02-22-15 NOT ON THE INSIDE!

Scripture        Matthew 23:25-28 

Psalm 139:13-16             The Message

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day. 

Matthew 23:25-28

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” 

CHRIST Lives In Me

Galatians 2:20

How do you identify a Christian? People in other parts of the world believe that Canadians and Americans are Christian because they perceive our country to be a Christian country, but is that an adequate way to identify a Christian? Does keeping a certain code of conduct identify you as a Christian? Does attending a church identify you as a Christian? Do the friendships you have identify you as a Christian? Does your family background identify you as a Christian? How do we identify a Christian so that there is no confusion?

            Galatians 2:20 helps us think clearly about this. There we read, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

            This verse acknowledges that a Christian is one who is still living on this earth. A Christian has not gone to heaven or isolated him or herself from the world. A Christian life is referred to as “the life I live in the body.” As Christians, we are human, we live in this world and we live in a physical body.

            However, this also says, “I have been crucified with Christ” “I no longer live” and “Christ lives in me.” To be identified as a Christian has absolutely nothing to do with who your parents are or what they believe. There is only one thing about which there is no confusion, which identifies you as a Christian and that is that Jesus Christ lives in you.

John Piper says, “A Christian is not a person who believes in his head the teachings of the Bible. Satan believes in his head the teachings of the Bible! A Christian is a person who has died with Christ, whose stiff neck has been broken, whose brazen forehead has been shattered, whose stony heart has been crushed, whose pride has been slain, and whose life is now mastered by Jesus Christ.”

Being “Christian” equals “Christ lives in me” If Christ lives in us, how is that life lived?

I.          Living with Direction

A life lived in Christ is a life lived in a very particular direction. When Christ lives in a person, their heart is changed so that they do what Christ would do.

Romans 6:4-6 says, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin...”

Galatians 5:24 “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

II.      Living with Power

Romans is very clear that we cannot live the Christian life in the power that comes from our own determination. Romans 8:3-4 “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”

            Being in Christ must be about living in the power of the Spirit. Christ came in order to make the way for us to have our sins forgiven. In doing so, He made our lives a holy receptacle for God to live in. We do not live in our own power, but in the power of the Spirit of God.

III.   Living with a Message

The Bible teaches us that to be in Christ means that we have a message to proclaim. II Corinthians 4:11 says, “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.” The purpose of our living, of our being in Christ is so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal body. Colossians 1:27 “...God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

One person was reflecting on what would happen if a medical researcher discovered a cure for cancer and decided that he would not share the cure with others. We would think such a person to be very selfish, perhaps even evil. So many people are dying of cancer that to withhold the knowledge of the cure of cancer from them would be a terrible thing. They went on to say that we as Christians know of the cure of a disease far worse than cancer. The disease of sin does not just afflict a certain percentage of the population, as cancer does. It afflicts every single person living on this earth. A person ravaged by sin can be totally healthy physically, but in terrible spiritual anguish. When a person dies, cancer is finally not a problem to them. The consequences of sin, however, do not stop when a person dies. The consequences of sin afflict a person for all eternity. As Christians, we know the cure for this disease and if Christ is in us how can we not be involved in communicating the good news of the cure for sin to all those we come in contact with.

II Corinthians 5:14 says, “the love of Christ compels us.” To proclaim the good news!

IV.    Living in a Presence

Galatians 3:27 “…all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” The imagery of clothing implies a close identity. It implies a constant relationship with Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:10 where we read, “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” Wherever we go, whatever we do, whoever we meet, we are always functioning in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus in us means outwardly we live with Direction – Power – Message – the Presence of Christ!  “ARE YOU JESUS?” Does that question haunt you?

02-15-15 I can’t do it anymore!

Scripture        Colossians 3:17-25 

          Faith is an act of the will. Living right with God is an act of the will. How we respond to adversity and trials and complications and difficulties and heartache is an act of the will.  To say “I can’t do it anymore” is an act of the will.

          If everything can be overcome by an act of the will, why are we overweight? Why did we not finish college? Why did we not meet our sales quota last month? Why did I not ace my math test? Why can’t I get a hole in one? Can everything be overcome by an act of the will? NO! But our lives will never get better until we exercise the free will God gave us.

          We always associate Free-Will with sin. But what if Free-Will were a gift and not a curse? It is a gift. It gives you and I the ability to be the best version of ourselves instead of a predetermined robotic version of us.  Those two words perfectly describe what it is – Free & will. We are free to exercise our will OR….not!  Olympic athletes exercise their will to run faster, jump higher, or curl more precisely. People who build giant skyscrapers not only believe they can do it but exercise the will to do so – but think about the first person who ever thought about building a two story building when it had never been done. Neighbors must have thought he was mad. Or consider Noah building a giant boat on land with no water in sight – an act of free will – he was free not to build it as well.

          Why do some people achieve great things and others do not? Ability? Hardly! Jan Paderewski was asked by a fellow pianist if he could be ready to play a recital on short notice. The famous musician replied: “I am always ready. I have practiced eight hours daily for forty years.” The other pianist said, “I wish I had been born with such determination.” Paderewski replied, “We are all born with it. I just use mine.”   We are all born with Free Will! 

          I trust anyone here today, regardless of your spiritual awareness can identify with all I have been saying. But we are in church and are curious about what the bible teaches us and how we can live within the framework of a personal relationship with Jesus. THEREFORE:

Colossians 3:17-24

Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

          This is not just for pastors – this is for all people in every walk of life – Married people, Parents and children, employees and employers. In every area of life – do it as though you are doing it for the Lord!  That changes everything. I am no longer working just for a pay check, rather for the King of kings.

PRESSING ON

In a far country lived a band of minstrels who traveled from town to town presenting music to make a living. They had not been doing well. Times were hard; there was little money for common folk to come to hear the minstrels, even though their fee was small. Attendance had been falling off, so early one evening the group met to discuss their plight. “I see no reason for opening tonight,” one said. “To make things even worse than they may have been, it is starting to snow. Who will venture out on a night like this?” “I agree,” another disheartened singer said. “Last night we performed for just a handful. Fewer will come tonight. Why not give back their meager fees and cancel the concert? No one can expect us to go on when just a few are in the audience.” “How can anyone do his best for so few?” a third inquired. Then he turned to another sitting beside him. “What do you think?” The man appealed to was older than the others. He looked straight at his troupe. “I know you are discouraged. I am too. But we have a responsibility to those who might come. We will go on. And we will do the best job of which we are capable. It is not the fault of those who come that others do not. They should not be punished with less than the best we can give.” Heartened by his words, the minstrels went ahead with their show. They never performed better. When the show was over and the small audience gone, the old man called his troupe to him. In his hand was a note, handed to him by one of the audience just before the doors closed behind him. “Listen to this, my friends!” Something electrifying in his tone of voice made them turn to him in anticipation. Slowly the old man read: “Thank you for a beautiful performance.” It was signed very simply-“Your King.”   

1 Corinthians 15:58     Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  You are working for the King!

          The King has never given up on you. Jesus exercised his free will on your behalf, even when he was tired and didn’t want to. An example of that is in John 4:4-6     Now Jesus had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. Tired as he was he shared eternal life with a woman living in sin – the result, she and her entire village were saved.

          Jesus had been up all day, he knew what was coming, Judas was on his way to betray him, his closest disciples would not stay awake and support him in prayer. Jesus could have checked out and said I can’t do this anymore – in fact he felt that way – he prayed – if possible take this death curse away from me – if not, your WHAT? “will” be done. Jesus free will was to live and act according to God’s will. 

2 Cor 8:10-12

And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

          Have you had big intentions to read the bible more, to pray more, to give more money to the church, to volunteer more, to attend church more, to get involved in mission work, but somehow your free will allowed you not to see it through?  Today is the day to re-enlist until the job, whatever it may be is completed for the King.

Phil 1:3-6

I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. 

Optional     “IT IS FINISHED”

John 19:28-30

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.   When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

02-08-15 Living at Full Potential

Scripture     Psalm 8

VIDEO – A Majestic God – Psalm 8 

Early church father Athanasius said “Most scripture speaks to us, while the Psalms speak for us.”         

Psalm 8       (For the director of music. According to gittith.  A psalm of David.)

          8:1 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  

Gittith — a stringed instrument of music. This word is found in the titles of Ps 8; 81; 84. In these places the LXX. render the word by "on the wine-fats." The Targum explains by "on the harp which David brought from Gath." It is the only stringed instrument named in the titles of the Psalms.  (from Easton's Bible Dictionary). 

EXPERIMENT: See yourself from God’s perspective. How does he see you as you are? How does he see you as he wants you to be? 

TWIN BAROMETER

1)    God is judge and see yourself as hopeless.

2)    God as forgiver and see yourself with hope.

1)    Your judgmental view of yourself causes you to see God as looking at you with little potential.

2)    Your forgiven view of yourself causes you to see God looking at you with abundant potential.

1)    How can God use me; and why would he, there are many people more spiritual and holy than me.

2)    Of course God can use me, and why not me, I may not be the most spiritual and holy person there is but Jesus died for my sins and God’s strength shows up even through my weakness.

 

Even for those with Barometer number two – chances are, your vision of how God sees you is far below the full potential He is looking at.  This would be true of us as a church as well.  At times we may be down on ourselves – barometer number one, but when we think highly of our self as a church; barometer number two God sees us with so much more potential than we will ever see for ourselves. Why do you think I have given you the same benediction every Sunday for over 7 years now – “Now glory be to God who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires thoughts or hopes. Now glory be to God through the church and through Jesus Christ throughout all generations both now and forever. Amen!”

          That is how God sees us – individually and corporately so much greater potential than we see in ourselves.  Who has more potential for Christ’s Kingdom? A mother Teresa or Billy Graham during their best most vital days? Or you and your church today? Let me ask it another way – How much potential does God have? “0” None! God is the fullness of life and light – He has no potential to be more than He is.  So if you feel like you are the least likely for God to use you or see your church as a lesser ministry agent compared to others, then you have greater potential than others because you have much more room for improvement – therefore God sees you with great potential.

          David realized how God saw him – “O Yahweh our Adonai” Yahweh = “I am that I am” no potential he is all in all. Adonai = “Master, Ruler, King – none greater” O I am that I am our Master, Ruler and King!

With David we begin with recognition that God is all in all and that we are chosen to be children of the king.  “How excellent” the ones who excels above all others. “You have set your glory” = meaning His worth and value – I above the heavens. The speed of light travels at 186,000 miles per second – in a year of seconds, light travels six trillion miles. That is the distance of a light year – that is equal to 60,000 times the distance of the sun form the earth.  The universe is so vast that to cross it at the speed of light, you would have to travel 40 billion light years.  God’s glory is set above that – how do you look now from God’s vantage point?

We say with David – who are we God that you can even notice us, no more than that, that you care for us, mere man! No more than that, you assigned us the highest glory on earth – above all animals and creatures, above creation itself.  How can we respond to that God but to end where we began? In worship: “O Lord, Our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

Having been given dominion in the earth we are responsible to exercise that as God desires and can only do so as we depend on Him. Ps 24:1 The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.  We have been given potential to co-labor with God for the redemption of the world-and all who live in it; as individuals and as his church.

Are you living up to your God given potential? If not, do 3 things:

Claim your realm (Oikos) God has joyfully placed people into our life that he wants to redeem and has us there to assist him. He has crowned you with his glory to accomplish this work.

Consecrate you realm   Make your oikos a priority for his kingdom by your prayers, your words and your actions.  Se his kingdom’s glory rise in the life of your oikos – your realm of responsibility and potential.  1 Peter 3:15  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. When is the last time anyone asked for a reason for the hope that is in you? Are you living at full potential the way God sees you?

Commit yourself to excellence in your realm   He grants us his excellence as we release ourselves to bring him glory.  WATCH THIS: 2 Cor 5:18-21   All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

Shout to the Lord “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth” And know that he has called you, crowned you, and committed you to live for Him at FULL POTENTIAL!!!

02-01-15 FORGIVEN! Why do I still feel guilty?

Scripture                                                    1 John 1:5-2:2

VIDEO – Iodine shows Christ’s blood forgives.

          FORGIVEN! Why do I still feel guilty?  Does guilt affect you? When flashing lights are coming up behind you on the freeway, do you get anxious, does your breathing get heavy, do you feel guilt, even though you may be doing the speed limit? When the phone rings are you afraid to answer it? Do you hesitate to open the mail? Are you robbed of sleep due to guilt over something? Guilt affects our body, mind, emotions and heart.  I repent – turn away from my sin; I pray for forgiveness, I know Christ forgives me, but I still feel guilty. 

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.  8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

          2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

SIN:  GREEK hamartia (ham-ar-tee'-ah); offence, sin (Miss the mark!)

CONFESS:  Acknowledge

FORGIVE:  GREEK aphiemi (af-ee'-ay-mee); to send forth, in various applications KJV -  lay aside, leave, omit, put (send) away.

CLEANSE:  Purge

Christ forgets our sin

In A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World, Ron Lee Davis retells the true story of a priest in the Philippines, a much-loved man of God who carried the burden of a secret sin he had committed many years before. He had repented but still had no peace, no sense of God's forgiveness.

In his parish was a woman who deeply loved God and who claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Christ and he with her. The priest, however, was skeptical. To test her he said, "The next time you speak with Christ, I want you to ask him what sin your priest committed while he was in seminary." The woman agreed. A few days later the priest asked, "Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?" "Yes, he did," she replied. "And did you ask him what sin I committed in seminary?" "Yes." "Well, what did he say?" "He said, 'I don't remember'"

The problem was not Christ’s ability to forgive but the priest’s ability to receive it – in essence to also forgive himself.  When Jesus has forgiven us and wants us to move on in life, we are held by chains of our own imposition. We bind ourselves to past mistakes, failures, SINS.  The middle letter of sin is “I” and I give more power to my sin than I give to the power in Jesus blood!  He has forgiven me and my hanging onto the guilt denies His power for my life. 

Scripture reports again and again how we betray God - and how the endings are so different:
Cain killed his brother Abel, but David also murdered Uriah whose wife he had an affair with.
Cain came out of this story as a despicable sinner, and David as a saint.  Cain fell into despair due to his sin; he thought his sin was too great for it to be forgiven. David trusted in God’s mercy and called on His forgiveness.

The same story repeats itself over and over - all the way to Golgotha: two thieves are being crucified together with Jesus. One of them curses and despairs. The other one asks forgiveness: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Lk 23:42). And he receives the most beautiful promise that a man can ever receive: “Amen, I say to you: Today you will be with me in paradise.”

It is one thing for God to give forgiveness and redemption, and it is another for us to accept His forgiveness and redemption.