Until He Comes # 2

Summary: The Word of God is living and powerful, and it has the power to transform your life today. We are going to look at seven reasons why Bible study will change your life, and how to study the Bible.

THE WORD OF GOD IS LIVING AND POWERFUL

THE BIBLE = BASIC INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE LEAVING EARTH!

OPENING TEXT:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12).

THE BIG IDEA: The Word of God is living and powerful, and it has the power to transform your life today. We are going to look at seven reasons why Bible study will change your life, and how to study the Bible.

STORY: From The Red Thread by Pastor Barry Buzza.

• The story of the man who ‘smoked’ his way through the New Testament and got saved!

BIBLE STORY: 

Turn in your Bibles to Second Kings 22.

• This is one of the exciting stories in the Bible – of finding a lost treasure!

• Let’s look at someone who was radically changed by the Word:

• Josiah was an 8 year old boy whose grandpa Manasseh was the most wicked King in Judah; who led the nation into idolatry and even sacrificed children.

• He was a boy whose dad Amon became king when Josiah was 6, but Amon was so wicked he was assassinated two years later by his own servants.

• Josiah was raised in hell and didn’t have good examples in his life, but he didn’t have a victim mentality, and refused to become just like his biological dad.

“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem… And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David… (notice that David wasn’t his biological dad – David was his great, great, great, great grandfather, and Josiah chose him for a role-model). 

Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, to the house of the Lord.” (2 Kings 22:1-3a).

• paraphrase v. 4-7: Josiah told Shaphan to help rebuild the house of the Lord.

“Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord." And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, "Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord." Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king.” (2 Kings 22:8-10).

• When Josiah got a hold of the Word of God, it changed Josiah’s life!

• You don’t have to be just like your dad, or be bound by anything in your past!

• If you read on in the story, you discover that not only was Josiah’s life changed – it resulted in a REVIVAL that changed the entire nation! Do we want revival?

SEVEN REASONS HOW THE BIBLE WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE:

1. You will be blessed! “Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are the undefiled who walk (order their conduct and conversation) in the law of the Lord.” (Psalm 119:1, Amplified). Quote Psalm 1 & Joshua 1:8.

2. God’s Word will make you pure! “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word… Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:9,11). God’s Word gives us power to resist temptation. That’s how Jesus defeated the devil’s temptations – by quoting the Word!

3. You will see amazing and miraculous things. “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” (Psalm 119:18). The Bible is full of miracles, but remember Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever” and He still does miracles today!”

4. God’s Word will revive you. “My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to Your word” (Psalm 119:25). You want revival? It will never happen apart from God’s Word getting into your heart!

5. God’s Word reveals His love to us. “The earth, O Lord, is full of your mercy and lovingkindness; teach me your statutes.” (Psalm 119:64). God’s Word reveals His LOVE to us.

6. God’s Word gives wisdom and direction. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:104-105). God’s Word shows us the path for living life on Planet Earth.

7. God’s Word will give you great peace. “Great peace have they who love your law, nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.” (Psalm 119:165).

QUOTE: “If God has spoken, listen! If God has recorded his words in a Book, search its pages with a believing heart. If you do not accept it as God’s inspired word, I cannot invite you to pay any particular attention to it; but if you regard it as the Book of God, I charge you, as I shall meet you at the judgement seat of Christ, study the Bible daily. Treat not the Eternal God with disrespect, but delight in His Word.” (Charles Spurgeon).

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

Go over the 66 books of the Bible and their sections:

5 Books of the Law

12 Books of History

5 Books of Wisdom Literature

5 Major Prophets

12 Minor Prophets

4 Gospels

1 History of the Church

13 Paul’s Letters

8 General Letters

1 Revelation

HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE:

FOUR QUESTIONS: WHAT DOES THIS SCRIPTURE TEACH ME ABOUT:

1. WHO GOD IS? What do I learn about the nature of God?

2. WHO AM I? What do I learn about the nature of man?

3. GOD‘S PROMISES? Is there a promise to claim?

4. GOD‘S COMMANDMENTS? Is there a commandment to obey?

CHALLENGE: THE FIVE MINUTE CHALLENGE.

• Five minutes a day to read through the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.

CLOSING:

• God’s Word is living and powerful, and can transform everyone of our lives!

• Pray for a hunger for the Word to burn in everyone’s hearts..starting with YOURS!

• Pray for REVIVAL for our church, community and nation!

Until He Comes!

Until He Comes! # 1

2-25-18

Message # 1

“Until He Comes”

How’s your memory these days?

If you're anything like me… the things that you once knew well and could recollect easily are now things that “slip your mind” and that you have to THINK HARD to remember.

However, if I look at something regularly and think about it often… then I can easily remember it when I need to know it to share it!

1 Corinthians 11:24-26

24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.…

WE HAVE GOOD NEWS TO PROCLAIM!

THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION!!!

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, 

then to the Gentile.”

Romans 1:16

We need to KNOW and Regularly expose ourselves to the Word of God so that we will REMEMBER what He did for us… so that we can relate that to others so that they can GO TO HEAVEN!

John 3:16

The Lord is gracious and compassionate. 

He remembers his covenant forever (Ps. 111:4-5).

Note that remembrance is visible in the bread and cup—'This is my body" and "This is my blood.” 

We have to VISUALIZE that what He did… He did for ME!

    Remembrance strengthens us. Our faith is strengthened and built up through the eating, drinking, and remembering. "Eating is believing and believing is eating.”

while this remembrance is historical, it is also personal. Jesus doesn't ask us to remember the date, place, etc. We are never told to "Do this in remembrance of my death." The command is "Do this in remembrance of me." Our relationship with Christ is a personal one: "Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Remember not the sins of my youth 

and my rebellious ways; according to your 

love remember me, for you are 

good, O Lord (Ps. 25:7).

"The time is coming," declares the 

Lord, "when I will make a new

covenant with the house of Israel...

For I will forgive their wickedness and 

will remember their sins no more (Jer. 31:31,34).

Remember the gracious love of our

Father in heaven

who made us children of his own possession.

Remember Jesus Christ, sent by the 

Father to share our human nature, to 

live and to die as one of us, and so to 

move us from the alienation of sin and death,

to reconcile us to God our Father by 

his perfect sacrifice, and through his 

suffering, death, and resurrection to 

save all who put their trust in him.

Remember the Holy Spirit, who teaches us these things

and makes the effects of Christ's salvation real in our lives.

Finally….

Jude 1:17-23

In this CRAZY, EVIL world we live in and where we encounter every WIND AND WAVE of Doctrine (opinion, thought and feeling)… we have to be GROUNDED in the fact that He loved us SO MUCH that He gave us TRUTH to understand, walk in… and Share with others who are lost!

Be aware and on your guard Church for anything that causes you to deviate from the commands of Scripture, the watering down and trivializing of the values and character traits God desires for His children and from anything that draws us from the truth that He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE!

Livin on the Edge # 4

“Dance as though no one is watching

Love as though you have never been hurt

Sing as though no one is listening

Live as if Heaven is on Earth”

ROMANS 12: 17-21

17 If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. 18 Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. 19 Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says, "I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord." 20 Instead, as the scripture says: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for by doing this you will make them burn with shame." 21 Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.

TO LIVE ON THE EDGE… We have to LOVE with reckless abandon! To Love as Christ Loved us.

A pair of hands methodically began to scoop up the loose ground, moving it into a pile. When a sufficient amount of earth had been placed in the pile, the hands began to move the earth around swiftly. The earth began to take a shape unseen before. When the earth had been fashioned into the desired form, the Creator bent down, looked approvingly at the shape and placed His mouth over the earthen lips of the form. He breathed, forcing air into the earthen vessel He had fashioned. Suddenly, miraculously, the form responded to the breath and sprang to life. Adam was aware that he was the culmination and climax of creation and that the Creator had just formed a special bond with him-a relationship of love (see Genesis 2:7).

The Very Nature of God is Love

Volumes have been written about the characteristics of God, but when it is distilled to the most basic categories, He is love (1 John 4:8), life (Jeremiah 10:10; Revelation 22:1), and holiness (Psalms 99:9). 

And in reality, His life and holiness are based upon and are an expression of His love: love gives, so He gives life; love desires the best, so holiness proceeds from Him.

Love is not something he chooses to do or give. It is the very essence of who He is. He doesn't just love-He is love (1 John 4:16). It motivates His every action, directs His activities, and reflects His desires (1 John 4:10). Love is the greatest and purest essence of who a person is and its proper expression brings fulfillment.

However, God's love is not like the love expressed by many in our culture today: a love of convenience and ego. That is, "I will love you as long as you add value to my life and please me. When that ceases, so does my love for you." For many, love is conditional. The conditions may be different depending upon the relationship, but there are still conditions to be met in order to "earn" our love.

William Bennett, former Secretary of Education and author of The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories (1993), once said that he attended a wedding where the vows had been changed to reflect this love of convenience. He decided to send a gift to the couple that reflected their commitment to the marriage-a package of paper plates! He said he figured the package would last as long as the marriage.

This attitude stands in stark contrast to God's unconditional love, which never fails (Psalms 52:8), endures forever (Psalms 106:1), is uncalculating (Proverbs 30:5), and not motivated by personal gain (1 John 3:16). 

Unconditional love does not mean that God loves everything we do, but rather His love is so intense that He loves every sinner, no matter how vile and despicable he or she may be in the eyes of humanity, so much that He provides a way for them to find love, life, and holiness (John 3:16). "Intense love does not measure, it just gives" (Mother Teresa).

The Focus of God's Love is Redemption

Daily, Adam and Eve walked with God, until the desire for pleasure overcame their love for God (see Genesis 3). 

This break in the relationship required redemption.

God's love (and our own!) is not an abstract ideal, but a concrete reality that finds expression. Love that is not expressed through the giving of self, practical action and sacrifice is not love. Love must meet the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of those loved. It is costly, brings vulnerability, and seeks the person's highest good (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

God's unconditional and intense love for fallen humanity motivated the plan of salvation (Revelation 1:5). Simply, salvation is God making us whole or complete. It is a healing of the soul, bringing us back to the state of Adam when God breathed life into him and made him a living soul. Separation from God, caused by sin, is separation from life. A person might have biological life, but not the quality of life God envisions for us.

A few years ago I encountered Marc, a house painter. He promptly told me that he knew I was a preacher, but he didn't have much for Christians or preachers because of some bad experiences. I quickly prayed for wisdom and said, "Marc, Christians are a lot like painters. Not everyone who claims to be one is. Of those who are, some are better than others. And even the best make mistakes." He paused and replied, "I've never thought about it like that." Our friendship continued to develop. One day, he called to tell me that he and his wife had given their hearts to the Lord. He was amazed that he felt so alive and free. God's love brings cleansing, freedom, and wholeness. True love is liberating, not restrictive. This does not give us a license to sin, but the freedom to serve God completely, motivated by love, and empowered by the Spirit.

God's love motivates His compassion and mercy (love in action). His love brings transformation. Usually at baptism, the minister will quote from Matthew 28:19 and baptize the person "in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." We clap, raise our hands, and miss the truth of the event. It is more than a public expression of one's faith. At baptism, we are baptized (immersed) into the very character of the Father (love), the character of the Son (grace), and the character of the Holy Spirit (fellowship; see 2 Corinthians 13:13).

Salvation is based on God's fervent love and mercy, not our worthiness (Titus 3:4-5). One response (in the image of Jesus Christ's offering on the Cross) is that we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God (Rom 12:1).

The Goal of God's Love is Relationship

Ephesians 4:29 New International Version (NIV)

29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Love requires relationship, as love is a dynamic force or presence that naturally seeks expression. Simply put, love loves! And in order to do that there must be an object of that love or it is incomplete.

God's love is revealed in that He created us in His own image (a position of responsibility before God) and likeness (moral freedom; Genesis 1:26-27; Job 33:4). Part of that image/likeness is freedom of choice. We can choose to accept and embrace God's love or we can choose to ignore or reject it. We were formed from dust, but because of God's great love for us, we received the breath of God, with its intrinsic and inherent life. This life gives us the capacity and desire to be in relationship (understanding; self-awareness; communicative; ability to have fellowship) and to love in return. To live in God is to live in love (1 John 4:16).

Our relationship with God is an intimate one. There is a sacred knowledge and expression that takes place. To know Him intimately is to open the door for revelation and fulfillment. It brings change or transformation-change of essence, expression, behavior, desires, identity, and security. The bond is so strong that God says a nursing mother may abandon her child, but He will never abandon us (Isaiah 49:15-16). He becomes the ultimate Father!

When we reflect upon the intensity of our relationship with God, self-doubt often arises. Can we keep our end of the bargain? Of great comfort (and a pressing challenge) is the thought that our relationship with God is not the sum of our activity directed toward God, but the intensity of our relationship with God as expressed through our devotion to him, our obedience to his wishes, and our attitudes toward his will and best desires for us. He loved us first, enabling us to respond properly to His love (1 John 4:10-11). And His love (and ability) never fails.

A young student asked Karl Barth to share the most significant theological truth he had discovered in all of his years of study. Barth, one of the most prolific theologians of the 20th century, wrote approximately sixty volumes of commentaries and theological studies. This brilliant man that many call the most important theologian of modern times thought for a moment, smiled, and said, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Nothing-absolutely nothing-can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:35-39)!