come to the passage that relates to us today v18. Read

“Unveiled face” because we know Jesus that veil has been

removed from over our hearts so we come with an unveiled face

to behold the glory of God.

“Beholding as in a mirror” the glory of the Lord

a. People debate over the meaning of this

The context just before talks about looking into God’s

word would cause us to lean towards seeing God’s glory

in his Word as we read it.

But the tense of the Greek word would lean towards

reflecting something like a mirror reflects an

image. Much like Moses reflected God’s glory to those

around him.

b. Pat Peglow’s unique interpretation of this verse – as we

behold the glory of God, see him in his Word, our life is

tanned by the radiance of that glory and we reflect his glory

to others around us.

Then note what he says in v18c-d, read

a. With us rather than God’s glory fading away after we meet

with him, we are transformed by his glory!

b. Instead of fading it even increases all the more from one

degree of glory to the next.

c. All of this is from the Spirit of God

C. This is a very inspiring passage about the benefits of us meeting

with the Lord, and there are various different ways we can meet

with him and get a glimpse of his glory.

In other words, there are many different ways we can put

ourselves in a place where the Spirit of God can transform us.

Again, Sabbath is one of those but we will share in this series a

few others as well.

• So stopping to meet with God does amazing things within us that

impacts others around us as they see the glory of God reflected in our

lives! So in closing I want to tell you

III. My story

A. When I first came in touch with the impact that hurry and busyness

had upon my life it was many years ago but a lesson that has stayed

with me.

It was on a 10-day missions trip to Montana where two vans full

of people from MVC went out to help the Hunters in their

ministry to Indians.

a. So I was pulled out of normal life for two weeks while my

insides were running, noisy and shaking from the impact of

all the hurry and busyness in my life. Illustrate with my

body

I was a young pastor with a young family and was probably at

the height of busyness in my life with pastoral, parental and

marriage responsibilities.

On the first day there, Jim Hunter took Vince Galante and me

up into the mountains that were full of these trees and there was

a breeze blowing through them.

a. Jim said, “Do you hear that?” I said, “Hear what?” He said,

“The whistle from the breeze.” I could not hear it. I really

did try hard to hear it but nothing!

After ten days of being out in the middle of nowhere, where life

slowed down to a crawl Jim took us up to the same place again

before we left.

a. This time with a slowed down and quiet heart I heard the

whistle of the breeze immediately and clearly

The only difference this time was the condition of my

heart. Slowed and quieted it allowed me to hear the still small

whistle of the breeze in the mountains. Illustrate with my body

1. I had to step outside of the hurried and busy life I was

living and slow down to see just how out of sorts and unhealthy

my heart was.

B. A slowed down heart will allow us to hear the still small voice of

the Spirit of God when we meet with Jesus.

A hurried and busy heart will never be in a place to hear the still

small voice of God on a regular basis.

Instead, he will need to hit us with a sledgehammer for us to

slow down to hear him.

C. Join us as we not only study this during this series but I trust as we

practice it we will experience deep connection with Jesus and

transformation for our own hearts!

D. Josh …

View Details

Love One Another

John 15: 9-13 January 22, 2023

I. Introduction:

A. Jesus said some very radical things at times where you might

wonder did Jesus really say that. Did he really mean that?

What we are going to look at today could fit in that category

because the truth is so mind blowing you cannot help but say

“really?”

B. We are jump starting this year with a three-week series regarding

the new discipleship paradigm we are using at MVC. Pastor Mike

spoke of that last week as our three key lenses for looking at

discipleship is Be, Become, Do

Be with Jesus
Become like Jesus
Do what Jesus did

• This morning’s message we will see two of those lenses – being and

doing. Turn in your Bibles to John 15:9 where we find this truth ….

II. Being

A. Read John 15:9 –

Did you catch that?

a. In the exact same way that the Father loves Jesus, is the way

that Jesus loves us!

The words “just as” is a marker of similarity, comparison,

something being in accordance with something else,

a. Here the similarity, the comparison is in the area of

love. Jesus’ love for us as being in accordance with the

same love that the Father has for him!

b. In other words, Jesus loves each one of us in the same way

and with the same love with which the Father loves him.

c. So the kind of love which the Trinity shares with each other

is the same kind of love that Jesus shares with us!

Turn to John 17:26 where we see a very similar idea

expressed. Read.

a. The love with which the Father loved Jesus would be in us

as well.

b. So not only would we experience that Trinitarian love but

we would also express it back to Jesus!

As mind blowing as that is, and no matter how bad you feel

about yourself and what you think about God’s love for

you. This is how much Jesus loves you and me!

B. But the passage and truth does not stop there. Read 15:9c-10

This is the being part of the passage as we see we are to abide,

remain in Jesus love.

Abide means to remain. He is actually commanding us to stay

within the realm of his love. Do not step outside of that but stay

there and bask in it! Be in Jesus’ love

Then he tells us that the way we remain in his love is the same

way that he remains within the Father’s love – by walking in

obedience to Jesus’ commands.

C. So there is the catch – Jesus only loves me if I walk in obedience

and I have fallen way short of that. No!!

Note Jesus has already told us that he loves us in the same way

the Father loves him – that love precedes my obedience or

disobedience.

So while God’s love for us is not dependent upon our behavior

or obedience, the ongoing enjoyment of that love is dependent

upon our obedience. Read v11.

How many of you have been to Niagara Falls before? God’s

love is like the falls - his extravagant love lavished upon us

a. But as we move away from the Falls to the parking lot and

drive away we are no longer under the influence of that

splash or mist.

b. There are only two ways to walk away from experiencing

the joy of God’s love being lavished on us.

Rather than remaining in it, staying there and enjoying

Jesus’ love we try to earn it.

The other is blatant disobedience.

a. A little stumble or mistake or the growing pains of a

Christian learning to walk with Jesus is not what he

is referring to here.

b. But rather an intentional turning my back on and

walking away from him in disobedience.

i. Then guilt and shame take over rather than the

enjoyment of Jesus’ love for us!

• Next is the doing portion of the passage as Jesus tells us what we are

to do with this amazing love we are to remain within.

III. Do

A. Jesus takes this teaching a step further in the next verse. Listen

Read v 12
This special kind of love is not just something that is between

me and Jesus but actually is supposed to spread to one another.

a. The exact same kind of love with which the Father loves

Jesus, is the exact kind of love with which Jesus loves us and

is the exact kind of love with which we are to love one

another in the body of Christ.

b. This amazing kind of love starts with the Father to Jesus and

from Jesus to us and from us to one another!

B. We see this same truth earlier when Jesus was speaking to

them. Read John 13:34

The newness of the command is not to love one another that

they had heard before.

The newness of the command is the standard that Jesus attaches

to that love – love one another just as, in the same way that I

love you!

C. Then he finally explains what this love looks like.

Read v13
This love is a sacrificial love. A love that cost you personally in

order for you to bless/benefit someone else

Just like it cost the Father the sacrifice of his own Son to love us

it will cost us the sacrifice of something precious to us to love

each other in the same way that God loved Jesus and Jesus loves

us!!!!

D. So this whole section could be summarized like this “Jesus loves us

the same way the Father loves him thus we should love each other

like that as well!”

• So what do we do with all of this?

IV. Application

A. If you are struggling personally with enjoying God’s love for you –

you need to know that the ability to experience and enjoy this kind

of love is a work of the Holy Spirit deep within one’s heart which

comes about in the context of prayer.

Read Ephesians 3:14-19.
If you are personally struggling with experiencing God’s love at

the core of your being more than trying to figure it out, counsel

it out or even study it out begin to pray about the Holy Spirit

doing this supernatural work in your life.

Romans 5:5 tells us it is the Holy Spirit who pours out within

our hearts the very love that God has for us! Romans 5:5

B. This is a very high standard regarding the way we love one another

– the same way he loved us. That bar is set too high for me and I

have failed at that many times.

The capability to love like that does not come from me but it is

within me. Maybe better said than “it” is within me – “he” is

within me – the Spirit of Jesus expresses his very love through

me to others!

It is Christ living in me. It is Jesus expressing his love through

me. Read Galatians 2:20

So what I do is walk moment by moment not trying hard to love

like Jesus did but rather trusting and depending upon the one

who lives in me to express that through me.

C. A special word for MVC regarding loving others – Paul tells the

church in 1 Thessalonians 4:10 that they are loving one another

well but he wanted them to excel still the more in their love! I

believe MVC is doing it well but I also want to encourage us to

excel still the more in our love.

Often I hear people tell me what a welcoming and friendly place

MVC is. I think it is true! But there is a big difference

between a church that is friendly and good at loving our friends

and one where people can actually make friends that they can

build relationships with and loving those who are outside our

circles (who may have come to MVC for twenty years already)

or are new to MVC in just the last twenty days.

Actually the world can do that as well as we do! Listen to what

Jesus said – read Matthew 5:46-47

Our responsibility to love one another the same way that Jesus

loved us expands beyond just our friends and we need to be

available to love those outside our circles and those new to

MVC in a way that is more than just being friendly.

I can tell you from experience as a pastor who gets to know

those who are outside our clicks and those new to MVC there is

richness that comes to us when we include them in our lives and

circles.

a. Illustration of us being in missionary housing in the Amazon

(those younger not the online shopping link) coming out for

breakfast and Kim wanting to sit with these two older

women. I was too cool for the old ladies.

b. Turned out these two ladies were the ladies that followed

Elizabeth Elliot and Rachel Saint in living with and

ministering to the Acua Indians in Tonampare, Ecuador right

in the middle of the Amazon.

c. It turned out to be the most exciting and interesting breakfast

I ever had in my life as they told us story after story about

living and ministering in that place for decades!

D. Our Sabbath small groups provide an opportunity to learn how to

be with Jesus but a byproduct of that is the opportunity love others

at MVC who are new people to us that desperately long to

experience that love and connect with us; and for us to enrich our

own lives as we meet them!

Josh …

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A New Year, Something New Isaiah 43-16-21 January 1, 2023

Introduction:
1. Transitioning from one year to the next always seems to bring with it new hopes, new dreams, new commitments (that normally last only a few days to weeks).
  1. It’s the one day of the year when we seem to hit the reset button on our lives which clears out all the junk that has piled up over the last year and gives us a fresh new start on the year ahead of us.
  2. That is the way it is for me and I suppose that is the way it is for most of us and it is even true as a church.
2. Few would deny that the last few years has put a lot of clutter in our lives, minds and emotions!
  1. Some people get stuck in that clutter expecting more of the same this coming year.
  2. But God wants his people to look forward not expecting the same old, same old but rather expecting God to do something new, something miraculously new!
3. That was his encouragement to the people of Judah in the book of Isaiah. Now we as a church, after the series People of Promise, are equipped to better understand it.
Turn in your Bible to
Isaiah 43
1. The book was written to the southern kingdom, Judah, to confront them with their sin and call them to repentance so God would bless them.
  1. Because they would not repent God told them of the upcoming captivity in Babylon into which they would go, but he also told them of the blessing they would receive if and when they repent!
2. In the immediate context we get the setting for the passage we want to look at today
  1. Chapter 42 we see:
    1. A people who are unresponsive to God and his Word. Read v18-20
    2. Then we see God is going to give them over to his discipline. Read v24-25a
    3. Finally we see the response of the people even to this discipline that is yet in the future for them.
      1. Read v25b
      2. Even when they are under God’s discipline in Babylon they will not recognize nor pay attention to what God is doing.
  2. In chapter 43 the tone changes:
    1. In v 1-4 – God’s love and presence with them even in difficult times!! Read
    2. Then in v14-15 – God is basically telling Judah that while he will use Babylon to discipline them, there will be a time when God will judges Babylon and they will be captives. Read
3. Now to today’s passage. Remember they are not in Babylon yet, but God is speaking to them about when they will be.
  1. God is reminding them of the way he miraculously delivered them in the past out of Egypt by opening a way for them through the Red Sea and then killed the Egyptian army by the same sea as they pursued Israel. Read v16-17
  2. Now here is God’s word for them as to how to think when they are in Babylon and it is God’s word for us on how we should think moving into 2023.
    1. Read v18-19
    2. Rather than like the last exodus from Egypt with God making a way through the Red Sea, in this future exodus from Babylon he is going to make a way, a roadway through the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give his people water to drink!
So what does this have to do with us?
Application
1. The action item for them in this passage is the same action item for us as we look forward to this year. Read v18-19a
  1. Do not keep thinking about and remembering the things God did in the past for you but rather look for new things God will be doing!
  2. Then watch expectantly for it! Read v19b.
  3. We have to let go of the old things before we can pick up the new ones, not just outwardly but inwardly.
    1. It is a transition into something, not just a transition from something
    2. (Illustrate it with a trapeze performer)
2. This speaks big to me
  1. You have heard me say over the last few years that I am in the fourth quarter of my ministry. Well today starts the two minute drill.
    1. As I told you last year we hope to have a new senior pastor by the end of this year
  2. Now most people retire, to move from what they have to do to provide their livelihood; to do what they love and always wanted to do.
  3. For me it is just the opposite – I am doing what I always loved and wanted to do with people I love.
    1. So for me there has been some grieving and hard to let go of this.
  4. God, through some of his people, has challenged me that I am not retiring but reenlisting into a new way and new focus of serving and living life. I am not moving into retirement but into “life two”
  5. It has reenergized my faith to believe God for something new, something just as exciting, something just as joyful and something just as fulfilling in “life two”
  6. I have been intentional to focus upon God’s future goodness and miraculous working rather than on the past I am leaving behind.
3. How about you?
  1. Maybe for you it is a transition in relationships, work, financial life, your health, inner changes, or season of life or even sovereign acts of God that change the direction of your life
    1. Like high school girl to a college student to a single woman, to your first job, to being a newly married woman, to being a new mother, a mother of junior high and teen, to empty nester, to grandparent to widow.
      1. All of these are times of letting go of the old/past and embracing the new/future by faith.
    2. Look at these opportunities as an invitation from God to embrace the changes, trust and watch for him do something new and miraculous in our lives
4. But in closing I want to challenge you to not set your mind on the golden days of the past and live off the glory and joy of those past blessings from God.
  1. But rather look to God’s future blessings, to do something new, something just as miraculous, something just as fulfilling something just as, if not more so, glorious and joyful to you!
  2. Take just a moment alone and consider what is one thing from your past that God wants you to let go of with your heart and mind and to grab hold of him and not let him go until he brings a new miraculous blessing into your life
  3. Then talk to him about it!

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Love on Display at Christmas 1 John 4:9-10 December 25, 2022

Introduction:

This Christmas we have done a series we have called the rest of the story as we have looked at other reasons Jesus was born other than the one that is most often referred to and that is “Jesus was born to die!”
1. But the statement “Jesus was born to die!” is a very true statement
2. “Jesus was born to die!” in order to forgive our sins, bring us into a relationship with God, and to give us a new and eternal life.
The rest of the story behind that is that God not only loves us but he sooooo loved us!
1. That means God loves you so so much to an extremely high degree!
Turn to 1 John 4:9
God put his love on display
1. As I read this verse, we are going to see that God put his love on display for all of us to see.
  1. We are told over and over again in the Bible that God loves us but he also made it his business to not only tell us he loves us but to show us as well
2. Read v9
  1. God displayed his love by sending Jesus into this world. That is referring to his birth.
Love is one of those vague words that we know it when we see and experience it but it is hard to simply define but in v10 we see
The ingredients of love
1. Just like when we read the ingredients on the side of a food package so we know everything that food is composed of so in v10 we learn what ingredients that make up God’s love. Read
2. The first ingredient is this: God takes the initiative to love us first and does not wait for us to love him before he loves us!
  1. We often call this unconditional love – where God places no conditions on his love. His love is not a response to something we do, but his nature is to love us first.
  2. As 1 John 4:19 says we love, because he first loved us.
3. The second ingredient is this: God sent his Son. – we just saw in v9 that God put his love on display when he sent Jesus to be born into this world
4. The third ingredient is this: read 10c
  1. Simply Jesus was sent into this world to die to satisfy what God required of us because of our sins.
  2. As we saw in v9, this has resulted in life for us! His death was for our benefit!
5. So the three key ingredients of love are:
  1. Taking the initiative, making the first move to love someone else
  2. It cost something – love requires some kind of sacrifice just as it cost God to sacrifice his son.
  3. The third ingredient of love – it benefits someone else.
  4. Repeat those three benefits: initiative, cost, benefit
  5. So my simple definition of love: love takes the initiative, at your own expense to bless someone else!
6. Now listen to what he says: read v11a
  1. God sooooooo loved us. – here we see that God’s love was a love – to a great degree, he loves us sooooo so much because he took the initiative at the great great cost of giving his Son to die for us so that we can be blessed with life
Two applications come out of this
1. First, v11 is using God’s love as an example of how we are to love others!
  1. Read v11b
  2. Will you, this Christmas day or this next week take the initiative, the first step at a personal cost to yourself to bless someone else!
2. Second – read John 3:16
  1. God sooooo loved us in sending his Son and he sooooo loved us in sacrificing his Son for us so that we can live.
  2. This is all he asks of us – to believe, rely, trust, and lean on what Jesus did for you on the cross to give you eternal life.
  3. It is not what we do first but rather he took the initiative at the cost of his own Son to give us the gift of an abundant life now and an eternal life that goes throughout eternity!
  4. If you want to begin the journey of loving God, then begin by responding to his love gift this morning by trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sin and for a brand new and eternal life!

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Expecting a Kingdom Various passages December 18, 2022

Introduction:

This Christmas we are looking at the rest of the story of Christmas as we learn that Jesus came for more reasons than just to die for our sins!
1. Last week we learned that Israel was waiting for a king whom they called “Messiah,” the New Testament calls him the “Christ.” Even getting a bit closer to home with our personal lives, we call him Lord!
2. You cannot have a king without a kingdom
A kingdom is simply made up of a territory or realm, and people over whom a king rules.
1. That means the kingdom of God is simply the territory, the realm and the people over whom Jesus rules as king.
2. Therefore, at the first coming of Christ Israel was not only waiting for a king but a kingdom that he was going to set up as well!
Today I want to try to better understand what the kingdom is turn to Matthew 3
The kingdom is at hand
1. Jesus and John the Baptist both began their preaching with the same message: the “kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
  1. Read Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17.
  2. Jesus and John were saying that the kingdom of heaven was so close to appearing that they could reach out and touch it, they could smell the aroma of it like a fine cooked meal in the next room.
2. It is interesting to note also that neither one of them felt a need to explain just what that kingdom was or what it would be like
  1. That is because when they heard John and Jesus preach about the kingdom of heaven the Jew could not help but think about God’s covenant promises and what the prophets said in the Old Testament.
  2. The one that Daniel 2 would simply summarize as a kingdom that would crush all the other earthly kingdoms! Read Daniel 2:44 (note heaven)
    1. People try to make a distinction between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God –
    2. I think that is reading our current theology into the text rather than letting the text inform our theology!
  3. What they would have known is what we learned in the series of the people of promise and particularly the sixteen promises we summarized for you on the handout we gave you. Review quickly:
    1. Abrahamic
      1. a land forever
      2. innumerable descendants that would be
      3. blessings
      4. in his seed all the nations will be blessed
      5. God will be their God forever
    2. Deuteronic
      1. future repentance of Israel
      2. restoration to the land
      3. regathered from dispersion
      4. nation converted
      5. Israel’s enemies will be judged
      6. nation receive full blessings in the land
    3. Davidic
      1. king forever
      2. kingdom forever
      3. reign forever
    4. New covenant
      1. Spiritual blessings – forgiven, new heart, the Holy Spirit.
      2. Abiding material blessings in the land
This is the nature of the kingdom that John the Baptist and Jesus were offering, this is the kingdom the Jews were looking for but something significant happened in Matthew 12
The kingdom has come upon you
1. Turn to Matthew 12:28. Context is that Jesus had just cast a demon out of a man and the Pharisees said, “He cast out demons by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons.” Listen to Jesus’ response. Read v25-28
  1. No longer is the kingdom at hand but now it has come upon them. Jesus said when he cast out the demon by the Spirit of God, and then the kingdom has come upon you.
  2. The Old Testament taught that during the kingdom the Holy Spirit would be doing extra ordinary works. Right here is one display of that.
2. Listen to Luke 17:20-21 when the Pharisees were questioning Jesus as to when the kingdom of God was coming. Listen to what he said.
  1. Read Luke 17:20-21
  2. The word “in your midst or within you” cannot be referring to the fact the kingdom is residing in their hearts because Jesus was talking to a largely unbelieving group who rejected him!
  3. What Jesus was saying is that the kingdom of God is in your midst. The kingdom of God is standing right here, right now, right in the middle of all of you. The king and the kingdom go hand in hand. Where King Jesus is, the kingdom is.
In the parables Jesus teaches them and us the …
Mysteries of the kingdom
1. Read Matthew 13:10-11
2. A mystery is something that has not been revealed before but now is going to be. New revelation comes in light of the fact that the religious leaders have just rejected and denounced Jesus, their Messiah.
  1. The parables are the mysteries of the kingdom!
  2. Jesus is going to tell them and us something new about the kingdom of God, and it is much different from the kingdom they expected and learned about in the Old Testament.
  3. The parables teach us the nature of God’s kingdom from the time of Israel’s rejection of him as their king until the time he returns to set up his kingdom here on earth, the kingdom they expected from the Old Testament.
3. I will only read a summary of what the parables teach us about the kingdom, as it would take a whole series to understand it all. See passages in the notes!
  1. The parables teach us new features of the kingdom that have been in operation from the rejection of Jesus as Messiah by Israel and will continue until the judgment at the end of this age (Matthew 12:28; 13:30, 39-40, 49). During this time the righteous and wicked will co-exist (Matthew 13:24-30) and Satan himself will be very active (Matthew 13:39). At the end of this age, no one else can enter the kingdom (Matthew 25:10-13) and there will be judgment for the wicked and rewards for the sons of the kingdom at that time. (Matthew13:30, 40-43, 47-50; 20: 1-16; 25:14-30). The kingdom will start very small but powerful and will grow and advance until it surpasses all other kingdoms (13:31-33). But it is a kingdom of supreme importance and value, worth everything a person has (Matthew13:44-46). Because Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah /King, the kingdom is taken away from them and given to a people producing its fruits ( Matthew 21:33-44; Luke 13:28-29) the invitation to this kingdom will now go out beyond the people of Israel to many others (Matthew 22:1-10). People will respond differently to the word of this kingdom (13:18-23), since many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Entrance into this kingdom will not be based upon bloodline or religious heritage but rather upon repentance and belief (Matthew 21:28-32). This kingdom will be an internal invisible powerful spiritual kingdom. It is a kingdom of receiving and giving forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-35). Where Jesus is, the kingdom is, because the king and the kingdom go hand and hand. (Matthew 12:28; Luke 17:20-21). Because no one knows the day or hour when Jesus will return and bring a close to this age, everyone should be prepared, watching, and serving the Master by doing his will until he returns (Matthew 25:1-30)
  2. Jesus told his disciples that his literal earthly kingdom would not be right away but in the future, after the king takes a long journey and they will be rewarded according to their faithfulness during that time. (Luke19:11-27)
  3. Simply stated, the kingdom of God during our time is the rule of God by his Spirit over the hearts and lives of men and women. I believe the visible manifestation of this kingdom during this time that Jesus must be in heaven is the church.
4. In reality, the kingdom has already begun but it is not fully here yet! Theologians call this already but not yet!
  1. The “already” part is the fact that since the kingdom is where the king is and the Spirit of Christ dwells in our hearts right now, then he is king over a group of people who have been born again by the Spirit of God. It is a spiritual kingdom “right now” where Jesus rules as king over his people.
  2. The “not yet” part is the fact that when Jesus returns to earth, he is going to set up a literal earthly, kingdom where he will be king over all the earth from Jerusalem.
Application
1. As believers, we are not just waiting for a kingdom but we are a part of God’s powerful invisible kingdom right now with our King Jesus ruling over his church as its head and over his people as their lord!
2. Here is the reality that we live in. We live in the midst of two kingdoms, each with their own kings – the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan- the god of this world.
3. Each kingdom has its own program/system, ways, pattern, mold, basic principles, standards, philosophy, values, goals, methods, wisdom, viewpoint, loves, and use of its money. etc.
  1. The world puts constant pressure on us to squeeze us into the mold of the world we live in buying into its ways and values
  2. God’s kingdom is seeking to transform us into the mold of Jesus Christ.
  3. Each kingdom is vying/competing for our allegiance to its ways and its king
4. While we are in the world, we are not of the world as God transferred us out of the kingdom of Satan and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son.
  1. Read Colossians 1:12-13
5. Believers – which kingdom are you living by? Which one reflects more of your thinking, values. loves and lifestyle?
  1. This is not about how many Bible studies you go to, how many times you go to church or even how much worship music you listen to!
  2. This is about who really is your king and which kingdom is influencing your life.
6. If you do not know Jesus, today you can transfer your membership from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of Jesus!
  1. Turn and listen to what Jesus said in John 3:3
  2. You must be born again! Born again by the Spirit of God. Read John 3:7-8
  3. Turn to John 1 and listen to what John the apostle said in v11-13
    1. Note what it is not – read 13b
    2. It is by God through faith in Jesus. Read 12b
  4. Simple as ABC and invite

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Jesus the ChristVarious passages December 11, 2022

Introduction:
1. At the time of Jesus birth, every Jew’s hope was wrapped up in the one they called the Messiah, the one who was coming to be a forever king who would reign forever over a forever kingdom.
  1. The New Testament translates that Hebrew word into Greek with the word “Christ” Read John 1:40-41
  2. So simply the Messiah or Christ is synonymous for the King of Israel.
    1. Read Matthew 2:1-4
    2. Show them that “King of the Jews” in v2 is equivalent to “Christ” in v4.
  3. They were waiting and hoping for this Messiah/ Christ/ King because they were under the rule of Rome and they longed for the day when the Christ would come to set them free from Rome and set up God’s kingdom here on earth.
2. When we think of the rest of the story of Christmas, we need to understand that Jesus was not just born to die, but he came to present himself as the King over both Israel and the whole world.
3. Their expectations and hopes were shaped by what they knew about him from the Old Testament – summarize
  1. He would be God himself (Isaiah 5:7; 9:6-7; 24:23; Micah 4:7; Zechariah 14:9,16-17) who would dwell in their midst as a victorious warrior (Zephaniah 3:15-17; Zechariah 2:7-10) judging the nations (Psalm 110:5-6; Isaiah 42:1; 63:1-6; Zechariah 14:1-3,12-15;) and saving Israel so that they dwell in safety forever (Jeremiah 23:5-6; Zechariah 14:11). One from the line of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and the line of David (2 Samuel 7:12-19; Psalm 132:11), who would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and preceded by a messenger who would prepare the way before him (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3;1).
  2. He would enter into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) to be their king forever ( 2 Samuel 7:16; Daniel 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7), over God’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:16; Daniel 2: 44; 7:14 ), ruling over all the world (Psalm 2:4-12; Psalm 110:1-3; Isaiah 2:2-4; Daniel 7:14; Zechariah 9:9-10; 14:9-10) from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-3; 24:23) after he enters through the east gate of the temple to set up his throne there (Ezekiel 43:1-7).
  3. He would be anointed by the Spirit of God to be the King (Isaiah 11:1-5), a priest (1 Samuel 2:35; psalm 110:4) and a prophet like Moses in whose mouth God himself would put his words (Deuteronomy 18:15:18). A prophet who would preach good news to the broken and imprisoned (Isaiah 61:1-2). He would be the good and faithful shepherd who will care for them (Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-16) and supernaturally heal their infirmities (Isaiah 35:4-6).
  4. Therefore, this is what would have been in the mind of a Jew at the coming of Christ based on what they knew from the Old Testament.
Now we need to know that …
Jesus born to be King
1. Before he was born Jesus was King– John tells us in John 12:41 that when Isaiah saw that great vision of the glory of God sitting on the throne in Isaiah 6, that is was Jesus whom he saw.
2. At his birth, the angels announced that Jesus was a king, the Magi affirmed it and King Herod even tried to kill baby Jesus because he knew he was the King of the Jews!
3. The whole book of Matthew was written to prove Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, the King of Israel they were all waiting for.
4. During Jesus’ life he claimed to be the Messiah/ Christ/ King
  1. In Luke 4 - when Jesus began his ministry, he read in the synagogue a passage of Scripture about the Messiah from Isaiah 61. Then he said this, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” They understood clearly that Jesus was proclaiming himself to be the Messiah and the people were so angry they threw him out of the city and tried to kill him
  2. In John 4 – the Samaritan woman said to Jesus “I know that the Messiah is coming and when he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her “I, who speak to you, am he.”
  3. In Matthew 16 when Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus told him that this was a supernatural revelation that the Father opened up to Peter!
  4. At the triumphal entry
    1. Matthew said that it was to fulfill the prophecy of Israel’s king coming to them
    2. The crowds recognized and affirmed him as King as they cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David” and “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.”
  5. In Matthew 26 - we saw that the high priest asked Jesus directly, “Are you the Christ, the Son of God?”
    1. Paraphrased for us that is, “Are you the coming king, are you God himself?”
    2. When Jesus said he was; the high priest accused him of blasphemy and condemned him to death.
  6. In John 18 Pilate asked Jesus directly, “Are you the King of the Jews?” After a little discussion about this, listen to how the conversation closed.
    1. Read John 18:37
    2. So here is the rest of the story of Christmas, Jesus was born to be a king and keeping things in context – that is the truth he came to bear witness of, the truth that he is a king!
5. Finally, when the charges were put above the cross for the reason for his death it said – “the King of the Jews”
  1. The Pharisees wanted it to say, “He said he was” the King of the Jews
  2. But Pilate insisted it stay as the King of the Jews
6. Jesus not only came to present himself as King and we are not only waiting for him to come back to be the king in the millennial kingdom but Jesus always was, is and will be King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords!
So what does that mean for you and me this Christmas
Application
1. Simply a king is the one who has the right to rule, he has the right to direct, order, command. He has the highest rank and superior status over everyone and everything in his kingdom. He is preeminent and has first place over everyone and everything in his kingdom.
  1. It is what we sometimes refer to the lordship of Christ. While our response to him, as Savior is to trust him, our response to him, as Lord is to obey him.
  2. Luke 6:46
2. When we think of a king, we think of King Charles! He is really distant from the details of people’s lives and his decisions make an impact but in a very general way.
  1. So when we think of Jesus as King we often think of him reigning from a distance over the world or for some even in the future when he returns.
  2. But Jesus is an up-close kind of king, who is reigning right now over with the intimate details of his people’s lives!
3. Turn to Colossians 1. Read v16-18
  1. All things created through and for him!
  2. First place in everything!
    1. ESV – preeminent
      1. Web - before all others in importance, having paramount rank
    2. MSG – towering far above everything, everyone!
    3. Amplified explains this as he will stand supreme and be preeminent in everything!
  3. That sounds like a king to me, an up-close king over everyone and every detail of their lives!
4. Implications for you and me this Christmas is that Jesus was not only born to be King over Israel and the whole world in the future but also born to be our King, our Lord who has first place over everything in our lives right now.
5. So does Jesus have first place in everything in your life? Is he ruling and directing your life from the throne of your life, or are you sitting on that throne of your life, ruling and directing your own way?
Let me do a quick check up like your primary care pastor!
Heart
1. Affections – is Jesus truly the top love and delight of your heart or is some local sports team, political party, or reaching some achievement or position, or certain pleasures I have become addicted to, or certain things you want to get?
2. Motives so as to do everything in life to the glory of God,
3. Choices you make consistent with the choices Jesus would make if he were in your shoes – by the way he may not be in your shoes but he is in your heart,
Head
1. Thought life so as to focus upon that which is true and pure,
Tongue
1. Words you speak to others so as to build them up, encourage them and point them to Jesus,
Assets
1. Possessions – am I stewarding everything I have as one who is managing what God really owns or do I treat it as my own, doing whatever I want with it?
2. Money – am I honoring God with the first fruits of my money by giving that to him and am I using all my money under his direction for his glory,
Relationships –
1. Am I connecting deeply with other believers to support one another in our walk with Jesus or am I being influenced primarily by those who do not know God so as to forget that bad company corrupts good morals, etc.
2. Jesus/Christmas - does Jesus have first place this year in your Christmas plans, your family gatherings, your decorations, your gift giving, your music, your conversations with your kids and friends about Christmas?
Let me ask you this –
1. What is that still small voice of the Spirit speaking to your heart this morning?
2. Even more importantly now – what specific thing or things are you going to do in response to what he is speaking to you about?
3. Take a moment to consider those two questions

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The Rest of the Story! The Mystery of the Covenants and Christmas November 27, 2022

Introduction:
1. When I was younger there was a radio commentator named Paul Harvey and he would do a daily radio segment called the rest of the story.
  1. Paul would tell in a very interesting way a little-known historical fact and at the end of the story connect it with a famous person or event
  2. His final words would be, “Now you know the rest of the story!”
2. Well there are some very interesting and important facts that relate to Jesus’ birth that are often overlooked when it comes to Christmas.
  1. Most often, we hear from Christians this simple little phrase connected with Christmas that “Jesus was born to die!”
    1. True, Jesus was born to die for our sins,
  2. But there were other reasons for his birth, reasons that are often overlooked a Christmas and that is the rest of the story we want to talk about this Christmas.
3. The series this Christmas I am calling the rest of the story, the rest of the story about Christmas, the rest of the story about why Jesus was born and some of the other key reasons Jesus was born other than just to die for our sins.
4. Today’s message closes up the series regarding people of promise and opens up Christmas, the rest of the story at the same time.
  1. The knowledge you gained about the covenant promises will help you better understand the rest of the story as to why Jesus was born!
5. In the Davidic covenant, we learned that God was going to send from the line of David, one who would be king forever, reigning forever over a forever kingdom.
  1. This expected king was known as the Messiah, which translated into Greek is Christ.
  2. In Isaiah 9 God tells them that there will be a son born to whom God will give the throne of David and over his kingdom, he will reign from then on and forevermore.
    1. Read Isaiah 9:6-7
    2. This is where the stories of the Bible and the covenants and Christmas intersect with Jesus as the main character of all three!
  3. Right from the very start of the New Testament, they are showing that Jesus is the Messiah by proving through his genealogy that he is the son of David and the son of Abraham – the seed who was promised in both covenants to those two men, the one who would bless all the nations and reign as king forever.
    1. Read Matthew 1:1-2
    2. Thus, we see in 1:16 that Jesus birth is connected with him being the Messiah – the one who was promised to Israel to be their savior and king who would set up a forever kingdom!
  4. So the one question that I have heard the most in this series is “What about the church, what about us believers today, how do we fit in to all of these covenant promises?”
    1. I am encouraged by this question because that means you have followed us well as we have sought to be faithful to what the Bible teaches rather than forcing our times, lives, our applications and our theology on what the Old Testament clearly has taught.
    2. We have learned over the past few months that the covenant promises God made were with Abraham, David and Israel, not with the church, nor with humankind, or with us as individuals!
  5. So what about us – I going to show us today that one of the other reasons for Jesus’ birth was so that you and me, believers today, can participate in God’s covenant program.
I am going to tell you my answer right up front and then show it to you in the Scripture …
The church is heirs of and participates in the covenant promises through Jesus Christ!
1. Let’s start by defining an heir
  1. Many in this room have experienced being an heir.
  2. An heir is someone who inherits something normally from their parents when they die.
    1. Normally they receive their possessions,
    2. But in the case of King Charles recently he not only received possessions but also he inherited rights, privileges and a position from Queen Elizabeth when she died
  3. As believers, we are closer to King Charles as we do not just get possessions yet to come in the future but also rights, privileges, positions and promises in our inheritance!
2. So let’s look at this in the Scripture – turn to Ephesians 2:11
  1. He is speaking to Gentile believers here and recalling their former state to them. As I read I want you to note the five different things that characterized their condition when they were unbelieving Gentiles = non-Jews. Read 11-12.
  2. In verse 13, we see what has happened to them now that they are in Christ! Read v13.
    1. They are no longer are strangers to the covenants but now they have been brought near to the covenants by Christ.
  3. The five things mentioned in v12 that they were far from, four of those they are now near to, but in v14-15 he explained the fifth – being excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. Watch as I read v14-15
  4. This one new man he is talking about is the church. A new commonwealth if you will, a new community, one body in Christ – the body of Christ made up of Jews and Gentiles.
    1. It’s a completely new thing that God does, as Gentiles do not become Jews nor do Jews become Gentiles but they are all unified as a completely new community in Christ.
  5. Chapter 3 expands upon this and shows that they are not only together now as one but they are fully equal in status and privileges.
    1. Read 3:1-5 – what he is saying here is that during the time of the Old Testament God did not reveal to them this truth about the Gentiles that we just saw in chapter 2.
    2. Then he gets very specific –
      1. As I read, recognize that fellow simply means to be of the same group with equal status and rights!
      2. Read v6
    3. Simply Gentile and Jews through Jesus now share together equally as
      1. Heirs – someone who receives the inheritance – the possessions, rights and privileges and promises that are passed to them
      2. Members – that means Jews and Gentiles have equal status in the body of Christ
      3. Partaking in the promise of Jesus the Messiah! – they share in the promise that comes from the Messiah himself.
    4. Turn now to Galatians 3 where we will see essentially the same thing.
      1. Read v13-14 where we will see the death in verse 13 and the inheritance promises in v14
      2. Look down now at v16 and note to whom the Abrahamic promises were made . Read
      3. In v19, we see again that the promise was given to Jesus as well. Read
      4. Now go down to v28 where we will see once again the same truth that both Jews and Gentiles are all one new entity in Jesus Christ. Read v28.
      5. Now here is the big one in v29. Read
        
        Because we belong to Jesus – the seed, we are Abraham’s seed, heirs, recipients of the promise made to Abraham.
        
        Since I am in Christ, then I am in the seed to whom the promises were made thus as Romans 8:17 says I, as a Gentile, am not only a fellow heir with the Jews but with Christ! Read Romans 8:16-17
        
        “I will be their God” PowerPoint!
      6. Conclusion
        
        So like Paul Harvey, God was revealing a detail about his covenant promises that was little known and understood in the Old Testament times. But now with the coming of Jesus and his birth he came also to include the Gentiles in God’s program as full members along with the Jews.
        
        What a time to bring Thanksgiving, Christmas and the covenants all together by giving thanks to Jesus for bringing us near and making both Jews and Gentiles a brand new community who are co-heirs of the covenant promises and co-equal members of the body of Christ!
        
        We have a reason to celebrate Jesus!

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Being Thankful Various passages November 20, 2022

Introduction:
1. Psalm 127 says that children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward…. how blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
  1. We have a God who not only delights to bless us but who has joyfully bound himself to bless us and even pursues us to bless us!
2. It all started with Abraham when God blessed Abraham, told him to be a blessing and then said that through his seed, Jesus the whole world would be blessed! He took that promise and turned it into a covenant just to assure Abraham of how serious God was about blessing.
  1. We learned just a few weeks ago in the new covenant that God has given some unbelievable life changing at the core of our being types of blessings to his children – things like forgiveness, the removal of the old heart and giving us a new heart and placing his Holy Spirit within us to enable us to live in his ways
  2. Because of Jesus, we learn in Ephesians 1 that we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Ephesians 1:3
  3. Let’s go a step further the ultimate blessing is the blesser himself! God and his presence with us and even in us by his Spirit, is the greatest blessing! Sometimes we can get all caught up in the blessings and forget all about the blesser.
3. Blessing is simply a benefit that has supernatural fingerprints on it!
  1. That means it is not just good things that happen or even beneficial things happen. But a blessing is a benefit that has God’s fingerprints on it! It originates from God and he gives it to you as a gift!
  2. Sometimes those blessings/benefits come in wrapping paper that looks more like trouble or a trial because our God is using everything in our life, the good, bad and ugly to work out his good purpose in our life!
4. Going back to Ephesians 1:3 we are called to bless God for all the blessing he has given us in Christ.
  1. Psalm 103:1-2 tells us the same thing. Turn and read
  2. To bless God is to speak well of him, to praise him and thank him for these blessings.
  3. So we are to bless God, praise and thank him for all the benefits and blessings that touch our lives both spiritual and daily practical benefits and blessing!
    1. We are to do it with all our hearts!
    2. So we are to bless God with all our hearts for all he has done for us.
5. As we prepare for the Thanksgiving week, which really according to the Bible should be thanksgiving life, moment by moment, day by day in both the ups and downs of life
I want to talk to you for a moment about
Thanking God for his blessing us!
1. The word thanks simply means the acknowledgement and expressing appreciation for something you have received from someone else!
  1. It is the natural response that just flows out of our hearts when someone does something special for us. It’s like – wow! Thanks!
2. If giving thanks to God is not a natural response that spontaneously flows from your heart on a regular basis; then
  1. You are not aware of the working of God in your life and the blessings that ultimately come from him James 1 says, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Lights!” James 1:17
    1. The every good thing and every perfect gift includes both spiritual and daily practical blessing and benefits that come our way that have God’s fingerprints all over them.
3. So if I am depending moment by moment upon Jesus for everything in my life then I should be constantly and naturally from the depths of my heart be thanking him for literally everything in my life
  1. Even the difficult things that come my way that God uses to grow me and build more of the life of Christ within me.
  2. This should be true all the way from forgiveness in Christ, the ability to live the way he calls us to, to every breathe we take every day!
So let’s
Practice thanks for the blessing God has given us!
1. I hope that we can prime the pump today for a weeklong attitude and practice of thanks that would prime the pump for a day-by-day, moment by moment lifelong thanking of God for his blessings upon us!
2. Let’s start right now
  1. I want you to take a few minutes and think of the three biggest benefits/blessing over this last year that you are or should be thankful to god.
    1. Either spiritual or daily practical, or internal or external are fair game!
  2. Now I want you to take a few minutes to actually express to God your thanks for these benefits/blessing
3. Close by finding someone sitting close to you and share what one or two of the biggest things you are grateful to God for and how he has spoken to you today.

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When Will All of These Covenant Promises Happen

Acts 3, Zechariah 10, Romans 11, Revelation 16-19

November 13, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. We have learned in this series that God has joyfully bound himself

by means of covenants to carry out promises he made to Abraham,

David, and Israel. We also learned that we are heirs of these

covenant promises, because we also are the seed of Abraham

because we belong to Jesus.

B. What are all these covenant promises? Remember when I first

introduced this series I said that all the prophecies have their roots

in the covenants so when we make sense of the covenant promises

it will make sense of the prophecies as well.

Like a puzzle it simply takes a picture and cuts it in as many

pieces as they desire- could be 1,000 pieces could be 16

pieces. While the picture is still the same it is much easier to

figure out when we see the whole picture in just 20 pieces.

a. 1,000 piece puzzle

b. 16 piece puzzle

C. So what are these key pieces? The covenant promises that God

joyfully bound himself to do!

Abrahamic – God promised Abraham

a. A land forever

b. Innumerable descendants

c. Blessings

d. In his seed all the nations will be blessed

e. God will be their god forever

Deuteronic – God promised Israel in spite of their

disobedience and discipline that he would grant them

a. Future repentance of Israel

b. Restoration to the land

c. Regathered from dispersion

d. Nation converted

e. Israel’s enemies will be judged

f. Nation receive full blessings in the land

Davidic –God promised David that from his line would be a

a. King forever

b. Kingdom forever

c. Reign forever

New covenant – God promised Israel that for his own name

sake he would

a. Spiritual blessing – forgiven, new heart, the Holy

Spirit.

b. Abiding material blessings in the land

B. That is the literal 16 piece puzzle of prophecy which drives the

hundreds of verses on prophecy that describe in detail what these

things will be like.

The Bible teaches us that there are two main pieces of prophecy

puzzle.

a. 1 Peter 1:10-11

b. The two main pieces are:

Suffering of Christ
The glories to follow!

• So my question today is simple “when are these glories that follow

Jesus’ sufferings

II. When will all the covenant promises take place?

A. We learned in the new covenant that certain aspects of the

covenant – the part of being in fellowship with God – forgiven and a

new heart indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we already participate in but many

of the sixteen pieces we just saw are yet to be fulfilled!

B. We also know from the New Testament and Jesus’ words

that when it comes to his kingdom we are in a position of already

not yet.

Already means we are enjoying the first fruits of the kingdom

of God right now in a spiritual sense, a spiritual kingdom where

Jesus rules over the hearts of the children of God from the right

hand of the throne of God in heaven

But the not yet means our hope is found in the future when the

fullness of a literal earthly kingdom where all the promises of

the covenants will be fulfilled. Then Jesus will rule over the

entire earth from his throne where he will sit on it in

Jerusalem.

a. We, the church, during that time will reign with Jesus

in that kingdom.

b. The way we live our lives today determines just what

role we will have in the reign

C. So some aspects of the covenant promises and the kingdom

of God we are already experiencing much like the first fruits as a

guarantee of the rest to come in the future.

According to Ephesians 1, that is why we have been given the

Spirit, a pledge, down payment, a guarantee of our future

redemption and inheritance!

D. Let’s see in the Bible when all these things will happen!

We already learned there are two key categories to prophecy –

Jesus’ suffering and the glories to follow. Now look at what we

learn in Acts 3:17-21. Where we see the same two categories

but with a bit more detail! Turn

a. Read

b. Tells us that in Jesus’ first coming he fulfilled the Old

Testament prophecies concerning his sufferings

c. When he returns he will fulfill the Old Testament prophecies

concerning the restoration of all things. restoration = kingdom =

glories

At Jesus’ return is when he fully sets up his kingdom.

a. Key verses that shows Christ’s kingdom is in the future

Matthew 19:28 = regeneration equals restoration of Acts

Matthew 25:31- says at Jesus’ return is the time he will

sit on his glorious throne!

Revelation 3:21 – Jesus speaking to the church in

Laodicea said, “In the future you will sit down on my

throne with me just as he is seated now on the Father’s

throne, at his right hand.”

b. He makes a distinction here between the Father’s throne now and

Jesus’ own throne in the future! I love to trace the place of Jesus on the

throne.

In Old Testament – Father and Son on throne
While Jesus was on earth – the Father
After Jesus ascended into heaven – right hand of the

Father

During future millennium – Jesus on his throne in

Jerusalem

Eternity – Father and Son on the throne

together! Revelation 22:3

Romans 9- 11 indicates that God still has a future plan for

Israel. Romans 11:11-15 – stumble = trip, fall = cease;

a. V16-17 – Gentiles grafted in with Israel, not in place of them.

b. V24 Israel will be grafted back in- key word “will”

c. V25-28 - Israel will enter back into God’s covenant program after

the fullness of the Gentiles have come in,

Note the words mystery and until
We see first that this is the time when Jesus returns – the

deliverer will come

It is at the time Israel sins will be forgiven. - We know

that is the new covenant.

So the new covenant goes into effect for Israel when

Jesus returns. When the new covenant goes into effect,

as the catalyst covenant, the covenant that activates all

the other covenants so they go into effect at the return of

Jesus.

Zechariah 12:1-3 – nations gathered for war against

Jerusalem and Judah

a. Revelation gives us the heavenly view of this war. Revelation

16:13-14,16; 17:12-14; 19:17-21 -

Satan and his demons against the Lamb and his chosen

ones

b. Zechariah teaches us the earthly human view of the

war - all the nations against Judah and Jerusalem

c. Zechariah 12:8-11 – Jesus returns to defend Israel, and

Israel repents when they see Jesus and new covenant

begins. Read

d. Zechariah 13:1-2 – forgiveness

e. Zechariah 13:8-9 – 2/3 of Israel is judged and 1/3 is

saved all Israel, 1/3 left at that time saved – read Romans

11:26

f. Zechariah 14:9, 16-17 – the outcomes of this war

F. We see all of these things come together in the future in four major

passages (Jeremiah 32:36-42 & Jeremiah 33:7-9, 14-26; Ezekiel

36:16-36 & Ezekiel 37:21-28)– I want to read just one of

them. Ezekiel 37:21-28

F. While the terms or promises of the new covenant were made in the

Old Testament during the time of Ezekiel, the new covenant was

ratified by Jesus through the shedding of his blood at the cross, but

the complete enactment, fulfillment of the new covenant will take

place at the return of Christ.

How does that make sense – work out a deal to buy a house and

you agreed upon the terms last week. But the contract will not

be signed until the end of next week, that is when it is ratified,

but you will not take possession of the house until the start of

next year.

III. Application

A. So what do we do right now while we are waiting for Jesus’

return? Suggest just two

Many Christians are trying to turn the 16 piece puzzle into a

1000 piece puzzle by trying to mix current events and Bible

prophecies so we can figure out who is who and when it will

happen? But that in not what God’s word tells us to do!

Let me suggest two things: First listen to 1 Peter 1:13

a. Fix your hope completely on the grace and glory yet to come at

Jesus’ second coming.

b. Do you have your hope fixed there or in your political party or

the rebound of the stock market?

Secondly, listen to Jesus’ counsel on how to operate while

waiting for his return and not knowing the exact time.

a. Read Matthew 24:42-47

b. More important than figuring out the puzzle is doing the will of

God for our lives!

c. Do you know what God’s will is for your life –

It is different than mine because your gifts, passion,

calling are all different than mine

If not read this book and talk to someone mature
If you do, then do it

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God’s Tenacious Faithful Radical Love November 6, 2022

Introduction:
1. We have completed going through each of the major covenants that we are going to cover in this series. so today and the next few weeks we just want to close up with a few details that help us better understand the context of these covenants.
2. This morning I want us to see it is God’s tenacious, faithful, radical love that is the ultimate driver of these covenants.
  1. We have placed this series in the context of the big story of the Bible with the covenant promises being the major structure, the backbone, the major thoroughfares to the story
  2. It is possible that so far in the series you’ve seen these covenants more as a story line or a legal contract of how God would relate to Israel and ultimately us, rather than a love relationship
  3. While at times covenants were used to legally define the relationship between nations or a superior over an inferior, the covenants we studied were based on a love relationship between God and the people he has chosen to love.
3. We have said all along that there are two key words throughout the Scripture that go hand and hand with the covenants, faithfulness and loving-kindness. They help us clearly see the motivation of God’s love behind these covenants.
  1. Loving-kindness – an intense deep desire and active pursuit to bless your covenant partner. It is both an attitude and an action
  2. Faithfulness – speaks of the unending nature of a covenant as long as each member of the covenant is alive. It gives confidence that one covenant partner will never leave or forsake the other covenant partner.
  3. Some other words that reveal God’s heart in the covenants are kindness, mercy, peace, steadfastness, loyalty and friendship.
4. What I have to say today I believe can be a major encouragement to those who feel unloved or unlovable because of the neglect they’ve received from key relationships. And for those who have committed major grotesque sins against God and others resulting in feeling as if they’re not worthy of God or maybe even lost their salvation because of it. I think everyone in between those two should be encouraged as well!
5. Today’s message gives us another window to see the truth in 2 Timothy 2:13
  1. When I see the way God deals with Israel in the midst of their unfaithfulness and disobedience by not quitting on them it gives me greater understanding and personal encouragement regarding the way God deals with me when I am unfaithful and disobedient to the Lord and that he will not quit on me.
  2. We will see the truth of 1 Corinthians 13:7 regarding love in action.
So today I want to look at some things that helps us see …
God’s tenacious faithful radical love!
1. Is first seen in the very nature of a blood covenant.
  1. We have said repeatedly in this series that God joyfully bound himself to do these promises:
    1. If he just bound himself to do them, it can feel legal
    2. But when you recognize that he joyfully bound himself to do these promises; the aspect of love is at the heart of it
  2. The fact that God used covenants showed them how serious he was to be tenaciously faithful to them at all cost since:
    1. A covenant is kept until death and since God will never die, he will be faithful throughout eternity. They are everlasting covenants
    2. God would be worthy of death if he breaks his covenant promises with Abraham, Israel and David.
  3. In the Mosaic covenant, God says he will discipline Israel for their rebellion but that he would not break his covenant with them!
    1. Listen to what God says he will do if they repent! Read Leviticus 26:42-45
    2. Yes, God is going to spank them with discipline but he is not going to break off the relationship with them just as our parents spanked us but did not end their relationship with us!
    3. Thus, he remains tenaciously faithful to these promises and his people in spite of their disobedience!
  4. Turn to Deuteronomy 7. Read v 6-9
    1. V6 – becoming God’s chosen people was what the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants were all about.
    2. Listen now to why God set his love on them and choose them.
      1. Read 7-9
      2. God set his love upon them because he loved them period.
    3. It was God’s unconditional, unprovoked, tenacious, faithful, radical love that moved God to make and keep his covenant promises.
  5. Turn to Micah 7 which talks about the return of the Lord and the time of new covenant goes into effect with the forgiveness of their sins!
    1. Read v18-20
    2. Unchanging love is the Hebrew word for loving-kindness so the translators are saying God’s loving-kindness equals his unchanging love.
    3. In verse 20 when he talks about God’s unchanging love/loving-kindness towards Abraham that he swore to him, they are basically equating or describing God’s covenants with his unchanging love/ loving-kindness
  6. In Mary’s magnificat in Luke 1 listen to what she says
    1. Read Luke 1:54-55
    2. She views the covenant promises and Jesus’ birth to fulfill them, as God’s mercy to his people.
  7. Finally, the existence of Israel in the land after nearly 1900 year of being out of it is unheard of regarding any other nation. This helps us see God’s tenacious faithful radical love for his people
As we prepare for
Communion
1. Listen to this amazing account of Israel’s history with God and how he loved and responded to them and loves and responds to his children today even though we may be unlovely or unfaithful
2. Ezekiel 16 where God married (v8) the abandoned and unloved Judah and poured his amazing, tenacious, faithful, radical love upon them. Read 13-14
  1. But then they played the harlot on him in the boldest way! V15, 32-34, 46-47, 51 –
    1. Samaria in was the northern kingdom, Israel’s capital
  2. God said he would give them into the hands of their lovers who will tear them apart; just as he told them in the Mosaic covenant.
    1. Read v37-39.
    2. Yes, he will discipline them for disobedience
  3. But we also learn in this passage that in spite of their disobedience and discipline God will not break his relationship with them but he will restore and bless both Israel and Judah in light of their repentance, which we learned in both the Deuteronic and new covenants that God brings about. read v55, 61;
    1. He establishes his covenant with them when they repent and God forgives them.
    2. That is the new covenant in the future when Jesus returns to fulfill the covenant promises.
  4. Now I love this word at the start of v60, nevertheless.
    1. Nevertheless means in spite of this
    2. So even though their sins were much more and grosser than Israel and Sodom, both who were judged for their sins, and even though Judah was being disciplined for their sins.
    3. In spite of this listen to what God says he is going to do! Read v60-63
  5. My hope is that this sermon has become different windows for us to look in and see God’s amazing grace and mercy to Israel
    1. God’s amazing grace and mercy to you and me!
    2. God’s amazing, tenacious, faithful, radical love to all his children.
  6. As we take communion today let God’s love sink into your heart and respond as your heart moves you.
    1. Reflect
    2. Take communion

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Deuteronic – Land Covenant

Deuteronomy 28, 29:1; Deuteronomy 30

October 16, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. We are continuing our series “people of promise” where we are

looking at the covenant promises that God has joyfully bound

himself to do!

We have seen that God promised to Abraham –a seed – a family

line of people, descendants who come from him, to give them a

land forever, to bless them in that land and God would be their

God. Along with a descendant of Abraham who would bless all

the nations!

a. This drives the story line of the Old Testament and the entire

Bible.

Last week we learned that God set up a covenant with Israel

through Moses, called the Mosaic covenant or the Law, where

he laid out the principle by which he was going to deal with

Israel, the descendants of Abraham.

a. Simply if you obey me, then I will bless you; if you disobey

me, then I will curse/disciple you and if you repent then I

will restore you to blessing.

b. We also learned that the ultimate discipline for their

disobedience and refusal to repent would be to be expelled

from the land and scattered among the nations

When we weave these two covenants together, it helps us make

sense of the twists and turns in the Old Testament story.

B. But here is the dilemma

As a nation, Israel not only disobeyed God they even rejected

the Messiah himself resulting in 70 AD when they were

expelled from the land again and scattered throughout all the

nations of the world.

While some Jews have returned to the land, and some Jews have

even come to Christ as their messiah and savior - as a nation

they still are in disobedience to God and rejecting Jesus as the

Messiah.

Is God done with Israel as a nation? Has the church replaced

Israel in God’s program?

C. To answer that we must look at the most overlooked verse in the

entire covenant program of God and the most overlooked covenant

itself.

Because people miss this verse they do not even know that this

covenant in Deuteronomy even exists!

D. So we will see here in Deuteronomy that God proactively makes

another covenant with Israel – the Deuteronic covenant, to

guarantee that he will bring about their repentance, regenerate

them, give them a heart to obey him thus restore/regather Israel to

the promised land and bless them there!

• Let’s take a look at this in

II. The Scripture

A. Many people say that the book of Deuteronomy is a restating of the

Mosaic covenant. I am going to tell you today that is not the case

and there is a completely different covenant in this book.

It is true that the standards (civil, moral and ceremonial laws)

and the principle of the Mosaic covenant (if you obey me, then I

will bless you and if you disobey me, then I will discipline you

and if you repent then I will restore you to blessing) are restated

in Deuteronomy.

But while all of that is restated, he attached another covenant to

it near the end of the book.

B. Turn to Deuteronomy 5

The context is that Israel is standing right across the Jordan in

the wilderness of Moab ready to enter into the promise land for

the first time. This is 40 years after the covenant God made

with Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai. Moses is reviewing

their history and the Mosaic law

In chapter 5, Moses is reviewing for them how they responded

to the Mosaic covenant when God first gave it to them on Sinai,

which is also called Horeb!

a. Read 5:27-28 – God commends them for affirming that they

will do what God asks them to do.

b. But in v29, he states their core problem with obeying what

God says so they can be blessed. Read

It is a heart problem – they do not have the kind of heart that

would fear and obey God!

C. So in chapters

6-26 he reviews the laws from the Mosaic covenant
Chapter 27 he charges them to obey these laws and reminds

them cursed is the one who does not.

Chapter 28 he reviews with them the basic principle of dealing

with them that God set up through Moses, which we learned

about last week in Leviticus 26.

a. If you obey me, then I will bless you; if you disobey me,

then I will curse/disciple you. If you repent then I will

restore you to blessing

D. Now in chapter 29 we see the verse that is so often overlooked thus

overlooking this very important and foundational covenant.

Read v1 – did you catch it? This is another covenant God is

making with them in Moab besides the one he already made

with them at Horeb/ Mount Sinai 40 years earlier.

Again, while the standards and principle of the Mosaic covenant

are the same; now another covenant is being made with them.

Now look down at verse 10 where he is speaking to the people

who are there on that day. Read v10-13.

a. Note in verse 12 that the Lord is making this covenant with a

new generation of Israel!

V 13 so that he may establish with them the covenant promises

he swore to Abraham. Read

a. Note a key distinction here – he made the covenant with

Abraham in the past and he wants to establish it with them.

b. Establish means to confirm, to bring it about, put it into

effect the promises God made with Abraham with his

descendants.

E. So the tension exists – yes God has established obedience as the

principle by which he would bring about these promises to

Israel. But we also saw that Israel does not have the heart to do

them.

F. But just as God made an unconditional covenant with Abraham

where he bound himself to bring about those covenant promises;

now he is going to make an unconditional covenant with Israel!

In spite of their disobedience that was so severe that they were

scattered among the nations;

a. He will bring them back to the very land that their fathers –

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived on.

b. He will give them a heart that obeys him.

c. He will abundantly bless them in the land.

Thus, he will bring about the covenant promises he made with

Abraham regarding his descendants Israel!

G. This is absolutely crucial because God is making this covenant with

Israel.

So God does not disqualify or replace Israel from receiving the

promises made with Abraham because of their disobedience or

rejection of the Messiah

But rather God is guaranteeing to them that he is going to fulfill

his covenant promises in spite of their persistent and severe

disobedience!

a. Read Ezekiel 36:20-24

• Now we are ready to see the promises God made with Israel in the

III. Deuteronic covenant

A. Turn now to chapter 30

As we look at this today, we will see the Promised Land

mentioned numerous times. Just remember this covenant has to

do with the regathering to the land, not the rights to the land,

which was made with Abraham.

Also, note that the only condition in this whole section is a time

condition – not if but when – so it is tied to a time element.

Finally, we will see that this covenant is going to take place at a

time when the nation of Israel is plucked off the land for

disobedience and scattered among the nations.

B. Detail out the promises:

Future repentance of Israel. Deuteronomy 30:1-2 not if but

when!

a. Repentance = recall, return, restore

Regathered from captivity and from all over the world

Deuteronomy 30:3-4. Not Assyria nor Babylon but all the

nations of the world.

Restoration to the land given to their fathers. Deuteronomy

30:5

Israel regenerated by a work of God to get a new heart that will

love and obey the Lord... Deuteronomy 30:6, 8

Israel’s enemies will be judged. Deuteronomy. 30:7
Israel will prosper abundantly. Deuteronomy 30:5, 9

C. So the big question now is when will the covenanted promises

made to Abraham which will be established with his descendants,

his seed be carried out. Remember not if but when.

Chart
Turn to Zechariah 12:9

a. Context – he is talking about the time when the entire world

will come against Israel and Jerusalem. We also read about

this in Revelation 16-19.

b. Read v9-14 - note two things:

God pouring out his grace precedes and is the cause of

their repentance

We see a national repentance here and not just an

individual. At the return of Jesus Israel will repent.

D. So God brings about the necessary repentance in Israel thus then

God will pour out all his covenant promises/blessing upon them at

that time.

E. Romans 11 tells us why this has not happened yet.

It is so the fullness of the Gentiles can come into the experience

of his promised blessings then all Israel will be saved.

Read Romans 11;25-27
Turn and read 2 Peter 3:9

III. Application

F. If you are here today and you do not know Jesus Christ repent

Recall what Jesus says about you and about himself

a. That our sin separates us from God and that Jesus’ death and

resurrection deals with our sin problem and gives us life!

Turn to him by calling upon him in faith to save you!

G. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ

And you have walked away from Jesus and living just like the

rest of the world I would encourage you today to repent as well.

a. Recall what God says in his Word about who you are and

how to live as a child of God

b. Return to him by admitting/confessing you are not living as

you ought

c. Call upon him to give you the grace to live like a believer in

Jesus

Maybe today you need God to bring about in your heart the

willingness and ability to give up some area of your life that is

not pleasing to him or even an area that has taken control of you

and you could not give it up with all the trying, programing and

steps in the world.

a. Read Philippians 2:12-13

Open your heart to Jesus this morning and invite him to work

into you both the willingness and the ability to live fully for him

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Mosaic Covenant – The Way God Dealt with Israel

Leviticus 26

October 9, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. Today’s message along with last week’s on the Abrahamic

covenant is enough to give you the core knowledge you need to

understand the basic skeleton of the Old Testament.

The four main promises of the covenant God made with

Abraham give shape to the story/stories of the historical section

of the Old Testament and become the foundation for the New

Testament!

a. Review - Four promises are. Land, seed, blessing, and God

would be their God.

Today we are going to talk about the Mosaic covenant that God

made with Israel. This covenant establishes the principle upon

which God dealt with Israel, his chosen people, Abraham’s

seed.

a. The Mosaic covenant not only helps us further understand

the history of the Old Testament and why things happened

the way they did, but it also is the foundational structure and

driving message of the prophetic section of the Old

Testament!

B. One more important distinction between these two covenants turn

in your Bibles to Galatians 3:15

Read Galatians 3:15-19
Simply stated, the law was temporary until Jesus came while the

Abrahamic covenant was an everlasting covenant and nothing

about the law changes or supersedes the Abrahamic covenant.

It was put in place alongside the Abrahamic covenant only until

Jesus came!

• Let me give you a couple of …

II. Introductory thoughts on the Mosaic law/ covenant

A. The law is found primarily from Exodus 19 through the end of

Leviticus, and is reviewed in the book of Deuteronomy.

B. These laws covered three primary areas:

Civil laws – how to live with one another
Moral laws – how to walk with a holy God
Ceremonial laws – how to worship a holy God

C. We need to understand right up front that the Mosaic covenant was

not like the Abrahamic covenant where God made unconditional

promises that he would keep independent of Abraham’s

behavior. In the Mosaic covenant God imposed obligations upon

Israel and made conditions that were dependent upon their

behavior.

The heart of the principle

a. If you obey me then I will bless you

b. If you disobey me then I will curse you

c. If you repent then I will return you to blessing.

Repeat that with me.

• Let’s look closer at this foundational principle! Turn to

III. Leviticus 26.

A. After detailing these civil, moral and ceremonial laws from Exodus

19 to Leviticus 26:2 we come to a great summary that is so key to

understanding the Old Testament.

If you obey me, then I will bless you. Read Leviticus 26:3-4.

a. Then he details some of those blessings: land will be fruitful,

peace in the land, eliminate harmful beasts, no war, you will

defeat your enemies, God will dwell among them and he will

be their God.

b. Read v9

But if you disobey me, then I will curse you. Read v14-17.

a. Now we need to note God’s grace even in his discipline of

Israel for their disobedience as he starts with lesser

disciplines then increases them as their refusal to repent

continues – good parenting principle. Read v18, 21, 23-24,

27-28.

b. This continues until we get to the ultimate and most harsh

discipline, the expelling of Israel out of their own land,

which God promised to them and scattering them among the

nations. Read 32-33.

c. Now we understand why Israel and Judah were both

deported out of their land and went into captivity in Assyria

and Babylon. A big part of the Old Testament story!

God had to be faithful to the covenant that he made with

his people when they disobeyed.

This does not make me think of a God as angry and mean

but rather a God that is faithful to “all” of his word, a

God who can be trusted that when he says something he

will do it, whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.

Now the third part of this principle shows up in verse 40. If you

repent, then I will return you to blessing.

a. Read v40-46

b. Simply, this principle says when Israel is obeying God then

they will experience the land, the blessing, and God being

their God as promised in the Abrahamic covenant

• So now we understand a lot more of twists involved in the story of

God carrying out his promises with Abraham in the historical books

of the Old Testament. But what about

IV. The prophets

A. Listen to the ministry of the prophets Read 2 Kings 17:13-15, 23

B. The basic structure of all the prophets, both their ministry and their

books in the Old Testament was to

Point out their sin of how they were breaking the Mosaic

covenant

Call them to repentance
Remind them of the promised blessings they would experience

if they repented!

If you read the prophets with that in mind, they will be much

easier to understand!

C. The book of Isaiah is a perfect example of this

The first 40 chapters Isaiah are pointing out how they have

broken the Mosaic covenant and calling them to repent

The last 26 chapters reminds them of the promised blessing they

will receive when they do repent!

D. We see these basic principles worked out in the history of Israel.

Cycle in judges (disobeyed - discipline - repentance -

deliverance)

Solomon broke the covenant, which resulted in the divided

kingdom. Northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom

(Judah) 1Kings 11:1-13

The northern kingdom (Israel) broke the covenant by setting up

idol worship. 1 Kings 12:25-33

The northern kingdom (Israel) falls and is taken into captivity

just as the covenant says. 2 Kings 17, 18:11-12

Jeremiah warns Judah of judgement for breaking the covenant

and calls for repentance. Jeremiah 25:3-11

The southern kingdom (Judah) falls and is taken into captivity

just as the covenant says. 2 Kings 24:17-25, 12

After recognizing God’s timetable, Daniel turns to God in

repentance based on the covenant.

Ezra 1 and the return to their land out of captivity is the direct

result of Daniel 9 and the repentance he did in behalf of the

nation.

Rebuilding of the walls was based on the repentance and

blessing of the covenant. As acknowledged by Nehemiah in his

prayer. Nehemiah 1:4-11

• As you saw today, the story of God fulfilling his covenant promises

to Abraham is interwoven with the principle by which God

covenanted with Israel in the Mosaic covenant. what I want to close

with are …

V. Applications for us today

A. There are two important truths we must keep in mind today.

As we learned in Galatians 3, earlier the Mosaic covenant was

only on the table for Israel until the seed, the Christ, the

Messiah, Jesus came!

We also learn in 1Timothy 1:8-9 that the law is still useful today

if we use it lawfully.

a. Read 1 Timothy 1:8-9

b. Paul also said in Romans 3:20 that through the law comes

the knowledge of sin something he reaffirms in detail in

Romans 7.

c. So the good and lawful use of the law is to point out sin to

the unbeliever so they will turn to Jesus to be delivered from

the penalty and power of sin!

B. But my bigger concern today is that many Christians still live as if

we are under the principle of the law – if you obey then God will

bless you and if you disobey then God will curse you.

Maybe it is not the Mosaic Law, but they turn the New

Testament commands into laws and apply the principle of

obedience resulting in blessing and disobedience resulting in a

curse.

Here is the difference between the two:

a. In the Old Testament God supernaturally intervened with

blessings /good things when they obeyed and supernaturally

intervened with curses/trouble when they disobeyed.

b. In New Testament times obedience brings its own blessings

because you are living in conformity with God‘s wisdom

how to live and disobedience brings its own trouble because

sin has personal and relational poison in its DNA.

It’s not a matter of God doing it to you but a matter of

you doing it to yourself by ignoring what is best for you!

When it comes to blessings

a. In the Old Testament blessings were conditional upon their

obedience

b. In the New Testament, we have already been blessed with

every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

c. So today we obey for two reasons:

Not in order to get blessed but out of love because we are

already blessed

We also obey because God’s way is the wisest and best

way to live.

When it comes to difficulties or trouble in our lives in the New

Testament there are two reasons for it.

a. To ignore God’s wisdom is to do it to your own hurt! We

drink the poison laced Kool-Aid called sin

b. But sometimes even our trouble and difficulties are designed

by God to bring us ultimately to the place of blessing and

good in our life.

Often the blessing has to do with God working in us a

greater and deeper Christ like character or to restrain us

from going a direction we should not go.

c. So when it comes to trouble in our lives we need to discern if

it is sin, thus trouble of our own making or God giving us a

gift of blessing dressed in wrapping paper of trouble!

So this is how most of us stumble in this area – we look at our

outward circumstances or even the inward disposition of our

hearts and if they are good, we say it is because God is blessing

us and if they are bad, we say it is because God is not blessing

us.

a. They have more money, nicer and more things, better

circumstances, better health, better looks, better results,

bigger ministry, more opportunities etc., so we interpret that

as God is blessing them more than he is blessing me.

b. As a matter of fact, we wonder if God is blessing us at all –

maybe he is not pleased with me, maybe I am doing

something wrong!

C. We cannot measure God’s goodness and blessing to us by our

circumstances or feeling but by the cross of Christ, all the spiritual

blessings we already have in Christ Jesus, and God’s call and

purposes for my life as different from someone else’s!

We need to measure our lives by our gratitude to God for Jesus

and the blessings that come with him and our faith in his good

purposes he is working in our lives!

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Abrahamic – Foundational Promises Genesis 12,15,17 & Hebrews 6 October 2, 2022 - Communion

Introduction:
1. The foundation of a building not only supports the weight of the structure but also determines the shape of it!
  1. The Abrahamic covenant is the foundation that not only supports the entire covenant program of God but also is the foundation that gives shape to the story of the Bible, what God is doing in this world – past present and future and ultimately in our own lives.
  2. The better you understand covenants, the better you understand the Bible! A synonymous word to covenant is testament. New and Old Testament = new and old covenant!
2. A covenant is the strongest word in any language to express and define relationships.
  1. It is a solemn binding agreement between two parties, which provides a clear statement of how they will relate to one another with promises being made, and conditions agreed upon!
  2. The blood sacrifice required in a covenant indicates that they are permanent until one of the parties dies and is broken only under the penalty of death!
3. We are doing a series we are calling people of promise as we look at the promises that God has bound himself to by means of the solemn and serious means of covenants. Promises that drive the story of God, the Bible and our lives!
The promises in the Abrahamic covenant
1. There are five main promises that God made in the covenant with Abraham.
  1. Land – actual dirt, ground, soil that would become their property.
  2. Seed – a people, a nation, a lineage, descendants, children, offspring
  3. Blessing – benefits God would bestow upon them
  4. In your seed all the nations will be blessed.
  5. God will be their God
2. Let’s start by reading where God first makes promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and then we see them progressively developed in chapters to come! Read.
3. I want to show you each of these promises one at a time.
  1. Land – an actual geographical piece of earth.
    1. Genesis 12:5-7 – fact
    2. Genesis 13:14-15 – forever
  2. Seed – descendant, offspring, children, the nation of people!
    1. Fact - Genesis 12:2,7
    2. Numerous – Genesis 13:16, 15:5
  3. Blessing
    1. Fact – Genesis 12:2-3
    2. Clarification – we see here and as the Scripture continues to unfold that God’s plan right from the beginning was to bless Abraham, the nation of Israel and the entire world!
  4. In your seed all the nations will be blessed.
    1. Read Genesis 12:3c: Genesis 22:18
    2. As we learn in Galatians 3, a few weeks ago, in Jesus, the ultimate seed of Abraham all the nations will be blessed and we get in on these promises because we belong to him.
  5. God will be their God -
    1. Before God set up the covenant of circumcision, he reviewed with Abraham the promises he had already made by means of covenant to him and adds a few extra here.
      1. Read Genesis 17:2-8
      2. Not only a seed and land but he adds three more things here
        
        Father of a multitude of nations
        
        Kings will come forth from him
        
        God will be their God – both to Abraham and his descendants/seed
    2. This is a key promise of this covenant and the whole covenant program!
      1. Note in Exodus 6:5-8 what God tells Moses when he reassures him regarding what he had promised in his covenant with Abraham. Read
      2. This phrase is used ten times referring to the new covenant and is used to summarize the heart of the new covenant in the New Testament. Hebrews 8:10
4. We see many of these put together when God confirmed the covenant with Jacob. Read Genesis 28:13-15
5. The heart of the Abrahamic covenant promises: a land, seed, blessing and God being their God drives the stories behind the formation of the nation and the entrance into the Promised Land as seen from Genesis all the way to Joshua!
  1. It is the why behind all these stories and the thread that ties them together.
  2. By the way, “promised land” is a term we have heard for years and even is in songs we sing–– it was the land promised to Abraham as an inheritance for his descendants in the Abrahamic covenant.
Note
The weight of the Abrahamic covenant
1. Turn to Genesis 15 where we see these promises being made into a covenant.
2. The reason for the covenant was to give assurance to Abraham that God was going to fulfill his promises to him. Listen to Genesis 15:7-8 – How may I know?
3. Now we see God responding by making his promises into a covenant.
  1. Read v9-10
  2. We learned last week that this is the procedure of a covenant
  3. Note that it only takes one animal to sacrifice to make it legitimate but this covenant is so big that God has three animals sacrificed
4. Now as I read the details of this covenant I want you to notice who goes through the middle of the sacrificial animals and who does not.
  1. Read 12-18 – know for certain.
  2. God alone went through the pieces of the sacrifice in the form of a smoking oven and smoking torch while Abraham was asleep
  3. The covenant was made with Abraham, not Israel. The existence of Israel the seed, descendants, the family line from Abraham, was one of the promises, provisions of the covenant
5. That made this covenant an unconditional covenant where God bound himself under the curses of a covenant, the death penalty for breaking them, regarding the promises he was going to do for Abraham.
  1. This covenant places no conditions upon Abraham but only upon God himself!
Communion
1. Turn to Hebrews 6 where he picks up on the theme of Genesis 15 and shows us that God made these promises into a covenant not only to assure Abraham that he would do what he promised. Also, to assure the Jews living at that time and you and me as believers who are also in on these promises through Jesus!
  1. Now before we look at this passage remember it was written about 35 years after Jesus ascended back into heaven as the writer was assuring these Jewish readers that the Abrahamic promises/covenant were still a sure future hope they could build their lives upon like an anchor for their souls.
    1. They were not something that have been spiritually fulfilled with the church now because of Israel’s disobedience or rejection of the Messiah. Rather it was a hope they could look forward to!
  2. Read v13-20 - v18 – two unchangeable things, promise and covenant
  3. The reason for the covenant is three fold
    1. To show the recipients of the promise unchangeableness of his purpose.
      1. God is going to raise up a people for himself! He is going to be their God! He is going to give them the land! He is going to bless them!
    2. We might have strong encouragement
    3. Gives us a hope that is sure enough to be an anchor for our soul.
2. We, the church, along with Israel have the hope and look forward to all these covenant promises going into effect when God fulfills them with Israel and us in the future when Jesus returns.
Communion
1. I want to speak for just a moment regarding the promise of blessing.
  1. While the Mosaic, Deuteronic and the new covenants detail out more of what that blessing will look like.
2. I want to close with how the New Testament helps us further understand that blessing.
  1. Turn to Acts 3 and read v25-26
    1. What we see here that ultimately the promise of Abraham’s seed blessing of all the families of the earth is the blessing of salvation and the deliverance from the power of sin in their lives.
  2. We see this again in Galatians 3:8-9 – turn and read
    1. We see here that God actually preached the gospel to Abraham in this promise
  3. Read Galatians 3:13-14 – the blessing of Abraham was so the Gentiles might also receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.
    1. Interesting to note that the promise of receiving the Holy Spirit was not given until the new covenant, which further explains the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant.
3. So every person in this room who knows Jesus personally on the basis of faith has experienced the covenant promise of Genesis 22:18. Both the blessing of salvation and the blessing of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
4. As you go to communion would you thank God for including us and thank Jesus for dying for us so we can experience the promised blessings to Abraham and for the hope of what we still have to look forward to!

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The Seed Genesis 3:15 September 18, 2022

Introduction:
1. We just started a series last week called People of Promise; where we are seeking to answer the question “What in the world is God doing?” by understanding the big story of the Bible!
  1. We learned that the story is driven by three key words – seed, covenant, Jesus.
  2. This week we will deal with the seed and how appropriate because it is the very first promise in the Bible! This promise gives shape to the heart of what is going on in our world today and what God is doing all the way from Genesis 3 through Revelation 20!
2. We learned last week that the story of what God is doing in this world is simply stated “God’s redemption of man through Jesus Christ!” or we could call it paradise restored!
  1. We saw that the story starts (Genesis 1-2) and ends (Revelation 21-22) the same way with God dwelling in harmony with man in his creation and there was no sin, death curse or Satan.
  2. Genesis 3 is the setting for and explanation for everything in between from Genesis 3-Revelation 20.
    1. We call this chapter the fall of man, the place where sin entered this world as Satan deceived man into sin.
3. Our focus this morning is on the curse God placed on Satan but within that curse God also made a promise about a seed, this promise drives the story regarding what God is doing in this world and introduces to us in seed form Jesus Christ.
4. Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 3 - read
  1. In verse 14 -since Satan used a snake as the instrument, he worked through to deceive Eve, God puts a curse on the snake to crawl on his belly and eat dust!
  2. Now read v15 - enmity simply means open hostility between two different people or groups of people
  3. The first would be between Satan and Eve – the way he ruined her life I think we can understand.
  4. Secondly, between your seed (Satan) and her seed (Eve only “her” in existence at that time)
5. Before I finish this verse let me take a side bar to explain what the word seed means.
  1. When you trace this Hebrew word through the Bible listen to what words are used to describe it. Offspring, descendant, origin, family, child, children, son, line, race, nation, posterity, people, seminal, intercourse, sow, grain.
    1. The Greek word for seed is the word sperma where we get the English word sperm.
    2. So bottom line it is talking about a lineage of people from a particular family.
  2. But the word seed is always singular. But it can either refer to one person or a group of people – which is known as a collective noun –
    1. We use these all the time when we speak of a group as a single entity. – a team, a band, board of elders or deacons. How about the body of Christ – body is singular but used for every believer in Christ.
    2. The only way to know which is used is by the context it is found in.
  3. Here is a third thing about this word seed – it is used both physically and spiritually. Again, only context can tell!
    1. Listen to Isaiah 53:10 – did Jesus have literal physical offspring? No
      1. But we learned in John 1 that all who believed in him became children of God.
      2. This is a spiritual seed, descendants’ offspring
6. Look back at Genesis 3:15 now
  1. Reread 15c – let me ask you who would be Satan’s literal physical offspring? He has none. but he does have spiritual ones who are of him.
  2. Passages:
    1. 1 John 3:12 where it says Cain was of the evil one!
    2. John 8:41,44 - Jesus tells the Jewish leaders they are of their father – Satan.
    3. Matthew 13:37-38 – parable of the tares shows that the sons of the kingdom and the sons of the evil one are in the world together
  3. So, I believe Genesis 3:15 talks about the open hostility that will be between the godly seed and ungodly seed.
7. The final open hostility revealed in this verse is the open hostility between Jesus and Satan read Genesis 3:15d-e
  1. Satan will bruise Jesus which ultimately points to the cross, and Jesus will ultimately crush Satan by throwing him in the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever day and night!
  2. As we read between Genesis 3 to Revelation 20, we see these hostilities going on between the godly and ungodly and God/Jesus and Satan.
  3. We can even see it going on in our world today as we live in the time between Genesis 3 to Revelation 20
8. Here is a chart I created to try to picture these lines throughout the Bible. Thanks to Joel for simplifying it
  1. As we trace ‘seed throughout Scripture, we see the enmity develop that God described in Genesis 3:15, and we see it played out in history all the way until today (Galatians 4:29 - read), and it will continue until Jesus crushes Satan’s head in Revelation 20:10.
  2. Chart

Un-godly line

(“your seed” - Satan)

Godly line

(“her seed” - Eve)

Supporting Scriptures

Cain

Abel

Genesis 4:4

Seth

Genesis 4:25-26

Noah

Genesis 6:5-18, 7:1

Ham & Japheth

sham

Genesis 11:10, 27

Culture & lands of the world

Abraham

Genesis 12:3, 7; 13:15-16; 15:18; 17:1-8; 22:17-18; Romans 4:11-13, 16-17; Galatians 3:16

Ishmael - nation

Isaac

Genesis 17:19, 26:3-5

Esau - Edom

Jacob

Genesis 28:3-4, 13-14

Gentiles

Twelve tribes (nation of Israel)

Judah

Genesis 49:8-10

David

2 Samuel 7:12-16, Psalm 89:3-4, 33-37

Jesus

Matthew 1:1, Acts 3:25-26

Non-believers

believers in Jesus

Romans 4:11-17, Galatians 3:29, Galatians 4:29

In weeks to come we will see this idea of the seed further clarified in the covenants and ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.
1. We need to perk up and listen closely in this series because these covenant promises are not just a story about Israel, but we also get in on these covenant promises as well,
2. Not because we are some kind of spiritual Israel that has now replaced Israel because of their disobedience
But by two different means
Christians are also the seed of Abraham.
1. First, turn to Romans 4:10 where we will see that we are descendants/seed of Abraham because we have a faith like his.
  1. In verses 10-17 he is showing us that both believing Jews and believing Gentiles are considered the seed of Abraham thus he became the father of many nations fulfilling the promise to Abraham in Genesis 17.
    1. Thus, he is the father of all who believe - Jew and Gentile.
  2. In Romans 4:10-12
    1. Those without circumcision in this passage are the Gentiles
    2. Those who are circumcised are the Jews
    3. Read
  3. Now in verses 13-17 he is guaranteeing to all the descendants, both believing Jews and Gentiles, that they would be heirs, recipients, possessors of those promises made in the Abrahamic covenant!
    1. Those who are of the law are Jews
    2. Read v13-17
  4. So according to Romans here the church does not replace Israel when it comes to the covenant promises but instead, they come in right alongside of Israel in experiencing the covenant promises!
2. 2ndly turn to gal 3:16 where we will see that we are heirs, recipients, possessors of these promises, Abraham’s seed because we belong to Christ.
  1. Galatians 3:14 – we see that in Jesus the blessing of Abraham comes to the Gentiles
  2. Galatians 3:16 – the promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed, he does not say seeds as referring to many but seed, who is Jesus Christ.
    1. So, the promises were made to both Abraham and Jesus
    2. Galatians3:19 also confirms that the promises were made to Jesus
  3. Galatians 3:29 states that we are Abraham’s seed, heirs’ recipients, possessors of the promises made to Abraham because we belong to Jesus Christ!
3. Just a side note, not all the physical descendants of Abraham, Jewish people, are or will be saved and experience the covenant promises, only those who believe. So, all believing Jews and Gentiles form Abraham’s seed – the heirs, recipients, possessors of the promises
  1. 2 Corinthians 11:22 (Corinthians v13-15) – speaking of Jewish false teachers as descendants/seed of Abraham he makes it clear that they are false teachers, agents of Satan, unsaved!
  2. Read v22 then 13-15
  3. You can read further about this in Romans 9-11 where we learn that only a remnant of Israel will be saved!
Conclusion
1. Now this should put this series on a new level of interest for us because we are heirs, recipients, possessors of the covenant promises we will learn.
  1. Yes, we are people of promise!
2. The story of the Bible and the covenant promises we now see are really our story that shapes our world, which shapes the Bible and shapes our present spiritual reality and shapes the foundation of our future hope that we can build our life off like they are an anchor for our soul!

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Introduction What in the World is God Doing?

Genesis 1-3, Revelation 19-22 September 11, 2022

I.Introduction:

A. This morning starts our fall series we are calling people of

promise! It will answer the question What in the word is God

doing?

We will answer that question not out of the context of

frustration because we cannot understand it,

But out of the context of a sure hope that we can have as

an anchor for our souls during the most difficult times of

our lives and world!

B. I can honestly say that this series was born in my heart back

in the spring of 1985, my last semester of seminary, when I was

taking a class from Doctor Dwight Pentecost called the biblical

covenants.

I went into that class having no idea what a covenant was

and also after three years of bible college and four and one

half years of seminary I had learned literally hundreds

upon hundreds of verses and truths but had no idea of how

they fit together or even more so flow together into a unit

forming the big story of what God is doing in this world.

I left that class looking at God and the Bible totally

differently

C. We are calling it people of promise because

A covenant is the means by which God has bound himself

to do the things he has promised!

In the covenants God’s big overarching plan by means of

promises are revealed

The better we understand the ultimate story of what God is

doing, then the better we understand our own lives and

times we live in!

D. Many people shy away from the Old Testament because they

either feel it does not apply to us today or they are so lost in it they

cannot figure out what is going on.

By the end of this series, you will be equipped with the

knowledge to go into the Old Testament with confidence

regarding what is going on there and recognizing it really

is the foundation to the New Testament. Thus, you will

not only better understand the Old Testament but the New

Testament as well.

Prophecy is simply what God has told us he will do in the

future! When it comes to the end times people try to piece

together hundreds of verses in the Old and New Testament

so it can make sense to them.

a. We will learn in this series that the hundreds of

verses on prophecy are simply the ways God is going

to fulfill his covenant promises that he made to Israel

which we join into through Jesus!

b. We will see that the prophecies have their roots in

the covenants so when the covenants make sense to us

then the prophecies will make sense to us!

c. Hopefully it will be like taking a 1,000-piece

puzzle and turning into about a 20-piece puzzle

E. So why a series on the covenants? - listen to these men

who recently went through this material as a test drive for this

series tell us how it impacted them:

• Let’s jump right in

II. The nature of a story

A. Structure of a story-

Put up image

a. Setting– introduction to the scene and characters –

e.g., “once upon a time…”

b. Incident – something happens that needs to be

resolved

c. Plot – a series of events that unfold as they try to

resolve the incident

d. Climax – the key event that resolves the incident

e. Outcome – tension decreases, and the incident is

resolved or explained

f. Resolution – learn something new or a new

way of carrying on from here. “And they lived happily

ever after…”

B. Are you following me now? Well, God’s story as

revealed in the Bible story works the same way

Structure of the Bible story image
Explain image

• Let me try to

III. Spaceship view of the story

A. I believe the story is driven by three key words – seed,

covenant, Jesus.

Next week we will learn more about the seed which

speaks either of a family line of people or a certain person

from that line

The following week and weeks to come we will learn

more about the covenants – a covenant is the means by

which God binds himself to do the promises he makes!

B. We learn a lot about a story by looking at the start of the

story and the end of a story. In the Bible

Start - setting – God creates a perfect heaven and earth,

and mankind (male and female) where he dwells with

them in paradise, and they are to reign over all his

creation. There is peace/shalom between God and man,

peace within man himself, peace between man and

woman, and peace with mankind and the earth. Paradise

has no: sin, Satan, curse or death Genesis 1-2

End - resolution – God creates a perfect new heaven and

earth where he dwells with man who reigns forever and

ever over all his new creation. There will be peace/shalom

between God and man, peace within man himself, peace

between man and woman, and peace with mankind and the

new earth. Paradise has no: sin, Satan, curse or

death Revelation 21-22

C. My statement, the PBP statement of what God is doing in this

world is a story of redemption: God glorifying himself through

Jesus, the seed, by restoring his original plan for mankind and the

earth where God himself reigns forever as king over a people who

love him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

Or simply “God’s redemption of man through Jesus

Christ!”

Or as one brother (Mike) said just a few weeks to me

“paradise restored!”

• Let’s get a little closer in an airplane view 30,000 ft above.

IV. Airplane view of the story –

A. Just listen and I would encourage you to download the

notes as this is literally decades of study squeezed into just a

few paragraphs with many bible references to support

it. (thank - Joel Brassfield for his contributions to this)

B. The setting (paradise) – God dwelling with man as man

reigns over his creation and there is perfect shalom/peace and

no sin sin, Satan, curse or death. Genesis 1-2

C. Incident or conflict (the fall & the seed promise) –

Satan deceived the woman and they fell into sin (fall), as a

result sin entered into the world (Romans 5:12). Man became

separated from God as he died spiritually and God put a curse

upon Satan, woman, man and the world. Satan became the

god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). There would be

hostility between “thy seed,” ungodly line and “her seed,” the

godly line. There would also be hostility between Jesus, the

seed, and Satan until the seed/Messiah/Jesus Christ comes and

crushes Satan. (Genesis 3:15)

D. Plot (the whole “I will…” section with covenants) - man

struggles with sin, Satan and the curse on every page of the

Bible from Genesis 3 until Revelation 21

God develops the godly line/seed of the woman through

Able, Seth, Noah and Shem to Abraham and the ungodly

line through Cain, Ham & Japheth from whom come the

nations that were in conflict/hostility with Israel

throughout the Old Testament.

God made a covenant with Abraham where he promised

Abraham - a land, seed (i.e., a nation), blessing and that

God would be their god. The seed is now further defined.

It first broadly applied to Eve’s godly offspring, but now it

is narrowed down to being from the line of Abraham, and

that it would be both a collective people (Israel –

Genesis12:2, 22:17) and a specific person (Jesus – Genesis

22:18, Galatians 3:16) through whom all the nations of the

world would be blessed (Romans 4:11-17, Galatians 3:8-

9,14).

God gave Israel the Mosaic Covenant to regulate Israel’s

relationship with God until the seed comes (Galatians

3:19). Obey God and you will be blessed (lev 26:3-13),

disobey him and you will be disciplined/cursed (Leviticus

26:14-33). Because of Israel’s continued disobedience to

the Mosaic Law the Old Testament is a story of Israel’s

repeatedly being disciplined and repenting and ultimately

being deported from their own land (Leviticus 26:27-39,

Deuteronomy 28:64-68; 29:24-28). The prophets

repeatedly use the Mosaic Covenant to point out their sin

and call them to repentance so they can be restored to

God’s promised blessings (2 Kings 17:13-15, 23)!

Deuteronomy/land covenant – guarantees that Israel

eventually will repent, be regenerated and restored to the

land in blessing.

God makes a covenant with David where he–promises that

the seed will come from his line and will be a forever king

who will rule forever over a forever kingdom. We then see

a line of mostly failed kingships from David’s line as the

nation waits for the promised king who would be the seed

of David.

In the Old Testament, God foretold of a new covenant

with Israel – where he promises to forgive Israel, give

them a new heart, place his Spirit in them to cause them to

walk in obedience (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:24-27)

and bless them in the land (Ezekiel 36:28-38,

Deuteronomy 30:1-10) as the Davidic seed rules over

them (Luke 1:33) and all the world (Zechariah 9:9-10,

14:9, Ephesians 1:20-21).

E. Climax (Jesus the seed)– in Matthew 1:1, the New Testament

starts by telling us that Jesus was the seed, the Christ, the

Messiah, the seed who came from the line of David and

Abraham and gives a genealogy to prove it. Jesus proclaims

he is the seed of David, the King, the Messiah/Christ and he

proves it by performing the kind of miracles that the Christ

will perform in his kingdom. He lives a perfect sinless life,

and dies (in our place) to pay for our sins, he is raised from

the dead to give us a brand new eternal righteous life, then

ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of God until he

comes back to fulfill all the promises the Old Testament

prophets made about the period of restoration. (Acts 3:19-

21)

F. Outcome (church through millennium) – sin, Satan, the curse

and death are still present, but the back of their power is broken.

The church is born made up of all nations, both Jew and

Gentiles who believe in Jesus (Ephesians 2:11-22). Their

sins are forgiven, they receive a new heart and the Holy

Spirit dwells inside of every believer. They are now God’s

people through whom he works his purposes out on earth

(Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2nd Corinthians 5:18-20).

Believers are in Christ (1st Corinthians 1:30), the seed, and

now are Abraham’s seed who partake in the covenants of

promise made to Israel (Ephesians 2:12-19 - spiritual

blessings now and material blessings later when Jesus

returns) based upon a faith like Abraham’s (Romans 4:11-

17) and their relationship with Jesus, the seed, to whom

the promises were also spoken. (Galatians 3:16, 29)

Believers will be raptured out of this world as God

disciplines unbelieving Israel and judges the nations for a

seven-year period. (Jacob’s trouble, tribulation)

Satan makes war with the Lamb and his saints at the end

of this time as all the world is gathered together against

Israel (Zechariah 14:2, 12:3-9, Revelation16:13-16; 17:12-

14)

Jesus returns and defeats Satan and binds him for 1,000

years (Revelation 19:19-21, 20:2-3) while he sets up a

kingdom here on earth (Revelation 20:4-5) to fulfill his

covenant promises with Israel and all the Old Testament

prophecies about the period of restoration. (Acts 3:19-21)

At the end of that kingdom Satan will be loosed

(Revelation 20:7) one more time to spear head one final

war where he will be defeated and thrown into the lake of

fire (Revelation 20:10). Thus, the seed of woman crushed

the head of Satan!

The present heaven and earth are destroyed by fire at the

presence of the great white throne (Revelation 20:11, 2

Peter 3:7-10)

Great white throne judgment – anyone’s name not written

in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

(Revelation 20:15).

G. Resolution (paradise restored) - then we are back to the new

normal, where God creates a new heaven and earth! “Paradise

restored!” God dwelling with man as man reigns over his new

creation and there is perfect shalom/peace and no sin, Satan, curse

or death. Revelation 21-22

V. Closing

A. Josh and Joel will close us up by letting us know of some of

the opportunities that we have to make this series even more

beneficial for us!

View Details

Am I Wise or a Fool?

September 4, 2022

Introduction:

A. We are completing our series on Ecclesiastes today as we

have been looking at broad themes throughout this book. Two

themes run side by side throughout the book as well as in Psalms

and Proverbs!

That is wisdom and foolishness.

B. As great, beneficial and powerful as wisdom is it only takes a

little foolishness in our lives to stink it up!

Read 10:1 – perfume gives off a sweet smell but flies that end

up caught in it and dying cause the sweet smell to stink. In the

same way it only takes a little bit of foolishness to stink up the

sweet aroma of our lives and the beautiful gifts that God gives

All it takes is one reckless word, one offensive remark, one

hasty decision, one foolish pleasure, one angry outburst, just a

little bit of sinning, just a little bit of foolishness to spoil the

freshness and beauty of a life well lived.

C. And wisdom and foolishness present to us two very different

paths for us to live.

Read 10:2.
They are opposites - wisdom is the anti-foolishness and

foolishness is the anti-wisdom.

• So first let’s take a look at what

I. Wisdom and foolishness are

A. Wisdom - I want to share two very unusual verses that use the

Hebrew word for wisdom “hokmah” that gives us some insight just into

what wisdom is:

Passages:

a. Exodus 28:3

Both highlighted words come from the same Hebrew root

word which means “skill” the exact same word you find

in Proverbs when he speaks of wisdom

They were very skilled at sewing the garments needed for

the priest and God is the one who put that skill within

them.

b. Exodus 31:6

Both highlighted words come from the same Hebrew root

you find in Proverbs when he speaks of wisdom.

These were tradesmen or craftsmen and their ability or

skill came from God.

A skill simply is a “developed ability to do something very

well.”

. Wisdom simply means this “the skill of living life well!” If there

is only one skill I can have that is the one I want! I want God to fill me

with the skill to live my life well as he filled those to sew the garments

and the craftsmen make all the equipment for the tabernacle.

a. I want to live my life well as a husband, father, pastor, man, friend,

neighbor, as an ambassador for Jesus, etc.

The core of wisdom is found in Proverbs 9:10

a. This is synonymous parallelism - using different words

in the second line to say the same thing in different words.

Gives us another window or angle by which we can

understand “the fear of the Lord.”

b. It shows us here that in some way the fear of the Lord is

a personal relationship, a personal knowing of the Holy

One!

B. Foolishness on the other hand at its core is defined for us in

Passages: Psalm 14:1and Proverbs 1:7

a. While the wise man has a deep respect for God and

what he says in his word; the fool has no regard for or

thought of God or his word

There are four major categories that define a fool

. Relationship with God Psalm 14:1

a. His attitude towards learning Ecclesiastes 4:13; Proverbs 8:2

b. His talk Proverbs 18:6-7; Proverbs 15:2

c. His walk Proverbs 10:23; Proverbs 26:11

When I looked up numerous passages on wisdom this is how I

tried to summarize the heart of it.

A fool trusts is in himself rather than the Lord because he believes in his

heart that there is no God. A fool no longer knows how to receive

instruction; rather he hates knowledge, despises wisdom and instruction

and does not delight in understanding. Rather than listening and

learning, he is constantly talking, as he loves revealing his own

mind. What his mouth spouts out is folly bringing about his own ruin

and is a snare to his soul. His words bring about strife in relationships

and call for a punch in the mouth.

A fool’s ways are always right in his own eyes and his ways are full of

rebellion and sin against God displaying just how foolish he is. Doing

wickedness is like a sport to him; he is constantly losing his temper and

either raging or laughing at the wise. He repeats this same old stinky

stuff repeatedly.

When you are around a fool, you can find no peace for your soul and the

annoyance that comes from the fool is heavy upon your soul.

• so …

II. Am I a fool or a wise person?

A. Before we go on I want let me tell you that it is possible to

Be a true believer in Jesus Christ and have a life that has the

sweet aroma of Christ but has some areas of your life that are

stunk up by foolishness.

And it is possible to be a believer in Jesus Christ and believe in

God but to have your whole life characterized as foolish.

B. Let’s start with a pop quiz - Two questions that I want to score

yourself on a 1 to 10 level:

How wise do you think you are? 1 = dummy 10= I am like

Solomon!

How well do you take criticism and correction from others? 1=

I hate it 10 = bring it on because I love it!

How many of you gave yourself the exact same number for

both?

a. You are the ones who passed the quiz because the reality is that

you are only as wise as your ability to take criticism and

correction. The number you gave yourself for criticism is true

indication of how wise you are.

Listen to these 3 verses: read Proverbs 12:1, 13:1, 15:31

C. We love to talk about how foolish our culture is – a culture that has

removed God and his book from the schools, the political world, from

the courthouses, from our marriages and parenting, our values and

morals and even many churches. Instead, we have people who have very

very very very little knowledge compared to God who are claiming to be

experts, who are making decisions about right and wrong and what is

wise and foolish in our culture!

But let’s not talk about the culture but about us today!
More importantly have you removed God and his book from

your decisions making, your finances, your relationships, your

marriage, your parenting, your speaking, your education, your

work, etc.

Is your source for wisdom on living coming from the experts of

the world and aligned with the world’s thinking rather than

God’s and his book?

If no one knew, you were a Christian and all they had was your

walk, your talk and heart to know if you were a Christian would

they think you are of Jesus or the world?

D. Now before I ask this next question remember that the fool says,

“There is no God.”

“Do you live your life day in and day out as if there is no

God?”

Are you the boss of your own life? Are you calling all your

own shots? Are you trusting in your own wisdom and

resources? Alternatively, are you submitting your life and will

to him? Are you asking him what he wants you to do, say,

think, and respond? Are you trusting him for his strength and

wisdom

While you may say in your head and with your mouth that there

is a God, like the fool you may be living your life as if there is

no God!

E. Are you applying what you are learning from God’s word?

Jesus said in Matthew 7 that the difference between a fool and a

wise man is not that they do not know God’s word but rather the

wise man applies God’s word while the fool does not.

The end result is the fool’s life collapses when life’s major

storms come, while the wise man building his life off the

application of God’s word is able to stand strong when the

storms of life come!

III. Communion

. So which are you? –the fear of the Lord is not only the beginning

place of wisdom it is the very heart of wisdom. Listen to Job 28:28.

A. We have seen this before but it is worth repeating as you consider

just how wise you are. The fear of the Lord is:

Such a deep respect and awe for Jesus that I trust him, obey him

and avoid evil.

It is a high view and value of Jesus that so impacts me that I

walk in his ways

It is such a high regard and wonder for Jesus’ holiness, power,

wisdom, majesty and judgment that it cause me to trust and

obey him and live a holy life.

View Details

Remember God During the Prime of Life

Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:1

August 28, 2022

Introduction:

I.Today’s passage has a special word for everyone:

Young people, those in prime of life and those who are

old

He defines the prime of life as whose body is still

functioning free from the effects of aging.

He defines old as anyone whose body is waning away and

severely limiting their ability to engage in life!

• Let’s start with those who are young and those still in the prime

of life

II. Remember the Lord during the prime of life.

I.This passage really turns around three key words that all start with

the letter “r”.

Rejoice v7-9
Remove v10 – the obstacles that keep us from rejoicing
Remember 12:1–center which life should revolve around

II.As I read this section I want you to watch for two things:

3 “r’s”
Idea to do all of this “before” it is too late
Read 11:7-12:1

III.Rejoice - v7-9 – rejoice in the days of your youth

Note three times in v9 he refers to youth (young man,

childhood, young manhood) Reread v9a-b

In this verse, he tells us specifically how a young person

can rejoice in their youth.

Read 9c. – by following/pursuing your dreams

a. The things your heart desires and the things you see that you

want

However, he tempers the pursuing of those dreams by

saying - read 9d.

. This is not an encouragement to go out and do

whatever you want and follow every lust of your heart

but rather follow your dreams but do it with a sense of

accountability to God, do it in a godly way

a. Read Ecclesiastes 12:14 - God is going to judge

every deed, the things others see and the things that no

one sees but you and God. God’s judgment is:

Without partiality (in other words God has no

favorites, he does not care about the color of your

skin, your economic status whether rich or poor or

what position you hold)

All-inclusive as every human being will stand

before God in one way or another.

Fair in it where the punishment or reward will be

equal to the act.

Do it justly – that means everyone will be judged

by the same standard –God’s perfect standard

revealed in his word!

That awareness that he will hold us accountable for

every deed and every word in our lives should

change the way we live and cause us to trust him,

obey him and live holy lives

IV.Then in v10, he tells them what they need to remove in order to

enjoy life in a godly way.

Note the word “so” Read 10a –

. Vexation – it is a word in Hebrew that can be

translated as either grief or anger or

vexation. Basically some kind of irritation in heart

a. He is focusing upon the heart here and is saying

get rid of the things that are irritating your heart and

keeping you from enjoying life. Get rid of depression,

anger, and bitterness.

b. How are you doing? – Anything of this in your

heart? If so, address it immediately with God and the

help of others.

The second obstacle we need to remove are the sins of the

body. Read 10b

. Pain in Hebrew is literally translated as evil.

a. The sins of the body are the various different

ways we can use our bodies to sin – overeat, substance

abuse, laziness, sexual, etc.

So get rid of the things in your heart that are stinking it up

and the sins of your body so you can enjoy this life now

because this youth thing, the prime of life, flies by

quickly.

V.Remember – 12:1 – read – remember God, put him at the center of

everything while you are young, in the prime of life and you can

enjoy life to its fullest!

VI.Remember your creator -

One of the great gifts of still having a body in the prime of

life is that you can use your life for God in a big way,

without the limitations that poor health can bring.

• Now there is a shift in the emphasis of this passage from

remembering the Lord during the prime of life to

III. Remember the Lord before you die

I.With getting older comes declining capabilities of the body.

II.This passage is built around two key words – “remember” and

“before.”

We are to remember him before three things set in!

a. v1 before – your youth passes away

b. v2-5 before – old age sets in

c. V6-7 before – you die.

III.In v2-5 the image of a deteriorating house is used to picture for us

the impact of old age upon us. There is a lot of debate over the

meaning of the “specific” images used in this passage, but they all

agree that “image as a whole” is describing the deterioration of the

body and human vigor that comes with aging that ultimately

culminates in death. Read 2-5

IV.Then in v 6-7 he tells us to remember God before we die as he

gives us four images that picture death for us, read v6-7

V.Remembering God before it is too late is the main idea that drives

this whole section, whether young, prime of life or old!

When he says “remember” he is not just talking about

bringing God back to mind so we do not forget God

The Hebrew dictionary defines it as remembering him in

such a way that causes us to respond to him in a way that

is worthy of who he is.

So to remember God means to live moment by moment

with God at the center of your life, seeking him, serving

him, loving him, trusting him, and obeying him and on

and on and on.

• So what does all this mean for you and me today?

IV. Application

I.A number of years ago I gave one of my doctors the tape I did on

living to the fullest because we are going to die! (I did that again

just two weeks ago). Next time I saw him he said, “You am in

deep ----; I am upset with you, you have ruined my life.” I said,

“You must of listened to my cd”

Day after listened to tapes, first person he was supposed to

see, that man’s wife died that weekend. It hit the doc like

a hammer

He said, “I have realized that all these plans I have made

for the future may never happen – my wife or I may not be

there for them. All my savings and all my planning may

never happen.”

I need to do something now! I was planning to make some

minor changes – now I have to make major changes and I

do not know what to do.

II.So are you living moment by moment with Jesus at the center of

your life, seeking him, serving him, loving him, trusting him, and

obeying him and on and on and on?

III.You are not too young

Mary mother of Jesus – was in her early teens when God

chose her to be the mother of Jesus

Most if not all of the disciples, the ones whom Jesus

deeply invested in for three years then entrusted with the

world-wide great commission were also in their teens

I know of kids here at MVC in 3rd grade who have invited

friends to clubs, prayed for them and talked to them about

Jesus.

We have kids in fifth and sixth grade working as helpers

in the Sunday kid’s classes and even the cameras on

Sunday morning.

High school kids working in the junior high department

and club impacting junior highs

College kids and young singles investing deeply in high

school students

High school, college and young singles who have been

involved in leading us in worship!

MVC itself has seen young people all the way back to Ron

Hutchcraft to recently Sydney Lach and Ted Aguilar make

a deep impact for Jesus both within and beyond these

walls.

IV.You are not too old to seek the Lord, serve him and be

fruitful. God’s desire and ability to use you even in your old age is

not done – remember Caleb?

Caleb was a man who had a different spirit than the

others. He was a man who when everyone else saw

obstacles, Caleb saw an opportunity for God to do his

thing.

At the age of 85 Caleb still walking with, serving and

trusting God, took a hill from a group of people who were

very big and strong and who lived in fortified cities

Be a Caleb as you age – there are plenty of others around

to complain and see problems, but what MVC needs, what

the kingdom of God needs, what your family and friends

need. They need a Caleb or a Calebette who see God as

bigger than any problem they face and serve him until the

end!

Too many seniors have checked out at MVC and there are

too many needs that they could meet here at MVC. A

great place to start is working on Sunday mornings in the

children’s ministry so you can impact young people and

relieve some overworked brothers and sisters who often

need to miss church themselves!

Let me encourage you with a life giving passage –

a. Turn to Psalm 92:12-15 – still yield fruit in old age – full of

sap

b. Do not waste this opportunity to pour out on others what

should be the most abundant and best fruit you should have if you

have walked with Jesus even into your old age

View Details

Don’t play it safe, take risks Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 - August 21, 2022 - Picnic

Introduction:
1. How do you normally respond when you have an opportunity to do something or a decision that has to be made but you really do not know what to do because the future is uncertain and out of your control?
  1. Do you wait for better circumstances before acting? Circumstances, which seem never to come!
  2. Do you get frozen by the fear of failure or getting it wrong?
  3. Or do you are stuck in the paralysis of analysis mode and never move out?
2. If you remember our chart of the big picture of Ecclesiastes in the second half of the book he is giving insight and advice on how to live in light of
  1. The things he learned in his investigation
  2. Also, the fact that everyone is going to die
  3. Finally, the fact that no one knows the future
Last week we looked at the lessons he teaches us on death, today we are going to see the key lesson he teaches us since
No one knows the future!
1. At least 21 times in this book, this idea comes up.
  1. It is not the idea that man “does” not know something but if he studied a little harder he’d know it, but it is the fact that man “can” not know, he does not have the ability to know certain things even if he studied a lifetime.
2. Ecclesiastes mentions five things in particular that man “cannot” know
  1. What will happen in the future – 6:12; 9:1; 10:14; 11:2
  2. When things will happen in the future – 8:7; 9:12;
  3. The great mysteries of life – 7:23-24; 11:5 a-b
  4. What God is doing here on earth –8:16-17; 3:11; 11:5c
  5. If what we do will succeed or not - read 11:6
This is the passage we are going to address this morning and it will give us some surprising advice on
How to live life when the future is uncertain and out of our control.
1. We will learn this lesson in Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 and it is divided into two main sections:
  1. A merchant in v1-2
  2. A farmer in v4-6.
2. As I read v1-6 watch for this idea of not knowing which is a repeated theme in this passage. read v1-6
3. The merchant - in v 1-2 he gives us an illustration from the world of merchants.
  1. Solomon had a fleet of ships and the belief is that Solomon sent out merchandise in these various ships and brought back the return on his invest after a period of time. Some of that merchandise was grain.
  2. Now listen to v 1-2 in that light.

The Hebrew word for “cast” is literally “send” read v1-2

The point is that there are risks involved taking the resources we have and investing them, but do it wisely, diversify your investments because we do not know what calamity may occur on the earth
V3 teaches us that there are things that are beyond our control, things we cannot change. Things we have to learn to deal with. Read v3
The farmer in v4-6 is essentially teaching us the same thing.
1. V4 he tells us not to play it safe, do not be overcautious, do not wait for perfect conditions and circumstances. Read v4
2. In v5, he comes back to the backdrop that tells us that we cannot understand the great mysteries in life and God’s activities right here on earth and in our lives and circumstances.
  1. Read v5
  2. Note that Solomon has a supernatural view in this passage as he is really implying that God is behind all of these opportunities, misfortunes and circumstances beyond our control and as we will see in the next verse whether our efforts are successful or not.
3. V6 becomes the “so what” of this whole passage that drives the application God is seeking to impress upon us. Read v6
Application
1. This passage gives us some very surprising wisdom when you have an opportunity to do something or a decision that has to be made but you really do not know what to do because the future is uncertain and out of your control
  1. Here it is – don’t play it safe – take wise adventurous risks!
2. We like “sure things” but most of life is unknowable, unsure and beyond our control.
  1. Did you know that faith requires taking risks,
    1. Faith requires stepping into the unknowable and unsure future that is beyond our control
    2. Hebrews 11:6
  2. It is impossible to please God without faith, so it is impossible to please God without taking risks
  3. The only way I can regroup when all those feelings and thoughts of the uncertainty and risk start to fill my heart is to I remind myself what God says in his word and that he is faithful and big enough to do what he says he will do!
3. What risk is God calling you to today?
  1. For some it may be letting go of all the religion, being good and moral, or doing good deeds to make you right with God, and grabbing on fully to Jesus as your only hope of being right with God and going to heaven some day! God would say don’t play it safe – take wise adventurous risks!
  2. For some believers it may be presenting your entire life to Jesus to let him work into your heart and change you at your core, so you live your entire life for him. God would say don’t play it safe – take wise adventurous risks!
  3. It may be sharing the gospel with someone who you have been waiting for months or even years for just the right opportunity. Or you do not know if you will to lose the relationship or their image of you will change. God would say don’t play it safe – take wise adventurous risks!
  4. I know for some it is to join a small group, church activity or serve in a ministry even though you do not know how that will work out with your schedule or how they will receive you. God would say don’t play it safe – take wise adventurous risks!
  5. Afraid to start giving because do not know how it will fit into your budget or afraid you will not have enough for your future. God would say don’t play it safe – take wise adventurous risks!
  6. As believers we are called to be hospitable – step out today at the at picnic or each week at the end of the service to introduce yourself to someone and really get to know them! Yes, you do not know if they will like you or feel like you are bothering them. But God would say don’t play it safe – take wise adventurous risks!
4. According to Hebrews 11:6 God is a rewarder of those who do!

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Death – A Powerful Teacher Ecclesiastes 7, 9, 12 August 7, 2022

Introduction:
1. Let me ask you a question – it’s New Year’s Eve 2022 and you have two engagements, one in the morning to go to a funeral of someone you deeply loved and the second in the evening to go to a party with some of the most fun people you know!
  1. Which would you rather go to?
  2. Which would be more beneficial for you to go to?
2. Turn to Ecclesiastes 7 and read v2-4
  1. Read v2 again note - it is better …. because/for that is the end of every one of us and it has an impact upon our heart.
    1. Simply stated when you go to a funeral one of God’s purposes of this is to remind us that someday it will be our turn to be in that box.
  2. Read v3. Give the literal translation of v3
    1. Hebrew lit – the heart “becometh” better
    2. NLT – sadness has a refining influence on us.
  3. Bottom line - the sorrow, pain, and grief that the death of a loved one brings to us has the potential to make us better, to refine us, and transform us!
Death, both in the book of Ecclesiastes and in life, is a powerful transformational teacher. Let’s see some basic
Truths about death
1. Ecclesiastes uses death to impress four things upon our hearts
  1. That our life is temporary, short and is fleeting - Ecclesiastes 6:12a; Psalm 39:4-5
  2. That no one escapes death – everyone will experience it - Ecclesiastes 9:2-3a
  3. When we die, we will take nothing with us! - Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 –
  4. Nobody knows when they will die and it is out of our control, it is in God’s hands – read 9:12 and Ecclesiastes 3:2 – a time to give birth and a time to die! James 4:15 “if the Lord wills, we shall live”
  5. We live life as if it is going to go on forever and make plans as if we are in control of what and when things are going to happen. The wise man recognizes that being alive today is a gift of God and he does not even have a guarantee to make it to the end of the day. And yes, someday he will die
2. We also see in Ecclesiastes the nature of death.
  1. Remember as I read the next few verses the focus of Ecclesiastes is upon life here on earth and what people will be missing out on in life here on earth. It is not meant to be a statement of what after life will be like. Read v4-6
  2. Reread v4a – “there is hope” there is still the hope for future dreams; there is still the opportunity to partake in life on earth.
  3. You still can have knowledge of things, you still can experience the rewards that God gives you in life, you still can know and be known personally by people, you still can have the passions of your heart and you still can have the opportunity to participate in all that is going on here on earth.
  4. What he is saying is that while you are alive you still have opportunities to engage in life here on earth. But once you die that ends!
So he is using the truths that we are going to die someday at an unexpected time to “motivate” us not to miss the opportunities that lay before us today! In verses 7-10 he lays out for us …
Four wise ways to live in light of the fact we will die
1. Note that he starts off in v7 with “go then,” in other words here is what you should do in light of what has been said.
2. Read v7 - enjoy life!
  1. We have seen this many times in the book before; actually, it forms the heart of the repeated refrains in the first half of the book.
  2. One of the good things we are told to do is enjoy life, the simple things in life like eating and drinking and the task/work that we do!
3. Read v8 – make every day a special day!
  1. In their culture, they could not afford to wear white clothes, cologne, and perfume every day. So they brought them out for special occasions, like weddings and special holy day celebrations
  2. But note in this verse he says to do it “at all times.” In other words, live every day as a special day.
  3. Turn the simple things of life into special occasions and pleasures.
  4. Here in North America we are busy people driven either by a written or internal to do list that never seems to have an end. To follow this instruction it will simply take a matter of cutting down the list for today and giving some intentional thought how to make the day special and not just another day of getting things done.
4. Read v9- enjoy life with your mate
  1. If you are single, you can apply this truth to your special friend!
  2. The reason for this is that this life is flying by us.
  3. Yes, there will not only be an end to your life but an end to your marriage relationship so enjoy that gift while you have it.
  4. I went to visit a man from MVC six months after his wife died. I just wanted to check in with him and see how he was doing. I will never forget what he told me that day as it has lodged deep within my heart.
    1. He said, “Pat, retirement is not what it is cracked up to be. My wife and I had dreams for years what we would do when we got here, but for most part either one of you does not have the health at that time to pull off what you dreamed of doing, or one of you dies and all those dreams go into the ground with them!”
  5. If you are not enjoying the ride with your mate, do something about it! There is help here at MVC, there is help with personal marriage mentors – (look around and go ask) and there is help with professional counselors.
    1. Do not waste this special gift God has given you for a limited time!
5. Read v10 – live life to the fullest
  1. The reason again is that when you die that opportunity is all gone.
  2. Here is a principle that I use - do everything you can to live your life fully, limiting yourself only to the things you can do with joy and passion.
    1. We may need to prune some things to do this! In other words, are you burning yourself, your joy and strength out by doing too much?
    2. To keep our passion, joy and energy up we need to take enough time to enjoy the simple things God has given to us, make every day special and enjoy the mate or special friends that God has given to us
Regarding these four ways to live you could be feeling: I could have gotten this same info in a secular speech or article, maybe even the local atheist club. But he adds a fifth one near the end of the book that puts all these into perspective.
He adds a fifth
1. Read Ecclesiastes 12: 6-7 – remember him
  1. The emphasis is remember him before you die!
  2. In other words everything we have heard so far must be put in the broader context of remember God
  3. That means for us believers today that we should remember Jesus when we enjoy life, make every day special, enjoy our mates and live life to the fullest!
2. When it comes to enjoying life
  1. Read Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
  2. Joy is a gift of God, a fruit of the Spirit, either we can get all bent out of shape, angry and anxious about all the enigmas, uncertainties of life and the fact we are going to die, or we can enjoy gifts God has given to us in this broken world!
3. When it comes to make every day a special day!
  1. Read Colossians 3:17
  2. Everything we should do we should do it with the Lord Jesus Christ in mind and for his glory!
4. When it comes to enjoy life with your mate
  1. We learned in Ephesians 5, when we studied marriage that marriage is ultimately a picture of Jesus’ relationship to the church and husbands and wives should emulate that in their relationship to those around them. How Jesus lays down his life for his bride the church and how his bride, the church submissively responded to him in a submission that responds to his loving leadership!
  2. Are you using your marriage to model for other believers what Jesus can do for them in their marriage and for the lost world in what a relationship with Jesus can look like for them?
5. When it comes to live life to the fullest
  1. John 10:10 teaches us that the fullest life possible is only through Jesus
  2. Colossians 3:23 teaches us that everything we do we should do with all our hearts for the sake of the Lord!
6. Are you living for Jesus? Is he the purpose and driver of your life?
  1. While these four ways of living are wise in light of the fact we are going to die, they are meant to be carried out in the context of Jesus at the center of all of them!

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Fearing God Various passages

August 7, 2022

Introduction:
1. I do not know about you but when I hear the phrase “the fear of the Lord” I often take a pause in my heart and mind because it seems so vague way up there in the sky and so spiritual
  1. Since the fear of God is the key application to the book of Ecclesiastes, we need to understand what it means to bring it down to earth and get the arms of our minds around it so this book can transform our lives!
2. Let’s look at it in Ecclesiastes:
  1. Turn to Ecclesiastes 12:13 where we see the conclusion to this whole book. Read v13
    1. We already saw this is the essence of the meaning of life
  2. Turn to 3:14 where we learned two weeks ago, that God is in control of everything and that everything he does is all a part of his eternal and beautiful plan and that everything he does is perfect and permanent.
    1. Then he says this, read v14
    2. So that ……. fear him
  3. Some people will say “wait a minute is that not an Old Testament concept that now has been replaced by the love of God in the New Testament?”
    1. We all love to emulate the early church where in Acts 2:42 they were devoted to the apostles teaching, to fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. Well listen to Acts 2:43 awe is literally fear
    2. In the book of Acts listen to the way he characterized the churches as they spread. Read Acts 9:31, fear and Holy Spirit coexisting!
    3. In 1 Peter 1:17 speaking of the way every believer is to walk during our time on earth. Read
Let’s start by …
Defining the fear of the Lord
1. The first thing we need to realize is that fear is a response to something or someone.
  1. So fearing God has to do with the way we respond to God, a disposition of heart that we have towards him!
2. Secondly, we need to realize there are two aspects to this word; this is true in Hebrew, Greek and our English word today. Those two aspects are:
  1. Being afraid - terror, dread,
  2. Respect - profound reverence or awe
  3. And at times, a mixture of both dread and respect.
3. Let me try to illustrate that with an experience I had with electricity when I was the custodian here at MVC
  1. The air conditioning was down and a man was called to come fix it. We went down into the room with all kinds of electrical switches big and small all over the wall.
    1. He was not sure which one he needed to turn off and I asked him if he wanted me to call the electrician in our church that knew all of that. He said there was no need
    2. All I know is a few moments later there was a flash of light that filled the room so that was all you saw and a loud boom that sounded like a bomb went off in that room!
    3. I literally did not know for a moment if I was dead or alive.
  2. Am I afraid of electricity, do I run frightened of it every time I am around it? No! But I do have a great respect for it and every time I am dealing with it I walk very carefully and double check to make sure I am doing it right.
  3. We need to be aware of the greatness, holiness, wisdom and power of God and we need to walk in light of that awareness. Not afraid of him but respectful and careful of him, I walk carefully with what he says because ….
    1. I have such a high respect for God that I know when God says to fill my mind with truth and do not be anxious that if I do not do those, then my mind and emotions are going to go boom!
    2. I have such a high respect for God that I know when God says do not get involved in lust, pornography or with someone other than my wife I walk carefully with every temptation that comes my way because I do not want my sexuality, my marriage, my kids and the church to go boom because I was not careful.
    3. I have such a high respect for God that I know when God says to forgive and do not hold onto anger with someone who has hurt me that if I do not then my own heart and relationships are going to go boom
  4. So this kind of fear of God produces a respectful carefulness in my relationship with Jesus not a terror that makes me want to run because he has the power to smash me.
4. So let me do my best to define it by saying the same thing in three different ways hoping that one of the ways will click for you. The fear of the Lord is:
  1. Such a deep respect and awe for God that I trust him, obey him and avoid evil.
  2. It is a high view and value of God that so impacts me that I walk in his ways
  3. It is such a high regard and wonder for God’s holiness, power, wisdom, majesty and judgment that it cause me to trust and obey him and live a holy life.
So
Application
1. Since fearing God is a response to him that brings about something.
  1. Then a deep and intimately knowing of God precedes faith, obedience and holiness.
  2. So many of us live the Christian life backwards by trying to trust, obey and be holy without knowing deeply and personally the one who is the cause for these responses in the Christians life.
  3. We need to focus on knowing God as the top priority in our Christian lives and everything else in our life will flow out of that.
2. We only had time to scratch the surface today on this all-important truth for our church and lives. This is a pursuit worthy of your time and energy to go deeper into it.
  1. Read Proverbs 2:1-5
  2. As we come daily, prayerfully and drinking deeply from God’s word, not just to learn the word but to know God intimately and personally, and to see his holiness, his power, his wisdom, his majesty and even see him as our judge then you will discern and discover the fear of God not just for your head but for your heart and life!
3. As we take communion this morning, consider this: do you have…...
  1. Such a deep respect and awe for Jesus that I trust him, obey him and avoid evil.
  2. It is a high view and value of Jesus that so impacts me that I walk in his ways
  3. It is such a high regard and wonder for Jesus’ holiness, power, wisdom, majesty and judgment that it cause me to trust and obey him and live a holy life.

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The Test of Pleasure Passage July 31, 2022

Introduction:
1. How many of you have ever seen an illusionist – they are skilled at presenting something real in front of our eyes which leads us to an incorrect perception or false impression about the object .
  1. I have always been amazed and entertained by them as they admit it is not magic but an illusion.
  2. Satan is also an illusionist as he is skilled at putting the real things of this world before the eyes of our heart with the intent to mislead or deceive us into thinking this is just what I need!
  3. One of the greatest illusions that Satan presents to both to the lost and believer is that what the world has to offer will bring you the fulfillment and joy you are looking for.
  4. Turn to 1 John 2:15-17 and read
    1. Note:
      1. Loving God and loving the things of this world are polar opposites
      2. What God offers lasts forever and what the world offers passes away
    2. We also see the heart of what the things of the world are: Reread v16.
      1. Lust of the flesh – the pleasures that please our senses and body
      2. Lust of the eyes – the possessions we see
      3. Boastful pride of life – the high positions within a group or organization that could make you prideful
    3. So all the world has to offer are pleasures, possessions and position. Satan is very skilled as presenting those to us as what will bring meaning and joy to our lives.
2. In Ecclesiastes 2, we see that Solomon takes all the world has to offer to see if that answers the question of what brings lasting meaning, significance and value to life. Turn and read v1-2
3. Review briefly what we saw is going on in this book.
  1. Question and the test
  2. The major sections at the top
  3. Conclusion
  4. Key backdrop – vanity – meaninglessness
4. Eric Bihl made a suggestion to me regarding the role of vanity in this book and I think he said it better than I have been saying.
  1. He said that the idea of vanity that shows up 30 times in this book is suggesting that our works and activities in and of themselves are not useless but they are useless to provide the answer to what bring lasting meaning, significance and value, to life!
  2. That only can come from fearing God and keeping His commandments!
We will see an example of that again here in Ecclesiastes 2 when he tested all that the world has to offer: pleasures, possessions and positions
Ecclesiastes 2
1. Structure of the passage
  1. V1-2 – states he is testing pleasure to see if that will bring this lasting meaning and value he is looking for.
  2. V3-8 – he tests pleasures and possessions
  3. V9 he experienced high position
  4. V10-11 – he gives his conclusion to this test
2. Watch for all of this as I read and comment along the way
3. Conclusion – the outcome of this pleasure hunt, where he tested the best the world has to offer – was that there was some temporary pleasure but ultimately all of this was vanity and striving after wind when it comes to answer our question what can provide lasting meaning, significance, value or joy. Reread v10-11
  1. As we have seen before the answer to that question comes from fearing God and keeping His commandments!
  2. So following Jesus and impacting others is not only the mission God gave us; it really is the pathway to lasting meaning, significance, value or joy!
Following Jesus, impacting others
1. I think Solomon’s test is so important for us in North America today. As we learned there are things we can enjoy but they do not provide the ultimate things in our heart and life that we need.
  1. Satan uses the illusion of the world satisfying as one of his most powerful distractions for Christians today from following Jesus.
2. Following Jesus is much like a marriage relationship where we leave and cleave.
  1. Read Matthew 4:18-22
    1. V19 – definition of a disciple at MVC – follow and impact
    2. V20 – they left their livelihood
    3. V22 – they left their possessions, boat and family
3. Listen further to these verses about being a disciple of Jesus
  1. Matthew 16:24–26 – note speaking to His disciples –
    1. If you want to hang onto your life the way it is and what you have, you will lose out on experiencing life indeed.
    2. Even if you gained the whole world, you will come up empty!
  2. Listen to what Peter said in Mark 10:28 to Jesus.
    1. Read v28
    2. Read v29-30
Testimony
1. I want to introduce you to some friends of mine and missionaries of MVC who left everything to follow Jesus down to the boarder of Mexico to minister to the poor and orphans:
  1. Bruce – tell us what your life was like before God called you to the mission field.
  2. Bruce – you left some great opportunities up here and followed Jesus down to Mexico to minister to the poor. Tell us about how God worked in your hearts and brought that about
  3. Peter said to Jesus – we left everything … and Jesus told him about the great blessings he would get in return in this world and in eternity. How has God blessed this leaving the security of the North American dream and cleaving to Jesus as you minister to the poor and orphans in Mexico.
  4. Next hour in the Chapel people will have an opportunity to meet you two and hear more about the ministry that you have. In one minute, tell us what they can expect if they come to that time.
2. Let me ask you and myself today this question – is there anything, anyone or pursuit that we need to leave in order to better cleave to Jesus so we can experience a life that has lasting meaning, significance, value and joy?

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Everything is Beautiful in its Time

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14

July 17, 2022

I.Introduction:

A. I had a very unusual experience with the passage we will

look at today in Ecclesiastes 3. Please turn. For three days God

kept drawing me back and opening new things to me. On the third

day, he kept showing me more and more to the point where I said

something I never said to God before. “God could you please stop,

I really need to get some work done!”

I feel a deep sense of inadequacy with my finite mind to

try to package into a sermon a passage that is loaded with

infinite truths and some of the biggest questions that many

of us ask ourselves along the way of life.

I may raise more questions than I answer but I trust I will

be sending you down the right path to think about them.

B. We are going to see three major things all intersect in this

passage – God and His sovereignty, time and eternity, and man’s

activities here on earth. As Solomon wrestled with these three, he

is going to ask a question that many of us have asked before.

C. Let me do a quick side bar on God’s sovereignty, as it is key

in this passage and throughout the book!

Sovereignty –it simply means that God has the right and

power to do whatever He pleases and He orders

everything, controls everything, rules over everything

according to His will in both heaven and here on earth!

a. When you balance that out with Scripture we see two

tensions to this truth

One God does not do or tempt anyone to evil –

therefore God is not the cause or responsible for

evil.

Romans 9-11 teaches us that while God is fully

sovereign in His choices man is fully responsible

for his choices.

When you ask me how do I fit together all the pieces of

God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility and

accountability for his choices I respond like Paul did after

three chapters of talking about this very thing.

. Read Romans 11:33-36

a. This infinite truth should lead our finite minds and

hearts to worship God rather than figure Him out and

put Him in a box!

• So, in light of these balancing truths, we are going to learn some

key truths about God’s sovereignty this morning. Let’s jump

right in the text …

II. Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

A. The structure of this passage is simple

V1 he states the truth
V2-8 he illustrates the truth
V9 he asks the big question that comes out of this truth

B. Read v1

By the way, in these few verses we are going to see the

word “time” 30 times. Gives us a little hint about what

this passage is about

Two different Hebrew words for time in v1 – the first has

to do with a specific appointed time, the second has to do

with time in general.

In the context of this chapter, we will see that God is the

one who puts all these times on His master calendar in

heaven. He has set up specific appointed times for

everything here on earth long before they ever happen.

Verse 1 covers from the universal whole – everything in

life to the specific parts – each individual event that

happens on earth.

C. V2-8 is reinforcing and illustrating the truth, we learned

v1.

These fourteen sets of opposites are called a merism. A

merism is a figure of speech that is used of polar opposites

to suggest the totality of everything in between them.

a. V2 simply that means he starts us off by showing

us that God appoints everything from birth till

death. Read 2a.

b. The rest of the verses just flesh it out for us

further. Read 2b-8

D. Now we come to the big question that Solomon asked and we

often ask when we are faced with this truth, that God arranges the

events of our life.

Read v9
We need to keep this question in the context of what came

before it in V1-8.

So what he is asking is this “what value does anything I do

have if God is sovereign, in control over everything?”

We should not take this as a cry of futility but an honest

question in light of God’s sovereignty.

• The answer to this question is in

III. Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

A. Read v10.

Now the answer I would have expected in light of the

repeated phrase of the rest of this book is this “all man’s

works is vanity, like chasing after the wind.”

But he does not answer it that way – instead he says this -

read v10-11

B. We see three major things in this verse.

God has made everything, yes, even all the things in V2-8

beautiful and appropriate in God’s appointed time. Reread

11a

Secondly, God has set eternity within our heart (that is the

deep-down yearning within us that wants to understand all

the big questions of life), but the problem is that we cannot

discover what God is doing

Note what he cannot discover what God is doing from the

beginning even to the end. That is the big plan of God that

expands beyond my life, my time and this world into

eternity

C. Let me try to illustrate this. We see and know only a

very, very small, small piece of the tapestry that we

experience and we only see the back side so things just do not

make sense to us! Especially some of the hard and ugly

things in our lives and this world!

But God’s purposes expand beyond my life, my

experience, my time, this world’s history into eternity past

and future.

Our little finite minds cannot understand our specific

events in light of God’s big plan

Try to illustrate this with the stage and to infinity on both

sides. God’s time and mind and our finite time and minds

at one small point.

a. To properly understand what God is doing we

need to be able to understand what He is doing from

eternity past and future

D. Let me add one more thought about God’s sovereign working

in our lives and this world!

Read v14
Simply what he is saying that in light of this big sovereign

plan of God, everything He does is permanent (everything

God does will remain forever) and perfect (nothing to add

to it and there is nothing to take from it)

E. Now summarize the three everythings of Ecclesiastes 3

V1 - everything is according to God’s appointed time
V11 everything is beautiful in that appointed time
V14 everything God does is permanent and perfect!
So that ……. fear Him

. Sounds like the same conclusion that Paul came to

in Romans 11 after three chapters of wrestling with

these same truths!

a. Do not try to figure out God or what He is doing

just worship Him! –

A bit later in the series, I will show how fear and

worship are connected!

• There are a few

IV. Take aways for us

A. First, your activities/work/efforts here on earth are not futile

but rather they are God instruments for accomplishing His eternal

beautiful plan

Tie v1-8 to v10 – the task God has given …
Verse 12-13 see good in his work
Part of the good that man can see in his work is that God is

using what he does to accomplish His big eternal and

beautiful plan!

B. When we allow the truths of Ecclesiastes 3 to become the

northern point on the compass by which we navigate the activities

and events of our lives, we regain our bearings and it gives a

completely new perspective and attitude to our lives.

In many ways, this verse seems to me to be the Old

Testament equivalent to the New Testament passage many

of us claim repeatedly. Romans 8:28-29

C. Once in a while God gives us a small window into what He is

doing. I was impressed with this truth on Mother’s Day when

Cathy Clarke was sharing with us about the loss of their son Kevin

in the war

Hearing the amazing timing of the morning Kevin went

out to his last battle before he went out he turning in an

assignment where he recorded a very strong and clear

testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ as his savior

Then for Phil and Cathy to receive word from one Kevin’s

superiors that the testimony was read to the company and

eventually spread through the United States Marines

websites.

We have no idea how many seeds were planted by that

…how many lives have been touched – how many

marriages, how many families, children. And how many

of those who have been impacted by it have impacted

others.

We can add to that how I have heard from some after that

message how God used Cathy’s message and sharing the

process she went through in being radically honest with

God has helped free them up from things they were

struggling with.

V. Prayerful reflection question for us

. Think for a moment of one very difficult event in your life,

one that caused you great pain or you just cannot understand why

or what that was all about.

Consider when you tell others about that event or when

you think about it; what does the way you tell it or think

about it say about the way you interpret that event?

a. Example: “the day God ripped me off?” “an unfair event”

“betrayal by a friend”

b. Take a moment to consider and title it from your perspective.

When you consider the title, you gave that event; on a

scale of 1-10 how in line would your title be to the truths,

we learned today in Ecclesiastes 3 and Romans

8:28. Give yourself a score 1-10

If you were to put a new title on that chapter of your life,

even though the original title may be true, this one tells the

larger story in light of the truths we learned today in

Ecclesiastes 3 and Romans 8:28.

. I want to encourage/challenge you that when you think or

talk about that event in your life to begin to tell it from the

perspective of the larger story title!

a. Take a moment give that new title.

A. Josh ….

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The Antidote to Vanity Ecclesiastes 1:2-3; 12:8, 13-14

July 10, 2022

Introduction:
1. My hope for this series in Ecclesiastes is that God would equip us to have souls that are well and centered on Jesus no matter what things come our way in life!
2. Here is the problem that many of us face – we feel like something is missing in our life and what we are doing is meaningless. The difficulties of our life and the unfairness and injustices of this world often leave us frustrated, discouraged and depressed rather than enjoying it.
3. We learned last week that Solomon, like a scientist in a laboratory, tested all of man’s works and man’s wisdom to get an answer to what brings lasting value, meaning and meaningless to the life we live right here on earth.
  1. We summarized his finding in these takeaways:
    1. First – lasting significance is found only in God, not in this world.
    2. Second – life is not a puzzle to solve but a gift to enjoy!
    3. Fear God, enjoy life!
Actually that sense that what we are doing is meaningless and useless and often leaves us frustrated is captured in this book with the word …
Vanity
1. He uses it 22 times in the book and this book is enclosed within this bracket of vanity. Read 1:2 and 12:8
2. The word for vanity in Hebrew means – a vapor or breath that disappears quickly.
  1. This idea of vanity is reinforced by the image he gives us nine times in this book “chasing after the wind,” indicating just how futile and frustrating vanity actually is.
  2. Read 1:14, 17.
  3. So when all is said and done, 31 times in Ecclesiastes he is emphasizing how useless, worthless, meaningless, futile and frustrating man’s works and man’s wisdom can be in this world.
3. A surface reading of this book and the repeated use of this word vanity would lead someone to think it is saying that their work and life is essentially meaningless and unsatisfying.
  1. But when we consider the book as a whole and you let Scripture balance out Scripture within this book, we realize that he is speaking relatively. By that, I mean he is looking at man’s works and man’s wisdom in relation to God’s works and God’s wisdom.
  2. So when I hold man’s works and man’s wisdom up against God’s works and God’s wisdom, God’s so overpowers man’s that man’s seems very insignificant.
  3. Example:
    1. If we had a 10-watt light bulb on right here and right behind it, we put a 1000-watt light; we would not even see the 10 watts of light because the 1000 watts would over power it making the 10 watts seem like nothing.
    2. We see this same example in the New Testament when Paul compares the old covenant that Moses gave to the new covenant. Turn to 2 Corinthians 3:7-11 Read
  4. Let me show you this in Ecclesiastes.
    1. Read 1:13-14; 2:11,22-23
      1. All man’s works are grievous and vain.
      2. So some would say – “there it is, case is closed all of man’s works are frustrating and futile – the Bible says so
    2. But now let’s read 2:24, 3:12-13
      1. Here it says it is a gift from God to see good in your work and it is a gift of God to enjoy life!
      2. So there is good in our work and there is joy in this broken world. – The Bible says so!
    3. So when we try to find meaning and joy from the things this world has to offer, a meaning and joy that is temporary and conditional at best; and when I compare it to the meaning and joy I get from the Lord it fails in comparison to that which one can get from the Lord!
      1. The meaning and joy this world offers is like a vapor or breath that appears for a moment then quickly disappears.
        
        Illustrate: breathe!
        
        That it, now we are on to the next one!
Now let’s look at the
Antidote to vanity
1. Turn to chapter 12. He is telling us his conclusion when all of the facts are in on his experiment. Read v13-14.
  1. In a sense, man is allergic to sin and the world and the histamine they create, causes symptoms of vanity, emptiness, meaninglessness and joylessness.
  2. But God’s antidote, his ‘anti’-histamine that counteracts the symptoms of vanity, emptiness, meaninglessness and joylessness is to fear God and keep His commandments.
    1. A deep, deep, deep respect for Him, that changes the way we live our lives from my way to His way!
  3. This little phrase at the end of v13 gives us a world of insight into why we should fear God and keep His commandments.
    1. Read all of v13
    2. This last phrase here “because this applies to every person” – we learned last week straight out of the Hebrew. “For this is the ‘whole’ of man.
    3. In other words, this is where a man or woman finds meaning, fulfillment and purpose in life. This is what he or she was created for! This is what will make them whole.
  4. Application
    - . The New Testament says it like this. Read Colossians 1:16
      1. We were made “by” Jesus and “for” Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is our sweet spot - that is where we find love, peace, fulfillment, purpose, lasting value and meaning.
      2. The missing piece that you have been searching for to the puzzle of life is Jesus!
If you do not know Jesus the place to begin to find the kind of joy and meaning that will last and is not conditioned upon my circumstances being good, is by coming into a relationship with Him.
1. Brief gospel and invite
But there are many who do know Jesus, but if you are radically honest with yourself, your life feels more empty, like something is still missing and what you do feels meaningless and joyless. If that is your case then let’s look at your life like it is a house
1. Jesus has come into your life, your house and you had a great party when He first came. You gave Him the special guest room and fed him the finest of food as you talked together about your life and future. He spoke to you through His word and you spoke to Him through prayer and He even helped you out with things around the house.
  1. In this case Jesus is not only in the house/life but He is a vital part of this life
  2. You were so filled with joy and a sense of meaning
2. But with time, with the busyness of life and the daily grind of life you have forgotten He is there and actually, you put Him in a closet downstairs and no longer have discussions with Him. You now are running the household all by yourself.
  1. In this case Jesus is still in your life but He no longer is a vital part of your life, everything you do is built around yourself and your desires
  2. Now you are feeling joyless and frustrated and everything you do seem so meaningless!
3. Your great need is Romans 12:1. Turn & read
  1. Not just going down and letting Jesus out of the closet and apologizing to Him,
  2. It is not even letting Him move back into the guest room and talking to Him every day
  3. But the answer is to give Jesus the very title deed to your house/life where he becomes the owner and you become the guest. He is the one who now calls the shots in your house/life; he now can remodel, redecorate or run things the way He wants rather than Him just helping you accomplish what you want with the house/life.
4. Prep for moment of silence
  - . Romans 12:1 comes after twelve chapters of talking about what Jesus has done for you when He died and rose for you and the very fact that He himself chose you to be His child.
    1. Romans 12:1 is the natural response to that.
    2. Would you consider where Jesus is in your house/life and do business with him this morning.
      1. Is He locked in a closet and no communications
      2. Is He as special guest in your house/life
      3. Is He the owner of your house and now your house/life is totally run by and oriented around Him and His wants? It is now his house/life and you are the guest!

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Under the Sun/Intro to Ecclesiastes Various passages

June 26, 2022

Introduction:
1. The series this summer is one I believe that God spoke directly to my heart to do for MVC.
  1. There had never been a time in my ministry when I did not know what to preach until I came to this summer.
  2. I did not want to bring another series challenging people to get more involved or to fight the fight but rather something that was in touch with the difficulties of the last few years (Covid along with all its changes, sickness and death and the division we have felt racially and politically) yet at the same time brings us more of Jesus and His joy
  3. I prayed almost daily for six weeks as I wrestled with these thoughts when God whispered into my heart one day the name of this particular book and instantly I knew it was the one because it fits the bill perfectly.
2. It is also a book that touches each one of us at the deepest level of our lives as it addresses what brings lasting value, meaning and significance to my life!
  1. For many there is that deep inside sense that something is missing or something is not okay.
  2. So their life becomes a constant search to find that thing or person fill up that empty hole inside them.
  3. For many even when they find their thing they cannot help but feel like Tom Brady felt after winning multiple Super Bowls and achieving fame as he said,
    1. “Why have I’ve reached my goals and still feel like there is something greater out there for me” … “God, there has to be more than this”
    2. Interviewer asked him, “What is the answer?” and Tom answered “I wish I knew, I wish I knew”
3. I have good news for you this morning, the wisest man who ever lived outside of Jesus, Solomon, answers this question for us in the book of Ecclesiastes.
4. My goal for today is simple, to give you a big picture overview of the book so you can gain your bearings with this book as you read it for yourself and we study it this summer.
  1. Today will be more teaching than preaching, more like a Bible school class than a Sunday sermon. But it is a necessary first message to preach through the book in weeks to come
  2. It is a book that in no way sugar coats reality but looks this broken world straight in the face!
  3. A surface reading of the book will cause you to conclude that life is depressing and futile.
    1. But if you stick with it and dig deep enough you will find it clarifies for us what brings lasting significance and satisfaction and what does not.
5. Turn to Ecclesiastes 12:11, as we will see another value of digging into this book. Read Ecclesiastes 12:11
  1. Goad – a sharp instrument used to prod an animal to action
    1. These words are designed to provoke us to change and act
  2. Well-driven nail – those who master these words will have lives that are firm, strong, and secure!
Well let’s see what is …
Big picture of Ecclesiastes
1. He introduces to us the purpose of the book right up front.
  1. Read 1:2-3
  2. The question he is pursuing is simply “What advantage does man have in all his work right here on earth?
    1. The word advantage means what value, benefit, profit, good
    2. This word is put in contrast in this book with vanity, which we saw in v2, which simply means something that is useless, worthless and meaningless.
  3. Read v13a – what we see here is that Solomon, much like a scientist observing life in a laboratory trying to find an answer to the question what gives lasting value and meaning to life here on earth.
  4. As he seeks to answer this question he is going to learn many things along the way that do not answer the question but help us better understand life and what is good for us in this world.
  5. But at the end, he will answer the big question of what brings lasting meaning, value, significance to life.
2. We see in the next few verses a summary of what he is going to test and the summary of the first major division of the book “the investigation!”
  1. Read v14-15 – man’s efforts, which we see summarized in chapter 2-6 (pleasure, possessions, fame, work, riches)
  2. Read v16-18 – man’s wisdom, which we see, summarized in chapters 7-8.
3. Then he summarizes his findings in this section of investigation of man’s works and wisdom as he transitions us to the next section of the book.
  1. Read Ecclesiastes 8:16-17
    1. Simply to understand the value of man’s work and man’s wisdom here on earth is something that man cannot discover on his own, no matter how hard he tries and how wise he is
Now we see in 9:1, a hinge verse – that is a verse that can swing both ways, much like a door that allows you to enter or leave any of two different rooms. Read 9:1-2b.
This introduces us to the next major section of the book, advice.
1. Now in chapter 9 -12 we see him giving us advice in light of three things:
  1. What he learned in this investigation
  2. The fact that man does not know what his future holds
  3. The fact that everyone is going to die
Then we come to the conclusion of the book and more importantly, the answer to the question, his investigation that we saw back in chapter 1 – what gives lasting value and meaning to life. What makes life in this world significant?
1. Next week we will focus the entire sermon on this conclusion but for today let me just introduce to you next week’s sermon
2. Read Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
3. Bottom line, what gives lasting significance is not found in this world or anything this world has to offer, but rather it is found in God. Fearing Him and keeping His commandments with an eye to the fact that someday God will hold us accountable for the life we are living here on earth.
Now there is a key little phrase that is in v13.
1. Read 13b
2. The literal Hebrew reading is this: for this is the whole of man
3. Walter Kaiser, a language scholar, said it can be said this way – we should fear God and keep His commandments because this is the whole of man (the manish of man and the womanliness of a woman)
4. In other words, this is what we were created for, this is what will make you whole, this is what will give lasting meaning and value to your life
Conclusion
1. So here is how I simply summarize the message of the book.
  1. Lasting significance is only found in God, not this world!
  2. There is a sub theme that also runs through this book, which we see in the refrain that is repeated often during the section of the book where he is investigating life.
    1. Listen. Read 2:24-25; 3:12-13, 22; 5:18-20; 8:15
    2. One of the discoveries that Solomon made along the way as he was seeking the answer to his major question. Life is not a puzzle to solve but a gift to enjoy!
    3. Apply – are you trying to figure out life, both the hard times and frustrations or the complexities, confusing and divisive things over the last three years in this world we live?
      1. My encouragement – stop trying, put your mind, and hope in Jesus! Enjoy the good gifts He has given to you!
      2. As we saw earlier, you will never figure it out no matter how hard and long you try or how smart you are.
  3. When I put the two together I would simply say it like this – fear God, enjoy life
    1. I have a concern that too many Christians are walking around with empty, meaningless lives that lack fulfilment and joy because while they began with Jesus, the source of all abundance, joy and meaning, but they have left walking with Him and are trying to find all these things in what the world has to offer.
    2. They are running from one temporary pleasure, possession or position to the next one as they squeezed what little life they can get out of it.
    3. Somehow, even believers just do not get it that man’s works and man’s wisdom just will not satisfy them nor fill their hearts!
    4. Until they get off that dead end street, they will continue to feel empty and joyless!
2. Finally, we learn, not only in Ecclesiastes but throughout the Bible, that we have been created for a relationship with God and that is the place we find ultimate value, meaning and significance! Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal savior?
  1. Listen to what Jesus said in John 10:10. Read
  2. Life that is abundant and full, the kind that can fill that spot deep within that feels either empty or like something is missing can only be filled by Jesus. It will only continue to be filled as we have a deep respect for Him and live life according to His Word.
  3. Read John 3:16 and invite

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Encouragement for Men

2 Timothy 3:16-16, Hebrews 13:20-21,

2 Corinthians 3:4-5, Galatians 2:20

June 19, 2022

I.Introduction:

A. Men carry a large personal weight on their souls that can make

them feel inadequate or ill equipped when it comes to navigating life!

When you look at the many responsibilities and expectations

upon a man, both from the Bible and manmade, they often feel

like I have not done enough or do not measure up. This often

results in self-condemnation, defeat, insecurity or just giving up.

a. They want to be

A man who walks with God displaying the fruits of the

Spirit of God in their life and having a testimony to

others.

The kind of leader God wants them to be in their

marriages, homes, church and community.

b. But on the other hand they struggle with sin –

Pride, impatience, selfishness, self-reliance,
Along with sexual purity, temptation, lust or even porn.

c. Also, they are giving 100% at work and when they get

home, they run on empty. Not enough time and energy to

do either right.

Add to those responsibilities and expectations that they have no

idea of what it looks like because they have never seen it

modeled.

Add on top of that - conflicting messages from the Bible and

from the world as to what a man is and how he should act.

B. A number of years ago a brother came up to me and said it

seems on Mother’s Day we are always encouraging the women and

telling them how great they are, but on Father’s Day we seem to

always be challenging men to be better and pointing out where they

fall short.

Reminded me of this image I saw on Facebook with Mother’s

Day dinner at the beach and Father’s Day frozen meal!

Yes, men love to challenge men to be stronger, better and more

godly men and we get a lot of amens for that because men love

to challenge and be challenged.

• Well today, my goal is to help men carry the large personal weight on

their souls that makes them feel inadequate or ill equipped to navigate

the responsibilities and expectations they have!

• By the way ladies, do not tune me out because what we will learn

today addresses the inadequacies and sense of being ill equipped that

women also feel in their lives.

II. Scripture

A. I want to take us to the only passage in Scripture I am aware of that

addresses both the issue of adequacy and equipping – 2 Timothy 3:16-

Turn and read.
Let’s simply define these two key words

a. Adequate – having the knowledge and skill to be able to meet all

the demands upon you.

That addresses our feeling of inadequacy where we feel

we are not enough or measure up to what we are called to

in our lives

b. Equipped – provide someone with what they need to make them

ready to do what they need to do!

That addresses our feeling of being ill equipped as God

furnishes us with the resources we need to do the job!

The first thing we see here is that God’s Word, the Scripture,

the written Word of God, which is breathed right out of the

heart of God.

. Note what it is profitable for: teaching, reproof,

correction, training in righteousness. Illustrate by walking

on the platform.

a. So that may be adequate and equipped for every, every,

every good work. That would include every responsibility

and expectation upon a man!

As most men have not seen it modeled before them or have any

idea of what it means or looks like to be a man, the Bible is a

great place to gain your bearings.

. Daily at home or at break time at work. I would

encourage you to start with the method that Martin Luther

used when it came to God’s Word. He was the great

reformer who God literally used to change the church and

the world. His method is summarized simply in my

words. WAR

Worship/praise, thank God from things in the text
Admit/confess sin that is inconsistent with the text
Request God to do things for and in you in the text

a. A couple resources on Sunday mornings to jump-start

you.

Bible study methods – simply communicate to you what I

learned in seminary on how to study the Bible as a pastor

would. You do need to sign up for this class as we will

limit it to 40

Mere Christianity use C.S. Lewis book as a foundation as

you will see that Christianity is logical and we can

rationalize our faith.

Bereans – the seven letters from Jesus to the church in

the first three chapters in the book of Revelation. You

will learn in this class how Jesus feels when he looks at

the church today!

• We are excited about these opportunities and many events coming up

this summer and fall. So how can you find out more or sign up for

one.

• Best way is the Sunday electronic bulletin, which explains to

you what is going on and a link to sign up for it. I encourage

you to read this every week as it comes out on Sunday morning

• If you do not get that – take out your phone and add this to your

contact information right now – 708-350-6610 - MVC text

• Got it? I would encourage you to text right now and put in

the word “bulletin”

• In return, you will receive a link where you can put

in your email address and what you want to be

signed up for.

• Text number is always the same so when you see

something you want more information on or sign up for

something you hear in the video announcements that is the

quickest and easiest way to do it.

B. Let’s look at a passage that speaks about God equipping us.

Equipped – provide someone with what they need to make them

ready to do what they need to do! It addresses our feeling of

being ill-equipped

Turn and read Hebrews 13:20-21.
Note:

a. Emphasize – God equips you

b. Everything, everything, everything, you need to do

God’s will – the things we learn in this book that we are

responsible for and God expects of us.

c. Working in us … through Jesus Christ – God works in

us everything we need through the indwelling Christ who

lives in us and builds into us just what we need!

C. Now let’s look at a passage that speaks about God making us

adequate.

Adequate – having the knowledge and skill to be able to meet

all the demands upon you. It addresses our feeling of being

inadequate

Turn to 2 Corinthians 3:4-5

a. Context – as Christians, men and women, boys and girls are

called to be the aroma of Jesus to those around them. Then in 2

Corinthians 2:16 he says, “who is adequate for these things.”

b. Read 2 Corinthians 3:4-5

Most men are paralyzed by their weaknesses and inadequacies,

when the proper response is to allow these to be the reminders

to turn to Jesus and confess that our confidence and faith is not

in ourselves but in God Himself

• So how does this work?

III. Conclusion –

A. Galatians 2:20 Read

Two key observations –

a. I no longer live but Christ lives in me.

b. The life I now live in this body is a life of faith in Jesus.

Two ways Christians live:

. The first is like a rowboat where they do all the work! (walking

by the flesh)

They commit themselves whole heartedly to God and try

as hard as they can to live for Him, the way His Word

tells them

The second way is like a sailboat boat where they do the

work of putting up the sail but the wind does the work of

moving them on! (walking by the Spirit)

I recognize my own inability to pull it off and put no trust

or confidence in myself to do this thing for God. Rather

transfer my trust and confidence to Jesus moment by

moment to live out His life through me and miraculously

fill me with adequacy and equipment to carry off the

expectations and responsibilities that are upon me.

B. This is how it all works together

Read in God’s word what responsibilities and expectations He

has upon me.

Know that the indwelling spirit of Jesus can do in and through

me what I cannot do for myself.

Prayerfully rely upon, call out to Jesus to live His life through

you! As simple as Jesus I cannot do this, please do this for me!

C. When we do this miracles happen. Let me illustrate this:

I do not have the ability to draw at all. Draw Mona Lisa – stick

man version

Let’s say that the spirit of Leonardo da Vinci comes to live in

me.

Now I go to the artist stand either I can do my best and be really

sincere and committed to the Lord to do a great picture for Him,

or I can yield to the indwelling spirit of Leonardo da Vinci

within me and rely him to draw that picture through me,

This is what comes out when I step back, yield, and rely upon

him to do it through me. picture of Mona Lisa

D. The same happens when a man relies upon the indwelling Jesus to

equip him and make him adequate:

When they face their responsibilities and expectations
To display His fruits in them and empower them to walk and

witness for Him

To lead in their marriages, families, church and community
To break down the power of sin in their lives and fill them with

the purity of Jesus

To give them the wisdom and strength to balance both home

and work!

E. Pray for men - Stand

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Our Core - Mission – Following Jesus, Impacting Others Matthew 28:19; Luke 6:40, Matthew 4:19-20

June 12, 2022

Introduction:
1. Almost every church can clearly state what their mission is because Jesus made it very clear what our mission is – to make disciples.
  1. Differences comes when churches seek to define “What is a disciple?”
  2. Think how that would hamper MVC ability to be a disciple making church if everyone at MVC has a different definition of what a disciple looks like!
  3. Let’s try it out – take a moment and share with someone near you how you would define what a disciple is!
    1. How many of you had the exact same definition?
    2. How many of you can repeat the exact words the other used to define it?
  4. So today, we are closing out our series called “our core” where we are seeking to define ourselves as a church, by looking at what is our mission. But as I said the hard part of that is very simple, defining a disciple
    1. But it is not that simple as there is much said in Scripture about being a disciple. So to be true to the Bible means there are many things to consider.
    2. On the other hand, if we make our definition too complex and include everything then no one will ever remember specifically what we are trying to do.
    3. So my hope today is to capture the heart of what the Bible says about who a disciple is and yet say it as simply as possible. Then apply that to MVC.
  5. Let’s start by reading Matthew 28:19-20 again where we see this as the heart of our mission – to make disciples! Read
Let’s start with
Definition of a disciple
1. As you know disciple is not a common word in our culture but it was in theirs at the time of the New Testament
2. For the definition of the word disciple, as found in Matthew 28:19 I went to seven different Greek dictionaries to see how they defined the word - mathētēs (μαθητής). Here are some highlights of a few things I found.
  1. Most use the word “disciple’ or ‘follower’ to describe this Greek word.
  2. But when you break down the Greek word itself - it means to learn, a learner, a pupil.
    1. Listen to Luke 6:40
    2. The word pupil is the exact same Greek word here as disciples in Matthew 28 – only difference is that in Matthew it is a verb and here it is a noun!
    3. We see here that the goal of discipleship is to become like your teacher. As disciples of Jesus, our goal is to become more and more like Jesus. less of me and more of Jesus
  3. Vines dictionary says this word indicates thought accompanied by endeavor, hence it denotes one who follows or puts into practice one’s teaching,
    - . He goes on to say “a disciple was not only a pupil, but an adherent -
Or simply someone who binds himself or herself to observing or obeying what they learn!
So bottom line the definition of a disciple has two aspects to it - first they are a learner and secondly they follow or obey what they learn
1. So a “disciple of Jesus” is one who is learning from Jesus how to live life and following or obeying what they learn from Him about how to live life.
That really leads us right into Jesus’ call to discipleship that helps us understand what a disciple is.
Jesus’ call to discipleship
1. Turn to and read Matthew 4:19.
  1. Jesus called them to follow Him.
  2. Jesus is inviting them to be His pupils, to learn from Him and obey what they learn from Him.
2. But Jesus adds something onto to this call that further develops what a disciple is. Listen again to v19b.
  1. If you follow Him then He will make you a fisher of men!
  2. In other words, you are called for a purpose! Now you will join Jesus on His mission to seek and save the lost and to teach believers to obey everything Jesus taught us!
3. When we follow Jesus and His teachings, He will make us into a person that influences others for the sake of the kingdom of God. We will not only follow Jesus’ teachings but we will also join Him in His mission!
So let me now try to summarize all that we have heard and come up with a …
Simple definition of a disciple
1. Within the last month, I was in a discussion with three other staff members as we were asked to define a disciple for MVC. We wrestled with what the Bible says and how it could be understood today!
2. We talked for a long time and went done many trails, possibilities and circles and finally we concluded that the best way to define it is to say what we already are saying is our mission – following Jesus, impacting others.
3. So every one of us at MVC should be able to answer the question of what a disciple looks like with full biblical confidence and simplicity by saying it is to follow Jesus and impact others.
So how does that …
Apply to MVC
1. Well the next logical question would be what would we say following Jesus and impacting others looks like?
  1. If we cannot do that with the same clarity as we would defining a disciple we still will be greatly hampered as a church in carrying out the mission of making disciples that Jesus gave us.
2. How could we say that simply enough that we would be biblically accurate and still be able to hang on to it. More importantly give us some direction on how I should be living to be a disciple of Jesus!
  1. Let me suggest three key things:
    1. Be with Jesus
    2. Become like Jesus
    3. Bring Jesus to our world
  2. The heart of each
3. Be with Jesus (union/source)
  1. Jesus said He chose His followers to be with Him. The heart of being a disciple is to be with Jesus. Mark 3:14
  2. Since He is the source of everything, we need for our life and for impacting others, we need to constantly be living in union and dependence upon Him.
4. Become like Jesus (goal)
  1. The end product of a disciple, as we learned in Luke 6:40, was to become like their teacher. We also learn in Romans 8:29 that God has predestined each one of us to be conformed to the image of Jesus! Paul said in Galatians that he was in hard labor like a woman giving birth until Jesus was formed in them.
  2. So the end goal of our lives and the lives we are seeking to impact is that we become more like Jesus!
5. Bring Jesus to our world (work)
  1. This is simply the work of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost world
  2. And teaching those who are believers both what Jesus taught and how to obey it!
6. As we close this series of defining just who is MVC at our core we learn this mission is the work that Jesus has given to MVC to do and our values are the way that MVC does it:
  1. Remember these values
    1. Together strong
    2. Mission driven
    3. World changers
    4. Future focused
    5. Grace+truth
  2. This is how we carry out the mission to make disciples, those who are following Jesus and impacting others
    - . Together strong - together is our vehicle
      1. This is not a solo mission but a team mission that will require all of us
Mission driven - mission is why we exist
1. This mission is what drives MVC to be who we are and do what we do
World changers - transformation is our destination
1. We learned today that the goal will require a transformational work by the Spirit of God – not just to get people to church but to see them receive the life of Jesus and become more like Jesus
Future focused - the next generation is our sight

(1) As we saw there is a special need to touch the generations following us with this mission as we are commanded to do so, as Bob Long taught us and it is essential for the health of MVC 4. Grace+truth - grace+truth is our context 1. God’s grace and truth is what each one of us needs to be a healthy disciple, and it is what we need to bring to others in order to impact them! 5. So let me ask you, which area of discipleship would you need to focus upon this summer to continue to grow as a disciple? 6. Three main areas of a disciple who follows Jesus and impacts others! 1. Be with Jesus (union/source) 2. Become like Jesus (goal) 3. Bring Jesus to our world (work) 7. What are 1-3 practical things you will do to get there? Take a few moments to think that through. 8. Share with the same person you did at the start of this message what is your area and what will you do about it!

Our Core - Mission – Following Jesus, Impacting Others Matthew 28:19; Luke 6:40, Matthew 4:19-20

June 12, 2022

Introduction:
1. Almost every church can clearly state what their mission is because Jesus made it very clear what our mission is – to make disciples.
  1. Differences comes when churches seek to define “What is a disciple?”
  2. Think how that would hamper MVC ability to be a disciple making church if everyone at MVC has a different definition of what a disciple looks like!
  3. Let’s try it out – take a moment and share with someone near you how you would define what a disciple is!
    1. How many of you had the exact same definition?
    2. How many of you can repeat the exact words the other used to define it?
  4. So today, we are closing out our series called “our core” where we are seeking to define ourselves as a church, by looking at what is our mission. But as I said the hard part of that is very simple, defining a disciple
    1. But it is not that simple as there is much said in Scripture about being a disciple. So to be true to the Bible means there are many things to consider.
    2. On the other hand, if we make our definition too complex and include everything then no one will ever remember specifically what we are trying to do.
    3. So my hope today is to capture the heart of what the Bible says about who a disciple is and yet say it as simply as possible. Then apply that to MVC.
  5. Let’s start by reading Matthew 28:19-20 again where we see this as the heart of our mission – to make disciples! Read
Let’s start with
Definition of a disciple
1. As you know disciple is not a common word in our culture but it was in theirs at the time of the New Testament
2. For the definition of the word disciple, as found in Matthew 28:19 I went to seven different Greek dictionaries to see how they defined the word - mathētēs (μαθητής). Here are some highlights of a few things I found.
  1. Most use the word “disciple’ or ‘follower’ to describe this Greek word.
  2. But when you break down the Greek word itself - it means to learn, a learner, a pupil.
    1. Listen to Luke 6:40
    2. The word pupil is the exact same Greek word here as disciples in Matthew 28 – only difference is that in Matthew it is a verb and here it is a noun!
    3. We see here that the goal of discipleship is to become like your teacher. As disciples of Jesus, our goal is to become more and more like Jesus. less of me and more of Jesus
  3. Vines dictionary says this word indicates thought accompanied by endeavor, hence it denotes one who follows or puts into practice one’s teaching,
    - . He goes on to say “a disciple was not only a pupil, but an adherent -
Or simply someone who binds himself or herself to observing or obeying what they learn!
So bottom line the definition of a disciple has two aspects to it - first they are a learner and secondly they follow or obey what they learn
1. So a “disciple of Jesus” is one who is learning from Jesus how to live life and following or obeying what they learn from Him about how to live life.
That really leads us right into Jesus’ call to discipleship that helps us understand what a disciple is.
Jesus’ call to discipleship
1. Turn to and read Matthew 4:19.
  1. Jesus called them to follow Him.
  2. Jesus is inviting them to be His pupils, to learn from Him and obey what they learn from Him.
2. But Jesus adds something onto to this call that further develops what a disciple is. Listen again to v19b.
  1. If you follow Him then He will make you a fisher of men!
  2. In other words, you are called for a purpose! Now you will join Jesus on His mission to seek and save the lost and to teach believers to obey everything Jesus taught us!
3. When we follow Jesus and His teachings, He will make us into a person that influences others for the sake of the kingdom of God. We will not only follow Jesus’ teachings but we will also join Him in His mission!
So let me now try to summarize all that we have heard and come up with a …
Simple definition of a disciple
1. Within the last month, I was in a discussion with three other staff members as we were asked to define a disciple for MVC. We wrestled with what the Bible says and how it could be understood today!
2. We talked for a long time and went done many trails, possibilities and circles and finally we concluded that the best way to define it is to say what we already are saying is our mission – following Jesus, impacting others.
3. So every one of us at MVC should be able to answer the question of what a disciple looks like with full biblical confidence and simplicity by saying it is to follow Jesus and impact others.
So how does that …
Apply to MVC
1. Well the next logical question would be what would we say following Jesus and impacting others looks like?
  1. If we cannot do that with the same clarity as we would defining a disciple we still will be greatly hampered as a church in carrying out the mission of making disciples that Jesus gave us.
2. How could we say that simply enough that we would be biblically accurate and still be able to hang on to it. More importantly give us some direction on how I should be living to be a disciple of Jesus!
  1. Let me suggest three key things:
    1. Be with Jesus
    2. Become like Jesus
    3. Bring Jesus to our world
  2. The heart of each
3. Be with Jesus (union/source)
  1. Jesus said He chose His followers to be with Him. The heart of being a disciple is to be with Jesus. Mark 3:14
  2. Since He is the source of everything, we need for our life and for impacting others, we need to constantly be living in union and dependence upon Him.
4. Become like Jesus (goal)
  1. The end product of a disciple, as we learned in Luke 6:40, was to become like their teacher. We also learn in Romans 8:29 that God has predestined each one of us to be conformed to the image of Jesus! Paul said in Galatians that he was in hard labor like a woman giving birth until Jesus was formed in them.
  2. So the end goal of our lives and the lives we are seeking to impact is that we become more like Jesus!
5. Bring Jesus to our world (work)
  1. This is simply the work of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the lost world
  2. And teaching those who are believers both what Jesus taught and how to obey it!
6. As we close this series of defining just who is MVC at our core we learn this mission is the work that Jesus has given to MVC to do and our values are the way that MVC does it:
  1. Remember these values
    1. Together strong
    2. Mission driven
    3. World changers
    4. Future focused
    5. Grace+truth
  2. This is how we carry out the mission to make disciples, those who are following Jesus and impacting others
    - . Together strong - together is our vehicle
      1. This is not a solo mission but a team mission that will require all of us
Mission driven - mission is why we exist
1. This mission is what drives MVC to be who we are and do what we do
World changers - transformation is our destination
1. We learned today that the goal will require a transformational work by the Spirit of God – not just to get people to church but to see them receive the life of Jesus and become more like Jesus
Future focused - the next generation is our sight

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Our Core: Grace and Truth May 29, 2022

Exodus 34:6; John 1:14, 17

Introduction:
1. We are doing a series we are calling “our core” as we are seeking to define just who MVC is at our core.
  1. I love today’s value because it is a passion of mine, something I want to become more of and something I want MVC to become more of because it is at the core of who God is!
  2. The more MVC reflects this core, the more glory God gets!
2. The value today is this: grace and truth
  1. Put up whole value
  2. Not just grace and not just truth but both grace and truth perfectly blended together as a seamless one. This is the need that each one of us has, as it is the way that God meets us and the way we need to minister to others in our culture.
Let’s turn to Exodus 34 and explain why I say that grace and truth are at the core of God Himself, one of His key core values if you will!
Scripture on grace and truth
1. Exodus 34
  1. Context – Moses prayed, “God show me your glory.”
    1. Glory is the very essence or core of who God is.
    2. Glory is best remembered by this acronym: glory = God - God on display and God is most glorified when we display His heart and character to others in our attitudes, actions and words!
  2. God did show Moses His glory by passing His very essence and core in front of him. Read v5-7.
    - . And in v6, we see both grace and truth.
He loaded on the grace by using other synonyms of compassionate, lovingkindness and forgiveness
But He balances that out with truth and holding those guilty of sin accountable and punishing them.
Now turn to John 1
1. Read v14 – note we see again God’s glory and this time as displayed in Jesus – full of grace and truth
2. Read v17 – we see that grace and truth was realized in Jesus!
  - . That means that grace and truth became a reality that was experienced and was seen in Jesus!
3. From Exodus 34 and John 1 we see that grace and truth is right at the core of who God is, His very essence, His very glory. If nothing else that makes this value very very important to us!
Other passages
1. Loving-kindness is a synonym for grace and is used very often in the Old Testament.
  - . It is the Hebrew word – hesed that is a word that is used regarding those with whom God is in covenant relationship!
It speaks of the deep down desire in God to actively pursue and bless those with whom He is in relationship.
It is both an attitude and an action where God bows himself down to meet the needs of those who are His own.
Psalm 25:10 – all of God’s paths (= his repeated ways) are full of lovingkindness and truth
Psalm 86:15– these are abundant in God.
Psalm 85:10 – these two meet and kiss each other – they are not opposite or mutually exclusive but they are unified as one!
Proverbs 3:3-4 – when we are full of these two we will find both favor and a good reputation before both God and man!
One thing this brief study does for us is blow away the concept that the Old Testament God was a God of law and judgment and the New Testament God is a God of grace and mercy.
1. We learn from this that God at His core as revealed in His glory, all His paths are, and Jesus modeled for us that He is, has been and always will be a God of grace and truth.
2. God is not one way in the Old Testament and another way in the New Testament. He is the same yesterday, today and forever!
It truly is what we all need, the way God meets us and the way we need to minister to others. Let’s look at some
Implications
1. The spectrum of churches – illustrate with the stage
  1. Center – God’s grace and truth as displayed in Jesus
  2. Far right
    1. Truth over grace
    2. So committed to truth that anyone who is off just a slight degree on the truth they will hate them for Jesus sake
    3. Anyone who does not say everything about Scripture the way they say it, interpret it the way they interpret it, or apply it the way they apply it is someone who should be held in suspicion or not even trusted.
  3. Far left
    - . Grace over truth. so committed to grace that everyone is OK, let’s not burden them or guilt them with sin, just let them know that God loves and accepts everybody
They question God, the Bible, the exclusivity of Christianity and biblical morals. The parts they do not resonate with they either reject or reinterpret.
So rather than interpreting the culture or science through the lens of the Bible, they interpret the Bible through the lens of the culture and science!
MVC is shooting for the middle of the spectrum. Are we perfectly there? – No, but that is where we want to and are seeking to be.
1. Share chart that the elders discussed at our last meeting
2. Love what Erwin Lutzer said about all of this – “the most loving thing we can do for someone is to tell them the truth in love”.
Attitudes and tones – let me tell you a few we talked about at the board meeting
1. Sometimes the older generation has a tendency to look down on the younger generations with an attitude that “someday they will get it” rather than seeing them as what the world needs today
2. To be a multi-generational church that has an emphasis on the next generation it will require of both generations both humility and teachability versus suspicion and judgmentalism.
3. We need to learn to appreciate the value that each generation brings to the table.
4. We need to be firm and inflexible when it comes to the anchor – grace and truth but when it comes to the way we talk about and express these things we need to be flexible and understanding
Finally – we need to learn fluency with each other.
1. That means capable of doing something with ease and grace.
  - . Here we are talking about fluency in conversations with a generation of which you are not a part!
The best way to become fluent in a new language is not in the classroom or through a book but by living among the people of that language and learning to communicate through everyday life with them.
I would encourage you to take the sheet you received today, share it, discuss it with a few people of a different generation than yourself, and see if we can better understand and appreciate one another!

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Our Core - Future Focused –

The Next Generation Is In Our Focus Passage

May 22, 2020

Introduction:
1. What a special morning!
  1. Bob Long – former youth pastor who was a key member of our staff beyond his ministry to the youth, who has deeply invested in our good brothers Mike and Josh and now is working with young leaders in the Philippines to prepare them for ministry.
  2. Kim Philips who for more than three decades has invested in our kids clubs here at MVC, which has not only impacted our kids but many from the neighborhood.
    1. One thing I have always appreciated about Kim and her husband Craig is that when there is a need behind the scenes somehow if you look you will always find these two there serving.
    2. Thank you two for your many years of service to this church
  3. How appropriate that the value of MVC we are going to look at this morning is future focused – the next generation is in our sight.
  4. In just a few moments, we are going to have Bob back up to share with us a message of the importance of investing in the next generation so I just want to explain this value for MVC.
    1. Put up the complete value
It is pretty self-explanatory so let me just highlight a few points
Our legacy
1. Legacy means – a gift or something transmitted by an ancestor or predecessor to someone following them.
2. This is important to us because we do not want to be one of those churches that die off from old age because we never made the intentional adjustments necessary to reach and invest in the next generation.
Leverage opportunities to help the emerging generation
- . Many generations within our MVC, at the very least six
  1. Silent generation – 1945 and before
Baby boomers – 1946-1964
Gen X – 1965-1976
Gen Y/millennials – 1977-1995
Gen Z/centennials – 1996-2010
Gen alpha – 2010-2025
Special attention to two groups I am going to classify by age
1. First - birth to twenty five - children, youth, young adults – this is an investment into the larger kingdom of God as many of those will likely move on from MVC as life opens up for them
2. 25-50 – these are important to the future of MVC as many are already established in this area and have 25-50 years of ministry in you where you can impact MVC and this area.
But for those from 51-100 you are very important as well. The reason is that you have lived life and walked with Jesus long enough to have the finest wine of Jesus to pour into others.
1. The role of us in this stage of life is to teach others the lessons we have learned along the way so they can navigate life from a better vantage point.
2. You are the key people who can help pass on the legacy to the next generations.
How does this apply to you
1. But here is the question that every generation should be asking themselves, from teens to 100!
  1. Who is my next generation– age wise (with different seasons of life to go through) or spiritually (new believer, established, ministering, leader) that I can be investing in?
  2. Encourage you to look around to find someone who looks like they are walking alone and get next to them and pour into them, or join one of our ministries (crib – young adult) and experience the joy of doing what you were created to do, impact others for Jesus!
  3. Bob …

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Our Core – World Changers –

Transformation is our Destination May 15, 2022

Introduction:
1. Who are we? Who is MVC? Who are we together as a church, not who am I? That is the question we are addressing in this current series we are calling our core!
2. The value we are going to talk about this morning you might think, “Really. Come on are you crazy? Us? Me? – Let’s get realistic “that is great motivational speech but let’s get realistic let come back down to earth!”
  1. The value for this morning is “world changers! - Transformation is our destination. If you did not notice those are pretty big goals!
    1. World changers – world changers! That is a pretty big assignment and that is a pretty big aspiration!
    2. Transformation – that is another pretty big goal – we are not just talking about seeing people change their behavior or morals, or switch their political allegiances, or start going to church. We want to see people changed at the core of their being, turned upside down and inside out!
  2. Big aspiration is not it. Just how are we going to do that?
This value tells us three things: who we are, where we are going and how are we going to get there! Let’s start with who we are…
World changers!
1. Yes, that is who we are, that is who you are if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, that is our identity because as we learned a few weeks ago those are the orders that Jesus, who has all authority in heaven and earth, left for His church.
  1. Jesus left us a worldwide mission, one that starts at home and goes to the remotest part of the earth! Making disciples of all the nations, preaching His gospel to all creation.
  2. In Acts 1 he calls us witnesses, in Matthew 5 he says we are the light of the world, 2 Corinthians 5 he says we are ambassadors of Christ.
2. So we do this not because we are big thinkers or a uniquely gifted church with great capacities and abilities, rather we do that because that is what Jesus called/ordered us to do and be!
  1. Turn and read 2 Corinthians 3:4-6– made us adequate as ministers of the new covenant
  2. Great commission – promise “Lo, I am with you always”
  3. Acts 1:8 that is why we were given the Holy Spirit to empower us to be His witness throughout the world.
  4. These words, which Watchman Nee says, are the words I live by moment by moment! Nee quote
The second thing we see in this value is where we are going
Transformation is our destination.
1. The Greek word for transformation is metamorpho where we get the word English word metamorphous
  1. Vines Dictionary explains it this way – “undergoing a complete change which, under the power of God, will find expression in character and conduct; morphe lays stress on the inward change!”
  2. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says it’s something that comes from the Holy Spirit as we behold Jesus, and as a result, the Spirit so deeply changes us that the very glory of God is reflected back out of us to others!
2. Transformation is not behavior modification or external conformity to standards whether they are the world’s standards, the church’s standards or even the Bible’s standards.
  1. The Pharisees in the Scriptures were religious people who looked good on the outside but Jesus said on their inside they were full of dead man’s bones.
  2. That is what behavior modification or external conformity produces
3. Transformation is a change at the level of our essential nature, the core of our being that goes so deep that it changes our attitudes, affections, thinking, desires, and actions!
So where do we start with such a huge task?
One life at a time!
1. It is kind of like the question – how do you eat an elephant? – One bite at a time. How do we reach the world? One life at a time!
  1. It is not a matter of giving up the big dream; it is a matter of breaking the big dream down in to smaller pieces and just starting.
  2. Image of the ladder.
2. We need to remember that God has strategically scattered His church throughout the world and we together have this mission and not just MVC.
  1. That is why we partner with other organizations like Word Partners, churches in a conference we are part of called Converge and support missionaries in other parts of the world through our Global Outreach Team. While we think and pray globally, we act locally.
  2. Like an offensive lineman, I am responsible for the man in front of me while the tight end takes care of his man, the guard takes care of his and the center takes care of his.
3. So the next thing we need to consider is how can we, MVC, reach our piece of this world that God has entrusted to us?
4. Put up the whole value
  1. Therefore, we are going to change the world one life at a time one step at a time, just as you eat an elephant one bite at a time and climb a ladder one small step at a time. Every person, every opportunity!
5. God has strategically scattered each one of us (MVC) right here in the southwest area of Chicago at this time in history.
  1. It will take each one of us being faithful to our call right among the people we live with, taking advantage of every small opportunity that comes our way whether it be an opportunity to speak for Jesus, act in Jesus behalf or express His heart to someone around you in need.
6. A few years ago we learn that Samuel had a small circuit the he lived his life out on yet he was deeply impacted the whole nation of Israel. Read 1 Samuel 25:1
  1. This response was because for over 40 years day in and day out he was faithful to the opportunities and needs in the circuit where God gave him to minister.
    1. Jeff Manion calls it a repeated circuit of faithfulness!
    2. Turn and read 1 Samuel 7:15-17
  2. Most of Samuels’s life was lived out in a geographical area with a circumference of around 25 miles. Take an area from this pulpit and draw a circle about 5-6 miles from here all the way around and that was his circuit.
  3. God is able to take our faithfulness in our area of responsibility and multiply its impact as Jesus took the few loaves and fish and multiplied it so much it fed over 5,000 people.
7. Are you day in and day out being repeatedly faithful to the circuit God has given you? Have you ever tried to identify your circuit?
  1. Did this a few years ago while we were online, let’s do together today
  2. Hand out card of the circuit.
  3. Put up power point of circuit and explain

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Our Core – Mission Driven Acts 1; Matthew 28 May 1, 2022

Introduction:
1. Two weeks ago on Easter Sunday, we learned that Jesus was raised from the dead. Then the Bible tells us that Jesus walked on earth for 40 days before He ascended back into heaven. What did Jesus do during those 40 days?
  1. Turn to Acts 1 where Luke summarizes for us the three main things Jesus was doing during that time. Read Acts 1:1-3
  2. Three main things:
    1. Giving them orders – commands
    2. Presenting Himself alive to them with many convincing proofs
    3. Talking to them about the kingdom of God –
      1. Wouldn’t you have loved to be in on those discussions?
      2. I wish the Bible would have recorded those discussions!
2. This morning I want to focus upon the orders that Jesus gave them. We do not need to wonder about what those orders were because they are recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and right here in Acts.
  1. Yes, Jesus gave them orders, commands, directives, not some ideas or suggestions but some authoritative commands coming from the King Himself!
3. Today is the second week of 6-week series regarding the core of MVC!
  1. The purpose of this series is to help us understand who MVC is at our core. Our unique makeup and personality as a church.
  2. To do that we are looking at our values and mission.
4. The value I want to address today is this: mission driven – mission is why we exist!
  1. Our mission can be taken all the way back to the orders that Jesus gave to His church during those 40 days that He was walking on the earth after His resurrection and before His ascension back into heaven.
  2. We say this mission drives us because that is what motivates us to do what we do.
    1. We are not driven in the sense of a taskmaster behind us driving us but rather we are internally motivated to do this mission because Jesus gave us orders that this is what we are to be about!
    2. This is why we exist, this is why we do what we do, and out of our love for Him, this is why we do what we do!
So now that we know that Jesus gave orders to his followers to do this let’s just take a quick look at this mission we were ordered to carry out.
The mission
1. Look down a few verses to Acts 1:8 – Jesus summarizes for them something that they had already heard on at least three other occasions before He ascended into heaven at the Mount of Olives. Read Acts 1:8
  1. They were going to receive the Holy Spirit to empower them for this mission!
  2. The mission was to be His witnesses – those who can tell others what they have heard, seen and experienced with Jesus
  3. They were to do it where they lived, the surrounding area and even to all the world!
  4. Basically, a worldwide mission telling others about Jesus!
2. Listen to how Jesus said it to them before.
  1. Mark 16:15
  2. Luke 24:47-48
  3. John 20:21
3. Now turn to Matthew 28 where we see what is called the great commission
  1. Note the context here –on a mountain in Galilee read Matthew 28:16-18
  2. “Therefore” connects v18 to v17.
    1. Note what follows is built off Jesus’ authority over heaven and earth, in other words Jesus’ right to tell us what to do – to give us orders.
  3. Now listen to the mission that Jesus gave us that is based upon His authority. It is going to sound a lot, like what we already heard with a worldwide mission but He expands on it and clarifies it more for us here. Read v18
    1. Make disciples
    2. Three ways we do it –
      1. Going – be intentional to go share the gospel both where you live and around the world
      2. Baptizing – those who respond to the gospel should make a public witness through baptism that they are now followers of Jesus
      3. Teaching us to observe and then spend the rest of our lives learning what Jesus taught us and more importantly obeying it.
Thus, all of this brings us back to and explains why MVC is mission driven!
Application
1. Thus, MVC is a church that is driven by the mission Jesus gave to the church! That is driven, or motivated and shaped by the mission that our King Jesus gave us. We want to be intentional about making disciples for Jesus.
  1. The reason we do what we do and pursue what we pursue is because of the mission that Jesus gave to us!
  2. We summarize it like this – following Jesus and impacting others.
  3. Following – being baptized after believing in Him as a public witness of your faith in Him. And seeking to obey everything He taught us
  4. Impacting – being intentional to tell people who do not know Jesus about Jesus and teaching those who do know Him what Jesus wants us to obey!
2. This is the way we try to put it on the lower shelf when it comes to this value of MVC being a mission driven church.
  1. We believe that we carry the hope of Jesus to the world. We have been placed in our church and community for the sake of others. When each of us plays our part families are strengthened, believers grow, the hurting are healed, the lost are found, and our community is blessed.
  2. This is the difference our lives can make when we follow Jesus in obedience, impacting others by bringing the gospel to the lost and helping others believers grow in their relationship with Jesus!
  3. God has supernaturally and strategically placed each one of us at MVC throughout the southwest area of Chicago in our families, homes, jobs, schools, relationships, to bring the gospel to the lost and help believers grow!
  4. This is why we exist as MVC; this is what shapes what we do!
3. As we move to baptisms this morning, we see two people following Jesus mission to be baptized after they believed the gospel!
  1. In both of these baptisms, we see two extra people in the waters with them because they are some of the people who impacted them for Jesus by either telling them about the gospel or helping them grow in obedience to all that Jesus calls us to do!

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Our CORE: Better Together

Romans 12:3-6 April 24, 2022

I. Announcement

A. Update on mortgage and Easter offering:

Mortgage

a) Christmas 2020 – just 16 months ago, our mortgage was $780,000

b) Christmas 2021 - $358,000

c) End of April – $112,000 that is a $246,000 reduction in 4 months:

Easter offering

a) As of today - seed gift of $30,000 plus $56,000 in offering we have

$86,000 in hand

b) There is still a need of $99,000 to complete both projects of the parking

lot and the auditorium lights.

My hope by the end of the year is that the mortgage, parking lot and the

auditorium lights will all be completed and paid for!

a) Ongoing funds to continue to give

b) Write either mortgage, parking lot or lights

We can begin the work right away because the company doing the lighting

has the time to do it now and is going to allow us to begin the work right

away and we can just pay them as the money comes in.

a) What a gift, but we do not want to abuse their grace to us.

b) So pray and give as God blesses you!

When I think of what has happened in these two offerings I cannot help but

feel like Paul did in 2 Corinthians 9:12-15 when speaking about their giving.

Read

B. Pray for offering

II. Introduction:

A. One thing that has always amazed me is that fact that God can be so creative with

so little.

The best example of this that I know of is the fact that we all are made up of

the same basic stuff – take a head for instance – we all have two eyes and

two ears, one nose and one mouth and different amounts of hair and some

skin.

a) Look around, we all look so different yet we are all made up of the same

six basic elements.

b) God has nuanced each of these elements and how they interface with

each other to make us all unique!

You can say the same about our personalities up as well – we are all unique

in the way that God has nuanced our affections, emotions, intellect, desires,

dreams, etc. - no two personalities are the same.

B. The same is true with churches!

We are all basically made up of the same stuff: the Bible, worship,

fellowship, communion, prayer, a mission, vision, values, strategy, goals, and

theology!

But just like every person is unique so each church is unique and different

from others by the way the things that make up church are nuanced within

each church!

In my way of thinking, when it comes to Bible believing, Jesus trusting

churches it is not a matter of one being better than the other but rather an

issue of each being gloriously different for God’s unique purposes for that

unique church in that location at that time!

C. So today starts a six week series where we can better understand just who MVC

is, how we are unique from other churches that are like us and what is at our core

that makes us who we are!

Thus we are calling this series “our core”
“Our” because it is both personal and plural. This is not about an individual

as to who they are but who we are as a church, the people of MVC what

makes us unique as MVC

“Core” because that talks about the core, the heart, the foundation or the

central part of who we are.

a) Just like the core muscles in our body control and stabilize our bodies so

the other parts of it can do what they need to do so the core of MVC

controls and stabilizes who we are in everything else we do!

D. In this series I am going to just introduce us to our mission and values.

Power points that overview each point.

a) Mission

b) Values

• Today I want to start with …

II. Together strong – together is our vehicle

A. Power point of this value

A vehicle is simply the means by which you get from one place to another.

a) Each person is equally valued and each person is equally needed at MVC

to get us to be a church where people are following Jesus and impacting

others!

We see three areas in particular where our community together impacts us:

a) Discipleship – reaching others for Christ and becoming more Christ-like

ourselves!

b) Carrying one another’s burdens

c) Spurring each other onto our next steps in growth

B. Now we just got done with a series called “revitalized” and one of the key themes

of that series was “together.” So we already have spent ten weeks speaking about

the importance of togetherness if MVC is going to be a vital church in this area

and if we will be the kind of church that revitalizes people’s lives!

C. So today I want address one key question: “Why do I not desire or feel the need

to connect with others or the corporate body in a significant way?

I believe the answer to this question is addressed in Romans 12.
It is a passage I know well because God personally confronted me with this

passage many years ago when I felt like I did not need others in the body!

D. Turn to Romans 12:3-6

Structure

a) V 3- an attitude

b) V4-6 - a fact about the church of Jesus Christ.

Read verses 3-6.
The point of v 4-6 it is that we are not just like a body but we really are a

body - a spiritual body made up of many members where each one has

different gifts and different functions.

E. Now in light of this context v3 answers our question “Why do I not desire or why

do I not feel a need for the rest of the body”

Remember that v3 is an attitude that talks about the way we think about

ourselves!

So as I read note that v4 explains why we should not think this way about

ourselves,

Read v3-4
Simply we are not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, in a

prideful or puffed up or self-important way, - do not think that you are better

than others but rather we are to think of ourselves with in a sound, sensible

level headed way.

Why v3c – because God has allotted to each individual member of the body

of Christ a measure of faith!

a) In other words everyone has something to contribute to the church!

b) We all have different gifts and functions within the church and like a

body that means we are truly interdependent upon each other for the

health of ourselves and the church.

c) So we desperately need one another just as much as the human body

needs every one of its different members!

B. Bottom line - “pride has blinded them to their need for others and they do not feel

the need or desire for others in the body of Christ.

II. Concluding application

A. The real test of this is not how well you know these verses but how deeply you

are actually connecting with others in the body of Christ for living life and doing

our mission together for the glory of God.

B. I told you God confronted me with this truth a number of years ago while I was in

seminary. I was sitting in the bleachers by a swimming pool at about 5 am in

Dallas, Texas as I had driven a young man to swim practice for his swim team.

I sat in the bleachers as I was reading Romans 12:3-6
It was like the Holy Spirit held up this verse like a mirror that revealed my

thinking “I really do not need other believers … I am walking with Jesus and

reading His Word and I am doing just fine – me and Jesus, Jesus only Jesus is

enough!

At the same time it is like God shone a light into my thinking where I all of a

sudden realized all the people that God had used in my life to get me to

where I was that day.

Until that moment I did not realize how foolishly arrogant and ignorant I was

about the role that other people have played in my life.

a) People who have prayed for me

b) Teachers at Moody who had shaped my thinking up to that time

c) People who gave us large financial gifts to help us go to seminary and

free me up to spend most of my time studying rather than trying to just

pay the bills.

d) People further down the road who had invested their time in discipling,

coaching or counseling me.

e) Friends who loved me, encouraged me, bore burdens with me, warned

me and even at times rebuked me!

f) Pastors at MVC, Bill Johnson and Clem Bilhorn, who had invested in,

taught and modeled for me a life of grace and truth!

g) And yes, my wife who in hundreds of practical ways day in and day out

ministered to me both with grace and truth.

C. Could it be that pride and arrogance and ignorance is holding you back from

being all God has created you to be and MVC from being all God has called us to

be because you are living the me life rather than the we life!

D. Take a moment to consider who are some of the people who have gotten you to

where you are today? I will guarantee you that each of us have scores upon

scores of them.

Right now come up with 3 – 5 specific names along with how they

specifically have impacted you!

Commit yourself to contact them this week and just say thanks.
As you do this you not only will encourage them but you will also break the

hold of pride in your life and build in the humility of acknowledging the role

of others in your life!

View Details

Evidences of the Resurrection

April 17, 2022

A. Easter Sunday! This is Super Bowl Sunday for the Christian and causes

Christianity and Jesus Christ in particular stand out from all other religions in the

world!

Did you know there are 4200 religions in the world but only one empty tomb?
Of those 4200 religions of the world’s population practices one of the five

major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

Main person/being and or prophet

a) Buddhism - Siddhartha Gautama who is known as Buddha,

b) Hinduism - Brahman,

c) Judaism – many put Moses at top,

d) Islam – Muhammad ,

e) Christianity – Jesus Christ

B. Out of all the religions of the world April 17, 2022

C. And all the religious leaders in the world, only one has a leader who died and rose

again from the grave. No other religion or religious leader claims that.

So the resurrection of Jesus Christ makes Christianity and Jesus Himself stand

out from all other world religions and religious leaders.

D. Christianity stands or falls on the validity of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

John Stott says, “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion.

The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is

destroyed!”

The Bible itself says this in the strongest of ways! – Listen 1 Corinthians

15:14,17-19

B. Thomas Arnold (professor of modern history at Oxford) said, “No one fact in the

history of mankind is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort [than the

fact that] Christ died and rose from the dead!”

Listen to what this Cold Case detective and former atheist, J. Warner Wallace

said:

Many people who have been totally hostile against Christianity and have set

out to disprove the claims of Jesus were converted in the process. To do so

they almost always focus upon disproving the resurrection of Jesus Christ

One, a lawyer Josh McDowell and the other a journalist Lee Strobel were

converted to Christianity and faith in Jesus through the indisputable evidence

of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

They both wrote books about their experience:

a) McDowell

b) Strobel

C. If you want to look into this more for yourself, you can follow up by looking at the

tract that we handed out to you when you came in this morning “Looking for the

Truth about Easter.” We also have a limited amount of copies available at the

Welcome Center of the two books I just mentioned.

● This morning I want to share with you, just three evidences that helped persuade

people like this. Let’s start with the

II. Historical records

A. We need to remember that the Gospels, the place where the resurrection is

recorded, are not just stories but actual historical events.

B. I do not know of any book that has been more closely examined by critics, both

those who are friends and foes, both believers and non-believers, than the Bible to

see if its records are accurate.

The outcome of those who study it closely is that the Bible is the most reliable

writings of antiquity!

Listen to what Luke said about his gospel read Luke 1:3-4
Sir William Ramsay, a Nobel Prize recipient, spent fifteen years seeking to

undermine Luke’s credentials as a historian and to refute the reliability of the

New Testament.

a) He finally concluded “Luke is a historian of the first rank … this author

should be placed along with the very greatest of historians!”

C. Even authors outside the Scriptures who were non-believers in Jesus Christ have

referred to His resurrection. One of those was a man named Josephus who was a

first century Roman-Jewish historian. He said this:

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…He was [the] Christ; and when

Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst 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….

● The second evidence to the resurrection of Jesus were the

III. Eyewitnesses in Jerusalem

A. The resurrection was preached in the same town, Jerusalem, where the

resurrection took place and where the tomb was located.

Anyone could have gone to the tomb, that was in a very well known place, by

a very simple afternoon walk to disprove there claims, yet none did.

At the time of Jesus, a high stone wall surrounded the entire city, about four

miles long, it protected an area of about a square mile, where about 25,000

people lived.

B. Listen to what Paul said about eyewitnesses: 1 Corinthians 15:4-8

Mentioning the twelve is key because all but one of them suffered a martyr’s

death (1 – Exiled and imprisoned on an island just west of Turkey for the rest

of his life) for their testimony and preaching about the resurrected Jesus.

a. People will only die for what they believe to be true, not for what they

know to be false or a lie!

b. Quote from Chuck Colson – see attachment

Five Hundred- to say that most of them are alive until now. In a sense, he

was saying, “If you do not believe me you can ask them!” 1

Corinthians15:6-8

To mention James, his half-brother is key because His family did not believe

in Jesus’ claims during His life and according to Mark 3:21 actually thought

Jesus had lost His mind. So he would have seen the resurrected Jesus as a

non-believer but came to faith after seeing Him

Paul mentioning himself is key because he was a bitter enemy to Jesus and

His resurrection as he went around persecuting those who claimed this, yet

this hostile witness of the resurrection was totally transformed by the

resurrected Jesus

● The final piece of evidence was provided by the apostles as well – their …

IV. Transformed lives

A. You need to remember that these apostles who powerfully proclaimed the

resurrection of Jesus and who died for their claims about Jesus were the same ones

who just days before Jesus’ death denied Him, deserted Him out of fear for their

own lives and were discouraged over the loss of their leader!

B. What changed them so drastically? It could only be the fact that they encountered

the resurrected Jesus who showed them that even death could not stop them and

the reception of His very Spirit into their lives turned them upside down!

● People down through history who have believed the claims of the resurrected Jesus

have been transformed. I want you today to hear the story of one of them:

V. Gary Olson

View Details

Palm Sunday SAVIOR KING

Matthew 21:1-10 & Luke 19:38-44

April 10, 2022

Introduction:
Many of you know and experience me as pastor, my wife knows and experiences me as husband, my three daughters know and experience me as dad, and my grandchildren know and experience me as grandpa.
Recently my grandson, whose name is Johnny, who also comes here to MVC, asked me “Are you a pastor?” and I said, “Yes, I am” Then he said, “I’m going to call you Grandpa Pastor.” That is because Johnny knows me as both a grandpa and a pastor.
Actually the name Jesus Christ is the joining together of two different identities and works that Jesus does, just like I am Grandpa Pastor to Johnny so our Lord is Jesus Christ to us.
a) Jesus means savior and refers to Him as the one who delivers us from sin and danger
b) Christ means Messiah – or simply referring to the one that God promised throughout the Old Testament to send to be both their savior and their king.

(1) John 1:41

(2) Listen to what the Jews said about him in the trial before Pilate - Luke 23:2-3 (king)

(3) Listen to what the chief priests and the scribes said about the Christ at the cross Mark 15:31-32 (savior and king)

c) If anyone understood the concept of what the Messiah was, the Christ who was promised to come as their king to be savior, it would have been the Jews and the religious leaders of the Jews.
That is what Palm Sunday is all about – the triumphal entry, the time when Jesus came to present Himself to them as the Christ, their king and savior and they

rejected him which began a week of rejecting Jesus repeatedly as their king and savior.

My concern this morning is that many Christians know Jesus as their personal savior but they do not recognize him as their personal king! We do it to our own hurt.
The triumphal entry was one of the major turning points in Jesus’ life and actually in the larger story of the Bible as the long awaited Messiah/Christ had come and presented himself to them as their king and they rejected him.
Turn to Matthew 21 where we see the story of the Triumphal Entry II. The Triumphal Entry
Matthew 21:1-9
Read 1-5
a) V5 – king coming on a donkey – Matthew is putting in an editorial comment on this story to let us know that what Jesus was going to do was predicted by Zechariah 9:9 – that their king would come to

Zion/Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

b) Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a donkey should have been a picture that was worth a million words that every Jew should have known especially their religious leaders.
c) Story of Al Richmond at Easter musical and play – a full blood Jew who was trained in Jewish schools all his life was radically saved when he saw the one portraying Jesus coming down the aisle on a real donkey!
Read 6-9
a) Matthew tells us here how the crowd responded as they shouted out praises to Jesus calling Him the Son of David.

(1) That phrase is important because the Old Testament identified a coming king who would save them as coming from the line of

David.

b) On top of that, the Old Testament made it clear that this Christ who was coming to save them and be their king was going to be God Himself.
So while Matthew shows us the response of the people, Luke shows us the response of the religious leaders, those who should have understood best just what was going on. Turn to Luke 19:37
Read v37-38
a) Again, we see the crowd responding with praise to God and here we see that some in the crowd were actually calling Jesus the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
Read v39 -40
a) But the religious leaders had a very different response as they told Jesus He should strongly denounce what they are saying and correct them.
b) Jesus response shows that what is happening is so big that if the crowds themselves do not shout out in praise then the stones themselves will cry out!
Note Jesus’ response to this – read 41
a) Note in v41 that Jesus wept. This is the Greek word for a loud crying and wailing. Jesus was deeply troubled and grieving over what just happened
b) Read v42

(1) Know = understand

(2) This day was the day that peace was being offered to you. I, as the Messiah, was offering you salvation from your sin and enemies

and to be your king who would provide peace – internal tranquility

and external harmony with your enemies.

c) Now there enemies will overthrow them. Read v43-44b
Now we see the reason why Jesus responded the way He did with such deep grief and crying and consequences. Read 44c
a) The word for visitation here indicates a visit from God
b) Simply they did not recognize that the Messiah, the Christ, the King who was God Himself had come to town today to save them and rule over them for their good.
This began a week of continual rejection of Jesus as their Christ both in trials and ultimately at the cross when the charge put above His head on the cross was “King of the Jews”
So what are the implications for you and me here today?

III. Implications

In preparation for this message, I traced every reference to Christ and King in the New Testament and one thing jumped out to me about 2/3rds the way through. About 99% of references to Christ either referred to Him as Savior or King.
There are two different ways to respond to Him. We trust Him as Savior and we obey Him as King - trust and obey for there is no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
a) We must trust Jesus as our Savior from the penalty of sin, and we must continue to trust Him every day to deliver us from the power and effects of sin in our life
b) But as our King, we must also take His lead in our life as King and follow him with submission and obedience!
Let’s talk about Savior
The Christ came to save His people from both the domination that sin had over them and the domination that other nations had over them.
a) In His first coming, He dealt with the domination of sin and in His second, He will deal with the domination of other nations over Israel.
So if you are here today and do not know Jesus as your personal Savior do you recognize that God is seeking to visit you today with the good news of who Jesus Christ really is?
a) He wants to deal with that tendency within us that wants to run our own lives our own way apart from what God says, those things that ultimately end up hurting others and us!
b) Basically, that is what sin is

(1) Running my own life my own way not caring what God said! (2) Falling short of the standard, which God set for us to live by! (3) The penalty for that is death – eternal separation from God in a real place of fire called hell

c) Jesus is God’s solution for our sin problem when at the cross God placed all our sins upon Him to pay the penalty for our sins by dying for us. Then He rose from the dead three days later to offer us a brand new heart and life, one that is eternal and free from the power of sin.
d) Believing who Jesus is and what He did on the cross and resurrection was done for me is how we respond to John 3:16
So believing, faith, trust, relying is the way we respond to Jesus Christ as our Savior
a) Maybe today is the day that God is visiting you! - Invite
How about Christ as King and a few synonyms for that in the Bible is Lord and Master, how are we to respond to King Jesus, the Lord and Master.
Listen to what Jesus said. Turn to Luke 6:46
a) Read v46 – it is inconsistent and incongruent to call Jesus my Lord and King and not obey Him.
Let me ask you this –
a) To follow what our King says we need to know what He says in His Word. Do you know your Bible?
b) Secondly, are there any areas of your life right now you know are not in submission and obedience to Jesus

(1) Thoughts, affections, attitudes, actions, habits?

(2) So you want me to get specific – ok – I will. Let’s get to the heart and crux of the matter.

(a) Read Matthew 6:24 – no one can serve two masters, two

lords, two kings

(b) Even our money – are you giving to the Lord’s work and

seeking His leadership with every penny you own or are

you running your own bank account your own way without

any knowledge or concern for what Jesus says.

putting aside as a first fruit a generous amount of your

salary to give to the Lord’s work right here in your church?

(3) You cannot serve God and money at the same time – one is king of your life and the other is not. Which is it in your life?

(a) Tony Evans says it something like this – God never has the heart of a man until He has the wallet of the man!

Bottom line today – Palm Sunday is the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem to present Himself as the King to obey and Savior to trust.
Today as Jesus visits MVC through this message, will you recognize Him for who He is and respond to Him as the Savior to trust and the King to obey!
As we prepare for worship let me read you two passages to prepare us and recognize just how big this day and moment was as Jesus presented himself to be their King
This is where the religious leaders drew the red line, the line in the sand where there is no return when it came to rejecting Jesus’ claim to be the Christ, the king of Israel, God Himself!
a) Turn and read Matthew 26:63 – 68
Why would the high priest be so upset at this statement by Jesus. (1) Listen to Daniel 7:13-14

(2) Context – God the Father, the Ancient of Days was sitting on a throne of fire with a river of fire coming out in front of Him. Now we see this Son of Man, Jesus coming with the clouds of heaven right through the river of fire up to the Ancient of Days.

(3) Read 7:13-14

Worship

View Details

Eating with Glad and Simple Hearts

Acts 2:46 February 20, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. I will never forget being at a concert many years ago with a Christian brother who

was a handsome man and always dressed to the nines

It was before the concert started and the auditorium was filled with people

sitting and talking, when this friend of mine stood up and pulled out his cell

phone and began to pretend he was talking to someone on the phone.

I said, “What are you doing?” His response to me was “it is all about seeing

and being seen!”

I was stunned but over time as I got to know this brother better, he was a

person who spent a lot of time, thought and money on appearances. I knew

him well but most people had no idea who the real him was – they only knew

the person he wanted them to think he was!

B. Let me give you another scenario where you ask a brother or sister in Christ a

direct question and expecting a simple straightforward answer. Instead you get the

run around as they dance all around what your question was with no clear answer

When they were done, you had no idea as to where they really were at and

feel that they were not being genuine or honest with you!

C. When it came to the early church these were not the kind of Christians you

encountered. Rather than being complicated and confusing people they were

simple people in the sense that they were who they really were with no pretenses

nor were any masks to wear and they very straightforward and honest with each

other.

D. That is another norm that is essential for MVC to get back to if we are going to be

a church that is vital in this area and revitalizing to those who are touched by the

people of MVC – people who are who they are and say what it really going on in

their hearts and minds.

We learned last week that for MVC to be the church God called it to be we

need to be gathering together regularly both in larger and smaller contexts

around the things of Jesus.

But v46 gives us a big window into what their relationships were like when

they gathered together.

• See if you can catch it as I read

II. Acts 2:46

A. Read v46

Did you catch it? – They ate with gladness and sincerity of heart.
Today I want to focus upon the second part where they met and ate with

sincere hearts.

Other translations use these words – generous hearts or simplicity of heart.

B. So I went to seven different Greek dictionaries to find out just what this word

means since it is used only one time in the New Testament, right here in v46.

It comes from a Greek word that means without a stone, free from rocks and

used in the sense of it being smooth or even ground so that you do not stub

your foot on a rock!

Six of those seven resources say that it is indicating a simplicity of heart.

Two talk of a singleness of heart.

Thus bottom line when they end up applying this Acts 2:46 says it was:

a) A humble simple heart and life

b) A humbleness associated with a sincerity and simplicity of life

c) A sincerity of heart

d) A simple and plain heart!

C. I think we see two ideas here that are connected to each other.

First, they were a people who were not distracted and unavailable because of

busyness with multiple things. Rather they were focused people who had a

single heart of devotion to the teaching of the apostles, the fellowship with

each other, communion and prayer!

a) For some of us that may mean we need to purge things out of our lives,

whether that be commitments or things in order to be people who can

live their lives focused upon the things of Jesus!

Secondly, they were genuine, real, honest and transparent people who did not

try to hide anything or to be someone they really were not!

a) They showed their true feelings/thoughts and expressed them in a simple

and honest way! Even when they were not pretty or broken!

D. Brothers and sisters, that was the norm in the relationships in the early church and

only those kind of relationships can make a church vital and revitalizing! They

were focused on Jesus and being real with one another in both life and

conversations!

III. How are you doing in that regard?

A. First and foremost, are you honest with yourself, even with all your brokenness

and flaws and living out the authentic you?

Do “you do you” no matter what others think or are you like my friend who

loved to put on a show in front of others to present an image of himself he

wanted others to see?

Do you speak the truth in love when it comes to expressing who you are to

others and where you are at today when others ask or do you repeat the most

used lie by Christians – “I am fine” when you are really hurting and dying

inside!

B. Do you have other believers in your life you can be totally yourself with, and

where you can be radically honest with when it comes to the good, the bad and

the ugly of your life?

I remember a number of years ago an older Christian man here at MVC asked

me “How you doing?” and I was really struggling at the time so rather than

doing the typical “I am fine” line, I decided to tell him exactly what was

going on in my life!

This man was shaken, he had no idea what to say, was sorry he ever asked

and got out of there as fast as he could!

Some cannot handle the truth and there are others with whom it is unwise to

share the truth. Those are the self-appointed Christian critics. They are more

concerned with confronting errors than making connections where they can

speak the truth in love to pour grace and wisdom into others!

C. Brothers and sisters if we are going to be a vital church of Jesus Christ in this area

and revitalized believers, it is going to take this kind of radical straightforward

humble and simple honest living and conversations with each other.

I love what Paul said about the way he lived in 2 Corinthians 1:12-13a

a) The way he lived his life, the way he conducted himself was not dictated

by the wisdom of the world and what the world likes or approves, but

rather it was full of godly sincerity and the grace of God

b) What he wrote to them was exactly what he meant to say. You did not

have to read between the lines and there were no hidden motives. What

he wrote was straightforward and exactly what he meant

Ephesians 4:15 tells us that the church grows up into Christ likeness and

becomes stable when we speak the truth in love. Read Ephesians 4:15

a) I believe in light of the context it is talking about a perfect blending of

truth and love both from our preaching up front and in our up-close

relationships with each other.

b) It has been said that truth without love is brutality, but love without truth

is hypocrisy.

c) Romans 12:9 says “let love be without hypocrisy.” That means our love

has no masks on and it is a representation of the real you!

IV. Application

A. I can honestly and repeatedly say that the deepest transformation points in my life

came not just from hearing the truth spoken in a sermon. But when someone who

knew me well and what was really going on in my life spoke the truth to me in

love – whether it be an instruction, encouragement, warning or rebuke.

I have had all of them, I needed all of them and my life was changed by all of

them.

I am so grateful for the people in my life with whom I can be honest and who

are honest with me so that as iron sharpens iron we can sharpen each other!

B. So where do we go from here? I thought I would have a brother here share with

us how that has worked for him. Meet my good brother Gilbert who is going to

share with us about a group he is in that seeks to be radically honest and genuine

with each other about their lives and walk with Jesus

Describe the purpose and nature of this group
What does a typical meeting look like
How has this group personally impacted your life and walk with Jesus
What would someone here at MVC need to do to start a group like this

V. Final word

A. Four questions –

Are you living your Christian life authentically so that who you are is what

other people see and come to know?

Do you have believers in your life who know who you really are and what

you really struggle with?

Do you have other believers in your life who are speaking the truth in love to

each other?

Do you give grace to other believers at their points of brokenness and radical

honesty or do you run from or avoid them. Do you brutalize them with truth

without love or do you love them without truth so as to be of no real help to

them?

B. Finally, we are going to do something that is not normal in churches or even here

at MVC.

With everyone seated, if you are in a place today where you are hurting or

struggling and can really use some other Christians with whom you can be

radically honest and would love their prayers or for them to speak into your

life would you raise your hand.

Brothers and sisters around them who know what brokenness and struggle is

like – would you take note of those who have their hands raised and would

you take a few extra minutes this morning after we dismiss by going to them,

listening and praying or speaking as God leads you to.

C. Gilbert closes us in prayer.

View Details

God Does Amazing Things When His People Gather

Passage February 13, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. God does amazing things when his people gather together!

Not just gathering together to hang out and eat or to watch the Super Bowl

together but when they come together to do the life and mission of Jesus

together!

As we said before, you can be an individual believer but you cannot be an

individual church.

B. The Greek word for church is ekklesia.

Vines Dictionary says it is made up of two words joined together

a) ek – out of klesia – a calling = to call out of

In its most basic use it was a Greek political term that was in use for

hundreds of years before the Christian era. It referred to “a gathering of

citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly”

(Thayer)

louw-nida, another Greek word, the dictionary defines it this way: “an

assembly of persons constituted by well-defined membership” They go on

to say that in the New Testament it is an assembly of God’s people and may

be rendered as “a gathering of believers” He also say it implies they are

“interacting” with each other!

Bottom line when we come out from our normal routines and places of life,

gather together with, and interact together with other Christians around the

things of Jesus.

C. We learned last week that the church (we the believers, the church) is vital

because it is God’s chosen instrument to carry out His mission and to express the

life of Jesus in this world and to each other.

We also learned it is revitalizing because when we interact with other

believers whether it be of spiritual gifts or just the one another ministry of

Scripture it makes an impact upon us that revitalizes our spiritual lives.

D. We are going to learn this morning that gathering together regularly both in larger

and smaller contexts was a kingdom norm for the early church.

That is where we interact with each other and that is where amazing things of

God happen!

• Turn to Acts 2 where we see the birth of the church

II. Acts 2

A. We see at the start of Acts 2 that there were 120 people gathered together in one

place praying the thing that Acts 1:14 to which it says they were dedicated.

It was during that time of prayer when they were together that the church was

born as the Holy Spirit came to dwell within each one of them.

It was at that moment that the church of Jesus Christ was born and later that

day 3,000 souls were added to the church!

B. Then we see in Acts 2:42 -47 what the norm was for that newborn church, the

norm we are seeking to get back to after the cultural earthquake we have

experienced that has impacted our lives and church.

As I read Acts 2:42 note the four things they were devoted to, what they built

their lives around, what they persisted in. Read

C. Now we see in the verses that follow what that devotion to these four essential

norms looked like in real life

Read v44 – they were together, the believers were together – that simply

means a group of people, believers were with each other in one place at one

time!

Read v46 – note also that they gathered together day by day
Note that they gathered together around the things of Jesus!

a) Read v46a one mind in the temple means they were everyday going to a

big gathering at the temple where they were together in unity. we learn

in Acts that two key things happened at the temple everyday - teaching

(Acts 5:21,42) and prayer (Acts 3:1)

b) Read v46b-c. Secondly, we see that day by day they were in smaller

gatherings in their homes taking communion and openly sharing their

lives together around a meal!

D. Later on in Acts we hear about them gathering together to:

Pray (12:12)
Hear ministry reports of what God was doing (14:27)
Hear decisions from the leadership of the church (15:30)
Take communion and hear God’s Word (20:7-8)

E. Bottom line the norm of the early church was that they were together, they were

together often to interact with one another regarding the things of the Lord since

they were continually devoted to each other!

We can be revitalized as a church and as individual believers as we get back

to the eternal norms we see in the early church. - meeting together to

interact with other believers around the things of Jesus, gathering together

regularly in large gathering and smaller gatherings

• The book of Hebrews gives us an encouragement about the importance of gathering

as believers. Turn to

III. Hebrews 10:24-25

A. The background of the book simply is that Jewish believers were being tempted

and pursued to be drawn back into their old beliefs in Judaism. But the writer

was showing them the superiority of Jesus over any Old Testament saint, the

superiority of the new covenant over the old covenant and the superiority of one

time for all sacrifice of Jesus over the sacrifices in the Mosaic law.

B. Thus, they arrived at the point in the book where we see that because of the blood

of Jesus they/we are able to enter with confidence right into the presence of God.

Then he gives three major outcomes of this:

They could approach God in prayer with full confidence
They could hold onto the hope of Jesus return without wavering
Consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds

C. The final half of this third application is what I want to focus on now

Read v24-25
Not forsaking our assembling together

a) Not neglecting nor abandoning our meeting together as believers.

b) In context of v24, it appears that these meetings are of the nature that

they are small enough to allow one another to make a significant

difference in each other’s lives. Close enough to each other to stimulate

each other.

c) For some all they know of church is coming to a 90 minute service on a

Sunday morning and partaking in the service in a manner that is no

different than sitting in the stands at a baseball game as they cheer from

the stands of the church with an amen here and there when something

they like happens!

As is the habit of some

a) It appears that it was a problem at that time that people were not

intentional nor consistent in meeting with other believers. In addition,

some totally abandoned it all together.

b) That is clearly a problem today as statistics of churches in general state

that before Covid most people attended church about two times per

month. After Covid, WSJ – reported recently that in-person church

attendance is roughly 30% to 50% lower than it was before.

But encouraging one another

a) We need to encourage, urge believers to get together with other believers

in a small group context and going to the corporate church, whether that

is a home church or in a church building!

b) Note that this urging does not come from the pastors or elders but rather

from each other. Responsibility is on each one of us as a body and not

sit back and wonder why the elders or pastors did not call.

All the more as we see the day drawing near –

a) This instruction is all the more important as we see the return of the Lord

drawing near.

b) Those who understand what the Bible says about the end times and the

signs that it is near know how important this exhortation is to us in these

days

c) We need each other all the more, as this world will be tougher and

tougher for Christians as the return of Jesus draws near.

• So how are you and I doing in gathering together with other believers?

IV. Application

A. Let us do a self-evaluation. Give yourself a score between 1 and 10 – 1 terrible

and 10 great

Gathering with other believers in a larger corporate setting? 1-10
Gathering with other believers in a smaller personal setting? 1-10
Interacting with other believers in those settings around the things of Jesus?

1-10

My Christian experience is an everyday experience with other believers 1-10
In light of this evaluation, what next step you believe God would have you

take?

Share with someone what you feel is the area you are strongest and weakest

and what next step God would have you take.

View Details

The Church: Vital and Vitalizing

Passage February 6, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. We have all heard “a picture is worth 1,000 words!” That simply means that

when we see something we can better understand what they mean than just trying

to describe them by words.

Let me give you an example of that!

a) If I was to tell you that our grandchildren had a great time at Disney

when we took them there – that would lead your mind to think it was a

fun time.

b) But these two pictures help you better capture the heart of just how great

it was for them!

(1) Tinker Bell

(2) Dance party

B. The Bible uses metaphors for the same purpose so we can better understand the

truth

In many ways a metaphor is simply a word picture that help us describe

something. It puts the idea into high definition and adds color to it as it states

that one thing is another thing.

It help us catch a glimpse of God’s truth in a fresh way that even 1,000 more

words cannot give us!

C. This morning I want to touch on one of the biblical images/metaphors for the

church that help us better understand just how vital the church is and how it adds

vitality to our lives!

We are seeking to revitalize our lives and our church after the cultural

earthquake we experienced over the last few years

By getting back to the kingdom norms and practices that we find in the early

church when it was a newborn baby in Acts 2!

D. Before I give you that image let me give you a few reminders about the church so

we have a little bit of context to put the images into.

The church is not a building made up of bricks but it is saved people of flesh

and blood.

The church has a mission

a) Upward to God – to bring Him glory

b) Inward to other believers – to build each other up and care for each other

c) Outward to the lost – to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to them.

Even to the uttermost part of the earth.

E. The image I want us to look at this morning is a body. The church is the body of

Christ.

Jesus is the head and all the believer make up the body of Christ.
Numerous times in the New Testament we see references to the church as the

body of Christ.

Here is one that says it directly. Ephesians 1:22-23

• Today I want to show us that the church, the body of Christ is both vital and

vitalizing! So let’s start by seeing that …

II. The church is vital –

A. Let me start by establishing what I mean by vital!

To me a lot of people use vital and important synonymously. But vital is

about three notches above important.

Illustration of the fall

a) A number of years ago I fell off a ladder while I was painting and I

severely separated my shoulder. Very serious and very painful

eventually ended up with surgery.

b) A year later I was in Oaxaca when a woman fell off a ladder, separated

her shoulder and had a heart attack. As painful and serious as a

separated shoulder can be, if you do not keep the heart going the

shoulder really does not matter.

c) While the shoulder is important you still can live on with it separated.

One the other hand the heart is vital, if the heart does not continue to

work your life is done.

B. The church is not important but it is vital because it is the body of Christ!

Stop and think with me for a moment about what a body is.
We learned not long ago in a series that we are made up of three parts.

a) Spirit – that is where the life is and connects us with God

b) Soul – that is where our unique personality is and connects us to other

people

c) Body – that is our earth suit that allows us to connect with the material

world we live in.

The spirit and the soul use the body to express themselves. The body is the

external material visible instrument through which our internal immaterial

invisible life expresses itself in this world

a) It is simply the instrument which we live our life through!

b) It is the part of us that people can see and identify us by.

C. Thus the church, as the body of Christ is vital because it is God’s chosen means

by which the life of Jesus Christ is expressed in this world.

Turn and read Ephesians 1:22-23
Then he switched images from the body to a building but we see the same

idea that the church is the place where God’s presence is today, His dwelling

place, and His current temple! Read Ephesians 2:21-22

D. The invisible and internal spirit of Jesus now lives in and through His people!

We are what people see and identify Jesus with for the good or for the bad

dependent upon how we live!

Like the song by Casting Crowns says “If we are the body why aren't His

arms reaching?

Why aren't His hands healing?

Why aren't His words teaching?

And if we are the body why aren't His feet going?

Why is His love not showing them there is a way?

E. The church is vital because we are the ones God brings glory to Himself through,

we are the ones He builds and cares for each other through, we are the ones He

brings the gospel to the lost world through we are the ones that the very life of

Christ is expressed in this world!

• And not only is the church vital but it also

III. The church vitalizing

A. By vitalizing I mean it gives vitality! Vitality is that state of having abundance or

intense activity.

It is a life that is full of exuberance, liveliness, robust, vibrant, vigor. Simply

there is a bounce and energy, gusto and zip to your spiritual life

When a life is full of Jesus and the graces He brings to us it cannot help but

be a life of vitality!

B. One of the greatest graces or gifts that God gives to us is the church. We (you

and me) cannot live the fullness of life that God intends for us unless we are both

contributing to and receiving of the graces that God intended to flow the church,

that is you and me the believers!

C. I want to just mention two practical ways we experience God’s graces and

blessing through the body

Spiritual gifts – the supernatural abilities that the Holy Spirit gives us to

minister to one another!

a) 1 Corinthians 12 teaches us that each one of us has a spiritual gift or two,

and they are all different gifts and to different degrees by design for God

to work through us for the common good of the body

One anothers – simply this means that we return to each other in due measure

these things with which God calls us to bless and minister to each other.

a) Here is a sampling of some of the one anothers

Do you not think that if we lived with each other experiencing the

supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives and church and impacting

each other with the one anothers it would add vitality to our church and lives?

D. Finally we are deeply dependent upon one another and the proper functioning of

each member

Read Ephesians 4:15-16
Illustration this about the body with my drop foot.

a) My foot does not work properly because of my back and not my foot!

(1) The arthritis in my back squeezed against the nerves that control

my foot and destroyed them.

(2) Then as my foot would not work properly it has impacted my hip

on that side which ends up throwing off the hip on the other side.

(3) I think you get the point of how the whole body is dependent upon

the other members for the health of the body!

b) That means that the person sitting in the first row of the main floor is not

functioning properly or fully it will impact the person sitting in the last

row of the balcony.

You matter to the body and your full participation with the body of Christ at

MVC has a large impact upon the church’s ability to carry out the three fold

mission God has created the church for and also to the vitality or the

abundance of life that each believer at MVC will experience!

IV. Communion

A. Interesting that we always connect communion with remembering the death of

Jesus. 1 Corinthians 10 tells us there is another thing that communion, reminds

us, as it becomes that picture that is worth 1000 words.

Listen as I read 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Did you catch it? It pictures for us the fact that the many of us members

individually make up one body!

B. As we learned last week it is important not just to know these truths but to believe

them and do them. But I think Romans 12:3 shows us an attitude that will stand

in the way of anyone doing what we learned today.

a) Read Rom 12:3-4

This verse is directly connected to living as a body and reveals to us the

foundational attitude that must be in place!

a) Humility - recognizing our need for others whom God has gifted as

much as He has gifted me!

b) Pride, self-sufficiency, independence destroys body life

If our attitude is anything like Romans 12:3 not only will the rest of this

series have little impact upon you but also God’s vital church, yes even MVC

which was created for His glory, the believers’ edification and the lost’s

salvation will be less effective and the vitality of yourself and each believer

here will be impacted!

C. Reflect

View Details

Intro - Revitalized: Coming Back to Life in Christ

Acts 2:42-ff January 30, 2022

I. Introduction:

A. On Tuesday, March 20th 2012 at 12:02 I was sitting in the room of a building on

large mountain in Oaxaca Mexico along with Chad Negly, Eric Bihl and Joel

Brassfield when the building began to move back and forth and the lights hanging

from the ceiling were strongly swaying back and forth. I remember it being so

strong I grab on to something to make sure I would not fall out of my seat.

We were just a bit over 100 miles away from the epicenter of a 7.4

earthquake that took place on the boarder of Oaxaca and Guerrier.

I remember a few hours later talking to Eric about it and I said “Wow, I

have never been in a building that swayed back and forth like that before!

Eric’s response woke me up to the size of what just happened. – “Pat, it

was not the building that was swaying back and forth it was the mountain that

was swaying back and forth and everything on the whole mountain!

I remember later seeing pictures from near the epicenter and the severe

damage that the earthquake caused.

B. January 20, 2020 a foreshock to a soon coming major cultural earthquake hit the

United States, when the CDC confirmed the first case of Covid-19 in the state of

Washington.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-

19 a pandemic.

At some point this cultural earthquake became a full blown 8.0 on the Richter

scale leaving an upheaval and many, many aftershocks that keep readjusting

our culture to new norms that we are all still trying to learn to navigate.

C. As we navigate these new days after this major cultural earthquake there are

some new norms that are not healthy which impact our lives, friendships,

families, communities and even our churches in a negative way!

As individuals people are feeling fatigued and foggy! It has impacted them

physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. Add to that

anger, anxiety, broken dreams, disappointment, and grief!

a) For some you it feels like you were 100 miles away from the epicenter

for others it feels like the epicenter happened in the center of your heart

or family!

As for our culture one negative impact we have seen from this major cultural

earthquake is what they are calling the great resignations. An economic trend

in which employees voluntarily resign from their jobs in mass, and it began

in early 2021.

As for the church it appears that the great resignation has reached all the way

into the church, not just MVC but churches all around the country are

reporting this!

a) Many have stopped attending services personally or getting involved in

or serving in ministries and even vital relationships that were life

transforming in small groups or other means have taken a hit.

(1) Some have legitimate or wise reasons for this but others have

gotten into the habit of the ease of doing church online and even

ministries by Zoom.

b) Even people who have come back to get involved in these are still

feeling isolated and disjointed from each other and the church at large.

More than one has told me that they are not re-engaging like they did

before Covid, either with ministries or people!

D. New norms and new habits about church have been formed that are hurtful to

individuals’ lives, families, and the communities around us who desperately need

the church to be the church.

All of that to say that the church is vital, as it is the body of Christ, God’s

ordained instrument through which the life of Christ comes to the world

around us in general but also to each one of us individually.

As a result of this cultural earthquake and its many aftershocks many

people’s lives, marriages, families and even the communities we are living in

are being hurt and in some cases falling apart without the strong healthy

godly influence of the church touching their lives.

E. So this morning we (I say we because this series is a joint effort between myself,

Pastor Mike Locke and Pastor Josh Weaver as we all feel the importance and

weight of this series at this time), we are going to begin a series we are calling

Revitalized: Coming Back to Life in Christ!

Purpose of the series – a call back to life, a reawakening, or a revival,

restoration back to abundant life that Jesus has for believers and being the

vital church, that God has supernaturally birthed by the Holy Spirit and

founded upon Jesus Christ!

So are going to look at Acts 2 as our foundational passage in this series.

a) The reason for that is that in order to become revitalized we are not

trying to discover new normal or new practices for our lives as Christians

or as the church but rather we must get back to the eternal kingdom

normal and practices we saw God built right into the DNA of the early

church.

b) Acts 2 is the northern point of the compass that can lead us through these

turbulent and confusing days that have knocked many of us personally

and as a church off course to get us back to the abundant life in Christ

and being the vital church that God has created for his glory and ours and

the world’s benefit!

c) Acts 2 is the normal when it comes to the Christian life and church!

• Turn in your Bibles to...

II. Acts 2:42

A. In this section we are going to see what naturally happened when the church was

born!

I say naturally because at this stage of the church these were not things that

they were so much taught they were supposed to do, but more so what sprung

out of them because of their new birth with the indwelling Spirit and the birth

of the church.

a) Just like a new born baby is not instructed to breathe or cry or move,

they just do it, so the church just did these!

B. As I read Acts 2:42 know this is what happened in the weeks and months that

followed right after the church was born

First, we will see in v42 what they devoted themselves to then in v43-47 we

will see what their life together looked like as the first church!

Read v42-43. Miracles were taking place through everyone… is that what it

says? No through the apostles

C. First let’s look at the things that they devoted their lives to. The things the built

their lives around, these are the things they poured their energy into, these are the

things they persisted in and refused to let other things or lesser things stop them

from doing them.

The apostles’ teachings – it is interesting to note that while the whole Bible,

all of God’s Word was important to them, they had a special devotion to the

teaching or the doctrine that came from the apostles!

a) For us that would be the New Testament about Jesus Christ, His birth,

life, death, burial, resurrection and the ascension and future return along

with what all those mean to us!

The (Greek) fellowship – fellowship is a much stronger word than just

hanging together but rather that they were partners of one another who shared

a common life and mission together, therefore they needed to spend a lot of

time together.

The breaking of the bread –I think this is specifically the celebrating of

communion together as it talks about the breaking of bread – this indicates a

very specific kind of breaking of bread.

a) I think if it was regarding just eating together, something they did do

often it would just saying they were breaking bread rather than the

breaking of break

b) Later in this passage I do not think they would separate them or feel to

the need to repeat them if they were the same thing!

The (Greek) prayers – again the definite article is used and it’s not just to

prayer but to the prayers.

a) That could refer to the fact that they had certain times each day they

prayed together, which we see in Acts or as some believe they had

certain content they prayed.

b) Either way, the point is that they prayed and they prayed a lot together

and not just by themselves

D. Now we will note the things that naturally happened in their life together as a

church as a result of devoting themselves to these four vital practices!

V44-47 gives us a picture of what that church looked like in practice on a

daily basis. The early church was not just a Sunday church but a daily

church!

Read
We see in here a community of people who built deep relationships with one

another and generously served each other’s needs with whatever resources

they had, they gathering together regularly, and they grew together as they

studied God’s Word, prayed, worshipped, and took communion together,

along with telling others about Jesus.

III. Conclusion

A. In the weeks to come we will be looking closer at all these important practices

and natural results that sprung forth in the early church that can help revitalize us

and the church as we return to the way life was designed to be in Christ!

This week – read, study and meditate over and over on Acts 2 and be radically honest

regarding how much your life and your church MVC matches up to DNA of the original

church.

View Details

The Bible

Various Passages October 17, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. We are hitting a major turning point in our series about truth, which we are calling

‘Let’s Get Real’ because we learned that truth means reality; a reality you can rely

upon and build your life upon.

We also have been looking at how people look at truth in this post-modern

world we live in today because Proverbs 14 teaches us that the better we

understand our culture the easier it will be for us to know what to do and the

wiser we will be on how to live and impact others

Our whole series began through a verse that was part of our agenda at a board

meeting 1 Chronicles 12:32

a) This is a section of Scripture where God was telling us who the different

groups of people where who supported King David and what they did for

him.

b) The men of Issachar understood their times and they knew what Israel

should do.

c) Sounds like these men were special consultants for David as they had the

special ability to take their times and God’s Word and know exactly

what they needed to do!

B. Well so far in this series we have gained some understanding about our times, so

today we are going to transition in this series to the second half of that verse and

better understand God’s Word, the other thing that the men of Issachar evidently

knew so we can know what we need to do in these days.

My goal is not to pull out specific instructions that we need to apply today

but to better understand the source of truth– the Word of God, the Bible, the

word of truth!

A reality we can rely upon and build our lives upon, a reality that can stand

through the storms of life

• We will start with what the Bible says about itself. Then we will build upon that each

week. Let’s start with the

II. Claims of the Bible

A. Just to let you know up front, today there will be many power points because we

are going to be looking at many different passages and we will be moving quickly

through them. Again, you may want to download the notes off the web page midweek

and look at these passages again for yourself.

B. The writers of the Bible claim it is God’s very words

It is called the Word of God

a) Ephesians 6:17 – the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God – and we

saw Jesus use that when he was tempted by the devil as every time Satan

came at him Jesus backed him off by saying - “it is written”

b) 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – clearly states that the word was both accepted by

these people and affirmed by Paul to really be the Word of God and not

the word of men!

c) 1 Peter 1:23,25 – first called the Word of God then it is called the Word

of the Lord

When prophets spoke and their words, which have been recorded in the

Bible, they repeatedly said, “thus says the Lord.” So the words recorded are

the very words that the Lord had them say.

2 Timothy 3:16 is probably the strongest verse supporting that these words

come directly from God. Turn and stay there!

a) Read first 6 words

b) Actually, the Greek word for scripture means writing, and it is used to

refer to the written word of God, the Bible.

c) The Greek word for inspired literally means God -breathed. These

words written in Scripture have come from the very depths of God

(1) (breath to illustrate)

(2) God divinely influenced the human authors of the Scriptures in

such a way that what they wrote was the very word of God.

(3) We will come back to inspiration in another message.

This all means the Bible truly is the Word of God and makes the Bible unique

among all other books.

C. The Bible also claims that its words are truth, reality you can rely upon, that you

can build your life upon, which is the point of this series.

It is called the word of truth - 2 Timothy 2:15, James 1:18
It also claims what it says is truth -John 17:17; 2 Samuel 7:28; Psalm 119:160
God’s words all add up to truth, the sum total of truth, the full meaning all

of His Word is truth!

Bottom line, if God is truth and these words are His words then they need to

be words of truth

D. The Bible makes claims about the creation of the universe, the nature of the God

and man and where this world is going.

Since the Bible is truth, that means the Bible is the most important book in

the history of mankind and holds the answers to the most important questions

in life:

a) Where did I come from?

b) Why am I here?

c) What happens to me after I die?

d) What is going on in this world?

• So now that we know that the Bible claims to be the Word of God and the truth!

Let’s look at some of the

III. The benefits and power of the Bible

A. When I think of the benefits of the Bible

I cannot help but go to 2 Timothy 3:16 –17. Still there? Read

a) V16 - profitable for teaching (the way we should go) reproof (tells us

when we are off the way) correction (tells us how to get back on the

way) training in righteousness (trains us so we can stay on the way

without falling!)

b) V17 - all this so that we would be adequate and equipped for every good

work.

(1) adequate means we have all we need to do what God wants us to

(2) equipped – completely furnished with the tools we need

Turn to 1 Peter 2:1-2

a) After telling us at the end of chapter 1 that we are born again by the

Word of God, now here he tells us that we grow spiritually by the Word

of God just as a baby grows from the milk they receive from their

mother!

We know from Ephesians 6 and the example of Jesus in Matthew 4 it is the

sword we need to defeat the work of the devil in our life.

Also in this book, we find all of God’s promises – the commitments that God

has made to us to help us through various difficult situations and personal

needs we have.

Freedom for your soul and life is found by staying in this book, especially

freedom from the bondage of sin - which entangles us and steals life from us

–John 8:31-32

In this book we learn of Jesus – our savior and lord, our guardian and

shepherd, our life who actually is everything we need in every situation in

which we find ourselves – He is our all in all. John 5:39

B. I could go on and on about the benefits of the Bible but let me share a bit of its

power.

Hebrews 4:12– alive, active, sharp, piercing, judging
Jeremiah 23:28-29 says it’s like grain, like fire, like a hammer
Ephesians 5:26 tells us it has the power to cleanse
Romans 12:2 – has the power to transform
Romans 10:17 – faith comes by hearing the Word of God
John 17:17 – it sanctifies us – bottom line that means it breaks the power of

sin and Satan in my life and builds more of the life of Jesus in me

Bottom line, we should not be surprised by the power of God’s Word. If God

is omnipotent – a big theological term that simply means that God has

unlimited power and authority, then His words would be powerful as well.

• So today, we are just introducing the Bible to ourselves, as there is so much more we

need to address on this topic in weeks to come.

IV. Conclusion

A. We have learned that

These words are the very words of God Himself
These words are truth – no surprise there if the God of truth was to speak

words would you not expect them to be words of truth – reality upon which

that you can rely and build your life!

We learned these words are beneficial to us both in our relationship with God

and in our personal lives

Finally, that these words are powerful – powerful life changing words from a

powerful life changing God!

B. So my final exhortation to you today is from 1 Thessalonians 2:13 – performs its

work within us. Turn to it read it

When you hear this book proclaimed or when you read it or listen to it for

yourself; recognize, receive and respect it for what it is – not the word of

men, but for what it really is, the Word of God

Secondly, do not try to squeeze God’s Word into your schedule but build

your schedule around God’s Word first then plan everything else. Read it,

listen to it, study it, memorize it, meditate on it (simply means to think deeply

and repeatedly about it) because it performs numerous powerful life changing

works at the core of our being for those who believe it!

a) I recognize for some of you young moms or home schooling moms who

think I am out of touch with the real world – I would encourage you to

take a verse or two a day and write it on a 3x5 card and carry it around

with you. Glance at it repeatedly during the day when you get just a

moment. Thirty 30 second glances and reflections are like 15 minutes in

God’s Word!

View Details

Truth in Our World Today

Various passages October 10 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Read Proverbs 14:6,33

Simply the better you understand something, the easier it will be for you to

know what to do and the wiser you will be!

So the better we understand our culture:

a) We will better understand why people say what they say and do the

things they do today.

b) We will be wiser in contending for the faith

c) We will be wiser to navigate these times without being squeezed into the

mold of the world

d) We will be wiser on how to impact others.

B. We stated the first week that we are living in a very unique time as many have

lived in two different cultural eras, which in many ways can be defined not by age

or generation but more by the way, we perceive the world and particularly the

way we think about truth. These two eras are called modern and post-modern

• So I am going to start by simply reading to you a 30,000-foot view of the summary of

my study of these. I would highly encourage you to download these notes from our

webpage later in the week.

II. Cultural eras

A. Modernism began in the mid-17th century with the rise of the age of

enlightenment - an age of reason where human understanding was used to define

the universe.

It was an intellectual movement that believed human reason and science gave us

access to truth, with the ultimate goal that knowledge of the truth would better

humankind. They could now ‘correct’ and ‘improve’ the political and social

condition of humankind.

Thus, the individual would no longer be at the mercy of religious and secular

authorities of the middle ages who dictated people what was true, primarily long

held traditions!

B. Postmodernism found its beginning more in the 60’s and 70’s

It is more an attitude towards truth claims than it is a generational thing. It began

in response to the failure of the modernist to provide this new and better society.

After two world wars, nonstop social revolutions, civil unrest and the cold war

modernity was declared dead by the academic world!

It was marked by questioning of reason, skepticism, radical uncertainty,

celebration of difference, and the reassessment of modern principles.

The modern age was marked by different large-scale theories, “grand narratives” -

one ultimate truth that could explain the totality of human experience. The

postmodern age was one of “micro-narratives” that focused on context/relativism,

subcultures, and diversity, none of which can claim an ultimate truth.

What is reality/truth? Rather than being an absolute objective truth, accessible by

rational procedures and experimentation, reality was relative and depended on

subjective experience. Truth is not something we discover out there that is beyond

us but rather something we construct. There is no absolute truth

The hallmark of postmodern thinking is the rejection of absolute truth. The three

byproducts of that are pluralism relativism, and tolerance

If anyone does not buy into these three byproducts then they are considered to

have left their brains at the door. If there is no absolute truth then all truths

are equally valid.

• Before we go on, we need to understand some...

III. Key definitions about truth

A. This is important because to be able to contend for the faith we need to

understand the words that are being used today in the battle for truth. Most of

them are not common to us but to understand them opens up a deeper

understanding about what truth and reality are

B. Following are the PBP pocket dictionary 2nd edition definitions regarding truth –

(see flyer)

Truth – what is real, that which correspond with reality.
Absolute – true for all people in all places at all times independent of any

outside factors.

Relative – truth is not fixed for all but is individually determined dependent

upon a person’s unique situation.

Objective – truth based on how things really are whether we agree with it or

not.

Subjective - truth based on a person's perspective, feelings, opinions and

circumstances whether it is real or not.

Exclusive – truth that is limited and excludes others.
Pluralism – Two or more differing or opposing views that are equally valid

and true.

Construct –every individual, group or subculture is free to create their own

reality/truth.

Material – the material world and its laws. Materialism or naturalism is the

belief that nature is all there is.

• Now with a better understanding of these words next I tried to make a chart that puts

the ideas of truth together through the lens of the modern and postmodern era and the

eternal era of God!

IV. Summary chart of truth

V. The problem as I see it

A. We see this kind of postmodern thinking all over our culture today. But my

biggest concern right now is how it has hit three major institutions of culture – the

media, politics and education. I believe it has hit both sides of the aisles in

different ways whether you are watching Fox News or CNN or you are a

Republican or Democrat.

B. Many of these institutions are constructing truth. They do it through what they

call talking points –

This is what we are going to talk about and this is what we want people to

believe.

a) So they talk about their talking points whether they are true or not and

almost always just half the truth at best – that which sides with their view

and never the whole truth.

Those who do not side with our truth are bullied, vilified, shamed or

cancelled.

Which shuts down all intelligent conversations, getting to what really is the

truth and what is real enough that we can build our life upon it!

C. The goal is no longer communicating the facts or what is true but rather

communicating their agenda! Bottom line – the loudest voice or the voice with

the most people behind it wins!

Here is the problem with that (pp) “A lie doesn’t become truth, wrong

doesn’t become right, and evil doesn’t become good, just because it’s

accepted by a majority.” Booker T. Washington

People are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts! Original

source uncertain but repeated by many

• So with this going on in our culture how can anyone depend upon what they are

hearing in a way they can build their life on it?

VI. Final app

A. So that brings us back to what we have learned over the last few weeks. God and

His Word are the only reality upon which we can rely upon to build our lives.

In a day and age where us common folk do not have access to all the facts

and only hear what people want us to hear and believe to be true and there are

so many contradictions we are hearing …

We need to make God’s Word the source where we can find truth we can rely

upon and build our lives upon!

The only “no spin” zone in the world that we can depend upon to build our

life upon is the Word of God!

Read Psalm 1:1-3. Read and speak as God gives utterance

B. I want to close this morning by giving you some books that can help you gain a

better understanding into the things we have talked about the last four weeks.

Another Gospel – Alisa Childers – use to be in the group Zoegirl. She tells

the story of how her faith was nearly destroyed by a progressive pastor and

how God walked here through that time and taught her the truth.

The Truth War – John Macarthur - basically John’s commentary on the book

of Jude and how it applies to truth in a postmodern age.

The Ever loving Truth – Voddie Bauchman – talks about how a 21st century

Christian can stand faithful and be a voice for truth in a postmodern world

View Details

A Cultural War

Various Passages October 3, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. We learned last week that truth basically means reality, something that is so real

you can depend upon it, you can bet your life on it. Thus from this definition we

have given the name to this series “Let’s Get Real”

So let’s get real this morning. What is really going on? What is so true and

so real that I can build my life on it?

Do you want to get real? I need to warn you that this morning may be a bit

like the movie A Few Good Men where Jack Nicholson speaking to Tom

Cruise said (video from movie)

a) Nicholson “you want answers?”

b) Cruise: “I want the truth!”

c) Nicholson: “you can’t handle the truth!”

B. Sometimes Christianity does not make you feel better but actually makes life

harder rather than easier. That is hard for some people to handle! But this reality,

this truth is something you can build your life on and depend upon! So let’s get

real!

First, there is a whole spiritual world and many spiritual beings that are real

but they are all invisible.

That spiritual world touches our lives, our church our nation, and our world

and is behind many of the struggles and problems we have experience in all

of these arenas.

a) Turn to and read Ephesians 6:11-12

b) We see in v12 that there is a struggle going on and it is not against other

humans but ultimately against spiritual invisible beings, bad angels,

demons whose desire is to destroy our world and us.

c) We see here in v11 that Satan has schemes to try to get us to fall. He has

many methods but one of his primary tricks is deception. Getting us to

believe a lie.

Jesus calls Satan the father of lies, - read John 8:44bff

a) Deception is the primary means he uses – read Revelation 12:9

b) That means Satan is working to get us to believe a lie! Something that is

unreal and not dependable, an illusion that if you build your life on it, it

will crumble.

C. We learned last week that Jesus is the truth! The ultimate, dependable reality and

truth!

D. Thus, we have a spiritual war that is going on both in the heavenlies and here on

earth between God and Satan, and we are right in the middle of the battlefield.

Satan wants to control us by his lies and use us as his instrument of lies to

further his agenda

God wants to control us by His truth and use us as instruments of truth to

further His agenda!

E. God has provided for us powerful spiritual weapons for this spiritual battle for

truth. Turn to 2 Corinthians 10:3

The context of this chapter was that false teachers were trying to discredit

Paul and what he taught. So it was out of this context Paul writes what he

says next.

Read v3-4 We see two things here

a) While we are humans of flesh, the war we are in is not a human war but

a spiritual war.

b) Secondly, the weapons that God has provided for us are spiritual and

powerful for destroying strongholds/fortresses

Now note in v5 that He tells us what are the strongholds/fortresses that He is

destroying with these powerful spiritual weapons. Read v5

a) Simply this is a battle for truth

b) A battle against anything, any teaching, philosophy, ideology, belief

system even every single thought that is contrary to God and His Truth.

F. That is the real world we live in and the real battle we fight for our families, our

church, our nation and ourselves. That truth is so real you can build your life

upon it. You are living in the middle of a battle for your mind; truth and lies are

the primary weapons!

• So today and next week I want to help us better understand this battle for truth in light

of the postmodern world we live in

II. Postmodern

A. Many have called this war for truth a cultural war because the battle rages

primarily in the seven institutions of culture.

Those institutions are family, religion, government, arts, media, education,

and economy.

A cultural war happens when worldviews clash in the institutions of culture.

Especially when one group who runs the institutions puts pressure upon other

groups to accept their views! Dr Marcus Warner

Dr Warner goes on to say historically Christians have only been involved in

two of the cultural institutions (family and religion) and because we have not

been involved in the other five we are losing the battle for the culture!

As a result, many of the perspectives of our postmodern world stand in direct

opposition to a truth centered biblical worldview!

B. Voodie Bachman says the hallmark of postmodern thinking is the rejection of

absolute truth – truth that is true for all people in all places at all times.

The three by products of that are pluralism, relativism, and tolerance.
Next week we will deal more with absolute truth, so today I just want to deal

with the three byproducts.

C. Pluralism simply means there can be two or more differing or opposing views that

are equally valid and true.

That is why irrational thinking is not a problem in this day.
We struggle because the laws of logic tells us that truth cannot contradict

itself, but the postmodern world is comfortable with and even celebrates

contradictions in reasoning and logic.

Many believe this has grown out of the industrialization of our big cities as

people of differing cultures, ethnicities, colors and religions have come in

from all over the world to get work.

a) Thus, the culture we live in now is pluralistic.

b) Air travel and the internet have allowed the world to shrink so we have

many interactions with people who are very different from us.

Thus, many differing views exist together in one place at the same time

making our culture a pluralistic culture.

So the people we try to minister to, believe there are many different and

opposing truths that are equally true and valid!

D. Relativism means truth is not fixed for all people but is individually determined

dependent upon a person’s unique situation and beliefs.

So if each person’s, each sub culture’s and each group’s situation and beliefs

are different, and if there is no absolute truth then truth is in constant flux and

all truths are valid and equal!

Thus, relativism and pluralism go hand and hand. That is why you hear from

people today “that may be true for you, but it is not true for me!”

E. Tolerance

Tolerance used to mean bearing with, accepting, and treating with respect

someone who has a different view than you

Today tolerance means you not only accept and treat with respect someone

who differs but you must embrace and celebrate their views. It demands that

we value these views to the degree that we value our own and if we do not we

are intolerant.

We must speak the truth in love; both must be present and not one without

the other!

We must be ready to accept the rejection received for that as a badge of honor

in the kingdom of God and be more concerned with what God thinks than

what they think! Now we all must face that internal battle with ourselves!

III. Application

A. I love what Doctor Warner says about how we can engage in this war and act like

Christians.

Love your enemies and do good to them (relational)
Oppose wicked spirits and pray for revival (spiritual )
Validate, listen and validate first then speak the truth in love (conversational)
Engage with cultural institution (cultural) – we need more Daniels and

Josephs in these days!

Then he goes on to say when we do this we may not save the world or even

some relationships, but we will make inroads into some people’s lives with

relational breakthroughs

B. Turn to Colossians 2:13-15

As I read note that Jesus at the cross, when he shed His blood disarmed and

defeated Satan. Read v13-15

Listen to Revelation 12:10-11
It is the blood of Jesus that defeats and disarms the enemy.

C. As communion is taken today would you get real by consider the war you are

really in and where Satan has duped you with his lies. Then thank Jesus for

shedding His blood. Then apply His blood by faith against the enemy where he

has duped you, your mate, your children, your church, your nation!

View Details

What is Truth?

Various passages September 26, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. One of the most relevant questions for our day was asked nearly 2,000 years ago

by a Roman government leader named Pilate. Turn in your Bibles to John 18:34

The Jewish religious leaders had brought Jesus to Pilate wanting to condemn

Him to death.

Pilate took Jesus to inside the side praetorium and ask Him a direct question

“Are you the king of the Jews?”

After a short exchange between the two let’s enter into the end of that

conversation in v37-38 as both Jesus and Pilate say some things that relate to

this series on truth. Read

First, Jesus said “Yes, I am a king, I was born for this and I came into the

world for this.” Then he says this “to testify to the truth”

Jesus came in to the world to be a king, and to testify to the truth, here in

context the truth that he is testifying about is that he is a king!

a) But in general Jesus came into the world was to give testimony to the

truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

Then Pilate asked this 2,000-year-old question that is relevant up to the

moment. Read v28a!

B. Let me ask you – what is truth?

Now do not get super spiritual on me at this moment and tell me truth is Jesus

or His Word even though this the correct and true answer.

a) But for just a moment, I want to remove truth from every context and

define the world truth itself.

b) Then bring it back and apply to Jesus and His Word so when we say

Jesus and His Word are truth we actually know what we are saying!

So let me ask you – if an 11-year-old child were to ask you what is truth what

would you tell them?

a) I am going to give you one minute to formulate a simple and clear

answer in your mind

b) Now I am going to give you one minute to find someone who sits by you

that you do not know very well and introduce yourself to them.

c) Now you each have forty seconds to tell each other your definition of

truth.

• So let me start this morning with

II. A dictionary definition of truth

A. I want to show you actual pictures from various dictionaries themselves because

we remember 10% of what we hear and 50% of what you hear and see. And I

believe that Satan, the father of lies, will do anything to make sure you do not get

this straight – even whisper to your mind “did the dictionary really say…” I

want you to see what I saw, with your own two eyes!

Let’s start with the Hebrew dictionary – the language used in the Old

Testament.

a) DBL Hebrew Dictionary of Biblical Languages

(1) Two meanings of this one Hebrew word 1. Faithfulness 2. True

(2) Faithfulness simply means reliability, trustworthiness

(3) True means – read #2 “… conforms to reality…”

b) I want you to understand something about this word. The Hebrew word

for truth is the exact same word for faithfulness.

(1) So if you were reading the Old Testament straight from the

Hebrew and you came across this word (eh-meht) you need to

decide from the context whether it is being used to indicate

faithfulness or truth.

c) My summary of the Hebrew definition for truth is like a coin, it can only

be fully captured when you look at both sides of it!

(1) Truth is reality that can be depended upon!

(2) Faithfulness is something that can be depended upon because it is

real!

Greek dictionary

a) DBL Greek Dictionary of Biblical Languages

(1) Read from powerpoint– “reality whether historical or eternal”

b) LTW Lexham Theological Wordbook

(1) Read from power point

(a) Emphasize real… reality

(b) Note the different areas where truth can be revealed

through: words, actions, mind or heart

Webster’s dictionary

a) Truth (power point) - read 1a (1) (2) and 2a

b) True (power point) – read 1a (1) (2) and c

B. Did you notice any common elements?

Reality, that which is actual, that which actually exists or happens. It is real
Thus the name of this series is “let’s get real”

C. So finally the Patrick Bernard Peglow definition – want you to see it straight from

the PBP dictionary!

A word, action, thought or heart which so conforms to reality that you can bet

your life on it!

• So what is

III. Truth

A. Now that we know truth, is reality we can push it back even a step further and ask

what is ultimate reality?

B. Turn to John 14:6 where we see that God Himself, Jesus is truth

Now the word I want emphasize here is not truth but the word “the”

a) “The” indicates what we learned in Greek as par excellent!

b) Means they are in a class of their own and no one else is like them!

c) They are the ultimate; they are the best, no one or nothing else like them,

the one of a kind!

Jesus is not just a truth but the truth. He is the ultimate truth to which no

other truth is like!

C. Truth is right at the core of God’s glory

Read John 1:14
Listen to when God’s glory passed in front of Moses. Read Exodus 34:6
We have talked a lot about grace at MVC and it is just as important that we

get truth right in our lives and church as it is to get grace right and that we

learn to wed the two together as one!

D. Where can we find reality/truth about God and His glory?

Turn and read John 17:17 – “Thy word is truth”
Simply God is truth, God is the ultimate reality and the Bible is His chosen

vehicle to communicate Himself and what He declares to be true

a) And since the Bible is God’s chosen vehicle, which He has given equal

weight to His own character, we can depend upon it and can build our

lives upon it!

• I want to suggest two ways we can apply this today

IV. Apply

A. If truth is what is real then a lie or a falsehood is what is not real, what is not

actual!

Thus, Satan, the father of lies, is also called the deceiver! Deception is

simply believing something that is not true is true!

And the liar and deceiver uses false teaching as his primary tool whether it

comes dressed in humanistic secular clothes or religious clothes! Secular and

spiritual lies are both dangerous and undependable to build your life upon.

And let me remind you of something we learned in our series on spiritual

warfare. Satan is the master of taking truth either out of context or making it

stand alone without other passages to balance out the truth.

Satan will do everything he can to keep you away from this book. If he

cannot keep you away from it he will seek to get you to take verses out of

context or try to get them to stand alone as a partial truth, out of balance from

the whole truth. Because he wants you to build your life upon and depend

upon something that is not real, just an illusion of truth.

a) Illustrate reality with the wall and its reliability to hold me up if I lean

against it.

b) But if Satan can convince me that this is a real wall that can hold me up

(called deception) and I lean against it I will fall down because it is not

real!

B. Secondly, practice reframing what has personally happened to you in the past,

what is personally going on now and what you are going to be facing in the

future.

Do this because it allows me to look at my life, past present and future

according to what is real, what is actual, what is true so I can build a healthy

spiritual, mental and emotional life off of that. Let me illustrate

a) Present – something bad is going on in your life. – not only is Romans

8:28-29 true here where God will use it to produce the good in you of

becoming more like Jesus

(1) But so is Ephesians 6:10 that our battle is not with flesh and blood

but with demonic spirits who are behind this.

(2) Also, the truths of James 1 that He uses trials to grow us and

perfect our character

(3) The truth of 2 Corinthians 4 that He uses difficulty to break down

our flesh and release more of the inner life of Jesus within us.

(4) Consider Lamentations 3 where God’s mercies are new every

morning

(5) According to Hebrews 13 He will equip me with everything I need

to do His will in a way that is pleasing to Him by the Spirit of

Jesus

(6) The list can go on but do you see how dwelling about these truths

would cause the light of God’s truth to overwhelm the darkness of

the lies and take us from deception to reality!

b) Past – When we do the same with our past, it helps deliver us from lies

that have kept us in bondage and depression.

c) When we do the same with our future it turns that future event into a

walk of faith

A few simple steps on how do we reframe our lives according to truth. Got

this method from Craig Groeschel in his book “Winning the War in Your

Mind” a must read for everyone.

a) Identify very specific situation or person that is big or trying for you –

past, present or future

b) Consider what Bible truths speak to this. If you really do not know then

it’s a great time to speak to someone else and ask them what Bible truths

speak to your situation

c) Form a short personal statement that is full of truth and reality and put it

on a piece of paper or 3 by 5 card. Then review it constantly until it

becomes a part of your thinking.

d) This way your thoughts about what has, is or will happen will be built

upon reality rather than the lies and falsehoods with which Satan is

seeking to fill your mind!

View Details

Introduction to Truth Series

Jude September 19, 2021

Introduction:

A. Turn in your Bibles to Jude 3

The easiest way to find the book of Jude is that it is the next to last book in

the Bible just before the book of Revelation. Since it is only one chapter

long, Jude 3 means it is the third verse in the very first and only chapter

Read

B. Quick overview of the book

In v3 he planned to write to these Christians regarding their salvation that

they shared together

a) But instead of doing that, he put that aside because he felt the necessity

to write instead to encourage them to contend, which means to struggle

intensely.

b) This intense struggle was over the Bible, the truth given to them in the

Scriptures, which is called here “the faith” here, which was handed down

to the believers from God one time, never to be repeated again!

(1) Side note – he is not encouraging the pastor or the elders of that

church to fight for the truth but rather it is something he is

encouraging that every one of the believers join in on!

Why did he change his plans – v 4 tells us “for”

a) Read

b) Basically there were people who slipped into their church unnoticed and

these people were characterized by two things

(1) They turned God’s grace into a license to do whatever they wanted

to do

(2) They reject the authority of the lord Jesus Christ over them

(3) Then he spends all the way to verse 16 reminding them of the

judgment that will come the way of these false teachers and more

of what they are like.

Then he gives them a reminder in v17.

a) Read v17-19

b) Basically the apostles warned us that in the last time that it would be like

this

Then in verses 20-23, he tells them what they should do about this.

a) As I read it watch for this:– the command here is to keep yourself in the

love of God by doing three things: praying by means of the Holy Spirit,

keep your hearts eyes locked on the return of Jesus and finally impacting

some others along the way.

b) Read v20-23

Finally he closes this chapter with a great benediction of hope

a) Read v24-25

b) Basically Jesus is the one who is able to make us stand, keep us from

stumbling during these difficult days and to be blameless and full of joy

when we stand before the greatness of God’s glory

c) I love this because he is simply saying that as we walk within all these

spiritual land mines both in the church and in the world, in the last days,

that Jesus is able to guide us and keep us until we stand before Jesus!

d) That points us to where my hope and trust needs to be in these chaotic

days

C. This chapter is important because it explains exactly why we are doing this series

and gives us some guidance with this series on truth called – “let’s get real!”

• Let’s start with …

II. Why we are doing this series

A. Reread Jude 3

B. Let me take you back a few months ago to a board meeting we had.

Men of Issachar 1 Chronicles 12:32 – we wanted to make sure we not only

knew what the Bible tells us we should do but also the culture and times we

are living in so we can lead and teach more wisely!

Mike Locke shared at the board meeting much of what our young people face

in the culture today and it was an eye opener for most of us on the board

As he was sharing my heart was stirred and I went home thinking about it.

When I woke up the next morning, I just knew I needed to make my next

series a series on truth.

C. In addition, the battle for truth is a frontal attack on the very character and glory

of God! It began in Genesis 3 in the garden when Satan attacked what God said

(God’s word)

The battle for truth is moving towards a time when the little horn, the

antichrist, will fling truth to the ground Daniel 8:12.

a) I think we are seeing the world prepared for this right now.

Also, there are direct warnings about false teachers in 22 of 27 books of the

New Testament!

D. We must remember that false teaching is not just bad teaching or wrong teaching

but rather it is teaching that is demonically powerful to keep lost people locked

into their lost state and cause believers to be entrapped by sin and lies!

• Now from two others parts in Jude we get

III. Guidance for the series

A. First, v4 re-read – there was false teachers creeping into the church

Today the thinking of the world is squeezing Christians into it mold!

a) Modernism elevated human reasoning and science above faith as the

means to discover truth and with these truth discoveries, they promised a

better world.

b) Now today the postmodern world began as a response to the modern’s

failure to provide the better world it promised.

(1) They question the existence of truth, especially objective and

absolute truth (something outside of ourselves that is true for all

people in all places at all times) to something subjective and

relative (something inside of the person depending upon the

individuals conditions and personal perceptions)

Liberalism has crept in the church at large over the last 50 years. Thus,

many theologians were squeezed into the world’s way of thinking about God

and Scripture and in turn, they have impacted the church!

a) As a result they have been deconstructing long held beliefs about God

and His Word and are coming up with new ways of thinking about God

and the Bible that are:

(1) More consistent with a humanistic way of thinking that limits all of

life to the material world and removes any place for miracles

(2) A theology that is much more acceptable and cultural friendly to

these times because some key biblical doctrines can be seem as

unloving, exclusive and offensive to a postmodern way of

thinking.

b) Some of the key doctrines that are being attacked are:

(1) The claims of the Bible to be objective and absolutely true that is

binding on everyone and that other religious and moral claims are

false

(2) A more sexually friendly ethic that includes others who do not

practice the heterosexual marital sex taught by the Bible

(3) The cross of Jesus is seen as cosmic child abuse and offensive to

think of a God who would sacrifice his own son

(4) The wrath of God is seen as offensive and unloving so teachings

about God’s wrath are redefined.

(5) Miracles are impossible because they cannot be measured by

science or fit into man’s rationalistic and humanistic way of

thinking

(6) The teaching about the roles of women in the church and marriage

are out of date and we have progressed beyond those times so they

need to be updated.

B. The goal of this series is not to change the way that the world thinks, that is not

going to happen as we move towards a time under the antichrist when truth will

be flung to the ground. But rather how we as Christians can navigate, stay afloat

and respond in these times as well as how we can impact others for the glory of

God.

That is the heart of our mission at MVC - following Jesus and impacting

others

Regarding impacting others read v 22-23

a) V 22 - there are some who are doubting because of the impact these false

teachings have had on them. Our role is not to condemn and threaten

them with God’s spanking but rather to show them mercy and help them

out

b) V 23a -others are lost because of the influence of the way this culture

thinks and false teachings about the gospel of Jesus Christ - by God’s

grace He will use us to lead some to Jesus and snatch some of those out

of the fire of hell.

c) V24b - still others I believe have been so contaminated by false teaching

and the sin that comes with it that you are to show them mercy with fear.

In other words, minister to them very carefully with great respect of the

power of the spiritual deception of Satan lest you yourself be deceived

and fall away!

IV.Where we are going in this series

A. We are going to start next week by defining truth. Since it is a series on truth we

should understand what truth is or maybe more accurately said, who truth is

B. Then we will try to understand the way the world is thinking today and how it got

there and its implications for us in contending for the truth in our own lives, our

church and the world

C. Since the Bible is the place where God reveals His truth, we will learn what the

Bible says about itself regarding truth. Since this book is what we are building

our lives off of, we will see if there is any intellectual credence for believing it as

truth or are we just believing it because we were told we are supposed to

D. Then we will close by seeing that God has committed to the church the task of

being the pillar and support of the truth!

• With all the waves of false thinking that is coming our way

V. How do we stand strong?

A. This we also see in Jude! Remember v 3 contend for the faith – remember it was

when David stayed home at the time when kings go out for battle that he fell with

Bathsheba.

The safest place in the world is being in the middle of God’s will, in this

respect it is contending for the faith rather than sitting on the sidelines

thinking the battle is too much for you.

B. Keep yourself within the love of God

We learn from John that means to obey God and His Word! John 15:10
Pray under the leading and influence of the Holy Spirit
Lock your heart on what is coming when Jesus returns

C. Trust Jesus to not only keep you from falling during this time but to give you the

strength to not only stand but to join in the battle for truth so you can have an

impact on others!

Jude 24-25

View Details

2021 Reboot

Hebrews 10:19-25 September 12, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. I have very little understanding about the inner workings of computers but from

years of experiencing computer problems, I have learned that before I call

someone to fix something the first thing I want to do is reboot the computer. That

simply means to turn it off and back on again

I am amazed at how many problems get fixed with that simple little

maneuver.

It clears up various different kinds of low-level errors, unloads and closes out

things so the computer runs much smoother when you restart it again.

B. Computers are not the only things that could benefit from a restart –I think

believers could benefit from a reboot after 2020.

2020 created many low level problems for many of us as we have been

internally on overload or our systems have shut down!

I feel like a reboot could help us as a church and as individuals run a bit

smoother again.

So today, I felt led to take just one Sunday in between the series to stop

and see how we are doing!

C. 2020 was a tough year!

As a church we stopped meeting together for services for a while and many

ministries shut down which slowly we restarted with various restrictions.

As a nation, we saw a pandemic and deep division over masks, race and

politics that not only touched the world around us but the church as well!

Many individuals felt it with their jobs. We experienced separation from

friends and families. Major milestone events like birthdays, graduations,

holiday gatherings and anniversary parties were canceled or were reduced to

drive-byes. Weddings and showers were postponed or greatly reduced to just

a few people. Families were impacted who could not grieve properly or in a

timely fashion as wakes and funerals were adjusted.

We can add to this 2021 where there is now strong division over vaccines,

new terror threats on our own home land and inflation that is flying out of

control. The other day I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and it cost

me $2 more for my favorite burrito while they cut the size of it by 1/3rd!

D. But my concern this morning has to do with what all of this has done to us when

we just started to come out of hibernation from the pandemic and then are hit

again with another wave of the delta variant.

The isolation and lack of engagement with others has put some into

depression as they wrestle deeply with their thoughts and emotions

Others felt totally disconnected from their church family and even their

friends and even now that they are back, they still are feeling very alone.

Fear is like an algorithm on the internet – it picks up on our emotional

behaviors then sends similar types of material to you.

a) The fear that came originally from the pandemic has put people’s fear in

overdrive and has caused fear in other areas of their lives or the past to

raise its ugly head.

Mental health has become a very big concern in these days; so much, so that

from more than one source I have been receiving materials, seminars and

videos that directly address the mental health of pastors after 2020.

The racial and political divide, with time, has driven people to the polar

opposite ends of the spectrum. People who used to be comfortable around

others who had different views are no longer comfortable around them.

Selfishness and anger are finding pockets in people’s hearts!

Some people stopped going to church in person and have become

comfortable with doing church online. Some have done so for medical

reasons but some could and should be back but have gotten out of the habit of

worshiping with their church body.

Even when ministries are starting back up people are not engaging in the

ministries or with people the way they used to either from fear or habit of

being disengaged.

E. I could go on and on, but I want to take us to one passage today that can help us

reboot as we clear away all the internal junk and focus on the basics of

relaunching our church and our lives in 2021.

• Please turn in your Bibles to

II. Hebrews 10

A. This was a church made up of Jewish believers who suffered intense persecution

to the point of even losing their property and were under constant pressure from

Jews to return to Jewish religion and all of its Old Testament rituals

B. He spends the first ten chapters showing them the superiority of Jesus to the Old

Testament worship system and how Jesus’ once and for all sacrifice on the cross

forgave their sins.

Now since they have a new and living way through the blood of Jesus to

approach the very presence of God and since they have Jesus as the great

priest over the church….

He tells them three natural responses to these great blessings and privileges

that God has given us. These three things are the things we need to reboot

too, we need to clean out all the other stuff that has crowded our hearts and

lives and re-center again on important three things.

Each one starts with let us. The first one is in v22.

a) Watch for it as I start by reading in 19-22.

C. The first one is believing prayer.

This is so crucial for the messes and clutter in our hearts, especially anxiety

and fear, along with the wisdom we need to navigate so many new things in

our lives and world.

Prayer is the way we connect with God and turn His graces into our actual

experience. Prayer moves God’s truth from our heads to our hearts. Prayer

makes the promises of God our personal possessions.

Turn and read Hebrews 4:14-16
Let me encourage you with three ways

a) Personal prayer – rather than worrying about and trying to figure out our

problems we need to be intentional to drop everything and turn to God

and talk to Him about them and receive His peace and wisdom and grace

as He sorts us out as the Good Shepherd of our souls

b) Get a prayer partner – one time per week – in person best, Zoom works

too.

c) Corporate prayer – 1st week in October

D. The second let us is found in v23. Read

Holding on to our confession, the content we publically declare of our hope.
This is not about holding onto our confession of faith where we look back to

when we trusted Jesus but here in Hebrews it is about holding on the future

hope of the return of Jesus and His kingdom and all the blessing that will

come with that

Hebrews 9:28; 13:14
This was desperately needed by that church because of the persecution they

were going through and it is desperately needed today in light of the

discouraging world events that are taking place and the new realities we are

facing from Covid to terrorism and everything in between.

This kind of hope puts a light at the end of the tunnel and gives us a larger

perspective of what is going on. We are people of hope as Christians not

pessimists who are angry and fearful about everything that is going on!

a) Read 1 Peter 1:3-7

b) Then we are positioned to give an answer when they see and wonder

about the hope within us in the midst of these crazy days.

E. The third let us in found in v24-25.

Has to do with our corporate lives together, our meeting together and

engaging with one another.

The emphasis of this passage is not about how coming together as a church

can benefit you but rather how you can benefit others by coming. It is about

your value to others – stimulating others to love and good deeds as well as

encouraging others. It is not just that you need church but the church needs

you!

Read 24-25
When we meet as a church, it is not just to worship and hear God’s word but

it is also for engaging with one another! Encouraging other believers.

Three best ways

a) Corporate worship - takes place both before and after the service. So

church really goes on when we send you away and now it is your time to

engage and encourage others around you or in the atrium.

b) Small groups

c) Minister together with others

As I said earlier, some have forsaken coming and now are the habit of not

meeting personally with the church. Even before the pandemic research

showed that, many Christians were only going to church 1 to 2 times a

month.

a) You cannot fulfil what God says we need here and only come once or

twice a month. In other words, you cannot be spiritually healthy, not

engaging with other believers, giving and receiving encouragement from

each other both to keep coming and gathering with the body and

encouragement for life in these tough days.

b) Especially in these days when the soon return of Christ is becoming

more and more evident this passage is saying that other believers, the

church needs you even more!

I love what my friend Sam Hamstra about why people need to be back in

church – “in the Sunday service we employ many spiritual disciplines that

complement and expand upon our private spiritual disciplines. When we

gather we worship the Lord and pray together with others, we fellowship with

others, we do communion together, we can serve one another, we teach one

another, and we encourage one another”

• So

III. How can we reboot

A. Start with the shutting down and the clearing out of all the stuff that is bogging

down our hearts – confession clears that away and allows us to experience the

freshness of a clear conscience.

B. Restart – this week I want you to practice three things:

Be intentional to set time aside to pray. Call or get face to face with one

other believer and pray with them

Meditate on and praise God for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory

of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and the great kingdom He will set

up. In light of that, consider the necessity of today’s events to lead up to

that.

Reach out to at least one other believer this week whom you could

encourage. Listen, encourage, remind of God’s truth, and just bless

them somehow.

C. This is God’s wisdom of what we need to reboot back to. Let’s start with a time

of asking the Lord to search our hearts for anything that needs to be confessed!

View Details

The Ultimate Marriage

Ephesians 5:32-33 August 1, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Take a look at this picture and let me know what you see!

How many see a young woman – like a model from Paris? How many see an

old woman?

If you see the young woman: look at the chin and think of it as a large nose,

and look at the young woman’s ear and think of it as an eye!

If you see the old woman: look at the old woman’s nose and think of it as the

left cheek of a face looking away from you, and look at the old woman’s eye

and think of it as an ear on a face looking away from you.

B. This picture reminds me of Ephesians 5:22-33 as there are really two pictures that

play off each other in this section.

As we read this section, it keeps going back and forth between the

relationship with Jesus and the church and the husband and wife! Which is it?

I have to be honest with you, even for this series I had to be as intentional and

thoughtful as I am with that picture of the woman to be able to see both

pictures clearly and in their proper context!

C. Turn to Ephesians 5:32-33 where he closes this section up and lets us know just

what it is about. Read v 32-33

V32 –

a) When he says the mystery is great here, he is not only referring to the

two becoming one in the verse before but to this whole section of the

love and respect relationship.

b) He tells us directly here that in this passage he is mainly speaking about

the relationship between Jesus and the church

V33 –

a) Note the first word of v33 - nevertheless = regardless or even in spite of

the fact that he is talking about Jesus and the church

b) Read v33

This passage is primarily talking about the love and respect relationship

between Jesus and the church but the husband and wife relationship should

also be one of love and respect.

This passage is written to the church, every believer in Jesus Christ married

or not to let us know about Jesus love for us and how we are to respond to

him in his headship and love

D. While our response to Jesus is to be one of submission to everything and

respecting/fearing Him, I want to focus for a few minutes on His love for us

shown in this passage.

We see in v25 that His love is a sacrificial love where He gave up His very

life for us to save us so we can have eternal life with Him in a glorious

eternal kingdom and abundant life right now. Read 25

We see the end goal of this salvation and love is our sanctification. Even

more specifically, it is a love like a bridal attendant who is getting the bride

ready for her special day when she is presented to her husband. Read v 26-

Then the third aspect of this love is we see v28-29 talking about husband

loving their wives as their own body by nourishing and cherishing them.

Then he says this at the end. Read v29-30

Bottom line, Jesus love is a sacrificial love that saves us from an eternity of

God’s wrath and a life of misery and emptiness. His love helps us become all

that God has created us to be by removing the spots and wrinkles from our

lives; and finally His love is an up-close personal love that cares for every

practical need!

• That is the way that Jesus loves you and His ….

II. Love is transforming

A. I can testify that God in His love for me has turned my life upside down and

inside out all for the good!

B. Turn to Ezekiel 16:4-14 where God talked about the power of His love upon

Israel when He loved her when no one else wanted her! Read

C. Brothers and sisters that is transforming power of the love that God wants to pour

upon you if you will open your heart to receive it

D. Gospel

John 3:16

• Let me close with a special word to those who are

III. Single, widowed, divorced!

A. Acknowledge that for most of you if not all of you, you are in a situation you did

not hope for, dream of, or pray for!

I know the pain is real and deep and this series has not been easy for you to

listen to.

You have desire for companionship and sexual desires – yes, it still is not

good to be alone.

a) I want you to know those desires are normal and there is not something

wrong with you or sinful for having them because God made us as

people who long for and need relationship.

b) Where it can become sinful is when you fulfil those desires in an

ungodly way

B. I want to share with you four practical words of advice for your situation.

Reframe or look through a new lens or even give a new title to the book of

your life when it comes to your situation that is more consistent with the truth

of God’s Word!

a) Whether you are married or single God’s goal for your life is to make

you holy not happy He will use your situation to do that

b) According to 1 Corinthians 7 being single keeps you from the extra

troubles that come from being responsible for others and opens

opportunities for you that married people would not have.

(1) Read 7:28

(2) 7:32-34a

c) I would encourage you to sit down with someone and brainstorm about

the troubles that singleness helps you avoid and opportunities that you

can plug into.

(1) Kim and I did that recently with a single friend and it was

interesting with the list we came up. I think Kim was wishing she

were single by the time we were done!

Yes, we all need companionship but do not get locked into tunnel vision

where you think the only way that can be met is by being married

a) Listen to Mark 10:28-30 as I read it

b) God can and does meet the need for companionship through friends

c) Illustrate with my target idea

Be careful that you are not missing the abundant life that God has for your

life because you are still hanging onto and waiting for your plan for your life

to happen.

a) Abundant life is not dependent upon being married but in knowing and

walking with Jesus.

b) God’s plan for your life, which is good, acceptable and perfect. Read

Romans 12:2

c) Embrace the day to day fulfilment of what God wants to bring in your

life with today’s blessings rather than holding on so tight to the global

desire in your life to be married

C. Finally, I want to ensure every believer in Jesus Christ that someday you will be

married, and you will be married to the best possible mate!

Read 2 Corinthians 11:2 – you are engaged
Read Revelation 19:7,…9

IV. Communion

A. Listen to Luke 22:15-18

B. As we take communion we often look back at the cross and do it in remembrance

of that but here Jesus tells us communion is designed to also cause us to look

forward to the crown, the reward, the kingdom that time when we will be the

bride of Jesus Christ and will reign with him forever.

C. As you take communion, I encourage you to look forward to that time and talk to

Jesus about whatever He is talking to you about today!

View Details

Submission the High Privilege, Precious and Powerful Attitude

Ephesians 5:22-24 July 25, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. They did it again! The world has hijacked another beautiful word from the

Christian experience and marriage and has turned it into something negative so

people avoid it or twist it or try to redefine it.

A hijack is when someone unlawfully seizes something that is not theirs and

they take it to use it for their own purposes and advantage!

Satan, the god of this world, has done that because as the father of lies he will

distort anything that will further the glory of God

We saw earlier in this series that Satan has hijacked the word helper and tries

to use it as something to make a wife feel inferior to her husband and that her

role in the relationship is insignificant.

He has done the exact same thing with the word submission! He has

convinced us it is an outdated concept that needs either to be rejected or

redefined!

B. This morning my goal is to encourage women who have embraced this glorious

attitude but who may be a little battle weary as they have taken a beating from the

world and from other women for it.

I want you to know from God’s Word, from God’s perspective, from the

eternal and heavenly perspective you are on the right path

So today, I want to share with you three biblical perspectives about

submission that will encourage you in this difficult journey as you walk in a

world that is seeking to squeeze you into its mold.

• The first is …

II. Submission is a high position, a high privilege!

A. If you take your lead from the Bible and not from the culture, we see that

submission is a high position and high privilege that a wife has in her marriage

because it is the unique and important role of picturing for us and the world the

response that the church should have towards Jesus!

B. Turn in your Bible to Ephesians 5:22

As I read this I want you to watch for two things:

a) Why a woman should submit to her husband

b) How the wife’s response to her husband is modeled off of the churches’

response to Jesus

c) Read 22-24

d) Read v 33 – we see here as he summarizes the section himself that

submission is an expression of respect!

We see right off the bat when he says in v22 “your own husband” that a

woman’s submission is directed towards her husband only and not all men.

a) We learned last week in v21 there is to be a general attitude of

submission every believer towards one another, but here it is addressing

the husband wife relationship

Next we see that submission is to be as to the Lord - v22

a) This submission that a wife gives her husband is an act of worship to the

Lord Jesus Christ

b) She places herself under the authority and leadership of her husband

ultimately for the Lord’s sake

Verse 23 tells us why she should submit to her husband. Read

a) The reason is that the husband is the God ordained head, the God

ordained leader and authority of that relationship.

b) We see that it is the same position that Jesus has over the church.

c) Now you may be feeling there he goes – he is telling us wives we are

inferior to our husbands, doormats for them to step on and order around!

(1) No, we learned a few weeks ago that men and women are

absolutely equal in dignity, personhood and spiritual standing

before God, but we are gloriously different in makeup and

function.

(2) If you say that submission makes you inferior or a doormat then

you are taking a shot at the trinity and the Lord Jesus Himself.

because Jesus lived his whole life in submission to the Father as

He did nothing of His own initiative but only that which the Father

told Him to do

(3) Listen to what 1 Corinthians 11:3 says

(a) To say the headship of man over woman makes a woman

inferior to man is to say that Jesus is inferior to the Father.

(b) And that is a shot at the very core of Jesus as God and the

trinity

To say that role or function of a wife as being submissive is insignificant or

lowly then you miss the whole point of Ephesians 5.

a) Read v24.

b) In this passage we learn that the wife has the high privilege and high

position to picture for us the response that Jesus’ bride, the church has to

Him

C. I am going to take this high privilege high position idea even a step further –

submission pictures for us what true worship looks like.

A while back I did a message on worship and explained to you how I define

it in light of the Hebrew and Greek words for worship

a) The Hebrew word means to bow down and the Greek word means to kiss

towards.

So the heart of worship is not singing songs but an entire life in submission to

God (authority and leading us through His word and will) out of love and

respect for Him!

D. There is no picture that Satan wants to put his graffiti on more and distort more

than the picture of submission – lovingly, willingly and respectfully responding to

Jesus in obedience as my service of worship to Him.

Wives you have the high privilege of modeling for us what the heart of

worship really looks like since things are better caught than taught, better

understood when lived out in front of us than preached in a sermon!

The world desperately needs that picture, the church desperately needs that

picture, marriages desperately need that picture, our kids desperately

desperately need that picture, Pastor Pat desperately needs that picture so I

can excel still the more in my responses and worship to the Lord.

I want to thank you ladies and my lovely bride Kimberly who have embraced

that high position and high privilege of submission as a wife for what I have

already learned how to better walk with and worship the Lord from your

example!

• Turn to 1 Peter 3 as the second perspective we learn is that

III.A heart of submission is precious to the Lord

A. This passage in v1-6 is driven by the idea of submission. Read v1a

B. As we go down to verse 3 and 4 he tells us that submission is much more than

external obedience but rather is it is an internal quality that resides in the hidden

person of the heart.

We learned last week that while obedience is an external act that does not

require either willingness or a bond with the person I am doing it with,

submission on the other hand is a willful and respectful act, which is done

towards someone with whom I have a bond.

Watch for this heart attitude of submission as I read this. Read v3-5

C. What I want to encourage you wives with today is what it says right at the end of

v4 about those wives that have this imperishable quality in their hearts.

Read v4c – precious to the Lord. Read again – read again
While submission may be looked down upon, be distasteful and considered

outdated by the world you need to know that a heart of submission by a wife

is precious in the sight of God.

Let me encourage you to be like Sarah and do not let anyone frighten or

intimidate you from that high position of submission. Read v5-6

• Finally I want you to know that

IV.Submission is powerful

A. Look back at v1 in this section. Read v1-2

B. Submission has the power to influence! That is all done without a word of trying

to convince him with your many words, but rather behavior that wins him over!

C. Here is the reality – when a husband and wife are walking with each other,

valuing and plugging into their differences as a blessing, which we learned in

Genesis 2, and submitting to each other out of respect for each other and the Lord

as verse v21 teaches. And here in v22 -33 when a husband is submitting to his

wife by loving her by laying down his life for her and she is respecting him by

submitting to his leadership then submission rarely becomes an issue but rather is

a beautiful dance!

When you walk like that – humbly listening to, valuing, and considering the

other’s opinion as they seek a win-win decision!

Kim’s attitude of respect and willingness to submit opens my heart to listen

to her even more.

In 43 years of marriage, I have had to pull out trump card of submission

because of my position as head in our relationship only two times!

D. I think the book of Esther is the strongest example we have in Scripture of the

power of submission.

In the first chapter, we see king of Persia and Media gave a command for his

queen to come join him at the banquet he was throwing and she refused.

This made him very angry and was concerned that her behavior would

become known to all the women causing them to look with contempt on upon

the leadership of their husbands in their homes!

a) Read Esther 1:17-18.

b) As a result, she was removed from being queen!

After a long search for a new queen, Esther a Jewish woman became the

queen. She was a beautiful woman who had great favor with the king as she

walked respectfully and submissively to her husband the king.

Long story short, God used the influence of this woman upon the king to save

the lives of the Jewish nation from slaughter and to protect the line of the

Messiah.

E. Humble, respectful submission carries a powerful influence with a husband that

will open a door to influence him.

There will be many significant situations in life when that opportunity to

influence your husband will present itself.

At those times like uncle Mordechai told Queen Esther. Read Esther 4:14d

View Details

The Grace of Submission

Ephesians 5:21 July 18, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Today I want to talk about one of the most beautiful and Christ-like graces, a

grace that should be at the heart of all our relationships as Christians

I call it a grace because it is a byproduct of being filled by the Holy Spirit of

God.

This grace is also very anti-North American which goes against the very

“independent” “me first” culture we live in.

It is a grace that has gotten a bad rap in the church by those who are more

influenced by the culture than they are by the Scriptures

This grace is submission.

B. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 5

We learned a few months ago when we studied this passage that being filled

with the Holy Spirit manifest four specific graces within us and these graces

both are the result of and when practiced reinforce us be filled by the Holy

Spirit!

These four graces are:

a) A heart fill with God’s Word and speaking it to one another

b) A singing heart of worship to the Lord

c) A heart of gratitude

d) A submission to one another in the body of Christ

C. Our specific concern today is with v21, which is the fourth result of being filled

with the Spirit! Read v21

We want to focus on that because it is the transitional verse that drives the

relationships that follows in the rest of chapter 5 and start of chapter 6, which

defines how we each submit to each other.

a) Husband – wife (love by laying down your life – respect by submitting

to the leadership of)

b) Child - parent

c) Servant – master, for us employee - employer

D. Submission simply means to rank oneself under someone else.

A synonym, a word with a similar meaning is: humility. Turn and read

Philippians 2:3-9

While obedience is a part of submission, submission in this passage has an

additional element to it that makes it very different.

a) Submission here is a willful and respectful act that comes from within

between two people who have a bond with each other.

(1) Here it is done out of a motive of love and respect for the Lord.

Reread v21

(2) Ultimately, we submit to each other for the Lord’s sake, out of

respect for Him and the structures and order that He has set up in

our relationships.

b) Obedience – can be done as a mere external act only, one that does not

require either a willingness or a bond between the people doing it.

E. So bottom line, submission is a grace that causes me to put myself below others

with humility rather than lifting myself up and fighting for my ways and rights.

It goes right for the heart of selfishness which marriage certainly allows us to

get in touch with how selfish we can be

It upsets our flesh as Romans 8 says the mind set on the flesh does not

subject itself to the law of God!

• Since submission is right at the heart of the way we relate to one another in marriage,

and a life of submission requires a life filled with the Holy Spirit! So our …

II. Marriage requires a deep dependence upon the Holy Spirit.

A. Remember our context – read Ephesians 5:18-21

B. When you think back of everything we have already talked about with marriage

…

Building on God’s foundations rather than our own and looking for marriage

to make us more holy than happy.

Where I study my mate to be able to bless them and accept them and embrace

them as they are today, not who we were when we got married

Living it like a covenant rather than a contract where I lay down my entire

life to live for them.

Learning to do the dance of oneness where I see and value their differences

as a blessing.

Where wives submit to and respect their husbands and husbands love and

cherish their wives!

Even today’s truth where we live humbly with each other, willingly

submitting our lives to each other for the Lord’s glory and each other’s

benefit.

C. If we are honest with ourselves, we will need God to do a miracle within us to

pull this thing off in a way that will be fulfilling to us and a blessing to our mates

and others!

What is impossible for us is Him-possible!
As we said earlier in this series, marital skills are important but depending

upon the Spirit of Jesus is essential.

D. Walking with and depending upon the spirit of Jesus has to be our number one

priority and relationship for the sake of the person we are married to and even our

own fulfilment and joy in marriage. But we must also seek to learn more and

sharpen our skills as well!

• Finally this series is being done

III. More as an architect than an engineer.

A. An architect makes the blueprints for a buildings appearance and function. An

engineer, on the other hand, will help put the architect’s plans into action. They

will figure out what is physically possible and what materials will be used.

They’ll also make decisions on issues of practicality and safety.

B. I know I am giving this series more like an architect as I lay out the biblical blue

print for marriage as to how it is to look and function. I have tried to throw in

some applications that move us more into the engineer realm.

The Holy Spirit is the engineer that takes our real life situations and

relationships, brokenness and uniquenesses and shows us how they work out

for us practically in our unique relationship and situation.

The Holy Spirit uses all sorts of different materials, people and practices to

teach us how God’s design for marriage, which we learn in the Bible, is to

work out in the streets of our daily life.

C. So being fully aware that every marriage in this room needs unique wisdom to

apply what they have learned and knowing that some of those are in crisis or

heading that way and desperately need help I want to close by giving you a few

resources that can help you engineer your marriage

D. Three books I have read

Cherish – Gary Thomas –teaches us what it looks like and practical ideas on

how to love our mates more out of the delight and want to of cherishing than

they have to of commitment!

You and Me Forever – Francis and Lisa Chan – takes the long view on

marriage all the way into eternity and rather than focusing on getting our

mates ready for retirement and the last few years here on earth how to get

them ready for the time we stand before Jesus. Living our marriage as part of

our mission for Jesus!

His Needs Her Needs – Willard Harley – his goal is to help us build a

marriage that lasts and to affair proof our marriages by helping us understand

what are practical ways to meet each other’s unique emotional needs! He

helps us understand our love tanks and the five top emotional needs of most

men and women!

Finally, any book on marriage will do. Read a chapter a week, then together

have a cup of coffee, and share with one another how God is speaking to you

about you through that chapter. There are hundreds of books and hundreds of

areas in marriage that need to be addressed!

E. Round table coming up 11:15 on August 22

Bottom line, we want to help and resource marriage to either build, maintain,

excel or address breakdowns in their marriage through practical, real life, on

the streets questions and advice.

We hope to have an updated resource list for those who have needs beyond

our ability to meet.

Take advantage of this, as we will be having two Christians who are

professional counselors on this round table as well as Kim and myself!

Make your questions super practical and super honest! To place a question

text marriage to 708 359 6610

F. Plugging into a mentor is like putting your relationship on steroids.

Someone further down the road than you that you can be honest with and

they can speak specifically to you right where you are at and what they have

learned.

Look around and ask!

G. A professional counselor may be needed for situations that are in crisis or are just

stuck!

That professionally trained and biblically knowledgeable counselor can give

you great wisdom to get you unstuck and excel in your marriage

H. Plug into a class, small group or seminar that will help you grow as a healthy

person or in your marriage

Emotional resilience on Tuesday nights here. The healthier you are the

healthier your marriage can be.

We have a series on finances that MVC now has on You Tube and will still

be offering more. Money is one of the major marriage stressors

Being in a small group and being honest with others about where you are at

for counsel, support and prayer is a great resource.

I. Prayer – allow us to put one hand on God and the other on our marriage and bring

the wisdom and power of God into our marriages!

After service
Partner or two

View Details

The Original Marriage

Genesis 2 July 11, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. We are living in a time when the very foundations of marriage are being

questioned – questions like: who is marriage for, what is its purpose, how should

it operate; then add to that so many different people speaking into it as if they are

authorities on this.

Our culture no longer seeks to find truth but rather constructs its own

subjective personal truth, which results in great confusion about marriage.

We as Christians believe there is an objective truth outside of ourselves

regarding marriage that we discover in God and His Word.

So let me ask you right at the start – where or who do you look to in order to

get your answers about marriage!

B. So this morning I want to go back to the original marriage where this whole thing

of marriage began with Adam and Eve, so we can see the original design and

purpose for marriage.

A design and purpose that is still true today because it is built into the very

nature of marriage!

• So turn in your Bibles to …

II. Genesis 2

A. In chapter 2, He goes back and gives us more detail about what happened on the

sixth day when He created both man and woman and the institution of marriage!

Read Genesis 2:18a
As we go on in this section God comes up with the solution to this problem

of man’s aloneness – being separated from others in isolation.

B. So the structure to this passage is simple:

Problem: aloneness - v18a
God’s solution: suitable helper - v 18b

a) Search for a suitable helper - v19-20

b) Creation of suitable helper - v21-23

Creation of institution of marriage – v24

C. Read – remember

V 19 – earlier in day 6 God had created the animals and now He was bringing

them before Adam

V 23 – read this as my Hebrew professor taught us the way the Hebrew

actually should read this – wow! I still have the wow!

• So let’s start by looking at the

III. Woman created as the suitable helper

A. Reread v18

B. We learn in this passage that man and woman are the God created perfect fit and

help to each other.

C. That is what the word suitable means – something that fits another perfectly, the

counter-part, the complement, the answer to what the other needs, the one who

corresponds to, the one who is just right for, the one who harmonizes perfectly

with the other!

So it is someone who is different enough to supply what the other lacks but is

similar enough to fit smoothly! They are the perfect answer to what the other

one needs

Illustrate with the hands

D. Let’s take the cultural steroids out of the word helper as many have been jacked

up feeling that the word helper means women are inferior to men and just are their

sidekick helpers!

If that is your case, it shows you have been more influenced by the culture

than you have been by the Scriptures.

Because this word for helper is often used in Scripture of God helping man

and helping Israel, it clearly is not a position of inferiority, it is just a fact that

man needs help!

E. What does he need help for? We learn back in Genesis 1 that God gave man and

woman together the responsibility to subdue the earth and rule over His creation.

We also learn that in Genesis 2 he was to cultivate the garden.

Bottom line –marriage is God’s gift to man and woman to have someone to

help them live out all the responsibilities, someone who is an equal who is

similar enough to him yet different enough to provide the help needed.

What if you are single? God has given the gift others in the body of Christ to

come along side of you with their differences to support you. Marriage is just

a very unique way God does it.

F. God created the woman to be man’s the suitable helper!

We learn in Genesis 1-2 that men and women are absolutely equal in their

dignity and personhood but gloriously different on purpose in order to help

each another.

• All of this drives us into the very

IV. Purpose of marriage

A. Read v24

For this reason – that man and women are the perfect complement to each

other and that woman was taken out of man.

For this reason... read rest

B. Marriage is all about two absolutely equal but gloriously different people, a man

and a woman, leaving their family of origin to form a brand new family unit,

called “one flesh.”

Marriage is all about these two different people blending their entire life

together into one harmonious unit.

Unity is not about being the same, or acting alike or even losing your

individual identity.

It is quite the opposite. Unity is the blending together in perfect harmony

that which is different.

The beautiful dance of two becoming one

• I want to leave us with one key application today

V. God designed our differences to be a blessing!

A. Our differences as male, female and individual human beings are designed to

bless and provide what is lacking for our mate. But Satan uses our differences to

create conflict and separate us!

B. We need to learn to appreciate and tap into our mate’s differences for our own

good!

Kim and I are as different as they come! Learning to appreciate and be

blessed by our differences was clearly a long slow difficult process.

One area in particular was in the way we think – I am very logical, analytical,

theoretical and internal processor. Kim also is logical but she is more

intuitive, practical, and an external processor.

Early on, I thought my way of thinking and processing was superior to Kim’s

and that God wanted me to help her learn a better way to think! As you

might imagine, this was a source of frustration and tension in our

relationship.

Long story short - God humbled me many times by showing me often Kim

way of thinking was in the end right and mine was not!

a) I learned that Kim’s way was not inferior but different and I needed to

learn how to gain value from her way of thinking. Learning how to

bring together the two different thoughts and find the better thought, we

can have together as we value and listen to one another!

b) Now I recognize I need Kim’s perspective so I pursue and respect it

before making major decisions

C. Men and women are gloriously different in so many ways and while there are

some generalities that are true of many in each of the two genders, it is not true of

all. Our responsibility is to study and know our particular and unique husband

and wife!

We have different personalities, different strengths and weaknesses, different

energy levels and likes and dislikes.

We have personal histories that are different, as Kim said a few weeks ago

we are all living a one of a kind story that has never been lived by anyone

before!

Our families of origins have deeply affected the way we handle money,

conflict resolution, attitudes towards sex, friendships, recreation, religious

beliefs etc.

All of these differences can either bless or frustrate!

D. The two becoming one can be like going on a rafting ride together. You get in the

raft together and at the start, it’s just a lot of fun as you move with the current.

But at some point two different and mighty rivers merge together

When they first merge, there is great turbulence and disturbance but once the

two different rivers finally blend and run together it becomes one new mighty

river.

The same is true of our marriages – once we learn to navigate and benefit

from the great turbulence and disturbance that our differences bring our

marriages can become a mighty force for God’s glory, blessing each other

and blessing others!

E. So if you are struggling with these differences or the two of you blending together

as one let me encourage you with two things:

First, reframe the way you look at your differences,

a) Change the way you think about your differences from something that is

bad, inferior, wrong or needs to be changed,

b) To something that is valuable, a blessing to appreciate and designed to

make you even better!

Secondly, live by the truth of 1 Peter 2:25. Read

a) Trust Jesus to point out, sort out and guide you through the hundreds of

things deep within that must be addressed. So you can dance well the

dance of two becoming one and so you can be a blessing to each other

and those around you!

View Details

The Original Marriage

Genesis 2 July 11, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. We are living in a time when the very foundations of marriage are being

questioned – questions like: who is marriage for, what is its purpose, how should

it operate; then add to that so many different people speaking into it as if they are

authorities on this.

Our culture no longer seeks to find truth but rather constructs its own

subjective personal truth, which results in great confusion about marriage.

We as Christians believe there is an objective truth outside of ourselves

regarding marriage that we discover in God and His Word.

So let me ask you right at the start – where or who do you look to in order to

get your answers about marriage!

B. So this morning I want to go back to the original marriage where this whole thing

of marriage began with Adam and Eve, so we can see the original design and

purpose for marriage.

A design and purpose that is still true today because it is built into the very

nature of marriage!

• So turn in your Bibles to …

II. Genesis 2

A. In chapter 2, He goes back and gives us more detail about what happened on the

sixth day when He created both man and woman and the institution of marriage!

Read Genesis 2:18a
As we go on in this section God comes up with the solution to this problem

of man’s aloneness – being separated from others in isolation.

B. So the structure to this passage is simple:

Problem: aloneness - v18a
God’s solution: suitable helper - v 18b

a) Search for a suitable helper - v19-20

b) Creation of suitable helper - v21-23

Creation of institution of marriage – v24

C. Read – remember

V 19 – earlier in day 6 God had created the animals and now He was bringing

them before Adam

V 23 – read this as my Hebrew professor taught us the way the Hebrew

actually should read this – wow! I still have the wow!

• So let’s start by looking at the

III. Woman created as the suitable helper

A. Reread v18

B. We learn in this passage that man and woman are the God created perfect fit and

help to each other.

C. That is what the word suitable means – something that fits another perfectly, the

counter-part, the complement, the answer to what the other needs, the one who

corresponds to, the one who is just right for, the one who harmonizes perfectly

with the other!

So it is someone who is different enough to supply what the other lacks but is

similar enough to fit smoothly! They are the perfect answer to what the other

one needs

Illustrate with the hands

D. Let’s take the cultural steroids out of the word helper as many have been jacked

up feeling that the word helper means women are inferior to men and just are their

sidekick helpers!

If that is your case, it shows you have been more influenced by the culture

than you have been by the Scriptures.

Because this word for helper is often used in Scripture of God helping man

and helping Israel, it clearly is not a position of inferiority, it is just a fact that

man needs help!

E. What does he need help for? We learn back in Genesis 1 that God gave man and

woman together the responsibility to subdue the earth and rule over His creation.

We also learn that in Genesis 2 he was to cultivate the garden.

Bottom line –marriage is God’s gift to man and woman to have someone to

help them live out all the responsibilities, someone who is an equal who is

similar enough to him yet different enough to provide the help needed.

What if you are single? God has given the gift others in the body of Christ to

come along side of you with their differences to support you. Marriage is just

a very unique way God does it.

F. God created the woman to be man’s the suitable helper!

We learn in Genesis 1-2 that men and women are absolutely equal in their

dignity and personhood but gloriously different on purpose in order to help

each another.

• All of this drives us into the very

IV. Purpose of marriage

A. Read v24

For this reason – that man and women are the perfect complement to each

other and that woman was taken out of man.

For this reason... read rest

B. Marriage is all about two absolutely equal but gloriously different people, a man

and a woman, leaving their family of origin to form a brand new family unit,

called “one flesh.”

Marriage is all about these two different people blending their entire life

together into one harmonious unit.

Unity is not about being the same, or acting alike or even losing your

individual identity.

It is quite the opposite. Unity is the blending together in perfect harmony

that which is different.

The beautiful dance of two becoming one

• I want to leave us with one key application today

V. God designed our differences to be a blessing!

A. Our differences as male, female and individual human beings are designed to

bless and provide what is lacking for our mate. But Satan uses our differences to

create conflict and separate us!

B. We need to learn to appreciate and tap into our mate’s differences for our own

good!

Kim and I are as different as they come! Learning to appreciate and be

blessed by our differences was clearly a long slow difficult process.

One area in particular was in the way we think – I am very logical, analytical,

theoretical and internal processor. Kim also is logical but she is more

intuitive, practical, and an external processor.

Early on, I thought my way of thinking and processing was superior to Kim’s

and that God wanted me to help her learn a better way to think! As you

might imagine, this was a source of frustration and tension in our

relationship.

Long story short - God humbled me many times by showing me often Kim

way of thinking was in the end right and mine was not!

a) I learned that Kim’s way was not inferior but different and I needed to

learn how to gain value from her way of thinking. Learning how to

bring together the two different thoughts and find the better thought, we

can have together as we value and listen to one another!

b) Now I recognize I need Kim’s perspective so I pursue and respect it

before making major decisions

C. Men and women are gloriously different in so many ways and while there are

some generalities that are true of many in each of the two genders, it is not true of

all. Our responsibility is to study and know our particular and unique husband

and wife!

We have different personalities, different strengths and weaknesses, different

energy levels and likes and dislikes.

We have personal histories that are different, as Kim said a few weeks ago

we are all living a one of a kind story that has never been lived by anyone

before!

Our families of origins have deeply affected the way we handle money,

conflict resolution, attitudes towards sex, friendships, recreation, religious

beliefs etc.

All of these differences can either bless or frustrate!

D. The two becoming one can be like going on a rafting ride together. You get in the

raft together and at the start, it’s just a lot of fun as you move with the current.

But at some point two different and mighty rivers merge together

When they first merge, there is great turbulence and disturbance but once the

two different rivers finally blend and run together it becomes one new mighty

river.

The same is true of our marriages – once we learn to navigate and benefit

from the great turbulence and disturbance that our differences bring our

marriages can become a mighty force for God’s glory, blessing each other

and blessing others!

E. So if you are struggling with these differences or the two of you blending together

as one let me encourage you with two things:

First, reframe the way you look at your differences,

a) Change the way you think about your differences from something that is

bad, inferior, wrong or needs to be changed,

b) To something that is valuable, a blessing to appreciate and designed to

make you even better!

Secondly, live by the truth of 1 Peter 2:25. Read

a) Trust Jesus to point out, sort out and guide you through the hundreds of

things deep within that must be addressed. So you can dance well the

dance of two becoming one and so you can be a blessing to each other

and those around you!

View Details

Waking Up to Your Mates World

June 27, 2021 MVC

I. Our Relationship

A. Let me start by saying that Kim and I have had a very good marriage relationship

but we definitely hit a wall about 20 years into our marriage where things were

not too pretty!

Today we want to share with you that story and some lessons we have

learned along the way hoping that you will be able to find something that

connects with and helps you!

B. Kim and I had become what I call “professional husband and wife” and

“professional parents.”

By that I do not mean that we have become so great in those areas that we are

in a higher category than others but rather that we have learned the routine

well, we know what we need to do and we were doing it well.

a. We have learned well how to juggle all of the different responsibilities

and schedules and we are doing what we need to do.

But also by professional I mean that we have learned to do it in a way that all

the external things were done (kids to school and events, bills paid, house

taken care of, meals were made), but internally our hearts were getting more

and more dry and distant from each other.

Somehow, with all the busyness and responsibilities of life we were not

intentional nor gave the time needed to keep the internal fire going in our

relationship.

a. By internal fire, I am referring to that thing that the Scripture calls

“cherishing.”

b. That is the heart disposition that holds the other person as dear. It is those

tender affectionate feelings that cause you to treasure the other person, to

hold them as a special prize, to esteem and admire.

We found ourselves set into some patterns in our relationship that over the

long run were deadly.

Some years ago, the Saturday Evening Post ran a humorous article that traced

the tendency for marriage partners to drift from a height of bliss into the

humdrum of routine attitudes. That article perfectly described the drift in our

relationship! The article was called the “seven ages of a married cold.” The

article likens the state of the marriage to the reaction of a husband to his

wife’s colds.

Year 1- “baby girl, I’m worried about you. You have a bad sniffle and there is

no telling about these things with all this strep around. I am putting you in the

hospital this afternoon for a general checkup and a good rest. I know the food

is lousy, but I’ll bring your meals in from Rossini’s. I’ve already got it

arranged with the floor superintendent.”

Year 2- “listen darling, I don’t like the sound of that cough and I’ve called

Doc Miller to rush over here. Now you go to bed like a good girl, please. Just

for papa.”

Year 3-, “maybe you’d better lie down, honey; nothing like a little rest when

you feel punk. I’ll bring you something to eat. Have we got any soup?”

Year 4- “look, dear, be sensible. After you feed the kids and get the dishes

washed, you’d better hit the sack.”

Year 5-, “why don’t you get yourself a couple of aspirin?”

Year 6- “if you’d just gargle or something, instead of sitting around barking

like a seal!”

Year 7- “for Pete’s sake, stop sneezing! Whatcha trying to do, gimme

pneumonia?”

Back then Pat and I found our marriage to be somewhere between year 6 & 7.

It became a wakeup call for us.

C. We were beginning to be very short with one another and I was getting to the

place where I was not that excited about coming home at night and she was pretty

happy to see me leave in the morning.

To me it felt like our relationship was on two different tracks. We were like

two trains heading the same direction but each on a separate track next to each

other!

For a few years, I had been struggling with my health to the point that I was

close to bedridden for many months. My doctors could not determine what

was going on so we went to Mayo Clinic. I was diagnosed with an

autoimmune disorder called fibromyalgia. It is a muscle/neurological

disorder, which causes chronic pain & fatigue.

a. There is no cure for this, but rather you learn to live with it by managing it

through various lifestyle changes. There are medications to help ease the

pain but the side effects are not worth it to me.

b. I was always a very active & athletic person with a high energy level. I

found myself restricted with many limitations in what I could do. In the

beginning this situation left me very incapacitated, discouraged and

grieving the loss of the person I had become. I was wrestling with

embracing and accepting these limitations and struggling with figuring out

how to live my life in light of them.

Pat found himself picking up much of the load of what I had to let go of. At

first he picked it up with joy because we finally had a clear diagnosis, but as

time went on it became a huge burden and Pat found himself resentful and

angry with me for the person I had become.

How do you tell your wife that you are not sure that you even like your wife

any more, especially when you are the senior pastor of a church and you have

been preaching a series on becoming lovers of God and people?

We went to bed one Saturday evening after another hard day with one another.

We had a rough exchange of words a couple of hours before and had spoken

little to each other. I finally turned to Pat and said, “Pat, I want to apologize

for the person that I have become. I know I am not the person you married 20

years ago and I don’t like the person I’ve become either. In fact, I’m grieving

the person I once was, full of energy and life.”

a. You do not know how that freed up my heart. What I was feeling was

true, she has changed and even she knows it. I had the best night of

sleep that I had had in months

The next morning I was able to share with Kim how I was feeling and that I

had been deeply disappointed in the person she had become and the changes

that had taken place in our life.

E. My sharing with Kim the disappointments that I was feeling allowed her to come

in touch and freed up to communicate to me the disappointments that she had with

our relationship and me.

Her primary disappointment was that

a. I had not provided for her a very exciting life,

b. The church had become the “other woman” in my life and she and the

girls were pushed to the side.

c. She was dying on the inside and now battling her physical health

I did not defend myself because instantly I knew that she was right. You see

an exciting date in the Peglow household is going to a small group meeting, or

assisting me in a counseling session, or going to some ministry activity or to a

child’s sporting event or school activity. Other than that, there is not much

going.

I put no intentionality or creative energy into our marriage relationship.

F. We knew we were in trouble and God in His grace put in our path a marriage

retreat that was just for couples in ministry with the unique struggles they go

through. We got three major take aways from that conference that put us back on

track and relaunched our marriage.

II. Lessons Pat Learned

Start all over – get remarried … – to the same person!
We heard Ray and Ann Ortland at a conference speak about this very thing of

us not being the person we married!

They said we need to renew our marriage vows with the people we have

become today.

And we need to remarry the person they have become over and over again

throughout the years.

Kim and I received that as God’s word for us and we did and have done that

repeatedly since then!

B. Secondly, while walking with Jesus is essential to a healthy relationship, marital

skills are very important too!

I felt if you just meet with Jesus regularly and walk with Him that is all you

need and that everything else in the marriage will fall in place supernaturally!

Yes, it is true that Jesus is essential to give you the heart you need for

marriage but the skills are very important to make you that much more

effective and less combative and stressful in your relationship.

C. Enter into, appreciate, and value your mate’s world!

Kim had entered into my world (my interests, my activities, my loves, etc.,)

but I never entered into hers! Remember I am serving God – I am a pastor I

need to focus on the more important things!

Read 5:25. Emphasize, "Gave himself up for her…"

a. That phrase "gave himself up for her" explains how a husband loves

his wife. He sacrifices himself in order to do what is best for her.

What God was challenging me to do was to "lay down or leave my world in

order to enter into her world." One of the things that Ephesians 5:25 is

calling husbands to do is to lay down their world, the things that come natural

to them, the things they are comfortable and familiar with and enter into their

wife’s world that is just as important and valuable as yours!"

All I had ever done was invite Kim to enter into my world of ministry and my

interests rather than entering into her world of responsibilities and her

interests.

Therefore, my new mission from God was clear. Meet my wife’s practical

needs that I had neglected for years and the only way that I was going to meet

it was by stepping outside of my world and entering into hers.

Not only is her world important but she is actually my number one ministry

even above the church and my number one relationship priority outside of

Jesus!

¨ A few other lessons God has taught us!

III. Lessons learned - Kim

A. It is important for a married couple to work as a team as a practical outworking of

what it means to be one.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For

if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one

who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie

down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? In addition,

if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three

strands is not quickly torn apart.”

Responsibilities: we work as a team and share in household duties and raising

& parenting our children according to our time schedules & commitments.

Decision making – we’ve learned to listen and hear each other out when

making major decisions and not act on a decision until we have both prayed

about it and are unified in it.

One area that I hear now and then with couples is the “mine and yours”

mentality regarding finances. You have become one and your names both

need to be on the bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage and car titles.

B. Take time to study your mate

Do you realize that God made males and females different? In fact, in Psalm

139, it says he made each one of us unique and different in our mother’s

womb, whether male or female.

Listen to this quote from Gary Thomas from his book “Cherish”…

“Your spouse has a unique history, so cherish your spouse by treating them

according to their reality. They are living a life that has never been lived

before. They have a personality that has never existed before. They have a

unique blend of strengths and weaknesses, temptations and gifts, as well as a

once-in-a-universe calling. Your role is to help them complete their one-of-akind

story.”

Take time to discover one another. Men, is she a verbal processor? Does he

need down time when he comes home from work? What are your spouse’s

hobbies, favorite flower, candy, food, types of movies, books, activities,

places they love to go? What energizes or depletes your mate? What are their

love languages (physical touch, receiving gifts, acts of kindness, words of

affirmation, quality time? What language(s) fill their love tank up?

What are their inner quality traits & characteristics? What areas are their

strengths & weaknesses?

Study your mates so you can begin to practically cultivate a relationship

where you both can express and cherish your love to each other according to

your knowledge of one another. Some ways to do this are:

a. Begin to and practice praising and affirming their inner character and

personality traits and strengths. i.e... smart, kind, funny, great sense of

humor, parent well, loyal friend, athletic, good listener, uses their time

wisely, great cook/griller/baker, creative, good provider, heart for God

and His Word, good listener, wise, teachable, or good teachers, live

within their means.

b. Pray often and regularly with them.

c. Lovingly exhort them to work on their areas of weakness and to excel

still the more physically, spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.

d. Pat with sils; love notes/candy bar under pillow/ in restaurant Pat said I

was kind and beautiful

Simply - come along side each other, support one another in becoming the

personal story that God has written for them, and created them to be.

Why this is important: your attentiveness and interest in one another will

deeply convey and communicate your undying, unwavering love for each

other. It will demonstrate that your spouse is the most important person in

your life other than Jesus. It will warm their heart toward you in such a way

that they will begin to naturally respond back to you in like manner.

It doesn’t take being a rocket scientist to study your mate and get to know

them.

IV. Final take aways

A. Of the things we heard today, which area needs the most attention for you to

improve your marriage?

a. Maybe you need to be remarried to the same person. Either publicly or

privately renew my vows with the person who my mate is today!

b. Study your mate and appreciate their uniqueness and unique needs!

c. Maybe it is another area we mentioned today

C. Conversation starter – You know what baby, ________________ is the area I

believe I need to give attention to in order for our marriage to excel still the more.

Is there an area God has spoken to you about?

D. You may have hit walls that are way more serious or bigger than mine and Kim’s

– remember as I said “skills are very important but turning to and trusting Jesus is

essential

We have people here to pray with you. 2 Corinthians 1:10b-11a
The song we are going to close with today is “there’s nothing that our God

can’t do” and that is true with your marriage and mine. One word, one touch

from Jesus and the power of heaven will be in your marriage– there is no

power like the power of Jesus! Jeremiah 32:17

E. As we sing this song this morning, sing it out in faith and your prayer to the Lord

regarding your life and marriage.

F. Pray for marriages!

View Details

The Mystery of Marriage

Ephesians 5:31-33 & Matthew 7:24-27 June 13, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Marriage is a great mystery!

Turn in your Bibles and read Ephesians 5:31-33
By mystery it does not mean it is something that is very strange and cannot

be understood

But what it does mean is that it is a truth that cannot be known or understood

apart from the Bible revealing it to us.

Here in this context we learn that the mystery of marriage is that the deep

oneness that happens when a man and woman become husband and wife is

actually a picture of the oneness of that Jesus and the church experience in

their relationship.

B. This summer we are going to look at what the Bible says to us about marriage.

My hope is to lay a foundation for us regarding marriage that is based on the

Bible so we can stand the storms of what this culture is bringing against marriage

today. The storms that can come just by two people, who are equal in dignity as

persons but gloriously different as male and female living really close to one

another.

You know that when the foundation is off and weak the rest of the building

becomes vulnerable when stress and pressure is put on it.

That foundation has to be built upon God and His Word because God is the

creator of male and female, He is the one who instituted marriage as the

pinnacle of His creation! Everything God created up to that point was good

but after He created male and female in His image and instituted marriage He

said it is very good

God as the creator and designer of male and female along with marriage has

written an owner’s manual, the Bible. In the Bible He gives us wisdom about

many things that relate to marriage and how they were designed to work –

love, forgiveness, how to relate to one another, sex, parenting,

communications, how to handle conflict, money, what to do with our

weaknesses, etc.

When we ignore God and His Word when it comes to marriage, we do it to

our own hurt!

C. Turn to Matthew 7:24-27. Read

Let me illustrate that with the swing set we got when our daughters were real

young and I was new at MVC

a) Started with the owner’s manual then Roger, my next-door neighbor

came over with a better idea, “since pastors do not last long you can take

it with you…”

b) After setting it up, the next day, I am at church and Kim calls – there is a

problem…

c) Next day back to owner’s manual, and I followed it instructions and it

worked perfectly for over 30 years.

So many people are building their marriages in light of the ideas they have

heard and seen from “the Rogers” in their lives (experts in the world, parents

or friends) rather than by the instructions of the one who created male and

female and marriage.

• Today I am going to be speaking in a very general sense and in weeks to come we

will look at greater specifics from God’s Word. Let me start with two

II. Myths about marriage that make poor foundations!

A. Marriage was designed to make me happy!

I love the story Dr Henry Cloud told about a friend who told him “when I

was single, I was unhappy and insecure. Then I got married and I became

married, unhappy and insecure!

God is not against our happiness but there are much greater purposes for

marriage than that!

When we build marriage on happiness, when it starts to wane, and it will

wane, then we either blame our mate or ultimately leave our mate looking for

someone who will make me happy!

B. The second myth is marriage will complete me!

Sometimes people feel like they are not whole or like something is missing

until they find that soul mate and get married to them. They think they have

found that better half and now will be complete!

The Bible teaches us that a mate or any other person (for those of you who

are single) was never designed to complete us instead; they were designed to

make us better!

When we look to them to complete us, that is do something for us that only

God can do, we make them an idol and frustrate both them and ourselves.

When I get my completeness from God then I can move towards my mate to

give them blessings rather than to get from them something I need!

III. Now I want to share …

IV. Four counter cultural Bible truths that have shaped the foundation of Kim’s and my

marriage

A. First, marriage was designed to make me holy not happy

I first learned about this truth when I was reading the book by Gary Thomas

called Sacred Marriage.

It makes sense when you look at marriage through the lens of God’s ultimate

purpose in our life.

a) Romans 8:29 tells us that God predestined us to be conformed to the

image of His Son Jesus Christ and Romans 8:28 essentially tells us that

God causes all things to work together for this purpose.

b) Read Romans 8:28-29

This turns most North American perspectives about marriage upside down

and changes everything about the way I approach and respond to both the

good and tough parts about marriage!

a) So God is even going to use the things that make me unhappy in

marriage as part of His process to make me more like Jesus.

There is something going on in marriage that is bigger than my happiness!

B. Second marriage is a covenant not a contract.

Many may not know this but our whole relationship with God and His

program in this world is based upon covenant

I am going to spend a whole message on this but let me say one thing about

this now. Death and covenant are tightly tied together as the death both

ratifies and pictures for us the heart of a covenant.

So the one picture of death that I want to remind us of is that I have died to

myself and now I live for Kim and Kim has died to herself and now she lives

for me!

a) Everything I do, every decision I make should be for her benefit and not

mine.

b) I am laying down my life to bless her!

This is no different from our new covenant relationship with the Lord where

we no longer live for ourselves but we live for Him while at the same time

He commits himself to care for us!

There is something going on in marriage that is bigger than I am!

a) So let me ask you men – the last time you kissed your wife did you do it

to get a blessing or to give her a blessing?

C. The third cherishing is the driver of love, commitment is the spare tire

I hear people often say love and marriage is all about commitment. I disagree

with that 99%.

While commitment is an aspect of love, it is not the driver. Cherishing your

mate should be the driver in your marriage. To cherish them means that I

have a soft and tender heart towards them that values them highly and I care

for them with a tender love.

Commitment is more about I have to do it because I promised her versus the I

get to do it because I delight in her that comes from cherishing.

Ladies, let me ask you this – would you rather have your husband hold your

hand and kiss you because he delights in you and wants to or because he has

to because he married you?

Commitment is a part of love but it is the part that comes when the cherishing

is not going well, then I pull out the spare tire of commitment and use that

until the cherishing is restored.

The Song of Solomon is clearly a picture of a couple that cherishes one

another!

D. Fourth, marriage models our relationship with Jesus

It is my opportunity to model how Jesus loves us to Kim, my kids and the rest

of the world!

That is where we started today in Ephesians 5 and we will be back to that

passage at least four times in this series.

But simply the way that I treat my wife and the way she treats me becomes

one of the greatest visuals God has given to us in our witness to a lost world

and to help grow other believers in this.

The love and respect that should be there between a husband and wife and the

kind of love that Jesus has for us and the kind of respect His people give Him

is better caught by couples who model it than taught by preachers who preach

it!

V. Conclusion

A. What if I discovered this morning that my foundations are so far off that I need an

overhaul in my marriage? Good news – that is what Jesus is all about!

He not only saves us from the penalty of sin but also from the power of sin in

our lives and marriages!

He gives us the Holy Spirit to dismantle sin in our lives and to build the life

and heart of Jesus into us!

B. I think many couples need to have a very honest conversation this week

To see how closely their marriage is built upon the foundations that can face

the storms of this world and this life.

And how deeply they are depending upon the Holy Spirit to transform them

and their marriages into something that matches the instructions in the

owner’s manual!

C. Pray

View Details

God’s Double Whammy Defense

Various Passages May 23, 2021

Introduction

A. No soldier would ever go to battle without their defensive

armor or their offensive weapons

Today we are going to look at our defensive armor
Next week we will look at our key offensive weapon!

• This morning I want to share with you two strong defensive

resources that God gives us in standing firm against Satan’s

attacks to hold our ground. The first is…

I. The armor of God

A. God has provided His armor for the very purpose that we might

be able to stand firm against Satan’s attacks turn to Ephesians 6

Read v11 put on the full armor … “that” you may be able

to stand firm.

Read v 13, take up the full armor …“that” you may be able

to resist... and... Stand firm.

B. What is the armor?

Read v14-17
Bottom line - truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation,

and the Word of God.

C. I want to share with you in a very practical way, how I put on

the armor!

I put on the armor through believing prayer.
I start by thanking God for the foundation that by His

doings, I am in Christ and Christ is in me. When I pray

about:

a. I in Christ I am claiming all the gifts and rights that

God has given to me in Christ.

b. Christ in me I am praying that the life of Jesus within

would grow in me and take greater possession of my

life in these particular ways!

You will note as I describe what I do that when it comes

to what I am in Christ it is always in the context of

thanking God for that because it is already done. But

when it comes to Christ in me, I am always asking for

something because it has to do with what God needs to do

in my life.

D. Describe what the armor is like that we wear.

Belt = truth – the belt is so important because it is the

piece of the armor that holds all the other pieces in place.

a. Satan’s primary tool is the lie. He was a liar from the

beginning, he is the father of lies and he works through

the lie. Much of spiritual warfare rages in the mind and

it is a battle between the truth and lies.

b. In Christ – thank Him that I am in the truth and

associated with the truth.

c. Christ in me – ask

1) His spirit to move the truth from my head to my

heart. That He would cause truth to fill the innermost

part of my being.

2) Holy Spirit to shine His light of truth on and expose

any darkness, lies, ground, denial, deception, doubt,

strongholds (mindsets contrary to truth) strategies

that Satan is working against me, my family and

MVC.

Breastplate = righteousness

a. Satan is constantly attacking believers in this area.

1) He accuses us of sin and tries to convince us that deep

inside there is something wrong with us, and that we

are dirty and not good. He also is looking for ground

in our life from which he can work!

2) We need to stand firm in the truth that we are

righteousness in Christ.

b. In Christ – thank that in Christ I am righteousness.

Nothing to do with my performance or any righteousness

of my own. Thank you that I stand before you today with

Jesus righteousness and not my own.

c. Christ in me – ask Jesus to fill me with His righteousness

in such a way that I live a righteous life. Would He make

righteousness the delight and desire of my heart? And

make me more righteous so Satan has less he can grab

onto!

Shoes = peace

a. I believe this applies to both the peace with other brothers

and sisters in Christ and proclaiming of the good news to

the lost of peace with God through Jesus.

b. When we are under attack by Satan, we feel like God is

displeased with us because not everything is in order in

our lives. In the midst of the battle, you need to stand on

firm on the fact that you are at peace with God.

c. A key theme in Ephesians is the peace that comes between

the believing Jew and Gentile and that Jesus has already

broken down the dividing wall.

1) Nothing that I know of better causes a place for Satan

to attack than in the area of divided relationships

between believers. When we have something in our

hearts against one another, Satan notices that and

causes it to come out in such a way as to ruin

relationships and churches.

2) We need to be ready to make peace with one another.

d. So when I pray I pray regarding both peace in my

relationships and spreading the gospel of peace.

1) In Christ – thank Him that I am one with Him and we

are at peace with one another!

2) Christ in me

• Ask Him to grant me every grace that I need to be at

peace with those who struggle with me and I pray for

blessings upon those with whom I struggle.

• I also ask Him that as an ambassador He would give

me the heart of Jesus towards the lost and a readiness

in my heart to share the gospel. Pray that He would

open a door for me to share the gospel

Shield = faith

a. When Satan’s lies, doubts, and temptations come flying

over at us, it will require the shield of faith to extinguish

them.

1) Without faith then Satan’s flames begin to burn and

destruction of our lives is the result; and we are

distracted from the real enemy as we are busy putting

out the fires that Satan has started.

2) Like the Roman soldier, we must also at all times

crouch behind that shield when we are fighting.

Whenever we take on the enemy from a stance other

than by faith we leave ourselves open to be struck by

his arrows.

b. In Christ – thank Him that I am in the faith.

c. Christ in me – ask that His Spirit would fill me with His

faith, His expectancy and His dependency. I ask that my

faith will not come from me but from Him. And that He

would make me sensitive to the flaming darts coming my

way!

Helmet = salvation

a. In Christ – thank Him that I am already saved, already a

new creature, already dead to sin and alive to God, already

delivered from authority of Satan and transferred to

kingdom of His son. That I am no longer a victim but

now a victor! I declare that I am fighting today from a

position of victory and not trying to get victory

b. Christ in me – ask Him to work in particular strongholds

in my life. Break, transform and control. I also ask Him

to work in areas of sin and ground in my life that I am not

even aware of. I particularly ask Him to make me aware

of my own thoughts and that by His grace I would bring

every thought captive to the obedience of Christ

Sword = word -

a. We will look at this one next week in more depth as part

of our offensive weapon.

b. It is sufficient to say today that I pray the Spirit of God

will speak the word to my heart, bring the word to me

through others, and through me to others!

• So the first defensive gift that God gives us is the armor of God.

The second one is …

II. God himself as our refuge!

A. Read Psalm 18:30

A refuge is a place that provides shelter or protection from

danger or distress.

Illustrate it by running to Kim’s porch during a rainstorm

when we were dating.

God is saying here that His word is tried, proven and

certain. If you trust Him to be your protection from

danger, He will be a shield to you.

Remember in Job 1:10 Satan complained to God that he

could not get at Job because God had put a hedge about

him, his house and all that he had.

B. Turn and read Psalm 91:9-11.

By faith, he trusted God to be his refuge as a result God

gave his angels a charge/command concerning him to

guard him in all his ways.

Picture this for them. Me praying and God calling the

angels at the café.

C. Does this really work? I wondered that myself and began to

ask God if this was real or was I just making it up in my

head. Within 2 weeks

Story of Courtney and the school kids egging her on to

involve herself in a séance. Felt like something one was

telling her no in her heart.

Story of me working for Dave and painting a front window

when woman came out fully naked.

Did not think but rather God whispered that into my heart

• So

III. Application

A. Simply start daily and at special times of trial or ministry to

pray on this armor through believing prayer, declare to God you

are trusting Him to be your refuge, your spiritual protection,

then ban Satan from your life and ministry by the blood,

authority and name of Jesus

B. Resource of my warfare prayer

C. Pray

View Details

Satan’s Favorite Plays

Various Passages May 16, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. A number of years ago the Chicago Bears were playing the Dallas Cowboys in the

playoffs. The Cowboys beat the Bears and frustrated them greatly in the process.

Four times the Bears had the ball inside the Cowboy’s 10-yard line but each time

they were unable to score a touchdown.

I will never forget watching the 10 o’clock news that night. The sportscaster

had gone into each of the locker rooms and asked a player from each team the

same question. “Why could the Bears not score even though they had the

ball inside the 10 yard line four times in the game?”

a) The Bears player shock his head in frustration and said “I do not know”

b) The Cowboys player said, “We know why, we watched their films.

They always do the same thing, so we stacked up against where we knew

they were going to go. We were ready for them.

Did you know that Satan is much like the Chicago Bears were? He uses the

same tricks over and over again.

B. God in His word has shown us what Satan’s favorite plays are so we, like the

Dallas Cowboys, can be ready for his attacks, stack up our defense against were

we know he is going to go.

• This morning we want to look at Satan’s three favorite plays that he uses over and

over again in his game plan. the first one is …

II. Confuse our plays

A. When we are in the huddle with God in His word, we get our plays that He wants

us to carry out! But Satan seeks to confuse us and get us to question what God

wants us to do.

We see he did this with Eve.
There are three parts to this play

B. First part is that he confuses us about God’s word

Read Genesis 2:16-17a - This is what God did say – “from any tree except

one you may eat freely.” Read Genesis 3:1 - this is what Satan said – “you

shall not eat from any tree.”

Satan twisted God’s word to try to confuse her as to what God said.
Satan will do anything to keep us from reading, studying, memorizing and

mediating on God’s word.

a) He does not want us to be clear about God’s ways. This play includes

keeping us confused.

C. Second part is tampers with the consequences

Read Genesis 2:17b - God said, “You shall surely die” Read Genesis 3:4 -

Satan said, “You surely shall not die!”

Now he convinces us that the consequences of disobeying God are really not

that bad.

Come on, God is a God of grace and love. He understands and forgives.

D. Third part is once he has us questioning God’s word and the consequences of sin

then he tells us that we are not complete. There is something we are missing.

Read v5

God is withholding something good from you. Something that you really

need. You deserve this. If only you had, then your life would be OK. He

gets us preoccupied with what we do not have and what we need.

Satan’s goal is to get us to go outside of Christ to find what fulfills us; job,

pleasure, person, position, possession, etc.

E. So Satan’s favorite play is to: confuse us regarding God’s word; tamper with the

consequences of sin; then tell us that we are not complete.

Then he gets us to indulge in sin resulting in us destroying ourselves read v6-

• That is Satan’s first favorite play that he uses over and over again on us. but he has

two more …

III. His ground attack.

A. Satan is looking for certain conditions that are ripe for his work.

Read 1 Peter 5:8
What kind of person is Satan seeking to devour?

B. I believe that Satan is looking for a place to stand.

Favorable circumstances by which he can take hold of and use, a base of

operation. Ground to stand on to take advantage of us.

Read Ephesians 4:26-27 read; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 read

C. Ways that Satan can find a place to stand in our life

Anger Ephesians 4:26-27
Unforgiving heart 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
Selfishness - Matthew 16:21-25
Immorality - 1 Corinthians 5:1,5
Pride - 1 Timothy 3:6
Worldliness - James 4:4-7 1 John 2:15-16 – playing in his playground all

day

Unbelief - 1 Timothy 1:19-20
Bad conscience - 1 Timothy 1:19-20
Anything you love more than Jesus - Revelation 12:10-11
Ancestral sin (especially satanic sin) - Exodus 20:4-5 1 Peter 1:18
Lack of marital sexual fulfillment - 1 Corinthians 7:2-5 –
Idol worship (objects of idol worship) - 1 Corinthians 10:20

Beth with the dream catcher

Exceptions: sometimes God allows Satan to work in our lives
battle point – Job – purposes we cannot understand
sanctification - 2 Corinthians 12:7 – messenger of Satan to keep us humble

IV. His goal line defense

A. A goal line defense that is when a team is very close to scoring a touchdown. The

goal line defense is an arrangement of players, especially big and strong, all

stacked up right in the middle so that it is hard to gain even a yard at a time. It is

designed to hold the offense right where they are so they cannot move.

B. Satan has a play like that and it is called a stronghold

A stronghold is a well-secured and guarded position that cannot easily be

entered into.

Illustrate this on the platform.

C. Read 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Note in v4 the “destruction of fortresses.” Note in v5 “we are destroying.”

Destruction …. Destroying.

In other words, he moves from the general in v4 to the specific in v5. In v4,

he tells us these weapons are for the destructions of fortresses. In v5, he gets

very specific in telling us what these fortresses are they are destroying!

Read v 5 again

a) Speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of

God. It is a battle for the mind. It is a battle of truth

b) Has to do with every single thought that passes through our minds.

Every single worldview and philosophy that the world is promoting as it

is trying to squeeze us into its mold!

D. But this battle is not just with individual thoughts that pass through our minds.

Strongholds are mindsets, patterns of thinking, ways of thinking, and habits in

thinking that are contrary to the truth.

We are usually not conscious of these patterns. Our conscious thoughts are

usually the fruit of these strongholds.

When God destroys a stronghold in our life, He is pulling out a problem by

the roots so that the symptom are all dealt with.

• How do we respond to all of this information?

V. Conclusion

A. Read Psalm 36:9

The first light is God’s light shining into us
The second light is our light in that we see things as they really are.
This is not about searching out your life but rather the Spirit of God and the

word of God shining light on things I may be out of touch with or are so

deeply built into my thinking that I think they are normal

B. So pray, God

Are there any places in my life where my thinking about your word is

confused or lacking?

Are there any sins in my life that Satan is using as ground for him to work
Are there any ways of thinking that are contrary to your ways of thinking?

C. Quiet reflection

View Details

How to Ban Satan from our Lives

May 2, 2021 – Communion

Introduction:

A. So far we have learned that:

“There is an invisible intelligent organized army out there whose sole desire

is to destroy us.”

We also learned that Satan has a game plan to destroy us: Satan will use the

world to tempt our flesh so we will destroy our selves by our own sin.

B. This morning I want to address the question: “How do we resist Satan as the

Scripture tells us to do?”

Scripture

a) Ephesians 6:13

b) James 4:7

c) 1 Peter 5:8-9

Resist means to answer an offensive action by using counter force.

C. To do this we need to go back to Ephesians 6:10 where we learned that the

spiritual foundation to this whole spiritual battle we are in is for us to be strong in

the Lord and the strength of His might.

That is all the spiritual blessings, rights, privileges, positions, promises that

are now ours because we are in Christ and all the power that comes to us

through the Spirit of Jesus being in us!

• So this morning I want to share with you the three special rights and privileges we

have in Christ regarding our battle with Satan! The first is…

I. The blood of Christ

A. Turn and read Colossians 2:14-15

B. V15 says that at the cross God did three things:

Disarmed the satanic army - stripped away from them their weapons

specifically the weapon of using sin against us in v14

Made a public display - explain in that culture when a victory was so

complete they would strip the enemy and march them right down the center

of town to show everyone how totally defeated they are.

Triumphed over them through Christ - a decisive and overwhelming victory

has already been won at the cross.

Note that all of this is already done, already accomplished through the blood

of Christ shed at the cross.

C. Read Revelation 12:11

• The second spiritual right and privilege God has given us in His grace is …

II. The authority that we already have over Satan

A. We talked about this a few weeks ago as we learned we do not have the power to

overpower Satan but God has given us the authority, the legal right to use the

power of Jesus to defeat Satan.

Read Ephesians 1:20-21
Read Ephesians 2:6

• The third spiritual right and privilege God has given us in His grace is …

III. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ

A. Read Philippians 2:6-10

Acts 16 tells us about a slave girl that had a demon in her and followed Paul

around for many days. Listen to Acts 16:18

B. A name is simply a symbol that represents all that a person is and does! God has

given us the privilege to use Jesus name in both prayer and warfare!

Like the song says – there is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain
In Acts 4, Peter and John were arrested and they were brought before the high

priest and his descendants.

a) Listen to what they asked Read Acts 4:7

b) Note here they equated name with power!

C. I remember watching the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China.

Both the British and the Hong Kong flags were raised. In a moment, those

two flags would be lowered and China’s and the new Hong Kong flag would

replace them.

The announcer then said, “Those flags carry great symbolism… as each flag

represents all that is behind it.”

a) Each flag represents a different political system, different economic

systems, different military power, different rulers, different laws,

different culture and just different ways in general.

b) While at the moment of the changing of the flags it appeared very little

really happened but a ceremony. But actually very deep changes took

place that have made a great difference in Hong Kong.

The name of Jesus is the same! The name of Jesus represents all that He is,

does, has given us, authority, power, victory, etc. ; and at the moment that we

use it, it may appear that very little is happening but very deep spiritual things

take place.

D. Whenever Satan comes our way, we need to raise the flag of Jesus name. Satan

knows that it is the means that God has given to us to represent that Jesus and all

of His authority and power are on our side.

When we bring the name of Jesus against Satan, it is like a police officer

flashing his badge.

He is showing the people that he is a representative of a certain government

authority and that all their power is available to back what he says and does.

IV. Conclusion

A. So when I use God’s gifts to resist Satan I think of this simple little acronym

“ban”. Ban Satan by the blood, authority and name of Jesus!

Like any gift of God’s grace, we experience them on the basis of faith.
We must by faith claim our victory over Satan on the basis of the blood,

authority and name of Jesus!

Like Peter said, we must resist him firm in faith!

B. The best way I can picture what happens when we do this is what I saw in a

movie a number of years ago.

A mountain lion was devouring all sorts of animals in the wild.
One day this lion came across a small bear cub. The camera showed the lion

growling at the little bear cub and in a position ready to attack. Then you saw

the little bear cub stand up on his feet and growl back at him as if he was not

a bit afraid.

I thought this bear cub is dead; he has no chance against this lion. I figured

the lion would brush off his growl and destroy the bear. However, the next

scene you see is the lion backing off. I did not understand it this lion could

destroy that bear.

Then they showed a completely different camera angle. Something that we

did not see first time was shown this time. Behind the bear cub was his

mother. Standing up about ten feet tall ready to defend her cub if needed.

Not making a sound but making its presence known.

When we by faith stand on the foundation of God’s gifts of grace He is

standing right there behind us seeing to it that His word will be fulfilled and

the His presence will be made known to Satan.

V. Communion

A. As we go to communion this morning, consider what James 4:7 says, “Submit

therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Is there any area of your life that you must submit to God then resist the devil

by banning him from your life with the blood, authority and name of Jesus?

View Details

The Sure Foundation for Victory

Various Passages April 18, 2021

Introduction:

A. Foundations are the ultimate support upon which something stands, whether it be

a building or an idea!

If the foundation is strong, then the structure that is built upon it will stand

the test of time and stress.

If there is any flaw in the foundation it will have a direct impact upon the

strength or the condition of the building and will become more and more

evident over time!

B. If we ever need a foundation that is flawless, it is in the area of spiritual warfare

since we are facing an invisible army who has thousands of years of experience

and their sole goal is to destroy us!

¨ This morning I want to look at the sure foundation for our

victory over Satan. In weeks to come we will continue to look

at the complete structure of our victory over Satan but we need

to get the foundation right or everything else will be off.

I. The riches of God’s grace Ephesians 6:10

C. This is one of the strongest passages in the New Testament regarding our battle

with Satan, we learn here about the armor that God provides for the battle. But

before he goes into the armor, he lays a foundation for us. Read v10

He teaches us here that foundational to our warfare with the enemy, even

foundational to the armor being effective for us; we must be strengthened by

the Lord in two different ways!

a) Strong in the Lord - you in Christ

b) Be strong … in the strength of His might - Christ in you

We need to be strong in all that we are in Christ and we need Him filling our

lives with His strength.

a) At the core of our beings, we are spiritual beings. “Christ in us” and “us

in Christ” is not just a theological phrase but rather a deeply real spiritual

relationship that we have with Christ

b) This is how God infuses us with life and power of the Spirit of Jesus,

shares with us all the rights, privileges, and victories He has already

accomplished for us!

c) I love the way the TPT says this verse! - “…be supernaturally infused

with strength through your life-union with the Lord Jesus. Stand

victorious with the force of His explosive power flowing in and through

you.” Ephesians 6:10 TPT

B. You in Christ and Christ in you are the two major pillars of God’s grace. The

foundation of our victory over Satan is God’s grace. If you will, it is the footing

to the foundation that upon which even the foundation stands!

All that God freely gives us in Christ and all that God freely gives us with

Christ in us is the heart of God’s grace.

Us in Christ is the way that god sees us and blesses us.

a) Remember from Ephesians 1:3 that in Christ we have already been

blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!

b) That means that God has already given to us as a gift every blessing,

every promise, every position, every privilege, every right, and even the

victory Jesus has already accomplished over Satan!

Christ in us is the way that God changes us and empowers us.

a) The Spirit of Jesus within us is the one who transforms us to be people

who fight from the right foundation of Gods’ grace and the one who

empowers us to live like a mighty warrior of Jesus!

C. If we respond to Satan’s attacks by any means other than grace, we are doomed

to defeat! It is what Jesus has done and not what we can do that is the basis of

our victory over Satan!

¨ So now, with the footing of the foundation in place now let us look at two

foundational gifts of God’s grace that we have in our battle with Satan. First, …

II. God has already won the battle

A. Turn to and read Colossians 1:12-14

B. First note the word “He.”

God is the one who has won the battle not us.
It does not say that God “will” deliver us “if” we do the right things, or pray

enough or obey enough or anything else. Our victory is not dependent upon

us but upon God.

Much of what I have heard in the area of spiritual warfare makes the victory

over Satan dependent upon our performance and jumping through so many of

the right spiritual hoops and saying the exact right words in a warfare prayer

so you can have the victory. In other words this way emphasizes we must do

certain things in order to be set free from Satan’s power in our life.

C. V 13 does not say that God “will” deliver us and transfer us …

It does say that God has “already” delivered us from the territory over which

Satan was ruler exerting his power and authority

God has “already” transferred us into the kingdom where His Son is ruler

exerting His power and authority.

Picture this with two sections on the main floor (neighborhood) as God pulls

us out of one and puts us into another.

D. I remember the day God turned on the lights inside of me to realize this.

It was break time of a seminar, went back to my office with the two speakers

at the seminar, and shared the deep struggle I was in.

As they prayed for God to work in my behalf the lights went on inside of me

as the Spirit showed me that I already have the victory. It is not something I

have to get but something I already have.

From that day on the foundational way, I did spiritual warfare totally changed

as I moved from doing things to get the victory to standing in the victory I

already have!

¨ Now that I know in God’s grace that He has already given me the victory over Satan I

need to recognize the third foundation and that is that …

III. I have authority over Satan.

A. To understand this properly we must understand the difference between authority

and power because I do not have the power to overcome Satan but I do have the

authority to overcome Satan!

Power - ability to act, capability of producing an effect or exert force.
Authority - the right to exercise someone else’s power. The legal right to

command.

A good way to illustrate authority is what a police officer has when he directs

traffic. A big semi is rolling down the road that is much bigger and more

powerful than him. That powerful truck comes to a halt when the police

officer raises his hand.

a) The police officer had the authority to stop the truck but he did not have

the power to stop it!

b) By virtue of his authority as police officer, he has the power of the

government behind him. They can bring all and every resource they

have to stand behind what the police officer is ordering.

God has given us the legal right, with all His strength, all His angels and His

Son and His Spirit to back it up, to command Satan from using his strength to

overcome us.

B. Turn and read Ephesians 1:19-22

Note first the names of demons here. (Rule - authority - power and dominion)

we learned last week that their names indicate that they do have a measure of

control, exerting some kind of influence over humans.

But note also where Jesus is

a) Seated at the right hand of God. God is seated on the throne in heaven

(1) A throne is the place where the king rules.

b) He is seated “far above”

(1) Jesus is in a place where He is not just above but far above all the

rule, authority, power and dominion of Satan and his army of

demons!

c) In other words, Satan and his demons are in subjection to Jesus.

C. Now look at Ephesians 2:4-6

Where are we right now in Christ? Seated at right hand of throne!
We have not only been joined together in the death and resurrection of Jesus

but also in the ascension of Jesus Christ

God in His grace has shared with us the authority of Jesus Christ and that is

the basis of our victory over Satan.

IV. Application

A. Let me try to illustrate how all this works with flood insurance. I shared this early

on in our Ephesians series but it fits perfectly here!

Required to buy at $300+ per year – bothered me because no flood at my

house since Noah!

I had to tell someone just how much that bother me so I called insurance

man, bank, surveyor, city – good news – not in zone

Called back bank, surveyor but he refused to change (pride)
Because it was legally mine I kept calling and kept claiming my right
Eventually he gave in and changed it and I got back my $300
It happens the same way spiritually as we stand firm in the grace God has

already given us with the victory and authority over Satan! As we fight the

fight of faith against Satan, he will eventually back down and God’s Spirit

floods us with His presence, power, and freedom!

1 Peter 5:9-11

View Details

Be Prepared to Fight the Right Enemy

Eph 6:10-13 April 11

I. Introduction:

A. Many years ago Kim and I attended a seminar for pastors and their wives

regarding burnout and handling stress in the ministry. It was led by a medical

doctor and a pastor.

The medical doctor opened up the 1st session with a comment that caught me

off guard coming from someone from the medical field.

In essence he said “there is an invisible intelligent organized army out there

whose sole desire is to destroy us. We have to expect it, we must recognize it,

we must be prepared!” Dr. Richard Swenson

Did you ever stop to think that you have an invisible intelligent organized

army of supernatural evil beings whose sole goal is to destroy you?

It’s a war for your soul and a war for your marriage and family,

church and nation!

It is time for us to wake up from the illusion that being a Christian is like

going to a church picnic or a Christian concert but rather it is a war!

B. And God warned us about this many, many years ago in Eph 6! Please turn to

Eph 6:10-13.

Watch for the heart of what God is telling us in this passage which also will

become the heart of my message this morning: be prepared to fight the right

enemy!

Watch for this as I read.

• Let’s start by talking about …

II. Fighting the right enemy

A. Listen again to11b-12 as to who our battle is with.

Satan and his army of invisible spiritual angels – called demons.
He classifies 4 different kinds of demons here – rulers, powers, world forces

of this darkness and spiritual forces of wickedness.

To summarize, they are demons, who are wicked and relate to darkness that

have some particular role in influencing the activities of human beings.

B. And they use schemes to accomplish their purposes! 11c

The word schemes shows us that Satan has a strategy to take us down. He

uses a method, a technique, he tricks us and deceives us in order to ambush

or ensnare us!

They want us to take the bait they use to get us to sin so we will drink poison

in the Kool aid resulting in the destruction that sin brings upon ourselves and

others around us!

C. Finally note who the battle is not with. Read 11a

That is why I am calling this section fight the right enemy because so many

of us think the fight is with other people, flesh and blood, or even with our

own flesh and blood, but we are only the pawns – Satan only uses others to

further his purposes, he is the real source.

Satan’s primary camouflage is other people! Repeat

a) And if we do not recognize that and fight with the right enemy we will

end up fighting with other people.

b) Someone said “snakes do not hiss anymore, they call you babe, bro or

friend.

D. So there are 2 key implications to this:

If I do not learn to recognize and deal with the source/root problem, Satan;

he will be glad to feed me his resources/fruits/Kool aid all day long or even

more so all lifelong to keep me in defeat and frustration dealing with the

fruits one at a time rather than the root problem Satan himself

If the one I am ultimately wrestling with is not flesh and blood but spiritual,

then I am going to need spiritual weapons to deal with him!

• And my next point and the whole series is designed to address this, and that is …

III. Be prepared to fight!

A. We need to put on the full armor so we will be “prepared” to fight!!!!

And we need to be prepared to “fight!!!!”

I think one mistake I often make is thinking if I put on the armor then I

will avoid Satan’s schemes and he will just pass me by because he sees I

have the armor on.

B. Note

V11 says I need to put on the armor so that I can stand firm against his

schemes. – That means his evil and deceitful schemes are going to come my

way and the only way I will be able to stand is by having on the armor.

V13 says I need to take up the armor so I can resist in the evil day when he

does attack me. Resisting means I need to actively oppose that wicked and

dark spiritual pressure or power that is coming against me.

• “Finally” let’s look at the word at the start of this verse:

IV. Finally

A. Read 10a.

B. This word is very clear that it is not a final thought in a series of unrelated ideas

but rather this word indicates that it is the rest of the whole.

It directly relates to and completes everything we have learned in the book of

Ephesians! What we need to know about our position in Christ and our walk

with Christ and yes even in our marriages, parenting and daily work in Eph

5:22-6:9

By the way, we will be dealing with marriage and parenting from Ephesians

as our summer series this year.

C. Position in Christ – Satan, the father of lies will continuously lie to you about who

you are at the core of your being!

Convincing you that you are still just a sinner saved by grace rather than a

brand new creature who has been totally transformed by God’s grace into a

saint!

As the accuser of the brethren he will constantly point out your failures and

inconsistencies and say to you “see this is who you really are!”

Or he will work to get us to focus on our performance and activities as a

believer to get the blessing God has given us and the victory over Satan

in Christ rather than living your life as one who already has the

blessings and victory over Satan.

D. Walk with Christ – Satan as the tempter will constantly be putting temptations in

front of us to side track us from our walk with the Lord.

And those temptations can range all the way from pornography to people

pleasing and everything in between!

He wants to frustrate us, control us and ruin us and he will use anything and

anyone in this world system to get us to bite the bait and drink the poisonous

Kool aid.

E. Marriage and family – God’s most precious gift of a mate or child and for those

of you not married – a close friend often becomes the closest, most intimate and

fiercest battles we can have.

And so often Satan is skillful at causing us to think that our real enemy is that

person who lives so close to us who is made of flesh and blood.

Young parents you will learn over time that one of the great parenting skills

will be learning how to wrestle with Satan for the sake of your children!

F. This world - and as we learned in Eph 2 Satan is the prince of this world and is

currently influencing the sons of disobedience. We do not have to look far to see

that in the time and nation we are living in.

Like never before we need to recognize who the real and ultimate enemy is

who is using politicians, entertainers, media, etc. as his pawns.

And there are no people in this country positioned better than Christians to

be part of the real answer when we recognize who the real enemy is and use

the spiritual weapons we have!

G. We need to be prepared! And we need to be prepared to fight and we need to fight

the right enemy.

Today was the introduction – the next 6-7 weeks will be the rest of the

sermon!

View Details

“A Story of God’s Transforming Power”

Easter Sunday April 4, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Have any of you ever been thirsty before? I am not talking about a physical

thirst, but rather a soul thirst! A soul that craves to be satisfied?

A thirsty soul is the best way to describe my life before I knew Jesus

Christ.

All I know is that my life was driven by the need to satisfy this

unidentified nagging thirst.

a) I found myself doing all sorts of things trying to quench this thirst,

but everything came up empty, it only gave temporary satisfaction at

best, but the thirst kept coming back even stronger.

b) Jesus said in John 4:13-14

B. Today I want to tell you my story about how Jesus Christ quenched the thirst

of my soul with his living water. I shared this on Easter Sunday 24 years ago

and it is time to do it again.

II. Life before Jesus Christ

A. As a young boy I thought that I would go to heaven because I was a Catholic

and if I lived somewhat of a good life. The problem though was that I was

not a very good Catholic nor did I live a good life!

B. The real trouble started when I went away to college and all of the parental

restraints were off of me! I broke loose. I partied hardy.

Beer, wine, whisky, along with marijuana, hash and acid became what I

used to quench the thirst of my soul at that time!

I would go out and party almost every night, then sleep during the day.

Since I missed most of my classes I became a mini expert at cheating my

way through the first 3 years of college.

C. I remember one night being at a party and I was high on acid. I was walking

down the hallway and I ran into another man who I never met before who

was also high on drugs.

We began a conversation with one another and I discovered that we both

felt the same way. We were searching for something and we did not know

what it was.

We shared the common feeling that if we were at a party on the south

side something inside of us felt like we should have been at the one on the

north side. If I was with one person, something inside of me felt like I

should have been with someone else. I felt like I was always at the wrong

place, with the wrong people at the wrong time doing the wrong thing:

and to quench the thirst of my soul something had to be different.

D. In my junior year of college I transferred to Western IL Univ. A friend of

mine there was named Greg. He was the star of the baseball team, was good

looking and had a gorgeous girl friend who was a quality woman.

I thought “if I could just have a girl like Greg does then I know that I

would be satisfied - the thirst of my soul would be quenched.”

One night Greg and I went out to drink and talk.
As we talked, Greg told me that he had broken up with his girlfriend that

day. I was stunned! This guy had something that I thought would make

me happy and he was letting it go.

I said Greg, “Why did you break up with her?” He said “Pat, I had to

do it so that I could have peace of mind.” I said “peace of mind, what is

that?” He said “peace of mind is knowing that you are in the right

place, with the right people at the right time doing the right thing!

That hit my heart like a sledge hammer. That is what I had been looking

for, ‘peace of mind.’ This unidentified nagging thirst in my soul was a

thirst for peace, contentment and satisfaction deep down on the inside.

E. A few months later at what we called a kegger, I got seriously drunk and got

in the car and hit a tree on the way home! The car did a complete twirl

around in the air and amazingly with 6 of us in the car no one was seriously

hurt, just a few bumps and bruises.

F. This accident not only sobered me up physically but also in my soul as I

became deeply aware something was wrong inside of me and I was trying to

fix it in all the wrong ways!

First thing I did was go to church and try to be a better person – back to

where I started when I was growing up - religion and trying to live a good

life.

a) The problem was the same this time around – not only was I not good

at either of them but I quit my efforts with them within 6 weeks!

Then I went to group counseling after that but did not find the peace I

needed and still sensed something was wrong deep inside.

G. The rest of that year was a downward spin as I could not find peace of mind

and heart in anything that I pursued. So I dropped out of college at the end

of my junior year.

H. That summer I had no idea of what I was going to do with my life. I would go

up on many of the weekends to visit my friends in a town in Michigan where I

had worked the 2 previous summers.

One weekend I found myself sitting in this bar drinking at the counter

with a man I did not know next to me who was in his fifties.

He was telling me dirty jokes. Sitting in some booths across from us

were some people I knew, they were about 10 years older than me, 2 men

and 2 women. All of them were married but not to each other as they

were trying to pick one another up. Then the 4 of them left together in a

car!

I think that the 1st time the Spirit of God ever spoke to me was while I

was sitting in that bar. It was like someone deep inside of me spoke

to my soul to take a look around. Is this what you want of your life? I

thought to myself “this is not where I want to go with my life.”

a) I do not want to be sitting at a bar at the age of 50 telling some kid

the same dirty jokes that have been told for years.

b) And I certainly do not want a marriage where my wife or I was out

messing around with others.

c) It’s like God opened up the eyes of my heart to see where my life was

heading, and it was not what I wanted. I was deeply shaken on the

inside.

I. I had to do something drastic and I only knew of one other option to fix me

and that was enlist in the Marine Corps. If anybody could do it, it would be

the marines. So the next morning I left town immediately and came back

home to Chicago to enlist!

III. How I came to Christ

A. During boot camp I did great since I was removed from all my old friends and

substances and had a drill instructor watching over me 24/7 for 3 months.

B. After boot camp, when all the external controls of the drill sergeants were

removed, I began drinking again in a heavy fashion. Then I started having

flashbacks of a bad trip.

My days were full of fear and my nights were full of horrifying night

mares.

Internally I was a mess. I went and talked to a counselor and he put me

on tranquilizers.

C. A few weeks later, a Chaplain came in to speak to us men. He said if we ever

needed help that he was available.

I immediately went and talked to the man. He told me how he could help

me and that he would be available to me at any time. I left with a sense of

security knowing someone could and would help me.

A week later I was having a very difficult time so I went over to the

Chaplain’s office. He was not in. They called him at his home but he

could not come in. My last hope was dashed.

I asked the woman in the office to please call the base drug rehab center

to come and get me. She called and they said they would send a jeep for

me.

D. As I was waiting a different Chaplain came in and asked the secretary what I

was doing there. He said that he would talk to me if I wanted. I wanted.

Rather than offering himself to me as able to help and always available he

told me that Jesus Christ could help me and would be always available to

me.

He told me of story after story of how Jesus Christ had changed the life of

other men and women on the base who had struggled with drugs and

alcohol.

He told me it was not dependent upon what denomination I was with nor

how good I had lived my life nor anything I could do for God. Rather it

depended on how good Jesus is and what he did for me.

He told me how my sin separated me from God and that Jesus died to pay

for my sins.

Then he shared this verse with me. Rev 3:20
He told me that Jesus wants to come into my life and walk with me and

help me with my problems! Then he asked me if I wanted to invite Jesus

into my life?

a) I asked for time to think about all of this. It was all so new to me.

b) Went into the next room and prayed to God. For the first time I did

not come to him with some recited prayer that I learned as a child

but rather I spoke to him from my heart. I said “God, I do not know

if this is some weird religion or what, all I know is that I need your

help.”

c) And guess what, that same inner voice in my heart that spoke to me

about 6 months before in the bar was back. He said “Pat it is ok, this

is the right thing to do.”

I just knew it was right. I got off of my knees and I went back into the

room and told the Chaplain that I wanted to trust Jesus Christ.

E. He led me in a prayer that was in essence something like this “God, I

know that I am a sinner, thank you that Jesus Christ paid the price for my sin

and offers me a brand new life. Right now I transfer my trust from anything

I can do and put it all in what Jesus did for me! Right now I invite Jesus

Christ to come into my life.”

IV. What Jesus has done since trusting Him:

A. Instantly my heart was filled with peace. That which I had for so long

searched for was now deep down inside my soul like I never knew before.

For the 1st time in my life I felt like I was in the right place with the right

people, at the right time doing the right thing! For the 1st time I

experienced what Greg was telling me about.

a) For the 1st time my thirsty soul found the drink that it was craving

for, the drink that could satisfy it.

b) Jesus said in John 7:37…

For the 1st time I felt clean inside. This heart that felt dirty because of

the way that I had lived all of a sudden felt clean and filled with joy!

The best way I can describe it is that I felt like I had a 2,000 pound back

pack on me and someone had cut the strings and I was free of it.

My soul felt light and free and clean and joyful and above all full of

peace!

B. Those were some of the things that God did instantly. Other things God has

worked in over a period of time to change, things like attitudes, motives, and

mindsets. Many things He is still working to change in my life.

V. Conclusion

A. Maybe you are here today and you have a thirsty soul. Maybe you find

yourself in circumstances that are bigger than you are strong and smarter

than you are smart. Maybe you are at the place where you are tired of trying

to find the road to peace, or satisfaction or freedom from habits, hurts or

hang-ups. Maybe it is something else.

B. This is the very hope of the Resurrection. Not only do we celebrate on Easter

the historical fact that Jesus rose from the dead, but also the implications of

that Resurrection.

Without the Resurrection all we would know of Jesus is that He was a

man who was executed for claiming to be God himself! Listen to Acts

2:22-24 impossible

When Jesus was raised from the dead He proved in the most powerful

way to not only be God but also the Lord and our Savior and the Judge of

all!

The Resurrection also shows us Jesus is the Author of Life and He offers

to you and me a brand-new life.

a) 1 Pet 1:3

b) John 3:16

C. Today may be the day you are hearing that same voice speaking to your heart

that I first heard in the bar and then in the Chaplain’s office telling you “this

is the way, walk in it!”

D. Pray my prayer “God I know that I am a sinner, thank you that Jesus

Christ paid the price for my sin and rose from the dead to offer me a brand

new life. Right now I transfer my trust from anything I can do and put it all

in what Jesus did for me! Right now I welcome Jesus Christ into my life.”

View Details

Walking by the Spirit

Various Passages March 28, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. I have a concern that too many Christians are trying real hard to live for Jesus

and too many preachers are calling people to commit more and give their all for

Jesus.

Now those are not bad things but they are not the basis for the Christian life,

but actually they are outcomes when someone lives from the right starting

point.

It is the difference between me living for Jesus and Jesus living for me! It is

the difference between trying and trusting! It is the difference between the

power for the Christian life coming from me or coming from the one who

lives in me!

Listen to 2 Cor 4:6-7

a) Treasure of the glory of God in the face of Jesus dwelling inside our

bodies, our clay pots

b) The power for the Christian life is supposed to come from God and

not from ourselves.

Simply to walk by the Spirit means I am trusting the One who lives in me

and not trusting myself so that the surpassing power in my life

might be from God and not from myself!

B. All Christians trust in the substitutionary death of Jesus for their salvation, but

few are trusting in the substitutionary life of Jesus for their walk.

So for many of us, we get saved by trusting Jesus Christ’s death for us but

then we move on to our own working hard for spiritual growth.

a) The North American culture has engrained into us that we are self-made

people! The American dream has convinced us that if we work hard

enough we can achieve anything we want!

b) So there is always a feeling that there is more for me to do, even if I do

not know what that more to do is!

We are saved by faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross and we are to

walk by faith in what Jesus is and will do in my heart

I love the way Bob George says “Jesus gave His life for us; so He could give

His life to us; so that He could live His life through us.”

• Let’s start with the:

II. Series of slides regarding walking by the Spirit!

A. The truck will be dumped on you today but I am putting these slides with the

verses on the website along with my notes by the end of this coming Wednesday.

It will take time for these truths to sink in and it will be worth the review and

study on your own and even re-watching this message a few times on YouTube.

B. Slides

Humans/creation– original design (Adam and Eve)

a) This slide speaks to the way we were created as 3 part beings and how

each part is connected to that around them!

b) Turn and read Gen 2:7

c) I Thess 5:23

d) Body – relates to the environment; soul – relates to others and our

unique personality. Spirit part of us that relates to God

Lost/fall - this is what happened to mankind at the fall and the state we were

in before we were saved. This shows our depravity

a) At the fall man was depraved, that means he was corrupted from

his original design. Man has been totally depraved!

(1) Total depravity does not mean that man is as rotten as he can be.

(2) Total depravity means that every part of man’s being (his body,

soul and spirit) has been touched by corruption.

b) Turn and read Gen 2:16-17 – something died that day and it was not

their bodies or souls but rather their spirits.

(1) Death does not mean the cessation of life but rather separation

from life!

(2) Listen to Eccl 9 description of the dead, read 9:5-6

(a) Simply they no longer share or participate in what is taking

place here on earth.

(b) We know physically when a person dies their body stops

functioning but their life (soul and spirit) does not cease but

continues on either in heaven or hell.

born spiritually dead, that meant we are separated from

God and unable to share and participate in the things of

God.

c) Turn and read Gen 5:1,3 – since Adam, everyone that has been born has

been born in Adam’s image – that is the image of God but corrupted in

every part of his being.

(1) Sin entered into man’s body and began the process of death in his

body. Rom 6 teaches us that the body is the place where sin

operates and dwells. Rom 7 teaches us that this body is dead when

it comes to doing God’s will – unable to obey God.

(2) Sin impacted his soul so that man’s mind, will and emotions have

been corrupted. Note on slide

(3) Man’s spirit is dead and is at heart a sinner.

(a) Read Rom 5:12 - because of Adam - all died

(b) Rom 5:19a - because of Adam - all became sinners

(4) The Bible calls that our old self/man and who we are in Adam

d) Remember we just learned in Eph 4:17 that the lost have a futile mind

that operates apart from God and His Word.

Saved

a) This slide speaks to the way we are as a new creation in Christ. Read 2

Cor 5:17

b) To be saved, a person’s spirit must be born again – read John 3:3.

Gospel opportunity

c) Rom 5:19b -because of Jesus - all believers became righteous!

d) Now our spirit is made holy and righteous - read Eph 4:24

e) Eph 4, Rom 6 and Col 3 calls this our new self

f) You are no longer just a sinner saved by grace but rather a saint

transformed by grace.

g) But as saved people, our bodies and souls stay the same.

h) And this defines our core problem – we are saved people living in an

unsaved body! We are brand new creatures at the core of our being who

are separately linked to a fallen flesh!

The ministry of the Spirit is simply to make me holy – that is called

sanctification. Listen to Gal 5:16

a) Dismantle sin in me, that is in my body, that is my flesh! Turn and read

Rom 8:13 - keep open because we will come back

b) Fill us with resurrected life to overcome the deadness of our bodies and

give us the ability to obey God. Turn and read Rom 8:10-11

c) The Spirit also is the one who defeats Satan in our lives. Read 1 Jn 4:4

d) And the Spirit of Jesus is the Guardian and Shepherd of our souls! Read

1 Pet 2:25

Walk by the Spirit

a) Read definitions on left side of slide

b) We already learned that we do not have the ability to do God’s will.

Death is the ultimate weakness, impotence, inability, emptiness,

powerlessness!

c) So when I depend upon everything that I inherited from Adam – body

and soul to overcome sin or do God’s will I am walking in the flesh and

I fail every time.

d) But when I depend upon the indwelling Spirit of Jesus He overcomes

sin and can do God’s will in and through me! Turn and read Rom

8:2-4.

e) I need to transfer my trust from myself to the One who lives in me! My

dependence is not upon myself but the One who lives in me. Read Gal

2:20

f) But to be clear I am not talking about being passive.

(1) We should not consider the engagement of my soul and

body as in opposition to walking by the Spirit but rather as

complementary!

(2) We tend to go to extremes in either depending upon Spirit

and not engaging our soul and bodies or depending upon our souls

and bodies but not engaging the Spirit.

(3) This is depending upon the Spirit as the source and I

engage my soul and body as the resource to dismantle sin

and empower me to do God’s will!

g) If we are to trust Christ will work in us, why are there so many

commands in the Bible telling us how we should live? When I read

command verses, I take it that is my responsibility to obey.

(1) Yes it is my responsibility to obey those verses but the way I do it

is by turning to and trusting the Spirit of Jesus to enable me to

obey in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

(2) Phil 2:12-13

(3) Heb 13:20-21

• Now let me close by just directly quoting some of the things

III. Watchman Nee says about these things!

A. Love the way he starts the book where he lays out his premise for the normal

Christian life:

What is the normal Christian life?
We learn it is something very different from the life of the average Christian.
Indeed a consideration of the Word of God – of the Sermon on the Mount for

example – should lead us to ask whether such a life has ever in fact been

lived upon earth, save only by the Son of God Himself! But in the last saving

clause lies the answer to our question.

The Apostle Paul gives us his own definition of the Christian life in Gal 2:20.

It is “no longer I, but Christ” I live no longer, but Christ lives His life in me.

a) In all of God’s dealing with us, He works by taking us out of the way

and substituting Christ in our place. The Son of God died instead of

us for our forgiveness and He lives instead of us for our

deliverance.

b) So we can speak of 2 substitutions – a substitute on the cross who

secures our forgiveness and a substitute within us who secures our

victory!

B. Listen to just a few more key quotes from his chapter on the Spirit!

To live in the flesh is to do something “out from” myself as in Adam. It

is to derive strength from the old natural sources of life that I inherited from

him. Living in the Spirit means that I trust the Holy Spirit to do in me what I

could not do myself!

a) It is not a matter of trying but of trusting!

We think of the Christian life as a “changed life” but it is not that. What God

offers us is an “exchanged life” a “substituted life” and Christ is our

substitute within!

Now what is the law of sin and death?

a) If someone passes an unkind remark about me, at once something goes

wrong inside of me. That is not the law of sin, that is sin. But if when

different people pass unkind remarks, the same “something” goes wrong

inside, then I discern a law within – law of sin! Like the law of gravity,

it is something that is constant and always works the same.

b) Now as to the law of death – death as we have said, is weakness

produced to its limit. Weakness is “I cannot.” Now if when I try to

please God in this particular matter I find I cannot, and if when I try to

please Him in that other thing I again find I cannot, then I discern a law

at work.

c) There is not only sin in me, but a law of sin! And there is not only death

in me but a law of death! How can I be delivered from the constant

repetition of weakness and failure?

d) The law is there, but another law superior to it is operating to overcome

it, namely the law of life.

e) God delivers us from one law by introducing another law. The law of sin

and death is there all the time, but God has put another law into

operation – the law of the Spirit of life in Christ, and that law is strong

enough to deliver us from the law of sin and death!

f) The law of life in Christ – the resurrection life that is in Him has met

death in all its forms and triumphed over it!

Let me close with this one – why do men use willpower to try to please God?

a) They may be born again and the life is there, but they have not learned to

trust in that life!

b) It is no longer a question of our will but of His life!

C. This is me now and not Watchman - you have heard me say this before – the way

we are saved is the same way we walk with Christ! We are saved by transferring

our trust from ourselves to what Jesus did for us on the cross. We walk by

transferring our trust from ourselves to what Jesus will do in my heart.

Whether we walk by the Spirit or walk by the flesh is all the difference

between: joy and frustration, fruitfulness or bareness, praise or

discouragement! Between rivers of living water flowing out of your heart and

just a drip of the Spirit, experiencing the surpassing greatness of the power of

God or constant defeat!

View Details

Living Under the Influence

Eph. 5:18-21 March 21, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. At the recent No Regrets men’s’ conference, the speaker Chris Brown gave a

powerful message about the life of Samson. He made this powerful statement

“the scariest verse in the whole story was when Sampson woke up after having his

hair cut but he did not know that the Spirit of God had left him!” Did you catch

that – let me repeat that.

Then he asked this very convicting question: “If the Holy Spirit left your

life/ministry, how long would it take you to figure that out?” Wow!

I had a similar question asked of me many years ago when I first came into

the ministry from an older friend of mine named Bob Block! His question

was this: Pat, if the Holy Spirit was removed from your life and ministry

would anything be different? Did you catch that – let me repeat that.

As we discussed these questions the following week at the men’s breakfast, it

led us to this: before we know that He left us, we need to know what it looks

like when He is here!

B. This morning I want to answer this question– “What does it look like when the

Holy Spirit is in control of our lives?”

• Turn in your Bibles to Eph 5 where it talks about…

II. Being filled with the Holy Spirit

A. Read v18

B. The first thing I want you to note is that there is a contrast in this verse and that is

being drunk with wine and being filled with the Spirit. The point he is making is

simply this:

When a person is drunk they are under the control of alcohol so that their

behavior, attitudes and talk are all influenced by alcohol.

a) By the way when it says “for that is dissipation” it is simply saying in

this context that it is a reckless and mindless waste of time and

opportunity!

When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit they are under the control of the

Holy Spirit so that their behavior, attitudes and talk are all influenced by the

Holy Spirit.

Just as everything is different about you when you are drunk so everything

will be different about you when you are under the influence of, filled with

the Holy Spirit.

C. And by the way, this is an imperative, a present imperative. It is a command that

indicates the way we should always and habitually be living our lives, filled with,

under the control and influence by the Holy Spirit.

• So the question now is “What would be different in my life when my life is controlled

by the Holy Spirit?” That is what we see in the following verses…

III. The results of being filled with the Holy Spirit:

A. We see this in verses 19-21.

It is clearly laid out for us with 4 participles which describe for us what it

looks like to be filled with the Spirit. These participles are: speaking,

singing, thanks, be subject

Watch for these as I read this section, and more importantly as we read be

radically honest with yourself and ask if this describes your life!

Read v19-21

B. Let me describe each one briefly:

Speaking: read 19a

a) This is one that takes place during worship times with other believers as

we speak to each other, that is teach one another truths about God and

the spiritual life as we sing together

b) So let me ask you are you just one of those who stands quietly either

disengaged or critiquing while we sing or are you participating with all

your heart?

Singing: read 19b

a) This not only takes place on Sundays during worship but all week long as

you are walking through life

b) So let me ask you 2 questions:

(1) Sunday mornings-are you just singing songs or are you directing

your singing as a love song to God?

(2) And also, as you sing is it from the core of your being, your heart

or are you just singing words and hitting the right notes?

(3) And finally during the week, when you are not even trying do you

find a song ringing in your heart? Do you have a singing heart that

is singing to the lord?

Thanks: read v20

a) Simply, are you a grateful person or more of a critical and complaining

person?

b) Are you grateful both for the big gifts and the small gifts that God gives

us, and both for the good things and the painful things that He uses to do

good things in us?

Subject: read v21

a) Do you submit to others in the body of Christ? Do you joyfully abide

under the authority and opinions of other believers that they have for

your life?

b) Or do you not take serious what others bring to you about you, blow

them off, or even shut them out and even refuse to listen to them?

C. The way you answer all these questions will indicate if you are under the control

and influence of the Holy Spirit or not!

D. There is another passage that we can look at to see if the Holy Spirit is actively

working in our lives. It is Gal 5:22-23 where we learn what the fruit of the Spirit

is.

Fruit is what a tree or plant produces. So the fruit of the Spirit is what the

Holy Spirit produces in our life when we are walking with Him in control of

our lives

Read gal 5:22-23
How are you doing there? Are these evident on a regular basis in your life?

Or is your life more characterized by selfishness, complaining and

criticalness, uneasiness and anxiety, impatience, unkindness, evil, doubt,

harshness and undisciplined?

a) These are the things that are just the opposite of these fruits!

b) The way you answer that will tell you if the Spirit is in control or not?

And note: this is a single fruit, not fruits as if there are 9 separate fruits. It is

one fruit that has 9 different aspects to its DNA.

Let me try to illustrate it like this with just one aspect of this fruit:

a) It is a patience right in the middle of very difficult, discouraging

or stressful times that is full of love, a joyful patience, a

patience that is full of peace and not anxiety, it is a

patience that is kind and good, it is a patience that if full of

faith rather than doubt, a patience that is characterized by

gentleness rather than short and sharp with those around you, and it is a

patience that is in control of your thoughts and desires!

b) You see every one of these qualities is intertwined with all the other

ones!

E. So now we know what it looks like for the Holy Spirit to be in control of your life,

and if these things we talked about in Ephesians 5 and Gal 5 are not what

characterize your life and heart then we need to be honest with ourselves and not

be like Sampson that had no idea that the Holy Spirit had left him!

• Let me close by briefly speaking about 4 ways we get filled with the Holy Spirit. So

let’s look at:

IV. 4 ways we get filled with the Spirit:

A. First, be radically honest with God and yourself if you do not see the evidence of

the filling of the Spirit in your life. Confess to God that you are walking by

means of the flesh rather than the Spirit.

B. Second, ask God to fill you with the Spirit. We see in this context that it is

directly connected to God’s will.

Read 1 John 5:14-15
Start by asking the Father to fill your life with the Holy Spirit.

C. Third, I practice being where the Holy Spirit is!

If the Holy Spirit produces a worshipping, grateful and submissive heart then

I am intentional to practice whole hearted worship, be intentional to practice

daily gratitude and submit to and welcome those who come to you and speak

into your life.

I find that as I intentionally and daily practice those things the Holy Spirit

takes over and what started as a practice has become a new manifestation of

the Holy Spirit in my life that comes naturally.

D. Fourthly, it is interesting to note that in Col 3:16 it talks about God’s word richly

dwells within you, that does not mean you getting in the word but the word

getting in you deep enough that it becomes a part of who you are and the way you

think.

Then v17 tells us when that happens, when we are filled with the word, the

same results happen to us that happen when we are filled with the Spirit.

Listen to Col 3:16-17
This is no surprise as Jesus said that His words are Spirit and life!
When we meet with God in his word on a regular basis in a way that it is not

just you getting your time in the word but in a way that the word gets in you,

those very words fill you with the Spirit and life!

E. Finally, come next week as we spend a whole message talking more about how

we walk filled with the Spirit moment by moment!

View Details

Be Wise – Know the Will of God

Ephesians 515-18 March 14, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Pastor’s kids have a unique life style and have to endure a lot, especially if you

were one of Pastor Pat Peglow’s kids! One thing I made them endure was that

every time as a family we were with a man or a woman I considered a godly

person I would ask them, “What advice would you give to my kids about life?”

One I remember in particular sums that up the heart of this passage and I

would have to say in hindsight was great wisdom. His answer was “know

God’s will and do it!”

B. That is the heart of today’s passage so please turn to Ephesians 5:15!

We are in the section of the book of Ephesians that talks about our walk as

new creatures who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ!

Today we see that we are to walk as wise men!

C. The structure of the passage we will look at today is simple and will guide our

preaching both this week and next week. There are two things in particular that a

wise man/woman does in their walk.

15 – call to walk wise
16 – how to walk wise (general)
17-18 - how to walk wise (two specifics)

D. Read v15-18

E. We are to be wise by making the most of our time, the most of the opportunities

we have during these evil ungodly days.

I love the word wise because it means to be skillful! To be an expert at

something, to be masterful!

I like to describe it this way – wisdom is being an expert artist at living life!
PBP

a) I say living life because wisdom is not about head or classroom

knowledge but it is about the ability to live life well on the streets of real

life

b) I say an expert artist because wisdom is an art rather than a science that

just follows all the rules

c) This expert artist in living life knows just the right time and the right way

to apply the right truth of God to the right situation!

F. So bottom line, we learn in this passage that a wise person, the expert artist at

living life is going to make the most of their time as they live in this ungodly

world!

The first way we see in v17, we do that by understanding God’s will is for us

– we will deal with that this morning.

The second way we see in v18, it is by being filled with the Spirit - we will

deal with that the next two weeks.

• Let’s start by looking at

II. God’s will

A. Read v17

It appears that a foolish person is one who does not know what God’s will is

for their lives.

But the wise person, the one who is an expert artist at living life in this

ungodly world is one who understands what God’s will is.

B. To understand God’s will we need to understand that the Bible speaks of God’s

will from two perspectives and I think there are two aspects to each perspective.

The two areas of God’s will we will call His decreed will and His directed

will.

C. By God’s “decreed will” I mean that which God has ordained is going to happen

and they will happen because he decreed them! His sovereign or supreme will!

That comes in two different aspects.

First His revealed will – these are the things God has already revealed to us in

His Word that He has ordained

I believe that is primarily found in the covenants that he bound himself to!

Those were the covenant promises he made with Abraham, David, and in the

new covenant.

Second, His secret will – I believe these are the things in life that God has

ordained that He has not specifically revealed to us in His Word.

a) Example – turn and read Ephesians 1:11

b) Read Daniel 4:35

D. By God’s “directed will” I mean those things which God wants or desires for us

to do. This also comes in two different aspects

First, His revealed will – simply these are commands in God’s Word that He

has called us to do and they may happen because we can either obey Him or

disobey Him.

a) Every command to believers in the Scripture is an example of this:

b) Actually the verses we are dealing with today and next week are

examples of this – to understand God’s will and be filled with the Spirit

are commands – these are things God wants us to do!

c) They have to do with our thinking, attitudes, actions, talking, practices

etc.

Secondly, His secret will – those are the things God’s wants and desires for

us to do that are not specifically revealed in His Word.

a) This has to do with things like where do I go to school, who do I marry,

which job should I take, where should I live, etc.

b) Acts 16:9-10

E. So which of these wills is he referring to here in this passage so we can be expert

artist in living life in this evil world? I think it is both His decreed will and His

directed will.

I think His revealed decreed will because we can find great future hope in

what God has revealed about the future. In these evil days we need a hope to

keep us going

I think also it is His secret decreed will to be able to live wisely in this world

there will be so many things I do not understand. I need to fall back upon the

assurance that God is working all things both in this world and in my life

after the counsel of His will!

I think it is His revealed directed will in the commands that are revealed in

Scripture as we can only live like experts in this world if we follow God’s

commands – to not do so is only to our own hurt.

a) As Romans 12:2 says God’s will is good, acceptable (well pleasing) and

perfect!

Finally, His secret directed will; in the details of my life, God’s wisdom and

direction are necessary for me to live well in these ungodly days.

F. Summarize these very simply in a chart

decreed ordained will happen

revealed covenants/prophecies hope

secret details of life assurance

directed wants may happen

revealed commands perfect

secret details of life wise

• So let me close by addressing how I can know God’s will so I can walk wisely in

these few days I have on earth.

III. Knowing God’s will

A. Turn to Romans 12:1-2

Read NASB then read in NLT
Note that the ultimate end of this passage is discerning God’s will. “so that”
Three key principles from this passage

a) Make your life a blank check by handing it entirely over to God

(1) Your bodies represent your entire life here on earth and we are to

present our entire life to God as sacrifice, by making it fully

available to Him to do whatever He wants with our lives.

(2) Problem is this: God, tell me first what you want me to do then I

will consider if I like that or not and if I will say yes or no to it

(3) God is saying: say yes to me first, and then I will tell you what my

will is!

b) Reject the world’s ways and wisdom

(1) This simply means that I do not allow the world and its ways and

thinking to shape my ways and thinking, literally it means to not

let the world squeeze the way I think and live into its mold!

(2) Thus when I consider what God wants me to do my thinking is

driven by the world rather than God

c) Know God’s Word

(1) Our way of thinking needs to be totally transformed by God’s

Word.

(2) Thus when I consider what God wants me to do my thinking is

driven by God and His Word, then I can discern what God wants

me to do, that which is good, acceptable and perfect!

(3) The problem here is that so few Christians know God’s Word well

enough to discern the difference between that which comes from

God and that which comes from the world

(4) The more God’s Word has shaped our hearts and minds the better

we will be able to discern God’s thoughts, desires and voice

speaking to our hearts!

B. Leave you with two other things you can do to know God’s will

Pray – Colossians 1:9-10
Counsel with a few godly, biblically informed Christians

a) Read Proverbs 11:14

C. You want to walk wisely in these ungodly days? Know God’s will and do it!

View Details

Do not Grieve the Holy Spirit

Ephesians 4:30 February 28, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Listen to what Jesus said in John 7:38-39 about the Holy Spirit.

Let me ask you a few questions and I want you to answer very honestly to

yourself –

a) Does the Holy Spirit feel like a mighty river flowing within you and out

of you or does He feel more like a drip coming out of a faucet? Think

about that for a few moments!

b) An older friend of mine many years ago asked me essentially the same

question like this – if the Holy Spirit were removed from your

life/ministry would anything be different? Repeat! Think about that for

a few moments!

We have the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit living in us to

be our helper and comforter, the one who transforms us, dismantles the

power of sin in our lives and enables us to live for God! The same God lives

in us who:

a) Spoke the universe into existence

b) Split the Red Sea for Israel to cross and on the back hand destroyed the

whole Egyptian army with the whole sea

c) Who sent food from heaven to Israel when they were in the wilderness

d) Who caused a young virgin girl to conceive a child

e) Who turned water into wine

f) Who fed over 5000 people with just a few fish and loaves and had

basketsful of food left over.

g) Who raised Jesus from the dead

B. If you are a believer and you are not seeing evidence in your life of His powerful

work in and through you, this is very serious and should be addressed

immediately.

This picture helps explain the problem. Do you see it?
The water faucet is on full blast but something is blocking the flow of it so it

only comes out as a trickle!

The problem is that the elephant himself is standing on the hose and blocking

the flow!

C. We as believers do the exact same thing when we let sin continue in our lives and

we do not address it! We are the problem and thus we move from rivers of living

water coming out of our hearts to trickles of the Spirit’s work in our lives!

D. My point this morning is simple –a lifestyle of sin grieves the Spirit resulting in

quenching His work in our lives!

• Let’s see this in the Bible. Let’s start with

II. A lifestyle of sin

A. Turn to Ephesians 4 in your Bibles.

B. This whole section in Ephesians, from chapter 4:1 to Ephesians 6:9, is about our

walk as Christians, our habitual way of life, and e lifestyle!

C. In chapter 4 we learn

From verses, 17-19 that we are not to walk like the Gentiles whose lives are

driven by a way of thinking that excludes God and His Word.

Then we saw in verses 20-24 that we are to put off the old lifestyle because

we have already put off the old self and put on the new self.

Then in v25, he begins a series of specific applications and commands that

flow from the new man you now are!

a) In verse 25 – no lying but telling the truth

b) Verses 26-27 having a righteous anger and not hanging onto anger

c) Verse 28 – rather than stealing, work hard so you can share with others

d) In verse 29, we saw not speaking hurtful words but rather helpful words.

• Now we move to my second point which helps us see that a lifestyle of sin

III. Grieving the Holy Spirit

A. Listen as I read v30

B. Now we do not see it in the New American Standard but almost every other

translation rightfully starts the verse with the word “and.” This makes it a specific

link with the verse before it about harmful words and in general a link to all the

sins above: lying, anger, stealing, and hurtful words and even to all the sins listed

after it.

Read v31-32
Simply stated, when we have a way of living that reflects the world rather

than Christ, a lifestyle of sin or stuck in a habitual sin; we grieve the Holy

Spirit.

C. To grieve the Holy Spirit means to make Him sad and sorrowful.

This word is taken from a word that denotes a pain, a grief that can only be

experienced between two people who love each other deeply.

It is a word that was often used to picture what a husband or wife feels when

they discovered their mate has been unfaithful to them.

One scholar translates it like this: stop deeply wounding and causing such

extreme emotional pain to the Spirit of God!

We must remember the Holy Spirit is not an it but a person with real

emotions! Actually, He is not like us but we are like Him in that we have

been made in His image!

D. So bottom line when we act like the world, or talk like the world, and respond the

same way the world does, we cause the Holy Spirit to feel deep hurt and grief!

Note this also in this passage – most of these sins have to do with hurting

other people in the body of Christ.

So when we hurt other believers or treat them no differently than someone in

the world would treat them, we grieve the Holy Spirit!

• I believe that …

IV. Resulting in quenching His work in our lives!

A. Turn to 1 Thessalonians 5. Listen as I read v16-20.

B. In Ephesians 4, we grieve the Spirit when we sin against God and other believers.

Here in 1 Thessalonians 5 we quench the Spirit when we do not give Him the fuel

to keep the fire going in our hearts. The fuel is rejoicing, praying, being grateful

and receiving His word.

C. To quench means to extinguish a fire. This is how we cause the fervent activity

of the Spirit to stop in our hearts.

D. So my point today is when we sin against God by doing what we should not do –

sins of commission; or sin against God by not doing what we should do – sins of

omission it not only grieves the Spirit of God but it throws a wet blanket over His

working in our life!

E. I believe that grieving the Spirit and quenching the Spirit are two sides of the

same coin. See that displayed for us in Isaiah 63

In v7-9, we see God’s lovingkindness, goodness, compassion, His love and

mercy being poured upon Israel. Read

V10 starts with but – something happened that changed all of this.

a) Read 10a-b.

b) They sinned and it grieved God’s heart!

Then something changed and their sin that grieved God’s heart resulted in the

quenching of His work in their nation.

a) Read 10c-11

b) This reminds me of Psalm 30:6-7

(1) When God’s favor or face was shining upon them they felt strong

and unmovable

(2) But when God removed His favor and hid His face from them,

they were dismayed!

F. While in our time of the new covenant, God does not turn against His people or

withdraw His Spirit from them when they grieve Him by sinning. But it does

quench the work of the Spirit in our lives so what once felt like rivers of living

water flowing through us has become a drip from the faucet.

• So what do we do if we realize this is going on in our lives?

V. Application

A. So let’s look back at our original picture and see if we can find the answer.

Do you see it?
Get off the hose. – that is called repentance – change the way you think about

the way you are living in such a deep way that it changes the way you are

living.

When we go to God and deeply own our sins and open our hearts for the

Holy Spirit once again to burn brightly within us, He will burn away the sin

that is blocking the flow of the Holy Spirit.

B. So when we consider all the sins we have seen today, remember we are not

talking about a mess up here and there but rather a lifestyle that traffics in these

things.

We saw in Ephesians 4 earlier lying, unrighteous anger, stealing, and

especially our tongue are directly linked to grieving the Spirit

Add to those the ones in 1 Thessalonians 5 not rejoicing, not praying, not

being grateful and not receiving His word with an open heart

We must then add the rest of Ephesians 4 after the passage about grieving the

Spirit – read Ephesians 4:30-32

C. If this is true of you this morning then open your heart to the ministry of the

refiner’s fire!

D. Pray

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Our Words – Harmful or Helpful

Ephesians 4:29 February 21, 2021 MVC

I. Introduction:

A. When I was growing up, I spent close to ten years playing baseball in various

different level leagues. All those years I played the same position – catcher. I

loved catching for two reasons:

First, in many ways, you were at the center of the game as every pitch you

called determined the speed, location and curvature of the ball.

Secondly, if you know anything about catchers there other job was to get into

the head of the batter by trash talking and confusing them to throw them off.

Unfortunately, some of that trash talking has carried over into my Christian

life and those who know me best know it all too well!

B. The section of Ephesians we are in right now is talking about our lifestyle, that

our walk and yes even our talk is to be consistent with who we are in Christ as

those who have laid aside the old man and put on a new man, so lay aside the

former manner of living as well.

• Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 4:29. Last week we looked at the area of anger,

today we are going to look at

II. Our words

A. Read to Ephesians 4:29

B. Words are extremely powerful! Words are like a double-edged sword! They can

either build up or tear down, help or hurt, give life or take life from people.

Proverbs makes this very clear:

Proverbs 12:18 – either the thrust of a sword into someone’s soul or healing
Proverbs 15:4 – can be a tree of life or crush the spirit
Proverbs 16:24 – pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and

healing to the bones. A few verses later, it says a worthless man’s words are

like scorching fire.

Proverbs 18:21 that tells us “death and life are in the power of the tongue…”
Bottom line, every time we speak there is great potential in what we say as

we will either build people up and help them or tear them down and hurt

them.

C. Do you realize how many opportunities we have each day to be a blessing to

someone else – whether it be our mates, children, grandchildren, fellow believers

in Christ, the lost, neighbors, co-workers, schoolmates, and strangers.

Research indicates the following statistics about the number of words women

and men speak. The average woman speaks 20,000 words a day. The average

man speaks 7,000 words a day. Whether you speak more or less than the

average the point is we use a lot of words so there are a lot of opportunities

to either help or hurt those around us

Many of us are looking for opportunities to minister to others. This may be

our greatest ministry opportunity that we have day in and day out – our words

to those around us!

Every word we speak matters because every word we speak can become a

gift to those we are around, every word can literally become a ministry to the

people God puts in our paths!

• So let’s look at bit closer at

III. Ephesians 4:29

A. Ephesians 4 teaches us that not even one unwholesome word should come out of

our mouths!

Read Ephesians 4:29a
Unwholesome means -it is harmful and corrupting
Unwholesome words add no value to someone’s life, they are death

producing – they take life rather than give it

B. On the other hand, it teaches us that the only words we are to speak – are words

that are good for edification

Read 4:29b
Edify means – increase or build some one up. Words that will strengthen

others and make someone more able to handle what they are going through!

C. According to the need of the moment –

Read 4:29c
That means we need to be sensitive to what is going on in that person’s life at

that very moment.

We must realize that people have different needs and they are at different

places in their spiritual journey.

a) The specific need of one person is different from the specific need of

another so that means the specific word of grace and truth that a one

person needs may be different from what another person needs!

b) Side bar – best way to know someone’s need is by listening to them.

Listening is the way we take an MRI of someone else’s soul.

Listen to these proverbs that talk about the value of a right word being

spoken at the right time or circumstances

a) Proverbs 25:11– apples of gold in settings of silver, earring of gold

b) Proverbs 15:23 – gives joy and delight when timely

c) Proverbs 24:26 – when the right word is said to the right person it is like

giving them a kiss

D. Finally, we learn that these kinds of words through us become God’s gift to other

people.

Read v29d
Grace is basically God’s gift to us
Brothers and sisters, as believers in Christ that have put off the old way of

talking and put on the new, we should be focusing upon how we can use our

words to give the people that are around us the gift of a kiss from God with a

right word spoken in a timely fashion!

• So what do we do with all of this?

II. Application

A. Know God’s word well especially the gospel! Why?

Because there are no words we can speak that are more powerful and life

giving than God’s Word itself or words that have been shaped by God’s

Word! That is true both for a believer and non-believer

But do not be a believer who is like the person who walks in the room and

just shoots off his Bible verse machine gun thinking he is serving God and

helping others.

Instead, be a sharp shooter who knows the perfect moment to bring the

perfect word that will build someone up and help them endure what they are

going through.

Let me say it again – to do this well we need to learn first to listen well. if

you are not a good listener then you will never be a sharp shooter in God’s

army

B. Prayerfully depend upon the Spirit of God to give you the words to speak rather

than your own best ideas of what you should speak.

Jesus said He did not speak a word unless the Father told him to speak it

John 12:49

Listen to the Old Testament foretelling of Jesus heart regarding His words.

Read Isaiah 50:4a

C. We in North America we take pride in being radically honest about what is going

on in our hearts with no concern how it impacts others.

However, I think Ephesians 4:29 would tell me to be honest but sensitive!

Have understanding of that person, their situation and needs and how your

words would impact them.

Paul would call it speaking the truth in love; Jesus would call it being full of

grace and truth!

Read Proverbs 18:2 – the only thing a fool considers is speaking their own

mind!

D. Next, we need to think before we speak, about both our words and that person’s

situation! We need to understand the impact my words will have on them.

Listen to Proverbs 15:28
Proverbs 16:23

E. Key to changing your words is changing your heart – read Luke 6:45

Remember James 3:8 “no one” “no one” can tame the tongue
It is beyond human ability to control this sword in our mouths. This is not a

self-help message about the use of the tongue. This is a message that

demands that we turn to Jesus! The only one bigger than our tongue!

If you do not know Jesus – He is offering you a brand new heart and His

Spirit to live inside of that heart to empower and direct your whole life as

well as your tongue.

F. When you consider Ephesians 4:29 what grade would you give yourself regarding

your living out this verse over the last week? Which part of this verse and

today’s sermon do you need to give attention to this week to get a higher score

next week?

G. Pray

View Details

Be Angry But Do Not Sin

Ephesians 4 February 14, 2021

Introduction:

A. Is there anybody here who has never been angry? I have been angry and I

personally know that anger is very deceptive and very destructive to ourselves and

those around us!

Yes, there is a righteous anger but very few of us deal with that. Most of us

deal with an outburst of anger now and then. But some deal with anger as

one of their repeated and natural responses to things or people. Still others

you can just classify as angry people because anger has sat in their hearts so

long that it has become deeply rooted in them!

B. So let’s jump right into our text this morning. Turn to Ephesians 4:26-27.

• This morning we are going to deal with anger, I want to deal with the deceptive side

of anger and the destructive part of anger. Let’s start with

I. The deceptive side of anger

A. Read v26a.

Anger can often be deceptive for two reasons: first, sometimes we think that

all anger is sin, but it is not – there is a righteous anger. Jesus displayed as he

cleansed the temple!

a) Righteous anger is directed at sin, things like child abuse, pornography,

racism, abortion or even like Jesus, religious people misrepresenting

God. It is primarily an offense against God and His Word.

b) Even anger can be righteous when someone deeply sinned against you or

betrayed you or was unfaithful to you. Anger is the normal human

response to that.

B. The other way anger can be deceptive is what I call self-righteous anger where

you hang onto your anger because you feel you have a right to be angry. You are

justified in your anger because someone really did hurt/wrong you.

We saw that with Jonah when God asked him if he has a right to be angry and

he said I sure do! God went on to show Jonah that he really does not have a

right to be angry.

The problem with self-righteous anger is that we never deal with it because of

the feeling that I have a right to be angry. We defend our right rather than

confront our anger!

Here is the reality of these kind of people, other people around them can see

it and have to deal with the effects of it, but often they are blinded to it by

their own justifications or by Satan himself!

C. I think the rest of this verse balances out this whole topic of anger. Read v26b

Yes, we do have a right to be angry when someone hurts us but we do not

have the right to hang onto it. Righteous anger is short lived.

Now this is not saying that if you find out at 5 pm that someone has deeply

hurt or betrayed you, and the sun goes down at 7pm that you have to have it

all resolved by then.

The point is that righteous anger is short lived and the sooner we deal with it

the better for others and us!

• The second thing we see in this verse is that anger can be very …

II. Destructive.

A. We need to understand that the thought of v27 is connected with verse 26 and

completes the thought for us. Read v27

This specifically applies to those who have a habitual response of anger and

those who have had anger so long that they are now just an angry person!

Satan especially uses the tool of self-righteous anger to get us here.

Satan wants us to get this anger thing wrong so he can work his destruction

through us and in us.

B. The word opportunity literally means place.

In this verse that means anger becomes a place where Satan can work from in

my life. It gives him an opportunity to work; it is a base of operation where

he can work his destruction through us and in us!

Let me try to illustrate this with the war in Kuwait many years ago.

a) Iraq invaded Kuwait City and took the whole world by surprise.

b) They came in and looted stores, raped women and worked all kinds of

destruction.

c) Then over the next number of months they brought in more troops, more

ammunition and built bunkers to fight from. Kuwait became the base of

operation for Iraq to work from as they took more and more control and

worked more and more destruction.

That is what Satan does with us when we hang onto and defend our anger, he

finds a place in our lives, his base of operation he can work his destruction

through us and in us!

C. Some people with this kind of anger normally have two problems! Yes, they have

a problem with the sin of anger but they also have a demonic problem as Satan

has been deceiving them and working destruction through them.

D. So often people like this do not find deliverance until they both resist the Satan

and confess their sin.

Some have been working on it and counseling about it for years but have

seen no progress.

The reason is you must first bind the strong man – Satan then you can go in

and take back to parts of your life he has stolen from you!

E. There was a person at Moraine that dealt with this kind of anger and God

impressed upon me to pray daily for one year resisting the Devil’s work in their

life in the area of anger.

• I will let them tell you their own story …

III.Testimony

IV.Closing

A. Maybe you are here today and you recognize that Satan has deceived you about

your anger and has used it to destroy both you and others around you.

Can I encourage you to not put it off one more hour!
Go to God – confess your sin and resist the Devil and keep resisting him day

in and day out while you trust Jesus to breathe a fresh breath of His Spirit

into your life!

View Details

Live Consistent With Who You Are

Ephesians 4:20ff February 7, 2021

Introduction:

A. For some when they came to Christ they were unaware of any changes at that

moment but changes came gradually over time.

For me my world was turned upside down and everything changed in the

moment. I changed instantly from a beer drinker who swore constantly and

lived for no one but myself to a person who in the 48 years since then has

sworn only one time and has not had a one drink since then. The whole

direction of my life changed from living for myself to living to help others!

None of this came because I tried hard to stop or I knew I should not do it,

but God did something deep within me and just took those things away!

B. But I had no idea what happened. Now I know what happened to me and we find

the answer in Ephesians 4. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 4.

We learned last week that we are to stop walking just like those who do not

know Jesus because their lifestyle is driven by a mind that lacks the

knowledge of God and His Word.

Today we pick up in v20 where we see a second reason we should not walk

just like those who do not know Jesus.

C. One thing we see in this whole section of Scripture is that truth is the foundation,

at the center of and the driver of our lifestyle, walk and behavior. The truth we

learned from Jesus and His Word should drive our lifestyles!

The structure of this text is simple:

a) Remember that this whole section is talking about our lifestyle from v 17

to end of chapter. This section v22 on is talking about the lifestyle we

learned and were taught when we came to Jesus

b) V22-24 – what we learned in Christ about our former manner of life

(content, truth, facts, knowledge)

c) V25 - 32 – “therefore” the “so what’s” the practical outcomes from what

we learned. (commands, exhortations, specific applications of the truths

we learned)

What we learn in v22-24 is that our old self has died and we have put on a

brand new self

When you put the two sections together we see this:

a) Stated negatively – we put away our old lifestyle because our old self has

been put away

b) Stated positively – we put on a new lifestyle because we have put on a

new self

c) Summarized - live consistent with who you are

D. Watch for all of this as I read this whole section v20-32

• Today we will look at what we learned from Jesus and in the next three weeks we

will look at three of these specifics: anger, our words and the Holy Spirit. Let’s start

with

I. What we learned in Jesus

A. Again simply what we learned in Jesus is that our old self, our old man has been

laid aside and we have put on a new self, new man. Read v22, 23

B. Wait a minute, that sounds like a command rather than the stating of a fact! That

is a very important distinction because

Either we are being told to put off the old self, old man or we are being told

he has already been put off!

One says it is a work I need to do now, the other says it is a work Jesus has

already done.

One causes me to strive harder, the other to praise Jesus
All of this is important because as we saw already – truth drives the way we

live!

So today, we are going to be diving into the deep end of the Word. I try not

to sound like a classroom at Moody Bible Institute too often but today is one

of the days it is necessary to know just what is the truth.

C. I am going to tell you why I believe this is a fact already done rather than

something you need to do. By the way, I do not stand alone in my interpretation

of this being this way. John MacArthur agrees, Lewis Sperry Chafer – the

founder of Dallas Seminary agrees. A Greek scholar Charles Moule agrees, and

so does David Needham, the author of Birthright. So here we go

The words lay aside and put on are both aorist infinitives.

a) Aorist means it is something that happened in the past

b) Being an infinitive, it has two possible interpretations – either a

command or a result.

c) Obviously I take it as a result for the following reasons

First context –

a) We learn from the verses before 20-21 he is talking about something that

we learned in the past not something we are supposed to do.

b) We see in verses following starting in v25 the therefore – the specific

applications of what we do with what we learned, is followed by

numerous straight out imperatives. That is when the commands start!

c) V22 tells us the old self was already laid aside and v25 says “therefore”

laying aside falsehood, speak truth…

(1) It perfectly illustrates we put away our old lifestyle because our old

self has been put away

Secondly, this interpretation is consistent with and in harmony with the rest

of Scripture about the old and new self/man.

a) Read Colossians 3:8-10 – already done – live consistent with who you

are – do not live that way because you already have laid aside the old

self and already have put on the new self/man!

b) Turn to Romans 6:6. Read

(1) Our old self was crucified with Jesus!

(2) Why – so this body where sin dwells and operates might be

rendered powerless over me. I am no longer sin’s slave.

(3) Read v7

D. Many are saying wait a minute when did I die, this old man this old self?

Remember our chart as three part people
We are talking now at the level of our spirits – the old man I was at the core

of my being, that part of me that relates to God has died,

God included me in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Listen as I read and

note again it starts with the inconsistency of living like the Gentiles – living

in sin!

a) Before I read, you need to know the word baptized means to be

immersed into something, placed into something or someone. Read

Romans 6:1-5

E. Bottom line, when Jesus died He not only died for you to forgive your sins, but

you died with Him, the old self, that spiritual part of you, to provide for you the

deliverance from your sins. According to the cross, you – the old self died with

Jesus!

F. In the resurrection, you were included in that as well so you now share in the

newness of life that He has. Read Romans 6:8-12

G. So bottom line – Ephesians 4, Colossians 3 and Romans 6 all teach us it is

inconsistent to live life in sin because that is not who we are now. The old self

who was at its heart a sinner (Romans 5) is dead and you are a brand new creature

in Christ created in the righteousness and holiness of the truth

II. Communion

A. So consider and reflect during this communion time. How consistent is your

lifestyle with the new creature you are?

Are you still living in sin or are you walking in the newness of life?
Consider – confess – realign your mind and your lifestyle with the truth!

View Details

Stop Walking Like Those Who Do Not Know Jesus or His Word!

Ephesians 4:17-19 January 31, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. This last year and the beginning of this year was mind-blowing for many of us as

we watched people respond in ways that shocked us all! This was true of the

Covid pandemic, as well as the racial and political issues.

We saw in the streets, in the media and among politicians - selfishness, anger,

hypocrisy, divisiveness, the violence, lawlessness and in my opinion, at times

some very, very foolish ideas about what we should do on the part of leaders!

The first response of my heart was these people are bad, out of control. They

should be locked up forever. I looked down upon and really want nothing to

do with these kinds of people!

B. Then I heard the question that Roy Patterson asked – do you see the looters as

uncaged animals that need to be locked in a cage or as sheep without a shepherd?

That was as if God hit me with a sledgehammer as I realized I was not

thinking at all biblically or like Jesus would about these people!

They are lost and they are acting just like angry lost people who have been

locked up in their houses for months, who do not know Jesus or His Word

would act! What should I expect!

We know that anger normally puts our worst behaviors on steroids!

C. So this morning I want to take you to a passage of Scripture that can help us better

understand those who do not know Jesus, why they think the way they do and

why they act the way they do!

Evidently in the Ephesian church, there were believers who were acting like

those who do not know Jesus

He is not just teaching them a principle to live by but actually telling them to

stop doing it, no longer walk like this!

D. I believe the main thrust of this passage is calling believers to - stop walking like

those who do not know Jesus or His Word! Stop acting like them! Walk this way

no longer.

In telling them to stop walking this way, he spends most of his time telling

them “why the lost act the way they do?”

Watch for all of this as I read 4:17-21

• Let’s start by looking at

II. Why the lost act the way they do?

A. The answer is straight forward here “the way they act is driven by the way they

think!”

Reread v17
The last phrase in this verse explains how the Gentiles walk – in the futility

of their minds.

The mind is the place where all our knowledge and information goes, and it is

the place where we process all that knowledge and information.

He says here they walk in the futility of their minds. That means their minds

are empty and useless on the basis that they are lacking the content they

need!

a) Now that does not mean that the lost are not intelligent or have no

content in their minds!

b) Listen to what 2 Timothy 3:7 says

It is not that they have no knowledge at all or that they are not intelligent

reasoning people but it is the knowledge of the ultimate truth that they do not

have!

B. What they are lacking is the spiritual knowledge that comes from God and His

Word, which is not just another truth but is the truth!

4:18 further develops the futility of their minds Read
Their ability to think through, to grasp, to reason, to understand has been

darkened

They are unable to reason well because they are excluded from the life of

God and are ignorant (that means they are unaware and do not have the

information) of the things of God and Word of God because their hearts are

hardened against Him

C. On top of that, they have become callous – that means they have lost the capacity

to feel shame or embarrassment about what they are doing.

Then look at what they practice. Read the rest of v19
Obviously, this passage goes way beyond politics and race but touches upon

the growing direction of the morality of our whole culture now!

D. So when you put all this together their actions are driven by a way of thinking that

has excluded God and His Word!

• Bottom line I have two takeaways from this, the first directly from this passage the

other from the implications of this passage in light of the rest of Scripture!

III. Applications

A. If you are a believer and you are buying into the ways of the world or doing

things just as everyone else in the world does them, you need to know their ways

are driven by a knowledge that excludes God and His Word.

The way of thinking by man today in North America can be described as selfautonomous!
That means that each person governs himself and sets his own morals of what

is right and wrong! He is his own boss and determines for himself what is

right or wrong

We just learned a few weeks ago that as a church we have one lord, one boss

and that is Jesus and one faith and that is the Word of God which tells us

what is right or wrong!

Believer – stop taking your lead on behavior, thinking, sexuality, marriage,

morality, raising children, finances, character building, leadership, solutions

to the core problems in our country from those who exclude God and His

Word from their thinking which drives them to act the way they do!

B. Secondly, do we recognize the lost are sheep that need a shepherd? These are the

people Jesus came to save and sent us to bring the gospel to! You and I are the

greatest hope in their lives right now, not a Republican agenda or Democratic

agenda since we bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.

C. But listen further to the state of the lost:

Read 1 Corinthians 2:14

a) The lost man: does not accept … cannot understand because they are

spiritually discerned and understood

b) A person who is spiritually dead does not have the spiritual equipment to

understand the things of God. It is like the things of God are on a “FM”

frequency and the lost’s receivers are only built to receive “AM” waves.

c) Some say simplify the language in translations or sermons or gospel

presentations or give better and clearer illustrations then lost people

would get it.

d) According to this verse, I could simplify the language and even give

better illustrations, but it would be like me speaking in Chinese using a

third grader’s words and illustrations but they only understand English.

e) By the way, I do believe we should do everything to be clear and simple

but we need to know that is not going to cause a lost person to come to

Christ!

f) Our confidence needs to be somewhere else!

Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. We see two big problems for the lost

a) They are blind in their minds

(1) It does not say they are blindfolded and if we just give them the

right answers, thus pulling away the blindfold, then they would

see. But they are actually blind so if you pull away the blindfold

they still would not see because they are incapable of sight

b) Satan is the source of this blindness

(1) That means human reasoning and human resources cannot

overcome this problem.

(2) Human weapons and reasoning can never overcome Satan!

We need to realize that it will take a miracle the size of the resurrection of

Jesus Christ for a lost person to be saved, not our best presentations,

illustrations or arguments and reasoning about the gospel.

D. We need to use the weapons that God has given us that are divinely powerful for

the destruction of fortresses in the mind rather than human weapons and means. I

will give you three:

Romans 1 says the gospel is the power of God for salvation

a) Read Romans 1:16

b) There is a power right inside the gospel message that can break the

power of Satan and give light to blind minds!

John 16 says the Holy Spirit is the one who convinces the lost world

concerning their sin, what righteousness really is and the fact that some day

they will stand before God and be held accountable in judgment

a) Read John 16:7-11

b) My hope is not in how well I share it, even though I do everything I can

to be true to the gospel clear and simple. My dependence is not in how

well I present it but for the Holy Spirit to work inside of them to

convince them of the truthfulness of the gospel and their need for it!

Through prayer God opens up to us opportunities to share, opens our mouths

with words He puts in them and opens up peoples heart to see and respond to

the good news of Jesus Christ!

E. So believers fill your heart with grace and mercy for the lost, arm yourself with

the gospel both in word and deed, and prayerfully depend upon the Holy Spirit to

open doors of opportunity, to open your mouth with the exact words and

illustrations they need to hear and open their hearts to respond as He convinces

them of the truthfulness of their need for the gospel!

View Details

Fight for Unity, not our Ideas!

Ephesians 4:1-6 January 17, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. The pain of division is deep and the blessing of unity is sweet to the soul!

In 2020 and the start of 2021 our nation has felt the pain of division and it has

reached into the church, our friendships and families.

As I have sought to process this, I certainly do not have all the answers and to

be honest with you, I do not even know where much of the truth is with so

many lies, distortions, exaggerations, half-truths, withheld or censored

information, truth and views being promoted from personal agendas by

extremist politicians on both sides of the aisle, and by the media of every

type!

This I do know for sure – division should not have reached into the church as

the church is supposed to be the one place of unity in the world. The ultimate

answer to divisions comes from Jesus and His Word, which has no lies,

distortions, exaggerations, half-truths.

B. After Paul spent the first three chapters in the book of Ephesians teaching us

amazing truths about who we are as believers and as a church, now there is a

major transition where Paul distills all this truth into real life wisdom regarding

how these truths are supposed to work out in our lives.

C. Turn to Ephesians 4:1 where we see this major transition. Read v1a

Therefore, the first word in this verse is simply saying this – here is the

conclusion from everything that you heard in the first three chapters. So

chapters 4-6 become the “so what” of everything we learned in chapters 1-3.

He gives us the first “so what” in v1-6. As I read, it watch for what I believe

to be the heart of the passage: “a fitting lifestyle for believers is to fight for

unity by tolerating others!”

As I read this section, remember that the Jews and gentiles made up this

church with very different backgrounds and had a long history of hostility

towards each other!

Read v1-6

• Let’s look at this big idea a piece at a time! Let’s start with …

II. A fitting lifestyle for believers

A. Now he is talking about the way we walk as believers, our lifestyle.

Read v1a-b
He starts off with a serious plea to live our lives in a way that is worthy, that

is fitting, that is suitable,

B. He is talking about a life that is appropriate of the calling to which we have been

called.

Read v1c
That is what we learned in chapters 1-3, who we are as believers and as a

church!

• So he is calling us into a fitting lifestyle for believers and that consists in

III. Fighting for unity!

A. In verse 3, we are told specifically to work hard, to give intense effort to guard the

unity of the spirit.

Read v3
A great application of this verse is what my good brother Ron Benton has

said to me often– we need to fight for unity not for our ideas!

B. In addition, it will take a fight to be unified.

We in the church are different in so many ways: not only ethnic differences

but political, background differences, different degrees and kinds of

brokenness, age differences, gender differences, socio economic differences,

spiritual maturity differences, spiritual gift differences, etc., etc.

Add on top of this that in 2020 things like masks, racial tensions and politics

provided plenty of bait for us to create divisions.

Here is the worse part – sometimes we fight over interpretations of the Bible

like Democrats and Republicans fight in Congress!

All of these have the potential to rub against us in a way that can create

division within a church.

C. Then in v4-6 Paul shares seven unities that all believers share, this becomes the

basis of our unity, the foundation upon which our unity stands. For the sake of

time, I will read them but only illustrate two of these as to how they practically

become the basis of our unity! Read v4-6

Illustrate -

a) Lord – Jesus Christ is the Lord – if we want unity, we must seek the

lordship and will of Jesus rather than our own wants and ideas or we will

constantly be divided.

(1) This is about not my will but thine be done. It is about seeking and

fighting for God’s will over my best ideas or deepest desires!

b) Faith – there is one body of truth that God has given us that we put our

faith in and that is the Bible. It is our constitution, blueprint and owner’s

manual!

(1) If we want unity our decisions, beliefs, practices and ways must

come from the same starting point and authority – the Bible!

(2) We will never be unified if we look instead to how the business

world does things, how my political party does it, how psychology

does it, how other organizations do it, best practices of others, my

own best ideas, how my family did it, etc.

(a) There may be help with some of these things but they

cannot be our starting point or the foundation for our

discussions!

(2) 1 Corinthians 3 says that there are believers who are carnal. They

walk like mere men, nothing in their life or thinking is different

from those of the world!

(a) Your chances of unity in discussion with a believer like that

are about as good as a discussion with a person who does

not know the Lord or accept the Bible

II. Now we know that a fitting lifestyle for believers is to fight for unity, but how do we

get there? It is all in our attitudes, it comes …

III. By tolerating others!

A. To be honest with ourselves it is easy to be with people who are just like us but

people who are very different from us take a lot of work!

B. Tolerance simply means bearing with someone who is very different from me,

one who thinks very differently from me even someone that has opinions that

mine very different from me!

Most of the world today defines tolerance as choosing to love, accept and

treat with respect and kindness anyone and everyone, except for those who

disagree with us! Especially biblically minded Christians

Biblical tolerance is choosing to love, accept and treat with respect and

kindness anyone and everyone, even those who disagree with us!

C. In verse 2, he shows us the three attitudes that will be necessary to tolerate other

believers who are very different from you to fight for unity.

Watch for these as I reread v2 – 3a

D. Unity comes when we diligently watch over our own hearts and attitudes. So let

me ask you a few questions to consider before the Lord this week.

What do you learn about your own heart by the way you responded to people

and ideas that are very different to yours in 2020?

How closely did your heart match up to the three key attitudes in verse 2 that

are necessary to show tolerance to others in love?

a) Humility – means lowliness of mind, is just the opposite of pride where

deep down I think I am better than, and of greater value that other person

who is different from me.

b) Gentleness – this simply means you are not harsh, forceful, stern or

rough. Instead you are delicate, mild and tender with people and ideas

that are different than yours

c) Patience – this is the one of the three that challenges me the most when I

understand what it means. I love the way one Greek dictionary says it is–

a state of emotional calm without complaint or irritation when faced with

something or someone that provokes you or a misfortune.

(1) It goes on to say another way to say it is like this – “to remain

seated in one’s heart” or “to keep ones heart from jumping”

(2) That means that someone who is very different from me or an idea

that is very different from mine or one of the issues of 2020 comes

in front of me like bait. Either I can sit there in my heart quietly

and without complaint and respond with humility and gentleness or

I can take the bait and my heart jumps with irritation and harshly

respond to them.

E. Interesting to note that two of these three qualities (gentleness and patience) are

fruits of the Holy Spirit. That means I need to depend upon the Holy Spirit to

produce this in my life and when these attitudes are not present that is evidence

that the Holy Spirit is not in control of my life

II. Conclusion

A. I remember as if it was yesterday when God was first challenging me about my

impatience with those who had different ideas than mine. My heart was in the

habit of jumping up out of its seat and being irritated and sucked into a divisive

argument.

I remember going to a meeting knowing that ideas will be expressed that I

did not agree with and knowing the tendency of my heart to jump and be

sucked into a divisive argument.

I prayed for hours before that meeting that the Holy Spirit would control me

and I would not be sucked in and jump out of the seat of my heart.

God supernaturally did it and I remember coming home so excited because

the strong difference of opinion came but I did not jump out of the seat of my

heart. Instead, I responded with gentleness! The next morning I woke up still

amazed and rejoicing in what God did and I remember that God tapped me

on the shoulder and said, I do not expect that from you for just one meeting

but rather as part of your lifestyle every day when encountering people and

ideas that are different than yours!

B. That drives me to depend desperately upon the Holy Spirit moment by moment to

have “a fitting lifestyle that fights for unity by tolerating others!

View Details

From Duty to Delight

1 Chronicles 29 January10, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. Did you know there are many Christians who when they put in their offering

either at church or online it is more like a duty they are supposed to do rather than

a delight. But 2 Corinthians 9 makes it very clear that God loves joyful, willing,

generous givers!

B. So the question I have been asking myself is how does someone move from the

duty of stewardship to the delight of generosity where giving is done willful,

joyfully and freely?

As I was praying 1 Chronicles 29 came to mind and it deeply connected with

where I am in life and the conversation that was going on in my heart about

generosity.

Please turn to 1 Chronicles 29

C. Context

David knew that he was in the fourth quarter of his service as king and could

see an end to it. He had a heart to prepare things for his son Solomon as the

next king so things could flow freely for him.

a) I connect with this story because I know I am in the fourth quarter and

have desire to make things as good as possible for God’s next senior

pastor, the next generation for MVC and the Lord’s church here.

So he called together all his leaders, many of his workers and his mighty men

of valor.

a) Sounds like the people I speak to on Sunday morning, the people who

regularly either attend here or follow us on line. You make up the key

people of MVC

Now listen to 1Chronicles 29:1

D. The big picture overview of what follows is this:

King David, then some of the key leaders, then everyone else there gave

joyfully and generously to the Lord’s work.

Then David prays acknowledging that the ability to give so generously is

because everything they have comes from God.

E. What we learn here is the answer to my question, “How does someone move from

the duty of stewardship to the delight of generosity?” It was because they gave to

a great work!

• Let’s start by looking at the fact that they

II. Gave to a great work!

A. Look back at verse 1. Read 1a-c (“work is great”)

Now let’s see the reason why this work is great “for,” Read v1d

It is great because it is not a work for man but a work for God

B. We all love to give to great works and know our giving is making a difference

rather than just give because I am supposed to give. They knew this great work

was for God so they saw their giving as giving to God and not just the project!

There are a lot of great causes out there but there is none greater than giving

to the Lord’s work because it is a great work

Note as we go through this passage the emphasis on giving to the Lord and

not just to the work. Read v2a, 3a, 9a-b,14

C. You know MVC’s work is a great work because for the Lord’s sake we are

seeking to carry out the mission He gave to His church to make disciples.

Our mission at MVC is simply: following Jesus, impacting others
Following – helping people become whole hearted followers of Jesus who

love Him with all their heart, soul and mind

Impacting others by bringing the gospel of Jesus to the lost and helping

believers grow on their journey with Jesus!

D. What most people see at MVC is the tip of the iceberg, the 10% of God’s great

work at MVC. That is Sunday morning as we seek to feed people with God’s

Word and lead them in worshipping Him.

But all during the week we are caring for people’s unique needs and

discipling people all in the name of Jesus Christ. That is the great work we

do here for the Lord

Bottom line we are not running events , programs and meetings but we are

seeking to see people transformed by the word and Spirit of God through

these events, programs and meetings

E. I could tell you about many ways people are cared for and the many up close and

personal discipleship relationships and groups that are going on here but today I

just to tell you about one story of transformation that has happened at MVC.

A few years back a couple, whose marriage was in great difficulty, came in to

visit with one of our pastors.

As the pastor visited with them it became clear that there was not only

addiction issues on the husband’s part that was troubling the marriage but the

husband who thought he was saved, was only a church goer at best and not a

believer in Jesus!

That compounded the wife’s troubled heart, but in that meeting the husband

understood the gospel for the first time and trusted Jesus.

Ministries and people in this church began to invest in this couple and by

God’s grace the addictions gradually came under control and the marriage

improved.

They started telling others, both believers and lost people, about the miracle

Jesus had worked in their lives and marriage!

Now wife serves in a very significant ministry here and the husband is

growing in his relationship with Jesus, as he is being discipled by one of our

pastors!

The transformation has been so big and deep that this couple who first came

here as a marriage ready to fall apart, now this Christmas they came to me

and gave me a large gift and asked me if I would find some families in need

at MVC this Christmas and get it to them.

F. That is just a taste of the kind of great work that God does at MVC!

• And that is the reason why I and so many others …

III. Give with joyful generosity to the work of MVC.

A. Note in 1 Chronicles 29 that they gave joyfully and willingly!

Read v3a v6, 9, 14, 17

B. Their gifts were generous gifts.

Read v2a (all my ability – resources he had available) v3b (out of his wealth

– savings and treasury – personal accumulations of wealth), v14

This reminds me a bit of Proverbs 3:9

a) Wealth are your personal accumulations like savings, investment and

retirement

b) First of your produce comes out of your ability/weekly income

C. My journey of generosity was one that went like this

When I first became a believer I was told I was supposed to give 10% of my

income to the Lord – that was my duty and it was called stewardship/tithing!

So I gave 10% of my net income (after taxes are taken out) to the Lord

because I was supposed to, it was my duty as a Christian

Then over time God challenged me to move from 10% of my net income to

10% of my gross income (before taxes are taken out). So again I did it

because I was supposed to as my duty as a believer and I did it for years like

that.

Then about 13 years ago when MVC did their stewardship campaign for the

building we are now in, God led Kim and I to give 10% of everything we

have – our accumulated wealth – all savings, all retirement and the value of

our home.

a) The surprising outcome of that gift was that it produced in me a new joy

and freedom in my giving that was not tied to our budget

b) You could imagine with someone with an accounting degree like me,

that blew all my financial plans out of the water and forced me to

transfer my trust for financial things in my life to the Lord in a deep

way!

c) I moved from duty to delight in our giving

Before I use to measure out what we gave to the Lord with a 10% measure,

down to the dollar now we give freely to the Lord and Kim and I give over

10% of our gross income to MVC and on top of that we support missionaries

and give to individuals and organizations we know who are in need.

If it was left up to just Kim we would be giving away even more!

IV. Conclusion

A. Listen to what David did after giving according to all of his ability and then going

beyond that by giving out of his wealth, his treasures and savings. Read v5c.

So to be fair to the text and to the great work god is doing at MVC I must

ask?” Who is willing to joyfully give generously to God’s work at MVC?”

B. In light of the world wide crisis of 2020 MVC last year experienced giving that

was 15% below our budgeted dreams for MVC. So

This year the church actually cut the budget by 7 ó % and is hoping that the

church’s giving would increase by 7 ó % this year.

This would put us right where we need to be this year with hopes that in the

future as more and more people grow in their generosity MVC will be able to

grow in its ability to be a greater blessing for the glory of God!

C. So Kim and I are going to do two things this year:

We are going to increase our giving to the weekly budget which we call our

general budget – maybe we should change the name of it to our

transformational budget!

We are going to give an equal amount of an increase, above and beyond that

to our transformational budget to the heart for the house fund as we watch

that mortgage decrease month by month.

a) The final number for the Christmas offering towards this was ________-

_______

b) We are going to keep this fund open with hopes that more and more

people will give to it above and beyond their giving to our

transformational fund –first priority!

D. As one elder said to me in a meeting when we were talking about that fund –

“Pastor, you never asked us to give to this fund, if you would have asked, I would

have given to it.”

So today I am asking like King David “who is willing to consecrate himself

this day to the Lord and begin or increase your giving to our transformational

fund. And begin or increase your giving to our heart for the house fund, a

fund we ask people to give to as a gift above and beyond your giving to the

transformational fund.

E. Finally, we know that many people took a serious hit to their financial life last

year so we want to serve you regarding your personal finances!

Next Sunday at 1pm will be the first of a series of seminars that will be

offered to help our people here at MVC and those online with their personal

finances.

This first one will totally be online because so many people are struggling

with sickness right now or feeling free to go out. We do not want that to hold

you back.

A number of people at MVC that work in or traffic in the area of finances

have gotten together to produce the material and teach it!

This first one will be a spending plan workshop to get us started in the right

direction.

I am planning to attend along with Kim as I have been in the process of

training Kim to take over our finances as I have handled it for years. Couples

this will be a very valuable resource for training you and getting you on the

same page about finances!

To sign up just

a) Click the link to the workshop in this week’s MVC bulletin which was

emailed to you

b) Or you can register on the MVC webpage

c) Text spw to 708-350-6610 (returns a message with link to the workshop

registration process)

View Details

Plan with humility, live with gusto

James 4 and Ecclesiastes 9 January 3, 2021

I. Introduction:

A. 2020 is done and 2021 is here! With New Year’s always come new dreams and

plans!

I know last year moving into our 75th year as a church we had real big dreams

and plans for the next 5 years here at MVC that we were going to unveil

around Easter but Covid 19 was like dropping an atomic bomb on those

plans.

I know for many personally, not only Covid 19 but just everyday life apart

from Covid, impacted their personal dreams and plans for last year and they

have felt that atomic bomb dropped on those plans!

B. Today I want to share the major work that God did in my heart last year that came

out of that bomb dropped on my life!

C. God had been preparing me all year for this lesson through personal and ministry

plans blown out of the water by Covid creating a constant flux with plans and

long term rhythms of life and ministry. Add to that the loss of two very close

friends who died earlier in the year then it started to come to a head for me on

Tuesday afternoon November 10th

It was just four hours before the biggest board meeting of the year because

we were going to unveil the new dreams and plans for the MVC and the

leadership over the next number of years because the other plans were blown

out of the water by Covid

I just got off the phone and I had a mini-stroke

a) I could not even make that meeting

b) Within eighteen hours I was laying in the hospital scheduled for all kinds

of test as they were concerned I may be on the way to a major stroke.

As you might imagine my plans for that day were totally different than what

was in my schedule book and heart!

a) On top of that, not knowing what was going to happen to me, many of

my future dreams, hopes and plans with my wife, children and church all

now became very uncertain to me.

By God’s grace I was released on Thursday with an all clear but keep an eye

on your physical health and stress levels!

But that Saturday morning I found out that both Jeff Schmidt and Jim

Higgins, both friends of mine, had died the night before.

a) Something broke within me – the jabs throughout the year, the punch

that staggered me with a ministroke just 4 days before and the knockout

punch came when I read that email.

• Something happened in my heart at that moment and God led me instantly to the

passage I want to share with you this morning as we move into 2021 with our new

dreams and plans. turn to …

II. James 4

A. Listen to what God spoke to me through His Word that morning. Read 4:13-16

B. V13 are the big plans we have – the church had them, you had them and I had

them and we have new ones as we move into 2021. Plans both for today and for

the future – read v13

C. But what I did not know that Tuesday morning when I woke up all excited have

MVC plans shared that night with the leadership, and what you do not know is

what v14 says. Read

D. Then in v15 is the wisdom and the attitude that we all need to carry both in our

dreams hopes and plans both for today and the future. Read v15

First, if God wills – you will be alive this afternoon or tomorrow

a) That Tuesday afternoon with a major stroke possibly looming as I laid in

bed in the hospital I did not even know if I would be alive tomorrow!

Secondly, if God wills – you will do what you are planning.

a) So many things can enter into our lives that are beyond our control that

makes our plans uncertain both later today, tomorrow and in the future.

b) Listen to Proverbs 16:9 NASB & NLT.

E. The lesson of this passage for us is this – the great trump card on our life and

plans is God’s will!

So I need to plan with humility recognizing that ultimately my plans are not

determined by my will but God’s will

• But to balance out Scripture with Scripture and complete the heart shaping God was

doing in me we need not only plan with humility but we must …

III. Live life with gusto

A. Turn to Ecclesiastes 9 is a wisdom book where the second half of the book is

dominated by the reality that we are going to die! But he does not present that as

a morbid thing but as a reality to know so we can live wisely in light of it.

B. At the start of the chapter he says two very important things that sounds a lot like

James 4

V1 the future is unknown and uncertain whether our life will have adversity

or prosperity

Then in v2-6 he talks about the certainty of death for everyone with the loss

of participation in this life.

And by the way this is not just a message for old people – listen to v12

C. Now listen to the advice he gives us in light of these facts! Advice that I would

never expect from the wisest man who ever lived outside of Jesus.

Read v7 – bottom line he is saying here enjoy the simple everyday things

God has given us!

Read v8 – clean clothes and oils were used in that culture on festive

occasions. Thus he is saying celebrate every day you have to live. Brothers

and sisters every day we are alive including today is a special gift from God!

Read v9 – enjoy life with your mate – this is one of the great gifts that God

has given to us in life. Do not waste it because you do not know how long

you will have this gift!

Read v10 – whatever you do, that goes all the way from work to play and

everything in between them, do it with all your heart and strength! Because

once you die, at least here on earth that opportunity will be gone!

D. So guess what is happening to Pat Peglow in these days. I am planning more

humbly and seeking to live with more gusto as I am examining my life, my plans,

my schedule, my habits, the care of my physical body and management of stress

with a special emphasis on the things Solomon says here as I am seeking to enjoy

life more, live it more passionately with a special emphasis of doing those with

the greatest gift has given me outside of Jesus – Kimberly Jean – some of you

know as “baby girl”

• So plan humbly, live with gusto! What do we …

IV. Do with all this (communion)

A. As you start 2021 with Jesus in communion I want to encourage you to consider

three things

In light of James 4 - ? what does the way you talk about your plans and the

way you respond to events and people that interrupt your plans reveal about

your heart and your attitude about your plans verses God’s will for your life?

In light of Ecclesiastes 9 –

a) How are your joy levels? As believers we should be the most joy filled

people in the world! If we are not something is out of alignment with

our relationship with the Lord as He is the one who fills our heart with

his joy!

b) Finally, how well do your plans line up with the wisdom we learn in

Ecclesiastes about how to live life in light of the uncertainties of life and

the certainty of death?

B. If you do not know Jesus the most important take away from this message is that

you have no guarantee that you will be alive tomorrow or even this afternoon.

Scripture says today is the day of salvation, do not put it off!
If you do not know Jesus turn to Him this morning and acknowledge that you

are separated from him because of your sin and that you are transferring your

trust right now to what Jesus did on the cross to you to pay for your sins and

the new life He offers you through His resurrection!

If you are here today or following on line I would be honored if you would

contact me personally through the church and I will be glad to speak to you

about how to come to know Jesus personally!

C. Pass and pray

View Details

Jesus the Christ

Matthew 1:16 & various passages December 13, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. There is no other name connected with Jesus more than “the Christ.” It is used

528 times in the New Testament. There is no other name connected with Jesus

that is so loaded with meaning and implications than “the Christ.” There is no

other name connected with Jesus that is so crucial to understanding who He is and

why He came and even to understanding the message of the whole Bible when

you take it as one story as “the Christ.” There is no other name connected with

Jesus that is more misunderstood by lost people and new believers than that of

“the Christ!”

Before I came to know Jesus and even as a new believer I always thought that

Christ was Joseph and Mary’s last name – Joe and Mary Christ and their little

son Jesus Christ

Well I came to find out just how wrong I was about that and to be honest with

you I am still unpacking for my own life just all the meanings and

implications of the name Christ

B. We are doing a series on the names of Jesus connected with His birth because

they reveal more for us of who Jesus is.

Last week we learned that the name Jesus was a very common name at that

time in Israel and it connected Him to His humanity and His mission as

savior!

But the name Christ was not common at all, but it was a title that was well

known in Israel because that was the person sent by God whom they were

waiting for and the one in whom was all their hope!

C. Turn to Matthew 1:16 Read

NASB says Messiah and the ESV say Christ! Why is that?
“Messiah.” is the Hebrew word used in the Old Testament, which meant

“anointed.” It was specifically used to refer to “the one who was sent by

God and equipped by His Spirit to be their king.”

a) Psalm 2 is known as a messianic psalm, which means it is all about the

Messiah. Listen to this. Read Psalm 2:2,6

The New Testament translates that Hebrew word into Greek with the word

“Christ” Read John 1:40-41

So simply the Messiah or Christ is synonymous for the king of Israel.

a) Read Matthew 2:1-4

b) Show them that “king of the Jews” in v2 is equivalent to “Christ” in v4.

D. They were waiting and hoping for this Messiah/Christ because they were under

the rule of Rome and they longed for the day when the Christ would come to set

them free from Rome and set up God’s kingdom here on earth, centered out of

Jerusalem.

• The concept of “the Christ” was huge for the Jews and actually, it is huge for each

one of us even though we may not know it at this time. Today I want to help us better

understand what “the Christ” means. Let’s start with what the …

II. Old Testament expectation

A. When I study the teachings in the Old Testament about this person, the Christ, the

one sent by and equipped by God to be the king of Israel. I summarize it like

this:

One from the line of Judah (Genesis 49:10) and the line of David (2 Samuel

7:12-19; Psalm 132:11), would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and

preceded by a messenger who would prepare the way before Him (Isaiah

40:3-5; Malachi 3:1).

He would be God Himself (Isaiah 5:7; 9:6-7; 24:23; Micah 4:7; Zechariah

14:9, 16-17). He would be king forever ( 2 Samuel 7:16; Daniel 7:14; Isaiah

9:6-7), over God’s kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:16; Daniel 2: 44; 7:14 ),

ruling all the world (Psalm 2:4-12; Psalm 110:1-3; Isaiah 2:2-4; Daniel 7:14;

Zechariah 9:9-10; 14:9-10) from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:1-3; 24:23).

He would enter into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) to be their king,

He would be anointed by the Spirit of God to be the king (Isaiah 11:1-5), a

priest (1 Samuel 2:35; Psalm 110:4) and a prophet (Isaiah 61:1-2), like Moses

in whose mouth God Himself would put His words (Deuteronomy 18:15:18).

He would be the good and faithful shepherd who will care for them (Isaiah

40:11; Ezekiel 34:11-16) and supernaturally heal their infirmities (Isaiah

35:4-6).

He would dwell in their midst as a victorious warrior (Zephaniah 3:15-17;

Zechariah 2:7-10) judging the nations (Psalm 110:5-6; Isaiah 42:1; 63:1-6;

Zechariah 14:1-3, 12-15 ;), and saving Israel so that they dwell in safety

forever (Jeremiah 23:5-6; Zechariah 14:11).

Finally, He is the one who would ratify and initiate the new covenant by

which not only Israel but also all from all nations who would trust the Christ

would receive a brand new heart. He would put His Spirit within them,

bringing to an end a relationship with God that was dominated by law but

now through the person of the Christ!

B. I am sure you are familiar with some of these verses. Let me read just a few of

them to give you a sampling: listen as I read Zechariah 9:9-10; 14:9; Isaiah 9:6-

7; Zephaniah 3:15-17 Jeremiah 31:31-34

• So this is what they knew or should have known at the coming of Christ based on

what they knew from the Old Testament. But I also think there were some things that

the Old Testament told them about the Christ that were …

III. Hidden from them

A. He would be rejected (Isaiah 53:3-4), suffer (Isaiah 53:5, 7) and die (Isaiah 5:8-9;

Daniel 9:26), then be raised from the dead (Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:10-11). Turn

and read Isaiah 53:1-6.

Now there is something very interesting at the start of this chapter. Read v1.

Sounds like he is saying? “Who is going to believe these things? Who is

God going to show them to?”

God told Isaiah that this would be a people who would not perceive or

understand what He was saying to them. Read Isaiah 6:9-10c

When Jesus told His own twelve disciples that He was going to be rejected,

suffer and die then be raised from the dead, listen to what Luke wrote right

after it, as an editorial comment. Read Luke 18:34.

B. Often we hear that their expectations were wrong as they looked for a warrior

king to deliver them from Rome’s dominance and to set them free as a nation.

I do not think that Israel had the wrong expectation.
I think their understanding of the Christ was incomplete. When the Christ

comes back, then He will fulfill all the hopes they had but He does so much

more spiritually and He works much larger than Israel but also throughout the

whole world!

IV. Conclusion

A. So what has been your understanding of Jesus as the Christ?

B. I feel like we just had a dump truck dropped on us. I think now you understand

why I said there was no name for Jesus that has more implications to it and why I

said I am still trying to understand and still learning all the implications of this

name - the Christ!

C. I think that must have been how Mary felt after the angel told her in Luke 1:31-32

that the child she would give birth to that God will give Him the throne of His

father David and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom

will have no end!

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Names of Jesus at Christmas

Matthew 1 December 6, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. When you see this name think how many people, do you know with this name?

Pat

You probably know a number of people with that name!
How about this name “Pat Peglow”
All of a sudden out of all the Pats you know in the world this identifies one

specific Pat in the world of Pats

B. Names are what people are called by; they distinguish us and identify us from all

the other people in the world.

The name represents me!
In other words if you were talking about me with a group of people and you

use my name you are not talking about the name in particular but the person

that name identifies and represents – Pat Peglow!

C. At the time when Jesus was born, when people heard the name Jesus how many

people did they know with that name.

Actually Jesus was a common name back then so when they heard that name

there were a lot of people they could have thought of

But when they heard Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Christ, they thought of

the same one we think about today when we read the Bible!

D. Also, we pick names for all kinds of reasons – the way it sounds, what it means,

people or relatives we knew and respected that had that name, maybe even

matching first letters for the first name.

However, when it comes to the names of God they have one primary purpose

– revelation.

That simply means they reveal something to us or tell us something about

God.

They tell us about His character, His being, His work, His authority, His

majesty, His rank, His power, His position, etc.

E. Finally, God’s names are holy!

One of the 10 commandments tells us not to take the Lord’s name in vain.
Jesus prayed that God’s name would be made hallowed/holy here in this

world. Holy means one of a kind and separate from everything else. God’s

name is like no other name and is to be treated with great respect and handled

carefully!

Philippians 2:9-11 tells us this: Read

• So, this Christmas we can learn more about who Jesus is. We are going to be looking

at the names that are connected with him at His birth. The name we are going to

begin with this morning is

II. The name Jesus

A. Turn to Matthew 1 where Jesus is given this name, where we find a young couple

named Joseph and Mary who are engaged to be married.

Joseph finds out that Mary is pregnant, and this deeply bothers him because

he knows that they have not engaged in sex together so he plans to break the

relationship.

Then an angel appears to him in a dream and tells him this: Read 1:20-21,

24-25

B. In v21, he tells them why they are to name him Jesus. Reread 21b

The name Jesus comes from the Hebrew name Joshua. Which simply means

– Yahweh saves or the Lord saves

This name points us to Jesus’ work, His mission to save us from our sins,

thus He is called the Savior, the Redeemer. Hebrews 2 calls Him the author

of our salvation.

a) Jesus was born to save us from our sins!

C. Let me remind you of a chart we used earlier this year when we were introducing

ourselves to our spiritual blessings in Christ.

We learned at that time that salvation has three aspects to it, past, present and

future. It is also important that we are people who are made up a three key

parts!

Put up chart on person
Put up chart on salvation
Explain as God gives utterance

• We will be looking at other names of Jesus at His birth in this series to see what we

can learn and experience of Him but in

III. Closing

A. Let me ask you this – which part of saving us from our sins do you need?

Which part of Jesus’ work do you need in your life today?

You need to be saved from the penalty of your sins so you can come into a

relationship with God. This is called justification – declared righteous by

God

a) Read 2 Corinthians 5:21

b) How do we respond to this to experience this righteousness? Read

Romans 4:5

c) Invite you now if you have never transferred your trust and reliance from

your good works and religious deeds to Jesus what He did for you, do it

today and you will begin the journey of being saved from your sins!

Do you need to be saved from the power of sin in your life? Are you already

saved, forgiven and justified but the impact of sin upon your life and

relationships is hampering from having that abundant life that Jesus

promised? Your need is sanctification

a) Turn and read Romans 8:10-11

b) Now the Spirit of Jesus Christ lives inside of these bodies that are prone

to sin. What He does is fill our lives with the resurrected life of Jesus

thus dismantling the impact of sin in our lives.

c) Our need is the same as it was when we first came to Christ – faith in

Jesus Christ to save me! Now my trust is moment-by-moment relying

upon the resurrected Christ who lives in me to win my battle with sin!

Again, it is a transferring of my trust from myself to the indwelling Spirit

of Jesus to win my daily battle with sin.

Finally, maybe your great need today is just the hope in that future time when

Jesus will return to save us from our sin infested bodies and world. Read

Romans 8:23-25

B. As communion is passed consider before the Lord and talk to Him about your

need, and thank Jesus for dying for you to make all of this possible

Josh pick it up with communion from here

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A Perplexed Prophet Full of Joy

Habakkuk November 29, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. Turn to Habakkuk (look in your index or phone). I want to show you an amazing

joy right in the midst of the most difficult circumstances that are only going to get

worse!

This joy comes from a prophet who was totally perplexed, because God was

not answering his prayer about the wickedness in his own nation and when

God did answer him, it perplexed him all the more with an answer he never

expected to get from a holy God!

II. The story of Habakkuk

A. He starts by saying – God I have been praying to you for a long time about the

wickedness and injustices in the nation of Israel and you are not answering!

B. Listen to God’s response

Read v5-6, 8e-9a
But v11 is very important to this story
These evil Babylonians will be held accountable for what they do to Israel

even though God will be using them to discipline them!

C. Now Habakkuk is really confused! You are a holy God who does not even look

on evil and you are going to use these evil people to judge us?

D. Then Habakkuk tells God he is going to stand there and watch to see what you say

about that

E. Listen to what God says

Read v2-3
It is going to happen, even if it delays, it will happen!

F. Then the rest of chapter 2 God talks about the judgment that is going to come

upon the Chaldeans as He says basically what you have done to others is going to

happen to you. This chapter is summarized in v16

G. Finally, in chapter 3 Habakkuk prays one more time and tells God I have heard

reports of your working in the past and ask you to do it again now and in the

midst of your judgment of us remember to be merciful to us!

H. Then Habakkuk draws a powerful picture of God marching through the earth to

judge the nations and save Israel.

• Now we come to the place of joy in the midst of his unanswered prayer and waiting

for God’s discipline upon his own people. Let’s look at this …

III. Amazing joy

A. First, he starts with talking about how he responds to all of this as he waits for

God’s discipline on his own people! read v16

B. Now in v 17-19 we see this amazing joy

He starts by telling God that even if their entire economy and that which

bring them sustenance in their daily lives is destroyed and taken away.

Listen to v17

Nevertheless, this is how he is going to respond. read v18

a) We read this and we think he is going to lift up his arms and declare just

how great God is in the middle of the trials. That is exactly what exalt

means, but the word here is not exalt but exult.

b) Note it is with a u not a.

c) To exult means intense joy, to leap for joy!

d) Let me show you picture of this! Cubs World Series celebration

How can he have this kind of amazing joy? It is because of the amazing

grace in the next verse.

a) Read v19

b) It is because God is the source of his strength and He makes my feet

stable and not slip even in some of the most difficult terrain, trials in my

life!

c) Let me show you what hinds’ feet looks like

C. Bottom line, in the midst of the most difficult times in life with more hardship to

come, his heart can be full of joy and not stumble and fall because of God

Note in v19
God is his strength, the source of everything he needs in life!
It can happen to us because Jesus is the source and strength of our lives!

Galatians 2:20

Listen to what Jude says: Read Jude 24-25

View Details

Angry At God

Job November 22, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. Have you ever been angry with God, felt like He ripped you off? I have!

B. When I was 27 years old, God clearly led me to go to seminary to prepare for the

ministry. Kim and I had $14,000 saved in the bank at that time.

Over the next five years every moment of time, every bit of energy, every

penny we saved and earned was used to get ourselves prepared to serve God

in the ministry.

By the time we graduated I had destroyed my back working on the docks

trying to help get through school, had two young children, literally only $100

in cash with nothing in the bank, and a small truck load of other people’s

throw away clothes and furniture.

C. The first three years of ministry were extremely difficult.

I spent long hours pouring my life into the ministry here at MVC and the

lives of the people here.

Add to that the stress of a young family, back problems, financial pressures,

and two undependable cars, fixing up a fixer upper house, and a strong attack

by the devil against our family.

D. One Saturday night Kim went out to a roller-skating party with one of our girls.

She fell and landed squarely on her tailbone.

Early Sunday morning Kim woke up unable to move and in great pain. I

knew that I had to take her into the hospital.

I called one of Kim’s sisters to get the girls, and one of the pastors to fill in

for my responsibilities at church.

Now it was time to move the most undependable car out of the driveway so I

could take Kim to the hospital in the other car.

a) I got in the car and it would not start.

b) I thought I could push the car into the street so I could get to the other

one. I got out and pushed but the car was caught on a high curb at the

end of our driveway so I could not get the car over it.

I remember getting back in the car, rolling up the windows, raising my fist

and shaking it at God as I yelled out to Him “God, you have ripped me off! I

have spent every penny I have, every bit of time, every bit of energy in

serving you and all you have given me in return is junk!

E. Maybe you have cried out for help from Him but He has not answered. Maybe

you have been claiming a promise that He has made but God is nowhere to be

found. Maybe you have walked with God for years but it does not seem like God

is coming through for you.

I know everyone says you are not supposed to be angry with God but if you

were radically honest with yourself and others, you would have to say I am

ticked at God!

• I want to share with us the story of Job this morning because that is where God led me,

met me in the depths of my heart, and set me free from my anger.

II. The book of Job.

A. Chapter 1-3 introduces us to Job and his trouble and pain.

We learn here that Job was a very wealthy man who feared God and was

greatly blessed by God!

Satan told God the only reason Job loves you is because you blessed him so

much – “paid lover” but take away all his blessing and he will curse you to

your face. Read v9-11

Because of this test Job lost all his livestock, all his servants, all ten of his

children and his body was attacked with severe boils from head to toe.

Then Job’s wife spoke up. Listen to 2:9-11

B. In chapter 4-31 we see four angry old men arguing about who is the fault of all

this trouble. This was not a pretty exchange and it got very heated! Ever been in

one of those meetings?

Job did not hold back at all about what he honestly thought of the situation,

about his friends’ counsel, and God!

His three friends called for him to confess his sin because only bad people get

the kind of trouble he is getting!

C. Then in chapter 32-37 we see the wise counsel of a young man

Elihu was there the whole time and heard everything that was said.
32:2-3 sums up the arguments of these four in Ch. 4-31.

a) Read v2-3

b) His friends basically did not know what they were talking about but they

still condemned Job

c) Job justified himself before God!

(1) He later repeats some things that Job had said. Read 33:8-10,

34:5-6

d) Job was angry with God because he felt that God was not being fair with

him. He has taken away my rights!

(1) Bottom line Job felt that the good get good and the bad get bad!

(2) Listen to 31:2-4

(3) Job said disaster is for those who sin. Doesn’t God see my ways

that I am a righteous man?

Elihu closes this section by talking about man’s inability to understand the

great wonders of life! Read v4, 14-15, and 19 (we cannot defend ourselves

because we do not understand). Finally, in v23 he tells us that God is not

unjust but is full of righteousness! Read v23

D. In chapter 38-41 God calls Job into his office of nature for a talking to!

God starts by confronting Job’s ability to understand the great mysteries of

life and nature. Read 38:1-4

When God gets done taking Job on this tour of nature that is bigger than Job

is smart He says this:

a) Read 40:1-2, 6-8

b) God says that Job has been condemning God in order to justify himself.

c) Job has been saying “God has been wrong and unfair in giving me bad

things because I am a righteous man”

Then God adds to His argument that Job does not have the power to control

them either.

a) Sounds like God has been taking Job to school to teach him that life is

smarter than he is smart and stronger than he is strong!

God talks to him about the hippopotamus in Ch. 40 and finishes with this.

Read v24

Then in chapter 41 God talks to him about the crocodile and says this: read 8-

Bottom line God says to Job “I owe no one anything! I own everything.”

E. The message that God was impressing upon Job’s heart was that He has purposes

that are higher than his legalistic system of good for good and bad for bad and that

he could not understand these purposes nor change them even if he tried.

God taught Job that He gives blessings and trials equally out of His grace

and purposes. These do not come because we earned them because of some

good or bad in our lives, but they come because of God’s grace and purposes.

Job learned these lessons. Ch. 42

a) God was moved out of the small box that Job had Him in.

(1) In v 2, he acknowledged the power of God that cannot be

overcome. Read v2

(2) In v3, he acknowledged the understanding of God that was too

wonderful for him. Read v3.

(3) He experienced Him in a brand new and powerful way. V5

b) He repented of his belief that God was unfair to him and owed him

something. Read v6

III. Conclusion

A. God taught me the same lesson.

God does not owe me a thing “no matter how much I have done for Him”
God is good even when He does not give me good things.
His ways are higher than my mind can comprehend

B. In closing, consider if this way of thinking that was in me may be in you:

Emotion

Anger

Thinking

God has been unfair to me

Belief

God owes me something but did not come through

C. Time to reflect before God

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Refinement

2 Corinthians 4 November 8, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. We are doing a series on trials that is called “He is still in the fire” and there is no

place, where the fire of trials is felt more than in the process of refinement.

Refinement is defined in Webster’s dictionary as the removal of unwanted

substances so as to improve something

In the life of a Christian refinement is the removal of the stains of the world,

devil and flesh that we have picked up as we have walked through life and

replacing it with the life and character of Jesus!

It is less and less of me seen in my life and more and more of Jesus being

manifested through us.

B. Turn to 2 Corinthians 4 where we will see this process of refinement being

worked out in Paul’s life through the trials he was going through in ministry.

But he starts the chapter in verse one saying he does not lose heart – simply

he does not get so discouraged that he gives up!

But as we move down to verses 6-12 he talks about the various trials he faces

and why he does not give up even when facing difficult trials.

• So we learn in 2 Corinthians 4 the reason why Paul does not give up when facing

various difficult trials is because …

II. Refinement produces more of Jesus in us!

A. In v6 Paul is saying that the very life of Jesus, the glory of God is living inside of

our bodies, these clay pots, these mortal bodies that are given to break and die!

The powerful life of Christ inside of these weak, prone to break and die

bodies! He calls it “this treasure in earthen vessels”

He says the reason God did it this way is so that so there would be no doubt

as to where the power comes from – God and not us!

Watch for this as I read v6-7.

B. Now he moves to the different kinds of trials he goes through. Read v8-9

Define

a) Afflicted but not crushed –

(1) Afflicted means to be pressed from all sides. Like being in a large

crowd and people are squeezing in on you. A pressure cooker of

trials.

(2) But not crushed means you do not break under the pressure

b) Perplexed but not despairing –

(1) Perplexed means you see no way out of your trials. You are at a

loss of what to do, uncertain, full of questions but no answers!

Ever been there? I have

(2) But not despairing means that even in the midst of those kind of

trials you do not lose hope!

c) Persecuted but not forsaken

(1) Persecuted means suffering for your belief in Jesus and His Word

(2) But not forsaken means that God did not abandon you but stood

with you in those times

d) Struck down but not destroyed

(1) Struck down means that this trial came with such force that it

knocked you down

(2) But not destroyed means that maybe you were knocked down but

you were not knocked out!

The reason they were not crushed or despairing, or forsaken or destroyed by

these trials is because of the power of God within them. It became clear to

them and everyone around them that watched them at these times that the

power to stand in these trials was not from them but from God!

C. Then he tells us the purpose/product of these trials! Read v10-11

Did you catch it?
Read again the dying and death part in both verses!

a) He is summarizing all these experiences of being afflicted, perplexed,

persecuted and struck down as dying experiences

b) We see the same idea in Romans 8:35-36

Read now the “so that” phrases in each verse.

a) The purpose of these trials is that the life of Jesus, the glory of God, the

treasure inside of these clay pots can be put on full display through our

life in these bodies.

D. Let me show you another passage where we see this process in operation in Paul’s

life. Turn to 2 Corinthians 1:8 where Paul tells us about the afflictions he went

through in Asia: Read 2 Corinthians 1:8-9a

This time of difficulty was so big upon his heart that it deeply burdened him;

it was bigger than he was strong, it put him in extreme despair, and he even

was convinced that he was going to die from this.

But note the reason for this heavy and difficult trial –

a) Reread 9b – “so that …

God will even use trials sometimes just to refine our faith and wean us from

trusting in ourselves because it is not only foundational to navigating our

trials but it is foundational to our entire Christian walk.

Jesus Himself said that He did nothing of Himself and everything He did was

in dependence upon His Father. The more we depend upon God and not

ourselves, the more Jesus’ life will be manifest through us!

III. Application

A. This is a passage that I have clung to over and over again in trials trusting that

God was doing exactly what He said He is doing in this passage. It has not only

given me hope and the ability not to quit in ministry but in life when I go through

trials!

Because like Paul I know, that God is using these trials to make me better! I

have learned that trials can make you either better or bitter! The outcome of

them is in our lap depending how we look at our trials!

Rather than losing heart in my trials, this has become my hope in my trials!
Trials are an opportunity for God to make me more like Jesus, and the more

like Jesus, then the more glory God will reveal in and through me!

B. Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Illustrate with the balance of temporal and eternal
Importance of where our focus is – while we look at …

C. Take a moment to examine your heart and life:

Are your trials making you better or bitter?
As you look at your life, over the past six months do you see more and more

of Jesus coming out of you or is there more and more of your fleshly

responses?

Finally, do you have the same spirit of faith that Paul had in believing and

focusing upon Jesus and His work of refining you and producing in you an

eternal weight of glory while acknowledging the realities of your temporary

light trials or are you focusing upon your trials while only acknowledging

Jesus and His purposes for your life?

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Testing of our Faith

2 Chronicles 20:20 November 1, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. We learned last week when we are going through trials, through adversity,

afflictions, tragedy, trouble, persecution, challenges, difficulties, hardship, losses,

grief, etc. that one of God’s key purposes is to test our faith – are we going to trust

Him or try to figure it out and fix it ourselves?

We learned the week before that one the our key responses to all these

different kinds of trials is faith.

A faith that will continue to rely upon, worship and obey Him no matter what

the outcome is!

B. This morning I want to share with you a true story from the Old Testament that

God has used repeatedly to help me regain my bearing when I am facing

situations that are smarter than I am smart and stronger than I am strong.

We find this story in 2 Chronicles 20. Turn
It is the story of King Jehoshaphat when he found out that three nations had

come together for a surprise attack against him and they were just 25 miles

away. Bottom line Jehoshaphat was afraid!

• From this story, we are going to learn two important ways to respond when in the

middle of deep deep trials. The first is

II. Locking our eyes on Jesus!

A. Read 20:3-4

Jehoshaphat turned his attention, literally, he turned his face away from

everything else that was occupying him and gave all his effort to connecting

with God!

He called all Judah together to seek God for His help!

B. He starts this prayer by focusing upon God and the fact that He is bigger than the

problem they are facing. I do not know a better way to get our footing in trials

than coming to God and acknowledging and praising Him for being bigger than

what I am facing! Read v6

C. Now let’s jump down to the heart of his request in v12. Read

After acknowledging God’s bigness he is acknowledging his own smallness

and inability both in his ability to fix the problem, “powerless” or even figure

out what to do - “do not know what to do”

But look at what he declares, “Our eyes are on you!”

D. This has brought me so much personal encouragement and freedom in my trials

because I do not have to be smart enough to figure out what is going on or what to

do and I do not have to be big enough to fix it!

What I do need to do is lock my eyes on God, on Jesus, my head, my vine,

my God!

I have come to this place and this passage literally hundreds of times in my

life – I do not have to fix, I do not have to figure I just need to have faith in

my God who is smarter than I am smart and stronger than I am strong. By

the way, He is smarter and stronger than the problem as well!

Here is me, here is the trial, here is God

a) This trial may be bigger and smarter than me, but God is bigger and

smarter than the trial

E. I remember being in the middle of a deep and long depression which I tried

everything I could to figure it out, to no avail and I tried everything I could to fix

it but came up empty.

God kept bringing these two passages to my attention

a) Psalm 112:4

a) Isaiah 50:10-11

(1) He is speaking here to people who fear God and obey Him yet they

still are walking in difficult times and do not know what to do! –

trust and rely upon God

(2) V 11 speaks of those who are seeking to create their own light

while in the darkness. They are relying upon their own insight,

understanding, and maybe even the advice of others. Look at the

outcome of that – they will only find further trouble

2 Chronicles 20 and these two passages make me think of Proverbs 3:5-6

B. Earlier this year as I was feeling overwhelmed with everything going on in 2020

and my responsibilities as a pastor, husband and father and found myself swirling

in the midst of all the trials.

One morning I read a devotional by David Jeremiah and he simply said this:

“are you focusing on your problems and acknowledging Jesus or focusing

upon Jesus and acknowledging your problems?”

That is exactly the point of this passage and the question many of us need to

ask ourselves this morning

When I confessed my sin of focusing on the problems and not Jesus and

turned that around, my circumstances did not change but the peace and faith

in my heart sure did!

• Second way to respond to deep deep trials is with …

II. Praise and thanks to God in the middle of the trial

A. After this prayer as Jehoshaphat and all Judah stood their waiting upon the Lord,

the Spirit of God stirred on of the priests as he said this in v15-17. Read

B. So the next morning they arose and Jehoshaphat encouraged them with this. Read

v20

He is saying trust in God and trust in His Word

Those are the twin pillars when it comes to the object of our faith.

a) A mature faith trusts both God and what He said in His word.

b) So many people are trusting God for what is in their heart and desires

rather than what God said He will or has already done for us in His

Word!

That is what we saw modeled for us by Abraham the father of faith! Read

Romans 4:19-21.

C. Now what they did next, you will never learn by watching other nations to learn a

strategy nor would any Israel growth expert suggest what God led them to do.

Listen to what happened.

Read 20:21-22.
Yes, a melody was their weapon. A song of thanks for God’s mercy and

lovingkindness to them

In addition, when they started to praise God – God went to work and set up

ambushes!

Listen to what happened, read v 23-24

D. I know that on more than one occasion, I was going through intense battles in my

soul of fear, anger, anxiety, confusion, fill in the blank and my mind was raging.

So I would pull out this little card that lists who we are and what we have in

Christ and one by one thank God for these wonderful gifts in Christ.

By the time, I would be half way down the list the battle would cease, my

mind would stop raging, and my heart was full of peace and joy!

• As we go to …

III. Communion

A. Consider these two questions:

Are you focusing on your trials and acknowledging Jesus or are you focusing

on Jesus and acknowledging your trials?

When is the last time you thanked and praised Jesus in the midst of your trials

rather than after they were done? Maybe today you need to praise and thank

Jesus for all the He has done for you on the cross and all the implications of

that upon your life and trials!

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Trials’ Four Purposes

Various Passages October 25

I. Introduction:

A. Proper diagnosis is foundational to a proper solution!

Often we go to the doctor knowing something is wrong but just not sure what

it is.

So they put us through a series of tests to see if they can find the exact source

of the problem.

Once the finger is on the exact problem a proper solution can be applied that

can help significantly!

B. Trials are just like medical issues - proper diagnosis is foundational to a proper

solution!

When you do not know what is going on it can become a real battle for the

mind as we speculate of all kinds of possibilities

Then the devil puts all of this on steroids and your mind is swirling all

around.

Then you start to wonder if maybe there is some sin in my life that has

brought this on. Then we need to regain our balance again by remembering

that Joseph and Job were two of God’s finest servants and they went through

some of the toughest trials!

C. My hope for this series is that we will see our own situation through the lens of

God’s Word and that the Spirit of God will put his finger on what is going on in

us so the speculation can die down and we can move forward with greater

understanding, peace and solutions to apply!

There is always a larger story of what God is doing than what meets the eye!
My hope is we can see our trials as if we were standing on heaven’s shores

looking down on our situation with God explaining them to us from His

perspective!

D. As I looked at many passages regarding trials these were four major purposes that

seemed to surface for me!

So I want to introduce you to all four of these purposes I saw in an overview

fashion this morning and we will come back and look at each one in more

detail in weeks to come.

• The four primary purposes I saw for trials were testing, refinement, for the benefit of

others and praise and glory to God! Let’s start with

II. Testing

A. Turn in your Bibles to James 1:2-4. This is the first passage that God used in my

life to give me encouragement and perspective about the trials I was going

through.

It talks about considering it all joy when trials are piling on us all at once.
We can consider them all joy because of what we know about them.
First, in this passage he tells us specifically what is being tested by our trials.
Watch for this as I read v2-3a.

B. Bottom line at the root of every trial is this simple test – are we going to trust God

with this or are we going to try to fix it ourselves?

Are we going to trust God with the kind of faith we saw in the three men

going into the furnace? A faith that trusts God no matter what the outcome is

a faith that will continue to trust and worship Him whether or not He gives

me what I want!

And it is a faith that endures

a) Read 3b

b) Endure simply has two elements to it, time and pain. It is the ability to

continue over time even when it hurts

c) So this is not a microwave faith but rather a faith that continues to trust

God as the painful trial continue!

• And as we continue to trust God as our trial continues that leads us into the second

purpose of trials

III. Refinement

A. Refinement is simply the removal of unwanted substances in something. In this

case I define it as the removal of sin and the world, devil and flesh that are still

hanging onto us as believers

B. Note the result or outcome of this testing of our faith when we endure in faith.

Read 3-4
Perfect and complete simply means mature in every area of our life
The outcome of this testing of our faith is the development of our inner life:

our character and spiritual life!

C. Trials becomes the fire that God uses to burn away the dross in our life so what

will be left is the pure gold of the life of Jesus in us!

As the heat of trials are turned up in our life the dross of the world, devil and

the flesh comes to the surface of our lives and God deals with it!

D. Job is a great example of this, a good man whom God made even better through

his trials!

He used trials to burn away the legalism in him and caused him to find God

in a much deeper way, a way that moved him from hearing about God with

his ears to now seeing God with his eyes and repenting of his sin!

E. Read Job 23:10

• The third purpose of trials I saw was they are for the …

IV. Benefit of others

A. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 1:3f

B. This is a passage about comfort. About God comforting us in our trials so we can

comfort others when they are in trials with the same comfort we experienced from

God. Bottom line Paul was saying all the trials he was going through was for

their sake and their comfort.

Watch for this as I read this

C. I have been so challenged by a brother who recently found out he has cancer and

when he told us how we can pray for him one of his primary requests was so that

God would use this in his life to minister to others both those who know Jesus and

those who do not!

It is one thing when you read it on the pages of the Bible; it is another when

this is a reality in the heart of someone you know! That is the grace of God

D. As we consider that trials are for the benefit of others, we cannot forget the words

of Joseph to his brothers who deeply wronged him and severely mistreated him.

Read Genesis 50:20

• The final purpose of trials we will look at today is that they are used to bring about …

V. Praise and glory

A. Turn to 1 Peter 1. We have preached on this passage on a few occasions on

Easter Sunday.

It talks about how we have been born again through the resurrection of Jesus

Christ to obtain an inheritance reserved in heaven for you.

Watch for what he says about trials as he tells that they greatly rejoice in this

inheritance to which they are looking forward!

Read v6
Did you catch it? This trial is refining our faith and the result of that is when

Jesus returns it will result in praise, glory, and honor.

B. It does not specify here who gets the praise, glory and honor. I believe it will be

both Jesus and the believer:

Praise - the believer will be praised with the words “well done thou good and

faithful servant”

Glory - Romans 8:17 tells us we suffer with Jesus so we may also be glorified

with Him

Honor –James 1: 12 talks about the crown of life for those who persevere

under trial!

C. Listen to 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

VI. Conclusion

A. So if you are here today and are going through deep trials but not sure why or

what to do about them listen to:

James 1:5

a) “but” connects it with the trials above it

b) Read

So this is specifically how we respond to trials when we do not know what is

going on or how to respond to them – ask God for wisdom

B. Pray for those in that situation

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He is Still in the Fire: Intro - Persecution

Various Passages October 18, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. Today starts a series that I always wanted to do because of the impact that these

truths have had on my personal life in shaping me into who I am today and in

getting me through some of the toughest times of my life!

It is a series that I actually thought about doing next summer but it seemed to

me the timing should be now in light of what has happened in 2020 in so

many people’s lives!

It is a series about trials and we are calling it “He is Still in the Fire!”
We are at a good breaking point in Ephesians to step aside and do a sidebar

series. But we will pick back up in Ephesians after this series and the

Christmas series!

B. 2020 has been a very difficult year for many of us.

I personally feel it has been my second toughest year of ministry in my 35

years of ministry!

Many in our body have experienced various different trials this year that have

been deep and personal to them: health issues, death of spouse or family

member, financial struggles from loss of job or cut backs, relational struggles

with mates, family or friends, emotional struggles with depression, isolation

and Covid fatigue, abuse is on the rise this year both verbal and physical!

The list can go on

C. My desire with this series is twofold:

Help us gain God’s perspective on our trials!
Secondly, I am hoping God would speak to many of us personally regarding

what He may be doing in our lives at this time through the trials we are going

through so we can have specific wisdom on what we need in order to

navigate our trials.

• I want to start our series this morning regarding the idea of

II. Religious persecution

A. Religious persecution simply means suffering for your beliefs in Jesus and His

word!

B. I start here for three reasons:

First, we are living in a culture where the pressure against us for our spiritual

beliefs has been growing ever since I was a child.

a) In my lifetime, I have seen our culture move from sharing many of the

values we embrace as Christians, to accepting them as one of many

possible values to now where many believe our values are the core

problems in our culture, and they must be deconstructed.

b) So with this progression in my lifetime, “Where do you think things will

be 10 to 20 years from now”?

(1) I believe that we are slowly but steadily moving in a direction

where Christians here in the United States will need to believe in

Jesus at a greater cost than we know today.

The second reason I start here is because what we learn about responding to

persecution is foundational to the way we respond to any trial we may face!

Third, in Acts 19 we learn that there was great spiritual pressure upon the

Ephesus church as the worship of Diana was central to the spiritual and

commercial life of that city.

a) Also, the Roman emperors who ruled at that time believed they were

gods and demanded that the subjects of the kingdom worship them.

C. The good news is this – it appears that even until the book of Revelation where

Jesus had a special letter for them they remained faithful and suffered for Him in

the face of this spiritual pressure against them.

• So the question I want to ask today is this:

III. What does it take to be faithful in persecutions?

A. Turn to Daniel 3.

At that time, the king had set up emperor worship and if you did not worship

him, you would be killed instantly!

King Nebuchadnezzar had set up a large image of himself and called all the

leaders of his kingdom together! Listen to what was said: read 3:4-6.

As a result, all of the people that were there fell down and worshipped the

statue expect for three young Jewish men whose Babylonian names assigned

to them were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego!

B. Listen to how the king responded: read 13-15

C. The way these men responded is what it will take to be faithful when we are faced

with persecution for our beliefs, and actually it is what it will take for us to be

faithful when we are faced with any trial so we do not miss the benefits those

trials have for us.

Listen v16-18
There is a faith here that is greater than name it claim it faith.

a) It is a faith that says I am going to trust God and continue to worship

Him whether or not He gives me what I want and that for which I am

trusting Him!

b) It is a faith that trusts God and His sovereignty no matter what the

outcome is and not a faith that says if I trust Him then I will get me out

of these circumstances!

c) It is the kind of faith that pleases God!

Listen to Hebrews 11 the way he closes this great chapter on faith – read

Hebrews 11:32-39

D. Listen to what happened –

Read Daniel 3:19-27
God walked in the fire with them and protected them

E. That is the point of this whole series that God promises to still be in the fire with

us in our trials. We need to trust Him no matter what the outcome is, no matter

how He chooses to deal with us and glorify Himself through our trials!

• This week I want to encourage you to do two things:

IV. Application

A. Start to trust Jesus with the little trials in your life because that is where the

spiritual muscle of faith grows. If we can be faithful in the little trials, we will be

faithful in the big trials. But if we are unfaithful in the little things, we will never

be faithful when the big trials come.

B. If you have never offered up your entire life as a living sacrifice to Jesus, willing

to die to obey Him, yes even obey Him to the point of death make today the day!

Read Rev 12:11

a) We love to claim the blood and bring the Word of God against Satan, but

if we are not willing to obey to the point of death, then Satan has a place

to get to us!

b) Where ever we are unwilling to die for Jesus is something that Satan can

use to keep us from living fully for Jesus!

Bottom line to make it through any trial it goes back to the basics of trust and

obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey!

Simply if there is anything we are hanging onto that is the thing Satan can use

to destroy us!

C. Listen to this, as it is still true! Isaiah 43:1-2

D. The reality is that He is there in your fire right now! Would you recognize that,

acknowledge Him and trust Him with a faith that will trust and worship and obey

Him no matter what the outcomes are!

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Paul’s Preaching Ministry

Ephesians 3:1-11 October 4, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. Moraine Valley Church, did you know someone is watching us right now?

Note I did say church – which means that those who are watching are not so

much watching what we do as individuals but what we do corporately, how

we do church together

And they are not watching to be entertained but to learn!

B. Moraine Valley Church – the way we relate to one another and the way we

operate as a church has a much larger purpose and much more important part of

God’s eternal purposes than we could ever imagine!

C. Turn to Ephesians 3 where we will pick up on this portion of our study of

Ephesians that we are calling “This is us.” Today we will learn a bit more about

us together corporately as a church rather than who we are individually.

D. Joel taught us a few weeks ago God’s solution to the deep tensions between the

Jews and Gentiles was not to fix some of the laws but to create a whole new thing

called the church, a place where Jews and Gentiles are equal, the very dwelling

place of God.

E. Now Paul picks up on this idea and continues by telling us that he specifically had

a ministry to the Gentiles to preach to them about this new way of relating with

God, rather than through the Mosaic Law with Jews, it is now through Jesus

Christ with all peoples, the church!

• Let’s start by looking at

II. The content of Paul’s preaching

A. He starts by telling us that what he preached was a mystery, biblically a mystery

is not something that is mysterious but rather something that was not known in the

Old Testament times before Christ came.

Note as I read this section Paul says he already wrote to them about this

mystery – I believe that was a reference to chapter 2, what Joel taught us 2

weeks ago and when we consider that it helps us understand the heart of

Paul’s message

Read v1-5

B. Then in verse 6, he reveals what that mystery is!

Read v6
The message that Paul preached is that the Jews and the Gentiles now are

members of a new group - the one new man, the church, the body of Christ -

with equal status and equal privileges and equal responsibilities!

Specifically that they are:

a) Fellow heirs of all of God’s promises

b) Fellow members of the body of Christ

c) Fellow partakers in the promise in the Messiah Jesus Christ

C. This was revolutionary truth to the Gentiles and the Jews of that day –the Old

Testament told them

That the Gentiles would be blessed by God (Genesis 12)
That the Gentiles would bless God (Psalm 73)
That they would be saved by the Messiah (Hosea 1:10, Amos 9:11ff)
Even that they would receive the Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-29)
However, no place in the Old Testament were they told that God would

create a completely new vehicle for the Jews and Gentiles, the church where

they are fully equal and equally blessed! That is what was new and

revolutionary to both the Gentile and Jew.

That was the mystery that was not known before but now has been revealed

D. Then in verse 8, he tells us about two major categories that he talked about when

he preached about this.

Read v8

a) First, the unfathomable riches of Christ – unfathomable means it is

impossible to understand. Simply the riches that God had for the

Gentiles were so great that man can not completely wrap his mind

around them even with the best of preaching

Listen to the second thing he focused upon – read v9 (note “and” at start of

verse 9 – indicates the second thing he preaches about)

a) Simply how this new man, the church made up of Jews and Gentiles are

to manage their affairs as they walk together and serve the lord together.

b) That is what administration means – simply how you manage your

affairs! Paul preached to them about how the church is supposed to

operate

• Then finally we see

III. The purpose of this preaching ministry of Paul’s

A. Watch for it as I read v10

Note “so that” at the beginning – here he is going to reveal to us the purpose

of why he is preaching on these things!

Read v10
Did you catch it?

B. The purpose of his preaching was so that the many sided and diverse wisdom of

God may be made known through the church.

God is using His church to display His wisdom.
The way we operate as a church, the way we manage our affairs as a church

is meant to display God’s wisdom.

We find out in God’s word the heart of what Paul had to say about how God

wants His affairs managed in the church. The Bible is God’s constitution for

the church.

a) Simply MVC do we run our affairs according to how the Bible says we

should or do we take our lead from some other authority or expert we

look to like: self-help books, the business world, physiological world, the

political world, what other churches are doing what church experts are

saying?

b) That question must be asked regarding our: preaching, worship,

leadership, the way we structure our ministry, roles and relationships

among genders, relationships between one another – especially those

who are different than us

Regarding leaders in the kingdom Jesus said this: read Matthew 20:25-26

a) Key words “it is not that way among you”

b) In God’s church, the way He does things is different than the world does.

It is not that way among you applies to so many areas of the church life

and the Christian life.

c) God defines for us the unique ways His people and church operate in His

operations manual called the Bible!

C. All of this matters deeply and eternally because of who God is displaying this

wisdom through the church to

Read v10c
To the angels –

a) Did you catch that?

b) Let it sink in!

IV. Communion

A. This morning God is using MVC as we meet together and also the way we meet

throughout the week, whether here in the building or outside in our personal

mission fields, as an opportunity to be an object lesson to teach His angels of His

great wisdom on how people who are different from one another (racially, gender

wise, financially, looks, etc.) relate to one another and to God!

B. So as you go to communion this morning and remember that Jesus shed His blood

for the church ask yourself this question, “What are the angels learning from me

if I am the one they are watching at MVC today or this week?”

What are they learning?

a) The importance of regularly worshiping with the rest of MVC?

b) The way you honor God with your giving?

c) Your commitment to serve others in the body and in your sphere of

influence?

d) Your partnering with others in the church for each other’s spiritual

welfare?

e) The way husbands love their wives and lead their families in the ways of

the Lord?

C. All of these are important things for the church in God’s operation manual

Are you taking your lead from His manual in these areas and what are the

angels learning as they are watching you and me?

Meditate on this before Josh leads us in taking communion together.

D. Josh, lead us in prayer for communion when you feel the time is right!

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Welcome guest Speaker, Roy Patterson!

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Joel Brassfield continues in our series, "This is Us"

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Dave Parro continues in our series, "This is Us"

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Saved by Grace for Works

Ephesians 2:8-10 September 13, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. It was the first day of training camp. The year was 1961. Thirty-eight members of

the Green Bay Packers football team arrived to start a brand new season. The

previous season ended horribly for the Packers as they squandered away a lead

late in the fourth quarter to lose the NFL championship to the Philadelphia Eagles.

To open up the camp the coach, Vince Lombardi, stood up holding a football

and said this, “Gentlemen, this is a football!”

Lombardi’s methodical coverage of the fundamentals continued throughout

training camp. Each player reviewed how to block and tackle. Max McGee,

the Pro Bowl receiver for the Packers said, “Uh, coach, could you slow down

a little? You are going too fast for us!”

Six months later the Packers won the NFL championship 37-0
The Packers won five championships over a seven year period
This is an iconic story of the importance of fundamentals!
Knowing well the fundamentals, the basics, the ABCs of anything is

foundational to doing that thing successfully.

B. Today we are going to look at the fundamentals, the basics, the ABCs of our

salvation. The better we know that and the deeper it is engrained in our hearts the

more successful we will be in the Christian life.

Why is that? – Because the same way you are saved is the same way you

walk in the Christian life.

So if you get this one right, then your foundation will be right for your entire

Christian walk. If this fundamental is off your entire Christian walk will be

off.

C. So let me start with this: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Bible!”

Billy Graham said this, “God wanted to speak to us in words we could

understand–and the Bible contains those words.”

It is called the Word of God because that is what it is. It is not man’s words

or thoughts but it is God’s words and thoughts!

• So this morning turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:8 where we will see what God

says about another fundamental of the faith. That we are…

II. Saved by grace and not by works

A. To be saved means to be delivered from danger or suffering just like a fireman

saves a person out of a burning building

We learned last week in Ephesians 2:3 that before we knew Jesus we were

children heading for wrath, just like the rest of the world.

a) Read v3c

b) So mankind because of their sin is heading towards an eternity of God’s

wrath.

Then the most important three-letter word you will ever read, tells us about

the most important intervention that ever took place in mankind.

a) Read v4a

b) The word but introduces for us a total change of direction from what we

learned about ourselves in v1-3

c) It all happened not just because of the love of God but because of the

great love of God.

d) Listen as I read v3c-5

B. At the end here, there is a little parenthetical statement that is like a side bar that

departs slightly from the theme to further amplify or explain something regarding

it!

That little phrase, the fundamental we are going to look at this morning is this

(by grace you have been saved)

He picks up on the same idea and develops it further in v8-9. Read v8a

C. We are going to learn in this passage just how a person is saved and we will see

that our salvation is based upon grace (that simply means a gift that God gives us

that Jesus paid for with His life) it does not come from us or anything we can do.

Watch for all of this as I read v 8-9

D. Let me point out a few things in v8-9.

By grace you are saved – grace means gift! So to be saved is to receive a

gift from God.

Through faith – this is the way that a person receives this gift. Faith, belief,

trust and rely are all synonyms of each other when it comes to the Bible.

a) Just like I am believing, trusting, relying upon and having faith right now

that this stool will support the entire weight of my body

b) So biblical faith is when I am believing, trusting, relying upon and

having faith that what Jesus did on the cross paid for my personal sins

and not just the sins of the world and His resurrection gives me a brand

new life that is eternal

Then we see that this whole salvation through faith thing does not come from

yourself but it is a gift God gives us. It does not come from any good, moral,

or religious work we can do. reread 8b-9a

Finally, he says so that no one can boast.

a) One of the best explanations I ever heard on this came from my mother.

b) When I first came to Christ, I so badly wanted to share the gospel with

my parents. They backed me off very quickly by telling me this is just a

fad and if I am still walking with Jesus in twenty years then they will

listen to me.

c) Fast-forward twenty years later I reminded them of the conversation and

asked them if I could share the gospel with them. They said yes.

d) Both of my parents declared that day their trust in Christ. To seal the

fact that they understood this I asked my mom. Why do you think it

says, “so that no one may boast”?

e) She said if our salvation was based on anything we could do then we all

would brag about what we did to be saved, but since there is nothing we

can do but accept God’s gift by faith, then there is nothing we can brag

about! Bingo! Right on!

E. Opportunity to trust Jesus

How would you answer the question of boasting regarding your salvation?
If you were sitting around a table and people were talking about why they

should go to heaven – would your answer have anything to do with you and

what you have done either morally or religiously? Or would it be the

admission I have nothing to brag about except Jesus and what He has done

for me when He died to pay for my sins and rose from the dead to give me

eternal life!

If you and what you have done is your answer then you need to transfer your

trust and your bragging from yourself to Jesus and what He has done for you!

F. The start of the next verse he explains this idea that it does not come from

anything we do just a bit further!

Read v9 -10a – for/why because …
It is not our works that make us new creatures in Christ! We are not the

creator of this new life but the new creation! We are not the producer of it

but the product.

• Then he continues on in the rest of this verse to say that while we are not saved by

any good works we can do but that we are …

III. Saved for good works

A. Verses 8-10a go through great pains to let us know that our works have nothing to

do with why we are saved, but v10b makes it clear that we have been saved for

good works.

Read v9-10b.

B. So those of us that are saved feel like we just need to get out there and start doing

good works so our light will shine before a lost world. So we can do what we

were saved to do. So let’s brainstorm as a church, come up with the best ideas

and start doing them!

Watch for this in the text as I read v10
Did you see there the need to get out there and just start doing good works?

Reread v10b-c

C. God has already prepared beforehand for you and me, for us as a church; good

works that He wants us to do. We need to focus upon and walk in the very works

God has for us

Listen to what Jesus said about his own works, John 5:36
John 17:4

a) Jesus said He accomplished/completed the work the Father gave Him to

do!

b) This is true even though there were people who were not healed, saved

or helped! He helped some but not all!

c) He did the things God gave Him to do, He did not just go out and do, but

rather only did the things the Father had given Him to do

This should relieve guilt about not doing enough in a world full of pain and

restore the joy and excitement of seeing what good works God has prepared

for me and us to do!

That is why like Jesus we need to come to the Father in prayer daily so we do

not operate on our best ideas about what we should be doing but rather the

will of God!

D. Story of Beth

I remember a number of years ago praying specifically that God would show

me in the next five days any good works He had prepared for me

By the fourth day, a Saturday, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I

expected someone to have a flat tire or something like that. I had helped my

wife whose arm was hurting her that week and thought that maybe this is it.

Late Saturday afternoon I had to leave a family birthday party to go home

and prepare for my sermon the next day. As I got out of the car and headed

for the door the neighbor girl, yelled to me, “Mr. Peglow, can I talk to you?”

“Sure, come on over.”

We sat on our front stairs as she shared with me the deep hurt and confusion

she felt because of her difficult family situation.

I realized at that moment this was the work God had prepared for me, as I

was able to be Jesus to her by sharing love and encouragement with her even

though I had no answers to her hard questions about why her mom and dad

would abandon her at a very young age!

Eventually this young girl moved in with us and lived with us for two years!
This was clearly a work that God had prepared for me and for every one of us

in our family as we shared our house and life with her.

IV. Closing challenge

A. I want to challenge you to pray as an individual, family, and as small group

simply … “God show me/us the good work you have prepared for me this week.

B. Prayer -

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Surpassing Great Power

Ephesians 1:19-23 August 30, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. Difficult times and trials are used by God to not only build character but also to

reveal character.

Read Deuteronomy 8:2
This verse connects with where we have been living in 2020 with so many

big things hitting us one after another

a) Start with the closing down of everything from Covid 19 and the

changes, stresses and disruptions that it has brought in our lives,

communities and our church.

b) How about all the racial tensions and discussions that have happened

since George Floyd was killed!

c) How about all the tension and division in our culture because of deep

political differences and toxic statements thrown out from both sides of

the aisle to further their political agenda

d) Moms and young families can relate to this one – schools shut down and

go remote and now you need to be the teacher as you have your children

24/7

So what have you learned about yourself during this time: are you happy with

what you have seen in your heart and responses? Maybe to get a more

accurate read we ought to ask the people around us what they have seen and

experienced from us.

a) People are feeling Covid fatigue, some are emotionally exhausted, others

are feeling depressed, anxious, fearful, angry, impatient because of the

changes and demands this time has put on us!

b) The racial tensions and discussions are bringing responses to your heart

as a believer that may surprise you to see that you are more prejudiced

than you thought, more fleshly than spiritual.

(1) I was challenged personally by a question that Roy Patterson raised

when he asked, “Do you see the looters as uncaged animals that

need to be caged or as sheep without a shepherd?” Wow – guilty

as charged Pastor Peglow – Jesus give me your heart!

Add on top of this our own personal struggles, weakness and sins as we just

seek to live daily life as many of us move into this fall tired and exhausted

already!

B. I take this as a time of golden opportunity not only to talk to others about Jesus

but also to grow ourselves as things that have been hidden deep within our hearts

have come to a surface in a way we can no longer deny them or hide them!

Along with all these things comes the thoughts that I do not have enough, I

am inadequate, I do not have the strength, I am too weak, and I do not have

the ability to deal with the things I am facing!

Ephesians 1 is going to teach us this morning that those thoughts are

absolutely untrue! You have more power available to you, you have more

spiritual ability available to you than you ever thought, or you will ever need

to face these things that you wrestle with now or you will face in the future!

• Turn to the end of Ephesians 1.

II. Ephesians 1:19-23

A. The first thing we need to understand is the root idea behind the word “power.”

The first thing that comes to our minds is strength
But the key idea of power is ability – the ability to do something.
The word power and ability are synonymous and can be substituted for one

another

B. We learned last week that the key words in these verses are: “is” and “according

to”

Is means that God’s power is available for us believers right now
According to means that this power of God, which surpasses greatness and is

like, is in harmony with, and is consistent with the same power that was

operating in Jesus!

Watch for all this as I read.

C. He says this power towards us is the same power that God used at three major

events in Jesus life:

When He raised Jesus from the dead,
When He ascended Jesus from the earth to sit at the right hand of His throne

where everything and everyone in heaven and earth were put into submission

to Him!

a) Note the words “far above” that is not a phrase of geography but of

rulership, authority, power, and dominion. That the rule, authority,

power and dominion of Jesus is far greater, infinitely far greater than any

rule, authority, power or dominion of anyone in heaven or earth, past,

present and future!

Finally when God gave Jesus as head over all things regarding the church!

D. I love the two-sided coin of God’s power here.

On one side to raise the dead means He can bring something to life within me

that has died, produce within me something that has not been there,

But on the other side when Jesus was seated in power and authority far above

every other power and authority the result of that is that everything else is

brought into submission under Him. So this is the power/ability within me to

overcome the power/ability to break down, power/ability to destroy!

E. We see in Romans 8 the power/ability of the Holy Spirit, the powerful person

who lives in us both filling us with the resurrected life of Jesus and breaking

down the deeds of our flesh

Read Romans 8:11 - power to produce life
Read Romans 8:13 – the power to break down and destroy

• Note in the Scripture the different …

III. Areas of life where this power/ability works

A. Our first thought when we think of God’s power/ability operating is miracles!

Miracles of healing the sick or control over nature.

But my great need is a miracle of the heart to produce things in me that I do

not have and cannot produce for myself and to break down things in my life

that I do have that need to be dismantled. Things that only hurt me and

others and keep me from being a blessing to others and bringing glory to God

B. Some different areas of our life that Scripture says about God’s power/ability to

Acts 1:8 – tells me that God will give me the power/ability to tell others

about Jesus Christ. Power to overcome fear and produce boldness when

speaking of Jesus to the lost!

Colossians 1:29 - tells us His power/ability works mightily within us to give

us what we need to disciple and build up other believers

Colossians 1:11-12 – listen – steadfast and patient and joyfully giving thanks
We will learn in Ephesians 3 that it actually takes God’s power/ability to be

able to comprehend God’s love

2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but

are divinely powerful/able for the destruction of fortresses, especially toxic

thoughts and lies that are in our minds

• So

IV. How can I experience this power?

A. Brothers and sisters what do you need God’s power/ability for today?

Seniors – you know more than anyone that growing old is not for sissies! A

lot of pain and losses both physically and emotionally in this stage of life!

Husbands and wives – living that close and that long with someone sure

reveals a lot we need and a lot we need to get rid of.

Moms and dads – living that close and that long with kids reveals our need

for self-control, grace towards the children, patience, more patience, more

patience and yes even more patience!

a) Coming into these times already on overload means, you need God’s

power/ability to do these and even find joy in parenting and delighting in

your children!

Ministry – I know of fewer things that raise up more of my sense of

inadequacies than when God calls me to do something for Him in both

witnessing to the lost and helping another believer grow in Christ likeness.

Character traits – almost all of us deal with deep hurts, hang-ups and habits

that hamper us and hurt others where we need God’s power/ability to walk

with our own flaws and weaknesses!

B. Read 2 Corinthians 12:9 the heart of the truth is that God’s power is perfected, it

comes to fruition, and it is realized in weakness and difficulties and distresses!

Now most of us try hard to resist, to get rid, to fix, or even deny our

weaknesses, difficulties or distresses, which only produces further weakness

and frustration!

Paul shows us here that the way to experience God’s power in these things is

twofold:

a) Boast about your weaknesses! Yes, face just how weak you are and

admit that before God and man. You can even brag before God just how

weak you are.

b) Be content with the weakness and difficulties that come into your life.

Accept them and rely upon God to express His power either to take care

of the difficulty or to fill you with the contentment and everything you

need to walk through this time!

C. Galatians 2:19 Christ in me and live by faith in the Son of God – depend on one

who lives in me and not myself

D. So I

Face my weaknesses and difficulties head on and admit, even brag to God of

my inability to fix these things

Then I place my faith in the indwelling Christ to live out His life and power

within and through me! I walk through the day moment by moment aware of

and rely upon both of these truths!

This prayer has become my daily prayer of declaration before God: I am

depending upon another person, one who is bigger, stronger, smarter and

able, who has resources I do not have, who can do things I cannot do! I yield

to the indwelling spirit of Christ and declare that all must come from Him!

E. Since all of this is found in the context of Paul’s prayer for the church of Ephesus

rather than his teaching them, we need once again to end this sermon with prayer.

Dave Parro

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Pastor Pat continues in our series, "This is Us".

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Prayer to Know More of Jesus and These Blessings

Ephesians 1:15-23 August 16, 2020

I. Introduction:

A. We live in a day and age where out of the sincerity of our hearts to live out God’s

truth and not just study it the first question we ask ourselves is, ”What do I need

to do with this truth?”

We have been learning some of the most amazing truths in the Bible over the

past number of months, blessing upon blessing that God has given to us in

Jesus Christ!

This morning Paul answers for us the first thing we need to do with these

truths, and what he does with them may surprise many of us. Actually too

often, we skip over this crucial first step in the process as we rush to put

God’s Word into practice in our lives.

B. We find the answer to this starting in v15 of chapter 1 as he says, “for this reason”

Simply he is connecting what follows with what has gone before. He tells us

the very reason he is going to do what he does next is because of all these

blessings in Christ we just learned about in v3-14.

Just like v3-14 was all one long sentence closely tying it all together so v15-

23 is also just one sentence closely tying it all together.

C. Before I read, let me tell you what the heart of this section says so you can watch

for it as I read – simply he prays for them to know more of Jesus and these

blessings!

The structure to the prayer is as follows:

a) V17 he prays that God would give them a fuller, more practical and more

intimate knowledge of Jesus

b) In v18 -19a he prays that God would enlighten our hearts to fully see and

grasp three specific blessing God gives us – His calling, His inheritance

and His power

c) Then in v 19b-23 he shows us three ways in which His power towards us

right now is manifested and in agreement with the power that was

manifested in Jesus when He was resurrected, when He was ascended

into heaven and seated at God’s right hand and finally when He gave

Him as head over all things pertaining to the church!

Watch for these as I read

D. Paul’s first response to all these amazing blessings, the first thing he does is to

pray! Pray that we would know more of Jesus the one whom all these blessings

are in and that we would know more of the blessings themselves!

• Before I jump into the text I just want to say a few things about

II. Prayer in general

A. We have learned before that prayer is the means to receiving in God’s kingdom.

Often as a last resort we say to people in tough times, when there is nothing

else we can do we say, “All I can do is pray!”

Actually prayer should be the first thing we do and the best thing we can do

as prayer allows us to put one hand on the person and their situation and the

other hand on God and bring the two together!

Prayer is the first thing that Paul does with these amazing life-changing

truths! It really is the first thing we should do

B. We have been talking lately in staff about the restarting of our ministries here at

MVC in this unique day of restrictions and MVC scattered all over the place.

As we look at the way that Jesus did ministry we have been reminded how

Jesus started His ministry and daily met with the Father in prayer.

Jesus said He did nothing of Himself; His teachings and words were not His

own, His works were not His own, His will was not His own but they all

were from and initiated by the Father.

If we do not go to the Father first and regularly in prayer then at best we will

be working out of our best ideas or copying and pasting what others are doing

rather than hearing directly in a life changing and empowering way what God

wants us to do.

What we learn from this passage is that God does not want His truths from

the Bible just to go from our heads to our feet and hands but rather from our

heads, through our hearts where it is anointed by the Spirit then out through

our hands and feet!

C. Finally, we see in this passage that Paul prays God’s word and truth.

So often, we will read God’s word when we end with our prayer time, when

we begin to pray for our needs, friends, and ministry but never breathe a

prayer about what we just learned in God’s word.

It is like sitting at the breakfast table with Kim and she talks to me about

something on her heart she wants me to know then I respond by telling her

about what happened in the ballgame yesterday! There is no connection and

no two way conversation

Here Paul is praying about what we just learned in God’s word – to know

more about Jesus, the one in whom are all these blessings and to know more

of the blessings themselves in a life changing way!

This is the prayer we all should be praying for each other and ourselves in

these days.

• So the rest of today my goal is simply to introduce you to this prayer and then the

next two weeks we will look into it more specifically. In v17 Paul prays that we

would

III.Know more of Jesus

A. The key word here is knowledge – it is the Greek word “epignosis” which

indicates a personal, intimate, and progressively growing knowledge of Jesus!

B. As I reread this verse note three things:

This is something that God gives, something that originates with God, not

something we work out by our efforts

He wants them to know more in a practical way – that is what wisdom and

revelation basically means

Then finally that growing, practical knowledge is in the particular area it is

in. The area of a personal, experiential and intimate relationship with Jesus

Read

C. This same idea is pictured and the same word is used in Matthew 16 for us to get

a picture of what this is like.

Context, Jesus had been on the scene and doing amazing miracles and saying

things that amazed some and angered others.

Those whom He angered said He was from the Devil and those who were

amazed knew He was someone very special as they thought he was John the

Baptist raised from the dead or Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other

prophets raised from the dead.

Then Jesus said this to Peter

a) Read Matthew 16:15-17

Like we see in this passage a growing more intimate, experiential and

practical knowledge of Jesus is not something that comes from man’s efforts,

observations, or even being around Jesus, like so many of them were.

Rather it is a supernatural revelation – an unfolding to us by God where God

discloses this to us in the core of our being!

D. This is not just head knowledge or even just Bible knowledge about Jesus but it is

the truths of the Bible coming to life within my heart by the power of the Holy

Spirit!

This is not just reading, studying, memorizing and knowing the big idea the

twenty third psalm that teaches us that God, specifically Jesus, is our personal

shepherd but rather it is the daily experience in the grind of real life on the

streets where we experience Jesus shepherding us through every situation we

face.

It is not just knowing about Jesus in my head but rather knowing Jesus deep

within the core of my being in a life giving, life changing way!

• The second part of this prayer is that we would

IV.Know more of these blessings

A. The key word here is know – it is the Greek word “oida” which indicates an I see

something and I get the significance of what that is. It is the knowing from

observation but knowing in such a way that you grasp the significance of what

you know!

B. Let me reread v18-19a

C. Again, we see these are things he does not just want us to have head knowledge

about but he wants it to go to the core of our being, so they flow out of our lives

as naturally as blood flows out of our hearts! When the Bible speaks of the heart

it is speaking basically of the inner person, that part of us that lies deep within us,

the immaterial part of our lives

In the Bible, it speaks of the heart as a place where we imagine, think and

reason, a place where we have desires, affections and grief, a place where our

conscience and will is, a place where faith resides.

Here it talks about the heart having eyes – figuratively speaking that means

the ability to see.

D. But like everyone who sees we need to have light to see – so his prayer is that the

eyes of our hearts would be enlightened. That the Holy Spirit would shine light

down in our hearts so we can see and know these wonderful blessings that God

gives us!

V. Application

A. So everything that follows are works of God deep within our hearts that come in

the context of prayer so that God’s Word would become a living reality in and

through us!

B. So from the core of our beings we would know and experience deeply the hope

that comes from His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints

and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us.

Close in prayer – John Hurley

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Guarantee of More Blessing to Come Ephesians 1:13-14 August 9, 2020

I. Introduction: A. I love things that come with a guarantee, especially if it is a lifetime guarantee. 1. For example, I had a foundation crack in our house fixed many years ago and the person who did it gave me a lifetime guarantee to fix it if it ever happened again. It did happen again a few years ago, I gave him a call and he came and fixed it at no cost. 2. There are all kinds of guarantees, both those that protect us from anything happening to what we have – those give us a sense of security and guarantees that promise us that there is something we will get in the future – they give us a sense of assurance and hope. 3. In one sense, a down payment on a loan is a guarantee that I give to the bank. A sizable amount of money given to the bank to show my seriousness in paying the rest! It is the first installment of more payments to come! B. This kind of guarantee are pledges! Sometimes pledges can be made with our words as we solemnly promise to do something, sometime pledges carry even more weight as you give something to someone as a way to show that you will keep your promise! 1. Bill Chibe, who works in banking and mortgages, said to me that they refer to a down payment as a person having “skin in the game!” 2. Today’s passage teaches us God has given us something as a pledge, His way to show us that He will keep all His other promises to us! 3. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 1:13-14 C. The structure of the passage is very simple 1. v13 tells us what happened to us, what God did to us when we first believed the gospel message and put our faith in Jesus Christ 2. v14 tells us why this happened to us

D. Before I read this passage, I am going to tell you what I believe the heart of this whole passage says, “The blessing of the Holy spirit guarantees more blessing to come!” 1. Repeat! You repeat with me! Now say it as if you were going to preach it! 2. Read! • Let’s start by looking at II. The blessing of the Holy Spirit A. Again we see at the start of this verse that what follows took place when we put our faith in the gospel message about Jesus Christ B. What happened is we were sealed in Christ! 1. We seal things all kinds of different things all the time – for instance watch me seal this envelope! 2. To seal something means to close something to make it secure and tamper proof. Often back then, when they sealed something there was a symbol of who was doing the sealing to identify them as the owner of what was in the thing sealed! 3. We have been sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit a) Illustrate with envelope – Jesus, piece of paper – believer - seal – Holy Spirit b) We are now enclosed in Christ, secure and tamper proof because the Holy Spirit is the seal, an indication that God owns us! C. Note at the end here it says the Holy Spirit of promise 1. In the Old Testament, many promises were made about the day when Holy Spirit would come and live in God’s people. We especially see that in the new covenant in Ezekiel 36 where He says He will give them a new heart and a new spirit to live inside of that heart. 2. Jesus referred to these promises in Luke 24:49 when he spoke to His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them soon. D. What a gift, what a blessing the Holy Spirit is to us: He indwells us so the presence of God is right inside of us, He is the one through whom God fills our lives with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. He leads us, restrains us, breaks down the work of the flesh in lives and fills us with the resurrected life of Jesus. He equips us with everything

we need to do god’s will in a way that is pleasing to him. The list goes on and on. The promise of the Holy Spirit is truly a huge blessing in our lives! • So the blessing of the Holy Spirit is God’s III. Guarantee of more blessings to come! A. Read v14a B. He is given as a pledge! We already talked about that in the intro to this message. The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee, His first instalment, His down payment, His pledge, and His skin in the game! C. But what is He a pledge of? Our inheritance 1. Reread v14a 2. In particular our future inheritance. Read 14a-c “with a view to” D. Let me remind you of three things we have already learned as we put this part of the verse together! 1. Inheritance – we learned last week that bottom line our inheritance is made of all of God’s blessings that He has promised to us! – a) That is why the word promise is so important in v13 b) The Holy Spirit was the first of many more promises yet to come! Our future promised blessings! 2. Redemption – a) We learned that there are three aspects to redemption – someone is in bondage, a price is paid and the result of this is someone is delivered from that bondage b) We also learned there is a past, present and future aspect to our redemption – past – set free from the penalty of sin, present – set free from the power of sin, future set free from the – presence of sin c) This passage is talking about our future deliverance from the presence of sin in our bodies and our environment 3. The third thing we learned just a few minutes ago was that a seal is a sign of ownership - read v14d – that’s us! E. So as I reread these verses note that, “the blessing of the Holy Spirit guarantees more blessing to come!” Read v13-14a-c

F. So why has God blessed us with the Holy Spirit? Why is He guaranteeing these future blessings? Why is He going to bless us in the future? Why all these promises? Why all these blessings? Why all this inheritance? 1. Read 14d and read 2:7 2. This is all about God’s grace, the great glory of His grace, and bringing praise to Him because of it! 3. Last week it talked about our being, our entire existence and everything we are and do being to the praise of His glory. Here it talks about us praising God. 4. This section of spiritual blessings starts with saying the very nature of God demands that we bless and praise Him especially for all the spiritual blessings He has given us in Christ. Now He closes this section with telling us that all of this is so we will praise the glory of His grace.

• So to prepare us to praise God. Let me IV. Remind us of these promised blessings the Holy Spirit guarantees for us! A. Read 1 Peter 1:3-5

In the future when we receive this inheritance, when we are delivered from the presence of sin both in our bodies and in our environment. When we experience all of God’s future promised blessing. Listen to my summary of what life will be like as I try to summarize the heart of Scripture regarding this!
In the eternal aspect of the kingdom in the new heaven and new earth a) There will be no more funerals graveyards, or tearful goodbyes, no more emotional pain and depression over rejection, separation, abuse or loss. No more hospitals or cancer or deformities or diseases, no more migraine headaches or need for painkillers and no more health insurance. No more food pantries or food stamps. No more sin to affect people, their relationships, their work or the earth. The earth will be fully productive and beautiful. b) That means we will never again suffer persecution, mocking or conflict of beliefs or values with those who are unbelievers. Nothing shameful, vile, detestable, unpleasant will be there, no news reports telling us about murders that happened in the big cities, we can walk the streets safely

and without fear. No more adultery, rape or sexual abuse, no more demonic influence through witchcraft or drugs. You can trust anything and everything that is said. There will be no shaky deals or misrepresentations. God will be the greatest love of everyone that is there. No one will ever put anything or anyone above God and His will for them. They will love Him with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind and strength, and they will love their neighbor as themselves. B. This is what receiving the Holy Spirit guarantees for us! Let’s praise the glory of God’s grace!

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Our Lot in Life – Glorifying God Eph 1:11 August 2, 2020 - Communion

I. introduction: A. My good friend Mike Stabile talks a lot about finding your sweet spot –simply defined as doing what God created you to do! That place where our calling in life, our gifts, desires, experiences, and joys all converge together to find the place that makes you the greatest blessing to others, gives you the greatest sense of fulfilment and brings the greatest glory to God! 1. When we were in seminary, I remember laying on the floor working on something underneath the desk that broke. There was a screw that needed to be turned to get to the part that needed fixing. a) I did not feel like getting up and walking all the way to the other end of the apartment to get a screw driver, and there was the expensive pair of sewing scissors of my wife’s sitting on the table next to the desk. b) I grabbed them, opened them up so the one arm of the scissors could fit into the screw, and I turned it and bam! The scissor arm snapped in half. 2. Sewing scissors were not created to do the work of a screw driver and a screw driver cannot do the work of sewing scissors. a) But when each one does the work they were created for it gives blessings to those using them and others. It is their sweet spot! b) But when each one does not do what they were created for they break, and they offer little blessing to others!

B. Another way to say this simply is your purpose in life! And when our life is aligned with God’s purpose for our life, the One by Whom we were created and for Whom we were created, then our life has this deep down sense that God had when He created the world and saw “it is good!” “It is very good!”

C. Turn in your Bibles to Eph 1:11 where we are going to learn God’s ultimate purpose for our lives, some may want to call it my lot in life or my fate. Whatever you call it we will see from God’s perspective what He has determined to be your lot in life, your fate, your purpose! D. Note the context of the passage: 1. The passage before talks about God’s universal purposes which are fulfilled in Christ. And this passage is going to talk about our personal purpose in light of this larger universal purpose of everything being summed up in Christ 2. This passage is going to talk about our present inheritance that we have already received and the next passage is going to talk about the future inheritance that we are yet to receive. E. The structure of the passage is very simple: 1. v11 tells us that we have already obtained or received an inheritance from God, one that He has assigned to me! 2. v12 tells us just what that inheritance, that lot, that portion, that possession, right, privilege is that God has given to us. F. Read Eph 1:11-12 • Let’s start with the fact in v11 that: II. We have already obtained an inheritance A. I want to give you my best quick summary regarding our inheritance without trying to prove every statement I make by showing you the bible verses because that could take a whole sermon. You can study that out later if you want more! 1. In Hebrews 6 we learn that our inheritance is basically detailed out in God’s promises. a) The foundation of our inheritance is the promise/covenant that God made with Abraham to bless! b) The prophecies and promises in the bible help us further understand the specifics of that covenant with Abraham. 2. We see in Ezek 36 that the heart of God’s blessings are further summarized in the new covenant. Jesus ratified that covenant with His death. – thus putting us in a place where we can now receive our inheritance

Gal 3 tells us that God bases this inheritance upon a promise and if we belong to Christ, then we are Abraham’s descendant, heir according to promise
God’s blessings both now and those promised in the future make up God’s inheritance that He gives us! B. He started this verse stating we have, past tense, we have already received an inheritance. We are already experiencing a portion of the gifts that God has for us as His heirs. read v11a
As we will see next week and we know from other portions of the bible there is much more of our inheritance yet to come in the future. C. Then we see that this inheritance that we already have received was:
Predetermined, decided beforehand by God
That this inheritance is according to His purposes
Finally he expands on God’s purposes by stating that everything God does is based upon His purposes, His will

• Then in v12 III. Defines what our inheritance is: A. This passage defines for each one of us personally just what blessing, what inheritance, what portion, what lot, what fate God has determined for each believer with their life. What He has created and purposed us for! read v12 B. ?Did you catch that? “that we would be to the praise of His glory!”

Now many people read and apply this verse like this – that we should praise His glory! So we need to take 20 minutes in our services to praise God and give Him glory, especially for all these blessings. And it would even be better if you took 20 minutes every day to praise God and His glory!
That is not what it says! It says that we would be! a) Be does not talk about something we do but rather something we are, it indicates our identity! It is referring to our entire existence! b) I love the way the amplified bible says this, “we... would exist to the praise of His glory”
My whole life, my whole purpose, my whole existence has been designed to be and defined as a life that brings God glory!
That is when your life is hitting its sweet spot! • So IV.How does a life bring glory to God? A. This is how I believe we do it: by reflecting the very life of Christ, by becoming more like Jesus, and I will say even more specifically by living out a life where grace and truth are one in your daily experience moment by moment in every situation in every responsibility in every relationship! B. Salvations goal is the same as creations goal – that man and woman would be image bearers of God. Salvation restores what was lost by sin as God works to make us more and more like Jesus! C. You see God’s glory is displayed in His Son, He is the very radiance of God’s glory! Remember? We learned that at Christmas time.
Read John 1:14
First of all, we see that Jesus is God’s word become flesh – He is the display of what God’s written word looks like when it is lived out!
Then we see that in Jesus the fullness and uniqueness of God’s glory is put on full display.
And in particular we see in that passage that the one aspect of His glory that is highlighted is that He was full of grace and truth. D. So bottom line the more we are like Jesus, especially in living out His grace with truth and His truth with grace, the place where the 2 are 1, that is how we bring praise to God’s glory with our entire lives! That is what we exist for! E. So more important than what you do is how you be! I think the way we do God’s will is just as important aswhat we do!
So what we do, 24 hours a day, 60 minutes an hour, 60 seconds per minute is to be done in a way that reflects the very heart and character of God, especially His grace and truth wrapped up as one! F. This passage reminds me of Rom 8:28-29
Rom 8:28 speaks of Eph 1:11 of – everything that God does, He does in light of His purposes Rom 8:28
Rom 8:29 speaks of v.12 – our purpose is to bring glory to God! Rom 8:29 – God predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son! Rom 8:29
And the more we are like Jesus the more glory God receives! a) Like Jesus in our motives, our attitudes, our thought life, our words, our purposes, our habits, our deeds, etc!

G. Our sweet spot in life is to wherever God has placed us, whatever assignment we have in life, whatever job, whatever role, whatever position, whatever activity, whatever relationship, whatever conversation we have, whatever work God has given you to do, we glorify God by displaying the heart of Jesus as we live out lives of grace and truth before the lost world and with each other! V. Communion A. Let me encourage you with this, this is not something any of us do perfectly but we are all growing in it. God does not look for perfection but progress! B. So as you go to communion this morning take a look at your progress in becoming more like Jesus, in displaying His heart to those around you, to living with both grace and truth as one! 1. If you are progressing in these, then thank God and ask Him to continue that work. 2. If you are regressing or even stalled, then something is seriously wrong with your spiritual life. Ask God to put His finger on it, confess anything He shows you and then open your heart and ask the Spirit of God to go to work on you so that your entire life and existence would be one of bringing glory to God! 3. This is your purpose in life, this is your lot in life, this is your fate, this is where you will experience living in your SWEET SPOT!

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The Gift of Grasping the Relevance of God’s Program

Eph 1:8-10 July 26, 2020

I. Introduction: A. The question that I received the most from people when COVID-19 first started was always asked with a bit of panic in their voice. This was the question: “Are we in the end times, are we in the book of revelation?” 1. My answer was always the same, this is not what we learned in the book of revelation, if it was it would be way worse, way more people would die and way more things would be going on! 2. But I went on to say there are many things going on in the world that the scripture says are signs that the end is drawing near. B. I could not help but think what stability, what peace, what wisdom comes from knowing God’s word and especially what He has done, is doing and what He is going to do in this world. 1. Then during this season I came across Eph 1:8-10 and I realized deep within my heart and could not help but THANK God for the amazing GIFT God has given us when He gave us HIS WORD! 2. Read Eph 1:8-10 3. My heart is burdened for how many Christians have all of this at their fingertips and very seldom they open up this book, let alone read and study it. a) In Hosea 4:6 God said “my people are being destroyed because of a lack of knowledge b) Proverbs 19:2 says it is not good for a person to be without knowledge c) Proverbs 14:33 says “Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding!” 4. Bottom line and this is true even for Christians, it is not good, actually you could make decisions and react in a way that could destroy your life and

others, and you can lack wisdom on how to live in days like today, if you do not know God’s word and what He is doing! C. But Eph 1:8-10 tells us that God not only made His purposes known to us but He actually did it in a way that was full of wisdom and INSIGHT, a way that allows us to see the true nature of things and the ability to grasp the relevance for us in this present time! 1. That is what it means when it says God did this in all wisdom and insight! 2. Read v8b-9a • Let’s look at this a bit closer II. Eph 1:8-10 A. Note something we learned just a few weeks ago in the middle of v9. 1. Read 9b 2. This will of God that He made known to us is according to the kind intention of His purposes, kind intention of his will! 3. You all already know that the kind intention of God’s purposes and will means that God delighted to do this, He wanted to do this, He took great pleasure in doing this, it is well pleasing to Him 4. Simply it was well pleasing for God to build and fulfill all His purposes and will in Jesus! B. He goes on to explain this a bit fuller and clearer in verse 10a! Read 1. By administration He is talking about how God manages His affairs, how He will carry out His purposes and will! 2. By suitable to the fullness of times He is talking about what God is going to do in the future, in the fullness of times, at the consummation of the ages, when the completion of what God has been pleased to plan, everything God has been doing from Gen 1:1 through Rev 22:21. C. Then He even explain this a bit fuller and clearer in verse 10b. 1. Basically He is talking about the time when everything will be summed up in Christ. 2. Another way to say that is that it will be a time when the main point of everything will be Jesus, everything can simply be summarized in Jesus, that Jesus is the expression of all that God will be doing at that time.

Everything in history and everything that is going on right now is simply moving this whole world towards a time when everything will be summed up in Jesus, everything in the heavens and things on the earth!
It will be the time when God fulfills through Jesus every prophecy in this book, Old and New Testament and all of His covenants He has revealed in His Word! a) At the heart of this is the covenant God made with David when He promised him that one from his family line would be a forever king, reigning forever over forever kingdom b) Remember what we learned in rev 19:19 “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy! c) Simply Jesus is the heart of and fulfilment of prophecy! D. If you are familiar with your Bible you know this is where everything is moving. Just listen as I read just a few passages to reinforce this:
Speaking to Abraham He says Gen 22:18,
In the blessing of Judah, Jacob says this Gen 49:10 (shiloh basically means the one to whom it belongs) Reread 10c-d
Dan 2:44
Dan 7:13-14
Isa 9:6-7
Listen to what the Angel told Mary when He announced to her that she, a virgin would have a child and just who this Child is! Read Lk 1:30-33
Rev 11:15-17 • So how does all of this III.Apply to you and me? A. REMEMBER these verses start with the fact that God made all of this known to us with all wisdom and insight, or simply a way that allows us to see the true nature of things and the ability to grasp the relevance for us in this present time!
Knowing God’s Word, knowing prophecy, knowing God’s plan that is well pleasing to Him and brings Him delight should help us understand the true

nature of what is going on today and recognize that ultimately it is not about flesh and blood but an invisible war with demonic forces behind the scene. Even deeper than that, like in the book of Job, God even uses Satan to carry out His purposes! 2. Satan thinks he is winning as he divides people over viruses and over race and over politics and morality but actually God is allowing him to do his thing so as to move us to a time when everything will be fulfilled in Jesus. 3. Hard times in and with the world should not surprise anyone who knows their Bible. 4. All of this has to happen so man can learn experimentally that true life can only be found in Jesus and so things can move towards that time when all of God’s purposes will be fulfilled in Jesus GOSPEL B. Knowing this book shows us the end is near when we look at prophecy and current events that are lining up with them 1. Alignment of nations we see in Old Testament Prophecies is happening 2. Catastrophic events happening in the world show us that the things to come in revelation are not just figurative language but can be realities 3. Signs of the end of time Jesus spoke of in Matt 24 are happening 4. And the character of people today is just like it says it will be in 2 Tim 3. C. But none of this should surprise us if we understand God’s WORD, PURPOSES and WILL. Read 1 Thess 5:1-11

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Pastor Pat continues in our series, "This is Us"!

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God Chose You Ephesians 1:4 July 5 - Communion I. Introduction: A. I have great news for you You’re Richer than You Think! That was the title to the book Erwin Lutzer wrote regarding the spiritual riches/spiritual blessings that we have in Christ! 1. Some of you do not even know that you have a heavenly joint account that you share with Jesus where He did all the work, made all the deposits into the account and we get to make withdrawals on this account! 2. Some people know they have an account but really have not grasped the fact that they are already spiritual billionaires as they live in spiritual poverty and defeat most of the time. 3. The name on the account is in Christ. B. We were introduced to this account last week and in weeks to come, we are going to see and understand a bit more of what is available for us to withdraw from this account! 1. Let me read what we learned last week. Read Ephesians 1:3 2. God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing there is to have and He did this in Christ. 3. We also learned that these blessings have to do with whom we are at the deepest core of our being, the place where our spirit is. 4. These blessings have to do with our past justification, things that became true of us when we were saved, things that are being worked out in our lives now as God is sanctifying us, things that will be completed and fully true of us in the future when we are glorified in Christ’s kingdom! • So today, we will continue our series called “This is us!” as we start to understand better just who we are! The first question I hear from many is … II. What does “in Christ” mean? A. It seems so vague, like some kind of abstract spiritual tag on in many verses. B. When a person puts their trust in Jesus, they become one spirit with Him! Read 1 Corinthians 6:17. 1. We learned last week: a) In John 3:6 – that which is born of the spirit is spirit b) We also learned in John 7:37-38 that the Holy Spirit dwells at the core of our being! 2. So Jesus’ spirit has become one, joined together, and indwelling my spirit at the core of my being! C. Now listen to John 14:19-20. Read v19 Jesus said that after his resurrection we would know something: 1. Read v20 Three things: a) Jesus is in the Father b) We are in Jesus = in Christ c) I in you – Christ dwelling in us, abiding in us 2. So bottom line the same way that Jesus and the Father are one and mutually indwell each other, so Jesus and us are one and mutually indwell each other, thus becoming one! 3. So our oneness with Jesus - Him in us and us in Him is as easy to understand as the trinity – the Father, Son and Spirit as one! D. So how do I get into Christ – it is something that God did at the moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ to save us! 1. Read 1 Corinthians 1:3– it is something that God does, not something we do! 2. Ephesians 1:13 – we are sealed, secured, locked in Christ by means of the Holy Spirit E. Illustrate with glass of milk (Jesus) and chocolate (us) 1. Before we knew Christ – separate, distinct, apart 2. When we believed – pour chocolate into milk and stir together. 3. The chocolate is now in the milk 4. Identified as one, together, united. 5. What is true of the milk is now true of the chocolate! F. We are now in Christ and Jesus’ experience has now become my experience (his death, burial and resurrection has now become my death, burial and resurrection). His possessions (all his riches, inheritance, and future kingdom from the Father have become my possessions as a joint heir with Jesus) and his victories have become my victories, etc. G. Our great work here is to believe that all of this is true and already all done by the Father and Jesus and the Spirit. There is not anything we need to do to get in Christ and get all these blessings but rather that battle is to believe it has already been done and given to you H. This is us if you are a believer – you are already in Christ • So it is true – we are richer than we think because we are in Christ so let’s look at the very first possession that is ours III. Chosen in Him to be holy and blameless A. Read v4 - this verse is not that hard to understand, the battle is believing it because it is so mind blowing. B. First God choose you and me to be in Christ. Read 1:4a 1. Not only did He do the work of getting us in Christ but even before that He made a decision, a choice as to who would be in Christ! Out of all the world of people that would ever be born He choose you and me that are believers! 2. Yes God did prefer you over someone else – mind blowing and raises a lot of questions – a) If you want to pursue this a bit further I did two complete messages in Romans on this topic for which you can order the CD. 3. This morning I just want to give us some insight into why He choose many of us. a) I know it is true in my case see if it fits you! b) Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Listen c) This removes all boasting and should turn us to worship and gratitude because what we are learning is what Jesus said – “you did not choose me but I chose you.” Being saved is not the smartest thing you ever did but the greatest gift you ever received! C. When did God chose you and me to be in Christ? Read 1:4a-b 1. He made this decision to include you and me in Christ before God created the world, sometime before Genesis 1:1! 2. Isn’t that mind blowing – before God created the world He chose you to be in Christ? That does not mean you were placed in Christ before the world was created, that happened when you believed but rather He made a decision and choice at that time for you to be one of those to be in Christ! D. Now it even gets better listen to why he chose you to be in Christ – read 1:4c 1. Holy (pure vessel, cleaned up and set aside for His use) and blameless (no defect, without blemish - without fault) 2. Before Him – in His eyes in His sight this is the way that God sees you right now as holy and blameless because you are in Christ – remember what is true of Jesus has become true of you 3. Read Galatians 3:27– paraphrased – all of you who were placed in Christ (that is what baptized into Christ means) says we are clothed with Christ – a) Grateful for clothing as it covers our blemished and defective body. b) Illustrate - put paper (you and me) in Bible (Jesus)! - You do not see (paper – me); you see the Bible (Jesus) and that is how God sees us right now! E. The problem is that most of us look at others and ourselves, as we were apart from Christ, as unclothed and not hidden in Christ. Thus, we focus on our faults, weaknesses and sins rather than the holy and blameless people we really already are at the level of our spirit. F. Remember from last week: 1. Our identity relates to our spirit and was dealt with in the past when we were justified – we are holy and blameless at the core of our being 2. In the present time God is at work in our souls to make us more holy and blameless in our daily walks – we call that sanctification 3. And in the future when our entire spirit and soul and body will be completely holy and blameless – we call that glorified! • As we go to … IV. Communion A. Consider this - read Jude 24. 1. V24 a – God’s present work in our sanctification – keep us from stumbling 2. V24b – God’s future work in our glorification! B. As you take communion consider this: 1. When Moses stood before God’s glory, God told him he could not look on the fullness of God’s glory because to see the fullness of God’s glory would instantly kill him 2. When Isaiah saw God’s glory while He sat on his throne his response was woe is me, for I am ruined – PBP paraphrase – man I am in deep trouble for I am going to die because I am a sinful man and my eyes have seen the king! 3. Now consider this verse – when you stand in the presence of God in the future, you will stand there blameless with great joy. 4. The only response to that is this – read v 25!

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We are kicking off our new series, This is Us-Blessed in Christ!

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WELCOME BACK HOME MVC FAM!

Reopening the Church Various Passages June 21, 2020 I. Introduction: A. Greetings 1. I want to wish every father here today and watching on line a very happy Father’s Day! May you have a day to be celebrated and refreshed! 2. And welcome to my brothers and sisters here at MVC Church today, our first day back together after three months! It’s great to see you. B. A lot has happened in the last three months that has changed our lives, church and world! 1. COVID 19 has changed many of our lives and has kept us apart for three months as our hearts cried out to be back together! 2. And the murder of George Floyd has made our hearts cry out for justice. C. I believe God is using this time as an opportunity to grow His church in discipleship! 1. He stripped away all our programs to help us see all the more clearly that programs are designed to disciple people and we want to make sure as we come back we can do that even better. 2. This time of heightened awareness of racial tension is a great platform to develop us as disciples because the lessons we learn in this season are lessons disciples can use all their lives in all relationships and injustices! • So let’s start by looking at … II. The cry to be back together! A. One question our leaders and staff kept hearing repeatedly as we talked to people during this time was, “When are we getting back together?” “The video services are good but something is missing!” 1. There were two truths that kept ringing through my heart as I heard this: a) Read 2 John 12 – as good as letters are, as good as social media is, as good as a video is, only face to face gathering fill our joy tanks to overflowing! b) Read Ephesians 2:19 – we are God’s household, we are the family of God, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. (1) It is built into our spiritual DNA as new creatures in Christ to long to be together just as we long to be together with our blood family! B. So we put much work into coming back in a way that is timely, wise and as safe as possible for everyone who longs to be here! C. But I am fully aware that there are others who have that same longing to be together but they do not feel it is wise for them to come back yet. 1. I want you to know that I fully respect the fact that it is not right for you to come back now and we look forward to your return when the time is right for you! 2. We are fully aware that MVC will be meeting on Sunday mornings live in the auditorium, by video in different rooms throughout the building and in many homes! a) We are asking God for wisdom to: (1) Minister well to all three venues on Sunday mornings (2) Encourage all of us to connect with other believers because we need each other as believers, especially in days like these! (3) Encourage all of us in our faith because we need that in days like these! • The second cry we have felt is … III. The cry for justice A. What I am going to say is not all that needs to be said nor will it be the final word that is needed regarding the unjust, brutal and cold-hearted murder of George Floyd, and the aftermath of that murder. It will be just my two cents added to the discussion and next steps for us at MVC. B. Before I jump into my comments, I want to say a few more things so you know where I am coming from. 1. I am aware that the racial problems are bigger than just in our hearts and it reaches into our families, churches and culture. a) But I am also aware that if our hearts do not change first then our families, churches and culture never will! b) Tony Evans said if the church is broken then we really have nothing to say to the culture around us until we clean our own house! 2. I need to let you know up front that as a white person I cannot empathize with blacks because I have not been where they have been. a) Their experience in the United States has not been the same as mine as a white person and they have experienced suppression, injustices and inequalities in many respects! 3. While there are policies that the police department can still improve upon, we need to recognize that there are many good police officers who love the communities that they serve and whose hearts have been broken and repulsed by what the officer in Minneapolis did to George Floyd. a) Their reputations have been ruined by the few, the many are bearing the consequences of the few, and many are hated and judged without being known. b) We must not forget them and appreciate our brothers and sisters who are good and faithful ministers of Jesus on the streets of these communities as they risk their lives to keep others safe! c) Please be praying for them! 4. Ultimately, this is not a black and white issue or even police officers and black community issue – it is a spiritual war where Satan is using people as pawns to destroy one another, relationships and communities and especially important to us today – even divide the church! C. Let me share the two verses that have been rolling around in my heart! 1. Read Psalm 89:14a. a) Righteousness and justice are the very foundation of God’s reign. b) Righteousness – that which is morally good and right c) Justice – the impartial and fair judgement and punishment of the breaking of a law! 2. Read Ecclesiastes 8:11- I going to give you the Pat Peglow paraphrase of this: simply if an evil deed is committed and justice is not administered quickly then man thinks he can get away with it and does it all the more. D. So let me tell you how I think we got to where we are today 1. So first, consider the fact that most of those who rule over us in our community, state and nation do not lead from righteousness and justice but rather have rejected God, His Word and His wisdom and think they have better and wiser ways than Him. 2. Add to that when a policeman or a looter or rioter, when a wealthy person or poor person, when famous or a nobody, when a white person or a black person, when a person in position of power and those who are powerless are not dealt with quickly and with equal (important word – equal – one more time - equal) justice for all, not only do they but those around them see they can get away with it and jump in with both feet so it spreads from the individual to organization to the culture. 3. Compound this with the fact that this has been going on for decades; you kind of get what we have today when it comes to racism and prejudice in individuals, families, churches, cultures, organizations, and court systems. 4. If equal and fair justice for all would have been put in place decades ago and administered quickly we would not be where we are today! • So let me suggest a few, not everything that needs to be done but a few… IV. Next steps for the people of MVC Repent 1. The standard that God has called us to in our attitudes and relationships with others that are different than us is the one we find in the Bible and displayed in the life and character of Jesus 2. In light of this my guess is that everyone of us, black, white, police, rich, powerful, etc. have places we need to repent! 3. Listen to your own thoughts and what you are saying at home when no one else is around but your family and you will get a sense of where your heart really is. B. We need to celebrate what God celebrates – diversity in color and class and ethnicity. I love what one speaker said, “Jesus did not just shed His blood to save us but he shed His blood to make us siblings! 1. One black brother I spoke with told me that all his life he has not felt accepted or valued as a black man in a white church. Simply the more white he acted the more he will be accepted by the white Christians. a) This is not a brother with an axe to grind; this is a man of God humbly being honest with his pastor. 2. Stop saying you do not see color. Actually, start seeing different colors and glory, delight in, accept, and learn from the diversity that God has built into His church. C. As disciples, we not only follow Jesus but we impact others! Many of us think we need to do something big and significant to impact others and our world! 1. I want to remind you of the last sermon I preached before we went to videos entitled “Changing our world – one life at a time! 2. Remember this quote from Jeff Manion – “Most of us desire to live great lives. We fear we will fritter away our days without leaving any discernible mark on our world. However, in our quest to live greatly, we search for something great to do. Something big. I believe this to be a huge mistake. Greatness is rarely achieved by doing great things but instead by doing good things repetitively. Jeff Manion “dream big think small” 3. The first step we can do in changing the world is to be faithful on the circuit of life and people where God has placed you. a) Lovingly and humbly, challenge those of the same color as you who are displaying words, attitudes and actions that are sinful racially. b) And those of a different color from you use your words, attitudes and actions to help heal and bridge the racial gap! D. Our next step as a church – a community of people together 1. In July, we have a hands on opportunity that Ron Ovitt talked to me about, that would give us a chance to provide diapers and baby food to help young mothers in an area that was hit by riots. 2. On Sept 27, we are going to have Roy Patterson, the head of the urban ministry at MBI, preach to us and we will follow that with a round table discussion on race relations with Roy. E. There is more that can and should be done but I think the best place to start is by calling a black brother or sister, and calling a police officer. Just say I want to hear your heart, and then really listen to understand them and then pray for them. You do not have to have any the answers now as you are just learning. 1. I called seven different black adults that come to MVC. God used these calls to do something deep in my heart and give me a better glimpse into what their world has been like as well as how good hearted and biblically minded our people are! I love the story one woman told me. a) She had a white electrician at her house and he asked her what this thing “Black lives matter.” He said, “I do not get it because all lives matter!” b) She said, “White lives have always mattered here in this country but what they should have called themselves is “Black lives matter, too!” I thought, “Wow that is good!” c) Black lives matter too because: (1) Every human being has been made in God’s image (2) When it comes to race, biblically there is only one race the human race. Then they were scattered all over the world from Babel to form the different nations of the world. (3) God’s plan in beginning was to bless every nation (4) Jesus died for the sins of the entire world. (5) The great commission sends us to every nation (6) When God’s purposes are fulfilled in the future every nation, all tribes and peoples and tongues will stand before the throne of God and before the Lamb saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb! V. Send off A. Brothers and sisters, commit yourself this week to begin to listen and learn! Whites from blacks, blacks from whites, blacks from police officers, police officers from blacks and let’s begin the healing at MVC.

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Pastor Pat continues in our series, "Transformed".

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Pastor Pat continues in our series, "Transformed".

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Pastor Bill Mills continues in our sermon series, "Transformed".

God is worthy of it all!

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Generous Loving Various Passages February 16, 2020 I. Introduction: A. Every ingredient in food adds a different and distinct flavor to the food! 1. My wife has the ability to taste a piece of food then discern and savor the different ingredients that make up that particular food. 2. I cannot do that as I just taste a piece of food and enjoy it but am unable to distinguish the different ingredients that make it up. B. Did you know there are different ingredients that make up love? The better you can understand and distinguish the ingredients of love the better chance we have to fine tune those ingredients and make our love even better and better! C. During our 75th year as a church, we have stated we want to excel still the more as a disciple making church and thus be a greater blessing to each other and those outside these walls! D. Actually, the badge that we wear that communicates to the world that we are disciples of Jesus Christ is our love. Just like the policeman wears a badge that identifies who he is so we who are Christians have a badge that identifies who we are. Love is the badge that identifies us as a disciple of Jesus Christ 1. Listen to John 13:35 2. Did you realize that being a better disciple means you will be a better lover and thus a better blessing to those around us – our mate, children, others in the church family, neighbors, friends, classmates, co-workers etc. E. So to excel as a disciple making church means we will excel in love for one another and those beyond the walls. 1. To excel in love means we will better understand the ingredients that make up love so we can better fine-tune our love! F. So as we look particularly at one ingredient in our love today we are going to be both intentional as a church to do our due diligence to grow in it but also deeply depend upon the Lord that we would excel still the more in our love. 1. The ingredient of love that I want to talk about today, the one we want to fine tune and increase in is generosity. G. We are so used to thinking of generosity in the realm of money only and it can be hard to pull our minds back from that but that is my task today as I want to talk about generosity as a key ingredient in the love of a believer. • Today my focus is on a generous heart, a generous life, a generous love apart from money. So let’s talk about a II. Generous Love A. So if the badge of a disciple is love and we have already learned many times that the goal of a disciple is to become more like Jesus, then where we want to go is to love as Jesus loved. B. Look back at John 13:35 1. Reread v35 – our badge as a disciple of Jesus Christ is our love 2. But the verse before describes to us what this badge of love looks like. Read v34 3. Jesus has raised the bar here because the old commandment they had was to love your neighbor as yourself, now Jesus is saying you are to love one another even as I have loved you. a) That means in the same manner in the same way that Jesus has loved us we are to love one another. b) When we answer the question how Jesus loved us, we are starting to fine-tune the ingredients of love! C. Since we are here turn over to John 15:13. In verse 12 Jesus reminds us again it is a command to love like He loves but in the next verse rather than telling us it is our badge He is sharing with us a main ingredient in love. 1. Read v13 2. Laying down our life, our agenda, our time, our schedule, our energy, our resources for someone else’s benefit is the heart of love, it is the heart of being a disciple, it is the heart of blessing others, it is the heart of where we want to go as a church! D. You might be thinking at this time – what does that have to do with generosity? Well let’s stop for a minute and define generosity. Generosity has four ingredients of its own! 1. Generosity always involves giving or sharing of something we have with someone else. 2. Generosity is about giving more than what is needed. It is an abundant amount and usually cost us something to do it 3. Generosity is about doing things freely – it is giving freely without restraint 4. Generosity involves giving something of value to you – generosity is not about giving people left overs or your throw aways but rather something that is special to you. 5. So this ingredient of love makes us love others by the lavish, extravagant, excessive, and freely without restraint giving of ourselves, our time, our talents, and our resources, something that is significant and special to you to bless and benefit others! E. We see all of this displayed for us in John 3:16 1. Read 2. “So loved” that talks about the degree of love – this was an extravagant excessive love that God had for us 3. “That He gave” – there is the giving part of generosity, the cost of love – the laying down of the life 4. Now listen to the value and significance of the gift – “His only begotten son” 5. God has a generous love towards us, an extravagant love as He so loved, a costly and giving love as He gave His son, it was a love that gave the one who was most precious and valuable to Him - His only begotten son. F. The manner which God loved us and which He calls us to love one another is a generous love – freely giving away in abundance that which we value to bless and help someone else. G. I love these definitions of generous living that I read in my study for this sermon. 1. “A generous lifestyle is where I realize just how greatly I have been blessed by God is so many areas that, in return, I seek to be just as great a blessing in His name to others.” Rev Kevin Barren 2. “Living generously is living gratefully, offering from one’s abundance without thought of recompense or expectation of return in order to enhance and enrich the lives of others.” David Bowman H. Generosity is what God wants us to grow in and this is what we want to grow in! Listen to these verses 1. 1 Peter 1:22 do not just love another but fervently love. That means there is an intensity in your love! Read 2. 1 Thessalonians 2:7,8 – not only giving the gospel to people but our whole lives, with the same kind of care a nursing mother gives her baby. Read 3. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 – God wants and is the cause of our love increasing and abounding (that is generous love) not only for other believers but for everyone – lost and saved. Read 4. 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 God wants us to excel still the more in our love. Read 5. Listen to Paul pray in Philippians 1:9 that their love would abound still more and more. Read • So generosity is not just something that happens with our money but is something that should be a part of our entire life! So what can that look like for me this week if I was to love with generosity? III. Application A. We have been learning from Ron Ovitt on Tuesday nights in the Emotional Resilience class that there are two sides to the brain – 1. The left side which is the logical and rational side that works with words 2. The right side is the relational side of the brain – it is the non-verbal side of the brain, which responds to eye contact, facial expressions, tone of voice – not words but the tone of those words, sincere touch even sensing if someone is happy to be with you. B. What studies have shown are that people who connect with other people heart to heart and are fully present in the moment and are truly happy to be with the other person and listens with non-judgmental attitudes or words – have the ability to heal a person’s damaged soul! 1. Parents are you listening? Husbands and wives are you listening? Friends are you listening? - repeat (b)again 2. Neurological studies not only show us that but Scripture teaches us the importance of community and we have seen and felt this in ourselves when we have experienced that kind of relationship C. Now here is the problem as I see it, we live in a culture that is busy and preoccupied and carries its cell phones with them into conversations. Thus constantly being disrupted by texts and calls or constantly having the TV going! 1. So people have very little time or interest to give, give, give – that is generously give of themselves to others for deep connection. When they do give the time they are usually preoccupied in their minds and hearts from all the busyness of their lives and their internal to do list that never shuts off. a) So our connections are superficial and seldom reach the kind that brings healing to soul. 2. Add to that that very few people today genuinely listen to others but rather dominate the floor of discussion with their own multitude of words. They dominate 90% of the conversation while giving others only 10%. D. So here is an application of generous love since we are in a day and age where we value our time as much as we value our money! Generously give of your time and full attention to listen to two people this week in order to bless them! 1. Be intentional to invite someone to coffee with the intention of letting them know you are happy to be with them not so much with your words but by your full attention, non-judgmental, empathic listening that is truly interested in what is going on in their life! Listen for their heart and emotions and not just their words. Finish that time by praying for them. 2. Try it this week and you will not only bless someone and maybe begin a healing in their soul but you will begin to exercise and stretch your heart in generous love, a spiritual muscle we all need to develop.

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Where and How/Mission and Values of MVC Various Passages Feb 9, 2020 Introduction: A. We saw at our 75TH anniversary that God has given MVC a firm foundation of discipleship for 75 years and going forward we want to be a church that is blessed by God so we can even be a greater blessing to each other and the world around us! B. To do that our desire is to excel still the more as a disciple making church. 1. Thus, we are now doing a series called Transform – how God changes us at our core to make us even greater disciples and a disciple making church. So we want to position ourselves in line with where He is working! 2. We also learned that unless God builds MVC as a greater disciple making church we are laboring in vain, so we want to do our due diligence and deeply depend upon God! • So what are some of the things that need to change at MVC for us to be an even more effective disciple making church to be a greater blessing to each other and the world beyond these walls? Let’s start with I. MVC Mission A. Our Mission over the last number of years has been bringing people to Jesus and becoming more like Jesus! We want to tighten that up a bit after we did a whole series on discipleship a year ago and learned that a disciple is simply someone who follows Jesus and impacts others. 1. We saw that from the great commission, the meaning of the word disciple and what Jesus called his disciples to, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men” – 2. Following Jesus, impacting others is exactly what a disciple is and does! B. So our mission going forward is simply: following Jesus, impacting others! 1. This is what we want to excel in still the more. 2. Repeat! C. Let me expand just a little what that looks like – First, following Jesus 1. To equip believers to be passionate followers of Jesus committed to growing in Christlikeness, 2. The Great Commandment tells us to love the Lord with all our hearts and Romans 8:29 tells us that God’s goal in our lives is to conform us into the image of Christ. We learned just last week that God is transforming us into the image of His glory, from one degree of glory to the next D. Impacting others 1. To raise up the next generation of disciples! a) God’s Word repeatedly calls us to raise up the next generation but also for us to thrive as a church for the next 75 years it is essential that we raise up the generations after us 2. To radically impact our communities through the hope of the gospel, one life at a time, one step at a time. a) That fulfills our call to make disciples of all nations and brings it down to a very practical level for each one of us to impact those around us. • So with a tighten target of where Jesus wants MVC to go, we need to adjust some key principles and practices to get us there. These would be … II. MVC Values A. Mission driven - mission is why we exist 1. We believe that we carry the hope of Jesus to the world. We have been placed in our church and community for the sake of others. When each of us plays our part families are strengthened, believers grow, the hurting are healed, the lost are found, and our community is blessed. 2. We just spent a lot of time on the mission, our destination of following Jesus and impacting others. What we mean by mission driven is what ultimately leads us in our decisions is our mission and becomes the focus of our work. What we align our work and ministries around is the mission. What we want to be intentional and strategic about is the mission Jesus gave us! B. Grace+truth - Grace+truth is our context. 1. We believe we all need grace and truth. How God meets us in our brokenness is how we engage one another in our current culture. 2. We learned in the book of Revelation that Jesus wants His churches to be churches of both grace and truth 3. We learning in our Christmas series that right at the heart of the glory of Jesus is grace and truth John 1:14 C. Future focused - the next generation is our sight. 1. We believe our legacy is to raise a generation that knows and loves Jesus. We leverage our opportunities to help the emerging generation find their place in God’s story. 2. While we have a special focus on young families, we all have a generation that is younger than us both spiritually and age wise. There is someone whom each one of us can take what we learned in our stage of life or spiritual growth and pass onto someone who is coming up behind you. a) We are not just talking about 70 year olds working with 15 year olds even though if God leads that way all the better b) There are people in their 70’s who know people in their 50’s and 60’s whom they can help prepare and equip for the next stage of life. People in their 20’s that can help teens. We have every age between, above and younger than those ages that can focus on their next generation c) There are also mature believers in Christ that can help a new believer in Christ grow their roots in Jesus and there are new believers in Christ who can help a lost person find Jesus. d) The point is that we all have someone age wise or spiritually that we can help prepare for the next stage of life or growth in Christ. D. Together strong - together is our vehicle. 1. We believe we are better together. We are committed to connecting in authentic community where discipleship takes place, burdens are carried and each is spurred on in our next steps with Jesus. 2. None of us grows in isolation we need others to sharpen us and us sharpen them. 3. Even Jesus sent out His disciples in twos when He sent them out to do ministry and the great apostle Paul went in teams. 4. We need to live and grow and serve together in the family of God and independently or in isolation. We have been designed by God to live and depend upon community. To do otherwise you do it to your own hurt Ephesians 4:15-16 E. World changers - transformation is our destination. 1. We believe our world is changed one life at a time. Every life matters. Every moment is an opportunity. We are sent ones (missionaries) bringing the love, life and truth of Jesus to our community. 2. We saw the reality of this in the video by Ron Hutchcraft on our 75th when as a child he came to the children’s programs at this church and was saved. Ron has literally touched thousands upon thousands of lives since then through Youth for Christ, businessmen’s ministry and now his ministry to Native Americans here in the United States, not to mention his radio broadcast, which many of us have heard. 3. Every life matters, whether a child or a senior, every moment is an opportunity to minister to someone whether at church or work, school, home or play 4. Every one of us is a missionary/pastor not just the paid professionals at church. Ephesians 4:11-12 5. So when everyone of us at MVC sees ourselves as God’s evangelists and missionaries, in our home, school, work and play places with every person we engage. Seeing every interaction as an opportunity for a conversation or act of kindness to continually prepare the soil of their hearts. When someone comes to Christ we have no idea of how God changes their life and their world – everyone they touch and every place they go. 6. We truly can change the world by changing one person’s world, one life at a time, one step at a time and leave the results to God as He takes it from there to further His work. III. Conclusion A. Turn to Read Matthew 4:18-22 B. Following Jesus to be someone who impacts others means we need to leave what we are currently pursuing to follow Jesus. It is an individual decision that each one of us must make. Bottom line it is a matter of priorities. Will we seek God and His kingdom first or will others lesser things keep us from that? 1. The disciples were fishermen who left their jobs, their families, their businesses, and their possessions, literally everything to follow Jesus. 2. What do you need to leave to follow Jesus? C. That decision of just 12 men forever changed their lives and history. What do you think God would do through a church of 500 people who said we are leaving everything to follow Him? D. This morning I want to let you talk to Jesus about what you heard! 1. Some may be ready today to say Jesus I’m all in! Today I am giving up __________ to follow you with all my heart. 2. Others have lesser things than Jesus controlling your heart, you want to follow Jesus but these things have a strong hold on you. Would you present your entire life to Jesus and give him the freedom and right to break the hold these things have on you and to make you a wholehearted follower of Jesus. E. As you meet with Jesus, consider this picture and ask yourself what is your teddy bear?

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Transformed Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18 Feb 2, 2020 I. Introduction: A. So we are one month into our New Year’s resolutions – how are they going? 1. Resolutions are all about change, things in our life we would like to see change. The great majority of them have to do with external things in our lives – Save more money, exercise more, lose weight, learn a new skill, spend more time with family etc. 2. Most of us have given up on even trying to change the internal things deep within us – things like impatience, selfishness, anxiety, fear, anger, lust, greed, negative thinking, etc. Just too deep, too strong, been there too long! B. But I am here this morning to give you some hope and even some direction into first steps into change at the core of our being, the kind of change that starts from the inside with our character and works its way out into our behavior! 1. What I am talking about this morning is change, change in the essential nature of something which is more like Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine. 2. So bottom line to change who we are takes a miracle by Jesus in my inner most being! C. As we start this new year not only do we long for deep down internal changes but also as we begin our 75th year as a church we long for deep down internal changes in the nature of our church community. So we can be a greater blessing to each other, the people where we live, work, go to school and play and even to the end of the earth. D. Thus, this series is being called transform – which means a deep down change in the essential nature of something. 1. We are calling it that because we long to see deep down change in us, our church and in our communities 2. And we are calling it that because that is the word in the Bible that is used to describe this deep down internal change in our nature. • Let’s talk about being … II. Transformed A. Salvation is much more than being forgiven then getting a ticket to go to heaven when we die. 1. Salvation is a blessing from God that has a whole package of benefits both for now, in the future and in eternity! 2. One of the greatest benefits of salvation is transformation – change – change at the core of our being B. Change starts with salvation. When we are born again the Holy Spirit changes us at the core of our being. 1. Turn 2 Corinthians 5:16-18a – read – stay there in your Bible 2. We are brand new creatures at our core, the deepest part of who we are – something that comes from God. 3. So at the moment of salvation we were deeply changed whether we were aware of it or not C. We learned in our study of Romans 6-8 that the person we were before, known as our old man, was crucified with Christ and that we have been raised up with Christ to a brand new life. 1. Now His Holy Spirit lives inside of that new man. 2. But we find also that we are inseparably linked to a fallen flesh that still has the old habits and ways built deep within us. So we feel this conflict between being who God wants us to be and our flesh controlling our lives. What a miserable place to be. 3. But we also learned that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to break down and dismantle the control of the flesh in our lives and to fill our lives with the very resurrected life of Christ. D. So bottom line we are new creatures in Christ, we are one with Christ at the deepest level of our lives (He is in me and I am in Him) 1. Me in Christ is the way that God sees and blesses me a) All the rights, privileges, positions, blessings God gives to me in Christ, 2. Christ in me is the way that God empowers and changes me a) The Holy Spirit living in me working in me to make more and more like Jesus Christ E. Transformation or change at the core of my being is a process that God works out the rest of my life as He is conforming His children to the image of Jesus Christ. • I want to close by showing you three important ways you can position your life to experience this kind of change at the core of your being. III. Three means to transformation A. I say position yourself because the two passages that talk about transformation both have the word in the passive voice. That simply means it is not an action that we do to ourselves but it is something that God does to us. 1. Transformation, the way we change at the core of our being, is something where we can position our life to be in the places that God works transformation into us by means of His Spirit. 2. Just like I cannot produce a sun tan myself but I can position myself under the sun in such a way that the sun produces a sun tan on my skin 3. In the same way we must position ourselves with the Son – s-o-n so we can get a s-o-n tan on our hearts B. Turn to 2 Corinthians 3:18 1. This is a passage we have a greater ministry than Moses because the new covenant ministry of the life and righteousness by the Spirit is a greater ministry than the old covenant ministry of death and condemnation. a) Moses was a minister of the old covenant, we as believers, not just preachers but every one of us are ministers of the new covenant! 2. We today have a greater privilege than Moses himself and a greater experience of God’s glory than Moses did on the mountaintop of Sinai! 3. Moses would go into the presence of God and his face would shine from being in the presence of God’s glory but that glory would fade as time went on, so he hid his face with a veil so people would not see the glory fading. 4. Now listen to 2 Corinthians 3:18 Read 5. Just a few observations for today a) We are like mirrors reflecting God’s glory to others! b) We do not need a veil over our faces because the glory that is touching our lives is not fading away but rather we are being transformed, changed into that same image of the glory of Christ from one degree of glory to the next – (1) Show this again in the text (2) A synonymous verse with Romans 8:29 we are being conformed to the image of Jesus at the core of our being. (3) What do you think that says about things like impatience, selfishness, anxiety, fear, anger, lust, greed, negative thinking etc.? c) Finally, note that this transformation is from the Lord, the Spirit of Jesus Christ who lives inside of us! C. So in light of the context of this passage (which talks about Moses meeting with God face to face and the Jews reading God’s word) and the use of the word behold which has two possible uses: we are not only reflecting Jesus glory but we are transformed when we put our gaze upon (behold)Jesus and keep it there. So we can position ourselves to be changed by the Spirit of God in two ways: 1. When we are intentional to worship Him and not just sing songs but are beholding Him and we are being transformed 2. When we read God’s word not just for information or a discipline we are supposed to do but rather to have a vital experiences with the living God through His Word where we are changed in a way that our way of thinking and hearts are changed forever D. The third way we can position ourselves for change we see in Romans 12:1-2 – Please turn 1. As I read note in verse 2 again we see this transformation happen in our minds as we allow God’s Word to get so deep within us that it changes us. Read 12:1-2 2. But right at the start of v1, we see the third way we can position ourselves for this deep change. a) Reread v1 a-c b) Present your entire life to God – simply saying to God here I am God, take over my life by your Spirit and do in me whatever you want to do – I am yours from now on – I am the clay you are the potter – do as you please in me! IV. Communion A. As we go to communion this morning it is another great opportunity to be transformed as you behold Jesus and reflect upon His death for you, what it means to you and what it demands of you! B. Talk to God about it, which is another face-to-face encounter with God talking with each other – prayer is another form of transformation. It says in Luke 9:29 that while Jesus was praying he was transfigured. C. During this communion time would you position yourself to be changed and ask God which means of transformation we learned about this morning you should begin to practice on a regular basis to place yourself under the s-o-n to get a life changing s-o-n tan on your heart, one that will not pass away!

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The Lord Building MVC Psalm 127:1-2 Ephesians 4:15-16 January 26, 2020 I. Introduction: A. The passage that we are going to look at today may have had a big impact on your life as you come to MVC and my hope is it will have even a greater impact on our lives, and even the lives of those outside these walls whom we encounter all week long. 1. As turn to Psalm 127 let me try to explain why I said that. 2. Close to 15 years ago, three of us were moved by this passage and the reality of spiritual warfare that we needed to pray not just for ourselves but also for MVC. a) So for years, every Monday morning for one hour we met in the last row right about where the sound booth is to pray for this church and you the people of MVC. b) Since then the location has been moved and two more people normally join us but that one hour of prayer for MVC and its people has continued weekly. 3. The truth of this passage drives the reason why about five years ago another prayer meeting was started on Thursday morning where three of us meet for one hour every week 4. The truth of this passage is one of the reason we started about nine months ago to meet corporately every Wednesday morning at 6am for an hour of prayer. B. I think you get the point – when the reality of the truth of this passage sinks into our hearts; prayer is one of the first responses that naturally flows out of our hearts! 1. This passage, along with many others, teaches us that we must depend upon the Lord as we do our work to see the kind of growth and success that matters to God and lasts into eternity. 2. One of the greatest expressions of dependence is prayer, when I admit to God my desperate need for Him to be involved in what I am doing. If He does not show up and do something then all my efforts will be in vain regarding eternity • Now in Psalm 127 we are only going to be dealing with the first 2 verses II. Psalm 127:1-2 A. The psalm deals with how God’s blessing sustains both our life at home and in our society. It’s not a matter of man’s wisdom, hard work or practices and policies that bring success but rather God’s blessing, God’s working upon, with and through man’s working. 1. Actually, the passage says it even stronger as it talks about the vanity of man to do their work apart from God’s blessing and His working with them! 2. Watch for this as I read v1-2 a) Read it in the NLT B. It’s straightforward – God’s blessing, God’s grace and God causing his face to shine upon what you are doing is essential for the success of it. 1. Just a side note – when I use the word success I am aware there are three ways to apply this word: a) The worlds definition of success – which is totally shaped apart from God’s wisdom but solely upon man’s wisdom within their particular culture b) The church world’s definition of success – which often mixes the world’s wisdom and God’s wisdom, is measured mostly by external and visible metrics. c) God’s definition of success is found in His Word. Actually according to 1 Corinthians 2 God’s wisdom is considered foolish by the sophisticated of this world, but many of God metrics for success are measured by internal and invisible things that last forever! C. It starts in v1 with the building of a house and the guarding of a city and states the vanity of it unless the Lord is involved in it. You can have 100 guards out protecting a city but without God’s protection going along with it, the city will be broken into. D. In v2 he talks about the uselessness of working endless hours and burning the candle at both ends because God’s blessing is the ultimate determination of success. He gives it not only when you’re working but also even when you are sleeping. E. It is important to note that this Psalm is not promoting passivity on the part of man and only dependence and prayer on his part. I believe it is teaching due diligence on man’s part along with deep dependence upon God’s involvement and blessing upon what you are doing! 1. In the passage we see a) V1a – man is laboring to build the house but he also needs God’s blessing b) V1b – there are guards who are watching the city – it is just that their work will be useless unless God grants the protection. (1) So God’s working and blessing does not come apart from man but often through man’s work and effort c) V2 is warning us against thinking everything depends upon us so we had better work our butts off if we are going to succeed. (1) actually god does not only work in and through our works but even when we are not working, when we are resting and sleeping God is still working on our behalf. 2. So the way I seek to live my life in everything, both personally and ministry wise, is with a heart of due diligence and deep dependence a) Due diligence means to take reasonable and responsible steps to be faithful in something. b) This drives me to put my hands to the work, constantly seeking to excel still the more at what I do while praying fervently and persistently that God’s blessing would be on, in and through what I do, doing things that only God can do! F. We see this same truth regarding the growth of the church in Ephesians 4:15-16. 1. The passage, in context, talks about the way that God has structured His church to bring about growth. Things primarily measured by internal, invisible and eternal things. 2. He wraps up this section speaking about the due diligence and deep dependence that is necessary for the church to grow with the kind of growth that comes from God 3. As I read, I want you to note the dependence that we are called upon to have in Jesus, the head of the church, since He is the source of the kind of growth that comes from God. At the same time it talks about the importance of each individual part of the body (that is the believer), functioning to their full capacity in light of the way God designed them to work. a) In other words, we will see due diligence and deep dependence coming together in the context of church growth. b) Read Ephesians 4:15-16 c) to become all the church God wants MVC to be it requires you (1) functioning to the fullest measure using your spiritual gift to impact others inside and outside this church (2) It also requires your prayers d) According to this verse if not every believer here is serving to the full extent God has called and gifted them to serve and is not praying for MVC and its people and ministries, then MVC will not grow to the place where God wants us to be both quantitatively and quality wise! • So all of this brings us back to where I started – these truths make us realize the importance of prayer in our lives and church III. Application A. As we move forward from our 75th anniversary seeking to be a church that is blessed by God so we can be a blessing to others; we need to pray if we want that to be a reality at MVC and not just an inspirational message for a 75th anniversary. B. Two ways we can do that as a church. 1. Wednesday 6am – a group of us meet every week because of these truths seeking God’s blessing upon this church and this people as we go about what God has called us to do. We do not want to see our works in vain and we would love to see the number of people who join us increase so our impact through prayer can increase 2. 75 … C. Close in prayer for God’s blessings, for God’s glory upon the work and people of MVC. Yes, that He would bless us, not just when we are doing the work we should be doing, but even while we are resting and sleeping!

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Blessed for God’s Glory

Psalm 67 January 19, 2020 – 75th Anniversary

I. Introduction: A. What we have heard today is God’s grace, God’s blessing, God’s face shining, and God’s divine favor on this church. We also heard about God’s blessing going through this church to people both locally and all over the world. We also have blessed Him today for these blessings by praising Him as the hero of the story of MVC over 75 years! B. This really is a micro picture of what God is doing in the world. 1. It all starts with God, a God who has a heart to bless! 2. Then God pours out His divine favor upon His people 3. Then God’s blessed people take that blessing and bless others with it. 4. Finally, those who have experienced God’s blessing return blessing/praise back to God for His goodness to them. C. This has been God’s plan from the beginning 1. Turn to Genesis 12:2 - God lays out his plan for Abraham. Many consider this the foundational passage in Scripture regarding God’s plan in this world. I happen to be one of those. 2. Read v2...3c 3. God promises to bless Abraham by making him a great nation and his name great! 4. Then tells him to be a blessing to others (2d) followed by the fact that God is going to bless the whole world through him (3c) D. As the story goes on 1. The great nation God made of Abraham was Israel and they became His own possession among all the peoples of the earth, who were to be His priests and His representatives, to the rest of the world.

Then Jesus came, who is the seed of Abraham through whom God would bless all the world, and God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, Jesus, so that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.
Then in Matthew 28 Jesus commissions the church, the seed of Abraham through their relationship with Jesus the seed, those who have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, to go and make disciples of all the nations! E. In Revelation 7 we see the fulfillment of this plan of God’s blessing going full circle, as peoples from every nation bless God in worship for His blessings upon them. Listen as I read Revelation 7:9-12. • Now turn to Psalm 67 we see this same pattern of blessing laid out II. Psalm 67 A. We will see here the God of blessings, blesses His own people Israel so that His blessing, His salvation, might go through them to all the world and in turn people from all the world would fear and bless/praise God B. As I read note that “us” refers to God’s people Israel and that the “peoples” and “nations” refer to the rest of the world.
Also, note at the start of this Psalm is a prayer for blessing and in that prayer he states the reason why he is asking for this blessing upon them. At the end of this psalm, he states the reason why God blesses His people.
Read C. Point out
Purpose for praying for blessing in v1-2 a) We see a prayer for blessing does not have to be a selfish self-serving prayer if it is prayed with the right motive!
God’s purpose for blessing in v6-7 D. In between these two, we see the prayer for all the peoples of the world to praise and bless God! • So how does that apply to us at MVC? III. Challenge

A. God has blessed MVC so we can be a blessing to those around us and even to the end of the earth. We have been blessed to bless! 1. In the last five years alone, MVC has contributed $928,450 in support of missionaries and mission work as we have supported 41 missionaries in a variety of ministries to various different kinds of people in different parts of the world. B. So my prayer now is that God would even bless us more so we can be a greater blessing to each other, to the communities we live in and around the world. I personally desire this in three ways: 1. I would love to see God’s blessings on our offerings so we do not have to struggle as a church just to make ends meet and rob from Peter to pay Paul. But that we not only meet budget but exceed it so we can pay off our mortgage and fix what remains in this building to be fixed so we can pour even greater blessings beyond these walls on those who need and to further God’s kingdom agenda! 2. On the personal level take the blessing God has built into each one of our spiritual lives and pour that blessing upon someone else! That is called discipleship – take what God has given you and give it to someone else. a) We all need people who can help us grow closer to Jesus and we all know people whom we can help grow closer to Jesus 3. I long to see MVC make a greater impact upon the world right around us here in the Chicago area by each one of us seeing ourselves as missionaries, witnesses, ambassadors, ministers who impact the part of the world we live in and the relationships we have with people both inside and outside the church. We want to be world changers! a) You and I may not change “the world” but each one of us can change “someone’s world,” - one person at a time, one step at a time, one conversation at a time, one act of kindness at a time.

C. My God bless MVC to be a blessing! IV. Prayer – Ron Benton

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20/20 Vision Various Passages January 12, 2020

I. Introduction: A. 20/20 vision is a term we hear used when we go to the eye doctor which refers to the sharpness and clarity of our vision. Since I do not want to be the only pastor in the United States in the year 2020 who does not do a message on 2020 vision I want to get mine done today. 1. Vision is very important to determine the future direction of a business, of a church, of an individual’s life. The more sharpness and clarity they have to their vision of where they want to be in 5 to 10 years from now the wiser they can be to get there in their decisions and organization. 2. As Christians and as a church the first question we must ask is; where does God want us to be in 5 to 10 years so we can be wiser in our decisions and organization to get there. B. Now to get to where you want to go, you need to start by knowing right where you are at, so you can know which way you need to go to get there! Like being at an unfamiliar mall with those maps that say, “you are here” then you have a sense of bearings of how you can get where you need to be. C. So what I want to do this morning is like the eye doctor look through a few different lenses to see if you can pinpoint right where you are in your spiritual journey. Then give you the right prescription for your spiritual walk so you might know what your next step is to get to where God wants you to be 5-10 years from now. • First let’s see II. Where God wants us to go A. Turn to Matthew 28 which we know as the Great Commission 1. Read 18-20 2. Structure – One command “make disciples” and three participles tell us how to do it! a) Going – going to the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ b) Baptizing – for those who respond to the gospel by believing are to publically identifying themselves with Jesus c) Teaching - that is the lifetime of learning to implement Jesus’ teachings into the lives of his followers! B. In Matthew 22, we see the Great Commandment that Jesus gave us was to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves! C. At MVC when we put together the Great Commission and Great Commandment and think of where God wants us to go and the decisions we need make for the next 5 to 10 years we consider our mission. Our mission is to equip believers to be passionate followers of Jesus committed to growing in Christ-likeness, to raise up the next generation of disciples, and to radically impact our communities through the hope of the gospel, one life at a time, one step at a time. D. We simply summarize this as following Jesus, impacting others. 1. Repeat 2. God wants you and me to be people who are following Jesus, impacting others! • So where are you so you can be wise as to what route you need to take to get there? III. Where are you? A. Turn to 1 John 2 where we see that each one of us is at a different place in our walk. John is stating to the believers why he is writing this letter and as he does he identifies different levels of spiritual maturity and different things that characterize each level. 1. Read 2:12-14 2. Note the four different places 3. Where are you? Which of those spiritual things might be your next step to get to where God wants you? B. Like the eye doctor let’s look through another lens to make sure we have our prescription right! 1. Chart that we have further refined for MVC that we learned in a manual called Real Life Discipleship by Jim Putman 2. Put up power point – see attached C. One thing we learn from seeing where we are this morning is that one size does not fit all. Each one of us is at a different place spiritually so each one of us needs to start at a different place! • So IV. What is your next step? A. Spiritual journey map – consider your own growth and others you may want to impact as we look at this map! (Hand Out) 1. First two columns are lost people and what they might need depending upon the degree of understanding and interest God has been working in their hearts! Various opportunities to grow or be ministered to there. 2. Faith – trust in Jesus – new born in Christ – a) Their great need is to be introduced to the foundations of the faith b) This is perfectly normal and natural for a newer believer. But if you have been a believer for 5-10-20-30 years and this is still where you are there is a problem. Listen to Hebrews 5 3. Following – various different opportunities to grow – develop your testimony, learn identity in Christ, be baptized, join the church, join a small group, and develop spiritual practices like quiet time. But stats at both MVC and the church in North America in general indicate that a major sticking point for about 70% of our church is the bottom one – stewardship. If you do not face this hurdle for many people’s faith, their wallets they will be stuck at this point for a long time. a) Both statistics (nationally and similar at MVC) and Scripture say this is a major issue – 20% give 80% of the income the church receives. (1) Sound familiar – 20% of people do 80% of the ministry in a church. (2) I believe this is the major obstacle that must be faced and addressed in each believer’s life if they want to move beyond being people who are characterized by the need to get rather than give! b) Tony Evans says, “God does not have a person until He has their wallets!” c) Jesus said, “Where your treasure is your heart will also be!” (1) Simply your heart follows your money. d) Bottom line our use of money and giving is a reflection of where our heart is with God. e) The New Testament says our giving is to be generous and in proportion to the way God has blessed us. It is motivated by love for Jesus and others and joy! f) I believe that most of those who give at a rate of about $5-20 a week are not in the position of the widow’s mite nor are bad or rebellious Christians. Rather they are fearful if they give generously, today they will not have what they need to pay their bills at the end of the month or in years to come when college, weddings or retirement comes! (1) I encourage you to face this fear for the sake of your spiritual life and those you impact and begin to experience the supernatural provisions of God. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 9:8 regarding those who give generously and joyfully: 4. Serving – this is those who need to give to others to keep growing. Many opportunities for growth here. Read quickly – abiding in Christ, ministry of Holy Spirit, how study the Bible, how to deal with the Devil, how to share the gospel, spiritual gifts, engaging in God’s mission 5. Multiply – best way I can describe these people is that they orient their entire life around Jesus’ mission. 6. You may want to prayerfully look this over this week and see what your next step of excelling in 2020 may be! B. Finally, we learned from Jesus that discipleship happens in the context of relationships, and the smaller the group of people the greater the impact. Your need is not only a good book or a class on these things but to put your growth on steroids you may want to 1. Join small group 2. Personal invite or ask

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Living Water Jeremiah 2:13, Ezekiel 47:1-12; John 7:37-39 Jan 5, 2020 I. Announcements A. On Sunday night Jan 12th at 6PM we will be showing the Movie “Unplanned” right here at MVC! 1. It is the true story of Abby Johnson who was one of the youngest and leading Planned Parenthood directors in the nation a) She was involved in upwards of 22,000 abortions and counseled countless women in regards to their so-called reproductive rights. b) Until she saw something that changed everything and became an ardent pro-life speaker in America. 2. My own heart as a pastor and our elders have a burden that we take this first step into greater involvement in this issue, which right here in the United States takes the life of 1 million unborn children every year. 3. There are three victims of every abortion – the child, the mother and the father! a) Our desire is to minister to all three that night b) Be a voice for the unborn who cannot speak for themselves c) And be a place of no judgment but the mercy and grace of God that night for healing for mothers and fathers who have had abortions and pointing you to further resources where you can find help! (1) You need to know you are not alone at MVC if you are one of the victims. I have personally talked to other quality believers in Jesus who have been there and are fellow strugglers with you today. (2) The church feels like the last place you want to tell someone but you need to know the church is God’s front line of healing! 4. There are brochures regarding this out at the Welcome Center today and where you pick up your bulletin B. 75th Anniversary – Two Sundays from today - 1. One of the things we will be doing is a wall 2. Enter your ballot for coffee creation for the 75th anniversary. Located in the café. The winning drink will be available for everyone to try January 19th for our 75th anniversary celebration! 3. Invite a friend or family member who has a part of our history to be here and celebrate with us. C. Andrea – Today we want to take a moment to say a word of thanks to Andrea Sanchez who has been a valuable member of our staff for the past three years and is moving on to pursue a career in graphic design. 1. Andrea has really been at the center of the day-to-day operations in the church office for the past 3 years and it has been a true blessing to work with, someone who has such a gentle spirit and an easy smile for everyone she meets. Repeat! 2. God has blessed Andrea as a gifted artist and has presented her an opportunity to pursue her gift in a full time position. Andrea, thank you for all you have done and we look forward to having you continue as part of our church and worship team. 3. May God bless you and here is a little token of our appreciation! 4. I would like to introduce you to our new office manager Hannah Naughton who we are excited about the gifts that she bring to the table for us! II. Introduction: D. Happy New Year to you and happy 75th anniversary year to MVC! My heart is to see myself, each of us individually and MVC as a church of people to excel still the more this coming year in one way specifically and that can be summarized in one word impact. Be a people and be a church that has influence upon others to the glory of God. 1. However, you cannot affect others for Jesus if you are not first personally following Jesus! We simply cannot give someone else something we do not have ourselves. a) In order to impact others for Jesus we need to be impacted ourselves by Jesus! 2. Therefore, this morning I want to point you to one commitment, New Year’s resolution that will pay great dividends in not only impacting others but also even in impacting your own life. E. To do this I want to look at three different periods of Bible history regarding the water that God supplies, a water that brings new life, a water that nourishes and heals the soul a water that meets the deepest needs of the heart. If you have experienced that, you have something to offer to others that they will find nowhere else! • This morning we are going to look at - being impacted by God to impact others for God! Turn to II. Jeremiah 2:12 the past – (God’s water offered to wandering Israel) A. In Jeremiah God is warning His children Israel of an impending discipline upon them because they have forsaken God, they went far from Him and pursued the works of their own hands, things that were empty and could not profit them! B. Before I read this passage I want you to know that cisterns were where they stored their water, they were very important in the land of Israel because of the long dry season and the relatively few natural springs. 1. But a broken cistern was practically worthless, holding only a small quantity of dirty water, or no water at all. 2. Also, note that God is using this reality from the material world as a picture of the spiritual reality they have with Him. C. Read Jeremiah 2:12-13 1. God says that he is the fountain, the source, the spring from which living waters comes! 2. But they have left God entirely behind them and have turned to their own works that simply are worthless. D. Spiritually speaking God is the fountain/source of living water, but they have ignored God even forsaken and left Him behind and pursued their own means of providing water for their needs and they have come up empty. • I want you to see a picture of the great power of the water that comes from God has. Turn to III. Ezekiel 47:1 – The future with a restored Jewish people and land! A. We see here the future temple where Jesus will reign in that 1000-year reign of His that we learned about in Revelation. I want you to note the miraculous nature of this water, the life giving, the life restoring, the healing and nourishing affect that this water has that comes from the presence of God. B. Before I read it, I want you to note a few things. 1. If there was a trickle of water coming out from underneath this pulpit, when you got to the back of the parking lot what would you expect that stream to look like. I would assume it would have long died off before you get there or formed a small puddle but this stream will get bigger and bigger quickly within a mile and a quarter. The water that comes from God is supernatural and powerful 2. The “Arabah” will we learn about in this passage is the dry, infertile desert area with a very hot climate and sparse rainfall in the Jordan valley – watch what happens to this dry infertile desert the water that comes from God’s presence touches it. 3. Finally, the “sea” where the waters become fresh is the Dead Sea – nothing lives in the Dead Sea because of the lack of movement and the salt content, which is roughly 33.7%, compared to the 3.5% we find in the ocean. Watch what happens to the Dead Sea when the water that comes from God’s presence touches it. C. As I read watch for the supernatural life giving power of God’s water to that which is dry and dead! 1. Read v1-12 2. Reread – 8d-9 – water is made fresh and everything lives where the river goes 3. Note what is on the banks of the river in the midst of the desert as it heads to the Dead Sea to make it a living place. reread v12 4. Why does all of this happen – reread 12c “because … sanctuary” D. This living water that comes from God’s presence that He was offering to His people is supernatural, powerful, life giving, refreshing, nourishing and healing. It will be seen literally in the land of Israel in the future and it is available to us spiritually today • Turn to IV. John 7 – the present water of God available to all! A. Read John 7:37-39 Observations 1. Anyone thirsty – insistent craving or compelling need within your soul crying out to be met. 2. Come to me Innermost being flow rivers of living water 3. Spirit – those who believed in Him B. Jesus has been glorified and every one of us who have trusted Jesus as our personal savior have received the Holy Spirit and out of the depth of our lives He issues out like that river in Ezekiel 47 that is supernatural, powerful, life giving, refreshing, nourishing and healing; transforming the dry and dead areas of our lives and souls! V. Application A. So my question to you this morning is- Are you experiencing this river of living water that comes from God’s spirit? If not why? 1. Have you quenched the Spirit, stop the flow of the river of the Spirit of God in your life by intentionally disobeying His word or just being negligent or sloppy with what God wants of you? 2. Have you grieved the Spirit by unkind words or gossip, bitterness and anger, not being kind, tender and forgiving to others? 3. Or like Israel, have you walked away from God and turned to things of your own doings, things that ultimately are empty, and of no profit? 4. Or maybe you just are not meeting with God regularly to drink deeply of the life changing and fulfilling water that he offers! 5. If that is your case today during communion you need this water to touch the dry and dead places in your life. do this: a) Confess that to God b) Call upon Him to free up the spirit within you to flood you with this river of God c) Make that decision to begin to meet with Him regularly and walk with Him rather than in your own ways. 6. This will result in you becoming a person who impacts others this year! B. If you are experiencing this life changing and fulfilling water of God then you are in a place to impact others – you can become the vessel through whom God causes His living water to flow out of you upon those in your life, church and community who are either dry or dead. 1. You can impact others for Jesus because you have been impacted by Jesus 2. Ask him to: a) Deepen the river from ankle high or waist high to a place that it is over your head and you can only be carried by the power of the current of the Holy Spirit b) Ask Him to open up doors for you this year to impact others for him! VI. Communion

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The Word Became Flesh John 1:14-18 December 29, 2019

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year MVC family!

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Man’s Response to God’s Light John 1:4-5, 9-13 December 22, 2019 Introduction: A. I remember a number of years ago walking into a dark house at night to do some work. I had been there many times before and the path was always clear to the light switch, which was not by the door but on the other side of the room. I started a brisk walk over to the light switch and bam – I not only stumbled but I went flying over something I could not see, something a worker had put there during the day. B. Christmas is all about the time that God turned on his light switch for this spiritually dark world. When Jesus was born the world received the light it needed to see just what this world was really all about, to see what really is true in this world and to see just what the creator of this whole world knew that man needed to know to have an abundant life here on earth. 1. Before Jesus was born John the Baptist’s father, said this about Jesus who was soon to be born – Luke 1:78-79 2. I could have used a light that night to guide my feet in that room and each one of us needs the light that comes from God to guide our feet in this dark world. 3. Jesus is that light and at the birth of Jesus, a great light came into a world that was in deep spiritual darkness! C. Turn in your Bibles, on your phones, Bibles on chairs, and share with someone to John 1:1 where we will read this story of Jesus coming into the world as God’s light. 1. As I read I want you to note two things: a) Jesus – called the Word here - God’s perfect message to the world is the true light from God b) Also note the way man responded to this light – watch for two different responses 2. Read v1-12 • Let’s start by looking at this idea that I. Jesus, God’s light, came into a dark world A. Light allows us to see. In Scripture light is associated with seeing, with knowing and with moral and spiritual power that is healthy. 1. Often when someone does not know about something we say, “they are in the dark,” but when they learn something new, we say the lights just went on. 2. Darkness is just the opposite as it is associated with being unable to see, not knowing and moral and spiritual power that is unhealthy. B. Jesus is the Light – the one that brings to us the spiritual knowledge we need to see what is really going on in this world and to see what God really thinks, says, does, His ways and what He wants from us. 1. Note how Light helps us see so we can be guided and not stumble! Read: a) John 3:20-21- Light exposes and manifests what is real and true b) John 11:9-10 – Light allows you to see so you do not stumble c) John 12:35 – No Light, you do not know where you are going 2. So when you apply this to a spiritually dark world it means since the world is in darkness and does not know what the truth really is about God and life. They are stumbling all over the place spiritually and they really have no idea where they are going spiritually! C. Listen again to see that Jesus is the light come from God. John 1:4-5, 9. 1. Jesus is the one who shines God’s light into this world, shining it on all mankind. He is God’s agent to bring truth to this world! 2. Note it says He is the true light – that means there must be false lights as well, counterfeits that look like the real thing but they are not. D. When we say that something is dark, we mean it is something that is really bad. Morally or spiritually wicked and evil! But not all darkness is wicked and evil. 1. Listen to this 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 2. Even religion is a part of darkness if it is not consistent with the truth and message that Jesus brought. Good people doing good things can be a part of darkness. 3. Darkness is anything that is operating without the light of God as revealed in His Son and His Word. It can range from moral and spiritual wickedness to good people and religion. The comment element is they are not operating according to the light that God has given to us in Jesus, whether what they are doing is good or bad because it comes from man’s best wisdom rather than God’s true light! • And we learn in this passage this morning that there are II. Two different responses to the Light A. The first group ranges from people who just do not get it to those who flatly reject Jesus. 1. First those who do not get it – Read a) V5 – not comprehend - they just do not get it, they look at Jesus and say what? He just does not make sense to them b) V10 – Just not recognize who He was. They are not aware of who Jesus was 2. Those who flatly reject Jesus who He is and what He claims. Read a) V11 – receive Him - did not welcome Him, they did not receive who He claimed to be or what He claimed the truth to be. They rejected Him b) Listen what John the Baptist said about Jesus – (1) Read John 3:31-34 (2) Jesus comes from heaven and speaks the very words of God and no one receives it! Accepts it, they reject it. We will speak in a moment about those who do receive and accept what Jesus says c) Listen to what Jesus says about Himself (1) Read John 5:43, 46-47 (2) Jesus came representing God the Father – that’s what it means to come in my Father’s name and they did not receive Him or accept what He said (3) V46-47 helps us understand that simply they rejected Him and His claims because they did not believe Him B. But we see in v12 of John 1 the other group of people – those who received and accepted Jesus’ claims to come from heaven to represent the Father and what He says. Those that believed He was who He said He was. 1. Listen to John 1:12 2. Those who received, accepted, believed what Jesus claimed were given the right to become children of God. C. Jesus’ basic claim was that every person born into this world is born in darkness and sin and they are separated from God. The only way out of that condition is to believe in Jesus and what He claims and rely upon the fact that when He died on the cross He died to pay for your sins. When He rose from the dead, He rose to give you the very life of God so you could have the light of this world! • Which group are you in this morning? III. Invite A. If in your heart of hearts this morning you are saying to yourself I do not buy what this guy is saying, you are in the first group that either does not recognize who Jesus is or flatly rejects His claims B. But if in your heart of heart you are saying to yourself – everything he is saying is true of me and I need this light that Jesus gives and I believe everything that Jesus says about Himself and about me – then I would encourage you right now to 1. Confess – you are in the dark and separated from God 2. Admit that Jesus is the true light and that His death on the cross was to pay for your sins and His resurrection to give you His life 3. Call out to Him right now thanking Him for dying for you and giving you knew life so you can see the true light of life!

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Witness is who we are, testify is what we do John 1:6-8 December 15, 2019 I. Introduction: A. Announce Christmas offering B. How many of you ever had to answer this question before? “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God?” 1. If you did that means you were a witness – you were someone who had firsthand, direct, personal knowledge about someone or something. 2. What you did is give a testimony – that is the statement you made regarding what you were personally aware of in order to provide evidence. C. Last week we learned that Jesus is God’s perfect message to the world, God’s light to this spiritually dark world. The world did not understand Him or what He was trying to communicate to us about God and His ways. 1. That introduced the section we are dealing with this Christmas in John 1:1-18 2. Please turn in your Bibles now – and share with someone who may not have one. D. This week the subject changes from the Jesus, God’s perfect light or message that shined into this dark world, to that of a witness. A man named John who was sent from God for the very purpose to be a witness of Jesus Christ! E. Before I read this section let me show you the simple structure of the key verse we will be looking at, v7. 1. Who he was – a witness, 2. What he did - testified, 3. Why he did it – that I want you to watch for and see if you can figure it out as we read. 4. Read v1-8 F. Before we jump into this passage, let me remind you that John was sent by God the Father for the purpose of being a witness of Jesus Christ, the light. Every one of us here this morning, that is a believer, have been sent by Jesus Christ for the same purpose of being a witness of Jesus Christ, the light. 1. Acts 1:8 2. 1 Peter 2:9 • So what we learn about John this morning has special relevance to us because it is also true of you and me! I just want to focus on v7 this morning as we look at the who, the what and the why of John and you and me! Let’s start by looking at the who and the what together because they go hand in hand! II. Who we are, and what we do! A. A witness is who we are as believers in Jesus Christ and testifying is what we do! Reread v7a-b B. Let me unpack that line (a witness is who we are; testify is what we do) for just a moment as it is crucial for our lives and ministries. 1. The word witness and testify are the exact same word in the Greek, except one is a noun and the other is a verb! 2. A noun identifies who we are – it tells us something about ourselves, our identity; it is the distinguishing characteristic that makes who we are distinct from others! 3. A verb tells us what we do – the activities we engage in. 4. Just like a surgeon does surgeries and a runner runs, so a witness testifies! C. Who we are and what we do are intimately connected to one another and one flows out of the other. Let me illustrate that D. 1. We had our grandson Jonny, who is three, over this week and he was going to have a baby sister just a day or two from then. He made it very clear to me that he was not a baby but a big boy! a) Not long after that Jonny began some behavior that was not fitting for a big boy so I reminded him he was not a baby but a big boy and what big boys do. Instantly his behavior switched to fit his identity as a big boy rather than behavior that fit a baby. 2. When we recognize who we are that identity controls our behavior as our behavior flows out of who we see ourselves to be! E. So what is a witness? A witness, who we are, is someone who has personal and direct knowledge about something who provides evidence in a case. The witness is the person, the testimony is what we do - makes a statement about what they personally know or have seen and that statement becomes evidence in a case. 1. A witness swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth because their job is not to add anything to what they know, or subtract anything from it. Their job is not to give their opinions or speculate on the facts. 2. Their job is to tell the truth about what they personally know! 3. Our job is to tell other the truth about what we know about Jesus and have experienced of Him. That can come from what we know of Him from the Bible or what we have seen Him do for us in our personal lives! F. John was sent by God to be a witness, that is who he is, a person who had direct knowledge about Jesus, and he testified about Jesus, that is where he told people what he knew about Jesus! A couple examples: 1. John 1:19-23 – A “voice” that is a witness 2. John 1:29-34 G. So God created us or better said recreated us, caused us to be born again as new creatures who are witnesses or a synonym to that is ambassadors, 1. We see who we are issuing into what we do in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 a) v17 new creatures b) v 18 – he gave us something to do – ministry of reconciliation c) v19 – explains this ministry – Jesus did the work of reconciliation and we spread the word d) v20 – therefore – in light of all of this – this is who we are “ambassadors” (1) we are God’s official representatives in this world (2) as if God Himself were speaking through us passionately calling people to come to Christ e) v21 – the message • So John was sent by God to be a witness, telling other people what he knew about Jesus. Next he tells us why witnessing is so important in God’s kingdom. Let’s look back at the end of v7 and … III. Why we witness A. Read v7 again. 1. Yes, it is a big deal to be a witness because it is through witnesses telling people what they know about Jesus that people come to believe in Jesus! 2. God has chosen us to be His agents, His ambassadors, His instrument, His means, His witnesses to tell others about the light so that they can believe through what we testify to them, about what we know directly from our experiences and the Bible, about Jesus. B. We have been entrusted with the most powerful and life changing message in the world. – The gospel of Jesus Christ. a) Read 1 Corinthians 1:18 • So what do we do with this recognition that we are witnesses who testify of what we know of Jesus so others can be saved IV. Final Exhort A. Ron Hutchcraft years ago taught us here at MVC the three open prayer that when it becomes part of our prayer life as witnesses it will get us right in the middle of the mix of eternal and kingdom activity. 1. It has been amazing how when I pray this way God has done exciting things in light of it. 2. Maybe even more amazing is the question why I do not pray like this every day! B. Three open prayer 1. Open door – Colossians 4:2-3 2. Open mouth – Ephesians 6:19 3. Open heart – Acts 16:14 C. Are you ready when God opens that door? 1. Are you ready to talk about what you personally know or have experienced with Jesus, especially how you came into a relationship with Him? a) That would be time well spent to think that through for the sake of others and the glory of God! 2. Are you ready to tell someone how they can come into a relationship with Jesus Christ – the gospel? a) A few helps to have on hand in wallet; purse whatever to make that easier. b) Gospel tract c) Seed card – man at Costco this week – I was not ready D. Pray three open prayer – Gary Olson

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God’s Perfect Message John 1:1-5 Dec 8, 2019

Introduction:
1. So what is the big deal about Christmas?
  1. Christians are working very hard to keep the word “Christmas” as part of our culture at this time of year as we wish people a “Merry Christmas” but they are losing the battle while many in our own country are working hard to remove the word Christmas and turn it into a “Happy Holiday” time.
  2. So why is the word Christmas so important to Christians?
    1. The answer is simply this: Christmas is all about Christ, not about gifts, decorations and parties.
    2. Christmas is the day that Christians celebrate God coming into this world to take up residence here among the very people He
  3. During this series, we will be looking at John 1:1-18 week by week. The heart of this section is about this: “Jesus coming into this world to reveal God!” It starts with the fact that He is the Word and it ends with the statement that He came to explain Him.
    1. Everything in between talks about this and the fact of how man responded to Jesus’ coming.
    2. As I read this watch for these two things –
      1. First Jesus revealing, disclosing to us, pulling back the curtain for us just what God is like and what He does.
      2. Secondly how man responded to that unveiling of God!
    3. Before I read let me explain something about this whole section.
      1. It is the introduction to the whole book and it previews many of the things that will be more fully developed in the book.
      2. As you read the book, you more fully understand these concepts so that when you come back to the introduction you will better understand that part of the book and the cycle goes on!
      3. Read 1-18
    4. Today we are going to be looking at John 1:1-5 as we begin to better understand what Christmas is all about and why Jesus, God Himself, came!
I am calling this message today “God’s perfect message was not understood by the world” Let’s start with the idea of
God’s perfect message
1. I get this from the first 3 ½ verses in John 1. Let me reread 1a.
2. The word “Word” is referring to Jesus as we read just a few minutes ago in v14 that the Word became flesh and dwelt right here on earth among us! That is referring to Jesus!
  1. It describes Jesus as “the Word”. “Word” simply means the content of a communications, the message itself
  2. In the church world, I am called a preacher the one who speaks, but my sermon is the content that I speak. It is the difference between a messenger and the message that they bring. A singer and the song, the music and the words!
  3. This passage is not saying that Jesus is the preacher, the messenger, or the prophet but rather He Himself is the very sermon, the very message, the very content God wants people to know.
  4. He is God’s message, God’s sermon become flesh. So who He is, what He does and what He says is the perfect representation and communication of who God is, what God does and what God says!
3. The reason that I say He is God’s perfect message is because the first 3 1/2 verses indicate strongly and clearly that the Word Himself was God Himself. As I read these first 3 ½ verses note the many ways it refers to the Word as God Himself. Read 1-4a
  1. First of all note that it clearly states that this Word was God v1c
  2. In verse two it speaks of His eternality because it re-emphasizes what v1 said that He was in the beginning with God.
  3. Start of v4 “in Him was life” as we read the rest of John we understand the life that is referred to here is the “eternal life” “the very life of God” that only God has!
  4. John 1:1-3 is a clear allusion to Genesis 1:1
    1. Read Genesis 1:1
    2. Genesis 1:1 makes it clear that God created the heavens and the earth and here in verse 3 it is clear everything that has been created has been created through Jesus.
  5. This is not the only place in the Bible that says everything was created through or by Jesus and that He is the perfect representation of God and what He wants to say to us! turn to Heb 1:1
    1. Read Hebrews 1:1-3b
    2. You see God the Father is the source of creation; Jesus is the agent of creation as the One through whom God created everything.
  6. Thus, we see in John 1 and Hebrews 1 that Jesus as God makes the perfect flesh and blood message of just who God is, what He does, what He says and what He wants from the very people He created!
  7. Jesus as God and creator we were made by Him and for Him.
    1. Read Colossians 1:15-17
    2. “Firstborn” is a reference to His position and rights in creation not the fact that He was born or created
    3. He could not be the perfect image or exact representation of God if He was born or created because God is eternal and uncreated.
So man has been created by Jesus and for Jesus, how did man respond to this perfect message, the perfect representation of who God is, does, says, wants? This perfect message was…
Not understood by the world
1. That is amazing, the picture could not be clearer, the message could not be better, the living illustration could not be more accurate yet man did not understand it.
2. Read v4-5
3. Light and darkness in Scripture are used primarily to indicate one of two things either moral light and darkness or knowledge.
  1. When our lifestyle is not according to the Bible it means we are walking in darkness, when it is consistent we are walking in the light
  2. And when we do not understand God’s message either in the Bible or in His Son we are in the dark and when we get it we have light
4. This passage is indicating that Jesus came into a dark world, a world that was full of moral darkness and intellectual darkness about the things of God. He was God’s light that shined into the darkness!
  1. He was God’s knowledge, God’s sermon, God’s perfect message, God’s word to this world!
  2. Note how man responded.
    1. Read the end of v5
    2. He did not get it! He was like “what?” it flew right over his head.
    3. Comprehend – simply means understand. The Light, the perfect message was put right in front of them and they did not understand it.
  3. The Bible teaches us this is the common experience of those who do not know Jesus.
    1. Read 1 Corinthians 2:14 so that means Jesus, the Bible, the things of God are on a different frequency than the heart and mind of the man who does not know Jesus. Spiritual things are comprehended at a supernatural level, spiritual FM frequency; the natural man, the person without God, operates on an AM frequency!
    2. Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – Man is blind! There is a big difference between being blind and blindfolded.
      1. Blindfolded means you have the capacity to see but something is blocking your view. Remove the blindfold and you will see.
      2. Blind means you do not even have the capacity to see. Remove the blindfold and you still will not see
    3. Reread 2 Corinthians 4:4 – Satan is the one who blinded them – so this is a supernatural thing.
    4. Bottom line a person who does not know Jesus is on a different frequency, and does not even have the capacity to understand and comprehend spiritual things. On top of it, Satan is sealing all of that in.
  4. The world had Jesus, God’s Word, God’s Perfect Message walking and talking right in front of them and they missed it, they did not get it, they did not understand Him, they could not, they did not even have the capacity to since they are on a different spiritual frequency and Satanically blinded.
So what does that mean to you and me?
Application
1. First, we must recognize deep within our hearts that someone’s salvation is a miracle performed by God that is as big as the resurrection of Jesus Christ or the miraculous birth of Jesus being born of a virgin. A miracle that will give man a new frequency in his heart and mind, give him sight to his spiritually blind eyes and bind Satan from holding him back
  1. Read John 1:12-13
  2. We will speak more about that on Christmas Eve
2. But if you are here this morning and deep in your heart, you say I want that, I am beginning to see it that is evidence that God is drawing you to Himself, He is at work to begin that miracle in your life.
  1. Invite to believe

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Grief Lamentations November 10, 2019

Introduction:
1. Power point of 75th images on our FB page that people can save and make the image their phone background as a reminder!
2. One man described grief like this
  1. As for grief, you’ll find it comes in When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. All you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.
  2. In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months or years, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. However, in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything…and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.
  3. Somewhere down the line, and it’s different for everybody, you find that the waves are only 80 feet tall or 50 feet tall. While they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming; an anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O’Hare. You can see it coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself. When it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out.
3. Grief is the emotional and mental response to loss (loss of a job, a relationship, a dream, a loved one’s life, etc.)! This loss sets off numerous emotions at the same time a series of conflicting thoughts, which all seem to be on steroids.
4. The book of Lamentations is about the deep grief the people of Jerusalem felt after God used Babylon to destroy the city Jerusalem, broke down their walls of defense, burned the temple, the king’s house and every house in the city, and took the people captive back to Babylon. They knew their own sin brought all this on!
5. While the whole book details out the condition of the city and the people, let’s get a general feel for it by just looking at a few summary verses
  1. Read 1:1, 3
  2. On top of that
    1. There was destruction everywhere and it touched everyone.
    2. Bodies were lying in the streets of both young and old who were slain by both the sword and by the hunger of famine
    3. To get a feel for what they were feeling think back of the images you saw the morning after the Twin Towers came down in New York on Sept 11, 2001
Now let’s look at the condition of the people who had lost so much
The Condition of the People
1. It said:
  1. They were mourning and moaning and tears ran down like a river day and night.
  2. They were full of bitterness, greatly troubled and depressed in the core of their beings without hope or joy.
  3. Their strength failed and they were faint all day long, they were worn out and found no rest.
  4. Then the book is closed with this prayer. Read 5:19-22
2. The grieving soul is not always pretty and is full of many conflicting thoughts and emotions.
How do you minister to someone like this, or if you are the person how do you find your bearings at a time like that? Actually the book of Lamentations gives us
Two pillars of truth that sustain us in grief!
1. The first is to set my mind on God’s loving kindness and compassion. Turn to Lamentations 3.
  1. Read 3:21-24
  2. What gives us hope again is to redirect our thoughts back to the Lord’s loving kindness and His compassion and His faithfulness and that in the midst of the pain, daily He will give fresh mercies for what you need
    1. Loving kindness has to do with God’s love towards us based on our covenant relationship with Him. He is faithful to His promises to care for us
    2. Compassion has to do with God’s love towards us based upon the fact that His heart is moved towards us when He sees us in need!
    3. It is not just His promise to care for us but His heart for us that moves Him to meet us daily in our needs!
  3. Knowing this is true to wait upon the Lord for the deliverance He will bring. Read 25-26.
2. The second truth that helps us regain our bearings in the middle of grief is recognizing God’s sovereignty - that nothing touches our life apart from God directing it or allowing it for purposes that are often higher than we can understand! Read 3:37-38
3. Lon Alison, formerly the executive director of the Billy Graham Center, after being diagnosed with very aggressive liver cancer he was asked, “How this has impacted his faith and view of God?” He said,
  1. I have clung to two truths to sustain me. First is the sovereignty of God: The second great truth is His love for me and my family:
  2. The sovereignty of God means He has authority over this situation. He has allowed this cancer to strike me. He can cure it in a nanosecond, or allow it to grow within me. He is in charge.
  3. The love of God reminds me of His goodness lavished upon me and mine with His love. He is not a tyrant God, nor an absent God. His love is always present and extravagant. Those twin doctrines sustain me.
The Book of Lamentations
Confirms three things for those who are suffering!
1. First God’s love and God’s sovereignty help you regain your bearings in the midst of grief!
2. Second, it is a battle to turn your mind from the pain of your circumstances to the Lord!
3. Finally, God’s daily compassions and faithfulness will carry you through your grief!
Interview
1. I have asked four people who have recently gone through the deep experience of grief to share their story with us!

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Guilt and Shame Various Passages November 3, 2019 I. Introduction: A. Sin not only deeply impacts the quality of our life and relationships but it leaves a deep imprint our own souls regarding our own identity (how we view ourselves, who we think we are) and makes our conscious carry the heavy weight of guilt! B. Today I want to address guilt and shame. 1. Guilt is that feeling that I have done something wrong. 2. Shame is that feeling that I am wrong. a) That deeply feeling that I am no good, defective, unacceptable, even damaged beyond repair. C. While guilt and shame are closely intertwined with each other, I want to separate them this morning because God’s answer to each one is slightly different. D. As I move into this today, let’s start with II. Shame A. Shame is the feeling that I am bad, I am wrong, I am evil! it is about who you are, specifically who you see yourself to be 1. Shame makes you hide who you really are and what you have done from others thinking if they knew the real you they would never like you. B. Shame first appears in the garden after Adam and Eve sinned by eating of the fruit that God told them not to eat. Read Gen 3:7-10 C. Note especially that their first response was to make themselves loin coverings out of fig leaves to hide intimate parts of their body from each other but also they sought to hide from the presence of God. Point out 7c, 8b, 10b 1. But listen to how God provided for them in their new state of sin and shame. 2. Read v21 – God provided for them garments of skins D. We can see two things here that deal with our shame- 1. First, the sacrifice of an innocent animal to cover the sins of Adam and Eve 2. Secondly, the skin of that sacrifice was made into garments to cover their shame and nakedness! He gave them clothing E. And that is exactly what God has done for us today in Jesus 1. Not only has God given Jesus as the sacrifice to pay the death penalty for our sins 2. But He has also offered that same sacrifice, Jesus as our new clothing to cover our shame 3. Gal 3:27-28 a) Those of us who are in Christ have been clothed with Jesus Christ b) When God sees us He no longer sees us according to our nationality, social status or gender or even our sins but rather He sees Jesus when He looks at us F. Clothes have the ability to give us a new identity, a new look and to cover up the parts of our life that we do not want others to see! 1. A few months back I wore a pair of Nike’s on a Sunday morning. I was amazed at the number of young people that noticed and commented how cool I was for wearing them. a) The kind of clothes we wear gives us a new identity as often people value and identify us by the clothes we wear! 2. Also, clothing covers what we do not want others to see! a) I had numerous people at my daughter’s wedding tell me how good I looked and I did look much better than usual as a tuxedo does wonders for a man. b) But, I could not help but think of what people would have said if I did my daughter’s wedding in a bathing suit – not as much hidden, not as much pretty. G. God has provided for me a new set of clothing to deal with my shame and the label on that clothing is Jesus! He covers my sin and is my new identity! H. So “God’s solution to shame is the clothing of Jesus!” Let me repeat. You repeat! • Let’s now take a look at the emotional damage sin does in the area of III. Our Guilt! A. Guilt is the awareness and the feeling that I did something wrong and it is connected with our conscience B. The foundation that every believer in Jesus Christ stands on is that all of our sins, past, present and future have already been paid for by Jesus Christ in His death and they are forgiven forever. 1. Listen to Hebrews 10:11-12. 2. The penalty for our sin has already been paid, but the consequences of our daily sins are felt deep within our souls. B. It is the blood of Jesus reapplied to our conscience that deals with our guilt! Remember the penalty is already paid; now we are dealing with the consequences of our daily sins upon our emotions and conscience! 1. 1 John 1:9 2. Ps 32:1-5 C. So, while “God’s solution to shame is the clothing of Jesus!” on the other hand “God’s solution to guilt is the cross of Jesus!” • So how do these truths seek deep within our souls to change the way we see ourselves and release us from the heavy load of guilt we are carrying. We need to II. Reckon what God says is true as true for you! A. Reckoning simply means to count what God has already said is true as true for you. 1. In the first ten verses of Romans 6 God states all these amazing truths that happened to us at the cross of Jesus then He tells us in verse 11 to count, to consider, to reckon these same truths as true of us. 2. I cannot name and claim things that I want to be true in my life, but I do name and claim the things that God says are already true about me! So yes, I am a “name it and claim it guy” – I name and claim everything that God says is true of me “in Jesus”! B. So regarding my shame I put on the clothing of Christ by: 1. Daring to believe what God says is true of me! I see myself, as I really am a new creature in Christ at the core of my being, a saint! a) Yes, a saint who still sins, but not just a dirty rotten sinner at my core, who has been forgiven. 2. One practical tool that could help you with this is a card that is our small groups ministry created and is using. If you are struggling with shame, begin to pray through these different truths about you in Christ! Praise through them, thank God for each one, meditate and memorize the passages that are especially relevant to you. C. When it comes to reckoning the cross of Jesus regarding my guilt. I thank God that forgiveness is already mine and I confess my sins to experience the cleansing of my conscience! • As we go to III. Communion A. Today let us make Ps 139:23-24 our prayer. He is appropriating in prayer what God said is already true. He is asking God to make that truth personal in his life. Cr v1 B. Ask God if there are any hurtful way of shame or guilt within you. 1. If it is shame ask Him to lead you to the piece of clothing in Jesus you need to put on, claim as your own and mediate on it 2. If it is guilt over unconfessed sin regarding something you have done, confess it to God and experience the cleansing of your conscience 3. If it is guilt over something you are just not clear on what you did but just have this general sense of guilt then I would identify it as false guilt from the Devil! a) God’s conviction by the Holy Spirit is never unclear and vague but clear and direct regarding the sin, you will know what you did! b) Satan’s false guilt is always unclear & vague it does not need to be confessed but rather resisted in the name of Jesus! C. Pass elements and time to reflect before the Lord

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Pastor Pat speaks on Depression as we continue our series, "The Struggle is Real."

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Our Director of Sisters' Connection, Ava Perry, speaks on Insecurity in our fall series, "The Struggle is Real."

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Hurt and Forgiveness Gen 37-50 Life of Joseph October 13, 2019 I. Introduction: A. Baby Announcement - Grayson Gary Borger was born September 26 to Matt and Lexi. The proud grandparents are Gary and Tami Reyna. The proud great grandparents are Don and Sharon Couwenhoven. B. Today’s sermon is my most direct response to the Father’s Day sermon I gave a year and a half ago about those who did not have a good relationship with their parents. But the truths we learn from today’s message will apply to anyone who has been hurt by someone, whether a parent, a mate, a trusted friend or even a stranger! The various kinds of damage to the human soul still linger long after the events took place. C. The struggle is real and the pain is especially deep for those who have been hurt by who is supposed to love you like a mate, parent, sibling, trusted friend, etc. D. The goal of my message today is learn how to turn “victims” of people’s sins against them into a “victors” over that sin! • This morning I want to jump-start the process of healing by showing you three lessons from the life of Joseph that turns victims into victors. Let’s start by seeing how … II. Joseph was a Victim A. The first happened to Joseph when he was 17 years old. God had shown him in a dream that someday he would rule over the rest of his family. When he shared this dream with his family, it was not received very well. 1. One day when his brothers were out in the field with the flocks they saw Joseph coming towards them and they plotted together to kill him. 2. Eventually rather than killing him, they sold him as a slave to some Ishmaelite foreigners who were passing by on their way to Egypt. 3. When these Ishmaelites reached Egypt, they sold Joseph to an Egyptian officer named Potiphar, who was the captain of the bodyguard. 4. So Joseph was literally sold into slavery by his own family. B. Potiphar’s Wife 1. God was with Joseph and all that he did prospered. So Potiphar put him in charge over everything that he owned. 2. Now Joseph was a handsome man and Potiphar’s wife desired to sleep with him. Day after day, she offered herself to Joseph but he refused her offers. 3. One day Potiphar’s wife was tired of his rejections and grabbed his garment as he was running away, and she made up a story that he tried to rape her. Because her lie, Joseph actually ended up in jail! C. While in jail through a long chain of events, Joseph ended up interpreting the dream of one of the king’s servants who was in jail with him. 1. Joseph asked only one request, he asked the cup bearer that when it went well with him to remember to mention Joseph to Pharaoh so he could get out of the jail 2. Well the cupbearer forgot to mention Joseph to the Pharaoh and he spent two more years in jail because of this man’s neglect and forgetfulness. 3. Eventually Joseph got out by God giving him the wisdom he needed to interpret the Pharaoh’s dream. D. The point is this, over a 13-year period from the age of 17 to 30; Joseph three times had to bear the severe consequences of someone else’s sin or neglect. • But what we learn from Joseph’s life are the lessons that turn a victim into a victor. The first lesson we can learn from Joseph is III. Seeking God in the midst of your pain A. Read Gen 41:50-52 B. Now we know from the story as it goes on that Joseph did not forget the details of what happened to him. 1. So forget is not used in the sense that God wiped the memory of the situation clean from his mind, 2. Rather what happened to him was that God had broken the power of that situation controlling and enslaving his mind. C. Note that it was “God” who made him forget, and it was “God” who made him fruitful. Reread v51 & 52 emphasizing “God” 1. It is important that we get face to face with God in the midst of our pain and allow Him to do His work of healing us, breaking the power of that memory and using our life and pain to bring glory to Him and blessing to others. 2. When God meets us in our pain and messes as someone has said, “our mess become our message!” that God uses to bring life and grace to others D. I mentioned last week that when we seek God in the places He is working (programs, services, etc.) and deeply depend upon Him miracles happen! I call it DD & DD. Due diligence on our part and deep dependence upon God 1. At Next Steps Table pick up resource cards! 2. This last week Emotional Resilience started and I was excited that some 80 people have put themselves in a place where God can work 3. This coming week on Thursday Night starts Celebrate Recovery, which is specifically designed to help people who are struggling with hurts, hang-ups, habits and addictions from eating to drugs and everything in between. Often addictions are used to medicate our depression and emotions. Information is available at the Next Steps table – Jeff Janulis ¨ So the first thing we need to do is position ourselves to involve God in our pain and once we do that we are ready for the second lesson which is … IV. Seeing God’s purposes in your pain A. Joseph saw God’s sovereignty and purposes in the terrible sin that his brothers committed against him. 1. Listen to what happened when Joseph first revealed to his brothers who he was. Read Gen 45:5-8a. B. Many people that I have met who have been seriously sinned against are still seeing and interpreting their life through the lens of the sins against them. C. When God is working in our hearts, we begin to see life from a completely new perspective. We begin to see it from God’s viewpoint rather than our own. We begin to understand that there is more going on in my life than what meets the eye. There is a larger story going on than that of which I am aware. • Illustrate the tapestry and my ability to see only a small piece of it and only the backside of it that looks very messy. D. Let me suggest two things that we know from Scripture that God is doing. We know that there are more, but these are two major ones that have applications to each of our lives. 1. Rom 8:28-29– conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. 2. Two Cor 4:7-10– manifest the indwelling life of Christ through us. ¨ Once we learn to experience God in the midst of our pain, which allows us to see God’s purpose in our pain, then the final lesson on turning a victim into a victor is … V. Forgiving the offender A. Read Gen 50:15-21 B. Forgiveness is essential to experiencing the deep healing within our souls. Yet it is such a struggle as 2 Cor 2:10-11 tells us that we need to forgive lest Satan take advantage of us because we are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes! Satan shots his poison into our hearts through un-forgiveness and compounds the struggle! C. The hardest part of forgiveness for me is when the person who hurt me does not acknowledge they did it or does not apologize for what they have done. If someone apologizes normally, God gives me quick grace to forgive. But what do we do with those who have not: 1. As I wrestled with forgiving someone who hurt me and did not acknowledge it or apologize to me. God spoke me through Jesus on the cross when He said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing” – a) Jesus forgave without anyone asking for forgiveness or acknowledgement of their wrong doing b) I could no longer hold out for an apology or acknowledgement – I needed to forgive without that. 2. Last week we talked about two things a) Room of grace – depend on Jesus for strength and next steps – (1) It is not a program to follow or a principle to learn but a person, the Savior, Jesus that gives us the ability and wisdom we need to walk through this! b) When we take a radical honest look in our hearts we see helplessness – bigger than me, smarter than I am smart and stronger than I am strong – (1) So I need to turn to Jesus to show me what I need to do next and give me the strength to forgive! D. Let me tell my story and how God met me on the issue of unforgiveness that was controlling my heart towards those who hurt me! 1. I was at a conference when the speaker told his story of his need to forgive some people that deeply hurt him. Afterwards the host of the conference challenged us and gave us some time to examine our own hearts and the need to forgive. 2. That time with the Lord at the end of that message ended up being four hours long and my missing the entire afternoon session. E. As I met with God that afternoon, He placed in my heart an image that set me free and I have been free now for over ten years. This is what God spoke to me about that day: 1. Need to hand over to God the “papers”, the ‘blood stained’ papers that have all the offenses on it that this person has committed against me. That blood stained list with “paid in full” written over it with Jesus’ blood. (Yes, they are guilty as charged but Jesus paid for it in full.) 2. Get the keys from God, go to the prison of my heart, and open up the prison. Then go back to the torture chamber of my heart where I have been mentally and emotionally beating them up and making them pay for what they have done to me, and set them free 3. Next, I needed to go over to the judgment stand where I had been hurling accusations at them and set them free from my judgments and from thinking evil about them. 4. Thank God, for the relationship I did have with this person and the blessing they were to me. 5. Thank God, that He will use their wrong against me and all the pain that has brought for a good purpose in my life. 6. Confess my sin of unforgiveness as being as great of a sin as what they did against me 7. Resist the Devil from taking any further ground in my heart from my unforgiveness 8. Pray a blessing for that person for their life. 9. Do all of this in Jesus’ name trusting Him to enable me for this. E. Working through all these people, I had never forgiven and God genuinely setting me free took about six weeks of going through this process. With each person I journaled before the Lord about each different person or groups of people as to exactly what they did and what I did and how I responded VI. Conclusion A. Turn to Psalm 123 1. Note the contempt in his soul. Read 3-4 2. But that contempt was placed on him by others 3. He is not saying it is his contempt for others that fills his soul but the contempt that others placed on him. Modern day translation, “These people have crapped on me and now I am full of their crap!” B. How do I get rid of this crap in my heart? How do I release this from my heart? 1. Listen to 3a – God’s grace – only God can do this – it is a gift from God 2. Read v1-2 3. The same way a servant looks to the hand of their master for direction and provision we must look to God for direction and provision until He provides it! a) We need to continually look to, rely upon, call upon and wait for the Lord until He gives us the grace to forgive and let it go!

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Biblical Theology of Counseling Various Passages October 6, 2019

I. Introduction: A. This morning’s message is going to be different from what you are used to getting when we open up a passage, teach what it means and then apply it. B. What is going to happen today is you are going to get: 1. Over 40 years of studying Scripture 2. Over 60 years of living with and struggling with my own soul 3. 34 years of pastoral ministry and care of others’ souls. 4. What I have learned from others over these years from those who specialize in these things C. So these converge together to form my biblical theology of pastoral counseling for ministering to a damaged soul, someone else’s and your own! D. As I share this my hope is that it will help in three ways: 1. Those who are struggling with something in their own souls will get some direction on how to think about these things and how to begin to approach them 2. Those who are basically doing OK right now in their souls would find out things that will help them excel still the more in their soul since none of us will be perfect in this area. 3. Finally, it will equip all of us a bit more on how to think and help others we love who are struggling deep within their souls. You might call it a biblical/pastoral counseling 101. E. So over the past 3 months I have worked hard trying to summarize all my thinking and understanding in a simple way that can help us with these things. I encourage you, if you are interested; to go to the web page and download the document that I created that summarizes all of this so you can use it for yourself or helping others!  Let me start with an... II. Overview of the whole process (See 4 page Handout) A. The process 1. Commission – sins done but should not have been (sexual or verbal abuse). Omission – should have been done but was not (told you’re loved or received affection and affirmation) 2. Room of works looks like - when we try to manage our sin through willpower, the process looks like this: sin...confess... do better for a while, and then sin again. Embarrassment, confess again, ask God to take away the desire, then sin again, confess again, sin again, confess again, shock, more determination to stop sinning, think about it a lot and examine it. Make promises, create some boundaries, and sin again, now even worse than

before. Despair, anger, shame, distance from God and guilt. Self-condemnation, self-loathing... sin again. Disillusionment, doubt, self-pity, resentment at God: Why doesn’t He hear my prayers? Why doesn’t He do something? More anger. Then fear because we allow ourselves to get angry with God. Then real confession, a heartfelt one, and a sense of cleansing. Ah, a new start. Things seem to get better. Yeah, I finally got this sin under control. Oops, sin again. Desperate efforts and bargains struck. Once-and-for-all healing. Really, mean it this time. Sin again. Lose hope, give up, rationalize, minimize, blame, pull away, hide, judge others, put on a mask, sin again, and so on. B. The room of grace 1. Radical Honesty .... Radically honest look – the opposite of that is denial, suppression, not wanting to talk about it! 2. Like denying you have cancer and thinking it will take care of itself or just go away. It will eventually overtake you and destroy you! C. The past 1. Read statement at the top 2. At the end of describing how to address the past. The emotional resilience class that starts this Tuesday here at MVC will go into this process much deeper. At Next Steps Table there will be more info and resource cards about all of the resources we have available for you during this series. D. Spiritual warfare III. Conclusion A. Ps 127:1 says “unless the Lord builds the house the laborers labor in vain” B. The best information, processes and programs do not have the power to transform a life, only God does that! C. There is a special meeting between man and God when we prayerfully depend upon God and do the due diligence to put ourselves in the places where God is working. 1. Some of those places you will find on the resource card at Next Steps Table D. Thus this week we are moving into a week of prayer where we are calling the whole body to come and pray for one another and our loved ones as we are asking the Healer Himself to do things in our souls that only He can do. E. Josh will explain a bit more about this.

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Our Family Pastor, Mike Locke, speaks on God's Emotions in our Fall Series, The Struggle is Real

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Pastor Pat kicks off our Fall series, The Struggle is Real. To find out more information on the resources we will be offering throughout this series, visit us at morainevalleychurch.org and check out Fall Series Resources under our "EVENTS" tab!

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Pastor Pat closes out our summer series, "OVERCOME"

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The Coming World Tribulation Revelation 6-18 September 8, 2019 I. Introduction: A. This morning we are going to look at the period of time, that is yet to come, that will be the worst time this world will ever know! 1. In the Revelation 6, it is called the great day of the wrath of Him who sits on the Throne and the Lamb. 2. Jesus called it the great tribulation and he said if those days were not cut short, then not one person would have survived! B. This time actually starts in Chapter 4. Read v1 1. In Chapter 4 we get a vision of the throne room and the one who sits on it to remind us who is ruling and in charge of the things that are about to take place. 2. Then chapter 5 we get a vision of Jesus to show us that He is the only one who is worthy to open the scroll and to bring about the judgement upon the earth that is about to take place. C. Two weeks ago, we learned something of the nature of this time, and the fact that it will last 7 years. Two weeks ago, we were introduced to some key players, primarily the antichrist and his activities during this time. • What we are going to see in Chapter 6-19 are a series of judgments. II. Judgments begin A. In Chapter 6 Jesus breaks the first seal of the scroll. Read v1 this first series of judgments, the seven seals – These judgments are: 1. Seals: a) First Seal: White Horse—Conqueror by Antichrist b) Second Seal: Red Horse —War c) Third Seal: Black Horse—Famine d) Fourth Seal: Pale Horse—Death 1/4th of the Earth e) Fifth Seal: Martyrs under the altar f) Sixth Seal: Earthquake, signs in the heavens 2. Listen to the response of mankind to this a) Read 6:15-17 b) Note: (1) worldwide – Kings of the earth (2) They recognize this judgment is from God and that even the greatest and strongest cannot stand! 3. Note the last phrase in v17 “who will stand?” Chapter 7 is an interlude in the action that answers that for us by telling us about the 144,000 Jews who will be sealed and the great multitude from every nation will be saved! B. At the start of Chapter 8, the seventh seal was broken which introduced the seven trumpets and there was complete silence in heaven for half an hour. Read 8:1 – indicates just how solemn this series of judgments will be as there is an increase in intensity in this round of judgments! 1. Trumpets: a) First Trumpet – Hail, fire, blood b) Second Trumpet – Fiery mountain in sea, 1/3 of sea becomes blood c) Third Trumpet –Star falls, 1/3 of rivers Bitter d) Fourth Trumpet – 1/3 of sun, 1/3 moon, 1/3 stars turn dark e) Fifth Trumpet—Demon locust from the Abyss to torment mankind f) Sixth Trumpet—200 million man army kills 1/3rd of mankind 2. Again note man’s response to all of this read 9:20-21 3. Then in Chapters 10-11 we see another interlude about a) Chapter 10 - a little book that had seven peals of thunder in them but the contents of these were sealed and John was not to write about them b) Then the two witnesses in Chapter 11 who for 3 ½ years will prophecy for God, Read v3 (1) The beast, Antichrist, will kill them. Read v7-8 (2) Then listen to what happens. Read v10-13 4. Then the seventh trumpet sounds and Christ’s reign right here on earth is foreseen. This captures the heart of this whole book and the purpose of Jesus’ judgments! Listen to 11:15-19. C. Then as we saw last week in Chapters 12-14 there is another interlude to explain who some of the main characters are in this tribulation and what their roles will be! D. Then in Chapters 15-16, we move into the final judgments the seven plagues/bowls. 1. Read v1 – In these judgments we will see the completion of God’s wrath upon mankind! Cr 16:17 2. The Bowls of Wrath a) First bowl - painful sores b) Second bowl - turns sea into blood c) Third bowl rivers and springs - blood d) Fourth bowl—sun scorches people e) Fifth bowl—plunges kingdom of the beast into darkness f) Sixth bowl—dries up the Euphrates for battle of Armageddon g) Seventh bowl—judgment against Babylon 3. Note men’s responses to these judgments. This time they not only refused to repent but took it a step further and blasphemed God! Read: 16:9, 11, 21 4. I want to take a moment to focus upon the last two bowls as both of them set up events yet to come in this program of God a) The sixth bowl – (1) Read 16:12-14,16 (2) God uses this bowl to prepare for the war that will take place in chapter 19 when Jesus returns and defeats the kings of the earth, the antichrist and the false prophet! We will look at bit more at this next week! b) The seventh bowl (1) Read 16:17-21a (2) Scholars have debated for years as to whether this is a reference the revived Roman Empire or a rebuilt Babylon! One thing I know for sure is that I do not know for sure which it is! (3) Here we see the final piece of God’s judgment that chapters 17-18 expand for us and give the details of it. E. Then in chapters 17-18, we see the judgment of the Babylon the great harlot, her religious and political systems during the tribulation along with city itself and its great commerce! 1. Chapter 17 refers to the judgment of the great harlot! Read v1-2, 5 in Scripture harlotry and immorality are used to speak of spiritual unfaithfulness to God. a) This chapter appears to be the destruction of a one world religion that will be set up at that time b) Then at the end of this chapter, we see that God uses the antichrist to actually destroy this one world religion. Read 16-17 2. Then in chapter 18 Babylon is pictured as the commerce center of the world, it will be destroyed as well! a) Read v3a-b = Chapter 17 and now 3c = Chapter 18. b) And note the response of mankind to this – Read 18:15-19 c) But note the saints are actually called to rejoice over this, listen – v20 III. Conclusion A. That brings us up to Chapter 19 where we will see the return of Christ next week! B. But that chapter starts with heavens response to the destruction of Babylon. Read v1-6 C. Then we see the marriage feast of the Lamb! Read 7-9 D. If you are a believer in Jesus, you are blessed to be a part of this. If you are not may I implore you today to come to Jesus now and avoid the great wrath of the Lamb!

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The Future Kingdom: Time of Restoration

Millennial Kingdom and the New Heaven and Earth Revelation 20-22 September 1, 2019, MVC I. Introduction: A. U Thant, former Secretary General of the United Nations met with a group of 67 scholars and statesmen addressing the issue of world peace. He asked them this: What element is lacking so that with all our skill and all our knowledge we still find ourselves in the dark valley of discord and enmity? 1. They never were able to come up with an answer to this question! 2. But the Scripture tells us what the missing element of world peace is; it is Jesus and the setting up of His kingdom here on earth for 1,000 years. A kingdom of peace, prosperity and righteousness which God promised His people, actually covenanted with His people! A kingdom that will be set up after Jesus returns! • Turn to Revelation 20 II. Millennial Kingdom A. Six times in these few verses, we are told it is going to be 1,000 years long, thus, it is called the millennial kingdom also known as the Davidic kingdom, the forever kingdom, with a forever king who reigns forever! 1. It is forever because it starts or is inaugurated with this kingdom here on earth for 1000 years but it continued on forever in the new heaven and earth forever and ever! B. It starts with Satan being bound for 1,000 years so that he can no longer deceive the nations. Read v1-3. C. This kingdom will be populated at the start by every believer who was still alive after the return of Jesus. Then the population will grow as they have children and many of their children will not become believers in Jesus, so much so that v8 says that by the end of the Millennium “the number of them will be like the sand of the seashore!” who come to war against the capital city, Jerusalem where Jesus will be reigning from. So both believers and unbelievers will populate it. D. The government of this kingdom will be Jesus as king with His throne in the capital Jerusalem (that we learn in the Old Testament) and those who will be reigning with Him are resurrected believers, Old Testament and church believers, and those who were martyred during the tribulation. 1. Simply everyone who will be part of the first resurrection – that is all saved people of all time who have already died! The second resurrection is for all lost people of all time. 2. Read 4a. In other words these are the people to whom God had committed and promised them the authority to reign in the kingdom a) Old Testament saints – Daniel 12: 2, 13 b) The church - the promises to the churches to reign with Jesus, which we saw in the letters to the seven churches. (1) Thyatira Revelation 2:26-27 (2) Laodicea Revelation 3:21 3. Believers who were martyred during the tribulation. Read. V4b-6 E. While we do not learn of the character of the kingdom in Revelation 20, we do learn of it when we read God’s promises and the prophets in the Old Testament. 1. Encourage you to go to church website to download my notes as there is a lot here and later in the message too that is too much to follow this quickly. I reference the verses in those notes where I am getting this. 2. This kingdom will last forever and will crush all the other kingdoms and bring them to an end (2 Samuel 7:12-19; Daniel 2:34-35, 44). Israel would again possess their own land, the very land their fathers lived on, as one nation, but this time forever (Ezekiel 37:22, 25). A time of security, justice, peace and abundance. A time when there would be no more wars, people’s lives will be as long as the life of a tree, their numbers would increase like a flock. Diseases and infirmities will be healed – the blind will see, the lame will walk, the deaf will hear, and the mute will speak (Isaiah 29:18; 35:3-6; 42:7). The waste places will be rebuilt, the wilderness and dessert will blossom and the land will become like the Garden of Eden. Even wild animals will become safe and not hurt anyone (Isaiah 2:4; 11:6-9; 35:1- 2; 65:20-23; Ezekiel 36:33-38). 3. The people themselves would be full of joy and praise, forgiven and righteous, given a new heart and God’s Spirit will dwell within them and fill them along with doing extraordinary works (Isaiah 61:3; Ezekiel 36:25- 27; Joel 2:28-29). 4. As for the nations, those that are left after their judgment, their wealth will be taken for Israel (Zechariah 14:14) and they themselves will go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord (Zechariah 14:16), seek the Lord’s favor and be taught by Him regarding His ways. (Isaiah 2:3) They will want to be identified with the Jews because they will know that God is with them. (Zechariah 8:20-23) F. After this 1,000 years Satan will be let loose and will again deceive the nations and lead them into a war where God will destroy them with fire from heaven, then Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night forever. Then the great white throne will take place, and our present heaven and earth will be destroyed • Then God will create a new heaven and new earth where He will dwell with His people forever right here on a new earth. III. New Heaven and New Earth A. Yes, our future with God will be right here on earth, a new earth forever not on a cloud up in the sky playing a harp. Read 21:1-3 B. “What” and who will not be in heaven. 1. What will not be - – death, mourning, crying, pain, (21:4) curse (22:3) hunger, thirst, heat (7:16-17) 2. Who will not be - read – 21:8 3. The implications are huge here. Let me mention just a few – a) No more funerals graveyards, or tearful goodbyes, no more emotional pain and depression over rejection, separation, abuse or loss, no more hospitals or cancer or deformities or diseases, no more migraine headaches or need for pain killers and no more health insurance, no more food pantries or food stamps, no more sin to affect people, their relationships, their work or the earth. The earth will be fully productive and beautiful. b) That means we will never again suffer persecution, mocking or conflict of beliefs or values with those who are unbelievers, nothing shameful, vile, detestable, unpleasant will be there, no news reports telling us about murders that happened in the big cities, we can walk the streets safely and without fear, no more adultery, rape or sexual abuse, no more demonic influence through witchcraft or drugs, you can trust anything and everything that is said, there will be no shaky deals or misrepresentations; and God will be the greatest love of everyone that is there. No one will ever put anything or anyone above God and His will for them. They will love Him with all their hearts, all their souls, all their minds and strength, and they will love their neighbor as themselves. C. What will we do? “Serve” him and reign with Him forever – Read 22:3,5 1. In Matthew 25, we learn that we will be assigned responsibilities in light of our faithfulness to the responsibilities that we had here on earth. 2. In Luke 19, we learn that we will actually have authority over different cities in the future dependent upon how faithfully we steward the money, possessions and spiritual gifts that God has given to us here on earth. D. Let’s take a quick look at what the New Jerusalem will be like. Read 9-11. 1. Walls and gates. Read v12 2. Foundation stones – Read v14 a) Interesting to note that even in the eternal state there is still a clear distinction between Israel and the church imprinted into the city 3. Then he tells us the measurements of the city are 1500 miles in each length, width and height. The walls are 72 yards high. 4. Listen to what the foundation stones will be adorned with – God is even going to decorate the foundation stones! V19-20. Read a) After service special treat – my friend Hans has a table with all 12 of the gems that will adorn the foundation stones so you can see them! b) This is a must see! Amazing the work and effort, he put into getting the stones and in setting them up for us to see. 5. Listen to what the gates will be made of Read v21 a) Largest pearl to date found was 14 pounds and just over 9 inches b) Each gate a single pearl that will take a big oyster or a supernatural act of God! 6. There also will be no need for the temple or the sun and the moon to give light. Read v22-24 E. Finally, we get a close up look of the throne and a river that comes out from it and we see a tree of life! Listen to Rev 22:1-2 1. Fruit a) Bears 12 different kinds of fruit b) Yields its fruit every month (I thought there was no time in eternity?) 2. Leaves for the healing of the nations – Who are the nations? What do they need healing for? Don’t ask me ask Josh he can tell you. IV.Closing A. Let’s celebrate this great future hope of ours! Josh

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The Coming World Leader Various Passages; August 25, 2019 I. Introduction: A. There is something new that I have seen happening on TV over the past number of years. That is they gradually role out credits regarding who is who on the show over the first 15 minutes rather than all up front or at the end like before. 1. Revelation is like that. The action begins but after the action goes on for a bit then we are introduced to some of the key characters during the time of the Tribulation. B. There are many important people in the Tribulation period who play a big part in it: 1. In Chapter 7 we learn of the 144,000 from Israel who will be special servants of God during this time 2. In chapter 11 we hear of the “two witnesses” – who for 3 ½ years will prophecy for God, be killed by the Beast and then raised again to life and caught up into heaven. 3. Chapter 12-13 John uses many figures to picture many key players during this time. a) The woman clothed with the sun represents Israel b) The red dragon with the 7 heads and 10 horns and on his head are 10 diadems - presents Satan c) A male child who is born from the woman Israel is Jesus the Christ d) We meet Michael, the archangel, who does war with Satan and throws him down to earth e) The beast out of the sea who is the world dictator or as we call him the Antichrist f) The beast out of the earth – the False Prophet who deceives people by preforming miracles and pointing people to worship the Antichrist! C. This morning I want to focus upon the one whom I call the third main character in this time. I call him the third because Dave Parro already introduced us to the top two during this time: 1. God the Father on the throne reminding us that He is in control of these things happening on the earth during this time! 2. Jesus Christ the only one worthy to perform the judgment we will read about. • But the 3rd character is the Beast, the Antichrist, the World Dictator … II. What we know of the Beast outside of Revelation 13 A. We first hear of this Beast in chapter 11 when he kills the two witnesses. Read 11:7-8 B. At this time we really do not know who this beast is until we next hear of him in further detail in chapter 13 1. Read 13:1-2 2. The big thing we learn about this Beast here is that Satan was the source, the one who gave the Beast his power, his throne and his authority. C. But the Bible tells us about this Beast, the Antichrist, and world dictator even before we see him in Revelation 11 and 13 here. We need to turn back to Daniel 7 where we first meet him. 1. Daniel had a dream and vision that when all was said and done it alarmed him and made his face grow pale. 2. The Vision was of four beasts coming out of the sea a) A lion that represented Babylon b) A bear that represented Medo-Persia c) A leopard that represented Greece d) The reason we know they represented these kingdoms is both because the interpretation of the angel later in Daniel 7 and history proved them out as well 3. Then for the first time we meet the Beast of Revelation 13. Read v7-8 a) Now we are pushing heavily into things we will see in the book of Revelation. b) But what is very important to note here is that the emphasis both in Daniel and in Revelation is not upon the whole Beast itself but upon one that comes from the Beast. Actually, it has to do with the ten horns and then another horn, a little one that came up among them. c) Let me repeat the emphasis of Daniel and Revelation is ultimately upon an individual that comes from an empire more than the empire itself. 4. As the vision goes on, we see the Father, called the Ancient of Days, making a verdict, a judgment against this little horn to take away his kingdom, destroy him and give the everlasting kingdom to the Son of Man, Jesus, and to his saints. Thus as we saw in the seven churches we will reign with Him. 5. Let me read the end of this chapter where the angel clarifies all of this for Daniel and as you read it, you feel you could be reading a portion of Revelation. Read v19-27 D. Then in Daniel 9 we here of him again and this time we are given a clue as to what kingdom he will come out of and represent. 1. Read v26 2. Here it speaks of the Jesus’ death and the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple. We see here that the people who do it are the people of the prince who is to come, the little horn we read of in Daniel 7. We know from history that the Roman Empire was the one that destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple 3. Now the next verse tells us about some of the activity of this leader, prince, and little horn. Read v27. Again reading this verse is like reading the book of Revelation E. Again, listen to the book of Revelation in the book of Daniel regarding this man! Read 11:31-37 1. Jesus talks about this time of the Antichrist as being part of the great Tribulation. Read Matthew 24:15…21 F. Turn to 2 Thessalonians 2 where we will see Daniel and Revelation fingerprints all over this description of this man. 1. Read 2:1-4 – this is the abomination of desolation, the key turning point of the Tribulation. 2. We see a further description of his activity during this time a few verses down along with the good news that drives the book of Revelation – Jesus wins! Read v8-11 3. Note the progression we have seen in the Antichrist’s relationship with God from Daniel through here - boast against, claim to be equal to, magnify above, display himself as God • Now let’s turn back and see what we see of this III. Beast in Rev 13 A. Remember the emphasis of Daniel and Revelation is ultimately upon an individual that comes from an empire, more than the empire itself. B. You may say stop! How do you know this Beast is speaking of the one leader more than the entire Roman Empire? 1. Read v3 - It appears he mimics Jesus as one head of the beast is killed and resurrected so everyone is amazed and follows him. And as the narrative continues like Daniel, it focuses on the one individual rather than the entire empire. 2. Also, turn to Revelation 17 where he tells us very directly, who this beast is. It is an individual, one of the kings and not the kingdom itself. Read 17:7-13. 3. So bottom line I do think the Beast is the ultimate king and embodiment and key representative of the revived Roman Empire! At times referring to the empire but primarily to the ultimate king C. Now in Revelation we see some of the activity of this beast during this time. Turn to Revelation 13 1. Most of this has been heard already or hinted towards in other passages we have seen already. 2. We already seen in v2 he receives his power, kingship and authority from Satan. Reread 3. Verse 3-4 it appears he is killed and resurrected, thus amazing the whole earth to follow after and worship him. Read v3-4 4. V5-6 we see his blasphemes which we have already heard about. Read 5-6 5. Then in v7, as we heard in Daniel, wars against the saints and overcomes them and finally worldwide rule under him! Read v7 D. Then we hear in the second half of this chapter about another beast who comes up out of the earth. His primary purpose is to be the prophet for the Antichrist and deceive the world through miracles to get them to worship the beast! 1. Read 13:11-15 2. And this False Prophet will be the one who oversees that everyone who wants to buy anything has to have the mark of the Beast first! Read 13:16-17 E. Later on in Chapter 16, we see that the Antichrist, the False Prophet and Satan himself will work together with demonic powers to gather all the kings of the earth together for the great final war, the war of Har-magedon! Read 16:13- 14,16 F. But before that war we learn in Revelation 17:16 that God will actually use the Antichrist to overthrow the Great Harlot, which I believe is the one world religion. G. But as we learned in the book of Daniel – his doom is certain and we see that at the return of Christ in Revelation 19 when He overcomes the armies gathered for war against Him. Read 19:19-21 IV. Conclusion A. You may be wondering what does all this have to do with me if I will not be here for the Tribulation. Didn’t you tell us last week we would be raptured before this happens? 1. Actually a lot! Every believer in Jesus is in one of the major events in this story. Listen 2. Listen to Rev 17 when he foretells of the Lamb defeating the Antichrist and the 10 kings – what I want you to note is who will be with Jesus when He does this a) Read 17:14 – the called, chosen, and faithful. b) Who are they? 3. Now let’s read 19:7-8 the marriage feast of the Lamb with the church and as I read note who is clothed in fine linen, bright and clean 4. Now listen to the return of Jesus when He comes to defeat the Antichrist, the False Prophet and the kings of the earth. Note again who is with Him a) Read 19:11-15, (1) Note v14 – clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses (2) 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 adds that the angels will be with Him as well! b) Read 19-21 5. So you had better believe this story and sermon have a whole bunch to do with you! B. Pray

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It Won’t Get Any Worse Than This – Intro to the Tribulation Rev 6-19, and Various Passages, August 18, 2019 I. Introduction: A. We are making a major transition this morning in the book of Revelation as we move from the letters from Jesus to the church to the prophetic section of the book, which tells us about the future things that must take place! B. But before I go there today I want to start with what normally happens at the end of a sermon, application! What should be our response to these things beyond just satisfying our curiosity regarding what is going to take place, in the future? 1. We learned in the intro to this book that Jesus was writing the whole book of Revelation to the seven churches in Asia Minor and not just chapters 2-3. So the primary application to this book is seen in those churches, which we learned that Jesus was encouraging them to persevere in holiness, allegiance to and worship of Jesus because the future reward outweighs the present suffering! a) Peter says the same thing as to how we should respond to some of the things we will see in this section of Revelation. (1) Read 2 Peter 3:10-11,13 (2) Bottom line do not live for this world because everything you are living for and working for will be destroyed in the end. Instead, we should conduct our lives in a holy and godly way! With our eye on a better life and world ahead. 2. Jesus made it clear in Matthew 24 that no one knows the day or the hour of His return. However, He did say we could know the season of His return when we start to see the signs the Bible talks about falling in place. a) And anyone who knows the Bible well and has half an eye on current events is convinced we are in the season of Jesus’ return. b) Then Jesus gives us instructions how we can be faithful and wise in light of knowing we are in the season but not knowing the specific day or hour. (1) Read 45-47 (2) What has God put you in charge of? What is God’s will for you? Be faithful in carrying that out whether that is changing diapers or helping someone come to know Jesus or grow in Him! 3. We should be thinking about these things as we work our way through the rest of the book of Revelation! • Next, as I introduce chapters 6-19 I want you to know that this time was talked about before in the Bible. The time of God pouring His wrath out on mankind and disciplining the Jews at the same time. So this is a detailed description of a fulfilment of what God already said must happen. II. The Tribulation A. Maybe the best imagery we can get of just how difficult this time is going to be is that pain a woman feels when giving birth to a child. 1. Listen to how Jeremiah describes it. Read 30:3-7,11 a) V3 – that is the future kingdom in Rev 20 – the very same land that Abraham and the other fathers lived on b) V5-7,11 Listen to what they must go through first c) He calls this the time of Jacob’s trouble 2. Listen to how mankind responds to Jesus when He first starts to pour forth His wrath in the seals! In Revelation 6. a) Turn and Read v15-17a 3. Bottom line, this is going to be a very painful, difficult and scary time for those who will live during this time. The worst time this world has ever seen or will ever see. a) Listen to what was told Daniel about this time: Read Daniel 12:1 b) Listen to what Jesus said Matthew 24:21-22 c) In chapter 7 when the question is answered as to who is able to stand this day of God’s wrath read 6:17 (1) This terrible time, it is called the Great Tribulation. Read 7:13-14 B. So how long will this take place and when will it start? We know it is in the future so let’s turn to Daniel 9 to gain a bit more insight into this! 1. Read v24 – a) A week means seven just like a dozen means 12 to us. It could be a week of eggs = seven eggs or a dozen of eggs = 12 eggs. Here it is a week of years or 7 years! b) God has decreed some things for His people, the Jewish people and Jerusalem. That is why in Rev 4:1 he says, “I will show you what must take place” these things have to happen, they must happen because God decreed them to happen. c) And part of what He decreed was to bring in everlasting righteousness and seal up vision and prophecy. That is what the whole book of Revelation is about the coming of God’s eternal righteous kingdom and the fulfilment of everything He has prophesied! 2. As I read v25, we have done the figuring on this before and it refers to Jesus coming into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to present Himself as the Messiah, the king of Israel. Read 25 3. Then we read in v26 after this the Messiah will be cut off by means of a violent death and then the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed by the people of the one who is the prince to come, the Antichrist. a) Read v26 b) These were fulfilled in Jesus’ crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ad by the Roman army under the leadership of General Titus. 4. So at this point 69 of the 70 weeks have been fulfilled, there is one week left or 7 years left to complete God’s program and we hear about that in v27. Read 27a a) “He” is the prince referred to in v26, which we see in the book of Revelation as the beast whom we call the Antichrist! We will talk more about him next week as we look at the main character in the Tribulation, the Antichrist b) This tribulation will start when “he” makes firm and reestablises an already existing peace treaty with Israel for 7 years. Point out in v27 c) This treaty will be for one week or seven years, so this Tribulation will last seven years d) But in the middle of that week, 3 ½ years into this treaty he will stop sacrifices to God and desolate the temple by taking his place in the temple and receiving worship as God. Read 27b e) Then it finishes by saying this will continue until he is completely destroyed, something we will see in Revelation 19. Read v27c • Welcome to picnic Sunday at MVC! At this point, I can send you all out and tell you to enjoy your hamburger and games! But it feels a bit heavy for that. So I want to encourage you with something as we finish today’s message. It called the …. III. Rapture A. Turn to and Read 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 1. We already saw in Revelation that the people recognized that this time in Revelation 6-19 was the great day of God’s wrath. 2. This verse speaks to those who have turned to the living God through Jesus that they will be rescued from this future wrath B. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9 1. He is speaking to believers here and the whole context of this section is the Day of the Lord, when He returns. So he is saying that God has not destined us for this time of wrath but rather to obtain salvation through Jesus. 2. This salvation he is referring to here is known as the Rapture of the Church that he talks about at the end of chapter 4. Read 4:15-18. C. This is the same thing we saw that Jesus promised the church in His letter to Philadelphia. 1. Read 3:10b-c 2. Jesus promised them He would keep them “from” going through this hour of testing that was going to come upon the whole world, which we learn of in Revelation 6-19. D. Do something for me – twinkle your eyes! Did that take long? That is how quickly the rapture of the church will take place, the very next thing that God has already scheduled for His future program. Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 E. IF you are here today and you do not know Jesus as your savior, in prayer, admit to God your sin, and declare that there is nothing you can do to save yourself and your trust is totally in Jesus, and then finally thank Him for forgiving your sins and giving you new life!

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Dave Parro continues in our summer series, "Overcome".

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Dave Parro continues in our summer series, "Overcome".

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The Lukewarm Useless Church Rev 3:14-22 July 28, 2019 I. Introduction: A. The struggle that the church in Laodicea had is probably the biggest struggle that suburban churches in North America face. The temptation to be self-sufficient because of our many resources rather than relying upon the All Sufficient One – Jesus! B. Laodicea was known for three things: it was a wealthy city with many banking centers, the soft black wool they produced and the eye salve that was produced there to treat medical conditions for the eye. 1. This city was so wealthy and self-sufficient that when a major earthquake destroyed the city about 34 years before and Rome offered them money to rebuild that they wrote a letter back to Nero telling him that they were wealthy and in need of nothing and that, they could rebuild it themselves. C. But they did have one glaring weakness: their water supply! 1. Twelve miles to its east was Colossae. There refreshing cold water came down from melted snow and rain from the mount that towered above it. These waters were valued for their ability to refresh and reinvigorate people 2. Seven miles to its north was Hierapolis. It was famous for its hot springs, which were used, cure ailments. 3. In Laodicea, the cold streams from the east and the hot water from the north met which created a lukewarm water that was not either good for refreshment or healing. It tasted awful and could make the people sick! • As I read this letter from Jesus to this church, note how he used their cultural realities to connect with them with what was going on in their church. Note how their material self-sufficiency had deceived them regarding II. Their spiritual condition! A. Read Revelation 3:14-17 B. In v16 we see their problem was lukewarmness 1. Many without considering the cultural context of their water situation would interpret this something like this: I wish that you were either very passionate and on fire for Jesus or apathetic and cold toward Jesus rather than just being a middle of the road Christian! 2. In light of their cultural context, it appears to be referring to their usefulness rather than passion level for Jesus. Like the lukewarm water in Laodicea, it was not useful for healing and it was not useful for refreshment. 3. The next verse tells us why they were useless! Note “because” at start of the verse explains the cause of their lukewarmness and uselessness. As I read note there are two reasons – their self-sufficiency and their self-deception regarding their true spiritual condition. 4. Read v17 C. One of the great temptations for churches, for individuals, for countries that are wealthy or can easily get resources in their hands is to think that they really do not need anything, they can pull it off, and they are self-sufficient. 1. In Deuteronomy 8 God warns Israel that when they come into the land of milk and honey, the place where they will not lack anything, a place where they will be satisfied listen to his warning. a) Read Deut. 8:11-14 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God … when you have eaten and are satisfied… then your heart will become proud and you will forget the lord” 2. In 1 Timothy 6:17-18 what Paul instructs wealthy believers to do • So the great temptation to wealthy churches, wealthy nations and even wealthy Christians is to be self-sufficient and deceived as to how that condition has put them in a dangerous place spiritually. Next Jesus tells them of III. The cure A. Read v18 B. To buy is a figure here that means to acquire these things from Jesus. You do not get things from Jesus with money but rather by faith. You buy from Jesus without money but through faith and probably even more specifically through believing prayer. C. In v17 Jesus said you were materially rich but spiritually poor – therefore get the true spiritual riches from Me Read v18a D. In v17, they said they needed nothing, this city that made some of their wealth from the sale of black wool and wore luxurious clothes, but Jesus said you were naked – therefore get spiritual garments to cover your shameful life. Read 18b E. In v17, Jesus refers to their spiritual blindness, right in the middle of the city that was known for their eye medication and v18 tells them they need to get the eye medication He has so they can see clearly regarding their spiritual lives! Read 18c • Then finally Jesus makes a IV. Call to the Church A. Listen to this call to the Church. I say church for three reasons 1. We see in v14 it is written to the Church. The Church is made up of believers gathered together and we learned earlier that the Church was Jesus’ lampstand to bring light to the world. Unfortunately rather than bringing light to the world, the world has permeating the Church! 2. Secondly, I say this is written to a church of believers and not to a group of unsaved religious people going to church is because of what verse 19 says. Read a) Daniel Wallace, a Greek scholar, says this about this Greek word love in this verse “phileo” this word is never used in the New Testament of God or Jesus loving unbelievers! Only the word “agape” is used in the New Testament of God’s love for unbelievers! 3. The third reason is that many people take v20 to refer to Jesus coming into the life of an unsaved person to save them. a) Watch closely as I read “will come in to him” not “come into him” b) Again Dan Wallace says the author could have used the Greek word for into so as to indicate the penetration into a person’s life but instead he used the Greek word that means coming towards or before someone B. So all of that goes to say that Jesus here is making an invitation to this church to come back into fellowship with Him, not to lost religious churchgoers to be saved! 1. Read v20 2. So Jesus is simply summing up what He has said and wants them to turn from their self-sufficiency and turn to Jesus and they will be back in a place of fellowship and usefulness to Him. C. To those who respond to that invitation listen to what Jesus says to them! Read v21-22 V. Let me finish with an VI. Application A. I personally believe that the greatest expression that MVC can have that we are not trusting in the many resources and wealth that are available to us here in the south suburbs of Chicago is prayer that comes from the heart of those who have the very first character trait that Jesus said is true of a kingdom person – poor in spirit! A church who recognizes their spiritual poverty apart from Jesus! 1. If you are one of those persons I would encourage you to join us at Wednesday mornings as we, as a church together, declare to Jesus that what we are doing here at MVC is not about us or from us but about and from Him! 2. If we want to fulfil our function as a light to the suburban culture, we will desperately need to call upon Jesus to move in and through us. Because we live among a people who think they are doing fine and need nothing when it comes to spiritual things. But the reality is that they are poor, naked and blind deeply in need of new life from Jesus Christ.

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Philadelphia: The Church of the Open Door Revelation 3:7-13 July 21, 2019

I. Introduction: A. There is a large gap between the way that God does things, the way He conducts His affairs and the way we do things and conduct our affairs! 1. Isaiah 55:8-9 2. These differences are seen in a huge way in the church in Philadelphia. a) Last week in the church in Sardis we saw the difference in the way God evaluates a church – one they thought was alive, Jesus said was dead! b) In Philadelphia we will see a huge difference in the way that God thinks about the ministry opportunities for His churches and the way we think about them especially here in North America

B. Turn in your Bibles to Revelation 3:7 – The church in Philadelphia, Asia Minor not Pennsylvania. 1. This is the second and final of the seven churches where Jesus had no criticism for them. Only encouragement regarding what they are doing and what they can expect in the future for this faithfulness 2. Again, we are going to see a church under persecution. a) In v8 we will see they did not deny Jesus’ name and in v10 we see they persevered! Two words that indicate to remain faithful in the face of resistance 3. The source of their pressure to deny Jesus was like every other church in the Roman Empire - emperor worship was always a present pressure upon them a) But in this passage, Jesus in v9 will refer specifically to the Jews, which appears to be their greatest source of persecution.

b) There are also a number of writings from the church fathers at that time, including one of the better-known ones, Polycarp, that the Jews were persecuting Christians in Philadelphia! c) Scholars suggest that this persecution was a combination of doctrinal differences and jealousy over the success of Christianity to win over so many Jewish converts! 4. But Jesus says in this passage that the Jews will find out who God’s real people are, the ones whom God loves! And it is not them but Christians! C. Before I read, let me point out one more thing. In the New Testament, an open door refers to an opportunity for ministry of some sort! 1. 1 Corinthians 16:8-9; Acts 14:27, 2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3 2. That is what this passage will be talking about. This is a church where a door of ministry has been opened for them to serve the Lord in some undefined way. 3. And important to note, God opened this door for ministry they did not create this opportunity! D. As I read this passage, watch for their faithfulness under pressure and watch especially as to why God opened this opportunity of ministry for them! Read 3:7- 13. • This morning I want to focus on the reason II. Why God opened this opportunity for service for them. A. Let me read verse 8 to you as the New American Standard has it then read it to you as the Greek has it and its most likely interpretation 1. Read NASB v8 2. As I read the Greek, listen closely and see if you can notice the difference. “because you have little power (emphasis in Greek on little) and or yet (word can be translated either way depending upon the context) you kept my word and did not deny my name” 3. Now look at it in the NLT which I believe captures the Greek perfectly “you have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me” B. So what is the big difference? 1. “Because you have a little power and ...” That would indicate to us that the first of three reasons why God gave them this opportunity for ministry. It was

because they at least had a little bit of power along with obeying God’s word and not denying His name! 2. If it says you have little power yet.... that means this becomes the basis for His commendation even though you have little power you still kept my word and did not deny me! C. Literally its says you have “little power” not “a little power!” Let me build this a bit further. 1. The word “little” here is the one Jesus used when he talked about the one who is the least in the kingdom, and the mustard seed that is smaller than all other seeds. In the book of Acts, it is used when speaking of the smallest to the greatest. 2. And the word “little” is emphasized here. The point is that Jesus is saying here – you have “very little power” or simply “you are not very powerful.” It is a statement of fact not a complement or a reason for opening the door! D. Simply He is saying, “I am opening this door because you are not very powerful yet you have obeyed my word, you have not denied my name under pressure and you have endured persecution! 1. Some commentators suggest that Jesus referring to the size of the church as small and others believe He is referring to the status of the people in that church, not the rich, high and mighty in Philadelphia but rather the poor, lowly and weak people of Philadelphia. 2. So how can people like this, probably a small church full of poor people who are lowly in status in that community and weak, be so faithful and strong in the midst of such pressure and persecution? Why would Jesus give this kind of church such a golden opportunity for ministry? 3. Don’t we think here in North America, the churches with many resources and significant people are the ones who are in a place to do great things for God? a) They are the ones who are smart enough to figure out the kind of programing to open up opportunities and have the resources to pull them off! b) But this passage is not about a church creating opportunities for God to work but God do it for the church!

But a church like Philadelphia has no choice but to turn away from themselves and to turn to Jesus for what they need! Churches that are wealthy, have status and are strong face the constant temptation to rely upon themselves and their resources to do God’s work rather than on God Himself E. I believe the very reason why Jesus gave this church such opportunities for ministry is because His power is perfected in weakness, He has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the wise! Let’s look at two key passages that show us that
Listen to how God has chosen to display His power and confound the world. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
Power is perfected in weaknesses when we embrace them, kiss them and even boast of them! Listen 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 F. When all is said and done I believe that God opened this door of ministry to this church because they recognized, embraced and probably even boasted in their weakness and the fact that they had little power they turned to Jesus for what they needed to be faithful to Him III. Application A. So let me ask you and us as a church are you/we looking to ourselves, to other churches, to best practices, to latest programs, to latest technology etc. to open up opportunities for ministry or are we looking to B. God C. What would that look like?
It would look like 21 days of prayer! It would look like our weekly prayer meeting on Wednesday mornings at 6am right here in this room.
It looks like a group of church people coming before God in prayer recognizing, embracing and probably even boasting in their weakness and the fact that they had little power and turning to Jesus for what they need to be faithful to Him
As a church, we will be having more weeks of prayer and will continue to meet every Wednesday at 6am. I would ask you to join us in this so we can be a church and a people where we see God open doors of opportunity for MVC and us as individuals! Then we would be a church that has no explanation except God D. Let me close with an encouragement, which He gives to the whole church, not just the overcomers!
Read 10b... - referring to that time we will be talking about in a few weeks, Revelation 6-19, the tribulation that time of great trouble like never before that will come upon the whole world!
We know words are important so watch this: a) Does he say, “I will also keep you in the hour of testing?” No! If he did say that it would mean that, the church would go through the tribulation but Jesus would preserve us during it! b) Does he say, “I will also take you out of the hour of testing?” No! If he did say that it would mean that, the church would go through a portion of the tribulation but taken out part way through! c) Does he say, “I will also keep you from the hour of testing?” Yes! That means that the church would not go through the tribulation but Jesus would deliver us from going through it!

E. Brothers and sisters as we have a great hope to look forward to may we be found faithful relying upon Jesus in prayer and in our ministry and not upon ourselves F. Pray

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