Here are my notes from Bible Study last night. No video, sorry!
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Spiraling Out of Control
Do you remember the sit and spin? A great toy, right? Much like you spun out of control tonight in the game in the gym, the sit and spin did the same thing. You would sit on this toy ping until you thought you were going to spin off of it. Then you would get up and try to walk and you felt as if you were about to walk into the ceiling.
Physically spinning out of control when involved in a game is fun. A life spinning out of control is a whole different thing though.
Many times people get some dizzy from a life out of control that they further complicate their life in a variety of different manners:
Drugs, Alcohol, Gangs, Unhealthy relationships, alternative lifestyles, self-harm, and many other things. They do this to stop the spinning, but they actually speed up the sit and spin of life. By the time they realize what is going on they are falling on the floor of life, gasping for air, and getting sick from the spinning.
So how do you stop the spinning and start regaining focus? How do you get it all back under control?
Discipline
Mark 1:35 (NIV)
35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up
1 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)
7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
Intimacy with God
Mark 1:35 (NIV)
35Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
Stop living according to others expectations and start living according to God’s
Mark 1:36-37 (NIV)
36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”
Learn to say NO! (WHEN NECESSARY)
Mark 1:38 (NIV)
38Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
Live intentionally and not crazy
Mark 1:38-39 (NIV)
38Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Posted by Michael Walters on June 10th, 2010 | 0 comments
If you cannot view the embedded video, see it here… http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7552505
Here are my rough notes from this study…
Commitment and Truthfulness
NAME SOME THINGS THAT YOU ARE COMMITTED TO…
NOW TELL ME THE CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTING YOUR COMMITMENT…
I find it amazing that in this day and age, we have such a hard time with commitment.
The amazing thing is that we commit to things that are not important and we reject commitment to Christ or things associated with His church.
Matthew 5:33-37
33″Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Here is the problem we live in today.
We get saved and thus agree to follow the commands of Christ.
God gives us a list of things he expects and it is written out in front of us.
We know his expectations, yet we reject them readily. We say God expects too much. So often we do this with anything associated with Church, but let’s look at the other side of the coin and see what would happen if we did the same things to the world that we do to God.
Talking to God – Never talk to a friend, significant other, club member, or co-worker
Attendance in the house of the Lord – What if you attended school or a job like you attend church?
Doing the work of the Lord – Same scenario as above
Sin – What if you disobeyed a teacher, boss, or parent the way you disobey God?
Through out some other stuff…
Matthew 16:24-26 (New International Version)
24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Here is the thing… This comment tells us that our old way of thinking needs to go away and we need to develop a Christ centric method of thought. Some of us have hung on to or developed a new, old way of thinking. It is time to be sold out to Christ. See what Christ said… He did not say to check in periodically with him when it fits our schedule. No, he said, take up the cross and follow him, indefinately.
WE ARE SO UNCOMMITTED WHEN IT COMES TO CHRIST.
WE ARE SO COMMITTED TO THIS WORLD AND ITS SIN!
We will readily skip quiet times, Bible Study, and church to do anything, but we will rarely skip anything of this world to spend extra time with God.
What has happened? Why are we so uncommitted to God in this day and age? Why is anything of God up for question, rejection, and so easy to bail out of?
How can we raise the bar?
Realize that God is jealous…
Deut 6:13-15
13 Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.
TRUTHFULNESS
Colossians 3:9-10 (New International Version)
9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
PEOPLE THINK A LITTLE LIE CAN PROTECT OR HELP? No, do not lie to each other.
John 3:19-21 (New International Version)
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
IF YOU ARE DOING THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO HIDE, THINK ABOUT IT! Good and light are not compatible with lies and the dark.
Posted by Michael on April 22nd, 2010 | 0 comments
Well unfortunately we forgot to record last night, but here are my rough notes on the taming of the tongue from last night. These are not complete, but here is a summary before you look at the notes. The tongue has power of life and death. It can lift people up, but we most often cause damage with out tongue. Gossip, slander, back-biting, harsh words, pain, and all sorts of evil. We must learn to stop using our tongues for evil and start using them to praise God and build people up. Our churches are falling apart today as a result of bad relationships cause by using our tongues for evil.
The greatest thing we could learn to do with out tongue is healing broken relationships and praising God. Matthew 18:15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.”
=====Here are my notes=====
Sharpness of the tongue…
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Really?
Think to some of the events of recent past.
2 students in the past 2 years have made national headlines with suicides attributed to bullying of students via web and text.
I am sorry, I think the most powerful weapon on the face of the planet is the tongue because it can cause death and destruction without laying a hand on a physical weapon or a person!
Think about it… When was the last time someone said negative about you (whether it was true or not)… Here is the problem. The tongue hurts, but it hurts even worse when it is said about you and not to you. Would you rather someone say something negative about you to others or tell you to your face?
We are going to talk about several things tonight, but lets first review one verse.
Proverbs 18:21
The tongue has the power of life and death
The tongue has the power to correct people and bring them back into proper fellowship with you and others. It has the power to uplift people. It has the power to bring joy.
The tongue also has the power to complete obliterate someone even to the point of death. When you talk negatively about someone’s appears or features, talk about wrong they have done to you (but to other people), rip them apart behind their back, etc, you can lead them into reclusion, depression, and possibly even lead them to suicide.
Well you are all very familiar with ways your speech can be helpful. Let’s examine what the Bible says about harm.
James 3:5
Taming the Tongue
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.
3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt ◙ water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
Ok, so let’s examine the tongue in great detail:
Psalm 34:13 (New International Version)
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking lies.
Ephesians 4:29 (New International Version)
29Do 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.
Proverbs 12:18 (New International Version)
18 Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
James 1:26 (New International Version)
26If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
1 Peter 2:1-3
1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
This was a little bit of a strange message for me, more of a teaching lesson than an actual message, but sometimes we get so caught up in telling people to go and witness that we fail to ever train them how to do it. That was the purpose of the message this past Wednesday.
Posted by Michael Walters on April 1st, 2010 | 0 comments
My notes, as always!
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The veil and your salvation!
Let’s let that video sink in for a moment…
The implications…
The challenges…
The lasting effect today
Everything in the temple was designed to point to the coming hope…
Even the veil
The veil was meant to appear impenetrable to man, but to God it was a whole other thing. God is holy and sinful man can not stand before a holy God with sin in his life, so the veil existed, created by man, but only able to be torn by God…
When you look at the Holy of Holies, God’s resting place in OT times, you see what we were kept from. The mercy seat of God. The place where he rested on top of the ark of the covenant. The place where only a high priest could enter at a set time each year to offer a sacrifice on behalf of sinful man. A place where even the priest was a little fearful to even enter…
This little bit of information is disputed by some, but it is said that the priest would go through his ritual of purification, don his priestly attire meant for the sacrifice int he holy of holies, but before entering, the other priests would tie a rope around his ankle to pull him out in case he died upon entering the presence of the Lord. Even if this did not take place, the face the the rumor exists, shows the great divide that sin caused between man and God.
All of that would change on the cross…
Mark 15:33-41
33At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ◙
35When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and ◙ saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son ◙ of God!”
40Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
THE CRUCIFIXION CHANGED THE DYNAMIC OF THE EARTH TO THE POINT WHERE DARKNESS FELL AND THE EARTH SHOOK AND THE VEIL TORE!
Why? What happened? Suddenly a pathway to heaven was opened that had been sealed for thousands of years. Suddenly sinful man could be redeemed in one life instance and have communication and communion with God. Life as we know it changed.
Isaiah 53:1-10 (THE MESSAGE)
1Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
2The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
3He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
4But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
5But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
6We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
7He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
8Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
9They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
10Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
It was God’s will that the veil between God and man be torn and that took place on the cross. When Christ died on the cross, he was in misery, not just form the crucifixion, but because he had to take upon the sins of man carry those, he had to bear betrayal of his friends, and God the father had to turn his face from Christ for a brief time as those sins piled upon him and he carried them form the grave. Christ knew this, but it does not make it easier.
Well then what happened?
Was that the end? No, he rose again! That was easter morning, but what then? What takes place beyond that?
2 Cor 5:14-21 (THE MESSAGE)
Our firm decision is to work from this focused center: One man died for everyone. That puts everyone in the same boat.
15He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life, a resurrection life, a far better life than people ever lived on their own.
16Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. 17Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! 18All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. 19God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. 20We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.
21How? you say. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.
21 (NIV) – God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
He became sin who knew no sin, that we might become his rigteousness? What does this mean. As he hung on the cross, people mocking him, friends leaving him, he carried the weight of the sin of the world on his shoulder and took it, willingly to His death. He gave us a chance, accept that sacrifice and be free. Free! Really, really, free! WOW
Upon salvation, there are some acts of obedience that should start following in a believers life that help you progress in your faith.
These are outlined in scripture and you are probably familiar with them, but are you being obedient?
Obedience can come in 2 ways…
Obedience in the form of legalism (bad)
Matthew 23
13“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. ◙15“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.16“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. 22And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.23“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.25“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean 27“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 29“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers! 33“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation. 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ◙ ”
Obedience of a true heart (sincere heart)
The lord insteads those who practice the matters of the faith with a trueness of heart and enthusiasm of faith
Hebrews 10
18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Let me give you an example of how God wants us to approach him and the responsibilities that He has given us…
Example 1 – (legalism) Your parents tell you some chores they want you to do. You know that you have to do them in order to borrow the car, go out this weekend, or whatever you want to do. So you sigh, roll your eyes, get bad, and begrudgingly do these task. You are not happy, but you do them out of legalistic loyalty to your parents.
Example 2 – (pure heart) Your mom and dad have had a terrible week. You have sympathy on them and decide to clean the house and cook dinner. You do this happily in hopes that it shows your love for them and your dedication to them as part of the family and you expect nothing in return. This is what God wants from us. Pure dedication.
The Lord has given us a list of responsibilities or obligations that we have as followers of his. These must be done with a right heart (sincere heart) and these are things that true believers should not only do, but desire to do.
Profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior Publicly – christ does not want us to be ashamed of our decision to accept him
Matthew 10:32-33
32“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
Be Baptized into a local fellowship of believers
Matt 3 – JESUS DID IT!
13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”15Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
Romans 6:4 – Baptized into his death
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Practice Regular Church attendance and be students of God’s word both corporately and privately
SEE ABOVE – Hebrew 10:25
2 Tim 2:15
15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
Mat 4:4
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
Take care of the less fortunate
Matthew 25
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Be givers (not just tithers)
Mark 12
41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, ◙ worth only a fraction of a penny. ◙43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Be missionaries and Faith Sharers
One of the great tragedies of the church today is the lack of movement at the time of the invitation. So many times we go through the routine of singing a song and being content that no one went forward because we can hit the buffet before the other churches when in all reality an empty alter means a dead and dying church.
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