Re-Solved

“Why did Jesus perform miracles?” John 6:1-13 We need God to push us into new parameters. See the multitude and the impact they had on Jesus Jesus was moved with compassion   Jesus knew the cost of being lost Jesus knew the multitude were people that were hurting Jesus knew there were skeptics in the crowd   See the meaning of this miracle This miracle was expanded not transformed   A transformation miracle is one that changes something from one thing to another (i.e. water to wine, blind man to sighted man, etc) An expanded miracle makes more of what you give   See the message of the miracle. The boy told his mom all about what he saw that day   He saw THE man who asked him for his lunch and He expanded his lunch to feed the multitude When you put it in the hands of Jesus, He’ll always give you more You can’t out give God   I Chronicles 4:10   Ask God and He will expand our lives.  

“Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”  Proverbs 22:28 Things have changed from the past…good things and bad.  We need bold preaching, not watered down messages. Preachers need to be bold and crying out about sin.   We need dedicated Christians…who aren’t afraid to get their toes stepped on.   3 Areas in which we need bold preaching: Sin Man calls it an accident, God calls it an abomination As Christians, we need to preach and pray as Jesus being the Savior of our lives. Hell Jesus Christ talked twice as much about Hell than he did about Heaven because He didn’t want us to go there. The plan of Salvation contains some very bad news at the beginning…about Hell.  Goodness does not get us to Heaven. Sacrifice Jesus majored on Sacrifice.  When the disciples came to Jesus and said they would follow Him everywhere, He told them He was calling them for sacrifice. Serving requires sacrifice. Christians need to get seriously sold out for their church.  Christians need to serve the Lord. You’ve got the power of God on your side!  

Psalms 32 Psalms 51There is a certain consoling in getting things out into the light. Confession relieves the weight of guilt. It generally results in insecurities and self-hatred. It requires a lot of emotional energy. Confessing negates the need for expenditure of energy. Psalms 51:1-13 1 (To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be 4 justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Confessing is not going to the pastor. There are times that this happens but we are to go to God with our confessions. If you have offended someone, you do need to go to them, confess and ask for forgiveness.There is one mediator between us and God and that is Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 3:16Sin is our problem. We are sinners…every one of us. The Bible says to preach the whole word of God. Our sin is the result of selfish and rebellious choices. James says “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and do it not, to him it is sin”. Sin violates God’s righteous standard. Psalms 32:1  (A Psalm of David, Maschil.) Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. God is righteous. There is only one person who walked on this earth who was sinless and that was Jesus Christ. Sin stems from our old nature which is perverse.Romans 3:10 states that there is none righteous, no not one. Psalms 32:2  Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.Iniquity implies twistedness or perversity. There is something devious or crooked about sin. Imputeth means to credit to or lay upon. God does not lay upon iniquity.Sin violates God’s righteous standard. Guile refers to treachery or deceit. Hebrews 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Sin will mess us up. It is deceitful. Many people are deceived by sin and it will destroy you. Ephesus was an example of this. Ephesus was once a booming metropolis. Silt was the reason for its downfall. Little particles of silt slowly filled up the harbor from the sea traders. Little acts of disobediences act the same way. They may seem harmless but let them accumulate and it will destroy us.In Hebrews, James says the attractive pleasures of sin are really a mask covering death. The little sins go to a bigger sin and another sin and another sin.We tolerate sin in our lives. It starts out slow but leads to heartache. When we sin, something has to die. In Psalms 32:1b, “whose sin is covered”This goes back to Deuteronomy 23 when God told the Israelites that all their refuge needs to be buried. God used our human waste to symbolize our sin to symbolize the filthiness of our sins. We can’t bury our spiritual refuge out of God’s sight. It must be taken away and only the blood of Christ can do that. His blood cleanses all our sin.Blessed means happy. Note twice that the man who gets right with God is to be blessed. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness.What a happy state to be a sinner forgiven!Once someone realizes that their sins can be forgiven, it is as far as the east is from the west, buried in the sea of forgetfulness to be remembered no more. We like to play games with God to justify sin but we aren’t happy nor blessed. However, God will bless your life and mold you if you allow Him. If you have unconfessed sin in your life, confess them to God and be forgiven. 

We have a hard time waiting because we have an instant gratification society.We have a hard time especially in our spiritual life waiting on prayer. Even some people in the Bible didn’t like to wait. Habakkuk had been praying for a long time for there to be a revival in Israel. Habakkuk 1:2 - O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!He waited and waited so long. God answered the prophet’s prayer but not in the way that he wanted. Has God ever answered your prayer in a way that you might not want? His first answer from God was a long time coming so he digs in for another long haul. He questions God on how long he will have to pray. This is a good example for us.  Habakkuk 2:1 - I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. Habakkuk had 2 questions:Why does God often seem indifferent in the face of evil?Why do evil people seem to go unpunished?3 Elements of waiting on prayer:Commitment to perseveranceCommitment to watchCommitment to actThere were no instruments to detect advancement of the enemy. They had men standing on the wall watching and listening for enemies to advance no matter the elements around them.Habakkuk was prepared and determined to stand ready and wait with spiritual eyes and ears open to listen to experience prayer with God.A commentary written about Habakkuk says the watch tower is the consecrated openness of the prophet for a divine word. The application for us is our relationship to prayer. We feel that we should not have to wait on God to answer prayer. God answers our prayers in one of three ways:yes, no, and wait. The answer may be delayed. It may include spiritual warfare. (David) Prayer involves divine purpose. (Abraham and Sarah) We need to learn to wait upon the Lord and it is a hard things to do. Our prayer may be delayed also because of our daily walk with God. We need to go about our daily routine knowing that God is working. We need to stay in the right fellowship with our Lord. Habakkuk said that he couldn’t see it happening but he trusted that it was.We need to trust God whatever comes. The prophet made a commitment to look for his answer (staying alert). He was open to whatever God had to say and not what he necessarily wanted to hear. Are we willing to hear what God says even if it’s not what we wanted? We have to be willing to listen to what God answers.Habakkuk is a prophet of God and he has not been thrilled by the answers of his prayers. The application for us is that we be willing to act on His answers. We have to say that we are going to do what God wants us to do. 

Hebrews 13:15 - By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.I Chronicles 16:29 - Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.   * Reminder: Last week we discussed the model prayer…When Jesus started out his model prayer, he addressed God.   * We need to spend time praising God instead of going to Him with a laundry list of wants.   * Jesus said to pray in like manner when He gave The Lord’s Prayer.Psalms 50:23 - Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will i whew the salvation of God.   * What do I have that God would want? One thing that we can give Him is our praise.        * If we don’t give Him praise, we can begin to feel that we don’t need Him and are greater than God.      * That is what happened to Satan when he was in Heaven. He thought that he was greater than God and that he wanted praise. God cast him out of Heaven.      * We should praise God in all aspects of our lives, at all times. Do people see you praising God continually or someone who is stuck on yourself?   * We were created to praise God. What are you sacrificing for the cause of Christ? An hour in prayer? 30 minutes? 15 minutes?   * The oldest and most perfect communication is prayer.       * Do you really understand spiritual sacrifice?       * It is truly giving an offering to God of our time and efforts in a way that is pleasing to Him.   * Compare Noah to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness.    * Noah was obedient, humble and reverent to God while the Israelites complained and were upset with Moses and God.   * Praise can take on many forms but they have to be based on spiritual truths and principles and presented with humility.   * Many times people get so far away from the Lord.       * The Lord will never leave us nor forsake us.    * Once you trust Christ as your Savior, He becomes your Heavenly Father and that never changes.       * However, the fellowship can be broken.       * It is our job to restore that fellowship with God when it is broken.   * We need to think about that…Are we really praising the Lord or are we running our lives and doing it our way?      * If you are a child of God, you need to get back to praising Him.       * If we have broken the fellowship, we need to say we are sorry and get that sweet fellowship back.Psalms 9:1 - I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvelous works.   * Praise is expressing to God our thanks and appreciation for his divine nature.    * When we praise God, we help ourselves.    * It is putting into your mind and heart that right relationship that you have.   * We live our lives so concerned to please others that we compromise our convictions and morals.    * We need to be more concerned to please God and not others.    * We should not permit our feelings to be hurt or it can be a form of egotism.       * Sometimes we hear things said that are criticism and we need to hear those things.   * We need to be more concerned with is our life is more pleasing to God than more pleasing to others. 

Mathew 6:5-135 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.8 Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask Him.9 In this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.10 Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.11 Give us this day our daily bread.12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory for ever. Amen. God is always willing to hear your most inner thoughts and burdens.Prayer is the divine communion with our heavenly father.Prayer should be marked by sincerity and simplicity.We need to address to whom we are talking.We are praying to God so, we pray to God.How are you making God’s name holy whenever others are around?In terrifying circumstances, are you looking for a way out or are you showing people a way out?Do your peers see Jesus living in you?Before we ask God for something we need to give him some adoration.Talk to God sometimes, don’t just use Him as a credit card.Our prayers and requests need to come from our heart.Godly contentment is to have food in our belly and clothes on our back.God forgives our sins by Christ’s salvation not by our forgiveness of others.If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us from them.We should ask God every day to deliver us from evil and temptations.Prayer is the vision of the beliver

One word to describe God…..Our God is OUR solid rock. We are the wishy-washy ones.The song Rock of Ages was written in the 1700s. The man who wrote it was stranded in a storm and stood under a cliff. When he returned to the office, he penned the song remembering how he felt.Psalms 18 2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. God our Father gives us salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ.Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.He is our fortress…our rock…our firm foundation. It is an inaccessible place where Satan cannot get in.Job was attacked by the devil but only with God’s permission. God gave specific instructions to not kill Job.Psalms 62:1-81 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.Only one faith, only one God, only one way to HeavenMany people believe that you can get to Heaven on works. The only way to Heaven is salvation through His Son, Jesus.3 How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.4 They only consult to cast him down from his excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.Our hope in God helps us with our hurt. Hope is faith looking forward.Jesus is our resting place. David wrote that if he had wings like a dove would I fly away and be at rest.The Hebrew meaning of the word expectation means connected. Psalms 62:5 reads “for my expectation is from him” meaning I am connected to him.When the Levi priests were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, they called on Moses and Elisha to help them cross the water. However, God told them to step into the water by faith and the water parted. That’s faith.We need to look forward. The hope is ahead of us and we are connected to Almighty God through Jesus Christ.God is trustworthy, at all times.“God is a refuge for us”…He is our resort…our rest.It’s not what we can do but what You (God) can do through us, through others around us. It’s all about God…not us. We don’t need to look inward but upward. Cry out to God for help.God uses the foolish things to confound the wise.When we invited Christ into our lives, we were connected to the Almighty God.  He reached down from Heaven, pulled us out of the miry clay and placed us on the solid rock of Christ our Savior.Our disobedience and sin separates us from the Almighty God.

Looking to Jesus for encouragement 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. When trouble arises it is easy to get discouraged.Discouragement is dissatisfaction of the past, distaste for the present, and distrust of the future.Discouragement is a result of spiritual blindness.Discouragement is indifference to the opportunities of today.Its unbelief in the promise of God’s word, its unawareness of the presence of God.If you want to keep your discourages to a minimum, stay focused on Jesus Christ.All comfort comes from God.Comfort is received from God by faith.God uses his people to comfort you.Afflictions occur in the heart.When nobody suffers, nobody cares.Sometimes God doesn’t comfort us because he wants to turn us into comforters

Genesis 22:2, 13, 18, 15-17 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. 15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, 16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; Have you recognized that your child is a precious gift from God?We need to bring our children up in the right kind of environment and teach them about how God loves us.It is up to you to introduce them to God and his ways.We need to release ownership of our kids and leave it up to God to lead them in the way he designed.God has left it up to you to show them God’s way.God gave us this story so he could show a foreshadowing of Him giving His son away for slaughter.God wanted Abraham to show his faithfulness.God provides a ram which symbolizes that God always has a way out.You must have a relationship with God and teach your child to do the same.Because Abraham gave Isaac to God, he was blessed and he got new opportunities.When we fail to give our children to God we might be forfeiting God’s best plan and will for our child’s life.Many parents make the mistake of guiding their children away from the will of God. There are four elements of giving your child to God. 1. Giving your child to God is a conformation for your love for God.When you give your child to God it is saying you love God even more than you love your child.Your child is you most prized possession but don’t allow them to take the place of God.      2. Giving your child to God is a commitment that you will raise them God’s way.Giving your child to God is a commitment and we live in a commitment less world. 3. To give your child to God you have to have a good relationship with God.Make sure you are right with God. 4. Giving your child to God is a claiming of God’s promises.Your child will be blessed by you obedience and cursed by your disobedience.

Romans 3:10 10 As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one; 87% of Americans believe that man is “basically good”.We have been a nation trying to hide the fact that we sin.Is man really basically good?All the great saints have acknowledged their sinfulness.The Bible on several accounts has called man sinners.Scriptures, Christ, and History say that man is not basically good.If man is basically good, why do we hear about all of these tragedies?Jesus died for us because he knows that we are sinners.We need to understand that we are not basically good. We are sinners in need of a savior.

John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:1-3 1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. The verse was spoken to Nicodemus.Nicodemus was a religious man, he was a member of the Sanhedrin, he had all first five books of the Bible committed to memory.Jesus and John the Baptist both cried out against the Pharisees because they were hypocritical.Nicodemus came to Jesus at night most likely because he didn’t want the other Pharisees to see him. What if John 3:16 were not true?The verse starts out “For God so loved the world”. Without God’s love we would have no hope.The world would be in hopelessness and despair if God hadn’t loved the world and chose to send his only son to die for us.The next part of that verse goes on to say that he “gave his only begotten son”.What is instead of sending his son, he gave us what we deserve and sent us to hell.If God hadn’t sent his son then we wouldn’t have been able to know and experience God’s love.God’s love would be empty without the Cross of Calvary.Real love always demands giving.When the verse says “whosoever” it includes everyone, not just the wealthy or the fit or any of that. Three common scenarios      1: People trying to get to heaven through good works.           • Good works are admirable but it’s not salvation.      2: People trying to get to heaven through ceremonious things or classes.           • Baptism has nothing to do with our salvation.      3: A dying thief on one of the three Crosses of Calvary.           • On the cross in the middle is Jesus Christ, who knew no sin.           • At first both thieves made fun of Jesus but after a while one of the Thieves asked for forgiveness.           • Both thieves died but one went to hell while the other went to heaven.

1 Samuel 21:10-15  10 And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. 11 And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 12 And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. 13 And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. 14 Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? 15 Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?Samuel  22:1 1  David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him.• Courage is applying the resources I have in creative ways when faced when overwhelming odds. • David had four options: • They could stay where they were and be killed at the hand of a jealous king. - That meant certain death. • They could go to a friendly nation. • Go into the wilderness and hide in caves.  - That would cause war again though which wasn’t a good option. • Risking death.  - Going to Gath and trying to gain them as allies.• David was feeling overwhelmed. Saul had tried to kill him 4 times.• Have you ever made a mistake and seen God used that mistake for your good?• David realized that he was going to be killed so he pretended to be a mad man to escape death from the king.• David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.• It takes courage to step out in faith with God.• God will help you overcome any odds against you.• Are you afraid of the “what ifs”? • The best thing to do when you are faced with the “what ifs” is to let go.• All things work together for good for those who love God.

Matthew 5: 13-17 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.There are three events that changed America. 1. No more prayer in schools. - Engel and Abington case that shaped the modern nation. 2. Abortion - How would God, the giver of life, be OK with us killing unborn children? 3. Redefinition of marriage.  - Gays and lesbians can now get married. • We need to be salt to all of these lost people.• Salt does no good unless its on the meat. - The Bible says that we need to be in this world not of it.•  Salt is a great preserver.  - We are here to slow the decay of America.• Salt is also valuable. - We are valuable to God.When we are too much like the world we are of little value like meat with no seasoning.• Salt promotes thirst. - We should be promoting the thirst for Jesus Christ.Just letting people see a difference isn’t enough, we need to tell them.Light attracts, we need to be attracting people to Jesus.• All roads don’t lead to heaven. - Only Christ leads to heaven. - All others lead to hell. - Which road are you on?

James 1:2121 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.Matthew 7:2121 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a  foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.Psalms 139:23,2423 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.James is worried that the church is just going to be for show and not try to do anything for God. Believers can be guilty of wearing, talking, and even singing the word but not doing it. How do we activate ourselves to become part of the church? Remove the impurities in your life.Lay aside any overflow of wickedness.Receive the word of God.Our hearts should be as ready for God’s word as a baby is for its mother’s milk.We should have a positive attitude towards the bible.God wants to be in control of your life, and help you get rid of you sins.When we are accepting of the word then it is easier for God to graft it into our hearts.We need to recognize what God’s intention is for our life.There are three tenses of salvation in the Bible.Justification- believers have been saved from the penalty of sin.Sanctification- believers have been saved from the power of sinGlorification- believers will be saved from  the presence of sinGod’s word is the agent for saving us from sin in our daily lifeWe need to apply God’s word to our heart to be a true active Christian. We need to refuse to be auditors of God’s word. Which means we don’t need to be hearers only.We need to be participants of the truth.The Bible is a book of doing.Can people see Christ living in you?