Living on the Edge! #2

“Living On The Edge”

TEXT: John 5:1-11

I. At Certain Seasons

There are two Greek words for time. “Chronos” from which we get chronological. It equals calendar time or quantity of time.

In this passage however, the second word is used. “Kairos”. It deals with quality of time. 

Actual definition is “A divine appointment of God” or “a favorable time”. This word is used 168 times in the entire Bible. 168 times in the 1600 years it took for the Bible to be written.

The truth is that we can’t miss the kairos moments in our life. We must not miss the season of troubled waters. Who knows when the “time” the “kairos” will come back again. If we miss our kairos moment due to pettiness, pride, bitterness, anger, who know when another kairos moment will come. 168 times in 1600 years. We may only have one shot.

 See we don’t create the waves we only ride them. It is essential for us to become like the Sons of Issachar described in I Chronicles 12:32. 

The Bible says they were men who understood the times. We must become men and women who understand and perceive when a kairos moment is upon us.

Look at your neighbor and say it is time! (We are face to face with a kairos moment this morning will you perceive it or miss it?)

II. No One Can Get Your Blessing Or Revival For You = Verse 7

God has made each of us a free moral agent. In other words we must each choose for ourselves. I can’t get revival for you. I can’t get blessed for you.

I might be a part of your blessing but you have to choose it and want it

yourself. If you set back and wait you will never get it. If you are waiting

on someone to package it just right and come and place it in your lap it will never happen. If your waiting on your pastor to bring revival to you you will be waiting forever. We have to get it for ourselves.

III. Others Are Not Going To Wait On You To Get Blessed. Therefore, You Can’t Wait On Them. = Verse 7

No since waiting on so and so to get right. No use waiting on your boyfriend or girlfriend, your spouse, your neighbor, your parents, aunts or uncles before you step into revival. You may say, “When Brother So and So straightens up” or “When Sister Such and Such gets in I will too.” “I am waiting on him to dance or shout.” I have got news for you today I’m not going to wait on you to get blessed. The other person isn’t going to wait on you to get blessed. When the opportunity presents itself I’m going for it and so should you. Don’t wait. Get in while the waters are troubled.

Can you imagine the scene. It is a mad rush to get into the water when they are troubled. The blind man hears the cry go up, “the waters are troubled.” So he begins to make a sprint to the water. But in his blindness he trips over the lame man’s cane. He turns and yells at the man but he is actually yelling at a man that seems to pay no attention. He is deaf. All the while the mute man is trying to direct traffic with sign language. A huge dog pile takes place at the pool’s edge and the blind man in anger turns his seeing eye dog loose on the mob.

Fighting to get in. Desperate for the move. There is truth here. Get up, get in or get out of the way. If you get in the way of revival, if you wait on someone else you may get trampled by desperate people. 

WE ARE COMING THRU. WE WON’T WAIT.

IV. Those Positioned Appropriately Got The Blessing = Verse 7

Who got the blessing when the water was troubled? Why after 38 years had this man not been the first into the pool? Why after all this time had he not been the one to be healed? Why after being beaten time and time again into the water didn’t he position himself appropriately? Who got blessed and healed? Those who were close to the water. Why after 38 years wasn’t he on the edge of the water? I would have been hanging over the edge every day.

The word is this. . . Who is going to experience revival? Those who position themselves appropriately. Where is the appropriate position? As close to the water as possible. You can’t be a long ways off and expect to get in you have to get ready now. If revival hits and you have to begin preparing, praying, fasting you will miss the wave. Get ready! Position yourself! Get close, stay close! Camp out near the water. Don’t miss, don’t skip, don’t blink! Get ready, stay on the edge.

V. No Excuses Allowed = Verses 6-7

Jesus asks a silly question or did he? He asks a man who had been sick 38 years if he wants to be healed. That is a “yes” or “no” question. But notice the man’s answer. He doesn’t say yes. He doesn’t say no. He makes an excuse. He had become comfortable with his sickness. He had become comfortable with his present state. He was comfortable with the routine of coming to the pool every day. After 38 years of the same daily routine and after 38 years of making friends around the pool he was satisfied where he was.

Jesus is troubling the waters and He is asking, “Do you want revival?” It is a “yes” or “no” question. But what is our answer? Are we comfortable with our sickness called sin. Are we comfortable with our present state spiritually? Some of us have been the same for 40 years, 4 years, 4 months. But there are no excuses allowed. We either want it or we don’t.

But I can’t get into revival because so and so setting on the 4th row hurt me, my past won’t let me, this revival doesn’t push my buttons, the songs aren’t my style, the preacher isn’t firey enough, the preacher didn’t pray for me personally so I can’t have revival. No Excuses Allowed!! It is a yes or no question. We must make up our mind that we want revival so bad that we will take it any way we can get it and at any cost. If God sends us a cinnamon revival and our favorite flavor of revival is vanilla we should still get in on it. If we prefer fast songs but revival comes through slow ones, if we like choruses and it comes through hymns, if we want a Caucasian revival and He sends a black or brown revival we should still be a part of it.

No Excuses Allowed!! THE PROOF OF DESIRE IS PURSUIT. We must desire revival so bad that we will pursue in any shape, color, or form. And the great news is that we you can’t get to the water the water has come to you. Just answer yes and have revival.

VI. People Will Try To Box Up Your Revival = Verses 10-11

If you experience revival someone will try to clean it up, formalize it, place tradition on it. There will be someone who won’t like the way you sing, dance, shout, or pray. I suggest that you answer them like this man did . . . “Jesus told me to do it.”

When you know God said dance. When you know He said shout with the voice of triumph. When you know He said to run. Others will try to box you up. “We never did it that way.” “Your in the flesh.” I am convinced we are more scared of being in the flesh than we are of being dead. Do what you feel like God said do and let Him make up the difference. Err on the side of life rather than death.

If you know God said to do it answer them like this man did and keep on trukin. You notice he didn’t’ sit back down and stay around the pool another 38 years. He walked on into victory. We must do the same. When the devil laughs, when people laugh, when friends laugh, when neighbors laugh and say your making a fool of yourself just tell them who told you to do it and walk into victory.

It Is Time... The Waters Are Troubled!!

PRAYER:

1. If here and want revival but been waiting on someone else.

2. Not positioned appropriately and need to get closer to the water.

3. Been making excuses.

4. Letting others box me in.

5. Ready for revival.

Living On The Edge Intro

Living on the Edge

Experiencing the “The Spiritual” the way it was intended

• Romans 12 is the place to start if you want a RENEWAL of your SPIRITUAL CONNECT with the Supernatural! 
• What most Christians sadly misunderstand is that God isn’t into religious activities or performance based Christianity. Instead, Romans 12 reveals to us a RELATIONAL profile of what it means to be a disciple, as well as a proven pathway to becoming more like Jesus everyday!
• If you have become stagnant in your spiritual growth… START HERE
• If you have become disengaged with your church experience… START HERE
• If you are a relatively new believer and unsure of how to grow spiritually… START HERE!
• If you are a mature Christian and are looking for a pathway to disciple others or even yourself… START HERE.

• Over the next few weeks… we are going to be talking a lot about LOVE. Love from God, Love for each other… and we are going to look at Practical ways to do that!

Our message series is called LIVING ON THE EDGE. 

• How to give God what He wants most  (Romans 12:1)
• What does God really want from us?
• Why is it so hard to surrender to God?
• Do we believe that God has our best in mind?
• What does a surrendered life look like anyway?
• Are we all in or still only part way?

• How do you get God’s BEST for your life?  (Romans 12:2)

• How do we come to grips with the REAL me? (Romans 12: 3-8)
• Who do we think we are?
• Have we answered life’s really big questions?
• Where do we “fit” in God’s family?
• Do we know God’s PURPOSE for our lives?

• How to Experience Authentic Community (Romans 12: 9-13)
• How to overcome the enemy when he is aiming straight at us? (Romans 12: 14-21)

ARE WE READY to see God do the IMPOSSIBLE?

To really understand what its like to experience LIVING ON THE EDGE… we have to let of our own way of thinking and acting and really GIVE IT ALL to Him. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

DIVE IN!

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. —Mark 12:30 (NKJV)

God’s love for you is deep, wide and more intense than you can imagine. But it can be a struggle to love Him back the way we should—with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Read on for some practical ways to dive deeper into your relationship with God through prayer, reading the Bible and relationships with others.

Prayer

Pray without ceasing. —1 Thessalonians 5:17, NKJV

You can’t have a deep relationship with God unless you spend time with Him, and one way to do that is through prayer. But how should you pray in order to draw closer to God? Here are some practical ideas.

• Pray often. Sometimes we fall into a habit of praying only when we want something from God. Most of us have whispered a desperate, last-minute prayer: “Help me, God!” But the Bible says we should “pray without ceasing.” That means going to God throughout the day to thank Him, praise Him and make requests for ourselves and others.

• Pray in a quiet place where you can focus on God. Jesus said, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

• Don’t focus on fancy words and long prayers. Jesus also said, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases,” thinking God will hear you better if you talk more, “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:7-8).

• Use the Lord’s Prayer as a guide. The words known as the Lord’s Prayer are found in Matthew chapter 6. If you can recite it by heart without even thinking about it, take time to look at the words with a fresh perspective to see how Jesus is telling you to pray.

• Remember the word ACTS. Some people find it helpful to use the letters A-C-T-S to remember how to pray.

◦ A stands for adoration. Tell God you adore and praise Him. Spend time worshiping Him.

◦ C stands for confession. Confess your sins to God and ask Him to forgive you.

◦ T stands for thanksgiving. Thank God for His Son, Jesus, and the blessings in your life.

◦ S stands for supplication. Ask God to supply your needs and the needs of others.

dive | dīv

(v.): To intentionally jump or plunge headfirst

Scripture

Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. —Deuteronomy 8:3b, NKJV

Do you ever wish God would speak to you? Give you some direction?

Maybe there are a lot of things you’d rather do than read the Bible, yet that’s one of the best things to do for one-on-one time with God. The books of the Bible are His words to you. It’s full of wisdom, life lessons, truth and encouragement. If you commit to reading the Bible daily, you just might find that you look forward to it. Here are 8 tips and ideas to get started.

• Think of the Bible as food for the soul. A daily dose can bring peace and balance to your life, and help you think and act in ways pleasing to God.

• Get into a routine. Set aside at least 10 minutes a day to read the Bible. It might mean getting up a little earlier or finding a quiet spot away from everyday distractions. Maybe you read it with a cup of coffee, during your lunch break or before bed. Set a time and stick to it.

• Don’t worry if understanding the Bible seems hard at first. Before you begin reading, pray and ask God to help you understand what you’re about to read. Ask Him to show you what He wants you to learn. Study Bibles are also helpful in giving you context.

• Keep these 3 questions in mind as you read. What does this passage mean? What is God saying to me in this passage? And how can I apply this to my own life?

• Ask a friend to read along with you. Maybe you can go through a reading plan together or meet each week to talk about what you’ve read. Text or email Bible verses to each other, or use a Bible app to “friend” each other and share notes.

• The Bible can be overwhelming. Where should you begin? See if your church has a printable Bible reading plan or search for one online. You can also aim to read a chapter a day (try one Proverb a day for each day of July). Joining a Bible study group is another good option.

• Read by topic. The book of James is all about Christian living. The Psalms, a book of worship, can enrich your devotion to God, and Proverbs is full of wisdom to strengthen your relationship with others.

• Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day. Renew your commitment and pick it back up the next day.

Relationships 

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. —1 Peter 4:8, ESV

We’ve all had moments where we put tasks over people. Maybe you’ve found yourself engulfed in deadlines at work; 

FF 1-218barely coming up for air to chat with coworkers. Or perhaps you spent so much time prepping food during the dinner party that your guests had to entertain themselves. Whether with your spouse, children, friends or even complete strangers—we’re each involved in some type of relationship. And the Bible says we should take them all seriously—whether we want to or not.

The secret to strengthening relationships that have weakened over time or never really gained ground is to love. But not just half-hearted, shallow love. We are to love others earnestly, meaning with purpose and ambition. Here are three ways to be intentional with your relationships:

• Show your love. Saying “I love you” is meaningful, but can resonate deeper with action behind it. Make a greater effort to pay attention to those around you and do something to communicate your love in a way that’s special to them. Even small gestures and quality time can leave a lasting impression.

• Forget about yourself. God’s love for you is the greatest example of how to love and care for others. There is no struggle we’ve had that Christ did not experience, yet He unselfishly gave His time to meet the needs of others. In your relationships, strive for this deeper connection that leaves people changed for the better. Listen carefully. What’s important to them? How can you join them in prayer? Do you have a solution to something they need?

• Extend grace. Can you think of a few individuals you’re not on good terms with? Difficult people aren’t excluded from our relationship building. Broken relationships are perhaps the most important to mend and improve. Love is not easily angered (1 Corinthians 13:5) and if you find yourself holding a grudge or avoiding someone because of the past, it may be time to extend grace. Forget who started what and reach out with genuine forgiveness and an open heart.

I AM The Light of the World

John 8:12-30

• Olentangy Indian Caverns (Extreme Darkness) Guide with the Light An AHA moment

• Jesus is Declaring that He is NOT of this world and that there is something MORE!

• At the end of this text… it says that as He was saying these things… many believed. It was Jesus’ words that God used to bring people to faith. No miracles being performed… just the Word. It created an AHA MOMENT for these who were walking in darkness! It happened to them… it can happen to you!

• Notice that Jesus is declaring Himself to be the LIGHT OF THE WORLD… He is attributing that to having a relationship with The Father. He is reflecting LIGHT as a natural man who is dependent on the supernatural to live as LIGHT

• Famous Bible Teacher John Piper says…”Following Jesus is more than tagging along behind him. It means following him for who he is. Being so taken with him that you join yourself to Him.”

• BECOMING ONE WITH THE LIGHT
• And notice that when you follow him you have him — you have him as the light of life. “I am the light . . . Whoever follows me . . . will have the light . . .” You will have me, he says, as your light. If you follow me, you have me. I am yours. I am your Shepherd and your Sacrifice and your Living Water and your Bread from Heaven and your God, and your Light. Notice the last phrase of verse 12: “You will have the light of life.
• ”The eyes of our hearts are opened, and supernatural light streams into our mind, our heart and deep into our spirit. And thus we have the light of life. The light that comes from new, spiritual, eye-opening life — the life that gives sight to the blind soul, eternal life giving eternal sight.
• This is what God wants you to understand this morning… you are NOT going to find this kind of light anywhere else. Lots of us try to find the source of light in a lot of different ways… but honestly, there is only ONE WAY.
• If we don’t follow him, we do walk in darkness. And where is that darkness? It is in the world and in our hearts. So being “the light of the world” doesn’t mean removing all darkness from the world as he walks through the world.

Here’s what I think it means:

1 Jesus’s being “the light of the world” means the world has no other light than him. If there is going to be a light for the world, it will be Jesus. It is Jesus or darkness. There is no third alternative. No other light.

2 It means, therefore, that all the world, and everyone in it needs, Jesus as their light. If they decide no… that is their CHOICE but its more costly than they know

3 It means that the world was made for this light. This is not a foreign light. This is the light of the owner of the world. When this light comes, it not only makes sin plain as foreign and ugly, but it also makes everything good in the world shine with its full and true beauty. This world was made to be illumined by this light. This light of Christ is native to the world. its just that the god of this age… has blinded most people to this reality

4 And finally Jesus being “the light of the world” means that that one day this world will be filled with this light as the waters cover the sea, and all darkness, and all the works of darkness, and all the sons of darkness will be cast out. That’s why Jesus called hell “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30). In that day, all will be light. Jesus, the radiance of the Father, will fill the world, and everything will be beautiful with the light of Christ.

But what about life now? What about all the different ways darkness affects us?

• He will be the light in which you see mountains and valleys and oceans and rivers and trees and animals and people. Nothing will be the same again when you have him as your light. Everything looks different in the light of Christ. Yes, even earthquakes and tsunamis and suffering and death. Until his light fills the earth as the waters cover the sea — until it and banishes sin and sickness and pain and earthquakes to the outer darkness — until then, even now, his light will help you bear the sorrows of darkness. It will be a soft glow to comfort you in your lonely room after the devastating loss. It will be a lamp on your troubled path. It will reveal the wise and loving face of God behind every frowning providence.

• We have to see him and receive him as the light of the world NOW!                          
• Or we will die in our sins and see it only when it is too late. 

• My prayer is that God will allow you to see and believe now.
• Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my LIGHT and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life… of whom shall I be afraid?

Praise Him in the Storm

Let me begin by saying what a JOY it was to have you in this morning's service!

Below is an interview with Dr. Erwin Luther who is a part of the Billy Graham Association. In lieu of the Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Fires, Wars and rumors of Wars... I thought Dr. Lutzer's explanation of "Where is God?" to be very timely and informative. I hope you find it inspiring!

Pastor Dan

n this interview with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, originally published in the wake of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, the pastor and author answers questions about God’s role in natural disasters. 

On May 27-29, 2014, Dr. Lutzer will hold a seminar at The Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove. He’ll be discussing “the hidden realities of God’s invisible world.” Seminar-only tickets are still available, but The Cove’s two inns are full.

Where was God when tornadoes swept through half a dozen states from Arkansas to Alabama, leaving a trail of grief and chaos?

In the wake of loss and disaster, we struggle to understand how a God who is all-powerful and all-knowing can also be considered good and loving. Pastor and teacher Erwin Lutzer tackles this tough subject head-on in his book, Where Was God?

Q: Can you address something we hear many times, which is “Why would God allow natural disasters?”

Lutzer: One thing we have to remember is that the world is fallen. The Bible says that when man fell into sin, all of nature was cursed. In other words, it was impossible for a sinful man to live in a perfect environment of paradise, so all of nature is cursed.

But having said that, it doesn’t mean that God has a hands-off policy when it comes to natural disasters. Many people want to protect God from the clear teaching of the Bible, which shows He is involved in natural disasters. It is not that God causes them, but the very fact that He could prevent them shows that we need to face squarely the fact that natural disasters happen within God’s providence.

Let me give you a few examples. During the time of the plagues in Egypt, clearly God sent those plagues. Then you have the time of Noah; the flood obviously was sent by God. It says regarding Jonah, God hurled a storm into the sea. We must see God in natural disasters. The question, of course, is why does he allow them and what is there to be learned.

Q: What kinds of lessons can we learn from natural disasters?

Dr. Lutzer: Natural disasters are a megaphone from God and they teach us various lessons. First of all, natural disasters show us the uncertainty of life. Thousands of people wake up in the morning not knowing what is going to happen that day, such as the terrible devastation in Haiti and elsewhere. There was a couple that left California because they were afraid of earthquakes. Then when they came to Missouri, they were killed in a tornado. We can’t get away from the reality that life is very, very short and it’s possible for us to delude ourselves.

When we look at the news and see these disasters, it’s like a preview of the natural disasters that will someday come upon the earth. When you look at the second coming of Christ, you find many different natural disasters connected with it.

Q: What can Christians say to neighbors and friends who question whether God can be merciful and loving and allow disasters to happen?

Dr. Lutzer: One of the greatest challenges we have as Christians is to somehow continue to believe God and to trust Him in the midst of horrendous devastation. When you see children being separated from their fathers and mothers, when you see lives being torn and hundreds of people dead, it is very natural to ask the question, “Where is God?”

What we need to realize is that God can be trusted, even when it seems as if He is not on our side. We have to point people to the fact that God has intervened in our planet by sending Jesus Christ. There we see the love of God most clearly.

It was Martin Luther who said, “When you look around and wonder whether God cares, you must always hurry to the cross and you must see Him there.”

The other thing you need to realize is that time is short and eternity is long. Some times we reverse that. The values that we have here on this earth, although life is precious, the fact is that earthquakes do not increase death. Everybody is going to die someday. It’s the way they die that causes us so much grief.

When we hear about a natural disaster we should grieve with those who grieve. And we should ask what we can do to alleviate their suffering.

Finally, I think this is the best illustration. All of Job’s 10 children died in a natural disaster. There was a wind storm that blew down the house. Job was confronted with the fact that because of a natural disaster, there are 10 fresh graves on the hilltop. So now what is he going to do?

His wife says to curse God and die. But Job said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Job shows us it is possible to worship God even without explanations, even when we don’t know all the reasons. Those who worship God under those conditions are especially blessed.