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GOD DELUSION SLIDES wk. 4 God is a good Creator and He loves His creation.“1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” Job 38:1-4The BIGOT myth“WHY WOULD A LOVING GOD TELL PEOPLE WHO THEY ARE REGARDLESS OF THEIR FEELINGS?”#1 For God to tell people who they are is in conflict or contradiction with Him being loving #2 Who he would tell you to be is not in agreement with how you feel #3 By “denying” your feelings he does not care for you and is not the loving God he claims to be #4 Feelings are the same as truth. So, in essence it is your truth being deniedGod is a good Creator who does in fact love his creation“3For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will reject truth and chase after myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT“The death of truth in our society has created a moral decay in which every debate ends with the barroom question, ‘says who?'”-Gregory KovelThe truth Christianity asserts:Humanity was created in God's image by GodOur bodies are the temple of God“1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 3 Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.  5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone…. 8 Or who shut in the sea with doors….10 When I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; 11 When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!'  12 Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place…. 19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness where is its place,20 that you may take it to its territory, that you may know the paths to its home. 21 Do you know it because you were born then, or because the number of your days is great? .....25Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt…. 36 Who has put wisdom in the mind? Or who has given understanding to the heart?.... 39 Can you hunt the prey for the lion….41 Who provides food for the raven, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?” Job 38:1-41NKJV“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God's critic, but do you have the answers?” Job 40:2 NLTWhen truth is led by feeling, the creation begins to argue with the Creator“So, God created man in His own image; in the image of God, He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27“3 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. 5 Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes twice, but I will proceed no further.” Job 40:3-5 NKJV“8 Would you indeed annul My judgement? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified?” Job 40:8 NKJV“9 What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you're doing it wrong!' Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?' 10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born?' or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?'11 This is what the LORD says-the Holy One of Isreal and your Creator: ‘Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? 12 I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hands I stretched out the heavens. All the stars at my command.” Isaiah 45:9-12 NLT#1 God is Creator. We are created   “When we reject God as creator, we reject the God of the Bible and serve a God of our own imagination.”- David Guzik  #2 He is a good CreatorThe familiar satanic lie: God's withholding from you (Gen 3:1) What God said, that's not really the truth (Gen 3:4) God just is keeping you down from being who you were meant to be (Gen 3:5)“God comes not to answer. God comes as the answer.”- Jon Courson It returns created to Creator     He says: “I am the potter; you are the clay” Isaiah 64:8 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart.” Jeremiah 1:5 “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you', says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'” Jeremiah 29:11God is a good Creator who loves his creation

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.Colossians 2:1-4Blind Faith - “I only believe in what can be proved through evidence.”“[Faith is] believing what you know ain't so.”Mark TwainFaith is not OptionalTo move from religion to secularism is not so much a loss of faith as a shift into a new set of beliefs and into a new community of faith, one that draws lines between orthodoxy and heresy in different places.Timothy KellerScience by its very nature is not fit to investigate whether there is more to reality than the natural world.C. Stephen EvansReason depends on the faith that our cognitive senses—eyes and ears, our minds and memories—are not tricking us. Yet there is no noncircular way to establish that. We cannot test their reliability without using and therefore assuming their reliability. To explain what Wittgenstien means, consider the movie The Matrix. Can you prove that you aren't actually in a vat somewhere with plugs coming out of the back of your head feeding you an alternate reality? We cannot, then, prove these fundamental premises for the operation of reasoning. We take them on faith…To state that there is no God or that there is a God, then, necessarily entails faith. And so the declaration that science is the only arbiter of truth is not itself a scientific finding. It is a belief.Timothy KellerFaith is not opposed to ThinkingChristianity birthed universities, preserved classical learning, and encouraged scientific inquiryNow faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.Hebrews 11:1-3To the writer to the Hebrews faith is a hope that is absolutely certain that what it believes is true, and that what it expects will come. It is not the hope which looks forward with wistful longing; it is the hope which looks forward with utter certainty. It is not the hope which takes refuge in a perhaps; it is the hope which is founded on a conviction.Barclay17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.Hebrews 11:17-19Logizomai [considered]: to reckon, count, compute, calculate, count over. (Where the word “LOGIC” comes from.)Faith is not opposed to EvidenceAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,[a] “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.Matthew 16:1-4The evidence is there, examinable and understandable for those who are open to it and who welcome it. The issue in the knowledge of God is not intellect but receptivity.HagnerMiracles will give confirmation where there is faith, but not where there is willful unbelief.Wiersbe1. Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus2. Manuscript and Textual Reliability of the Bible3. Fulfilled Prophecy4. Philosophical and Moral Arguments for God's Existence5. Experiential and Transformational EvidenceFaith is not opposed to MysteryFor I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.Colossians 2:1-4Faith does not contradict reason, though it may go beyond reason. One may objectively prove the Bible is the most unique book ever published and has impacted society more than any other book. But only faith can prove that the Bible is the Word of God. Therefore, this is a belief beyond reason but not in contradiction to reason or against reason.David GuzikDoubt your doubtsConsider the object of your faithEven in times when it seems God expects a faith that contradicts reason, closer examination reveals He does not. For example, it might seem contrary to reason for God to expect Abraham to believe that Sarah's dead womb could bring forth a child. But it is not unreasonable to believe that the God who created life and the womb could do this, and that He would do it according to His promise.David GuzikFuel your faith with God's Word14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[c] And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.Romans 10:14-176 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and th...

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.Luke 12:2Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,1 Peter 3:14-15HYPOCRISY - “Isn't Christianity just full of hypocrites?”HYPOCRISY IN THE CHURCH AND IT'S EFFECT“How many people are radically and permanently repelled from The Way by Christians who are unfeeling, stiff, unapproachable, boringly lifeless, obsessive, and dissatisfied? Spirituality wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.”Dallas Willard“The perception and reality of hypocrisy remain among the most significant barriers to evangelism and credibility in the modern age.”Pew Research (2023):Only 31% of U.S. adults now identify as Protestant (down from 51% in 2007).One key reason cited: “Christians don't act like Jesus.”Barna Group (2019):85% of non-Christians in the U.S. see Christians as “hypocritical.”Among Millennials (Christian or not), 66% say churchgoers are “more judgmental than loving.”Lifeway Research (2019):66% of church-going teens stop attending church regularly in their twenties.Top reason: “Church members appear judgmental or hypocritical.”Edelman Trust Barometer (2022):Trust in religious institutions is lower than in tech companies or NGOs globally.Many still seek spirituality but avoid institutional religion due to perceived hypocrisy.Pew (2021):29% of U.S. adults now identify as religious “nones” (atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular”).13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.Matthew 5:1317 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.1 Corinthians 11:177 WOES / CONTEXT OF THE PHARISEESNo passage in the Bible is more biting, more pointed, and more severe than this pronouncement of Christ upon the Pharisees. The pharisees, while attempting to honor the Word of God and manifesting extreme form of religious observance, were actually the farthest from God.WalvoordConverting the Church - Church of the City NYThen Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi[b] by others. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.[c] 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.Matthew 23:1-12HYPOCRISY FROM THE PLATFORM26 “Today I am giving you a choice. You may choose the blessing or the curse. 27 You will get the blessing if you listen and obey the commands of the Lord your God that I have told you today. 28 But you will get the curse if you refuse to listen and obey the commands of the Lord your God. So don't stop living the way I command you today, and don't follow other gods that you don't know.Deuteronomy 11:26-284 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others.Matthew 23:4-5Majoring over minors28 Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters.[f] It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.John 18:28Seeking honor of man vs. approval of God“Honor is like a shadow, which flees from those that pursue it, and grasps at it, but follows those that flee from it.”Henry12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.Matthew 23:12“They will be better through me.” - The PhariseesHYPOCRISY FROM THE PEW8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.[c] 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ.Matthew 23:8-10The perversity of the religious leaders of Israel does not excuse the people of Israel. They were guilty of willfully following blind guides.Toussaint“I will be better through them.” - The IsraelitesHYPOCRISY FROM THE STREETWhoever…Matthew 23:12FUNDAMENTAL ATTRIBUTION ERROR“I will be better apart from them.” - The WorldNO ONE IS SAFE (NONE ARE GO...

1 Corinthians 1:17-25NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER SLIDE***Corporate Cry: “God we need you to move in our midst to see people AWAKEN WITH HOPE, LIVE IN GRACE, and REST ON FAITH.”GOD DELUSION30 “‘No, father Abraham,' he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'”Luke 16:30-3116 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:1615 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…1 Peter 3:1522 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.1 Corinthians 1:17-2516 For I am not ashamed of the gospel…Romans 1:16“ISN'T RELIGION OUTDATED?”“Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and will be proved right. We're [the Beatles] more popular than Jesus now—I don't know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity.”John LennonPride goes before destruction,    and a haughty spirit before a fall.Proverbs 16:18For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.1 Timothy4:3-4THE “GOSPEL” OF TECHNOLOGYTHE “GOSPEL” OF SCIENCEOne day, students in one of Albert Einstein's classes were saying they had decided that there was no God. Einstein asked them, how much of all the knowledge in the world they had amongst themselves collectively, as a class. The students discussed it for a while and decided they had 5% of all human knowledge amongst themselves. Einstein thought that their estimate was a little generous, but he replied: “Is it possible that God exists in the 95% that you don't know?”THE “GOSPEL” OF PERSONAL FREEDOM21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.Romans 1:21-23THE TRUTH IS WE ARE NOT GETTING BETTER OVER TIMEThe record of personal achievements and spiritual milestones he attained while still in his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood is int itself remarkable. He began devouring Puritan classics at the age of five or six years old. He was strikingly converted when he was only fifteen, began to preach regularly when he was sixteen, and took his first pastorate in a country village at just seventeen. He received a call to pastor perhaps the most prominent Baptist church in London when only nineteen years old, and by the time he reached the age of twenty, he had already preached over 600 sermons. The first biography of Suprgeon, written by an American, appeared when he was only twenty-one years old. By his mid twenties, he was pastoring the largeset church in the entire protestant world. Alex DiPrimaTHE TRUTH IS BELIEF IN GOD IS GROWING; NOT DECLININGBarna's latest study shows that 66% of U.S. adults now say they have made a personal commitment to Jesus that is still important in their life today. That marks a 12-point increase since 2021, when the number reached its lowest level in more than 30 years of Barna tracking.“Undeniably, there is renewed interest in Jesus,” said David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna. “This is the clearest trend we've seen in more than a decade pointing to spiritual renewal.”The growth has been especially concentrated among Gen Z and millennials. Gen Z men reported a 15-point increase in personal commitment to Jesus between 2019 and 2025. Millennial men reported a 19-point increase over the same period.Barna Research GroupWHY?THREE THINGS THAT WILL NEVER GO AWAY OVER TIME:JESUS' IMPACT ON THE EARTHOUR LONGING FOR MORE10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:10-11OUR NEED FOR A PERFECT SACRIFICE11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ[b] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.Hebrews 10:11-14

“Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land thatis not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also thenation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Nowas for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But inthe fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.””Genesis 15:13-16 NKJVIn the crucible of hardship is the beginning of forming the nationThe moments of hardship bring with them blessings that are set to grow us to the next level ofour faith - if we see it.“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, becauseyou know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its workso that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, youshould ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. Butwhen you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave ofthe sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything fromthe Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. Believers in humblecircumstances ought to take pride in their high position. For the sun rises with scorching heatand withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich willfade away even while they go about their business. Blessed is the one who perseveres undertrial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord haspromised to those who love him.”James 1:2-9, 11-12 NIVPerseverance = To remain under“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet,and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Thenthey said to Moses,“You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest wedie.””Exodus 20:18-19 NKJV“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in variousways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of allthings, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's gloryand the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After hehad provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So hebecame as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”Hebrews 1:1-4 NIV““Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacleand all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”Exodus 25:8-9 NIV“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory ofthe one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”John 1:14 NIVGod did not wait for them to get to the promised land before He made a wayto be in fellowship with themGod will not be worshipped in the same way as pagan gods are worshipped. He provides forthem a way of worship that is different, specific and unique.The Tabernacle and all its artifacts are a representation of Jesus foreshadowing what was tocome.The Most Holy PlaceThe Ten Commandments -““Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolishthem but to fulfill them.”Matthew 5:17 NIVThe Mana -“Jesus said to them,“Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread fromheaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God isthe bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.””John 6:32-33 NIV“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But hereis the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the livingbread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is myflesh, which I will give for the life of the world.””John 6:48-51 NIVAaron's Rod that budded -“So the Lord said to Aaron,“You and your sons and your father's house with you shall beariniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquityconnected with your priesthood.”Numbers 18:1 ESV“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lordhas laid on him the iniquity of us all.”Isaiah 53:6 ESV

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,     and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.For the LORD is a God of justice;     blessed are all those who wait for him.Isaiah 30:1823 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Matthew 23:23GOD WILL SHOW MERCYTherefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,     and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.For the LORD is a God of justice;     blessed are all those who wait for him.Isaiah 30:18And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil.Luke 4:1-2"Misinterpretations of our Redeemer's delays are the occasion of a great deal of wickedness. Our Lord Jesus has gone up into the mount of glory, where he is appearing in the presence of God for us, but out of our sight; the heavens must contain him, must conceal him, that we may live by faith. Weariness in waiting betrays us to a great many temptations."HenryHow we act in the wilderness is not the exception; its the rule (its who we really are)Certain of God's people are in trouble and distress, and they are eager for immediate rescue. They cannot wait God's time, nor exercise submission to his will. He will surely deliver them in due season; but they cannot tarry till the hour cometh; like children, they snatch at unripe fruit. ‘To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven'; but their one season is the present; they cannot, they will not wait. They must have their desire instantaneously fulfilled, or else they are ready to take wrong means of attaining it. If in poverty, they are in haste to be rich; and they shall not long be innocent. If under reproach, their heart ferments towards revenge. They would sooner rush under the guidance of Satan into some questionable policy, than in childlike simplicity trust in the Lord and do good. It must not be so with you, my brethren, you must learn a better way.Charles SpurgeonHOW WILL YOU WAIT FOR GOD?IN VIEW OF HIS ABSENCE“Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Luke 24:19-2132 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”Luke 24:32God's absence might be a lack of feeling or understanding; but it is never a true absence. God is always there.IN VIEW OF OUR SINLike a dog that returns to his vomit    is a fool who repeats his folly.Proverbs 26:11God's absence might be due to our pursuit of sin; but it does not stop Him from pursuing us.HOW DID MOSES WAIT FOR GOD?IN VIEW OF GOD'S MERCY11 But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.'” 14 And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.Exodus 32:11-1411 But Moses implored the Lord…Exodus 32:11ḥālâ — to become weak; to groan26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26-27HOW DOES JESUS WAIT? 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost[a] those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.Hebrews 7:25JESUS MAKES INTERCESSION FOR USThe son's intercession does not reflect the coolness of the Father, but the sheer warmth of the Son. Christ does not intercede because the Father's heart is tepid toward us but because the Son's heart is so full toward us. But the Father's own deepest delight is to say yes to the Son's pleading on our behalf.Dane C. Ortlund

[teaching text]4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”Exodus 19:4-6If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:14GOD WILL INSTRUCT4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.Exodus 19:44 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'Exodus 19:4-6Too many people read the law of Moses thinking that it shows how they can be accepted by God. They get it the wrong way around. The people of Israel were redeemed by God, then they were given the law to keep as an expression of gratitude. This principle is the same in the New Testament: Christians are redeemed and then told how to live holy lives.David PawsonI appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Romans 12:1"It is extremely important to remember that the Law of Moses was given to a redeemed people, not to redeem a people."IbidBeing a Christian isn't a spectrum; it's a position. Purpose of the Mosaic CovenantREVEALREFORMRELEASEThe Law reveals the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man“5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant,”The Law reforms the people to become holy mediators“you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;”The Law releases the blessing of Godand you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'“Suppose that a father tells his son that, if he does his chores faithfully, he will reward him with a bicycle at Christmastime. The son is already a member of the family, so doing his chores faithfully has nothing to do with becoming a member of the family. It is simply a way by which the son can enjoy blessing in the family. Similarly, God told His children, the Israelites, that if they carried out the responsibilities that He was laying on them, they could enjoy blessings from His hand.”Thomas Watson8 All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Exodus 19:8Man naturally believes in, and depends on, himself. And he must learn, at bitter cost often, of his own helplessness.NewellIsrael's utter failureWhen the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden[a] calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” 5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” 6 And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.Exodus 32:1-6We are naive as Christians if we think that our thinking is not shaped by the cultural currents that surround us.Carl R. Truman17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.Matthew 17:2012 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Philippians 2:12-16

1 Corinthians 10:1-1139 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. John 5:39-40Exodus: exit, way out, or departureGod will redeemGod will provide1. What does God naturally do?2. What do humans naturally do?3. What needs to change?What Does God Naturally Do?For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a] that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.1 Corinthians 10:1-4The CloudThe SeaThe FoodThe DrinkThe Battle10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”Exodus 14:10-12Red Sea Map Pic***21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Exodus 14:21-2211 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.'” Exodus 16:11-12During the Yom Kippur war of 1973 the Egyptian army was unable to last more than three days in the desert, yet in Exodus 2.5 million people survived there for 40 years.David PawsonTaking care of life is not something God does, it is in His natureThey believed that God providing a way out is something He COULD do; not something HE DOES DO.32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Luke 6:32-35For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers,[a] that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4What Do Humans Naturally Do?5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown[b] in the wilderness.6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9 We must not put Christ[c] to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:1-4Murmur (gongyzō): to say anything against in a low tone; of those who confer secretly togetherIn general, you might say you'd submit to anything, but what if it's something specific that really challenges you? Then it's like, “Anything but that.” We usually think any situation is better than the one God has given us, and that's not true contentment.Jeremiah Burroughs13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.1 Corinthians 10:13What Needs To Change?25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[g] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.Matthew 6:25-34Our Nature33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,Matthew 6:33Being content because of something external is like warming your clothes by the fire. But being content because of your soul's disposition is like your clothes being warmed by your body's natural heat.Jeremiah BurroughsOur Understanding31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?' or ‘What shall we drink?' or ‘What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 

“40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was 430 years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the 430 years-on that very same day-it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the Land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:40-41the great escape of Exodus was not a random event, but a prophetic declarative promise for our own salvation “12 But the more they (Egyptians) afflicted them, the more they (Israelites) multiplied and grew”. Exodus 1:12Moses was born in a time when the powers at be (Pharaoh) tried to extinguish God's promised people by killing every male infant (Exodus 1:15) Like Moses, Jesus was born in a time when the powers at be (King Herod) tried to extinguish the promised messiah by killing every male infant (Matthew 2:13-16)“11Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. 12 So he looked this way and that way and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.” Exodus 2:11-12“24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.” Hebrews 11:24-26Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross!” Phil 2:6-8“Moses tried to do the Lord's work in man's wisdom and power and it didn't work”- David Guzik“23Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. 25 For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.” Acts 7:23-25“In Egypt, Moses learned to be somebody; In Midian, Moses learned to be nobody”- David Guzik.“23Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage. 24 So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 And God acknowledged them.” Exodus 2:23-25“6Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the Lord said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. 8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey…9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.10 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.'” Exodus 3:6-10“1Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.' 2 And God spoke to Moses and said to him: ‘I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them….6 Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 I will take you as My people and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.'” Exodus 6:1-2,6-7“Outstretched arms” means God's sovereign involvement to bring a complete deliverance and redemption“The plagues God brought against Egypt has a definite strategy and purpose. Each of them confronts and attacks a prized Egyptian deity. Not only did they bring punishment against Egypt, the plagues also answered Pharaoh's original question: Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? God used this series of plagues to glorify Himself (especially above the gods, of the Egyptians) and to give Pharaoh a chance to repent.”- David Guzik“An inscription by a Pharaoh on an ancient Egyptian temple gives the idea: ‘I am that which was, and is, and shall be, and no man has lifted my veil'. Pharaoh believed himself to be more than a man he considered himself a god, and the Egyptians agreed.”- David Guzik“ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega', says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.'” Rev 1:8PLAGUES vs EGYPTAIN GODS1)Water turned to blood - Hapi (God of Nile)2)Frogs from the Nile - Heket (goddess of fertility; head of frog)3)Lice from dust of earth - Geb (god over dust of the earth)4)Swarms of flies - Khepri (god of creation; head of fly)5)Death of cattle and livestock - Hathor (goddess of love; head of cow)6)Ashes turned to boils and sores - Isis (goddess of medicine and peace)7)Hail rained down in form of fire - Nut (goddess of the sky)8)Locusts sent from the sky - Seth (god of storms and disorder)9)3 days of complete/felt darkness - Ra (the sun god)10)death of the firstborn - Pharaoh (ultimate power of Egypt)“Pharaoh is grieved at the consequences of sin, but not sin itself”- David GuzikIn this Passover, “The blood of the lamb was essential to what God required. If an Israelite home didn't believe in the power of the blood of the lamb, they could sacrifice the lamb and eat it, but they would still be visited by judgement. If an Egyptian home did believe in the power of the blood of the lamb, and made a proper Passover sacrifice, they would be spared the judgement. An intellectual agreement with what God said about the blood was not enough; they actually had to do what God said must be done with the blood.” -David Guzik“God was manifest in the flesh…” 1 Tim 3:16“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16“40...

Teaching Text: Matthew 22:34-40 NRSVUE,”34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, an expert in the law, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”Altar - a table for making sacrifices or offerings to God.OUR ALTAR IS A SIGNAL THAT SAYS LORD WE WANT YOU HERE.When we choose to encounter God this is where God's will begins to come alive in our lives. WHAT DOES GOD WANT FOR YOUR CITY FROM YOU?REVIVAL - an instance of something becoming important again.Partner in ActionBurn for RevivalIT FIRST MUST START WITH YOU AND GOD.1 Corinthians 1:26-31 NRSVUE,”26 Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are, 29 so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 30 In contrast, God is why you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”We are partners with God in revival.1 Corinthians 13 NRSVUE “If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions and if I hand over my body so that I may boasta] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.””Aim to love EVERY PERSON you encounter to make use of EVERY OPPURTUNITY we have.Matthew 5:43-48 NRSVUE,”43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”“There are rare Christians whose very presence incites others to be better Christians. I want to be that rare Christian.” - A.W.TozerGet broken for your city through reading about Jesus's way in Gods word.Luke 23:34 NSRVUE,”34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by watching, but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” 39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept degrading him and saying, “Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” 43 He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.””We must AIM FOR RENEWAL not just for ourselves but for all people by TENDING THE FLAME SPIRIT WITHIN US and BURNING FOR REVIVAL and LIVING LIKE JESUS so that ALL PEOPLE KNOW THE LOVE OF GOD. 2. BURN FOR REVIVALHabakkuk 3:2,”O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy.”The ______________ lasted from 1906-1915 and began with a small prayer meeting that erupted into a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, marked by speaking in tongues, healings, and spontaneous worship. It was a powerful demonstration of unity, breaking down racial, social, and denominational barriers. The revival welcomed people from diverse racial backgrounds—African Americans, whites, Latinos, and Asians—worshiping together. This unity was groundbreaking during a time of racial tension, social issues, and political divide in America. The revival emphasized that all believers were equal before God, focusing on the shared experience of the Holy Spirit. Its legacy continues to inspire unity within many other movements, promoting inclusivity and oneness among Christians across cultural and social divides.”O Lord, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O Lord, of your work. In our own time revive it; in our own time make it known; in wrath may you remember mercy.”

ALTARS Wk3Altar of The Church

[teaching text]4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[b] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.Deuteronomy 6:4-910 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent[a] have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. Hebrews 13:10-13HEART, HOME, CHURCH, CITYALTAR OF THE HOMEIt will take the average Christian 64 years to hit 10,000 hours and become an “expert” at following Jesus.Shift 01. Moving from “Following Jesus through the Church” to “Following Jesus through daily habits”Shift 02. Moving from “Following Jesus because it's a good habit” to “Following Jesus because my life depends on it.”1. “Following Jesus through the Church” to “Following Jesus through daily life”6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.Deuteronomy 6:6-9Phylactery photos***Mezuzah photo***It's much easier to wear a gold cross on our person than to bear Christ's cross in daily life, and to hang Scripture texts on the walls of our homes than to hide God's Word in our hearts. If we love the Lord and cleave to Him, we will want to know His Word and obey it in every area of our lives.Warren Wiersbe16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:168 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God that we know as He talks to us and guides our lives. He can efficiently talk to us to the extent to which we know the Word. That is the language He uses.Kenneth Wuest2. “Following Jesus because it's a good habit” to “Following Jesus because my life depends on it.”4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[b] 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.Deuteronomy 6:4-6 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.Deuteronomy 6:3LONG LIFE, PEACE, AND PROSPERITY.13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.Deuteronomy 6:13-1523 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 6:235 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.John 15:5Tight rope photo***

[teaching text]7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;     wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8 Let me hear joy and gladness;     let the bones that you have broken rejoice.9 Hide your face from my sins,     and blot out all my iniquities.10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,     and renew a right[b] spirit within me.11 Cast me not away from your presence,     and take not your Holy Spirit from me.12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,     and uphold me with a willing spirit.13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,     and sinners will return to you.14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,     O God of my salvation,     and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.15 O Lord, open my lips,     and my mouth will declare your praise.16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;     you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;     a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.Psalm 51:7-17On Feb. 8, 2023, what began as a routine Wednesday morning Chapel service with the student body turned into a multiweek Outpouring that some have described as a revival. Led by students, the services attracted college students from hundreds of other colleges and universities, beginning as soon as Wednesday evening. Then, news of the continuous services spread around the world, and attracted people to Wilmore from as far away as Russia and Japan. Media outlets arrived en masse to cover the spiritual awakening among young people. Countless reports of life change, salvation, and re-dedications to Christ were some of the amazing results of the Outpouring events. Asbury staff, faculty, students and volunteers worked tirelessly to welcome the visitors to campus, with orderly lines to get into Hughes extending a half mile long around campus. The events lasted for 16 days, culminating in a service specifically for Gen Z students on Feb. 23, 2023. Yet, the Lord continues to move across the Wilmore community, Kentucky, the United States, and the world.Asbury UniversityGOD COMES WHERE HE'S WANTED7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?    Or where shall I flee from your presence?8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!9 If I take the wings of the morning    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10 even there your hand shall lead me,    and your right hand shall hold me.Psalm 139:7-1020 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:20ALTARS OF THE HEART, HOME, CHURCH, AND CITYAltar of The Heart10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,     and renew a right[b] spirit within me.11 Cast me not away from your presence,     and take not your Holy Spirit from me.12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,     and uphold me with a willing spirit.Psalm 51:10-12Now, some people think the Bible is a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn't do. The Bible certainly does have some rules in it. They show you how life works best. But the Bible isn't mainly about you and what you should be doing. It's about God and what he has done. Other people think the Bible is a book of heroes, showing you people you should copy. The Bible does have some heroes in it, but (as you'll soon find out) most of the people in the Bible aren't heroes at all. They make some big mistakes (sometimes on purpose). They get afraid and run away. At times they are downright mean.Jesus Storybook Bible16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;     you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.Psalm 51:16WORSHIP HAPPENS AT THE ALTAR16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;     you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;     a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.Psalm 51:7-17GOD WANTS A BROKEN HEARTIf you and I have a broken spirit, all idea of our own importance is gone. What is the use of a broken heart? Why, much the same as the use of a broken pot, or a broken jug, or a broken bottle!Charles SpurgeonThe idea of “nakedness” is far more than mere nudity. It has the sense of being totally open and exposed as a person before God and man. To be naked… and not ashamed means you have no sin, nothing to be rightly ashamed of, and nothing to hide.David GuzikGod cannot transform the person you are pretending to be.Jon TysonYou will never make yourself feel that you are a sinner, because there is a mechanism in you as a result of sin that will always be defending you against every accusation. We are all on very terms with ourselves, and we can always put up a good case for ourselves. Martyn Lloyd-Jones13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 2 Samuel 12:135 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.Ephesians 5:1-2My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;    because you have rejected knowledgeHosea 4:66 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.Deuteronomy 6:6-9POTENTPotent: having great power, influence, or effectSix days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 Mary therefore took a pound[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.John 12:1-3The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.John 12:3HOLY+REFINED+PRECIOUS=POTENT14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?2 Corinthians 2:14-1618 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.Philippians 4:18-20Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.Ephesians 5:1-2Biblical discipleship is potentSurely you know that if a man can't be cured of churchgoing, the next best thing is to send him all over the neighborhood looking for the church that ‘suites' him until he becomes a taster or connoisseur of churches.C.S. LewisA church is only as good as its disciples.Jon TysonTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.Ephesians 5:1Unfortunately, ‘potent' is not a good descriptor of the average follower of Jesus today.Over half of adults born after 1980, who grew up in churches, are walking out on their faith, not coming backOf people still attending church, ~90% refuse, or feel unable to talk openly about their identity in Christ~80% of church-attending people lack basic routines in a disciple's life (prayer, study, community)About a third of church attending folk today are not convinced Christ is the only hope of salvationA majority of pastors, and even more lay believers say they have never been discipledIt typically takes a person 26 year of church attendance before they personally lead someone to Christ.14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God…2 Corinthians 2:14-15So that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.Ephesians 3:1018 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock[b] I will build my church, and the gates of hell[c] shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans.C.S. LewisPotent disciplesPETER13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.Acts 4:13COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Acts 4:32-34STEPHEN55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55-56PLANTED MEMBERS IN THE CHURCHPREPARED TO MINISTER BECAUSE OF THE SPIRIT ALONEPERSONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH THE LOVE OF JESUS

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins,[a] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”Luke 15:1-10 (ESV)JOANNA GWEN PICUTRES***“I have been in this world for sixty years, and I have never yet been conscious of anything spiritual.”We did not say what we thought, but we thought it was very likely that what he said was perfectly true; and there are a great many more people in the world who might say the same as he did. But that only proved that he was not conscious of anything spiritual; not that others were not conscious of it.Charles SpurgeonJust because someone cannot see God, doesn't mean He's not there.Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.Matthew 5:8 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.Hebrews 11:1The pure in heart are confident in God.Matthew 266 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,[a] 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” 10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”Matthew 26:6-13Mary's name now smells as sweet in all God's house as ever her ointment did; when Judas' name rots, and shall do to all posterity [future generations].John TrappThe anointing with oil is a physical picture for a spiritual reality.She probably did not know all that her action meant when she anointed her Lord for his burial. The consequences of the simplest action done for Christ may be much greater than we think.Charles Spurgeon7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.Matthew 26:73And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabasterflask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke theflask and poured it over his head.Mark 14:3Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feetwith her hair. John 12:1PreciousPrecious (yāqār): valuable—brightness, clear, costly, rare, and/or gloriousWhat qualities determine if something is precious (valuable) to humans?UtilityScarcityQualityConditionBrand reputationHistorical significanceCollectable appeal8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” Matthew 26:8-9“Why was this not sold for the poor?”You are a little uncomfortable around “radical” disciples. (Jesus Freaks)You get tired, bored, or don't really see the point in worship. (Especially long, drawn-out, or extended worship)You are hesitant to wast time, energy, or money on God. (Let's do the bare minimum for God)Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.' 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.Luke 15:1-7 (ESV)Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”Luke 15:1-2“This man receives sinners and eats with him?” (Luke 15)The religious leaders of Jesus' day divided humanity into two classes: the unclean and the righteous. They decided to live, as much as possible, in complete separation from the unclean. Some rabbis of Jesus day took this idea so seriously that they refused to teach the unclean God's wordLeon MorrisWhat is precious to God?People3 When I look at 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,    and the son of man that you care for him?Psalm 8:3-4People's worshipI am an instrument of exaltationAnd I was born to lift Your name above all namesYou hear the melody of all creationBut there's a...

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with tow he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!' 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.' 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.'” Isaiah 6:1-7“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” Matthew 5:8PURE (adj.): not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material“But as He who call you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘you shall be holy, for I am holy.'” 1 Peter 1:15-16“Our lack of purity is an expression of our belief in the nature and person of God. The answer to being pure is not in action alone but in belief that proceeds these actions. It's not just about not sinning. But for better it is to learn who God really is. To look to Jesus and see him as pure.”- Jackie Hill Perry“1 In the year King Uzziah died, I saw…”“1…I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of his robe filled the temple.”“2 Above it stood seraphim: each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.”“3 Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory.”“Holiness means ‘separation' and is translated sanctify or purity”- David Hoching“To say the Lord is holy says something. To say the Lord is holy, holy, says more. To say holy, holy, holy is the LORD is to declare this holiness in the highest possible degree.”- David Guzik“Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because he is holy, his attributes are holy. That is whatever we think of belonging to God must be thought of a holy.”- A. W. Tozer“4 The posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.”“5 So I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.'”“After seeing the holy God, Isaiah then saw himself.”- Jackie Hill PerryThe holiness of God magnified the unholiness of himself“We have a ridiculously low view of sin and an equally mediocre grasp of the holiness of God.”- Jackie Hill Perry“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all out righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” Isaiah 64:6“6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar? And he touched my mouth with it, and said ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.'”Holiness mandates purificationagiazo (ah-yea-zo): to make holy; to be set apart for service to God and to abandon practices that displease him“Sanctification is the progressive work of God to make a believer more like Jesus Christ”- Grace Seming“Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ in our conduct and in character”- Mike Sulivan“The goal of sanctification is to renew men's and women's hearts in God's image”- John Wesleyhe sets us apart (sanctified) to be set apart (holy)refined as: 1) with impurities or unwanted elements having been removed by processing. 2) developed or improved so as to be precise or subtle“For He (God) is like a refiner's fire or a launder's soup. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.” Malachi 3:2-3“Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord (aka when one repents/looks/beholds), the veil is taken away (salvation)….But we all with unveiled face (saved), beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord (God's image), are being transformed (sanctification/refined) into the same image (God's) from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”  2 Corinthians 3:16,18“God made us to image Himself. To exist in the world in such a way that when observed, whoever looked at us could accurately imagine God.”- Jackie Hill Perry“Holiness is the everyday business of the Christian. It evidences itself in the decisions we make and the things we do, hour by hour, day by day.”- Charles ColsonAs we behold him, we encounter his holiness. His holiness exposes our unholiness. His holiness then mandates purification. As we respond to this call, and turn to him, he refines us. He sanctifies us and makes us purified. And now pure, we can see him, even more brilliantly. and reflect him even more accurately.“I believe that as you see Him as He is, you'll want to be just like Him too. Holy.”- Jackie Hill Perry

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'”Revelation 3:14-22PTH Slide***Laodicea14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation.15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.Revelation 3:14-22“You are neither cold nor hot.”Laodicea map*** Aqueduct: a system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures that carries water from a source to a distribution point.Aqueduct picture***Everything that is spiritual has practical implications. Everything that is practical has spiritual implications.In this spiritual sense, lukewarmness is a picture of indifference and compromise. It tries to play the middle, too hot to be cold and too cold to be hot. In trying to be both things, they end up being nothingDavid Guzik A church that is luke-warm towards God is a church that lacks emotional feelings towards Jesus. A church that is Luke-warm towards towards prayer is a church that lacks the need for God's power. A church that is Luke-warm towards evangelism is a church that lacks a broken heart for the lostA church that is Luke-warm towards theology is a church that lacks the desire to grow in their understanding of God's Word and is conformable just being padded on the back by scripture.A church that is Luke-warm towards conviction is a church that lacks the boldness to communicate what the Bible teaches for fear of being seen negatively by others.A church that is Luke-warm towards Biblical community is a church that lacks love, transparency, and confession of sin.The lukewarm Christian has enough of Jesus to satisfy a craving for religion, but not enough for eternal life. Deep down, there is no one more miserable than the lukewarm Christian is. They have too much of the world to be happy in Jesus, but too much of Jesus to be happy in the world.David Guzik24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.Matthew 6:24Mammon: treasure, riches; wealth personified (placement of trust)15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.Revelation 3:15-1719 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust[e] destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.Matthew 6:19-219 The heart is deceitful above all things,    and desperately sick;    who can understand it?10 “I the Lord search the heart    and test the mind,[b]to give every man according to his ways,    according to the fruit of his deeds.”Jeremiah 17:9-10“It is not so much the disciple's wealth that Jesus is concerned with as his loyalty. As Matthew 6:24 will make explicit, materialism is in direct conflict with loyalty to God.”R.T. France18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.Revelation 3:18-19“I counsel you to buy from me gold.”Buy Gold from Me = Place your trust in Me Tithe = TrustTithe: ten percent of our income. We give back to the Lord ten percent of what He's given us because it all belongs to Him.Everything that is spiritual has practical implications. Everything that is practical has spiritual implications.Objections to tithing:Tithing was an Old Testament law and is not required for New Testament believers 2. I'll tithe when I am able to tithe comfortably 3. My tithe is just a drop in the ocean, what's the point?Jesus[a] looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 2 and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.[b] 3 And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”Luke 21:1-44. What if the church I tithe to isn't stewarding the money?20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'”Revelation 3:20-22

[teaching text] “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'Revelation 3:1-6SARDISThe particular intellectual problem I was wrestling with, for the first time since my conversion as a teenager, was the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. Seeming contradictions and problems with interpretation defied intellectual solutions, or so I thought. Could the Bible be trusted completely?Billy Graham Photo*During the 1940s Templeton and Graham were Youth for Christ's dynamic duo. Though Graham routinely induced better results with his altar calls, Templeton was widely considered the more gifted preacher. Handsome, suave, intelligent, and charismatic.Collin HansenBilly Graham and Charles Templeton photo**Billy Graham and Henrietta Mears Photo**Still, many of Graham's questions remained unanswered. Did Noah actually build an ark to survive a great flood? Could a whale really have swallowed Jonah? Pondering these miracles, Graham roamed into the foothills of the nearby San Bernardino Mountains. With the moon shining, he wandered off the trail, opened his Bible on a tree stump, and took his concerns to God. Inexplicably, the burden lifted."Father, I am going to accept this as thy Word—by faith!” Graham proclaimed. “I'm going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be your inspired Word.” Tears streaming down his face, Graham returned to Forest Home. Though he didn't have an explanation for every biblical oddity, for the first time in months he felt powerful intimacy with God and renewed confidence in the Scripture he proclaimed.Collin HansenFarewell To God photo***“And how do you assess this Jesus?” It seemed like the next logical question—but I wasn't ready for the response it would evoke.Templeton's body language softened. It was as if he suddenly felt relaxed and comfortable in talking about an old and dear friend. His voice, which at times had displayed such a sharp and insistent edge, now took on a melancholy and reflective tone. His guard seemingly down, he spoke in an unhurried pace, almost nostalgically, carefully choosing his words as he talked about Jesus.“He was,” Templeton began, “the greatest human being who has ever lived. He was a moral genius. His ethical sense was unique. He was the intrinsically wisest person that I've ever encountered in my life or in my readings. His commitment was total and led to his own death, much to the detriment of the world. What could one say about him except that this was a form of greatness?”I was taken aback. “You sound like you really care about him,” I said.“Well, yes, he is the most important thing in my life,” came his reply. “I . . . I . . . I . . . ,” he stuttered, searching for the right word, ‘I know it may sound strange, but I have to say . . . I adore him!”” . . . Everything good I know, everything decent I know, everything pure I know, I learned from Jesus. Yes . . . yes. And tough! Just look at Jesus. He castigated people. He was angry. People don't think of him that way, but they don't read the Bible. He had a righteous anger. He cared for the oppressed and exploited. There's no question that he had the highest moral standard, the least duplicity, the greatest compassion, of any human being in history. There have been many other wonderful people, but Jesus is Jesus….'“Uh . . . but . . . no,' he said slowly, ‘he's the most . . .” He stopped, then started again. “In my view,” he declared, “he is the most important human being who has ever existed.”That's when Templeton uttered the words I never expected to hear from him. “And if I may put it this way,” he said as his voice began to crack, ‘I . . . miss . . . him!”With that tears flooded his eyes. He turned his head and looked downward, raising his left hand to shield his face from me. His shoulders bobbed as he wept. . . .Reputation: the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or somethingWe tend to put a lot of weight on other people's opinions and feelings about us, but our reputation carries no weight in the eyes of Jesus.Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.Luke 12:2There is no such thing as hidden sin.“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.Revelation 3:1Sardis painting****Sardis boundary photo*****Sardis was located on the top of a mountain. It had one entrance on the southern side which was the only way you could get into the city in the old days. Therefore, all that Sardis had to do was to put a detail at that one place to watch the city.J. Vernon McGeeOn two occasions in their history they had been invaded by their enemies because they felt secure, believing that the hill was impregnable, and the guard went to sleep on the job. In 549 B.C. the Median soldiers of Cyrus scaled the parapet, and then again in 218 B.C. Antiochus the Great. This was embarrassing because of the two occasions in their history when they had been caught napping.J. Vernon McGee“‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.Revelation 3:1b-2OUR DESIRE FOR OUTWARD PRAISE LEADS TO DEAD WORKSThe essence of worship is that while it begins in the church, it takes hold upon heaven. If the hymn is simply a musical expression of pleasant feeling, there is no worship in it. But if upon the wings of sacred song our spirits find their way into the Holy of Holies, then that song is fulfilled before God. If the prayer we utter is a compilation of sentences, spoken for the fulfillment of duty, it is not prayer. But if the prayer, expressing a sense of need, finds its way above the mists and the mysteries of ME, to the throne, it is fulfilled before God. If our gifts are bestowed that we may be kept square with duty, they are utterly refused in heaven. But if they express a sacrifice and a sympathy, though they be but small according to the arithmet...

[teaching text]12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith[b] even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'Revelation 2:12-17Your Bible is not just the best book there is among all the books out there. The Bible is a different kind of book. It's of another class. It is similar to other books in that it is bound between two covers and is filled with small black letters compromising words throughout. But the Bible is different from other books in the way rainfall is different from your garden hose—it comes from above and provides a kind of nourishment far beyond what our own resources can provide.Dane C. OrtlundPERGAMUMThis introduction stresses that Jesus is central to the church, and should be recognized as central to the church.David GuzikJesus chose this title from His initial appearance to John to remind the Christians in Smyrna that they served the risen Lord, victorious over death.David GuzikThe person born once dies twice. The person born twice dies once.D.L. Moody12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.Revelation 2:12“The Words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.”11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.Hebrews 4:11-13Remember when you preach the Word of God that it is quick and sharp, but it is a two-edged sword. It will cut toward the congregation, but the other side is going to cut toward you. Therefore, don't preach anything that you are not preaching to yourselfYou see, the Bible does not deal with acts primarily. What the hand does is because of what the heart thought. The heart had the action of the hand in hand before the hand got ahold of it. Therefore the Word of God goes down and deals with the heart.J. Vernon McGeeTherefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.2 Corinthians 5:17For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,Romans 7:2213 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.Hebrews 4:13Search me, O God, and know my heart!    Try me and know my thoughts!24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting!Psalm 139:23-2413 “‘I know where you dwell [Pergamum], where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.Revelation 2:13Pergamum “Where Satan dwells”PERGAMUM PICUTRE*LIBRARY OF CELCUS* ASKLEPIOS STATUE* SYMBOL FOR MODERN MEDICINE*ANTIPAS AND THE BRAZEN BULL*Some believe it is because Pergamos was a center of pagan religion, especially of “Asclepios Soter” or “Asclepios Savior.” Some believe it was because Pergamos had a huge throne-like altar dedicated to the Roman god Zeus. Some believe it was because Pergamos was a center for the ancient Babylonian priesthood, but this is tough to prove conclusively. Others believe it was because Pergamos was the political center of the worship-demanding Roman government.David GuzikThe historical parallel to the church in Pergamum is the period following Constantine's legalization of Christianity in A.D. 313, which lasted for about 300 years. When Christianity became the official religion of the empire, paganism overwhelmed it. It became hard to distinguish true Christians, because people claiming to be Christians were everywhere. Many of them were practicing pagans who indulged in immoral festivals and all kinds of behavior that is inconsistent with the teachings of Christianity. Dr. Constable's Notes on RevelationSatan couldn't accomplish much by persecution, because many did hold fast, like Antipas. So Satan tried to accomplish his goals by using deception. The strategy was first violence, then alliance.David Guzik14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. Revelation 2:14“Hold to the teachings of Balaam”BALAAM PICTURE*3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.Numbers 25:316 Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. Numbers 31:16The doctrine of Balaam broadly stated was undoubtedly that seeing that they were the covenant people off God, they might with safety indulge themselves in social fellowship with their neighbors for no harm could happen to them. His declaration to the children of Israel was that their covenant with God was so sure, as would witness the blessing he had been compelled to pronounce, that they need not be anxious about their conduct.G. Campbell MorganCheap grace, license to sin, and affirming things Jesus condemnsThe value of God's word and ways decreased as ease of being a Christian increased.16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear wh...

[teaching text] 8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander[a] of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'Revelation 2:7-11“The churches of the land are sprinkled all over with bald-headed old sinners whose hair has been worn off by the constant friction of countless sermons that have been aimed at them and glanced off and hit the man in the pew behind.”H.W. BeecherSMYRNAWhereas the Ephesian church needed to return to past conditions, the church in Smyrna needed to persevere in what was characteristic of it in the present.Dr. Constable's notes on RevelationThey were the churches that heard no word of condemnation from Him, and it is interesting that these two cities, Smyrna and Philadelphia, are the only two which have had a continuous existence [to this day].J. Vernon McGeeCONTEXT OF SMYRNA8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander[a] of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.'Revelation 2:7-11Hellenization: the process by which non-Greeks adopt Greek culture, language, religion, and identity.What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.John WesleyThe Roman Emperor Domitian (A.D. 81-96) was the first to demand worship under the title “Lord” from the people of the Roman Empire as a test of political loyalty.David GuzikMartyr: a person who is killed or suffers because of their religious beliefs.Emperor worship had begun as spontaneous demonstration of gratitude to Rome; but toward the end of the first century, in the days of Domitian, the final step was taken and Caesar worship became compulsory. Once a year the Roman citizen must burn a pinch of incense on the altar to the godhead of Caesar; and having done so, he was given a certificate to guarantee that he had performed his religious duty. All that the Christians had to do was to burn that pinch of incense, say, ‘Caesar is Lord,' receive their certificate, and go away and worship as they pleased. But that is precisely what the Christians would not do. They would give no man the name of Lord; that name they would keep for Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. They would not even formally conform.BarclayIS PRIVATE DEVOTION TO JESUS REAL DEVOTION TO JESUS?Christians were martyred because they would not bow the knee to Rome, sacrifice to the emperor as a god and treat the empire as if it had ultimate authority. Christian belief had public consequences.Gerald SittserPOLYCARP OF SMRYNAIronically, this persecution achieved the opposite result for which is was intended. Rather than snuff out the Christian movement, persecution fanned it.Gerald SittserSmyrna: bitter; or suffering (mor=myrrh: Hebrew translation of smyrna)Myrrh was used to embalm the dead.38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus[e] by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds[f] in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. John 19:38-40Myrrh becomes very fragrant when it is crushed.14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.2 Corinthians 2:14-17Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.James 1:2-4WE MAY NEVER DIE A MARTYR'S DEATH, BUT WE CAN LIVE A MARTYR'S LIFE.HOW TO LIVE A LIFE OF MARTYRDOM:MY RICHES ARE IN CHRIST “I know your poverty, yet you are rich”MY HOPE IS IN CHRIST “Do not be afraid”MY VICTORY IS IN CHRIST “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death”Those born once will die twice. Those born twice only die once.D.L. Moody

[teaching text] “ 1The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants-things which much shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,2 who bore witness to the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” Revelation 1:1-3. Revelation: disclosure of that which was previously hidden or unknown “The book is the record of what the Apostle John saw and head with the purpose to provide the setting for the revelation of Jesus Christ.”- Study Bible “9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,' and, ‘What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, to Laodicea.'12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 his feet were like fine brass, as if refined in the furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.'” “This book is the revelation OF, CONCERNING, and FROM Jesus Christ”- Susan C. Howell “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 “Early Christians gathered in small private homes, known as house churches, but a city's whole Christian community would also be called a church.”- Susan C. Howell “John's life work was to spread the good news of Jesus Christ and salvation through him...he was told to stop teaching about Jesus. He did not. His punishment was to be shipped to Patmos.”- Susan C. Howell #1. “Things which have been seen” (Rev 1:1-20) • ThisisthePatmosvision #2. “Things which are” (Rev 2:1-3:22) • The7churches #3. “Things which must take place after this” (Rev 4:1-22:5) • Thepartthatconfuses,fascinates,worriesmost “seven golden lampstands” and in the midst of these he sees “one like the Son of Man” 1) His head and hair were white as wool, white as snow o “Represent his purity and eternity”- G. Cambell Morgan. 2) His eyes were as a flame of fire o “The suggestion is that of infinite and infallible knowledge, eyes that pierce and penetrate, from which no secret thing can possibly be hidden.”- G. Cambell Morgan. 3) His feet like burnished brad, as if refined in a furnaceo “The feet are the symbols of procedure and indicate the continued activity of Christ.”- G. Cambell Morgan. 4) His voice is the voice of many waters o “There is no subject upon which He has not something to say. Many waters, many messengers, many messages, yet one voice, one word, one revelation.”- G. Cambell Morgan. 5) In His right hand seven starso “The right hand is mark of authoritative administration.”- G. Cambell Morgan. 6) Out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword o “Here is symbolized another aspect of His speech to men, that namely of His pronouncement on things of men...It's double action condemns the fault and approves the excellence.”- G. Cambell Morgan. 7) His countenance has as the sun shineth in his strength o “The countenance is the sum total of all the features of his face.”- G. Cambell Morgan. John is writing to churches that have been in existence for some time now, have heard the good news and been moved by this love of God like John, have face continued persecution, and now are receiving a message from an awesome glorified Jesus who stands in the midst of them CHURCH OF EPHESUS-the loveless church “1To the angel of the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars; 3 And you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary.4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent.6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.'” Rev 2:1-7 “You are the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 The Nicolaitans are thought to have taught Christians could practice idolatry and immorality and it was permissible to practice such things and remain Christian. The idea was whatever was done in the body did not affect the soul. This teaching could allow such things as participating in temple prostitution, compromising their faith, or a confession of Cesar as Lord.”- Thomas Penney LaboredforHisname'ssake Patienceandperseverance CannotbearthosewhoareevilliketheNicolaitans Testedthosewhoareapostlesandarenot,findingthemto be liars “Nevertheless, I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” Rev 2:4 “The church of Ephesus was still a remarkable church, but it lacked the element of that enthusiasm...He says in effect, there is much of excellency, but I miss the first love.”- G. Cambell Morgan “remember therefore from where you have fallen repent and do the first works...” Rev 2:5 In the consciousness of the infinite love of His heart your love was born, and the first flesh of that young love of yours was pure, unselfish, humble, bur...

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:1-3, 6The only way to grow in prayer is through prayer.“No other god can save. No other God can heal. No other God's alive and active here today.”Met By LovePRAYING IN FAITHD.L. MOODY PICUTRE***6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6The great gulf fixed today is between the evangelical rationalist and the evangelical mystic. The evangelical rationalists insist upon trying to reduce everything down to where it can be explained and proved and thus have rationalized faith and have pulled the Almighty God down to the low level of human reason. On the other hand, the evangelical mystic believes God and disbelieves human reason since there are some things human reason cannot doA.W. TozerOne famous Jewish prayer began like this: “Blessed, praised, and glorified, exalted, and honored, magnified and lauded be the name of the Holy One.”5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.Matthew 6:5-8PRAYING IN FAITH DOESN'T REQUIRE A LOT OF…WORDS7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.Matthew 6:7-8Many of the most prevailing prayers have been as short as they were strong.Charles SpurgeonNow Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.[a] 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Acts 3:1-72. VOLUME/ATTENTION20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs[a] of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”1 Kings 18:20-3922 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. 1 Kings 18:22Their writhings were born of ignorance and superstition and got them nowhere. Everything was a mistake—their zeal, their body-punishing prayer, their determination. They were wrong in spite of their zealous praying. And such error did not die with them.A.W. Tozer9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the...

[teaching text]26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord…And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 2 Samuel 11:26-27, 12:15-20It requires faith and patienceIt can be boring and awkward40 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. 45 Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Sleep and take your rest later on.Matthew 26:40-459 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead.Acts 20:9It is easily misunderstoodSome prayers are like a fire escape, used only in times of critical emergency—never very enjoyable, but used as a way of terrified escape from danger. They do not represent the regular life of the one who offers them; rather they are the unusual and uncommon acts of the spiritual amateur.A.W. Tozer16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18Now Jesus[a] was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to prayLuke 11:1"Prayer at its best is the expression of the total life."A.W. TozerPRAYING IN OBEDIENCEWhat is prayer?11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”Luke 17:11-19Remember that only one Samaritan wanted more than cleansing from leprosy. He wanted to know the Savior. He came back glorifying God, worshipping Him, and giving thanks. The other nine lepers just had the thing they wanted but the one leper got much more; the Savior and increased faith.W.L. SeaverThere was an extra healing for this tenth leper. When Jesus said this, He likely meant God's work within the man's heart. The other lepers had whole bodies, but sick hearts.David GuzikPrayer among evangelical Christians is always in danger of degenerating into a glorified gold rush. Almost every book on prayer deals with the “get” element mainly.A.W. TozerPRAYER IS COMMUNIONCommunion: the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.Prayer is a shared life with GodBut he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.1 Corinthians 6:17I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.Galatians 2:20IN PRAYER, GOD DESIRES TO REVEAL HIMSELF, HIS POWER, AND HIS KINGDOM TO US.WHAT CAN HINDER GOD'S ANSWER TO OUR PRAYER?DISOBEDIENCE13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.”2 Samuel 12:13-14And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. 2 Samuel 12:13-14The act of committal to Christ in salvation releases the believing man from the penalty of sin, but it does not release him from the obligation to obey the words of Christ.A.W. TozerHave you noticed how much praying for revival has been going on of late—and how little revival has resulted? Considering the volume of prayer that is ascending these days, rivers of revival should be flowing in blessing throughout the land. That no such results are in evidence should not disc...

[teaching text]What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.Romans 6:1-11We must come to realize that following Jesus is the main point of life.John Mark ComerBECOME LIKE HIMPICTURE*VIDEO***23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them.Matthew 4:23-2423 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. Matthew 8:23-248 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,“‘You shall worship the Lord your God     and him only shall you serve.'”11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.Matthew 4:8-1119 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.Matthew 14:19-2112 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.John 14:12Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”Matthew 26:41Humans are capable of achieving amazing things, like the very things we see Him doing, and humans are capable of achieving terrible things, like the very sins we see Him warning against.So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.Genesis 1:277 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.Colossians 3:10The true nature of man in the image of God was also seen in the earthly life of Christ.Wayne GrudemThe Sermon on the Mount is not a set of principles to be obeyed apart from identification with Jesus Christ. The Sermon on the Mount is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is getting his way with us.Oswald ChambersAs the saying goes, “A black belt is just a white belt who never quit.” A saint is just an ordinary apprentice who stayed at it with Jesus.John Mark Comer7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.1 Timothy 4:7-8gymnasia—training: the exercise of the body in a palaestra or school of athleticsThe aim and substance of spiritual life is not fasting, prayer, hymn singing, frugal living, and so forth. Rather, it is the effective and full enjoyment of active love of God and humankind in all the daily rounds of normal existence where we are placed. The spiritually advanced person is not the one who engages in lots and lots of disciplines, any more than the good child is the one who receives lots and lots of instruction or punishment. People who think they are spiritually superior because they make a practice of a discipline such as fasting or silence or frugality are entirely missing the point.Dallas WillardWhat shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?Romans 6:1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…  10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.Romans 5:1, 10-11WHAT IS ROMANS 6 PUSHING BACK AGAINST?LAZY CHRISTIANSWHAT'S THE POINT OF BECOMING LIKE JESUS IF I'M ALREADY PERFECTLY LOVED BY HIM? DESIGN5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:8WITNESS8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:8 FULFILLMENT10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.John 15:10-11THE SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINESDISCIPLINES OF ABSTINENCE...

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”Matthew 22:34-40I have listened to at least three thousand sermons in my life thus far, with many more to come, I am sure. I remember only a few of them, usually the atrocious ones or the brilliant ones. I have forgotten the vast majority. Not that they were entirely forgettable. The brain can only store so much information, and my brain has decided not to store that many sermons. I do believer however, that they have left an impression on me, doing their quiet work in the soul, just as the many words of instruction and advice I have received over the years from my parents, teachers and friends have influenced me, though I do not remember many of those words either.Gerald Sittser68% of the American population identifies as Christian.A disciple during the time of Jesus was a Jewish person who had been invited by a rabbi [teacher] to come and follow him for a long period of time.“Disciple” had less to do with what you did or could do, and more to do with who you were actively following.BEING WITH HIM35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”Matthew 9:35-36This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.Joshua 1:86 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.John 14:6Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.James 1:27But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.1 John 3:17-183 Mary therefore took a pound[a] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[b] and given to the poor?”John 12:3-527 “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 the bones of the dead 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.Matthew 23:27-2834 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”Matthew 22:34-4037 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”Matthew 22:34-40THE HIGHEST PRIORITY OF A DISCIPLE IS TO LOVE GOD.19 We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19WE LEARN TO LOVE GOD AS WE ARE LOVED BY GODThe most important thing that happens between God and the human soul is to love and be loved.Kallistos KatfygiotisAs a general rule, we become more loving by experiencing love, not by hearing about it in a lecture or reading about it in a book. Psycologists' basic rule of thumb is that we are loving to the degree that we have been loved. This is why it's so much easier for those who were loved by their parents or caregivers in their early years to give and receive love as adults. That said, no family of origin is healthy enough to transform us into the kind of love we see in Jesus, and no family is dysfunctional enough to keep us from become people of love in Jesus. All of us have the potential to grow and mature into people of agape. But to do so, we have to experience the love of God. John Mark ComerOne way of knowing involves learning information about God; it is doctrinal. Another way of knowing leads to union with God; it is mystical.Gerald Sittser14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family[c] in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.Ephesians 3:14-19Ginōskō—know: to feel“I look at Him, He looks at me, and we are happy.”What's your response when you are aware of your sin? If you're like me, you know Christ died for that, and you're grateful. But just to show how grateful you are, or to seal the deal, you do a bit of psychological self-inflicted pain to top it off. Not., of course, to self-consciously add to Christ's work. Heaven forbid. Just to let Him know how much you care, to make it clear that you're a serious Christian. Nothing physical. Just a bit of externalized obedience or forma...

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”Luke 9:57-62COUNTING THE COSTTHE WAY OF JESUS18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”[b] 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.Matthew 4:18-1935 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).John 1:35-4238 And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. 39 And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.Luke 4:38-39On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. Luke 5:1-3When the disciples said “yes” to following Jesus, they were choosing to follow Him from now on as their rabbi.“Contrary to what many assume, Jesus did not invite people to convert to Christianity. He didn't even call people to become Christians; he invited people to apprentice under him into a whole new way of living. To be transformed.”John Mark ComerBet-sefer “House of Book”Bet-midrash “House of Learning”Talmid“Apprenticeship”Simon and Andrew were fisherman. Think about that for a second: This means they didn't make it into an apprenticeship program. They weren't the best of the best; they were the ones who got sent home to “make babies and pray they become rabbis.” But Jesus invited them to be His apprentices. Before they believed in Jesus, He believed in them.John Mark Comer20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:2024 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24Apprentices had three main objectives:Be with their rabbiBecome like their rabbiDo what their rabbi did As of 2023, 68% of Americans identify as Christian.GallupIf disciple is something that is done to you (a verb), then that puts the onus of responsibility for your spiritual formation on someone else, like your pastor, church, or mentor. But if disciple is a noun—if it's someone you are or are not—then no one can “disciple” you but Rabbi Jesus Himself.John Mark ComerWE NEED AN OLD VISION OF DISCIPLESHIPApprentices to Jesus is about:Being with JesusBecome like JesusDoing what Jesus didThere is no problem in human life that apprenticeship to Jesus cannot solve.Dallas WillardTHERE IS A COST TO FOLLOW JESUSTHE WAY OF JESUS IS CONFLICTING59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”Luke 9:57-62THE WAY OF JESUS IS ALL-CONSUMING24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24THERE IS A COST TO NOT FOLLOW JESUS“People often complain about how hard the spiritual life is. And the honest truth is, yes, it is. Bu that's missing from this diagnosis is that the unspiritual life is even harder. Life is hard, with or without God. But what's really hard—nearly unbearable for some—is facing the pain and suffering of life apart from God. So is trying to save yourself rather than be saved. Living in a godless, shepherdess, meaningless universe—that's really, really hard.” John Mark Comer25 For whoever would save his life[g] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?Matthew 16:2420 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.Revelation 3:20

John 11:17-38WELCOMECAMP! RECAP SERIESBROKENWHAT BREAKS THE HEART OF JESUS?SORROW (John 11)He was weeping with those who weep. He wasn't weeping because of the end of Lazarus, because the end of Lazarus was going to be resurrection. He was weeping because of the sorrow of Mary and Martha. This is the empathy, the sympathy, the tenderness, the kindness of Christ manifesting itself in that setting.John MacArthurIDOLS (Matthew 20, and Acts 17)41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”Luke 19:41-4416 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.Acts 17:16As Paul sailed to Athens from the sea near Berea, he came to a city he had probably never been to before, and like any tourist, he was ready to be impressed by this famous and historic city – which, hundreds of years before, was one of the most glorious and important cities in the world. But when Paul toured Athens, he was only depressed by the magnitude of the idolatry he saw all around.David GuzikJesus here showed the heart of God, how even when judgment must be pronounced, it is never done with joy. Even when God's judgment is perfectly just and righteous, His heart weeps at the bringing of the judgment.David GuzikSIN (Matthew 26)DOES MY HEART BREAK FOR THE THINGS THAT BREAK THE HEART OF CHRIST?I asked the Lord to give me love - His love for souls in sin;Instead He gave me weeping eyes,A broken heart within. I asked Him why He gave me tears,He took me back in timeTo when my Savior lived on earth,When He was in His prime. I saw Him go to where His friendWas lying in a grave;The sisters and their friends were grieved -What love to them He gave. You see my Savior standing thereWas also grieved that day,He wept great heaving tears with sobsTill those who saw could say: "Behold we see now how He loved."His tears revealed His heartHis love was evident through tears -I saw God's point in part. And then He took me to the day The people hailed their KingWhile Jesus enters to their cheersThe children run and sing. But when He saw JerusalemStretched out before His eye,His soul was moved with grief for them;It moved His heart to cry. Oh, as I read those solemn wordsI feel that they are sweetFor in them I behold His loveSo perfect and complete. To one more place He took me now,At midnight I beheldThe Son of God bowed down with griefIn deepest sorrow held. I heard His weeping, strong and deep,But through it I discernedHe prayed for me - it melted me,His love for me I learned. With tearful joy I thanked the LordFor answering my prayer,For giving me His love for souls -His tears, His heart, His care.Christina Joy Hommes Christina Joy Hommes14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.Hebrews 4:14-16THE TEARS OF JESUS OF JESUS REVEAL HIS DEEP LOVE FOR USIn our pain, Jesus is pained; in our suffering, he feels the suffering as his own even though it isn't — not that his invincible divinity is threatened, but in the sense that his heart is feeling drawn into our distress. His human nature engages our troubles comprehensively. His is a love that cannot be had back when he sees his people in pain.Dane C. OrtlundTHE TEARS OF JESUS LEAD HIM TO PRAY FOR USIt is not only that Jesus can relieve us from our troubles, like a doctor prescribing medicine; it is also that, before any relief comes, he is with us in our troubles, like a doctor who has endured the same disease.Dane C. Ortlund31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.Romans 8:31-34THE TEARS OF JESUS INVITE US TO BE NEAR TO HIM16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,Hebrews 4:16aTHE TEARS OF JESUS MOVE HIM TO DO SOMETHING WE DON'T HAVE THE POWER TO DO16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.Hebrews 4:16Jesus' sinlessness means that he knows temptation better than we ourselves do. C.S. Lewis made this point by speaking of a man walking against the wind. Once the wind of temptation gets strong enough, the man lies down, giving in — and thus not knowing what it would have been like tens minutes later. Jesus never lay down; he endured all our temptations and testings without ever giving in. He therefore knows the strength of temptation better than any of us. Only he truly knows the cost.Dane C. Ortlund 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“5Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.6And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.”-Exodus 34:5-7   “We have a domesticated view that, for all its doctrinal precision, has downsized the glory of Christ in our hearts.”- Dane C. Ortlund.    “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father and no one knows the Son except the Father nor does anyone know the Father except the Son...” Matthew 11:27    “...no one knows except the Father and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27   “5Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.6And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-7    mercy is God not giving me what I deserve (i.e. punishment) and grace is God giving me what I do not deserve (i.e. blessings)    “Who He is, is not the same as what He does. Often, when we seek to define or relate to Jesus, we think of what He has done for us. This, however, is only a partial glimpse of Him. What he does comes from who He is.”- Dane C. Ortlund  “It will be seen that mercy in God is not merely His pardon of offenders, but His attitude to man and to the world genuinely, from which His pardoning mercy proceeds.”-Bible Hub App    “The LORD, the LORD God...”Exodus 34:6.    “This name- Yahweh (the LORD) - was the same name for God that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob knew; this was no new revelation of God. God presented Himself as the eternal, immutable God.”-Enduring Word App    Mt Moriah: Abraham and Isaac (Gen 22)   “Take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love...and offer him there as a burnt offering.” Genesis 22:2.    “And Abraham said, ‘My son God will provide for Himself the lamb. So, the two of them went together.” Genesis 22:8    God provided the sacrifice for Abraham   Forgiveness is on display   “Take now your son, your only son Isaac...” Genesis 22:2   God provided His own sacrifice   “you shall not give any of your children to offer them [by fire sacrifice] to Molech [the god of the Ammonites].”-Leviticus 18:21  “[I] will provide for [myself] the lamb for the offering.” Genesis 22:8   It is a foreshadow of the mountain where God the Father would offer his only Son and this time, the Son would die the Lambs death   Golgotha: Jesus (Mark 15)   “Golgotha and the ancient site of mount Moriah may be the same area. In other words, Jesus may have been crucified near Moriah or at its summit.”-Jon Coursin   “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”- John 3:16-17   The fact the He gave, is grace.  That we do not perish, is mercy   “It embraces a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists regardless of circumstance.”- Wikipedia   “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). And raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”- Ephesians 2:4-10    The heart of God the Father and God the Son is a heart of mercy and grace  

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”Matthew 11:25-30 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.2 Peter 3:18You can “know” honey in two distinct ways: you can know the exact chemical makeup of honey; or you can taste it. Both are ways we can “know” honey. But only the latter is the knowledge by which honey is experienced.Jonathan EdwardsHe [Jesus] is a person. Not just a historical figure, but an actual person, alive and well today. He is to be related to. Trusted, spoken to, listened to. Jesus is not a concept. Not an ideal. Not a force. Growing in Christ is relational, not a formulaic, experience. Dane OrtlundGENTLE AND LOWLYWHAT IS AT THE CORE OF THE HEART OF JESUS?Many know Jesus through the things he did, said or simply that He once lived on this earth, but few know the HEART of Jesus; Jesus at the core.What Do Americans Believe About Jesus? (Barna Research)The vast majority of Americans believe Jesus was a real person. (92%)Younger generations are increasingly less likely to believe Jesus is God. (44%)Americans are divided on whether Jesus was sinless (52%)Most Americans say they have made a commitment to Jesus Christ (55-70%)People are conflicted between “Jesus” and “Good deeds” as The Way to heaven (60%)A wife may tell you much about her husband — his height, his eye color, his eating habits, his education, his job, his handiness around the house, his best friend, his hobbies, his Myers-Brggs personality profile, his favorite sports team. But what can she say to communicate his knowing gaze across the table over a dinner at their favorite restaurant? That look that reflects years of ever deepening friendship, thousands of conversations and arguments through which they have safely come, a time-ripened settling into the assurance of embrace, come what may? THAT GLANCE speaks in a moment his loving protection more clearly than a thousand words? In short, what can she say to communicate to another her husbands heart for her? It is one thing to describe what your husband says and does and looks like. It is something else, something deeper and more real, to describe his heart for you. So with Christ. It is one thing to know the doctrines of the incarnation and the atonement and a hundred other vital doctrines (beliefs). It is another, more searching matter to know his heart for you. Dane OrtlundJESUS AS RULING KING?King Jesus pictureThen Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”John 18:37Human nature dictates that the wealthier a person, the more they tend to look down on the poor. The more beautiful a person, the more they are put off by the ugly. And without realizing what we are doing, we quietly assume that one so high and exalted has correspondingly difficulty drawing near to the despicable and unclean.Dane OrtlundJESUS AS SPOTLESS AND HOLY?Spotless lamb picture39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”Luke 7:39JESUS AS TEACHER?Teacher-Jesus pictureSeeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them,Matthew 5:1JESUS AS A COSMIC FORCE?Cosmic-Jesus picture16 For by[f] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17JESUS AS SAVIOR?13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 16:13-17Christ =  Christos: “anointed”; the messiah, son of GodWHO DOES JESUS SAY HE IS?2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Matthew 11:2-318 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.' 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”[f]Matthew 11:18-1920 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. Matthew 11:2028 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”Matthew 11:28-30WHAT IS JESUS LIKE ACCORDING TO JESUS?I am gentle and lowly in heart.Matthew 11:29GENTLE AND LOWLYPraos = gentle: meek, humbleTapeinos = lowly: not rising far from the groundThe point in saying that Jesus is lowly is that he is accessible. For all his resplendent glory and dazzling holiness, his supreme uniqueness and otherness, no one human in history has ever been more approachable than Jesus Christ. No prerequisites. No hoops to jump through.Dane OrtlundWHO GETS TO KNOW JESUS AT HIS VERY CORE ACCORDING TO JESUS?28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,Matthew 11:2...

Psalm 119:65-72“Why do we suffer in this world if God loves us so much?”THE PROBLEM OF SUFFERING AND EVILQUESTIONS LEAD US TO JESUS.QUESTIONS ARE NOT NEW9 What has been is what will be,    and what has been done is what will be done,    and there is nothing new under the sun.Ecclesiastes 1:98 God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job?There's no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.”9-10 Satan retorted, “So do you think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does—he can't lose!Job 1:8-912 God replied, “We'll see. Go ahead—do what you want with all that is his. Just don't hurt him.” Then Satan left the presence of God.Job 1:1211-13 Three of Job's friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath—and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn't believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering.Job 2:11-13 Three things we CAN do when others are suffering:Step into their sufferingEmpathize with their sufferingDon't try to fix their sufferingAnyone who has spent time with a suffering friend knows how hard it is to remain present without trying to give answers. It is excruciating to suffer silently with a friend who must rebuild life piece by piece, without any certainty about the outcome. Our instinct is to investigate what went wrong and identify a solution. Then we imagine we can help our friend eliminate the cause and get back to normal as soon as possible. Knowing the cause, we will at least know how to avoid the same fate ourselves. We would rather give a reason for the suffering — be it right, be it wrong — than to accept the mystery at the heart of suffering.Theology of Work, Commentary13-20 “Still, if you set your heart on God    and reach out to him,If you scrub your hands of sin    and refuse to entertain evil in your home,You'll be able to face the world unashamed    and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless.You'll forget your troubles;    they'll be like old, faded photographs.Your world will be washed in sunshine,    every shadow dispersed by dawn.Full of hope, you'll relax, confident again;    you'll look around, sit back, and take it easy.Expansive, without a care in the world,    you'll be hunted out by many for your blessing.But the wicked will see none of this.    They're headed down a dead-end road    with nothing to look forward to—nothing.”Job 11:13-20As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”The disciples regarded this man as an unsolved riddle. They showed no interest in helping the man, but in discussing the cause for his condition.  Jesus will soon show a different way. He won't dwell on the theological puzzle, but on actually helping the man.David Guzik3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:1-3Jesus shifted the question from, “Why is this man suffering?,” to, “What can God do in spite of this suffering?”WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO FIND TRUTH IN SUFFERING IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TRUTH IS.“THIS ISN'T HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE.”We were made for God11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.John 9:1-3You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find peace in you.Augustine of HippoWe chose to separate from GodA THEOLOGY OF SIN (We need to understand the magnitude of sin)10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;11 no one understands;     no one seeks for God.12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;     no one does good,     not even one.”Romans 3:10-12The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.Augustine of HippoWhen a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less.C.S. LewisA THEOLOGY OF SUFFERING (We need to understand the purpose of suffering)7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus[a] offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of MelchizedekHebrews 5:7-10 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,     but now I keep your word.Psalm 119:67I am certain that I never did grow in grace one half so much anywhere as I have upon the bed of painCharles SpurgeonI never knew the meaning of God's word, until I came into affliction. I have always found it one of my best schoolmasters.Martin LutherYet we must guard against the misunderstanding that seasons of affliction automatically make one better or godlier. Sadly, there are many who are worse from their affliction – because they fail to turn to God's word for wisdom and life-guidance in such times. The worst affliction of all is a wasted affliction, wasted because we did not turn to God and gained nothing from it.David GuzikA THEOLOGY OF...

Psalm 22:1-5This psalm begins abruptly, with a disturbing scene: someone who knows and trusts God is forsaken, and cries out to God in agony.David Guzik“How do you continue to walk with God when you don't feel His presence and it feels like He isn't with you?”THE WALL.What is The Wall?What is important here is to note that the trials we encounter each day are not the Wall or “dark night of the soul.” Trials are traffic jams, annoying bosses, delayed airplay departures, car breakdowns, fevers, and barking dogs in the middle of the night.Peter ScazzeroJOHN OF THE CROSS PHOTO*continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.Philippians 2:12b-13Wilderness seasons don't purify us from sin, Jesus already did that. It's done. It is finished.“DARK”How do we know we are in “the dark night”? Our good feelings of God's presence evaporate. We feel the door of heaven has been shut as we pray. Darkness, helplessness, weariness, a sense of failure or defeat, barrenness, emptiness, dryness descends upon us. The Christian disciplines  that have served us up to this time “no longer work.” We can't see what God is doing and we see little visible fruit in our lives.Peter Scazzero“NIGHT”weeping may stay for the night,    but rejoicing comes in the morning.Psalm 30:5“SOUL"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?     Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,     and by night, but I find no rest.Psalm 22:1-2We're going on a bear huntWe're going on a bear huntI've got my binocularsI've got my binocularsI'm not scaredI'm not scaredOoh, look at that tall, wavy grassIt's so tallWe can't go over itWe can't go under itWe're just gonna have to go through itSwish, swish, swish, swishThe Kiboomers“DO I TRUST GOD?”10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.Philippians 4:10-14When we make it through the wall, we no longer have a need to be well known or successful, but to do God's will. We have now tasted what it means to live in union with the love of God through Christ in the Holy Spirit. Peter ScazzeroFor the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.Deuteronomy 2:7When you accept the fact that sometimes seasons are dry and times are hard and that God is in control of both, you will discover a sense of divine refuge, because the hope then is in God and not in yourself.Charles SwindollGoing through “The Wall” helps us un-learn:Pride: They have a tendency to condemn others and become impatient with their faults. They are selective in who can teach them.Avarice: They are discontent with the Spirituality God gives them. They never have enough learning, are always reading many books rather than growing in poverty of spirit  and their interior life.Luxury: They take more pleasure in the spiritual blessings of God rather than God Himself.Wrath: They are easily irritated, lacking sweetness, and have little patience to wait on God.Spiritual Gluttony: They resist the way of the cross and choose pleasures like children do.Spiritual Envy: They feel unhappy when others do well spiritually. They are always comparing.Sloth: They run from that which is hard. Their aim is spiritual sweetness and good feelings.Going through “The Wall” helps us learn:How to be needy.“Blessed are the poor in spirit,    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Matthew 5:318 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d] 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:18-21How to be okay with mystery.“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord.9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts.Isaiah 55:8-9 If you understand, it is not God you understand.Augustine of Hippo The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped — it requires an active participation in following Jesus as he leads us through sometimes strange and unfamiliar territory, in circumstances that become clear only in the hesitations and questionings, in the pauses and reflections where we engage in prayerful conversation with one another and with him.Eugene PetersonHow to wait for God.Wait for the Lord;    be strong and take heart    and wait for the Lord.Psalm 27:14How to not be tied down. 29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who b...

Matthew 26:36-44 “36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘sit here, while I go over there and pray.' 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 then he said to them, ‘ My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.' 39 And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.' 40 And he came to his disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak,'42 Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.'43 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.44 So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.”WHY DO WE HAVE UNANSWERED PRAYERS?[a pic i need to still send][side by side pic.see attachment]The Greek word for agony used here means “to be engaged in combat.”If what is possible? If salvation for man is possible by anything other than the cross, let this cup pass.”-Chuck SmithThe cross declares that there is only one way by which man can have forgiveness of sins and approach God, and that is through the death of Jesus Christ.”- Chuck SmithSome prayers would never be offered if people would only think. A little reflection would show us that some things that we desire were better left alone. We may moreover, have a motive at the bottom of our desires that is not Christ like; a selfish nature that forgets God's glory and caters to our own ease and comfort…there must be mingled with acceptable prayer, the holy salt of submission to the divine will.”-Charles Spurgeon.“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” James 4:3.Prayer is not really intended to get my will done on earth. Prayer is intended to get God's will done on earth.”- Chuck Smith.And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.”"Christ was not delivered from his sufferings, yet he was strengthened and supported under them. And that was equivalent”-Matthew Henry."trading of the heart with God”-Charles Spurgeon#1 prayed persistently.#2 prayed submittedly.“Do you not know friends, that we often impute to the Lord conduct we would be ashamed of in ourselves. When God tells you to call upon Him, He does not mock you. He means that He will deal kindly with you”-Charles Spurgeon.1. We will assume the role of prayer answerer.2. We will believe God to be different than he is.3. We will see prayer as self-servingWhen the question of unanswered prayer comes up we should do what Jesus did:#1 Persist “He went away and prayed for the third time saying the same words again” Matthew 26:44“Guard against persistence of unbelief-repeating prayer with attitude that God never heard us the first time”-David Guzik “The delays of prayer are not needed to change God, but to change us.”- David Guzik#2 Submit “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” Matthew 26:39 “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross” Philippians 2:8.

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.1 John 2:15-17Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?”2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' ”4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was [a]pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves [b]coverings.8 And they heard the [c]sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [d]cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”Genesis 3:1-10Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' ”5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:‘He shall give His angels charge over you,'and,‘In their hands they shall bear you up,Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' ”Matthew 4:1-613 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.Romans 7:13-21 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.James 1:14

Philippians 2:3-16“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.”Vision - Help People Know GodMission - Practicing The Way of JesusPursuing the PresenceTransformational DiscipleshipKingdom CommunitySacrificial MissionKingdom Community doesn't stand alone, and the house doesn't stand without it!“Between the death of Christ and the Last Day, it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God's Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing. The imprisoned, the sick, the scattered lonely, the proclaimers of the Gospel in heathen lands stand alone. They know that visible fellowship is a blessing. They remember, as the Psalmist did, how they “walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration!” (Ps. 42:4). - BonhoefferIt is how we startedOur triune God created all life to exist in communal order to work toward Kingdom Community.2. It is how we are testedWithout community, we are incapable of Practicing the Way of Jesus.We were created for the life of Jesus to live inside of us.3. It is how we are to be foundCommunity is found where Faith is found, and Faith is found where Community is found.“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25 Faith plus community created endurance.“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:204. It is how we are sustained “The light of the early church illuminated the path of humankind in one short flash. Yet its spirit and witness stayed alive even after its members had been scattered and many of them were murdered. Again and again, through history, similar forms arose as gifts of God, expressions of the same living Spirit. Witnesses were killed, and fathers died, but new children were and are born into the Spirit again and again.” - Eberhard ArnoldThrough the kind of community that Jesus prescribes to us, no external force can extinguish the flame of the Gospel.When we were called into God's family, we were also called to belong to Him in eternity with one another.“He is our peace.” Eph 2:14 Christ was sent to be the mediator.“For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:26-31“Every human wish or dream that is injected into the Christian Community is a hindrance to the genuine community and must be banished if community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes the destroyer of community - even if the intentions are honest, earnest, and sacrificial.” - BonhoefferWe pull away from people - believing them to be the enemyWe lose perspectiveWe are called into this life to be thankful recipients, not demanders. For when Christ calls us to Himself, He calls us to die to ourselves.Healing is found in Kingdom Community - but Jesus is the Healer.Community should always point you back to Christ. That is the purpose of Kingdom Community.Kingdom Community is the act of pursuing His presence in unity with one another, creating space for confession, faith, prayer, study of the Word, worship, sanctification, serving, discipleship, sharing the Gospel, love, grief, joy, loss, abundance, and fun! It's a life lived for Jesus, in Jesus, with Jesus, together.Prompt for keys to come up (not on slide): “One of my prayers is that New Song would champion the type of Kingdom Community that spills over into the world.”We are not called to only do what the Lord asks us to do when we have a guaranteed outcome.In order for people to see Jesus in you, they have to be able to find Jesus in you.“Without oxen, a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.” Proverbs 14:4 (edited) 

Acts 1:3-8SACRIFICIAL MISSION 52% of Christians who attend church monthly and say their faith is important and agree they have a responsibility to share their beliefs.Barna Group73% of Christians belief it was their responsibility to share their faith, but only 52% have actually shared their faith at least once with someone in the last year.Telling the Gospel31% of Christians believe they are not called to share their beliefs.Lifeway Research18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:18-19 The degree of sacrifice as well as the kind of sacrifice will vary, depending on context and calling. Some will work in the slums of Africa, others will raise a large family; some will take on a job that pays a low salary, others will make lots of money and give most of it away. There is no absolute rule to follow here, no perfect standard against which to measure both quality and quantity of sacrifice. Comparisons are simply out of the question. Only one truth applies to all: the ultimate sacrifice we make should be the whole of ourselves to God. And then we should simply let life take its course.Gerald SittserIf we take the Christian faith seriously, we will probably end up traveling somewhere or loving someone or trying something we would never have imagined at an earlier stage in our lives. It is simply what a life of disciples requires.Gerald SittserSacrificial Mission: We pursue sacrificial missions by giving, serving, and loving sacrificially in our homes, our Church, our community, and the world.Serving-focused Missions: overemphasizes meeting the physical needs of others and downplays the power of the Gospel.  4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[b] and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it[c] for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”John 12:4-8Conversion-focused Missions: overemphasizes the moment of salvation rather than inviting people into a life-long devotion to Jesus. This downplays the really physical needs people face and also downplays the importance of discipleship.15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.James 2:15-16Jesus-focused Missions: sees people created in the image of God and is moved with compassion for the WHOLE person; spirit, soul, body, relationships, world, etc.After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2 And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5 Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”John 6:1-5Jesus-focused ministry is moved with compassion based off of the need we see, not what is convenient for us.Luke mentioned that on this occasion Jesus went out to a deserted place to be alone (Luke 9:10), yet the crowds followed Him there. In spite of this imposition, Jesus still served the multitude with great compassion.David GuzikGod chose to risk everything in the incarnation; such a risk was costly beyond measure. But the incarnation also reminds us that the risk is worth taking. Our salvation is proof of that. God calls us to take risks too, following, however inadequately, the example that Jesus set. Gerald SittserThe God who loves to have an outgoing Image of his Son loves to have many images of his love (who are themselves outgoing).Michael Reeves15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:15Myth: People could use Jesus, but they don't NEED Him.Reality: People are separated from God, and have the ability to be eternally separated from Him.For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:“None is righteous, no, not one;11    no one understands;     no one seeks for God.12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;     no one does good,     not even one.”Romans 3:9-1213 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?[c] And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:13-15 Myth: I cost is too muchReality: Wherever you go, there you are.Myth: The work is too muchJerusalem - where Jesus was executed at the word of an angry mobJudea - rejected His ministrySamaria - regarded as a wasteland of impure half-breedsThe ends of the Earth - the Gentiles were seen by some Jews of that day as nothing better than fuel for the fires of Hell.Reality: Small risks. Everyday. If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just oneMother TheresaMyth: Somebody else will do itReality: Purpose over privilegeI must look only to the end for which I am created, that is, for the praise of God our Lord and for the Salvation of my soul. Therefore, whatever I choose must have as its purpose to help me to this end. St. Ignatius

9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:9-17 ANNOUNCE GUYS/GIRLS NIGHTPACK THE HOUSE / HELP!We pursue the presence of God, who is a person, and we pursue Him first; above every other action.TRANSFORMATIONAL DISCIPLESHIPWe pursue transformational discipleship by focusing on spiritual formation and every Christian's destiny to progressively grow in Christ-likeness.New Song ChurchNaaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his skin disease.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Syria said, “Go, then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his skin disease.” 7 When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his skin disease? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me.”2 Kings 5:1-7Transformational discipleship gets complicated when:We idolize leaders3 She said to her mistress, “If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his skin disease.”  10 I appeal to you, brothers,[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?1 Corinthians 1:10-13We are all hypocrites in transition. I am not who I want to be, but I am on the journey there, and thankfully I am not whom I used to be.Erwin McManus9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 2 Kings 5:9-12We idolize a processIn prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.John BunyanWe take what we think are the tools of spiritual transformation into our own hands and try to sculpt ourselves into robust Christlike specimens. But spiritual transformation is primarily the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the Master Sculptor.Jerry BridgesWe idolize ourselvesBody Dysmorphia: persistent, intense focus, shame and anxiety over perceived body defectsDiscipleship Dysmorphia: persistent, intense focus, shame and anxiety over perceived discipleship defects“I just feel like I should be doing more.” The moment we begin to feel satisfied that we are making some progress along the road of sanctification, it is all the more necessary to repent and confess that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.Dietrich BonhoefferTransformational discipleship is done from a place of victory, not from a place of trying, striving, or will power.For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.Hebrews 10:14Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.2 Corinthians 5:17-18Sanctification is not about becoming someone you are not. It is about aligning your outward life to match up with your inner life.Give up the struggle and the fight; relax in the omnipotence of the Lord Jesus; look up into His lovely face and as you behold Him, He will transform you into His likeness. You do the beholding–He does the transforming. There is no short-cut to holiness.Alan RedpathHe turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, “Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean'?” 14 So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.2 Kings 5:13-1417 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:9-17 PLACING OUR FAITH IN THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD DAILY.I would give almost anything in the world if I cold have been there and watched him. I think every time he went down into the water he would come up and look at himself. He probably said, “T...

“One thing, I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4Pillars of the ChurchThe pillars of our church are PURSUING THE PRESENCE OF GOD, TRANSFORMATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP, KINGDOM COMMUNITY, AND SACRIFICIAL MISSION“At New Song Church, we pursue the presence of God by seeking him first and above all else.”-NSC websiteWe are to pursue.What we are to pursue is the presence.The what is actually a who, because it is the presence of God. 4. We are to do this first, above every other action/option.“The reason the church is in crisis today is because we have settled for the omnipresence rather than for the manifest presence of God.”- Frank Hartlythere is an aspect of God where he is OMNIPRESENT meaning he is everywhere all at once at all timesthere is a MANIFEST aspect of God's presence. Manifest means to display or show by one's acts or appearance; demonstrate.“The presence and the manifestation of the presence are not the same. There can be one without the other. God is here when we are wholly unaware of it. He is manifesting when and as we are aware of his presence.”- A.W. TozerPursue means to chase something, run after, seek to attain.“The church has developed a mentality that wants to do nothing, but yet receive everything. We don't want to make any effort on our part anymore, we just want to sit by and wait for God to hand it to us, drop it into our laps, so to speak.”- Pastor Curt (article on pursing God)“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” Isaiah 55:6“Seek the Lord and His strength; seek his face forevermore.” Psalm 105:4“The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.” Psalm 14:2“3He (Zacchaeus) sought to see who Jesus was but could not because of the crowd…4 so he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him…5 And when Jesus…saw him he said ‘Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.'” Luke 19:3-5“27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind him in the crowd and touched His garment…32 and He looked around to see her who had done this thing.” Mark 5:27,32“37 When she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisees house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at his feet behind Him weeping and she began to wash His feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with fragrant oil…” Luke 7:37The Hebrew word for presence is parim=face.This implies a close and personal encounter with the Lord as the face reveals the unique identity of a person.“15 If your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16For how then will it be known that your people have found grace in your sight, except you go, with us?” Exodus 33:15,16“One thing, I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4“In America, there is a generation that is experiencing more options than any generation in all of history.”-Jesus Culture“And they (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord…” Gen 3:8“Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.” Gen 4:16But what defines a true church is to run after (pursue) the presence (manifest/personal encounter) of God as our only hope (first/above all else).“One thing, I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. To behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4desire, decide, doWhen we desire to pursue the presence of God we will decide what we are willing to no longer settle for and we will do what others may not, because His presence is above all other things!

STAND IN AWEPsalm 33:6-9 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made and all their host by the breath of his mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.I often feel left out or lonelyI can't do anything right My life is not useful I do not enjoy my life What young people need today is not to stand in awe of something but to stand in awe of SOMEONE. AWE: a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him”Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, and offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for our God is [indeed] a consuming fire.Bonfire PicBeing afraid of God and fearing God are two different things.When I genuinely fear the Lord I fear hurting him. I don't fear him hurting me.I have respect and reverence for God, but I am also drawn to his warmth and beauty.1 We promote awe of God by seeing Him in CREATION Romans 1:20 Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made…I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting system through which God speaks to us every hour, if we only tune in. - George Washington CarverEarth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round and pluck blackberries. - Elizabeth Barrett BrowningSunset picThis is my Father's world:O let me ne'er forgetThat though the wrong seems oft so strong,God is the Ruler yet.This is my Father's world:Why should my heart be sad?The Lord is King: let the heavens ring!God reigns; let earth be glad! 2 We promote awe of God by Seeing Him in ARTExodus 31:1-11 The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab…. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”Art gives us glimpses of the renewed world, It helps us to taste and see that the Lord is good.3 We promote awe of God by seeing him in JESUS2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.He must increase, but I must decrease. Awe Challenge: _Turn off notifications on your phone._Create a plan for your screen time._Go on awe walks. _Read a Psalm. Write a Psalm.  _Enjoy art. _Gospel Meditation. 

Psalm 55:1-84 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.Romans 6:4FEARTHE ANATOMY OF FEARFear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.ALEX HONNOLD PHOTO**EL CAPITAN PHOTO**FREE SOLO PHOTO***THE ANATOMY OF FEAR GRAPH***The church, in general, has done a horrible job with mental illness. We have ignored it, pretended it doesn't exist, or worse, acted as though all mental illness was a result of sin. Our obsession with outward perfection has led us down a dark, dangerous path of contempt toward anything that doesn't measure up to our false definition of what a “good Christian” should look like.Jessica ThompsonIt is of no use to say to men, “Let not your heart be troubled,” unless you finish the verse and say, “Believe in God, believe also in Christ.Alexander MacLaren6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control [sound-mind].2 Timothy 1:6-7The first step in dealing with such fears is to understand that they are not from God. It is a significant step to say, “This isn't God making me feel like this; God hasn't given me this.” Perhaps it is from personality, perhaps a weakness of the flesh, perhaps a demonic attack – but it isn't from God.David GuzikFEAR IS NOT A LACK OF FAITH, IT IS FAITH IN REVERSEFear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the BELIEF that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.I saw a study that said speaking in front of a crowd is considered the number one fear of the average person. Number two was death. This means to the average person, if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.Jerry SeinfeldMost of the time for us, the feeling of fear is REAL but the threat we face is NOT REAL.The worst evils of life are those which do not exist except in our imagination. If we had no troubles but real troubles, we should not have a tenth part of our present sorrows. We feel a thousand deaths in fearing one…Charles SpurgeonAnxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.Corrie Ten BoomFEAR WILL SPIRITUALLY PARALYZE US AND ROB US FROM OUR GOD-GIVEN PURPOSES (Worst-case scenario)10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”Exodus 3:10-1113 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, ‘What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” Exodus 3:13Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.'”Exodus 4:110 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”Exodus 4:10OUR VISION OF PEACE AND SAFETY IS DIFFERENT THAN GOD'S VISION OF PEACE AND SAFETY15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”Exodus 33:15-16“The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble…”Psalm 9“God is our refuge and strength; an ever-present help in trouble…”Psalm 46“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…”Psalm 91FEAR WILL ROB US FROM THE MENTAL PEACE AND SPIRITUAL REST HE PURCHASED FOR US TO LIVE IN. (Best-case scenario)THE WAY TO BEAT FEAR IS TO FEAR (FEAR OF THE LORD)The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.Proverbs 19:23Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!Psalms 34:9THE WAY TO BEAT FEAR IS TO LOOSE YOUR CONFIDENCE (IN WORLDY METHODS)10 But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.” Exodus 4:10-12THE WAY TO BEAT FEAR IS TO QUESTION EVERYTHING (THAT ELEVATES ITSELF ABOVE GOD)4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.2 Corinthians 10:4-6

19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,    and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—20 those who speak of you maliciously    and lift themselves up against you for evil![d]21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?22 I hate them with perfect hatred;    I count them my enemies.23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;    test me and know my thoughts.24 See if there is any wicked[e] way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting.Psalm 139:19-242 He [God] makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness     for his name's sake.4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,     I will fear no evil, for you are with me;     your rod and your staff,     they comfort me.5 You prepare a table before me     in the presence of my enemies;Psalm 23:2-5ANGERThere is no such thing as an angry person; there are only humans. Some just have a better grip on their anger than others.1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me.2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;    you discern my thoughts from far away.3 You search out my path and my lying down    and are acquainted with all my ways.4 Even before a word is on my tongue,    O Lord, you know it completely.5 You hem me in, behind and before,    and lay your hand upon me.6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;    it is so high that I cannot attain it.Psalm 139:1-617 How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!     How vast is the sum of them!18 I try to count them—they are more than the sand;     I come to the end[c]—I am still with you.19 O that you would kill the wicked, O God,     and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—20 those who speak of you maliciously     and lift themselves up against you for evil![d]21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?     And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?22 I hate them with perfect hatred;Psalm 139:17-22But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,    my steps had nearly slipped.3 For I was envious of the arrogant    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.Psalm 73:2-3O God, why do you cast us off forever?     Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?2  Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old,     which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage!     Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.3  Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;     the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!4  Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;     they set up their own signs for signs.5  They were like those who swing axes     in a forest of trees.[b]6  And all its carved wood     they broke down with hatchets and hammers.7  They set your sanctuary on fire;     they profaned the dwelling place of your name,     bringing it down to the ground.8  They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;     they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.9  We do not see our signs;     there is no longer any prophet,     and there is none among us who knows how long.10  How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?     Is the enemy to revile your name forever?11  Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?     Take it from the fold of your garment[c] and destroy them!Psalm 74:1-11 “This is not the song of an atheist, but the wail of a believer.”G. Campbell Morgan26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.Ephesians 4:26-27The absence of anger . . . can, in my opinion, be a most alarming symptom . . . If the Jews cursed more bitterly than the Pagans this was, I think, at least in part because they took right and wrong more seriously.C.S. Lewis37 Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate asked him, “What is truth?”John 18:37-38A man that does not know how to be angry does not know how to be good. Henry Ward BeecherThe Bible doesn't counsel AGAINST your anger, but anticipates your anger and shows us how to GROW in it.Mike WingerThe spectrum of angerThe root of angerThe filter of angerTHE SPECTRUM OF ANGER7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. 8 But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth. Colossians 3:7-8Anger: “anGRRRR”Wrath: anger displayed outwardly; onto someone or somethingMalice: “congealed anger; anger that has been nursed along” (J. Vernon McGee)And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”Genesis 4:4-7Slander (blaspheme): to talk about another in a way that misrepresents who they are.Abusive language: words that cut others down or grieve the Holy SpiritTHE ROOT OF ANGER IS INJUSTICEThe way we release anger reveals who we think is the just judge.“Sinful anger is our expression of playing God.”David Powlison22 I hate them with perfect hatred;    I count them my enemies.

LOVE IN PSALMSWe are created in the image of a God that feels emotionsPSALMS 6:4 — Return, O Lord, and rescue me.  Save me because of your unfailing love.PSALMS 26:3 — For I am always aware of your unfailing love, and I have lived according to your truth.PSALMS 33:22 — Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone. PSALMS 136:1 — Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His steadfast love endures forever.Unfailing love = “hesed” = love, generosity, faithfulness, goodness, enduring commitment Love = the genuine inner readiness and longing to secure the good of others1 JOHN 4:19 — We love because he first loved us.ACTS 13:22 — But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart.'Love for Christ is of 1st importance, 2nd importance, and 3rd importanceCharles Spurgeon — “It shows what weight our Saviour attached to the matter of his (Peter's) love, that he asked him about that, about that only, and about that three times over.”MATTHEW 7:21-23 — “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of Heaven.  Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.  On judgement day many will say to me, ‘Lord!  Lord!  We prophesied in your name and case out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.'  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you.  Get away from me,'”PSALMS 63:1-8 — O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night. Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.(MATT PIC) ??When you realize the greatness of God's love for you, then your relationship with Him becomes a consuming addiction, not a convenient additionSome addictions will kill you; but the presence of God is the addiction that's going to heal you and fulfill youCharles Spurgeon — “He who truly longs for God longs for him now.”PSALMS 27:4 — The one thing I ask of the Lord - the thing I seek most - is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in his Temple.LUKE 14:26 — “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else - your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sister - yes, even your own life.  Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.MATTHEW 10:37 — “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine.When you realize the greatness of God's love for you, then your worship is not just obligation, it is immeasurable delight(SIGN PIC)PSALMS 16:11 — In his presence is the fullness of joyWhen you realize the greatness of God's love for you, you want God more thank you want even His greatest giftsA.J. Stuemky — “The process of prayer will change you in ways that an answered prayer never will.”God gives us gifts and satisfaction; but our satisfaction is ultimately not found in the gifts, but in the GiverWhen you realize the greatness of God's love your, your experience in the wilderness become experiences in worshipPSALMS 88 — ”O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left. They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care. You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape. My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy. Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness? O Lord, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day. O Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me? I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors. Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me. Your terrors have paralyzed me. They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long. They have engulfed me completely. You have taken away my companions and loved ones. Darkness is my closest friend.“(SURVIVOR CLIP)(LILY CLIP)Carrie Ten Boom — “There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still.”Elizabeth Elliot — “This hard place in which you, perhaps, find yourself, is hte very place in which God is giving you the opportunity to look only to Him.”EXODUS 15:27 — After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees.  they camped there beside the water.David Guzik — “Elim was wonderful - a place of provision, with twelve wells and seventy palm trees.  Yet there was no new revelation of God at Elim as there was at Marah, where God revealed Himself as Jehovah-Rapha.”Charles Spurgeon — “Israel had no miracles at Elim.  Wells and palm trees they had; but they had no miracle there…no promise, and no new revelation of God, and no new name of Jehovah there.”

Psalm 27:1-6Apprentice: someone who has decided to follow another person to become capable of doing what that person does, or become who that person is. “We are learning from Jesus to live our lives as He would live our life if He were us. I am not necessarily learning to do everything He did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that He did all He did.” Dallas WillardIt means that instead of working on the text, we let the text work on us. It means reading formational rather than informationally, which is the habit we bring to reports, newspapers, textbooks, and most of the reading we do. It means embracing the text rather than holding it at arm's length. It means being vulnerable to hear how God might address us through the text rather than managing the text to serve our curiosity and need to control. Howard R. MacyA great part of the disaster of contemporary life lies in the fact that it is organized around feelings. People nearly always act on their feelings, and think it only right. The will is then left at the mercy of circumstances that evoke feelings. Christian spiritual formation today must squarely confront this fact and overcome it.Dallas Willard“Psalms teaches us that life with God is not about running from our emotions, and its not about being run by our emotions, but its somewhere in the middle. That perfect balance can only be found in God and with God.”J.A. WilsonIn a world marred by sin, it is important and appropriate to express a range of feelings when we pray. The Psalms are filled with expressions of human emotion, and they teach us how to express our emotion in godly ways.He Reads Truth Study BibleJOY21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money[b] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.Matthew 19:21-22Teleios: brought to its end, finished; wanting nothing necessary to completeness22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.Matthew 19:22What were these [riches] in comparison of peace of conscience, and mental rest? Besides, he had unequivocal proof that these contributed nothing to his comfort, for he is now miserable even while he possesses them! And so will every soul be, who puts worldly goods in the place of the supreme God.Adam ClarkeJoy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian.G.K. ChestertonJoy is the serious business of Heaven.C.S. LewisYou have put more joy in my heart     than they have when their grain and wine abound.Psalm 4:7Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,    exulting in his salvation.Psalm 35:98I keep the Lord always before me;     because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.9Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;     my body also rests secure.10For you do not give me up to Sheol     or let your faithful one see the Pit.11You show me the path of life.     In your presence there is fullness of joy;     in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.Psalm 16:8-11For his anger is but for a moment;    his favor is for a lifetime.Weeping may linger for the night,    but joy comes with the morning…You have turned my mourning into dancing;    you have taken off my sackcloth    and clothed me with joy,so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.Psalm 30:5, 11-12Joy is a feeling in the soul produced by the Holy Spirit as He causes us to see the beauty of Christ in His word and in His work.John PiperJoy of the Lord is a feeling of happiness that we can experience.If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them. They are not a sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone.C.S. LewisIf we see the root of love as being a feeling, then we will stop loving when we don't feel it anymore; in the same way, if we don't see joy as a feeling that is rooted in the person of God, then we won't choose to be with Him.4 One thing have I asked of the Lord,     that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord     all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord     and to inquire in his temple.Psalm 27:48 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.Philippians 3:8The notion that religion is dull, stupid and sleepy is abhorrent to God, for He has created infinite variety and He loves to surprise us. If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are. Shake out of it, and approach Him in one of the countless fresh directions. Every tree, every cloud, every bird, every orchestra, every child, every city, every soap bubble is alive with God to those who know his language.Frank LaubachJOY IS ROOTED IN CHOICE TO BE CONNECTED TO GODGod is infinitely more important than His advice or His gifts; indeed, He, Himself, is the great gift.Frank LaubachBE WITH GOD (Union with Christ)We are always with God, but we don't always live like we are ALWAYS with God.If you say, “What does it mean to get up in the morning and experience union with Christ?” It means you bank totally on him for the living of your life.John PiperMEDITATE ON GODRESPOND TO GODMy friend, God has a longing for you. Do you respond to that? It is awful to live with a person who does not express his love. Marriage is not an arrangement whereby a woman gets a living and a man gets a cook. Marriage is a love relationship; if it is not that, it isn't anything. Our relationship to God should be like that. David's heart responded when God said, “I love you.” David said, “I love you.” When God said, “I want to have fellowship with you,” David said, “...

Psalm 88:1-8 Transition in church should not be common, but it is inevitable. And when transition does happen, we should be sad AND extremely hopeful. SADNESS, JOY, LOVE, ANGER, FEAR, SURPRISEIntroduction to the Psalms and Sadness16 All scripture is inspired by God…2 Timothy 3:16aChristian writers throughout history have insisted that the only way we can come to understand the Psalms is by praying them and by using them in ways that allow them to shape us. This involves a conscious choice that contradicts common habits. It means that instead of working on the text, we let the text work on us. It means reading formationally rather than informationally, which is the habit we bring to reports, newspapers, textbooks, and most of the reading we do. It means embracing the text rather than holding it at arm's length. It means being vulnerable to hear how God might address us through the text rather than managing the text to serve our curiosity and need to control. Howard R. MacyZamar [psalm]: to make music, to touch strings or parts of a musical instrument; to hum or murmur.Undoubtedly they [the psalms] were simple read or chanted without any accompaniment, but indications are that their performance was at times replete with musical instruments, choir, and dance.Life With God Study Bible“The Bible in miniature.”Martin LutherEven my close friend in whom I trusted,    who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.Psalm 41:98 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,    both humans and animals;9 he sent signs and wonders    into your midst, O Egypt,    against Pharaoh and all his servants.Psalm 135:8-91 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;    and by night but find no rest.Psalm 22:1-2The Book of Psalms is fuel for Praise and PrayerPraise and prayer - these two spiritual practices articulate our most fundamental relationship to God. The Psalter expresses, with more immediacy and completeness than any other part of the Bible, how the people of God are formed spiritually.Richard J. Foster The Psalms are not meant to make us smart, they're meant to help us feel.13 After the men who were carrying the Ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14 And David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment.[f] 15 So David and all the people of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the blowing of rams' horns.16 But as the Ark of the Lord entered the City of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked down from her window. When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she was filled with contempt for him.20 When David returned home to bless his own family, Michal, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet him. She said in disgust, “How distinguished the king of Israel looked today, shamelessly exposing himself to the servant girls like any vulgar person might do!”21 David retorted to Michal, “I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me above your father and all his family! He appointed me as the leader of Israel, the people of the Lord, so I celebrate before the Lord. 22 Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes! 2 Samuel 6:13-22Frankly, there is no such thing as purely inward religion. That would defy the reality of our embodied selves and the significance of the body and behavior in our godly formRichard J. FosterThe Book of Psalms is fuel for Praise and Prayer & The Psalms are not meant to make us smart, they're meant to help us feel.YOU CAN BE SAD AND STILL TRUST IN GOD.Sadness, depression, disappointment, dismay, hurt, grief, guilt, loneliness, neglect, regret, remorse, shame, sorrow, and sympathy.He was despised and rejected by men,    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;and as one from whom men hide their faces    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.Isaiah 53:3The Psalms are not a license to be sad all of the time, they are an encouragement to deal with our sadnessAllow the spirit to grow us in how we experience sadness11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 1 Corinthians 13:11 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,Ephesians 2:14-15

Luke 6:12-16Behold, how good and pleasant it is    when brothers dwell in unity![a]2 It is like the precious oil on the head,    running down on the beard,on the beard of Aaron,    running down on the collar of his robes!3 It is like the dew of Hermon,    which falls on the mountains of Zion!For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,    life forevermore.Psalm 133COVENANT FRIENDSHIPERNEST SHACKLETON PHOTO*With his ship helplessly frozen in place, what did Shackleton do?He formed his men into teams, took them out onto the ice, and they played soccer.  In fact, they did it a lot.  But in his book South: The Endurance Expedition that details the trials of his crew, he only mentions it once. “Hockey and soccer on the floe were our chief recreations, and all hands joined in many a strenuous game.” He set a strict daily eating schedule of breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner. During the evening hours, they took turns staging concerts and plays below decks to break up the monotony of the long dark winter nights.Ken DownerPHOTOS*They [Shackleton and crew] were isolated from the outside world, but they were surrounded by deep friendship and community. Many of us today find ourselves surrounded by the outside world, but isolated from deep friendship and community.BOOK REC.WE WERE MADE FOR FRIENDSHIP BECAUSE WE WERE MADE IN THE IMAGE OF FRIENDSHIP.24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.John 17:2415 No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you…John 15:15-16A friend is someone who KNOWNS you and loves you ANYWAY.Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.Ecclesiastes 4:9-12Some Christians try to go to heaven alone, in solitude. But believers are not compared to bears or lions or other animals that wander alone. Those who belong to Christ are sheep in this respect, that they love to get together. Sheep go in flocks, and so do God's people.Charles SpurgeonThen the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”Genesis 2:18Isolation is just as dangerous to the soul as sickness is to the body.Justin Whitmel EarlyWe are the most physically connected and yet spiritually isolated people who have ever walked the planet. Our default perspective should now be to assume that if you're a modern American, you are lonely.Justin Whitmel EarlyCharacteristics of Modern friendshipDigitally known, emotionally unknownTechnology can give us the sensation of being known when, actually, we are completely isolated. When we spend our relational time snacking on technology, we will die from the preventable disease of loneliness. The internet and smartphones are fantastic for connections, communication, and knowledge. But connections are not friends, communication is not intimacy, and knowledge is not wisdom. Use a social network for intimacy and you will invite great harm. Use a chatroom for wisdom and you are guaranteed foolishness. Use connections for friendship and you are destined for loneliness. Justin Whitmel EarlyConnected by similar interests, not by similar visionNo matter how much time you spend with someone, or how many common activities you share, if vulnerability and honesty are not practiced regularly such that you turn from loving your shared hobbies to loving each other, then you are not in a friendship but a companionship.Justin Whitmel EarlyBuilt on comfort together, not built on adversityWounds from a friend can be trusted,    but an enemy multiplies kisses.Proverbs 27:6 As iron sharpens iron,    so one person sharpens another.Proverbs 27:17Jesus modeled COVENANT FRIENDSHIPCovenant friendships are decided by the Father12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. Luke 6:12These were the men who would carry on what He had done, and without them the work of Jesus would never extend to the whole world. No wonder Jesus gave this critical choice an entire night of prayer.David GuzikThe righteous choose their friends carefully,    but the way of the wicked leads them astray.Proverbs 12:2633 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”1 Corinthians 15:33Covenant friendships are built on similar vision, NOT similar interestsThere are many interesting connections with this group. There are brothers (James and John, Peter and Andrew); business associates (Peter, James, and John were all fishermen); opposing political viewpoints (Matthew the Roman-friendly tax collector, and Simon, the Roman-hating Zealot); and one who would betray Jesus (Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor).David GuzikCovenant friendships see allA spirituality that suppresses what we truly feel and substitutes for it what we think we ought to feel is no spirituality at all. It is a mask that bears no resemblance to Christ.Richard J. FosterCovenant friendships last as long as forgiveness is given