Sermon Notes 11-29-2020

Here we go again

Lockdown #2 2020!

 

 

 

We need to find some peace in all this!

And here we go again as if the first round of lockdowns weren’t hard enough, here comes number 2! 

And just like the last one, it comes at a pivotal time for all Christian churches, the time we celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ!

 

And to add insult to injury, it is affecting the holidays and all the plans we have with our loved ones!

 

Just when we were getting back to some form of normal, the light at the end of the tunnel went dark!

 

And, it is stealing our Joy and Hope:

·      Suicide rates are skyrocketing

·      Domestic Violence is at an all-time high

·      Mental Health issues are ramped 

·      Unemployment is through the roof

·      And unemployment benefits are running out

·      Schools are shutting down again

·      Local Businesses are closing their doors for good

·      We are back to being locked down and frankly we're losing all hope!

 

So, it’s time for a reminder that there is peace to be found in all circumstances! So we are coming full circle as well and going back to Philippians and draw some hope from Paul!

 

So, what do I do in times like these?? I lean into the word of God! And more specifically the epistles of Paul!

Paul has seen his share of good times and at one time was very powerful!

Philippians 3:4–6 (NIV)

⁴ though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 

⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 

⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 

·      He studied under the best, was a Roman Citizen

·      He came from the best and wealthiest.  

 

And he has seen his fair share of hard times and suffering!

2 Corinthians 11:23–28 (NIV)

²³Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 

²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 

²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 

²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 

²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 

²⁸ Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 

 

·      Paul has had a lot of suffering in the name of Jesus!

·      He has been in far worse situations than we are in right now

·      But through all of it, he kept his Joy!

·      And he did that by leaning on Jesus!

We should all find strength in our weakness

Paul said: 

2 Corinthians 12:10 (NIV) ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 

·      The problem most of us have right now is we are leaning on our own understanding

·      We are not depending on Jesus 

·      The only way Paul made it was by leaning on Jesus!

 

We can never be the image bears that Jesus needs us to be if we are constantly leaning on ourselves!

·      We will be too frustrated

·      We will be too angry 

·      And we will be too rebellious! 

·      And we will not see where or what Jesus wants for us 

·      And sometimes we have to put our personal wants and needs aside for the kingdom!

 

We need to be all things to all people!

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 (NIV)

¹⁹ Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 

²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 

²¹ To those not having the law, I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 

²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 

²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 

 

·      This personally is the hardest thing for me right now

·      I have some strong opinions about things that are going on right now

·      And some facts to back most of those opinions up

·      But I can’t change how people feel or the fears and biases they have

·      I just have to sometimes put my personal feelings aside for the gospel 

o   Do things for others

·      And never let Satan use my pride against me

·      Because he will

 

And here is Paul’s advice to us all!

Philippians 4:4–9 (ESV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 

⁵ Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 

⁶ do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

⁸ 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. 

⁹ What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. 

·      This is one of my go-to set of verses!

·      I have leaned on this throughout this Pandemic and the elections

o   I have had several people ask me how I stay focused on the task at hand 

o   The real answer is it not me at all, I lean into Jesus, with Paul’s help

·      These verses are a reminder of things we all need to remember!

o   We can rejoice in any circumstance 

o   We have no need to be anxious about anything

o   We need to take everything to Jesus

o   That only God can provide the peace we so desperately need

o   That He alone will guard our hearts and minds

·      And then he lays out a road map to the peace we all so desperately want

·      That we should be filling our minds with these things

o   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,

o   He says: think about these things. 

o   He says put these things in practice

o   and the God of peace will be with you always

 

Let’s find some peace in this next storm and continue to be the light to a dark and cold world!! 

 

Sermon Notes 11-15-2020

 

 

 

Part 4 (think it through)

INTRODUCTION 

What you naturally want is often in conflict with what you ultimately value. But your heavenly Father knows what you need. He wants for you what you really want. So, how do you put aside those natural wants and pursue what you ultimately value? 

So let’s get to it, the big questions of the day are: What do you want? 

·      The answer is different for everyone

·      In different seasons of life the “what” changes 

·      But one thing that is for sure, we always want something!

 

 

Recap

·      One thing is for sure, we want our way!

·      And we want to do what we want to do!

o   Regret always starts with getting something we want

o   This wanting thing is a tricky thing!!

o   Sometimes getting our way, we lose our way

 

Sometimes we will do whatever we can to get what we want!

o   We kill friendships

o   We kill work deals

o   We kill families

o   We kill marriages

o   We destroy the things that mean the most to us for what we want

 

Here is the problem. 

Most of don’t know what we really want, because we are so distracted by what we want, what we desire right now!

 

 

The skinny of it all

 

What we really what we rarely explore!

 

The good news! 

·      God, your Father, wants more for you

·      He doesn’t want more from you 

·      He wants more for you!

·      And lurking in the shadows is what you ultimately want 

o   What you value

o   What is really important!

 

What naturally drives us is not what we truly value

·      We are naturally driven to do what feels good now, not what gets us to what we REALLY want

Romans 7:15 (NIV)

¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I (really) want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 

 

 

 

Last Week

·      Did you do the exercise?

 

For Christians, we take it one step farther! What does GOD what for us!

·      Remember God is a father that doesn’t want anything from us, but wants things for us

·      We somehow think that what we want is different from what God wants for us

·      And that may be true about what you naturally want 

·      But if you dig deep, I bet you will find that you want what God wants for you

 

Surrendering to God and His will for your life will get you to where you truly want to be!

 

 

So, what does God want for you??

Galatians 5:22–23 (NIV)

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

 

So, I hope that the last 3 weeks have helped you find what it is that you really want!

·      It’s hard to find

·      Only you can find it

·      And until you do, life will be much harder

·      With more disappointments

·      And with less love, Peace, and joy!

When we discover what we really value, we are less prone to settle for what we merely want!

 

 

We need to think it through!!

 

The kingdoms of this world cannot give you what you really want

·      The world we live in

·      The values that drive society 

·      Cannot and never will give you what you really want

 

The kingdoms of this world are designed to distract you from what really matters to you!

·      We all know this

·      The natural nature of the fallen world is fueled by the natural

·      And it's all a distraction from what we really want

 

The kingdoms of this world are fueled by two things

·      Upgrades

o   Sound familiar

o   We upgrade constantly

·      And experiences

o   Relational experiences

o   Emotional experiences

·      And there is nothing wrong with either

o   Unless it distracts you from what you really want

 

What we really want can’t be

·      Packaged

·      Marketed

·      Or sold

·      There is no App for that

·      There is no Rap for that

·      No one can help you with this

·      They can only distract you from it

 

So, for you to discover what you really want

·      You have to spend time looking for it

·      But don’t be surprised if you find that what you really want and what God wants for you are one and the same

·      And maybe, just maybe the God you have been running from, is the God you should be running too!

 

SO, how do we stay in the habit of pursuing what we really want?

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 

 

I urge you!

·      He is saying “HEY pay attention”!

·      This is important, don’t miss this!

 

In view of God's mercy

·      For 11 chapters, Paul has explained in great detail God's grace and mercy for His children

·      Not because God's wrath is so severe

·      Not because is Judgment is so harsh

Romans 2:4 (NLT)

⁴ Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? 

·      God is for us

·      And it’s His mercy, His grace, His kindness that should lead us to trust Him and know that all He wants is good things for us!

 

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice

·      No more animals

·      Jesus paid the price

·      But He is saying here that we should offer our “bodies” as the sacrifice

o   Our behavior

o   Our will 

o   That we follow whatever God wants and wherever God leads 

·      And I know that’s like writing a blank check

o   That we would do whatever, whenever, however, God leads

o   And that sounds irrational 

o   But it’s not!

 

This is your true and proper (logical) worship

·      He is saying this is the logical thing to do

·      In view of God’s mercy

·      In view of God’s grace

·      In view of God’s Kindness

·      It’s the logical thing to do 

·      Because of all that God has done for us

The practical

Romans 12:2 (NIV)

² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. 

 

Do not conform to the patterns of this world!

·      Don’t follow the norm

·      Not fit the mold 

·      Don’t fall for upgrades and experiences

·      Don’t be distracted by the kingdom of this world

 

But be transformed by the renewing of your mind

·      There is a process

·      Over time you have been pressed into the mold of this world

·      And it is time for a transformation

·      It is time for a change

 

And we do that by a renewing of our minds!

·      Behavior modification won’t work

·      We have to start to think differently

·      We have to start to think like God thinks (you are who you hang with, so hang with JESUS)

o   When we start to see the world as God sees

o   When we start to see marriage like God sees

o   When we start seeing Money the way God sees

o   When we start to value what God values

o   When we pick friends  that are like-minded

·      We are more inclined to do what God what’s us to do

·      It’s time for you and for me to renew our minds!

 

Just doing it won’t cut it, your heart has to be in it 

·      Simply following the do’s and don’ts of Jesus

·      Without changing your thinking

·      Will cause short term obedience

·      And cause you to be frustrated and feel like you failed

·      Because you never changed your thinking!

·      And this is why people leave church

·      They never figure out it’s not just a do or don’t

·      It’s a new way of looking at everything in your life

·      And when you see things differently, you act differently

 

It’s time to take off the old and put on the new

 

·      What is the old?

o   What I naturally want

o   What I want now

o   Things

o   Upgrades

o   Experiences

o   Things of this world

o   Lies that you have believed about

§  Money

§  Marriage

§  Sex

§  Work

§  Family

§  friendships

 

 

·      What is the new?

o   What I ultimately want

o   What I want later

o   What God ultimately wants for me

o   It's Character

o   It's peace

o   It's love

o   It's joy

o   It’s the renewing of your mind

§  To a different way of thinking

§  To challenge the natural of this world

§  To see the world as God does

 

Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing, and perfect will. 

·      Then you will be able to examine everything you do through God's eyes

·      And then you can test everything against God's will for you

·      And God’s will for you is

o   Good

o   Pleasing

o   And perfect

·      And you will finally find

o   Love

o   Peace 

o   And joy for your life!