Tonight's Scripture Reading: Genesis 35:1-5
What was God telling Jacob? To build an alter, Honor Him. What did Jacob tell his family? Get rid of the foreign god’s, purify yourselves, change your cloth’s. God is with us always. Did Jacob want to take his family on his journey of faith? Let’s look into the journey and what happened on the journey?
The Foreign God’s:
Vs. 2 “So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and purify yourselves and change your clothes.”
Jacob realized how much God had done for him. He wanted everyone to share his experience. How much they “needed” God, only God.
Foreign gods: Many people back then had “household idols” that they depended on, as well as God. They didn’t trust God alone. Get rid of them. What are your “idols”? Have you gotten rid of them?
Purify Yourselves, Change Your Cloth‘s:
What was Jacob telling them to do? To purify and change their hearts, not the physical clothing, the heart. Stop Sinning, get rid of the idols, stop sinning and come to God. Change your heart. I told a story about a friend who had a dream. In his dream God told him he was clean on the outside but dirty on the inside. He wanted to know what that meant to me. Here is what was reviled to me.
God was telling him to change his heart and focus on Him. Stop living in the world, claiming to be a Christian. Wearing a cross, going to church, going through the actions without changing his heart. “Clean on the outside, Dirty on the inside”. Would you drink from a shiny, polished cup that was moldy inside? His outer appearance said Christian but his heart said sin.
The Journey:
We need to Change, we need to have Faith in God. A Changed heart, no idols, just God. Jacob listened to God and did what God asked of Him. Faithfully.
Vs. 5 “Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the towns all around them so that no one pursued them.” …
God offered complete protection, a safe journey, then Blessings.
Obeying:
Vs. 7 There he built an alter, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there That God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.”
Jacob had cleaned his heart and obeyed God’s commands,what happened next?
Vs. 10-13 “God said to him, Your name is Jacob , but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel. So He named him Israel. And God said to him, I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your decedents after you. Then God went up from him at the place were he had talked with him.”
The Kingdom
Are you Clean on the outside but dirty on the inside? … Do you look like a Christian or do you Act like a Christian? …
The promise of God is, eternal life with Him. All He asks us for, is our heart God looks at our heart not the exterior.
If you see someone wearing a cross it doesn’t mean that they have Christ in their hearts. Ask them, don’t turn down the chance to minister God’s word. Remember, A Shiny outside doesn’t mean a Clean inside.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Church Conflict
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE READING: Acts 15
Conflict among Christians is inevitable and should be anticipated. Yet, many churches have trouble managing conflict. I believe a major reason why this is so is because it is contrary to what we expect to find. We think that church should be the one place where people find relief from the turmoil that is in our lives.
People believe church should be an environment that is free of strife. We're Christians; can't we all get along? But this expectation does not take into account the fact that even Christians are still fallen people. Though we believe in Jesus, we're still a mess. The unrealistic expectation that believers in Christ will always live peacefully with one another only exasperates the problem when conflict does arise.
Acts 15 is a pivotal chapter; in it the decision was made as to how Gentiles would be received into the church. It was difficult for some Jewish Christians to accept that Gentiles could be brought into the church without first becoming Jews. The conflict in the church at Antioch caused by the Judaizers' false teaching was no side issue. The matter had to do with salvation itself. This was not something where believers could just agree to disagree. Salvation is an essential doctrine of the church. This issue went to the very core of Christianity, and it had to be resolved.
When Paul heard about what the Judaizers were teaching, he became outraged. You see Paul correctly taught that salvation is grace plus nothing. Our simple response is to place our faith in Jesus. To require one to follow the law, or to observe a system of religious rituals, is to add to the gospel of grace.
Just how is church conflict to be resolved? *Matthew 18:15-17* gives us a three-step method for resolving church conflict.
The situation to which Jesus refers is when someone in the church has sinned against us. Our Lord instructs us to go to that person, and seek to bring about reconciliation. Quite often, our attitude is, "He or she should come to me. After all, I was the one who was wronged. Why should I make the first move? That person should come to me and apologize."
We are also to take the initiative whenever we have been the one who has caused the hurt or anger (*Matthew 5:23-24*). So then, we should always take the initiative in resolving conflict, regardless of whether we were the one hurt, or we were the one who caused the hurt.
Step One: Go to the individual in private:
We are to go to that person alone. This is because we need to preserve peace in the church. If we don't handle the matter privately, and instead talk about it with our friends behind the person's back, gossip will spread throughout the church. Factions will develop as people choose sides. Thus, we must attempt to resolve the issue one-on-one.
Before we go, we should pray. We need to ask God to help us approach the individual in an attitude of love. Our purpose in meeting with him or her should be to both convince and restore. We also want to reconcile with him. We almost certainly will not succeed if we lose control of our temper, or if he cannot see love for him in our approach. If the matter is resolved, give thanks to God. If not, Jesus gave us a second step.
Step Two: Seek the help of one or two mediators :
This mediator should be someone who is spiritually mature, and who will be objective. He will not choose sides, but instead will try to assist in discovering what it is God is saying. If, after meeting with a mediator, the issue remains unresolved, Jesus directs us to take a third step.
Step Three: Bring the matter before the church elders:
(*Acts 15:7-21*) The Jerusalem Council began their meeting by spending a great deal of time discussing the matter of how Gentiles would be received into the church. Peter gave a history lesson, recalling what God had already done among the Gentiles. God already had fully received the Gentiles on the basis of faith, making no distinction between Jews and Gentiles.
Turning to the Judaizers, Peter remarked, "Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?" (vs. 10). The purpose of the law was to make us aware of our sins, so that we would acknowledge our need of a Savior (*James 2:10*).
After Peter spoke, Barnabas and Paul began sharing all that God had done in bringing Gentiles to Himself during the first missionary journey. Finally, James spoke, quoting from Amos 9. James appealed to scripture to demonstrate that what God was doing among the Gentiles had a biblical foundation. He then made a ruling on the matter of how Gentiles would be received into the church.
Basing his decision on the authority of God's Word, which had been confirmed through the experiences of Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey, James declared the church must recognize and embrace Gentile believers as brothers and sisters in Christ. He added they must not burden Gentiles by asking them to add to their faith either circumcision or obeying the Mosaic law.
Did you notice how James and the Jerusalem Council arrived at their decision?
They appealed to Truth. They turned to the Word of God in seeking to discover the Truth of God. They did not rely on their own thoughts and feelings. What we think or feel about a matter can be wrong. Only the Bible is authoritative. It is our only reliable source of Truth. When the Council looked at what had been taking place through the experiences of Paul and Barnabas, they saw that these experiences were aligned with scripture.
While affirming a law-free gospel, James also appealed to these believers to refrain from certain practices which particularly offensive to their Jewish Christian brothers. "Hey folks, now that we've resolved this essential matter, we want you to know there are some things you need to be aware of. So, out of love for them, just don't do these things."
When it comes to essential matters of faith, we need to be willing to go to the mat to defend these. But there are some non-essential areas of faith where our convictions may differ. Out of love for one another, we need to respect each others' convictions on those issues, and not do something that knowingly would hurt others.
We need to respect one another in order to promote harmony in the church.
Conflict among Christians is inevitable and should be anticipated. Yet, many churches have trouble managing conflict. I believe a major reason why this is so is because it is contrary to what we expect to find. We think that church should be the one place where people find relief from the turmoil that is in our lives.
People believe church should be an environment that is free of strife. We're Christians; can't we all get along? But this expectation does not take into account the fact that even Christians are still fallen people. Though we believe in Jesus, we're still a mess. The unrealistic expectation that believers in Christ will always live peacefully with one another only exasperates the problem when conflict does arise.
Acts 15 is a pivotal chapter; in it the decision was made as to how Gentiles would be received into the church. It was difficult for some Jewish Christians to accept that Gentiles could be brought into the church without first becoming Jews. The conflict in the church at Antioch caused by the Judaizers' false teaching was no side issue. The matter had to do with salvation itself. This was not something where believers could just agree to disagree. Salvation is an essential doctrine of the church. This issue went to the very core of Christianity, and it had to be resolved.
When Paul heard about what the Judaizers were teaching, he became outraged. You see Paul correctly taught that salvation is grace plus nothing. Our simple response is to place our faith in Jesus. To require one to follow the law, or to observe a system of religious rituals, is to add to the gospel of grace.
Just how is church conflict to be resolved? *Matthew 18:15-17* gives us a three-step method for resolving church conflict.
The situation to which Jesus refers is when someone in the church has sinned against us. Our Lord instructs us to go to that person, and seek to bring about reconciliation. Quite often, our attitude is, "He or she should come to me. After all, I was the one who was wronged. Why should I make the first move? That person should come to me and apologize."
We are also to take the initiative whenever we have been the one who has caused the hurt or anger (*Matthew 5:23-24*). So then, we should always take the initiative in resolving conflict, regardless of whether we were the one hurt, or we were the one who caused the hurt.
Step One: Go to the individual in private:
We are to go to that person alone. This is because we need to preserve peace in the church. If we don't handle the matter privately, and instead talk about it with our friends behind the person's back, gossip will spread throughout the church. Factions will develop as people choose sides. Thus, we must attempt to resolve the issue one-on-one.
Before we go, we should pray. We need to ask God to help us approach the individual in an attitude of love. Our purpose in meeting with him or her should be to both convince and restore. We also want to reconcile with him. We almost certainly will not succeed if we lose control of our temper, or if he cannot see love for him in our approach. If the matter is resolved, give thanks to God. If not, Jesus gave us a second step.
Step Two: Seek the help of one or two mediators :
This mediator should be someone who is spiritually mature, and who will be objective. He will not choose sides, but instead will try to assist in discovering what it is God is saying. If, after meeting with a mediator, the issue remains unresolved, Jesus directs us to take a third step.
Step Three: Bring the matter before the church elders:
(*Acts 15:7-21*) The Jerusalem Council began their meeting by spending a great deal of time discussing the matter of how Gentiles would be received into the church. Peter gave a history lesson, recalling what God had already done among the Gentiles. God already had fully received the Gentiles on the basis of faith, making no distinction between Jews and Gentiles.
Turning to the Judaizers, Peter remarked, "Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?" (vs. 10). The purpose of the law was to make us aware of our sins, so that we would acknowledge our need of a Savior (*James 2:10*).
After Peter spoke, Barnabas and Paul began sharing all that God had done in bringing Gentiles to Himself during the first missionary journey. Finally, James spoke, quoting from Amos 9. James appealed to scripture to demonstrate that what God was doing among the Gentiles had a biblical foundation. He then made a ruling on the matter of how Gentiles would be received into the church.
Basing his decision on the authority of God's Word, which had been confirmed through the experiences of Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey, James declared the church must recognize and embrace Gentile believers as brothers and sisters in Christ. He added they must not burden Gentiles by asking them to add to their faith either circumcision or obeying the Mosaic law.
Did you notice how James and the Jerusalem Council arrived at their decision?
They appealed to Truth. They turned to the Word of God in seeking to discover the Truth of God. They did not rely on their own thoughts and feelings. What we think or feel about a matter can be wrong. Only the Bible is authoritative. It is our only reliable source of Truth. When the Council looked at what had been taking place through the experiences of Paul and Barnabas, they saw that these experiences were aligned with scripture.
While affirming a law-free gospel, James also appealed to these believers to refrain from certain practices which particularly offensive to their Jewish Christian brothers. "Hey folks, now that we've resolved this essential matter, we want you to know there are some things you need to be aware of. So, out of love for them, just don't do these things."
When it comes to essential matters of faith, we need to be willing to go to the mat to defend these. But there are some non-essential areas of faith where our convictions may differ. Out of love for one another, we need to respect each others' convictions on those issues, and not do something that knowingly would hurt others.
We need to respect one another in order to promote harmony in the church.
Monday, July 12, 2010
How To Listen To A Sermon
Greetings and God's Blessings to all. Tonight we looked into listening to a sermon. Many people attend church and sit there but don't listen. Church is a place that God communicates with us but we need to have our ears, eyes, and hearts open to receive His word. Self help books are all around us today. Most begin with “How To”, They offer advice on how to make your life “more practical”, how to accomplish tasks, make your life easier, be more productive, and make your life more fulfilling.
Our scripture reading for tonight was 2 Timothy 4 : 1-5. Why do you come to church? To meet Christian friends?, give your children good moral values?, help lift you up for the up coming week? We should be coming here to “Know God”, to have an encounter with Him. We should be here to ‘Hear Him”. So, we need to listen. Luke 8:18 Therefore consider how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. Does God speak to us today? Yes, just as much as He always has. Today, He speaks to us mainly through His Word and the teaching and preaching of His Word. If we develop good listening skills, we will hear Him clearly.
How To Listen: Listen reverently (Worshipful). The Bible is God’s Word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. The Greek word “Inspired” is literally translated to “God Breathed”. Not the product of human imagination, ingenuity, or creation. God insured that the words written and translated were His words and only His Words. When you open your Bibles you are not reading words from men about God, you are reading God’s words to man. God speaks through the Bible. Paul told Timothy and all Pastors through the ages to “Preach the Word”. 2 Timothy 4:2-3 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit there own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
A Pastor is not to preach his prejudices or opinions. We are to proclaim what God say’s in his Word. Many Pastors have grown large congregations by telling their parishioners what they think they want to hear. Some are “Happy, Happy” churches, some “Fire and Brimstone”. Look around are they scriptural? You come here to hear a word from God. That is why we should listen reverently. He has a message He wants you to hear, and a coarse of action He wants you to pursue.
Listen Critically: Definition: “inclined to find fault” or “careful and exact evaluation”. The later is what we need to do. Acts 17:11 “Now the Bereans were of more noble charter than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” The Bereans listened carefully to Paul. They took notes, went home and checked it out. They did their homework. When listening to a sermon you need to be an active participant not a passive recipient.
If you had an appointment with God how would you prepare? Prayer, confession, bring a note pad as not to miss anything? At the meeting what would you do? Listen closely, take notes, ask questions? I bet you would make some changes after your appointment. How do you know if the Pastors message is his own or from God? You evaluate the sermons faithfulness to scriptures. Do what the Bereans did, listen, take notes, go home and check up on the Pastors message. In order for God’s word to impact our life we have one more thing to do, Listen Submissively.
James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” God did not give us His Word to make us better sinners. He wants to make us more like Himself. You and I share the responsibility in the transformation.It is my job to present scripture in a way you can better understand it and how to apply it to your life. The Congress of Biblical Exposition defines biblical preaching as: persuasively and urgently communicating the exact and full meaning of the text of Scripture in terms of contemporary culture, with the specific goal of helping people understand and obey the truth of God.” What is your responsibility? Listen reverently, critically and submissively. During the week you should seek to apply God’s message to your life. Spiritual Maturity is the product of truth applied over time.
I read Matthew 7:24-27. When we hear God’s word and carefully apply it, we have a solid foundation for living. Hear it and not act on it, you might have well have build your house on sand. When you hear the Word and Apply it, blessing comes, protection comes, security comes, and resilience comes.
In closing, listen reverently, it is a Word from God, listen critically, be active not passive, and listen submissively, ask yourself, “How can I apply what I have learned today? What changes does God want me to make? YOU, not your spouse, children, co-workers, or friends. God is talking to YOU. Prayerfully apply the truths you have learned to your life. God tells us that His Word, when applied, does not return to Him void.
The Spirit was indeed in our presence once again. Till next week may you and yours be Blessed.
Our scripture reading for tonight was 2 Timothy 4 : 1-5. Why do you come to church? To meet Christian friends?, give your children good moral values?, help lift you up for the up coming week? We should be coming here to “Know God”, to have an encounter with Him. We should be here to ‘Hear Him”. So, we need to listen. Luke 8:18 Therefore consider how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him. Does God speak to us today? Yes, just as much as He always has. Today, He speaks to us mainly through His Word and the teaching and preaching of His Word. If we develop good listening skills, we will hear Him clearly.
How To Listen: Listen reverently (Worshipful). The Bible is God’s Word.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. The Greek word “Inspired” is literally translated to “God Breathed”. Not the product of human imagination, ingenuity, or creation. God insured that the words written and translated were His words and only His Words. When you open your Bibles you are not reading words from men about God, you are reading God’s words to man. God speaks through the Bible. Paul told Timothy and all Pastors through the ages to “Preach the Word”. 2 Timothy 4:2-3 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit there own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
A Pastor is not to preach his prejudices or opinions. We are to proclaim what God say’s in his Word. Many Pastors have grown large congregations by telling their parishioners what they think they want to hear. Some are “Happy, Happy” churches, some “Fire and Brimstone”. Look around are they scriptural? You come here to hear a word from God. That is why we should listen reverently. He has a message He wants you to hear, and a coarse of action He wants you to pursue.
Listen Critically: Definition: “inclined to find fault” or “careful and exact evaluation”. The later is what we need to do. Acts 17:11 “Now the Bereans were of more noble charter than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” The Bereans listened carefully to Paul. They took notes, went home and checked it out. They did their homework. When listening to a sermon you need to be an active participant not a passive recipient.
If you had an appointment with God how would you prepare? Prayer, confession, bring a note pad as not to miss anything? At the meeting what would you do? Listen closely, take notes, ask questions? I bet you would make some changes after your appointment. How do you know if the Pastors message is his own or from God? You evaluate the sermons faithfulness to scriptures. Do what the Bereans did, listen, take notes, go home and check up on the Pastors message. In order for God’s word to impact our life we have one more thing to do, Listen Submissively.
James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” God did not give us His Word to make us better sinners. He wants to make us more like Himself. You and I share the responsibility in the transformation.It is my job to present scripture in a way you can better understand it and how to apply it to your life. The Congress of Biblical Exposition defines biblical preaching as: persuasively and urgently communicating the exact and full meaning of the text of Scripture in terms of contemporary culture, with the specific goal of helping people understand and obey the truth of God.” What is your responsibility? Listen reverently, critically and submissively. During the week you should seek to apply God’s message to your life. Spiritual Maturity is the product of truth applied over time.
I read Matthew 7:24-27. When we hear God’s word and carefully apply it, we have a solid foundation for living. Hear it and not act on it, you might have well have build your house on sand. When you hear the Word and Apply it, blessing comes, protection comes, security comes, and resilience comes.
In closing, listen reverently, it is a Word from God, listen critically, be active not passive, and listen submissively, ask yourself, “How can I apply what I have learned today? What changes does God want me to make? YOU, not your spouse, children, co-workers, or friends. God is talking to YOU. Prayerfully apply the truths you have learned to your life. God tells us that His Word, when applied, does not return to Him void.
The Spirit was indeed in our presence once again. Till next week may you and yours be Blessed.
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