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Passover - it meant freedom for the Jews (from Egypt)
Jesus choose Passover to bring freedom to all through his death

It was a new relationship with God and man
God loved mankind but man hurt God with his sin

Jesus: with my life and death, you have a new relationship, now remember this
It will be forgotten in our lives if we don't make plans to remember

In the midst of our activities and pressure of life, we forget:

• How much he went through for us
• That we can be forgiven and start over again and again
• Why we are doing things we are doing

He took bread and gave thanks for this very reason - Luke 22:19

Give thanks and examine yourself - 1 Corinthians 11:28
Don't forget that in Christ there is no condemnation - Romans 8:1

Unity has an immense impact on our lives

Tower of Babel - God said nothing they planned would be impossible for them - Genesis 11:6
House divided against impossible for them - Mark 3:25
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit - Ephesians 4:3

What are the obstacles to unity?

• Misunderstanding and wrong assumptions (Israelite tribes) - Joshua 22
• Selfish ambition (James and John) - Matthew 20:20-28
• Inferiority and insecurity
• Jealousy and selfishness (brothers of Joesph) - Genesis 37
• Ingratitude and unforgiveness (older brother of the prodical son) - Luke 15

Sin is the ultimate cause of all disunity. Forgiveness is the ultimate cure.

It defies our nature
Reflects a surrender that trusts God's justice
Demonstrates a humility that cares less for one's own rights than for the good of others

Who do you need to totally forgive?
Forgiveness is the key to bing reunited
We need a daily "state of our unions"

God both forbids and forgives

Clearly forbids - Genesis 2:16-17
We know well what sins and God says no
He forbids to protect - we choose to transgress his infinitely perfect plan

We must understand that sin hurts God deeply - Jeremiah 8:20-9:3

In his infinite wisdom, he found a way to forgive the unforgivable. Forgiveness is an undeserved gift

• Church "universal" - all congregations
• Church "militant" - war against evil
• Church "triumphant" - the mission God has given us

1. Pray with variety, creativity, and perseverance - Ephesians 6
2. Pray for all the saints - Philippians 1:4
3. Pray for upcoming meetings
4. Intercede for world leaders - 1 Timothy 2:1-2
5. Tour your city - Get a map; drive around pray for the different parts
6. Incorporate biblical themes
7. Tour the world
8. Pray for your elders
9. Pray for the church's work among the needy of your city
10. Pray for the special ministries within your church
11. Pray for new church plantings

Whoever the enemies may be, the words of Jesus are still the same: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you - Matthew 5:44

It our enemies who afford us the opportunity to glory God by shining like stars - Philippians 2:15
This behavior is described in the Bible as "perfect" - Matthew 5:48
Only someone who loves God earnestly and has an eternal perspective on life is able to surrender

Must forgive and love our enemies to be permitted to be sons of God - Matthew 5:44

When praying for our enemies, we should focus on:

1. Their need for forgiveness - Luke 23:34
2. The power of God to change them - Acts 4:24-28
3. Our need to continue to preach boldly - Acts 4:29

Luke 11:9-10 - Asking, Seeking, and Knocking as three separate commands to be obeyed
Three steps toward a single goal

The idea of the door being opened is associated with God-given opportunity - 1 Corinthians 2:12

The rest of the chapter is about how God worked in the author's life, opening doors.

Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11

1. Our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9) - Getting Started
2. Hallowed be your name (Matthew 6:9) - Getting Focused
3. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10) - Experiencing Divine Intervention
4. Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:11) - Praying for Provisions
5. Forgive our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us (Matthew 6:13) - Experiencing Forgiveness
6. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13) - Developing Spiritual Protection
7. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glry forever. Amen.  (later manuscripts of Matthew) - Final Issues

Each will be addressed in detail in later chapters

• To submit to the will of God
• To please the Father
• To affirm my powerlessness
• To experience His presence
• To know his will
• To be transform (character)
• To become spiritually mature
• To be humble
• To be fruitful
• To walk in the Spirit
• To obey willingly and joyfully
• To receive blessing
• To be protected
• To be useful

1. Pray for God's influence and intervention in the leadership of our country
2. Pray about the moral condition of our country and ask God to be merciful and forgiving
3. Pray about specific issues our nation is facing
   

• Brings into our experience not only love and grace of God but transforming power
• Provides us with the guidance, motivation, enabling power to reconcile our relationships with God and others
• Enables us to live with the experience of inner cleaning and the peace of God

Literally - Deliverance from the evil or the evil one - Matthew 6:13

First law of spiritual warfare - Satan hates you and has a diabolical plan for your life

Jesus has given us the authority in prayer for overcoming the schemes and attacks

One of the greatest privileges and responcablities we have

People don't get into shape because they don't know what to do or how to get going

Learning how to start slow and build gradully plays a critical role in getting into shape

The practice if prayer has the same dynamics
Many men respond to emotional appeals to pray more but do not know how to start

1. Am I properly positioned to pray?

• Ask the Holy Spirit to help us to pray (true intimacy)
  
• Thank God for what he has given us

It is helpful to keep a separate list of needs for times of pure intercession:

• Ministry
• Neighbors
• Family
• Special Needs

Also good to have a "miracle list"

God can do anything - nothing is impossible - Luke 1:37

During difficult times, God extended a seeming impossible invitation:
Jerusalem was under attack from the Babylonians and the city was destroyed

Call to me and I will answer with great and unsearchable things  - Jeremiah 33:3
God promised healing,  forgiveness, and cleansing to Israel - Jeremiah 33:6-9

He can do immeasurably more than what we can ask - Ephesians 3:20

We know God can do anything; we just don't know if he will do them

• What happens when there is someone else better lookig?
• What if their suffer a disfiguring injury?
• What happens when they get older?

• Give God credit for every gift God has given your child including appearance
• Teach them continually about this - gives them a humble appreciation
  
• Teach them the value of what is inside

Jesus was always able to look beyond people's outward behavior to the need within

How does a person who is harassed and helpless behave?

• Some irritation
• Little mistrusting

He saw beyond the paralytic's phyiscal condition to his need for forgiveness - Mark 2:5
He saw the invaild's need for hope at the poolside - John 5:6

When we see a crowd who is harassed and helpless we see - problems, problems, problems
When Jesus sees a crowd who is harassed and helpless he sees - harvest, harvest, harvest

Wiser to evangelize the "suburbs" because there are less "problem" people - NNNNOOOO!!!!
Jesus was not swayed by this thinking

Jesus saw the potential in people, not the problems - why see inspired such change

People need a shephard and Jesus responded and raised up other shephards - Matthew 9:38-10:4
Compassion is passion that leads to action

Are you meeting needs or do you alwaysfind yourself reacting to the way people treat you?
Make a list of needs you see where you are - make a plan to meet those needs

We want to be know but we keep a safe distance
Jesus has X-ray vision to our hear and see right our heart

John 4:39 - Samaritan women:

• She was minding her own business
• Ran into Jesus and was never the same
• Will you give me a drink he asked - the fact that he (a Jew) spoke to her told her (a Samaritan) that there was some very different about Jesus
• Whoever drinks from living water will never thirst again - John 4:13-14
• He confronted her sin and help her see the emptiness of her life
• He wanteed her to see who she was without God
• Due to her discomfort, the woman tried to change to subject
• Jesus skillfully drove out her fears with his love -  brought her back to the conversation of life
• She shared with others

We too can be afraid of seeing who we really are
When we opened up and were forgiven,  we couldn't wait to tell other either

To set people free, we must be like Jesus:

• Relate to them in deep ways
• Not studying the Bible superficially - not helping them see who they are without God
• Ask the difficult questions
• Expose sin so they will see their deepest need for Jesus

Jesus' love and acceptance allowed the woman/us to be real and to change

Read Mark 4:35 - 5:43 - No one and nothing is beyond the reach of God
No problem is beyond Jesus - can meet any need natural, physical, spiritual, life or death

• It was not just a sick woman - an incurable woman
• It was not just a dying girl - she was stone-cold dead
• It was not just a deamon possessed man - was a leagon of demons

Nothing and no one intimidates Jesus

How often have we given up on or stopped praying for others too soo?

Have you ever wondered if someone or something was beyond God's reach?

• stirring up the people - Luke 23:5
• being an insurrectionist -Luke 23:13-14
• being a blasphemer - Matthew 26:65
• being a criminal - John 18:30

Remember Your Sins No More - Hebrews 8:12

God wants to forgive
God has spent all of his time since man's fall working out our forgiveness - it cost him dearly

God's nature is to forgive
If God kept a record of sins, who could stand? - Psalms 130:3-4

Psalms 103:

• v3 - He forgives all
• v13-14 - He is compassionate and gracious
• v8 - He is slow to anger
• v9 - He doesn't hang on to his anger forever
• v10 - He does not treat us as our sins deserve

God doesn't need forgiveness
He commited no sin - 1 Peter 2:22
We are the ones who sinned - Romans 3:23
The most foolish thing in the world is to have this attitude toward God

By the time we are old enough to understand, we have hurt and been hurt so many times - we need forgiveness and so do others
We can become resentful and bitter - only way out the vicious cycle is to learn how to forgive

The definition of a dysfunctional relationship: the inability to solve conflict and forgive

Hugh obstacle: We can not truely forgive until we have experienced forgiveness
Once we are forgiven by God can we forgive as God does

Once we are forgiven, we are obligated to forgive others - Matthew 18
Forgving others as in Christ God forgave you - Ephesians 4:32

Our sins against each other pale in comparison to our sins against God

When we accept God's forgiveness, we are compelled to forgive others including ourselves
Not forgiving ourselves is one of the most arrogant acts we can perform

Some people spend years trying to figure out how to forgive themselves
Until God forgives us, it is fruitless exercise 
We are not God - once God forgives, forgiving ourselves is a natural step

God has promised to forgive - let us experience forgiveness, rejoice in his forgiveness and express his forgiveness in all our relationships

1. There is but one mediator between God and man - 1 Timothy 2:5
2. God sent Christ to reconcile sinful man back to Him - 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
3. This God did this by offering Christ as the sacrifice  for our sins - 1 John 4:9-10
4. We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins - Ephesians 1:7
5. Jesus is the only way to God - John 14:6

Prophets – God can forgive your sins
Jesus – He said their sins were given by him
To the paralytic - “…may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10)
To the sinful women – “her many sins have been forgiven” (Luke 7:47)

Prophets – God saves
Jesus knew he was the one to save the world from sin
“…Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45)
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28)

Prophets – God judges
Jesus - “…my judgment is just” (John 5:30))
On the last day - “Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord…” (Matthew 7:22)

1. How to live
2. Be committed to him
3. Should love him

• “…he Son can do nothing by himself” (John 5:19)
• “By myself I can do nothing…” (John 5:30)

• “I am not here on my own…” (John 7:28)
• “I have not come on my own…”(John 8:42)
• “…completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17:4)

• “[God] has given him authority…” (John 5:27)
• “My teaching is not my own…” (John 7:16)
• “For you have granted him [Jesus] authority over all people…” (John 17:2)

• “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)

The Call

Mark 1:16-18

…To purpose

• Do not promise them forgiveness, salvation, excitement of watch miracles
• Called them to a life of purpose

… To Imitate Him

• We need to become what our people need to become
• He demonstrated a passion for purpose
• As the men spent time with Him, His men would share his purpose

… To a mutual Commitment

• Not I will do my best
• He committed himself to their ultimate success
• No one has unique struggles, although most of us think we do
• A man who has been deeply convicted of the selfishness in his own life can more easily detect selfishness in someone else
• If we do not give our people individual attention they will not feel valuable

Opportunism

Mark 2:1-2

• Jesus was always ready to make the most of an opportunity because he was always eager to be productive.
• He did not dread his work and he didn’t procrastinate
• He was not content to merely existing.
• To Jesus, life itself was an opportunity, so every event in life was a “once in a lifetime opportunity”
• If today was your last day, would you be pleased with how you lived it?

Commendation

Mark 2:3-5

• Jesus notices and rewarded the aggressive faith of these men. He was not offended

Forgiveness

• The guilt of sin can have a crippling or debilitating effect on even our physical bodies
• Spiritual and physical health are linked together

Reinvestment of Dividends

Mark 5:18-20

• Jesus didn’t surround himself with people who owed him a great amount of debt.
• We viewed their gratitude to him to channeled to help others
• Few people are grateful for the Lord when He work powerfully, yet fewer accept their obligation to proclaim.

Tenderness

Mark 5:21-34

• The women was afraid that she had done an evil thing in touching Jesus’ clothes
• She had suffered from the effective treatments that the doctors had given her.
• Greek word for healed = saved.
• He didn’t babble but told the woman what she needed to hear.

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.

1. No battle to fight
   
2. No swords and castles
3. Without a great battle in which a man live and die - fierce part goes underground

1. The measure of faith God has given you
2. Gifts God has given you

• subjectively - my function is the body is according to the personal amount of faith I have
• objectively - my function in the body is purely dependent upon my trust in God to use me

• Sermons are boring
• Members are unfriendly to visitors
• Wonder about the quality of the nursery care
• Church seems to more concerned about my wallet
• Music isn’t very upbeat

• 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?

• Many call press conferences to get there side of the story our first
• Once guilt is found, party than give a “heart-felt” apology – sorrow for getting caught
• Sin is destructive. It ruins relationships, reputation, peace of mind and personal integrity

• Some believe the abundance of tears is repentance
  • Forgiven women (forgiven)
  • Peter, Paul vs Cain (became angry)
  • Esau (wailed loudly)
  • Judas (deeply regretted)
• All three shed tear but not one repented
• Claiming to be a victim doesn’t make one a victim
• Tears can be self-affirming to one with self-pity (can become more sinful)
• Ones mostly likely to enable and least likely to help you

• Comes up with creative targets – upbringing, genetic makeup, society
• Excuses are the clearest indicators of worldly sorrow
• Excuses come right after the apology – I am sorry for forgetting our anniversary, it has been crazy at work
• Where there is an excuse, there is persistent sin
• Excuses rob us of the indignation that energizes our turn from self to Jesus

A repentant Christian embraces absolutions, even moral absolutes

Repentance is no fragile state of mind that we barely notice entering and exiting

1. What is wrong with defining repentance as “being sorry for your sins, so sorry that you stop them”?
2. What is the root cause of worldly sorrow?
3. In what ways have you exercised “damage control” rather than true repentance?
4. What damage has your sin caused?
5. Have you ever confused the tears of self pity for true repentance? What is the danger of this confusion?
6. Why does the author assert that “excuses are the clearest indicators of worldly sorrow?” Would you rather have your excuses accepted or your sins forgiven?
7. What’s the difference between cognitive dissonance and repentance? Why doesn’t cognitive dissonance prompt us to preach the good news to others?
8. Have you been selective in your repentance? What does that indicate about your repentance?
9. Why doesn’t metanoia accommodate the repetition of sin?

1. How can you make the same journey as David – from repulsive to repentant?
2. How does repentance differ between the lost turning to God and the saved re-turning to Him? How is it the same?
3. How do qualify for God’s love and grace (see page 201)?
4. If you have not yet repented, why are you without excuse before God?
5. What will specifically change in your life when you proclaim, “Jesus is Lord!”?
6. If you have repented, have you also been forgiven of your sins – if not, what are you waiting for (see Acts 22:16)?
7. What can make post-baptismal repentance more difficult than your initial repentance?
8. What role does shame play in obstructing your repentance?
9. What is fellowship in the light vs. fellowship in the darkness? Which have you most often experienced in your church?
10. Finally, to the “confused”: take time to consider and answer the questions on pages 207 and 208. How can you thwart Satan’s attempts to undermine your path to true repentance?
11. Who can you encourage today with the good news of your repentance?
12. Who can you reach for Jesus by “telling how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5: 19)?

• Not the kind of group you would expect to win the world for the Christ.
• Represented an average cross section of the society of their day
• Some already had joined the revival movement of John the Baptist
• Jesus can use anyone who wants to be used.
• Kept the group small enough to be able to work effectively with them.
  • More special than the twelve was the three – Peter, James, John
    • Jairus’ daughter (mark 5:37, Luke 8:51)
    • Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2, Matthew 17:1)
    • Waited Near the Lord when He prayed. (Mark 14:33, Matthew 26:37)
  • Choose twelve – Luke 6:13-17, Mark 3:13-19
  • Others – the 70 (Luke 10:1), Mark and Luke (gospel writers), James, His own brother (1 Cor 15:7)
• Rapidly diminishing priority given to those outside the twelve.
• Staked His whole ministry on them. Everything depended upon their faithfulness.
• Some believe that focusing on a few is favoritism
• Jesus however did not neglect the crowds.
  • Taught them
  • Healed the sick
  • Blessed the children
  • Wept for them
  • He died for them.

• Crowd aroused
  • Wanted to make him King by force - John 6:15
  • All men were clamoring for His attention - John 3:26
  • Pharisees admitted that the world has gone after Him - John 12:19
  • Frequently asked those that recipients of His healing to say nothing to prevent mass demonstrations
  • Own brothers and sisters did not understand him - John 7:2-9

• For three years, Jesus had been training them by being with them
• Follow-up was not just confined with His disciples
  • Zaccheus on the street of Jericho - Luke 19:7
  • Women at the well - John 4:39-42
• Some attention was given to others – but not compared to the attention given to the twelve
• Faithful women – Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and many others - Luke 8:1-3
  • He did not refuse their kindness
  • Jesus was well aware of the sex barrier
  • He did not try to incorporate these ladies in the select company
• Primary task was to develop some men who in turn could give personal attention to others

• Disciples realized that they were responding to Jesus who was willing to give of Himself for them
• Examples of Jesus giving himself away
  • Gave away what the Father gave to Him - John 15:15
  • He gave them peace - John 16:33
  • He gave them despite pain and suffering - John 15:11
• Love is not love until it is given away
• Jesus – God gave away His most precious possession
• No greater love than to lay down our live for others
• Jesus impressed the deep compulsion of His eternal purpose
• It was clear that the Master considered no service too small or sacrifice too great.
• Jesus denied Himself many of the comforts and pleasure of the world and became a servant
• He continually gave His life “for their sakes”
• Disciples learned not in theory but in practice (painful and hard to accept)
• Jesus life was the measure by which they were to regard their own service.
  • To give freely as they had received – Matthew 10:8
  • Love one another as He loved them - John 13:34
  • Calvary love was the standard