Living beyond average! - John 7:38

Living beyond average!

January 29, 2012

John 7:38

Introduction

• The average male is: 5' 9" tall and 173 pounds. Is married, 1.8 years older than his wife and would marry her again. Has not completed college. Earns $28,605 per year. Prefers showering to taking a bath. Sends about 7.2 hours a week eating. Does not know his cholesterol count, but it's 211. Watches 26 hours and 44 minutes of TV a week. Takes out the garbage in his household. Prefers white underwear to colored. Cries about once a month--one fourth as much as Jane Doe. Falls in love an average of six times during his life. Eats his corn on the cob in circles, not straight across, and prefers his steak medium. Can't whistle by inserting his fingers in his mouth. Will not stop to ask for directions when he's in the car.  From Men's Health, quoted in Parade Magazine, December 29, 1991 , p. 5.
• What does average life look like here in Susanville?
• What purpose, what makes life exciting?
• Yet Jesus came to give us life, and that abundantly
• John 10:10
• One of the most important things for us is to drink water
• Water gives life, food sustains
• Without water you will die in a very short time
• Jesus recognized this in John 7:37-39
• On the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests would draw water from the pool of Siloam in a gold pitcher, bring it to the temple, and pour it out as an offering to God, seeking adequate rainfall for crops
• Jesus used this water as a symbol of something hugely important, an announcement of how man could live an extraordinary life!

The River of Life

• Ezek 47:1-12
• This prophecy by Ezekiel was written to the house of Israel in exile, while Ezekiel was in captivity in Babylon
• This was a bad time for the whole nation
• God here prophesies about something that will happen when Jesus returns
• When Jesus returns his feet will stand on the mount of olives, and the mountain will split in two
• A river will flow from the temple, the seat of Jesus’ government, and will flow out to the Dead Sea, and to the Mediterranean
• This river symbolizes the river of life that flows from God, to each of us

The Holy Spirit

• The Holy spirit brings life
• He emanates or proceeds from the Father – John 15:26
• When man was created God breathed into him the breath of life, ruach
• This was the Holy Spirit who gave us life
• Ro 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
• Life comes through the Holy Spirit
• The Holy Spirit is presented to us in different metaphors, in the Bible
• He is poured out
• Acts 2:33
• This is why we speak of being filled with the Holy Spirit
• We can open ourselves up to a portion of the Spirit, which guarantees our inheritance
• Eph 1:14
• Or we can be filled with the Holy Spirit, as is talked about throughout the book of Acts
• When we are filled with the HS, we are allowing the Spirit to take up every vestige of our life
• But the Holy Spirit at the same time is a person
• He is as much God as Jesus is God and the Father is God
• They work in total synch, total unity
• The Holy Spirit is promised by Jesus as being our Comforter, or Helper, our Advocate
• These are attributes of a person
• The Holy spirit longs to be a comforter to us, being that close
• He fills us, and he longs for closeness with us
• When we grieve the Holy Spirit – Eph 4:30 – we hurt him and he withdraws from that closeness
• That closeness comes from spending time with him

Flowing from us

• John 7:37-39
• Jesus here promises the Jews that their life can be far better than average and normal
• We can live a supernatural life
• The Holy Spirit Jesus promised would come to dwell in us
• But that is not where the Spirit stops
• Like God’s Word which does not return to him void (Isa 55:11) – the Holy Spirit also accomplishes God’s purpose
• That river of life flows from God’s throne, into us
• But then it accomplishes God’s purpose and overflows from us to other people around us
• The river of life is meant not for a select group of people but for all men
• Life is intended for everyone
• God is not willing that any should perish – 2 Pet 3:9
• He wants all men to come to repentance
• His heart cries out wanting to give the river of life to each person
• And he has given us the opportunity to be instruments of life
• 2 Cor 3:6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Conclusion

• God offers us the water of life
• He will give us to drink, as much as we want
• It is up to us: do we want a mediocre, average life, or do we want to live life abundantly, above average, exceptionally
• It is to this that you have been called!

Invitation

• Do you want that river of life flowing through you and accomplishing God’s purpose?
• Your life will become extraordinary
• If anyone here wants that life today, please raise your hand
• I will now pray a prayer asking for forgiveness of sins, and surrender to Jesus
• And then I invite each one who wants this extraordinary life to come forward and we will lay hands on you and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit!
• This is exciting, nothing to be afraid of
• But it takes motivation to step from average, into what God has for us

Do you see what I see? - Col 1:22-23

Do you see what I see?

Youth Pastor - Brandon BJ Johnson

January 22, 2012

Col 1:22-23

(Pastor's notes)

Opening comments

• Excitement in my heart
• Everything comes back to Jesus
• Unity in the body, is so important
• Gen 11 - tower of Babel - when we are one, nothing will be impossible

Introduction

• Do you see what I see?
• Showed slides closeup, and from a distance, illustrating the need for perspective
• Need to step back and see the whole picture
• We are on a journey with mentors, in the church, and in the Bible

Job

• Job 1 - God allowed Satan to take all Job's goods
• Verse 21 - Job's response - You give and take away, blessed be the name of the Lord
• Our perspective changes with the situation
• Job did not lose his perspective
• Knowing God is better than knowing the answers
• Satan took all his goods, then his health as well
• Job 2:10 - even when the closest person to him, told him wrong, he did not lose sight of God
• Verse 12 - initially Job's friends were genuine, they were just there for him
• Job 4:8 - as time went on they started accusing Job
• But Job was blameless
• Do we trust that God will work it out?
• Because he trusted God, God brought the experience to a good conclusion
• Job 43:12 - God blessed Job more than he had had before this all happened
• The ending was better than the beginning

Judas

• Judas walked with Christ - he had big responsibility, over the finances
• He saw all that happened, and yet he betrays Jesus
• Judas had a choice
• John 12:4 - Judas put himself into a position where he was able to be manipulated by the enemy
• We need to guard ourselves and check our motives
• It's all about the heart
• God loves everyone
• We need to allow God to do His thing
• Our model is John the Baptist - He must be greater, I must be less

David

• 1 Samuel 18 - what David saw, versus what God saw
• Verse 7 - Saul feels David is hurting or damaging him, and pursues David
• David hides in a cave
• Sometimes we run into caves instead of interacting with others
• 1 Sam 24:6-7 - Saul was God's anointed, David does not take matters into his own hands
• 1 Sam 26:9 - it's all about God's timing
• Then we have the story about Bathsheba
• David's perspective changed
• 2 Sam 11 - David knew he was wrong
• But he tried to justify himself first
• God was his last resort, not the first!

Conclusion

• Repent and come to me, if your issue relates to yesterday or 10 years ago
• Issues weigh heavy on us
• Cast all your cares upon him
• Change the perspective on your life
• Col 1:22-23 - God wants us to be without blemish, without accusation
• Repentance is a change of heart
• David longed to be holy
• I want that too, a pure heart

Can you hear Him? - John 10:4-5

Can you hear him?

January 15, 2012

John 10:4-5

Introduction

-         It was back in 1961

-         I was 12 years old, and I was reading through the life of Abraham

-         I read in Gen 12 “The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to a land I will show you”

-         This seemed so incredible to me, that God would speak to a human being!

-         I had recently memorized a scripture Acts 10:34 – “God is no respecter of persons”

-         So if God would speak to Abraham, wouldn’t he also speak to me?

-         This started a journey for me to find how to hear God’s voice, for me personally

-         I had no instructor in this and it was in 1996 that I first realized I had heard God’s voice

-         Today we are going to speak about hearing God’s voice

Ways God speaks to us

-         There are many ways in which God speaks to us

-         Dreams

-         Often, as we read through the Bible, we read that God or an angel spoke to people through a dream

-         Matt 1:20, 2:12, 2:13, 2:19, 2:22 - The birth of Jesus was announced in dreams

-         Acts 16:9 – Paul’s dream – Macedonian call

-         Visions

-         Acts 2:17-18 – dreams and visions – young people as well

-         Dreams seem to happen more often than in visions, which are essentially the same, except they happen while we are awake

-         The reason may be that we are not quiet enough to be open to hearing God’s voice during the day

-         God’s word

-         Often in reading the Word, a particular verse jumps out at us

-         This is the Holy Spirit speaking to us, personally

-         The verse may mean something to you which it does not mean to someone else

-         It is God speaking to you personally

-         An example is Isa 54:16-17 - To me this told me God was going to use me in setting people free from the enemy

-         I showed it to my pastor and he told me to remember it, it was something God was saying to me, personally

-         Still small voice

-         Another way God speaks to us is through a still small voice

-         1 kings 19:12 – still small voice

-         Have ear open to hear

-         A still small voice is also translated as a whisper

-         When life is busy and we have all the sounds of life coming at us, it is hard for us to hear a whisper

-         This whisper often comes through our thoughts

-         Rarely is it an audible voice

How to listen

-         Habakkuk 2:1-3

-         1. Quieten down

-         Go to a quiet place, no distractions

-         2. Tune in to God

-         Ask the Lord to speak to you, and ask him to protect you from your own thoughts or the enemy’s influence

-         3. Expect an answer

-         Expect that your prayer will be answered, and that you will receive a response from the Lord

-         4. What is your first thought

-         The first thought is usually from the Lord, the second thought is often us second-guessing what God said

-         The word still needs to be tested by scripture

-         5. Write it down

-         Don’t allow God’s words to you, to fall to the ground

-         Samuel was known for his consistency in responding to God’s words

-         These words are precious, treat them as such

-         6. Be obedient

-         Follow through on what God has said

Conclusion

-         God is a God who communicates

-         He wants to be close with his kids

-         Our human dad may not have wanted to be close to us, perhaps they were remote

-         But God desires to be close to us, love us, be our friend

-         This takes time together, enjoying each others presence

-         Listen to Him!

Who am I? - Rom 8:16

Who am I?

January 14, 2012

Rom 8:16

Introduction

-         Yesterday at the 8am Bible study, we started a discussion which I would like to continue with this evening

-         Someone once said “I've always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.”

-         As we started life, we learned lots of lessons

-         We learned that when we when we did what mom and dad said, life was ok, and when we did not, all hell broke loose

-         We learned that we needed to meet the expectations of others, and that they would then reciprocate with approval

-         We learned that when we did not meet the expectations others had of us, we were considered to be failures

-         Life was very black and white

-         We met expectations or we did not

-         We were afraid of being a failure, because there were consequences attached to that

-         So we learned to fit in the mold created for us by the people around us, living up to their standards

-         And when we failed to measure up, we saw ourselves as failures

The chicken and the eagle

-         Eagles have a special meaning for me

-         Easter two years ago I was praying at Lake Shasta, about God’s purpose for me, and seeking His direction

-         An eagle soared towards me from the right, circled in front of me and then climbed into the sky. At the same time there was a crack of thunder in the hills across the lake.

-         To me, this was God’s direction for me, and it led to Dianne and I pastoring here in Susanville.

-         I want to tell you a story about an eagle

-         While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens.

-         One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens. The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.

-         "Still it has the heart of an eagle," replied the naturalist, "and can surely be taught to fly." He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle, however, was confused. He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again.

-         The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly." But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food.

-         Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, " You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly." The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky. Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble. Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens. Theology News and Notes, October, 1976

-         This story illustrates what happens in our life

-         For whatever reasons, people have expectations of us, like the chicken eagle

-         It was expected to behave, eat and live like a chicken

-         There are expectations for us too

-         If we grew up on the wrong side of town, the expectation is that we will not amount to much, the neighborhood in which we live will somehow limit our possibilities

-         The color of our skin holds us back, we feel we can’t be a somebody in life

-         Perhaps our past holds us back, the mistakes we made and the people we hurt, and we feel it is impossible now to be of value to anyone!

-         We see ourselves as being without hope in the world

-         And there was such a time for all of us

-         Eph 2:12-13 “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ”

-         Before we accepted Jesus, we were indeed without hope

-         But now things have changed! Eph 2:19-22 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit

-         Eph 2:4-10

-         What an incredible position to be in!

-         Here we are not hindered by the expectations of others

-         Gal 3:28 Neither Jew nor Greek

-         None of us is better than another!

-         In fact, we are to esteem the other better than ourselves – Phil 2:3

A special relationship

-         We have a special relationship with God

-         He has come to make his home in our spirit!  That is special! John 14:23

-         He has adopted us as his children! Rom 8:12-17

-         He has a purpose and a calling for our life! Jer 29:11

-         He provides what we need for this calling, and will never give up on us! Rom 11:29

-         Whatever we have done, whatever our sin, no matter who we have hurt, the blood of Jesus is sufficient to cover it

-         There are no second-class citizens in God’s setup!

-         In this life we may have messed up bad, but God looks way beyond that!

-         He sees someone who is not a washed up failure, but someone he wants to use, someone whose experiences in life will impact another person powerfully!

-         So, even if you may feel put down or maligned sometimes, don’t let it get to you!

-         See yourself like God sees you, the way you really are!

Conclusion

-         People may have called us a chicken for a long time

-         We live among chickens, act like chickens, believe we are chickens

-         But God says you are an eagle

-         Will you stretch out your wings and fly?

-         You were created with a purpose in mind, and nothing you or I can do will stop God from achieving his vision

Come all who are weary - Matt 11:28

Come all who are weary!

January 8, 2012

Matt 11:28

Introduction

• Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
• Chippie's owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in.
• The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned.
• Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.
• Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. . . Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . That's the way he felt (adapted from Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 11)

• Do we sometimes feel like that? Perhaps that is where we are at right now!
• Dianne and I enjoy driving in the hills around us.
• Often we see stretches of forest that have been blitzed by a forest fire
• Blackened tree trunks, no undergrowth, a scene of devastation
• And yet, here and there you will see a shoot working its way out of the soil
• Years later, the forest will have recovered, the blackened trunks will have been overwhelmed by fresh new trees growing towards the sunlight
• We are told that the forest actually needs these periodic fires, to germinate seeds and clean the forest, and to bring new life!
• How many of us feel as though our life has gone through a firestorm?
• Today we are going to talk about the role of trials in our life

What is a trial?

• I’m sure we all have our own definition.
• My personal definition, is “hard times”
• I picture it like a place where the soil is hardened like rock! There’s no getting through it
• It’s a place where the mountain seems immoveable
• It’s like a fire that threatens to burn us up
• It is painful, it hurts
• There are problems and there are trials
• A problem is like in math class when we are presented with a problem and have to calculate the answer. We know the answer is there, at the back of the book
• A trial is when the problem does not seem to have an answer
• A trial is intense, not like a problem in a math book
• 1 Pet 4:12 KJV “Beloved , do not think it strange considering the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you”
• Trials are painful, they hurt
• Maybe our trial is being out of work, and fearing the future
• Perhaps our trial is a relationship problem with someone close to us
• Perhaps our kids are going the wrong way, or we have lost our home, or we are struggling with stuff deep inside
• Trials hurt

Why do trials happen?

• 1 Pet 1:6-7 – there is a reason for trials
• When we go through a trial, we learn things we may not have learned other ways
• The trial focuses our attention in a way that we are forced to examine our issues
• The previous verses (3-5) show that the person’s faith or salvation is not in question
• What happens is that through the trials our faith is tested and purified, and becomes stronger
• 1 Cor 3:10-13 – gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble
• The trial shows what we are made of
• Others in the Bible went through hard times too
• How about Abraham who was asked to sacrifice his only son!
• But it is through that trial and Abraham’s faithful response, that God knew Abraham was obedient, and prepared to become the physical father of the nation of Israel, and became known to God as the father of the faithful
• Why is God allowing the trial in your life?
• Because he is wanting to improve you, help you change for the better, prepare you for his purpose for you
• Don’t be discouraged, God is intimately involved in what you are going through
• He assures us it is for a good purpose
• 1 Cor 10:13 – God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it

How do we react to trials?

• 1. Recognize God is in charge of the situation
• Rom 8:28 – we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose
• Expect that there will be a good outcome, in God’s terms
• Try to see what God is doing
• 2. Have your eyes open
• Tell him you submit to what He is trying to show you
• Trust that God will provide the answer, even if we do not see it
• Submit to the answer even if it is not what you would have wanted
• Maybe God is waiting to see us respond in thankfulness
• Maybe what he is wanting to develop in us is faith
• Keep your eyes open
• 3. Be obedient
• God will show you how to deal with the problem.
• Be obedient
• Maybe it will require humbling ourselves before another person and asking forgiveness
• Maybe it will mean repenting of some attitude we have had which we have held dear
• It’s all about living closely with God, not at arm’s length

Conclusion

• If we are weary of the trials we are going through recognize that God has a purpose in it
• Ask God to reveal what he is wanting you to learn
• Be obedient to it
• When we are faithful in little, it shows we can be faithful in much
• Use the trial to grow in character and relationship with Jesus
• Jesus tells us in Math 11:28 – Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
• When we turn to Jesus and trust him with our trial, he takes care of it
• Believe him!

A Fresh Approach to 2012 - Rev 21:5

A Fresh Approach to 2012

January 1, 2012

Revelation 12:5

Introduction

• Charles Swindoll says, “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important: than facts, than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do, than appearances, than giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company. . . a church. . . a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you. . . We are in charge of our attitudes.”
• How many of us made new years resolutions last January?
• Did you see improvement during last year?
• It is God’s purpose for us that we grow and prosper and be in health, physically, emotionally and spiritually
• He is doing something in each of us, that we are even unaware of
• But His purposes in us will be completed
• Phil 1:6 – “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”
• In Lamentations we are told “His mercies and compassions are new every morning” (Lam 3:22-23)
• Each day is a fresh opportunity to start with a clean slate
• And the start of the year is traditionally a time when we take stock of ourselves, and commit to grow in our walk with God
• Today we will examine three fundamental approaches toward life, that will make a difference in our lives

Be Honest

• Most of us I am sure try to be honest in the way we conduct our life
• But are we honest about ourselves?
• Often it is hard for us to take a magnifying glass to our own life to see how we are doing, before God
• But God knows where we are at already
• Jer 17:10 "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve"
• Ps 139:23-24 "Search me o God, and know my heart ..."
• David asks God to show him areas where he needs to grow
• It takes real honesty about ourselves to ask God to do this
• If you want to know if you are really being honest about yourself, ask someone who knows you really well, to give you a personal evaluation.
• The hard part is not in asking for their help, the hard part is in wanting to ask the question in the first place.
• Pride and fear get in the way.
• That is why we wear masks, the ways we want others to see us
• But that is not being honest about ourselves
• The way we are on the inside should match the way we appear to others.
• God tells us, lets get together and talk about things
• Isa 1:18 "Come now let us reason together ..."
• God is not wanting to punish us for sin. He does not want us to be fearful of him
• He wants to forgive our sins and give us a clean makeover!
• So there is nothing to be afraid of in being honest about ourselves

Be a person of hope

• We look back at the past year and we may have a lot of pain and hurt back there
• But faith believes that things will get better, because God's hand is in it
• 1 Cor 10:13 " God is faithful, he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear"
• God is watching over us, day and night
• Because of this we can have tremendous hope for the future
• We are each special to God
• He knows the thoughts of our heart, he knows the trials we are going though, but he also knows where he is taking us
• He knows that what we are going through will bear rich fruit
• Rom 5:1-5
• Our character is being forged in the crucible of trials
• So the affliction we are going through today are only temporary, the results are eternal!
• Often we become discouraged when we look at out trials.
• We forget the big picture
• But God is working something in us which we cannot see now, but one day he will say, Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord
• When we are discouraged, remember the times when God has been there for you
• Times when you were healed, a prayer was answered, provision came for a need
• God is there for you, 100% of the time
• So be full of hope and faith

Be in touch with God

• This may need to be the first point, because it is out of our relationship with God that we are able to be honest, and we are able to be hopeful
• But be closely in touch with your heavenly Father
• Jesus lived so closely with the Father
• He did what he saw the Father doing
• He said what the Father said
• He was the living representation for us, of the Father (John 14:10)
• As Jesus lives in each of us, we will be growing to look like the Father, week by week, in increasing measure
• 2 Cor 3:13
• But this happens by the Holy Spirit molding us and changing us, bit by bit
• For the Holy Spirit to grow us in this way, requires close contact with the Father
• Just as Jesus did, on a daily and continual basis
• One way to help discipline ourselves to maintain this relationship with God, is through the use of a Bible reading program.
• If you are interested, look at our church website, a good program is there in the resources section, or ask me and I will give you a copy.

Conclusion

• On this new years day, we can make a choice to turn over a new leaf in some area of our life.
• Or we can go deeper, we can decide to be honest about ourselves, with God and with each other
• We can decide to be hopeful people, not bellyaching because of how hard life is, but instead being thankful that God will work all things out for our good
• And finally, we can decide to stay in constant touch with God, being obedient to Him, and allowing Him to live his life through us.
• Happy new year to Grace Fellowship!