Podcasts about throughout scripture god

Throughout Scripture God only gives two choices for how to live our lives — as He said in Deuteronomy 30, we can choose life or we can choose death. In this new command, we will see that Christ gives the same two choices: we can either choose the narrow way (i.e., life) or we can choose the broad way (i.e., death). This choice doesn't just apply to salvation. A huge part of learning to walk in the narrow way is learning to “choose life” by choosing to put our relationship with the Lord first and to turn from anything that hinders our relationship with Him.The choice to walk in the narrow way isn't just a one-time choice, but one we must make daily to have our actions and even our thoughts be in agreement with God. Whether you are going strong in your walk with the Lord or needing some encouragement, this study on the command Choose the Narrow Way will encourage you to choose and keep choosing deeper fellowship with Christ over anything else! Want to go deeper in studying this command of Christ? Download a free study guide at www.homediscipleship.comStudy guide includes: Scriptures referenced in podcastReview of Old Testament contextGuide for Scripture meditationQuestions for application and prayerFor more information, visit us at www.homediscipleship.comFind us on Facebook and Instagram @homediscipleshiphttps://www.facebook.com/homediscipleshipnetworkhttps://www.instagram.com/homediscipleshipnetwork

Throughout Scripture God is continually revealing who He is and who He has made us to be. In this passage, Jesus summarizes all the laws of God to two commands, revealing both what God requires and how we can live into His purpose for us.

Throughout Scripture God is continually revealing who He is and who He has made us to be. In this passage, Jesus summarizes all the laws of God to two commands, revealing both what God requires and how we can live into His purpose for us. What does God Require? What does Love look like? How do we Love like this?

“O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.” (Psalm 98:1) Throughout Scripture God accomplished glorious t... More...

Throughout Scripture God's reveals His plan to His people, not for approval or input, but graciously invites them in to participate in what God is doing. In Genesis 18, the Lord invited Abraham in, and Abraham drew near to God and boldly interceded. Abraham could be bold, because He knew God and appealed to the character of God. When we pray, we can boldly intercede, because the Lord has invited us in to participate in what He is doing as we appeal to His character.

Summary | When I am Weak, Then I am Strong | 2 Corinthians 12:1-10Paradise -The dream of heaven v 1-4Paul Boasts of his Weakness v 5-6 Pray v 8-9Thorn in the flesh to keep humble – Have no idea what that was. Migraine headaches, eye trouble, malaria, epilepsy have all be seriously suggestedA messenger of Satan to buffer me – to keep me from exalting myself! Need to be careful that we do not blame everything on SatanBad things can be brought by God for our goodPaul came to see this thorn as God’s way of keeping him humble and dependent on the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. This passage makes several sharp points of application:Suffering can be used by God to make us more humbleGod does not always answer our prayers the way we wishGod never causes us to go through painful circumstances without giving us the grace to overcome them.Prayed three timesAnswered prayerMy Grace is sufficient for youGod wanted Paul to find comfort and security in the grace he had received in Christ – the same thing god desires for all believers.God’s denial of Paul’s request turned out to be to Paul’s greater good because it was to God’s greater gloryPower is made perfect in weakness. Throughout Scripture God delights in displaying His power in situations where human strength is weak. When God’s people are weak, then God’s strength becomes evident.Power v 10Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecutions, difficultiesThese were causes for joy because in these times of weakness, Paul was strong in the power of God Therefore I am well content with … for Christ’s sakeWhen I am weak, then I am strongPaul may have been dead or barely alive – weak – It was then that he saw vision of heaven – strong. Paul had thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan – weak – that he learned My Grace is sufficient, that power is perfected in weakness. Paul was well content with weaknesses, insults, distresses, persecution, difficulties, for Christ sake – power.I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strengthThe 12 were nobodies, weak, but became Apostles upon whom church is builtJohn the Baptist put idea of when I am weak then I am strong like this “He must increase but I must decrease.” I am overwhelmed. There is nothing too hard for GodIn your life, day by day, moment by moment; remember When I am weak then I am strong But the flip side is also true. He that thinks he stands take head lest he fall. Pride goes before a fall and a haughty attitude before destruction. The way up is down, and the way down is up. Depend upon Christ, lean on the omnipotent, omniscient God and you will learn and live When I am weak then I am strong

Jesus, the Forerunner of the New Humanity Luke 2:39-52 Exegetical Main Point: Jesus matured and grew in his identity as Son of God and as son of man, but his identity as a Son of God outweighed all other identities. Jesus was paving the way for all who would follow him as the forerunner of the new humanity. Main Point of the Sermon: Jesus grew and matured so that his followers could grow and mature. Sticky: Jesus is the forerunner of the new humanity. ME: One of the greatest hindrances to my spiritual growth in recent years is the pride of spiritual comparison. Instead of looking to Christ’s righteousness as my standard, I find myself looking at the world or others walk with Jesus to determine my level of spiritual maturity. Or I look to my fruitfulness in my work, my marriage, my prayer life, my bible reading, among other things to determine where I am with the Lord. I think, “Oh, I have what they have.” “I’m doing more than them in this area of life.” The problem with this thinking is that the Bible has clearly stated that all of us have fallen short of God’s standard for humans. No one’s got this thing perfectly right. So, when I look at anyone else to determine my spiritual maturity I get a faulty picture that leaves me stagnant in my faith. Can any of you relate to this? Sadly, this is the same kind of thinking that keeps the world lost in sin. “Those Christians are no better than I am.” Maybe they’re right! Maybe you’re right! Maybe you are further along than the average man, but what good is that to you and me if God’s standard is completely different than ours? WE: Many Christians, including some of us, still look like infants in our faith even after years.Rather than living as the powerful forces for the Kingdom that we were made to be, many of us are still nursing on the basics. What is it that keeps us from maturing in Christ the way that we ought to? Among many things, it is a misunderstanding of our identity. We have forgotten who we are fundamentally, who made us, and what we were made to be. We spent a lot of time in this Christmas season looking at Jesus’s birth, and today’s passage gives a glimpse of Jesus’s life as he grew and matured. Today’s passage is fitting because it shows us how to reset our hearts so that we can begin to grow like Jesus grew. You see, Jesus had a different standard. His standard was not the world or others, but rather his Father’s perfection. He strove to look like him. I do have good news for you today: Jesus grew and matured in his identity as God’s Son so that his followers could grow and mature in him.Jesus is the forerunner of the new humanity. Here’s where we’re going today: Jesus is the Forerunner Of the New Humanity The Church is the New Humanity God: Jesus is the Forerunnerof the New Humanity: Let’s read starting in verse 39: 39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. Verse 39 tells us that Joseph and Mary “performed everything according to the Law of the Lord”. These details that Luke shares of these early years of Jesus’s life are no throw away. He wants to show us that Jesus’s life fulfilled the Law of God perfectly. There’s very little written about Jesus’s childhood. In fact, Luke’s Gospel offers the fullest picture of Jesus’s birth and childhood. And it is a topic not discussed often. Jesus’s three year ministry, including his death and resurrection usually take precedence, and it makes sense. The cross and resurrection are the pinnacle of Christ’s work on earth. But the importance of the righteous life of Jesus lived in his first thirty years cannot be overstated. It is his perfect life – his spotlessness – that made his death and resurrection so important for humanity.Not only does his death appease God’s wrath for our sin, Jesus’s perfect life is actually counted to everyone who has faith in him, so that God no longer looks at our record of sin, but looks at all of our lives as spotless like Christ’s. Romans 8, which we are memorizing this month captures this point: “By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us…”Jesus fulfilled the Law so that the Law might be fulfilled in us so that we could live in the power of the Spirit and no longer under the power of the Law and our flesh. Verse 40 tells us that “the child grew and became strong.” We spent a good deal of time this Christmas marveling at the absurd humility of our God who was born outside of his home town in horrible conditions, but we must marvel a little more! The maker of the universe submitted himself to the natural growth process of humanity. He nursed at his mother’s breast, he crawled in the mud, he babbled his first words, teethed, lost his first tooth, he learned to talk, learned to walk, falling and scraping his knees. He potty-trained; he went to school – whatever that looked like; he learned Hebrew so that he could study the Scriptures, as well as Greek and Aramaic the common languages. He had growing pains; finger pains – you know, when he was learning to swing a hammer; he experienced puberty and all the fun that brings, and worked till he was exhausted with his father, who was a carpenter. Jesus was a human. He didn’t have a halo glowing around his head or an odd symbol permanently made with his right hand like you see in paintings. Though he was the divine Son of God, he was a kid, growing strong and wise… for us. What a humble God! Luke tells us that Jesus was like every other boy, but two things set him apart. He was “filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.” Notice verse 52, which says something very similar: 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.When you see repeated statements in the Bible it’s important that you listen and look carefully at what the author is communicating. Luke has something that he wants us to see about Jesus. So, let’s look a little deeper at these words “wisdom”and“favor”that defined Jesus’s life. Wisdomis most commonly defined in the book of Proverbs, which was written in large part by King Solomon, the one who sought the Lord specifically for wisdom during his reign. There, wisdom is depicted in a series of sayings that capture what it looks like to live skillfully and reverently. It so practical, but goes beyond worldly practical wisdom. Proverbs 1 describes wisdom as beginning with fear of the Lord. We’ve discussed this more in depth in other sermons, but in essence, a fear of God is a reverence and submission to him in all things. This, the Scriptures teach, is the foundation of all other wise living. Get this wrong and you will get everything wrong. You could be the most knowledgeable, experienced, and tried in good decision making, but the Scriptures teach us that if you don’t fear God you’ve missed true wisdom. Luke tells that Jesus got this right. How? Because God’s favorwas on him. Being born of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was not born of Adam’s seed. He did not have a sin nature, so there was no limits to God’s presence in his life. The Spirit of God was with Jesus in a unique way. Now, as we press into our text a little further we see an example of Jesus’s wisdom in action. We are told that when his parents left Jerusalem with the rest of the masses, Jesus stayed behind to be with his Father. His parents didn’t realize that he was not with their traveling party for several days. They were frantic. Can you imagine how Mary and Joseph must have felt when they realized Jesus wasn’t with them? “WE LOST GOD” Now, for the teenagers in this room, I’m not encouraging you to freak your parents out by staying at church secretly when they head home… but I am encouraging you and everyone here to learn from Jesus who is the forerunner of the new humanity. Let me explain. A forerunner is a trail blazer. They go ahead of the rest to show the way forward. Do you guys know who Bear Grills is? Man vs. wild? He gets dropped in the most extreme situations for weeks at a time with little to nothing and shows people how to survive on natural surroundings. Bear is a forerunner. Without a wise forerunner, everybody’s dying from eating the strange mushroom or making the wrong move. Jesus is the forerunner of the New Humanity: Jesus was born to the sin-scarred world under the curse in order to pave the way for a new people, a people with new hearts who would again reflect the image of God to the world like we were originally created to do. When sin entered the world through Adam, our proper identity as humans was marred. We no longer perfectly reflected our Creator but began to reflect the rebel, Satan, the chief of the fallen angels. But in his life, through his death and resurrection, Jesus came to restore our true humanity. Jesus said, “Come follow me.” He is simply inviting us to follow him as he goes ahead of us. Satan has been lying from the beginning telling humanity that freedom from God is to truly live, to be truly human, but Christ came to remake us and to show us the true path of wisdom. Jesus is the second Adam. He is the firstborn, the forerunner of a new humanity who would live in their true identity as God’s children. So what was so different about Jesus? Today’s text from Jesus’s childhood provides at least four lessons of wisdom that every human should learn from. Lesson 1:Jesus sought God’s face in community.Luke tells us in 46 that they “found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.” Even Jesus submitted to human teachers. The one who IS the Word made flesh (Jn 1:14), who GAVE the Word, learned the Word from fallible and sinful men. Listen to Proverbs 2, which exhorts the young and foolish in how to grow in wisdom: 2 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, 2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God…. 10 for wisdom will come into your heart… Jesus lived this Proverb perfectly. Throughout Scripture God gave his Spirit to prophets, priests, and kings who instructed the people in God’s Law, and he continues to give his Spirit to the church so that we can be instructed in the full counsel of God, that we might know him and know who we are as humans. If you want to be all that you were created to be as a human being, if you want to look like Jesus, listen to the wise and mature, those who know and treasure God’s Word and walk by the Spirit. Lesson 2:Jesus sought God’s face personally. Verse 47 tells us that “all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. At the age of 12 the eldest teachers of the law were amazed at Jesus’s understanding. Similarly, during Jesus’s ministry people marveled at the authority with which Jesus spoke when he taught the Word. Where did this wisdom come from? From a personal relationship with His Father. Jesus knew God as Father and communed with him at all times. He told his befuddled parents, “didn’t you know I mustbe in my Father’s house? Not just wanted to be, but needed to be with his Father. You see, mankind was made to be in relationship with God in an intimate way, like a child with his Father. Jesus understood this not only as the divine son of God, but as the truest image of God as a man. Jesus as fully human did not have some special cheat code that he didn’t need to spend time with God like we do. No, he sought intimacy with his Father by the Spirit just like we do! If you want to be all that you were created to be as a human being, if you want to look like Jesus, know God personally as your heavenly Father. Lesson 3:Jesus’s identity as Son of God trumped every other human identity. Verse 48 tells us that Jesus’s parents were greatly distressed and didn’t understand why Jesus would treat them so. This was their child, so it makes sense for them to ask this question. But hear Jesus’s response: 49“Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” It should not be overlooked that these words are the first recorded words of Jesus. It was more necessary, Jesus says, to be with his Father in his house, than to be in his earthly father’s house. As a 12 year old, Jesus understood that his identity as God’s Son trumped his familial identity as Joseph and Mary’s son. If you want to be all that you were created to be as a human being, if you want to look like Jesus, you must know that your identity as God’s child must trump every other human identity. If you have faith in Christ, you have been united to him in such a way that Paul can say to the church, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. What Paul is not saying is that these things are no longer true of you – if you are a woman you are still a woman, if you are Hispanic you are still Hispanic. But what he is saying is that being united to Christ through faith makes you sons of God, and that that identity takes precedence over all others. This identity is an eternal, while many of your earthly identities are not. Some of you might ask, “But isn’t Jesus special? Isn’t his relationship to his Father different than ours? He can say these kinds of things because he is the divine Son of God who dwelled with his Father from eternity past as the second member of the trinity.” You’re right! Jesus had a unique identity as the Son of God and understood that reality even from his youth. But what we must not miss is this important reality that I have been talking about throughout this sermon of Jesus’s full humanity. The Scriptures and the Church has taught and affirmed throughout history that Christ is fully divine and yet also fully man. He had two natures that were supernaturally united. But remember why Christ came. Christ was sent into the world by his Father to fulfill the loving plan of salvation set forth before time. He came as the forerunner of the new humanity and the new creation. Colossians 1 teaches us this truth speaking of Jesus, the God man:15 He is the image of the invisible God, thefirstbornof all creation…17 And he is beforeall things, and in him all things hold together.18 And he is the headof the body, the church. He is the beginning, thefirstbornfrom the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent [first]. Paul tells us that all of this is true about Christ because God intends for him to be first. Jesus came as the forerunner so that all who follow him will find what it means to live, to be human, to be an image bearer of God. In this short statement by the teenage Jesus we get a secret glimpse of his true identity and what we can assume of what the rest of his life looked like up until his ministry. But after these words, it was back to normal. We are told in verse 51 that “he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.” 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. Obedience to God meant obedience to Jesus’s parents. Honoring God meant honoring them. Luke’s birth narrative ends with Jesus growing and maturing in manhood. This word “increased” in verse 52 is “προκόπτω” in Greek, meaning ‘to progress, advance’. I was helped by one commentator who points out that this word has lost its original sense ‘to make one’s way forward by chopping away obstacles’.[1]In his life of increasing wisdom and favor with God and man, Jesus was trailblazing for the new humanity. Hebrews 5 pulls back the curtain a little more on this reality: 7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus 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… He was going before us as our forerunner, suffering the world’s temptations, and yet perfectly modeling for us the paradox of living in two kingdoms with multiple identities in this world in between Christ’s first and second coming. He was showing the way. You may be shocked by these words “being made perfect” like I was when I first read them, but understand that this is not making a statement about a lack in Christ’s divinity, or even his sinlessness, but rather makes a statement about his becoming the mature image bearer of God that God intended for Adam and Eve and every man who came after them. Christ overcame and matured in this life so that we might overcome. This leads to my last point. The Church is the New Humanity You may wonder why am I going to such great lengths to talk about this complex concept of Jesus as our forerunner. What I am trying to set up for you today is this reality that Christ came before us, growing and maturing the way that he did so that you and I could be set free from slavery to sin and be empowered to mature and grow like him. Christ was made perfect so that he could save those who follow him, creating a beautiful new creation with a new humanity who are not ruled by the flesh, the world, and the devil but by God’s Spirit as his children. This new humanity is the Church. The New Testament expounds on Jesus’s life and ministry in order to train the church in our interactions with human government, employment, public life, marriage, family, etc. He trains us in wise and reverent living in every sphere of life. But again we are presented with the problem I presented at the beginning: many of us our not maturing. We are stuck. Our growth is stunted. And this is not a new problem in the history of the church. The author of Hebrews wrote to members of the early church, saying: 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:12-14). I admitted to you that this is true of me also. I’m afraid that many of us here could be condemned with similar words. We need milk rather than solid food because we lack maturity, though we ought to be so much further along in the fight against sin, our spiritual discernment, and in our handling of the Word. Rather than lettingyour identity as a child of Godinform all other earthly identitiessome of us are trying to fit God into our self-made identity. Rather than listening to Godly teachers and voices, many of us have given our ear and have been influenced by the world’s philosophy on dating, sex, money, food, and work. Rather than loving God’s presence in prayer, meditating on His Word and putting it to memory, we are distracted by the American dream, by comfort, and games. Rather than seeing ourselves as blessed for being disillusioned by the world’s success and persecuted for our kingdom values, many of us despise meekness and humility, and fear the world’s critique, running from persecution. By looking to things other than Christ to establish our standard for the Christian life, we have set our expectations far too low and even assume that we will live in constant failure. Let me ask you, Christian, to which world do you belong? Who defines who you are? Let me remind you who you are, church. You are adopted children of God in Christ. Jesus taught us to call God our father, to see him as our brother. This reality should shape the way you live in every way. Jesus knew who he was and thus lived out that identity. SO HOW DO WE GROW LIKE JESUS GREW? 1. You grow by following him. If you are not yet following Jesus, I want to urge you to escape the path of death by coming and finding life in Jesus. Jesus came to recreate humanity because of the fundamental problem of sin in the world leading to our death. Unless you turn from the path of sin and put your faith in him, you will die in your sin apart from God, and that is not what he wants for you, or what we want for you. He went to the cross as a perfect man in our place so that all who believe would have the same relationship he has with his Father. We love you, so we speak this truth in love. Come and find your true identity in God today. Come and talk to me if you have any questions about this. 2. If you are in Christ today, he has caused his Spirit to dwell in you. So you must be led by the Spirit. “If you walk by the Spirit you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16). What does that mean? It means that you have two natures warring. The old man trying to make you live in that past identity, and the new man that wants to be like your Father. Those who walk by the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. All this means is that we fight by the Spirit to make our desires align with God’s desires. He rules every moment. Not me. Not my hunger, not my sexual desires, not my need for attention – the Spirit leads. 3. So also we must remind one another daily in our DNA’s, MC’s, and in these gatherings who we are so that we can walk in that identity. Our aim is to “proclaim [Christ to you], warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col 1:28). This is part of the reason we are taking the month of January and focusing on spiritual renewal: fasting and praying, memorizing Romans 8, and refocusing on our Bible reading. If our growth in Jesus is stunted, here is an opportunity for us to jump start our growth together. During this time we want to be asking ourselves, “Where have I not embraced and lived out of my identity as God’s son?” Would you join us in this pursuit this month? Conclusion: Jesus’s life in the flesh showed and empowered Christians to faithfully live in this world, maturing and growing until we see him face to face. Christians recognize with our Lord Jesus that God the Father creates the meaning and purpose of all other identities, thus we submit to him. This is true wisdom. This is what it means to be human. There is nothing easy about trying to live in this world as son, carpenter, dad, American, etc. There are so many identities. But if we follow Christ, our forerunner, the rest will fall in place, even unto eternal life. Keep your eyes on Jesus! [1]Marshall, I. H. (1978). The Gospel of Luke: a commentary on the Greek text(p. 130). Exeter: Paternoster Press.

Throughout Scripture God is likened to a shepherd and his people are likened to sheep. Of all the animals God could compare us to it's fitting that he chose sheep. They are not very smart, they are prone to wander and they cannot survive on their own. God is the good shepherd who takes care of his sheep with great compassion. This message draws much from the classic book A Shepherd's Look at Psalm 23 by Philip Keller. The author was a shepherd for about a decade in East Africa so his insights into the psalm are profound. Psalm 23 is medicine for the anxious soul. It remind us that God has chosen to take responsibility for us. Knowing God's presence is with us at all times dissolves fear.

Throughout Scripture God reveals our sonship, God affirms our sonship and God confirms our sonship.

Throughout Scripture God has used dreams and visions to bring to life His plans for His people. He is still speaking today through this method. Pastor Ray shares his own experiences with dreams and visions and how God has used them to shape and direct his path.

Throughout Scripture God has met with His people. Jesus continues this approach by routinely meeting around the table with people — many times, with people that the religious authorities had a problem with. Jesus says He comes to eat with sinners...

Throughout Scripture God has met with his people. Jesus continues this approach by routinely meeting around the table with people – many times, with people that the religious authorities had a problem with. Jesus says he comes to eat with sinners...

Throughout Scripture God is presented as a Liberator. The stories of Exodus in particular reveal God's powerful acts of liberation in favor of his people. Today God continues to manifest his power by liberating us from the bondage of sin and sickness.