January 31 2016 Daring To Give God My Best

DARING TO GIVE GOD MY BEST

Daring Faith: The Key To Miracles – Part 5

2 Peter 1:5­8 (CEV) "DO YOUR BEST to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, self­control, patience, devotion to God, concern for others, and love. If you keep growing in this way, it will show that . . . Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful."

Proverbs 3:9-­10 "Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the BEST part of everything. If you do this, your barns will fill with grain and your barrels will overflow with wine."

HOW DO I GIVE MY BEST TO GOD?

2 Timothy 2:3­7 – A Soldier, An Athlete, A Farmer

"Endure hardship with us like a GOOD SOLDIER of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets tied up in civilian af airs—he wants to please his commanding of icer. Similarly, if anyone competes as AN ATHLETE, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. And the HARDWORKING FARMER should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Think about these three illustrations, and the Lord will help you to understand how they apply to you." 2 Timothy 2:3­7 (NIV/LB)

LESSONS FROM THE MILITARY

LIKE AN EFFECTIVE SOLDIER, I MUST . . .

1. I MUST DEFINE WHAT I’D DIE FOR

John 15:13 (LB) "The greatest love is shown when a person lays down his life

2. I MUST SACRIFICE MY COMFORT

2 Timothy 2:3 "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 5:2 "Live a life of sacrificial love just like Christ loved us and gave himself as an of ering and sacrifice for us."

3. I MUST ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS

2 Timothy 2:4 (NIV/NLT)"As Christ’s soldier, do not let yourself become entangled in the af airs of this life, wasting time, for then you can’t please your commanding of icer who enlisted you in his army."

LESSONS FROM SPORTS

1 Corinthians 9:24-­27 (LB/NCV) "In a race everyone runs, but only one person wins the prize. So run your race to win. TO WIN the contest YOU MUST DENY YOURSELVES many things that would keep you from DOING YOUR BEST.

An athlete goes to all this trouble just to win a ribbon or medal that won’t last, but we do it for an eternal reward that will last forever! So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I fight to win. I’m not just shadow­boxing or playing around. Like an athlete I discipline myself, making sacrifices and training my body to do what it should, not what it wants to do. Otherwise I fear I might be disqualified from the race."

TO WIN THE PRIZE, I MUST . . .

1. I MUST INTEND TO WIN

1 Corinthians 9:24 (LB) "In a race everyone runs, but only one person wins the prize. So run your race to win!"

1 Timothy 6:12 (TEV)"Run YOUR BEST in the RACE OF FAITH, and win eternal life for yourself; for this is the life that God called you to when you professed your faith before many witnesses."

2. I MUST DISCIPLINE MYSELF

Hebrews 12:2 (Mes)"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that joyful finish with God in heaven —he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God."

2 Timothy 2:5 (NAS) "If anyone competes as an athlete, he cannot receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules."

1 Corinthians 9:25+27 (LB/NLT)"To win the contest you must deny yourself many things that would keep you from DOING YOUR BEST. An athlete goes into strict training just to win a ribbon or medal that won’t last, but we do it for an eternal reward that will last forever! . . . So I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should."

3. I MUST STAY FOCUSED ON THE REWARD

1 Corinthians 9:26 (LB )"I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step! I fight to win. I’m not just shadow­boxing or playing around."

Matthew 13:24 (NLT) Jesus: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field."

LESSONS FROM FARMING

2 Corinthians 9:6­-13 (NLT) "Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each make up your own mind as to how much you should give. Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves the person who gives cheerfully. Then God will generously provide all you need, and you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others . . . For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you! Yes, you will be enriched SO THAT you can give even more generously! . . . You will be glorifying God through your generous gifts, AND your generosity will prove you are obedient to the Good News of Christ!"

TO REAP A GREAT HARVEST, I MUST . . .PLANT GENEROUSLY IN FAITH

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2 PROMISES OF JESUS

Luke 6:38 (ICB) "Give, and it will be given back to you. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands—more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you."

Mark 10:29-­30 Jesus said, "I guarantee you this: Anyone who gives up anything for my sake and the Good News—whether a home or a family member or property—will get MORE THAN THAT BACK, multiplied a HUNDREDFOLD, and in the world to come they will be given life forever!"

May 31 2015 Freedom To Change

FREEDOM TO CHANGE

Romans 12:1-2
 
Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask him to remove my character defects. 

Romans 12:1-2 – Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him, and let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.

I. Where Do My Character Defects Come From?

• My biological inheritance.

Genetics explain predisposition but don’t excuse sin.

• My circumstances, or how I was raised.

Character defects are often attempts to fill unmet needs.

• My choices in life.

Character defects are often positive qualities being misused.

II. Why Is It So Hard To Change Them?

1. Because I’ve had them a long time.

2. Because I confuse my identity with them.

3. Because they have a payoff.

4. Because satan discourages me.

III. How Do I Cooperate With God’s Change Process?

Romans 12:2 – Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

1. Focus on changing one defect at a time.

Proverbs 17:24 – An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.

2. Focus on Victory one day at a time.

Matthew 6:11 – Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:34 – Don’t worry about tomorrow, each day has enough troubles of its own.

3. Focus on God’s power not willpower.

Jeremiah 12:23 – Can a leopard take away his spots?  Nor can you who are used to doing evil now start being good.

BUT…..

Philippians 4:13 – I can master anything with the help of Christ who gives me strength.

4. Focus on what I want, not what I don’t want.

Philippians 4:8 – Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right.  Think about things that are pure.  Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. 

5. Focus on doing good, not feeling good.

Galatians 5:16 – If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence.   

6. Focus on people who help me, not hinder me. 

Proverbs 27:1 – As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other.

7. Focus on progress not perfect performance.

Philippians 1:6 – God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His Grace until His task with you is finally finished.

February 22 2015 How Can I Display Christianity Under Pressure

How Can I Display Christianity Under Pressure

1 Peter 1:13-16

I. The setting of our scripture

Verse 16 – Be Holy, because I am Holy.

Therefore:

II. Four helps to Holy living

1. You need a well ordered mind.

Verse 13 – Prepare you mind for action.

Exodus 12:11 – And thus shall you eat, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, your staff on your hand, and ye shall eat it in haste.  It is the Lord’s Passover.

Three Hebrew children:

2. Have a well disciplined life.

Verse 13 – Be self-controlled.

Two things this means:

1. Be alert to potential dangers.
2. Be aware of who you are.

3. Have a well defined goal.

Verse 13 – Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Definition of “set”.

I John 3:2 – When He appears we shall be like Him.

1 John 3:3 – Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.

4. Have a well established conversion.

Verse 14 – As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

Obedience is the process of walking in the Light.

Verse 16 – Be Holy because I am Holy.

Five factors that motivate us to Holiness:

1. The character of God.

2. He’s called us.

3. It’s God’s command.

4. The consistency of God.

5. It’s the choice of God.

Romans 12:1 – In view of God’s mercy, offer yourselves as living sacrifices to God.

January 18, 2015 Becoming an Authentic Christian

Becoming an authentic Christian

James 2:19 – You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.

James 2:26 – Faith without works is dead.

FOUR TESTS OF AN AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN

1. The test of a major change.

Verse 8 – By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going.

Lesson Number One – An authentic Christian will follow God's leading without knowing where.

2. The test of a delayed promise.

Verse 9 – By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country, he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.

Lesson Number Two – An authentic Christian will wait for God's timing.

3. The test of an impossible problem.

Verses 11 & 12 – By faith, Abraham, even though he was past age, and Sarah herself was barren, was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise and so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

Genesis 18:10, 12, 14 – The  Lord said, I will     surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son, so Sarah laughed to herself, then the Lord said, is anything too hard for the Lord?

Lesson Number Three – An authentic Christian will expect a miracle without knowing how.

4. The test of why.

Verses 17-19 – By faith, Abraham, when God tested him offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Lesson Number Four – An authentic Christian will trust God's purpose without knowing why.

Mark 9:24 – I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.

January 4 2015 Getting Unstuck In My Faith

GETTING UNSTUCK IN MY FAITH

PETER’S STORY OF GETTING UNSTUCK
John 13:38; 18:25-27; 21:1-19

“And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.” – Romans 6:4

HOW TO GET UNSTUCK IN MY FAITH
( 3 LESSONS FROM PETER’S STORY )
JOHN 21:1-12

1.  Admit THAT I AM Stuck.

“Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea of Galilee.  This is how it happened.  Several of the disciples were there - Simon Peter, Thomas. . . .  Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ ‘We’ll come, too,’ they all said.  So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.” – John 21:1-3

“When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” – James 4:10

2.  BE Open  TO God’s Voice.

“At dawn the disciples saw Jesus standing on the beach, but they couldn’t see who he was.  He called out, ‘Friends, have you caught any fish?’’  ‘No,’ they replied.  Then he said, ‘Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get plenty of fish!’  So they did, and they couldn’t draw in the net because there were so many fish in it.” – John 21:4-6

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”” – Proverbs 14:12

“‘My thoughts are completely different from yours,’’ says the LORD.  ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’” – Isaiah 55:8

3.  Commit TO God’s Plan.

“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’  When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and swam ashore.  The others stayed with the boat. . . . When they  got there, they saw that a charcoal fire was burning and fish were frying over it, and there was bread. . . .  ‘Now come and have some breakfast!’ Jesus said.” – John 21:7-12

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” – Jeremiah 29:11

Definition of UNSTUCK: Moving forward in my life because I am willing to give God complete control.

Unstuck is simply moving forward in my life because I’m willing to give God

Memory Verse: “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” – Romans 12:1-2