Quiet Times Search

Luke 18:22-24
Wouldn't all Christians love to meet someone who comes across as this man does initially?

Most of us would say, "can we study the Bible?"
Jesus had a very different responce because he knew his heart

Sell everything and follow him = It's not what you do but who you are
For him to have a heart set fully on following Jesus - it meant a willingness to seel all
Following the exchange, it became clear - the man was out of touch with himself and God

Jesus did challenge him but he also loved him
He pointed the man to the narrow way
At the same time he drew him close want to give him strength, faith, and hope

Jesus does not get into a lengthy theological debate
He saw weaknesses the man had to deal with if he was going to enter the kingdom of God

Each of us lacks that "one thing" deep down that we must give up and following Jesus
Something we don't know what it is but God will reveal it - Hebrews 4:12-13

Jesus, knowing he would have to face the cross alone - would be have been easay to maintain his distace
He didn't; he threw himself into life completely

Closeness reuires spending time together
Jesus was the initiator and he wanted to be with John and John want to be with him

At the last supper, John was seated to Jesus' left - John 13:23-26
Jesus confides who the betrayer without the others noticing

Jesus opened his heart to his friends
It is why John knew Jesus was troubled during the night at the garden - John 13:21

Jesus completely bared his very soul to his three closest friends - Matthew 26:38
He did not retreat to be alone - drew John and others close to him

All the while knowing that they were unworthy of his trust and fell sleep when he needed them the most

In his torment, he sees the need of his mother and he entrusts her to John's care - John 19:25-27

Jesus let John know that he trust him and needs him to take care of his mother
God in the flesh yet her express his need to John's help

John was transformed from "son of thunder" to "Apostle of Love"
John later teaches us that if we say we love God but no our brother that we are a liar - 1 John 4:19-20

The problem with not feeling close, real, or trust is our issue

How close, real, and trusting are your relationships?

What do your relationships with people tell you about your relationship with God?

Upon hearing about the death of his close friend Lazarus, Jesus wept...

Jesus really felt the emotions that we feel
He fully divine and fully human at the same time
He knows what it is like to experience loss, pain, hurt, and fatigue

Why did he cry? Scripture does not say. Could be because:

• He felt the hurt of Mary and Martha
• He was expressing the hurt of the loss of his friend
• He was antipating his own death

Who are your deepest relationships in the church?

1. We must admit that we are sinful
2. We must realize Jesus has called us to follow him and be righteous
3. Humbly commit to change
4. We must change

Call me and I'll answer - Psalms 91:14-16

I can help others when I am confident that God is listening to and responding to my prayers

When we lose faith that our prayers will be answered, we lose heart and our relationship with God withers

We may not always give us the answer we want; he always responds for our good

We must see the answers he gives and never doubt that he loves us

Jesus overcame temptation by using scripture, prayer, and he called others for encouragement from others

He deliberately sought out support and encouragement from his 3 closest friends
He also expressed his disappointment at their failure to help

We desperately need relationships for encouragement EVERY day - Hebrews 3:12-13
Tempatation comes every day

There is no excuse in an age of modern technology for getting in touch

• Rejection
• Persecution from someone we have helped to know God
• Loss of a relationship to follow God
• Injustice of living in an imperfect world

Not like any other prophet, priest, or preacher

There were others that were close to him (Stalin…)

• Not only one to be called to preach - ...“so I can preach there also. That is why I have come” - Mark 1:38
• “Only in his hometown…is a prophet without honor” - Mark 6:1-5

Gentleness

Mark 1:29-34

• At times we need to raise our voices and push in order to get things done.
• At the same time using gentle tone and pitching in to help will accomplish far more good.

Fueling

Mark 1:35-39

• People who love sleep don’t usually change the world
• Jesus slept when he had the time
• Jesus was extremely eager to pray
• Most of us live with only a vague idea of purpose
• Our personal ministries – can be tempted to lose the fire, to settle down, and get comfortable
• We laugh and patronize at younger friends who are “idealist, zealots, and radicals

Effective with the crowds

Mark 3:7-12

• Jesus was approachable.
• He was known as a man who meet people’s needs
• What are we like in front of a crowd?
  • Become self-conscious?
  • Concerned about how people will perceive us?
  • Lose ability to think or speech clearly and passionately?
• Jesus was not anxious, afraid, insecure

Disclosure

Mark 4:21-23

• They were to let their beliefs shine brightly around them
• Widening its exposure does not diminish its value (proclaimer does not suffer loss but increase riches)
• Dead Sea – lowest point on earth, nothing flows out of it, smelly and lifeless

Challenge to listen

Mark 4:24-25

• If we are casual about what we hear and do not apply ourselves, we will even lose what understanding we have
• Practice of taking notes shows our heart to understand
• The arrogant sit and smugly, confident of their ability to retain oral information

Assertiveness

Mark 5:35-43

• He took charge of the situation and his surrounds
• Why have we not acted as Jesus did?

Fear Sensitivity

• Jesus didn’t say a word to those who doubted
• Assertiveness without sensitivity can be offensive and counterproductive

A Simple charge

• “Don’t be afraid, just believe”
• He didn’t burden him with lots of words
• Excessive amount of teaching may cloud the main issue

Privileging

• Peter, James, and John were closest to Jesus
• Jesus narrowed his focus to help the build leaders to their full potential.

Consideration

• A little consideration can go a long ways
• Ideas: buy someone lunch, remember people’s birthdays
• Be alert to meeting other people’s needs

Prudence

Mark 8:11-13

• Sometimes Jesus simply did not bother to deal with his adversaries – he just up and left.
• Sometimes we need to be able to determine when the best thing to do is walk away.
• Sometimes arguing is just a waste of time – shake the dust off your feet.

Moving On

• Farmer – plants across the fields not just around the farmhouse
• If we focus all our attention on one problem one goal, or one person’s needs - lose sight of the field
• Jesus kept moving on in order to keep his and work fresh vibrant and spontaneous.
• Momentum is an invisible yet critical element in any type of movement

Hardline

Mark 8:34-9:1

• Attitudes generally do not float in isolation – whistling teapot principle
• Jesus chose the most challenging words spoken by any leader.
• Words used:
• "If anyone…"
  • "…he must…"
  • "…deny himself…"
  • "…take up his cross…"
  • "…whoever wants to save his life will lose it…"
• His primary concern was for their immortal souls. No wonder he had such impact!!

Affirmation

Mark 9:2-13

• People are encouraged when they realize that we are indeed in line with the expectations of our superiors.
• They will also be inspired when they understand that their support for us is essential for the overall success.

Magnetism

Mark 9:14-29

• Why? Magnetism came from only prayer.
• Magnetism: an attracting force on the level of the soul, which produces deep bonding and enduring loyalty.

Frustration

• Jesus expressed frustration regarding the continuing unbelief of the people.
• Closest disciples even needed him the bolster their faith.
• He was frustrated because their unbelief blocked the power of God.
• Jesus did not lock his frustration up inside.
• Dealing with frustration – stuffer = out of mind; slammers = fly off the handle – neither are good

Ambition

Mark 9:33-35

• Jesus let them cool down before choosing to address the matter. (less defensive)
• Jesus never corrected these men for wanting to be great.
• High achievers in life tend to be high achievers for God.
• People who are eager to use their lives to benefit others are remembered and admired for generations

Win/Lose/Win

• When we try to eliminate the agony of defeat, we also take away the joy of victory.
• To discard dichotomous thinking is to discard the God of the Bible.
• I win by losing so that you may also win. The loser becomes the ultimate winner!

Higher Plain

Mark 12:13-17

• Jesus was not deceived by flattery.
• He spoke openly about their attempt to trap him.
• Jesus amazed them by a simple spiritual perspective on religiously complex issues.

Unity

• Unity is achieved as God’s people strive together to attain God’s thinking on all of life’s issues.
• People willing to deny themselves accept their Creator’s thinking above their own opinion will achieve the closeness no one has ever seen
• God’s plan for diversity and unity complement each other.
• Plurality of denominations exists because men and women have not obeyed the scripture.
• Common goaled minded people produce unity.

Contentedness

• People don’t trust someone whom they suspect to be greedy or overindulgent.
• A greedy man stirs up dissension.

A Champion

Mark 12:35-37

• Winning isn’t everything but for the man or woman who desires to make an impact, it is extremely important
• Few people rush to associate themselves with a loser.
• Fight fair and do your best.
• Second-place finishers are all but ignored in the championship celebration

Reprobation

Mark 12:38-44

• He knew that he had gained the upper hand.
• Yet he also knew that popular opinion would turn.

Unconditional Love

Mark 14:17-26

• Jesus knew yet did not treat Judas any different than he treated the other eleven.
• Conditional love puts an unbearable strain on relationships
• Unconditional gives security, wipes away fear, builds confidence, adds hope, teaches perseverance, and erases discouragement and doubt.
• The key is not to love if or because of, but to love in spite of. In-spite-of love cannot fail to make a lasting impact.

The Memorial

• Jesus died for us as individuals
• It is the forgiveness of sins, my sins.
• People need frequent reminders
• We soon forget what is important.
• The activities of life so easily distract us and we so quickly lose our convictions.

• What is my effect on you?
• What am I like to with?
• What don’t you feel free to bring up with me?

1. world
2. flesh
3. devil

• someone in close relationship
• someone with credibility in the area of concern
• someone who is a person of humility
• some who is allowing the word of Christ richly dwell in them

1. not making the person receiving look bad
2. not making the person giving look good
3. not to give someone authority or superiority
4. not to force someone to do something they do not want to do
5. not to embarrass someone
6. not to keep people in line

• We can not change what we can not see
• When was the last time you said the words, “I am wrong”?
• Ask someone close, “Am I blinded in any way by pride?”
• It was through pride, that the devil became the devil
• It is the complete anti-God state of mind.
• Why is Jesus so tough on Spiritual Blindness? It prevents us from seeing the good news.

• Survey of modern sermons would be salvation
• Jesus’ preaching was about the kingdom of God

• Students – pass/fail
• Employees – promotions\get fired
• Calories – lose/gain weight

• None of delight in a highlight reel of our personal sinfulness (especially avoid reference to specific sins)
• Whenever we expose our sins in the light of fellowship – able to see our sin more clearly

1. How can grace compel repentance?
2. How can you assess your debt to Jesus?
3. How can you be assured of the forgiveness of that debt?
4. Who is to blame for Christ’s death on the Cross?
5. How does one’s good confession - “Jesus is Lord!” - express one’s repentance?
6. Why is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ a clear indication of one’s repentance?

• On the job training – let followers have experience or make some observations of their own
• Gave them greater awareness of their deficiencies
• Kept disciples going toward the goal He had set before them.
• He did not expect more from His disciples than they could do
• He did expect their best
• We never assume the work is done. Ask lots of question / probe.
• There are many things that can happen to frustrate, discouraged or defeated.
• The goal is world conquest.
  • Never dare to let a lesser concern capture us.
  • No further training or inspiration needed.
  • Focus can easily be on us.
• The ability of a worker is not developed if there is no supervision
• Our little efforts can be a excuse for not doing more.
• We can lose the advantage years of hard work and sacrifice.
• Disciples must be brought to maturity
• We have not been called to hold the fort but storm the heights.

1. Study the nature of God to develop more reverence before him'
2. Study biblical passages on meekness
3. Ask your closest relationships to help evaluate your humility
4. Pray about what you see in the Bible about meekness

• To seek the person out
• Speak frankly
• Make every effort to build unity - Ephesians 4:3
  

• Lift up widow for giving out of her poverty - Luke 21:1-4
• He challenges the rich young man to sell everything - Matthew 19:21
• God loved us so much, he gave up his only son - John 3:16

Jesus Christ is Lord
Everyone who lived will say these four words - Philippians 2:9-11

Whoever disowns Jesus before men, he will disown him - Matthew 10:32-33

No one comes to the Father except through Jesus - John 14:6

Give up for God = Gain
Lose for God = FInd
Bow before God now = stand

Bow when:

• You naturally want to be selfish
• You want your needs meet
• You doubt his love

Each disciple must decide that he or she lives among other "for their sake" - 1 Thessalonians 1:5

• Three days of fasting and prayer? - Acts 9:9
• After 3 years of personal training? - Galatians 1:11-24
• After a visit to the 3 heaven? - 2 Corinthians 12:1-6

• Give when you are tired
• Pray when you do not want to
• Stand your ground against emotions and thoughts
• Overcome fear and to love in practical, unselfish way

Preached by Maurice Hooks

John 13:34-35 - How quick am I to sacrifice for my brother and sister?

Romans 13:8 - Being  a stepping stone means you make the decsion to love people

Have the attitude of Christ - ...Philippians 2:1-7

Build others up - Ephesians 4:29-31

Strive to make others great - John 3:27-30

Challenges for the week:

1. Make your spouce/roomate great without them knowing
2. Make your kids day, lift them up without seeing that did anything
3. Help someone not close to you feel special

• Christ-centered - we preach Jesus Christ as Lord - 2 Corinthians 4:5
• Well-prepared - must know what we are talking about - 2 Timothy 2:15
• Be yourself / Be real - eloquence is not a requirement - 1 Corinthians 2:12
• Be gentle and respectful - No place for self-righteousness
• Non-retaliating - We will be opposed; If we retaliate, we lose; Turn the other cheek - Matthew 5:39
• Unhypocritical - People will be eager to change when they see the good news supported by your life

Ephesians 5:1-13

• Being open pleases God
• Sin enslaves us.

• Our sins killed Jesus
• Not oops...Deliberate!
• Two ways to look at it
  • Bad Bad = Guilty/No change
  • Good Bad = Repentence/Change
• Only 72 left to follow Jesus when he ascended
• Today:
  • God is the same.
  • People change.

John 6:60-71

• Jesus' message offended people
• They my have said:
  • You are going to lose some members
  • You are not going to be popular
  • This might start a controversy

Matthew 10:34-38

• The message is going to cause friction

• The road is narrow:
  • Hard to get on
  • Not easy
  • Few will be on it
• Are you on the narrow road?

• Beauty
• Affliction

Although the voice was kind, the question felt harsh
Do you want to get well? - John 5:6
He thought: why else would I have spent every day for the past 38 seasons lying here?

How long can we sustain desire against continual disappointment?
The man at the well began to lose any virtal heart-connection to what he want - he had abandoned desire

By asking him what he wanted, Jesus took him back into desire
Why? It is where we must go if we are to meet God

• Drain life and beauty away from the church
• Bury Christians in duty
• Nobody will want to take a closer look

Test Time

Tests are given in many of life's situations:

• driving test
• drug test
• citizen test
• emission test
• products test
• work test

Deuteronomy 8:1-2 - what is really in your heart?

Judges 2:20-FF

• Your character needs to be tested
• "I want to be molded"

• Tested in how you give
• Test in what makes you happy

1 Peter 1:3-6

• Prove to you and him that your faith genuine
• We need to stop fighting God
• We will have challenges with:
  • character
  • commitment
  • hurt
  • weakness in the church
  • close friends leaves
  • persecution
  • death
  • illness
  • finances
  • relationships
  • dating
  • family not open
  • spouse
  • happiness
  • children
  • friends

Take the test

50% is better than 0%

Luke 8:11

• Time for testing
• We need to have grit and determination
• You are stronger than you think
• You can get answers (open book test)

Learn from the results

1 Peter 5:5-7

• Older people have taken those same tests
• Deepens our love and faith
• Help you get closer to people
• Helps with compassion toward others

Do better than on your next test

Each test is administored by God

1 Peter 5:8-9

• God wants us to improve
• Do not quit
• Admit where you are weak

Who is winning in you life? God or Satan?

Preached by Richard Dixon on 1999-10-03

Matthew 9:12

• God is looking for the person that make need for Him appearant.
• Why do we need to be healed?

Psalms 73:1-17

• They "seem to have no struggles".
• What happens behind closed doors?

10 things that can hurt us:
 

1. Hurt by others	6. Frustration
2. Hurt by yourself	7. Mistake towards another
3. Internal Sin	8. Unresolved Issues
4. Lack of Purpose	9. Not Forgiving Yourself
5. Failure	10. Not Forgiving others

Sometimes we become like rolly pollies. 
(Clam up if someone gets to close)

Sexual intimacy is the closest parallel we have to real worship

The best impostors succeed because they are nearly indistinguishable from what they are trying to imitate
We worship sex and other things because we don't know how to worship God

Our hearts live for "an experience of worship that fills our being with a joy that is so deeply in awe that we are barely aware of ourselves
Our worship services don't get anywhere near something like our wedding night

Men have a hard time relating to the bridal imagery used in Scripture

• Fill up on snack on Thanksgiving
• Buy gifts for one's self for Christmas
• Look for a date at his own wedding rehearsal

1. We must have life
2. We cannot arrange for it
3. It is coming

With beauty, we need not fear indulging here
There is not a possessive quality to it
You can love the landscape without acquiring the real estate

Beauty is the closest thing we have to fullness without possessing on this side of eternity

Two kinds of losses in life:

1. Shared by all mankind - accidents,  fate, acts of God
2. Only know by the pilgrim - losses that we choose. We give up something that wasn't ours to begin with

Spiritual surrender is not resignation
Not choosing to care longer
Not an attempt to get beyond the suffering

It is surrender with desire

1. God shows up
2. The lights turn on for those who respond
3. Their heart is lifted; grateful tears flow
4. Faith, hope, and love seem like the only way to live
5. The next week, it is though nothing happened

1. God delivers his people from the Egyptians by his display of power - plagues, passover, red sea
2. Israelites celebrate with singing and dancing
3. Israelites complain about the water supply
4. God provides sweet water
5. They complain about the food
6. God drops breakfast from the sky
7. They complain about the water again
8. God provides water from a rock

• The story continues - we are headed somewhere; bad times = the story has taken a tragic turn
• It can't be done - I can not arrange for life I prize - this frees our hearts
• It is coming - The life I prize is coming, what I am aching for now, but it is coming
• Battle and journey - We are at war; watch your heart; Don't just let anything in

Do not lose heart, fix our eyes on what is unseen - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

We are losing heart, all of us, daily

Someone was trying to shutdown Paul during his ministry - 2 Corinthians 11:23-27
He was looking at what he could not see

Life is an illustion - there is a way of looking at life and be able to live from the heart no matter what
How? By seeing with the eyes of the heart - Ephesians 1:18

Jesus spoke in parables to our hearts:

• A sower went out to sow some seed
• A man fell into the hands of robbers
• Suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one
• There were ten virgins with ten lamps

Jesus spoke in a way that will get past all intellectual defenses
Civil War: Fought between 1861 to 1865 vs stories of the lives lost during that time

When you tell a story, you speak to the heart

Myth tell us three truths, the second is:

2. There is a great struggle or quest or battle that is well under way

Christianity isn't about:

• Going to Sunday school
• Being nice
• Holding car washs
• Sending clothes to Mexico

As good as those things might be, this is a world at war
We live in a far more dangerous and dramatic story than we ever imagine

Reason we love these is because it is telling us that this is our most desperate hour

• The Chronciles of Narnia
• Star Wars
• The Matrix
• The Lord of the Rings

Without this buring in our hearts, we lose the meaning of our days

Notice that those who have tried to wake up to this reality were ususally killed

• The phophets
• Jesus
• Stephen
• Paul
• Most of the disciples in the Bible

Has it occured to you that someone is trying to shut them up?

• People in your life
• Things that bring you joy
• Places that are dear to you

• Dorthy seeks the Wizard
• Frodo turns to Gandalf
• Neo has Morpheus
• Curdie is helped by Lady of the Silver Moon
• Jedis look Yodo

• Broke bread in their homes and ate together - Acts 2:46
• The church meet in houses - 1 Corinthians 16:19
• House church at Nymph's house - Colossians 4:15

• They all love the same thing
• They all wanted the same thing
• They were bound together to find it come hell or high water

There are expectations everywhere, to have:

• Strong marriages
• Obedient children
• Balanced budgets
• Ethical business
• Effective prayer lives
• Meaningful relationships

Many times the "ought to" comes through louder than the "how to"
Especially true in the challenge of having an evangelist impact
God did not leave us in a state of confusion - What God expects, He enables

We need to focus on the important steps to have maximum impact
HP (High Potency) + CP (Close Proximity) + CC (Clear Communication)  = Maximum Impact (MI)

We are the salt of the world - Matthew 5:13

• Salt makes us thristy
• It spices things us
• It preserves - holds back decay

Which did Jesus have in mind? We don't know
HP (High Potency) = means we need to have a strong concentration of Christ's influnce in our lives
CP (Close Proximity) = means we need to get close to people we're hoping to reach in order to allow His power to have its intended effect

• He loses the ability to experience feeling altogether and is left with apathy and disorientation
• Have emotional inauthenticity because they have been lying to themselves for so long

1. List some benefits of knowing Christ
2. Review the promises of Christ for this life and the next
3. Thank and worship Him for the countless blessings of knowing Him

• A helpless old man
• Cosmic killjoy
• Disinterested deity
• Harsh ogre

• Battle between good and evil
• Battle between faith and action

• v22 - Faith and works - work together
• Faith without deeds is dead
• Where am I not following exactly?
• What am I not submitting to God's will?

James 4:7-8 - God calls us to submit to him fully

Trust in God and not your situation

1 Samuel 13:11-12 - Saul doubted that Samuel was coming

James 1:5-8 - we should believe and not doubt

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in God and not on one's own understanding
Depending on one's own understanding creates:

• Pride
• Controlling person
• Self-reliant
• Unreliable - allows our situations to change us
• Lose of conviction

• Knowledge of the Bible
• Daily prayer/walk with God
• Brotherly fellowship

• Some apostles did not like his selfish ambition - Matthew 20:24
• Some thought he was prideful describing himself as the beloved disciple of Jesus - John 21:7
• After the resurrection, Peter still seems to have attitudes towards John - John 21:21

• Selfish ambition turned to kingdom ambition
• Fits of rage changed to fits of love
• Factiousness come together into a passion of unity

1. In all places, the harvest is plentiful
2. In all places, God hears and answers us

John 1:18

• Jesus has made God known.
  
• Where do we begin our search for God? We begin by getting to know Jesus.
  
• To the degree that we know Jesus, we will know God.

John 20:30-31

• The Word of God produces faith in Jesus.
• What will we find if we seek God by coming to know Jesus through God’s Word? Finding God begins with coming to faith in Jesus
  which promises true life now and eternal life later!
• As we take a closer look at Jesus, are you willing to make a heartfelt effort to draw closer to God by praying and reading the Bible?

• If you asked a person who is street smart or the person on Wall Street or just a person who watches a lot of TV, what is at the heart of the world’s wisdom about how to live?
  
  • “Look out for number one.”
    
  • “Get what you want.”
    
  • “Get the power, the pleasure, the control you want.”
    
  • “Get the money.”
    
  • “Protect yourself.”
    
  • “Guard your rights.”
    
  • “Maintain your independence.”
• And so what is at the center of man’s wisdom? Self! (See 2 Timothy 3:2)
  

• What is Jesus’ message? How is it the opposite of the world’s message?
  
  • Deny self– “disown” (Matthew 26:34). We renounce our old self, our old approach to life.
    
  • Take up the cross (instrument of death). Die to ourselves.
    
  • Follow Jesus. Make his life our model. Jesus life is a demonstration of his message.
    
• What does Jesus say will be the bottom line for those who “save their own lives”? For those who foolishly lose their lives for him?
  

• What is everything on the left side (world’s wisdom) called? Sin.
  
• What is everything on the right side (God’s wisdom) called? Love.
  
• How have you lived according the world’s wisdom?
  
• Have you ever made a decision to renounce it?
  
• Which side was Peter still on (though he was religious)?
  
• Which side are you on?

Luke 9:23-27

• Emphasize the heart that God wants.
• What are the three demands of discipleship in this verse?
  • What does it mean to “deny yourself?”
  • What does it mean to “take up your cross daily?”
  • What does it mean to “follow Jesus?”
• How can we be “ashamed of Jesus and His words?”

Luke 9:57-62 - Examine the issues involved with each person - thoughtless following, excuse making
and second thoughts.

Luke 14:25-35

• If anyone would come after me… A disciple loves Jesus more than any other person (v.26).
• A disciple loves Jesus in spite of any persecution (v.27).
• A disciple loves Jesus more than any possession (v.33).
• Count the cost (vv.28-30): it’s the most important decision of your life!
• Consider the alternatives (vv.31-32): Surrender or lose everything! It’s a decision for the rest of your life (vv.34-35).