Quiet Times Search

• If you start too fast, you can die
• The most important thing is finishing
• Cannot compare myself to anyone else or I will get thrown off
• I think about walking when I think no one is looking
• Envy people standing on the sidelines
• Finish line seems to literally pull me along

Jesus calls for unlimited forgiveness - disciples plea to increase their faith

If on-goning relationship difficulties - maybe one or both are too concerned about who sinned the most rather than focusing on reconciliation

With a willingness to forgive, we cannot be forgiven by God - Matthew 6:14; Matthew 18:23-35

We must forgive in the way that God forgives - Colossians 3:13
He forgives quickly, completely, and repeatedly - and then forgets the sin - Hebrews 8:12

• 4 commandments  - deal with your relationships with people
• 6 commandments - deal with your relationships with God
• All 10 commandments deal with relationships!

• Nothing he cannot do
• No victory he cannot win
• No tragedy he cannot overcome
• No mountain he cannot move

• How did you do that?
• Give us the recipe
• Whisper the secret

Reasoning with God in prayer is an expression of great faith
The Canaanite woman was one of two times Jesus said someone had "great faith" - Matthew 15:21-28

Persistent widow reasoned with the unjust judge - Luke 18:1-8

We cannot change the eternal purposes of God but we can change his mind on how his purposes will be accomplished

Abraham was a man who reasoned with God - his Son being sacrificed - Genesis 18:23-33

Moses was too - God decided to destroy the disobedient Israelites and start a new nation
Moses gave specifc reasons for not destroying them and God heard him and changed his mind
He prayed with great humility - Numbers 12:3

True humility is the key to the prayer of reason - not telling God what to do
Expressing our outlook and giving reasons to back up our thinking

Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:13, and Luke 4:42 - shows us that Jesus often went to solitary places to pray

Solitude is essential in developing a deep relation ship with God
Be still and know I that I am from God - Psalms 46:10
Do you have a special place where you meet with God?

Psalms 5, 38, and 42 are examples of how open and expressive David was with God
He shared everything from joy and delight to anguish and dispair
How open are you with God?
God wants our hearts
As a result, we are much more open and real with others

We get fired up by sermons, fellowship, and music - Jesus went to be alone
There is nothing in your life that God cannot change

Prayer times make special memories
Israelites setup stones to remind them of what God had done - Joshua 4:7

Ideas for times with God:

• Write a love letter
• Sing a song you composed
• Write on a ballon, let it go
• Hang a poster and write the things God has done

1. Trust - We are exactly the way God wants us to be; he will make up what we are not - 2 Timothy 1:7
2. Righteousness - Righteous are as bold as a lion; god can not hear us if we cherish sin - Psalms 66:18
3. Action - do what the word says; Keep praying until you act

Love each one

We cannot play favorites with suffering the consequences
Fatal error of Isaac (Genesis 37:4) and Rebekah - Genesis 25:28

Love with your time

It takes time - kids look at time we give them as the most direct expression of our love
Find ourselves always saying, "Not now, I am busy" - then we are too busy
When disciple fought the "Intrusion" of the little ones, Jesus became indignant - Mark 10:13-14
Exclusive time with mom and dad is needed

Jesus had to overcome unfathomable temptation - Matthew 26:36-36

If he chose to follow through with his Father's will: humiliting insults, excruciating beatings, and agoninzing crucifixion would follow

Jesus: If it's possible, may this cup be taken from me
He knew what we needed to do
He struggled to get his heart where it needed to be
He prayed until he found strength he needed to overcome

We should ask ourselves: How many hours have I wrestled with it in prayer?
We cannot expect to withstand tempation if we are not ready to wrestle in prayer until God gives us the strength

We must turn to God at the moment we are tempted - it may take hours but we will have great power to resist sin

• Whomever asks
• Whenever we are asked
• Freely and from the heart
• Expect nothing in return
• Anonymously

• What if someone takes advantage of me?
• Will there be anything left for me?
• What if I do not get anything in return?
• What possible difference can I make?

1. Without faith it is impossible to please God - Hebrews 11:6
2. Without faith in Jesus we cannot be saved - John 8:24
3. It is the Word of God that produces such faith - Romans 10:17
4. The gospels were written to produce faith - John 20:30-31

• “All that the Father gives me will come to me…” (John 6:37)
• “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” (John 6:44)

• “I pass judgment on no one … I am not alone.” (John 8:15-16)
• “[God] has given him authority to judge…” (John 5:27)

“…God, is the one who glorifies me.” (John 8:54)

Focus on the individual

Mark 2:13-14

• Jesus didn’t miss the forest because of the trees
• We cannot allow ourselves to grow dull to the preciousness of each individual

Acceptance of others

Mark 2:15-17 · Jesus did not seem to worry about ruining his reputation

Mark 7:14-23 - He had no stomach for the misdirection spread by the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law

High Expectations

• He let them know that they were spiritually stupid.
• How many of us are willing to rebuke when asked a stupid question by people who should know better?
• Jesus was determined that these men would rise above the rank and file.
• He got upset and urged them to change
• The dreamer never gives up the dream.

Blame

• The responsibility for our actions resides with us, the decision makers, and not with our environment.
• We are not simply a product of our environment; environment is determined by our choices.
• We cannot rightly blame others or fate or circumstances for our behavior
• We must take responsibility for the consequences of our decisions
• Changes in people occur from the inside out. · Involves helping people to acknowledge what they are really like deep down and then to deal with their inner self
• We cannot on our own change our own or someone else’s heart.
• We must realize how desperately we need God’s intervention in out lives.
• The Bible exposes, in a unbiased way, the true qualities of our hearts.
• Deep character changes in our lives fuels our faith.

Scout

Mark 8:14-21

• 'Christian' denominations may offer the greatest opposition to a radical adherence to the teachings of Jesus
• He protects his followers: warning them about the strength of their opponent and the types of activities to expect.
• We cannot afford to neglect scouting the opposition and warning people who they are up against.

Rebuke

• We need to be aware what others are saying to each other.
• He asked embarrassingly simple questions to remind them and to help to see how stupid they had been to soon forget.
• A willingness to be strong and forthright is a required characteristic of one who would have lasting influence.
• Wounds from a friend can be trusted.

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.

Emotional Transformation

Mark 14:32-42

• Jesus’ friends provided him with absolutely no support at all during this spiritual struggle.
• All are overwhelmed with losses, failure, challenges, frustrations, by life
• If you are a leader, you cannot afford to be “down” for any significant length of time.
• The ability to make a quick and complete emotional turn-around is invaluable for the man or woman who wants to have an impact.

In touch with His feelings

• A person unfamiliar to their own emotional nature is a slave to it, while the person who is familiar with their weaknesses is in a position to master them.
• A spiritual man, through humility, has become acquainted with his own emotional self, and armed with that knowledge, has learned to turn his negative emotions around quickly.

• Return to God – Deuteronomy 30:2
• Worship other Gods and you will perish - Deuteronomy 30:17-18

• Love is the only way to win the free response of men
• Work of the Holy Spirit
  • Must be born again
  • Christ began His ministry by being baptized - John 3:3-9
  • Made clean through the Word and set apart to God for Holy Service - John 15:3
  • Only the Spirit can carry on the redemptive mission of evangelism
  • Jesus was God in revelation but the Spirit was God in operation
  • Evangelism was not a human undertaking but a divine project.
• With Him they felt that everything was possible
• The superhuman work to which they were called demanded superhuman help.
• Through confession of their deep-seated pride and enmity in utterly surrender of themselves to Christ
• It is not who we are but Who He us that makes the difference
• Only those who followed Jesus all the way came to know the glory of this experience
• Jesus was deliberately investing all He had in these few men so that they could be properly prepared to do His work.
• We cannot give something away which we do not possess ourselves.
• The very ability to give to give away our life in Christ is proof of its possession.

Biblical Principles of Reconcilation:

1. Realize the urgency and importance of being reconciled - Matthew 5:23-24
   • God would rather you patch up things with your brother than worship him
   • Have you called someone on a Saturday night to talk so you can worship God acceptably  the next day?
2. Accept the obligation and possibility of reconciliation
3. Know that we cannot always have our way
   • Reconciliation does not mean that everone will agree; power of the gospel is diversity working together in harmony
4. Make every effort to work things out - Ephesians 4:3
5. Forgive as the Lord forgave you - Colossians 3:13
6. Pray for your enemies (against human nature - Matthew 5:44