break free into sonship

John 15:1-8

Jesus wants us to abide in Him as a parasite lives off of blood. We, as branches, can not survive with out the vine. Right? You don’t just see branches floating around producing fruit or being useful. Imagine going to the orchard to pick apples. When you get there, you get your parking spot. You go up to the counter to get your empty bushel. The lady at the counter tells you it’s going to be a rough day picking apples because it’s windy. You go down into the orchard and find the kind of apples you like. Only there are no trees. Just branches floating around violently because of the wind. You’re gonna take a beat down trying to pick some apples. You get the picture. Let’s overlap that picture with a church that doesn’t abide in God. It’s the same thing. How can we expect the church to be relevant to the world around us if we are not connected to the Father? The vine that feeds life into all of us unbiasedly. It would create confusion for all who see. We want desperately to be in a position or used in the church building. All the while, God our Creator wants us to be useful outside the church building.

When we abide in God, we are at a place of contentment and peace that goes beyond understanding. We will recognize our sonship or daughtership as the most valuable treasure we can imagine.
Matthew 13:44

When Christianity becomes performance based, it becomes a religion. If I do this or do that, God will accept me. That’s slavery. We need to throw off those chains of way of thinking.

Being good isn't good enough.

We'll never be able to earn our way from unrighteous to righteous. That's a fact, and that's where we are. Between us and a Holy Creator, there is an immeasurable expanse... A gulf. Only, there's nothing we can do that will successfully reach to the other side. We cannot run, fly, swim, drive, work, jump, earn our way across. If we stopped there, it almost would seem unfair for God to make it so. It's a battle we are born to lose. Picture this... Sovereign God in Heaven and an unrighteous sinner on Earth. How can we bridge the gap? We can't be around the full presence of God unless we become righteous, right? Why would He make it this way? Is He just being mean? I mean, come on, can He really be righteous by requiring something out of us that isn't capable of being in us? The answer is a simple, and resounding YES! But how we might ask?

We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. Romans 5:7-8 MSG

So check this out... God's requirement of our righteousness proves His love for us by providing that righteousness for us! We can't earn it. We don't deserve it. But way before we were born, the plan for our justification, that was set from the beginning of creation, was finished! Jesus said it Himself on the cross. What great love!

Now, knowing we can never earn salvation, let us soak up His Grace that is so richly offered to us. Let's stop trying to be a slave in the Father's kingdom. Let's grab ahold of the fact that we are sons and daughters of a merciful King!!

Maturity = Service

Many Christians are educated beyond their obedience level. That's a tough pill to swallow, but let's think about it. Before I go further, don't get offended. If any of this is mirroring your life, know that I don't have 1 person in mind. Rather, I have a picture that I'm trying to portray. Also, this is not a picture of the church I attend, but rather an opportunity for us to look inwardly. We mustn't walk around with our holy goggles on and nit pic everyone else. This should be introspective. Now that that's out of the way, let's think about this. A cliche we've all heard says, "How do you spell ministry?"... "W-O-R-K". It is work keeping the church presentable, making snacks for the congregation, preparing messages, teaching children, or whatever you might do. We need to jump in and bear with those laboring. Jesus said the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few.

Hebrews 6:10 (New Living Translation) For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do.

We have a tendency to ask more from God. Let's do more for His church. I know we are not saved by works. However, read the book of James. We are justified by our works. If our hearts have been transformed, our actions will correspond.

Find out how you can help in your church!!

Sexual Purity = Spiritual Purity

Matthew 6:22-23 – Therefore if the eye is good, the body is full of light.
Matthew 5:29-30 – if the eye offends you cut it off, if your hand offends you cut it off

singles=purity
marriage=purity toward spouse

Jesus used some of His harshest teaching for the topic of sexual immorality. My purpose today is to prepare you to cut off your hand, pluck out your eye, smash your computer, or whatever it is you need to do to fight for purity.

Family is important to God. So family should naturally be important to us. That’s why we as Christians need to stand up for the rights of family and the sanctity of Marriage. God's plan. One man with one woman = complete / perfect. "It is good.". God set up the family structure for us to understand Him more. God set up marriage and it’s blessing as a way for us to know Him more. Sex was designed as a way for us to understand God more. We who are married understand the imagery of sexual language. Those who are not married might have an idea, but marriage is what it’s for.

Singles…

Young Ladies (Teen or Adult) – If a guy says he loves you, but is willing to have sexual relations with you before marriage, he does not love you. He can’t because he doesn’t understand love. He might be attracted to you and what he thinks you can do for him, but he does not love YOU. Anyone can use you for sex, it takes LOVE and COMMITMENT to marry.

Young Men (Teen or Adult) – If a woman wants you to engage in sexual relations before marriage, she does not love you nor herself. She has a perverted view of God, Love, Sex, and Relationships.

God uses sexual imagery in the Bible for us to better know him. Let’s take a look at the word KNOW.

Hosea 4:11-12
Gen 4:1 – Adam knew Eve and she conceived
Gen 4:17 – Cain knew his wife
Gen 4:25 – Adam knew his wife again
Hosea 2:19-20 – We will know the Lord – Marriage language. Husband and wife language
2 Cor 6:3-10

Ezekiel 16:4 – Picture of God saving us, us turning from His grace as a prostitute, God’s plan of mercy unveiled.


Husbands and Fathers…

Husbands – the way you treat your wife will have a direct effect of the view they have of Christ. If you are angry, short tempered, judgemental, frictional, or abusive then your wife will feel that Jesus views them the same way. Your wife will not have a clear understanding of being loved unconditionally. She will feel loved by her actions. Eph 5:22 - Love your wife and lay your life down for her as Christ lived the church and laid His life down.

Fathers – If we abuse them, teach them that they are insignificant, make them feel small, or don’t accept them, then they will have a twisted view on the Father’s love for them. Your kids will feel like they have to measure up for approval and love.

Wives - repect your husbands

Let us fight for Godly marriages. Let us commit to sexual purity. The perverseness of the world is steam rolling. We need to stand against it. First, we must fight for purity in our own lives. It is essential for our understanding of God and our walk with Christ.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The "Lighter" Years...

We are striving with obsession for "light". Low cal everything. Light dressings, light beers, diet soda, decaf coffee, alcohol free beer, sugar free candy, ice cream, etc. We even found a way to taste beer without the alcohol. That should be a monument. We are always reaching to be perceived differently or to perceive differently within ourselves. We say, "This is a light ranch or fat free ranch. It's good for me." If the words aren't uttered from our mouths, it echoes in our consciences. We want everything, but lighter. We want to be perceived as a coffee drinker, but without the effects of the coffee. I have to wonder why that is. I may have lost your attention already based solely on the idea that I'm judging or "categorizing" you. That's not it at all. I'm as guilty as everyone. But I still wonder why we have a draw to be "lighter".

Is it that we can go about a "regular" life, and not feel guilty about what we choose. I would think that has a lot to do with it. Does our lukewarm way of living affect other aspects of our lives? I say lukewarm, because I picture a group of people drinking alcoholic beer and one guy not drinking beer trying to find his place. Does he fit in with the ones getting buzzed? Does he fit in with the crowd that's drinking water? In the one picture, where does he fit in? It would seem that he wants to fit in with both. Lukewarm. Not really here, not really there, but somewhere in the middle. Does this look like a snapshot of your life? Why would he want to drink beer but not get buzzed? If he doesn't want to get buzzed, why would he order a beer? I know at times, it does mine. Before you rush to defend yourself, think about it. I don't drink, and haven't for 8 years. But the situation looks the same whether it's this picture at a bar, or a picture of how you practice and train for sporting events. (The similar idea being you take time to practice, but don't put in the effort to make you stronger or faster or more skilled).

Has this lukewarm living become our default way of life? Have we grown comfortable being sorta kinda wishy washy? I don't know a more plain way of approaching it. Has our view of Christ taken on the same form in our life? Does this look like you... I go to church. I give. I'm better than so and so, that's why I know I'm on the right track. Has our "lighter" glimpse of life brought us to desiring a "lighter" Gospel? In the words of a pastor I respect, "If you don't know Christ as you ought, you have no greater agenda than to know Christ."

Don't Waste Your Life

I wasted 9 years of my life.  Flat out threw them away.  They are gone forever.  I will not be refunded the years.  I cannot begin to tell you the hurt and pain that it caused.  The joy I had was all deceptive because of my impending destruction.  I couldn’t be trusted.  I couldn’t trust.  I coveted.  I was greedy.  I was a liar.  I was a cheater.  I was an adulterer.  I ate lies.  I hated.  I had no compassion.  It wasn’t the good ole days.  It was me living life, circling the drain, and running into hell carrying my own death sentence.

There is a world of hurt all around you right now that is fighting frantically for your attention and affection.

Satan tries to mesmerize you.  He tries to entice you.  He tries to lead you away in lust.  He tries to envelope your mind.  He’ll woo you.  He’ll lure you.  He’ll promise you seemingly satisfying things. 

Genesis 4:7 – sin lies at the door and its desire if for you.

                                   

Satan wants you to be comforted with mediocrity.  He tells you half truths.  He’ll say, “This is good for the eyes, it’ll make you wise.”  Gen 3:5.  He won’t finish that thought.  The end of his statement is, “It will destroy you.” Any amount of “good” that you feel out of believing his lies are a waste of your life.  He wants you to be satisfied with good or okay.  He wants you to have a long life of comfort and half hearted efforts at love.  You will have small tastes of joy. 

Ephesians 4:17-24 MSG - And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They've refused for so long to deal with God that they've lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can't think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion.  But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Ephesians 5:3-10 MSG - Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect.  You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God. Don't let yourselves get taken in by religious smooth talk. God gets furious with people who are full of religious sales talk but want nothing to do with him. Don't even hang around people like that.  You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.

God wants great things to mark your life. 

Some of you reading this are called by God to be pastors, teachers, and worship leaders.  All of you reading this are called to be preachers and leaders. 

God has a bigger plan for your life than you have for your life. 

Whatever it is you do with your life after this, know that there are so many around you that need to hear the Gospel.  I beg you, please be responsible with the gift that is in you through Christ Jesus.  The lives of those around you depend on it.  Preach the Gospel to every creature.

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

You know the adrenaline rush, the nerves, the excitement, or that feeling of purpose.  We've all had it.  That slow climb up that huge roller coaster knowing that as soon as you get up to the top, you are going to take off and experience something great.  That coaster drops, and you are off to the races.  Fast turns, sharp turns, quick drops, and possibly a loop or two, and you feel more alive than you did 5 minutes before.  The air in your face, your stomach in your throat, and the screams from the people around you all add to the reality that what you are currently doing, is something special.  Now while it's been over 3 years since I've experienced a cool roller coaster, I've still been able to feel that rush, adrenaline, excitement, and felt satisfied.  I'm a professional fire fighter in a major city.  Daily we are experiencing situations that bring the hype.  I've seen things that I can not explain in words.  Some things beautiful.  Some things tragic.  Some things heroic.  Some things miraculous.  But after 11 years of doing that, it too can, at more times than not, become mundane.

There is more you can do to feel that again!  Like most, I tend to find my most satisfaction helping others.  Nothing is quite like sharing the Gospel with someone who you can just feel in your heart needs it.  Tears of joy, hearts pounding, and far most importantly, God is getting all the attention!  Talk about a rush.  Another addition to the Kingdom.  I've gone into spiritual warfare battles that had me more fulfilled and excited than most things you can experience.  I'm not writing this isn't to hype me up.  I've missed out on more opportunities to share the Gospel than I'd like to admit.  And even more I've missed that I didn't recognize.  Again, this isn't a platform for me to boast.  This sense of urgency should be in all our hearts as the people around us are hurting, and could use some "Good News".  After all, that's what the Gospel is. 

There is a world of hurting going on around us, and an abundance of grace.  Reach out to those hurting around you.  Preach the Gospel.  Lead.  Learn.  Teach.  Disciple.  Love.  Laugh together.  Cry together.  Live the calling that God has assigned to you.